Chapter 228: Rout
In late April, early in the morning the day after the military meeting, the Jin army set up camp at the mouth of the Beiluo River.
Wanyan Salihe, the youngest commander of the Western Route Army, had originally been ordered to explore the way downstream in preparation for the next military operation. However, he was unexpectedly summoned by Loushi early in the morning. Halfway through his journey, he learned that the Tuhesu attack that he had boasted about the day before had not gone well, and he was ambushed and set on fire at night. Although the loss was not great, he could not gain a foothold and had to withdraw his troops.
Defeat was defeat, victory and defeat were common in the military, but when the generals saw Tuhesu's appearance and posture with their own eyes, most of them were a little out of control... There was no other reason, Tuhesu was pierced by an arrow in the foot, and he couldn't even put on his shoes or stand up. He could only lie on the ground in the central army tent with his legs raised high, and his hair and beard were burnt off, looking really embarrassed.
Others were fine, some were cunning, some were limited by their status, and did not say anything. However, Wanyan Salihe was raised by Aguda when he was young, and was usually arrogant. As soon as he entered the tent, he could not help but laugh in public:
"Tuhesu, weren't you the best in foot combat the day before yesterday? How come you can't even walk the next day? It would be fine if you couldn't walk, but why did you shave your head off? Is this some new way to beat the heat?"
Sali laughed, and the other generals, many of whom were rude and had been holding back their laughter for a long time, also joined in the laughter.
As for Tu Hesu, who was lying on his back in the tent, he had a penetrating wound on his foot, and his hair was singed off by the fire set by the Song army last night. He was also tied to a horse and brought back by his subordinates. He had not slept all night. When he heard this, he wanted to hit the other party on the head with a hammer, but he had no strength to do so. He could only shyly cover up:
"Don't, don't laugh at me!"
"alright."
At this moment, Wanyan Loushi spoke at the right time, interrupting the little farce with a casual tone, and then stared at Tuhesu and asked seriously, "So, the attack was going well, and the Song army had begun to disintegrate, but when they were about to break through the camp, you rushed too far and were hit by an arrow?"
"That's right." Tu Hesu, who was lying on the ground, was extremely embarrassed. "It's not that my son and I are incompetent, it's just a coincidence..."
After hearing this, the other generals who had been mocking the general at first were relieved - after all, a general will die if he is not away from his horse, and a clay pot will break if it is not away from the wellhead. This kind of accident on the battlefield is simply a matter of luck and is not the fault of the war.
However, unlike these people, the previously calm commander Lou Shi frowned upon hearing this: "If that's the case, the Song army should still be as weak as before, and can only hold on by relying on the strong cities and mountain strongholds?"
"That's right." Tu Hesu quickly responded by tiptoeing on the ground.
"Then why did the Song army dare to leave the city and the mountain stronghold at night and launch a night attack on Huagou?" Lou Shi continued to ask.
Suddenly, He Su was speechless.
In fact, not only Tuhesu was speechless, but the other generals also frowned. After Lou Shi finished asking, he simply kept silent and sat upright in the tent, thinking for a moment.
After a while, it was the deputy commander Wanyan Balisu who interrupted and broke the silence in the tent: "Perhaps there are many locals in the Song army. A night attack doesn't mean anything. And I just checked Tuhesu's troops and asked clearly. In the two small defeats, only two or three hundred people were injured, and four or five hundred people were missing. When the troops who were scattered in the mountains last night come back, it is estimated that there will be only four or five hundred casualties, which can't be called a big defeat. But Tuhesu's injuries..."
Everyone looked at Tuhesu's feet, speechless.
In this weather, this kind of penetrating wound is hard to deal with if it is good or bad! The only thing that is certain is that this "invincible in infantry combat" general of the Western Army will not be able to fight in the short term.
"Rest in the camp and see how serious the injury is." Lou Shi had no choice but to give the order. "If you recover quickly, continue to march with the army. If there is something wrong, don't delay and go directly to Luojiao City or Fucheng to rest." At this point, Lou Shi looked around without changing his expression. "Your troops have forty-seven Moukes. I will give you seven Moukes to temporarily use with you. The remaining forty will be divided into two, twenty will be assigned to the central army, and the remaining twenty... who will go to take Fangzhou City?"
Hearing the assignment from Loushi, Tuhesu was embarrassed, but he had nothing to say. After all, the Jin Kingdom only had the hereditary Meng'an and Mouke, but no hereditary Wanhu. Wanhu was essentially a job assignment, mainly based on seniority, background, and the arrangement of the noble. Now that he couldn't go to the battlefield, it was normal for the military power to be temporarily taken away. Anyway, if his injury healed, Loushi would never hold on to it and not return it to him.
But then again, although Tuhesu was speechless, the other generals were eager to try... because the troops led on the expedition were directly related to military merit and income from looting, who wouldn't want these twenty Moukes?
It's just that Lou Shi has great prestige. After so many years of fighting, even in the Jin army, which has a tradition of military discussions, no one dares to make a noise in front of him.
Sure enough, although Lou Shi asked the question, he looked around and pointed directly at one person: "Sa Lihe, are you willing to go?"
Salihe was overjoyed: "If the commander-in-chief lets me go, I will go!"
"With Tuhesu's twenty moukes and your own troops, how many days will it take to conquer the enemy?" Lou Shi did not relax at all.
Salihe also became serious: "How many days will it take to become the commander-in-chief?"
"Of course the sooner the better." Director Lou breathed a sigh of relief. "Can we go down to the city in three days?"
"Yes!" Salihe responded immediately.
At this moment, he must not hesitate, even for the sake of twenty Moukes. What's more, Salihe was confident... He just didn't believe that he could be shot through the soles of his feet by a divine arm bow?
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