However, emotion is emotion, despair is despair, and we must continue to break out, otherwise we will really die in this river valley.
In order to survive, Tani and the tens of thousands of soldiers under his command could only continue to attack the Zhenjiang Army's defense line.
However, compared with yesterday's last-ditch battle and overwhelming momentum, the intensity of today's right-leg army's offensive has been significantly weakened. Especially after four large-scale group charges, after noon, many soldiers no longer had any strength at all.
There is only one main reason for this bad situation, and that is lack of water.
Water is the source of life.
Under extreme conditions, people can often unleash their potential beyond imagination. Even if they go two or three days without eating or even sleeping, they may still be able to survive. But unfortunately, if you don't drink water for a whole day, even a person with a will as strong as steel may have a hard time persisting. Especially in very strenuous exercise such as fighting, after the warrior's physical strength is quickly depleted, it is more important to replenish water as quickly as possible than to replenish food calories.
In fact, the troops and horses of the Right Route Army carried a large number of water bottles during the march. However, compared with the 40,000 to 50,000 people, this fresh water reserve is insignificant. Moreover, the small amount of sweet and clear water has to be reserved for middle and high-level officers to drink, while a large number of ordinary soldiers are not able to enjoy it at all.
Last night, many soldiers in the team began to drink horse blood secretly because they were thirsty. But who would have expected that not only is horse blood extremely fishy and unpleasant to drink, but not only does it not quench your thirst after drinking it, it will on the contrary further aggravate the feeling of dry mouth.
Horse blood is strong in nature. As soon as you drink it, a hot and dry breath will flow from your mouth to your throat, and then from your throat to your stomach. It will rush straight to your forehead, making it indescribably uncomfortable.
After finally surviving until dawn, all the soldiers in the army got up early, ran around looking for plants, and sucked the dew on the leaves and flowers to quench their thirst. Although this method was somewhat effective, it was still a total of forty or fifty thousand people. There were originally very few trees in the Welland River Valley, so all the leaves were wiped out in an instant, as if a large number of locusts were passing through.
Even so, the crisis of thirst has not been alleviated.
Due to the lack of water, various battalions and teams of the Right Army began to experience varying degrees of non-combat attrition, and even those who could still persist in participating in the battle were mostly weak and listless. This situation directly led to the number of threatening attacks becoming less and less.
On the other hand, the Zhenjiang Army defending the front and rear entrances of the valley was well equipped with supplies and ready to work. Relying on the solid defenses, the Metasequoia soldiers firmly controlled the two barriers, making it difficult for Tani's troops to advance or retreat.
What's even more damaging is that the Zhenjiang Army also took advantage of the geographical advantage of occupying the upper wind and lit a large number of firewood fires on the spot. While grilling meat, a large amount of thick smoke was swept into the Welland Valley by the wind, which continued to intensify the western part of the valley. Xinjiang soldiers suffered from thirst and heat.
In this way, there was no need to wait until the sky turned dark, and the Western Xinjiang Right Army, which was mainly attacking one side, completely wanted to retreat. In order to prevent the Zhenjiang Army from taking advantage of the situation to counterattack, Commander Tani could only hurriedly call for troops to retreat, temporarily retreating to the center of the river valley, and continued to wait for reinforcements to arrive.
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On the third day of the siege, Tani and the Right Army were already on the verge of collapse due to severe lack of water, and were no longer able to launch a breakout operation. Tani originally hoped that Deputy Marshal Deman, who was staying outside the valley, could lead his troops to rescue in time. However, three days later, there was no movement from the infantry rear guard outside the valley. Judging from this situation, it is estimated that Deman and the infantry rear team It's also a disaster.
At this moment, Tani couldn't help but feel a lot of regret in her heart.
Not only did he underestimate the Zhenjiang Army and Li Jiangyao, but he also forgot what his father, Tajik, had told him before sending troops: "My son, the troops in Metasequoia City are messing around with Alekjiang and Geerhan, which shows that They are by no means just defeated soldiers and bandits, a ragtag group. So, let’s try our best not to get involved in this muddy water now.”
Tani stared blankly at the sky, silently complaining to himself: His father's judgment was correct. If I hadn't been greedy for success and hoped to show off my skills within the Western Xinjiang Alliance and in front of the Turks, I wouldn't have reached this point at all. Not only did they fail to defeat the Xinjiang Army, but they trapped tens of thousands of their own soldiers in a desperate situation in the Weilan Valley, calling for help from the sky and the earth.
Who would have expected that the powerful right-leg army and the once invincible Shule cavalry across the western frontier would be completely defeated by "Thirst" in just two or three days?
Looking at the sluggish brothers around him, looking at the countless dry pits dug around to find water, and looking at the blazing sun hanging high above his head, Tani was filled with a helpless feeling of weakness.
