Chapter 604: No Way Forward, No Way Back
Jia Cong nodded slightly. "They haven't received any news about the battle in Shima Town yet. Furthermore, we captured their troops yesterday, and the letter they carried was asking for help from Jiajiang and Emei. Therefore, it's only natural that troops from Southern Xinjiang are coming to our rescue."
Shentu Moulue hesitated for a moment before agreeing. Since he had chosen to submit to Jia Cong, he naturally wanted to stick with it. Furthermore, he would have hesitated if it meant fighting his own tribe's troops, but what relationship did the Xishan tribes have with the Xuhen tribe? Speaking of which, the two sides had had many disputes in the past.
"Simply going over there isn't enough!" Shen Tumou said, "Let's put on a complete show. I'll send a small force to engage in a fierce battle with the Marshal's troops. By then, they'll no longer have any suspicions."
"This is the most appropriate!" Jia Cong replied.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Tumou spoke up, "General, the troops stationed in Jiajiang are also from our Xuhen Tribe. Please give them a chance to live. I will do my best to persuade them to join your army."
"Don't worry, Elder Shentu!" Jia Cong said with a smile, "I trust everyone I employ, so naturally I trust Elder Shentu. Originally, I planned to stage a show to lure out the troops from Jiajiang and Emei, then intercept them halfway and seize the opportunity to capture the city . Now that Elder Shentu has spoken, I will leave it to you to deal with the troops arriving in Jiajiang."
Shen Tumou immediately felt relieved. As for the situation of Wudeng's troops, why would he care? It would be best if they were all dead.
"I thank you, Marshal!" Shen Tumou said immediately, "I will go and select the troops immediately. Once the Marshal has made his decision, my troops will set out."
In the coalition camp, Lawang Bacha had a very hard time these days.
After the battle in Hongya, their impression of the Daqian army completely changed. They had fought against the Nan'an Palace's troops before, but even their elite troops and suppress them, as long as they retreated to the Liangchuan region, the Daqian army would be unable to do anything to them.
But in the battle of Hongya, 8,000 people killed more than 20,000 of his own troops. The ferocity and fearlessness of the Daqian soldiers made him tremble just thinking about it.
If it were before, there were only more than 20,000 soldiers and horses ahead, and he had a lot of soldiers and horses under his command, so why would he be afraid? But now, with 20,000 Daqian soldiers and horses blocking the way, he even had the idea of fearing the battle in his heart.
"Chief, Commander Shaluoben has returned."
Upon hearing the announcement, Lawang Bacha stood up suddenly!
After discovering the Daqian troops blocking their way, the coalition forces were afraid to advance. Their fortifications were merely a bide of time, waiting for the Southern Xinjiang troops to arrive so they could attack the Daqian troops from both sides. After all, if they retreated now, wouldn't their entire journey have been in vain? More importantly, the promised food and wages from the Southern Xinjiang people had yet to be received.
However, Lawang Bacha had also grown cautious. If the Southern Xinjiang troops arrived, it would be best if the two sides joined forces and won a great victory. But if they were unable to defeat Daqian, they would have no choice but to retreat.
If they wanted to retreat back to Yazhou, they would also have to pass through Hongya, but he only left more than 3,000 wounded soldiers in Hongya. If they were targeted by others, Hongya would not be able to be defended.
So, he ordered his general, Sha Luoben, to return to Hongya with 3,000 soldiers and horses to garrison there. At the very least, this route of retreat could not be lost. And now, Sha Luoben had unexpectedly returned. The only possibility was that Hongya was lost.
"Quick, let him in!"
Not long after, a disheveled man burst into the tent, "Chief, Hongya has been occupied by the Daqian people again."
Lawang Bacha's body shook violently. Daqian! It was the Daqian people again! He had sacrificed over 20,000 soldiers and horses, and spent nearly half a month to conquer Hongya, and before he could even warm his hands, the Daqian people had taken it back again?
He took a few deep breaths and finally calmed down.
Grabbing Sha Luoben's collar, he gritted his teeth and asked, "How is this possible? How could the Daqian army appear in Hongya? Didn't the people of Southern Xinjiang say that the main force of the Daqian army was tied up in Longzhou?"
In fact, it’s not surprising that Hongya lost so quickly.
The coalition forces only left 3,000 wounded in Hongya, and their combat effectiveness was extremely low. Moreover, these people were almost afraid of the Daqian troops like tigers and wolves. When the Daqian troops came, they just fought for a while, and without even spending any effort, Niu Chong led his men to climb the city wall.
On the contrary, the fighting inside the city was more intense. The reason for this was that Niu Chong, in order to avenge Ma Chuang and his comrades, refused to accept the surrender of the coalition troops. With no way to retreat, the coalition troops fought desperately, but without any advantage, how could they be a match for Niu Chong?
After Hongya changed hands again, Niu Chong sent out scouts to investigate the movements of the main force of the coalition forces. After all, if Jia Cong started a war, their main force might have to retreat to Hongya.
As a result, instead of the main force, they received a detachment of 3,000 men.
Since the enemy is coming to his door, Niu Chong will naturally not be polite.
He ordered his deputy general to leave 2,000 men to garrison Hongya, but pretended that Hongya was still in the hands of the coalition forces. Then, he himself led his troops to set up an ambush seven or eight miles east of the city.
Sha Luoben led his troops to the city of Hongya without any preparation, but he never expected that they would be greeted by a rain of arrows.
Panicked, Shaluoben retreated, only to be ambushed by Niu Chong's troops from the rear. Unprepared, and with all the soldiers in a panic, they were crushed by Niu Chong's attacks. Shaluoben suffered over 2,000 casualties in the skirmish, only to fight his way out and escape, only to be pursued by Niu Chong once again.
Sha Luoben fled in panic, and when he returned to the camp, there were only a hundred or so men left by his side.
After hearing Shaluoben's story, Lawangbacha was furious and without saying a word, he had Shaluoben dragged out and chopped to pieces.
Sha Luoben was also unlucky. He fought back with great difficulty, but was chopped to pieces by his own family. Who can he go to for justice?
After killing Shaluoben, Lawang Bacha felt a chill run down his spine! With a massive army blocking his way ahead and no escape route behind, where should his troops go? Should they return to Hongya and attack it all over again? He swore that anyone who dared to suggest such a thing would turn him into another Shaluoben. Even if only a thousand soldiers were left garrisoning Hongya, he would never set foot there again.
The Daqian soldiers stationed in Hongya are all devils from the underworld...
Now, his only hope is that the troops from Southern Xinjiang can come. Even if the number of troops is not large, as long as they can tie down part of the troops of Daqian, he can break out.
