When Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao returned to the prefecture of Jili State, they saw the detailed information sent back by Li Xun. Although it was called information, it was actually a nagging letter. Li Xun complained a lot in the letter.
First of all, he complained that he did not have a good New Year. He had been leading the army outside. It was very cold and very uncomfortable.
Then he complained about the supply difficulties. The people who went to help transport from Jili State could support the consumption of the army in the beginning, but as the army continued to advance, the inconvenience became obvious.
Often, when the army advanced dozens of miles, the supply team behind would need a few days to send the follow-up supplies, which greatly affected the mobility of the army.
Then he said that the people of the Black Water Commandery were cunning. They did not confront him head-on, but ran all the way back and took all the people with them.
Before the New Year, when they were about to catch up, they had to give up because of a heavy snow, which allowed the people of the Black Water Commandery to effectively gather.
More importantly, many people who were taken from Shuzhou were sick and needed people to take care of them. The people who were taken from Jili State did not have a good time either. In the beginning, there was no problem. It seemed that they had adapted to the cold environment. However, as they fought on the snowy ground for a long time, many people had frostbite.
In short, the Black Water Commandery was not a place where people could fight. They needed support. They hoped that Wang Juan, who was like a god of war, could show her power again.
After reading the letter, Zhang Xiaobao smiled and said to Wang Juan, "It seems that Li Xun encountered the tactic of scorched earth and cleared field. In addition, the army was not adapted to the cold climate for a long time, so he was beaten silly."
Wang Juan nodded and agreed. She said, "It seems that our adaptive training in Jili State is still not enough. I am very worried about the people who went to North America. I don't know if they can survive. There is no news back yet.
Li Xun is really too much. He only knows how to complain. He doesn't know how to clearly write down the tactics of the enemy. It makes it difficult for me to judge what the enemy's general is planning. "
"How else could he have fought? When winter comes, he should have used the fastest speed to infiltrate the enemy. I think Li Xun wanted fewer people to die and wanted to use the momentum of the army to crush the enemy. In the end, the enemy didn't compromise and used all the available circumstances to teach Li Xun a lesson.
The mountains there are high and the forests are dense. There should be a lot of primeval forests. Fortunately, we didn't give him a rifle unit this time. Otherwise, it would be easy for someone to set up an ambush and steal the rifle. It's so cold that he can't even pull the trigger. "
Zhang Xiaobao also analyzed the situation. Time and place were on the opponent's side. As for the people, both sides seemed to be about the same.
Wang Juan put down the letter in her hand. After thinking for a while, she said, "We should have Li Xun stop. Withdraw the army and replace it with a new one. Right now, the morale of the more than 20,000 troops is as low as it can be. The Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's mansion is large. We can't expect to take it down in a short time."
After Wang Juan made the decision, she quickly sent someone to deliver the letter to Li Xun. It was estimated that it would take at least a month for the letter to arrive. There was no other way now.
Zhang Xiaobao also agreed with Li Xun's proposal to withdraw the army. He added, "The gunboats can't go forward to reinforce from the sea because of the ice over there. Shouldn't we use them? I wonder if Shuiyun can go with them? It's best if she can send back the news as soon as possible. "
Perhaps because she heard Zhang Xiaobao's call, Shuiyun flew back the next day. Seeing Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan appear to be very intimate and eating a meal of beef, she reluctantly left with Wang Juan's order.
*****
A gust of cold wind blew, causing Li Xun to involuntarily shiver. He put down his binoculars and gently rubbed his face that was covered in wounds from the wind. He gritted his teeth in pain and cursed, "Motherf * cker, this group of people don't have any backbone at all. Are they still men? If they have the guts, come up and fight with blades and guns. They only know how to hide, hide."
At this time, Li Xun's adjutant, who was responsible for giving advice, didn't say a word. He was also beaten to a pulp by the other side. As long as this side formed a large scale, the other side would immediately retreat. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, their speed was very fast. Every time they looked like they were about to be surrounded, they would find that the other side had disappeared between heaven and earth.
