Sun Quan's impassioned speech indeed boosted the morale of the soldiers in each camp, achieving the effect suggested by Lu Meng.
After the speech, Sun Quan assigned Xu Sheng, who had an injured arm, to lead the way and transport the remains of the fallen soldiers back to Jianye for burial. Feeling that the morale of the battalions was gradually recovering, he gathered the troops and continued to advance towards Hefei.
The short-term motivation was only strong. Each battalion was afraid of losing its own troops. After going into battle, they were all unable to work. After two attempts to siege the city, the Jiangdong camp once again fell into a state of standstill.
Although Sun Quan was very weak militarily, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Jiangdong soldiers had a negative attitude towards fighting. The battle of eight hundred versus one hundred thousand was really humiliating, and simply boosting morale was obviously of little use.
The soldiers did not use their strength, but Zhang Liao suddenly attacked and robbed the camp. The siege battle was even more difficult, and Sun Quan simply sat on the wall.
At this time, Sun Quan was faced with a dilemma. Because he returned to Jianye in such despair, the world would not scold Chen Wu who died in the battle, nor Xu Sheng, who was injured, nor Lu Meng, who gave him advice.
What's wrong with these generals? Isn't it the commander's incompetence? In the end, it was Sun Quan who had to carry it all.
If you want to wear its crown, you must bear its weight.
Sun Quan felt that this hat was too heavy. If there was no suitable reason to retreat, he would stay where he was no matter what.
In late August of the 20th year of Jian'an, more than ten days after Jiangdong attacked Hefei, his confidant Lu Meng broke into the tent worriedly. At this time, Sun Quan was daydreaming on his bed.
Hearing the rapid footsteps, Sun Quan hurriedly climbed up. He shouted from left to right in panic: "Is Zhang Liao here again? Get me a coat quickly."
"Lord, it's me." Lu Meng said, cupping his fists.
Sun Quan shook his head to force himself to wake up. When he realized it was Lu Meng, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Ziming, you scared me. What are you so worried about?"
Lu Meng scratched his head and was speechless. Although he was a little anxious, it seemed that you were the one who was panicking?
"Lord, many soldiers in the camp are sick. It has spread to more than 300 people in two days. If it is not controlled, it will be dangerous." Lu Meng looked solemn.
When Zhou Yu defeated Cao Cao in Wulin, his biggest helper was this terrifying contagious disease. When the commander-in-chief heard these two words, his expression changed.
"Why did you catch the epidemic?"
Although Sun Quan acted surprised, he felt a little relaxed in his heart. The reason he had been looking for to retreat due to the epidemic was very suitable. It seemed that God had sent it to them on his own initiative.
Lu Meng shook his head, "It's hard to say the cause of the epidemic. Maybe it's because the temperature gradually dropped, or maybe it was caused by the corpse being kept for too long."
"Ziming wants me to withdraw my troops?" Sun Quan tried to catch him.
"This is a natural disaster, not a man-made disaster. If we don't return to Jiangdong as soon as possible, we may be like Cao Cao in Chibi." Lu Meng answered with a frown.
Sun Quan nodded, "Since God's will is clear, we cannot rebel. Ziming, you go to each camp to deliver the order. We will retreat back to Jiangdong tomorrow. We must emphasize that it is a warning from heaven."
"Wei." Lu Meng answered with cupped fists, and then walked out of the main tent in a hurry.
Because of the need to control the siege, Jiangdong Camp was not far from Hefei City, and both sides were within sight of the naked eye.
After Sun Quan gave the order to retreat, each general marched on his own with his troops, and did not gather on board until they arrived at Shishui.
The Jiangdong troops retreated in such a arrogant manner, and they did not pay attention to the 7,000 defenders of Hefei at all, because they never thought that they would lose if they were well prepared.
Le Jin looked at the city wall and shouted: "Sun Quan's 100,000 soldiers were defeated by 800 General Zhang. Now he retreats openly. The rats from Jiangdong regard us as nothing. I want to lead the troops in pursuit to repay the lord."
