Chapter 252 Traitors in Chaotic Times (Twenty-Eight): How to Become a Super Strategist...
At dawn, Song Ce personally led 30,000 troops to completely surround Pingzhou City, launching a fierce and overwhelming attack on the Northern Yan army, who were still asleep or busy with feasting.
Before that, he transferred Gao Chengfeng, who was guarding Shiguan County, to Pingzhou, and sent him to kidnap and imprison generals such as Luerruolie and Likaosibirna under cover of night. This made it impossible for the various detachments of the Northern Yan army to organize effective resistance, and thus they fell into unprecedented chaos.
Not only that, Song Ce also deliberately used very few troops to guard the key road leading to Tuyuan Pass.
Thus, under the repeated charges and shouts of the Dali army, the Northern Yan soldiers scrambled to escape, and countless died trampling each other! Some soldiers, still hungover, stared blankly at the countless long swords held to their necks before suddenly realizing that they had become prisoners of Dali!
"All soldiers of Northern Yan, by order of General Song of the Great Li Dynasty, those who voluntarily surrender shall not be killed!"
Upon hearing this, the Northern Yan soldiers, who had no will to resist, simply threw down their weapons and stood still with their hands raised. Those Northern Yan soldiers who still wanted to resist, without their commander, were like headless flies; they were either shot down by a hail of arrows or pinned to the ground by the swarming Dali soldiers, with no way to escape.
Seeing the Northern Yan warriors so utterly routed and easily defeated, Tu Yizha, one of Li Kaosibirna's subordinates, shouted a command and rallied the Northern Yan army, who, having regained their senses, charged desperately toward the Tu Yuan Pass, the weakest point in the defenses!
The Dali army stationed there had received Song Ce's orders long ago, so they offered no resistance. Upon seeing the Northern Yan soldiers' willingness to fight to the death, they readily threw down their weapons and scattered in all directions.
Under the deliberate drive of the Dali army, Tu Yizha Lu led only a small number of his remaining troops to escape to Tuyuan Pass.
Looking at the narrow pass not far ahead, Tu Yizha's tense heart finally calmed down a little. As long as he led his men through this place, he could organize the Northern Yan army to continue fighting against these treacherous Dali bandits!
Just as he led the remnants of the Northern Yan army into the Tuyuan Pass, arrows rained down from all directions in the next second! Tu Yizhalu was shocked and immediately raised his shield, shouting, "There's an ambush here! Be careful, soldiers!"
The remaining soldiers who had just escaped from Pingzhou City were still shaken, and were caught off guard by this sudden attack. They cried out and scattered to avoid the danger.
Tu Yizha quickly swung his scimitar to deflect the arrows aimed at him, veins bulging on his forehead. In a daze, he saw countless figures on the hillsides on both sides of the pass, and not far away, the lush vegetation made the swaying branches and plants resemble human figures.
"These damned Dali people! My Northern Yan army has fallen into their trap again!" he roared, trying to organize his soldiers to fight back, but the ranks were already in chaos and no one was listening to his orders.
Just then, a group of Northern Yan soldiers tried to retreat out of the pass, but they were blocked by the Dali army chasing after them as soon as they turned around.
The Dali soldiers were all full of vigor and their faces were filled with passion. The spears in their hands gleamed coldly. They seemed tireless, and whenever they saw a Northern Yan soldier resisting, they would raise their spears and thrust, giving the Northern Yan soldiers no chance to catch their breath!
With arrows lurking in front and iron cavalry chasing from behind, Tu Yizha knew that if they couldn't break through the Tu Yuan Pass today, all the soldiers who had fought so hard with him would perish here!
He gritted his teeth, pulled out a short dagger from his pocket, and slashed his palm, staining his white cloth red before wrapping it around his forehead. He shouted to the soldiers still fighting, "Warriors of Northern Yan! Charge with me! Kill!!!" The resisting Northern Yan soldiers were roused by Tu Yizha's actions and shouted "Kill! Kill! Kill!" They followed him resolutely into the depths of the pass!
But before they could run more than a few steps, countless thunderous roars suddenly echoed from the mountaintop. Then, boulders rained down, not only striking the surviving Northern Yan soldiers but also blocking their path. Seeing this, Tu Yizha Lu immediately jumped off his horse and sought cover.
After the sound of the rolling boulders subsided, Tu Yizha Lu emerged from behind the rocks. He looked around and saw that the hillside of Tu Yuan Pass was filled with imposing Dali soldiers, bows drawn and ready to fire!
I have no way out.
The next moment, a deep, resonant voice echoed from the hillside: "Tu Yizha Lu, you are surrounded. If you obediently lay down your weapons and surrender, the Dali Kingdom will spare your life!"
"Pah!"
Tu Yizha spat fiercely, raising his curved sword with a menacing expression: "I am a warrior born on horseback from Northern Yan, how could I surrender to you treacherous villains from Dali! Soldiers, fight to the death with me!"
Silence.
Tu Yizha suddenly turned around, only to find that the Northern Yan soldiers behind him had already laid down their weapons at some point.
"Lieutenant General Tu, don't blame us, the brothers are just too exhausted to fight anymore!"
"Yes, my elderly mother and wife are waiting for me to come home!"
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I want to live, I want to live!"
"Lieutenant, please, let's surrender!"
Looking at the dejected soldiers behind him, who were abandoning their weapons, Tu Yizhalu felt his anger instantly cool down, as if a bucket of well water had been poured over his head. He wanted to curse, to shout, to resist, but faced with the faces on the paper filled with exhaustion and fear, he sighed and his will to fight to the death finally dissipated.
