Ever since he learned that the peasant army was attacking Baimadu, Li Ping's brain was completely in a state of confusion, because he knew that he was facing the worst situation.

Although he had not conducted an on-site survey of the terrain of Baima Crossing, Li Ping already knew through the old boatman, the grandfather of the communications corpsman Dong Jiangpeng, that the defenses that Baima Cross could rely on were completely different from the Sheepskin Beach where he was stationed.

That will be the key to the entire campaign.

What is tested here is the will and determination of both offense and defense.

The peasant army traveled thousands of miles and was bound to win. As long as they did not suffer unbearable losses, they could not return home.

But Zuo Liangyu, who regarded the army as his capital, would never be able to throw his direct lineage into a pit of fire and burn them all.

The outcome of this battle has been determined from the beginning. The only question is how long Zuo Liangyu plans to hold on.

This is also the source of Li Ping's anxiety and confusion.

Then the distance between Baimadu and Yangpitan is still a bit close. The straight-line distance on the map is only about 11 kilometers, and the distance on the river is only about 16 kilometers.

Hanging in the wild and close to the main battlefield, Li Ping was in a very awkward situation.

Once Zuo Liangyu is defeated, he will face the powerful force of the peasant army. If he wants to block the car with more than a thousand people, he is courting death.

It seemed like he could only run away.

But it was difficult for Li Ping to judge when to run away.

At least it's absolutely impossible now.

As long as he dares to run now, all the blame for the fall of Xiangyang will probably fall on him.

Because once he ran away, it was equivalent to giving the peasant army the possibility to take Zuo Liangyu's retreat from Sheeptan, and Zuo Liangyu's retreat would have a very legitimate reason.

Convicting Li Ping of the first crime is really hard to argue with.

Zuo Liangyu is probably very happy for someone to take the initiative to take the blame.

At that time, Li Ping was a criminal in the Ming Dynasty, and he had no chance of running away if he was convicted of beheading.

If he wanted to survive, he probably had only one way out: surrendering to the peasant army.

As for going it alone, don't even think about it.

Not to mention that the officers and soldiers had to try their best to catch him and cut off his head to deliver a message to the emperor. In the place where the Fourth War was fought, there was no righteousness, no prominent name, and not much capital. Only fools came to seek refuge.

But if I can’t run now, then when will I run?

This is exactly what Li Ping is worried about.

Because he calculated for a long time and found that he could only wait for Zuo Liangyu's troops to start running before running, and then he even had to run behind Zuo Liangyu's butt, instead of running in front of Zuo Liangyu.

Not only do you start running before the general and run in front of the general, but running is also in vain and is tantamount to seeking death!

He also had to take the road between Wanshan Mountain and Yanggu Mountain to go around the big bend, instead of going through Wanshan Mountain.

Not wanting to easily abandon the vehicles accompanying the army was not a consideration at all. The key point was that Li Ping was not sure whether the peasant army would have a partial division from Baimadu to the south and make a large detour from the west of Wanshan Mountain.

But in this way, he could easily be stuck and killed by the peasant army's pursuit force.

Timing and luck seem to be very crucial!

But the opportunity is never so easy to grasp, and it's hard to say whether he will be given the opportunity.

As for luck, it’s even less reliable!

Who knows how many days Zuo Liangyu plans to pretend to be in danger?

Therefore, Li Ping could only circle back and forth impatiently on the small plateau at Sheepskin Beach, sometimes trying to listen to the chaotic sound of gunfire in the direction of Baima Crossing, and sometimes raising his head and looking westward.

But he also took the risk and ordered that the wounded and some of the food, grass and baggage troops who were injured in the morning battle should be withdrawn first.

He miscalculated and brought a lot of food and baggage, which would interfere with their running.

In worry, Wang Chengwu suddenly flew over on horseback.

"Brother Li, leave quickly. The front has withdrawn. Zuo Liangyu ordered the troops to retreat." Wang Chengwu shouted anxiously before he even got off his horse.

"Aren't you going to fight now?" Li Ping's head didn't turn around for a moment.

Ma Yong and others around Li Ping also looked at Wang Chengwu in astonishment. Everyone thought that General Zuo would not fight to the death, but they still felt that General Zuo's uniform would need to be worn for at least one day.

It would be too childish to stop playing so soon!

After Wang Chengwu anxiously briefly described the situation of Baima Crossing, Li Ping looked at the smoke and dust that had begun to rise to the west and said to himself depressingly: "Where are we going!"

"Go into the city! Go into the city! Hundreds of thousands of people are defending the city, and the peasant army has not been recruited for a while. The city is safe. Evacuate quickly!" Wang Chengwu saw that Li Ping was hesitating, and couldn't help shouting.

"Chengwu, you go first! I can't enter the city..." Li Ping sighed.

"Are you kidding me? Where are you going if you don't go to the city? If you don't hurry up, it will be too late. Don't hesitate!" Wang Chengwu's face turned red with urgency.

"I promised Brother Baolai that I have to go find him. I can't break my promise." Li Ping's tone was very firm and left no room for doubt.

Wang Chengwu was stunned for a moment, and then said eagerly: "Give me a few horses, I will find Baolai, and I will definitely bring him into the city. At worst, we can make more detours and go around Xian Mountain. You can take him first without worry.

Let’s go into the city with our troops!”

"Thank you Chengwu, but it still doesn't work. Going into the city without orders is tantamount to asking for death! Zuo Liangyu will be happy to use my head to pay for his failure. I really can't go into the city. And there's no way over there.

Song Baolai is not the only one, I cannot abandon so many subordinates." Li Ping smiled bitterly.

