My brother Ying Zheng, who dares to kill me?.

Chapter 740: In light of my death, I summon Wu Anjun back!

The soldiers under Hu Qiong's command stared blankly at the figure held high by Ying Chengjiao with a long spear.

They couldn't see the figure's appearance clearly, but they could recognize the armor that figure was wearing!

"Captain, died in battle?!"

"Comrades, avenge the captain!!!"

"Wu'an Jun was taken back to Handan City to be questioned, and my captain was killed in the battle. How can we fight this battle? How can we fight!"

Li Mu was recalled to Handan City for questioning, which had already caused the morale of the Zhao army to be low.

The disappearance of one of the two captains and the killing of the other dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Zhao army.

A few soldiers loyal to Hu Qiong rushed towards Ying Chengjiao without hesitation, trying to avenge Hu Qiong.

But more of Hu Qiong's soldiers either surrendered or fled!
In the center of the Zhao army, Zhao Cong's face turned pale: "How could this be!"

"How could this be so!"

"My order was indeed a little late, but it shouldn't have caused Hu Qiong's troops to suffer a great defeat!"

Isn't it normal to think for a long time when simulating a war?

I was just a little more thoughtful and issued the order a little late.

How come Huang Gao's troops failed to arrive at the designated location on time, resulting in Huang Gao's troops being blocked by Meng Tian's troops, which in turn led to the right wing of Hu Qiong's troops being left empty and being taken advantage of by Xi Feng's troops, ultimately leading to Hu Qiong being killed and Hu Qiong's troops being defeated?

Sima Shang's voice was filled with anxiety: "Commander, the past cannot be pursued!"

"What should our army do now? Please give us your instructions as soon as possible, Commander!"

Zhao Cong took a deep breath and asked solemnly, "How long will it take for the ambush troops around to reach the battlefield?"

Sima Shang said without hesitation: "It will take at least a day at the earliest!"

Li Mu never underestimated Ying Chengjiao.

Only by placing the ambush far enough away can they avoid the scouts under Ying Chengjiao's command.

With Li Mu using himself as bait, it would not be difficult for Li Mu to lead 120,000 soldiers and horses to hold out for two or three days. Even holding out for another half a month would be a piece of cake.

But what was a piece of cake for Li Mu was harder than climbing to the sky for Zhao Cong!

Zhao Cong's fingers trembled slightly: "One day?"

"The morale of the Qin army is high, while our army is low. Two of our troops have already been disbanded, which may cause the rest of our troops to disband as well!"

"Persist for one day..."

Hu Qiong and Ren You had nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses, but they were unable to stop the Qin army for an hour.

Now there are only 100,000 soldiers and horses left around Zhao Cong. Zhao Cong has no idea how he can hold on for a day and wait for the ambush to arrive!

Even if the ambush arrives, what can we do?
There were only 30,000 ambush troops, and they had come from a long distance. They were not enough to help Zhao Cong turn defeat into victory. They could only add more military merits to the Qin army!

Zhao Cong suddenly asked: "How long will it take for the Yuanbaoshan defenders to reach the battlefield?"

Sima Shang quickly replied: "It will take about six hours."

"Coach!"

"The enemy is right before our eyes. What should our army do? Please give us instructions immediately, Commander!"

From afar, Ying Chengjiao's troops were driving Hu Qiong's defeated troops towards the Zhao army's center.

And standing in front of the Zhao army's central army were only Sima Shang's troops!
Seeing that Zhao Cong was slow to issue orders and instead began to ponder again, Sima Shang, impatient, no longer cared about the hierarchy in the army and shouted, "We obey your orders!"

"Crossbowmen, move forward and shoot in three rounds!"

The sound of crossbow strings exploding resounded across the battlefield, and Sima Shang's crossbow soldiers fired a sky full of crossbow arrows in the direction of Ying Chengjiao.

