The setting sun was like blood, and the banners fluttered in the wind.
The sight of Xiao Po, the flag bearer of the Eighth Regiment of the Po Lu Army, standing proudly on the western city wall of Longcheng, with countless enemy corpses beneath his feet and the battle flag held high in his hands, moved and shocked all the soldiers of the reinforcements, including Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.
No one knows what Xiao Po, the flag bearer of the Eighth Regiment, experienced during the extremely fierce Battle of Longcheng.
But his tattered armor and numerous wounds constantly reminded everyone that the man before them was not only a qualified soldier, but also a true and indomitable man.
Chen Huai'an immediately ordered: "Pass down the order, spare no effort to save him!"
He then continued riding his horse along the city walls of Dragon City, which were littered with corpses.
Looking at the remains of the defending soldiers of the Polu Army, who were mixed with the corpses of enemy soldiers who outnumbered them several times over, and who had fought desperately with their swords and spears until their last breath, Chen Huai'an felt a mix of emotions.
From a strategic perspective, the Battle of Longcheng was a resounding victory.
When outnumbered, the goal is to eliminate or capture the majority of the enemy's main force with minimal casualties.
This thwarted the plot of Wu Qingyun, the commander of the Yunhui Army, to seize Longcheng with an army of 100,000, thus buying time for the Polu Army, which was on a southern expedition to suppress the rebellion, to grow stronger.
However, from the perspective of the specific battle, the Battle of Longcheng was an indisputable Pyrrhic victory.
The five thousand soldiers of the defending army paid a heavy price when facing a fierce attack from an enemy force more than ten times their size, with more than 90% of them being killed or wounded.
By the time Chen Huai'an led the Longshan Camp reinforcements to Longcheng, there were fewer than 500 survivors of the Polu Army defending the city, including more than 300 seriously wounded.
"Report—"
"Your Highness Prince Jin, the battle results and casualties of our army in the Battle of Longshan Camp have been tallied!"
At this moment, Fan Wuji, the deputy general of the vanguard, rushed over to report, his face beaming with undisguised excitement and agitation.
But when he arrived at Chen Huai'an's side and found Pang Xianchu, the military commander of the Po Lu Army guarding the city, there, he immediately suppressed his excitement and continued with a serious expression:
"Your Highness, in the Battle of Longshan Camp, we annihilated 10,000 enemy Yunzhou cavalry and 20,000 infantry, and captured countless horses, equipment, provisions, and supplies."
"Only the enemy's commander-in-chief Wu Qingyun, the vanguard commander Liang Erhu, and a dozen or so of his personal guards managed to escape. All 57 officers and soldiers, from the rank of centurion to the rank of adjutant, were executed!"
"Our army suffered over 500 casualties in the Mo Dao detachment, over 800 casualties in the Longcheng Iron Cavalry, and over 2,000 casualties in the Xuanjia Light Cavalry, for a total of 3,027 dead and 502 seriously wounded!"
"Yes, I understand!"
Chen Huai'an nodded. He had anticipated the casualties and losses on both sides in the Battle of Longshan Camp, and the actual situation was not much different from what he had expected.
Then he instructed, "Fan Wuji, you must immediately go to the Longshan camp to convey my imperial edict, ordering Chen Qingzhi, the commander of the Xuanjia Army, to lead the Xuanjia infantry and cavalry into the city and take over the defense of Longcheng."
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Fan Wuji immediately accepted the order and left.
"Report—"
"Your Highness Prince Jin, the battle results and casualties of the Longcheng garrison have been tallied!"
Soon after, Zuo Liangcai, the garrison commander of Longcheng, also rushed over to report, speaking to Chen Huai'an in a heavy tone:
"Your Highness, in the Battle of Longcheng, the defending soldiers killed more than 38,000 enemy soldiers, captured more than 24,000 enemy soldiers, and seized countless siege weapons, weapons, equipment, and supplies."
"The enemy's deputy commanders Zhou Wuyang and Chang Chenghu, along with 123 other officers and soldiers from the rank of centurion to lieutenant colonel, have all been executed!"
"Our soldiers defending the city suffered 4,506 deaths and 394 serious injuries!"
After saying that, Zuo Liang turned his head to the side and silently raised his hand to wipe away the two lines of tears that rolled down his cheeks.
He was originally the commander of the Eighth Regiment of the Po Lu Army. Yesterday, he was temporarily transferred to the Longcheng Iron Cavalry to fight with Chen Huai'an outside the city, and then rushed to the Longshan Camp.
But when he returned today with the Prince of Jin and led reinforcements, his Eighth Regiment was left with only Xiao Po, the flag bearer who was seriously injured, unconscious, and whose life or death was unknown.
Seeing his brothers, who were full of energy and laughing and talking just yesterday, turn into cold corpses in the blink of an eye, Zuo Liangcai could no longer control his grief and burst into tears.
"Your Highness, this humble general is incompetent. The Battle of Longcheng has squandered all the precious legacy left to you by the late King. They were all battle-hardened veterans, the last bloodline of the Po Lu Army!"
