Chapter 433: Continue Fighting

Unlike the Yan army camp, which was in high spirits and filled with pride and joy after victory, the Tang army camp was filled with frustration and dejection.

In this battle, the Tang army lost almost half of its military strength. Fortunately, because the battlefield was large enough, there were enough people, and the resistance lasted long enough, the 20,000 troops of the Right Army led by Chai Rong and Duan Xiong's troops basically maintained their organization and retreated, which prevented the situation from becoming one-sided.

However, all of the emperor's ceremonial equipment was seized by the enemy, and the emperor himself was nowhere to be found. Only Li Yuanhui specially brought back the emperor's flag, which could barely rally people's hearts.

In addition, the court officials and nobles from Chang'an brought by Li Yuan, including Xue Yong, Duke of Changshan, Xin Jian, Minister of the Imperial Guards, and Li Xiaoyi, Prince of Yuzhang, died in the army, but most of them were captured, such as Li Xuanzhen, Prince of Shangdang, Dugu Mao, Duke of Suguo, and Murong Ping, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat.
Among the generals, countless were killed in battle or captured alive.

Generals including Liu Zongxun, Dou Cong, Li Sixing, Yin Qiao, Qu Tugai, Pei Xingyan, Yang Xianguo, Li Cang, and Zhai Sixun lost almost all the troops under their command, but because of their rich battlefield experience, they returned safely.

Under the cover of night, although the camp was brightly lit, it did seem to be the darkest hour for the Tang army.

Although they had experienced defeats before, they had never been defeated so miserably. This battle resulted in the loss of most of the Tang Dynasty's strongest elite troops in Guanzhong.

Even the elite left and right guards led by Li Er were almost killed or wounded.

In the central military tent, Li Yuanhui sat in the main seat without hesitation, and asked the generals to report the number of people left first. Then he arranged for them to gather their own troops and calm the soldiers.

Finally, there were only a few people left in the big tent: Chai Rong, Duan Xiong, Liu Zongxun, Dou Cong, Li Xiaozheng, Yuwen Chengye, Zhao Wenke, and Xu Shixu.

Looking at these confidants of Li Yuan and Li Er, Li Yuanhui said directly: "Your Majesty had already escaped before the army was dispersed. Li Qing, the Cloud Cavalry Captain, wore your Majesty's armor and led away the pursuers. Now his life or death is unknown."

His words made these people feel relieved, because what they were most worried about was that Li Yuan was arrested.

If an emperor of a country dies in battle, his successor can use his power to inspire the army to unite against the enemy.

But if they were captured alive, then there would be no need to fight this battle. How could you expect the people below to fight the enemy? It would be extremely humiliating.

So when several people learned from Li Yuanhui that Li Yuan had escaped early, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Yuanhui looked at the crowd's reactions and continued, "Since I started the rebellion with my father and brothers until the founding of the Tang Dynasty, we have never encountered such a disastrous defeat. This is all my fault. I failed to dissuade Your Majesty from going his own way."

As soon as this sentence was finished, the people below had different expressions, because this sentence seemed to be a self-review, but it was obviously talking about Li Yuan's own faults. What should the people below say about this?
Yuwen Chengye, Zhao Wenke, and Xu Shixu were considered Li Yuan's confidants, but now there is no way to clear Li Yuan's name because it is very clear that Li Yuan made a big mistake in decision-making.

Dou Cong, Liu Zongxun, Duan Xiong and others had a different mentality, because they were closer to Li Er, so they agreed with Li Yuanhui's words. It was His Majesty's business.
As for Chai Rong and Li Xiaozheng, one is a son-in-law and the other is a son. Chai Rong, the son-in-law, knows Silang's purpose, but he doesn't want to get involved in the affairs between father and son, while Li Xiaozheng dares not speak because he is the first one to desert the battlefield today.

And now Li Yuanhui is the one in charge of the army. In the past, when Li Yuan was around, he dared to say something bland, but now he doesn't say a word.

"For now, please make a decision as soon as possible. Now is the time for the survival of tens of thousands of my soldiers."

The speaker was Zhao Wenke, currently the Minister of the Imperial Guards and one of the Yuanmou heroes appointed by Li Yuan. At this time, the only way to get the topic off the table was to "talk about business".

Then several other people also expressed their opinions, saying that they would all follow the instructions of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi and asked them to make a decision quickly.

