Gao Changgong's army besieged but did not attack at the foot of the mountain, which also gave the officers and men of the forward brigade who had run for a whole finally a chance to breathe, Xiao Yao immediately asked the three battalion commanders to count the casualties and combat materials of each battalion!

"Commander, our musket battalion has sacrificed more than two hundred brothers, and excluding the support, there are less than six hundred people left who can fight! But we are running out of bullets, less than ten rounds per person on average! He Fu reported to Xiao Yao.

"Our cavalry battalion only sacrificed more than fifty brothers in the melee just now! The remaining 900 or so brothers are still fighting! If it weren't for the sudden killing of the army of Gao Changgong, we would have been able to hold off their cavalry for a while, so that the commander and the brothers of the artillery battalion could successfully break through, and we wouldn't have to be trapped on this barren mountain like now! Huang Wenyuan said unwillingly.

"Wen Yuan, why did you suddenly appear? Didn't you follow your eldest brother to Linying County to rescue my father-in-law? Xiao Yao asked.

"Commander, when we followed General Xiao through the valley, we soon arrived at the boundary of Linying County, and then found a remnant army separated from General Xiao there, and they General Xiao had broken through!" Huang Wenyuan said.

"Remnants? My stepfather, he broke through? Where are you now? Xiao Yao hurriedly asked.

"Yesterday, Gao Changgong suddenly evacuated Linying County with a part of the Qi army besieging the city, and General Xiao knew that he should have taken him to the encirclement point to help, and the soldiers in the city were already hungry and thirsty at that time, so General Xiao Lao decided to take advantage of the reduction in the strength of the Qi army, so he took 5,000 cavalry out of the city to break through! Then the two sides started a scuffle, as a result many people were scattered, General Xiao Lao fled to the south with a cavalry, and the cavalry we met was chased by the Qi army to the border of Linying County, and then met us! So I divided the 2,000 soldiers of the cavalry battalion and 1,000 troops to General Xiao, and asked him to take them to find General Xiao, while I rushed back with the remaining 1,000 soldiers to reinforce the commander, and as a result, the Qi army surrounded you, so I immediately attacked them from behind! Huang Wenyuan said.

"Wen Yuan, thank you! You saved us all! Fortunately, you arrived in time to help us successfully break through, if those cavalry were held back for a while longer, and Gao Changgong and his 20,000 troops were also surrounded, then we would definitely all die there! Over, Xiao Yao saluted Huang Wenyuan heavily.

"Commander, what are you talking about? You are my Huang Wenyuan's boss, everyone else is my Huang Wenyuan's brother, and it is my natural task to rush back to save you! But what the hell is going on here, why are you being surrounded there, brothers of the artillery battalion? Huang Wenyuan asked.

Everyone looked at Li Nong, who had been bowing his head and saying nothing, with a look of remorse, and finally Xiao Yao asked out loud: "Li Nong, what is the current situation of your artillery battalion, can you continue to fight?" ”

"Report to the Commander! Our artillery battalion sacrificed more than eight hundred brothers! It's basically shield soldiers and spearmen! These brothers are using their lives to help us stop the enemy's charge against us! Aside from the support, there are now less than a thousand people left to continue fighting! And we only have less than two hundred pounds of gunpowder left, and there are not many shells, and there are only five artillery pieces left! Li Nong said with a guilty face.

"Heavy casualties! What the hell is going on in your artillery battalion? Why does gunpowder explode suddenly? I could hear those loud noises in the distance, and I knew something was wrong! Was it the enemy who broke through the line of defense and burned the gunpowder? "I've been running for my life all the time, and Xiao Yao only has time to ask Li Nong this question now.

"It's not the enemy who broke through the defensive line, it's Zhang Dabao! Zhang Dabao has defected! It was he who blew up all the ammunition and supplies! Li Nong said angrily.

"Zhang Dabao?" Everyone was amazed!

"At that time, we were surrounded by Gao Changgong's army of 20,000, but we had enough ammunition, they didn't dare to attack at all, if this was the case, we would have no problem with a confrontation! It's just that this Zhang Dabao used a trick to transfer away the guards guarding the ammunition, and then blew up all the ammunition and materials! Gao Changgong took the opportunity to launch a full-fledged assault, and in order to save ammunition, I ordered the artillery to shoot only at close range, which made the other party's men rush up, and then the commander You led the brethren of the musket battalion to appear! Today, more than half of our brothers in the artillery battalion have been killed and injured by this Zhang Dabao! Li Nong said sadly.

