Chapter 591: Southern Xinjiang reinforcements?
After arguing for three to five days, the coalition forces were still unwilling to give in and decided to take Hongya first before making any other plans.
After all, if we are completely blocked here by Hongya, how can we fight for Shu?
…
In Baima Town, Shentu Mou's troops were disturbed by Jia Cong's troops. Even though they knew that the other side was most likely making a feint attack, the other side also had tens of thousands of troops. If the fake became real, the consequences would be unimaginable.
One day, Shen Tumou was in the main camp, pondering how to retreat. Suddenly, a guard came to report that scouts had come from the front.
"Bring the people in!"
Soon, several tribal warriors were brought in by the guards.
"Great Elder, we've detected chaos among the Daqian troops south of Baima Town, and we've also seen the appearance of troops from Southern Xinjiang. Our current number is unknown, but they engaged in a battle with the Daqian troops and are now all retreating."
"What!" Shen Tumou's expression lit up with joy. Reinforcements had arrived? If he could find a force to hold back Daqian's troops in another direction, they wouldn't need many; just thousands or tens of thousands would be enough for him to seize the opportunity and charge out.
"Go check again immediately, and report any news immediately. Come, gather all the generals for a meeting!"
…
In the Baima Town camp, Meng Hua asked Jia Cong, "General, do you think Shen Tumou will fall for this trick?"
Jia Cong laughed. "If he doesn't fall for the trick, is there any other way out? Whether it's true or not, he has no other choice. This is his best chance, his only chance. If you were surrounded before and found that reinforcements might have arrived and were engaged in battle with the enemy, would you have fought?"
Meng Hua nodded and said, "If it were me, no matter what the situation is, it can't get any worse. I must fight to the death."
"That's it. Shen Tumou naturally has trouble determining whether it's true or not, but he's definitely tempted. Next, we need to put on a show. As long as we do it well, the whole situation will be set. Then, we'll just have to lure him into a trap."
On the second day, Shentu Mou sent troops to fight for a rare occasion, and Meng Hua led his troops to fight again. When the two sides were fighting fiercely, suddenly bursts of shouting and killing sounds came from the direction more than ten miles south of Baima Town, and Meng Hua's troops immediately lost their combat effectiveness, and were defeated soon.
Shentu Mou ordered his generals to lead the troops to charge and fight for a while, and then lead the troops back to the camp.
"Elder! Why don't you let me charge directly to Baima Town?" the commander asked puzzledly from inside the main camp. "The enemy's rear is obviously being held back by our troops, which makes them less motivated to fight. If we seize this opportunity to charge, we might be able to directly break through their main camp ."
Shen Tumou smiled and said, "Don't be impatient. Let's first interrogate the captured prisoners and see what the specific situation is."
Not long after, someone came to report, "Elder, after investigation, we found that there is indeed a troop of about 10,000 soldiers behind them, flying the White Tiger battle flag!"
"Hahaha!" Shen Tumou threw his head back and laughed. "They are indeed our soldiers. What else did they ask?"
"Elder, one of them confessed that their generals have received word that the Xishan and Yechuan armies have entered Jiading Prefecture. They are also arguing among themselves about whether to continue to stop us or return to Jiading!"
"Oh?" Shen Tumou's eyes lit up. This made sense. "If the Xishan and Yechuan tribes hadn't come, we wouldn't have sent troops here. It must be that the Daqian troops in the Jiading area have been tied down, so the clan leader sent troops to rescue us.
"Send more scouts to check the enemy's movements. If there are any unusual movements or if our rescue troops are engaged in a fierce battle with the Daqian troops, report immediately!"
In a blink of an eye, another two days had passed.
Just as night fell that day, Shentu Mou received a report from scouts that the enemy had troops attacking his camp. Shentu Mou had just dispatched troops to resist the enemy, but he received another report. After the two sides fought, the enemy saw that there was no chance and withdrew directly.
Shentu Mou ordered the patrolling soldiers to conduct a careful inspection, and then returned to the big tent again.
Sure enough, nothing happened that night, but when Shentu Mou just woke up in the morning, a general rushed into the tent in a hurry.
"Marshal, Daqian has retreated!"
Suddenly, Shentu Mou stood up, put on his armor and walked outside. He ran forward for a while with his personal guards, and then stood at a high place and looked far away in the direction of Baima Town. As expected, the Daqian camp, which should have been noisy, was quiet.
"Can we send troops to check it out?" Shentu Mou turned around and asked.
"I've personally led my men to investigate. Baima Town and the enemy camps east of it are completely empty. Furthermore, they appear to have retreated in a hurry, with their entire camp still unoccupied. Several of these camps are now garrisoned by our troops. I've already sent out scouts to track down the enemy's main force, but there's been no report yet."
Shentu Mou suppressed his excitement and was about to continue asking questions when he saw another fast horse coming.
"Report!"
"Elder, our troops just encountered a group of dozens of rebels. They were the reinforcements that had previously fought against the Daqian troops. According to inquiries, the reinforcements numbered approximately 8,000. Last night, around midnight, their main camp was suddenly attacked by tens of thousands of Daqian soldiers. A small number of them fled in all directions, but the majority were killed or captured by the Daqian soldiers. However, for unknown reasons, after the Daqian soldiers breached their main camp, they retreated directly to the western Qingshen area."
Chief Shentu breathed a sigh of relief, and then shouted an order, "Order all troops to gather immediately and return to Jiading Prefecture."
He sorted out his thoughts and finally sorted out all his doubts.
It was precisely because of the arrival of reinforcements that the enemy's offensive slowed down. In addition, the eastward advance of the Xishan and Yechuan tribes made the Daqian soldiers lose their will to fight. After all, if the tribal troops joined forces to wipe out Jiading Prefecture, the situation would change again. Therefore, compared to killing them here, it was more important to return to stabilize the situation in Jiading Prefecture.
The troops last night were meant to scare me so that they could retreat smoothly.
Moreover, the reinforcements were few in number, and with a surprise attack at night and the advantage in manpower, they could easily destroy this army. However, it seemed the Daqian army would have suffered considerable damage as well. In this case, a direct retreat would be the best option...
"Continue to track down the whereabouts of Daqian's troops. Once all troops are ready, march south immediately!"
It is only a hundred miles from here to the border of Jiading Prefecture. The army can enter Jiading in two days by marching quickly.
Although thousands of troops were lost again, as long as he could return to Jiading smoothly, the situation in Jiading Prefecture would still be under his control.
