After a brief moment of deliberation, seeing Jin Ye leading his troops in a panicked retreat, the commander of this army made the same decision as Jin Ye.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"Go back!! The rebels are attacking!!!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
The roar echoed through the army, and the messengers shouted along. The sound carried further and further until everyone in the army learned about the situation at the front.
The rebel army has breached Zhongnan Pass and is now launching a full-scale attack.
Meanwhile, the imperial troops that rushed to Zhongnanguan to provide support were utterly defeated and returned home.
Moreover, the number of rebel troops that entered the pass was probably countless, and in their panic, morale was thrown into chaos.
Without pausing for a moment, the army immediately turned around and fled back.
Li Jing's pursuit continued.
Although these so-called "reinforcements" are running away faster than ever, fleeing before even engaging in battle, we cannot stop; we must continue the pursuit.
This is what is meant by "military strength".
The fall of Zhongnan Pass signaled a rout to the imperial reinforcements.
Therefore, even though Li Jing didn't have many troops at the moment, such a strong signal scared away the reinforcements that were coming.
As the saying goes, a collapse can be swift and devastating. If the troops at the rear cannot obtain useful intelligence, they will simply flee along with the routed soldiers.
Therefore, in the following days, the troops that arrived one after another inevitably fell into panic upon seeing such a large number of defeated soldiers.
More and more soldiers were fleeing; they had already given up hope before even reaching the battlefield.
Their hasty arrival and hasty retreat left everyone in the army feeling not only disheartened but also filled with immense despair.
It seems that the rebels are invincible and have won every battle.
"The world is really about to change! There's nothing we can do to reverse it!"
Among the group of fleeing soldiers furthest from Li Jing's pursuit, an old soldier sighed softly.
A tall, young soldier beside him, with a stern face, immediately retorted:
"No, there's still a chance!"
"We don't have many troops, and they are from multiple armies, which is why we can't unite them to fight the rebels!"
Upon hearing this, the slightly overweight veteran glanced at him and said coldly:
"You still don't understand? It's over!"
"They're all running away, how can we fight?"
The man immediately retorted, "Nonsense!"
"It's just that the rebels came too fast. We suddenly encountered them on the road, and we had all rushed here, so we couldn't defeat them."
"If we find a good location and deploy reasonable tactics, we might be able to put up a fight against the rebels!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a short, stocky soldier walked up beside him, a look of disdain on his tired face:
"Tactics? There are no tactics whatsoever!"
"Several generals fled with us; which one of them can devise any tactics?"
The tall soldier frowned and immediately said:
"I know we're all on the run right now, and it's inevitable that we're all feeling panicked, but I still hope everyone can stay strong!"
"There's still a chance! General Zhenguo won't just watch his army march into Jinling; he must have a plan!"
"Didn't we get news that General Zhenguo has already deployed troops in Huichang? He'll definitely lead us to victory!"
Even after he finished speaking, the slightly overweight veteran kept muttering to himself:
"It's over."
"It's over...no chance left..."
Seeing his dejected state and hearing his words of frustration, the tall soldier's face darkened with anger, and he immediately spoke in a loud voice:
"Don't say things like that again!"
"Trust General Zhenguo! He can lead us to victory against the rebels!"
The old soldier fell silent; he decided not to argue with the hot-blooded, tall young soldier.
But at that moment, another face appeared beside the two men. It was a handsome middle-aged soldier who looked at the tall soldier and said:
"So many generals led troops to suppress the rebels, and after so many battles, they all lost without exception."
"Can General Zhenguo lead us to victory against the rebels in the next battle? It's going to be difficult."
"You..." The tall soldier was speechless for a moment, and could only glare at him angrily.
Fortunately, some people spoke up for him, and someone said:
"The General Who Protects the Nation is no ordinary man. He has fought on the battlefield for many years and has never tasted defeat."
"Although we have suffered a crushing defeat, as long as General Zhenguo is still alive, there is always hope of victory!"
"I believe he can turn the tide of the battle and lead us to victory!"
Upon hearing this, the old soldier couldn't help but say:
"Wasn't there a victorious general in the army before? He was..." He scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then continued:
"That's Huang Tianhu, the youngest son of the former General Zhenguo. I don't think he ever lost a single battle."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the handsome middle-aged soldier taunted:
"Having suffered defeats."
"He lost a battle in the Beiku Grassland before, so this is the only one he lost."
"Later, Hu Ma, who killed the ever-victorious general, was also wiped out by the rebels."
These sarcastic remarks were too much for the tall soldier to bear, and he flew into a rage, immediately rebuking them:
"Shut up! Don't say such things here!"
"It's demoralizing the troops! Everyone's lost their will to fight!"
"This can't go on! We've already lost before we even started!"
The man continued, "Really? We started running away before we even fought."
"Young man, you have a very shallow view."
"Go to hell!" The tall soldier, his face flushed, threw a punch.
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