Chapter 11: The Northern Counterattack (1) Ge Congzhou's cavalry launched a surprise attack, achieving an unexpectedly excellent effect. Not only did they break through the main camp of the Lulong Army gathered below the city walls, but also put the Lulong Imperial Guards who had entered the city in a predicament.

  When Hedron led the infantry of Bianjun to arrive, the military heart inside the government was greatly disturbed, and soon dispersed, with deaths and injuries scattered all over the city.

  The commander of the imperial army, Wang Linlang, was captured by Ge Congzhou while withdrawing from the earthen city. When Ge Congzhou tried to persuade him to surrender, Wang Linlang cursed loudly and was beheaded on the spot.

  Due to the departure of the main force of the Baodu cavalry with General Liu Shouwen to the south, the Baodu cavalry general Xue Tuqie led the 50 cavalrymen who were left behind in the big camp to charge against the Bian army's cavalry, winning time for General Liu Ren'guang's safe retreat. When it came down to the last man, this descendant of the nomadic people of the grasslands fought valiantly and died by his own sword, surrounded by dozens of Bian army cavalrymen.

  When the Bian army's cavalry launched a surprise attack, General Zhou Zhiyu of the five elite camps was in the central camp asking Commander-in-Chief Liu Ren'gong for orders to engage in battle. Seeing that the defenders on the east city wall were heavily deployed, he planned to ask permission to attack the north gate.

  When the army was defeated and scattered, he fought his way out of the encirclement with great effort, gathering as many soldiers as possible along the way, but only managed to get more than 2,000 people.

  At the beginning of the southern expedition, ten thousand strong men have now died in battle. The middle-aged general wept and stood still for a long time at the gate of the camp, leaning against the wooden door and unwilling to go back.

  In this battle, the five camps of Jianzu were the first to bear the brunt, with the heaviest losses. Next was the elite of the Yanei Army attacking the upper city head. The rest of the army's losses mostly occurred during the self-treading chaos when the military formation collapsed.

  After returning to the main camp and carefully counting, it was found that more than 7,000 people had been lost.

  The Bian army made a surprise attack and achieved significant results, but due to the lack of troops, they did not attack the main camp of the Lulong Army. Instead, after dismantling the earthen city, they returned to Weizhou City under the escort of Wei Bojun's commander, Huangfu Jiong, who came out of the city to welcome them with a show of military might.

  This also let the powerless Ludong Army breathe a sigh of relief.

  Li Chengzhong returned to his tent and fell asleep as soon as he lay down. The shocking events of the day had left him extremely exhausted.

  While fast asleep, he was suddenly shaken awake and found it was Wang Dalang.

  Only Wang Dalang was seen to be flustered and exclaimed: "Li Lang woke up, the army is defeated! The army is defeated!" Li Chengzhong suddenly became alert, his sleepiness completely gone, he sat up, grabbed Wang Dalang's arm and asked: "What's defeated? Speak clearly!" On the side, Jiang Miao also woke up with a start, staring at Wang Dalang who couldn't speak.

  "Wang Dalang's voice was choked with sobs: "The young general has been defeated... not many people have escaped... the whole army is gone, all gone..." Li Chengzhong lifted the tent flap and came out, but inside the camp it was still quiet and silent, only the shadow of the soldiers on guard at the arrow tower occasionally flickered."

  He went back into the tent and asked, "Is the news reliable?" Wang Dalang nodded and said, "I couldn't sleep, so I sneaked out to find my fellow villager Ding San Shu to gather some information. When I arrived at the outside of the central military camp, I saw them packing up their gear. My heart was racing, and I asked the brothers on guard duty. That brother is familiar with me, and he told me to make preparations quickly. He said that General Xiao had just escaped back, bringing only a few people with him..." Li Chengzhong asked again, "Is the central army leaving? Why isn't there any movement on our side?" Wang Dalang replied, "On my way back, I ran into Commander Zhou, and he rushed in the direction of the central military camp."

