Chapter 537: Chasing the Enemy

Chapter 537: Chasing the Enemy

(New year and new atmosphere, I wish everyone a happy New Year's Day!)

(Thanks to the reader "Lord_of_lies" for the red tip.)

Baiqiao Town was in a mess. The enemy army swept the entire town like a hurricane. The houses were demolished and used to build high platforms and siege equipment. Most of the townspeople have fled to the capital, and the few remaining people were killed. , the corpse was buried, its head hanging on a stake by the river.

Seeing such a scene, all the soldiers of the Chu army were filled with righteous indignation.

However, Cui Hong calmed down, stopped, and first occupied an empty camp of the enemy army, intending to see the situation clearly before making the next plan, so he sent scouts to track the enemy army, and soon, the emperor sent someone to send a decree, which was also an order He suspends the pursuit of the enemy and waits for the Chu army in the capital.

After nightfall, Cui Hong felt unwell, the old wound was aching again, and wrapped in several layers of blankets, he still felt the chill to the bones.

"It's really old, it's like this after a night of freezing." Cui Hong sighed.

The entourage held the hot wine and fed the master one bite at a time, and said with a smile: "The adults fought hard all night and can still chase the enemy for nearly a hundred miles, which many young men in their prime can't do."

Cui Hong was expressionless, and his entourage always spoke like this. He usually likes to listen, but today he was a little uninterested. He shook his head, indicating that he would not drink, and said, "Bring a pen and paper, I want to write a letter."

"Are you in a hurry, my lord? If you're not in a hurry, I can write it tomorrow, and have a good rest tonight."

Cui Hongzhen was reluctant to get out of the blanket, he hesitated for a moment, "I will dictate, you will write."

The march was in a hurry, and I didn't bring many things. The entourage was about to go out to the military officer to ask for a pen and paper, but Cui Hong changed his mind again, "Wait, don't write a letter, I'll say a few words, you just need to remember them, and tell them later. To the Queen and Cui Teng."

The entourage was surprised, "Your Excellency is about to triumph, tell the Queen and the Second Young Master yourself."

"Don't think too much. I'm just in case. If I can go back safely, I don't need you to tell me."

"Yes, my lord."

Cui Hong thought for a while, "Tell Cui Teng, the boss is not too young, give the Cui family more grandchildren as soon as possible, be more filial to the mother, and treat the ugly king as a disciple, yes, we must focus on making friends with the ugly king, this is the most Important things are more important than serving His Majesty."

"Yes...sir." The entourage was surprised. He had followed Taifu for many years and never remembered that the Cui family had been in contact with the ugly king of Luoyang. It was only recently that when Cui Teng was assigned to Mayi City, he might have received the ugly king's favor. A little care.

"Empress... The queen is very smart, she doesn't need to say much, but sometimes she is too weak, I'm afraid it will be difficult to gain a foothold in the harem. After all, your majesty's favor is not a lifelong dependence, you tell her, no matter what, if you want to give birth to a prince, if No, I have to adopt the princes of other concubines."

"Yes, my lord." The follower replied.

Cui Hong wrapped the blanket tightly, still feeling cold, and was silent for a moment, then said: "The Empress Dowager Cining is very far-sighted. Adopting Prince Qing is not as simple as pampering the eldest grandson. She is planning for the future, and I am really worried about whether the Queen can handle it."

"Although the queen is usually a little weak, she can still do it when it's time to be tough."

Cui Hong nodded, suddenly turned his head, his eyes widened, as if he had just discovered that there were outsiders in the tent.

The entourage was startled and hurried forward, "Sir..."

"I didn't say anything about the queen mother, and you didn't hear it, understand?"

"Yes, I only pass one word to the queen, give birth to a prince early, or adopt a prince."

Cui Hong hummed, his expression softened, "Let's step back."

"I'll stay to serve your lord."

"No, wake me up in an emergency."

The entourage had to step back and explain to the guard at the door. As soon as they found something unusual, they called him immediately.

Cui Hong lay down and fell asleep for a while. I don't know how long it took, and suddenly opened his eyes, but after waiting for a while, he woke up, feeling even colder and trembling all over.

A voice sounded outside, "Lord Shang Shu, the scouts report back."

Cui Hong forced himself to sit up, forced himself to speak, "Come in."

An officer with a frosty face walked in, bringing in a gust of cold wind.

"Lord Shang Shu, the enemy army has collapsed and is no longer a team."

Cui Hongyi was overjoyed, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"Yes, I saw with my own eyes a group of enemy troops disintegrating, even attacking each other, and then fleeing in all directions. I met other scouts on the way back, and everyone saw the same situation."

Cui Hong stood up abruptly, "What time is it?"

"Nearly five."

"Call the generals immediately."

Cui Hong was no longer cold. On the contrary, he felt a surge of warmth.

As soon as he heard the news, he realized that a once-in-a-century great achievement was in front of him. This function allowed him to return to the peak and lay a more stable foundation for the Cui family.

Cui Hong dressed neatly and went to the central army tent. All the generals under his command had arrived. They had received the news, and they were as excited as Lord Shang Shu, and they were eager to lead the troops to pursue.

Cui Hong quickly assigned tasks, the enemy army had the greatest possibility of escaping the same way. Cui Hong personally led the Chinese army all the way north, striving to merge with the Chu army outside the Great Wall, and annihilated the invading enemy in one fell swoop. Several confidants led the left army to Yuguan Gate in the west. It is estimated that there are many deserters there, and the other generals can only pursue the stragglers eastward.

"In pursuit of the dead and defeat, the priority is to be quick, recruit more surrenders and fight less, and those who are uneasy after surrendering can be killed."