In three days, I tried every possible way, but I couldn't find even a drop of water in this damn place. Now, let alone leading troops to break through, not even a single messenger can be sent out to ask for help. The Metasequoia Army in Zhenjiang tried their best and the main force came out. The Second Army of Fire blocked the entire Weilan Valley tightly and had no intention of giving them a chance.
If the suffering continues like this, within a day or two, there will be no need for Li Jiangyao to lead the Zhenjiang Army to fight them, and everyone in the Right Army will die of thirst!
Tani licked her chapped lips and swallowed with difficulty the non-existent saliva. A burning feeling suddenly filled her entire mouth and throat. He pondered for a long time, as if he had made up his mind, and in a hoarse voice ordered his men to summon the generals from all ministries to come for a meeting.
"Brothers, I...I can't just watch you die of thirst and be trapped here, and I can't bear to let you make those unnecessary sacrifices again. So...so I decided that we surrender to the Zhenjiang Army."
Hearing the word "surrender" and looking at Prince Tani's desperate and depressed expression, all the generals fell silent.
As far as the current situation is concerned, there is actually no room for them to have any more choices. Either fight and die, or stay where you are and wait to die. Otherwise, if you really want to survive, the only way left is "surrender".
Seeing that no one had any objections, Tani nodded heavily.
He turned around and ordered his lieutenant to immediately send an envoy to contact the Zhenjiang Army guarding the valley entrance, explain to them the ideas of the Right Route Army, and ask them to show their respect and arrange for representatives to contact them.
Not long after, the Zhenjiang Army sent a reply: surrender accepted.
Immediately afterwards, Palletahon, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Second Agni Army, was ordered to come to negotiate in person. Paltahong brought a message from Li Jiangyao to Tani: "As long as the right army is willing to lay down its arms and stop fighting, the Shengtang Zhenjiang Army's Metasequoia Corps guarantees its high military reputation. From Prince Tani on down, all Western Xinjiang troops will The lives and safety of all soldiers of the Right Army will be respected and protected."
With the clear attitude of the supreme commander of the Zhenjiang Army, Tani and his men finally breathed a sigh of relief. After brief and straightforward consultations, the two sides finally reached an agreement on a ceasefire and surrender.
The Western Xinjiang Right Army, with nearly 50,000 troops, led by Prince Tani of Shule King, uniformly handed over their weapons and horses, lined up neatly, and slowly walked out of the Weilan Valley.
As soon as they came out of the valley mouth, the right route army immediately received water and food supplies, and finally their lives were restored. After a short rest, these people lined up and marched towards Pai City under the joint supervision of the Zhenjiang Second Army and the Third Army. At the same time, all the officers of the Right Army, including Prince Tani, were temporarily left in place by Li Jiangyao.
Only by separating officers from their own troops can we ensure that the large number of prisoners of war will not cause trouble along the way.
Of course, this approach has been negotiated by both parties in advance.
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After Tani and his men were settled, the generals of the Zhenjiang Army began to worry about another problem:
What should be done with these more than 40,000 prisoners next?
You know, the Metasequoia Corps now has three main forces, and the three armies combined only have 50,000 troops. At present, a similar number of prisoners of war have appeared out of thin air, and the daily consumption of military rations has doubled.
In addition, the care of prisoners of war has become a troublesome issue. If we want to establish several large-scale prisoner of war camps within the four cities under the jurisdiction of the Zhenjiang Army, it will not only require a lot of time, manpower, materials and funds, but also specially arrange the army to supervise and control the prisoners.
At present, the other two armies of the Western Xinjiang Alliance are pressing down on the border, and the war situation is extremely tense. How can they have this spare time and spare manpower?
There are so many prisoners who cannot be killed or released. Keeping them is a waste of food. The generals of the Xinjiang Army who were previously rejoicing because of their victory in harvesting tens of thousands of enemy troops now all look sad. Don't show up.
Just when everyone was worried about the placement of prisoners, Li Jiangyao borrowed an abacus from the accountant in charge of military supplies and fiddled with it vigorously.
Du Jian couldn't help being curious and couldn't help asking: "Boss, what are you thinking about?"
"A soldier asked him for one hundred silver coins." Li Jiangyao had no time to pay attention to him. He just lowered his head and muttered to himself: "The squad leader has five hundred silver coins, the captain has two thousand silver coins, and what about the general? The general must be counted as one hundred thousand no matter what. A silver coin... Oh yes, there is also a prince, haha, the prince is worth one million silver coins... Three eight twenty-four, seven eight fifty six... My dear, I can sell a total of 8.3 million silver coins. Silver coins! Make a fortune this time!"
Du Jian looked confused: "Are you... trying to sell someone?"
"Of course we have to sell them," Li Jiangyao continued to think about it: "otherwise, why would we keep them?"
"But...who should I sell it to?"
"Whoever bids the highest price will be sold to him." Li Jiangyao turned to ask the quartermaster: "Please help me calculate it carefully. There are so many prisoners, they are eaten by horses and chewed by horses. What is the appropriate cost for them in a day? According to the market price, the highest Standard calculation.”