Li Yuanhui was silent for a long time, and then he said: "Now our army has been defeated, the situation is bad, the soldiers are discouraged, and we can no longer fight the Yan army. We don't have enough food and grass for a few days. We can retreat to Fangtou first. I have ordered Xiao Shizhi stationed in Chaoge to retreat to Fangtou to support my army across the Qi River. Liyang, Chaoge and even the entire Henei are now undefendable. But with the Yan army watching us covetously, our army cannot retreat calmly. If we want to leave, we must first stop the Yan army's pursuit! My personal army of more than 10,000 people can resist the Yan army's cavalry, but we still need more than 10,000 infantry to line up on the road to stop the Yan army!"

Everyone was silent after hearing this. They all saw the situation clearly, but they had no confidence. When Chai Rong was about to speak, Duan Xiong, who had maintained the intact team, took the initiative to volunteer: "Your Majesty, as the commander-in-chief, you still disregard your own safety and block the Yan army's cavalry for the army. Why should I, Duan Xiong, cherish my life? I am willing to lead more than 10,000 elite soldiers of the Right Guard to cover the entire army!" The elite troops under the command of the Right Guard General Duan Xiong almost broke through the enemy's central army infantry formation during the day, and they were also one of the few elite troops in Guanzhong. There were 60,000 people in the central army, and only the 20 Zhechongfu of the left and right guards under his command returned in an organized manner.

And now he was going to stay behind with his troops to cover the retreat, and naturally he could also take the ten Zhechoufu of the Right Guard under his command.

Upon seeing this, Li Yuanhui specially transferred the five Zhechoufu of Xu Qiande's Zuowuwei, which had previously belonged to his brother-in-law Chai Rong's Right Army, to his command.

"General Duan, you and I have known each other for a long time, so I won't be polite. The important task of protecting the entire army is now handed over to you."

"Please rest assured, my king. I will do my best."

However, the great defeat in the Battle of Baigou also brought two benefits to the Tang army.

The first is that Li Yuan has disappeared, and the Tang army now has a relatively reliable commander who takes the lead.

Another thing is that after losing more than half of the troops, this means that the Tang army's food and grass went from being enough for only four or five days to being able to sustain for seven or eight days. Even if they saved half of the supply, it would not be a problem to sustain for half a month.

During this period, the water in the Yellow River should have receded, and as long as ships could pass through, food would no longer be a problem.

However, when the army moves towards Hanoi, it still needs a team to cover the rear.

Early on the second day, Duan Xiong's 10,000 troops and Xu Qiande's 5,000 troops moved to the northeast of Shanhua Mountain and the southwest of Xiang Mountain respectively in accordance with military orders and set up camps on the mountain. Li Yuanhui ordered his men to burn the wooden fences of the remaining camps and march south with military tents and food.

As expected, the Yan army mobilized its entire army and attacked the Tang army camp directly.

When Liu Xuanji arrived at Shanhua Mountain and Xiang Mountain, he saw Duan Xiong and Xu Qiande camping on the mountainside, waiting in strict preparation. Then he pointed and said with a smile: "Setting up camp on the mountainside, blocking the road, this must be the work of Li Yuanhui."

At that moment, a number of generals requested to fight and asked to lead their troops to defeat the Tang army.

Military officer Ling Jing said, "Although the Tang army was defeated, its right army was not damaged. The troops that Li Yuanhui left behind must be elite soldiers. If we attack them now, our army will suffer heavy casualties. Your Majesty should leave all the infantry here to guard against the Tang army, and send the cavalry to pursue them."

Liu Xuanji followed his plan and ordered Zhu Lingshi to lead the infantry to contain the enemy, while he personally led the cavalry to bypass the two mountains and pursue the Tang army.

As for the Tang army, Li Yuanhui ordered Chai Rong to lead the army to quickly move towards Fangtou, and then took his own personal troops, including 6,000 guards from the Qi Palace, 3,600 personal troops under his command, and 3,000 cavalry from the Beiwei Army, to prepare to block the pursuing Yan army.

Seeing this, Liu Zongxun and Dou Cong gathered the remaining 3,000 men of the left and right guards and joined Li Yuanhui in covering their retreat.

If it was far away, he really didn't want to do the job of covering the rear, but there was no other way. Now he could only trust himself and the more than 10,000 elite soldiers under his command.

His current behavior is undoubtedly a provocation to the Yan army.

It seems to be saying, who is afraid of whom?

Come on, keep fighting!
(End of this chapter)