Under the city, sporadic battles ended before dark. The twilight was four, the mountains and fields were silent, and the battlefield within a radius of four or five miles was like a purgatory on earth, full of corpses, blood stumps, and the stench of dead bodies that wanted to vomit.

In the blue sky, large flocks of vultures circled, waiting for an opportunity to fall and devour corpses, making a terrible quacking sound as they scrambled. From time to time, from the stacking of corpses, the painful ** of the wounded was heard, as if the wailing sound came from the ghosts, and it sent chills down the spine to hear.

The city had already been taken an hour earlier, and the small group of barbarians who had fled into the city were unable to defend it, and they disappeared in the smoke and fire after fleeing into the city, perhaps along the walls of the city through the other gates. Song Jiangong attacked the city head and opened the city gate without much effort. However, the city is in ruins, and the fire has not been extinguished, so Wang Yuan decided to postpone entering the city, but continued to camp outside the city for one night.

Cleaning the battlefield, counting casualties, treating the wounded, and detaining prisoners were in full swing under the moonlight. It is not possible to walk after a big war, and these things are even more tiring than the battle itself. Generals Song Jiangong, Liu Jun, Liu Dehai, and Wei Guangzhong led tens of thousands of southern swords to be busy until the second watch, and then the matter was roughly over.

In the moonlit valley, hundreds of barbarian corpses lined up along the edge of the hillside, piled on a large amount of hay and pine and began to burn. The Jiannan army had no way to dig a pit to bury them, and after the battle, they were tired enough to choke, so they could only adopt the method of concentrating sparks. In the midst of the fire, the squeaky of burning corpses, thick black smoke reaching into the sky, and the smell of scorching spread through the valley, burrowing into people's nostrils everywhere. The smell and scene would be remembered by Wang Yuan for a long time, lingering like a nightmare.

At the third watch, the ** camp finally calmed down. There was no respite in this big battle from morning to evening, and the soldiers were already exhausted before they could eat water. After cleaning the battlefield, eating and drinking water, all the soldiers who participated in the battle fell asleep. Liu Dehai's 8,000 recruits and veterans of the rear army, who did not participate in the war, took on the duties of night guard and guarding prisoners. In fact, at this time, it is impossible for Nanzhao soldiers and horses to harass ** anymore, even if there is no one on duty at night, there will definitely be no danger.

Amid the snoring of the camp, the post-war meeting was quietly carried out in Wang Yuan's big tent, and dozens of generals gathered together to participate in this post-war summary meeting. Song Jiangong first reported the outcome of the battle and the casualties on both sides.

"Vice Marshal Wang, generals. The results of today's battle have been cleared. Our Jiannan army suffered 13,700 casualties. Seven thousand three hundred were killed and six thousand four hundred wounded. Among them, the cavalry suffered the most heavy casualties, with 3,500 killed by 6,000 cavalry and 1,200 horses lost. In addition, all Shenwei cannons have been scrapped, more than 16,000 sets of armor have been damaged, and 400,000 arrows have been consumed...... The casualties and losses of our army are roughly these. ”

There was a dead silence in the big tent, although the battle was a great victory, but the price paid was so great, the number of dead was more than 7,000, what a huge number.

“…… At this price, our army annihilated 24,000 Nanzhao barbarian soldiers, of which 17,000 barbarians were killed and 3,600 wounded, and the remaining 4,000 were captured by us. Killed thirty-nine leading generals of the Southern Zhao Kingdom. In addition, the city has been captured by our army, and at present 2,000 men belonging to our former army are defending the city. In addition, 30,000 barbarian bows and crossbow blades and more than 20,000 sets of leather armor were seized...... That's about it. ”

Although the cost is huge, this battle has basically destroyed all the existing forces of Nanzhao, and has completely defeated Nanzhao, so it can be said that the price is worth it. After this battle, not only did they successfully sweep away the roadblock of sheep and Baa City, but Taihe City would have no troops to defend, or they would capture the capital of Nanzhao in one fell swoop.

"Congratulations to the deputy marshal, congratulations to the deputy marshal, after this battle, our army will sweep through the Nanzhao country, and there will be no more obstacles." In the buzzing discussion of the generals, Song Jiangong smiled and congratulated Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan also had a smile on his face, although Wang Yuan was actually dissatisfied with the results of the battle, the ** armed to the teeth had paid such a big price in the face of the poorly equipped Nanzhao barbarian soldiers, which Wang Yuan never expected. Wang Yuan thought that he could defeat the barbarians at a lower cost. But Wang Yuan also knew that the real reason was the sudden appearance of more than 300 strange soldiers like cavalry. These more than 300 elephant cavalry killed and wounded at least four or five thousand of their own people, which was a factor that he did not expect at all.

