Chapter 1177 Military Merit Opportunity

At the first watch, Wang Zhongsheng's 40,000 troops had reached the river about 20 miles away from Luyi County. Wang Zhongsheng had received intelligence that Zhang Boyi's 20,000 troops had stationed in Luyi County, which made him feel relieved. As long as Zhang Boyi's 20,000 troops were stationed, they would be unable to escape.

The next step was to force this army to surrender. Wang Zhongsheng knew that Luyi County was just a small county town, with low and dilapidated walls and dilapidated gates. It would break if it was hit by a battering ram.

Wang Zhongsheng ordered the team to slow down until they were only three miles away from the city wall. The army stopped outside the east city gate. Wang Zhongsheng sent his eldest son Wang Ying to lead 20,000 troops to block the west city gate.

It was not until the fourth watch that the 40,000 troops were able to rest after a whole day and half a night. Every soldier was exhausted and fell asleep on the ground wrapped in a blanket.

Wang Zhongsheng was a little worried. If Zhang Boyi led 20,000 troops to attack the city, it would be bad if his army slept too soundly.

For this reason, he sent another 300 soldiers to monitor the city gate. Once Zhang Boyi's army made any movement, they would rush back to report immediately.

It was almost five o'clock in the morning, and Wang Zhongsheng couldn't stand the strong sleepiness, so he also lay down in the military tent to sleep.

At five o'clock in the morning, Wang Zhongsheng was suddenly pushed awake by his personal soldiers, who said in panic: "My lord, it's not good. The army in the west city seems to have been attacked and there is chaos!"

Wang Zhongsheng sat up suddenly, no longer sleepy, "What's going on? Was it attacked by the defenders in the city?"

"I don't know, I only heard crying and shouting in the west."

Wang Zhongsheng was about to order the whole army to assemble when he heard screams and cries outside. These were not the voices of the army in the west, but the crying and screams of his own soldiers.

He drew his sword and rushed out of the tent, only to see his army in chaos. Soldiers were running around in all directions. When he looked carefully, he was shocked to see countless cavalrymen charging into his army.

At this time, more than a dozen of his personal soldiers rushed over on horseback, and without saying anything, they put him on a warhorse, whipped the warhorse, and took him on horseback to flee.

Wang Zhongsheng crouched on his horse and asked anxiously, "What's going on?"

"Tens of thousands of cavalrymen are coming!"

'Tens of thousands of cavalrymen? ' Wang Zhongsheng's heart was startled, and he suddenly realized that it must be the army of the King of Qi.

Xi Wanli's troops were divided into two groups, using the city wall as a cover, and suddenly rushed out. The 40,000 enemy troops were caught off guard and in chaos. In the night, the soldiers fled in all directions to survive.

Luyi County was surrounded by endless wheat fields. The wheat was about to mature. Countless soldiers rushed into the wheat fields and hid in the wheat fields.

Of course, victory does not mean that the two armies have to kill all of their opponents. In fact, as long as the opponent is dispersed and cannot be organized to fight, that is victory.

The biggest advantage of the Guanlong cavalry is that they can fight at night, which is the result of more than ten years of hard training. Therefore, if they launch a sneak attack at night, unless the opponent is fully prepared, the enemy will be defeated.

However, there is also a disadvantage of attacking at night, that is, the enemy generals can easily escape under the cover of night, and there is no way to do it. It is impossible to be comprehensive.

The sky gradually brightened, and groups of prisoners were escorted out of the wheat fields by the Guanlong army. The 20,000 troops of Luyi County also came out. They also cooperated with the cavalry to search for fleeing enemy troops within a radius of 30 miles.

By noon, nearly 30,000 prisoners had been captured. Together with the soldiers killed at night, the number of enemy soldiers who escaped was about 8,000.

At this time, Zhang Boyi came to see the main general Xi Wanli.

"Thank you General Xi for coming all the way to support us!"

Xi Wanli nodded, "I came here to support you on the orders of the Regent, General Zhang, please don't be polite."

Xi Wanli took out another letter and handed it to Zhang Boyi, "This is a handwritten letter from the Regent to the general, please take a look!"

Zhang Boyi took the letter and read it carefully. The letter pointed out his future and asked him to return to Beijing to report on his work. He would be assigned another important position and the army would be temporarily led by Xi Wanli.

Zhang Boyi smiled bitterly in his heart and said to Xi Wanli: "Congratulations to General Xi for taking up the post of Jiedushi of Boying!"

Xi Wanli shook his head, "If General Zhang thinks so, he is totally wrong!"

Zhang Boyi was stunned, "What's wrong?"

Xi Wanli said solemnly: "The Tang Dynasty is revived, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty are not internal, whether it is the Central Plains, Jiangnan, or the future Hebei, there will be no more troops stationed, and the Jiedushi will become a thing of the past."

Zhang Boyi then reacted and said ashamedly: "It is indeed my misunderstanding. Alas! The people of the Central Plains should rest and recuperate."

Zhang Boyi immediately handed over the military power to Xi Wanli and took a few men to the capital to report on their work.

Xi Wanli then summoned Zhang Boyi's generals for a lecture. After looking at everyone, Xi Wanli slowly said to everyone: "Envoy Zhang has returned to the court to report on his work. He will be assigned to another important position. The 20,000 troops will be temporarily commanded by me. According to Envoy Zhang's instructions, the 100,000 strings of money are the soldiers' salaries. I will give them to the soldiers. Please don't worry!"

Lun Weizhen and others were overjoyed and bowed to thank him. Xi Wanli waved his hand and said: "I know everyone is worried about factional suppression, so I have something to make clear to everyone. Guanlong Army is just a temporary name and will not exist soon. We are all court troops and Tang troops. I will never discriminate against you, let alone make things difficult for you. Please don't worry.

Secondly, I am only temporarily in charge of you, for a few months at most. I hope we can get along well in these few months!"

Liu Chang asked: "Why only a few months?"

Xi Wanli smiled and said, "My mission is not only to destroy Wang Zhongsheng, but also to participate in the destruction of Li Xilie's army. After the mission is completed, I will return to Guanzhong, and then the Privy Council will reorganize the army, so these few battles are your opportunities, make merit and earn a future for yourself!"

Everyone nodded silently, saying that the King of Qi only cares about military merits. This is indeed an opportunity, hoping to earn a prosperous future for his descendants.

Wang Zhongsheng ran more than 50 miles in one breath before stopping. Looking back, except for his more than 30 personal soldiers, there was no other soldier following him. Wang Zhongsheng was so scared that his body was shaking and he couldn't ride steadily.

The personal soldiers hurriedly helped him off the horse and sat down on a big rock on the side of the road. Wang Zhongsheng felt heartbroken. Thinking of his years of struggle, his entire army was destroyed overnight. The more he thought about it, the sadder he became, and finally he couldn't help crying.

Several soldiers hurriedly advised: "My lord, don't be sad. Victory and defeat are common in the military. Besides, my lord still has 10,000 troops in Xuzhou, so he can make a comeback."

Another soldier also advised: "We ride fast on horses, and it is normal that the soldiers behind us can't keep up. My lord, wait a little longer, maybe a large number of soldiers will retreat."

The persuasion of everyone calmed Wang Zhongsheng down a little. He sighed and said: "Let's wait patiently!"

By noon, he had collected more than 2,000 defeated soldiers. At this time, a group of nearly 3,000 defeated soldiers arrived, led by Wang Zhongsheng's eldest son Wang Ying. The father and son met, with mixed feelings, as if they were in another world.

Wang Zhongsheng did not dare to return to Songcheng, and retreated directly to Xuzhou.

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[There is something going on at home today, only two updates]