Chapter 95 of 100

Chapter 95

15 min read3,867 words

Chapter 94

Finally, the situation did not deteriorate into a complete rout... However, what was the intention behind the Crown Prince's actions?

Wu Wei, who had taken command of the army from the "Crown Prince," frowned and glanced at the real Crown Prince, Zhao Hongrun, who was standing beside him as a guard. He was truly puzzled.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, you..."

However, before he could finish, Zhao Hongrun interrupted him, "The Crown Prince fled, didn't he? My name is Jiang Run, and I am the personal guard of Wu Wei. Don't forget that. ... Also, be careful, the Chu army's offensive will be even more fierce than before."

"..." Wang Shu looked at Zhao Hongrun in surprise and slowly nodded.

As Zhao Hongrun had predicted, the "Crown Prince's" retreat had little impact on the Wei soldiers, almost negligible. After all, he had done nothing since arriving in Yanling, and even if he had taken command of the entire Yanling a few days ago, he could not change the fact that his prestige among the Wei soldiers was far less than that of Chen Shi, Wang Shu, and Ma Zhang.

After all, the latter three had repeatedly led this army to hold the Chu army on the southern bank of the Yan River, while what had Zhao Hongrun done that was worth praising?

Nothing!

To put it bluntly, in the hearts of these Wei soldiers, the presence or absence of this Crown Prince made little difference.

However, the Chu army on the opposite side would not think so.

For example, Xiong Hu, the Marquis of Pingyu, was now furious.

After all, in his view, with the "Crown Prince Ji Run" fleeing, the battle should have ended. Who would have thought that Wu Wei and Ma Zhang, relying on their personal prestige, could rekindle the morale of the Wei soldiers who had become disoriented due to the "Crown Prince's retreat"?

This was simply... intolerable!

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

Shouting several times, Xiong Hu gritted his teeth and cursed Wang Shu and Ma Zhang. Then, he said fiercely, "That little brat Ji Run is the commander of the Wei army. If the commander has fled, how long can these guys hold out? Increase the intensity of the attack!"

"Yes!"

"Order Yu You to continue commanding the archers to shoot, at any cost, to suppress the Wei army!"

"Yes!"

Following Xiong Hu's orders, the Chu army's offensive became even more fierce, especially the archers, who shot without distinguishing between friend and foe, willing to sacrifice their own troops to suppress the Wei soldiers.

Under the brutal suppression of thousands of Chu archers, the area between the northern bank of the Yan River and the Chu army had become a death zone. Anyone who stepped into this area, whether a Chu soldier or a Wei soldier, would be showered with arrows from the Chu archers.

"Shooting their own soldiers without any hesitation, are those guys crazy?"

Seeing the Chu archers' attacks without distinguishing between friend and foe, Wu Wei was shocked and muttered.

"Hmph." Zhao Hongrun snorted and said softly, "It's not that Xiong Hu is crazy, but he thinks this is the best opportunity to crush our army..."

The best opportunity... Is it because of the 'Crown Prince's retreat'?

Wu Wei looked deeply at Zhao Hongrun.

What is this Crown Prince planning?

Ma Zhang also looked at Zhao Hongrun with a strange expression.

Seeing Zhao Hongrun standing calmly in such a chaotic battlefield, they gradually realized that this Crown Prince's mind was not as immature as his appearance suggested.

"What should we do now?" Wang Shu asked in a low voice.

Zhao Hongrun looked at Wang Shu with some surprise and said in a low voice, "The Chu army will keep forcing us to retreat. Just go along with their wishes and retreat slowly..."

"No counterattack?"

"Counterattack? Do you think you can win? Since the initial floating bridge was successfully built, haven't you already determined that this battle is a sure loss? ... Otherwise, why did you send a message to Yanling?"

"I..." Wang Shu was taken aback. He didn't expect Zhao Hongrun to notice that he had sent a message to Yanling.

"Delay the time, try to buy as much time as possible for the evacuation of the people in Yanling... just like what you did before." Zhao Hongrun glanced at Wang Shu indifferently.

...

Looking into Zhao Hongrun's calm eyes, Wang Shu felt for the first time a strange feeling of being completely unable to read his thoughts.

"Understood, sir."

Sure enough, the Chu army on the southern bank of the Yan River, relying on the power of their archers, forced the Wei army to retreat repeatedly.

Each time the arrow rain fell, it advanced about ten feet.

The Chu army... is indeed planning to force us to retreat?

Ma Zhang's eyes turned cold at this sight.

Although the Wei infantry suffered almost no casualties with their shields, the fear of the arrow rain forced them to retreat step by step.

It was no wonder, after all, the rain of arrows was so terrifying that even with shields, the Wei infantry could not help but feel fear.

The fifth wave of arrow rain also advanced about ten feet, forcing the Wei soldiers to retreat subconsciously.

