Changwu County was lost, the two armies met each other, and the battle for dominance of the four northeastern counties had begun.
Song Shixin knew that both the Liaodong Army and Long Rui Army would no longer have any scruples and would do their best to knock down their opponents.
He could almost conclude that Long Ruijun must have sent people to quickly inform other troops about the situation in Changwu County, and other troops would definitely take action after learning the news.
After Changwu County, Long Rui's army's next target can only be Zhumapo.
The location of Zhumapo is too important, and Long Ruijun will definitely not let Han Ying grab his throat.
He led the remaining two thousand men and moved towards Zhumapo as quickly as possible without stopping.
If Zhumapo is attacked, but Han Ying can defend it and ensure that Zhumapo is still in his hands before he arrives, then the situation will not be too bad. After all, the two troops combined have three to four thousand people. Song Shixin believes that if he goes head-on,
In the decisive battle, even if Long Rui's army had an advantage in strength, the Liaodong Army would never be at a disadvantage.
Unable to continue to hold on at Tianji Mountain, we could only rush to Zhumapo to join forces with Han Ying.
The total number of soldiers and horses of the Liaodong Army was only more than 20,000, which was the establishment established by decree from the reign of Emperor Wu Zong.
Although the Liaodong Army was loyal to the court at that time, the situation in the Northeast was not yet completely stable at that time. In order to cope with emergencies in the Northeast and surrounding areas, the garrison in the Northeast was directly commanded by General Anton, and the court naturally would not let any of them
The general has too many troops.
The Liaodong Army, plus the soldiers and horses from the four counties, has 30,000 troops, which is enough to stabilize the situation in the Northeast.
The imperial court did not allow the troops in the Northeast to be too strong, and kept the Liaodong Army's troops at about 20,000 from beginning to end. Naturally, the Liaodong Army did not dare to expand its troops without authorization. Otherwise, the imperial court would charge it with conspiracy, and no one would suffer.
Can't afford the crime.
Even in the Wang Xing Dynasty, when there was enough strength to expand the army, they did not dare to act rashly.
After Long Rui's army left the border, the Liaodong Army felt unprecedented pressure. At one time, some people thought that they should recruit troops. However, at this time, recruiting troops without authorization will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the court. If the court really slaps the label,
The consequences were disastrous, and the Liaodong Army had been at peace for many years and was not prepared for war at all. Therefore, Wang Xingchao did not act rashly after all. He only wanted to use other means to force Long Rui's army to withdraw from the pass. Moreover, the Liaodong Army had 30,000 troops at that time to deal with Long Rui.
The army is also more than sufficient.
But no one expected that in less than a year, the situation would change drastically, and the entire situation would become increasingly severe for the Liaodong Army. At this time, it would be too late to recruit and train troops.
Song Shixin knew very well that the capital of the Liaodong Army in this war was not the local troops in each county, but only the 20,000 direct officers and soldiers of the Liaodong Army. Can the Liaodong Army cope with this huge crisis and turn the situation around to become a veritable leader of Northeast China again?
The overlord must rely on these 20,000 people.
However, the deployment of Long Rui's army was unexpected. The small town of Changwu County had already lost 1,500 soldiers and horses. Under such circumstances, if he could not withdraw his troops immediately, Song Shixin knew that he would become a fish in the net.
Although nearly two thousand troops and horses were lost, at least they would not completely collapse. If we join forces with Han Ying, it would be better if we can break through the encirclement of Long Rui's army and fight back to Shunjin City. In this way, we can ensure that these thousands of troops
Not all of Long Rui's army will be retreated, which can be regarded as saving some strength for the Liaodong Army. Even if the encirclement of Long Rui's army has been formed and cannot be opened to fight back, then as long as the Zhumapo is still there, these thousands of troops will defend it.
Stationed in Mapo, waiting for reinforcements from Shunjincheng.
It was impossible for Huangfu Yunzhao to watch thousands of Liaodong troops fall into an encirclement and be swallowed alive, so he would send troops for reinforcements anyway.
Therefore, although Song Shixin suffered a disastrous defeat in Changwu County, his next decision was extremely decisive and resolute. The first step was to rush to Zhumapo as quickly as possible, and then based on the situation, he decided whether to break through or wait for reinforcements.
The rapid march of more than a hundred miles was actually not too strenuous for the Liaodong Army. Several thousand men and horses were also in neat formation. The remaining 300 cavalry were separated on the two wings as cover to prevent Long Rui's army from setting up an ambush and carrying baggage.
The team is in the middle of the team.
Of course, the food and grass baggage cannot be abandoned in Tianji Mountain. After all, there is not much food left. If you leave the food and grass baggage behind, it can indeed increase the marching speed. But if you really can't break out and can only hold on at Zhumapo, then these
Food and grass became the last supplies to hold on.
Even so, Song Shixin desperately urged the soldiers to speed up.
He knew that time was urgent, but the soldiers did not have wings. Even if they moved forward desperately, they only approached Zhumapo in the middle of the night and could vaguely see the firelight on the other side of the camp.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Song Shixin has been in the army for decades. After all, he is also a veteran who has experienced battles. As long as he closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, he can almost determine whether there has been a fierce battle nearby.
After the fierce battle, there were countless casualties, and the smell of blood could not be completely dissipated for a long time.
