Wang Zan closed his eyes and rested on a big rock. He seemed to be resting, but in fact he was thinking about his retreat. Wang Zan was not a fool. He also knew that the risk was very high and the entire army might be destroyed. He also knew that he would surrender to the Song army.
This is a good strategy, not to mention that Yang Zaixing wrote a letter to recruit him.
It's just that Zhe Keqing treated him well, and his family were all in Luoyang. What would happen to his family if he surrendered?
Wang Zan was also very conflicted, but he finally chose to retreat and could only take one step at a time.
At this time, Xie Zhensheng rushed over and shouted urgently: "Brother, something is wrong!"
Wang Zan opened his eyes, "What's the matter?"
"Shi Dawu and Su Wu led the army and headed north!"
"What!"
Wang Zan stood up and looked to the west. He saw thousands of people in the distance had gathered and started to go west.
Wang Zan was furious, got on his horse, raised his gun and chased after him.
After chasing two routes, a thousand soldiers behind him actually raised their crossbows and pointed them at him. Wang Zan quickly reined in his horse and cursed: "Are you crazy? Put down your crossbows!"
A thousand soldiers ignored him. At this time, Shi Dawu urged his horse to come out and shouted: "General Wang, everyone has his own ambitions, why bother forcing each other!"
Wang Zan said sternly: "The commander-in-chief treats you well and provides you with sufficient food and salary. Why do you want to rebel?"
Shi Dawu said loudly: "I don't want my children and grandchildren to be called the descendants of traitors in the future. My children and grandchildren will be unable to hold their heads high. Ask your brothers, are they still willing to continue to be traitors?"
"We are not traitors!" a thousand soldiers shouted angrily.
Wang Zan had no choice but to sigh, turned his horse and left. When Shi Dawu saw him walking away, he waved his hand and led a thousand crossbowmen to follow the brigade and evacuate westward.
Six thousand of the 10,000-strong army left in an instant, leaving only 4,000 people. They all looked lonely and looked at the army as they walked away. They also wanted to follow!
"Assemble the entire army and continue eastward!"
Wang Zan knew that he could not stay any longer, otherwise the morale of the army would completely collapse.
Four thousand troops set off in formation, with Wang Zan in front and Xie Zhensheng behind to prevent deserters.
But after walking less than three miles, they passed through a large forest. Many soldiers in the team took advantage of the cover of night and headed into the woods. Wang Zan heard something unusual behind him and hurriedly turned around, just in time to see a group of soldiers entering the woods.
He shouted anxiously, "Don't enter the woods, stop them!"
Many soldiers were still hesitant at first, but when he shouted, the soldiers suddenly realized that this might be their last chance to escape, and another group of soldiers rushed into the woods.
Wang Zan and Xie Zhensheng shouted and cursed and led the remaining soldiers out of the woods. There were only less than 1,800 soldiers left in the 4,000-man army. Basically, they were all their direct soldiers, so they did not run away.
Wang Zan had no choice but to speed up and run towards the official road. There were still five miles away from the official road. Wang Zan and Xie Zhensheng suddenly found that they were surrounded by Song soldiers from all directions.
They encountered Su Zunyi's 10,000 troops. Su Zunyi had already sent people to watch their every move, including their escape. Knowing that their morale had collapsed, Su Zunyi decided to surround the enemy in advance.
"Put down your weapons and surrender immediately, otherwise you will be killed without mercy!" Su Zunyi shouted in the distance.
"Put down your weapons and surrender, otherwise you will be killed without mercy!" Thousands of soldiers shouted together.
More than 1,800 soldiers trembled and looked at their coach Wang Zan in panic. Suddenly a soldier shouted: "I still have a wife, children and mother to support at home, I can't die!"
He threw down his weapon and ran over, raising his hands in the air and shouting, "I surrender! Don't kill me."
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
The sound of weapons falling to the ground became louder and louder. Groups of soldiers ran over and knelt down. Xie Zhensheng was about to stop him, but Wang Zan shouted, "Let them go!"
The general ignored him, more and more soldiers surrendered, and the generals also surrendered. After a quarter of an hour, only Xie Zhensheng and dozens of soldiers were left beside Wang Zan.
Wang Zan glanced at Xie Zhensheng and said, "My little sister is still pregnant. Go ahead! Don't follow me."
Xie Zhensheng was silent for a moment and said: "Brother, I'm sorry!"
"Go for it!"
Xie Zhensheng took off his helmet, dismounted from his horse and walked towards the opponent. When Xie Zhensheng walked more than twenty steps, Wang Zan waved his big iron gun and shouted: "Follow me to break through the encirclement!"
