Candlelight flickered and crackled.
After about one or two sticks of incense, Liu Mingzhi gently closed the battle report in his hand and raised his eyes to look at Cheng Kai and the other five.
"Cheng Kai!"
"The general is here!"
"How are you assisting Han Peng in dealing with the casualties of the rebels under Zhao Wang Li Tao?"
"Reporting to the commander, the general has asked Sima to count the casualties. The inventory should be completed and passed to the commander in less than half an hour.
The general returned to the camp this time in the hope that the commander-in-chief would immediately allocate food and fodder to supplement the consumption of the brothers.
After fighting for a long time, the men and horses are already exhausted. If we don't replenish food and grass in time, we will eventually be afraid that our brothers' bodies and the strength of the horses will not be able to support them. "
Liu Mingzhi nodded silently: "Don't worry about this. Before you return to the camp, I have already ordered Tang Ru to prepare for this matter. In less than half an hour, the food and grass will be transported to the hands of the brothers in the west of the city."
"Yes, the handsome man is wise."
Liu Mingzhi rubbed his temples and sighed: "What is the fighting strength of the rebels under King Zhao?"
Cheng Kai took off his helmet and scratched his forehead and thought for a while: "To say he is vulnerable seems a bit conceited and too arrogant.
The combat effectiveness of the cavalry is quite impressive, while the combat effectiveness of the infantry is at best about the same as that of the auxiliary troops in northern Xinjiang.
In half a day, the last general led 20,000 brothers to tear apart their phalanx, and then used thunderbolts and crossbows to attack and destroy the three infantry phalanxes.
Because the war horse's physical strength was exhausted, it was really unable to continue the attack. "
"Three square formations, more than 10,000 troops, the results are pretty good.
What about the cavalry? "
"On the cavalry side, Han Peng is commanding the enemy. The battle situation is urgent. The general has no time to observe the battle situation. I'd better wait for Han Peng to sort out the results and report to you himself!"
"Are you very confused? Why did I suddenly order you to change the target of the battle when you were clearly attacking the city?"
The five people said nothing, but nodded without hesitation.
Obviously, as the war was in full swing, Liu Mingzhi's sudden order to withdraw his troops and turn to the other two troops puzzled them.
Liu Mingzhi picked up the pot and poured a cup of tea, then walked downstairs with the tea cup, pouring a cup of tea for the five people one by one.
"My commander gave this order because he had to do it as a last resort..."
Liu Mingzhi drank tea and repeated what he told Zhou Baoyu. Only then did Ning Chao and the others suddenly realize that the commander-in-chief was planning to attack the east and the west.
"So that's it. The general asked why King Zhao's troops were so eager to get out of Han Peng's attack when he just led his troops to the west of the city.
Thanks to the commander's foresight, otherwise the general would not have been able to cooperate with Han Peng to annihilate so many enemy troops in one afternoon!
By the way, Chu Jing, Fuji, how is the battle going with your side and Yong'an Gong's men? "
Hearing Cheng Kai's curious question, Feng Buer and Chu Jing's eyes dimmed a bit. They looked at each other and held their teacups in silence for a long time before speaking.
"The casualties totaled 7,000 soldiers and horses, more than 3,200 were killed directly in battle, more than 2,000 were seriously injured, and the rest were all minor injuries."
Cheng Kai's hand holding the teacup suddenly trembled, and he sighed and nodded with an expected look on his face.
"The soldiers and horses under Yong'an Gong are just like our soldiers, they are the elites who fought on the battlefields of the two countries. It is reasonable that the casualties are so heavy.
There should only be a lot more casualties among the soldiers and horses under Yong'an Gong's command, right? "
Feng Buer and the other two didn't speak, just nodded silently.
Cheng Kai drank all the tea in the cup and placed it heavily on the table with a gloomy look: "Alas, the meritorious soldiers who have guarded the border for many years have lost nearly 20,000 troops because of this battle.
