Zhao Song: My father was Emperor Taizu of Song

Chapter 96 Kidnapping the Two Zhou Empresses, Crossing the Yangtze River Three Times

Chapter 96 Kidnapping the Two Zhou Empresses and Crossing the Yangtze River Three Times

When the fire broke out at Cuiping Mountain, Cao Bin, who was far away in Runzhou City, saw the flames and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly summoned his generals and solemnly issued the second military order that Zhao Dezhao had prepared in advance: "Pass down the order: the entire army shall assemble and follow me in an immediate breakout from the west of the city, heading straight for Cuiping Mountain!"

"Here you go!"

Upon hearing the commotion, the Song army inside the city sprang into action and quickly assembled in an orderly fashion on the west side of the city.

At the third watch of the night, the western gate of Runzhou City was pushed open with a loud bang, and a torrent of murderous intent surged out!

The Tang scouts outside the city were taken aback when they saw this.

The Song army, which had just fought a bloody battle and lost two thousand soldiers a few hours earlier, still dared to take the initiative to break out of the city.

But recalling His Highness the Crown Prince's previous instructions, these Tang scouts were not alarmed but delighted. They immediately spurred their horses and galloped towards Cuiping Mountain, clearly heading to deliver the message.

At this moment, outside the west side of Runzhou City, apart from these few scouts, there was no other main force of the Tang army.

The west side of the city was a gate deliberately left open by Li Congjia. He was determined to use the strategy of leaving a gap in the encirclement to lure Zhao Dezhao to Cuiping Mountain. Therefore, he only deployed a small number of scouts in the west side of the city and did not even build basic defensive fortifications.

"kill!"

With a low shout from the vanguard Li Chuyun, the Song soldiers pounced on the cavalry like tigers descending a mountain.

Caught off guard, the Tang cavalry were wiped out before they could even put up a fight.

The main force followed closely behind, advancing rapidly along the mountain road west of the city. They advanced smoothly without encountering any significant obstacles.

"Speed ​​up the march! We must rendezvous with His Highness as soon as possible!"

Cao Bin gave a loud order, and the army sped up again, rushing towards Cuiping Mountain.

Meanwhile, the fire in Cuiping Mountain intensified, and the northwest wind carried thick smoke and heat waves, forcing the remnants of the Tang army to desperately flee eastward.

Li Congjia lay on the back of Lin Renzhao's horse, his hands gripping the reins tightly, his whole body trembling uncontrollably, his face covered in soot and tears.

Having been raised by women and confined to the palace since childhood, this was the first time he had truly faced the bloodshed and cruelty of the battlefield.

The engulfing of the wildfire, the soldiers' cries of agony, and Zhao Dezhao's god-like roar of killing were like nightmares that constantly haunted his mind.

His inherent cowardice was magnified infinitely.

Just then, Tang scouts from the west of the city also rushed to the foot of Cuiping Mountain and immediately saw their own troops in disarray. They were so startled that they reined in their horses.

"What... what's going on?"

Especially when he saw Li Congjia, with his disheveled hair and deathly pale face, he was so shocked that his mouth dropped open. It took him a long time to recover his senses. He dismounted and rushed forward to report: "Report! The Song army has broken out from the west of the city and is heading straight for Cuiping Mountain!"

"What?!"

Li Congjia trembled violently like a startled bird. His mind, which had been blank from the wildfire and fighting, was instantly filled with fear, and he blurted out, "Retreat! Retreat now!!"

"Your Highness! You mustn't!"

Lin Renzhao hurriedly tightened the reins, urging urgently, "Your Highness, hold on a little longer! Our remaining troops are regrouping, and Zhou Chengzhao in the south of the city will surely notice the fire at Cuiping Mountain and is probably on his way. As long as we form ranks and hold out for a while, we can join forces with the reinforcements!"

"It's unstoppable—it's simply unstoppable!"

Li Congjia's voice trembled, filled with despair: "That Zhao Dezhao is a killing machine! We're no match for him. If we don't leave now, we're all doomed!"