As a veteran, what I am most familiar with is the smell of blood.
In the night, the air was fresh, without the smell of blood, and the place was peaceful. Song Shixin felt slightly relieved, knowing that there had been no fierce fighting in Zhumapo, which proved that Zhumapo was still in Han Ying's hands.
As long as Zhumapo is not captured by Long Rui's army, the situation is not too bad.
However, after suffering two consecutive losses in Changwu County, Song Shixin was really more cautious now. Although he did not order his troops to stop, when approaching Zhumapo, he still sent a few horses to check out the situation.
Several riders took the lead and galloped away. Song Shixin looked up at the night. It was the Emei Moon in early August. The crooked moon hung in the sky. It was quite dark between heaven and earth. In order to prevent being targeted by Long Ruijun, even after dark, Song
Shixin did not order the lighting of torches, but marched under the faint moonlight. The team maintained its formation, and the rear team followed the front team, so naturally they would not go the wrong way.
He originally thought that he sent those few cavalry just to ensure that everything was safe, but soon he heard a scream from the other side, and soon he heard another scream. The scream was extremely clear in the quiet night, and Song Shixin's expression changed.
There was a sudden change. Soon, I saw that some of the cavalry sent over had already fled back here in a hurry. Before they got close, two cavalrymen had already shouted: "Zhumapo has been lost, Zhumapo has been lost..."
..!”
Not only Song Shixin, but also the soldiers behind him showed disbelief when they heard this.
Song Shixin opened his eyes wide. Several cavalrymen were close at hand. One of them was hit by an arrow. He said with a panic: "General Zhonglang, Zhumapo has been captured by Long Rui's army. Above... above
They are all their people...!”
"Impossible!" Song Shixin took a breath of cold air. Although it was the height of summer in August and he was sweating all over because of his armor, he only felt that his hands and feet were cold. He said sharply: "Where is Han Ying? Where is Han Ying?
?”
They had just passed the woods to the west of Zhumapo, and the air was filled with the fragrance of vegetation, without the smell of blood.
There are thousands of troops stationed in Zhumapo, guarding them from a high position. Even if Long Rui's army has the advantage, if they want to capture Zhumapo, they will definitely pay a heavy price, and both sides will definitely go through a brutal fight.
As long as there are a large number of soldiers killed or injured, there must be the smell of blood that should belong to the battlefield.
At this time, it was only two or three miles away from Zhumapo. It could be said that it was so close that there was no smell of blood. Song Shixin certainly did not believe that Zhumapo had been captured by Long Rui's army.
Unless the defenders stationed at Mapo made no resistance at all and were captured by Long Rui's army without blood.
In Song Shixin's opinion, this is of course impossible.
He had told Han Ying that the position of Zhumapo was extremely important. Even if the sky fell, he would hold on to it with all his strength. If there was an accident here, he would definitely mobilize troops to quickly reinforce him. At that time, his brother-in-law looked determined, even
He vowed to live and die with Zhumapo. Unless he died in battle, Zhumapo would never fall into anyone's hands.
Although Song Shixin still felt that Han Ying's words were unclear at the time, Song Shixin still admired his firm will.
He knows his brother-in-law very well.
Han Ying liked to wield swords and guns since he was a child, and he also liked to read military books. When he talked about the art of war, he was very clear and logical. He was even praised by many Liaodong generals. Song Shixin once felt that Han Ying was far more accomplished in the art of war.
Above my brother-in-law.
Therefore, he has always admired his brother-in-law. He feels that his brother-in-law is versatile in both civil and military affairs. If he can be trained and trained, he may not be a pillar of the Liaodong Army in the future. For this reason, Han Ying was specially asked to stay in Zhumapo this time. In fact, he wanted to have a good experience.
Han Ying, give your brother-in-law a chance to make contributions.
He knew very well that if Huangfu Yunzhao's plan succeeded, and Gu Baiyi's troops were successfully defeated, Songyang Grassland was captured, and rewards would be given based on merit after the war, Han Ying's contribution would definitely be considerable. If he used some connections, he would definitely be able to
Let Han Ying be promoted.
Therefore, he never believed that Zhumapo, guarded by Han Ying, could be captured by Long Rui's troops without bloodshed.
His face was extremely ugly. In order to confirm the situation, he even clapped his horse and came forward to see the situation for himself. The generals behind him were surprised when they saw this. A dozen riders followed closely and approached the west gate of the Zhumapo camp.
From a high position, I saw a large number of soldiers standing ready behind the wooden wall of the camp. Through the light of the fire, I could clearly see several flags planted at the gate of the camp. In addition to the Tang flag, one of the flags had the word "Qin" clearly written on it.
Of course Song Shixin knew who the "Qin" character flag was.
Just a few steps ahead, the body of a Liaodong cavalry was lying on the ground. It was one of the several cavalrymen sent by Song Shixin to check out the situation. One of them was hit by an arrow in the shoulder and fled back, but this person must have been shot.
He was hit in the vital part and shot directly here.
There is no doubt that Long Ruijun has no worries anymore.
"General Xuanwei Song Shixin!" A voice suddenly sounded from the other side of the camp: "General, I have been waiting here for a long time, why don't you dismount and apologize?" Although the voice was calm and calm, not too high-pitched, it was extremely clear.