Thunder suddenly rose, and thunderbolts exploded! There was a heavy rain and wind that kept whipping down from the high place of the sky that was already covered by dark clouds. But even in this climate, it still could not stop the Song army from pursuing and killing the already scattered Wu army. Not only did the Shandong army soldiers, but even the three coalition forces that had been left behind, the momentum of killing the enemy was stronger and more powerful than that of the Shandong army, but they wanted to vent all the grief and anger that had been over the day and night back to these enemies.

The screams from all over were already connected. Even the heavy rain did not have time to wash away the blood that had accumulated on the ground. Killing the enemy had become the instinct of all the soldiers of the Song army. However, Sun Tu and other generals and their personal guards did not participate in this killing of the pursuit of the death and the north. The victory was decided and there was no need for them to take action.

It was not until this time that Zhang Gun and Xu Shen, who had survived death, were shocked and calm. They were both surprised and relaxed, and also deeply self-blame and uneasiness. After a while, the two of them rolled down from the horse's back with difficulty, staggered to Sun Tuma, and knelt down: "Thank you, General Sun for leading the troops to save my soldiers' lives in time... The three of us were fascinated by military merits, which led to a big mistake, which caused countless soldiers to die. It was really a serious crime. Please let General Sun do it!" As they said that, the two of them lowered their heads, completely as if they were to fight and kill.

Many Shandong soldiers were very disdainful of their actions, because if they hadn't been tempted to attack Hangzhou without dissuasion, they wouldn't have to take the risk to rush to Lin'an when the time was far from ripe. The hard work and the risks taken by the soldiers could not be offset by their own blaming. Not to mention the huge loss of tens of thousands of troops under their command killed and were captured because of the death of the battle. This is a real serious crime, and the court will pursue it at that time, and Sun Tu, as a recognized chief general, will be forcibly detained...

The generals who could understand these inside stories were naturally very dissatisfied with these two people who caused great disasters. If Sun Tu hadn't been by his side, they would have to sarcastically and even fist and kicked them lightly. At this moment, everyone turned their eyes to General Sun to see what his attitude was.

The expression on Sun Tu's face also changed a few times, but unexpectedly, not only did he not turn against each other, he scolded these two guys who were not good enough to defeat the situation, but he was also dismissed. He quickly took two steps forward and helped them up: "The two generals don't have to blame themselves like this. Victory and defeat are common in military affairs. And this time we have turned defeat into victory again?"

"General Sun..." Zhang Gun and the others had already made plans to be scolded by Sun Tu and even suffered some hardships, but the other party's attitude was much higher than their expectations. This made them feel relieved, and the guilt in their hearts became stronger and stronger, and they didn't even have the courage to explain.

"Okay, let's wait for what we have to say after the war. The two of them have been fighting hard for a long time and are injured. Let's go back to Lin'an City first and then make a fuss." Sun Tu comforted the two of them again, then he shouted with a high voice: "Tell me the order, don't chase the enemy, and then enter Lin'an City and let the defeated soldiers leave!"

At this time, the Shandong army was far stronger than other places in the Song and Wu army. With the regular sound of trumpets, even though the soldiers had completely formed a siege and killing force, they did not engage in any more entanglements and began to retreat quickly and orderly. Even in such a dark environment, the armies could still quickly gather together, form a neat formation and retreat to the Central Military Office where Sun Tu was.

They were shocked by the other Song troops who were still desperately killing the enemy to take revenge. After a while, they retreated back sparsely. They had been defeated once and dared not chase the Wu army alone. The Wu army soldiers took this opportunity to run away and did not dare to stay at all.

At this point, a melee of pursuing each other finally came to an end. Judging from the results and casualties, the Song army was still the failed side. After all, the loss of troops on both sides was completely unequal. During this day and night, the Song army lost most of them, and the Wu army lost ten thousand people at most. However, it is hard to say how much adverse impact their causes was.

When it was dark and rain stopped, the Song army mixed with various wing troops finally completely entered Lin'an County, occupying a small county with a population of only 20,000 to 30,000. However, because Sun Tu's military order was ahead, no soldiers from any side dared to invade the people, so the city was in order at this time.

After washing up and changing into clean robes, Sun Tu met the two generals Zhang Gun and Xu Shen who were also washed and bandaged in the original county junction. Their faces were still pale at this time, but they were caused by the sequelae of blood loss caused by the injury. When they first walked into the door, they were still a little drifting under their feet.