After a long while, the curved knife in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.
That's it. Escaping from Pingzhou City has exhausted all their strength. Now, with them attacked from both sides, they have no chance of winning with so few men... But, but these ordinary soldiers can surrender to Dali, while he, as a dignified deputy general of Beiyan, cannot surrender!
We'd rather die than surrender!
Tu Yizha raised his head, glaring fiercely at the Dali army from all directions. Suddenly, he sneered, drew a short dagger from his sleeve, and stabbed it into his chest without hesitation!
"I... a dignified... man of Northern Yan... may die! But... I... will... surrender!"
The next instant, blood gushed from Tu Yizha's clothes. His tall body swayed and he collapsed heavily onto the gravelly ground of Tu Yuan Pass. His slightly fierce eyes remained wide open until the very last moment, gazing northwest—the direction of the Northern Yan capital.
On the hillside, Song Ce looked at the scene before him and slowly raised his hand to signal his soldiers to go and investigate.
Before long, the soldier strode back and reported in a deep voice, "General, he... is dead."
The cold autumn wind, carrying the stench of blood, swept in. He remained silent for a moment, then said to Mu Anyong, who was also silent beside him, "Collect this man's body properly and bury him according to the customs of Northern Yan."
"Yes, General," Mu Anyong said in a low voice.
Even if the other party is an enemy general, a tough guy like him who would rather die than surrender deserves the highest level of courtesy, no matter when or where.
Song Ce withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the remnants of the Northern Yan army surrounded in the center of the pass. He said indifferently, "Pass down the order to register all the Northern Yan prisoners and escort them to the camp outside Pingzhou City. Do not mistreat them or make things difficult for them."
"General, these are people from Northern Yan. Back then, they burned, killed, and looted in Qinxi, committing all sorts of atrocities. Their hands are stained with the blood of our Dali people! Now that our army has won a great victory, are we just going to let them off so easily?" Tang Yuan asked, puzzled.
Song Ce shook his head. "No need to persuade me anymore. Just do as I say."
"yes……"
Although Tang Yuan felt resentful, he did not disobey Song Ce's orders and simply led his soldiers to settle the Northern Yan prisoners.
Seeing that the young officer leading them looked unwell, the prisoners were all filled with fear. They dared not utter a word along the way, for fear that saying the wrong thing would bring disaster upon themselves.
After the Northern Yan soldiers at Tuyuan Pass had all left, Song Ce led Mu Anyong, Bao Zhuozhi, and others back to Pingzhou City in a grand procession.
Pingzhou was no longer the empty and chaotic place it had been before. The people who had been ordered to evacuate were gradually returning home, and the streets were slowly coming back to life. Many of them saw Song Ce and his entourage leading the way and gathered around them, their faces full of admiration and gratitude.
"Thank you, General, for saving our Pingzhou City!"
"Yes, if it weren't for the general and all the soldiers, we would probably have become the victims of the Northern Yan's vicious soldiers long ago!"
"General, you are truly the savior of Pingzhou!"
Song Ce smiled gently and cupped his hands to the people who came to express their gratitude, saying, "Fellow villagers, there's no need for such formalities. Now that the Northern Yan army has been defeated, you can all go home and live your lives in peace!"
Hearing this, the people on the street were deeply moved. Some even knelt down and bowed to the triumphant Dali army. Upon seeing this, Song Ce immediately composed himself, nimbly dismounted, and personally helped the elderly man, who was over fifty, to his feet. After the crowd gradually dispersed, he instructed his soldiers to do their utmost to assist the people of Pingzhou in rebuilding their homes.
After the group returned to the Pingzhou government office, Song Ce immediately sent someone to invite Li Dezhong and Feng Ziyi over. Before long, the two followed a soldier to the second hall.
"Greetings, General Song!"
Upon seeing Song Ce, the two quickly stepped forward and bowed with excited expressions.
Song Ce raised his hand to signal Li Dezhong and Feng Ziyi to stand up, and said in a gentle tone: "In the battle of Pingzhou, the Dali army won a great victory. The main generals, such as Lu Erruolie and Li Kaosibirna, have also been captured by our army and are currently being held in the camp. I will definitely report this merit of sending a message over a thousand miles to the court in a truthful manner."
Li Dezhong bowed again and said with a smile, "General Song, we two are only here in Pingzhou on the orders of General Meng. The real heroes who defeated the enemy are the soldiers of Dali. Now that Pingzhou is safe and Heyang is temporarily out of danger, we have finally lived up to your expectations!"
Feng Ziyi nodded in agreement. "General Song, now that the matter in Pingzhou is settled, General Meng is still waiting for news from us in Qinxi. Tomorrow, we should also return to report."
Song Ce pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "That is indeed the way. Today I will write a letter detailing the battle situation in Pingzhou. I hope you two will take it back to General Meng so that we can discuss the grand plan to resist Yan."
Li Dezhong and Feng Ziyi exchanged a glance, then said in unison, "General, rest assured, we will deliver this letter safely to you!"
"Thank you for your trouble."
Song Ce smiled slightly and then instructed, "The journey is long, so please be careful. I have already had provisions, horses, and medicine prepared for you. Please accept them. After resting tonight, you can set off at any time tomorrow morning."
The two felt a warmth in their hearts upon hearing this, and bowed deeply to Song Ce: "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, General Song!"
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Author's Note: [Crying uncontrollably]
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