Final Volume Chapter 92
Final Volume Chapter 92
Because she had not found out the situation of Zhenjun, Chen Lihua did not want to rush into battle, but on the second day, Zhenjun actually took the initiative to come out of the camp to challenge.
The strength of the Zhen army was only two thousand, but the leader of the army was very well-established. It was none other than Raymond, who was known as one of the two most powerful men in the rebel army.
Lei Meng is not only powerful in martial arts, but also extremely powerful. In the battle between the two armies, he has the courage to defeat ten thousand people.
Hearing that only 2,000 Zhenjun came out to challenge, the Sichuan army would naturally not be timid. A partial general of the 16th Army who went out to fight first, ended up being smashed to death by Raymond with his men and horses in front of the two armies without even walking in front of Raymond.
The second person from the Sichuan Army to fight was also a partial general of the 16th Army. He was slightly better than the previous one, but he only lasted three rounds and was picked up by Raymond on his horse, following in the footsteps of the previous one.
Next, the Sichuan Army sent three more generals, but the result was the same. No one returned alive, they all died under Lei Meng's heavy sword.
Lei Meng's bravery shocked the Sichuan army. The five generals did not even hurt a hair of the enemy general, but they themselves lost their lives one after another. This general was too powerful.
Chen Lihua no longer sent generals to fight, but discussed with the generals how to defeat the enemy in the Chinese army tent in Sichuan Camp.
The generals in Zhongchuan all had their say. Some were afraid of Lei Meng's force and suggested that our side should temporarily avoid the battle until Lu You's reinforcements arrived. Others suggested launching an all-out attack to directly crush the Zhen army with their absolute superiority in strength. .
After all, the Sichuan generals finally divided into two groups, one group advocated fighting, and the other group advocated waiting for reinforcements. The two sides couldn't argue, and Chen Lihua ran out of ideas for a while.
The Sichuan generals were still debating whether to fight or not in the camp. Raymond, who came out to challenge, saw that no one accepted the challenge, so he returned to the camp. However, he did not stay longer in the camp. He led 2,000 soldiers from the north camp. Enter through the gate, exit from the Nanying Gate, pass through the camp, and head towards the hinterland of Bainan County.
There were many Sichuan Army spies around the camp. They did not dare to get too close to the camp and could not see the situation inside the camp, but they could see it when Raymond led his people away from the camp and headed south. The Sichuan Army spies immediately sent the information back to the Sichuan Army camp.
Hearing that the Zhen general Lei Meng who came to challenge had withdrawn, and also withdrew from the Zhen army camp and headed south, the Sichuan army generals headed by Chen Lihua were all shocked. What was going on? Raymond had killed five of his own generals in a row, and his morale was at its peak. Why did he suddenly withdraw? Moreover, they did not retreat back to the chastity camp, but passed through it.
"General Chen, Zhenren's behavior is a bit abnormal. The traitor Raymond is so powerful. Why did he go south if he didn't stay at the Zhen camp?" Gao Peng, the commander of the 11th Army Corps, frowned with confusion on his face. said.
Yes, Raymond’s behavior is indeed abnormal! Chen Lihua also didn't understand what kind of medicine Zhenjun was selling in the gourd.
While he was deep in thought, a Sichuan general suddenly exclaimed: "Could Zhenren be using a tactic of suspicion? The main force of the rebels has already withdrawn to the hinterland of Bainan County?"
"How is that possible? The Zhen camp is right across from our army..." Gao Peng said in a deep voice. Before he could finish his words, Chen Lihua had a flash of inspiration in her mind and said, "Maybe, that is just an empty camp!"
"Empty camp?" The faces of the Sichuan generals all changed, and their eyes all fell on Chen Lihua. The latter stood up and said: "The rebels are trying to make a fool of themselves, and there must be some deception in it. Give me the order, and the whole army will attack immediately and attack the rebel camp!"
Chen Lihua gave an order, and the Sichuan army moved up and down. The army drove out of the camp one after another and went straight to the Zhenying camp on the opposite side.
At the beginning, the Sichuan army was still cautious and wary when advancing. However, when the Sichuan army entered within a hundred steps of the Zhen camp, there was not even a movement in the Zhen camp, not to mention no counterattack.
When the Sichuan army entered the Zhen camp fifty steps, they saw that the camp was still calm. At this time, the Sichuan army began to advance from a slow advance to an all-out charge.
The former army was the first to rush into the camp, but after entering, there was not even a single shadow of a person in the huge camp. There was no one in the large and small tents, and everything had been illuminated. It can be said that there was only one person in the camp now. Rows of empty tents were left.
When Chen Lihua and a group of Sichuan generals saw this situation, they were so angry that they stamped their feet. What a cunning rebel, and they really used a tactic of suspicion! Seeing Chen Lihua's ugly face, the Sichuan generals stepped forward to persuade him: "General Chen, there is no need to be angry. The rebels used a trick to escape, which shows that the rebels also know that their strength is not as good as our army. What's more, a monk who can escape cannot escape from the temple." , Gongcheng is not far from here, our army should take this opportunity to capture Gongcheng in one fell swoop, and first create a gap in Bainan County!"
"That's all we can do." Chen Lihua nodded and said, "General Yu!"
"The general is here! What are your orders, general?" A burly Sichuan general stepped forward and stepped in to salute.
Chen Lihua said: "General Yu immediately led two regiments to attack Gongcheng. Gongcheng is just a small town with no heavy troops. It should be easy to capture Gongcheng. Presumably, the main force of the rebels has fled south, and the generals have followed them. Shuai chases him with all his strength!"
"General, I obey!" All the generals stepped in to respond, and then started to act separately.