"Please sit down and talk, your injuries are not inconvenient, right?" Sun Tu naturally became the person who was in charge of the place and sat in the main seat without permission. In this regard, Zhang Gun and the others had no other thoughts. After sitting down, they replied: "If General Sun was worried, it was just a few skin injuries, and they would not have much impact."

"That's good." Sun Tu nodded happily, glanced at the faces of several other generals, signaling them not to say much, and then continued: "Then let's talk about the specific story of your defeat in Hangzhou this time. I want to know everything, the more detailed the better."

The reason why he did not let everyone rest after entering the city, and even deliberately asked someone to invite both Zhang Xu and others with injuries on their bodies to grasp the past and after the battle in Hangzhou as soon as possible. After all, the longer the time is, they may forget some details, and some small things may be the key to this victory or defeat.

The two looked at each other, and then Xu Shen told them all about their arrangements during this period, as well as the subsequent failure of the attack on Hangzhou, and Zhang Gun added a little. After all, they had many years of experience in leading troops to fight, so they naturally understood what Sun Tu intended to investigate this matter.

As they described, Sun Tu and his subordinates slowly grasped the various arrangements of the Song army after they decided to send troops, and also understood why they were defeated so badly under the city of Hangzhou. After all, in addition to their too arrogant and eager to make contributions and reckless use of troops, the more important thing is the series of targeted arrangements of the anti-army, especially the ambush hidden high in the valley, and the strategy of surrendering among the Song army and suddenly slaughtering a fatal blow at a critical moment, which is even more shocking.

"These rebels are not only brave enough, but also really calm down. They have been hiding in the rear and never participated in the war. They did not suddenly come out until our army retreated, which greatly increased the casualties of our army." Yang Zhi shook his head and sighed: "It seems that the military discipline of this rebel is very strict, and he will never move without receiving the order."

Song Jiang had a different view: "I think this is not the key. In fact, as long as we are careful enough to send scouts to carefully investigate the nearby places before the war, this ambush will be invisible."

This made Zhang Xu and his two men blush again. They were really too careless about this matter. Sun Tu said, "It's no wonder that the two generals. Since the anti-army had already planned, they would not give you the opportunity to investigate the surrounding situation. When you arrive at the city of Hangzhou, they will quickly send troops to attack, and this is the purpose."

After pausing, he said seriously again: "Compared with this, the anti-army who deceived to surrender to our army are the key to the success or failure of this war. You are indeed too careless. Not only have you brought all these surrendered troops to Hangzhou, but you have not taken corresponding guards..."

The two of them felt a little guilty and ashamed again on their faces, and then said after a while: "General Sun taught us a lesson, that we underestimated the enemy and made a rash move, and made mistakes again and again, which led to great defeat, and were so exhausted that countless soldiers died in the battlefield." Now the two of them had long lost the confidence, and their attitude was quite good, and it was so positive to take the initiative to admit their mistakes.

Seeing this, even the generals who wanted to accuse them of a few words lost interest in this regard. After all, both sides were comrades, and their damage was greatly weakened to the entire Song army that went south to quell the rebellion.

After a moment of silence, Sun Tu said: "But we did not gain anything in this battle. We not only eliminated the anti-military general Fang Shibu, but also understood some of their calculations and arrangements. As the saying goes, one learns from one mistake and one wisdom. When we use troops in Hangzhou, we can make corresponding arrangements in a targeted manner."

These words finally made Zhang Gun and Xu Shen’s spirits cheerfully, and the former said even more anxiously: “Is General Sun planning to use troops to Hangzhou again?”

"Of course, since I have brought my troops here, how can I keep working here?" Sun Tu said without hesitation.

"But our army's food and grass had been burned by the enemy as early as the city of Hangzhou..." Xu Shen was more careful and worried.

Sun Tu smiled: "In three days, the subsequent grain and grass will be shipped one after another. I had already made the worst plan before I came, so grain and grass logistics are not a problem. There have also been news from Suzhou that the first batch of money and grain allocated by the court has arrived and have been shipped to the south in the past two days."

This is the best news now, that is, Xu Shen and the others showed joy: "This is great. With this guarantee, the soldiers' confidence can come back a lot!"
Chapter completed!