As Liu Qi said, the disastrous defeat of the Song army Wang Dehou's troops did ruin the good situation that the Song army soldiers finally found, and also pushed the prospects for the victory and loss of this battle back to the unknown.

If Wang Dehou could pay attention to the blood-written warnings of Zhao Rong and Liu Qi, and prevent them slightly tightly at night, and use the advantage of the camp to block the Xixia army's night sneak attack, then at most, the troops of Liu Zhongwu, who had successfully captured Zangdihe City, could go north in a large amount, join forces with Wang Dehou to compete with the main force of the Xixia, and then use the advantages of military and financial resources. Even if they cannot win Wei Mingcha, it will definitely be a big problem to waste the Xixia army until they are exhausted and retreat by themselves. Even taking advantage of the opportunity of the Xixia army's morale being frustrated, there is no hopeless victory.

But things in the world are so helpless, because Wang Dehou did not take the warnings of Zhao Rong and Liu Qi seriously. The soldiers of the Song army under his command saw that the Xixia army was defeated again, thinking that the Xixia army had been defeated, and they consumed a lot of physical strength in the daytime camp battle. It was just dark and they slept like a dead pig. As a result, they gave the Xixia army a chance to win by suddenly using a cold arrow.

During the sneak attack, taking advantage of the opportunity of the Song army's carelessness, the Xixia army broke through the defense line of the Song army's camp with almost no effort, and rushed into the Song army camp and killed people and set fire. The Song army was caught off guard, including Wang Dehou, who could only quickly snatch the war horses and abandon the camp and flee south. The Xixia army took the opportunity to pursue the army in large numbers. Not only did they seize a large amount of military supplies, but they also beheaded more than 7,000 people on the formation, captured more than 3,000 Song soldiers, quickly avenged the ferocious defeat in the day, and regained the absolute power advantage on the battlefield of Zangdihe City, and forced the Song army, which had already been on the tie, into danger.

The camp was not large enough to accommodate so many defeated soldiers of friendly troops. The headquarters of the Song army Liu Zhongwu did not dare to open the gate to let the defeated soldiers of friendly troops enter the camp. They could only let the defeated soldiers of Wang Dehou's troops go south directly and gather the defeated soldiers and reorganize the team five miles south. Then they had to take out military rations to provide support to throw the military supplies and throw away the defeated soldiers. During the period, Wang Dehou, who knew that he was ashamed, had no shame to meet Liu Zhongwu. He could only use the excuse to personally preside over the collection of defeated soldiers, and sent his deputy Li Ming to Liu Zhongwu to thank him, and also discussed how to take the next step.

On the surface, it was a discussion, but Li Ming, who had the urge to others, did not dare to express any opinions on behalf of Wang Dehou. He just expressed his willingness to be willing to do so in a low voice. Liu Zhongwu had no good expression on Li Ming. He hummed a few words casually and sent Li Ming to the guest account to rest. Then he quickly summoned the generals of the Song army in the central army to discuss countermeasures. Zhao Rong, who knew that the situation was critical, also asked Gao Qiu to agree, participated in the emergency meeting as Gao Qiu's entourage, and stood behind Gao Qiu to listen to the opinions of the Song army generals.

It was similar to what Zhao Rong expected. Given the sudden reversal of the battle situation, senior generals of the Song army, including Wang En, the general manager of Jingyuan Road, and Cai Dian, the general manager of Qinfeng Road, all proposed to withdraw immediately at the meeting. The reason was also very simple. Wang Dehou's troops had been completely defeated. Not only did the morale of the army fall to the bottom, but the weapons and equipment were basically lost, and they were destined to be unable to provide help to their own army. With the strength of Liu Zhongwu's army alone, Wei Mingchage, the number one general of the Western Xia, commanded more than 50,000 elite Western Xia soldiers. Not only did they have no chance of winning, but they were also at risk of being defeated by Wei Mingchage. Therefore, Wang En, Cai Dian and others firmly advocated retreating as soon as possible and withdrawing the security army city to protect the army.

Some people advocated withdrawal of troops, and of course some people firmly opposed withdrawal. The two generals Liu Yanqing and Liu Qi are typical representatives of opposing withdrawal. Liu Qi also said with red eyes: "Why should we retreat? Although Wang Dehou collapsed, we still have more than 40,000 troops in our hands, and we still have the strength to fight head-on with the pseudo-Xia bandit army. Why should we retreat directly without fighting a battle or without a single arrow? We cannot retreat! We can only fight to the end with the pseudo-Xia bandit army and resolutely kill the pseudo-Xia bandit army!"