Zhao Cong finally made up his mind and looked at Sima Shang with a serious face: "If I remember correctly, Commandant Sima has been following Wu Anjun for a long time?"

Sima Shang now wanted to draw his sword, turn around, and chop off Zhao Cong's head with one sword!

The enemy has already rushed to the front of our army and is about to attack our center.

As a result, as the commander-in-chief, instead of issuing any effective orders, you started chatting about family matters?
How long have I followed Wu Anjun? What does it have to do with this battle? ! !
Sima Shang shouted again: "Shield soldiers, move forward, and protect the spearmen!"

"Set up three more layers of gun forests on the left and right wings!"

Under Sima Shang's command, Sima Shang's troops turned into a hedgehog with spikes on three sides, and the crossbowmen in the middle were still constantly spitting out arrows.

While completely giving up the ability to move, the defense power was also raised to the limit!

Zhao Cong asked again: "Commander Sima Shang, how old have you been following Wu'an Jun?!"

Sima Shang had no choice but to turn his head and said in a cold and hard voice: "I have been serving under Lord Wu'an for twelve years!"

"I advise you to help us deal with the current situation. We are facing a powerful enemy. Even if you want to eliminate the dissidents, please help us solve the current problem first!"

In Sima Shang's view, Zhao Cong's persistence in asking Sima Shang how long he had followed Li Mu was obviously intended to suppress Li Mu's confidants, eliminate dissidents in the army, and thus completely control the army.

Sima Shang understood Zhao Cong's move.

Basically every general will do something similar when he first joins the army.

But Sima Shang couldn't understand why Zhao Cong did such a thing at such a critical moment!

Zhao Cong nodded slightly and said, "Since Commandant Sima has been serving under Lord Wu'an for twelve years, he must be Lord Wu'an's confidant."

Sima Shang's expression became increasingly cold: "That's right!"

"I am willing to die for Lord Wu'an!"

"If the commander-in-chief is dissatisfied with me, you can report to the king and order me to return to Handan City with Wu'an Jun to be punished!"

After saying this, Sima Shang simply stopped paying attention to Zhao Cong and focused on the current battle situation.

But what Sima Shang didn't expect was that Zhao Cong actually showed a relieved smile and said seriously: "In this case, I am relieved!"

"Pass on my order!" "Dispatch 50,000 troops to the command of Commandant Sima Shang, and order all the ambush troops around and the Yuanbao Mountain defenders to be incorporated into the command of Commandant Sima Shang."

"Order Commandant Sima Shang to lead the army eastward immediately!"

Sima Shang turned to look at Zhao Cong in disbelief: "Commander, what did you just say?!"

Previously, Sima Shang still suspected that Zhao Cong wanted to eliminate dissidents and suppress him.

As a result, Zhao Cong turned around and wanted to assign half of the army to Sima Shang, and even handed over 30,000 ambush troops and 20,000 Wanbaoshan defenders to Sima Shang!

If the troops were divided in this way, then who would be the commander-in-chief, Zhao Cong or Sima Shang? !

Zhao Cong looked at Sima Shang, his eyes full of sincerity: "I just gave the order."

"Pull out 50,000 soldiers from our army, along with the surrounding ambush troops and the Yuanbao Mountain garrison, and place them under the command of Commandant Sima."

"Order the Sima Duwei to advance eastwards!"

Sima Shang was so shocked that he could not express it in words. He bowed his hands helplessly and cautiously and said, "Qin Chang'an Jun is leading a large force to attack our army."

"The commander ordered me to lead the main force eastward?"

"What exactly do you want to do, Commander? Please tell me clearly!"

Is this a conspiracy?
This must be a conspiracy!
Zhao Cong turned his gaze to the large banner that was slowly but surely moving towards him, and said softly: "I know that I am unable to resist Qin Chang'an Jun."

"Originally, I wanted to use the power of Wu Anjun to delay the battle. It would be considered a success if I could delay the battle until Wu Anjun returned to the army."

