Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 245 What, the entire army was wiped out?
"What?! The front army was defeated, and only a thousand cavalry escaped?"

Jiang Qi stared blankly at the scout with his eyes wide open, subconsciously thinking that this man was making fun of him, and his right hand couldn't help but hold down his sword.

The troops led by Qu Yi and Feng Ji were all elite troops of Yuan's army, and their number was several thousand more than that of the enemy.

He led ten thousand men carrying powerful crossbows and rushed twelve or thirteen miles to attack the five thousand miscellaneous soldiers in Qingzhou. He was told that our army was almost wiped out and was fleeing towards Du County, and he was asked to lead his troops to support them.

How ridiculous is this?

Could it be that the person on the opposite side is not Han Mu, but Han Xin?

Jiang Qi couldn't help but think that this man was the spy used by Qingzhou to trick him into sending troops.

He was so bold that he was deceived. He immediately wanted to draw his sword and kill the scout.

The scout who came to deliver the message was suddenly shocked when he saw Jiang Qi looking murderous.

He immediately took out something from his bosom, presented it with both hands, and explained: "This is the seal that the military supervisor gave me urgently to gain the general's trust. Whenever the military supervisor says something, see this seal, and the general will know that what I say is true."

"The Qingzhou Army is currently leading its troops to hunt down the military supervisor. We hope that General Jiang can come to our aid as soon as possible!"

"If we attack them by surprise now, we may be able to turn defeat into victory and restore the morale of our army."

Jiang Qi snatched the seal from the scout's hand, held it in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully for a moment, confirming that it was Feng Ji's seal. Unless Feng Yuantu surrendered to the enemy or was captured and killed, this item would never fall into the hands of Qingzhou people.

His eyes fell on the scout again, and Jiang Qi said in a deep voice: "A general is in the army and he may not obey the orders of the king."

"Even if it was the order of the military supervisor, I would never lead the troops to go without knowing the truth. Lord Yuan entrusted me with such an important task, how could I treat it as a joke?"

"Qu Yi is a veteran general, and he has Feng Yuantu offering advice in the army. Even if he is defeated, he can still set up camp and defend. How could he be easily defeated by an unknown person?"

Jiang Qi gritted his teeth in hatred.

In this defeat, Yuan's army stationed in Ganling seemed to have lost only a quarter of its troops, but in fact it had lost more than half of its elite troops, and its morale was also affected.

When the news reaches Xindu, it will further shake the morale of the people in Ji and You states.

The wavering nobles and wealthy families will surely retreat and wait and see, and the officials who are secretly loyal to the Han Dynasty will also become excited.

Even if Lord Yuan rewarded the entire army with money and fine silk, he would not be able to eliminate the fear in the army, so how could he fight later?

Seeing that Jiang Qi had to understand the situation clearly before he was willing to send out troops, the scout had to explain first. When he recalled the events on the battlefield, he said with inexplicable fear in his eyes: "The Qingzhou army occupied the hills with powerful crossbows and shot from a high position. Suddenly, arrows rained down, and our army was caught off guard and was defeated."

"Moreover, there are dozens of heavy crossbows in the Qingzhou camp, using spears as arrows. Five or six people work together to string the crossbows. The spears can penetrate three shields and three soldiers, breaking through the front and the defense. They are still terrifyingly lethal from a thousand steps away, and can separate a person's head from his body."

As if he had thought of some scene, the Yuan army scout couldn't help but tremble slightly, and he was almost hit by a spear.

Even though the Qingzhou Army's heavy crossbows only fired two rounds on the battlefield, these two rounds were enough to make people tremble with fear. No matter how skilled a person is in archery and horse riding, he would be at a loss when encountering such a heavy crossbow.

He didn't dare to get close at all, for fear that as soon as he got close, the other party would be ready again.

The closer it gets, the greater the power becomes. It can instantly shatter the body and splatter flesh and bones.

"Liu Xuande actually has such a sharp weapon?!"

