Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 126 Wan Jun takes the head of a general

Shi Congyun knew nothing about what happened to Fang Zhengyang.

After dark, the fields south of Zhengyang were completely dark, and his battle was not over yet.

Wars of encirclement and annihilation in the era of cold weapons are very difficult to fight, and more than 1% of them are defeat wars, so those generals who can fight wars of annihilation in the era of cold weapons will be famous and admirable, such as fighting No. [-] war of annihilation.

Although the battle to the south of Zhengyang was won, it was only a defeat, and most of the enemies fled to the south.

War does not happen overnight.

Even if Shi Congyun doesn't want to move anymore, no matter how tired he is, he must get up and seize the time to expand the results, otherwise the victory will be in vain.

Under the starry sky and the moon, in the south of Zhengyang, Shi Congyun led the guide Si Chao, the military commander Yu Cheng, Shen Zhiyi, etc., mobilized more than [-] people from the Fourth Army and the Fifth Army, plus his own soldiers, and headed south wearing stars and moons. chase.

Defeating the enemy is only the first step, the important thing is to expand the results, otherwise the victory is meaningless.

The Fourth Army and the Fifth Army were responsible for containing the enemy from the front. They suffered heavy losses, with nearly half of the casualties. Many people were unable to continue fighting and retreated to recuperate.

There are more than 2000 people left, and they have also gone through fierce battles, but there is no time for them to rest.

On the plain outside Zhengyang Town, many light spots in the darkness formed a long dragon, moving to the south.

Shi Congyun led the people all the way through the fields. Along the way, there were figures everywhere. Many soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty who fled scattered were chased, and some hid behind the field ridges and weeds. As long as they were found, they would kneel down on the road. Before they surrendered, Shi Congyun asked Shen Zhiyi to lead a battalion of soldiers to guard them, and continued to pursue south.

In such a wilderness, chasing has also become a very challenging technical job.

He doesn't know where Shao Ji, Wang Zhong, Dong Zunhui, and Luo Yanhuan chased after him.

Li Chongjin's Hu Jie army is generally pursuing in the direction of Shouzhou. His father Shi Yanchao's army is chasing Liu Yanzhen's banner, but Liu Yanzhen will definitely not dare to raise the banner afterward. It is not known whether they can catch up with each other and flee separately.

Shi Congyun had a lot of thoughts, and subconsciously thought of Si Chao. Si Chao arrived here a few months earlier, so he should understand the situation here better.

So he asked directly on his horseback: "General Si Chao, in your opinion, where will Liu Yanzhen, the chief general of the Southern Tang Dynasty, flee?"

Without any hesitation, Si Chao directly agreed, "Going to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Luzhou is too far away, since Zhengyang was defeated in Shouzhou, he dare not go, Dingyuan has no soldiers, and he can't defend it.

In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the naval camp of the Southern Tang Dynasty was not far away, and there were still avenues to go, where warships and many troops were stationed, so it was possible to stick to it. "

Shi Congyun directly ordered: "Si Chao, I will treat you as one of my own. You are the vanguard of the whole army and command everyone to go directly to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to pursue."

Si Chao cupped his hands, "Master, if someone knows how to get there, we can take a small path to intercept it!"

"Success, all the troops are under your command."

Si Chao then led the crowd to chase in the direction of Tang Dynasty.

Liu Yanzhen was wearing a purple sable fur cloak. She beat the horse under her crotch vigorously, and ran forward without looking back.

The iron armor on his body was thrown to the north at dusk, and then rolled into the ditch beside the field when he fled south. He was soaked and shivered by the night wind.

Fleeing to the south for a few miles, I vaguely saw a thatched hut by the edge of a forest in the distance.

He was cold and hungry, and he felt uncomfortable all the way, "Let's go over there and rest for a while."

The hundreds of people who followed him also breathed a sigh of relief. They were too tired after running away for one night, and their hearts were always tense, for fear that Zhou Jun would be killed somewhere.

After getting closer, I realized that this place is the cattle pen of the people, and there are no more cattle in it. Presumably the people knew that there was going to be a war and drove the cattle away, but there was a lot of hay that smelled like cow dung.

Normally, the pampered Liu Yanzhen would have stayed far away, but now she felt that the warm hay was as comfortable as a bed at home.

Lying on it, I can finally breathe comfortably.

After the guards found some dry branches from the woods and lit a fire, the small cow pen lit up all of a sudden, and looked at the ashen faces of the people next to them, many of whom had blood stains on their faces and looked gloomy.

Liu Yanzhen suddenly had mixed feelings in her heart. It was obviously a battle with a certain chance of winning, how could it be fought like it is now?

He felt that his face was very embarrassing, and it was too embarrassing to say anything sinful about himself, so he simply put on a dirty face and refused to meet the eyes of everyone.

