novelSusiti Chapter 90 The Path to Despair
Chapter 90 The Path to Despair
Chapter 90 The Path to Despair (10,000-word update, please subscribe!)
At this moment, a temporary pontoon bridge has been erected on the Yangtze River at the northern foot of Cuiping Mountain.
"Cross the river!"
At Zhao Dezhao's command, more than 10,000 Song soldiers stepped onto the pontoon bridge one by one and steadily advanced towards the north bank of the river.
The night was deep, and the Yangtze River was surging. The warships used as pontoon bridges were already damaged, and they swayed and bobbed under the impact of the water.
The soldiers felt unsteady on their feet and dared not speed up rashly. They could only bend down and hold onto the ropes on both sides, moving forward cautiously.
Just as the Song army reached the middle of the pontoon bridge, a patch of sparks suddenly lit up in the distance on the north bank. Rows of torches, like a wildfire, were rapidly approaching the pontoon bridge. The sounds of horses' hooves and shouts could be faintly heard on the night wind.
"It's the Tang army!"
Even though he couldn't see the situation on the other side clearly, Li Chuyun insisted that the people coming must be Tang soldiers.
"If it were Shi Shouxin, he certainly wouldn't hold up a torch so high in the dark, drawing attention unnecessarily!"
After saying that, Li Chuyun added with certainty, "The enemy's commander-in-chief is definitely not Lin Renzhao!"
After hearing the explanation, Zhao Dezhao nodded in understanding. He hadn't really thought of that, but upon reflection, it made sense.
Lin Renzhao was a veteran general of the Southern Tang Dynasty whom even the emperor feared. He was a steady and reliable strategist. If it were him, how could he have made such a basic mistake?
A sneak attack requires secrecy; there's no reason to be so brazen as to launch such an attack.
"Your Highness, shall we fight or retreat?" Li Chuyun asked urgently again.
Zhao Dezhao's gaze swept over the swaying pontoon bridge and his exhausted soldiers. After a moment's thought, he said in a deep voice, "There's no need to rush to a decision. Let's test the waters first."
"Here you go!"
The Song soldiers immediately quickened their pace, but before they could cross one-fifth of the pontoon bridge, Li Congjia's 30,000 Tang soldiers had already arrived at the north bank ferry and formed an attack formation.
"kill!"
"His Highness has ordered that we hold the north bank at all costs and not allow the Song army to advance an inch!"
"Whoever captures Zhao Dezhao alive will be rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces and enfeoffed as a marquis!"
Li Congjia's military orders were issued one after another, and the Tang army, which was already rested and ready, instantly became excited. They rushed over even before the war drums were sounded!
The great battle broke out instantly at the northern end of the pontoon bridge on the north bank of the Yangtze River!
The pontoon bridge was narrow, making it difficult for the Song army to defend both ends.
The soldiers who rushed ashore at the front had just clashed with the Tang army when they were blocked by an enemy force that outnumbered them several times over. Meanwhile, the soldiers at the rear were still crowding forward on the pontoon bridge, and in an instant, they found themselves in a dilemma.
They can neither advance nor retreat.
However, after a brief exchange, the Song army gradually showed signs of defeat due to the terrain limitations.
Standing atop the cloud chariot, Li Congjia looked down upon the battlefield. Seeing the Song army in a passive position, he felt a surge of pride and a sense of triumph, as if he were strategizing and winning a decisive victory.
"Brother Crown Prince, look! That must be Zhao Dezhao!"
The little girl, Ying, excitedly pointed in the direction where Zhao Dezhao was.
Zhou Ehuang looked in the direction she was pointing, and when she saw the small figure fighting bravely amidst the chaos of battle, her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Zhao Dezhao had already crossed the pontoon bridge and was leading his personal guard battalion, covered in blood, in a fierce battle on the north bank, trying to open a gap for the main army.
Suddenly, Zhao Dezhao seemed to sense the gaze on the cloud chariot. Taking advantage of the moment when he was killing a Tang soldier, he suddenly looked up and his cold gaze pierced through the night and the crowd, landing directly on the cloud chariot, before he indifferently looked away.
Their eyes met, and the murderous look in his eyes made Zhou Nuying's heart skip a beat. She instinctively shivered and muttered, "How can someone so young be fighting so fiercely? Shouldn't he be behind the main army? —"
"A general should lead by example."
Li Congjia heard Zhou Nuying's mutterings, but only smiled faintly and pointed out the battlefield from the cloud chariot: "This person is so young yet has such martial arts skills. He can be called a general, but not a commander."
"A commander should strategize and win battles from afar. How can he personally venture into dangerous places? Do you know the principle that if the commander dies, the army will collapse?"
""
He paused, a confident smile spreading across his face: "The Song army is doomed to defeat in this battle. Once our Tang navy arrives, Zhao Dezhao will have no chance to escape."
