Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 564 Rout
This is not to say that these soldiers are cowards. For the same group of soldiers, if they know that the former army is still intact, that they are not fighting alone, and that their resistance is meaningful, they will be able to desperately resist and resist the siege of their enemies several times .This is human nature, fear, despair, cowardice, and retreat; but if there is hope for life, it can burst out with a hundredfold strength, so brave that even he can't believe it.

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Dafeiling Tang Army Barracks.

Wang Zhaotang opened his eyes.

There was a howling in the darkness, faint and distant, but unmistakable—the howling of wolves.Their voices rose and fell, like a melancholy and lonely song, which made him unable to sleep.It's not that Wang Zhaotang has never heard howling wolves, but the howling of wolves at this time gave him a particularly ominous premonition, as if some disaster was about to happen.In the end he decided to visit the camp. Wang Zhaotang got up from the straw bunk, put on his cloak, and walked out of the tent.

As the barrier got closer and closer, the surrounding area became emptier.Like all ancient nations who were proficient in warfare, the Tang army's camp also had certain rules - there was an open space between the wall and the camp area, so as to avoid being hit by various projectiles launched by foreign enemies during the siege, and also to prevent the enemy from being hit by various projectiles during the siege. Enough space to maneuver soldiers.Wang Zhaotang walked through this open space, and heard the sharp sound of the night wind blowing through the cracks in the wall, like a ghost whistle. He felt a little cold, and couldn't help tightening his cloak.

"Who, password!" Someone shouted in the night.

"Feng Yi Fufeng!" Wang Zhaotang responded loudly: "It's me, Wang Zhaotang!"

"Wang Sima?" The sentinel's voice was a little weird, obviously he was suffering from a cold: "You are——"

"Can't sleep at night, come out to patrol the camp!" Wang Zhaotang approached, the sentry tried his best to wrap his cloak tightly, and pulled up the hood to resist the cold wind, Wang Zhaotang couldn't see his face, he just felt like he was standing still Wooden barrel: "How about it, can you still endure it?"

"I can survive it!" The sentinel puffed up his chest: "Goguryeo, Liaodong, and Tiele have all fought, and we have survived no matter how difficult it is. But—" His voice suddenly dropped: "Maybe it's because he is old , I really feel different this time. After walking a few steps, I feel breathless and guilty, and I can't move my legs. Hey, after this battle is over, I think I will have to go back to the ground!"

At this time, Wang Zhaotang could already see the gray dots under the hood of the sentry, and the ravine face. He patted the sentry on the shoulder: "It's not just you, I also feel guilty because of the place, not the person." As long as you return to Longyou, you will be fine!"

"Then, why are those Tubo people all right?"

"One side raises one side of people. They have grown up here since they were young, and they have long been used to it. If you let them go to Chang'an or Luoyang, they can't stand it!" Wang Zhaotang laughed.

"If that's the case, how can we hit Luo Suo?" As soon as the words came out, the sentinel realized that he had said something wrong, and hurriedly apologized to Wang Zhaotang. Wang Zhaotang held his arm, stopped him from kneeling, and patted the other party shoulder: "This is not something you and I should worry about. Standing guard and closing the camp well, this is what you and I should do!"

After comforting the sentinel, a burning torch was stuck in the crack of the wall, and it flew up with the sound of the wind, emitting white and orange rays of light.Wang Zhaotang walked sideways through the passage between the walls, and took it off with one hand.He walked unhappily, letting the torches illuminate the path under his feet.Sound and light are annihilated behind them.Dark nights, uneven ground, treacherous groundhog holes where a moment of inattention could break a knee...even a neck.What am I doing up so late?he asked himself as he watched the path.

The woods are in the valley below, like warriors equipped with hard skins and leaves, they lined up silently, waiting for the order to attack the Tang army's camp.Their bodies were pitch black... Only when the flames swept across the branches, did Wang Zhaotang catch a glimpse of some green shadows.Faintly, he heard the sound of gurgling water among the rocks. It seemed that the spring was not far from here, and the location of the reservoir might be a little too close to the barrier. Once besieged, the soldiers who fetched water might be camped Arrows from outside threatened to build an arrow shed on the side of the reservoir near the barrier tomorrow, Wang Zhaotang thought while listening to the sound of water, and walked along the barrier.