At this moment, Liu Yanzhen's mind was completely confused, he was afraid at the moment, the Zhou army in the north was too powerful, he could only flee to the south, but if he fled to the south, could the emperor bypass him?
He was a little bewildered for a while.

It wasn't because he felt so guilty, but more importantly, he couldn't find a reason, a way to shirk his responsibility so that he could explain to Jinling.
He has so many strong soldiers, and he is clearly going to win, who knows what kind of tricks the general on the other side has used to make his army crumble in an instant, can he be blamed for that.

The officer with the best relationship, Cheng Shilang, seemed to see through his thoughts, and hurriedly said beside him: "Commander, this battle is not your fault!
I can clearly see Zhou Junshuai's flag on the opposite side. It is two historians.

One is Shi Yanchao, the number one general of Zhou State, and the other is his son Shi Congyun.

That Shi Congyun defeated the Shu Kingdom last year, and even lost tens of thousands of soldiers. Many fierce generals desperately asked us for help. Even the king was afraid, and even sent envoys to Daliang to pay tribute.

Now that we meet Zhou Jun's top general and Shi Congyun, it's normal that we can't please him.

Besides
We can explain clearly to the officials that this defeat is all due to Liu Renshan, the governor of Shouzhou, who was timid and fearful of fighting, and did not dare to fight with us to flank the Zhou army, fearing that the Zhou army would hold fast like a tiger and not miss the opportunity."

Liu Yanzhen's eyes gradually lit up, "You have some truths in what you said. If Liu Renshan hadn't been afraid of the battle and couldn't hold on, Shi Congyun and Shi Yanchao's father and son are too powerful, and I would have been defeated!"

The people next to him were already terrified at this time, and today's battle made them terrified even now.

I also saw how powerful the generals of the Zhou army were, the soldiers of the Zhou army were brave and good at fighting, and the command of the chief general of the Zhou army, Shi Congyun, made many of them not understand what was going on.

Being in the army, many people feel that they will collapse and lose for no reason.

That kind of triumphant advance one moment, and the feeling that the back road was copied the next moment, and his life was in jeopardy, still makes hair stand on end when he thinks about it now, and he still has lingering fears in his heart.

I thought to myself that if Zhou Jun's fierce gods catch up again, what should I do!
"Yes, this has nothing to do with the commander in chief. The main reason is that Gao Yanchou delayed the battle and failed to fight. We can all testify." Everyone said one after another, they are not stupid, they are beaten to shame, they should think about how to protect themselves , They can only return to Jinling if they don't push the responsibility out.

"Let's go to the prosperous Tang Dynasty to stabilize our position, find a way to go to Luzhou, take the Chaohu waterway to enter the Dajiang River, and then go back to Jinling!"

Everyone was chattering, and their opinions were relatively unified, that is, to run in the direction of the Tang Dynasty first, and avoid the terrifying Zhou Jun.

Liu Yanzhen already had this thought in her heart, but felt that it was not easy to say it directly, so she changed the subject: "Wu Yanhui, why haven't I seen him before, I asked him to command the left-wing formation."

"Killed by Zhou Jun, the cavalry led by Shi Yanchao... I saw it with my own eyes, and got cut on the forehead." Someone said.

As soon as these words came out, everyone was breathless and didn't say any more.

"It's almost dawn, we can't wait any longer, we can still go far while it's dark. Wait a while and someone will fall asleep, then we won't be able to go further.

Furthermore, at dawn, there is nothing in this area for dozens of miles, and we will easily be seen by Zhou Jun. "Cheng Shilang said anxiously.

"Okay, let's go!" Liu Yanzhen was also anxious, although he was tired and sleepy, it was better than death.

So everyone got on their horses again and fled in the direction of Sheng Tang.

The period before dawn is always the darkest. On the black earth, even the distant horizon is indistinguishable, and we can only rely on the starry sky to guide us.

It was pitch black on both sides of the avenue, and from time to time you could hear the cry of frogs and insects, and from time to time, people in distant villages heard the movement and lit up their lights, but they dared not approach.

The sound of horseshoes became the loudest sound in the world. Along the way, they bumped into their own people several times. They were deserters fleeing south from the north, and they even fought once.

Nervously, the guards around him shot a few arrows in the direction of the noise, and the other side immediately fired back. After people on both sides were injured, they found out that it was their own. Liu Yanzhen cursed and continued to go south.

Before dawn, they passed a section of avenue surrounded by woods. The leaves on the ground were very shallow, and the trees on both sides were straight and tall, almost covering the sky. Some people in the team said they knew this place. Walking two miles west from here is called Huangniba. village.

Coming here means that they are already twenty miles away from Zhengyang, and Zhou Jun should not chase them again.

Everyone was heaving a sigh of relief when they suddenly heard small crackling noises from the surrounding woods. It was the sound of the iron plates of the armor rubbing together in one place, and the neat brushing sound made their scalps tingle. Soldiers of the Zhou Army, the road in the distance is covered with dense figures.

