Daming kill

Chapter 138 Dangerous Choice

Ever since he knew that the Peasant Army was attacking Baimadu, Li Ping's brain was completely in a state of confusion, because he knew that he was facing the worst situation.

Although he has not surveyed the terrain of Baimadu on the spot, through the grandfather of his correspondent Dong Jiangpeng, the old boatman, Li Ping has learned that the defense that Baimadu can rely on is completely different from the sheepskin beach where he is stationed.

There will be the key to the whole battle.

What is tested there is the will and determination of both attackers and defenders.

The peasant army has traveled thousands of miles, and it is inevitable that they will win. As long as they do not suffer unbearable losses, it is impossible for them to return home.

However, Zuo Liangyu, who regarded the army as his capital, could never throw his direct descendants into the fire pit and burn them to death.

The outcome of this battle was doomed from the very beginning, the only question was how long Zuo Liangyu planned to hold on.

This is exactly the source of Li Ping's anxiety and confusion.

Then, the distance between Baimadu and Yangpitan is still a little short. The straight-line distance on the map is only about 11 kilometers, and the distance on the river is only about 16 kilometers.

Suspended in the wild, but also close to the main battlefield, this makes Li Ping's situation very embarrassing.

Once Zuo Liangyu is defeated, he will face the powerful peak of the Peasant Army. With his 1000 people, if he wants to stop the car with his arms, he will be courting death.

It seems he can only run.

But it was difficult for Li Ping to judge when to run away.

At least not now.

As long as he dares to run now, all the blame for the fall of Xiangyang may fall on him.

Because once he ran, it was tantamount to giving the peasant army the possibility to steal Zuo Liangyu's back route from Yangpitan, and Zuo Liangyu had a very legitimate reason for retreating.

It is beyond debate to convict Li Ping of the first crime.

Zuo Liangyu probably would be very happy that someone would take the initiative to be the one to take the blame.

At that time, Li Ping was a sinner of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no way he could run away if he was convicted of beheading.

If he wanted to survive, the only way out was to surrender to the peasant army.

As for going it alone, don't even think about it.

Not to mention that the officers and soldiers had to try their best to capture him and cut off his head to serve the emperor. In the place of the Fourth World War, there was no righteousness, no prominent name, and not much capital. Only fools came to seek refuge.

But if you can't run now, when will you run?
This is exactly what Li Ping is anxious about.

Because he calculated for a long time and found that he had to wait for Zuo Liangyu's troops to run before running, and even he had to run behind Zuo Liangyu's buttocks instead of running in front of Zuo Liangyu.

Not only running before the main general and running to the front of the main general, but also running in vain, which is tantamount to courting death!
He also had to walk the road between Wanshan and Yanggushan to go around the big bend, instead of going through Wanshan.

Not wanting to easily abandon the vehicles accompanying the army is out of the scope of consideration at all. The key is that Li Ping is not sure whether the peasant army will have a partial division from Baimadu, go directly south and make a big detour from the west of Wanshan.

But in this way, he was easily stuck and killed by the peasant army's chasing troops.

Timing and luck seem to be the key!

But the timing is so easy to grasp, and it's hard to say whether he will be given the opportunity.

As for luck, it is even more unreliable!
How the hell does Zuo Liangyu plan to pretend for a few days against the mountain?
Therefore, Li Ping could only go around in circles on the small high ground in Yangpitan irritably, sometimes trying to listen to the chaotic sound of gunfire in the direction of Baimadu, and sometimes looking westward with his feet raised.

But he also took the risk of ordering the wounded and some of the food, grass, and supply troops who were injured in the morning battle to withdraw first.

He miscalculated and brought a lot of food and supplies, and this would more or less interfere with their running wildly.

Worried, Wang Chengwu suddenly arrived on a flying horse.

"Brother Li, let's go. The front is withdrawn, Zuo Liangyu ordered the troops to retreat." Wang Chengwu shouted anxiously before dismounting his horse.

"Stop fighting now?" Li Ping didn't turn his head for a moment.

Ma Yong and others around Li Ping also looked at Wang Chengwu in astonishment. Everyone thought that the Zuo Zongbing would not fight to the death, but they still felt that the Zuo Zongbing's outfit should be installed for at least a day.

It's too childish to stop playing so soon!
After Wang Chengwu briefly described the situation of Baimadu in a hurry, Li Ping looked at the smoke and dust that had begun to rise from the west and said to himself depressedly: "Where are you going?"

"Enter the city! Enter the city! 10,000+ people are guarding the city, and the peasant army has not been recruited for a while. The city is safe. Leave quickly!" Seeing that Li Ping was hesitating, Wang Chengwu couldn't help shouting.

