Chapter 212: Have They Really Retreated?

"What is going on?" Mule Hongzhen looked toward the formation of Servant Soldiers with eyes like a hawk.

"Cough, cough, Khan, they have been frightened out of their wits," Boketie said softly.

Mule Hongzhen frowned, "Supervision Team!"

He gave a low shout.

Mule Hongzhen's meaning could not have been clearer; the Supervision Team soldiers immediately stepped forward, and the clamoring Servant Soldiers instantly fell under their Curved Blades.

Seeing their companions die, the hearts of the Servant Soldiers immediately rose in their throats.

At this moment, the Supervision Team urged the Servant Soldiers forward.

The Northern Di grand army simultaneously moved forward slowly, returning once again to a position four hundred meters from Yanguan.

However, to avoid being targeted, both Mule Hongzhen and Boketie had changed into the clothes of ordinary soldiers.

……

Yanguan.

After resting for two days, the tension on the city walls rose once again.

Zhao Xu ascended the city wall, his expression grave.

For these two days, the Northern Di grand army had been stationed five miles away, so he and the Prince's Personal Army dared not leave Yanguan.

They were worried that the Northern Di would make a comeback.

Besides this, Zhong Li had returned to Yanguan leading the Light Cavalry.

After the Yuan Family was defeated, he had pursued and killed them along the way, capturing a large number of the Yuan Family's routed soldiers.

However, he had been forced to stop upon reaching Fanyang.

Yuan Li had fled into Fanyang City and closed the gates, refusing to come out.

Thus, Zhong Li immediately came to report this news to him.

"The Northern Di still refuse to give up," Mo Yu said, knitting his brows.

Over these two days, he had tallied the casualties at Yanguan.

At the Nanmen, over eighteen thousand soldiers had been killed and over twenty thousand wounded, while at the North Gate, over thirty thousand had been killed and over forty thousand wounded.

Of the one hundred and sixty thousand Yan Pass Imperial Guard, only sixty to seventy thousand remained capable of continuing to fight.

And after counting, the Yuan Family had suffered over thirty thousand dead and over forty thousand wounded at the Nanmen.

These wounded soldiers had all been taken into custody by them.

"Then we shall fight to the death!" Chang Wei slapped the city wall, "If they want to enter the pass, it will only be over my dead body."

While everyone was speaking, the Northern Di Servant Soldiers drew closer and closer.

When they reached the foot of the city, the sound of Artillery rose once again.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Accompanied by a series of deafening roars, more than half of the Northern Di Servant Soldiers immediately fell.

However, to the surprise of Zhao Xu and the others.

This time, the Servant Soldiers did not persist in climbing the city walls; instead, as soon as casualties appeared, they retreated in large numbers.

Seeing this, Chang Wei immediately ordered them to switch to Solid Shot and bombard the Northern Di formation wildly.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

In the Northern Di formation, Mule Hongzhen saw with his own eyes black afterimages fly into the ranks, followed by the miserable wails of soldiers and a spray of blood.

The closest iron ball whizzed past just five meters away from him.

He saw with his own eyes soldiers being smashed into mangled flesh and bone.

Even though he was accustomed to the cruelty of the battlefield, he was still shaken to his core by this highly efficient killing weapon.

With this kind of defensive artillery present, he believed that even if he could take Yanguan, he feared the soldiers of these four royal tents would be nearly wiped out.

Thus, he said to Boketie: "Order the retreat!"

"Yes,

Khan." Boketie immediately had the soldiers blow the horns.

The Northern Di grand army changed direction and retreated once again.

But this time, they did not retreat to five miles away, but headed straight north, disappearing on the horizon.

Yanguan.

Zhao Xu and the generals were stunned for a long while; Chang Wei scratched his head, "Your Highness, what is going on with these Northern Di? Why did they run away after just throwing away a few lives?"

Mo Yu also looked completely bewildered, "What kind of medicine is sold in the Northern Di's gourd? Could there be a greater conspiracy?"

"Hahaha, you are overthinking it. In my opinion, they were just scared out of their wits," Lv Chang laughed loudly.

The generals looked at one another, all of them puzzled.

Zhao Xu said: "Immediately send out Scouts to see if they are truly retreating or just feigning it."

Mo Yu received the order and left.

Before long, the Yanguan city gates were opened, and a team of Scouts crossed the battlefield stained red with blood and headed north.

