Amidst the ashes, there were endless fires but nothing to burn. The cool wind gradually blew away the scorching heat that shrouded the entire fortress, leaving only the remains and charred corpses on the ground.
The soldiers were clearing the roads, collecting corpses, and patrolling the fortress. Xiahou Dun felt increasingly heavy.
This is not an attack on big cities like Luoyang and Shouchun. Just for a small fortress, more than 10,000 people were lost, seven or eight times the Chu army!
The most disastrous thing was that the Xiandeng camp, one of Wei's elite troops, was almost completely destroyed, and general Lu Kuang was killed in battle.
In this battle, the advantage gained from easily annihilating Xu Sheng's 20,000 Chu troops was completely exhausted in his own hands. Although there were helpless factors such as competing for time, the losses were so heavy that as the commander-in-chief, he could not absolve himself of the blame.
Xiahou Dun sighed, turned around and said to Li Dian beside him.
"Instruct the scouts to explore the road ahead, and ask the soldiers to take a good rest in the camp outside the city. We will set off in an hour."
They won't have much time to rest in the future.
Li Dian seemed to understand what Xiahou Dun meant, so he responded and quickly went down to make arrangements.
After having lunch early, the army was ready to go. Xiahou Dun gave the order and immediately passed through Pengcheng Fortress and marched towards Xuzhou.
After leaving Pengcheng Fortress, the road suddenly opened up and split into two paths leading to Xiaopei. One of them leads to Qiao County and then to Xiaopei, which is the most direct road; the other leads to Raoyuan Road to Rencheng and then to Xiaopei.
Xiahou Dun had nothing to hesitate, so he naturally took the shortest route.
In order to catch up with the main force of the Chu army, he led the army in a hurry for a long time. Even at night, he lit torches and rushed on his way. After walking for another two hours, the scouts reported that they would soon enter the territory of Qiao County.
Xiahou Dun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They could quickly contact the Han army after entering Xuzhou. At least they knew where the main force of the Chu army had fled and how to pursue them.
However, after stopping his horse for a while, Xiahou Dun suddenly felt a warning sign in his heart.
I saw that although the road here is wide and the view is broad, the mountain on the left is steep and easy to ambush, and a slope on the right leads down to a large river. Once you fall into the river and be washed away by the water, your life or death will be uncertain.
But this idea just came up and was rejected by Xiahou Dun.
The Tiger Roar Camp has achieved its purpose of delaying time. Now there are only more than 1,000 people left, and there is no fortress to defend them. How can they dare to turn back and fight?
Do you really think that you are a god descending to earth, and that everyone can be equal to ten?
Xiahou Dun laughed to himself whether he was frightened by the previous battle.
Under shadows and continuous torches, the Wei army still marched rapidly along the road.
Suddenly, there was a bang of thunder on the left side.
Looking up, I saw huge rocks rolling down like wind and thunder, and the whole mountain seemed to be overturning.
"not good!"
Seeing such a scene, Wei Jun suddenly became confused. Some wanted to rush forward, while others wanted to retreat. As a result, they were crowded together and their movement speed was greatly reduced.
The rocks rolled down, and some people were killed. Some people were pushed down the slope on the right and fell into the river. Some people were so anxious that they forgot that they didn't understand water and jumped into the river with their eyes closed.
Xiahou Dun's horse was frightened from the beginning of the accident, and ran back desperately with Xiahou Dun. The war horse, which was also a reward from Cao Cao, had amazing foot power and quickly brought Xiahou Dun out of danger.
When Xiahou Dun comforted his horses and turned back, the road had been blocked by rocks. He could only hear shouts from the other side to kill Zhentian. It seemed that the Chu army came down from the mountain to wipe out the remaining Wei army.
Xiahou Dun's face suddenly turned green and white. He clearly had a premonition, but he held on to a bit of luck and caused the army's casualties to increase again. This was his crime.
"Quick! Move the rocks quickly and rescue the brothers!"
Xiahou Dun was so angry that he had no time to blame himself, so he took the lead in lifting the stone and pushing it into the river.
The soldiers gradually felt relieved when they saw that there were no more rocks rolling down, and they quickly stepped forward to help clear the road.
······
The ground was covered with Wei soldiers who had been smashed beyond recognition by stones and torches scattered everywhere.
The remaining Wei soldiers were in shock, and were cut off from the main army. There was no general who could stabilize the morale of the army to take command, and they could not use 20 to 30% of their 100% combat strength. After fighting for a long time, except for those who drowned in the river, the remaining soldiers and horses were easily wiped out by the Tiger Roar Camp.
Zhou Tai put his spear aside and sat on a big rock to rest for a while and wait for Wei Jun. Behind him was the road that was also cut off by rocks.
Next to it is Qiao County. Ji Shu gave him the task of guarding Pengcheng, and this is the burial place Zhou Tai chose for himself.
They no longer need a retreat.
I don’t know how long it took, maybe it wasn’t too long, but I couldn’t tell the passage of time in the dark night.
With a splashing sound, rocks fell into the river, revealing a gap in the road blocked in front.
The officers and soldiers of the Tiger Roar Camp were ready.
In the bright firelight, a Wei general appeared in Zhou Tai's field of vision, climbing on the rocks.
It's Xiahou Dun.
Zhou Tai didn't recognize Xiahou Dun, but strangely enough, he recognized him unknowingly at this moment. Behind him, a steady stream of Wei troops emerged, and the gaps in the road opened wider and wider.
