Chai Zhewei stood in the cold wind and bitter snow, still unable to accept the current failure, and he was a little lost. He knew what consequences he would face if he was defeated. Not only would he be buried here, but most importantly, his title of "Duke Qiao" would also be taken away by the imperial court with his defeat.
Because no matter whether the final winner is the crown prince or Guan Long, it will definitely not be Jing Wang Li Yuanjing. And he will be destined to be classified as a "rebellion", and even the fiefdom inherited from his mother will be recovered and deprived by the court...
Li Yuanjing led the defeated soldiers to Chai Zhewei in embarrassment. When he saw Chai Zhewei sitting on his horse with a confused look on his face, not knowing how to adjust his troops to meet the upcoming enemy charge, he immediately became angry and shouted: "The enemy The charge is imminent, shouldn't Duke Qiao follow the example of Marquis Huaiyin and fight against the odds, turning defeat into victory?"
Although he lacked military strategy, he had read several military books and knew the examples of "a last-ditch battle". He felt that it was very suitable for the current situation with a strong enemy in front of him and the Weishui River at his back. Since the Marquis of Huaiyin was able to form a formation and fight to the death, defeating King Zhao's 200,000 troops with more than 10,000 Han troops, he may not be able to imitate the ancients and turn defeat into victory now.
At the very least, although the army is defeated now, there are still tens of thousands of troops, which are on par with the Youtun Guards. If they are well organized and defended, there is a good chance...
Chai Zhewei looked at Li Yuanjing as if he was an idiot, and said coldly: "Does the prince think that the Youtun Guards are not as good as the 200,000 rabble of King Zhao back then, or does he think that the final general can be compared to the Marquis of Huaiyin who set the country?"
He now feels so remorseful that he wishes he could go back in time and make a new decision to join Guan Long's army. Even being a loyal minister and guarding the Xuanwu Gate honestly is a meritorious service. How could he end up in the current desperate situation? Therefore, he was full of hatred for Li Yuanjing, and felt that it was Li Yuanjing's bewitchment that led him to this step, but the result was a complete failure.
I wanted to take a chance, but ended up losing everything. The anger in my heart was evident...
Li Yuanjing was stunned for a moment. When he saw the fierce light in Chai Zhewei's eyes, his heart trembled. He knew that Chai Zhewei had become timid and couldn't do anything at the moment. He hurriedly said: "Victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists. Although it was a failure this time, it is There is no need to worry, you can forcefully cross the Wei River to gather troops. As long as I ask for help from the princes and princes of the clan, I will definitely be able to gather tens of thousands of soldiers and horses again, and the outcome of the comeback is unknown!"
Although Zuo Tunwei is defeated now, there are still tens of thousands of soldiers left, and their strength is acceptable. Without the help of Zuo Tunwei, it would have been impossible to capture the Xuanwu Gate and accomplish great things with the strength of the royal family kings alone. At this point, not only did he have no way out, but also the princes and princes in the clan who supported him had no way out, otherwise no matter which side the prince or Guan Long wins, they will be attacked.
In the past, those princes and princes still reserved their strength and refused to lend him more troops and horses, but now that they had reached this stage, they could no longer help him.
There are many remaining soldiers in Zuotun Guard, plus the royal troops and horses. After reorganizing the army and waiting for an opportunity to fight again, it may not be impossible to turn defeat into victory. After all, the main battlefield at the moment is still outside the imperial city. Donggong Sixth Army is fighting fiercely with the Guanlong rebels. It is feared that the winner will not be determined for a while. As long as he can catch the opportunity, there is still much to be done.
But if Chai Zhewei backs off and completely retreats due to fear in his heart, that will be troublesome...
Chai Zhewei's eyes flashed and his thoughts whirled.
At this point, he has no retreat. A charge of treason is enough to cause him to be dismissed from office, seize a title, and have his head taken away. The most unacceptable thing is that his title is taken away. Then he will become a sinner of the Chai family, and future generations will complain about it. cast aside!
It's just that if he runs away in embarrassment now, he can escape with his life, but the loss of his troops will greatly damage his strength. If he wants to help King Jing to seize military power after he ascends the throne, as he had imagined before, it is absolutely impossible, because he will support King Jing After ascending the throne, he became a supporter, his status was completely different, and his power was naturally withheld.
But then I thought about it, even if he couldn't seize more power, there was still some hope of achieving something. Otherwise, no matter whether he went to the Crown Prince or Guan Long at the moment, no one would care...
After weighing the trade-offs, he could only swallow his complaints, nodded slowly, and said: "What the prince said is true. This defeat is really unprepared, and there will be chaos in the end. I am willing to obey the prince's orders."
