Sima Yiqiang turned around and said to Sun Jing: "Prime Minister, Zhang Ling is the last general. He has followed the last general for many years and is loyal and reliable. He will lead the army to Xiaoyaojin and will live up to the mission."

Sun Qi was worried about who to send. Although with Sun Qi's power, he could just assign a general to lead his army, but this job was a life-and-death life. If the general who led the army was reluctant to go, he would surrender to the Wei army or not to do his best, which would put the main army of the Wu army into difficulties. Therefore, Sun Qi was very confused and didn't know who to send.

At this time, Sima Yi took the initiative to recommend his subordinates to lead his army, which could be regarded as removing Sun Chen's siege. Sun Chen was overjoyed and said, "I hope you can share my worries for me. It's a pity that the generals of Jiangdong were once heroes, but now they are all people who are greedy for life and fear of death, and they are embarrassed to have great responsibilities."

As Sun Chen said, his eyes glanced at the Wu generals beside him. The Wu generals all looked ashamed and dared not look directly at Sun Chen's gaze, and they all lowered their heads without saying a word.

In fact, it is impossible to blame others for this situation. This time, Sun Chen took advantage of the opportunity to send troops to eliminate Yi Yi. Zhu Yi, who had hatred with him, was found an excuse to be killed by Sun Chen. Ding Feng, the most brave and good-for-war veteran in the Wu army, was also demoted because of his disagreement with Sun Chen and left the front line. Most of the people who can stay in the army are Sun Chen's confidants and confidants who rely on some nepotism. These generals have average levels and abilities, and they lack the courage to wrap their bodies. If they know that they will die, no one will dare to come to respond.

After raising troops for a thousand days, Sun Qian used troops for a while. He usually reused many confidants, but at the critical moment, these people were not as good as a surrendered general from Wei State, which inevitably made Sun Qian feel a little angry. These ungrateful wolves, it seems that they have to be more careful in the future.

Zhang Ling lit up his troops. Although most of the troops he commanded were from the Wu army, with Sun Jing's command arrows, these Wu soldiers still dared not act rashly.

Moreover, those who know that there are Wei cavalry intercepting news in Xiaoyaojin are limited to senior officials of the Wu army. Ordinary soldiers are completely kept in the dark and don’t know how dangerous it is in front of them. They only know that the Wei army is behind them. As long as they can evacuate faster, they can get rid of the Wei army’s pursuit.

Of course, this was done deliberately by Sun Jing. The fewer people know about it, the better. If the Wu army soldiers knew about the current situation of being attacked from three sides, I am afraid that the Wu army would collapse faster.

Therefore, the 20,000 troops led by Zhang Ling did not know the danger ahead at all. Although they only had 20,000 people, they took away all the flags and war drums used by 100,000 people, and raised all the flags and bluffed, turning the 20,000 team into a scale of 100,000 people.

This was Sima Yiqiang's plan, which made a partial army of the Wu army go to Xiaoyaojin, making a big fuss and pretending to be a sensation, making the Wei army mistakenly think that the direction of the Wu army's breakthrough was Xiaoyaojin. In this way, neither the Wei army pursuers behind him nor the Wei cavalry blocking Xiaoyaojin would easily change the direction of the attack, winning some time for the main force of the Wu army to evacuate.

Before leaving, Sima Yichang reminded Zhang Ling specifically that before arriving in Xiaoyaojin and being blocked by the Wei army, he must maintain his current formation and momentum, and do a greater role in momentum, the better. However, once he was ambushed by the Wei army, Sima Yichang reminded him not to fight the Wei army in a decisive battle, abandon his troops, and look for opportunities to escape in the chaos.

Because Sima Yichang knew that even if the army of more than 100,000 in Wu's army broke through from Xiaoyaojin, it would be useless, not to mention that Zhang Ling led 20,000 people to pass, no matter how hard it struggled, it would be futile and could only accelerate its own destruction. Therefore, the wisest way is to escape immediately once you encounter a cavalry with the Wei army, and if you are lucky, you will still have a chance to escape.

If the result is bad luck, Sima Yichang will not say anything else. Zhang Ling knew it well. However, since Zhang Ling accepted Sima Yichang's order, he had never considered his life and death at all. In order to answer Sima Yichang's grace for knowing the favor, Zhang Ling completely sacrificed himself.

Sima Yiqiang looked at Zhang Ling's back as he was away, but his heart suddenly became extremely desolate. The troops withdrawn from Wuguan were all his direct confidants. In order to follow him, they traveled thousands of miles. If his will was a little unstable, they would have fled halfway. Those who could always follow him were all loyal people.

In this battle of Huainan, Sima Yiqiang's men suffered heavy losses. In the battles of Xincheng and Shouchun, Sima's army fought the most hard, and the casualties were the most. Compared with the Wu army who was timid and unable to move forward, Sima Yiqiang suffered great losses. Although it was worth celebrating to win the new city, it was Sima's army's flesh and blood exchange for it. Looking at the cold corpses, Sima Yiqiang couldn't help but feel sad.

This time, Zhang Ling led his troops to a dead end without hesitation, and Sima Yichang felt mixed feelings in his heart. These subordinates who followed him through life and death will gradually leave him. I really don’t know how he will gain a foothold in Eastern Wu in the future, let alone return to his hometown and restore his great cause. It is just a vain and vague dream.

When he first surrendered to Wu, Sima Yi was still full of fantasy, believing that he could use the power of Wu to achieve the great cause of human rejuvenation. However, this battle in Huainan was like pouring a basin of cold water on Sima Yi's head, which extinguished all his enthusiasm and hope.

With the current defeat determined, how to escape from the Wei army's siege is the issue Sima Yichang needs to consider now.

After Zhang Ling led his troops there, Sun Jing also ordered the rest of the troops to change their routes and head southwest to Lu'an.

Sima Yiqiang also deliberately cleaned the traces of the march here at the three-way intersection, so that the Wei army would chase along the avenue and would not temporarily suspect that the Wu army had already entered the road.

However, this situation can only be temporary. After all, the Wu army's actions can only be hidden for a while, and the Wei army will soon discover their movements. It will only be a matter of time before the Wei army catches up.

Sima Yiqian hopes that the longer this time, the better, so that they can calmly retreat from Jiashi to Wancheng. As long as they arrive at Wancheng, they can turn danger into safety.

However, the facts may not be as Sima Yiqiang wished. Once the Wei army arrived early, it would be difficult for the Wu army to escape. Therefore, Sima Yiqiang suggested to Sun Jing that the speed of the marching should be accelerated and the journey should be carried out twice the way. It would be safest to pass the stones earlier.
Chapter completed!