Chapter 246 Traitors in Chaotic Times (Twenty-Two): How to Become a Super Strategist...
Upon learning that Meng Tianxi had led his 70,000-strong army to retreat and return to reinforce, Song Ce was not surprised at all. Now that Pingzhou City had changed hands, and the Meng family's army had been running back and forth, their morale was bound to be low, and their formation would be chaotic and difficult to maintain.
As expected, when the Meng family army turned around, their originally orderly formation quickly fell apart, especially the new recruits at the front. Most of them were peasants who couldn't even get enough to eat. Now, they were forced to be the vanguard, and they all turned pale and staggered.
In the ranks, a soldier dressed in coarse cloth licked his chapped lips and muttered, "They promised us food when they recruited us, but what about now? They're clearly sending us to our deaths..."
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp whip lashed across his back, causing him to wince in pain and fall silent.
Looking at the chaotic ranks ahead, Zhang Liuliang couldn't help but rein in his horse and admonished, "General, the morale of the new recruits is already low. If we continue to treat them so harshly, I fear a mutiny may break out!"
Meng Tianxi's eyes sharpened, and he was about to say something when a commotion suddenly arose not far away. Several new recruits threw down their weapons, exchanged glances, and ran into the woods by the roadside, shouting, "I quit! I quit!"
Seeing this, Meng Tianxi drew his sword from his waist and pointed it at the fleeing soldiers, shouting, "Shoot!"
The archers received the order and released the bowstrings, and countless arrows shot out in an instant!
The two new recruits who lagged behind fell to the ground with a thud. The remaining recruits, seeing this, trembled and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly: "General, General, spare our lives! Spare our lives!"
Meng Tianxi snorted coldly and casually waved his hand. Several new recruits who were begging for mercy were shot in the chest and died on the spot.
"If any more defectors appear, these will be the same fate as you!"
After this brief interlude, the army continued its march, but the atmosphere within the ranks grew increasingly oppressive.
The new recruits were so frightened that they all lowered their heads, their steps were heavy, and they didn't dare to say a word; while the veterans had lost their previous confidence and arrogance, and each of them had a solemn expression, for fear of displeasing their superiors.
Whether they can survive in peace after the next battle is an unknown.
After a day and a night of rapid march, Meng's army encountered Mu Anyong's 10,000-strong army in the narrow valley of Qingfeng Mountain, and the decisive battle broke out!
Following Song Ce's plan of feigning defeat, Mu Anyong lured Meng Tianxi to lead his army deep into enemy territory.
"General, don't pursue a desperate enemy; beware of traps!" Zhang Liuliang urged.
Normally, Meng Tianxi would have calmed down and thought things through carefully, but now that Heyang and Pingzhou had been occupied and Lu Ying had been captured alive, a ball of anger was burning in his heart, and he couldn't listen to any advice.
Meng Tianxi scrutinized his surroundings, then suddenly roared, "Song Ce! Stop hiding! I know you're here! Do you dare come out and fight me head-on?"
The narrow valley was quiet, without any response, except for Meng Tianxi's voice echoing faintly in the valley.
Just then, a deep horn sounded from Qingfeng Mountain, followed by countless rockets shooting out from both sides of the hillside, heading straight for the Meng family army!
"Oh no, an ambush! Quickly raise your shields!" Zhang Liuliang roared and was the first to raise his shield.
The soldiers who were nearby hurriedly raised their shields to defend themselves, but those who were far away were in trouble. Before they could raise their shields, they were hit by flaming arrows and fell to the ground, howling in pain.
The new recruits at the front were terrified and scattered in all directions, hiding wherever they could find shelter. The entire army was thrown into chaos in an instant.
"No retreat! Quickly! Form ranks!" Meng Tianxi brandished his sword, attempting to issue orders.
At this moment, the 70,000 Meng family troops were in complete chaos. The soldiers, whose morale was already low, were only concerned with dodging the rockets and had no time to obey their commander's orders.
On Qingfeng Mountain was Mu Anyong, who led the Dali army in an ambush, while on the outskirts of the valley, the general who led the army to join the attack was Tang Yuan!
Looking at the chaotic Meng family army below, Mu Anyong smiled with satisfaction. "Send down the order: put down the rolling stones and logs to cut off their retreat!"
"yes!"
Soon, countless stones and logs rolled down the hillside with tremendous roar, instantly cutting Meng's army into several sections. The soldiers behind could not advance, and the soldiers in front could not retreat, thus creating a stalemate.
With their only escape route cut off and unable to mount an effective resistance, Meng's army was trapped in place and forced to passively endure the attacks.
Meng Tianxi watched as his soldiers fell one after another, and his heart sank completely. Defeat was inevitable, but he hadn't lost to sheer numbers; he had lost because of his profound understanding and judgment of the timing, the terrain, and the hearts of the people!
Strategic deception, rapid maneuver, surprise attacks, catching the enemy off guard and attacking where they must defend, a perfect combination of pincer movement and terrain warfare, every step precisely strikes at his weaknesses.
"General! Let's retreat quickly! It will be too late if we don't leave now!" Zhang Liuliang grabbed Meng Tianxi's reins and said anxiously.
Meng Tianxi's hands trembled, his eyes filled with resentment and despair. He was unwilling to fail like this, but he also knew that if he didn't leave now, he might never be able to leave again.
"……withdraw!"
Meng Tianxi gritted his teeth and spat out a single word, then, with a few close confidants by his side, fled hastily towards the exit of the narrow valley.
