As the sky slowly brightened, a group of battered and exhausted troops ran through the farmland and onto the main road, continuing their escape.
Zhou Shouxian, who was sitting on horseback, had a livid expression on his face. He looked at his entourage and found that they were all exhausted.
Jin Wuguang, the head of the True Numinous Institute, and Cao Yu'er, the head of the Flying Flower Pavilion, had tense expressions on their faces.
It had only been a few days and nights, but the battle had been completely messed up, so messed up that it was impossible to command.
No one expected that the five prefectures would disregard the life and death of hundreds of thousands of troops. Only Ying Yang and Wu Lie Graud led the cavalry to attack Zhou Shouxian, while the Heavenly Jade School, Retaining Immortal Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain gathered a large number of cultivators to assist them.
Knowing that the enemy had gathered so many cultivators, Zhou Shouxian had no choice but to retreat for the time being. However, almost all of the enemy were mounted soldiers. Due to that, Zhou Shouxian's side had no choice but to order their main force to stop the enemy while he led a smaller force to retreat.
While they were still retreating, they received the bad news that the 100,000 troops they had sent to intercept them had been routed.
The cultivators of the True Numinous Institute and the Flying Flower Pavilion could not withstand the joint attack of the four sects, resulting in a large number of casualties. Unable to withstand, the surviving cultivators of the two sects were forced to flee in all directions.
The four sects did not pursue the cultivators of the other two sects. They continued to follow Ying Yang and Wu Lie Graud, cooperating with the army to pursue Zhou Shouxian.
At this moment, Zhou Shouxian was filled with regret. He regretted that he should have led the army to the front and hid in the rear. The enemy had launched a surprise attack and mobilized the layers of defense he had set up at the front. The army had turned back to reinforce them, and the enemy had taken advantage of the situation to kill and loot, burning down the supply of the defending army.
By the time he realized what was going on and understood the enemy's intentions, it was already too late!
The battle had just begun, but the provisions for hundreds of thousands of troops were almost gone. What a joke! How could they fight this battle? Was there still a need to fight?
Then again, he had never intended to fight the enemy to the death. Otherwise, he would not have hidden behind the army. He thought that hiding behind the army was safer and easier to retreat. In the end, they were safe, but they didn't expect the enemy to do something like this. He had never seen such a method of fighting. The enemy had hundreds of thousands of people, but they actually threw down their supplies and didn't even bring their rations and fodder. Who had ever seen hundreds of thousands of people fighting without any rations and fodder? This was simply treating the lives of hundreds of thousands of troops as a game.
But reality proved that this wasn't child's play. There really was someone who dared to fight like this. Someone's arrangement of defenses aimed at his weakness in one fell swoop. It was ruthless, steady, and accurate, making Zhou Shouxian want to cry but have no tears!
The black-faced Jin Wuguang and Cao Yu 'er could still vaguely remember Zhou Shouxian's words from before. He said that they did not need to win this time. As long as they could hold the enemy in a stalemate, they would win. The Emperor would look for the three major sects. The army was powerful, and the three sects were under pressure. They could not afford to waste. could. It would be the Heavenly Jade School. Would be the School's end.
At the time, the two of them had thought so. Now, not long after the battle had begun, it was a complete mess. Did this look like a stalemate?
A Golden Wing landed in the morning light. Very quickly, a general rode forward and reported to Zhou Shouxian, "Sir, the scouts have reported that the enemy is tired and has stopped their pursuit. They have stopped to rest."
Cao Yu'er smoothed out the ribbons of her dress that had been messed up by the wind. She also said to Zhou Shouxian, "The enemy is a distance away from us. They won't be able to catch up to us in a moment. We are also tired. Let's rest a bit."
Zhou Shouxian immediately asked the general, "How far are we from Dingzhou?"
The general replied, "About 80 li."
Zhou Shouxian immediately said to everyone in a loud voice, "We are almost at Dingzhou. Brothers, hold on a bit longer. Once we reach Dingzhou, we will be safe. The rebel army will not attack Dingzhou."
Thus, the tired group of people continued forward. They did not travel quickly and arrived within Dingzhou in the evening.
Dingzhou already had people set up defenses on the border. Knowing that Zhou Shouxian had arrived, Dingzhou Provincial Governor Xue Xiao, who was personally holding the fort on the border, quickly came forward to welcome him. The two provincial governors both jumped off their horses and met.
Xue Xiao grabbed his arm and asked anxiously, "Brother Zhou, why did you retreat into Dingzhou so quickly?"
Zhou Shouxian was ashamed and didn't know how to answer.
Xue Xiao asked again, "Brother Zhou, where are the 200,000 people that Dingzhou has secretly sent to support them?"
Zhou Shouxian turned his head to look at the people he had come with. He had only brought back 3,000 people. Only the 3,000 riders of the central army had followed. Furthermore, they were all tired and wretched. The rest had been left behind to block the pursuers. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for them to escape.
Xue Xiao said in shock, "Brother Zhou, it has only been a few days and nights. 800,000 people. You are not telling me that they have been wiped out so quickly, are you? Even if it were 800,000 pigs, the rebel army wouldn't have been able to kill them all so quickly, right? "
Zhou Shouxian said, "The 800,000 people are basically still there …" He didn't know how to continue.
Xue Xiao was once again shocked. "Since the people are still there, as the commander-in-chief, why did you abandon the army and retreat into Dingzhou?"
Zhou Shouxian really didn't know how to explain. From the battle reports he had received from various Roads, most of the 800,000 people were indeed still there. At least 600,000 were still there, but they were all in chaos.
He, the commander-in-chief, had run. More importantly, he had run too quickly. Even when he turned his head back, he couldn't imagine how much of a blow it had dealt to the morale of the people under his command.
