Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 266: A defeated general cannot be called brave

Just as the Jin navy was marching forward, vowing to recapture Haizhou for the Jin Kingdom.

The Wuxing Army, which was tasked with retaking Haizhou, finally stabilized its position.

At 7:00 am on the fourth day of September, inside Yishui County, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, looked at the rising sun and felt as if he were in another world.

Then he looked at the dusty generals beside him again, wanted to say something, but lost his voice again.

It was so tragic, such a terrible defeat.

Putting aside other things, just looking at the loss of generals, there are only four marching Meng'an soldiers still alive: Zhang Jueming, Zhuo Tuoan, Pei Manhui, and Wugusuntan. The rest have all died in battle one after another.

If the Loyal Army had not been exhausted after the battle, and if night had not fallen and the 9th and 10th Meng'an Cavalry had not arrived to provide support, the Wuxing Army might have been completely wiped out on the banks of the Yi River.

Looking from afar at the loyalist army's infantry who were building a camp at the mountain pass, and the loyalist army's armored cavalry who were showing off their power under the city, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, wanted to be angry and curse, but his anger was suppressed by fear.

"Atu'er, have you counted how many troops are left?"

After hesitating for a moment, Meng Tian Zhenguo asked with gritted teeth.

He supported Atu'er's arm, but did not answer immediately.

This guy fought with Zhang Baiyu for a long time. Although he didn't gain any advantage, he managed to maintain his position.

But during the great defeat, Atu'er's personal bravery was of no use. During his hasty retreat, he was shot by Zhang Baiyu with three arrows.

Two arrows were blocked by his armor, and one of them pierced his armband and lodged in his shoulder.

When he fled back to Yishui County in a panic, Atuer had time to treat his wound. Only then did he realize that the arrow might have injured his bone. His entire left arm was numb and he had no strength.

"General... I roughly counted them. Not counting the ninth and tenth Meng'an, we've only got over 1,700 people back... All of them have been stripped of their armor and weapons. Some even lost their weapons and fled back empty-handed." After hesitating for a long time, Ba'atul finally whispered, "Twenty-seven marching Moukes have returned. They didn't bring any of the baggage from the camp with them. Among them were many craftsmen... and a few merchants who accompanied the army, plus the goods of the men, all..."

"Stop talking!" Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, roared, drawing his sword and slashing at the parapet, sending a trail of sparks through the bricks. Then his voice quickly faded: "Stop talking..."

"Ten thousand troops... a huge army... a huge army, and I have turned it into this state. How can I face Your Majesty? I'd rather die and be done with it!" As he said this, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, raised his knife and tried to commit suicide.

The generals beside him rushed forward, easily snatched the knife away, and then continued to comfort him.

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, leaned against the parapet and burst into tears for a while.

The ninth general Pei Manhui was still a little confused.

It's not that he doesn't understand what a major defeat means, but he simply cannot understand why the army suffered such a defeat after just one deployment.

Where is this?

It’s only been four days since the official battle!
They ended up suffering a crushing defeat and almost being wiped out.

Shit, who are these loyal and righteous troops? Could it be Liu Qi of Song, allied with Li Xianzhong, Cheng Min, and other famous generals, launching a northern expedition?
However, seeing the others all look grief-stricken, some even crying along with Meng Tian, Pei Manhui still steeled himself and said, "General, what should we do next? Retreat or hold our ground? You must have some advice before we can proceed." Meng Tian covered his face and said, "I'm completely bewildered and can't reason. Ah Hui, just tell me your plan and I'll just listen."

Pei Manhui had never expected Meng Tian to say this. He was stunned for a long moment before he said, "Since ancient times, warfare has been based on the five principles of fighting, defending, surrendering, escaping, and dying. Now, we can't fight, we can't surrender, and we don't want to die. It's nothing more than defending or fleeing."

Pei Manhui glanced at the other generals and said, "My idea is to flee. We still have enough horses, and we can probably find one man and one horse. Let's go back to Yidu Prefecture to regroup and find some support, and then come back to get back at them. How do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals were moved and turned their eyes to Meng Tian to defend the country.

However, Meng Tian, the guardian of the state, still covered his face, but immediately shook his head: "The loss of my troops is already a grave sin, how dare I desert in the face of battle? Your plan is good, but Yidu Prefecture is already empty. Aren't you afraid that this loyal thief will lead us straight to Yidu Prefecture and destroy the Shandong Military Command?"

The rest were speechless.

It was not easy to retreat after a great defeat. The morale of the Wuxing Army had collapsed. If the Zhongyi Army had just allocated some troops to follow the Wuxing Army from a distance, they would have been able to defeat the Wuxing Army without having to attack them all the way.

Pei Manhui sighed. "If we're going to hold on, there are two options. One is to retreat all the way back to Yishui County. We still have over 3,000 men, so we can hold on anyway. But I'm worried that if we get involved, the morale of the Ninth and Tenth Meng'an will collapse."

"The second is what is happening now. Zhushui Village and Nanzhu Village, south of Yishui County, have been renovated and are in good shape. The Ninth and Tenth Meng'an are stationed there. Commander-in-Chief, you will lead the rest of the troops, plus the county's militia, to defend the city together. The three parties will form a pincer attack.

However, this method disperses the military forces. If the loyal and righteous bandits have enough troops, they can surround two places and attack one place at a time. At that time, the Wuxing Army will be completely hopeless.

I was not on the battlefield yesterday, so I don't know the loyal bandits' troops. Please let the commander-in-chief make the decision."

After saying that, Pei Man replied, remembering something: "General, I have another saying. If there are no reinforcements outside, there is no city that must be defended inside. If there are no reinforcements, no matter how you defend, you will only be waiting to die."

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, was nodding at first, but when he heard the last part, his face turned pale and he started crying again.

"General." Zhuo Tuoan, who had been silent the whole time, finally lost his patience and said, "Now is not the time to cry. If you can cry thousands of men back, I will cry with you. General, please make a decision quickly!"

Meng Tian, the guardian of the state, forced himself to suppress his grief, shook his head, and said, "You don't understand. I was just thinking about what Ah Yu said to me privately: since the navy was willing to cooperate with the Wuxing Army, we should attack together with them. But at the time, my mind was full of achievements in the southern expedition, and I didn't listen to his wise advice. Not only did the entire Wuxing Army suffer, but Ah Yu was also killed. I..."

"Yes, there's also the navy!" Zhuo Tuoan didn't continue to comfort Meng Tian, his eyes lit up: "General, we can ask for help from the navy. No... As long as the navy can recapture Haizhou, the loyal thieves' retreat will be cut off, and the morale of the army will inevitably be in chaos!"

At the end of his speech, Zhuo Tuoan was already shouting excitedly, as if he had already won, attracting the attention of soldiers from all directions.

"Commander-in-Chief," Wu Gusun Tan, who had been silent the entire time, said hesitantly, "If we ask the navy for help, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting our defeat?"

Zhuo Tuo'an was about to retort, "Why are you still worried about saving face at this time?", but he heard Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, say, "I can't hide it. Today I will ask for help from the navy and write a letter to Your Majesty. The defeat of the Wuxing army is all my fault. I only hope Your Majesty will send troops to clean up the mess in Shandong. I can't atone for my sins even if I die!"

All the generals fell silent at the same time, then looked at the loyal army camped at the mountain pass with complicated expressions.

Were we really beaten so badly by these bandits?

Did the loyal thief actually turn the world's situation around?

Who on earth are these people?
(End of this chapter)