You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 65 Sitting on the sidelines
The Western Xia troops retreated quickly and stopped not far away.

The Song army did not pursue.

Chen Shao and Han Shizhong both knew that they were not capable of defeating these Xia soldiers.

If we can hold on, that will be a great victory.

The fact that Xia Bing launched counterattacks during his retreat indicates that he was simply overconfident and reckless.

Once they've established a foothold in open field battles, they have no chance of winning because the numbers are simply unequal.

Even so, the excitement still lingered in the five villages.

Three thousand men held off tens of thousands of Xia soldiers, even after Liu Fa suffered a major defeat.

Chen Shao removed his armor, his whole body aching, and sat on the ground, panting heavily, leaning on his sword.

Han Shizhong rode over as if nothing had happened and shouted, "Commander! The Xia bandits' morale has been broken. They are just waiting for our reinforcements to arrive so they can take advantage of the situation and launch a counterattack!"

Chen Shao was a little stung by the rocket smoke, his eyes widening and narrowing as he looked up at Han Shizhong.

"Han Wu, we must be prepared for the possibility of not receiving reinforcements."

Han Shizhong laughed and said, "Commander, don't panic. I, Han Wu, am familiar with the troops in this area. Not to mention the distant ones, the Huanqing Army and the Fuyan Army are less than a hundred miles away. We have been reporting the military situation for a while now, and they should have arrived long ago. I guess it's because of the rain and mud that they will arrive tonight."

Chen Shao was different from Han Shizhong; he had someone by Tong Guan's side.

Tong Guan's personal guards had already sent him a message that Commander Tong Xuan and the generals of the Western Army wanted to use this matter to force the other side to compromise.

Chen Shao suddenly lowered his voice and beckoned, asking, "Han Wu, what do you think about us holding out for ten days?"

"Ten days?"

How could it have taken ten days to defend? The five armies from Shaanxi could have crawled across even if they had to.

Han Shizhong was about to refute when he suddenly realized another possibility: it wasn't a problem with the reinforcements' march, but rather that the generals above were about to fight amongst themselves again.

The three thousand people at the front are pawns in their internal power struggle, and they might become discarded at any time.

After all, they were a defeated army, not belonging to any faction. Nominally, they were Tong Guan's personal guards, but they weren't entirely loyal to any particular faction.

This idea infuriated Han Shizhong, but he was helpless to change it.

Having spent over a decade working their way up from the bottom in the Western Army, they certainly had this level of awareness. Those Western Army officials were absolutely capable of doing it, not to mention Tong Guan.

Before he could even feel resentful, Han Shizhong immediately began to assess the situation. Soon, his brows furrowed; ten days was simply too long.

As he thought about it, he couldn't help but stomp his foot, swallowing the curse he was about to utter. He glanced at Chen Shao and then swallowed it back.

Morale, morale, morale!

Han Shizhong reminded himself again that he was no longer a common soldier and could not speak carelessly.

When Chen Shao received the news, he already understood the infighting among these people. Tong Guan's entanglement with the Western Army had delayed many important matters and caused the deaths of many people.

To them, each other was more terrifying than any other race.

The Western Xia state was small and weak, and did not have the strength to directly confront the Western Xia army, but Tong Guan could.

Chen Shao showed no sign of dejection; he had chosen the Hengshan front precisely to take advantage of this.

From the moment he embarked on this path, Chen Shao knew it wouldn't be easy. He had long ago made up his mind to go all in, and if it still didn't work out, he would just consider it a pipe dream.

He said calmly, "Han Wu, I'm prepared to abandon the fortress and retreat into the mountains to deal with them. I hope you won't make us come to that."

"I know you. You're a born leader, you were born to do this!"

Han Shizhong was somewhat flattered by his praise, and spat fiercely, saying, "Don't worry, Commander, ten days is ten days!" Not long after, the mournful sound of bugles came from the watchtower of the main village.

Han Shizhong hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist salute and returned to Xingqing Village, preparing to face the enemy again.

Chen Shao also sighed. This Richard isn't a complete idiot; he figured it out so quickly.

The three brothers, Song, Xia, and Liao, are truly interesting. Whenever one of them is in danger, a formidable figure emerges from within the country.

The three brothers stood side by side for over a hundred years. If it weren't for the rise of the Jurchens, these three brothers could probably have continued for several more centuries.

The distant bugle calls grew more urgent, and footsteps echoed all around.

They still want to fight, huh? The Western Xia are truly pushed to the brink.
come on!

Then fight!

For a fleeting moment, Chen Shao imagined a scenario: what if he collapsed and opened his eyes to find himself back in his bed at home, having to waste his life in that peaceful but dull era? He didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

He had been sitting for a long time, and when he stood up suddenly, his legs were sore and he almost fell over again.

Fortunately, Dong Dahu reacted quickly and caught him.

"Big Tiger."

Dong Dahu tilted his head, "Boss?"

"You fucking better not stray too far from me if we start fighting. I couldn't get you back even when I called you!"

"I know, boss. Xia thief is too noisy. He's hitting me on the head with his hammer, making a loud banging sound. I really didn't hear you calling me, boss."
-
Shichang Town.

At the Victory Army's garrison, Wang Bing and Yang Keshi finished reading the edict personally signed by Tong Guan. They exchanged a glance, remaining silent, both showing a hint of disappointment on their faces.

Hengshan was right in front of them, and the army could arrive in a day and a night, but they were ordered to garrison Huanzhou and wait for further orders.

The various armies simultaneously slowed their pace and stood by to observe.

Wang Bing's eyes flickered, and he said, "General Yang, you are one of Commander Xuan's men. Should we talk to Commander Xuan again?"

Yang Keshi certainly wanted to advance immediately, relieve Chen Shao's siege, and also defeat the Xia rebels.

However, the gentlemen and the commander-in-chief have already seen through the Western Xia's intentions and their strength, so they are more at ease staying here.

He waved his hand, signaling Wang Bing not to say anything more. He couldn't help with this matter; it was a struggle at a higher level, and their status was simply not enough to get involved.

Wang Bing complained, "It seems like it's better to avoid trouble... I've been painstakingly reorganizing the troops and shamelessly begged Lord Zhong to transfer some of the recruited brave soldiers to the camp! Now it seems like all my efforts have been wasted!"

Old Zhong ignored him completely.

He turned to the other commanders of the victorious army, his expression sincere: "Gentlemen, I, Wang Bing, speak frankly, please don't take offense. Military matters are of great importance, concerning the fate of the court and the nation. Would Commander Xuan really want our heads?"

After the defeat at Tong'an City, several forces rushed to the rescue but were unsuccessful and remained unharmed... Now, these forces are all waiting and seeing. If they can wait and see, should our Shengjie Army also wait and see?

Chen Shao of Hengshan is also a brother of our Victorious Army. I have no prior relationship with him, and to protect myself, I will remain silent today. Just say the word, and come with me to Hengshan to kill Brother Richard and avenge the Xihe Army. If the court and Commander Xuan blame us in the future, I will bear all the responsibility!

These words immediately made Yang Keshi's face turn ugly, but he was unable to utter a sound.

The other generals remained expressionless and cold.

The atmosphere suddenly became incredibly somber.

Everyone felt guilty, but Tong Guan had given a death order. In the victorious army, no one could compare to Tong Guan.

(End of this chapter)