Late Tang Dynasty: I

Chapter 156 Wang Jian's Defeat (Big Chapter)
In the early morning, the veil-like white mist gradually faded away, and a round of red sun, like blood, sprinkled the rising sun on the earth.

This night, the soldiers of the Youhuwei Army slept with these corpses with broken limbs and arms. No one panicked, no one was afraid, it was a normal thing.

The two thousand slaves were divided into two teams, one team went to dig a pit, and the other dragged the corpses all over the ground into the pit to bury them.

It's still a bit hot in September.

The soldiers buried pots to make food. If it weren't for the bloodstains and corpses on the ground, as well as some burned barracks, no one seemed to care about what happened last night.

The first to rush to the city of Chengdu was Yang Shouliang's Zuo Han Zhongjun. Because they were responsible for the food and supplies of the army, they arrived in Chengdu three days later than Zhu Zhen's army.

Yang Shouliang received the report from the emperor's army yesterday. He did not expect that the situation would change in the past few days. Wang Jian had broken through Chengdu, and now he could not leave the city.

Yang Shouliang decided to camp near Zuo Huwei's army, so that Yang Shouliang could feel safer.

When he came to Zuo Huwei's barracks, Yang Shouliang was extremely surprised to see the piles of corpses.

There were hundreds of dead war horses, and those horses whose hooves were pierced by barbed wire also neighed, very sadly.

The armor and weapons on the dead body were stripped off, there were thousands of sets, and Wang Jian was willing to spend his money. All the armor in the general was distributed to Zhongyidu and Chongzi Battalion, so the rate of wearing armor was very high.

It's just that most of them are paper armor and cotton armor, which are better against slashing, but they are not resistant to puncture, and bows and spears can still penetrate.

Yang Shouliang looked at the mountains of armor and weapons, and was even more shocked. There must be thousands of sets, and they were eaten by the forbidden army of more than [-] people!
Some doubts.

Yang Shouliang has seen Wang Jian's soldiers and horses before. When he entered Sichuan, Wang Jian had only 1000 troops. He directly beat Yang Shouhou, the governor of Mianzhou, to tears.

Seeing that the blood has not dried completely, it seems to have happened last night.

Entering the tent of the Chinese army, Yang Shouliang saw Zhu Zhen.After performing the military salute, he hurriedly said, "Wang Jian attacked the camp yesterday? Was there any damage?"

Zhu Zhen smiled and nodded, and said: "It's just a group of thieves, they were killed with a single stick. The soldiers were not injured, except that a few tents were burned!"

It seems that His Majesty the Emperor reminded him in time, and Wang Jian really had the heart of disobedience.

Zhu Zhen bowed to the north and said, "I sent an envoy to report to His Majesty before dawn. Fortunately, he was clever last night. Otherwise, Chengdu would have been restored today."

Last night, Zhu Zhen wiped out the attacking Zhongyi Army and Chongzi Battalion, and sent people back to the city pretending to be surrendered troops, trying to open the city gate in a fraudulent manner. Unexpectedly, Wang Jian was at the west gate. Having lost more than a dozen cavalry, now that she thinks about it, Zhu Zhen also feels distressed, they are all soldiers in the army!
Yang Shouliang secretly clicked his tongue after hearing this.Not to mention the night attack to counter the victory, but also want to fight to Chengdu, why not go to the sky.

Zhu Zhen smiled and said: "There are hundreds of dead horses, and the meat is still fresh. Commander Yang can bring some horse meat back to the camp. There are still many wounded horses that cannot be used. There will be no shortage of meat these days. "

Yang Shouliang returned to the camp thoughtfully, and a thought suddenly popped up in his heart, if the more than 2 horses in his hands met Wang Jian's attack on the camp, would he be able to survive?

…………

Li Ye received Zhu Zhen's battle report, saying that Wang Jian attacked the camp last night, was killed by Zuo Huwei's army and captured [-] enemies.Li Ye was not surprised by this result.

Zhu Zhen was a general whom both Zhu Wen and Wen were afraid of. Compared with him, Wang Jian should be inferior as well.

His Majesty the Emperor casually handed the battle report to Jingxiang and said, "Wang Jian has revealed his rebellion. It seems that this battle is inevitable."

