He imagined that the city would soon be in chaos, with the weakened garrison and panicked residents fleeing for their lives. In the midst of the chaos, defeated soldiers would take advantage of the situation to loot, further exacerbating the disorder.
but--
Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front, reflecting the gleam of swords and guns.
He was too far away to see clearly, but the shouting and clamoring of his men suddenly stopped, replaced by cries of surprise. From the walls on both sides, the sound of weapons clashing and screams rang out.
The sound of war drums rumbled, and just above the city wall behind Sun Degong, more and brighter lights lit up, casting the ugly figures of the rebels on the cold ground.
"Rebel general Sun Degong, why don't you get off your horse and be tied up!" The deep shout echoed in Sun Degong's ears like thunder.
This, this——
Sun Degong's expression changed from elation to astonishment, and now to a pale face. He reined in his horse and looked back, looking up. The city gate tower was brightly lit, and the banner of the Liaodong Jinglüe was hoisted, fluttering in the wind.
On the city walls, countless soldiers were densely packed, with cold arrows pointing at the rebels.
The emperor's spies were indeed very powerful. They were able to detect the Liaodong battlefield thousands of miles away and obtain the top-secret information that Sun Degong had been turned against the emperor.
Thanks to his impromptu decision-making and his rush to Guangning overnight, he finally had more than half a day to prepare and crushed the conspiracy of the rebel general Sun Degong.
Xiong Tingbi glanced at a few Jinyiwei not far away, and felt a chill in his heart, but soon focused his attention on the rebels under the city.
The army in distinctive armor was marching out of the streets and alleys, surrounding the rebels tightly, which showed that they had been prepared for a long time and had a careful plan.
Sun Degong's heart sank into a deep, icy valley. If he still couldn't see that this was a carefully planned ambush, then all his years in the military would have been in vain.
Holding onto a last glimmer of hope, Sun Degong bowed to Xiong Tingbi on the city gate tower and reported, "Sir, our army suffered a crushing defeat at Xiping Bridge. I led my men to fight their way out of the encirclement and rushed back to Guangning City to report the news..."
"Since you have come to report back, then please dismount and come up to tell me the details." Xiong Tingbi pursed his lips slightly, with a hint of sarcasm in his sneer.
At this point, Sun Degong still wanted to quibble, which was truly foolish. What was the point of him being stubborn? With so many people under him, how many could keep their mouths shut?
Big fool, Sun the big fool! Xiong Tingbi made a judgment.
Sun Degong swallowed hard and made a sound that even he felt was huge. Of course, this was for psychological reasons.
"All of you must dismount and abandon your weapons, otherwise I will be killed without mercy." Xiong Tingbi raised his arm and pointed, and several of his personal soldiers repeated loudly to intimidate the rebels.
After a brief moment of dead silence, under the threat of swords and guns all around, a saber fell to the ground from the rebel's hand with a crisp sound.
This "clang" sound seemed to be a signal, and similar sounds followed one after another, becoming more and more frequent.
More and more rebels jumped off their horses and knelt on the ground. There were some who wanted to fight to the death in desperation, but they were soon infected by those around them who had given up resistance, and joined the surrender ranks helplessly.
In his eyes, the arrows on the city seemed to have changed direction and pointed at him. Sun Degong opened his mouth, knowing that there was no hope of survival.
With a dejected sigh, Sun Degong jumped off his horse, knelt on the ground, and lowered his sinful head deeply.
………………
The setting sun sank completely into the horizon, leaving only a disappearing edge of light.
The sound of horse hooves broke the silence of the Liaodong plains, and a group of people and horses ran in panic and fled westward.
Zu Dashou, a famous long-distance runner in history, was among the defeated soldiers fleeing westward and was the leader of the team.
My ancestral family moved to Ningyuan City in Liaodong in the fifth year of Xuande, inherited the Ningyuan Guard position, multiplied from generation to generation, and gradually became a prominent family in Ningyuan.
