"Zhang Wen, Zhang Wu."
"The humble position is here!"
"The two of you protect the young master and break out of the encirclement quickly! The rest of the troops will follow the general and send an order for the entire army to retreat immediately. The guards from all over the place will immediately gather and move closer."
Under the surprised eyes of everyone, Du Tan ordered without hesitation, and there was thunder as soon as he spoke.
Liu Dong was very puzzled. Shouldn't the whole army attack at this time? They were about to win but they had to retreat?
But there was no trace of rejection in Du Tan's eyes, and the sword in his hand was unsheathed, murderous intent leaking out.
Zhang Wen and Zhang Wu are twin brothers, and they are also Du Tan's personal bodyguards. They are absolutely loyal to Du Tan. Even in this situation, they still did not hesitate at all. They picked up Liu Dong and ran back.
Du Tan's first feeling was that Guan Cheng's troops were outstanding, and his second reaction was to cut his losses in time. Although he couldn't explain why, he believed in his intuition. There was no room for hesitation on the battlefield. When the war started, everyone The army can only have one voice.
Guan Cheng had a good-looking war horse and rushed to the front. Although the distance was not long and the war horse could not completely increase its speed, even so, the war horse weighing hundreds of kilograms still showed strong lethality instantly when it collided with the scattered Jin army. .
No one can stop this impact.
In Du Tan's shocked eyes, more than a dozen Jin soldiers were knocked into the air and then hit his body heavily.
The Jin army rushed over like a tiger descending a mountain, and the Chang Ge in its hand easily cut through the Jin army's lineup like the messenger of death.
Du Tan could tell at a glance that it was extraordinary, and the thinking that had been solidified for many years was somewhat loosened: if the war horse is used like this in a battle between two armies, it can be used as a surprise weapon.
But he didn't have much time to react. The situation on the battlefield fell into chaos when Guan Cheng and others rushed out. Some Jin soldiers were still climbing ladders, and some rushed towards Guan Cheng and others. , but when the golden sound of retreat sounded, many people retreated back in a chaotic mess.
Liu Dong looked stern and careless. He thought about many possibilities, including Guan Cheng's breakout, but the only thing he didn't expect was that Guan Cheng would have reinforcements. Although he couldn't figure out where Guan Cheng could get reinforcements. In a very short period of time, the four hundred elites who attacked the rear camp were thrown into chaos.
The situation is just starting to get worse now, and there are still many opportunities to make amends. Although the sky is getting brighter, Du Tan still doesn't think Guan Cheng has the ability to keep his troops. At most, it will be a little bit of a loss, which is still bearable.
Du Tan took a deep breath and looked at Guan Cheng with a hint of fear.
As a prince, he charges forward. The long sword in his hand is sharp and sharp, and he definitely has good martial arts skills.
Looking at the boosted morale of the Jin soldiers, Jin Bing had already lost a certain advantage. Although they still had an advantage in numbers, they were still exhausted. Moreover, the movements in the rear camp inevitably made the soldiers feel a little confused.
Fighting at night is inherently difficult, and a little carelessness can lead to catastrophic disasters. In many cases, just a temporary stalemate can allow someone to make soldiers who don't know the truth lose their will to fight, leading to a rout.
The most important thing about a night attack is to be unexpected, to use a well-prepared army to attack a panicked enemy. Once the enemy's formation is strict, there will be no night attack.
The Jin army had begun a counterattack. Du Tan even saw a few cooks rushing forward with swords. It was obvious that the Jin army had overwhelmed them all.
Du Tan didn't know the principle of making a strong effort, then weakening again, and then exhausting himself in three attempts, but he knew that the entire Jin army was holding a sigh of relief. As long as the breath was relieved, his own army would come up. When the whole army is surrounded, this small number of troops will inevitably be wiped out.
Du Tan also breathed a sigh of relief when he thought of this. Fortunately, he retreated in time.
Although the battle between the two sides was fierce, the casualties on both sides before Guan Cheng's surprise troops rushed out were actually not large. For Du Tan, it was only a few casualties. The only thing he needed to worry about was the troops in the rear camp. The two companies had no troops. The general is in charge and he doesn't know how many people can escape.
In fact, the main reason why Du Tan decisively ordered the gold medal was to save the soldiers and horses in the rear camp.
Soon soldiers gathered around him, and Zhang Wen and Zhang Wu also protected Liu Dong out of the Jin army camp. Du Tan's hanging heart finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Send the order, don't fight anymore and retreat quickly!"
Du Tan was sure that the Jin army did not dare to pursue him, not to mention it was still dark. Even if it was daytime, Guan Cheng's dozens of war horses could do nothing. On the contrary, Du Tan was still eager for Guan Cheng to pursue him.
But how can it be so easy to leave?
Wu Chengju on the wall was eager to kill, and he was even more happy when he saw the Jin soldiers retreating, and his fighting spirit was as strong as a raging fire.
"The enemy has been defeated. All officers and men, please follow me out to kill the general!"
A roar that echoed throughout the world greatly boosted the morale of the remaining Jin soldiers, who chased the Jin soldiers and slashed them fiercely.
The golden soldiers on the wall were unable to resist, and some of them even jumped down in despair.
Jin troops continued to rush out from the wall and gathered around Guan Cheng. The number was getting larger and larger, which put great pressure on the remaining Jin soldiers. Although they still had an advantage in numbers, it was difficult to resist.
Guan Cheng took the lead, waving the Chang Ge constantly to kill the enemy soldiers, rushing left and right, and his momentum was unparalleled for a moment.