"Zhang Dabao! It seems that he was in Xuyi County at that time, and he colluded with Gao Changgong! also staged a bitter trick for us! Let's keep him in the artillery battalion in order to wait for this opportunity! Now it's all in order! First, I used the people of Runan County to lure my father-in-law to chase him to Linying County, fell into their encirclement, and then let my eldest brother come out to my rescue! They also calculated that I was eager to save my father, and they would definitely leave behind the slow-moving artillery battalion, and only bring the musket battalion and the cavalry battalion to save my father-in-law, without the protection of these two battalions, once the artillery battalion was surrounded, it would be difficult to get out! In the end, let Zhang Dabao blow up all the gunpowder, so that the artillery battalion could only wait to be wiped out! This Gao Changgong is really insidious and cunning, and every step has been calculated by him! Xiao Yao said angrily, and then punched the tree next to him, shaking the leaves to fall.

"Commander, this time it was a big mistake made by Li Nong! Last night, Zhang Dabao begged me to give him the task of night patrol under the pretext of needing to show the commander, and I saw that he was an old man in the infantry battalion, and his recent experience was quite pitiful, so I agreed to him, presumably he took this opportunity to infiltrate the artillery battalion with people with high merits! If I hadn't promised him at the time, and had let someone else go on patrol as originally planned, this wouldn't have happened! Please ask the commander to deal with Li Nong's military law! I'm sorry for the dead brothers, and I don't have the face to meet the brothers of the artillery battalion anymore! Li Nong knelt down to Xiao Yao and cried bitterly.

"I don't blame you for this matter, I didn't notice that Zhang Dabao had defected, and all of us are responsible! And now is not the time to hold anyone accountable! Get up for me! Wipe away your tears and find a way to rush out with your brothers! Xiao Yao said firmly.

"Why haven't they rushed up now? We have all been surrounded by them on this lonely mountain, and if they rush up again, we will be doomed. Huang Wenyuan said.

"Because they want to capture us alive! And now it's getting late, we ran once, they chased one, and everyone was very tired! Xiao Yao said.

"Commander, on this barren mountain, there is no water and no food, in this case, even if the Qi army does not attack, we can't hold on to even two, and I don't know if there are reinforcements to save us!" He Fudao.

"No reinforcements will come to our rescue, because there are no garrisons in Chenliu and Runan counties that have just been defeated, so the latest reinforcements are still in Shouyang, and we can't wait for that, so we still have to break through on our own! And just break out tonight at night! Xiao Yao made up his mind.

"Okay, when the time comes, I will rush down the mountain first to open the way for the commander, and then Battalion Commander He and Battalion Commander Huang will take all the brothers and protect the commander to break out of the encirclement!" Li Nong said immediately.

"That's right! When the time comes, even if we fight to the last person, we will send the commander out safely! He Fu and Huang Wenyuan also nodded.

"Shut up! If I were going to run away alone, I would have left long ago! But I can't leave you alone, I am your commander, you are all my soldiers, call me a commander, and I have the responsibility to take you all out alive! Xiao Yao scolded.

"Commander, now is not the time to be rash, Gao Changgong regards you as a thorn in the flesh, and will definitely do everything possible to capture you alive, so you must not fall into their hands! There are not many people I admire in my life, even my father, but you are the first person to convince me, and the days in the infantry battalion are my happiest days, everyone treats me as a brother, and will not accommodate me everywhere and please me because I am a general's son! So being able to serve you as the commander is a great blessing for me Huang Wenyuan, even if I die in battle, I will escort you out! Huang Wenyuan said firmly.

"Commander, you are our master, if it weren't for the promotion and teaching of you and the senior instructor, let us enter the Fire Dragon Battalion, then enter the Infantry Battalion, and finally become the battalion commander of the Forward Brigade, we are still just a soldier in Jiangzhou, and we can only be unknown in our lives! So now if you can fight for the commander, why die! He Fu also said firmly.

"Don't think about dying for me! Instead, they want to live for me! Xiao Yao scolded.

"Do you know why I refused to leave you alone? Because I know that if I run away first, many of you will not be able to escape, and many of you will die! And I have been leading you, and I can provide confidence and motivation to live for many brothers who have reached the limit! And why should I let you live, because you are all my brothers, and we will fight side by side in the future, sweep down! Xiao Yao said excitedly.