Walking through about two-thirds of the barrier, Wang Zhaotang was thinking about whether to go back to his tent and continue to sleep. A quarrel attracted his attention. He picked up the torch and walked towards the place where the sound came from. Finally, he saw someone approaching the west gate of the camp The sentinel was talking to a few people outside the camp.

"What's going on? Who is it?" Wang Zhaotang asked loudly.

"Wang Sima, it's you!" The sentinel turned his head in surprise, and with the help of the firelight he recognized Wang Zhaotang: "The guys outside said that Director Guo was defeated, and they escaped!" At the end, he seemed to be Seeking affirmation—Wang Sima?These guys are deserters, right?With so many troops in charge of General Guo, how could he be defeated so easily?

how could I know?I'm stuck here like you and don't know anything!
Wang Zhaotang moaned in despair, but on the surface he just nodded majestically and gestured to let them in.Seeing this, the sentinel suddenly became confident, and shouted to the outside of the barrier: "Cowards, get out and wait for the whip!"

Wang Zhaotang looked at the three people in front of him, they were all thin and haggard, almost taller than him, their hands and feet were tied tightly behind their backs, waiting to be punished.Their clothes were ragged, and there were cracks left by thorns everywhere. It was difficult to identify that the clothes were originally round-necked short robes worn by soldiers of the Tang Army inside the armor. odor.

"Wang Sima, do you want to take these guys aside and wash them off first!" the sentry covered his nose and asked, "The animals that carry the luggage smell better than them!"

"You think we are stinky?" A guy who was tied up sneered, "Then you'd better get used to it first, or when the Tibetans call you in a few days, you will die very quickly when you run away!"

"Fart!" The sentinel was furious when he heard the words: "I came here to conquer Tubo dogs under the order of the emperor, but it's not like you guys were scared out of your wits and became like this bird!"

"That's right, we were scared out of our wits by the Tibetans!" Another man who was bound sneered, "But we were scared out of our wits only after we met the Tubo people and lost blood. It’s not like you are hiding in the camp, comfortably, and you haven’t even seen the face of the Tubo people, but you laugh at us poor people who have fought so hard!”

"That's enough, shut up!" Wang Zhaotang yelled, interrupting the quarrel: "Untie these guys, eat something, scrub and change into clean clothes, and send them to my tent!" Then He walked towards his tent without looking back.

Back in the tent, Wang Zhaotang poured himself a glass of wine and drank it down. Only then did he notice that his right hand holding the glass was shaking violently. Yes, those guys did not lie. Guo Daifeng was defeated. Or worse, the former army led by General Manager Xue is also finished at this time, and he is the only large-scale imperial armed force within a thousand miles. The Tubo people are encircling here, and there are only a few thousand soldiers in the camp. Sick pawns, nothing else.

Why is this happening?For a while, Wang Zhaotang almost hated himself for asking to stay in Dafeiling. If he had followed Guo Daifeng to the expedition, he would have died in some grass or valley by now, at least he would not have to face all this.As a warrior, it is not difficult to stand up and die, but the difficulty is to survive and bring more people to survive.

Wang Zhaotang picked up the jug with trembling hands, filled up the glass he had just drank, and then poured it into his mouth. The burning sensation and irritation in his throat made him feel better. He looked at the jug with nostalgia. He looked like I drank a few more cups until I fell asleep, but unfortunately I was not so lucky, Wang Zhaotang couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.

When those men were sent into the tent, they already looked a bit human. Wang Zhaotang asked them a few questions. After he was sure that they were indeed soldiers of the Tang army and not spies sent by the Tubo people, he asked in a deep voice. : "Tell me, how did the Tibetans defeat you!"

No one spoke at first, but after a while, a man with a scar on his face said coldly: "It's not so much that the Tibetans defeated us, it's better to say that Director Guo defeated us!"

"Director Guo? You mean Guo Daifeng?"