"The major general is right. Our army still has the power to fight, and the victory or defeat on the battlefield is still between the two. Why should we withdraw our troops directly?" Liu Yanqing also said angrily: "Also, if we retreat like this, what should we do if Zangdihe City, which we finally captured after we finally defeated? Should we give up and return it to the Western thieves? Then what is the point of our bloody battle and difficult siege these days?"

"General Liu, Major General, don't be impulsive."

Cai Dian, the general manager of Qin Fenglu, patiently advised, and said, "It's a pity that we just gave up Zangdihe City and retreated directly. We felt sorry for it, but the situation was unstoppable. In the previous siege battle, our losses were not small. The losses of the siege and the losses of the attack by the Iron Harrier were added together. We have sacrificed almost two thousand soldiers and almost one thousand wounded people. In fact, less than 40,000 troops can be used for combat, but the Western thieves still have at least 50,000 people, and they are all the main elites. The power gap is too great. If this battle continues, we will definitely have many dangers. Instead of taking risks and fighting again, it is better to retreat as soon as possible."

"General Liu, Major General, General Cai is right, and you can't act irritably." Wang En also said: "The enemy is strong and I am weak, and I am less. If we continue to fight, we will definitely only suffer a loss. Anyway, we have already won two battles before. One is that we have severely damaged the iron-hard attack of the pseudo-Xia bandit army, and the other is that we have basically annihilated the pseudo-Xia bandit army in Zangdihe City. We have already explained to the court. Now it is because of Wang Dehou's miserable defeat that has implicated us. We retreated to protect the army and do not have to worry about the court holding the responsibility. Why not do it?"

Not only Wang En and Cai Dian, Liu Zhongwu's eldest son Liu Xi and second son Liu Di, but also many middle-level generals of the Song army all mean this. They all felt that their army had won two victories and had already explained the court. Now that Wang Dehou is taking the blame, it is better to stop and retreat immediately when he sees it is better to stop. In this way, there is no need to worry about the court holding the responsibility, but also ensure the safety of the army. There may be some rewards in the future.

Surprising everyone, after hearing these opinions, Liu Zhongwu, who was quite selfish, said nothing for the first time. After everyone explained his views, Liu Zhongwu turned to Gao Qiu with a hesitation and asked: "Deputy Chief, you are the military supervisor, what do you have?"

"Master, I have no objection." Gao Qiu smiled and said, "You are the Master. Should you stop when you see it, withdraw your troops quickly, or insist on fighting to the end? You should be the one who decides. I am just a military supervisor and is responsible for supervising the army, which is inconvenient to interfere with your tactical decision-making."

"Old slick! Shift all the responsibilities to me and retreat to the court to pursue the matter. It has nothing to do with you. If you don't retreat, you will fight the pseudo-Xia thief army to the end. If you lose, it is my decision. It has nothing to do with you. You don't take any responsibility. You just want to take credit for nothing. You are just trying to win your calculations. You are smart."

Liu Zhongwu felt in his heart, and he could see Gao Qiu's intentions at first glance. Then Liu Zhongwu looked at Zhao Rong who was standing behind Gao Qiu. After hesitating for a moment, Liu Zhongwu actually asked Zhao Rong: "General Zhao Rong, do you have any opinions?"

Seeing that Liu Zhongwu took the initiative to ask for the opinions of the eighth-rank military general Zhao Rong, the Song army generals present were inevitably a little strange. Liu Qi, who had already admired Zhao Rong more and more, was happy. He knew that with Zhao Rong's temper and personality, he would definitely stand firmly on his side. However, what made Liu Qi and Xiaogang confused was that after Zhao Rong spoke, he actually said this: "Master, the enemy situation is not clear at the moment, and General Wang is still gathering the remaining soldiers. Regarding whether to withdraw, the last general suggested that the Master carefully consider it and then make a decision."

"What else do you think about?" Liu Zhongwu's second son Liu Di said strangely: "As the pseudo-Xia thief army had just finished a big battle, the soldiers and the horses were very tired. The sooner we retreat, the safer we were. Why waste time thinking about it? Let the pseudo-Xia thief army eat and drink enough and have the strength to pursue us?"

"The second general doesn't have to worry, we still have time." Zhao Rong said lightly: "The Western thief has experienced two major battles in less than a day and one night. Even the elite is still a day or two to rest and adjust. We can completely think carefully and then decide whether to continue fighting to the death to the end, or to withdraw troops and withdraw back to the security army city immediately."

