Chapter 355

Under the walls of Anqing City.

"Regional Commander, scouts just sent news that a rebel force launched a night raid on the Regiment Army camp."

Upon receiving this news, Qin Qin Tianrui frowned.

In recent days, he had been closely monitoring the rebels' movements.

There were no signs of rebel reinforcements in the nearby prefectures.

Logically speaking, the second and third-line troops left to guard the local areas did not have the ability to launch a night raid.

But reality told him that an elite enemy force had secretly lurked over and was nearby.

"Pass the order: have the soldiers on night duty strengthen their guard and strictly prevent an enemy sneak attack."

After a moment of thought, Qin Qin Tianrui decisively issued the order.

He couldn't help the Regiment Army when they were attacked.

Going out to reinforce in the pitch black would just be adding to the chaos.

Since the enemy chose to raid the Regiment Army at night, they might have arrangements on the way, just waiting for them to take the bait.

Anyway, the Regiment Army had many troops; even if they suffered a loss, it wasn't a big deal.

"Marquis, the Jiangxi troops have no movement; let's join the battle against the Regiment Army together!"

In the dark night, Fang Wan Yuxuan, who had been feeding mosquitoes for half the night while lying in ambush on both sides of the official road, finally received the news.

He originally wanted to use the night raid to lure out Qin Qin Tianrui's Jiangxi First Town and ambush them with the help of the night.

Unfortunately, the other side was more cautious than he expected and didn't fall for it at all.

For the Wu State, wiping out an official Yu Dynasty town was much more valuable than eating a few tens of thousands of Regiment Army troops.

In past great wars, the Regiment Army led by Bai Jing Yifeng was either losing battles or on the way to losing battles.

Only when the situation was favorable could they occasionally win one or two battles.

Being able to live freely until now was not because the Regiment Army was powerful, but purely because they ran fast.

This was the benefit of non-regular troops; they had no obligation to live and die with the city.

They didn't take the court's pay, and if they found the situation bad, they could run.

Losing a city or territory had nothing to do with Bai Jing Yifeng, this miscellaneous Minister of Training.

"Forget it!"

"The pseudo-dynasty is best at infighting; seeing death and not saving is the norm, let alone at night when the situation is unclear.

Pass the order: we will also join the battle against the Regiment Army and strive to capture that butcher Bai Jing Yifeng alive."

Fang Wan Yuxuan ordered with slight helplessness.

After missing this opportunity, both sides could only clash head-on later.

Although he had over one hundred thousand troops available this time, for the sake of secrecy, the vanguard force was only ten thousand.

With just the troops on hand, the odds of winning in a frontal battle were truly not high.

Theoretically, the garrison in Anqing City would cooperate with him, but the problem was that Fang Wan Yuxuan didn't dare to let the garrison leave the city to participate in the battle.

If the enemy had a conspiracy and took Anqing in the process, it would be all over.

Regiment Army camp.

"Big Brother... the enemy... the enemy reinforcements have arrived!"

Hearing this news, Bai Jing Yifeng's expression dimmed.

Being able to hold on until now was mainly because he sent out his personal guards to block the rebel's momentum.

At this time, there were enemies on all sides, which was undoubtedly fatal for the Regiment Army with low morale.

Seeing that things were not going well, the Regiment Army's old tradition began to take effect, and some generals directly took their troops and ran.

"Retreat!"

Bai Jing Yifeng ordered coldly.

As a long-distance runner, he had a keen sense of danger.

No one came out to dissuade him; if you can't win, run—this was the Regiment Army's old tradition.

Everyone from top to bottom had rich experience in running away; those who reacted slowly had long since become souls under the rebel's blades.

The sky gradually brightened, and the bloody battle gradually drew to a close.

"Marquis, the results of last night were significant; at least ten thousand enemy troops were annihilated.

Unfortunately, we didn't find the butcher Bai's corpse, and we didn't keep any of the Regiment Army's high-level officials."

Zeng Zeng Haochuan said indignantly.

The Regiment Army was easy to fight but hard to annihilate.

In the past few years, the righteous army had defeated the Regiment Army many times, once beating Bai Jing Yifeng until only dozens of personal guards remained by his side.

Unfortunately, no matter how they fought, this guy could always save his life from the righteous army and then gather the scattered old troops to reorganize.

"That guy is like a loach, always slippery; it's normal not to be able to catch him.

Pass the order: quickly clean up the battlefield and withdraw from here!"

Fang Wan Yuxuan ordered with an expressionless face.

Clearly, he was not satisfied with the results of last night.

Although they successfully severely damaged the Regiment Army, their own losses were also over a thousand men, all of whom were elites.

The entire Wu State had only a few tens of thousands of people in total, far from what ordinary armies could compare to.

The expected combat goals were not fully realized, and the troops were exposed.

Knowing of their existence, the enemy would certainly be on guard.