What a pity that we did not die on the battlefield protecting our family and country, but died under the swords of each other's heroes in the past! "
Liu Mingzhi, who was standing in the middle, trembled slightly as he listened to Cheng Kai's emotional words. He lowered his head and silently looked at the slightly rippling tea in the tea cup and became dazed.
Upon seeing this, Ning Chao hurriedly coughed at Cheng Kai and gave him a hidden look.
Only then did Cheng Kai react. He stood up helplessly and walked to Liu Mingzhi and stopped in front of him.
"Commander, I don't mean anything else. I'm just grumbling casually. Don't take it to heart."
"Yes, Marshal, Brother Cheng said it unintentionally. He had no other meaning. Marshal, please don't blame yourself."
"Yes, yes, it was the injustice of the court that came first. If His Majesty had not sent people to assassinate the commander-in-chief, how could we have been in today's situation? It was the court's injustice that came first, and it was not the commander-in-chief's fault."
"Commander, you gave the other brothers a way out, but they insisted on standing in the way. It's not our fault. The brothers who have spirits in heaven will understand you.
At least, except for the soldiers of the Sixth Guards of our New Army, our brothers from other departments will not have the same worries as we do after they die in battle! "
Liu Mingzhi raised his head and looked at Cheng Kai and the others with a slightly confused look, then walked towards the handsome chair with the teacup in hand.
"Let me be quiet for a while, you all go to settle the brothers under your command first!
By the way, find Jiang Lei. I want to see him if I have anything to do. "
Cheng Kai and the others looked at Liu Mingzhi, who looked a little dazed, and nodded hesitantly.
"With your order, we must retreat!"
Nangong Ye's military camp in the northwest.
Compared with Liu Mingzhi's dazed expression, Nangong Ye's mood was not much stronger.
He threw the battle report in his hand on the table and glanced at the dozen old brothers in the tent who looked gloomy.
“In this battle alone, tens of thousands of brothers were killed or injured.
Nearly five thousand brothers were buried directly on the battlefield, and there were also many brothers who were lightly or seriously injured. It has been many years since we, the Sixth Guards of Northern Xinjiang, have suffered such heavy losses in a single battle.
Tell me, what should I do next? "
"General, the brothers are very excited about resisting the war and are not willing to fight against the brothers of the Sixth Guards of the New Army at all.
After all, they are not the same enemies as the troops of the two countries, but they are Paoze who have been eating together in the same pot for several years or even more than ten years.
After calming down, he raised his sword to his robe again. The brothers really couldn't do it anymore.
Today's fierce battle has made the soldiers...
Not only our officers and soldiers, according to reports from scouts, the resistance of the officers and soldiers of the New Army is not much lower than ours.
It seems that they are not willing to fight with my soldiers! "
Nangong Ye looked at the deputy general Guo Yu's sad expression, rubbed his temples and fell silent.
After a long time, Nangong Ye looked around at the many generals in the tent uneasily.
"In other words, once our troops and horses are at a stalemate, we can only watch helplessly as King Bingjian leads the remaining troops and horses under his command and allows them to continue to attack the city!"
Vice General Guo and a group of generals looked at each other silently and nodded hesitantly.
“That’s roughly what it will be like.
Even though the officers and soldiers of the new army will not fight with our soldiers and horses, they will not watch us cross their defense lines to stop King Bingjian from attacking the city.
According to scout investigation, King Bingjian had sent a group of troops to stop Gan Lianghou from rushing to the capital.
In other words, once our troops and horses tacitly choose to avoid fighting, the only remaining battle will be between the king and the imperial troops on the wall.
Once the two sides reach a tacit understanding, our orders will have no effect.
The soldiers may pretend to be fighting in a small way, but the bloody fighting this afternoon will never happen again.
Having fought side by side for many years, they still have this tacit understanding. "
Nangong Ye stood up with an uneasy expression and looked towards the capital in panic.
Is the change of dynasty a foregone conclusion?
