In Zhenzhou Jingxing County, there was the fifth pass of Taihang eight passes and the sixth pass of the nine passes in the world. It was named because of its name "high four directions and a deep center, like a well, like a stove, so it is called Jingxing".

This place was occupied by the Later Tang Dynasty as the Zhenzhou governor of Chengde Army. After King Wang Rong of Zhao was killed by the rebel general Zhang Wenli, and Li Cunxu was conquered in the name of rebellion. However, Li Cunxu was defeated and defeated, and the Wei army marched northward. Not only had the Jingxing County Town been conquered, but there were many Wei soldiers transporting grain and fodder in various places under his rule.

However, a group of soldiers came from the southwest, and while the sky was getting dark and it was difficult for us to distinguish, they suddenly launched a surprise attack on the Wei army, which basically controlled this area.

At this time, the one who dared to attack the Wei army in Jingxing was naturally the Later Tang, Tan and Han cavalry and infantry commanded by Zhou Dewei. The most elite troops sent by the station also played a surprise attack under the cover of the night.

He quickly fought out and immediately handed over the troops. The Wei army unit, who came to his senses, was unable to use a crossbow, for fear of accidentally hurting his comrades' robes. Then the Tang vassal Han army took advantage of the situation to intensify the chaos and rushed forward. Whenever he went forward for a long time, he immediately raised his arms and greeted him...

Until the sky was clear, there were dead bodies. Zhou Dewei's army was enough to capture a fortress occupied by the Wei army... Although this battle did not cause any injury to the Wei Dynasty, it was also a serious chaos in the military deployment of the defeated troops pursuing Li Cunxu and other defeated troops in the northwest. However, with his ability to use troops, he could certainly win these small-scale victories, but now he is quite furious and will encourage the attention of all Wei troops to concentrate on this side.

Inside the fort, there were corpses everywhere, and wounded soldiers who were wailing and moaning... Although they won for a while, most of the soldiers in the Later Tang Dynasty who were cleaning up and rectifying looked solemn. Many soldiers were walking back and forth with their heads in silence. It seemed that they had basically realized that their situation in the future would only become more and more dangerous.

The soldiers under his command were panicked and worried, so Zhou Dewei knew it very well... But he still had a cold face and a heart as iron as iron, relying on his prestige accumulated in the army in the past to restrain his troops as much as possible.

Zhou Dewei also knew very well that urging his army to enter the territory of Zhenzhou and actively attacking the Wei army under such circumstances... was a risky move. But only by doing this could he transfer the risks he currently bears to himself... This was of course unshirkable for Zhou Dewei, who was loyal to the Li family in Hedong.

Of course, Zhou Dewei did not regard this choice as a suicide-like action. As long as he could support Li Cunxu to retreat to Hedong smoothly, he would still do his best to try to break through... But by then he was destined to be a living target for the Wei army to siege and attack. His troops under his command were likely to be annihilated and a breakthrough was made from the enemy's siege, and the possibility of retreating to Hedong was naturally not much higher...

It’s just that this danger, Zhou Dewei must take it.

At least he was able to breathe for the time being, Zhou Dewei leaned his body against a stone mill, still looking serious and majestic. He stared at the soldiers coming and going around him, and performed his own responsibilities and actions. After a while, a cavalry general in the Fan Han army was full of worries and rushed straight to Zhou Dewei and said respectfully:

"General Zhou... After these wars, in addition to the casualties and losses, many soldiers fled in the various branches after counting them. Since our Han army led troops to Niangziguan and Yangwu Army Ge, the army of various troops have been unable to restrain themselves from fleeing. Together with the lost troops, the number of soldiers and horses available to our army now is less than nine thousand..."

The cavalry general who reported to Zhou Dewei was called Yang Tan, who was born in Shatuo. His father A Tingchuo joined Li Keyong in his early years and served as the commander of the team. According to official history, after being promoted to the cavalry general by Li Cunxu, he was indeed directly under Zhou Dewei's account.

