Fenghou

Chapter 968
Wang Zan closed his eyes and leaned against a boulder to rest. He seemed to be resting, but he was actually thinking about retreating. Wang Zan was not a fool. He also knew that the risk was high, and the entire army might be wiped out. He also knew that he would surrender to the Song army. It was a good strategy, not to mention that Yang Zaixing even wrote a letter to recruit him.

It's just that Zheke treats him well, and his family is in Luoyang. If he surrenders, what will his family do?
Wang Zan was also conflicted in his heart, but he finally chose to retreat and could only take one step at a time.

At this time, Xie Zhensheng rushed over and shouted anxiously: "Brother, something is wrong!"

Wang Zan opened his eyes, "What's the matter?"

"Shi Dawu and Su Wu led the army and headed north!"

"what!"

Wang Zan stood up and looked to the west, only to see that thousands of people in the distance had assembled and started to go west.

Wang Zan was furious, got on his horse, and chased after him with his gun.

After chasing two ways, a thousand soldiers behind him pointed their crossbows at him. Wang Zan quickly reined in his horse and cursed, "Are you crazy? Put down the crossbows for me!"

Thousands of soldiers ignored him, at this moment, Shi Dawu urged his horse out and shouted: "General Wang, everyone has his own ambition, why bother to force each other!"

Wang Zan sternly said: "The commander-in-chief treats you well, and you are given enough food and salary, why rebel?"

Shi Dawu said in a high voice: "I don't want my children and grandchildren to be scolded as the descendants of traitors in the future, and my descendants will not be able to lift their heads. Ask the brothers, are they willing to continue to be traitors?"

"We are not traitors!" A thousand soldiers shouted angrily.

Wang Zan had no choice but to sigh, turned his horse's head and left. Shi Dawu saw him go far away, waved his hand, and led a thousand crossbowmen to retreat westward with the brigade.

The [-] army left [-] people in an instant, and only [-] people remained. They all looked lonely and watched the army go far away, and they wanted to follow!

"Assemble the whole army and continue eastward!"

Wang Zan knew he couldn't stay any longer, otherwise the morale of the army would completely collapse.

Four thousand troops set off in formation, Wang Zan walked in front, Xie Zhensheng stayed behind to prevent deserters.

But after walking less than three miles, they passed through a large forest, and many soldiers in the middle of the team took advantage of the cover of night to sneak into the forest. Wang Zan heard something unusual behind him and turned around hastily, just in time to see a group of soldiers entering the forest.

He shouted anxiously, "Don't enter the woods, stop them!"

At first, many soldiers were still hesitating, but when he shouted, the soldiers suddenly realized that this might be their last chance to escape, and another group of soldiers went straight into the woods.

Wang Zan and Xie Zhensheng yelled and cursed, and led the remaining soldiers away from the woods. There were less than [-] soldiers left in the [-]-man army, and they were basically soldiers directly under them, so they didn't run away.

Wang Zan had no choice but to speed up and run towards the official road. There were still five miles away from the official road. Wang Zan and Xie Zhensheng suddenly found that they were surrounded by Song soldiers in all directions.

They encountered Su Zunyi's [-] troops. Su Zunyi had sent people to watch their every move, including their escape. Su Zunyi knew that their morale had collapsed, so he decided to surround the enemy in advance.

"Put down your weapons and surrender immediately, or you will be shot!" Su Zunyi shouted from a distance.

"Drop your weapons and surrender, or you will be shot!" Thousands of soldiers shouted together.

More than [-] soldiers trembled and looked at the commander Wang Zan in panic. Suddenly, a soldier shouted: "I still have a wife, children and old mother to take care of, I can't die!"

He dropped his weapon and ran over, raised his hands and shouted, "I surrender! Don't kill me."

"Dang Bang! Bang Bang! Bang Bang!"

The sound of weapons falling became more and more. Groups of soldiers ran over and knelt down. Xie Zhensheng was about to stop it, but Wang Zan stopped him, "Let them go!"

The chief general didn't care, more and more soldiers surrendered, and the generals also surrendered. After a quarter of an hour, only Xie Zhensheng and dozens of soldiers were left beside Wang Zan.

Wang Zan glanced at Xie Zhensheng and said, "Little sister is still pregnant, you go! Don't follow me."

Xie Zhensheng was silent for a moment and said, "Brother, I'm sorry!"

"Go!"

