Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 392 is over!
The significance of the flag is not only the spiritual totem of the army.

In an era without radio, flags were still an important channel for transmitting information.

When a besieged city takes down its flag, it means...

Cen Changqian's heartbeat suddenly quickened, and he made a prompt decision:
"stop!"

The clarion calls for troops to retreat sounded quickly, one after another.

The crossbows and stone cannons that were firing fiercely immediately stopped firing and obeyed the order.

As for Jinyang City, there was no movement either. The Tang army did not take the opportunity to rush out of the city gate and go south to provide assistance.

Both sides maintained silence tacitly, and the battlefield, which had been extremely noisy just now, immediately turned into dead silence.

After a long time, there was some movement in the collapsed Jinyang city gate.

A man led a horse and climbed over the rubble. Under the aim of countless bows and crossbows, he calmly mounted the horse's back, bypassed the arrows and stones on the ground, and galloped straight towards the Ming army warships.

"That person is..."

Cen Changqian frowned and stood there staring for a moment. Suddenly he thought of something and immediately took off his helmet. He quickly told his men:

"Take out my scholar's cap, robe, feather fan and silk scarf!
“Also, call the warehouse clerks accompanying the army and ask them to bring paper and pen to record everything that will happen next!

"quick!"

Is this a combat order? So weird... The subordinates complained in their hearts, but they did not dare to delay and immediately began to prepare.

…………

Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides, a man and a horse set out from Jinyang City and arrived at the bank of the Fen River and stopped next to a warship.

The fleet's auxiliary infantry stopped him, and an officer asked politely and majestically:

"May I ask who you are and what you want to do in our army?"

The man answered in a dignified and prudent voice:

"I am a eunuch from the Taiji Palace's Internal Affairs Department. I hold the imperial edict of the Great Tang Emperor. Please let me pass!"

He was an envoy who came to seek peace... The infantry did not dare to neglect him and immediately took the top eunuch who served Li Shimin onto the fleet flagship.

This ship is so big... The eunuch was startled.

Although it looks very majestic from a distance, only when you stand close to the Ming warship can you truly feel the unparalleled sense of oppression.

The eunuch felt like he was standing next to a giant and his little heart was pounding.

What kind of people and what kind of country can create such a magnificent creation!
Relying on the energy-cultivating skills he had acquired from years of walking around in the palace, he was able to maintain his superficial calm so as not to be mistaken for a bumpkin entering the city. He walked up the gangway without looking around.

As soon as he got on the boat, the eunuch subconsciously looked upwards and couldn't help but blink hard, suspecting that he had seen it wrong.

In front of the cabin, surrounded by soldiers, a Confucian general stood with his head held high. He was dressed in a gentle robe and a green silk scarf on his head. He had an ancient style and was different from those rough and unpolished men beside him.

So pretentious... The eunuch complained in his heart, but he still bowed respectfully:
"I am the messenger of the Tang Dynasty, representing His Majesty the Emperor, to discuss some matters with you. May I ask who this general is..."

Cen Changqian looked down at the eunuch with a cold and aloof look, and said briefly:
"I am Cen Changqian. Please!"

As he spoke, he made a "please" gesture, his cheeks puffed up, and he tried hard to control his facial muscles to keep himself tense.

The eunuch climbed up the stairs, handed the handwritten letter from Li Shimin to the other party, and said in a low voice:

"The Ming and Tang dynasties were originally one family, but now the war has dragged on for a long time, the country has collapsed, and the people of the world have suffered.

"His Majesty the Emperor could not bear it, so..."

As he spoke, he presented Li Shimin's handwritten edict with both hands.

it is more than words.

breathe in - breathe out -

Cen Changqian's chest heaved violently and his expression became extremely solemn.

The fate of a great dynasty was now just a piece of light paper, lying quietly in his hands.

He is participating in history firsthand.

In short, I was on camera.

I wonder if future students will learn one more text -

"Mr. Cen Accepts the Surrender of General Tiance"

"Cough cough."

The old eunuch coughed lightly, interrupting Xiao Cen's fantasy.

"The soldiers of both armies are still busy now. Shouldn't the general let them rest as soon as possible?"

Yes, the front line is very busy now, and young people are falling asleep every minute and every second.

Cen Changqian suddenly got a start and pulled his thoughts back to the main matter. He said:

"You and I will each send an envoy to immediately notify the front line and ask them to temporarily cease fire!"

