The weather was cold and they were short of food and clothing. The morale of the army was shaken by the lack of fighting spirit.
Under such circumstances, Li Wen's attacks were repeatedly thwarted, but he repeatedly launched new attacks, looking as if he would not stop until he broke through this line of defense.
Deng Zilong also realized the benefits of persevering like this, so he changed his original plan of defending for a period of time and began to strengthen the defensive line.
As a result, the casualties of Li Wen's troops skyrocketed. Those who died were fine, but a large number of injured soldiers couldn't be properly treated, so they died in the wounded barracks. The more people died, the lower the morale of the army, and the lower the will to fight.
Not only that, but because Niu Bingzhong was dissatisfied with Li Wen's forceful request for the soldiers to attack, Niu Bingzhong repeatedly tried to stop him, which finally angered Li Wen. Li Wen ordered Niu Bingzhong to be dismissed and locked up, replacing him with the original Deputy Commander-In-Chief, Zhang Yanshou, as the commander-in-chief and the frontline commander.
Because of this, the morale of the Ningxia army was greatly shaken.
That was not all. Due to the slow arrival of the rations, the soldiers were forced to eat porridge. The weather was cold, and the battles were fierce. The soldiers' stamina was quickly depleted, but they could only eat porridge. Not only was it not enough to fill their stomachs, they were also easily hungry. This caused the soldiers to be extremely resentful.
The weather was getting colder and colder, but the military uniforms were not enough to keep the soldiers warm. The soldiers' hands were not warm enough, so their hands were so cold that they could not hold their weapons, and their bodies were shivering. Regarding this, the solution given by the senior advisors was to run. As long as the soldiers ran, they would not feel cold.
Many of the soldiers hated those Gao Can who wore thick clothing.
Even Lee Wen could feel the change in the morale of the soldiers, so he kept asking Zhang Yanshou to enlighten the soldiers and lead them to better battles in order to divert the resentment of the soldiers. He himself knew that this was not the way to go, but there was no better way at the moment. He could only use poison to quench his thirst.
A large number of soldiers died, and the survivors were not treated well. The situation worsened rapidly.
Li Wen's desperate attacks did not yield any good results. The Zhennan Army's calm defense achieved very good results, and the two armies entered a new round of confrontation.
At this juncture, Zhang Yanshou, the new Ningxia military commander, was talking to a mysterious person in his tent with a frown.
"The situation has already reached this point. Does Zhang Zongbing still want to persist? Was there any reason to persevere? Zongbing Niu has become a scapegoat. Does Zongbing Zhang want to follow in his footsteps? Have you considered the consequences of losing too many Ningxia soldiers? "
The mysterious man kept persuading Zhang Yanshou.
Zhang Yanshou's expression turned ugly.
"However, I am still the commander-in-chief of the imperial court. If I do this, how is it different from rebelling?"
"The current Imperial Court is not the Daming Emperor's Imperial Court! It was Shen Yicheng's court! Now, all the decisions made by the imperial court were Shen Yicheng's business. Everything was driven by Shen Yicheng behind the scenes. It was all for his personal desires! He could even depose the Emperor, let alone others!
You are now loyal to Shen Yicheng. You are fighting for Shen Yicheng! Silang was once Ningxia's Zongbing, and I once fought alongside him. During the Battle of Ningxia, we fought side by side, but now we're fighting against each other. Zongbing Zhang, how can you bear to do this? "
The mysterious man's face was full of sadness.
Zhang Yanshou's eyes flickered, and he looked nervous.
"I know what you said, but …"
"Zongbing Niu didn't listen to my advice, and now this has happened. The whole Ningxia army has suffered heavy losses. If this goes on, our fellow countrymen will bleed dry! What are you waiting for? "
The mysterious man's words became more intense.
"I …"
"In fact, you and Zongbing Niu both have the same idea, but you don't dare to do it. Otherwise, you would have tied me up and sent me to Li Wen. But you didn't do it, which means you know that Li Wen won't have a good end. He will die, and so will Shen Yicheng! The world will be restored! Xiao Ruxun can restore the world!
Our fellow countrymen have suffered heavy casualties. Without proper treatment, they will definitely die if they are hit by lead. Li Wen is using our fellow countrymen to build his own great achievements, and we will die in such a meaningless place!
Zongbing Zhang, in a moment, the current predicament is in a moment's time! In a moment's time, you can make a great contribution. When His Majesty is restored, you will be rewarded according to your contributions. Are you afraid that you won't get a good position? What are you worried about? If you don't do something, the Ningxia soldiers will all die! "
Zhang Yanshou's breathing quickened.
He looked at the mysterious man.
"But, there are still the troops of Li Ruzhang and Du Tong …"
"It's been so many days, have you heard any sounds of fighting from the direction of Liu Dam? If Li Ruzhang's troops arrived at Liu Dam, they must have already fought with the troops guarding there. Would they not have any reaction? But now, except for us, there is no movement from the east side of Liu Dam! Li Ruzhang doesn't want to get involved in this mess! He is watching!
Du Tong is the same! They are leading an army alone. Even if there is a supervisor in the army, it's just a matter of a word and a knife. It's different from us! They have the right to decide. If they want to delay or watch, there will be plenty of opportunities. We haven't contacted them. Don't they know it themselves?
They haven't moved. According to the scheduled time, they should have arrived, but they haven't. This is enough to show that only we are fighting a bloody battle, and Du Tong and Li Ruzhang have long planned to watch! Zongbing Zhang, you can't continue to hesitate! If you hesitate for another hour, hundreds of our brothers will die. Are you willing to see our brothers die? "
Zhang Yanshou finally felt a little moved.
"If I rise up, will the Zhennan Army accept me?"
"Of course! They don't want to fight with you! There may be old soldiers in the Zhennan Army who fought with us in Ningxia. Most of them are officers now and have positions. Are you afraid that they won't accept you? They have long wanted to fight their way out of Qinling Mountains and enter Guanzhong! "
The mysterious man said sincerely, "Zongbing Zhang, the lives and future of tens of thousands of our brothers are in your hands!"
Zhang Yanshou lowered his head and thought for a long time. He took a deep breath and raised his head, his eyes showing a fierce look.
"If they are heartless, I will be unjust! I'm going all out! This time, even if I die, I won't be a coward! They have gone too far! They have gone too far! "
The mysterious man was overjoyed. "Our brothers are saved! Zongbing Zhang, what do you want to do? "
Zhang Yanshou said angrily, "What else can we do? Our brothers' resentment towards those pedantic scholars is not ordinary. If I bring my troops to capture them and then behead them, none of our brothers will object! They will all follow me and join Marshal Xiao! If they don't see us brothers as humans, then let them have a taste of a knife! "
Zhang Yanshou held his saber tightly and looked at the mysterious man.
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