Pang Xianchu suddenly knelt down on one knee in front of Chen Huai'an, sobbing and pleading:
"Your Highness, please order my execution. So many of my brothers and comrades from the Polu Army are buried on the walls of Dragon City. How can I, as the commander, have the face to live on?"
Chen Huai'an ignored Pang Xianchu, who was consumed by guilt and self-blame and was determined to die.
Instead, he strode forward with firm steps to the battle flag that had been cut down by enemy swords and then re-erected on the West Gate city wall by Xiao Po, the flag bearer of the Eighth Regiment of the Po Lu Army, who used his last strength to raise it again.
Then, he forcefully pulled up the battle flag's pole, holding this flag—a flag defended by countless soldiers of the Broken Army with their lives and stained with their blood—and walked up to Pang Xianchu, sternly declaring:
"Pang Xianchu, I command you to raise your head and look. What is this?"
Pang Xianchu slowly raised his head, his tear-streaked eyes suddenly struck him as if by lightning when he saw the Po Lu Army battle flag held high in Chen Huai'an's hand, fluttering in the wind. He stood frozen in place.
Chen Huai'an said, each word distinct and forceful, "Pang Xianchu, open your eyes and take a good look at this battle flag, stained red with the lives and blood of countless Polu Army soldiers, and think carefully about what kind of bullshit you just said!"
"Xiao Po of the Eighth Regiment, even a flag bearer, knows that as long as the flag stands, the city stands!"
As the commander of the 8,000-strong Polu Army of Longcheng, the vanguard of the late King Chen Polu's imperial guard, and a valiant general personally bestowed by Emperor Gaozu Zhao Mang, you don't even understand the simplest principle: a person's spirit lives on as long as the flag is in charge!
Chen Huai'an rebuked him angrily, "You still have the nerve to ask me to order your execution? If I really ordered your execution, would you have the face to face the late king and the spirits of the fallen Po Lu Army soldiers?"
"Or are you, Pang Xianchu, already planning to tell the late king from beyond the grave that he was blind to entrust the last bloodline of the Po Lu Army to a useless coward like you?"
Go tell the spirits of those fallen soldiers of the Broken Army who died on the walls of Dragon City that they were blind to have willingly followed you, a coward who clung to life, to the battlefield to die.
Go tell everyone, what kind of valiant general are you, Pang Xianchu? I think you're more like a cowardly general!
"Your Highness, I am not a coward, Pang Xianchu is not a coward—"
Pang Xianchu abruptly stood up, veins bulging on his neck, panting heavily as he stared intently at Chen Huai'an, and said in a firm tone:
“Your Highness, I, Pang Xianchu, am not a coward, the late King did not misjudge me, and those brothers of the Polu Army who died on the walls of Longcheng did not misjudge me either—”
"I, Pang Xianchu, am not a coward!"
Pang Xianchu looked up to the sky and roared, exhaling the pent-up anger and guilt that had been building up in his heart.
Then, he looked intently at Chen Huai'an and said, word by word:
"Your Highness, give me three months, and I, Pang Xianchu, will definitely recruit and train a brand-new Polu Army to return to Your Highness. I will never fail the late King's expectations of me, nor will I dare to squander the trust placed in me by these brothers who died in battle!"
At that moment, Chen Huai'an saw a light in Pang Xianchu's eyes, a light that radiated confidence and dominance.
This was the Pang Xianchu he knew, the brave and valiant general he was familiar with who could take the head of an enemy general from among ten thousand soldiers as easily as taking something out of a bag!
Chen Huai'an asked irritably, "What's wrong? Now you're not crying and wailing like a woman, threatening to kill yourself?"
Pang Xianchu shook his head decisively: "Your Highness, this humble general knows his mistake, this humble general will never dare to do it again!"
Ha ha!
Chen Huai'an burst into laughter, then slammed his fist heavily into Pang Xianchu's armor before saying with satisfaction:
"That's right, this is the Pang Xianchu I know, the Pang Xianchu who is full of courage and integrity, and whose bravery is unparalleled in the army!"
As he spoke, Chen Huai'an solemnly and respectfully presented the battle flag, which symbolized the spirit of the Broken Army, to Pang Xianchu, and said with heartfelt emotion:
"Pang Xianchu, I will now hand over this battle flag of the Broken Army to you!"
"I hope you will not disappoint the late king's expectations of you, and even more so, you will not chill the burning hearts of the heroic spirits of the Po Lu Army who were willing to shed their blood for this battle flag!"
Pang Xianchu accepted the tattered battle flag, a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Po Lu army, with both hands. His sharp eyes revealed determination and resolve, and he replied in a firm and powerful voice:
"This humble general will certainly live up to his mission and vow to carry forward the spirit of the army that will defeat the enemy!"
Go!
Chen Huai'an waved his hand and ordered Pang Xianchu to leave first.
Almost simultaneously, that abrupt, synthesized mechanical voice echoed in his mind once more:
[Ding!]
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