"Cheng Wu, you go first! I can't enter the city..." Li Ping sighed.

"Are you kidding! Where are you going if you don't go to the city? If you don't hurry up, it will be too late. Don't hesitate!" Wang Chengwu blushed anxiously.

"I promised Brother Baolai, I have to go to him, I can't break my promise." Li Ping's tone was very firm and beyond doubt.

Wang Chengwu was stunned for a moment, but then he said eagerly: "Give me a few horses, I will go find Baolai, and I will definitely bring him into the city. At worst, make a detour and go around Xianshan Mountain. You can take it with confidence first." Let the troops enter the city!"

"Thank you Cheng Wu, but it still doesn't work. If you move without orders, entering the city is tantamount to courting death! Zuo Liangyu will be very happy to use my head to pay for his failure. I really can't enter the city. Song Baolai isn't the only one, and I can't ignore so many subordinates." Li Ping smiled wryly.

"Then what should I do? ... If you don't leave... Wouldn't it be more courting death if you don't leave and stay here?" Wang Chengwu was already stuttering, not knowing what to say for a while.

"Not yet. During this period of time, as long as the peasant army is still normal, it will not pursue it. Not to mention that Prime Minister Hui Deng's troops are threatening to the west of them, the peasant army is not sure whether there will be ambushes in the mountains. It's getting dark, they should first consolidate the ferry to prevent being attacked from both sides. Cheng Wu, you go first! I will withdraw after Zuo Liangyu's army has withdrawn, it should not be a big problem." Li Ping comforted.

"But how can this work, you are taking a risk." Wang Chengwu was still not reconciled.

"It's a correct judgment of the situation, and it's not a risk. Anyway, I can't go into the city. Cheng Wu, let's go! Nearly half of your casualties, Shi Ming and Zhao Jin need you more now." Li Ping persuaded.

"cocoa……"

"Look, the cavalry is here, and it should be to inform us to retreat, so you can leave without worry!" Li Ping said, pointing to a few cavalry shadows who were rushing here from afar.

Turning his head in the direction of Li Ping's finger and staring at it for more than ten seconds, Wang Chengwu licked his chapped lips, breathed a sigh of relief, and then fisted Li Ping.

Before getting on his horse, Wang Chengwu looked back at Li Ping with a determined face and the subordinates behind him who also had the same firm eyes. Of course, there was an old man whose eyes flickered a little.

Wang Chengwu straightened his body and saluted a standard modern military salute, then got on his horse and ran into the smoke and dust without looking back.

Seeing Wang Chengwu's eagerly leaving figure, Hu Zhongshan frowned and couldn't help but excitedly said: "Sir, according to what you just said, it's okay for us to withdraw safely?"

When other people around heard Hu Zhongshan's rash question, they all turned to look at Li Ping, only Ma Yong sighed helplessly.

Li Ping glanced at Hu Zhongshan sideways, and said in a deep voice: "I was just comforting Mr. Wang, don't be wishful thinking. It's actually hard to say what the thieves will think, maybe they want to copy Zhuxian Town again. victory."

Hu Zhongshan, who had just lowered his head in shock from Li Ping's piercing eyes, couldn't help raising his head again, his eyes widened, and he wanted to say something, but finally he didn't say it.

They have all experienced the defeat of Zhuxian Town, and they definitely remember it fresh.

"Again? Are they not afraid that the chief soldier will attack them back and forth!"

Seeing that no one said anything for a while, Duan Qiang opened his mouth for everyone.

"Zuo Zongbing is obviously afraid. If he had a plan, he wouldn't give up Baimadu easily. Maybe other bandits would be careful, but Li Zicheng's title of Chuangwang is not for nothing.

Moreover, the bandit army can choose not to take the risk of chasing Zuo Zongbing's brigade, but can choose to go directly south and bypass Wanshan to create a large siege.Zuo Zongbing can continue to run with the city and the river, but if we choose not to enter the city, we will be surrounded in the wild. "

Li Ping didn't want to hit the morale of his subordinates, but the command must understand the situation at this time.

"We can only gamble now. If we lose the gamble, we will be close to death." Ma Yong answered the words with a wry smile at this moment.

At this time, Liu Qiang, who was a little far away but had been listening to what was going on here, suddenly shouted at Li Ping, carrying the military flag, "Sir, we have so many people now, we can always kill them out. I am full these days." Meals are not free, I, Liu Qiang, can do whatever my elder brother wants to do, and I am not afraid even if I go up the mountain of swords or down into the sea of ​​fire."

Probably only Liu Qiang dared to eavesdrop when Li Ping and the others were speaking openly.

