He is the Prince of Beining Commandery, how could he be so shameless!
This battle is a must, or at least we must inflict heavy damage on the enemy; otherwise, even if we escape to the other side of the river, we will still be pursued.
To retreat in the face of cavalry would be tantamount to suicide.
After a moment's thought, Li Sansi began to encourage his soldiers, saying in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, although we suffered some losses in this battle, they are still within an acceptable range. Moreover, we weren't the only ones who suffered losses; Tuoba Yu's losses were also considerable!"
"He lost over 20,000 men to Lin Yi first, and we've lost at least 10,000 in the past few days of fighting. He's left with at most 50,000, which isn't much different in strength from ours!"
"Do you perhaps think that you are not even as good as the 30,000 new recruits under Lin Yi's command?"
Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately went berserk!
What the prince said makes sense. How can Lin Yi's 30,000 new recruits hold off Tuoba Yu, while our own 70,000 troops can't even defeat him? It's truly laughable.
"Your Highness is right. We have the geographical advantage and the numerical superiority of our troops in this battle. There is absolutely no way we can lose!"
" Tuoba Yu and the others are also at their limit. If they can just hold on for these next few days, they won't be able to hold on any longer."
"Our reinforcements are also behind us; we can definitely fight this battle."
"At the very least, we can't be worse than a new recruit; otherwise, we'll be laughed at."
Seeing that the soldiers' morale had returned, Li Sansi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As long as morale remained, there was still hope for this battle.
However, just as his son said, the enemy had figured out the defenses of Little Pine Mountain. If they continued to defend against the enemy using the previous methods, they would probably still suffer heavy losses.
After sending the military officers away, Li Sansi kept only his son and He Zudao behind.
He said in a deep voice, "That good-for-nothing Song Zixi, even if he didn't betray Great Ning, his act of letting Tuoba Yu treat Little Pine Mountain like a brothel, coming and going as he pleased, is unforgivable! He Zudao, you are in charge of reorganizing the defenses, and I will have my son personally assist you!"
He had already decided that once this battle was over, he would kill Song Zixi immediately. Even if this guy wasn't a spy, he was still a piece of trash and couldn't be allowed to live.
It's a joke to let the enemy know everything about your side.
"Your subordinate obeys!" He Zudao nodded and said in a deep voice.
He knew in his heart that this battle was crucial and he absolutely could not afford to make a mistake.
Li Yunqing glanced at He Zudao and whispered, "Father, we've recently received news that many wealthy merchants from Ningchuan Commandery have fled to Xiliang Commandery. This matter must be suppressed, otherwise the people will become restless!"
"What?"
Li Sansi flew into a rage, kicking the stool in front of him away and roaring, "A bunch of bastards who'll follow whoever feeds them! I, Li Sansi, am not even dead yet, and you've already escaped to Xiliang Commandery! Send some men to guard Raging Waves Bridge; if you want to get out, swim across!"
A bunch of bastards actually have no faith in me; this is simply outrageous.
Just then, a guard rushed in and whispered outside the tent, "Your Highness, Wei Tong has returned!"
"Let him in quickly!"
Upon hearing this news, Li Sansi instantly perked up and stood up from his seat.
Wei Tong was, after all, the commander of the Great Ning Guard. No matter how arrogant Lin Yi was, he wouldn't dare to disrespect the Great Ning Guard. After all, Wei Tong had the Emperor behind him. Lin Yi shouldn't be that Zhang Cai!
Whoosh!
Wei Tong pulled back the curtain and walked in, but his face was grim, which made Li Sansi's heart skip a beat.
"Commander Wei, is Lin Yi willing to send troops to support Little Pine Mountain?" He Zudao asked loudly, disregarding social hierarchy.
Wei Tong glanced at He Zudao voice, " Lin Yi refused directly. He said that he had been attacked by an army of 80,000, and you chose to stand by and watch, which caused him heavy losses. Although he won that battle, he also lost many soldiers and had no troops left to use."
Heavy losses?
Li Sansi and his son exchanged a glance, both wanting to curse. This bastard clearly only lost less than two thousand men, yet he claimed it was a heavy loss—that was complete nonsense.
"That bastard, he's really vindictive! Does he really think he can't live without him?!" Li Yunqing was furious. This bastard did it on purpose; this was revenge!
Li Sansi took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "In that case, we can only rely on ourselves. We still have more than 50,000 troops left, which is about the same as Tuoba Yu's forces. We may not be unable to fight!"
"Then let's fight!"
Wei Tong stated directly that although no reinforcements were coming, the Great Ning Guard would fully support Li Sansi, and victory in this battle was certain.
After chatting for a while, the two left the camp to report to Li Anlan.
Watching his retreating figure, Li Sansi spat and sneered, "What good is that small force of the Great Ning Guard? We still have to rely on ourselves. Qing'er, remember to find a secluded spot to repair the pontoon bridge; it might come in handy at a crucial moment!"
This is unreliable. We're not going to fight to the death. Even if we lose the war, we can still turn things around once we get back to Ningchuan Commandery.
"Ah..." Li Yunqing was completely bewildered. Wasn't her father just acting so aggressively?
He Zudao glanced at him and said quietly, "The ability to advance and retreat freely is the true path to victory. Your Highness is the real sage."
On the other side, Tuoba Yu stood on another hilltop, gazing in the direction of Li Sansi from afar, and sneered, " Li Sansi, Li Sansi, you've finally grown old!"
For so many years, he had only made feints, mostly targeting the Northern Liang, which meant Li Sansi rarely fought personally. Now, Li Sansi had lost his former heroic spirit and instead had the air of a hero in his twilight years. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
"I think he's not only old, but also cowardly!" The Evil Bodhisattva laughed loudly, his face full of disdain.
In the past, this guy would personally lead the charge in every battle, and his soldiers were always in high spirits. But in just seven or eight years, he has regressed so much.
Xiao Shan sighed and said with a wry smile, " Li Sansi is actually a remarkable person, but unfortunately, in recent years Li Anlan has not only suppressed the Prince of Northern Liang, but also suppressed the Li family members even more ruthlessly and severely, so he has become more and more cautious."
"That's how people are. The more cautious you become, the less you have that indomitable spirit. This is something Li Anlan brought upon himself."
Tsk tsk!
The crowd couldn't help but gloat. This was truly amusing; they had actually forced a fierce general into a coward. The Emperor of Great Ning was truly impressive.
Tuoba Yu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Recently, their defenses have become increasingly vulnerable, and the Heavenly Eagle Guard have made tremendous contributions. They will definitely redeploy their defenses, which presents an opportunity for us."
Concentrate your forces and break through the enemy's defenses.
In this way, the cowardly Li Sansi can't do anything to him.