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind.

escape!

Get as far away from Zhao Dezhao as possible!

"Your Highness! Our army is already in disarray. If we order a westward retreat now, it will surely fall apart and be defeated one by one by the Song army!" Lin Renzhao urged again urgently, "Your Highness, if you were to rise to a high point and give a shout now, you could surely stabilize the morale of the army—"

"Shut up!!"

Before Lin Renzhao could finish speaking, Li Congjia shouted hysterically and angrily, "You caused my Crown Princess to be captured alive, and I haven't even punished you yet, and you still dare to put me in danger!"

Having said that, he hurriedly turned to the messenger and shouted sternly, "Withdraw the troops immediately! What are you standing there for!"

Just as the military order was about to be delivered, a continuous trail of torches suddenly lit up at the end of the mountain path ahead.

The firelight illuminated the densely packed Song soldiers, their armor gleaming, their imposing presence overwhelming, as they charged toward them.

The leading general had a fierce face; it was none other than Li Chuyun.

"Hahaha, Tang army, die!"

Li Chuyun laughed wildly as he brandished his spear. His warhorse galloped like thunder, charging fearlessly straight into the center of the Tang army.

"Your Highness! We cannot retreat! Behind us is a sea of ​​fire, and although there are Song troops ahead, we still have several thousand remnants. If we fight to the death, we might be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

Li Congjia's previous words had truly chilled Lin Renzhao's heart. If it were anyone else, they would probably have captured Li Congjia and handed him over to the Song army long ago, but he was, after all, Lin Renzhao.

He immediately shouted the order: "All troops, form shields! Hold out for a moment, and reinforcements will arrive!"

Upon hearing this, the Tang soldiers, though still fearful, formed a battle formation in front of Li Chuyun due to Lin Renzhao's long-standing prestige in the army.

But then, something unexpected happened!

Seeing that Lin Renzhao dared to disobey orders, Li Congjia seemed to be provoked and suddenly jumped off his horse.

Just then, a donkey cart carrying supplies stumbled out of the fire. A flash of madness crossed Li Congjia's eyes. He pounced on it like a madman, scrambling onto the cart frame and grabbing the whip beside the shaft, lashing it fiercely at the donkey: "Giddy up!! Giddy up!!"

Right before the eyes of the entire army, this Southern Tang crown prince abandoned his troops and fled in a donkey cart!

On the battlefield, people unleash tremendous potential in their struggle to escape.

Its potential is so great that even a thousand elite cavalrymen cannot catch up with a single donkey cart.

Zhao Er was the one who understood this most deeply.

But for now, Li Congjia has more authority to speak on this matter.

Hearing the shouts of battle echoing behind him, Li Congjia stared straight ahead, gripping the reins tightly with both hands. He didn't dare to turn his head and just kept whipping the reins!

"Hurry! I command you to go faster!"

"If you escape, I will appoint you as the Grand General Who Protects the Nation!!"

These crazy words kept popping out of Li Congjia's mouth. He had completely entered a state of oneness with the vehicle, taking extreme corners and leaving only the afterimages of the donkey cart behind him.

Li Congjia only snapped out of his daze when his donkey let out a mournful bray and collapsed to the ground.

There was no one left around.

"Finally—finally we escaped—"

He collapsed onto the donkey cart with a thud.

The rout will trigger a chain reaction.

"Your Highness!"

Lin Renzhao stared at the drifting afterimage of the donkey cart, his eyes filled with grief, indignation, and helplessness.

He was determined to kill the traitors, but he was powerless to change the situation!

If even the commander-in-chief is so afraid of death, how can the soldiers under him have any fighting spirit?

"The prince has run away! We run too!"

Someone shouted, and the remnants of the Tang army scattered like birds and beasts, abandoning their armor and weapons, and fled in all directions, with no one willing to resist anymore.

