Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 312: Time is the most important factor in running away
"Huh...are we finally here?"

In Yunzhou, Xue Rengui rode on his horse, his hands on the awning, gazing at the distant mountains, and his tense mood slowly relaxed.

After staying in the vast plains of the Central Plains for a long time, the highest place he had been to was actually the city gate tower. Today, he finally saw the mountains, and he felt like he was back home.

The bloody battles of the past few days were like a nightmare. Whenever Xue Rengui recalled it, he could not help but tremble his teeth, shiver all over, and feel a wave of fear.

"Young man, what are you thinking about?"

An old voice sounded in my ears.

Xue Rengui turned his head and saw an old general with high cheekbones, clear and tough facial features riding a horse skillfully and riding side by side with him.

It took Xue Rengui a long time to realize that this thin and tough veteran was the fat and cute old leader - Li Jing, Duke of Weiguo.

He's already so skinny. Commanding a large army is really not a strenuous job that an ordinary person can do...

"You're shivering like this before winter even arrives. Are you frightened by the enemy?"

Li Jing squinted his eyes and teased.

If you can do it, go ahead. Oh no, if you can’t do it, you can really do it… Xue Rengui complained in his heart, coughed a few times awkwardly, and defended himself:

"Ahem! I'm just not used to the terrain of the Central Plains. If we were in the mountains and forests, the enemy would be gone without a fight...

"This is not specious talk. Most of the territory of our Ming Dynasty is mountainous and forested. The predecessor of the Ming Army, the Red Turban Army, became famous by fighting in the Yanshan Mountains...

"Mountain warfare is not only our army's strong point, but has also been integrated into every aspect of our army...

"So, when the battlefield is transferred to the vast and flat Central Plains, it is inevitable that they will suffer from acclimatization and a decline in combat effectiveness..."

He kept on defending himself for a long time before he sighed:

"Alas... it was because of my poor skills and my incompetence that caused the entire army to suffer huge losses. We almost lost our defense zone, putting the entire army in a desperate situation...

"The end will be the one to blame."

Li Jing listened quietly to Xiao Xue's mumbling throughout the whole process, and smiled gently at the end:
"You are right about one thing. Plains are indeed not suitable for defense, and our army is indeed not suitable for fighting in plains.

"This is also the reason why we have to give up the territory we have gained, retreat to the land of Qi and Lu, and build a defensive posture relying on the mountains, forests and rivers such as Taishan, Yishan, Liangshan, and Yishui."

Xue Rengui nodded dejectedly, not knowing whether his old leader was comforting him or telling him the truth.

Li Jing seemed to see what his little brother was thinking and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

“Don’t be too discouraged. Although the process was a bit bumpy, at least you completed the task successfully.

"Look, we have successfully escaped the enemy's encirclement and are about to reach Qizhou, right?"

"Yeah." Xue Rengui just responded dully.

Li Jing frowned slightly.

He knew that the arrogant young general needed to encounter some setbacks to dampen his spirit.

But the setback cannot be too great, otherwise it will make the person become autistic and cause the Ming Dynasty to lose a spiritually talented person.

"Do you know who the enemy commander you have been fighting against is?" Li Jing asked.

Xue Rengui's eyes suddenly ignited with flames.

"who is it?"

"It's His Majesty Li Ming's father, His Majesty the Retired Emperor over there, Li Shimin!"

"Your Majesty the Retired Emperor......!" Xue Rengui took a breath of cold air.

No wonder the opponent plays so unconventionally!
No wonder the enemy’s individual soldiers’ quality is average, but their strategy is simply amazing!
This cleared up all the doubts in his mind.

"You personally faced off against General Tiance, so it's understandable that you were beaten into a passive position. It's not your fault."

Li Jing said:

“On the other hand, you, with a second-rate team, were able to withstand the fierce attack of General Tian Ce head-on without collapsing, and even held the last line of defense, completing the task of covering the retreat of the main force.

"You are not ordinary either."

Hearing this, the gloom on Xue Rengui's face disappeared and his confidence suddenly increased.

I am also a famous general who can fight back and forth with General Tian Ce!

"The mountains in Qizhou are ahead of us, and we will soon reach our destination.

"When the time comes, you and your troops will rest first, and we will take care of the defense."

Xue Rengui immediately retorted with full energy:

"My soldiers can rest, but I can't. I can still kill seven more times!"

