12dz Chapter 2098 Falling short of success
Chapter 2098 Falling short of success
After a series of bloody battles, the Chu army was exhausted. Night fighting further complicated command and coordination, and although the offensive was fierce, it was difficult to achieve a decisive breakthrough.
Time flew by amidst the fierce battle.
An hour seemed incredibly long amidst the deafening shouts of battle and the splattering blood.
When the starlight began to become clearly visible at midnight, the Tang army had already retreated while fighting, moving nearly ten miles away from the core battlefield where they were initially besieged.
Guo Ziyi's troops maintained a solid formation, with the rearguard relying on the terrain and makeshift obstacles set up at night to stubbornly resist the Chu army's pursuit.
After a long pursuit and exhaustion from night battles, the Chu army's offensive inevitably showed signs of fatigue.
Ma Chao stopped his horse on a high slope, watching the Tang army, which was like a mobile fortress, slowly retreating in the darkness ahead, with its flickering firelight.
He glanced back at his men, who were equally exhausted, many of whom were even leaning against their horses, panting. His hand, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, turned white from the force, but in the end, he could only slowly and helplessly loosen his grip.
He knew that the best opportunity had been missed.
With thorough preparation and appropriate tactics, Guo Ziyi, whose forces were not inferior and even slightly superior, could no longer forcibly detain Li Jing in a night battle.
If they continue to pursue, and Guo Ziyi rejoins the troops left behind in the main camp, or Han Xing attacks from the rear, they themselves may find themselves in danger.
"Sound the retreat, withdraw the troops."
Ma Chao's voice was filled with resentment and deep exhaustion, almost squeezed out from between his teeth.
The crisp sound of gongs rang out in the night sky, and the Chu cavalry, like the receding tide, slowly stopped their pursuit and began to regroup.
In the distance, Guo Ziyi heard the signal for the Chu army to withdraw and breathed a long sigh of relief.
He glanced at Li Jing beside him, who, though disheveled, was at least unharmed, and whispered:
"Li Shuai, we're safe."
Li Jing glanced back at the receding battlefield fires and the faint sounds of the Chu army retreating behind him. His face showed no joy at surviving the disaster, only a deep, unyielding solemnity and pain.
He lost this battle completely. It was a miracle he even survived.
Guo Ziyi said no more, ordered his troops to remain vigilant, and continued marching towards the main camp.
Night gradually swallowed up all traces of this thrilling chase and rescue battle.
Only corpses and undried bloodstains remained, silently recounting the tragedy that had just occurred under the starlight.
The crisp, yet somewhat resentful, sound of the retreat echoed in the blood-soaked night sky, like a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of many bloodthirsty Chu soldiers.
Ma Dai, who was struggling forward and trying to catch up with Tang Jun's rear guard, suddenly stopped when he heard this sound, and an incredulous anxiety instantly surged on his face.
"Sound the retreat? Why sound the retreat?!"
He almost thought he had misheard. He turned his head sharply towards the central command and, after confirming that it was indeed a signal to retreat, a surge of adrenaline rushed to his head.
Li Jing and Guo Ziyi are right ahead!
Although they had regrouped and their formation was stable, the Chu army was not without a chance!
The darkness is both a cover and a source of chaos. As long as pressure is maintained, we may find a weakness!
He could no longer care about anything else, and he spurred the horse hard, ignoring the pain of his wounds reopening.
He rode his horse past the soldiers who were slowly coming to a stop and looking puzzled, and charged straight at Ma Chao, who was standing on the high slope with a gloomy face.
"Brother! Why did you order a retreat?!"
Ma Dai rushed forward, not even having time to bow, his voice urgent and questioning:
"Although Guo Ziyi arrived, his intention was to rescue people and retreat, not to engage in a decisive battle!"
"As long as our army keeps pursuing and harassing them, we can hold them back until General Han receives the news and sends troops to encircle them. We might be able to keep Li Jing here!"
"If we retreat now, wouldn't all our previous efforts be wasted, and we'd just be watching our cooked duck fly away?"
He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, pointing to the faint flickering firelight and clamor of the Tang army moving through the darkness ahead:
"Look! They're not retreating fast! Let's give chase! I'm willing to be the vanguard and hold them off at all costs!"
Ma Chao slowly turned around and looked at his younger brother Ma Dai, who was excited, covered in blood, but still full of fighting spirit.
In the firelight, Ma Dai's face appeared somewhat pale due to blood loss and excitement, but his eyes shone with an alarming brightness.
How could Ma Chao not feel pain, anger, and regret?
Li Jing was within reach, but his efforts were thwarted by Guo Ziyi's desperate rescue, which was even more regrettable than failing to catch up in the first place.
He took a deep breath of the night air, thick with the stench of blood, and forced himself to speak in the calmest voice possible:
"Brother Dai, how could I not know your feelings? I want to take Li Jing's head and present it to His Majesty even more than you do!"
He changed the subject, his tone becoming heavy and realistic: "But you see,"
He reached out and pointed to the Chu cavalry that were gradually gathering around him.
Under the firelight, these soldiers who followed them across hundreds of miles and fought countless battles.
Their faces were etched with undisguised exhaustion, many of them had their helmets askew and their armor askew, and they were covered in wounds.
The warhorse he was riding was foaming at the mouth and trembling, clearly having reached its physical limit.
"The brothers have been with us since yesterday, fighting, chasing, fighting, defending, and chasing again... without a moment's real rest."
"Man is made of iron, food is made of steel. Even if morale is high, how can flesh and blood sustain life indefinitely?"
He then pointed at Ma Dai himself: "Look at yourself again! How many wounds do you have? Has the bleeding stopped? How much strength do you have left?"
Ma Dai subconsciously looked down at the fresh blood seeping from the multiple bandages on his body, wanting to refute.
Suddenly, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. The excitement of the battle faded, and intense pain and deep fatigue overwhelmed him like a tidal wave, causing him to sway involuntarily.
Ma Chao stepped forward, took his hand on the shoulder, and said in a low but firm voice:
“Dai Di, I know you are brave, and I know you are unwilling to accept this.”
"But if we pursue them now, even if we catch up with Guo Ziyi's main force with sheer courage, how much of our combat power can we still exert given the current state of our army?"
"Guo Ziyi brought fresh troops, and they fought and retreated without losing their formation."
"If we charge in, besides increasing casualties and wiping out this last mobile force, what are our chances of actually taking down Li Jing?"
He stared into Ma Dai's eyes and said, word by word:
"In your current state, let alone holding off the enemy, you'd probably collapse before even half an hour of fierce fighting if you tried to catch up!"
"When that time comes, who will bring you back? Do you expect me to send troops to rescue you again?"
"Moreover, Guo Ziyi is no ordinary man. They fought and retreated, and the enemy archers caused considerable casualties to our army!"