Just as Mu Anyong was about to send men to pursue them, Tang Yuan, who had come to meet him, quickly stopped him and relayed the order: "The general has ordered us to clean up the battlefield, count the prisoners and spoils of war, and then you and I will go together to Pingzhou to garrison it!"
"What about Meng Tianxi? Did they just let him escape like that?"
"Don't worry, the general has a brilliant plan."
"..."
The narrow valley was in complete disarray. Mu Anyong and Tang Yuan first ordered the accompanying military doctors to treat the wounded soldiers, then count the prisoners and the corpses of the fallen soldiers, and finally gather the surrendered soldiers and count the food and weapons, leaving no useful supplies behind.
At this moment, the wounded Meng family soldiers lay on the ground, some groaning in pain, some with vacant eyes, and others sobbing, all displaying a sorrowful expression. Mu Anyong did not mistreat these Meng soldiers who had laid down their weapons and surrendered; he simply ordered them to be gathered together and kept under guard, awaiting further arrangements.
Meanwhile, Meng Tianxi and his confidants were fleeing in panic through the mountains. They dared not stop for a moment, fearing that the Dali army, whose morale was now high, would catch up with them. Only when their horses collapsed from exhaustion did he lead his men to rest briefly.
"General, where else can we go now?" a trusted aide asked, wiping his face with his sleeve.
Meng Tianxi chuckled self-deprecatingly and leaned against a large tree.
"Where to go? Pingzhou has been lost, and Heyang has been occupied by Song Ce. The only place we can go is the western part of Qinzhou."
He hadn't been unaware of the western part of Qin Prefecture, but it was constantly harassed by the Northern Yan, the land was barren, and the people were displaced, making it far less important than Ping Prefecture and Heyang. But now, he had nowhere else to go but western Qin Prefecture.
Thinking of this, Meng Tianxi felt a pang of pain in his heart. His hard-earned foundation, built over many years, had been destroyed in an instant! If the day came, he would surely rebuild the Meng army and fight the Dali army once more!
"But, but the Qinxi region borders the Northern Yan. In recent years, the Yan army's iron cavalry has been constantly expanding towards Qinzhou. If we go to surrender now, then... then we will definitely not be valued by the Yan army!"
"Whether we're promoted or not, do we even have time to care?" Meng Tianxi said in a hoarse voice, "We need to figure out how to survive first, then we'll have a chance to start over!"
Upon hearing this, all the trusted confidants fell silent. The general was right; it was already a stroke of luck to have their lives saved. When did it become their place to be picky?
"Yes, General."
After hiding in the mountains for several days with his confidants, Meng Tianxi led the remaining men and sped towards Leixu City, the westernmost city in Qin territory, once he was sure there were no more pursuers behind him.
The group had been traveling for almost half a month, and the once pampered confidants were now all disheveled and looked utterly dejected, their former prestige and arrogance gone.
"General, after passing that small village ahead and crossing another mountain pass, we'll reach Leixu City!" The trusted scout, who had been on the scouting mission, stumbled back and excitedly reported.
Upon hearing this, Meng Tianxi suddenly stood up and staggered forward a few steps before regaining his balance.
Is this really true?
"Of course it's true, General!"
"Good! Good! Good! Excellent!"
Meng Tianxi gazed at the village not far away, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Let's go, let's go take a look!"
The group quickened their pace and walked along the overgrown mountain path, and sure enough, they saw a rather large village halfway down the hillside.
These soldiers had lost count of how long it had been since they had a good night's sleep. They all looked delighted and couldn't wait to get to the village to have a bowl of hot soup and a proper rest.
When the group arrived at the foot of the hillside, they found the entire village desolate. More than half of the houses had their roofs collapsed, the gates of every household were wide open, and weeds grew all around. There was not a single person in sight.
"What... what happened? How did this perfectly good village fall into such ruin?" a trusted confidant asked in bewilderment.
Meng Tianxi frowned, a bad feeling suddenly creeping into his heart. He took a few quick steps forward, but then his feet stopped abruptly when he saw something—a withered corpse was hanging from a tree in the yard of this family. Judging from his clothes, he must have been a villager.
His heart sank. He continued walking to the house of the previous family, kicked open the door, and went inside.
Although there was no corpse in the yard, there was a large pool of dried blood in the corner of the wall. Meng Tianxi walked around the house and yard and found that the house was covered with dust, as if it had been abandoned for a long time.
"General! General! Come quickly! Hurry!" a trusted aide shouted from outside.
Upon hearing this, Meng Tianxi stopped looking closely and quickly walked outside the courtyard.
He looked in the direction his confidant pointed, and his heart skipped a beat. In the nearby wasteland lay hundreds of villagers' corpses, scattered haphazardly!
Meng Tianxi's gaze was dazed for a moment, then he staggered toward the barren field.
The next second, a stench soaring into the sky, mixed with a dizzying, rotten smell, assaulted our senses. Dozens of crows landed awkwardly on the corpse, and only when they saw someone approaching did they caw and flap their wings and fly away.
"What...what exactly is going on?" One of the confidants couldn't help but bend over and dry heave, his face as pale as paper.
Meng Tianxi squatted down and, with trembling hands, turned over the body of a young child. He saw that there were no external injuries on the body, only a clean-edged wound on the chest—clearly a knife wound!
He suppressed his immense anger and examined several more corpses. Some of them had their clothes completely removed; some had broken arrows stuck in their chests; and some had their heads cut off... Without exception, they were all the work of the Yan army in the north!
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Author's Note: Still revising, still revising, still revising [crying emoji] Nights spent working overtime on experiments are just that simple and unpretentious.
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