bookrandom Chapter 2264 Survival by Cutting Off the Tail
Chapter 2264 Survival by Cutting Off the Tail
Zhou Dashou's order was like a boulder thrown into an already turbulent lake, stirring up huge waves.
Abandon this place?
Go and stop the white horse cavalry?
what does this mean?
This means they will completely abandon General Gongsun Yi and his Scorpion Clan main force, who are currently fighting a bloody battle with the Chu army under the walls of Jianghuai City, leaving them to face the pressure from three sides: Feng Mulan, Zhang Shijie, and Liu Shijie alone!
The defeated soldiers looked at each other, whispering amongst themselves, and panic and discontent spread once again.
However, Zhou Dashou and his personal guards drew their swords and were ready to strike. Several soldiers who raised objections were immediately killed on the spot.
Under the threat of death and the vague cries of "the prince's strict orders" and "the overall situation is paramount," the 20,000 newly assembled Youzhou soldiers were like a flock of sheep being driven away.
Confused and unwilling, they turned around and followed Zhou Dashou, rushing chaotically towards Changtingpo.
They ruthlessly abandoned the Jianghuai City battlefield, still deafening with the sounds of battle, along with their former ally, Gongsun Yi.
This scene was naturally witnessed by Gongsun Yi, who was fighting a bitter battle in the central army and was hoping that the Youzhou army on the flank could be reorganized to support him.
At first, when he saw the Youzhou army regroup, a glimmer of hope rose in his heart, thinking that a turning point had arrived.
But when he realized that the team was not heading in his direction, but was heading straight away from the battlefield, he froze.
It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe; even the hand gripping the scimitar instantly turned icy cold.
"Where...where are they going?" a lieutenant beside Gongsun Yi exclaimed in surprise.
Immediately afterwards, a scout rushed in with more detailed information: "General! It's an order from Prince Chu Xuan!"
"General Zhou Dashou has rallied the defeated troops and dispatched them all towards Changtingpo to stop Zhao Yu's White Horse Cavalry! They... they've abandoned us!"
"They're abandoning us..."
Gongsun Yi murmured these words repeatedly, his expression gradually changing from astonishment and doubt to disbelief and realization.
The final image is a bitter laugh that blends immense irony, boundless sorrow, and utter enlightenment.
"Haha...hahaha..."
Gongsun Yi initially chuckled softly, but his laughter grew louder and more manic, sounding particularly jarring and desolate on the bloody battlefield, bringing tears to his eyes.
"Well done! Well done, Chu Xuan! Well done, Khan Helian Hui!"
"To kill Chu Ning, you really are... willing to sacrifice anything!"
"Even allies, even the lives of tens of thousands of comrades, can be discarded at will, used as stepping stones!"
He abruptly stopped laughing, all the confusion, anger, and resentment in his eyes vanished, leaving only an almost ethereal calm, and a deep, burning, cold, resolute flame.
He looked around and saw that his Scorpion Clan warriors were still fighting fiercely with Feng Mulan's tribe, and every face showed exhaustion and resilience.
They are still fighting for him, for the Scorpion Clan, for that unattainable goal.
"They abandoned us..."
Gongsun Yi's voice became unusually calm, yet carried a heavy weight, as if all escape routes had been severed.
"But we Scorpion warriors never turn our backs to the enemy, nor do we beg for the mercy of those who abandon us."
He slowly raised the jewel-encrusted scimitar, its blade reflecting a chilling light in the morning sun. His voice suddenly rose, filled with a heroic resolve to face death and a final mockery of fate:
"Since they want to use our blood to pave the way to kill Chu Ning... then so be it!"
His blade was pointed directly at Feng Mulan's crimson battle flag ahead, his eyes blazing with the final, most intense fighting spirit and killing intent, his roar echoing across the battlefield:
"My sworn brothers! The Eternal Heaven bears witness! Today, there are no reinforcements, no way to retreat! Only the blood and scimitars of the Scorpion Clan men!"
