The next day, at dawn, Ning Jun woke up from his sleep.
After being tired for a long time, many people still feel sleepy, even sore, and don't want to get up despite sleeping all night.
But everyone knew that now was not the time to sleep, the Chu army was still around, and the situation was still very dangerous, so they still cheered up and got up from the tent.
The Huotou Battalion has prepared breakfast and distributed it to each battalion in advance. When the soldiers get up, they can queue up to receive it according to the order of the soldiers.
When you wake up early with a hint of night chill, it's a blessing to have a hot meal and make your belly feel bloated and warm.
Especially in this cruel battlefield right now, it is the only satisfying expectation.
Bai Yi'an also mingled with the soldiers, and together with them, he ate the standard food provided by the army, without any airs about the head coach.
And Zizi used food that only wanted to fill him up, regardless of the taste, and became one with the soldiers.
Such a people-friendly attitude naturally moved the soldiers, and they became more and more fond of the coach. They no longer regarded him as a high-ranking minister of aristocratic families, but rather as one of their own.
So after putting down their awe, someone finally couldn't help but asked after taking a sip of wild vegetable rice soup: "General, ahead is Ruichang City, which is the place of Ningguo. Once we get there, we will be safe and can go home smoothly. ?"
The person who asked the question was a young man who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old. He was very young.
However, according to what we learned when we chatted together, he has been in the army for three years, participated in four major and small battles, and personally beheaded two levels. He is a solid veteran.
In this chaotic world, even in Ningguo, which has been stable for more than ten years, there are still a lot of people who cannot survive and can only starve to death or flee.
In contrast, this young man was very lucky to be able to join the army and beg for food in the camp.
Some people want to lick blood with a knife, but they don't get it. In the end, it becomes the blood licked by others, which is even more miserable.
Therefore, the young man who has emerged from the suffering has a very simple idea in life: survive.
He wanted to live until he was forty, so that he could surpass the oldest village chief and become the oldest person in the village.
If possible, with the rewards of military merit, I can buy a few acres of land in my hometown, build a house, marry a wife, and have two fat children, and I will have no regrets in this life.
The young man has already calculated it.
To accomplish this, he must kill at least ten people, so that he can receive enough military merit rewards, and then he can be promoted to a certain rank, or even deputy captain, and receive more money.
Now that he has killed two people, he only needs to kill eight more people to achieve his goal.
However, with Ning Guo's defeat, the young man also knew that if he continued to fight, he would be more likely to die on the battlefield without waiting to complete his goal and realize his ideal.
Therefore, he didn't want to kill eight people, he just wanted to be able to go back alive, even if he was poor, just be alive.
When the other soldiers heard the young man's words, they couldn't help but look at Bai Yi'an expectantly.
To survive and stay alive is the simplest wish and the most instinctive need of living beings, pure and direct.
However, facing so many honest looks, Bai Yi'an was speechless for a moment.
What was he going to say?
Say you can't go back.
Not only can I not go back, I also plan to take you to die, hoping to use your lives to buy time for Ning Guo.
This reality is too cruel and no one will accept it.
So in the end, Bai Yi'an had to smile and said with confidence: "Yes, we can definitely go back. As long as we pass Ruichang, we can return to the country. By then, we will have strong city walls, sufficient food, and countless Comrades, the Chu people dare not attack us. We will naturally be safe."
"Really?"
"Great, I knew the general would be able to take us home. The general said so."
"I believe General."
When the soldiers around him heard Bai Yi'an's words, they couldn't help but become excited with joy.
The eyes that looked at Bai Yi'an seemed to see faith and light, equally pure.
Faced with all this innocence, Bai Yi'an couldn't bear it, so he stood up, patted the dust on his body, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I won't lie to you. Isn't this general here too?"
When the soldiers heard this, they believed it.
The general is also here, the emperor is also here, and so many ministers and generals are also here. If they can't go home in the future, how can these high-ranking royal relatives and nobles continue to move forward?
How precious their lives are!
Because what was done last night was hidden, and because of the usual class isolation, the soldiers did not notice that the emperor and many ministers were actually no longer in the military camp.
The only person who really stayed was Bai Yi'an, the Marquis of Wu'an, who was chatting and laughing with them intimately and said that he was also here.
The soldiers who didn't know that they had been betrayed suddenly became full of confidence when they thought of this and looked at the general's smile.
