Wei Xiaokuan was also extremely shocked as he looked at the routed army outside.
Tens of thousands of people were actually driven back by Zhou Wentong's eight hundred men.
And most importantly, Zhou Wentong's eight hundred cavalrymen couldn't even break into their formation.
A single volley of arrows killed several hundred men, yet it caused the army of tens of thousands to rout.
Is this the fighting power of the army in the heart of the Central Plains?
The fact that the army at Shanhaiguan hadn't fought a war for decades had already lowered his expectations of the military to a new low.
But the tens of thousands of troops in front of them once again lowered this bar.
He had spent half his life fighting on the border in Liaodong, never imagining that they were behind him.
The army deep within the imperial court, which hadn't seen bloodshed for decades, had become so corrupt and its military preparedness so neglected.
It's much easier to fight them than to fight the Tatars and Jurchens.
If he were facing tens of thousands of Jurchen troops, let alone eight hundred, even eight thousand, General Zhou Wentong would not dare to launch a head-on attack on their formation.
However, Wei Xiaokuan did not express any further sentiments. Instead, he directly ordered the remaining cavalry in the city to immediately launch an attack to assist General Zhou Wentong in pursuing and killing the scattered Wu army.
As soon as Wei Xiaokuan gave the order, the previously closed city gates were immediately opened, and the cavalrymen who were ready rushed out.
Because they were located in the heart of the country and had not experienced the ravages of war for decades, these tens of thousands of Wu soldiers, apart from their generals, did not have a single cavalry unit of any significant size.
On this vast plain, how could their two legs possibly outrun the cavalry?
They had completely collapsed and were unable to mount any effective resistance.
At this moment, Zhou Wentong had already led eight hundred cavalrymen to charge into the chaotic and disorganized army of tens of thousands.
And they headed straight for Dong Zhonglou, the commander of the tens of thousands of Wu troops who had fled south.
At this moment, Dong Zhonglou was fleeing south under the protection of his personal guards. Many of the fleeing soldiers who were unable to dodge in time were knocked to the ground and trampled to death by their warhorses.
Dong Zhonglou, his face filled with terror, fled south, occasionally glancing back at Zhou Wentong and his cavalry who were pursuing him.
At this moment, his fear of Zhou Wentong was truly like that of a ghost or a god.
At this moment, he was in a terrible state, and the commander's flag had been lost somewhere.
He never imagined that his tens of thousands of troops could be defeated by a mere few hundred cavalrymen in just one encounter.
Just half an hour ago, he was the commander of tens of thousands of troops.
How could it have turned out like this in just half an hour?
He didn't have time to think much at the time, because a sharp pain was already coming from his buttocks.
He turned around and saw that it was Zhou Wentong behind him who had shot the arrow with his bow.
Zhou Wentong fought in Liaodong for many years, and his horsemanship and archery were effortless.
Just now, Dong Zhonglou was fleeing so fast that he fell face-first onto his horse, exposing his bare buttocks.
This gave Zhou Wentong an opportunity.
Zhou Wentong then raised his bow and arrow and said:
"I shot the enemy commander; the one who got shot in the buttocks is the enemy commander."
"Grab the enemy commander who's been shot in the buttocks!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the hundreds of cavalrymen following him immediately shouted in unison.
"That shot of an arrow into the butt was so cool!"
Because they were chasing a group of fleeing cavalry, not just one or two people.
Even if Zhou Wentong, the commander, found the enemy commander among the fleeing crowd.
But none of our own soldiers know who they are.
At this point, it is necessary to report a characteristic of the enemy commander so that the pursuing soldiers can recognize the enemy commander.
For example, wearing a red robe or growing a long beard.
Zhou Wentong just shot an arrow at Dong Zhonglou, which can be used as a characteristic.
Upon hearing Zhou Wentong's words, Dong Zhonglou immediately endured the pain and broke off the arrow shaft from his buttocks, then covered the remaining arrowhead with his armor and clothing.
Finally, he realized that if he continued like this, he would not be able to escape.
Finally, with a heavy heart, he said to the guards and personal soldiers around him:
“I have always treated you well. Go and hold off the enemy general. I will reward you and your families handsomely in the future.”
At this moment, the guards and personal soldiers who were escorting him immediately thought of their families.
They knew that if Dong Zhonglou died, they and their families would die with him.
He then immediately shouted:
"The commander-in-chief has been very kind to us, and today is the time to repay his kindness."
After saying this, the guards and personal soldiers who were escorting Dong Zhonglou spurred their horses and turned to charge towards Zhou Wentong and his cavalry.
This bought Dong Zhonglou time to escape.
Behind them, Wei Xiaokuan sent out his cavalry to pursue the enemy, and then he also sent out his infantry.
They were also tasked with capturing some of the routed soldiers and cleaning up the battlefield outside.
At this moment, Wei Xiaokuan, who was sitting on a chair on the city wall, watched as cavalrymen returned from outside, followed by a string of prisoners tied with ropes.
Meanwhile, the soldiers who had been collecting the weapons, armor, and supplies they had left behind brought in cartloads of military equipment and supplies.
However, Wei Xiaokuan on the city wall looked into the distance with a worried expression.
General Zhou Wentong has been chasing them for half a day, why hasn't he returned yet? I hope he hasn't encountered any accidents.
He's a key general under the young marshal; if anything happens to him, he'll likely be punished.
Just as he was worrying, in the distance, Zhou Wentong was leading hundreds of cavalry back.
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