  Ginger seedling trembled with his tongue and asked: "Zhou... Zhou Zhihui wants to abandon us?" Wang Dalang said with a bitter face: "I don't know either, so I came to find you in a hurry."

  Li Lang came up with an idea, "If Commander Zhou really abandoned us... what should we do?" Li Chengzhong remembered how Zhou Zhiyong had cried when waiting for his brothers to return at the camp gate during the day and shook his head: "Commander Zhou won't abandon his brothers... maybe he went to the central army to ask for orders... let's not panic first, wait for news before doing anything."

  The three men could no longer sit still inside the tent and came out again, gazing in the direction of the main camp.

  After a while, Li Chengzhong said to Jiang Miao and Wang Dalang: "You two go separately to call up the brothers, gather in my camp with only short swords and soft armor, be quiet and don't make a big noise."

  "In the military camp, without a military order, packing up and leaving on one's own is a capital offense. Li Chengzhong did not want to do this disobedient thing either, but things were urgent. If Zhou Zhiyu really abandoned his brothers, everyone would die here."

  Being able to make early preparations for evacuation would add a glimmer of hope for survival, and now Li Chengzhong had no choice but to abandon military orders.

  Jiang Miao and Wang Dalang both knew the serious consequences of doing so, carefully making their way to the surrounding tents to quietly wake up everyone, and secretly gathering in Li Chengzhong's tent.

  Along with Li Chengzhong and others, there were still twenty-three brothers left. Now without a leader or officer, many officers including Li Chengzhong's original old comrades-in-arms had died in the chaos of war. In such a moment of panic, the lower-level soldiers habitually sought a mainstay.

  Most of these people followed Li Chengzhong back in the daytime, and they also admired Li Chengzhong. Moreover, Li Chengzhong and Jiang Miao were both company commanders, and they were considered to be one of the highest-ranking military officers at the moment, so whatever they said, everyone else would follow suit.

  Li Chengzhong deeply knew that at this moment of escaping, the importance of doing a good job in organizational work far surpassed everything, so he took the liberty to take charge and reorganized the scattered gangs.

  Among these twenty-three people, in addition to Li Chengzhong and Jiang Miao, there were also two gang leaders, Zhang Xingchong and Zhou Kandao. These two men were both old soldiers of the Lu Long Army, but their origins were worlds apart.

  Zhang Xingzhong was a member of the Lulong Army's general family, but he was just a collateral descendant, so he had always been mixed with the big-headed soldiers, and only when the Jianzuoying camp was established did he get promoted to partner.

  Zhou Kan Dao was an orphan, and from a young age he didn't have a name. People always called him "Zhou Da". As he grew up, he became an apprentice in Wu Yi County to learn the trade of butchering. Because of his great strength and skill with knives, he could often cut off a piece of meat with one knife stroke, including the tendons and bones. Therefore, people also called him "Zhou Kan Dao", which he liked very much, so he simply took it as his name.

  Logically, the two team leaders' seniority far surpasses that of Li Chengzhong, but Zhang Xingchong's skills have been underutilized for a long time, and he has developed a strong sense of inferiority. He rarely speaks in the military camp and now remains silent, leaving everything to Li Chengzhong's arrangements. Zhou Kangdao is somewhat arrogant with his strength and knife skills, but since Li Chengzhong just saved his life in the chaotic army during the day, he feels inferior in front of Li Chengzhong and can only follow orders for now.

  Li Chengzhong rearranged the troops, letting Jiang Miao, Zhang Xingchong and Zhou Kan each lead six men, while he himself did not lead any troops, only letting Wang Dalang follow him.

  This arrangement was far beyond what several people had expected.

  Whether the subordinates bring soldiers or not, it's a matter of military power. Although there are only a few soldiers, that is also military power! Zhang Xing looked at Li Chengzhong with surprise and didn't say much. Zhou Kanjian, on the other hand, put down his heart and even felt a little ashamed for worrying that Li Chengzhong would suppress him before.