Bai Yi'an knew that he was hypocritical, disgusting, and shameless at this moment, but he still did it.
Let yourself become hypocritical, disgusting, shameless, and become the person you hate most in the past.
Because only in this way can these soldiers who believe in themselves be deceived into Ruichang, deceived into fighting to the death for Ningguo, deceived into dying for their own ideals and beliefs.
In order to achieve the above, he did not hesitate to change.
Just think of it as the last bit of indulgence before you die.
Moreover, Bai Yi'an didn't intend to survive. He was already preparing to die with these soldiers and pay them his life.
Although he did not ask the soldiers about their wishes in exchange for compensation.
There is no such thing as fairness and justice in this world.
In the end, I was also involved in the conversation about the fact that Marquis Wu'an ate with his soldiers and that he could go home by walking through Ruichang. Thanks to the spread of the news by caring people, it quickly spread throughout the entire military camp in just one morning meal. People know.
Under this influence, when the army set off and the soldiers lined up and marched out of the camp, morale became extremely high.
Everyone in Ning's army firmly believed that under the leadership of the general, they could overcome the final difficulties and return home smoothly.
Bai Yi'an also rode a red horse, leading a group of personal guards to gallop back and forth in front of and behind the advancing military column. He used a way to show his presence, confirming his words in the morning and boosting morale.
Finally, surrounded by cheers, at noon, Bai Yi'an led his troops to the gates of Ruichang City.
…
The head of Ruichang City.
Huang Xuan and Sun Siwen stood side by side on the tower, watching Ning Jun coming from afar.
Just this morning, Bai Yi'an shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers and made inspiring remarks such as "go home" and "I am here".
After a day and night of rushing slowly, Huang Xuan finally arrived at Ruichang City this morning with 30,000 soldiers and met up with Sun Siwen who was stationed here.
Huang Xuan followed the promise he made before leaving outside Changsha City last time, and immediately succeeded, he led the army to meet Sun Siwen in Yuzhang County.
However, the two of them had not had time to talk about their separation, and their attention was attracted by the arrival of Ning Jun.
"The Ning army has been defeated one after another and has been on the run for many days. How can it still have such morale?"
Huang Xuan looked at the appearance of Ning's army for a while, and saw that their morale was high, their formations were neat and tight, and they didn't look like a defeated army at all. He couldn't help but be surprised: "Who is the general of Ning's army who is leading the army? He can make the defeated army rejuvenate." , are you so capable?"
Since the war between Chu and Ning, they have experienced successive battles. With the deepening of contact and understanding, everyone in Chu State gradually came to know that the emperor of Ning State, who was born as a general, was not as brave and good at fighting as rumored by the outside world. He was a famous general in the world. .
The reason why the other party was able to achieve the position of Qianyue's general was due to his family background and his second-level innate strength.
Apart from these two points, his ability to lead troops in battle can only be said to be average, and he can be regarded as a qualified general.
Well, don't be fooled by the "qualified general" evaluation.
You must know that in the current system of the countries in the south of the Yangtze River, according to the basic organization of five people to one team, two teams to one Shi, five Shi to a team, two teams to a pawn, and five pawns to a battalion, generally two to five battalions of soldiers and horses, that is, There will be one school captain, and if there are two to five school captains, there will be a miscellaneous general.
According to this convention, based on the minimum standard, two battalions have one captain, and two captains have one general. At least four battalions with 2,000 people can have one general.
Of course, under normal circumstances, such a small-scale general would not appear.
Because it's such a waste of a name.
It is a bad-haired title, which devalues the title and official position in disguise. It will also lead to redundant officials and redundant personnel and increase financial expenditures.
In reality, a general will usually be assigned to lead an army with around 5,000 to 10,000 people.
Yangzhou folk, commonly known as the Ten Thousand Generals, come from this.
A general like that who only leads two thousand people can only be regarded as a leader of a thousand people. He has an empty title and is only a captain.
After such an explanation, everyone now knows what level Ning Emperor Shen Qiu's so-called "qualified general" evaluation is.
Just ten thousand generals.
A level like this would naturally be no problem for an ordinary general.
But who is Shen Qiu?
The emperor of Ning State, the leader of the Four Kingdoms Alliance of Jiangdong and Lingnan, and the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition, was in charge of Ning State's 600,000-strong Eastern Expedition Army.