…………

On the main battlefield, the fighting did not stop for a moment because of the strange sounds coming from Nanshan or the strange rumor that "a sailboat appeared on the mountain."

The two sides fought fiercely, as if there would never be an end.

Until the blood dyes the water of Fen River red, until the sun sets in the west.

Both armies must also light torches and continue to kill, kill, kill!

"General, our army is just a little bit away from encircling the entire enemy! Please mobilize the reserve troops!" The deputy general's eyes were red from killing.

Li Shiji pondered for a long time and rejected the other party's radical proposal:
"This Ming army is too small in number, it is not their entire main force, the enemy should still have some strength left.

"Let the front troops try their best to encircle us, and keep the reserve troops still. Be careful to prevent the enemy from launching surprise attacks from other places..."

"But the blood of the front army is almost drained, and we can't fight anymore!" The deputy general, who was so bloodthirsty that he couldn't listen to any rational advice, interrupted his leader's speech, dismounted and knelt on the ground, extremely emotional.

"General Manager! What you eat is yours. The opportunity to annihilate tens of thousands of enemy troops in one fell swoop is right in front of us. I'm just waiting for your nod!

"General Manager, give the order!"

Li Shiji was overwhelmed by his subordinates who were kneeling for a long time and unable to get up.

Indeed, perhaps this is the best opportunity the Tang army has had since the beginning of the entire war.

Surrounding and annihilating tens of thousands of people in one breath is definitely a victory worthy of being recorded in history.

For ordinary separatist forces, this loss is enough to break their backbone.

For an ordinary unified dynasty, the loss of tens of thousands of professional soldiers is unbearable.

however……

For the "unusual" Ming Dynasty, even though they lost tens of thousands of people, they still had enough energy to fight back.

This made Li Shiji extremely fearful, and he almost instinctively deployed his backhand to prevent the opponent from stabbing him in the back.

After all, the opponent is the cunning Li Ming!

"General Manager!"

Another deputy general retreated from the front line and knelt on the ground without saying a word:
"In order to surround the enemy, the left, right and center armies have exhausted all their strength! Why is the reserve army still not moving?
"If we miss this opportunity to wipe them out and let them escape, all our efforts will be in vain!"

Another one coming to force a fight.

Li Shiji frowned and waved his whip impatiently:
"I have already said it, so I won't repeat it..."

"General Manager!" More and more generals came forward to ask for battle.

"The opportunity is right in front of us, how can we stand still?"

"General, please give the order!"

"Butler, are you afraid of the battle?"

The situation was becoming increasingly difficult to control, and beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on Li Shiji's forehead.

He understood too well the cunning of the Ming army, and he himself suffered greatly from it.

If we ignore it and rush forward with all our might, we will most likely suffer heavy losses and the outcome will most likely not be a good one.

Yes, we cannot listen to these hot-blooded opinions, the reserve team must be retained to prepare for a rainy day.

However, it is not possible to go against these soldiers who are willing to kill their superiors.

The military is not a puppet that follows orders and automatically obeys the orders of the superiors. They are also human beings, and they also have emotions.

If you insist on going against the majority opinion and forcing the order down.

At the very least it could be disobedience, at the worst it could be mutiny.

If a general manager's subordinates do not obey him, he is nothing but a tyrant.

"You guys... calm down and think carefully.

"War is not a street fight. You can't act on impulse. You need to think more and calculate more."

Li Shiji did not use his general manager's airs to force him, but first gave earnest advice and explained the facts and reason.

However, those hot-blooded men who have been too engrossed in fighting cannot be reasoned with.

"Plot? Chief Steward, our good men are sacrificing their lives on the front lines every moment. By the time you have finished your plot, how many lives of the Guanzhong men will have been wasted in vain!"

"Yes, our army does not want to be branded as a coward. How can we sit back and watch our allies in trouble without doing anything? Please give the order to attack. If you don't, our army will have its own plans!"

The generals started to make noise at the same time, and the situation was quickly sliding towards the edge of getting out of control.

These guys...are they planning to rebel?
Li Shiji clenched his teeth.

Everyone is full of passion for the Tang Dynasty, and their intentions are good, but there is a high possibility that the execution will be bad.

If this army guarding the southern gate of Jinyang suffered heavy losses, then the Tang Dynasty as a political entity would most likely cease to exist.

Li Shiji was fully aware of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. It would be unwise to risk the last spark of a dynasty for the sake of a battle for tens of thousands of people.

But what do these generals know?

Seeing their brothers disappearing like snowflakes, they no longer cared about the country or the survival of the dynasty. The only thing on their minds was killing the enemy.