Jiang Qi was shocked. No wonder Qu Yi and Feng Ji were defeated. It was normal for the soldiers to collapse when they were caught off guard by such heavy crossbows. But didn't Qu Yi and Feng Ji go up to a high place to observe the enemy's situation and send out suspicious troops to test it?

Jiang Qi asked with doubt in his heart, and the scout was hesitant to answer. Finally, Jiang Qi angrily told the scout to get out and wait for him to reorganize the troops and go to support them.

Even if they were not defeated, they would have been defeated at this moment. If one of Qu Yi and Feng Ji was captured and killed by the Qingzhou army, the impact would have been even greater.

If he didn't go to support them and the two were captured, then Jiang Qi would probably suffer the consequences.

Jiang Qi glanced at Feng Ji's seal in his hand, threw it heavily to the ground, turned around and looked at Du County outside the tent, gnashing his teeth and said, "Feng Yuantu, you really know how to compete with Qu Yi of Liangzhou for merit!"

I have no share in the good things, but I am the only one who is affected by the bad things, and now I have to clean up the mess for you.

Fortunately, Jiang Qi didn't know that Qu Yi had died or that the Youzhou soldiers had turned against their allies on the battlefield, otherwise he would have been even more anxious.

……

When Jiang Qi led his army to meet Feng Ji, he saw that he had lost all his demeanor as a famous scholar. Not only were his clothes disheveled, his hair was disheveled, and the Jinxian crown he was wearing had fallen somewhere.

Because he did not dare to stop his horse to drink water, his beard and clothes, which he usually took good care of, were covered with water stains, and he looked very miserable.

Seeing Jiang Qi's flag was like seeing a loved one. Feng Ji almost cried for joy and could not help shouting, "Yiqiu, Yiqiu, I am here, come and help me."

After Jiang Qi helped the trembling Feng Ji off his horse, he carefully looked at his appearance and was shocked. He also saw that there was no sign of Qu Yi around, so he hurriedly grabbed his hand and asked, "Where is General Qu now?"

"Why can't I see him now?"

Don’t say that Qu Yi has been captured by the Qingzhou army, otherwise it will be a big deal.

Feng Ji was silent for a long time, then he looked up to the sky and sighed, "Yiqiu, Qu Yi was not captured. He just didn't listen to me and died tragically under the enemy's heavy crossbows, causing our army to return in defeat."

Jiang Qi heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, thinking that it was a good thing that Qu Yi was not captured. However, Feng Yuantu's next words made him gasp.

Grabbing Feng Ji's arm, he asked in disbelief, "Is General Qu really dead?"

He is the best general in Hebei, and his reputation is even greater than Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Even if he is defeated, he still has the opportunity to regroup.

But now he died on the battlefield. It should be remembered that this was only the first battle in the dispute between Jizhou and Qingzhou and Hebei, and it cost the chief general the victory.

What the hell is going on behind you?

Do Zhang He, Gao Lan, Dong Zhao, Zhu Ling, Wen Chou and others dare to say that they are better at using troops than Qu Yi?
Moreover, Qu Yi died on the way to attack. Who would dare to harass the border between Qing and Yan states? Even if they saw that the enemy had few soldiers, they would have to consider whether they were luring the enemy.

Jiang Qi could not help but sigh, "Lord Yuan controls the most fertile land in the world, and his granaries are full of rotten rice. He also has many people to annex, including Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Xiongnu. He controls strong cities and elite troops, and he has the ambition to swallow up the world.

After this battle, I am afraid that the generals will no longer have the intention to capture the enemy, and will only seek to preserve themselves. Liu Xuande will be able to lead the army to come and go freely, and the outcome will be decided. "

After hearing what Jiang Qi said, Feng Ji's face became even more bitter, and he was unable to speak.

How could Feng Yuantu not understand what even Jiang Yiqu could see clearly? This time he would probably be even worse off than Guo Tu. Going to jail was already a good thing, but he was afraid that it would bring disaster to his whole family.

On his way back, Feng Ji also thought about surrendering to the enemy, but unfortunately he still had many relatives in Handan...

(End of this chapter)