12dz Chapter 2036 The God of War's Crazy Decision!
Chapter 2036 The God of War's Crazy Decision!
"General offensive! The Chu army's general offensive has begun!"
On the watchtower of the Tang army camp, a sentry let out a desperate roar in a distorted voice.
The sound spread like wildfire throughout the camp, and an indescribable panic and despair instantly gripped the hearts of every Tang soldier.
The four cavalry units engaged in fierce fighting outside the camp were involuntarily separated amidst this grand spectacle of the sky and earth changing color.
Gao Xianzhi and Hu Yanying looked at the endless Chu army main force surging towards them, and then at the unfinished defensive fortifications and the camp whose morale was on the verge of collapse. Their faces were filled with bitterness and despair.
They knew that the cavalry's protracted fighting was pointless and they had to immediately retreat to their camp to participate in the more brutal siege battle.
Xue Huaide and Zhao Yu reined in their horses and, with their equally exhausted but highly motivated cavalry, slowly retreated to the sides, making way for the true destructive torrent behind them.
They raised their heads and looked at the bright yellow banner of the central army, their eyes filled with fervor and awe.
Chu Ning sat upright on his horse and slowly raised his arm.
The next moment, an even more stirring and urgent war drumbeat soared into the sky!
Like the final thunder before a storm!
"Great Chu—May you be victorious!"
It is unknown who shouted the first cry, but the shout spread like wildfire, instantly engulfing the entire Chu army formation!
Three hundred and eighty thousand men roared in unison, their voices crashing against the Tang army's camp like a tsunami, shaking the earth!
"Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng!"
"Wan Sheng!"
The all-out offensive has begun!
At this moment, the wheels of history, with a deafening roar that crushed everything, relentlessly rolled towards the last bastion of the Tang army!
Li Jing stood atop a towering watchtower temporarily erected in the center of the Tang army camp. The cold wind tousled his graying hair, but it could not dispel the unyielding solemnity and icy coldness between his brows.
His gaze, like two cold scrapers, was fixed on the Chu army formation outside the pass, which was slowly pressing in with overwhelming force.
Banners blotted out the sky, swords and spears were like a forest, and the reflections of armor were so bright they hurt the eyes.
The deep, thunderous sound of the war drums and the tsunami-like shouts of "Victory!" all proclaimed Chu Ning's resolute determination to win this decisive battle.
The opponent didn't even bother with the final probing; they directly revealed all their trump cards, intending to crush him and his 250,000-strong army completely beneath Zhennan Pass with absolute power!
"It seems that Chu Ning really has no intention of giving me or the Tang Dynasty any chance to breathe."
Li Jing's voice was low and hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out with difficulty from the depths of his throat, carrying the suppressed feeling of a wild beast forced to the edge of a cliff.
"He skipped even the final probing; he's going to settle things in one decisive battle."
Standing beside him was Wang Zhongsi, whose face was also pale, but his eyes still retained a trace of the tenacity of a famous general.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the pounding in his heart, and said in a deep voice with his hands clasped:
"General Li, although the Chu army is numerous and their morale is high, our army is not without the power to fight back!"
"We rely on this fortified camp, which we have been building for months, and we have the advantage of terrain. All the soldiers know that this battle is related to the fate of the nation, and they will fight to the death!"
"With proper command and layered blocking, the Chu army will be unable to advance an inch before our camp, and blood will flow like a river!"
"This humble general believes that, with the fortifications of our camp, our more than 200,000 soldiers are more than capable of holding them off!"
"Yes, Commander! General Wang is absolutely right!"
"Our camp is well-fortified and our supplies are plentiful. As long as we hold our ground, the Chu army may not be able to gain the upper hand!"
"Yes! Relying on their camps to wear down their morale and strength is the best strategy!"
Other generals around, such as Liu Hongji, also chimed in with their opinions.
In their view, given such a huge numerical disadvantage, relying on strong fortifications for defense was the only safe option with the least potential losses.
To launch a rash attack or to split one's forces and take a risky gamble would be tantamount to courting death.
However, Li Jing shook his head violently.
He turned around, and in his deep-set eyes burned a fierce, almost insane fire, a stark contrast to his usual composed demeanor.
"No! Blindly defending will only make us more and more passive!"
Li Jing's voice suddenly rose, carrying a ruthless, desperate tone:
"The Chu army far outnumbers ours. If we allow them to maneuver freely and attack from all sides, even the strongest fortifications will eventually be breached!"
"At that time, our army's morale will be exhausted, and there will be no way to retreat. The only option will be total annihilation!"
He suddenly looked at Wang Zhongsi, his gaze intense, as if trying to see right through him:
"General Wang! I am willing to take a desperate gamble, to put myself in a do-or-die situation and survive!"
Upon hearing this, all the generals were stunned, and an ominous premonition welled up in their hearts.
Before they could react, Li Jing decisively gave the order: "Wang Zhongsi, listen to my command!"
Wang Zhongsi's body stiffened, and he instinctively straightened up: "Your subordinate is here!"
"I entrust the 150,000 main force troops in my camp to you!"
Li Jing's every word was like a hammer blow: "You have only one goal—Feng Mulan and her Vermilion Bird Legion!"
He pointed to the most striking crimson wave in the Chu army formation—the banner of the Vermilion Bird Legion:
"Chu Ning regards this woman and the Vermilion Bird Legion as his trump cards, and they are the apple of his eye!"
"I order you to spare no effort, concentrate all your forces, and launch a desperate attack on the Vermilion Bird Legion!"
"If we can defeat the Vermilion Bird Legion and kill or even capture Feng Mulan alive, it will severely damage the morale of the Chu army and may even shake Chu Ning's resolve, causing chaos across the entire Chu army!"
"This is our army's only chance to turn the tide of the battle!"
This order, like a bolt from the blue, instantly struck the heads of every general!
150,000 main force!
This is almost all the most combat-effective troops that the Tang army can currently mobilize!
Entrust everything to Wang Zhongsi to attack the strongest point of the Chu army—the Vermilion Bird Legion, personally commanded by the Imperial Noble Consort, well-equipped, and in high spirits?!
what does this mean?
This means that defensive forces in other directions will be severely weakened!
This means that the remaining troops will face unimaginable pressure from fierce attacks launched from other directions by Chu generals such as Xue Huaide, Guan Yun, Ran Ming, and Zhao Yu!
This was an absolute gamble, risking the safety of the entire camp and the fate of the entire Tang Dynasty!
"General! You mustn't!"
Liu Hongji was the first to exclaim in alarm: "With so many troops being diverted to attack one place, the other defenses will inevitably be vulnerable! If the Chu army takes advantage of this, our army will be in grave danger!"
"Yes, Commander Li! Feng Mulan is in the central command, heavily guarded, and the Vermilion Bird Legion is a formidable force. How can we break through in such a short time?"
"If we fail to break through after a prolonged siege, and our main force is bogged down while other directions are under attack, then... then it's all over!"
Another veteran also urgently advised against it, his face full of panic.