Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 350: Defeat is like a mountain collapsing

"kill!"

A Tang army soldier took the lead, broke through the Ming army's defense line, which had become very thin, and headed straight for the enemy's rear.

In the setting sun, he could clearly see two knights wearing golden armor and scarlet owl crowns on their heads, talking to the guards beside them on the hillside less than a few dozen feet ahead.

Just from his style, he is so extraordinary that one can tell at a glance that he is the commander-in-chief of the Ming army.

As long as we can capture both of them, it will be a great achievement!
Of course, it is impossible to just rush up.

A reckless man who doesn't use his brain usually won't live long enough to become the vanguard in the Tang army.

This person actively used his little brain——

Although those guards were injured, it was really too much to think that he could charge into the enemy headquarters single-handedly and kill the enemy general with his unparalleled skills.

But this distance is just right for shooting a sneak attack.

It was dusk and the light was dim. He could see the target but the target could not see him.

"Oh, it's easy."

Xiandeng grinned, slowed down his mount's pace, and hid in the shadow of the valley.

Aim at the target, draw your bow and draw your arrow...

Pfft!

The arrow, which had not yet been fully drawn, only flew a little over ten feet away and landed lightly on the ground.

Xiandeng widened his eyes, touched the spear tip that had pierced his chest, and fell off his horse softly.

Behind his body stood two Ming army soldiers.

"It was a close call. I almost let this guy take advantage of me..."

The soldier with the gun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, sighed with relief to his comrades, and used both hands to try to pull the gun head out of the corpse.

The gun didn't move at all.

"Damn, why is it stuck so tightly?"

The soldier cursed and dropped his gun, his hands shaking.

"Haven't you eaten, you useless bastard? Get away from me!" His comrade pushed him away with his butt and grabbed the gun barrel.

As a result, he used all his strength, his face turned red, but the tip of the gun was still firmly stuck in the armor of the corpse.

“Huh, huh… Never mind.”

The two men gasped for breath and gave up trying to use the broken gun.

They knew that it was not because the gun stabbed too hard, but because they were too tired.

First, they launched an offensive against the Tang army camp, then encountered an enemy counterattack during their retreat, and now they have built positions on the spot and launched a counterattack against the enemy's counterattack...

After a whole day of life-and-death fighting and rapid marching, even the Chinese Superman could not withstand such high-intensity combat.

"When can we rest?" the soldier muttered.

His comrade smiled bitterly:
"Why rush? When you and I die in battle, we can sleep twelve hours a day."

"I mean, when can we retreat and change defense?" He was in no mood to tell hellish jokes to his companions.

"We've been fighting for so long, why don't you continue to retreat? Do General Su and General Xue think that we can wipe out the Tang army with just a few men?"

The comrade's smile became even more bitter, and he pointed to the back:
"We were probably abandoned. The base camp just watched us fight to the death on the front line, and they haven't come to support us until now. We have been surrounded for so long...

"what?"

Glancing back, he suddenly discovered that the road leading to the rear was empty.

I don’t know when the Tang army’s cavalry withdrew!

In other words, if they want to leave, they can leave at any time!

The two looked at each other, and everything was said without words.

"How to do?"

"Just keep holding on. There are no orders from above."

"it is good."

Without orders from their superiors, the highly qualified Ming army would never leave the battle line. Being a deserter is more shameful than death...

"The whole army retreats!"

At this moment, the sound of golden gongs signaling retreat was heard from the hillside.

The two brothers looked at each other again.

"Sounding the gong, does it mean to call back the troops?"

"you guess."

"If we don't withdraw, will that be considered disobedience?"

"Yes."

The main generals of both sides worked together to open a green channel of life for them.

So what are you waiting for?
Go!

The two soldiers resolutely obeyed the orders from their superiors and ran without hesitation along the relatively flat and easy-to-travel Fen River Valley towards the base camp.

Along the way, more and more comrades joined their team as they moved to the rear.

The soldiers of the Ming army were all very simple-minded, and they were born to carry out orders from their superiors.

If their superiors told them to retreat, they would do so without hesitation and would not linger even for a moment.

"Form a good battle formation, don't break up! The rear guard is in position, provide cover for the main force to retreat safely!"

Su Dingfang tried desperately to maintain order.

Xue Rengui volunteered:
"I will personally command the rear guard!"

Without waiting for Lao Su to react, he rode his horse towards the rear of the troops.

"and many more!"

Su Dingfang was unable to keep him and could only watch his old comrade gradually disappear into the distance.

The wind is whistling and the Fen River is cold. Covering the retreat means facing tens of thousands of Tang troops, which is a sure death!
Xue Rengui, take care...

Just when Su Dingfang was feeling extremely sad, Xiao Xue escaped back in disgrace.

Old Su was stunned: "Aren't you the last one to serve as the last one?"

