Chapter 59 Sneak Attack
Although it is a bit sensational, Fei Ju's analysis is correct. Judging from the performance of the Songming City defenders in today's battle, the generals of the Songming defenders are also capable.
If Fu Youde were to defend the city, he would definitely deploy a large army outside the city as support. After all, Fu Youde had witnessed the range and power of the crossbows in Songming City.
If the troops stationed outside Songming City attacked the Ming army camp under cover of darkness, even with the highest level of vigilance, they would still suffer considerable losses. The morale of the Ming army was currently at its lowest point, and if they were attacked at night, the consequences would be…
Zhu Di was the first to react and bowed to Fu Youde, "General Fu, what the Pingliang Marquis said is very true. Our army has come from afar and has not yet established a firm foothold. I am afraid it is not appropriate to set up camp in Songming."
"Yes, yes." Zhu Su also echoed, "General, I also think it's unsafe to camp here. It's better to break camp immediately and head to Qujing."
The two princes and a marquis said that they wanted to break camp and retreat immediately. No matter how good-tempered Fu Youde was, he couldn't hold back.
Why didn't you tell me before we set up camp? Now it's almost dark outside. Only a fool would break camp and run away in the middle of the night. Wouldn't that make you a target for others to kill?
Fu Youde certainly knew that the Ming army had come from afar and was fighting on the enemy's home turf. The situation was very unfavorable to him. If he camped here, he would most likely be harassed and attacked by the enemy, or even have his camp raided.
But if he were to walk at night and flee to Qujing with a torch, if Zhu Yuanzhang knew about it, he would not forgive him. He would then accuse him of "insulting the prestige of the Ming army and being afraid of the enemy like a tiger", and he would be in great trouble.
But he couldn't ignore the words of the two princes and the marquis, so after thinking about it, Fu Youde could only say this.
"It's already late today. If we move camp now, we'll be ambushed. Lord Pingliang, you're familiar with this area, so you'll personally lead your scouts to search the area within twenty miles of the main camp. If you encounter an attack, signal the main camp immediately."
"Your Highness, Prince Zhou, I would like to ask you to personally take charge of the hidden stakes and garrisons near the main camp. I believe that with the two of you personally dispatched, our main camp will be impregnable and the enemy will not dare to approach."
After hearing Fu Youde's instructions, Fei Ju and Prince of Zhou Zhu Su almost cursed out loud, and Zhu Di's face also looked ugly.
On the surface, Fu Youde's move seemed to have made perfect arrangements for the camp's defense without any omissions, but the key was his method and choice of personnel, which is worth pondering.
Fei Ju was familiar with the area around Songming, so was Mu Ying not familiar with it? Before this, Mu Ying was Fei Ju's immediate superior. Why did Fu Youde send Fei Ju but not Mu Ying? Isn't this worth wondering?
Especially when Mu Ying had just suffered a defeat today and urgently needed merit to atone for his sins, Fu Youde didn't even give him a chance and even deliberately made things difficult for him before. It was hard for Mu Ying not to wonder whether there was something fishy going on between Fu Youde and Fei Ju against him.
Then let King Zhou Zhu Su take charge of the defense of the camp tonight, which is also very intriguing.
Compared with King Zhou and King Yan, it is obvious that King Yan is more knowledgeable about military affairs, but Fu Youde chose to use King Zhou to manage the defense of the camp. What does this indicate?
He did this on purpose to make King Zhou at a loss. As King Zhou's brother, King Yan naturally could not sit idly by. So the two princes and Fei Ju were all plotted against by him, and Mu Ying was also implicated.
How could such a method that kills two birds with one stone not make Zhu Di and others wary?
However, just as everyone had gloomy faces and reluctantly agreed to Fu Youde's military order, a noise was heard outside the big tent, followed by a shrill voice, which sounded outside the general's tent.
"General, something terrible has happened! People from Songming City have broken into our camp!"
"What?" In the commander's tent, Fu Youde widened his eyes in shock, his face full of disbelief.
It is true that as soon as you mention Cao Cao, he will appear. Just when we mentioned the issue of camp defense, the defenders of Songming came directly to attack!
"Blow the horn, and the entire army will move closer to the commander's tent!" Fu Youde is a veteran of the battlefield after all, and he has a strong ability to respond to emergencies, so he made a decision immediately.
The central army cannot afford to lose. As long as the commander's tent is still there, no matter how many enemies come, they will not be able to shake him at all.
You have to know that the troops guarding the central army are 200,000 troops from the Beijing Camp. They are the most elite troops of the Ming Dynasty, without a doubt. They are definitely not comparable to the people Mu Ying sent out today.
However, when Fu Youde and others left the general's tent and prepared to investigate the enemy situation, something strange happened.
"Enemy attack, raise your shields, be careful of rockets!" Fei Ju shouted loudly and pulled back King Zhou Zhu Su, who had just walked out of the general's tent.
Fu Youde, Zhu Di and others looked up in surprise when they heard the sound. Their eyes suddenly dilated and they saw a sky full of burning arrows pouring towards the Ming army camp.
"Protect the Marshal, protect the prince..."
Seeing the rain of arrows, the soldiers guarding near the general's tent were instantly scared out of their wits. Fu Youde and Zhu Di's personal guards were even more panicked.
But after a brief panic, someone immediately raised a giant shield to block Fu Youde and others behind the shield, and then formed a shield formation as quickly as possible to protect them as they entered a safe area.
But the other generals who had no personal guards to protect them suffered greatly. As arrows rained down, screams were heard from all directions. When Songming's unique explosive arrows and crossbows also fell into the Ming army camp, the Ming army camp fell into complete chaos.
Explosions, the sounds of clashing weapons, screams, the crackling of flames, and countless other sounds echoed one after another in the Ming army camp, and the appearance of each of these sounds meant that countless people had died.
The Ming army soldiers in the camp were like headless flies. Facing the arrows falling like rain, most of them had almost no defenses and could only run frantically, looking for a place to shelter them.
But most people basically fell down while running, and many people were nailed to the ground by arrows or blown to pieces by exploding arrows before they could even react.
"Come closer, come closer to me, come, gather the cavalry, charge out, charge out..."
Fu Youde roared angrily behind the shield formation. He tried several times to break out of the shield formation and organize a counterattack, but was stopped by his loyal guards.
In the eyes of the personal guards, Fu Youde's behavior was tantamount to suicide. If he went out now, he would be exposed to the rain of arrows and die. If Fu Youde died, these personal guards would definitely be held accountable and beheaded.
So Fu Youde wanted to turn the tide, but he was helpless and could only watch as a large number of Ming soldiers fell howling in the rain of arrows.
In fact, most of these Ming soldiers did not need to die, but when the camp was attacked just now, Fu Youde issued a military order, asking the army to move closer to the central army. It was this order that caused countless Ming soldiers to fall to the ground.
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