The army had dinner, and shortly after dawn, Cui Hong led the main force of 7,000 people to set out first. He also made clear arrangements for the subsequent arrival of the capital army. Most of the soldiers still followed him north, and a few were divided into east and west directions.

The Chu army had been suffocating for a long time. The battle the night before was unclear, and the breath in his chest was not fully released. This time, he heard that he was going to chase and disperse the enemy army.

Cui Hong feels very good, the old injury does not hurt, and the body is not cold anymore. He is riding on a horse and just wants to run faster.

That afternoon, the Chu army encountered the first group of enemy soldiers. These alien soldiers did not recognize the way, and went for a circle in the nearby mountains, but they came back.

Before the two armies could confront each other, the enemy soldiers knelt down and surrendered. They had no other choice. Most of them didn't even have weapons in their hands.

More than a thousand enemy soldiers were thus reduced to prisoners.

If the scout's report is still a little unreliable, these flies-like soldiers definitely show that the enemy army is in chaos.

Cui Hong only left a few soldiers to look after the prisoners, and led the army to continue the pursuit. At the same time, he left orders for the rear army to speed up.

On the third day, a part of the army from the rear caught up. Cui Hong's army had nearly 20,000 troops and as many as 10,000 prisoners were captured.

On the same day, Cui Hong received the imperial edict.

The emperor ordered the Minister of War not to be impatient, but to step by step, reminding him that the enemy might be cheating and enticing the Chu army to pursue him.

Cui Hong laughed it off. The emperor has always been adventurous, but now he is too cautious. It is no wonder that the emperor stayed behind and could not see the situation ahead. The chaos of the enemy army was so obvious that there was no need to be suspicious.

Cui Hong continued to pursue, intending to rectify a little in Xiaozhou City and replenish the army's food and grass.

Xiaozhou City has become a ruin, and a high platform is built with the heads of Chu people on the roadside.

The Chu army was even more angry, killing hundreds of enemy soldiers who surrendered that day, and they had to continue to pursue them.

After all, Cui Hong is not a reckless person. No matter how good the odds are, he still needs to be prepared. So he ordered to camp and rest, tear down the high tower, bury it on the spot, and send troops to collect food and grass.

The surviving Chu people could not be found within dozens of miles, but a few groups of prisoners were caught. It was unfortunate for these people to catch up with the Chu soldiers and their anger did not disappear, and they began to kill.

The Right Route Army, which went east, found some surplus food and grass in Mancang City and gave it to the Central Army in time.

The city of Mancang had been burned down, and there were some grains hidden underground, which the enemy did not know, but left it to the Chu army.

That night, the emperor came after another imperial decree, expressing his concern about the deception of the enemy army, and asking Mrs. Cui not to be careless, to try more prisoners, and to find out the real movement of the enemy army.

Cui Hong already had 40,000 troops at this time, and he was very confident. He showed the imperial edict to all the generals.

In the early morning of the next day, Cui Hong led his army to continue to chase the enemy north.

On this day, the Chu army ushered in a "great harvest". In several valleys, they blocked the enemy's deserters one after another, with a number of more than 30,000.

Cui Hong no longer had any doubts, and sent someone to quickly send the good news back to the capital to reassure the emperor.

Cui Hong ordered the officers under his command to interrogate the prisoners, but the interpreters in the army were insufficient, and the enemy troops spoke various languages, so they could hardly ask any questions.

The Chu army accelerated, and Cui Hong was even a little anxious, hoping to retake Shenxiongguan before Chai Yue outside the Great Wall, and even capture the ghost Da Chanyu alive.

This will be the greatest contribution since the Great Chu Dingding.

The enemy army was indeed ferocious, and there was almost no grass wherever they passed. The Chu army could only eat the food they carried with them, and there was not enough fodder. The horses ate the same as the soldiers.

But no one is in a hurry. After all, this is the realm of Great Chu. As long as the enemy army is defeated, supplies will be found.

The army hurried for more than ten days, and finally caught up with the largest enemy army one afternoon.

It was snowing at that time, and the enemy was very close, and the scouts in front discovered the enemy's situation. According to past experience, the enemy had no fighting spirit and would surrender as soon as he saw the Chu army. Therefore, Cui Hong did not stop to rectify the formation and immediately ordered surrounded.

This place is not far from the Shenxiong Pass. The people and horses are exhausted and the food and grass are insufficient. Cui Hong hopes to retake the pass tomorrow at the latest.

Everyone was in a hurry, the army was galloping on the snow, and as soon as they confronted, they found that something was not right. The enemy actually launched a counterattack, and the offensive was extremely fierce, and there was no chaos at all.

The Chu army at the front was caught off guard and was pushed back. Cui Hong and the generals were not shocked, but were overjoyed, thinking that the gods and ghosts must be among the enemy, so they ordered to continue the siege, to crush the morale of the enemy with thunder.

The battle lasted for nearly an hour, and the Chu army was retreating steadily. Cui Hong, who was sitting behind the formation, looked at the flying snow, and finally realized that he had been fooled.

A few dozen miles apart, Qiu Hong walked into a small tent, shook off the snow on his body, and smiled at the people inside: "Just do the trick, you all know how powerful Zhengtian is this time? We just got rid of a group of people. The unstable servant army will lead the Chu army out of the capital, and today is the day of their demise."

The East Sea King's face was pale, "Why keep me?"

Qiu Hong smiled, "The army of the west is used to capture the state of Chu. There are so many people in the state of Chu that they can be divided into groups to defend the west. The Son of Heaven needs an obedient emperor."

(Half a day off on New Year's Day, and an update today, please know.)