July 4, Gettysburg.

After nightfall, at night. There was a new silence all around. No cannons, no music. The soldiers sat alone under those remnant trees. Thick dark clouds piled up in the western sky, and it was not known whether it was dark clouds or clouds blackened by artillery fire, perhaps the former.

The twilight is getting darker, and the clouds are getting thicker. Lightning began to sweep through the air, but no thunder could be heard, and even if there was, the nervous soldiers would have mistaken it for the sound of enemy artillery.

Longstreet carried out his duty calmly, and he arranged the defense of the position. Then, he sat by the fire and drank coffee. Sorrell took the first numbers from Pickett's headquarters, and this number was nothing else, but Pickett's casualty figures.

Looking at the paper, Longstreet saw some of the officers he was familiar with, Sorrell and Garnett were dead, Kent was also dying and could die at any moment, and Pickett's division had only thirteen colonels, and now seven were dead and six wounded.

Looking at the shocking figures, Longster Walter didn't even look down, knowing that if he looked any further, he might cry. With a dejected look on his face, he raised a hand and let Sorrell go.

But the fact that the numbers on the piece of paper revealed remained in his mind, and the numbers reminded him of how brutal the battle was today, and even he believed that this army would never recover from today's losses.

As a professional soldier, he can be said to know this very well, and it is impossible for this unit to return to its pre-war state, and it can even be said that since then, this army has been finished.

It's over......

Pickett's troops are finished! Tens of thousands of people died......

At this time, in the face of such a tragic situation, the feeling of powerlessness in Longstreet's heart became stronger and stronger, and he knew that nothing could be changed, no matter how hard he tried, he could not change all this now.

Faced with such a situation, Longstreet didn't know what else to do at this time. On the battlefield where tens of thousands of people had died before, the members of the corpse collection team were carrying the corpses onto the carriage, and the sporadic fires in the fields were like the faint light of fireflies, and the light and darkness were like fireflies dancing there.

And on this night there will be more people dying, and the wounded will slowly lose their lives in agony, and only then will the torment of the war disappear.

But for the Confederate Alliance, the repercussions of the campaign did not end there, and the repercussions of the campaign were only just beginning...... Yes, just the beginning, and the impact is not good, but catastrophic!

A decisive victory!

For the North, Gettysburg was a decisive victory, but for the Confederates it was ...... It was a decisive failure!

Decisive defeat!

In this battle, so many people died, but there was no gain, the enemy's defense line was not broken by them, the positions of the northern army were still solid, and they had lost the strength to attack and failed!

Not just a defeat in a campaign, but a decisive defeat!

There is a good chance that this defeat will change this war!

Maybe there's still a chance......

He shook his head vigorously, trying to shake the thought in his mind, and he remembered that Robert Lee had come from the side of the hill to stop the retreating crowd at the critical moment of the battle.

After a while, Robert Lee arrived. It's just that Longstreet doesn't want to see him. The group surrounded Robert Lee, and the gloomy sky behind him was streaked by lightning from time to time, and at this time, they seemed to have come out of the lightning.

The soldiers appeared in front of their commander, and the soldiers once again grabbed the reins of his horses and told him excitedly, telling him everything about the place, and Robert comforted the soldiers at that time, even if he had just been defeated, his presence boosted their morale and allowed them to regain their courage, in fact, courage never disappeared from them, they were really a very heroic group of soldiers.

Although he had just suffered a defeat, and although the defeat was now assured, Robert Lee, as the commander of the troops, still maintained his kingly demeanor. Longstreet knew in his heart that he would never forgive this man again, and before the battle broke out, he had strenuously opposed General Lee's all-out attack on the Northern Expedition through Gettysburg. General Lee ignored it. Later, Hill's troops repelled the cavalry from the north and occupied the area north of Gettysburg, which further encouraged Lee to go his own way. As a result, the second and third days of the offensive were repulsed by the Northern Army, and the army of Brigadier General George Pickett under Longstreet could be said to be completely annihilated, which is why he was full of complaints about Lee.

But though he would never forgive Robert, he still stood up to meet him.

Robert Lee dismounted. Longstreet glanced at him, and then lowered his gaze, unwilling to make any more contact with his gaze, which fully indicated his attitude and opinion.

Longstreet's resistance was seen in Robert Lee's eyes, his face was still as cold as iron, and he turned his head to the crowd and said:

"Gentlemen, I would like to be alone with General Longstreet."

The others dispersed, and then Lee sat down on a marching bench by the fire, and Longstreet sat down. Lee didn't speak. Longstreet, too, just stared at the firelight on the ground. At this moment, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and the wind rose. After a while, Li spoke:

"We'll retreat tonight."

At this point, his throat was hoarse, as if he was overusing his voice. Longstreet didn't take his words. Lee continued:

"It's going to rain tonight and we can retreat under the cover of the weather. As long as you get to the river, there is no danger. ”

Longstreet remained silent, his brain didn't seem to be listening to Lee's speech, but slowly, he realized that Robert was waiting for him to have his say, but he still didn't speak. When he lifted his face, he saw Lee cover his eyes with his hand, which made him look a little strange, and Longstreet was shocked.

Covering his head in pain, Li slowly spoke:

"Pete, I'm asking for your help."

His hands were still in front of him, as if they were blocking the tears from his eyes. Longstreet looked at him, then took a deep breath, then exhaled again. That's when he realized that Lee was just calling him by a nickname.