"Come on." Li Jing said with a smile:
"We in the Ming Dynasty are not so short of manpower..."

Just as the two generals, one old and one young, were joking in a light-hearted mood, a message came.

"Report! Enemy traces spotted ahead!"

Xue Rengui's face suddenly changed.

The ubiquitous harassment from the enemy really left him with psychological trauma.

Li Jing's face also darkened:
"What did you say? The enemy's traces are here?!"

He looked at the mountains in the distance.

…………

To be precise, the Ming army did not reach Mount Tai.

Instead, it is Liangshan, southwest of Mount Tai, which is a branch of the Taishan mountain range.

And they can only "see" it. There is still a considerable distance between the two sides.

Although this distance is not too far, it is enough for the Tang army to build a line of defense between the Ming army and the mountains.

"This is really weird, why are those rats here?!"

Su Dingfang, who was the vanguard, was completely numb.

Can Tang Jun teleport or something?
He began to understand Xue Rengui's feelings of collapse.

"General, what should we do?" asked the people around him.

"What should I do? Kill them all! What should I do!"

Su Dingfang gave the order angrily.

The vanguard's task is to open the way for the main force.

Now that we have pursuers behind us, how can we be blocked by an army that comes out of nowhere?
What's more, he has under his command the most powerful elite troops of the Ming Dynasty on earth...

"Report! General, we never fought!"

The messenger soon returned with bad news.

"what?"

The corner of Su Dingfang's mouth twitched, and he immediately put on his armor and mounted his horse.

"Who is that person over there? Let me go meet him in person!"

They were able to withstand the strongest punch of the Ming army. The enemy is no longer an ordinary Tang army. They must deliver a heavy punch!

However, when Su Dingfang personally led his troops to the front line, he immediately realized that the situation was not that simple.

The enemy rode around them on horseback and built a defense line on the east side, waiting for them to tire themselves out.

Moreover, because the terrain near Qizhou is high in the east and low in the west, the enemy also occupies the advantageous terrain at the foot of Liangshan Mountain and attacks from high to low.

What was even more serious was that the Tang army that was defending in the rear had built solid fortifications, dug trenches in the front row, placed antler caltrops to prevent cavalry, and set up rammed earth fortresses in the rear.

If we charge headlong into the enemy's fortifications, we'll probably be shot into a hedgehog by their arrows before we even get close.

Behind the fortifications and the arrow array, waiting for them were rows of long spear phalanxes. This was the traditional formation for resisting cavalry charges, ancient, plain and simple, but very useful.

Combined with the defensive fortifications in front and the advantageous terrain of high attack and low attack, it can exert tremendous combat power.

"The other side is not simple..."

Su Dingfang frowned and shook his head slightly.

The other party is definitely not an ordinary person as they were able to build such a complete fortification in a short period of time.

The whole picture can be seen from the earthwork work. The Tang army on the opposite side is not only well-commanded, but the individual quality of the soldiers is also excellent.

I'm afraid they are much stronger than the so-called "second-tier team" that traumatized Xue Rengui...

"Get ready~"

Su Dingfang stared at the impregnable defense line on the opposite side, but still raised his hand, ready to give the order to charge.

We have to charge forward even if it means having to, we have to disperse the enemy, and even if it means dying, we have to use our lives to carve out a bloody path for the following large force.

Otherwise, the enemy's subsequent reinforcements would strengthen this line of defense and block the Ming army's retreat.

The entire main force of the Ming army was about to be surrounded and the fate of being annihilated was waiting for them.

A merciful army is not suitable for commanding troops. Even if it means letting his elite soldiers die in vain, Su Dingfang must give the order to die.

His eyes seemed to be spewing blazing fire...

"General!"

Just as he was about to lead his troops to charge the defense line, a messenger from the rear shouted to stop him.

"General Li Jing has ordered that your troops keep an eye on this enemy army and delay their movement. Do not attack without authorization!"

"What?" Su Dingfang found this order very nonsensical.

There is no doubt that the enemy's goal is to delay the movement of our troops.

The result is that our troops are now being forced to delay the movement of the enemy forces. What kind of tactic is this?
Layer upon layer of nesting dolls?

"The enemy is blocking the gate of Qizhou. If we don't take the initiative to attack, how can our large army retreat?" he asked.

The messenger replied immediately:
"Our army will not go through here, but will turn south and withdraw to Qizhou via Yanzhou.

