Wang Shichong escaped and was attacked from three sides, which was just like the situation Li Yu was facing now. The difference between him and Li Yu was that Li Yu still had some depth, but Wang Shichong had no depth at all . The long and narrow official road became the burial place of these ten thousand people.
Wang Shichong didn't know how he escaped. He had taken off his armor and was left walking in the dense forest in just a single layer of clothing. The dozen or so guards around him cut through the thorns and cleared the way for Wang Shichong. Even so, Wang Shichong was still frightened, as if he was being captured alive by the constant shouting and screaming around him.
At this time, he deeply regretted that he should not have divided his troops. If he had known that Li Yu was so insidious and that he would personally lead the cavalry behind him, he should have honestly gone to Wancheng to join Yu Wenhuaji and Qu Tutong. Otherwise, how could such a thing happen? Thinking of the 10,000 troops he had finally recruited, for which he had calculated Yu Juluo and caused Yu Juluo to die after Li Yu, now it was his turn.
"Hurry up, leave here quickly." Wang Shichong urged impatiently. Since they had already escaped, they might as well escape farther. He now only hoped that he could find Wang Renze and then lead the army to Wancheng. As for what would happen in the future, it was no longer a problem for him to consider.
Li Yu obviously didn't notice this. Jianghuai soldiers were indeed the best source of soldiers in this era. The Danyang soldiers of the past had dominated the world, and the Jianghuai soldiers of today were also brave and good at fighting. Even if they lost Wang Shichong's command, they could still fight on equal terms with the Qihuo Army. Fortunately, this batch of Jianghuai soldiers had been with Wang Shichong for a short time, and the chance of fighting to the death was much lower. After learning that Wang Shichong had escaped, many of the 10,000-man army fled into the mountains, and most of them had already surrendered.
Li Yu was riding a war horse and walking on the official road. There were some wounded soldiers lying on the ground around him, and more were Sui soldiers kneeling on the ground surrendering. They all had uneasy looks on their faces, fearing that they would be killed by Li Yu and his men.
"How is the situation?" Li Yu saw Fan Jin taking inventory with a team of soldiers in the distance, and asked. This was the first joint operation of the Qihuo Army under Li Yu. The bows and arrows of the Qinglong Camp, the offense of the Xuanfeng Camp, and the defense of the Xuanwu Camp, the three combined to form the first wave of attacks on Wang Shichong. Facts have proved that the new Qihuo Army has, to a certain extent, become a strong army. Under the coordinated command of everyone, it defeated an enemy of equal strength for the first time.
"There were 2,000 casualties, 500 minor injuries and many serious injuries, but we captured nearly 4,000 people." Fan Jin looked exhausted. Taking inventory of nearly 20,000 troops was not an easy task.
"Very good." Li Yu smiled and said, "Let them start selecting people. The number of people will be changed. Remember, those who are willing to join the Beggars' Army are your brothers. If they are not willing, let them leave! Don't pursue it. Give them some money and tell them not to be enemies of the Beggars' Army in the future. After leaving us, they are not allowed to rob the people. Otherwise, the Beggars' Army will kill them without mercy."
"Yes." Fan Jin nodded. In his opinion, the majority of the four thousand people finally surrendered to the Beggars Army. After all, in the chaos of war, individual strength could not change anything. It would be better to follow the Beggars Army and perhaps survive.
"General." Wu Yunzhao and others came together, all with happy faces. This time, they fought together and easily defeated Wang Shichong. Everyone was happy. Although they didn't know Wang Shichong's whereabouts, they thought he would not dare to be an enemy of the Qihuo Army. The Qihuo Army should not be in any danger in the short term.
"Thanks to your efforts, we finally defeated Wang Shichong. Now we have a bright future ahead of us. In the short term, the imperial court will not dare to do anything to us." Li Yu was very happy and said, "Now, our goal is to go straight to Jianghuai. We will conquer Jianghuai and use our powerful troops to conquer a piece of territory so that we can also have a place to settle down."
"The general is wise." Everyone showed joy on their faces. The future is bright. At least everyone can rest and recuperate for a while.
"Wang Shichong's army was defeated, and there will be no soldiers to defend the area between Jianghuai. I wonder what the general's next preparations will be?" Cen Wenben said quietly. Everyone was stunned. Li Yu had just explained the direction. The army would go straight to Jianghuai, capture cities and conquer territory. Is there any reason for this?
"What do you mean, sir?" Li Yu hesitated. He didn't think there was anything wrong with what Cen Wenben said.
"General, are you attacking Jianghuai in order to become the king, or for something else?" Cen Wenben couldn't help but ask.
"General, you have defeated Yin Shishi and Wang Shichong successively. I think you should establish your own banner, recruit soldiers and command Jianghuai, so that the court can see how powerful you are." Wu Yunzhao said impatiently, "There are very few soldiers in the Jianghuai area. If you occupy this fertile land, hundreds of thousands of people will flock to you at a glance. At that time, it will be a piece of cake for you to become the king. In this way, brothers like me can also follow suit and give titles to our wives and children."
Li Gu and the others' eyes lit up when they heard this. What an honor it was to have a wife and children ennobled. Anyone would want to have this. For a moment, everyone's eyes lit up and they stared at Li Yu intently.
"Yes, sir, we have nearly 20,000 people now, I think we should establish a name." Li Gu said loudly. Everyone nodded and looked at Li Yu with expectant eyes, waiting for Li Yu's decision.
"Name? What name can you build? Look at Wang Bo, Sun Xuanya, He Xiaode and others in the past. They all had hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but what can they do? They were driven around like sheep by Zhang Xutuo. Now recruiting soldiers is just courting death. Keeping a low profile and slowly accumulating strength is the most important thing." Li Yu shook his head. Before Yang Guang went to Jiangnan , Li Yu would never recruit soldiers with great fanfare. He would just hide aside and slowly accumulate strength, even if there was no opponent between Jianghuai at that time. The first bird to stick its head out will always be shot.
"There are many bandits in Lu and Jizhou, and their momentum is huge, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. They have already attracted the attention of the court. Although Zhang Xutuo has few soldiers, most of them are elite soldiers. These bandits may not be his opponents. It may not be a good thing for us to mobilize troops at this time. Your subordinates agree with the general. It is better to be careful at this time." Cen Wenben said: "We will occupy a county town, let the Gu family find a way to recruit refugees with money and food, and wait for the right time. As long as the general does not move, your subordinates believe that the surrounding counties will not take action against the general. It is better to have less trouble than more!"