  Since the battle of Bei State, Jiang Miao has been increasingly obedient to Li Chengzhong's words, with a feeling that "everything Li Chengzhong says is always correct, and everything he does must be resolutely supported". At this moment, he naturally would not object.

  At this time, Li Chengzhong actually played a trick, although he didn't lead the troops, but in fact, he arranged himself in a position above the three partners.

  Everyone acts together, and he is the arranger of this adjustment. Although there is only one soldier under his command, Wang Dalang, will the three partners not come to consult with him when they encounter things? Moreover, there is Jiang Miao's "direct line" fully supporting himself! After making arrangements, Li Chengzhong ordered Zhao Da to bring back dry rations and distribute them to everyone.

  This "order" is necessary, it's beneficial to everyone, so it's also very normal. Zhao Daben himself naturally obeyed the order, and Zhang Xingzhong, the leader of Zhao Da's group, didn't think there was anything wrong with it either.

  This detail is quite crucial. The power of habit is terrible. Once everyone gets used to listening to Li Chengzhong's orders, everything will be different.

  Everyone sat quietly in the tent, Li Chengzhong again "ordered" Wang Dalang to use a knife to cut out thin strips of leather from the cowhide tent, and then asked everyone to tie them around their shoes and tighten them, and then tied their calves.

  Everyone hesitantly followed Li Chengzhong's method and tied a simple bandage around their leg, feeling quite strange.

  Zhou cut the knife and tied it up, then jumped up and down on the spot, frowning: "Li Lang, it's a bit tight, not very comfortable."

  "Wang Dalang said: 'Hao Tou, what's the point of tying him up like this?' Wang Dalang's address to Li Chengzhong changed from 'Li Lang' to 'Hao Tou', showing that Li Chengzhong's authority was initially revealed."

  Li Chengzhong smiled and explained that although this binding felt a bit tight, it would make running more efficient.

  He didn't give too much explanation that binding legs can guarantee the benefits of legs and feet in long-distance running, but only used the easiest-to-understand word "flexible".

  Everyone nodded in agreement, and indeed, they all felt a surge of strength in their ankles.

  Just as everyone was anxiously waiting, the sound of horseshoes came from outside the camp. Li Chengzhong asked Wang Dalang to go and investigate, only to find out that Zhou Zhiyu had returned! Everyone finally put their minds at ease.

  After a while, someone came to each account to pass on the order, and asked everyone to set up camp immediately.

  The camp was immediately in an uproar.

  You Du had long been prepared, and the first to arrive at Zhou Zhiyong's central military tent was waiting outside. Before long, only two thousand or so strong soldiers from the five camps gathered together.

  But because the matter was urgent, everyone heard that they were going to break camp and retreat, and they were all in a panic. Many people didn't even pack up, and they rushed over with their swords, without even finishing dressing, and it was a chaotic scene.

  Zhou Zhiyao couldn't care about many things, seeing that it was roughly done, he immediately ordered the whole team to set off, leaving the camp and heading north to chase after the central army.

  The troops of Minfu Camp have already set out under the protection of the Central Army, and they have their own grain and fodder, so Zhou Zhiyong doesn't need to bring any military equipment.

  The army passed through the city walls in the dark, silently heading north. Most of the brothers suffered from night blindness and could only stumble forward with the help of those who had night vision.

  After walking for more than a few hours, I saw a massive fire rising in the direction of Wei State, the flames illuminating half the sky. It was the brothers at the rear who had set fire to the heavy baggage that they couldn't move in time.

  Everyone's heart became even more flustered, and their footsteps quickened a lot.

  After a while, suddenly heard a loud shout and killing sound from behind, the voice quickly spread northward.

  Anyone with a slightly clearer head would understand that the pursuers had arrived! The troops suddenly dispersed in an instant, and everyone couldn't care about the formation anymore, and they started rushing forward frantically.