Jing Xiang said: "Although Wang Jian is Tian Lingzi's fake son, after all, he has been in battle for a long time, and now he has taken in Tian Lingzi's remnants and defended himself in the city, and his army is even stronger.

And although there are many armies under His Majesty's command, these fake sons of King Yang have never been on the battlefield. The troops led by Yang Shouhou, Yang Shouzhen, Yang Shouliang, and Yang Shouzhong are probably useless.

Only Weirong Army Jiedushi Yang Sheng's troops still have some combat power. If they attack Chengdu, they need to use the Forbidden Army as the main force. The city of Chengdu is fortified. I am worried that the Forbidden Army will suffer too much damage. "

Li Ye was thoughtful, if it was a field battle, Li Ye would naturally not be afraid, but if he defended the city, the strength of the defenders would increase tenfold.

"Chengdu will definitely win. These most unfavorable situations must also be carefully considered and countermeasures arranged."

"How far is it to Chengdu?"

"Less than thirty miles!"

"Heading orders, people don't stop, don't stop, tell the soldiers that they will cook again when they arrive in Chengdu."

"promise!"

……

Chengdu, the mansion of Jiedushi.

Wang Jian is like a mourning concubine, with a dull expression on his face. He didn't sleep all night last night, and his spirits are not good.

But what tortured Wang Jian even more was that Zhongyidu and Chongzhiying were gone last night.

No one ran back.

Even officers and soldiers sent sergeants to Koucheng.

If he hadn't seen the officers and soldiers disposing of the corpses in the morning, he would have thought that Wang Zongkan and the others had surrendered to the court.

what's the situation?
Once the two capitals are lost, at least [-]% of his army's combat power will be lost.

Marching Sima Wang Bangzhong said: "Marshal, report that His Majesty the Emperor passed through Hanzhou, disbanded Hanzhou soldiers and horses, detained Hanzhou Governor Gu Yanhui, and let [-] Dongchuan troops return to this town."

Wang Jian frowned slightly, and said, "When will the imperial army arrive, and how many people are there now?"

"There are still more than forty miles in the morning report, and it will arrive tomorrow at the latest. Not counting the [-] troops stationed outside the city, there are more than [-] horse troops and [-] infantry."

Wang Jian closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time. At this moment, there was no excitement that he had just conquered Chengdu.

The emperor personally led an army of [-] to Chengdu, obviously in an unstoppable posture.

"Send an envoy to Dongchuan, and ask Gu Yanhui to send troops to help." Wang Jian thought for a while and made up his mind: "If the imperial army joins forces under the city of Chengdu, we will be unable to move and will be captured without a fight.

Why don't I personally lead the main force to fight against the emperor, as long as we defeat the emperor's rear army, or even capture the emperor during the battle, then we will win even if we lose. "

Wang Jian thought that when it was possible for the emperor to grant the envoy a festival, and send it out of Sichuan at the end, if it was possible, the temptation would be too great to annex the court's soldiers and horses.

Li Jian's brows were tightly furrowed. What the commander said just now was indeed a dangerous move. If it can be done, Xi Chuan will be sure, but the disadvantages are also obvious. This is a risk to the world!

Li Jian sighed, and said helplessly, "If this is the case, we will really become rebels."

Wang Bangzhong didn't say a word, there is still room for easing up with the court, but if he really does what the commander said, if he succeeds, there is still room for it, if he fails, he will kill the nine clans.

Wang Bangzhong didn't want to go that far, so he hurriedly said:

"The commander-in-chief gathers the soldiers with the righteousness of the court. If this is the case, the army's heart will be distracted!"

Wang Jian shook his head and said: "It is precisely because of this that we are going to fight against the emperor. Just think about it, if the emperor came to Chengdu and the emperor invaded the city gate, why would we resist?

In the field, we can only bully soldiers who don't know the Dragon Tent, and defeat the imperial army in one go, so we still have a chance? "

He said again: "Zhu Mei and Li Guochang both chased after the dragon tent in the past. It's not a big deal. In today's world, strong soldiers and horses live in it."

