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

Chapter 300: Hardships Lead to Death

From the night of October 16th to the early morning of October 17th, the night attack launched by the Loyal Army failed from the very beginning, from a purely military perspective.

Once a night attack is discovered in advance, the defenders, who are well-rested and waiting for the opportunity, can usually inflict heavy casualties on the attacking enemy as long as they can organize themselves.

But then again, what battle can truly be separated from strategy and politics?

The people of Zhushuizhuang were discovered only after they had sneaked into the manor, while the people of Nanzhuzhuang were alerted by the movement of Zhushuizhuang. The right army led by Zhang Xiaoyi was discovered by the Jin army just as they reached the wall of Nanzhuzhuang.

Seeing this situation, Zhang Xiaoyi simply stopped hiding his body, lit a torch, and attacked Nanzhu Village head-on.

Upon seeing this scene, Yu Yuan, deputy commander of the central army, and Li Xiu, deputy commander of the right army, who were far behind in the camp, organized all their troops at the same time, holding torches high and marching forward. The cavalry cruised outside the village, while the infantry charged into the village along the route the vanguard took.

At this moment, the siege and intimidation of many days finally took effect, and the fear that had been accumulating in the Wuxing Army since its defeat finally broke out at this moment.

The warriors who had fought to the death alone in the past, now shot a round of arrows, fought off the enemy and instantly retreated back to the manor, trying to join the main force and resist the enemy with the terrain of the manor.

This is not a wrong choice, but the key is that the Loyal Army also has locals who are familiar with the terrain of the manor to lead the way.

Moreover, these locals are often young and strong people who have experienced war. Some of them have even participated in the construction of the manor's city defense facilities and can find weak points in the defense with their eyes closed.

Therefore, although it was the Jin army that was on the defense, in fact it was the Loyal Army that had the advantage of terrain. Through mobile warfare that moved back and forth in the manor, they divided and surrounded the Wuxing Army that was on high alert.

Fighting at night is a great test of the army's organization and subjective initiative, because unlike during the day, no matter how many torches there are or how bright the moonlight is, it is impossible for officers to keep a close eye on everyone. It is too easy to desert, or in other words, the existence of people who take advantage of the situation is simply inevitable.

At this time, it depends on which army has more rigorous training and clearer rewards and punishments on a daily basis.

Under normal circumstances, the Wuxing Army might be able to hold on, but this was after a major defeat. Once the organization began to become chaotic, the situation of fleeing and avoiding battle would escalate almost instantly.

"Why did you retreat?" In the central courtyard of Zhushuizhuang, Pei Manhui, who was only wearing an iron jacket, stood at the gate of the courtyard and asked with a grim face.

Behind him were two hundred elite soldiers, in front of him was a group of fleeing soldiers, and in sight, there were soldiers and horses constantly bypassing the roadblocks and fleeing here.

This was the site Pei Manhui had chosen for the decisive battle. He had originally thought it would take at least several months, and then he would retreat to the center of the manor and put up a desperate resistance. But now, less than half an hour had passed since the battle officially began, and he was already being forced into a desperate situation.
Seeing Pei Manhui's sullen expression, a leading officer in the fleeing army said with a bitter face, "General, we didn't mean to retreat, but we were attacked from both sides. Our southern centurions, far from stopping the enemy, didn't even make a sound. It seems they've already surrendered to the enemy."

"Bullshit!" someone yelled among the fleeing army. Looking in the dim firelight, Pei Manhui saw that the man was none other than Puliyan (a captain of fifty men) assigned to the southern centurion unit. He was wrapping a cloth around the wound on his left arm and was practically furious. "If it weren't for the bandits coming from the north, and us getting gouged in the back, would I have been unable to hold out for even a moment? All our Moukes died in the battle! You fucking ran away, but you still dare to put the blame on me?"

The two centurions defending back to back were attacked from behind at the same time, and at the same time accused each other of collapsing before the battle and letting the enemy come. This is simply impossible. One of them must be lying.