"Congratulations to the vice-marshal, congratulations to the vice-marshal." The generals also congratulated together.

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "Rejoice and rejoice, all the generals have worked hard, and this battle has won a great victory, thanks to the lives of the generals, and thanks to the bravery and fearlessness of all my soldiers." I will record your merits in the merit book one by one, and after the triumph, you will all be exalted. ”

The crowd was smiling and excited.

Wang Yuan waited for everyone to calm down a little and said, "General Song, the casualties of the enemy and us just now have already been clearly stated. There is no doubt that the wounded will be treated, the dead will be committed, and the meritorious will be rewarded. The consumption of those materials, horses, armor, and blades is nothing, and the loss of those materials is a drop in the bucket compared to people. We don't really need the weapons and equipment of the captured brutes. However, there is an important thing missing from General Song's capture list, and I don't know why General Song missed it. ”

Song Jiangong hurriedly said: "What's missing?" ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "More than 300 elephants were captured. You must know that the reason why our army has suffered so many casualties is at least half due to these 300 barbarian elephant cavalry. These 300 elephants are now owned by our Jiannan Army. Compared with the lost supplies, I think these 300 elephant rides are the biggest gain. ”

Song Jiangong said with a sigh: "It turns out that the deputy marshal is talking about those elephants, and he thinks that these elephants don't know how to control them, so they are not counted among them." It was as if 300 animals had been captured. ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "I also understand that these elephant cavalry need elephant riders who are proficient in elephant language, but unfortunately these people have been killed by us." However, there should be many such people in Nanzhao, and we will find them. Once there is an elephant rider, it will not be 300 animals, but 300 moving arrow towers. I'll talk about it later. Send someone to take care of these behemoths, they also have a lot of wounds on their bodies, heal the wounds, and use them for me in the future. ”

The generals nodded one after another, and the performance of the three hundred elephant cavalry on the battlefield was obvious to all. If they hadn't rushed over their heads, if they hadn't crushed the brutes as a whole, they wouldn't have had a chance to pull them down with ropes and capture them alive. The thought that these elephant cavalry could be a help to their side made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"Although the Shenwei cannon is completely destroyed, it is expected. Even if it is not destroyed in this battle, it will be scrapped after the siege. It's not a loss. However, I recommend that the commander and artillery team of the Shenwei Cannon be retained. Liu Dehai, I plan to set up a 5,000-strong Shenwei artillery battalion, which will be under the jurisdiction of the rear army and logistics. You can study the creation and improvement of the Shenwei Cannon, and train them to quickly build the Shenwei Cannon and manipulate them. I hope that when we need it, we will have hundreds of Divine Cannons in a short time and be ready for immediate combat. The Shenwei Artillery Battalion belongs to the baggage troops of the rear army. I wonder what you think? ”

"The deputy marshal has a very good proposal, and he is considering proposing it. The power of the Shenwei cannon is incomparable, and the power of the gods is displayed in this battle. It would be a great waste if the siege weapons were not kept in this way. I am in favor of the adjutant marshal's proposal. Song Jiangong was the first to say.

Liu Dehai also said: "If the deputy marshal can trust the humble position, the humble post will establish this battalion with his heart, and he will live up to the trust of the deputy marshal." ”

Wei Guangzhong's generals also agreed, and Wang Yuan said with a smile: "Well, since everyone agrees, this matter has been decided." Liu Dehai set it up on his own, and after the formation was completed, he gave it to me and informed the generals. ”

The crowd said something about the aftermath of today's war, and the topic naturally shifted to the next step. Song Jianquan spoke first: "Deputy Marshal, after this battle, Nanzhao Kingdom is no longer able to resist the attack of my army, please give me instructions, should we immediately go to Taihe City and take Taihe City?" ”

This is also the issue that the generals are most concerned about, thinking of the next step to smash the capital of Nanzhao Taihe City, everyone immediately rubbed their hands.

Wang Yuan slowly got up and said, "Everyone, this matter is also the important thing I want to explain to you, I have already decided not to march to Taihe City anymore." ”

The generals were in an uproar, and Song Jiangong was stunned and said, "What does the deputy marshal mean by this?" With such a good situation of exterminating Nanzhao, the deputy marshal actually decided not to march to Taihe City again? This...... It's hard to understand. ”

"Yes, lieutenant, what's going on?"

"We have worked hard to get here, and we are only one step away from taking Taihe City, how can the deputy marshal say such a thing?"

The generals expressed their incomprehension, and some were even extremely indignant. Wang Yuan smiled and waved his hand: "Generals, don't be impatient. ”

Everyone was still making noise, and Liu Jun shouted: "Is it all over? Shut up for me. Listen to you or to the lieutenant? ”

Only then did the generals close their mouths and stare at Wang Yuan, waiting to hear Wang Yuan's explanation.