Both Li Jian and Wang Bangzhong were pale.

Wang Bangzhong said: "Commander, our army is exhausted, and we have newly harvested the Chengdu army. We are afraid that we will lose our combat power. If we occupy the city and defend ourselves, our combat power will be doubled. If there are more soldiers in the imperial court, we will run out of food and grass. This is our chance. , Marshal, please think twice!"

Li Jian hurriedly said: "Commander, what Wang Sima said is reasonable, I hope the commander will think twice."

Wang Jian waved his hand and said: "You don't know about military affairs, I don't blame you, I have only [-] soldiers who can fight now, and I can only attack one by one. Now time is very tight, everyone hurry back and prepare, follow me Let's go out together."

"This……"

Li Jian was surprised. He is a civil servant, why did he go? Is the commander going to tie him up?

"Master..."

"Don't say too much, get ready!"

Li Jian looked at Wang Jian, knowing that if he refused to agree, he was afraid that he would die on the spot in the next moment, so he said helplessly.

"promise"

Wang Jian returned to the barracks and summoned all the soldiers to reorganize the army. He had more than 2 yamen troops in his hands, and more than 1 Chengdu elites were recruited. Now it has 5000 people. There are also Wang Zongkan's [-] prestige capital, which has now expanded to [-]. .

Huahong has 1 censors, and now it has expanded to [-]. However, among the three main forces, the rate of censors is the lowest.

There is also the [-] Weiyi Capital led by Wang Jian's nephew Wang Zongxiang, and the [-] Loyalty Capital led by Wang Zongshi.

Weiyidu and Zhongxin are both newly built Wang Zongxiang and Wang Zongshi are lacking in ability, and the armies of the two capitals cannot fight in the field at all, and they are afraid that they will collapse if they are pulled out.

"Weiyidu, loyal and faithful stay in Chengdu!"

"promise!"

"Wang Zongkan led the prestige as the vanguard, the commander-in-chief led the Yanei army as the central army, and Hua Hong led the Cunjie army to bring food and grass for the rear team. Now we are cooking and setting off in an hour."

"promise!"

……

Li Ye did not expect that Wang Jian would dare to lead an army into a field battle.

"Isn't it because I want to run away!"

Li Ye has a bit of a headache, this route of the defeated army will surely cause disasters along the way.

As a commander, it is natural to take all possible events into account.

"Send envoys to order Zhu Zhen to lead the army to follow, and Yang Shouliang is stationed in various important roads outside Chengdu."

"promise!"

"Call out Zhang Yi, the commander of the Zuo Yulin Army, and An Fujiang, the commander of the Zuo Shenwei Army."

It will be credited in a short while.

"His Majesty!"

Li Ye said: "Last night, the bandit Wang Jian sent [-] elite troops to attack Zuo Huwei's camp at night, and they were wiped out by Commander Zhu.

Now that Wang Jian is leading an army, this is the time for men to make meritorious deeds. You were established by me. I don't want to hear people say that you are not as good as you! "

"Your Majesty, the last general will take Wang Jian's head now!"

"This battle, Your Majesty, please watch the formation, whether my left God's mighty army is brave or not!"

Li Ye nodded.

The terrain of the Chengdu Plain is flat and suitable for galloping horses. Li Ye's sixth cavalry army was the Chinese army.

The Zuo Yulin Army has 1 people as the front team, the Zuo Shenwei Army has more than 3000 people as the left team, and the Weirong Army has [-] people as the right team.

The Dragon Sword Army has 5000 people, and the Mianzhou Army has [-] people as the rear team.

But Wang Jian used the Weixin Army as the front army, the Yanei Army as the central army, and Hua Hong's Cunjie Army carried the luggage and walked the slowest. Zhu Zhen had already bit him and couldn't keep up with the brigade.

On the battlefield, the situation is changing rapidly.

"The longer the time, the more unfavorable it is to our army, so we should make a quick decision."

It just so happened that the emperor also meant it.

See Wang Jian's army ordered the flag to stretch, and the front army moved slowly.

As for the imperial court, the Zuo Yulin army also slowly stepped forward, the left and right army, and the rear army followed.

