"Brother Wen!" Zhang Ma was overjoyed to find that Wen Zhengming was still alive.
Wen Zhengming, still in a dream, stared blankly at the Song army charging at him like a tide, then collapsed to the ground. This victorious warrior had exhausted all his strength, but finally could no longer hold on.
"Military doctor!" Zhang Ma shouted. He no longer cared about Wen Zhengming. He waved his hand and shouted to the soldiers around him, "Everyone, charge! The enemy is defeated!"
This shout redoubled the Song army's morale. Over two thousand brave warriors charged, weapons raised. Gao Liangcheng's soldiers had long since lost their fighting spirit. Most of their baggage, equipment, and weapons were thrown to the ground. The Dali soldiers wanted only to return home. To their Dali Kingdom, where they could be safe.
Prince Zuzan of Tubo was ultimately afraid of the power of the Song Dynasty, even though he coveted the Song Dynasty's fat piece of meat more than anyone else. However, ever since the Song Dynasty changed its emperor, the Song Dynasty seemed to have opened up, and he had to leave himself a way out.
Zu Zan only sent General Zhaka with more than 10,000 men to rush to Kagong Town. They had originally planned to meet there this morning. However, Zhaka encountered the fleeing Dali army more than 20 miles away from Kagong Town.
There were still many defeated soldiers in Dali, and the more than 10,000 people led by Zhaka were immediately thrown into chaos when they were rushed by the defeated soldiers.
Zaka was shocked. He knew there must be an ambush by the Song army up ahead. He grabbed a fleeing Dali soldier and said, "Quick! What's going on?"
The soldier had already thrown away his armor and weapons. He stammered, "Song, the Song army is coming!"
"How many people are there?" Zaka was shocked. Sure enough, there was an ambush. Could this all be a conspiracy by the Song army? Their main force hadn't even moved north to Shanxi.
"Good, tens of thousands, countless!" The soldiers were terrified. The Prime Minister was leading more than 20,000 soldiers on this expedition. If the Song army didn't have tens of thousands of soldiers, how could they possibly defeat them?
Zhaka gasped, thinking to himself, "This is bad news! Gao Liangcheng is trying to kill me!" He grabbed another fleeing general. This man was a captain from the Shanzi Camp. Zhaka grabbed his collar and asked, "Which unit of the Song army is ahead?"
This captain had personally fought against Wen Zhengming's Shengjie Army and was terrified. "General, run! They're a bunch of lunatics! They're the main force! The absolute main force! The Song army is waiting for us to attack Chengdu. This is their plan!"
Zaka was frightened, but he still asked unwillingly: "How many soldiers and horses did the Song army send?"
The captain's face showed a look of horror. "Too many to count. There are hundreds of thousands of them, all archers and cavalry. Our prime minister has fled. General, retreat quickly!"
More and more Dali soldiers were retreating ahead. Suddenly, a startling shout came from a few miles away. It sounded like the Song army. Zaka's face turned pale. He turned his horse and shouted to his men, "Retreat! Retreat! Quickly!"
The Tibetan army saw the Dali army, some of them still covered in wounds, in a state of retreat. Finally, word spread that the Song army had a full 300,000 men in Kagong Town, and the Song general had issued an order to pursue and kill all the invading enemies along the way, sparing no one.
Regardless of the ulterior motives of those who spread the rumors, rumors tend to become more and more outrageous the more they spread. So the Tibetans also started running. Seeing the Dali soldiers throwing away their armor and helmets, some of them also began to throw away their weapons and equipment, fearing that they would run slower.
The remaining Song army led by Zhang Ma pursued the enemy for a full thirty miles, picking up countless weapons and equipment along the way. The Song army won a great victory.
Prince Zuzan felt restless in his tent. For some reason, his eyelids kept twitching. He had a feeling something was about to happen. The Song Dynasty was no match for the current one. He regretted getting on Gao Liangcheng's bandwagon.
Zu Zan had already sent spies to Chengdu Prefecture to gather military intelligence. He wanted to know the progress of the attack on Chengdu Prefecture as soon as possible. After waiting for a long time without any movement, he couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Prince! It's bad, Prince! Our army was ambushed by the Song army, and Gao Liangcheng's army was defeated!" The messenger ran in in panic.
What you fear will come true. Prince Zuzan was almost scared to death: "What? What's going on?"
Before the messenger could reply, Zhaka and his men stumbled back, "Your Highness, the Song army set an ambush in Kagong Town. They defeated Gao Liangcheng's army. According to Gao Liangcheng's forces, the Song army this time dispatched approximately 30,000 to 50,000 men."
Zu Zan wasn't that stupid. He angrily said, "Impossible! There aren't that many troops stationed near Chengdu. Where did the Song army get 40,000 or 50,000 soldiers?"
Zhaka said hurriedly, "It's absolutely true. The main force of the Song army never went to Shanxi to attack Mongolia. This is just a smokescreen. The Song army's goal is to trick us."
Prince Zuzan frowned: "Why would the Song army do this?"
A lieutenant general beside Zu Zan said in a loud voice, "Your Highness, the Song army has long been eyeing us and Dali. They claim to be a nation of propriety, but they've been struggling to find an excuse to send troops. They've taken this opportunity to attack us. I'm afraid we've fallen into a trap set by Gao Liangcheng of Dali. Gao Liangcheng is afraid that the Song army will attack him, so he's dragging us down with him."
Prince Zuzan was even more surprised when he heard this. He looked at Zaka coldly, with murderous intent in his eyes.
Zhaka felt a chill in his heart as Zuzan's cold gaze swept over him, knowing that the prince was planning to sacrifice his troops to save his chariot. "Your Highness, I have been following your orders. We encountered Gao Liangcheng's defeated army twenty miles outside Kagong Town. We didn't actually engage the Song army."
Prince Zuzan remained silent, lost in thought. Just then, the spies sent to Chengdu Prefecture came galloping back, "Report! Report, Your Highness! There's not a single Song army soldier outside Chengdu Prefecture. The city gates are wide open, and countless military flags are visible on the city walls!"
Zu Zan was even more astonished upon hearing this. He had always known the Song people to be cunning. They had planted flags all over the city walls, but the gates were wide open. Wasn't this a trick their ancestors had used during the Three Kingdoms period?
Now it was all over. They hadn't gained anything, and had already offended the Song Dynasty. Tubo's life would be miserable from now on. Prince Zuzan stood up and said, "Come! Drag Zhaka out and behead him!"
This was like smashing the pot after finishing the meal, like throwing the donkey away after it had served its purpose. Zhaka was so frightened that his soul left his body. He kept struggling and shouting, "Prince, spare me! Prince, spare me! I didn't fight with the Song army!"
Who would listen to your explanation? Two soldiers dragged Zaka out and brought up Zaka's head in less than an hour.
Zu Zan hurriedly ordered, "Quick! Write a letter to inform the king that Zhaka secretly dispatched troops without telling the king. Fortunately, the king personally chased him to the outskirts of Kagong Town and captured him. He was then beheaded and sent to the Song court as a token of apology. I hope the Song court will consider the friendly relations between the Song Dynasty and Tibet and let this matter go."
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