How can we make these reckless men come to their senses...

Li Shiji was in a dilemma.

Fortunately, his troubles did not last long, as someone came to help him out.

Boom, boom, boom.

Suddenly, drum beats rang out simultaneously from all directions, front, back, left and right.

The generals who were arguing until their faces turned red and their necks became thick stopped quarreling at the same time. They looked at each other and read surprise and confusion on each other's faces.

Li Shiji's eyebrows immediately raised.

"I haven't given the order yet, who ordered the march?"

It is one thing to come and have "friendly" consultations with the coach, and it is another to issue orders on one's own initiative. The former is to offer advice and suggestions, while the latter is tantamount to treason.

This is a matter of principle and must not be taken lightly.

All the generals shook their heads.

Even if they were confused during the war, they would never make such a mistake in principle.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have come all the way here to beg.

"Then this is..."

Li Shiji had an inexplicable ominous premonition in his heart and pricked up his ears to listen.

Dongdong~dong——

The sound of drums came from far away, with a brisk rhythm.

Marching with drums is a tradition since ancient times. However, there is only one company that has its own rhythmic marching drums.

"It's the Ming Army!"

Li Shiji's face suddenly changed.

What? The enemies are coming from all directions?

The generals kneeling on the ground jumped up at the same time as if they had been electrocuted.

Li Shiji himself did not quite believe in his own judgment.

Although he had always been on guard against the Ming army's shameless sneak attacks, his focus was always on the front.

How did the enemy appear from behind? How is this possible?
Perhaps it coincides with the rumors in the team and is all an illusion...

However, the facts do not allow them to deceive themselves.

The sudden marching drum beats became more and more rapid, and the shouts of killing became more and more intense.

After a while, on the north side of the battlefield, behind the Tang army.

A tall black flag caught the eyes of the Tang generals.

The flag fluttered in the wind, and the word "Ming" in the middle of the flag reflected a majestic and ominous color in the setting sun.

The black flag and black armor of the Ming Dynasty are already vivid in our minds!

The enemy really outflanked us from the rear!

"Have our troops been surrounded?!"

The generals were just arguing about whether they should surround the Ming army, but now they suddenly realized that they were the ones caught in the trap!

However, the Fen River defense line was safe and sound, and the Nanshan Mountains were rugged and uneven, making it impossible to march!
With the passages on both sides blocked, how did the Ming army in the south jump to the north and encircle them?
Could it be that the Ming Dynasty’s army really became heavenly soldiers and could really fly?

In other words, the Ming army behind them was the Northern Army led by Li Jing, and the Jinyang City had been conquered?

"Cheer up!" Li Shiji shook his head.

The reality did not allow him to think too much.

No matter how the Ming army appeared, the other side was coming for the Tang army under his command!
Since the enemy is coming, as a soldier, the only thing we have to do is fight to the death!

"Go back to your units and prepare to meet the enemy!"

Li Shiji shouted to his generals.

"Yes Yes!"

The generals lost all their previous arrogance and the arrogance that looked like they were about to launch a military remonstration. They obeyed the orders of the general manager obediently and returned to their own troops happily.

Facts have proved that what General Li said was right. The cunning Ming army really had a trick up their sleeve.

"Cunning, cunning..."

Li Shiji squeezed out a few words from between his teeth in hatred.

The crisis of officers' mutiny was resolved, but what was terrible was that it was replaced by a much bigger crisis.

The ones who rescued Li Shiji were none other than the Ming Dynasty soldiers he had been guarding against.

The gap between surrounding others and being surrounded by others will undoubtedly make morale plummet to the bottom.

Finally, the fighting spirit faded and the war could no longer be fought.

It's all over... This thought became stronger and stronger in Li Shiji's mind.

The country will die today.

"A real man can die at any time, but his name can be recorded in history!"

Li Shiji pulled himself together for the last time, pulled the reins to make the horse stand upright, raised his saber, and shouted to his soldiers in a heroic posture that was almost like a statue:

"I will repay your kindness with my death today!"

However, it seemed as if it was specifically against him.

Just after he shouted this handsome line.

The sounds of fighting in the rear gradually died down.

"What happened? Why don't you fight?"

Li Shiji was about to send someone to check it out.

But he saw his own troops in the distance voluntarily lay down their weapons and make way for a passage.

In the middle of the passage, a group of black-armored cavalrymen rushed straight towards Li Shiji.

(End of this chapter)