"Who else but him?" The other man snorted coldly: "Except for the camp going west, the higher you go, the narrower the road. There are stone mountains on both sides, and you can't see the top of the mountain. Guo Daifeng was still urging him fiercely. Within a few days, the ranks stretched for more than [-] miles. When a captain persuaded him, he still got angry and demanded the marching law, saying that the brothers who fell behind deliberately procrastinated and caused delays. The military plane! The conscience of heaven and earth, this place is dizzy without doing anything, how fast? Not everyone has a horse like him—"

"Okay, don't talk about it!" Wang Zhaotang interrupted the other party's complaint, he had already guessed the general situation: "When did the Tibetans attack you, and what was the situation at that time?"

"That happened five days ago!" said the scar-faced man, "I remember that it started to rain that afternoon, and then it turned into hail. The weather in this place is really hell. Guo Daifeng had to order everyone The army stopped to rest, we were already extremely tired at that time, and we all lay down to rest—”

"Wait a minute, you didn't build a camp? Digging a trench? Arranging pickets?" Wang Zhaotang asked.

"No!" The fire shone on the man's face, with a mocking expression: "There are rocks everywhere, how can we dig trenches? Even if there is a place to dig, we don't have the strength. We will be exhausted just by marching!"

"Okay!" Wang Zhaotang shook his head: "And then? Then what happened?"

"Then?" The man laughed: "In the evening, we heard that the camp in front of us was attacked by the Tubo people, but no one took it seriously. Since we left Dafeiling, the Tubo people's attacks have not stopped. The number of people is small every time and no one takes it seriously! A few of us lay under the donkey cart, at least there was a dry place there. Because I was so tired, I fell asleep without waiting for dinner, and then it happened What, you should know better?" He asked another person beside him.

"Well, the lieutenant of our battalion was ordered to take 500 people to deal with the attackers. He didn't come back after he went out. I think he must have been caught in a trap!" The man shrugged: "The Tibetans took our battalion as a breakthrough , so they use this method to weaken our battalion first, and then attack!"

"You mean the Tibetans attacked you at night?" Wang Zhaotang asked.

"Yes, it's a night attack!" The answerer was full of boredom: "The forward is led by a lieutenant wearing a lion-shaped helmet, cut down our sentries, cleared the outer obstacles, and facilitated the attack of the brigade behind us. When people came to their senses, the opposing cavalry had rushed into the camp with swords and torches in their hands. I was sleeping under the donkey cart. I heard the fight and saw the tent on fire. Fortunately, we didn’t sleep and got up from the ground, otherwise we would have been killed by the wheels. Crushed in two."

"You don't have a commander?" Wang Zhaotang asked, "Even if the lieutenant leads the troops out, what about Sima? Where's Marquis Yu? Isn't there anyone who comes forward?"

"It's useless!" The answerer shook his head with a wry smile: "It was a mess at the time, and all kinds of voices filled my ears. Even if someone stood up, I couldn't hear anything. Really, you don't understand the situation at that time, really I don't understand!"

"What about Manager Guo? He didn't do anything?" Wang Zhaotang asked with the last glimmer of hope.

"Guo Daifeng?" The man with the scar face laughed: "Maybe he did something? But I really didn't hear anything, I didn't see anything! At that time, there was only one thought in our mind, that It's just how to save your own life!"

"Shut up!" Wang Zhaotang's patience finally reached its limit: "Have you forgotten who you are? You are the soldiers of Longyou Town in the Tang Dynasty? You should think about how to defeat the Tibetans, not how to save your life!"

The man with the scar face was not intimidated, he laughed: "Wang Sima, you don't understand the situation at that time! Really, we didn't even know where the Tubo people were at that time, so how could we fight them? There are people everywhere, You can’t tell whether it’s from Tubo or from our own people. People come in like a tide. You will either be trampled to death or follow the crowd. Do you think we ran away because we were afraid of death? What a joke!”

Wang Zhaotang opened his mouth and didn't speak. Beads of sweat oozed from his forehead and slid down his cheeks. He knew he must look funny, but he really didn't know what to say now.

The other man looked at Wang Zhaotang with pity, and said in a low voice: "Wang Sima, no matter what you do with us in the end, I am very grateful for letting us eat and change into new clothes. A word to you, the defeat is like a mountain." , everything is over, take the rest of the brothers and run! It is too late to save one more, and when the Tubo people gather around, it will be too late!"

　Thank you book friend Long Zhan Yuye, please live well,

　　
　
(End of this chapter)