"Fuck your palace! He's running away!" Xue Rengui pointed behind him.

Su Dingfang followed the instructions and his mouth twitched.

Our retreating troops lost their formation and became chaotic like a snowball.

There is no way. It’s not that the Ming army is too incompetent, but that the enemy is too perverted.

General Tian Ce personally led the main force of the entire Tang army to attack. Even Li Jing was trembling, let alone this outpost force.

At the beginning, the Ming army's retreat was orderly, with a clear division of labor as to who would lead, who would be in the middle, and who would be the rear guard.

However, after being divided by several waves of Tang cavalry charges, the formation was completely disrupted.

The Ming army fought with a small number of troops against a larger one for a whole day, and they only managed to hold on because of the tension in their hearts.

As soon as the order to retreat was given, the taut string was relaxed and they could no longer hold on.

The defense line collapsed and the soldiers began to disintegrate and flee backwards in disorder.

The defeated army was fleeing in panic, the situation a general feared the most was about to happen.

"That won't do! Beat the drums, blow the trumpets, and straighten the ranks!"

Su Dingfang acted promptly and gave a series of orders as fast as he could.

The messenger seemed to be on drugs, blowing the drum and bugle frantically, and went straight down to the line to make sure to convey the order to every soldier.

Thanks to the excellent capabilities of the Ming army's generals and soldiers, the troops that had almost collapsed into loose sand were actually brought together again and some order was restored.

Of course, it is really too much to ask them to completely restore the formation and split it into scouts, vanguard, central army, rear guard, etc. according to their functions.

The group could only barely form a fairly sloppy marching formation and rushed towards their main camp along the Fen River Valley.

"Oh, I'm so tired..."

Su Dingfang was almost exhausted, and his throat felt like it was on fire from thirst.

Xue Rengui was extremely tired and didn't want to talk anymore.

The soldiers were in the same situation. Their minds were blank and they could only mechanically and dully follow the people in front of them and march forward.

After a whole day of ups and downs fighting, the troops were exhausted both physically and mentally.

It was at this time that someone finally arrived from the direction of the base camp.

But the one who came was not the long-awaited reinforcements, but a messenger.

"You are the only one here?"

Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui, and other soldiers looked very ugly.

Put yourself in his shoes. You worked late into the night to finish a project, but the message your boss sent you on WeChat was not a red envelope, but a message saying, "Xiao Su, you need to revise this PPT."

No one's mood will be very good.

And this messenger from the main camp took on the role of this human "WeChat".

The cell phone doesn’t have to worry about being smashed, but the messenger does.

Looking at his comrades with unfriendly faces, the old man stammered, "General Manager Li Jing has ordered that you please take refuge in the direction of Taihang Mountain... This is for the sake of your life safety."

He had a sudden inspiration and thoughtfully added a disclaimer for the chief steward, saying "I am doing this for your own good", while at the same time omitting the irrelevant "detail" that "the camp gate is closed and the defeated army is not allowed to enter".

"Well, flee to Taihang Mountains?"

Su and Xue were both stunned and looked towards the east of the avenue at the same time.

The sun gradually sets, covering the Taihang Mountains with an invisible hood.

At this time, the forest was completely hidden in darkness, and one could not see one's hand in front of one's face.

It was a perfect place to escape.

Searching the mountains would take up too much time and energy and have a very low cost-effectiveness ratio. As long as they could escape into the mountains, the Tang army would most likely let them go.

but……

"Once we get on the mountain, it will be difficult to gather the troops. I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up with the next battle..."

In response to the two generals' questions, the loyal messenger patted his chest and assured them:
"General, don't worry too much. Lord Li Wei has his own way to deal with it."

I managed to get away with it.

The two subordinates were naturally grateful for the leader's concern and would definitely follow his instructions.

"There's just one problem." Su Dingfang looked embarrassed.

The messenger was startled:
"what is the problem?"

Xue Rengui asked back:
"There's an old Chinese saying, have you heard of it?"

Messenger: "What ancient saying?"

The two generals Heng and Ha said in unison:

“It’s hard to undo what’s been done.”

messenger:"……"

…………

Getting the order to "take refuge in the mountains" is one thing, but being able to execute it is another.

To make a defeated army being chased by tens of thousands of people make a 90-degree turn and plunge into the pitch-dark mountains.

Even if the organization is as strong as the Ming army, it is difficult to obey orders.

The soldiers were only thinking about returning to their camp and having a good sleep; their tiredness even overwhelmed their hunger and thirst.

The entire army was like an old dump truck with worn-out brakes. It had accumulated huge inertial potential energy and headed straight for the Ming army's base camp.

The guards of the base camp had just closed the camp gate and were on high alert, guarding against enemy forces that might attack at any time.

Then, they saw a strange scene——

Our friendly troops were fleeing towards the main camp, while the main force of the Tang army was following them slowly.