According to Li Ye's eyes, there are very few horses in Wang Jian's army, no more than a thousand horses. Fighting in this plain is a disadvantage, and I have the advantage.

Three hundred steps, two hundred steps, one hundred steps, in an instant, the bows and crossbows of the two armies fired at the same time, and arrows flew all over the sky towards the opposing army's formation, and some people fell down from time to time.

Both sides have their own results, and the right feather forest army is obviously much better. Firstly, the armor rate is higher. Almost everyone in the front row has armor. A few particularly unlucky ones suffered little damage.

"kill!"

You Yulin's army shouted to the sky, the biggest advantage of the mandarin duck formation is close-to-hand combat, as long as it rushes into the enemy's formation, the advantage is on our side.

Wang Jian frowned. Last night's night attack had broken his perception, but now, a round of arrows rained down.

Wang Jian stared closely at the cavalry in His Majesty's hands. The six thousand cavalry was a decisive force no matter where they were placed. The large shield and archers and spearmen in his hand were naturally for the cavalry's charge.

Can't move.

The front army took over, and Wang Zongkan's army used flower teams, shield soldiers in the front row, pikemen in the back row, and two teams of archers and sword generals in the back.

"This formation is easy to break, as long as the big shield is broken, the army will be defeated."

Li Ye hurriedly asked, "Why!"

Zhu Yezinu said: "Your Majesty, there are no swordsmen in this formation, and there is no way to fight melee. As long as the large shield is broken and the army enters, the archers and spearmen will definitely be defeated and collapsed. The final general, please bring your troops to the formation. Please allow Your Majesty."

Li Ye knew at a glance that the archers were not equipped with knives. Perhaps it was because Wang Jian expanded his army too fast and lacked weapons!

"Can!"

"promise!"

A burst of smoke and dust rose, Zhu Yezinu led a thousand cavalry, rushed directly into the Weixindu army formation from the flanks, slashed from left to right, and was very majestic.

The shield army in front, seeing that the rear formation was unstable, suddenly became tired, and the army formation seemed to have been defeated.

Wang Zongkan was shocked, and hurriedly organized people to fight against the cavalry, but at this time, that was what he could say. The Chengdu army in the team had already been frightened, and turned around and fled in a hurry regardless of the generals who caught the knife.

"Whoever dares to escape dies!"

Wang Zongkan killed several fugitives, but couldn't control the army formation. Zhu Yezinu drove straight in with a knife.

Ah!
Wang Jian watched with his own eyes the head of fake son Wang Zongkan flying into the sky, blood gushing out like a spring.

"Beat the drums and march!"

Wang Jian was about to burst into tears, he didn't understand, was this still the forbidden army he saw?

Then the town soldiers in the rear team and the governors of the states watching the battle also opened their mouths wide at this moment.

Wang Jian has been in chaos in Xichuan for a long time, and the strength of his army is naturally very clear. He did not expect the former army to collapse so quickly.

Seeing the movement of the Chinese army, Li Ye said to the cavalry of the five armies under his command: "Zhu Yezinu can't get the credit alone. All the soldiers, follow me to charge."

"Die for His Majesty!"

"Kill!"

Most of the [-] cavalry were in heavy armor, and when they ran, the ground shook, and the faces of the assassins watching the battle were all pale.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, he charged in person!"

"Wan Sheng!"

Wang Jian's hands trembled unconsciously. If the army hadn't been expanded, the old battalion should have been able to welcome the cavalry.

But now, the third in the army has become the Chengdu Army.

These eggless cowards put down their shields and spears, and burrowed behind one by one.

There were several large gaps in the shield array that greeted the cavalry in an instant.

The archers used nothing to fight the cavalry, and they were busy hiding behind the side shield soldiers.

Wang Jian didn't even have time to order the sword general to kill the fugitives, and the formation was already in chaos.

I don't know who started, the first to escape from the formation.

Then one after another, more and more.

Like a dam burst, it blew away.

Wang Jian was very unwilling. Two hundred steps away, the emperor's dragon flag was clearly visible.

What a pity, Your Majesty, it would be great if you were half a year late.

Wang Jian turned his horse's head and said, "Withdraw!"

(End of this chapter)