Sitting by the fire, Li said slowly:

"I'm really tired."

Longstreet hurriedly said:

"So what can I do?"

Lee shook his head. Longstreet had never seen him so out of control, and even now he wasn't, but the way he sat there with his hands over the corners of his eyes made Longstreet feel that his mood was locked, and he knew that today's defeat could hit him harder, which made him feel deeply regretful.

"General?"

Lee nodded. He put his hand down and glanced at Longstreet, his gaze seemingly burning. He shook his head again. Then he raised his palms at Longstreet, as if in a gesture of surrender, to say something, but shook his head again. Longstreet immediately interrupted him and said:

"General, I'll take care of it. We retreat tonight,"

"I thought ......"

Lee's voice was hoarse, he thought that he would be able to pass through here and be able to break the defense line of the Northern Army, but now the results have proven his defeat, and even this is not just a defeat in a battle, and he will not have the strength to go on a northern expedition for a long time to come.

Longstreet interrupted him and said to him.

"No more."

"Ahh

Lee faced the fire, then took a deep breath.

"Now, we have to withdraw."

"Yes......"

Then the two of them sat silently for a while. After a while, Lee slowly returned to normal. He sat with his legs crossed, looking at the pile of fires, and felt his strength again. His face fell silent, and his wounded eyes calmed down. He looked at the fire and said:

"We must pay attention to our words and deeds, and the morale of the troops is very high right now."

Longstreet shook his head instinctively, and then said:

"I don't think so."

Lee looked up, and he looked at Longstreet. His daylight was much clearer. The brief moment of vulnerability was over, and he had once again regained the composure of a soldier, and now all that remained of him was a deep exhaustion.

Looking at Robert, a voice in Longstreet's heart said, "Just leave Lee alone." However, so many people have died, and it is time for reality. So he said slowly:

"Now I don't think we can win."

When he said win, he didn't just mean the battle, he was referring to the deeper, more distant goal, whether the Confederate could win the war, and now Longstreet no longer saw the possibility of victory, so he made such a view.

Such a view is pessimistic, that is, it is only when the two of them talk about such topics. But even so, Li was unwilling to face such an outcome. He was silent, ignoring Longstreet's judgment.

After a long while, Li nodded with some difficulty, and then said lightly.

"Maybe."

Maybe...... But as a soldier, he had to fight!

"I don't think it's ......"

Longstreet raised his hands a little pessimistically and looked at the fire in front of him.

"I don't know if I'll be able to lead them...... Die. And for nothing, I can't fight like this anymore! ”

Lee nodded his head in agreement. He crossed his hands on his lap and faced the fire in front of him. The light of the fire reflected softly on his face. After another moment, he said slowly.

"They didn't die for us, they didn't die for us. This may be a place where people feel lucky. ”

His daylight did not leave the fire, but looked at it without blinking.

"Everyone dies for their own reasons, and they fight and die for various reasons. But as long as they continue, I can only continue. ”

He paused, stared at the fire, and said.

"It's just a battle loss."

He looked up at Longstreet and spread his hands. Then he said slowly.

"If. This war continues...... It's going to continue, it's going to be, what can we do but keep going? It's an old question, but the answer is clear, what other options do we have? Of course, we don't have any other choice if they ...... If our soldiers, our people, are willing to fight, I will fight with them. Does it really matter who wins and who loses? Can it really be a problem? Will God ask this question in the end? ”

Robert put his hands on his lap and struggled to get to his feet. Looking at his struggling appearance, Longstreet instinctively wanted to reach out to help him, and when Li said "thank you" to him for his help, the whole person looked a little embarrassed, he pressed Longstreet's outstretched hand, then stared at Longstreet's eyes, and whispered:

"You're right, I'm wrong. Now you've got to help me see what else I should do. Help us see. I feel...... Very tired. ”

Lee felt tired because of the defeat in this battle, or because he did not see any hope of victory? At this time, he just wanted to take a good rest, and he was so exhausted that he couldn't even stand up alone.

"Yes."

Longstrett nodded, he had to help Lee, now that he had forgiven Lee, forgave him for his mistake, and despite the fact that this mistake had killed tens of thousands of people and even led to their defeat, he still forgave him.

The two of them stood for a long time in the darkening night.

The cool wind blows through the mountains and forests with the rain feeling, indicating that a storm is coming. Li looked at the weather, and then whispered:

"I told you a lot yesterday about the war."

Longstreet nodded. He had so much stuff in his head that he didn't even react to it for a moment.

"I wanted to warn you, but...... You don't have a sense of purpose. You and I, we don't have a sense of mission. All we have is this army. However, if a soldier fights only for the sake of soldiers, he cannot win this war. Battlefield...... It is always the soldiers who die. ”

After saying this, Lee mounted his gray horse, wiped his face, and then he straightened his back again, tucked his hat squarely over his head, and then rode his horse and disappeared into the darkness.

Longstreet watched him go, then turned and walked out into the field to say goodbye to the spirits of the dead. After doing this, he gave the order to retreat, and then the troops retreated under the cover of twilight along the route they had come from when they attacked......

I've been thinking about a new book lately, and now it's almost certain that it will be the end of the Ming Dynasty, but it's a multiple-choice question...... I have three drafts at hand from the end of the Ming Dynasty, but I don't know what choice to make, tragedy...... I hope that everyone will continue to support Speechless at that time! Thanks!