Chen Lihua led the main force of the Sichuan army to pursue southward, while Sichuan general surnamed Yu led two regiments to attack Gongcheng.
According to Chen Lihua's inference, the main force of the rebels has fled, and the huge camp is no longer needed. The nearby Gongcheng must be an empty city. Even if there are rebels stationed, the number of troops will definitely not be too many.
His inference was correct. The Zhen Army only had about a thousand people left in Gongcheng. However, these thousand people were all elite members of the Zhen Army. They also caused a lot of trouble to the Sichuan Army who came to attack.
The Sichuan general surnamed Yu thought he could capture Gongcheng in just one move. As a result, the Sichuan army launched two fierce attacks but failed to capture Gongcheng, which was only garrisoned by more than a thousand people. Instead, it suffered a lot of casualties.
Seeing this, the Sichuan general surnamed Yu was also panicked. He didn't know how many rebels were stationed in the small city of Gongcheng. He hurriedly sent someone to send a message to Chen Lihua, who was chasing the enemy, asking him to mobilize troops to reinforce the city of Gongcheng. side.
After receiving the report, Chen Lihua had no choice but to detach another corps and order it to carry large siege equipment to assist the siege army on the other side of Gongcheng.
With the assistance of this corps and the many large siege equipment they brought, the Sichuan army finally broke through Gongcheng's defenses.
After Gongcheng was broken, the remaining Zhen army did not fight to the death with the Sichuan army. The soldiers threw away their weapons, took off their armor and uniforms, fled into the city, and mingled with the people.
The rebels are loyal people, and the people in the city are also loyal people. It would be even harder for the Sichuan troops who rushed into the city to pick out the rebels from the people.
If other countries encountered this situation, the general would have ordered the massacre of the city without saying a word, but the Sichuan Army would not do this. The Sichuan Army, which always prided itself on being civilized and noble, never bothered to use such bloody methods.
After occupying Gongcheng, General Yu only ordered to post notices, one to calm the people, and the other to offer rewards. As long as the people were willing to report the hiding place of the rebels, the Sichuan army would give them heavy rewards.
There may not always be a brave man under a heavy reward, and this is the case for chaste people. Helping the rebels hide and avoid being hunted by the Sichuan Army was all done voluntarily by the people. Even if the Sichuan Army offered huge rewards, no one was willing to betray the rebels.
The people of Zhenren refused to betray the rebels, but the Sichuan army didn't care too much. After all, there were only a few hundred rebels who escaped, so it was nothing to worry about. Then, Yu Xingchuan will deliver the good news to Chen Lihua and ask him if he needs to rush over to join him.
Chen Lihua replied quickly and ordered him to lead three regiments to stay in Gongcheng. It can be said that Gongcheng is the gateway to Bainan County. As long as Gongcheng is occupied, the main force of the Sichuan Army can rampage in Bainan County without any worries. Ensuring the safety of Gongcheng is equivalent to ensuring the logistics supply line of the main force of the Sichuan Army.
So far, the series of decisions made by Chen Lihua were all correct, and could even be said to be the most correct choice. However, he soon made a fatal mistake.
Bainan County is the largest of the three counties in Zhenxi. It has a large area and many towns. The Sichuan Army penetrates deep quickly, but its forces are dispersed quickly. Along the way, the Sichuan Army divides its troops into garrisoning the towns it captures, with one group in the east and one group in the west. In one wave, when the Sichuan army penetrated deep into Baiyang County, the westernmost part of Bainan County, only more than 100,000 people were left out of the original 250,000-strong army.
It can be counted from the time the Sichuan Army entered Bainan County until now, it has not experienced large-scale battles, but the main battle force has been reduced by more than half invisibly, and the reduction is not due to casualties, but due to its own division of troops. Attrition.
This is exactly a habit of the Sichuan Army in combat. The Sichuan Army has always focused on capturing and consolidating a place. To consolidate a place, it must garrison troops and stay behind. Chen Lihua is an orthodox general of the Sichuan Army, and the decision he made at this time is also what the Sichuan Army has always been accustomed to.
At this time, Chen Lihua's shortcomings of being law-abiding and not knowing how to adapt were revealed. The policy and strategy of capturing one place and consolidating it cannot be said to be wrong, but it depends on the situation. For now, this is the biggest challenge for the Sichuan Army after entering Bainan County. Failure.
Of course, Chen Lihua was confident in doing this. Even though the Sichuan Army's main combat strength was only over 100,000, it still had an absolute strength advantage over the rebels.
Moreover, he and the Sichuan generals below also made a misjudgment. When the Sichuan army divided its troops to capture various towns, they encountered stubborn resistance from the rebels stationed there. This shows that the rebels also divided their troops and garrisoned the entire Bainan County. There are definitely many rebels eliminated in many towns. Judging from the fact that the rebels have 80,000 troops, the current rebels have about 50,000 troops at best.
More than 100,000 people versus 50,000 people, almost three times the enemy, there is no suspense about victory.
Since the main force of the Sichuan Army successfully advanced into Baiyang County, the officers and soldiers of the Sichuan Army have become more relaxed. Judging from the speed of advancement along the way, several parties will be able to capture the entire territory of Baiyang County within half a month and completely wipe out the rebels. By then, The additional reinforcements sent by the imperial court are still on the way, and all the credit for annihilating the rebels will be credited to them.
Gao Peng, the commander of the 11th Army Corps, Feng Yu, the commander of the 16th Army Corps, and Chai Song, the commander of the 17th Army Corps, have all come to see Chen Lihua. They quickly drew the portrait of the rebel leader Li Shu and posted it everywhere to prevent Li Shu from being killed. Shu absconded.