In such an unfavorable situation where bad news spread frequently, Pang Wanchun decisively ordered the withdrawal of his troops. However, before the withdrawal of the troops on February 13, he still sent troops to attack Changshu City during the day. It was not until dark that the army slowly retreated backwards, and the lineup was neat and orderly.

Although it was dark, the Wu army's withdrawal on such a large scale could not be hidden from the eyes of the Song army on the city. After watching their continued retreat, the soldiers immediately guessed that the enemy was planning to leave completely, which made them breathe a sigh of relief and cheered again.

It was too difficult for them to stay in Changshu during this period and they paid too much money. Sun Tu's departure made the soldiers unable to be fully focused. Many people had been holding on with pessimistic thoughts before. Now, watching the enemy retreat, they only felt that the big rock pressing on their bodies suddenly moved away, and their mental state improved a lot.

Of course, some people had other ideas. Song Jiang and the Liangshan brothers came to see Dong Ping, who was entrusted by Sun Tu to decide the power in the army, and asked him for battle, hoping to take this opportunity to chase and leave the city and avenge the revenge of being constantly attacked by the enemy during this period.

Looking at the anxious look of the generals with red eyes, Dong Ping could certainly understand their feelings. This time, the casualties of the Liangshan generals were the most severe, and the hatred in their hearts was naturally the deepest. It is reasonable to take revenge and chase them out.

But he did not agree with the other party's thoughts: "Brother Gongming, brothers, I, Dong Ping, also empathize with your thoughts. But now the enemy's new retreat has not been defeated by us. It is hard to say that they will not set up any traps outside the city to ambush, so in my opinion, we must not attack rashly, otherwise we will only be trapped by the enemy and increase casualties."

"Duji Dong, are we just watching them leave freely? This is a great opportunity to defeat this anti-army. How could we let go just because of any concerns?" Song Jiang frowned.

Wu Yong also said, "Yes, Dong Dujian, according to my opinion, it must be that Chief Sun had succeeded in Suzhou that forced them to retreat in a hurry. How could he set up any ambush traps at this time? Moreover, we did this not only to kill the enemy and vent our anger, but also to reduce the burden on the brothers ahead. If the 100,000 anti-army troops were withdrawn in a hurry, the Chief Secretary would have only a few hundred people. Can he really defend Suzhou?"

"Yes, Manager Dong, let me wait for troops to pursue him."

"If you still have any concerns, our Liangshan brothers are willing to take on this matter with all our might. We will send troops to rescue ourselves!"

Others also agreed, as if they forced him to nod. Dong Ping was stared at by these dozen or twenty generals, and hesitated again. Although rationally told him that it was the wisest choice to keep his troops in motion, these people put a lot of pressure on him.

Li Kui, who was the most irritable, shouted even more: "Dong Ping, what are you thinking? It was not your Qingzhou army soldier who died together, so you don't feel sorry for me, but Is it because my Liangshan brothers died in vain?"

"Iron Niu can't talk nonsense!" Song Jiang felt nervous when he heard Li Kui say this and scolded him urgently. Although he said that, he was obviously a little dissatisfied with it, after all, he really wanted to avenge the brothers who had followed him for many years.

But Li Kui's rude cries woke Dong Ping up, which made his face, which was originally full of hesitation, suddenly become cold. He immediately said solemnly: "I have decided that all the soldiers and horses in Changshu City must not act rashly. Those who dare to disobey their orders will be dealt with by military law!"

"You..." Song Jiang was very anxious when he heard this, and wanted to say something, but after facing Dong Ping's firm gaze, his heart tightened and he couldn't speak. At this time, Dong Ping's momentum had steadily surpassed Song Jiang and others, and he had the style of a commander in the army.

Li Kui's words made Dong Ping easily remember the scene when he had conflicts with the Huainan army and his army lacked winter clothes. At that time, he was too hesitant and believed some of the other party's suggestions, so he did not directly snatch supplies. As a result, many soldiers were frozen to death due to cold and were severely punished by Sun Tu.

Today, a similar situation appeared before his eyes again, and this time he had learned a lesson. Since Sun Tu handed over the power to command the entire army to himself, he should be responsible for it and should not be influenced by others at will. As the chief general, he has already made a plan, so how can he allow his subordinates and others to question it?

At this time, Dong Ping looked like a different person, and his eyes swept over the Liangshan generals in front of him: "Don't forget your identity. Now you are already soldiers of my Shandong army, not a bandit who fell into the arms and became loyalty first! I am also very sad about the deaths of those brothers, but this is public revenge rather than private revenge. It's not your turn to disobey the military order and go out of the city to take revenge! Come-in-"

With his greeting, several personal soldiers had already entered and waited for the order. Dong Ping immediately ordered: "Transfer our military orders and the entire army will be suspended in the city. No one will be allowed to leave the city without authorization, otherwise they will be punished for the crime of communicating with the enemy and killing them without any hesitation!"

