When the news of the defeat of the Hukou defensive line reached the Governor's office, everyone was shocked!
Even though they knew that they had fallen into the Yan army's trap, they did not expect that they would suffer such a crushing defeat. Almost all four hundred thousand soldiers were killed. The soldiers that were sent to guard the gates of the Great Song during the Kingdom War were the elites of the Great Song! How could they lose so miserably and so quickly?!
"Xu Laiping is dead …" Wu Qunlie looked up to the sky and sighed as he held the battle report. He slumped down on the chair behind the table. "It's my fault. It's my fault!"
He knew that the order to retreat to Liao and Xu was too late. Otherwise, they would not have lost so many soldiers.
The enemy had limited men. Even if they tried to break through the encirclement, they would not have lost so many men.
They were defending the Hukou defensive line with their lives. They were determined to live and die with the Hukou defensive line. That was why they ended up in such a tragic situation.
He could imagine the tragic scene of the Hukou soldiers fighting to the end. Behind them was their country, their home. The Hukou soldiers swore to stop the enemy with their lives!
"It's my fault!" Wu Qunlie murmured. His eyes were filled with tears.
It was obvious that the enemy had planned this carefully. They took action immediately after robbing the rations. They waited for the news and then relayed it back. In between, the Hukou defensive line was still carrying out the order to defend the Hukou defensive line at all costs.
The enemy was taking advantage of this time gap. Their cunning schemes were interconnected. His every step was under the enemy's control, forcing his men to fall into the enemy's trap.
When Luo Zhao heard the situation, he knew that it was difficult to defend the defensive line. He was too slow to react. If he reacted faster and made the decision to retreat, how could the four hundred thousand elite soldiers be wiped out?
He could not blame his superiors or his subordinates. Since he was the Governor of the Hukou defensive line, he had the authority to command. As a commander, he should be able to withstand the pressure.
For example, Meng Shanming could withstand the pressure from the Yan Dynasty to attack the Song. For example, Luo Zhao could withstand the pressure from the Song Kingdom to attack the Yan Capital.
As a soldier, he had to resolutely carry out military orders, but as a commander-in-chief, he had to have his own opinions. The situation on the battlefield was ever-changing, and it was impossible for the higher-ups to understand the situation in time. The commander-in-chief could not be a yes-man who was a yes-man. On the battlefield, he had the right to make decisions on the spot, but he had to bear the consequences of his own decisions.
That was why Wu Qun Lie was filled with remorse, blaming himself for being too conservative and not fulfilling his responsibilities as a commander.
…
Along the way, the main hall of the relay station was silent. Luo Zhao stood in front of the map, staring at it silently.
The group of people quietly stared at Luo Zhao from behind. News of the defeat at the defensive line at Hukou arrived again. Four hundred thousand Song Nation elites had died. Everyone felt very heavy.
First, the Yan army broke through the Hukou defense line. Then, the Yan army feigned defeat and gave up the Hukou defense line to the Song army. Finally, the Yan army attacked the Hukou defense line and dealt a heavy blow to the Song army.
The Yan army had only made a fuss about the Hukou defense line, but they had already caused the Song army to lose six hundred thousand elite soldiers. This was more than the number of Yan soldiers that the Song army had killed when they invaded the Yan Kingdom. How could they not feel depressed?
Luo Zhao did not say a word when he received the news of the defeat. He did not blame or blame anyone. He just stood in front of the map quietly.
After a long time, Luo Zhao let out a deep breath and said calmly, "Wu Qun Lie still has about one million and four hundred thousand soldiers. Meng Shanming has at least two and a half million soldiers. It is not a good idea to fight them head-on. Send my order to Wu Qun Lie to give up on fighting them head-on. Let's focus on harassing the Yan army! "
When the Hukou defense line was broken, he made a concession and ordered Wu Qun Lie to give up the defense line. He wanted to use his absolute advantage to kill those who crossed the river first. When the news of the loss of four hundred thousand elite soldiers came, he realized that Wu Qun Lie was no match for Meng Shanming. Moreover, he had lost so many soldiers. Therefore, he made another concession and ordered Wu Qun Lie to give up the attack. He wanted to use the strategy of exhausting the Yan army.
He could not grasp the situation of the battle immediately. Considering the strength of Wu Qun Lie and Meng Shanming, he could only choose the safest strategy.
After a moment of silence, Wen You reminded him, "Governor, this strategy of not resisting will be seen as a weakness. It will be criticized by the Imperial Court."
Luo Zhao looked at the map calmly and said, "From this battle, we can see that Meng Shanming is indeed a famous general. Just the Hukou defense line alone has been broken by him. I can imagine that Wu Qun Lie and his men are no match for Meng Shanming in a head-on battle. It is a pity that I cannot return to Jiang Fang immediately. If I leave, the Imperial Court will know about the defeat at Hukou. They will be anxious and order the army to retreat. If I leave, no one here can withstand the pressure from the Imperial Court. Therefore, I would rather play it safe. As long as the final victory belongs to the Song Empire, I will pay the price! "
…
In Yan Capital, even though the news of the Yan army breaking through the Song defense line had spread in the capital, there was no happy atmosphere.
The Song army was getting closer and closer to Yan Capital, and the news could no longer be hidden.
So what if the Yan army broke through the Song defense line? The Yan Empire was about to fall, and Shang Chaozong was disregarding the Yan Empire's interests for his own.