This scene is like a shepherd driving his sheep.

How to do?
"Of course, open the door, idiot!" the gatekeeper shouted anxiously.

Guard A hesitated:
"The chief steward just gave us an order to secure the barracks and not open the door without permission..."

Guard B also said:
"How about... we ask the captain for instructions?"

"Asking for instructions! You still want to ask for instructions from the general manager one level at a time? Your opportunity is already lost!" The gatekeeper angrily rebuked the soldier's bureaucratic behavior.

"The Tang army is still some distance away from the friendly forces. This distance is enough for us to open and close the door!

"Or do you intend to lock out your friendly forces and watch them get killed?!"

Who can bear this big hat?

The soldier felt overwhelmed and could only do as he was told and quickly opened the camp gate.

"Thanks, brother. I thought you were going to lock us out!"

The soldiers who had retreated from the front line filed in, with mixed emotions in their tone.

“You’re welcome.” The security guard pretended not to hear and shamelessly accepted everyone’s “thanks”.

The Ming army did everything quickly, even running away quickly.

After a while, the entire outpost force basically returned to the camp, leaving the Tang army's pursuers at a distance.

"close the door!"

As the capstan gradually turned, the gate of the Ming army camp fell quickly, and the Tang army had not even rushed to the front of the camp.

Our own people were connected and the enemy was blocked outside the door, preventing them from slipping in. Everything was connected perfectly.

At least that's what it seems.

…………

"Don't you want to take a break first?"

"I'm going to the main camp right now to report, and by the way, I'm going to ask Chief Steward Li Jing in person what he's thinking. What's his consideration that he not only doesn't send anyone to support us, but also lets us go up the mountain to hide on our own?"

"and many more!"

"I can't wait! The soldiers can't die in vain! I'm holding my breath and it's going to be hard if I don't let it out!"

"I will go with you!"

The soldiers just complained casually, but Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui were really angry and rushed into the main tent.

"Manager Li, what's going on? Why don't you send reinforcements? Why do you let us go up the mountain?"

Su Dingfang was furious.

Seeing the two of them coming back, Li Jing's expression became even more terrifying, and he slammed the table and stood up:

"Why are you back? How could you come back?!"

The two subordinates, who were full of grievances, were immediately stunned and began to stammer:

"The troops have already started to retreat, and the command is a bit difficult..."

"Oh! You are going to kill the entire army! It will be a crushing defeat, do you know that?" Li Jing interrupted them.

Old Su and Xiao Xue nodded honestly:

"If we knew, our troops would be defeated..."

"Not only your outpost, but the entire Ming army!" Li Jing's eyes were bloodshot.

"Why is General Tian Ce's defensive counterattack always successful?
"It's because he is good at taking advantage of 'broken troops'!
"Concentrate your forces on one point, tear open a small hole in the defense line, use the fleeing soldiers to destroy the morale of your neighbors, expand the results step by step, and thus collapse the entire front line!"

Su and Xue looked at each other, their mouth corners twitching.

It's over, I seem to be in trouble...

…………

The outermost area of ​​the Ming army camp.

The defenders set up their crossbows on the wooden wall, aiming intently at the Tang army approaching their camp step by step.

They should have been concentrating.

However, my eyes couldn't help but glance back.

Behind them, the vanguard troops who had just retreated from the front line were resting.

It’s called “rest and recuperation”, but it’s just resting on the spot and drinking some millet porridge.

A defeated general is not brave enough. The morale of these retreating soldiers is very low. They carry with them the wounds of fierce fighting and the gratitude for escaping death.

And those wounded soldiers, their bloody wounds were scary to look at, and their cries of pain were like a blunt knife cutting flesh, which made their comrades feel uncomfortable.

"The fight was so brutal..."

A crossbowman couldn't help but sigh.

"Don't be distracted and look around, look ahead!"

The captain shouted.

The soldier immediately shut up and pretended to raise his crossbow.

But no one knew where the soul had flown to.

The comrades didn't say anything, but they all swallowed unconsciously.

Indeed, it was a bad beating.

Will I become like this next?
Maybe not as good as them.

Even the captain himself couldn't help muttering to himself, and his legs began to tremble as he walked.

He has a wife and children. What if he becomes disabled?
Perhaps, it would be better to die in battle, at least it would be a relief.

Alas, if I hadn’t been fighting on the front line, I could have been enjoying family happiness at home.

Those who withdrew from the front line were lucky and did not have to participate in the upcoming bloody battle.

When will this war end?
Will I be able to survive until the end of the war? How can I survive?

Defeatism was like an invisible miasma that gradually permeated the entire Ming army camp.

And in front, the Tang army's troops were approaching step by step.

Neither hurried nor slow, just like the unshakable Taihang Mountains.

(End of this chapter)