Li Yuanjing was very worried. He was afraid that after Chai Zhewei's defeat, in order to seek forgiveness from the prince or Guan Long, he would suddenly ruthlessly use his own head to plead guilty. At present, Chai Zhewei's attitude has obviously lost its balance. Changing from his previous strength and being willing to rely on himself can be regarded as losing something but gaining something in the east.
After all, Zuotunwei still has 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers. After reorganization, the combat power cannot be underestimated...
In the distance, the Youtun Guards had already assembled, and the armored cavalry had also taken a break, looking forward to launching an offensive. Li Yuanjing said: "Without further delay, I would like to ask Duke Qiao to mobilize the army quickly. Let us forcefully cross the Wei River and regroup."
Chai Zhewei was speechless.
Although the Weishui River is not frozen, the water temperature is definitely not low because of its rapid flow. If the soldiers were allowed to swim across the river in such a cold weather, they would probably get cramps from the cold if they entered the water. If they couldn't swim, they would run out of energy and be swept away by the current. Only one person out of ten could successfully cross the river...
He had no intention of looking down on Li Yuanjing, and pointed to the upstream direction and said: "After the last general leads his army, the prince can go upstream first and reach the Zhongwei Bridge to cross the river, and the last general will arrive soon after."
Li Yuanjing couldn't help but frown.
There are three large bridges on the Wei River, usually called the East Wei Bridge, the Middle Wei Bridge, and the West Wei Bridge. The most famous one is the West Wei Bridge. When His Majesty Li Er came to the throne, Jieli Khan led the wolf cavalry and drove straight into Guanzhong. His Majesty Li Er was forced to form an alliance with Jieli Khan here, leaving behind the "Wei River Alliance" allusion. The Zhongwei Bridge is located on the Wei River in the north of Chang'an City. The bridge is six feet wide, 380 paces from north to south, 68 bays, 750 columns, and 122 beams. It is very majestic and strong, but at this moment It is all under the control of the Guanlong rebels, so there must be defenders guarding the bridge.
If you want to cross the river from now on, you will have to fight the rebels hand-to-hand, which may not be much easier than the rear.
However, since Chai Zhewei expressed his willingness to lead the army to the rear, this was more dangerous after all. Li Yuanjing thought that he couldn't just snatch the rear from Chai Zhewei, right?
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "That's very good!"
He immediately led his royal troops and horses, reorganized them, and went upstream along the Weishui River, heading straight for the Zhongwei Bridge.
Chai Zhewei also gathered his troops and slowly retreated towards the Zhongwei Bridge, while trying to resist the imminent charge of the Right Guards.
*****
In the Shujing Hall, the bronze incense burner on the carved lacquer table is bright in color and simple in shape. A wisp of sandalwood rises and slowly disperses. The light fragrance fills the hall, making people meditate, relax and happy.
Outside the bright glass window, a thin dead branch stretched out diagonally from the corner of the wall. Clusters of pale pink plum blossoms were dotted on it, blooming in the cold weather.
Princess Changle put on a crimson palace dress, her hair was neatly tied into a bun, her long and snow-white neck was shining brightly, her pretty face was calm and peaceful, and she was sitting on her knees In front of a coffee table, he was making tea with an elegant posture.
He just moved his eyes away from the tea set in his hand and focused on a pair of snow-white and delicate feet under the coffee table opposite. He was immediately unhappy and scolded softly: "It's freezing out here, why don't you always wear socks? There are no rules. That’s all, as the saying goes, all diseases arise from the soles of the feet, if they go up to the meridians and organs and cause the disease all over the body, you may cry!”
Princess Jinyang, who was sitting obediently and kneeling opposite, disagreed. She moved her slender joints playfully twice and raised her graceful eyebrows slightly: "You and I are the only two sisters here, what rules do we need? Naturally, it is best to be more comfortable. Besides, this burning earth dragon will catch the cold wherever it goes."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hands to take the tea cup handed by Princess Changle, held it up to his lips, blew in the hot air, and took a shallow sip. The hot tea went down his throat and into his stomach, leaving a fragrant fragrance on his teeth and cheeks. Then he smiled and praised: "The tea brewed by my sister is delicious!"
Princess Changle glared at her angrily, took a sip from her tea cup, and asked curiously: "There are people fighting to death outside, and the imperial city is besieged. Why are you not afraid at all?"
The rebels besieged the imperial city, and the roar of firearms was endless. Not only the chamberlains and maids in the palace were panicked and trembling, but even the concubines were nervous and fearful, fearing that the imperial city would be lost and the rebels would swarm in. .
The war is in chaos, and it is difficult to restrain the rebels. If they become ferocious after attacking the imperial city, it will be an irreversible disaster...