In fact, this Yang Tan has another identity in the official history... Since Li Siyuan succeeded the Emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, he changed his imperial name to Li Dan. Yang Tan's old name was just as he was accused of the partial name, so he changed his name to Guangyuan... Therefore, this person was also based on the historical record when Li Congke, the last emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and after his defeat, because the commander Zhang Jingda refused to surrender, he took the lead in instigating his command assassination of the main general, and immediately encouraged the Later Tang army to surrender to the Khitan.

Nowadays, Yang Tan, Yang Guangyuan in the official history, naturally became an important official who was relied on by Shi Jingtang, the son emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty. He knew very well that his assassination of the commander Zhang Jingda, and his behavior of currying against the Khitan in order to protect himself was very despicable, so he once made a hypocritical statement to Shi Jingtang, "It is not a disadvantage for the minister to be a general, but Zhang Shengtie (Zhang Jingda's small name) died as his subordinates, and he was not satisfied with his sincere conscience, so he was unhappy." But this guy's words and deeds have been directly identified in the history of the Five Dynasties:

In fact, Guangyuan said this to invite Emperor Gaozu to trust him.

In other words, even if Yang Tan is a Shatuo native and is a general who has served in the Hedong Li family for generations... But at the critical moment of his life and death, he surrendered at the last minute, assassinated the head coach, and expressed his own difficulties after turning to the enemy... He can do all these things.

However, according to the official trajectory, Yang Guangyuan, who changed his name, had to wait until Zhou Dewei had been killed for many years, and he was qualified to be the deputy envoy of recruiting the recruitment. In the late Later Tang Dynasty, Zhang Jingda succeeded and led the generals to surrender to the Khitan, which would reveal his character. However, Yang Tan is still a cavalry general under Zhou Dewei's command.

After hearing Yang Tanchen say that, Zhou Dewei exhaled a long breath of turbid air and said coldly:

"There are more than 9,000 people left, and the number of people who escaped is indeed a little more than I expected... It's a pity that the morale of the soldiers and horses of the troops is sluggish. Whether it is to use military law to shock or to reorganize the morale of the army with my prestige in the army... The soldiers have long had no desire to fight to the death, but it is difficult for them to maintain for a long time...

After the order was sent, today, it was still only to capture the military camp in the south corner of Jingxing. There were several forts in the north, and even Bailing in the north... and to defeat various Wei troops. The men and women rested for another hour, quickly prepared to set off. "

When Yang Tan heard this, he was very anxious and immediately advised:

"General Zhou, since you also say that the morale of our foreign and Han army is unsustainable now, we should retreat back to Hedong as soon as possible before the troops of the Southern Dynasties were defeated by the Southern Dynasties! Now, including Your Majesty, which of the robes of each unit are scrambling to retreat westward? Why is the only one of our foreign and Han army going to enter Zhenzhou and endure the offensive of the Southern Dynasties alone?

Even if there is still General Fu Xi guarding the Zhending City in Zhenzhou, the roads have been cut off by the Southern Dynasties. Now the German army is an isolated city, and it is really difficult to provide support to our army... But General Manager Zhou still has to take the initiative to attack the enemy troops. Even if he wins a few games, when the Southern Dynasties army forms a siege, our army is not just in danger? It will be difficult to break through the siege and fight out again, and the vitality is bleak!"

Zhou Dewei turned his head, glared at him, and then said sternly:

"Precisely because our army is still unable to determine the safety of Your Majesty, our army must protect Yingyu and retreat to Hedong, so we must never retreat! Although the Southern Dynasty is in power now, our Han army may not have the opportunity to break through the siege and fight. But the master is afraid of war and retreat first. How could it be the Hedong man who is loyal to Li Tang?"

Yang Tan was even more anxious, but before he could speak again, he saw Zhou Dewei's eyes were cold. He was usually not angry and mighty. Not only was there a little more anger on his face, but he spoke in a deep voice, and there was also a hint of murderous intent in his tone:

"I have decided, so there is no need to say much! It is important to know that the Fan Han horse and infantry army is still led by Zhou. If someone criticizes it again, it will be regarded as disrupting the morale of the army... If you are engaged in accordance with the military law, do you know what crime should you be punished??"
Chapter completed!