"That's right! We have so many elite soldiers, and we are still waiting for work at ease, and the tired thieves may not be able to stop us." Duan Qiang also forced his spirits to be heroic.

"Don't be too pessimistic. It's getting dark, and the bandit army may not dare to make such a bold move behind an unfamiliar enemy. Besides, if they march quickly again, they may have no strength. They are not iron. Let's go first Let's see what the military order of Zuo Zongbing is! If we leave now, the problem will not be too big." Li Ping said, looking at the cavalry who was about to arrive.

The leader of the three messenger cavalrymen who came was Li Ping's acquaintance, the Jiabing Zhang who led Li Ping to Zuo Liangyu's mansion for the first time.

The soldier named Zhang brought Zuo Liangyu to ask Li Ping to continue to stick to Yangpitan's order, and made it clear that Li Ping must wait until dark and Wang Yuncheng's rearguard cavalry withdraw before Li Ping can withdraw. After withdrawing, he can temporarily retreat to Yanggu Mountain.

"The commander-in-chief asked the younger one to tell the general that the safety of the army's flanks depends entirely on the general. The commander-in-chief believes in the general's loyalty and bravery, and will definitely remember the general's achievements today." The soldier surnamed Zhang said very solemnly at the end.

"Marshal, please don't worry. Li Ping is well aware of the importance of the relationship. He must abide by the commander's military order and try his best to protect the safety of the army." Li Ping not only accepted the order very readily, but also made a bold statement.

The Jia soldier named Zhang was overjoyed, and he bowed deeply to Li Ping on the horse, and then he took the flag and led the other two ordering cavalry to hit the horse and walk eastward along the river.

But as soon as they walked away, Li Ping's face darkened.

"How did we become the last ones! Isn't this fatal?...Yanggu Mountain, Yanggu Mountain, sir, we can't retreat to Yanggu Mountain! There are so many people in the security camp, we can't leave it behind!" Hu Zhongshan Finally couldn't help but yelled first.

"Yes! Yes! Brother, let's run first. This Zuo Zongbing has no good intentions and completely treats us like ants. We promised that the security battalion would join us, so we can't go back on our word, Song Yingguan and Xiaohui Sister is still waiting for us!" The silly big Liu Qiang echoed anxiously.

Ma Yong also stared at Li Ping amidst the yelling, but he didn't say anything.

This time, Li Ping did not express any dissatisfaction with Hu Zhongshan and Liu Qiang's inappropriate behavior.He knew their thoughts very well, and he understood the reasons for their gaffes.

Once a person has concerns, it is difficult to be calm.

And human nature is more reassuring than hard-hearted and extremely selfish.

At this moment, Li Ping just rejoiced in his heart how wise it was to let Song Baolai withdraw from the villa first.

Otherwise, once the peasant army goes south from the west of Wanshan and bypasses Wanshan, which is too easy to ambush, and makes a big detour to Yanggushan and Xianshan, Song Baolai will be in danger.

Although he had already been concerned about it, Li Ping was even more depressed.

After thinking wildly for so long, he still missed one point. He forgot to figure out what to do after Zuo Liangyu designated him a place to retreat.This means that he has to violate Zuo Liangyu's military order no matter what.

And this is really troublesome for him, and it is a very big trouble.

At this time, Duan Qiang asked strangely: "Why didn't we let us enter the city to strengthen the city's defense?"

However, no one talked to Duan Qiang, everyone became very silent, no one was in the mood, and everyone was watching Li Ping, who was frowning.

"We can only wait until it gets dark and wait until the army withdraws. If we retreat early, we will inevitably cross with the soldiers and horses of the general army, and then we are really dead. Gambling on luck and betting that the bandit army does not dare to pursue it is at least a lot of money." Great hope." Li Ping finally spoke after being silent for a long time.

"Hey…"

I don't know if it was one person or several people who sighed at the same time.

"Then, then we still have to listen carefully... to the military order of the commander in chief!" Ma Yong's voice was muffled and trembling.

"No, let's go to the security camp. But Yanggu Mountain is still going, but we don't go up, we just pass by. We have to make a bigger circle to prevent the bandits from going to the security camp. Go around the mountain from the west side of Wanshan." Li Ping suddenly said loudly.

He realized that he had to clearly express his attitude towards the military order and his previous promise, although he knew very well that what he chose might be a road of no return.

Sure enough, after Li Ping finished speaking, there were several sounds of relief, only Duan Qiang was still scratching his head in confusion.

……

At this time, in the west of Baimadu, Hui Deng, who was riding a horse, looked at the east and sighed deeply, then shook his head helplessly.

(End of this chapter)