Such an identity, coupled with such military capabilities, is naturally very deadly.
Therefore, ever since Shen Qiu decided to lead the eastern expedition in person, Ning Guo's defeat had actually become somewhat doomed.
Therefore, after seeing the mental state of Ning Jun outside the city, Huang Xuan did not take any credit for this achievement on Shen Qiu. He only thought about which Wuhou among Ning Jun had such ability.
"There are three people in the Jiangxia camp of the Ning Army. Needless to say, Lord Ning among them is another Wuyang Marquis, Li Dao, who was killed by the king a few days ago.
Now if there is anyone who can take charge of the overall situation, it is probably the remaining deputy commander of the Ning Army, Bai Yi'an, the Marquis of Wu'an. "Sun Siwen thought for a while and said.
"Marquis Wu'an..."
When Huang Xuan heard this title, his expression moved slightly, and he couldn't help but sigh: "Twelve years ago, I was appointed Marquis of Wu'an to command the divisions of the four countries and defeated the 300,000-strong army of Zhou and Shu in the north of the Yangtze River.
I originally thought that this would be the last song of Marquis Wu An, but I never thought that twelve years later, I would see the new Marquis Wu An again.
Haha, this battle is not in vain, this battle is not in vain. "
Huang Xuan burst out laughing at the end of his sentence. This clone with Lu Yuan's thoughts was in an extremely happy mood.
Seeing this, Sun Siwen showed a hint of recognition on his face.
As an authentic Yangzhou native, he had grown up listening to stories about the reputation of Marquis Wu'an, so he naturally recognized it very highly.
Now of course I feel a bit excited and honored to be able to fight against the new Marquis Wu'an.
Although he agreed, Sun Siwen couldn't help but worry: "The current Marquis of Wu'an has such ability, I'm afraid that if we want to destroy the Ning army outside the city in this battle, it won't be as easy as expected."
When Huang Xuan saw this, he said indifferently: "No matter how capable this Marquis of Wu'an is, he is currently trapped in a tight siege, with no soldiers and food, and I am occupying a fortified city. What worries does he have?"
Having said this, he smiled and said: "Besides, there are more than just two armies of mine here. Now the king has also led his troops. Our army is attacking from the front and back. It is several times the enemy's. We have taken all the advantages and it is easy to defeat the enemy."
As he finished speaking, he saw smoke and dust billowing in the distance, and a light cavalry coming from the west.
When they arrived outside the city, they wandered around the Ning army's camp and kept watch. The flag they carried was flying high with the big word "Chu" written on it.
Following Ning Jun, the main army led by Chu King Lu Yuan also arrived at the same time.
…
"Is Ning Jun ahead?"
Lu Yuanning's army arrived outside Ruichang City, and his troops were encamped. He took a group of generals and boarded the command vehicle. Looking at the Ning army's array in the distance, he couldn't help but comment: "It's quite majestic."
After running away for three days, it is indeed commendable that he can still maintain his current appearance.
"No matter how majestic it is, it can't compare to the might of our great Chu army. Today, when the king leads his troops here, Ning's army will be destroyed."
Someone nearby complimented.
"Haha, good point."
Lu Yuan couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and then asked: "I heard that two groups of troops escaped from the Ning Army Camp yesterday. Even the troops arranged to monitor and set up an ambush on the outside were broken through the three lines of defense, and they were not left behind. ?”
When the general in charge saw the king asking about it, he came out to apologize: "Your Majesty, more than a hundred people escaped from the north and south camp gates of the Ning army last night. After the men and horses arranged by the last general found out, they immediately started to intercept them.
However, these fleeing Ningren are all warriors who have developed internal strength. Their strength is at least third-rate, and there are many first- and second-rate masters among them.
They all rode fast horses. After leaving the camp, they fled without wanting to fight.
Although the ministers and others tried their best to stop him, they were still unable to stop him, and the Ning people escaped.
The general neglected his duty and let Ning Ren go, and asked the king to punish him. "
After saying this, the general fell to his knees and knocked his head heavily.
After listening to his story, Lu Yuan just glanced at the general and said calmly: "It doesn't matter. Didn't you say that the Ning people who escaped were all martial arts masters.
People of this generation have outstanding martial arts skills and possess light skills. They come and go. If they want to leave, even if they go alone, they may not be able to keep them all.