Upon hearing these words, Zhou Nuying's heart palpitations subsided somewhat, and a faint smile managed to tug at the corners of her lips.
Zhou Ehuang also withdrew her gaze, no longer paying attention to the battlefield situation, her expression indifferent.
She had never been interested in military matters.
However, just as Li Congjia had predicted, signs of the Song army's defeat were already emerging.
It wasn't that the Song army was weak; if the two armies were to fight in open field, even if the Tang army outnumbered them three to one, the outcome would still be uncertain.
However, due to the narrow terrain of the pontoon bridge, only a small number of Song soldiers were able to land, making it impossible for them to deploy their formations and leaving them only able to passively endure attacks.
To make matters worse for the Song army, a portion of Zheng Yanhua's naval forces could also be faintly seen on the surface of the Yangtze River.
After all, Jiangning is not far from Cuiping Mountain.
"Your Highness, we cannot charge any further!" Cao Bin deflected several arrows with his sword and urgently advised, "The pontoon bridge is in a disadvantageous position, and the enemy is attacking from both land and water. If our army continues to stalemate, we will only suffer heavy casualties!"
Zhao Dezhao's gaze swept across the battlefield. Seeing that the Song army was suffering increasing casualties and its morale was being dampened, he immediately made a decisive decision: "Sound the retreat! The front lines become the rear lines! Withdraw immediately to Cuiping Mountain and rely on the mountain's terrain for defense!"
Upon receiving the order, the Song soldiers quickly changed direction, abandoned the attempt to cross the river, and retreated along the pontoon bridge in an orderly manner towards the south bank.
However, Li Congjia, atop the cloud chariot, did not order a pursuit.
"Brother Crown Prince, why did you stop chasing after them?" Zhou Nuying asked, puzzled.
As the saying goes in military strategy, "Never pursue a desperate enemy."
Li Congjia slowly said, "Now that the Song army has retreated to the pontoon bridge, if our army pursues them, we will have to fight on the narrow pontoon bridge. Our advantage in troop strength will be completely lost. This is using our weakness to attack the enemy's strength, which is not worth the effort."
He paused, his gaze fixed on the direction of Cuiping Mountain: "Even if Zhao Dezhao retreats to Cuiping Mountain, it won't be long before Zhou Chengzhao's army rushes in from the south and surrounds Cuiping Mountain."
"He has no chance of escaping alive!"
"So that's how it is—" Zhou Nuying murmured, subconsciously glancing again at the receding blood shadow on the water, a strange and complicated emotion rising in her heart.
As the eldest son of the emperor and the future crown prince, he is now fighting like a trapped beast, which is truly heartbreaking.
What's more, he was just a child of similar age to himself.
"However, being captured alive by your elder brother, the Crown Prince, is not a disgrace to you—"
In the end, Zhou Nuying only murmured this one sentence before looking away.
Located on the northern foot of Cuiping Mountain, on the south bank of the Yangtze River.
After the failed crossing of the river, the morale of the Song army plummeted instantly. The soldiers slumped to the ground, their faces weary and their expressions carrying a hint of despair.
Having experienced countless battles, they naturally knew that once their whereabouts were completely exposed, the Southern Tang army would surely surround Cuiping Mountain. Now that the pontoon bridge had been cut off and the warships destroyed, there was no way to cross the river, and they were truly trapped with no way to escape.
Worse still, the river was completely sealed off, making it impossible for scouts to cross the Yangtze River and giving them no chance to even call for help from Yangzhou.
This is the path to utter despair!
Even Cao Bin and Li Chuyun had solemn expressions as they discussed countermeasures.
"The only way out right now is to send out a large number of scouts to try to bypass the enemy's blockade, cross the river and ask Shi Shouxin for help, so that he can lead his troops westward along the river to contain the enemy. Only then will we have a chance to break through and cross the river."
Cao Bin said in a deep voice, his tone tinged with helplessness.
He also knew that this was extremely difficult, and whether the scouts could successfully cross the river depended entirely on luck.
But this is the safest option at the moment.
Li Chuyun nodded in agreement: "This is the only way. If we delay any longer, the enemy will be able to encircle us and burn the pontoon bridge. Then we will be like fish on a chopping board."
As the two were discussing, Zhao Dezhao walked over slowly. After listening to their plan, he shook his head and said, "On the battlefield, passively waiting will only lead to certain death. We must turn the tide and not pin our hopes on asking for reinforcements."
"What does Your Highness mean?" Cao Bin and Li Chuyun were both taken aback.
"Immediately issue the order for the entire army to break camp and proceed to Runzhou!"
Zhao Dezhao spoke firmly, a look of unprecedented decisiveness flashing in his eyes!
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