However, seeing that both sides were on the verge of a fight, Pei Manhui suddenly realized that both groups might be telling the truth.

There really was a loyal army that descended from the sky like a divine force, penetrated into the junction of the two sides, and launched an attack on the two Moukes at the same time.

What does this mean? It means that the Zhongyi Army is more familiar with Zhushuizhuang than the Wuxing Army.

After realizing this, Pei Manhui broke out in a cold sweat.

"Stop arguing!" Pei Manhui shouted, "It's already late, are we still going to fight each other? Line up yourselves, marching Mouke and Puliyan gather your troops, and light more torches, quickly!" Pei Manhui had some prestige after all. After a few loud scoldings, the chaotic defeated soldiers seemed to have found their backbone and hastily lined up in the training ground in the center of the village.

Because the space was too small and there was no way to ride horses, the 300 armored cavalry all fought on foot. The Ninth Meng'an formed a slanted stacked formation with these people as the core, blocking the road from the front.

Just as the formation was roughly taking shape, Pei Manhui whispered to the head of the personal guards, "Ali, have you prepared everything for me?"

The guard named Ali was slightly startled, then nodded. "Everything is ready. Just climb over the backyard wall and follow the path northwest. The boats, horses, rations, money, and armor are all ready."

Pei Manhui breathed a sigh of relief and patted Ali on the shoulder: "When the fight starts, don't worry about anything else and just come with me."

Ali bowed and remained silent.

Pei Manhui, seeing this, advised, "Ali, if there was still a glimmer of hope for recovery, why would I want to do this? I've seen that after a few years of fighting, the Shandong Han bandits have finally become powerful and are no longer the soft persimmons they used to be.

The Wuxing Army is already in such a state, what hope can the others have? Even if we escape this disaster and flee back to Yidu Prefecture, won't the Zhongyi Army pursue us? Wouldn't we then have to fight these bandits to the death?

Ali, listen to my advice, why don't we just flee back to our hometown in Liaodong and become rich?"

At this time, some scattered loyal and righteous troops had already rushed over. Seeing more than 600 Jin soldiers lined up in formation with torches, they immediately stopped, called on their comrades to gather together, formed a strong formation as well, and launched an attack together.

Shouts and screams echoed on the wind. Ali was silent for a moment before saying, "General, if we flee now, our army will likely collapse immediately. How can we be worthy of the commander-in-chief? How can we be worthy of our men?"

Pei Manhui's face turned pale, but he still tried to persuade him, "Did I cause this battle to become like this? The commander-in-chief lost by himself. I have done him a favor by holding out for so long against the Loyal Army.

As for the men, if they flee in all directions now, some of them will be able to escape eventually. But if they really fight to the death, they will all die here.

"Ali, do you really think that our Ninth Meng'an can win? Even if we win this time, with the Loyalty Army's fighting power that can break through Zhuangzi in half an hour, how can we defend the next time?"

Ali continued to shake his head. "General, your words are kind, but I don't believe them. But I have a way to have the best of both worlds. It will allow you to live up to your sons and the commander-in-chief, and it will also allow me, who has received such great kindness from you, to live up to your loyalty."

After saying that, Ali called several personal guards to come forward, took off Pei Manhui's helmet, robe, belt, and seal, and put them on himself.

Several bodyguards consciously stood in front of the two men and used their bodies to block their small movements.

Pei Manhui suddenly realized, but was immediately ashamed. He wanted to say that they would live and die together, but he could not overcome the great terror between life and death. After patting Ali on the shoulder, he took five personal guards and walked back to the owner's courtyard with his face covered.

Ali took a deep breath, lowered the collar of his helmet to cover most of his face, and drew the knife from his waist: "Kill the thief!"

"Kill the thief!"

The guards all cheered and, led by Ali, charged forward holding the Meng'an flag.

The Ninth Meng'an had been retreating repeatedly under the attack of the Loyal Army. However, seeing their own Meng'an so fierce, they were all excited. In the dim firelight, they turned around and fought with the Loyal Army.

(End of this chapter)