Thirty bodyguard cavalry galloped on their horses and followed Wang Zan to break through the encirclement to the east.
Seeing that someone was about to break out, Su Zunyi coldly ordered: "The crossbowmen are ready!"
Two thousand crossbowmen pointed their crossbows at the dozens of cavalry rushing towards them. Su Zunyi shouted, "Fire the arrows!"
Two thousand military crossbows were fired at the same time. The dense crossbow arrows shot at Wang Zan and dozens of soldiers like a storm. Wang Zan was hit by hundreds of arrows, which shot like a hedgehog. He fell off his horse and died tragically on the spot. Dozens of soldiers behind him were killed.
They were all shot and killed, and no one survived.
At dawn, Su Zunyi took Wang Zan's head and thousands of surrendered soldiers to deliver orders to Yang Zaixing. Most of them, including those who fled into the woods midway, were captured by Song soldiers.
Yang Zaixing was very satisfied with the results of the battle. Of the 10,000 soldiers, 9,500 surrendered, and only a few hundred escaped. This was an outstanding achievement.
He ordered Wang Zan's head to be passed on to the three armies. Su Zunyi whispered: "How about giving Wang Zan a rich burial to commend his loyalty? I would rather die than surrender!"
"Loyalty?"
Yang Zaixing sneered and said: "I will not bury my loyalty to the Jurchens generously. I will dig a hole and bury it directly!"
Su Zunyi felt ashamed and said: "The general is right, but Xie Zhensheng is his brother-in-law, so why not leave the body to him for disposal! This will save our soldiers the trouble of digging a hole."
"Okay, you go handle this matter!"
Yang Zaixing immediately ordered his generals to escort 10,000 surrendered soldiers to the Shaanxi County Prisoner of War Camp. These soldiers basically surrendered voluntarily, so they would receive preferential treatment. At least they would not be sent to mining. Most of them would be released home, and a few of them would have special abilities.
will join the Song Army.
Although surrendered soldiers and prisoner-of-war soldiers both surrender, their natures are completely different. The main difference between them lies in the time of surrender. One surrenders before the war breaks out, the other surrenders after the war breaks out, the other surrenders voluntarily if he does not want to fight, and the other surrenders after the war breaks out.
Passively surrender in order to avoid death.
At this time, Li Muqing also arrived with 20,000 cavalry. Li Muqing stepped forward, saluted and said with a smile: "This time I made a big circle and ran in vain. I didn't touch a single hair of the enemy."
Yang Zaixing smiled slightly and said: "Without your cavalry, the opponent would have fled directly back to Luoyang, and we would not be able to catch him. After all, Mianchi County is eighty miles away from Xin'an County, so no matter how hard you rush, it will be useless."
"If we all command 20,000 cavalry, do not enter Mianchi County, and hide the enemy's spies, we can still completely annihilate the enemy."
Yang Zaixing shook his head, "This is an afterthought. How could the 20,000 cavalry arrive without being discovered? If we depend on the opponent being a fool for our victory, then we will be the last fools."
"I understand the humble position!"
Yang Zaixing smiled and said: "Everyone will go back to Xin'an County to rest for a day. Tomorrow the army will set off for Luoyang."
Hulao Pass is located about two hundred miles east of Luoyang. It is actually located between Sishui County and Xingyang County, so it is also called Sishui Pass.
Hulao Pass is the east gate of Luoyang. It is used to defend Luoyang from the Central Plains army's attack on Luoyang. It is called the two great passes together with Hangu Pass in the west.
In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the eighteen princes' crusade against Dong Zhuo took place in front of Hulao Pass, where Hua Xiong was killed by warming wine, and the three heroes fought against Lu Bu.
However, Hulao Pass is to defend against attacking enemies from the east. Its danger and majesty are also in the east, while to the west is an ordinary pass city. Although it is an ordinary pass city, it is still a pass city, but not as good as the east one.
Just majestic.
Li Fuxing led an army of 20,000 to Hulao Pass. Hulao Pass is currently a domestic pass and is not as important as Mengjing Pass. There are only 800 troops stationed in the pass.
At this time, Hulao Pass also received news from the magistrate of Yanshi County that the Song Army had breached Mengjing Pass, and all pass cities and towns were required to take precautions.
The eight hundred defenders of Hulao Pass were extremely nervous. They knew well that once the Song army came from Mengjing Pass, Luoyang City would be the first to bear the brunt, followed by Hulao Pass.