Li Xun gritted his teeth and turned to ask the adjutant, "Tell me, how do we fight this battle? A few days ago, we managed to surround them with great difficulty and surrounded them on a mountain. Just as we were preparing to attack after resting for a while, in the end, after one night, they actually turned into a city. We trapped them for a few days for nothing and let them run away again. "
When the adjutant heard Li Xun's words, he really wanted to say, "If you didn't insist on giving the enemy a chance to live that day, how could they have found a chance to escape if we surrounded them with only one person left? The people lying in ambush wouldn't have had time to move at all."
Thinking this in his heart, the adjutant didn't dare to say it out loud. He could only go along with Li Xun's words and say, "Your Highness, I think they're not having a good time now. At least they've been running and never dared to confront us directly. They've eaten almost all of their food and other things. As for heating, without a house, how can they not be cold?"
Li Xun didn't say anything. He thought the adjutant was talking nonsense. Who wouldn't be cold? He was cold too. After chasing for so long, how could there be a fixed house to stay in? Living in a tent, damp and cold, there was no way to fight this battle.
The adjutant continued, "Your Highness, I think it's better to retreat first. Now that it's the beginning of spring, they must also need spring plowing. Let's give them the place first and let them feel safe to return to spring plowing. When they've tidied up the land and planted the seeds, we'll make a comeback.
Your Highness, think about it. They've spent so much effort to plant the seeds, so it's impossible for them to give up so easily. If we attack again, they'll definitely want to fight us to the death. Now we're not afraid of fighting, but we're afraid that they'll run away. If they still run away, we'll destroy their land. "
"Good, good idea. The important thing is to cut off their hope of survival. They'll definitely go crazy. Your idea is good, retreat. But if I retreat, won't I be laughed at when I go back? What should I say to the Emperor? Spring? Why don't I see any signs of spring? It's still cold when it should be. "
Li Xun didn't want to fight anymore. He was physically and mentally exhausted. Now he was in a dilemma. He couldn't enter, because the Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's Mansion was too big. He couldn't retreat even if he chased after them.
Everyone knew that this was the Emperor's sword competition on Mount Hua. The people of the Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's Mansion wanted to wipe them out. If he didn't submit to such an obvious provocation, where would the national prestige be?
What's more, this was his first battle. If he ran away with his tail between his legs, wouldn't the other brothers laugh at him?
The adjutant might not be able to fight in such an environment, but he had a good grasp of human nature. At first glance, he knew what Li Xun was thinking, so he gave him an idea.
"Your Highness, we're not retreating. In fact, this is called a strategic shift. When Adjutant Wang was at the front line of Jinchuan, he also shifted a lot. Didn't he win in the end? A good general who only knows to move forward is not a good general. Sometimes it takes more courage to temporarily make concessions that are helpful to the overall situation. "
Li Xun liked to hear this. He squinted his eyes and kept nodding. He said to the adjutant, "Since you insist on shifting, I'll listen to you this time. Pass down my order. The front team will change to the rear team. Shift. Pay attention to maintaining the formation. Don't let them counterattack."
The adjutant was stunned and looked helpless. He had to take the responsibility. But he didn't help to win the battle, so he had to do this.
With Li Xun's order, the troops began to retreat. It was easy to say, but it couldn't be done in a short time. And it was impossible to retreat to Jili in one breath. They could only retreat to the Bohai Commander-In-Chief's Mansion first.
Li Xun was very reluctant to go there. He was afraid that if he met the people of the Bohai Commander-In-Chief's Mansion, they might learn from the Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's Mansion and make trouble. It would be really difficult to deal with them.
The Tang army retreated when its morale was at its lowest. As in all wars, the people of the Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's Mansion would not give up such an opportunity to chase.
