A little before dawn, beneath the moonlight, the main force of the Exorcising the Dragon Army broke out of the allied encampment.
Tactically speaking, the breakout was of course far from over, and that indeed seemed to be the case... for as far as the eye could see beneath the moonlight, countless pursuers poured from the allied camp in a seething black tide. There were troops from Youzhou, Hejian, the miscellaneous forces of the northwestern commanderies, and of course the Taiyuan Army. Apart from the Eastern Capital Army across the river, which nobody cared about, practically every allied force seemed to have joined the pursuit.
And they had thrown themselves into it wholeheartedly... some rode, some walked, some cried out, some shouted, and some even beat drums, but all were fully equipped and armed, chasing almost passionately after the Exorcising the Dragon Army fleeing north and in the surrounding directions.
Northward all the way! Northwest!
Yet watching this almost magnificent spectacle, Duke of Ying Bai Hengqiu stood on a watchtower outside the Youzhou Army's camp, his face livid.
The reason was simple. The allied commander knew perfectly well that once they left the encampment, it would not merely be the Exorcising the Dragon Army that slipped out of control. Most of the allied forces would also pass completely beyond his control and military orders. In other words, these men were both pursuing the Exorcising the Dragon Army and breaking away from him!
He had failed to crush the Exorcising the Dragon Army's main force, the Eastern Capital had been stolen from under him, and he still had to hurry to the Western Pass. It was only natural for the powerful figures of Hebei to seize the opportunity to break away. Yet a dignified conclusion was different from a disintegration in