After several personal soldiers took the order out and issued the order, Song Jiang and others looked at Dong Ping with surprise, as if they were looking at a stranger. Because the impact he brought to them this time was too great, is this still the hesitant and respectful supervisor Dong?

Li Kui was a little anxious and wanted to shout a few words, but Song Jiang stopped him in time: "Since the general Dong Dushu has made such a decision, I dare not refuse to obey. But if I really let me wait for the unfortunate words, because our troops were still, I sat down and watched the rebel army enter Suzhou City..."

"Then I will bear the responsibility!" Dong Ping answered without hesitation. Then he calmed down his tone: "Brother Gongming, everyone, why should you hurry up if you want to take revenge? As long as you can win this time, after taking Suzhou, we have the opportunity to go south to kill the enemy. Not to mention killing Pang Wanchun, even Fang La will be captured alive by us. Do you have no patience?"

As far as he was concerned, Song Jiang and others had nothing to say, so they could only hold their fists and answer their orders in disappointment, and then exit the room. It was not until they left that Dong Ping breathed a sigh of relief. Although he was very tough just now, he was actually quite nervous. After all, this was the first time he forced Song Jiang and the others to suppress him.

At this time, Lin Chong and Yang Zhi walked in with a smile, and sighed sincerely: "Brother Dong is indeed a good move. We are convinced this time."

"Yes, we were worried that you would be moved by them, but now it seems that we are over-concerned."

"You two also think it's not appropriate to pursue the anti-army at this time?"

"Don't chase the enemy, let alone at night." Yang Zhiliu frowned and said, "Pang Wanchun has always been aware of the art of war, so how could he withdraw under our noses without preparation? Even if the rear is anxious, he should wait until the night is quiet before leaving, rather than being a genius. The two sides left just after the war. Isn't this obvious attempt to lead us to pursue?"

"I'm sure he must have arranged the troops early, just waiting for us to fall into a trap and fight out of the city." Lin Chong also smiled and said, "But he knows it's one thing, but it's another thing to be able to withstand the pressure of Song Jiang and others and refuse to send troops. So Mr. Sun is very accurate in judging people. You are much more reliable than us."

Dong Ping also smiled on his face, but said modestly: "You two have praised me. I have learned from my mistakes. The previous mistakes are still vivid, so how dare I let others take the initiative. Since the commander handed over the army to me, I should do my best and dare not neglect it."

After dawn, everyone was finally convinced that Dong Ping's judgment was true. Because shortly after the sun rose, an army of tens of thousands of people emerged from the forest several miles ahead. Judging from the banner it was the commander of the Wu army, Pang Wanchun. He not only set up an ambush, but also led the rear guard in person. Obviously, he planned to make a last shot, hoping to turn the situation around and destroy the Song army along the way.

After seeing this scene, even Song Jiang and others dared not complain, because they knew very well that if they really led their troops to pursue, they would inevitably fall into a trap, and it would be hard to say what would happen in the end.

As a result, Dong Ping's reputation in the Shandong army was greatly improved, and he was regarded by the soldiers as another commander in the army besides Sun Qiang.

At this time, outside the city, Pang Wanchun, who was leading his army to retreat south slowly, turned around several times. Looking at the Changshu City that had been beaten to death, could collapse at any time, but still stood there. After a while, he sighed: "Sun Tu is indeed a strong enemy. He can see through my thoughts and resist sending a soldier. This time, he failed to kill him even if he cooperated with Zhu Xie, and he would probably have no chance in the future." Until now, he still didn't know that Sun Tu was not the one who led his army to defend the city in the past few days, but had long been replaced by a group of generals under his command.

Soon, he led his army to catch up with the main team that took the lead. After learning that the Song army was not trapped and pursued, the subordinates sighed. Then, someone worried, "Pang Shuai, what should we do next? Should we attack Suzhou directly?"

"Of course!" Pang Wanchun answered firmly: "I always feel that this time is too strange. The number of Song troops that can slip away from my army without knowing it must not be too many. Since this is the case, if we suppress our 100,000 troops, we will be able to regain Suzhou in one battle."

Whether for the Song army or the Wu army, Suzhou was a crucial city in the Battle of Jiangnan. So even if the situation was getting worse and worse at this time, Pang Wanchun had to try his best to retake it.

At this time, at the head of Suzhou city, Sun Tu was looking at the wall, silently looking forward to the arrival of the enemy: "Pang Wanchun, you and I have not been able to decide the outcome in Changshu. I wonder if we can see a decision in Suzhou this time?"
Chapter completed!