Although they did not engage in a large-scale battle, the harassment of the small groups of troops never stopped. Traps, night attacks, and all the tricks that could be used were used, making it very difficult for the troops that Li Xun sent to bring up the rear.
Li Xun could hear the casualties from the rear every day. Not many people died, but they were always dying. He was very worried that the troops at the rear would retreat when they had no morale. In that case, he didn't know how many people would die.
After retreating for a few more days, what Li Xun was worried about did not happen. Instead, there was a turning point. The 2,000 people left behind to stay behind actually built a temporary camp in an open place. They learned from the people of the Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's Mansion that they also poured water into ice and were resting.
"Your Highness, the 2,000 people at the rear seem to want to counterattack," one morning before breakfast, the army officer came to Li Xun's tent and said to Li Xun.
Li Xun was stunned and asked puzzledly, "Do they want to fight to the death? That won't do. 2,000 people are not a small number. If they die, how can I explain it to Xiao Bao? They are from Jili Province. "
The army officer shook his head and replied, "Your Highness, I don't know whether they want to fight to the death or not. They didn't continue to send back messages as before. Instead, the people in charge of receiving them saw a lot of smoke rising there. I thought they wanted to stay there for a long time and wait for a chance to counterattack."
Hearing the army officer's words, Li Xun was more confused, "I don't seem to have given such an order, right? Aren't they messing around? Stay? With what? The food left for them is enough for them to eat for a few days. Now they are almost finished. Do they want to starve themselves to death? Find a way to get in touch with them. "
The more Li Xun thought about it, the angrier he got. They didn't listen to his order. Could it be that he couldn't command the people from Jili Province after fighting such a depressing battle?
While they were talking, a messenger rushed in from outside. He looked anxious and reported to Li Xun, "Your Highness, bad news. Your Highness, there is smoke rising there."
"I know. Isn't it just the troops at the rear?" Li Xun said disapprovingly.
"Yes, yes. But that smoke, that smoke, Your Highness, you'd better go and see for yourself." The messenger wanted to explain, but suddenly gave up. It was only a few steps away. He could see the situation over there as soon as he walked out of the tent.
"Let's go and see." Li Xun, who was puzzled, walked out of the tent. At this moment, there were many people standing outside. They were all looking towards the north.
The first thing Li Xun felt when he came out was that it was a cloudy day. When he followed the others' gazes, he was frightened. He saw that in the north, there was thick smoke that covered the sky. It was not smoke at all. It was smoke that would only appear when there was a big fire.
At this time, the wind was blowing towards the north and a little towards the west. The smoke was also slanting towards the northwest.
After being stunned for a while, Li Xun shook his head hard and shouted, "Who knows what's going on? What happened over there? "
Everyone was at a loss.
Standing beside Li Xun, Liu Jun muttered, "It turns out that a big fire can be ignited in such a cold time. Even snow can't stop the spread of the fire."
Li Xun nodded. It was also the first time he thought that such a big fire could be ignited. He suddenly had an idea that he didn't want to believe. He said to Liu Jun, "Could it be that the people from the Blackwater Commandery saw that we were guarding the rear, so they got a lot of things to ignite the fire and wanted to burn them to death? That's 2,000 people. "
The army officer was speechless for a moment. His eyes were filled with fear, and his body was trembling slightly. He seemed to be imagining the scene of those 2,000 people being burned alive. He had a painful expression on his face. Those were the elite troops of Jili State.
"Quickly, quickly think of a way for me to contact them and ask them to retreat. Retreat quickly. We should retreat too. If the wind changes direction, it will be troublesome."
Li Xun quivered and shouted to the people around him. The soldiers around him shook their heads helplessly. How could they contact them? Who wouldn't die if they went there?
At the moment when everyone was at a loss and helpless, a clear eagle cry suddenly sounded in the sky. Everyone couldn't help but look up. They saw a snow-white eagle hovering in the sky with its wings open. Then it began to dive toward the ground.