However, the front camp is so big. Even if Wu Chengju and others desperately counterattack, no matter how desperate Guan Cheng and others are, they can't keep all the golden soldiers.
Du Tan stood on a slope and watched. He was relieved when most of the soldiers withdrew. As he expected, Guan Cheng and others did not dare to come out to pursue.
When the sky was about to light up, Du Tan finally got the specific news.
However, in his rage, he almost beheaded the soldiers who reported the news, scaring the entire crowd into silence.
"General, what are the losses of our army?"
At this time, only Liu Dong dared to touch this brow. He was the heir apparent and everyone recognized him as the future leader of the Kingdom of Jin. Naturally, he would not be afraid of Du Tan, a military commander.
Du Tan looked at Liu Dong and said nothing, but gestured angrily towards the messenger.
"Back to Your Highness, our army has lost more than four hundred men, including four company commanders and seventeen commanders. The remaining troops and horses have also lost a lot of weapons."
Liu Dong was also shocked after hearing this. There were more than 400 elite armored soldiers. No wonder Du Tan looked like his dead father.
These more than 1,500 people can be said to be Du Tan's old base. Thirty percent of them were suddenly lost, and so many middle-level officers were lost. If these people were not elite enough at night, there would have been a risk of mutiny.
Liu Dong was silent for a moment and then asked: "General, what should we do next?"
He was determined to continue the attack, but he did not have the final say on the rear army. Even if he was the prince, it would be difficult for him to command it. Moreover, it was not necessary to think about it at this time to know that the army was unmotivated.
It was a good thing that it was still dark, otherwise if the Jin army was brave enough to chase them out, Liu Dong couldn't help but shudder at the consequences.
Du Tan took a few deep breaths, suppressed the fire in his heart, and then said in a deep voice: "Although our army lost the first battle, the main force is not far from here and can arrive before noon."
"Although Guan Chengxiao'er won, the losses are expected to be heavy. Our army will take a short rest and take turns to monitor them. As long as they are held back, we can defeat them in one fell swoop when the follow-up troops arrive."
"This place is only four or five miles away from Juliang Sentence, so Gao Yuan's troops can advance here. With such a two-sided attack, Guan Cheng's son will definitely be unable to escape with so many burdens."
"At that time, I will definitely avenge tonight's shame!"
Du Tan's eyes were filled with fire, obviously the huge casualties and defeats had stimulated him.
Liu Dong was also convinced, but it was still difficult to calm down in his heart. He didn't understand that Guan Cheng was just a prince who was demoted from the capital, and he only had more than 4,000 troops in his hands. The army was almost crippled. You must know that the left army led by Yan Tao simply attacked and defeated the more than 30,000 combined troops of Peng and Shu at night with one army.
Then a group of old, weak, sick and disabled people ran all the way to the border of Jinliang, causing Du Tan to suffer a lot, and even he was almost in danger.
How much ability does this guy have?
Liu Dong, who had always been a little conceited, looked in the direction of the Jin army camp. The figure on a horse waving a long sword could not help but appear in his mind, and he couldn't help but tremble.
"General." Liu Dong stepped forward, but before he could speak, he heard a scream coming from behind, the sound was extremely shrill.
what's the situation?
Du Tan's expression changed drastically. Could it be that the Jin army had an ambush?
impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
He knew how many men and horses Guan Cheng had under his command. If Guan Cheng could divide his troops to attack in the same formation just now, then he would really have no shame in wearing this armor anymore.
"But the Jin soldiers made a sneak attack?" Du Tan asked sharply with his long sword in hand.
The soldiers next to him were trembling with fear as they looked at Du Tan who was about to bite someone. Only Liu Dong was confused and seemed to have heard a few trembling sounds just now.
"Explore quickly and order the entire army to gather immediately and take strict precautions!"
The Jin soldiers moved extremely quickly under the unknown stimulation, and quickly gathered into a rough formation.
Du Tan breathed a sigh of relief, but fortunately his morale was not lost.
But then there were several more exclamations. Even in the dim light, Du Tan could feel that the entire military formation was in commotion again.
Only this time, before he could ask a question, a soldier ran over.
"General, Your Highness, there are snakes! Lots of snakes!"
The soldier's voice was half crying and half frightened: "There are snakes in all directions. We have fallen into a snake's nest, a poisonous snake's nest!"
Du Tan and Liu Dong looked at each other, both of them felt that things were not that simple.
The commotion in the army became more and more serious, and screams occurred one after another, which intensified the uneasiness in the hearts of the soldiers.
The ones on the outside were waving their weapons randomly while squeezing in, but snakes lurking around them popped out from time to time and were difficult to prevent. Moreover, these snakes were highly venomous, and the soldiers who were bitten soon turned purple and vomited. He fell to the ground foaming and twitching.
"No, someone must be manipulating this."
Liu Dong immediately affirmed: "This one is the same as when I was chasing up the mountain."
"General, the truth is not good. This is definitely controlled by strange people, and I'm worried that there are more than just venomous snakes."
Du Tan also said in a deep voice: "Young Master's words are reasonable. Send the order, light the torches quickly, and the whole army retreats in sequence. Warn the soldiers not to fall behind!"
Under the desire to survive, a large torch lit up quickly. As a result, the attack of poisonous snakes continued, but the casualties were reduced a lot. Moreover, some soldiers brought some realgar powder with them and sprinkled it out, and the effect was immediately obvious.
Seeing this, Du Tan felt relieved a little.
Just before he could say a reassuring word to Liu Dong next to him, he heard the sound of a flute in the distance.
The vigilance on the battlefield immediately made Du Tan's heart rise to his throat again.
not good!
There is also an ambush!
