As Li Qin led his army away, Zhu Qizhen and his ministers remained trapped inside Tushu Fortress for several days.
There was immediate jubilation.
Zhang Fu, on the other hand, looked worried.
He didn't believe that Li Qin would actually lead his army to retreat.
Based on my analysis over this period of time, Li Qin is a treacherous, cunning, ruthless, and vicious person.
How could he possibly be content with just obtaining a dukedom and a marquisate and then withdraw his troops?
I'm sure there are still Li Qin's ambush troops on my way back to the capital.
But even if you know there are ambushes ahead, what can you do?
Staying in Tushubao, this dead end is a dead end.
The only way to survive is to break out of the encirclement.
Now that Li Qin is feigning a retreat, I have no choice but to lead my army and take a gamble.
We must advance towards the capital with all our might.
The army has been hungry for two days now, and there isn't enough clean water in Tushubao.
They needed a lot of firewood to heat the water, but they didn't have any.
We had no choice but to drink water that wasn't very clean, since it was better than dying of thirst.
Ultimately, this led to many soldiers experiencing stomach upsets.
The army is now hungry and thirsty, and many soldiers are sick.
After being besieged for many days, morale had plummeted to rock bottom.
He was certain that if Li Qin launched a single charge in the open field, the army of over 100,000 would collapse.
But he had to break through the siege, because he had to send His Majesty back to the capital.
Even if more than 100,000 troops were wiped out, it would still be a fatal blow to the imperial court.
It would be absolutely devastating.
But if His Majesty falls into Li Qin's hands, it will truly be a disaster for the country.
How can I face Emperor Taizong?
Just after Li Qin led his army to break the siege and feigned a retreat.
Zhang Fu also led his army of over 100,000, ravaged and utterly exhausted, toward the capital.
Zhang Fu knew very well that this was Li Qin's trap, a calculated scheme, but he had no choice but to fall into it.
Just as the army was setting off, Zhang Fu sent his general Fan Zhong to the emperor's side.
Let him protect His Majesty's safety.
Just after Zhang Fu led his army into an open area.
Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.
Then they heard the shouts of the army in the distance:
"Liao soldiers are Liao cavalry."
In the distance, Peng Jiahu led tens of thousands of cavalrymen, stretching as far as the eye could see, charging toward Zhang Fu's army in this completely open area.
Zhang Fu witnessed this scene.
He knew that his guess was correct; Li Qin did indeed have an ambush.
He then immediately drew his sword and said to Jingxing and the others beside him:
"Form ranks and protect His Majesty."
"Let His Majesty go first."
Then he rushed to the front and personally commanded the army to block Peng Jiahu's cavalry.
He knew that, given the current state of the army, they were still in such an open area suitable for cavalry.
He was completely unable to stop Li Qin's cavalry.
However, he had already decided to use his body to buy His Majesty a final bit of time to escape.
Jing Xing and the others behind him followed Zhang Fu without hesitation.
He went with him to stop Peng Jiahu's cavalry.
As the armies clashed, the outcome was exactly as Zhang Fu had predicted.
The army was hungry and thirsty, exhausted, and its morale was extremely low.
There was simply no way they could stop these cavalry.
As the armies clashed, the more than 100,000 troops quickly began to collapse.
Zhang Fu, Jing Xing, and other generals could only try their best to lead their personal guards to block Peng Jiahu's cavalry.
This bought time for the emperor's camp to retreat.
Zhu Qizhen, Wang Zhen, and others were immediately thrown into a panic upon learning that Li Qin's cavalry had arrived.
They also condemned Li Qin for breaking his promise.
In the end, it was under the protection of Xu Hong, the Minister of War, and General Fan Zhong, who led more than a thousand still combat-ready imperial troops.
They managed to withdraw from the battlefield with great difficulty.
After withdrawing from the battlefield, Xu Hong, Fan Zhong, and other surviving civil and military officials watched as more than 100,000 troops collapsed behind them.
They all burst into tears.
Despite the continued inner turmoil, they still needed to understand their mission.
We must escort His Majesty back to the capital.
He then escorted Zhu Qizhen on horseback to the capital at breakneck speed.
Just as they were advancing with trepidation.
A cavalry force of eight thousand men, with extremely good equipment, appeared before them.
Judging from their military bearing and morale, their eight thousand cavalrymen actually surpassed the tens of thousands of cavalrymen that Peng Jiahu had just led.
Upon seeing their arrival, a young general dressed in armor rode his horse to the front of the army from among the eight thousand men.
This man was none other than Qi Duchen, Li Qin's confidant, and these eight thousand men were his eight thousand personal guards and retainers.
They were his most elite troops.
At this time, he placed it in the most crucial position.
That is to seize Emperor Zhu Qizhen.
Upon seeing the eight thousand elite cavalrymen appear before them, everyone despaired.
In the end, it was Xu Hong, the Minister of War who dared to negotiate with Li Qin in his military camp, who stepped forward.
"General Fan Zhong, you must immediately escort His Majesty on his way."
I led the Imperial Guard to hold them off.
After speaking, this civil official drew his sword and led over a thousand imperial guards to charge at Qi Duchen's eight thousand elite cavalry.
Fan Zhong, along with Zhu Qizhen, Wang Zhen, and several guards, rushed towards the capital.
Qi Duchen, however, showed no sign of urgency as they ran off.
They were heading in a direction that required crossing a fast-flowing river.
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