"But now I know that I have overestimated my ability!"

With a soft sigh, Zhao Cong took out the tiger talisman that he had not yet warmed up from his arms.

After carefully stroking it for a while, Zhao Cong handed over the tiger talisman with both hands and said seriously: "According to the time, Wu Anjun hasn't gone far."

"I ask the Commandant Sima to lead the main force of our army to the east immediately to find Wu'an Jun, and ask Wu'an Jun to take charge of the tiger talisman immediately and command our army!"

Sima Shang was stunned when he saw the tiger talisman that Zhao Cong handed to him.

Not daring to take the tiger talisman, Sima Shang looked at Zhao Cong in a daze and said, "If the commander really has this intention, he can lead the army eastward in person and return the tiger talisman to Wu'an Jun."

"There is no need to entrust such an important weapon to me!"

Zhao Cong laughed and shook his head: "Are you guys fighting the Han just for the sake of fighting?"

"If I die in battle, there will be no general in the army. Even if Wu Anjun is guilty, he has reason to regain control of the tiger talisman."

"As long as Wu An Jun can turn defeat into victory, even the king will be unable to do anything to him!"

"But if I am still alive, even if I willingly return the tiger talisman to Wu Anjun, Wu Anjun will definitely be charged with disobeying orders."

"In this case, even if Wu Anjun was innocent originally, he is now guilty!"

Sima Shang's pupils suddenly shrank: "Commander, you..."

Zhao Cong raised his head and looked around, then smiled: "This place is a treasured place for burying bones."

"It's a pity that spring has just arrived and the grass and trees are still sprouting, not yet lush and green!"

Sima Shang finally understood Zhao Cong's idea.

Knowing that he was powerless to fight against Ying Chengjiao, Zhao Cong chose to use his death in exchange for Li Mu's return to command the army!

This is abdication at the cost of life!
Sima Shang's resistance to Zhao Cong instantly disappeared, and he hurriedly bowed and said, "I am willing to cover the retreat for the commander-in-chief!"

"Although I don't know what's going on in the court, I think that we are all fighting for the Great Zhao. The king will surely understand our loyalty and will find a way to deal with it!"

Zhao Cong patted Sima Shang on the shoulder and chuckled, "A general's flag is not enough to make our soldiers fight to the death."

"Only with the great banner here can our army be kept together!"

"Commander Sima, please do not disappoint this general's expectations and the trust of Lord Wu'an!"

Zhao Cong was well aware that the morale of the Zhao army had fallen to its lowest point.

The only reason they have not collapsed is because the big banner is still there.

Once Zhao Cong fled eastward, even if Sima Shang tried his best to suppress him, the remaining Zhao army would surely collapse quickly!
If the rear guard Zhao army collapsed quickly, the Qin army would certainly pursue and kill them. Even if Li Mu took control of the army again, he would not have time to reorganize and deploy the troops, and Zhao would still suffer a great defeat in the end.

At such a moment, the only person who can take on the task of covering the rear is Zhao Cong!

Taking the spear from the family soldier, Zhao Cong shouted: "Central troops, listen to my orders!"

"Divide into three parts: left, center, and right!"

"The left and right divisions will form a square formation to repel the enemy!"

"Central crossbowmen, listen up, target the enemy's main banner."

"Crossbow arrows diffuse!"

"Order the troops under Commander Huang Gao to withdraw and pursue the rear of Qin Chang'an Jun's troops!"

"Pass the order..."

Under Zhao Cong's command, the Zhao army was quickly adjusted into the standard enemy-blocking formation described in military books.

Riding his horse to the front of the middle, Zhao Cong raised his spear high and roared at the whole army:

"I am a descendant of the Zhao royal family, the commander of this army, General Cong!"

"My fellow soldiers, follow me and fight to the death!"

“No retreat!!!”

I can die!

Great Zhao cannot perish!

(End of this chapter)