"It's reasonable." Liu Zhongwu nodded and said, "This matter is very important. I have to think carefully before making a decision. This way, you go back and appease the army first, wait for me to think carefully, and wait until Wang Dehou has completely gathered the defeated troops, and then make a decision."

Seeing Liu Zhongwu's orders, the generals of the Song army had no choice but to bow down one after another. The young and energetic Liu Qi rushed out of the central army tent angrily. However, after Liu Qi left the tent, Zhao Rong rushed over from behind alone and said, "Fourth Generals, I have something to say."

After stopping suddenly and turning his head angrily, Liu Qi asked even more angrily: "From Tokyo, what else do you have to say? My father and coach asked you personally just now. How much face did you give you? Why don't you advocate fighting to the end? Are you like those who are greedy and afraid of death, and want to retreat to save your life?"

"Fourth General, am I a person who is afraid of death?" Zhao Rong asked with a smile and said, "If I am afraid of death, why don't I stay in Kaifeng, Tokyo to enjoy wealth and prosperity, but I want to run to the northwest to eat and drink sand, tie my head to the belt to charge you with you?"

"Then why didn't you persuade my father to lead the army to fight to the end?" Liu Qi asked angrily.

"There were too many people just now, and I had many things that were inconvenient to say." Zhao Rong lowered his voice and said, "Wait a moment, when everyone has left, you can lead me to see the general alone. I am sure to convince your father to make up his mind to fight to the end and not listen to those withdrawals."

"Really?" Liu Qi's eyes lit up.

"When did I lied to you?" Zhao Rong asked with a smile.

"You have lie to me less? The pointed wooden donkey attacked the city and attacked the aid. Didn't you lie to me that time?"

Liu Qi, who was very good at keeping accounts, was dissatisfied. However, when he saw Zhao Rong insisting, Liu Qi suppressed his anger and patiently accompanied Zhao Rong until all the generals of the Song army left the central army's tent. Then he led Zhao Rong to the gate of the central army's tent and made a request to Liu Zhongwu still in the tent.

As Liu Zhongwu's favorite son, Liu Qi's request for a meeting was of course very quickly received a agreed reply. Then when Liu Qi quickly led Zhao Rong into the central army tent, he saw Zhao Rong and Liu Qi coming in side by side, Liu Zhongwu of course asked very strangely: "Why are you back when you left? What's the matter?"

"Father, General Zhao has a few words to say to you alone." Liu Qi rushed to answer: "There were too many people just now, and he had a lot of things that were inconvenient to say."

After looking at Zhao Rong, who had been paid attention to by him for a long time, Liu Zhongwu nodded and said, "Okay, if you have anything to say, just say it."

"Master, the last general is brave. Can you ask the Master to come and speak alone?" Zhao Rong made a request with great difficulty, and quickly took off his sword from his waist and handed it to Liu Qi.

"What exactly is it? You have to say it separately after you arrive?" Liu Zhongwu said strangely.

"Reporting to the Grand Marshal, it is something that is inconvenient to others to know." Zhao Rong replied, and said again: "But please don't worry, the Grand Marshal, I dare to use my head to guarantee it. These words will definitely be useful to you."

After hesitating for a while, he couldn't help but curiosity in his heart. Liu Zhongwu still stood up and called Zhao Rong to speak after he arrived at the tent. Liu Qi wanted to follow him, but Zhao Rong grabbed him and said, "Fourth Generals, these words are not convenient to say in front of you. Please stay here for a while."

"I can't even listen?" Liu Qi asked in surprise.

Zhao Rong nodded and whispered: "Don't worry, I will cover the matter of persuading the Grand Marshal to the end."

Seeing that Zhao Rong was talking so much, Liu Qi, who trusted Zhao Rong very much, had no choice but to nod and stay where he was. Zhao Rong then quickly stepped into the back tent and bowed to Liu Zhongwu who was standing in the back tent. Liu Zhongwu said lightly: "Don't give me a gift, just say anything, there are no outsiders here."

"Thank you, Marshal." Zhao Rong thanked him but did not stand up. He just knelt on one knee on the ground and kept bowing his hands. He lowered his voice and said solemnly: "Master, I will say something to you with my heart, don't be greedy for safety and choose to withdraw your troops! Otherwise, once you decide to withdraw your troops directly, it will not only mislead the court, but also mislead the commander yourself!"

"How did this coach miss himself?" Liu Zhongwu asked calmly.

"Master General, have you never thought about what reactions will be if you choose to withdraw directly, the officials, the court and the Taiwei Tong?"