With the retreat of the Wei infantry, the space for the Chu army to land on the northern bank of the Yan River undoubtedly increased, and more and more Chu soldiers gathered on the northern bank.

Delay...?

Wu Wei glanced at Zhao Hongrun and did not order his troops to attack again.

For some reason, looking at the calm expression of this Crown Prince, his mind was no longer as tense as before.

"Use the archers to counterattack appropriately... this is a chance to weaken the Chu army for free." Zhao Hongrun reminded in a low voice.

"Oh, right!" Wang Shu, as if waking up from a dream, immediately turned and shouted, "Where are our archers? ... Aim forward, shoot!"

The Wei archers lined up behind the Wei infantry, hearing this shout, also shot back.

Their targets were naturally the Chu soldiers who had already occupied the northern bank.

However, it seemed that those Chu soldiers were fearless, braving the arrows from their own troops and the Wei archers, they advanced step by step, paying a heavy price.

Worse still, more Chu soldiers continuously crossed the floating bridge and joined the ranks of these daredevils.

Faced with the Chu army's suicidal tactics, which completely disregarded the lives of their soldiers, the Wei soldiers, although not in a complete rout, could not stop retreating.

Our morale... has been reduced, because they have realized that this battle cannot be won?

Zhao Hongrun glanced at the nearby Wei infantry, seeing their anxious faces, and frowned, saying to Wang Shu, "Tell your troops that you have informed Yanling of the unfavorable situation. Yanling is now organizing the evacuation of the people, but it needs time! ... Their families need time, and the soldiers here need to hold back the Chu army for a while!"

Wu Wei nodded in understanding, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly, "Brothers!"

"..."

The nearby Wei soldiers all turned to look at Wang Shu.

Wang Shu smiled bitterly and said regretfully, "Sorry, we probably can't win this battle... But it's okay, I have already informed Yanling of the situation here. I believe Yanling is now organizing the evacuation of the people in the city... But it needs time, your loved ones, brothers, and sisters, need time to evacuate... If we hold back the Chu army for a while, many civilians will be saved and not be killed by the Chu dogs... I hope you fight to the last moment!"

So Yanling has already received the message?

That's good...

It was clear that many Wei soldiers relaxed after hearing Wang Shu's words.

"Now, let's try to delay the Chu army as much as possible! ... Infantry, retreat ten steps, archers, shoot!"

"Ooh—"

"Retreat another ten steps, archers, shoot!"

"Ooh—"

Under the commands of Wang Shu and Ma Zhang, the Wei soldiers retreated in an orderly manner, while effectively using their arrows to kill the Chu soldiers who were charging forward recklessly.

The Chu army has already lost more than four thousand men, hmpf...

Zhao Hongrun watched this scene expressionlessly, inwardly despising the Chu army's pointless tactics of using the lives of their soldiers to achieve results.

However, it could not be denied that this tactic, combined with the Chu army's overwhelming numerical advantage, was highly effective, forcing the Wei infantry, who had the advantage of terrain and equipment, and even a temporary numerical advantage, to retreat.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wang Shu whispered to Zhao Hongrun, "We have retreated out of the range of the Chu archers on the southern bank of the Yan River... Should we retreat further?"

Zhao Hongrun glanced at the Chu army on the northern bank of the Yan River, estimating that about six thousand soldiers had crossed the river, and shook his head, saying softly, "If our army is out of the range of the Chu archers on the southern bank, doesn't that mean those Chu infantry can attack us without hesitation? ... If we don't flee now, we will be dragged to death? Order the entire army to turn and flee!"

So decisive...

Wu Wei was slightly surprised, immediately ordered two of his personal guards to share a horse, and gave the horse to Zhao Hongrun. Then, he raised his arm and shouted, "Brothers, we have bought enough time for the people of Yanling. Now, it's time to think about ourselves! ... Keep this useful life for now, and seek revenge on these Chu dogs later! ... Follow my order, the entire army turns and retreats!"

Actually, the Wei soldiers under his command had long thought about retreating, but they were constrained by military orders and the hope of buying time for their families in Yanling, so they did not flee. Now, hearing this, the nearly five thousand soldiers immediately turned and fled north.

Damn, those Wei soldiers actually fled at this moment?

Wu Gan, the Chu general who was about to launch an attack on the Wei soldiers, was furious when he saw this, thinking that these guys had killed so many of his soldiers, how could he let them escape?

Without a word, Wu Gan gave the order, "Pursue!"

"Ooh—"

The morale of the Chu soldiers who had already crossed the Yan River was high, and they immediately pursued the Wei soldiers.

Meanwhile, in Yanling.

Peng Zhan, the magistrate of Yanling, stood on the city wall, looking down at the people evacuating the city.

"Peng大人, this is the last group of civilians..."

The civil official, Zhao Zhun, reminded him.

"Hmm," Peng Zhan nodded, looked at the entire city with lingering affection, and then his face showed a determined look.

"Set fire to the city!"

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