Gong Lince and the others in the central tent were overjoyed when they heard the report of the battle at Jiangdong. The impregnable defensive line of the Song army was broken through in such a short time. This was unimaginable to them.
Inevitably, Gong Lince and the other cultivators kept praising Meng Shanming, saying that he was worthy of being called Commander Meng.
After witnessing Meng Shanming's capability in this battle, Gong Lince and the others were more confident about the following battles.
However, Meng Shanming was not happy when he saw the report. Gong Lince and the others didn't understand. Perhaps the casualties were just numbers in the eyes of these cultivators. However, Meng Shanming knew very well that they had paid a great price to take down the defensive line.
Just by reading the report, Meng Shanming knew how badly each troop had fought. He didn't lean towards Zhang Hu's side. Just the troops of the imperial court had lost nearly 200,000 men in this attack. If Zhang Hu's losses were included, the total losses were actually greater than the Song army's at Hukou defensive line.
And all of this was caused by a single order from him. How many Great Yan's captains and generals had their families torn apart and killed by his order?
How could he be happy about this? He felt ashamed in the face of all the praises. Slowly, he closed his eyes and said in the excited atmosphere in the tent, "Send the report to An Xianzhao, Su Qitong, and Shi Xinmao. Tell the three divisions to be ready to cross the river at any time! At the same time, tell Xu Jingyue's division to march towards me. Also, tell Zhang Hu to send people back the wooden rafts to cross the river as soon as possible. "
"Yes!" The messenger received the order and left.
When the news of the victory reached Xu, An, Su, and Shi divisions, the generals of the four divisions were shocked.
It wasn't that the four divisions didn't have confidence in Meng Shanming. They just didn't expect Meng Shanming to break through Song's defensive line so quickly.
With the experience of the four generals, they knew how difficult it was to break through Luo Zhao's defensive line. It could even be said that it was almost impossible. They also knew what it meant when Song's defensive line was broken. It meant that Song's defensive line against the Yan army had loosened up.
"It's only been six hours since we received the news of the feint attack, right?" Elder Yue Yuan of the Purple Gold Cave asked.
"Indeed. He broke through the three hundred thousand-strong Song Nation's Hukou defensive zone in six hours. Commander Meng is indeed Commander Meng. He is still as good as ever!" Xu Jingyue shook his head and sighed. He didn't know much about the current situation, so it was hard for him to imagine how they had broken through.
Yue Yuan asked again, "Now that you want us to go this way, does it mean that you want us to cross the river from that side?"
Xu Jingyue nodded slightly. "I think so. We're the closest to that side, and the Hukou Defense Zone is under Meng Shuai's control. There shouldn't be any other reason for us to cross the river from the Hukou Defense Zone. It's meaningless to talk about this now. You'll know when you see Commander Meng. "
Then, he turned around and shouted, "Pass down my order. Assemble the army and head south along the river!"
With a single order, Gong Zhou immediately pulled out the troops of the imperial court and left along the river …
"What?"
Inside the River Defense Governor's Office, Wu Qunlie, who had been sleepless all night, received the battle report of the cauldron's fall. He turned pale with fright and staggered back a few steps, on the verge of collapsing.
"Sir!" The generals in the hall exclaimed in shock and quickly went forward to support him.
Shaking his head, Wu Qunlie calmed himself down and waved his arms left and right. He angrily pushed away those who were supporting him and his expression was unusually ugly. With a look of hatred, he said in a pained voice, "We lost the Hukou Defense Zone in less than six hours and couldn't even hold it for half a day. We only needed to hold on for half a day for our Qing Qu's reinforcements to arrive! Xu Laiping, oh Xu Laiping, you betrayed the Governor's trust. You deserve to die! How do you want me to answer to the Governor! How do you want me to answer to the imperial court! "
Swoosh! He suddenly unsheathed his sword and slashed down, directly chopping off a corner of the table beside him. He was so angry that he trembled.
A general said, "Sir, there's no use being angry now that things have come to this. Fortunately, Xu Laiping is not stupid and preserved the strength of about one hundred and thirty thousand men. Zhang Hu's troops have also suffered heavy losses. Xu Laiping estimated that Zhang Hu's troops have lost no less than two hundred thousand men. Xu Laiping has also burned down the rations in his storage so that they won't fall into the hands of the Yan traitors. The Yan traitors are short of rations and can't hold on any longer. The situation can still be salvaged! "
Wu Qunlie steadied himself with his sword and let out a long breath. He said in a deep voice, "That is to say, Zhang Hu only has about three hundred thousand men left … Immediately let the remnants of Xu Laiping's troops meet up with Liao Nanqing's troops. Gather the troops from both sides and take back the Hukou Defense Zone at all costs!"
Not long after the order was given, there was an urgent report from outside. "Report! Xu Jingyue's troops on the other side of the river are moving rapidly towards the Hukou Defense Zone."
A group of generals immediately went to the front of the map to check. A general said, "This is obviously to let Xu Jingyue's troops cross the river from the Hukou Defense Zone and expand their control over the Hukou Defense Zone to prepare for the Yan's follow-up troops to cross the river."
Wu Qunlie turned around and asked, "Is there any movement from the troops of An Xianzhao, Su Qitong and Shi Xinmao on the other side of the river?"
The subordinate replied, "There is no movement at the moment."
