"Open the city gate quickly, the commander is back!" The Mongolian soldiers on the city wall shouted excitedly.
When they saw only two hundred or so defeated soldiers, they immediately fell silent.
This is unbelievable. When they set out, there were 3,000 Xiaorui soldiers, but when they returned, there were only 200 or so remnants left?
Three thousand men were killed in the battle, only four centurions were left, and the ten thousand man Gert was seriously injured in his right arm.
Shao Bu's heart sank when he opened the door to welcome them. When the Song army was besieging the city, he had already sent people to chase the captain. He had hoped that the captain would bring back elite troops to strike back at the Song army outside the city, but who could have known that this would be the result.
"Captain, what happened? Where are the others?" Shaobu asked in horror.
Gert didn't answer. He returned to the general's tent with a sullen expression. Centurion Baganda sighed, "We were ambushed by the Song army at Sunset Slope, and our entire army was wiped out."
Shao Bu was secretly shocked. What kind of Song army was this? Their equipment was different from before. When did Han Shizhong's army have such a powerful force?
Sitting back in his tent, Gert felt as if he were in another world. Before he set out, he had gathered his generals. They were all eager to capture Heshui Town, kill Han Shizhong's troops, and make the northwest of the Song Dynasty fall to Mongolia.
If the whole of Shanxi belonged to the Mongol Empire, they could use Shanxi as a springboard to attack the emperor's lair in Bianliang.
But now, the entire Quanzhou is in danger. If the Song army from Sunset Slope arrives, Quanzhou will be the property of the Song Dynasty.
On the surface, Quanzhou's strategic location to the Mongols in Western Xia was not very important. In fact, if Quanzhou became part of the Song Dynasty, then the entire northwestern border town would be exposed to the Song Dynasty.
Gert was in tears. What on earth had happened? He had fought several rounds with Han Shizhong's troops. Although he had not been able to defeat Han Shizhong, the enemy had not gained any advantage.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, this army appeared. Other armies used the surnames of their generals as their banners, while the Imperial Guards used the word "Song" as their banners. But this army used the word "wolf" as its banner.
It was this army that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and defeated their elite Mongolian cavalry.
Although the wolf army had won by surprise, Gert knew that even in a head-on battle, his army would be no match for the wolf army. He had experienced this deeply at Sunset Slope.
At Sunset Slope, when the Song cavalry charged, the enemy, with only a few hundred men at first, threw their formation into chaos, something that had never happened in any previous battle.
"Shaob!" Gert called out coldly.
Shao Bu was so frightened that he rushed in from outside the tent: "Captain of the Ten Thousand Men."
"Hey, is Li Cheng really that brave? Why didn't he come?" Gert said angrily.
Shao Bu panicked and hurriedly saluted, saying, "Captain, Li Cheng harbored evil intentions and actually surrendered to the Song people."
"What?!" Gert was shocked: "What's going on!"
Shao Bu then told the whole story, but he concealed the fact that he had forced Li Cheng to fight.
Gert was no fool; he knew exactly what kind of person Li Cheng was. This Quan was a coward, and even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare surrender to the Song.
"The Song people besieged the city. Did you force him to fight?" Gert asked coldly.
Shaobu's forehead was covered with sweat and he was too scared to continue. This was tantamount to his consent.
Gert was furious. He stood up, pulled out the horsewhip hanging from the general's tent, and lashed Shaobu with it: "Now is the time to use people, but you forced Li Cheng to leave for your own selfish reasons. Do you think I don't know what you are planning? You are afraid of losing Quanzhou, so you want to find a scapegoat. Let me tell you, if Quanzhou fails, the first person I will kill will be you!"
The young man was so frightened that he stood there in a daze, being severely beaten by Gert. He was indignant in his heart, but he was the coach, so he could only be angry but not say anything.
Soon after the two battalions of Confucius set out in pursuit, they discovered that the Mongolian soldiers had fled back to Quanzhou City. When the Gray Wolf Battalion returned with the report, Confucius was overjoyed, knowing that Luo Shiqi and his men had succeeded.
Sure enough, just half a day later, Zhu Qing brought Luo Shiqi's Blue Wolf Third Regiment to meet up with Confucius.
Confucius briefly introduced the situation in Quanzhou and Li Cheng to Zhu Qing. Zhu Qing was overjoyed. How could he not be happy to have a surrendered general with a thousand men?
"I am very happy that General Li has turned from evil to good. You will be incorporated into the Second Blue Wolf Regiment. General Li, don't worry. I will report to His Majesty to show my generous treatment." Zhu Qing said with a smile.
Zhao Huan's method of demoralizing the enemy was to recruit enemy generals who surrendered and treat them well. The Song Dynasty would treat any enemy general who surrendered voluntarily with favor.
Just like the Jurchen surrendered general Nianmur, who is still living freely in Bianjing. Although he has lost his military power, Zhao Huan treats him very well.
Li Cheng was grateful: "I thank the general for his support, but I still have a favor to ask."
"Okay." Zhu Qing nodded. He would usually try his best to meet these requests.
"I wonder if the general wants to take Quanzhou?" Although he had already guessed it, Li Cheng still asked worriedly.
Zhu Qing nodded again: "Just now I heard you say that Quanzhou is now short of troops. Naturally, this general wants to take it down."
"I request to participate in this main attack!" Li Cheng clasped his fists and bowed.
Zhu Qing was somewhat surprised that he was about to turn against his former master after surrendering. It was not until Confucius's voice recounted Li Cheng's experience in his ear that he finally understood.
Zhu Qing pondered for a moment, then said, "Okay, this general promises you this. If we capture Quanzhou, you will be credited as the first meritorious service."
Li Cheng was overjoyed and knelt hurriedly: "Thank you, General, thank you, General!"
Zhu Qing had been reluctant to let the Iron Wolf Army participate in the siege mission, as the Iron Wolf Army was more suitable for grassland warfare. Attacking a city would usually result in killing 1,000 enemies but losing 800 of their own, and the Iron Wolf Army was made up of carefully selected elites, so he was reluctant to let them go.
It's like the special forces soldiers selected nowadays. They are only used to participate in special missions. It would be a pity to let them participate in the front line of the battlefield.
It would be best if Li Cheng could volunteer to take the lead in the attack, while the other Iron Wolf troops could launch a feint attack from the flanks. This way, the Iron Wolf troops would suffer more casualties, which would be perfect.
He also knew that the reason why Li Cheng wanted to participate in the main attack was not to gain merit in front of him, but for revenge.
The members of the Blue Wolf Regiment were still besieging Batuwu in the Wild Wolf Valley. The regiment leader Ma Wen left half of his troops behind and was heading towards Quanzhou with the remaining 500 people.
"When will Ma Wen arrive?" Zhu Qing asked the lieutenant general next to him.
The lieutenant general bowed and replied, "Wolf Head, the cavalry is carrying siege chariots, so the march will be relatively slow. We should arrive in two days at the latest."
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