"Follow this general—fight to the death! Even if the entire army is wiped out, we must take down Feng Mulan, this tough nut to crack, and ease the pressure on Chu Ning's side! Kill—!!!"
Gongsun Yi, this steppe warlord, did not choose to collapse or surrender when he realized that he had been completely abandoned by the Khan and his allies. Instead, he was aroused by the most primal courage and pride in his bones.
He wanted to use his own life and the last blood of his tens of thousands of Scorpion Clan soldiers to contribute his final strength to the decisive siege at Changtingpo.
Even if this power is so tragic and desperate.
The flames of war beneath Jianghuai City flared up once more fiercely because of this desperate order!
On the battlefield outside the west gate of Jianghuai City, the dawn had completely dispelled the night, revealing the fierce and chaotic battle of the night to the world without reservation.
Clad in red armor, Feng Mulan stood on a makeshift earthen platform, two swords at her waist, her eyes blazing as she quickly scanned the subtle changes in the entire battle.
She immediately noticed the unusually large-scale mobilization of the Youzhou army's front.
The large, routed army that Zhou Dashou had just managed to rally did not, as she had anticipated, rejoin the flanking attack or attempt to stabilize their position.
Instead, under Zhou Dashou's strict command, they turned around in a chaotic manner, like a receding tide, and surged towards Changtingpo in the southeast, quickly breaking away from the main battlefield under Jianghuai City!
This change came suddenly, but it was not entirely unexpected.
Feng Mulan narrowed her phoenix eyes and instantly understood the other party's intentions.
This was Chu Xuan's cruel decision to "sacrifice the pawn to save the king" in the critical situation at Changtingpo!
They abandoned the battle at Jianghuai City, even at the cost of sacrificing their ally Gongsun Yi, who was fighting a bitter war.
We should also transfer the last available troops to block General Zhao Yu's White Horse Cavalry, or strengthen the siege of Changting Slope!
"What a clever move to cut off the tail to survive... no, it's more like cutting off flesh to mend a wound!"
Feng Mulan sneered inwardly, but what surged up immediately was not relief, but a stronger fighting spirit and a clearer strategic judgment.
She quickly weighed the pros and cons. The departure of the 20,000 defeated soldiers from Youzhou instantly relieved the enormous pressure on her flank, leaving Gongsun Yi's Scorpion Clan army completely isolated and helpless.
But this also means that General Zhao Yu's White Horse Cavalry will have to face this newly emerged and sizable obstacle on their way to Changtingpo.
Although their combat strength is questionable, they will at least buy time.
However, Feng Mulan was not overly pessimistic about the battle at Changtingpo; on the contrary, she held a cautiously optimistic attitude.
She knew His Majesty's resilience and strategy, and was also aware of the ferocity of General Ma Chao's Xiliang cavalry.
Helian Hui, Li Shiming, and Chu Xuan besieged His Majesty for a whole night, yet they still failed to capture him. Now that His Majesty has gained Ma Chao's fresh forces, the defense line will surely be even more solid.
General Zhao Yu's 20,000 White Horse Cavalry were among the most elite troops in the land.
Having long been recuperating and building up their strength, how could Zhou Dashou's hastily gathered, panicked Youzhou troops, who were like frightened birds, be easily stopped?
Even if it's delayed, a breakthrough is only a matter of time.
Conversely, the opportunity to fight under the city of Jianghuai is now a once-in-a-lifetime chance!
Gongsun Yi's troops were abandoned by their allies, which inevitably dealt a huge blow to their morale. This was the time when their morale was at its lowest and their situation was most isolated!
Our side, though exhausted after a series of bloody battles, has gradually gained the initiative and is in high spirits after Zhang Shijie's naval surprise attack and Liu Shijie's support from outside the city.
If we can seize this opportunity and concentrate all our forces, we can annihilate or severely damage Gongsun Yi's main scorpion force in one fell swoop.
This would not only completely resolve the crisis in Jianghuai City, but also sever one of Helian Hui's arms, greatly weakening the overall strength of the enemy army!