The advantage of surprise was gone, and they would have to compete with the enemy in hard power in the sunlight later.

After fleeing for dozens of miles with his team and confirming there were no pursuers, Bai Jing Yifeng breathed a slight sigh of relief.

When he came to his senses and counted the team, Bai Jing Yifeng was almost angered to the point of fainting.

Yesterday there were a full forty thousand Regiment Army troops; now, only a thousand or so were following him.

Although most of the Regiment Army had only routed and could be gathered again, that required the enemy to give them a chance.

In this military operation, they had penetrated deep alone, and the battlefield was on the rebel's turf.

"Big Brother, Bai Wenyi didn't follow; I sent people to search the vicinity, but found no trace.

Why don't we..."

Before Bai Bai Yihao could finish, Bai Jing Yifeng waved his hand to interrupt.

"Searching for Bai Wenyi, let's put it aside for now!

Immediately gather the routed soldiers; since the enemy has made a move, they won't easily let us go.

If we react slowly, this will be our burial ground."

Bai Jing Yifeng decisively made the decision.

His son was missing, and he was also very worried, but for a commander, the greatest taboo is being soft-hearted.

Although he was not a qualified commander, he had read no shortage of military books on this aspect.

After fighting the rebels for a few years, he had long since trained a heart of iron.

"Big Brother, why don't we ask Regional Commander Qin for help?"

Bai Bai Yihao couldn't help but suggest.

Not to mention the losses in the great battle last night, even his own nephew was lost.

Under such circumstances, the first thing to consider is survival.

Penetrating deep behind enemy lines, for over a hundred miles, the only friendly force was Qin Qin Tianrui's unit.

Facing the only object of rescue, when you need to bow your head, you must bow your head.

"Too late!

If we had arrived on time to meet with Qin Qin Tianrui as agreed, asking for help naturally wouldn't count for anything.

Alas, we were arrogant before and deliberately delayed the marching speed, offending people.

Among the many imperial armies, the troops brought out by the Marquis of Marquis Hanshui had the strictest discipline.

According to military law, those who miss the deadline are beheaded.

Asking for help at this time, it's likely Qin Qin Tianrui will directly cut off our heads to strictly enforce military discipline."

Bai Jing Yifeng said with a look of helplessness.

There were too many people who wanted him dead; without a large army by his side, it was very dangerous.

Cutting off his head could not only strictly enforce military discipline but also harvest a wave of favor.

Involving his own life, he didn't dare to bet on Qin Qin Tianrui's integrity.

The Regiment Army high-level officials were worried, and Qin Qin Tianrui, who received the battle report, also secretly complained.

Even if he had no expectations for the Regiment Army, it was still a forty thousand-strong army that could play an important role in the siege battle.

As a result, they collapsed before reaching the battlefield.

Without allies to help, wanting to take Anqing with just the Jiangxi First Town was truly too difficult.

"Has the news been verified?"

"Did the butcher Bai really suffer a major defeat, or did he deliberately fake the losses to avoid the battle?"

Qin Qin Tianrui asked suspiciously.

A night raid wants to succeed, which tests operation very much.

First, you must be strong enough; second, the enemy must be unprepared; both are indispensable.

Encountering an experienced enemy general, a night raid is hard to succeed.

Although Bai Jing Yifeng had no bright battle achievements, he had fought for a few years, so he should have accumulated some experience.

"Regional Commander, judging from the number of corpses left on the battlefield, the Regiment Army's casualties are over ten thousand; it cannot be a show."

The young general's answer directly extinguished Qin Qin Tianrui's last bit of luck.

A bitter-meat trick isn't performed like this either.

With the Regiment Army's comprehensive quality, it would be a ghost if they didn't collapse after ten thousand casualties.

The battlefield was chaotic, and whether Bai Jing Yifeng was still alive was an unknown.

"Pass the order: the whole army packs up and marches toward Luzhou Prefecture!"

Realizing the plan to seize Anqing had failed, Qin Qin Tianrui decisively chose to slip away.

Since the rebels ambushed the Regiment Army halfway, it meant the enemy was prepared.

At this time, wanting to withdraw to Nanchang Prefecture smoothly would inevitably be met with layers of interception by the enemy.

His mission this time was to mobilize the enemy, not to clash head-on with the enemy, so he naturally had to avoid their sharpness.

Anyway, it was a retreat; taking a detour through Luzhou Prefecture to Huguang would be the same, and who knows, if he was lucky, he could kill two birds with one stone and take Luzhou Prefecture in the process.

The army hadn't finished assembling, and the enemy had run away first, making Fang Wan Yuxuan so angry he had nowhere to vent.

Pursuit was impossible.

Having just fought a battle with the Regiment Army, the Wu Army had paid a significant price.

Besides casualties on the battlefield, there were non-combat reductions caused by the night forced march.

Rushing up at this time, his few thousand soldiers were not enough for the enemy to fight.