Zhao Rong asked back and said in a low voice: "Our army finally defeated the Iron Harrier City and took the Zangdihe City. The memorial for the victory was just sent to Kaifeng, Tokyo. When the officials and the court were happy, you suddenly sent the memorial to voluntarily give up Zangdihe City and retreat directly. What would the officials think? What would the court think? What would the Taiwei Tong, who was in charge of the Northwest military, think? Will they feel like a basin of ice water was thrown into a basin of ice water when they were happy? I am afraid that at that time, the officials and the court will not only not think that you have made contributions, but also think that you are guilty!"

Liu Zhongwu was silent and said for a while: "Of course I understand this principle, but Wang En and Cai Dian were also right. The enemy is strong and we are weak, and the enemy is more and less. If we don't retreat quickly, we are indeed at risk of being defeated by the pseudo-Xia thief army."

"Master, do you think we have already lost?" Zhao Rong asked strangely: "We are bound to lose now? Yes, Wang Dehou lost all military supplies, weapons and food, and it is impossible for us to help us. However, Zangdihe City has been held by us, and our camp is also built very strongly. We can also seize the time to continue to strengthen it. Even if we can't defeat the pseudo-Xia thief army in the front-end battle, it is not a big problem to defend the city camp, right?"

"Also, the Security Army City is behind us." Zhao Rong said again: "The Security Army City is only one day away from here, and the food and military supplies are convenient for transporting food and military supplies. The road is still under our control. In addition, Wang Dehou's defeated army can help us transport food and military supplies. The food route can ensure safety. Even if we can't defeat the pseudo-Xia thief army, the consumption can always reduce them, right?"

Liu Zhongwu nodded slightly without hesitation. Seeing him shaken, Zhao Rong hurriedly said in a low voice: "Master, please think about it again. If we can rely on the advantage of convenient transportation of grain, we can fight hard to withdrew the pseudo-Xia thief army and preserve our previous victory fruits, what will the officials and the court think? Do you think that Master, you are good at commanding troops and fighting effectively? Will you be rewarded and rewarded? Do you look at Master, differently?"

"Master, let's take a step back ten thousand steps. Even if we really can't defend Zangdihe City or the camp, it's time to temporarily decide to withdraw the troops." Zhao Rong said again: "From here to Baoan Juncheng, there are narrow mountain roads all the way, and there is almost no room for detour. It is not only conducive to the protection of the army's rear guard, but also suitable for ambushing the pursuers. With the commander's ability to command troops, you can calmly retreat on such a mountain road. What are you worried about? Since you can retreat at any time, why should we retreat now? Let the commander not explain to the court and the officials?"

"It's not only that." Zhao Rong said incessantly, "And the general thought that even if we retreated to the Baoan Army City now, we might not be able to escape from danger. The reason is very simple. The Baoan Army City is too small and there are so many troops stationed in the city. Even if we withdraw back to the Baoan Army City immediately, the main army can only be stationed outside the city. Once the pseudo-Xia thief army seizes this little and pursues us relentlessly, it can still force us into a desperate situation."

"So the last general believes that instead of retreating now, it is better to firmly defend the city and camp and drain the puppet Xia bandit army with all their might! Moreover, the biggest weakness of the puppet Xia bandit army is that the country has small food and it is difficult to fight for a long time. If we can consume the Xixia bandit army shortage of food and the morale of the army is shaken, maybe there is still hope to create a miracle and win another battle!"

After saying the words passionately, Zhao Rong bowed to Liu Zhongwu and said, "Master, the last word is over. Should we fight to the end with all our might? Please make a decision early to stabilize the morale of the army! Never hesitate, as this will lead to the disintegration of our army's morale and the morale is shaken."

Liu Zhongwu didn't say anything, and after a while, he gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Come here!"

Hearing this, Liu Zhongwu's personal captain immediately rushed into the back tent. Liu Zhongwu calmly said, "Immediately send the entire army to strengthen the camp and repair the city defense of Zangdihe City. I understand and tell the generals of each battalion that from now on, who dares to retreat and behead them immediately!"

The captain of the personal soldiers agreed and immediately ran out to pass the order. Liu Zhongwu said lightly: "I want to write to Liu Fa and ask him to send troops to reinforce me immediately. The stall in Zangdihe City was smashed by his deputy Wang Dehou, and he must send troops to help me clean up the mess."

Hearing this, Zhao Rong quietly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed to Liu Zhongwu and said, "The general is wise, and I admire him!"

"Zhao Rong." Liu Zhongwu spoke again and said, "Give you some power, and you can come to see me at any time in the future. Do it well, I will not treat you badly."
Chapter completed!