Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 55: Heartbroken and Desperate

Gao Anren lay on his horse, and after leaving the battlefield, he ran for several miles before finally straightening his body and looking at the dozen or so Jin army cavalrymen around him in silence.

Looking back at my usual arrogance and the aggressive attitude when I came here, compared with my current embarrassment, it really seems like a lifetime ago.

"Song Jun... Song Gou won't chase them anymore?"

Among the Jin army's armored cavalry, someone came to ask in confusion.

"It seems, it seems that he really doesn't chase her anymore." Gao Anren murmured, but for a moment he didn't understand why.

In fact, the reason was very simple. This time, Zhang Baiyu finally strictly followed the order. Even though he had learned through interrogating the prisoners that the Jin army generals had fled to the north, he only chased them for five miles before quickly turning back and surrounding the defeated Jin army infantry from behind to inflict the greatest damage on the Jin army.

Although there was no imminent danger behind him, Gao Anren's face was still pale.

He prided himself on his bravery and boasted privately about being the bravest warrior in Haizhou. When he suppressed rebellions, led his armored cavalry into battle, and killed those skinny peasants who used wood as weapons, he felt that fighting on the battlefield was no different.

However, today he really witnessed the battles of war and the men fighting for their lives. Gao Anren's first reaction was not to step forward and fight to the death, but to flee in panic.

Gao Anren felt ashamed and embarrassed, but he immediately thought, even if he tried his best, could he really stop the mighty cavalry general under the Flying Tigers banner?

It should be noted that in a large battle array of tens of thousands of people, the bravery of one man may not mean much, but in a chaotic battle of hundreds or thousands of people, as long as these brave generals are equipped with dozens of confidants, they are enough to influence the situation of the battle.

For example, today, if Gao Anren had continued to hold up his banner and give orders, he would definitely have died here today!

In fact, the reason why the two Moukes of the Jin army were defeated so quickly and so miserably was that the Song army cut down almost all of the Jin army's flags, killed all of the grassroots officers, and completely destroyed the Jin army's command system.

"Major General! Wait a minute!"

A call came from behind. Gao Anren turned around and saw Wu Ye lying on his horse. With the support of a one-eyed man, he tried to raise his head and call out.

"Sixth Uncle!" Gao Anren was overjoyed. "You escaped too? You weren't hurt, were you?"

Wu Ye coughed twice, managed to straighten his body, and said with a gasp, "The horse kicked my arm and I can't move."

After a pause, Wu Ye continued, "Major General, we can't just flee like this. Our armored cavalry always retreats while fighting. Even if we can't fight for a hundred rounds, we can't just scatter like this!"

Gao Anren nodded heavily, but when he looked up and around, he was immediately stunned. Under the gaze of everyone, tears actually flowed out.

"How can we still fight?!" Gao Anren wailed. "Every team is dying or surrendering. How can we gather our troops? How can we continue the fight?"

The grassroots officers are the cornerstone of the army and the confidants of Gao's father and son. Gao Anren cannot pass orders to every soldier, so he can only organize the army through these people.

These grassroots officers, at the moment they were just attacked, spontaneously commanded their subordinates and were the ones with the most resolute fighting will.

After all, Gao Anren could abandon his army and escape without being held accountable, but if these generals dared to abandon their flags and flee without fighting, they would definitely be held guilty! However, this is how the world is. When the odds are against you, whoever is the bravest will die first!

In less than an hour, all the confidants of Gao's father and son were killed or injured. How could Gao Anren not be heartbroken?
"We can't just sit there and wait to die! Ahem..." Wu Ye held his arm and just said a word when it seemed as if the wound was aroused. He clenched his teeth and could hardly speak.

"Major General, please return to Qushan immediately."

Seeing that the two managers were silent, Shi Qilang spoke with some impatience.

Originally, he shouldn't have said these words, but those who could offer suggestions were either dead or had dispersed, so for a moment, the people around him could only watch the one-eyed newcomer speak in silence.

However, no one suspected that Shi Qilang was a traitor, because the attacking Song army was almost exactly as he described, and the marching route and attack order were issued by Gao Anren. He forced his way forward but did not discover the ambush. What does it have to do with a small soldier like Lazi?
Seeing everyone looking at him, Shi Qilang continued, "The Song dogs are not made of iron. They've been crossing the river and fighting today, and they have little strength left. Although our Great Jin cavalry has been defeated, their strength is intact. Those who have died are dead now, and those who escape will not be hunted down. The families of those cavalry are all in Qushan County, and they can't escape anywhere else."

After a pause, Shi Qilang bowed to Gao Anren and said, "The most important thing now is that the young general returns to the city safely, rather than wasting his life here. After all, there are no more soldiers now..."

"We still have soldiers...at Luo Guzi's place..." someone quickly retorted.

"Those thousand or so people are considered soldiers?!" Shi Qilang turned his head and scolded, "Don't forget, most of them are newly conscripted. What good can they do?!"

The person who had just spoken fell silent immediately.

Yes, except for the 300 militiamen that Gao Anren left for Luo Guzi, the rest of the soldiers were recruited from Dayi Town yesterday. The process was a bit unpleasant. How can they be used?

Shi Qilang continued to bow and said to Gao Anren: "Major General, I know you feel bad, but let me be frank. Even if you have to die, you should die in the right place, not in vain. Even if you have lost all your courage, you still have the courage to protect the governor! You must know that the next step is a tough battle with internal and external difficulties."

"That's exactly what you said." Gao Anren nodded heavily, but immediately hesitated, "What about Luo Guzi..."

Shi Qilang said firmly: "Let them die! It would be best if they ran all over the mountains and plains, and let Song Gou kill them one by one, which would buy some time."

Gao Anren opened his mouth but did not agree immediately.

He may not care about those signed soldiers, but there are still 300 local militia archers, which are Gao Anren's old base.

Seeing that Gao Anren was still hesitating, Shi Qilang became completely impatient and rode his horse forward and grabbed his reins.

Under the gaze of more than a dozen pairs of tired eyes, Gao Anren just moved his hand but did not take back the reins. Then he was pulled away by Shi Qilang like a clay doll or wooden sculpture.

Wu Ye, who had been silent the entire time, sighed and rode away. How could he not know that Gao Anren had been completely defeated and disheartened by this battle? But hadn't he failed to crush the Song army on the Shu River beach and instead fled in panic?
At this point, blaming others is ridiculous. It's better to be decisive than the one-eyed man.

Half in a trance, half in shame, Karasuno also supported his arm and headed north.

The two highest-ranking generals in the Jin army actually abandoned their troops and fled together.

(End of this chapter)