Just at this time, the sun rises in the east, and the dawn light passes through the gaps in the treetops and falls on the avenue. The chaotic people cast long shadows. Suddenly, the figure blocking the middle of the avenue becomes taller and unfathomable, like a bridge that cannot be crossed. The mountains are suffocating.

"Liu Yanzhen, someone is the commander of the left side of the Great Zhou Control Crane and the defense envoy of Yunzhou. You have been waiting here for a long time. Why did you arrive? You are lazy on the way. How can you be lazy when you die." Suddenly, everyone around laughed.

The voice of the other party was like a bell, and could be heard clearly in the whole forest. When they heard the words Shi Congyun, everyone in the Southern Tang Dynasty was startled, subconsciously pulling their horses back in fear. , "Shi Congyun!"

Shi Congyun!
He was about to flee in desperation.

A horse rushed straight ahead, pulling a long shadow, the forest was dimly lit, and everyone had just fallen into a desperate situation, and it was too late to react due to the problem of light.

It was too late and then too soon, a little cold light pierced the shadows in the forest, and no one had time to react. Liu Yanzhen, who was surrounded by the crowd, had her pupils constricted. .

The rider who rushed out reined in his horse by the side of the road, stuck his bloody spear on the ground and shouted: "The one who killed Liu Yanzhen is your grandfather Shi Congyun!

Now those who refuse to accept stand up, I will kill them one by one, otherwise I will immediately dismount and surrender. "

Zhou soldiers on both sides of the avenue excitedly shouted Shi Congyun's name, and the remaining soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty were frightened and surrendered one after another, and none of them left.

Shi Congyun laughed happily, and the soldiers surrounded him, shouting excitedly, "The owner of the room is mighty!" Someone who didn't know how to look up shouted, "Long live the owner of the room", so scared that he almost fell off his horse. Go down, fortunately the sound is noisy, no one cares.

The feat of single-handedly stabbing the enemy's chief general is really inspiring.

Shi Congyun also gained the support and admiration of the soldiers because of this, and he will have another place to talk about bragging in the future!
But he didn't act recklessly, the light was not good just now, and the other Southern Tang generals were too frightened to move by the soldiers of the Crane Control Army around him, and he had already seen clearly that Liu Yanzhen didn't have a long weapon in his hand!

He held a spear more than ten feet in his hand, no matter how it was a sure win, he made such a bold move.

Shi Congyun didn't know Liu Yanzhen at all, nor had he met her.But seeing someone standing among the crowd, and wearing a very expensive sable fur cloak, who else could it be?

"Find someone who can talk, and go and report victory to Li Xianggong." Shi Congyun raised his hand and said, "Let's say that Shi Congyun, the commander of the left wing of the crane, single-handedly stabbed the local commander Liu Yanzhen to death, and captured a hundred generals of the Tang Dynasty. The rest of you, send this head back."

All the soldiers laughed loudly after hearing this, and the woods were filled with joy for a while.

The messenger jumped off his horse, took the short knife from his waist, and cut off Liu Yanzhen's head in the bushes by the roadside to report.

The remaining men began to take over the captives in the woods and questioned them one by one.

If you don't ask, you don't know, but if you ask, you will be shocked. Among this group of people, many are big fish, and there is a defense envoy named Cheng Shilang, who is one of Liu Yanzhen's lieutenants.

Everyone is happy and excited, this is a great credit!
Shi Congyun knew in his heart that Si Chao contributed the most to this contribution. It was Si Chao who first predicted that the coach of the Southern Tang Dynasty would run in the direction of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. .

After this battle, Shi Congyun also looked at Si Chao differently. This is a rare general with a brain. He thought that if he had the opportunity, he must be recruited, and it would be best to get him into the army. There is a shortage of such people.

After fighting for a day and chasing and fighting all night, when the sun rose, the matter finally came to an end!

For Shi Congyun, this matter was perfect. He won the battle of Zhengyang, Liu Yanzhen, the chief general of the Southern Tang Dynasty, died in his hands, and many high-ranking generals were captured. The credit is great enough.

It may be a pity for the officials, because it is still the same old problem. It was difficult to fight a war of annihilation in the era of cold weapons. Although many soldiers from the Southern Tang Dynasty were defeated, they all fled to the south and returned to the country.

After a year and a half, these people will become the soldiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty again, and they can compete with the Great Zhou again.

But he couldn't control those things, Shi Congyun only knew that his contribution this time was great enough, and Li Chongjin's threat to him was much smaller.

Shi Congyun, who didn't close his eyes all day and night, worked hard all day, and ran all night, closed his eyes and fell to the ground. He fell asleep in the woods beside the road.

In the rear, news of the success of the armies from all walks of life continued to come back to Zhengyang, and the emperor had completely crossed the Huaihe River by car and settled down in Zhengyang, waiting for Shi Congyun's news.

(a chapter of [-] words)
(End of this chapter)