When Liu Jun saw the eagle, the first thing that came to his mind was to shoot it down. He shouted, "Quickly, shoot it down, so as not to hurt His Highness."
After shouting, he found that many people didn't move. Only a few people pulled their bows. Before they could aim, Li Xun's voice came.
"Put down your bows. If you shoot it, you won't live. Shuiyun, I'm here. Shuiyun, come down."
The eagle in the sky responded with a cry. As expected, it flew down toward Li Xun. It hovered at a low altitude. Seeing no danger, it landed on the tent and scratched a few holes in it.
"Your Highness, this eagle …?" Liu Jun had never seen Shuiyun before. He didn't know what it did.
"Hehe, this is Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's treasure. I didn't expect it to come here. Quickly, have someone prepare some food. I want raw meat."
Li Xun's mood suddenly improved a lot because of Shuiyun's arrival. He rubbed his hands together and came under the tent. He looked up at Shuiyun and said, "Where did you come from? Xiao Bao and Cuckoo have a message? "
Shuiyun nodded to Li Xun under the shocked gazes of the soldiers who had never seen it before. Then it raised one of its wings and pointed to the sea. It let out a short cry.
"From the sea? Are you with the fleet? Are you sending me a message? "Li Xun picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground and put it on his shoulder.
Shuiyun nodded again. It opened and closed its wings and flew to Li Xun's wooden stick. It raised one of its claws and let Li Xun take something down.
Liu Jun was dumbfounded. He muttered, "Motherf * cker, where did this goblin come from? Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan are already monsters. I can't believe they can raise an eagle like this. "
Shuiyun turned its head and glanced at Liu Jun. Obviously, it had heard Liu Jun's words and expressed its dissatisfaction.
"Hahahaha." Li Xun laughed, looking very happy. He said to Liu Jun, "We only have one Shuiyun in the world. This is good. As long as there is news, there will be a way. I don't know if the news came directly from the fleet or from somewhere else."
While they were talking, Li Xun had already taken off the bamboo tube tied to Shuiyun's leg. He also helped Shuiyun massage it to relax. It was uncomfortable to be tied for a long time.
When Li Xun stood up and opened the letter, someone had already brought the wild animals that had just been killed to him. They cut them into strips and put them on the ground. They wanted to see how Shuiyun would eat them. However, Shuiyun didn't move at all. It only stared at the person who brought the meat.
"Alright, let's do it this way. Those who should withdraw, withdraw, and those who should stay, stay. What's there to be afraid of burning the forest? As long as we can disrupt the enemy's deployment in the Blackwater Commander-In-Chief's Office, everything will be worth it. Cuckoo is indeed cuckoo, she can command from so far away.
After reading the letter, Li Xun suddenly seemed to change into a different person. He went from a defeated general to a victorious general.
Liu Jun really wanted to see what was written in the letter. Seeing that Li Xun didn't give it to him, he had to change the topic. He pointed to the meat on the ground and asked, "Your Highness, does this eagle not like to eat venison?"
"It's called Yunshui. It's not that it doesn't like to eat it, but it's afraid of being poisoned. Shuiyun, don't worry. Eat it. If someone dares to poison it, I'll kill his whole family."
Li Xun explained to Liu Jun and made a promise to Shuiyun.
Shuiyun shook its head and still didn't eat it. Obviously, it didn't believe Li Xun's promise.
"Go, get a live one." Li Xun had to give another order. This time, a very thin rabbit was sent. It might have been hungry in the winter. Li Xun personally cut off strips of meat. Only then did Shuiyun cooperate and eat it.
Liu Jun looked at Shuiyun enviously and asked Li Xun, "Your Highness, what are we going to do next?"
"Most of the troops will retreat. Leave 2,000 people here and don't move. Leave as many supplies as possible. Then follow orders. This time, I'll show them the power of our Tang army."
Li Xun took out the letter he had just put away with a sneaky smile.
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