Zu Dashou's father, Zu Chengxun, followed Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong and the Earl of Ningyuan, in his campaigns to the east and west. He was promoted for his meritorious service in resisting the Mongolian cavalry and served as the deputy commander-in-chief of Liaodong.
In the first year of the Taichang reign, Zu Dashou was appointed as a guerrilla commander of the Jingdong Camp and was commended by Xiong Tingbi during his first posting in Liaodong. In the first year of the Tianqi reign, he served as a guerrilla commander of the Central Army under the command of Wang Huazhen, the Liaodong Governor.
Indeed, Zu Dashou and the rebel general Sun Degong held the same rank, both serving as guerrilla commanders in the Central Army, and they had come together to support Xiping Fort. However, the leading general of this reinforcement was Sun Degong, who was deeply trusted by Wang Huazhen.
The Battle of Pingyang Bridge broke out, and the enemy and our armies fought fiercely. Sun Degong rebelled on the battlefield and was the first to flee, causing tens of thousands of Ming troops to collapse and suffer a tragic defeat.
Zu Dashou was known as the long-distance running general because he had a naturally keen sense of smell on the battlefield and was not much slower than Sun Degong in escaping.
Moreover, this guy had a sharp eye and could see that there was something wrong with Sun Degong. He did not dare to follow him back to Guangning, but instead looked for another escape route and ran directly to Ningyuan.
Ningyuan is where his family is located, and he has Juehua Island on the sea to hide.
Zu Dashou thought that Guangning would most likely fall. But even if the Eastern Tartars swept through western Liaoning, he could still be safe by fleeing to Ningyuan and taking a boat to Juehua Island.
Historically, General Zu did flee to Ningyuan in anger and hid on Juehua Island, becoming one of the few surviving Guangning troops after the disastrous defeat in the war.
Of course, this is not an achievement worth boasting about, but it should be the first reason why Zu Dashou is not worthy of being reused.
"Sir, the Luyang Posthouse is ahead. Should we stop and rest for a while?" The captain of the personal guards slowed down his horse and asked Zu Dashou for instructions.
Zu Dashou's face was gloomy, and he wasn't proud of his amazing impromptu retreat. He was calculating the speed at which the Eastern Tartars could catch up, and the probability of escaping safely.
Seeing that the commander did not respond, the captain hesitated for a moment and then reminded, "Sir, some of the horses are so tired that they are almost foaming at the mouth."
Zu Dashou rolled his eyes, thought for a moment, and realized that running non-stop would not work. A short rest, letting both the man and the horse relax, shouldn't be a big problem.
Thinking of this, Zu Dashou nodded and said in a deep voice, "Just rest for three hours, and then set off overnight."
The captain of the personal guards agreed, quickened his horse's pace, and went to Luyang Fort to knock on the gate.
As reinforcements for Xiping Fort, Deputy General Qi Bingzhong took most of the troops from Luyang. Zu Dashou believed that there were no officers higher than himself in Luyang, and the troops were few and far between, so they would not pose a hindrance to his escape westward.
In fact, the officers in Luyang were not high-ranking, and the soldiers were not numerous. But when Zu Dashou led his troops into Luyang Fort, he was shocked to receive an order from Xiong Tingbi, the governor of Liaodong.
It was not just for Zu Dashou, but for all the defeated soldiers who passed through Luyang.
"The emperor bestowed upon Lord Xiong, the governor of Liaodong, the imperial sword, commanding all the troops of Liaodong. Generals below the rank of general may execute officers first and report to the emperor later..."
"The General has issued an order: any defeated soldiers who take one step past Luyang will be killed without mercy!"
"The General has issued an order: The commanders of defeated troops must reorganize their forces. Those who fail to do so will be executed! If there is no commander, or if his rank is lower than mine, I will command and control the troops. Those who disobey orders will be executed!"
…………
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