Yinji breathed a sigh of relief: "In this way, the Wannian direction is temporarily safe."
Zhao Muyun stared at the map, her gaze sharp:
"The time is almost right. Yang Chao is already a trapped beast, and Wu Shangzhi is more than capable of handling him. Zhang Tao and Gao Min are suspicious and will not advance westward in the short term. The defenses of Xijing are basically secure. Now, we just need to wait for news!"
......
At dawn on the third day, a thin mist shrouded the foot of Qishan Mountain.
Yang Chao's remaining camp was like a candle flickering in the wind.
Two consecutive days of harassment left the soldiers with dark circles under their eyes, and their hands gripping their spears were trembling slightly.
When Wu Shangzhi's cavalry came into view for the third time, some soldiers began to sob quietly.
This time, Wu Shangzhi was no longer satisfied with merely harassing the periphery.
The six thousand cavalrymen were divided into three groups, like three sharp knives thrusting straight into the camp—the Qiang and Rong cavalry attacked the palisade from the east, the Wuhuan cavalry circled around to the north and set fire to the camp, while the Murong light cavalry patrolled the perimeter, shooting down any soldiers who tried to gather for a counterattack.
"Hold on! Form a circular formation!" Yang Chao roared, personally wielding his sword to oversee the battle.
But the collapse came faster than expected.
A stray arrow struck the central army flagpole, and the large flag embroidered with the character "Yang" fell askew.
This was an ordinary occurrence, but to the extremely exhausted soldiers, it became an ominous sign.
"The flag has fallen! The general has fallen!"
Someone shouted first, and panic spread like a plague.
The already strained defense line suddenly cracked.
Yang Hong, covered in blood, rushed to Yang Chao's side: "General! We can't hold on! These cavalrymen have doubled in number compared to yesterday! The mountain road to the south is also blocked!"
Yang Chao looked westward—and sure enough, banners could be vaguely seen fluttering in the morning mist, indicating that at least several thousand troops had blocked the route to Qishan.
What about the east?
"The east side is all plains, and there are even more cavalry there..."
Yang Chao's heart sank to the bottom.
They were blocked in front, pursued from behind, and surrounded by enemies on all sides.
"General!" Yang Hong lowered his voice, a resolute glint in his eyes, "I will lead my personal guards in a feigned attack to the south to draw the enemy's attention."
"Change into ordinary soldier's armor and enter the mountains via the hunter's path in the southeast corner! Once you're in Qishan, their cavalry won't be able to catch up!"
"No!" Yang Chao refused resolutely. "How can I abandon my soldiers and flee for my life?"
"This is not about running for your life!" Yang Hong said urgently. "As long as you return to Jiannan alive, we can rebuild our strength! If you are killed in battle or captured, the Jiannan army will truly be finished! The Yang family will truly be finished!"
That last sentence struck Yang Chao where it hurt.
He recalled his uncle Yang Yan's instructions, the foundation of Jiannan Road, and the army he had painstakingly built up over the past year...
"Walk!"
Without a word, Yang Hong ordered two of his personal guards to forcibly remove Yang Chao's armor and put him in a set of ordinary military uniforms covered in mud. "Quick! Take advantage of the chaos now!"
Yang Chao gritted his teeth, took one last look at the soldiers who were fighting fiercely, and then turned and crawled into the tent that had not yet caught fire.
Yang Hong took a deep breath, raised his sword, and shouted, "My comrades! Follow me and fight your way out! Break through to the south!"
He led his remaining hundred or so personal guards in a sudden, desperate charge towards the weakest point of the cavalry on the south side.
This move indeed attracted the attention of a large number of cavalry. Wu Shangzhi waved his command flag, and the three groups of cavalry began to converge on the south.
Under the cover of this chaos, Yang Chao, along with three of his most loyal guards, crept along the shadows of the camp's edge toward the little-known hunter's path in the southwest corner.
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