Dong! Wu Qunlie punched the wall. Meng Shanming's strategy was obvious. He did not mobilize all the troops gathered along the river to cross the Hukou Defense Zone. He wanted to hold back the majority of the troops here so that they would not dare to send reinforcements with their full strength. Thus, they could only send reinforcements in the form of reinforcements.
Wu Qunlie's troops dared to leave the Hukou Defense Zone. As long as they left, the defense zone would be empty. An Xianzhao, Su Qitong and Shi Xinmao would immediately cross the river and attack. By then, they would lose more than just the Hukou Defense Zone.
This was the helpless situation that they had to face after their defense line was broken.
"Send another order to Liao Nanqing. Order the reinforcements from Qingqu to advance at full speed. They must meet up with the remnants of Xu Laiping's troops as soon as possible. They must take back the Hukou Defense Zone before Xu Jingyue's troops cross the river." Wu Qunlie punched the wall again.
…
The sky was bright and the rain had stopped. However, the air was still moist. It was as if water could be squeezed out of the air.
Wooden rafts were coming and going on the river. The scattered rafts along the river were being collected. Although many of them had been washed away by the current, the ones that could be collected were still collected and transported from the Hukou Defense Zone to the Yan's side.
A large wooden raft was being controlled by a group of cultivators to cross the river.
There was a wheelchair on the raft. Meng Shanming, whose eyes were bloodshot, was sitting upright. He coughed occasionally because he had been working too hard recently and did not have a good rest.
Luo Daan stood behind the wheelchair, holding it while Gong Lince and the others stood on both sides.
There was also a white horse on the raft. It was the white horse that Luo Zhao had given to Meng Shanming. It was also crossing the river, but it seemed a little uneasy. The creatures on the land were used to walking on the ground. It seemed that they were not used to floating on the muddy and rolling river.
When the raft reached the shore, Zhang Hu led a group of generals to welcome them. Meng Shanming and his wheelchair were carried to the shore by two cultivators.
The entire Hukou Defense Zone, which was suitable for landing, was like a huge construction site. A large number of people were dismantling all the facilities on the defense zone and destroying all the defensive facilities. Not even a single house was left. As for those long-range weapons that were used to launch projectiles, they were being removed and transported away.
Meng Shanming, who was being pushed on the wheelchair, checked along the way and asked, "How's the inventory going?"
Zhang Hu said, "Fortunately, our army broke through the defense zone with lightning speed and caught the enemy off guard. The enemy retreated too suddenly and they didn't have time to destroy many of the supplies. The food stored here is enough to feed hundreds of thousands of my men for six or seven days. As for the granary … when Guo Xianfu and his men arrived, they found that it had been burnt to a crisp by Xu Laiping. They didn't succeed. "
Meng Shanming frowned slightly. There was so much food, which was what they urgently needed. Now that it was destroyed, he couldn't help but feel a little sad.
However, he also knew that it couldn't be helped. War was ruthless. Don't expect the enemy to leave you the food that they couldn't take away. It was normal for them to destroy the food that they couldn't get.
"Where's Sun Gaotian? Take me to see him." Meng Shanming said.
Zhang Hu immediately led the group to a tent. There were no houses to stay in. All the houses had been demolished.
When the group entered the tent, Sun Gaotian, who was extremely tired, didn't rest. He was lying on the bed and staring at the top of the tent without blinking.
"Commander Meng is here to see you." Zhang Hu walked to the bed and pushed Sun Gaotian.
Sun Gaotian came back to his senses. When he saw Meng Shanming, he instantly cried and struggled to get up. "I'm useless …"
Meng Shanming stretched out his hand and pressed him back down. "You've done well. You've completed all the tasks with flying colors. You've made the greatest contribution in this battle! Sect Leader Gong of the Purple Golden Cave is here. He's very curious about how you crossed the river. You should tell him in detail. Tell him everything about the battle. "
When it came to sad things, Sun Gaotian couldn't control his tears. He choked with sobs and told the story. When he finished, he was already covered in tears.
It could only be seen on the battlefield that a man who killed people like flies could be made to cry.
Gong Lince and the others were moved when they learned that 20,000 of the 50,000 men had died in an instant when they tried to cross the Rolling Dragon River, and another 4,000 men had forcefully blocked the 100,000 men for an hour. Only then did they know how badly these people had fought this battle and how important the key role they had played in this battle.
"Sect Leader Gong, Guo Xianfu and Sun Gaotian have made great contributions in this battle. I'll ask the imperial court to confer them the title of Marquis. It's not too much to ask for the title of Marquis, right?" Meng Shanming stared at Gong Lince and asked.
Gong Lince nodded. "They deserve to be rewarded for their contributions."
Meng Shanming said, "But Old Madam's words don't carry much weight. I'm afraid the imperial court will have doubts if I ask them."
Gong Lince understood what Shang Jianxiong meant. It would be strange if Shang Jianxiong agreed. He immediately promised, "I'll do it immediately. I'll give you an answer within three days."
Meng Shanming said, "50,000 warriors sacrificed their lives! I have another request. I hope the imperial court can erect a monument at the Rolling Dragon Gorge after the battle and engrave the names of the 50,000 warriors on it. I want them to be the role models of the Yan men. They will be the pride of the Yan clan's descendants and the soul of the Yan army! "
Gong Lince said, "If the Yan clan is lucky enough to survive, I'll take care of it. I won't go back on my words!"
This kind of thing was not a loss to him at all. He made a promise in front of everyone. Naturally, there was no room for regret.
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