He had run quickly, and the people below him could not catch up. He had also abandoned the provisions and was now searching for food everywhere. There were also the rebel army's attacks. Hundreds of thousands of people were in disarray. It would be difficult for them to gather together in a short time.
In a large tent in the rebel army's central army, military reports from various places were continuously sent in and military orders were continuously sent out.
Peng You was waiting for the higher-ups of the Tianyu Gate to stand to the side and watch Meng Shanming busy himself.
A general rushed in and raised his hands. "Report. Zhou Shouxian has retreated into Dingzhou."
Meng Shanming immediately turned his head to look at the map. Luo An quickly turned his wheelchair to make it easier for him to see the map.
Meng Shanming asked, "How is Ying Yang Wu Lie Graud's rest?"
Feng Lingbo said, "Earlier, we were ordered to stop the pursuit. We have already rested for a day."
Meng Shanming waved his staff in his hand and pointed at a large group of enemy troops that were retreating in the direction of Dingzhou after obtaining provisions from a city. "Order Ying Yang Wu Lie Graud to head south and stop the escaping troops." He turned his head to look at Peng Youzai. "The accompanying sorcerers must gather together and kill the enemy's main general. The enemy has 80,000 people. Can you do it?"
Peng Youzai nodded. "Should be possible."
Meng Shanming said, "Don't tell me it should be. I want a definite answer."
Peng Youzai was a bit hesitant. With so many people, it was a great threat to the cultivators. Furthermore, the enemy's main general had many cultivators protecting him. But in the end, he gritted his teeth. "Alright. We must capture them for Commander Meng no matter the cost!"
Meng Shanming nodded and looked at Feng Lingbo. "Ying Yang Wu Lie Graud will feign an attack. Wait for the accompanying sorcerers to kill the enemy's main general. Ying Yang Wu Lie Graud will immediately give up on intercepting them. If the enemy's main general is dead and the enemy does not scatter, Ying Yang Wu Lie Graud will circle to the back of the enemy's main army and kill them all the way! Remember, only chase and kill, don't forcefully attack. Most of the 80,000 people can't run fast. Our cavalry has the advantage. Attack and disturb them all the way, delay their marching speed, and don't let them rest. "
His staff pointed at a location on the map. "At the same time, order Mei Linsheng to gather his troops and head north. Wait for his troops to arrive and intercept them. Then, form an encirclement and force them to surrender. If they don't surrender, then kill them on the spot!"
"Zhou Shouxian has already escaped into Dingzhou. We can close the net in Nanzhou. Order each division to send some troops to guard the main roads and force the enemy's troops to scatter and have nowhere to go. Force the stragglers to only use mountain roads or rugged terrain to wear down their morale and stamina. Make them extremely tired and unable to easily regroup. This will make it easier to wipe them out later. "
"Order each division to gather their main troops and surround the nearest city. Order the enemy troops that have retreated into the city to open the city and surrender. If they open the city and surrender, the army will immediately enter the city to control it and rest. If they are unwilling to open the city and surrender, surround it for now and do not attack. The army will rest outside the city and wait for the following supplies to arrive. After the soldiers have eaten their fill and rested, we will then gather our forces to attack them one by one. Do not attack them at the same time. If we attack too many places at once, we will suffer a backlash. At this stage, we must fight steadily and surely. "
"Yes!" Confirming that there were no other orders, Feng Lingbo agreed and quickly issued the military order.
Meng Shanming put down his staff, looking a little tired.
Peng Youzai immediately came forward and asked sincerely, "Commander Meng, you haven't slept for a day and night. Do you want to rest first?"
Meng Shanming said, "As long as we act according to this plan, it will be difficult for the panicked troops left behind by Zhou Shouxian to regroup. After we have occupied the cities of the six upper provinces, the situation in Nanzhou will be settled. There is no need for me to say more about the rest of the matters of wiping them out." As he spoke, he raised his hand. Luo An pushed the wheelchair. Shang Chaozong and the others also left.
Out of respect, a group of people all came out of their tents to send them off.
Watching the figure in the wheelchair leave, Peng Youzai sighed and said, "Truly a genius strategist on the battlefield. A famous general indeed lives up to his reputation. It is a pity that the Yan Emperor, Shang Jianxiong, cut off an arm. Otherwise, with this person in our hands, how could our Tianyu School have a chance?"
Not even in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that the so-called 'quick battle' could be concluded so quickly. In just a few days, Zhou Shouxian's army of 800,000 soldiers had been completely routed, and the Heavenly Jade School had firmly grasped the general situation of the Southern Province. As for Zhou Shouxian, he was no longer a cause for concern. He had only taken a few thousand soldiers and fled to Dingzhou. He was already crippled and could not cause any more waves.
There was a glimmer of pity in his sigh. This Meng Shuai had this ability, but the Tianyu School would not have the opportunity to use him again. After taking Nanzhou, the Tianyu School would not start another war. Their strength would not allow them to do so either. They would have to wait at least 50 years for the Tianyu School's strength to accumulate to another level. However, at that time, even he might not be able to live until then. There was no need to talk about this Meng Shuai. After this battle, the pearl of this generation's famous general would be covered in dust.
Watching them leave, Feng Lingbo's expression was complicated. In the beginning, he was somewhat dissatisfied with Meng Shanming. However, after personally witnessing the other's command in battle, he was truly amazed. He was truly convinced. He realized that the difference between him and the other was not just a little bit big. It was like the difference between heaven and earth.
Although the other had fought in a chaotic manner earlier, there was a great deal of order in the chaos. The movements of the troops were orderly, and the advance and retreat of the troops were well thought out. The hundreds of thousands of troops were moved with ease in the hands of the other. In just a few moves, he had confused and confused Zhou Shouxian's 800,000 soldiers.
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