Chapter 137 Sudden Retreat

"retreat?"

"Why is this?"

….

Zuo Liangyu's sudden order to withdraw troops confused everyone around him. Even the soldiers who sent the order were stunned, not knowing how to receive the order.

"If I don't leave, I'm afraid I'll be stuck and won't be able to leave. It's already halfway through Shenshi (15:00 to 17:00), and it's getting dark (dark time in Xiangyang at this time is around 18:00).

The rebel army is already outnumbered. Seeing how desperate they are, they are determined to get this crossing. Once the rebel infantry completes the gathering of troops, we will not be able to escape even if we want to leave, so we must be on guard!" Zuo Liangyu!

explained.

"But our army is in a fierce battle with the bandits. If we withdraw now, the bandits will take advantage of the situation and attack. Wouldn't it be more dangerous for us?" Deputy General Wang Yuncheng almost blurted out.

"The terrain here is complex, and our army has not yet shown its defeat. If we withdraw the troops on the mountain to the west and the troops at the foot of the mountain to the east, it will be difficult for the intruders to tell the truth from the truth. How can they dare to pursue me if I am afraid that I will harm them?"

." Zuo Liangyu explained again.

Seeing that the people around him were still confused, Zuo Liangyu raised his voice and said: "I have made up my mind. Send an order and order the infantry in the rear to withdraw first. Then Prime Minister Hui Deng gave up the mountains along the river and selected dangerous positions behind.

Re-arrange defenses everywhere, and then Zhao Jin's troops will withdraw. At the same time, all cavalry troops must gather at high altitudes in the rear and wait to cover the retreat of the infantry. After all the horses withdraw to the east, Prime Minister Huiden's troops will slowly withdraw to the west. Remember, all troops must be strictly ordered

The gong must not be struck, and all military orders must be communicated face-to-face to the leaders of each battalion to prevent the soldiers from not understanding the reason and causing a great rout."

"Why did the troops on the mountain withdraw first?" Deputy General Wang Yuncheng was confused again.

"The soldiers on the mountain retreat first, and the rebel army will have to scramble for high ground, so that the defense line at the bottom of the mountain can reduce the pressure and withdraw. If the soldiers at the bottom of the mountain withdraw first, the rebel army will gather troops on the flat ground and attack, which may lead to a great rout." Zuo Zuo

Liangyu had to explain again.

This time, everyone around them finally agreed loudly, and Wang Yuncheng even chimed in by saying something like, "The commander-in-chief has all the considerations in mind."

"Tell Liang Bi that his troops must not turn back for a while after heading west, so as to effectively threaten the intruders on the west side. After that, if it is inconvenient for them to return to our army, they can go up the river and go to Junzhou (a scattered state in Xiangyang Prefecture) first.

, equivalent to a county, today's Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province), or continue to retreat westward to Yunyang Prefecture (now Shiyan City, Hubei Province), there should be no danger for the time being." Zuo Liangyu suddenly added.

Then Zuo Liangyu stopped talking and strode silently down the mountain.

He has to withdraw too, it's no longer safe here.

"Shi Ming!"

As Zuo Liangyu walked, he recited this name in his mind again. He had already recited this name several times after being reported by his own soldiers.

Zuo Liangyu had an impression of the name "Shi Ming", and he also had some vague impressions of the person.

Shi Ming and Zhao Jin had met Zuo Liangyu when they first came to Xiangyang. Although they couldn't remember some of them clearly, they still remembered some of them.

Especially after Zuo Liangyu began to focus on Li Ping and Zhao Jin, he naturally knew about the person who was said to be the head guard of Miss Zhao's family. Zuo Mengeng even mentioned it to Zuo Liangyu several times, saying that

Got another strong general.

Zuo Liangyu was naturally more impressed.

It is said that this Shi Ming had also served in the army and was a good soldier. He had led more than a hundred troops. If he had such skills, he would not be able to get into the eyes of the Zhao family, which has a big business, let alone be appointed as the leader.

Today I saw that Shi Ming's ability was indeed well-deserved.

Zuo Liangyu couldn't help but secretly praise that his son had finally begun to be discerning.

But now, things don't look good for Shi Ming, who is still behind enemy lines. Although he is still brave, he is becoming more and more troublesome, and he is obviously far away from the shore.

Alone outside, Shi Ming and his bodyguards were being heavily besieged. With fewer and fewer people and increasing resistance, it was becoming difficult to fight their way back to the main formation.

"It's not a pity. Warriors are really hard to find now!" Zuo Liangyu sighed a little in his heart, but he just sighed silently.

…

Shi Ming, who had been killing the enemy for a long time, was now very tired. Two of his knives had been worn out, and he didn't know whose knife he was holding now.

His movements are getting slower and slower, his efficiency is getting lower and lower, and the armor on his body is getting heavier and heavier.

Shi Ming had long wanted to go back and kill him, but he never realized it.

He penetrated too deep, and the enemies surrounding him were becoming more and more difficult, while the personal guards following him were becoming fewer and fewer.

Shi Ming regretted that he was too showy, he was still too inexperienced!

After using a stolen spear to knock down an enemy soldier, and then using a long knife to cut a huge gash on the waist of an enemy soldier wearing a short cloth armor, Shi Ming surrounded other enemy soldiers.