This is not a crime of war. I don’t blame you. Get up. "
After hearing this, the general on the ground stood up and said gratefully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
Lu Yuan nodded slightly, and then continued: "However, Ning's army has left so many masters at once. It seems that Shen Qiu and the ministers in his army have almost fled. Now, the rest of Ning's army are basically They are all abandoned children, abandoned."
The two fleeing Ning armies totaled nearly three hundred people.
Three hundred masters of third-rate martial arts or above are not something that can be gathered casually.
Even with the 80,000 soldiers and horses brought by Lu Yuan, the total number of third-rate and above masters in the entire army was only over a thousand, and they basically served as junior officers such as captains and captains in the army.
Ning's army had only 50,000 men left, and so many masters were lost at once, which was almost equivalent to halving the strength of the middle and high-level troops.
Of course, those who can be taken away at this time are basically people with backgrounds and identities. Whether these people of noble birth will fight and work hard on the front line of the battlefield is also a question.
Considering this aspect, it is difficult to say whether Ning's army suffered serious losses in combat power.
But no matter what, it is certain that the strength of the remaining Ning army in front of them has been weakened.
At this moment, in front of Lu Yuan's army, a knight from Ning came on horseback and arrived in front of the camp that was being built.
"The Chu army inside is listening. My general has always heard about the bravery of the Chu army, and he yearns for it. He can't wait to fight.
Today you are waiting for the commander-in-chief to come and stop my army from returning home.
In this case, why not lay out the chariots and horses, line up their respective formations, and fight openly.
The winner will have his wish fulfilled, the loser will perish.
In this battle, life or death depends on one's ability, so what? "
The Ningjun knight came to invite a fight.
He ran back and forth in front of the Chu army camp several times, informed him of his intention, and then returned.
"Your Majesty, Ning Jun invites a battle, do we want to accept the challenge?"
In the command car, after listening to Ning Jun's knight's words, the generals couldn't help but look at Lu Yuan, wanting to get a signal.
"No, we won't go."
Seeing the generals looking at him, Lu Yuan sneered: "I invited the Ning army to fight before, but they huddled in their camps and refused to fight. Now that they are surrounded by me, they are out of soldiers and food, and their disadvantage is obvious, but they want to fight. I gave it a go.
How can such a beautiful thing come true?
After the order was sent, the army strengthened the camp to guard against Ning's army. The Chu army in Ruichang City could not fight either.
I want to surround these 50,000 Ning troops until they are out of food and starve them to death.
I want to see if they still have the strength to fight me when they are so hungry that they feel dizzy.
If there are still people at that time, haha, I won’t mind if I am alone, and I can fight with them openly. "
Lu Yuan came all the way and made various arrangements in order to capture the maximum number of Ning's troops at the minimum cost.
Now that it looks like success, how can it be possible to give up the advantage and fight to the death with a Ning army that is filled with the belief of returning home and has high morale?
Thanks!
If there are too many casualties, even if you win, it won't be a victory.
That's fine now.
Ning's army has been blocked at the foot of Ruichang City, with no way out and facing the dilemma of lack of food. It can be said that it is in an absolute death spot.
Lu Yuan didn't need to do anything at this time. He only had to block their way out and starve them to death under the city without any effort.
So much beauty!
Thinking of this, Lu Yuan remembered what he just said, so he said again: "By the way, didn't Ning Jun run away from many high-level officials?
I see that Lord Ning Shen Qiu is also among those who have escaped.
Those Ning Army soldiers were facing a desperate situation at this time, but their morale was still so high. They must have been deceived by the high-ranking generals and did not know the truth.
He thought that the emperor and generals in the army were living and dying with him, so he was not afraid of danger.
Send someone over to inform the lower-level soldiers of the Ning Army that their emperor, ministers, and generals have all escaped.
I want to see if those Ning soldiers can maintain their current morale after knowing the truth and are willing to work hard for a group of greedy and fearful people who betrayed their own royal family and nobles. "
Some heart-wrenching words came out of Lu Yuan's mouth, which immediately made the generals laugh.
but it is.
The high morale in front of Ning Jun was obviously unreasonable and abnormal.
At this time, if the Chu army exposes this lie, it will definitely lower the morale of the Ning army, arouse suspicion in the army, and make the generals disbelieve.
In this way, it will be easy to break it.