"Then what should I do?...If you don't leave...if you don't leave and stay here, wouldn't you be courting death?" Wang Chengwu was already stuttering, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Not yet. At this time, the peasant army will not pursue them as long as they are normal. Not to mention that Prime Minister Huiden's troops are threatening them to the west. The peasant army is not sure whether there will be an ambush in these mountains.

"It's getting dark, they should first consolidate the ferry to prevent being attacked from both sides. Chengwu, you go first! I'll wait for Zuo Liangyu's army to withdraw before withdrawing, there shouldn't be a big problem." Li Ping comforted.

"But how can this be done? You are taking a risk." Wang Chengwu was still unwilling.

"It's a correct judgment of the situation, and it's not a risk. Anyway, it's impossible for me to enter the city. Cheng Wu, let's go! You have nearly half of the casualties, Shi Ming and Zhao Jin need you more now." Li Ping advised.

"cocoa……"

"Look, the messenger cavalry is here, and they should be telling us to retreat, so you can go ahead without worry!" Li Ping pointed at several flag-bearing cavalry figures running towards us from the distance and said.

After turning his head and staring in the direction of Li Ping's finger for more than ten seconds, Wang Chengwu licked his chapped lips, breathed a sigh of relief and then raised his fist towards Li Ping.

Before mounting his horse, Wang Chengwu looked back again at Li Ping, who had a firm look on his face, and at the subordinates behind him who had equally firm eyes. Of course, there was also an old man whose eyes flickered.

Wang Chengwu straightened his body and saluted a standard modern military salute, then mounted his horse and ran towards the smoke without looking back.

Seeing Wang Chengwu's eager departure, Hu Zhongshan's brows stretched and he couldn't help but said excitedly: "Sir, according to what you just said, we can safely evacuate?"

When other people around heard Hu Zhongshan's rash question, they all turned to look at Li Ping. Only Ma Yong sighed helplessly.

Li Ping glanced sideways at Hu Zhongshan and said in a deep voice: "I was just comforting Mr. Wang, don't have wishful thinking. It's actually hard to say what the thieves leaders will think. Maybe they want to copy Zhuxian Town again.

victory."

Hu Zhongshan, who had just been frightened by Li Ping's piercing eyes and had lowered his head, raised his head again in shock. His eyes widened and he wanted to say something else but finally couldn't.

They have all experienced the defeat of Zhuxian Town, and they definitely still remember it.

"Again? Are they not afraid that the commander-in-chief really wants to attack them from both front and back?"

Seeing that no one said anything for a moment, Duan Qiang opened his mouth for everyone.

"Zong Bing Zuo is obviously scared. If he has a plan, he will not give up Baimadu so easily. Maybe other bandit leaders will be careful, but Li Zicheng's title of King of Chuang is not for nothing.

Moreover, the bandit army can also choose not to take the risk of chasing Zuo Zongbing's brigade. They can choose to go directly south and bypass Wanshan to encircle them. Zuo Zongbing can continue to run from Pingcheng and Pingjiang, but we choose not to enter the city.

We will be surrounded in the wild."

Li Ping did not want to undermine the morale of his subordinates, but the command must understand the situation at this time.

"We can only gamble now. If we lose the gamble, we will escape death." Ma Yong answered with a wry smile at this time.

At this time, the silly big man Liu Qiang, who was a little far away but had been listening to the noise here, suddenly shouted to Li Ping while carrying the military flag: "Sir, there are so many of us now, we can always kill them. I am full every day these days."

Food is not free, and I, Liu Qiang, can do whatever my brother wants, even if he goes up mountains of swords and into seas of fire, I am not afraid."

It is estimated that only Liu Qiang dared to eavesdrop openly while Li Ping and others were talking.

"Yes! We have so many elite soldiers, and we are still waiting for work. The tired thieves may not be able to stop us." Duan Qiang also forced himself to become heroic.

"There's no need to be too pessimistic. It's getting dark, and the rebels may not dare to make such bold moves behind unfamiliar enemy lines. Besides, if they have to march again, they may not have the strength. They are not iron. We'd better go first.

Let’s see what General Zuo’s military order is! If we leave now, it won’t be a big problem.” Li Ping looked at the cavalry who was about to arrive in front of him and said.

The leader of the three messenger cavalry who came was Li Ping's acquaintance, the soldier surnamed Zhang who first led Li Ping to Zuo Liangyu's residence.

The soldier surnamed Zhang brought Zuo Liangyu's order asking Li Ping to continue to hold on to Yangpitan, and made it clear that Li Ping could not withdraw until dark and Wang Yuncheng's rearguard cavalry had withdrawn. After withdrawing, he could temporarily retreat to Yanggu.

Mountain.

"The commander-in-chief asked the young one to tell the general that the safety of the army's flanks all depends on the general. The commander-in-chief believes in the general's loyalty and bravery, and will definitely remember the general's achievements today." The soldier named Zhang finally said solemnly.

"Commander, please rest assured. Li Ping is well aware of the great stakes at stake. He will strictly abide by the commander's military orders and fight to the death to protect the safety of the army." Li Ping not only accepted the order readily, but also made a bold statement.

The soldier surnamed Zhang was overjoyed and bowed deeply to Li Ping on his horse. Then he took the flag and led the other two messenger cavalry to ride eastward along the Yangtze River.

But as soon as they walked away, Li Ping's face darkened.

"Why are we in the rear? Isn't this fatal?... Yanggu Mountain, Yanggu Mountain, sir, we can't retreat to Yanggu Mountain! We can't leave behind so many people in the support camp!" Hu Zhongshan

Finally I couldn't help but started shouting.
To be continued...