Under the influence of some people, the attitude of the people in the capital changed. Almost all of them were cursing Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming, calling them traitors of the country. They wished they could burn the two of them into ashes!
"Victory report!"
A weak voice came from outside the imperial study. A eunuch knew the current atmosphere and did not dare to say the word 'victory report' loudly. He carefully brought the report in.
Tong Mo, Shang Yongzhong, and Gao Jiancheng looked at Shang Jianxiong who was reading the report.
The disciples of the three major sects who were in charge of surveillance in the imperial study looked on coldly. Ever since Shang Jianxiong mobilized the troops in the north, the three major sects had been treating him this way.
Shang Jianxiong looked at the report expressionlessly and sent it to Tong Mo and the other two.
Only then did the three of them realize that the army attacking the Song Empire had annihilated another four hundred thousand elite soldiers.
Logically speaking, this was a great victory worthy of celebration. However, none of the people in the imperial study was happy.
Shang Yongzhong coldly snorted. "That's just a pile of people's lives. When crossing the river to attack, they forced the imperial court's troops to be the vanguard. They deserve to die!"
At this time, the figure of the Sect Leader of Spirit Sword Mountain, Meng Xuan, appeared outside the door and entered without being invited.
After standing in the imperial study, Meng Xuan's cold eyes swept across the crowd. His eyes finally fell on Shang Jianxiong. "Your Majesty, the Song army risked their lives to fight, so they deserve to be rewarded. Why haven't you issued the decree to confer the title of marquis to these two heroes?"
Shang Jianxiong said in a deep voice, "Risked their lives to fight? They pushed the imperial court's troops to die. It's just crossing the river, but in an instant, the imperial court lost two hundred thousand troops, while the feudal vassals hid behind to preserve their strength! The ones who died were the imperial court's troops, but the ones who got the reward were the feudal vassals' people. Is there such a logic in this world? "
Meng Xuan expressionlessly said, "Your Majesty is too impulsive. The imperial court's troops and the feudal vassals' troops are, in the end, Yan's soldiers. The frontline soldiers fought in a bloody battle, so they deserve to be rewarded. Issue the decree!"
Since the other side couldn't explain it, he didn't want to talk nonsense and directly forced it. Gong Lince had promised in front of everyone that he would give a reply within three days. If he, Meng Xuan, who was in charge of the rear, couldn't even handle this matter, wouldn't that undermine Gong Lince's position? Now was the time to work together.
With no other choice, Shang Jianxiong finally issued the decree to confer the title of marquis.
…
The Wind and Thunder Hall was an important military location of the Qi Country. Unauthorized people were not allowed to trespass.
General Huyan Wuhen stood in front of a map with his hands behind his back. Sometimes he stared at the map, and sometimes he paced back and forth in front of it.
He was staring at the map of the East River that separated the Yan and Song Dynasties. Recently, he had been here all the time, waiting for news on the battlefield.
Knowing that he was paying close attention to this battle, a general rushed in after receiving the latest news. He reported, "General, the Song army at the Hukou defensive line suffered a crushing defeat. The rations sent to the Hukou garrison were stolen by the Yan army. The garrison was attacked by the Yan army from both inside and outside, and 400,000 men were killed!"
Huyan Wuhen received the battle report and read it in detail. He sighed and shook his head, saying, "They fought to the death without retreating. It's a pity that they underestimated the enemy." He then raised his head and asked, "Did you find out how the Yan army crossed the river?"
The general replied, "We don't know yet, but we will find out sooner or later."
Huyan Wuhen waved his hand, gesturing for him to leave. He then stood in front of the map and pondered.
He had been thinking about this recently. The Song army's defensive line was broken bit by bit, and the defensive line was loosened. He was not surprised that the Hukou garrison suffered such a crushing defeat. Instead, he was very interested in the troops that sneaked past the Song army. How did the Yan army manage to sneak past the Song army with such a tight defensive formation?
Everyone said, "Yan Shan Ming, Qi Wuhen!"
But he could not figure out how Meng Shan Ming did it. According to the intelligence, the Song army was still confused about their defeat.
The two of them were equally famous in the world. He could not even sleep well if he could not figure out Meng Shan Ming's tactics. He kept thinking about this matter.
As a famous general, he could not figure out the tactics of another country's general. Even after the battle, he could not figure it out. Even when Emperor Qi asked him about it, he could not explain it clearly. How could he feel at ease?
When he thought of the strange gaze Vast Cloud Diagram had when he looked at him, as well as the way he wanted to say something but hesitated, he could guess what the other party wanted to say. It was just that he didn't have the nerve to say it out of consideration for his face, causing him to feel extremely uncomfortable in his heart.
…
The curtain was lifted, and Luo Daan and a cultivator came out of the tent.
A group of people waited at the entrance. Zhang Hu could not help but ask, "Daan, how is General Meng?"
Luo Daan nodded, "General Meng is awake. Please come in."
As they entered the tent, Gong Lince asked the disciple who just came out, "How is he?"
The disciple replied, "He is fine. He just took a spiritual pill to replenish his Qi and blood."
Gong Lince nodded slightly and entered the tent.
Xu Jingyue stopped beside Luo Daan and asked, "Are you Luo An's eldest son?" He heard it from Zhang Hu not long ago.
"Yes!" Luo Daan bowed, "Greetings, General Xu."
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