"In order to prevent this Tang army from attacking the rear of the main force, the chief steward ordered you to hold them back."

This was equivalent to turning Su Dingfang's vanguard troops into the rear guard.

This is not a problem for Lao Su. He is a brick of the revolution and can be moved wherever he is needed.

The problem is that modifying the marching route in this way will cause the route to become longer and take more time.

Yunzhou, where they are now, is right next to Qizhou.

Yanzhou is still southwest of Qizhou.

This is equivalent to making a big circle from the south.

Not only is the journey long, but you never know what unexpected things you might encounter along the way.

"Why the detour?"

Su Dingfang was very confused by his superior's order.

The priority now is to run away.

If you encounter obstacles on your way out, the reasonable countermeasure is of course to defeat the obstacles as quickly as possible.

Why do we have to go around it?

Wouldn't taking a detour waste precious time and increase the risk of the entire army being surrounded?
"Because the spies reported that the army deployed on the opposite side was none other than the Tang army led by Li Shiji, a total of 20,000 people."

The messenger repeated Li Jing's words.

Perhaps he had anticipated that his subordinates would ask this question, so Li Jing told the messenger what he wanted to say in advance.

"Those are the elite of the Tang army. They are extremely powerful and occupy a terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It will be difficult for us to repel them in a short time, and we will be dragged into an endless battle."

The messenger explained concisely and logically:

"Therefore, the general manager requires our army not to linger in the battle and to bypass this place quickly. Your troops will build a defense line on the spot and keep an eye on Li Shiji's troops."

"Is this really the case? The enemy actually..." Su Dingfang was extremely surprised.

Li Shiji really fought hard. Twenty thousand people were not a small number, but he actually led such a large force and infiltrated the middle of the Ming army.

To be interspersed, in other words, is to be surrounded.

Li Shiji forced his troops into the encirclement.

However, the Ming army was not in the mood to slowly digest the thin-skinned and large-stuffed dumplings.

Because they are racing against time and what they need most is time.

The defense line formed by 20,000 elite soldiers cannot be broken through with just a single charge.

We cannot give away all the main forces of the Ming army just for Li Shiji's little bit of money.

If you can't afford to fight, can't you afford to hide?

"Just do it."

Su Dingfang decided to carry out Li Jing's orders.

…………

The Ming army was like a river rushing eastward. At the junction of Yunzhou and Qizhou, it hit a stubborn rock named "Li Shiji" and then turned south to Yanzhou.

Yanzhou is located in the southwest of Qi and Lu, separated from Yizhou by the Si River.

Yanzhou City is still in the hands of the Ming Dynasty. It is the last piece of land in the Central Plains still held by the Ming army, and now it is crumbling.

After the Ming army arrived at Yanzhou, the Tang army continued to pursue them closely and followed behind.

In order to pursue them, the Tang Dynasty gradually mobilized the main forces of most of the country, with a total of 500,000 troops, gathering to the front line from all directions.

Of course, the core of this army is still the 60,000 elite soldiers, and the others are at best just a group of helpers.

However, quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Four hundred and forty thousand people, even if it is just the atmosphere group, is enough to create just the right atmosphere.

Li Jing's army of more than 200,000 was dwarfed by the 500,000 pursuing troops, so he could only avoid the battle and quickly enter the city.

Just as Li Jing's troops retreated into Yanzhou City, the Tang army followed closely and set up camp outside the city, surrounding Yanzhou like an iron barrel from the north, west and south.

To the east of Yanzhou, the Sishui River flows quietly.

"The enemies from Xuzhou are also coming?"

Li Jing's expression was more serious than ever before.

"Yes, General Manager." Li Daozon explained the current situation while looking at the map.

"Li Shiji's army pressed our position southward, but was blocked by Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui.

"Cheng Zhijie led the army of the Xuzhou Military Governor's Office to invade the north, and Hou Junji was leading his troops to resist.

"The biggest problem is the army of Emperor Li Shimin. He is just west of Yanzhou City, facing our army."

Li Jing rubbed his swollen temples.

"Surround them on three sides and leave one side open... They are really willing to spend a lot of money and must annihilate our army here..."

Li Dao Zong pointed his finger to the east of the map and said comfortingly:

"Don't worry, General Manager. I have one victory, and the Tang army has one defeat."

(End of this chapter)