He hesitated to step forward and took several deep breaths.

He was sweating profusely, his clothes were already soaked, and his feet standing in the river could no longer feel the cold.

Seeing the dozen or so remaining guards looking equally exhausted and troubled, Shi Ming laughed twice in a deliberately exaggerated way: "Haha, it was really fun to kill today."

Shi Ming knew very well that he could not show a trace of weakness and fatigue in front of his subordinates whose morale was already low, otherwise the situation would really be out of control.

But in his heart he was thinking: "Damn, are you having too much fun today! You won't really die here, will you?"

When he thought of this, Shi Ming suddenly felt a sense of despair.

But immediately, a wave of unwillingness and fierceness rose up in his heart, and he shouted: "Brothers, follow me to kill."

It's just that the human wall going back is getting thicker and thicker. It seems that more peasant troops are rushing to their section of the river, something is wrong.

Looking up at the nearest mountain, Shi Ming suddenly discovered that the official and military flags on Linjiang Mountain had disappeared, and some peasant soldiers had climbed up unimpeded.

Shi Ming was horrified!

He hurriedly looked around at his own formation, but luckily Zhao Jin's flag remained motionless.

But a single tree is bound to be difficult to support! What happened?

In fact, Zuo Liangyu made a mistake in his calculations.

Once the troops guarding the mountain retreat, even if they just give up the mountain near the river first, the pressure on the peasant army in the river below the mountain will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

If there is no leader in the Peasant Army to command, perhaps the ordinary soldiers of the Peasant Army will instinctively gather to a place where they don't have to fight to the death.

But how could there be no leader among the attacking peasant army?

As long as there are bosses, some of them will inevitably drive out ordinary soldiers to strengthen support for areas that are still in a state of fierce fighting.

Therefore, Shi Ming, who was still in the river, was naturally subject to more attacks.

What's worse is that once the defenders on the neighboring mountains retreat, Zhao Jin, who is immediately at the bottom of the mountain, has no choice but to retreat, and at least to a position parallel to the friendly troops guarding the mountains behind, otherwise he will be defeated.

Zhao Jin is the one who attacks with height.

However, ordering a retreat in a battle situation on flat terrain is definitely a taboo for military strategists. It is almost impossible to maintain military morale, and it is very likely to lead to collapse.

Shi Ming had no time to take a closer look at the current status of the two armies, let alone think too much about it.

The Peasant Army had successfully separated him from his guards when he was distracted. A dozen Peasant Army soldiers holding iron spears were surrounding him and staring at him eagerly.

After fighting for so long, Shi Ming had long realized that these peasant soldiers should be elites. Not only did everyone have iron weapons, but they also had shoes and cotton-padded clothes, and many of them also had various kinds of light armor.

Yes! If you weren't an elite, you wouldn't be able to get here in the first wave.

If their physical fitness wasn't much inferior to Shi Ming's, and if they weren't all out of breath due to their general lack of physical fitness for long-distance running, Shi Ming would have been in big trouble.

But now, after fighting for such a long time, Shi Ming's physical strength and condition have been seriously exhausted.

Just when Shi Ming was feeling depressed and annoyed, there was suddenly a very obvious confusion behind the dozen enemy soldiers who were besieging him.

The neighing of the horses attracted several enemy soldiers to look back, and then those few people fled in all directions without saying a word. The other enemy soldiers also quickly dispersed after being stunned.

No one wanted to stop the advancing cavalry.

Shi Ming grinned, and he easily determined that the dozen or so cavalry that were clustered together and crashing towards him were the cavalry of the government army, and it seemed that they should be followed by a large group of infantry.

He is saved.

Shi Ming also immediately recognized one of the cavalrymen who was approaching him.

That's Zhao Jin, his brother.

"Mount."

Zhao Jin, who rushed over, said expressionlessly to Shi Ming, who was looking at him.

"Thanks, brother."

Shi Ming didn't show any pretense. He smiled gratefully at Zhao Jin and hugged his fist, then climbed onto the empty horse brought by Zhao Jin.

But when the horse was approaching the shore, Shi Ming discovered that there was another group of people entangled in the river very close to the shore, and the leader was Wang Chengwu.

Wang Chengwu and others did not ride horses, so they probably wanted to rely on infantry assault to rescue Shi Ming, but they were trapped before they could advance much (most of the ones who could really fight were taken away by Shi Ming).

At this time, Zhao Jin and the others were not safe either.

After slowing down to save Shi Ming, the cavalry lost its initial impact and shocking effect. The advantage of the cavalry was no longer there. After experiencing the initial panic, the peasant army also began to boldly and more violently attack.

In the short time it took to return, the conspicuous cavalry brought by Zhao Jin had lost five or six riders, and the hundreds of infantry surrounding them had also lost almost a third, which was very dangerous.

But Zhao Jin didn't seem to hesitate or say much. He just directed everyone to continue to gather closely together to kill Wang Chengwu, and took him back to the shore with him.

After finally returning to his own army, Zhao Jin hurriedly began to reorganize his troops and shouted curses everywhere.

Due to his brief departure, the officers and soldiers who were anxious about the retreat of the friendly forces on the mountain were already a little confused. Fortunately, the peasant army's unexpected breakthrough in the Linshan River section also confused the peasant army who were fighting Zhao Jin's troops.
To be continued...