Xie Zhensheng took off his helmet, got off his horse and walked towards the opponent. Seeing Xie Zhensheng walk more than twenty steps, Wang Zan waved his big iron gun and shouted: "Break out with me!"

Thirty bodyguard cavalry galloped on horseback, and followed Wang Zan to break through to the east.

Seeing that someone wanted to break out, Su Zunyi ordered coldly: "The crossbowmen are ready!"

Two thousand crossbowmen pointed their crossbows at the dozens of cavalry rushing towards them, and Su Zunyi shouted, "Fire the arrows!"

Two thousand army crossbows were fired at the same time, and the dense crossbow arrows shot at Wang Zan and dozens of soldiers like a storm. Wang Zan was hit by hundreds of arrows and shot like a hedgehog. He fell off his horse and died tragically on the spot. They were all shot, and none survived.

At dawn, Su Zunyi took Wang Zan's head and thousands of soldiers to deliver orders to Yang Zaixing, including those soldiers who fled into the woods halfway, and most of them were also captured by Song soldiers.

Yang Zaixing was very satisfied with the results of the battle. Out of [-] soldiers, [-] surrendered, and only a few hundred escaped, which can be described as outstanding military exploits.

He ordered Wang Zan's head to be passed on to the three armies. Su Zunyi said in a low voice, "Would you like to bury Wang Zan in a dignified manner to commend his loyalty? I would rather die than surrender!"

"Loyalty?"

Yang Zaixing sneered and said, "I will not bury the loyalty to the Jurchens generously, just dig a hole and bury them directly!"

Su Zunyi said ashamedly: "The general is right, but Xie Zhensheng is his brother-in-law, why not hand over the corpse to him! It will save our soldiers the trouble of digging a hole."

"Okay, let's deal with this!"

Yang Zaixing immediately ordered his generals to escort [-] surrendered soldiers to the prisoner-of-war camp in Shan County. These soldiers basically surrendered voluntarily, so they will receive preferential treatment. At least they will not be sent to mines. Most of them will be released home, and a small number of them have special skills. Those who will join the Song Army.

Although surrendered soldiers and prisoners of war soldiers both surrendered, they are completely different in nature. The main difference between them is the time of surrender. One surrenders before the outbreak of war, one surrenders after the outbreak of war, one surrenders voluntarily without wanting to fight, and the other surrenders. Passive surrender in order to avoid death.

At this time, Li Muqing also led [-] cavalry to arrive. Li Muqing stepped forward to salute and said with a smile: "This time I went around in a big circle and it was a waste of time. I didn't even touch a single hair of the enemy."

Yang Zaixing smiled slightly and said, "Without your cavalry, the opponent would have fled back to Luoyang directly. We would not be able to catch him. After all, Mianchi County is [-] miles away from Xin'an County, so it would be useless to charge and run."

"If they all command [-] cavalry, don't enter Mianchi County, and hide the opponent's spies, they can wipe out the enemy army."

Yang Zaixing shook his head, "This is an afterthought military counsel. How could the [-] cavalry not be discovered? If we rely on the fact that the opponent is a fool, then we must be the last fool."

"Humble job understands!"

Yang Zaixing smiled and said, "Everyone go back to Xin'an County to rest for a day, and tomorrow the army will leave for Luoyang."

Hulao Pass is located about two hundred miles east of Luoyang. It is actually located between Sishui County and Xingyang County, so it is also called Sishui Pass.

Hulao Pass is the east gate of Luoyang, which is used to defend Luoyang from the Central Plains army's attack. It is also known as the two major passes along with Hangu Pass in the west.

In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the eighteen princes crusade against Dong Zhuo, it was in front of Hulao Pass, where Huaxiong was warmed and killed, and the three heroes fought against Lu Bu, all happened here.

However, Hulao Pass is the enemy that defends against the attack from the east. Its fortification and majesty are also on the east side, while the west side is an ordinary pass city. Just majestic.

Li Fuxing led an army of [-] troops to Hulao Pass. Hulao Pass is currently a border pass, not as important as Mengjin Pass. There are only [-] troops stationed in the pass city.

At this time, Hulao Pass also received the news sent by the magistrate of Yanshi County that the Song army had broken through Mengjin Pass, requiring all pass cities to pay attention to precautions.

The [-] defenders of Hulao Pass were extremely nervous. They knew that once the Song army rushed from Mengjin Pass, Luoyang City would bear the brunt, followed by Hulao Pass.

(End of this chapter)