novelSusiti Chapter 131 We must shift the blame to someone else.
Chapter 131 We must shift the blame to someone else.
When Wei Xu retreated back to Dancheng, he had only a few thousand defeated soldiers with him.
Deputy Commander Song Xian met him at the city gate and led him into the government office.
How many people are left?
Wei Xu slumped on the mat, still wearing his armor.
"Including what the general brought back, it totaled about 80,000."
Song Xiandao, his voice low and deep,
"But nearly 20% of the troops stationed in the city have fallen ill with the disease, suffering from vomiting and diarrhea, and the number is increasing daily. The grain supplies... only last for half a month. The next batch of grain supplies will not arrive for at least 20 days."
"The 20th..."
Wei Xu closed his eyes.
Food shortages, disease, new defeats, and pursuers at the rear.
This battle is unwinnable.
Being a head coach is definitely not an easy job.
Now that the army has been defeated, my brother-in-law Lü Bu will surely punish me.
What should I do?
We must shift the blame to someone else.
However, this time, only his own troops suffered heavy losses in the attack.
The other two are intact.
Even if you want to shirk responsibility, who can you blame it on?
"Order all generals to convene a meeting in one hour!"
After giving orders to his personal guards, Wei Xu took a nap.
When I woke up, I felt refreshed and invigorated.
As the head coach, finding a scapegoat wouldn't be difficult, would it?
Once everyone had arrived, he spoke first:
"Gentlemen, our army has just suffered a defeat. I wonder if any of you have any ideas?"
Everyone remained silent.
If we can't win when we have the numbers, how can we win now that we've lost?
Seeing that no one spoke, Wei Xu glanced at Song Xian.
The other party then slowly spoke:
"Gentlemen, our army suffered a recent defeat last night, losing over 10,000 soldiers and destroying most of our supplies. The remaining supplies are only enough for ten days. However, the next batch of supplies will take about 20 days to arrive. In addition, according to our spies, there are signs of a large army marching out of Linzi recently, and judging from their marching route, they seem to be heading towards our army as well."
Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.
The pursuers from Langya were one thing, but unexpectedly, fresh troops from Linzi also caught up with them.
What should I do?
The situation is worse than we imagined.
Wei Xu frowned immediately; it seemed that the issue was no longer how to shirk responsibility.
If we stay here any longer, we might lose our lives.
He glanced at Sun Ce: "Bo Fu, what do you think?"
Sun Ce had originally intended to feign death, but now that Wei Xu had singled him out, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:
"The best course of action now is to retreat to Xiaoguan, rely on the fortified city, and rendezvous with the supply convoy. Only then will we have a chance of survival. Staying outside will only lead to starvation and disease outbreaks, which will surely be the end of us."
The generals echoed in hushed tones.
The consensus is that we should retreat, but how to retreat is the question.
Seeing that everyone was thinking of retreating, Wei Xu naturally agreed wholeheartedly.
As long as no fools dare to stay and die, my biggest worry is solved.
The next question is how to shirk responsibility.
"With over ten thousand wounded soldiers and several thousand sick, how can we bring them along?" a general posed a difficult question. "Taking them, we can only travel twenty li a day. In less than three days, Zhao Yun will surely catch up with us."
Seeing that everyone agreed to retreat, Sun Ce was secretly pleased.
If he could gather a group of people during his retreat, they would become his most loyal base when he started his uprising in the future.
"Then let's divide our forces," Sun Ce said. "Leave one army to cover the rear and block the enemy's pursuit. The main force should retreat quickly with light equipment."
"Cover the rear..." Silence fell in the tent.
Staying means facing a slim chance of survival.
Who's going?
Sun Ce lowered his eyes and remained silent.
He would not take on this death-defying mission willingly, nor could he suggest abandoning the wounded soldiers and thus damaging his own reputation.
He was planning to be resurrected in Xuzhou through a borrowed corpse.
This reputation within the military is naturally of paramount importance.
If I were to suggest abandoning these wounded soldiers here, it would be a very bad thing to do.
Wei Xu's face turned ashen. He looked at the generals, but no one responded.
His gaze fell on Vice Commander Song Xian.
Song Xian met Wei Xu's gaze and gave a bitter smile.
He knew that after the major defeat at Langya and the burning of the grain supplies, someone had to take responsibility.
Wei Xu is the brother-in-law of Marquis Wen; perhaps he can survive.
As the deputy commander, going back would only mean certain death for me.
"This humble general is willing to lead my troops and gather the wounded and sick soldiers to defend Dancheng and cover the rear." Song Xian stepped forward, his voice calm. "Please allow General Wei to take most of the grain and fodder in the city with me, only... leave me three days' worth of rations."
Haha! Since Song Xian is willing to stay here, he is bound to die.
All I need to do is shift the blame for the defeat onto him.
I never expected everything to go so smoothly.
As expected, leading troops into battle is not my forte; I am better at the intrigue and power struggles of court life.
A complex emotion flashed in Wei Xu's eyes, followed by a sense of relief.
He nodded: "General Song is loyal and brave, and admirable. Granted."
Song Xian bowed silently and withdrew from the main tent. His departing figure was desolate.
As Sun Ce watched Song Xian leave, he secretly plotted his actions.
With Song Xian covering the rear, the odds are against him.
If we can take this opportunity to gather some of their defeated soldiers, we may be able to strengthen our own forces.
During the retreat, it is also necessary to reassure the troops and plan for the future.
Inside the tent, Wei Xu began assigning tasks related to the retreat.
The atmosphere was heavy, and no one spoke.
……
Cao Xing escorted the last batch of grain and fodder, arriving in Dancheng as dusk was falling.
The group was exhausted, and the carriages and horses creaked.
However, Cao Xing couldn't help but feel happy at the thought of arriving at Xiaoguan soon.
Wang Shi, the garrison commander of Xiaoguan, was a man who knew how to navigate social situations skillfully.
If I reach Xiaoguan, this kid will definitely treat me well and give me good food and drink.
Perhaps a beautiful woman will even fall into his arms.
Just thinking about it makes me excited.
However, as he approached the city gate, he suddenly found that the Xiaoguan city gate was tightly closed, the flags on the city wall were hanging low, and there were no soldiers in sight; it was unusually deserted.
Has Wang Shi changed his ways?
"What's going on?" A sense of unease crossed Cao Xing's heart. He signaled the convoy to stop and led a few of his personal guards forward. "Who's on guard at the city gate? I am Cao Xing, escorting grain here. Open the city gate immediately!"
No one answered from the city wall.
"Squeak—"
The city gate slowly opened a crack inward.
Cao Xing frowned, spurred his horse forward, and wanted to see what was going on.
Just as his horse's head passed through the shadow of the city gate,
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
The muffled thud of the crossbows being pulled and the whistling of arrows cutting through the air suddenly erupted from the hidden troop caves on both sides of the city wall and gate!
Dozens of crossbow bolts came flying at extremely close range!
Cao Xing had no time to react and was instantly riddled with arrows, collapsing to the ground along with his horse.
"Enemy attack!"
The grain transport team was thrown into chaos.
The city gates swung open, and elite cavalrymen, who had been lying in ambush, swarmed out, their iron hooves thundering and their blades flashing like snow, slaughtering the chaotic grain transport team.
The battle ended quickly. The grain wagons were either burned or captured.
On the city wall, a large banner bearing the character "Yuan" rose in the twilight.
The message was sent out by fast horse: Xiaoguan and Dancheng have fallen, the last batch of grain supplies for Lü Bu's army has been intercepted, and the escort officer Cao Xing has been killed in battle.
The last supply line for Wei Xu and Sun Ce's retreating main force was cut off.