Xiahou Dun's gaze passed over thousands of soldiers and fell on Zhou Tai impartially.
Looking at the road ahead that was still blocked, Xiahou Dun shook his head and sighed softly. At this point, even his enemies couldn't help but respect him. He not only wanted to recruit Zhou Tai to surrender, but also did not forget to damage the morale of the Chu army, so he opened his mouth and said.
"General Zhou, surrender, it's useless."
"Sun Ce's 50,000-strong army has been surrounded by Liu Bei's 100,000-strong army, and they have lost their food and grass supplies. Their retreat is cut off and their morale is uncertain. As a general, you should know that, how can you still survive in this way?"
"The Chu army was defeated."
Lost?
The messy firelight shone dimly on Zhou Tai's face, and the fire flickered in his eyes.
"Win" is the slogan of Huxiao Camp. Zhou Tai originally thought that this was their pride. This Jiangdong ace should have such pride!
"Glory and wealth, please go elsewhere!"
"If you are greedy for life and afraid of death, don't enter this door!"
When Zhou Tai walked into the military camp of Huxiao Camp and saw those two sentences, he felt admiration but also often felt confused. He didn't even understand what he was confused about.
Now he understands that the word "must win" does not carry pride, but the will to die and faith!
"defeat?"
Zhou Tai laughed.
"The Tiger Roar Camp has never known what failure is!"
"All armies are defeated, but I, the Tiger Roar Camp, will win without a doubt!"
"Since the beginning of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the late emperor established the 'Tiger Roar Camp'. After experiencing the suppression of bandits in Jiangdong, the feudal princes' campaign against Dong, the Jiangxia Revolution, the recovery of Jiangdong, and the crusade against Jingzhou, it has been fifteen years since you came, and there have been hundreds of battles, big and small, Tiger Roar The battalion has never been defeated once!"
Zhou Tai grabbed the spear and stood up slowly, glaring at Xiahou Dun with anger and determination.
"The Tiger Roar Camp has never known what failure is. Even if it means death, we will dedicate victory to our Lord!"
Zhou Tai had already vaguely guessed the danger of the situation, and now Xiahou Dun's words made him understand even more why Ji Shu could be so ruthless.
Smiling, Zhou Tai glanced at the soldiers around him, with the flames of war burning in each of their eyes.
His heart is like my heart, and your will is like mine.
If we die together for you, what more do you want from me?
The more than a thousand enemy soldiers in front of them were silent, relying solely on Zhou Tai's own words, but their eyes converged. It was exactly the same look in the eyes, the same will. What Chen Heng had in front of Wei Jun was a sharp and unforged sword.
Xiahou Dun nodded unconsciously. Isn't Zhou Taixiao's loyalty to Sun Ce the same as his loyalty to Cao Cao?
"kill!"
There was no need to ask any more, Xiahou Dun waved his hand forward, and countless Wei troops behind him charged forward.
Zhou Tai sneered, it should have been like this a long time ago.
Are Chu people afraid of death? As long as the blood is not shed, the battle will continue!
"We must win!" "We must win!"
Facing the Wei army coming like a tidal wave, the soldiers of the Tiger Roar Battalion raised their weapons high and charged forward like a mountain roaring and a tsunami roaring.
I have to say that the formation of Tiger Roar Camp is still very organized. Compared with the vast battlefield, such a road is still wide, but it cannot maximize the numerical advantage. Instead, it allows the Tiger Roaring Battalion to display its full potential. Just like a rock, it remains motionless under the impact of big waves.
Zhou Tai often went to the front to replace injured soldiers. He was invincible wherever he went, and there was not even a single three-in-one general among the Wei army, which also made the morale of Huxiao camp high.
To Zhou Tai's regret, Xiahou Dun had been standing behind him to direct.
It's not that Xiahou Dun was afraid of Zhou Tai. This was just the normal situation between the two armies. The confrontation between the generals of the two armies in front of the battle was a special situation.
I would like to ask Zhou Tai only has more than 1,000 soldiers and horses, and Xiahou Dun has more than 30,000 troops. He knows that the enemy's fall will only happen sooner or later, why would he risk Zhou Tai's life? As the commander-in-chief of this army, if something goes wrong, wouldn't it affect the three armies?
Zhou Tai usually fought hard with his brothers, but now the situation is indeed at the end of the road. Xiahou Dun could be so calm, but now he couldn't learn even if he wanted to.
What Zhou Tai knows, he has known since the beginning of this battle.
This will be his burial place.
Dancing the cold spear, harvesting the lives on the battlefield, the scarlet blood spread on his face, armor, and soaked into his underwear.
The enemy's ferocious courage, enemy's fear, and enemy's wailing lingered in his ears, and his heart was already as cold as stone, unshakable.
Halberds, spears, knives, and countless weapons were dangled in front of his eyes. He didn't know how many people he killed or how many injuries he suffered.
"General, General! Take a rest!"
The general pulled Zhou Tai to the back, held him down and sat down, and a group of soldiers behind him rushed forward to meet the enemy.
Zhou Tai gasped and finally came back to his senses. The armor on his body was already broken, and there was a shallow wound on his left arm that was bleeding. The general quickly helped him bandage the wound.
His breathing gradually calmed down, and Zhou Tai was back on the battlefield in a blink of an eye.
The number of soldiers around him decreased little by little, and the scope of the Chu army was gradually compressed.
Zhou Tai felt colder and colder. He was wondering, was it almost dawn?
