bookrandom Chapter 2066 Execute the Order!
Chapter 2066 Execute the Order!
Ran Ming drew his Mo Dao, letting Liu Hongji's blood slide down the blade.
He looked at the Tang army, which collapsed instantly, his face expressionless, and coldly issued the final order:
"Sweep away the remaining enemy forces; those who surrender will not be killed, while those who resist will be killed without exception!"
The Chu soldiers responded with a roar and began to divide, surround, and mop up the remnants of the Tang army that had lost unified command.
Resistance became sporadic and feeble, replaced by cries for mercy, screams, and the sound of pursuing footsteps.
As the sun finally broke free from the horizon and showered the earth with golden light, the sounds of fighting and shouting on the front lines gradually subsided and dissipated, like the receding tide.
The morning light dispelled the gloom of the night and clearly illuminated the entire battlefield.
Corpses lay strewn about, broken halberds and tattered flags littered the fields, and blood stained the earth a strange dark red, filling the air with a nauseating, heavy stench of blood.
Ran Ming stood on his horse, his sword resting on the ground, gazing at the battlefield that he had personally led to its end.
Liu Hongji's body has been collected by his personal guards, while the Tang soldiers who surrendered last were disarmed and put under guard.
The fierce battle, which lasted for three days and three nights, finally came to an end with the complete defeat of the Tang army and Li Jing's disastrous northward escape.
After the commotion subsided, a deathly silence descended, broken only by the cawing of crows circling in the sky, heralding the start of another grueling task: cleaning up the battlefield.
The Chu army won this crucial battle, but at an extremely heavy cost.
In the northern sky, Li Jing's figure had long since disappeared; the aftermath of this war was far from over.
Because Wang Zhongsi's troops are still engaged in fierce fighting with the Vermilion Bird Legion!
Guan Yun and Xue Huaide's troops are still engaged in fierce battles with Tang troops from two other directions!
Meanwhile, outside Zhennan Pass, the main battlefield where the Vermilion Bird Legion was located had now been completely transformed into a massive furnace of flesh and blood.
Since Chu Ning personally went to the front line, raised the dragon banner, and personally commanded the battle, the morale of the Chu army has been boosted to its peak.
His Majesty the Emperor risked his life to fight alongside ordinary soldiers, which in itself was like the most fervent war drum, striking the hearts of every Chu soldier.
Under Chu Ning's command, the Vermilion Bird Legion no longer held its ground. Instead, it broke into smaller units, forming elite hundred-man squads, like countless sharp daggers, and actively wedged themselves into the Tang army's seemingly solid lines.
This tactic is extremely bold and dangerous. It completely blurs the lines of battle between the two sides, creating a chaotic and intertwined battle.
Despite his alarm, Wang Zhongsi remained calm and displayed the demeanor of a renowned general, directing the Tang army to fight fiercely.
The battle devolved into a brutal war of attrition, with the struggle for every inch of land resulting in the loss of hundreds and thousands of lives.
Chu Ning's silver armor was already stained with blood and dust, but he still stood at the forefront of the battle line, calmly surveying the battlefield and issuing orders continuously.
Feng Mulan stood guard beside him, her spear gleaming like a dragon, piercing through any Tang soldiers who dared to threaten the emperor.
Just as the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the balance of victory and defeat, was trembling slightly in the stalemate.
A series of deep, rhythmic sounds began to come from the northeast of the battlefield. At first, they were faint, but they became clearer and louder, eventually turning into thunder that swept across the heavens and the earth!
That's the kind of power that can only be created by tens of thousands of warhorses galloping at the same time!
Wang Zhongsi, who was directing the Tang army to fight back against the Chu army's infiltration, suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his heart, and an extreme sense of unease instantly gripped him.
He suddenly turned his head and stared into the distance in the direction from which the sound came.
It was nearly noon, and the summer sun was exceptionally intense, shining down on the earth.
Against the backdrop of that blinding sunlight, a dazzling white expanse, like the surging front of an avalanche or like a cloud tide falling from the sky, was sweeping toward the battlefield at an astonishing speed!
That white was the uniform white warhorse, the flowing white cloak, and the world-renowned white horse cavalry under Zhao Yu's command!
Almost simultaneously, a scout stumbled and crawled to Wang Zhongsi, his face filled with panic and despair, his voice trembling: "General! Something terrible has happened! Commander Li... Commander Li's camp has fallen, and the entire army is retreating north!"
"Zhao Yu... Zhao Yu is personally leading tens of thousands of White Horse cavalry, heading straight for our flank!"
Despite having a bad feeling, upon hearing this confirmed bad news, Wang Zhongsi still felt a wave of dizziness and his body swayed slightly.
Li Jing's defeat meant that his isolated army, which had penetrated deep into enemy territory, had lost its last hope and means of escape.
Now, with Chu Ning personally in charge and the Vermilion Bird Legion, whose morale is soaring, relentlessly entangled them in front, and Zhao Yu's elite cavalry, whose momentum is at its peak and whose speed is like the wind, launching a thunderous attack on their flanks.
This is no longer a question of victory or defeat, but a crisis of total annihilation!
Wang Zhongsi's face instantly turned extremely grim, but as a seasoned general, he suppressed the turmoil in his heart and his mind raced. He absolutely could not sit idly by and wait for death!
He gritted his teeth, his voice as if squeezed out from between them, carrying a resolute tone:
"Send word to General Luo Wei! Order him to immediately lead all reserve cavalry and deploy to the left flank at all costs, to hold off Zhao Yu's White Horse Cavalry's first wave of attack! Hold them off for as long as possible!"
"Understood!" The messenger ran away.
Immediately afterward, Wang Zhongsi issued another order that puzzled his deputy general: "Furthermore, order the central army to immediately disengage from the current battle and gradually assemble at the earthen slope to the north! Move quickly, but maintain formation!"
"General, if we gather our elite troops and move north now, the pressure on the front lines will increase dramatically!" the lieutenant couldn't help but remind him.
With the current battle lines intertwined, suddenly withdrawing the core elite troops could lead to a rapid collapse of the front.
"Excuting an order!"
Wang Zhongsi interrupted sharply, his gaze as sharp as a knife, but offered no explanation.
The deputy general dared not ask any more questions and immediately went to relay the order himself.
Wang Zhongsi felt a chilling clarity in his heart.
Luo Wei's attempt to stop him was doomed to failure, a futile effort to buy a meager amount of precious time.
Gathering the last elite troops to march north was the only hope he could see in this desperate situation, a hope that might preserve a spark for the army.
That wasn't for an attack, but for a last-ditch effort to break through.
At the same time, Chu Ning's central army also received a report of victory delivered by fast horse.
"Your Majesty! General Zhao Yu's White Horse Cavalry has broken through Li Jing's main camp, and Li Jing has fled in disarray. General Zhao is leading his troops rapidly towards the flank of our battlefield and is about to launch an attack on Wang Zhongsi's forces!"
"it is good!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning's tense face finally broke into a hearty smile. He pointed his riding whip at the chaotic Tang army lines, full of vigor.
"General Zhao has arrived at the perfect time! With attacks from both sides, inside and outside, I see that Wang Zhongsi will have no chance of escape today, even if he had wings!"