Chapter 701 Wu Rui launched an attack and Wu She retreated!

Chapter 701 Wu Rui launched an attack and Wu She retreated!

Under the bleak night wind, Wu Rui's military tent was quiet. The faint candlelight flickered, illuminating Wu Rui's face, which looked a little haggard due to sadness. In his hand, he tightly held a letter soaked with tears. This was the last words left to him by his deceased son Wu Yan.

Wu Rui slowly unfolded the letter, and every word hit his heart like a heavy hammer. The content of the letter made him feel heartbroken, because he finally understood the truth of the matter. He realized that he had missed out on a son who was so capable, visionary, and well-rounded.

Wu Rui regretted that he had given all his love to his unpromising eldest son, but ignored Wu Yan's talent and potential. If he had been able to give Wu Yan enough attention and training from the beginning, perhaps Wu Yan would have been fully capable of inheriting his position, or even doing better than him.

What made Wu Rui feel the most uncomfortable was that Wu Yan knew that he would face the danger of death if he returned as the Southern Border Army, but he still chose to return as the Southern Border envoy without hesitation. He not only told Wu Rui all the truth without reservation, but also left his in-depth understanding of the Southern Border Army and various other details.

Wu Yan's behavior undoubtedly proved that he had never really betrayed Wu Rui until his death. His loyalty to his father and sense of responsibility to his family made Wu Rui feel deeply guilty and remorseful.

Wu Rui had no way to explain this matter, which meant that he had to let Wu Yan bear the stigma of betrayal. Because if the truth was made public, and people knew that there was such a fierce internal struggle among the heirs of his own mansion, and even affected the entire war situation, it would inevitably cause people to be uneasy. Especially when the war was about to come, this situation must not happen. Therefore, Wu Rui had no choice but to suppress this matter and pretend that he knew nothing.

Just as Wu Rui was about to take a break after lamenting all this, a messenger suddenly rushed over and reported to him a shocking news: "Report... Wu She led an army of 20,000, abandoned the city and is heading south to break out!"

Wu Rui did not show much surprise when he heard the news. It seemed that he had anticipated Wu She's move, or he had a clear judgment of the current situation.

When attacking, Wu Rui, after careful consideration, deliberately chose a unique tactic - surrounding three and missing one. The purpose of this tactic was very clear, which was to leave the south gate open and give the opponent an escape route, giving them a chance to escape from the battlefield.

After all, Wu Rui's real goal was not to fight a desperate battle with the Southern Border Army, but to successfully capture the city. After several days of fierce attacks, he had a deeper understanding of the strength of the Southern Border Army. Facts have proved that the rumors about the strength of the Southern Border Army are not groundless, and they are indeed an army that should not be underestimated.

"Your Majesty, should we pursue the enemy?" asked a general.

Wu Rui answered decisively: "No need. Pass on my order, all soldiers must capture this city in one fell swoop tomorrow morning!"

"Yes!" The general took the order and left.

For Wu Rui, the only thing that surprised him was that the enemy would choose to break out in the middle of the night. Originally, he thought that the enemy would only try to break out during the day, so that he could set up some ambushes in advance to catch the enemy off guard and also consume their manpower.

The Southern Border Army quietly withdrew at night, which was completely beyond Wu Rui's expectations. Because he did not anticipate this, he lost the opportunity to ambush the enemy.

Wu Rui could not be blamed for not expecting this. After all, there were many inconveniences in marching at night in ancient times. First of all, weather factors had a huge impact on night marches. Once it was cloudy or rainy, the night would become extremely dark, and you could not see your hand in front of you. This was in stark contrast to the bright lights of modern cities. In ancient times, there were no lighting facilities such as street lamps, and even Gao Yao could hardly arrange such equipment.

Secondly, the road conditions in ancient times were very different from those in modern times. The roads were lined with weeds and dense trees, which would block most of the light. When marching in such an environment, the vision would be greatly limited, increasing the risk of getting lost and separated. Especially when the team accidentally entered the woods or bushes, if they could not accurately identify the direction, it would easily cause the team to disperse and fall into a dangerous situation.

In addition, torches and other lighting tools are needed during the march. However, this is different from the cave exploration scenes in TV dramas. The march often takes several hours, and relying solely on the burning of kerosene to provide lighting is simply not enough to sustain such a long time. Moreover, in the dark, the light of the torch is almost equivalent to exposing your position to the enemy, making you the best target for the enemy's attack.

During the march of the army, darkness often brings many disadvantages to the march. Not only does darkness easily lead to confusion in the team, but even the horses are affected. Without sufficient lighting, even well-trained horses will not charge at will in the dark night. These are huge challenges for marching at night, which greatly reduces the speed and efficiency of the march.

Although there were indeed some troops that marched day and night in history, and even successful surprise attacks during the day and night, the proportion of night marches in thousands of battles was very small, even less than one thousandth. Because of this, Wu Rui did not expect Wu She to choose to break out in the middle of the night.

As for the idea of ​​pursuit, Wu Rui had no idea. He couldn't have the ambush troops squatting day and night without interruption, which was obviously unrealistic. After all, the soldiers also needed to rest. Excessive fatigue would not only affect their combat effectiveness, but also may cause various accidents. In this case, Wu Rui did not dare to take the risk of pursuit easily.

Wu Rui still attaches great importance to the Southern Border Army. He knows that the Southern Border Army must have a certain confidence to dare to do this. If he forcefully pursues, the enemy may seize the opportunity and take advantage of it. Therefore, Wu Rui will naturally not take this risk, so as not to lose more than the gain.

In fact, after Wu She withdrew from Sanli, he did not simply leave as he seemed to do, but immediately led his troops to launch a carefully planned roundabout operation. He cleverly used the cover of night and quietly penetrated to their position when Wu Rui's troops relaxed their vigilance.

This is the so-called "darkness under the lamp" principle. When people focus their attention on a certain obvious target, they tend to ignore the seemingly insignificant places around them. Wu She seized this psychological blind spot and chose to launch an attack at this time, catching the enemy off guard.