Upon seeing this, Li Chuyun immediately led his troops in a counterattack. The remnants of the Tang army were powerless to resist and suffered countless casualties.

Cao Bin arrived shortly afterward and, seeing that the Tang army had already fled, and learning that Li Congjia had escaped in a donkey cart, stopped Li Chuyun, who was about to give chase: "Don't pursue! The most urgent matter is to reunite with His Highness!"

Li Chuyun glanced resentfully in the direction where the donkey cart had disappeared to the west, and could only angrily rein in his horse.

He had fought in many battles, and this was the first time he had ever seen anyone drive a donkey cart so fast.

The army changed direction and sped off towards the northern foot of Cuiping Mountain via a detour.

At this time, the wildfire was ignited by the northwest wind, so the southeast side of Cuiping Mountain was already filled with thick smoke and flames soaring into the sky. On the contrary, the northwest side of the valley, although the flames were dazzling, were not as fierce as those in the southeast.

When Cao Bin led his army to the northern foothills, eight hundred personal guards were building a pontoon bridge, while Zhao Dezhao sat on the shore, warming himself by a fire, with two women beside him.

It was Zhou Ehuang and Zhou Nüying.

The two sisters sat slumped on the ground, their clothes disheveled, their hair covered in dust, their faces pale, their eyes empty and lifeless, their hearts ashen.

Her once gentle and charming face is now nothing but endless sorrow.

Cao Bin dismounted and strode forward, but upon seeing this scene, he abruptly stopped, instinctively looking at Zhao Dezhao, and said incredulously, "Your Highness, this, this is—"

"The two Zhou empresses." Zhao Dezhao answered subconsciously, then immediately realized what he meant, coughed twice, and pointed at Zhou Ehuang, saying, "This is the Crown Princess of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty."

Then he pointed to Zhou Nuying: "This is her sister."

Finally, he silently added to his mind:

Hmm—she was also one of the earliest victims of the "eye patch incident."

Thinking of this, Zhao Dezhao couldn't help but subconsciously glance at the two sisters a couple more times.

It must be said that these two sisters truly have their own unique charm.

Zhou Nüying was still young and her figure was not yet fully developed, but she already showed her charming nature. Zhou Ehuang was completely different. She had already grown into a graceful and elegant woman. Even though she was covered in dust, she could not hide her stunning beauty.

Especially those empty, lifeless eyes, which added to their pitiful fragility.

Cao Bin couldn't help but take a second look, and the honest man's face instantly turned red.

Zhao Dezhao realized what was happening and quickly coughed twice, explaining awkwardly, "I tied them up because I was afraid they would commit suicide."

It's less about binding and more about binding.

The binding was very shameful. To prevent the two from committing suicide, Zhao Dezhao racked his brains and had no choice but to use the binding method he was most skilled at in his previous life.

Tortoise shell binding!

Cao Bin forced himself to turn his face away, unable to bear looking anymore.

Li Chuyun, however, took a few more glances and couldn't help but think to himself, "Once this matter is settled, I must ask His Highness for this skill—"

Zhao Dezhao glanced at Li Chuyun indifferently, and Li Chuyun quickly looked away, feigning seriousness as he asked, "Your Highness, what should we do next?"

"Pass down the order: immediately build a pontoon bridge on the riverbank and cross the Yangtze River overnight."

"Here you go!"

Cao Bin and Li Chuyun accepted the order and left. The soldiers quickly sprang into action, cutting down nearby trees, moving stones, and building a pontoon bridge by the faint light of the fire.

Fortunately, there was already a dilapidated pontoon bridge left over from the original site, so it was repaired and restored in a short time.

Zhao Dezhao led his troops onto the pontoon bridge first, with the Zhou sisters following numbly behind him. Zi Guang remained vacant, indifferent to everything around him.

Nine thousand Song soldiers and eight hundred guards crossed the Yangtze River one by one. By the time the last soldier stepped onto the north bank, the east was already turning a pale white.

This is the third time the Song army has crossed the Yangtze River!