Guard Xue Ti quickly dissuaded him: "General Le, please don't be impulsive. This may be Sun Quan's plan to mislead us and lead us to split our troops out of the city. It's better for us to stick to Hefei."
Li Dian twitched his beard and analyzed: "Sun Quan relied on his large number of troops, but his withdrawal was unorganized. He probably felt that there was no hope of attacking the city and was unwilling to waste money and food here."
"What Man Cheng said is absolutely true. When I go out into battle immediately, I will be able to defeat General Zhang's 800 and his 100,000." Le Jin was so excited that he was about to go downstairs.
Zhang Liao stretched out his hand to stop him and said: "Xue Hujun's words are reasonable. General Le's mission is still to defend Hefei. It is up to me and General Li to pursue Sun Quan."
"This" Le Jin feels as if he has swallowed a fly. He has no share in such easy-to-earn military honors. It's okay for me to do it.
Guard Xue Ti nodded and added: "According to Wenyuan's arrangement, we must all act in accordance with Wei Gong's secret letter."
Xue Ti brought out Cao Cao's secret letter, and Le Jin had no choice but to obey his orders. He clasped his fists and said, "Sun Quan must go to Xiaoyaojin when he retreats. You can make a fuss there."
"General Le, guard the city with peace of mind. General Li and I will go and come back." Zhang Liao nodded.
Zhang Liao and Li Dian walked down the city wall and said: "After all, Sun Quan has 100,000 people. It is impossible for us to kill them all. What Wen Qian just said is right. The retreating troops from Jiangdong must pass through Xiaoyaojin. I will lead the infantry and cavalry to pursue them from the front." Attract attention.
General Li led a partial division to go around it, first letting go of the main force in Jiangdong, looking for an opportunity to demolish the Xiaoshi Bridge in Xiaoyaojin, and then working together to eat Sun Quan's rear army. "
"General Zhang has a good plan. I will arrange it right away." Li Dian cupped his fists and accepted the order.
The various tribes in Jiangdong retreated alone. Their morale was low when they attacked the city, but now they were lighter and moving very fast. When Sun Quan arrived at the north of Xiaoyaojin, only Han Dang and Zhou Tai were left with a small number of elite troops waiting.
Zhang Liao led 2,000 infantry and cavalry in pursuit, and soon reached the north of Jin and captured Sun Quan's rear army.
At this time, Sun Quan had less than 10,000 people in the north of Xiaoyaojin. Even 100,000 people could not resist Zhang Liao's 800 men. Now the opponent's number was obviously more than 800. The surrounding Jiangdong soldiers all had dull eyes and hesitation. They felt from the bottom of their hearts. He thought he could not defeat Cao Bing.
"Lord, the morale of Cao's army is high, and Zhang Liao is very brave. We must ask for help from the front army, otherwise these people will have difficulty escaping." Lu Meng reminded quickly.
Sun Quan nodded, "Ziming quickly sent someone to convey the order and asked Gong Yi and Gong Miao to return to the army to respond."
"only."
Cao's army led by Zhang Liao was so powerful that Jiangdong's army in the north of Tianjin could not resist the defeat and retreated steadily. The musicians in the army even forgot to cheer.
At the critical moment, the veteran Han Dang killed two trumpeters. The trumpeters continued to beat trumpets and trumpets in fear, and took the lead in shooting down several cavalrymen with bows and arrows. Sun Quan followed suit and also shot himself. Only then did Jiangdong's soldiers manage to boost their morale and fight back.
Zhang Liao's pursuers have experienced eight hundred versus one hundred thousand, so now they are fearless when two thousand versus ten thousand. They are not afraid of the cold arrows in the formation at all. Instead, they become more courageous as they fight, overwhelming Jiangdong in terms of momentum.
When Han Dang saw Zhang Liao's prowess, he said to Zhou Tai with firm eyes: "I will hold Zhang Liao back. You Ping, you escort the lord to leave first."
"Yi Gong, be careful." Zhou Tai warned.
"What I can spare, you Ping go quickly." The businessman urged.
Zhou Tai immediately escorted Sun Quan first, but when he arrived at the river, he found that Li Dian's men were demolishing the bridge.
"You dare, thief."