"Immediately send someone to notify the garrison general of Luzhou to heighten his vigilance and strictly prevent the enemy from stealing the city."

Fang Wan Yuxuan suppressed his anger and issued the order.

Although Luzhou Prefecture's strategic value was high, it was not the main battlefield, and there were not many garrison troops there.

If the city were stolen by the enemy, it would be a big trouble.

The Liaodong army's fierce attack on Xuzhou didn't mean they could only fight Xuzhou.

Once they turned their guns here to meet, the situation in the Jianghuai region would be completely out of control.

With Luzhou Prefecture as a springboard, Anqing, Yangzhou, and other places were all exposed to the imperial army's blades.

Since ancient times, guarding the river meant guarding the Two Huai; losing the Jianghuai region made Nanjing precarious.

Whether from a political or military perspective, the Wu State could not abandon Luzhou Prefecture.

"Marquis, you don't need to worry too much.

Luzhou's city walls are solid; even if the enemy has ideas, it will be hard for them to succeed for a while.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, why don't we wipe out the butcher Bai's remnants first to make the battle results look better.

It won't be too late to pursue the enemy after ending the battle here."

Yuan Yuan Baifeng advised tactfully.

The enemy's sudden run away completely exceeded their expectations, making it impossible to unfold subsequent plans.

Fortunately, they had crippled the Regiment Army, saving a bit of face; otherwise, they wouldn't know how to report back.

"Hmm!"

"Pass the order: go all out to wipe out the Regiment Army remnants."

Fang Wan Yuxuan, who had regained his rationality, issued the order again.

If you can't catch the big fish, you must eat more small fish.

Through severed heads, it was impossible to judge the difference between the Regiment Army and the Yu Dynasty's regular army.

When filling out the battle report, slightly embellishing the data would make it a great victory.

However, this required killing more Regiment Army soldiers to make the report more realistic.

If you couldn't gather enough heads, you could only kill commoners to fake merit.

The latter was a high-risk job.

The Wu State had only such a small territory; if they didn't manage it carefully, what would they use to fight the imperial army?

Nanchang City.

Without receiving a battle report for a long time, the atmosphere in the command center became increasingly grim.

The officials who originally opposed sending troops were also active at this time.

The art of language was utilized to the extreme by them, and various sarcastic remarks gave Li Mu quite a bit of insight.

"Viceroy Li, have you received any news from the Jiangxi First Town?"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang asked with concern.

Losing contact with a town of troops was a big deal.

He, the Viceroy who held military affairs for four provinces, had only eight towns of troops under his command.

Facing the various sarcasms of the civil officials below, as the Regional Commander of the army, he felt the pressure.

"I have not received news from the Jiangxi First Town, but there is news about the Regiment Army.

According to the routed soldiers captured, they encountered a rebel night raid on their way to meet at Anqing, and the Regiment Army was directly beaten apart.

Now the rebels are going all out to wipe out the Regiment Army remnants; if the news is true, the Regiment Army must have suffered heavy losses this time."

Li Mu replied calmly.

You must see the person if they are alive, and see the corpse if they are dead.

He had a rough idea of what kind of goods he had brought out.

Qin Qin Tianrui's ability was qualified, and serving as a Regional Commander was not a problem.

Even if he suffered a loss on the battlefield, he wouldn't be wiped out so quickly.

Sometimes no news is the best news.

If they had really won a great victory, the rebels would have publicized it widely; it wouldn't be easy to keep secrets for the enemy.

"Should we send reinforcements to meet them? In case they encounter the rebel main force, it would be good to have support."

Marquis Marquis Wuyang asked tentatively.

From Li Mu's calm expression, he read unusual information.

Intuition told him that Li Mu was calculating something again; otherwise, he wouldn't be so calm.

As a superior, he also wanted face and was truly embarrassed to ask directly.

"Viceroy, we don't even know where the First Town is now; even if we sent reinforcements, we wouldn't know where to find them.

It's better to wait a bit longer; maybe news will come in a few days.

In my humble opinion, the First Town is either continuing down the river to find battle opportunities or marching north to Luzhou."

Li Mu explained immediately.

Bearing the pressure of family revival, compared to most generals under his command, Qin Qin Tianrui had the greatest ambition.

Other generals encountering emergencies and unable to continue the mission would likely turn back directly.

When it came to Qin Qin Tianrui, his first reaction was always to turn the tide and take the opportunity to earn great merit.

The Regiment Army was defeated, and Anqing Prefecture couldn't be taken, so he would try to seize other strategic strongholds.

Regardless of whether he could succeed, he wouldn't be reconciled without trying hard to struggle.

To get back the family foundation, Qin Qin Tianrui was willing to take risks, and Li Mu naturally had to create opportunities for him.

War is something no one can say for sure.

Besides the wits and courage of both sides, it also depends on their luck.

(End of chapter)