The Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army suffered a defeat at Mozhou, with a total of over 50,000 killed or captured!
These words, like sharp daggers, pierced through Chen Huai'an's deep pupils and went straight into the depths of his soul.
It should be noted that since Chen Huai'an raised his army in Longcheng, he has successively destroyed the Yunhui Army, the Turks, and the second emperor of the Daxin Dynasty, Zhao Gan; and then he went on a campaign to the Western Regions, making thirty-six countries submit to him.
Throughout their campaigns, the total number of casualties for the Longcheng army was only a mere 50,000.
However, in the Battle of Mozhou, 50,000 of the Longcheng army were killed or captured.
Moreover, the commander-in-chief in charge of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army was Chang Yuchun, a fierce general known as the "Ten Thousand Generals of the Army"!
This news was like a bolt from the blue for Chen Huai'an, leaving him in disbelief.
Unfortunately, that is indeed the case.
Chang Yuchun's handwritten letter was still in Chen Huai'an's hands, leaving him no choice but to believe it.
After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself down, Chen Huai'an reread the contents of the military report word by word.
Chang Yuchun reported the army's defeat at Mozhou to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin in concise and brief language.
It turns out that the general who fought Chang Yuchun outside Mozhou City was a young martial arts champion, Wu Sanjia.
Information about the martial arts champion, Wu Sanjia, was mentioned in a military report that Chang Yuchun sent by express courier to Prince Chen Huai'an's tent.
This person was the top military scholar in the first year of the Xin'an era of the Great Xia Dynasty.
During the reign of the tyrannical and arrogant Emperor Jian'an, Zhao Gan, the newly appointed martial arts champion, Wu Sanjia, was known for his eccentric and stubborn personality, as well as his lack of skill in flattery and scheming.
As a result, he was not given an important position by Zhao Gan and was instead assigned to the Ministry of War of the Daxin Dynasty, where he was responsible for archiving and recording the Ministry's documents.
It wasn't until Emperor Zhao Gan of the second dynasty of the Daxin dynasty was defeated at Tumu Fortress, and all seventy-two generals, including Minister of War Shen Guangming, were killed in battle, that Wu Sanjia, the newly appointed martial arts champion, finally got his chance to shine.
In order to consolidate the rule of the Great Xin Dynasty in the south, the treacherous minister Qin Ruhui and his cronies hastily promoted Wu Sanjia to the position of commander of the Great Xin Tiger Army, giving him control over the military forces of Ying and Mo continents to resist the Longcheng army's southern expedition.
In the military reports that Chang Yuchun had sent in the past, he had only mentioned to Chen Huai'an the change of commander of the Tiger Army of the Imperial Court, and that the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army had not gained any advantage in several probing battles with Wu Sanjia.
Wu Sanjia is considered a formidable general. With Ying and Mo in his hands, they will become a tough nut to crack for the Longcheng army on their southern expedition.
However, to the surprise of Chen Huai'an and Chang Yuchun, this guy named Wu Sanjia would inflict such a heavy blow on the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army.
In Chang Yuchun's urgent military report, regarding the defeat of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army at Mozhou, two key points were summarized:
Firstly, Chang Yuchun was too eager for quick success and fell into Wu Sanjia's trap of luring the enemy deep into his territory.
Secondly, Wu Sanjia actually had a heavily armored cavalry force with the same equipment as the Iron Pagoda of Longcheng. The quality of their armor and equipment, as well as their combat power, were comparable to those of the Iron Pagoda of Longcheng.
Chang Yuchun was too eager for quick success outside Mozhou City and fell into Wu Sanjia's trap of luring the enemy deep into his territory.
Then, the army was suddenly attacked by a force of about three thousand Ironclad Heavy Cavalry that had been lying in ambush, which disrupted the army's formation and led to the defeat at Mozhou City.
"The imperial court's three thousand Iron Pagodas have finally appeared!"
After calming down, Chen Huai'an understood why Chang Yuchun had been defeated at Mozhou City. He even joked to himself, "Now look what happened! Chang's army of 100,000 has become 50,000!"
"It's not necessarily a bad thing. At least it will make Chang Yuchun and his generals, as well as the generals of the fourteen prefectures of Youyun who surrendered to the Longcheng army, realize the reality!"
Then, Chen Huai'an shouted sternly, "Guards!"
"Issue my order that Lan Yu, Pang Xianchu, Fan Wuji, and the others come to my tent immediately for a meeting!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
......
At the same time.
In Zhuozhou City, thousands of miles away, inside the Longcheng army's main camp.
Before dawn, Chang Yuchun, the deputy marshal of Longcheng and the general in charge of the southern expedition, put on his armor, picked up his sword, walked out of the camp, rode his horse to the top of Zhuozhou city wall, and inspected the city's defenses.
At this time, a full ten days had passed since Chang Yuchun's defeat at Mozhou City.
The heroic spirit that Chang Yuchun had displayed when he captured three cities in three days during his battle against the Yunhui Army was gone from his face.
Instead, there was an indescribable gloom and melancholy.
Even now, Chang Yuchun is still unable to recover from the defeat at Mozhou, and he still cannot understand why he was defeated by that young Wu Sanjia.
In the urgent military report he sent to the Western Regions, Chang Yuchun only explained to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin the facts of the defeat at Mozhou City and made a self-criticism for his poor command, which led to heavy losses for the army.
However, he did not report the specific details of the defeat to Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.
Only Chang Yuchun and the generals of the Longcheng army who had experienced the disastrous defeat in Mozhou knew the strength of the newly appointed martial arts champion and the top three martial arts students of the new dynasty.
It is no exaggeration to say that Wu Sanjia's skills in commanding troops in battle and in one-on-one combat on horseback are by no means inferior to Chang Yuchun's.
Even when the army was defeated in Mozhou City, Chang Yuchun was almost knocked off his horse by Wu Sanjia.
On horseback, Wu Sanjia wielded the Dragon Gallant Silver Spear with unparalleled skill, making it unstoppable.
Especially his counter-attack, which even the seasoned general Chang Yuchun could only avoid and dare not meet head-on.
The thought of the boast he had made to the Prince of Jin made Chang Yuchun feel ashamed.
Before Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin led his troops on a western expedition, Chang Yuchun solemnly promised: When His Highness Prince Chen Huai'an returned from the western expedition, the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun would surely all be returned to Jin.
Now it seems that whether or not we can defend the Fourteen Continents of Youyun is still uncertain.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the Vice Marshal, scouts report that a large enemy force is advancing from the direction of Mozhou, with their advance aimed directly at Zhuozhou City!"
At this moment, a messenger under Chang Yuchun's command hurriedly came to report.
Um?
Upon hearing this, Chang Yuchun frowned and asked, "How many troops does the enemy have, and who is their commander?"
The messenger reported, "Reporting to the Deputy Marshal, according to the scouts, the enemy force numbers no less than 100,000, and they are flying the banners of the Great Xin Dynasty, as well as the 'Wu' (武) banner!"
"The commander of the troops may be Wu Sanjia, the chief general of the Imperial Tiger Army!"
snort!
After receiving an affirmative answer, Chang Yuchun snorted coldly and muttered to himself, "As expected, he's a top-three martial artist!"
Then, he shouted sternly, "Men, convey my order: the entire army must prepare for battle! There must be no mistakes!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com