Half a day later, the Scouts returned with news.

The Northern Di had continued heading north; it seemed they had truly retreated.

"The others are still following the Northern Di, continuing to monitor their movements," the Scout said.

Upon receiving this news, the Yanguan generals all breathed a sigh of relief; now they could rest easy.

"Mo Yu, since you are currently the acting Main General of Yanguan, you shall be responsible for the placement of the wounded soldiers in Yanguan, and at the same time, clear the battlefield," Zhao Xu said.

The current battlefield was still a mess; the North Gate was covered in the corpses of Northern Di, and the wounded Yanguan soldiers had only been simply settled within the city.

After all, the fighting had been intense, and there had been no way to attend to them.

Besides this, there were also the corpses of the Yuan Family soldiers at the Nanmen.

These corpses were likewise strewn across the wilderness.

Fortunately, it was the dead of winter, otherwise these corpses would have long since rotted.

"Yes, Your Highness." Mo Yu's expression darkened.

The living were immersed in the joy of victory, while the dead were dead forever.

Thinking of the many Yanguan generals and soldiers he knew who had died in battle, his eyes were red-rimmed.

Seeing Mo Yu like this, the Yanguan generals all lowered their heads.

They had held Yanguan, but at the same time, they had paid a tremendous price; thirty percent of the Yanguan soldiers had died on the battlefield.

They were all living, breathing people.

Thinking of this, a deep hatred for the Northern Di surged in their hearts.

If this enemy is not destroyed, the Great Song will never have a peaceful day.

Just as they were discussing post-war matters, a sound of hoofbeats rang out.

Xu Ke was seen rushing up the city wall with a panicked look on his face.

Kneeling before Zhao Xu, Xu Ke said sorrowfully, "Your Highness, Yancheng is in danger!"

"What is going on?" A sudden sense of unease rose in Zhao Xu's heart.

Xu Ke said, "Since Your Highness left for Yanguan, the Rich Clans of the five commanderies have gathered troops to rebel. They are burning, killing, and looting everywhere in Yanzhou, and have led their troops into Shanggu Commandery and Yan Commandery to slaughter the commoners. Although the people of the two commanderies resisted with all their might, they were ultimately no match for the enemy's superior numbers and strength, suffering defeat after defeat. Now, they have even surrounded Yancheng and have been attacking for several days."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu's heart sank, "Why did you not come to report sooner?"

"Tutor Liu said that Yanguan is of great importance and must not distract Your Highness. If Yancheng falls, only one city is lost, but if Yanguan falls, the entire game is lost. Seeing that Yancheng was in danger, this subordinate lowered myself from the city wall under the cover of night to come and find Your Highness," Xu Ke said sorrowfully.

Hearing this, Mo Yu said, "Your Highness, the Northern Di army has now retreated. We must immediately purge the remnants of the Yuan Family in Yanzhou. This can be left to this subordinate."

"Your Highness, Mo Yu is right. The foreign enemy has retreated, and the most urgent matter now is Yanzhou. We should take this opportunity to purge the Yanzhou Rich Clans once and for all. Furthermore, Yuan Li is still in Fanyang; we cannot let him find another chance to stir up trouble."

Zhao Xu nodded.

The Northern Di had likely retreated; the feint was a ruse to retreat and then attack again, but the Northern Di had retreated too far, giving them ample time to prepare.

Now, just as Mo Yu and Chang Wei said, they must immediately quell the internal rebellion.

Otherwise, his fief would suffer tremendous losses.

"Take twenty pieces of Field Artillery, and leave the other Artillery at Yanguan to prepare for the unexpected. The Prince's Personal Army will split into two routes: one will follow this Prince to support Yancheng, and the other will march to Fanyang to surround it without attacking, waiting for the two armies to rendezvous before deciding on the next move," Zhao Xu said.

"Yes, Your Highness," the generals of the Prince's Personal Army replied in unison.

Nodding, Zhao Xu took ten pieces of Field Artillery, ten thousand Infantry, Chen Hu's Heavy Cavalry, and Zhong Li's Light Cavalry and headed toward Yancheng.

The rest were left to Commander Chang Wei to lead toward Fanyang.

To him, these private soldiers of the Rich Clans were nothing more than a rabble.

The troops he led were more than enough.