Chapter 179 Sacrifice one’s life
Since the ambush in Huangzhang Valley, Yan bandit Shi felt deeply ashamed and repeatedly wanted to strike hard at the Khitan and take revenge.

This time there was a chance to defeat the Khitan, so he led the troops personally, braving the arrows and stones, and broke through the Khitan camp in a very short time.

The subsequent pursuit was not Yan Feishi's original intention, but as the Khitan army retreated, the Zhou army naturally pursued the remaining Khitan soldiers along the Dongxiashi Valley to gain more military merits, and the army could not stop just because the leading general wanted to.

Since Yan Fei Shi could not be restrained and the Khitan army was completely defeated, he simply joined the pursuit.

Then they were ambushed by the Khitan army.

Yan bandit Shi encountered an ambush again. He was a little panicked and hurriedly ordered people to ask Wang Xiaojie for support. However, he found that the canyon was too narrow and the Khitan army could not maneuver. The ambush was not effective and was blocked by the Zhou army, resulting in a tug-of-war.

When Wang Xiaojie learned that the Yan bandit Shi Yu was ambushed, he reacted quickly. He handed over the Khitan camp that had just been captured to Su Honghui, guarded the rear, and personally led his troops to support them.

The big flag with the word "Wang" fluttered in the wind, and large numbers of reinforcements continued to flow into the Dongxiashi Valley.

"General Yan, don't panic, reinforcements are coming!" Wang Xiaojie shouted loudly to boost morale.

The commander-in-chief personally went to the front line, and the addition of fresh troops greatly boosted the morale of the Zhou army. The Khitan army, on the contrary, could no longer hold on and began to retreat.

Yan bandit Shi Ce came to Wang Xiaojie's side and stood shoulder to shoulder with Wang Xiaojie. Seeing the defeat of the Khitan, his confidence increased: "General, the Khitan has shown signs of defeat."

Wang Xiaojie showed a delighted look on his face and said excitedly: "Order all the troops to form a battle formation and advance steadily to push the Khitan army out of the valley."

The morale of the Zhou army was greatly boosted. As long as the situation continued in this way, the defeat of the Khitan army was only a matter of time.

Sun Wanrong, with a group of Khitan generals, observed the battlefield from a high position.

"Marshal, what should we do now?" a Khitan general beside Sun Wanrong asked anxiously.

Sun Wanrong looked at the Khitan army retreating step by step, his face as cold as ice, and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, wait until Luo Wuzheng succeeds, and then we can turn defeat into victory immediately."

At the same time, at the other end of the Dongxishi Valley, in the occupied Khitan camp, Su Honghui and his followers Song Wuji, Zhu Feng and others gathered together, waiting for something.

Suddenly, there was a loud shout outside the camp, and Luo Wuzheng suddenly led a large number of Khitan troops to charge out.

The Zhou army was caught off guard for a moment. The Khitan camp had been breached by Yan bandit Shi before, leaving some gaps. The Khitans were now pouring into the gaps.

"General Su, they are coming." Song Wuji reminded.

Su Honghui smiled slightly and said, "The Khitan army is strong, let's withdraw to the camp first and then make plans."

After saying this, he actually fled with Wang Xiaojie's rear army without a fight, and handed the camp back to the Khitans.

The soldiers of Zhou army were confused and didn't understand what was going on. They just thought they were being attacked by Khitan army. Our army could not hold on and retreated along with Su Honghui.

In the Dongxieshi Valley, Wang Xiaojie and the Yan bandit Shi Zheng were fighting vigorously. They were about to drive the Khitan army out of the valley completely and were about to win a great victory. However, something unexpected happened in the rear, and the Zhou army was caught in the awkward situation of being attacked from both front and back.

"General, the Khitan army is attacking from behind our army!" a messenger reported anxiously, his face full of fear.

Wang Xiaojie's expression suddenly changed, and he asked sternly, "Where is Su Honghui? Why didn't he defend the Khitan camp?"

"General Su was suddenly attacked and caught off guard. It seems that he was defeated by the Khitan army." The messenger reported.

"Asshole, he has nearly 20,000 troops, how could he be defeated in one battle? He is clearly running away because of cowardice!" Wang Xiaojie was furious and shouted angrily.

Seeing that the battle was almost won, Su Honghui fled without fighting and sold out the army. How could Wang Xiaojie not be angry?

"General, now is not the time to worry about this. We have to find a way to break out. Our army still has the strength to fight. If we delay any longer, we will be wiped out in the canyon." Yan Feishi said with a pale face. Wang Xiaojie suppressed his anger, frowned, and made a quick decision: "Concentrate the troops, you lead the team and continue to attack the valley entrance, we will break out from the north! I will cover the rear."

"General, this important task should be undertaken by me. Please lead the team to break out!" Yan Fei Shi asked loudly with a firm tone.

"No need to say more, just follow the military order!" Wang Xiaojie said in a cold tone, leaving no room for questioning.

"Yes!" Yan Fei Shi rushed to the valley entrance with his personal guards.

The Zhou army's offensive on the valley entrance suddenly increased several times in intensity. The Khitan army gradually began to collapse outside the valley. The Zhou army was only a hundred steps away from the valley entrance and was about to rush out.

Sun Wanrong saw the movements of the Zhou army and was extremely anxious. He immediately ordered: "Move out the army and block the entrance to the valley at all costs. Stop the Zhou army in the valley!"

At the command, even the guards around Sun Wanrong joined the battle, and it seemed that they had entered the final stage of fighting for their lives.

In order to prepare for this war, Khitan mobilized almost all the troops they could, and all the high-level Snake Spirit insiders such as Qiu Jing and Su Honghui were mobilized, determined to defeat Wang Xiaojie's army.

This also left the Khitan hinterland almost empty. Zhao won huge profits because of this, but Wang Xiaojie paid a price.

The Zhou army was facing a desperate situation and naturally refused to sit and wait for death. Yan Fei Shi led the team personally and was only one step away from breaking out of the valley, but was entangled by the Khitans' human wave tactics.

Wang Xiaojie was the rear guard, fighting and retreating, and met up with Yan Fei Shi along the way.

The Zhou army was surrounded by the Khitans at the entrance of the valley, almost forming a situation similar to the Battle of Xixia Shigu. However, the Khitan army at the entrance of the valley was exhausted and seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Seeing this, Sun Wanrong originally wanted to take command at the front of the army, but when he thought of Li Jinzhong's experience of being chased away by Zhao Ji, he finally couldn't resist the impulse.

He ordered his troops to concentrate their forces to intercept Wang Xiaojie and most of the Zhou army around him, and no longer have to worry about the small number of Zhou troops that might break through.

The Yan bandit Shi, who was about to break out, discovered the Khitans' focus of attack, gave up the chance to escape, and instead rushed to Wang Xiaojie.

Yan Feishi was covered in blood and had a wound on his left arm. He urged: "General, the Khitans are obviously coming for you. Give me the flag and lead your brothers to break through."

Wang Xiaojie was also covered in blood and his eyes were red. He firmly refused and said, "I am the commander-in-chief of the three armies. How can I flee from the battlefield and leave my soldiers behind?"

Yan Feishi dismounted and knelt on the ground: "General, although our army suffered a setback in this battle, we killed and wounded a lot of Khitans. At best, it is a result of both sides losing."

"Zong Huaichang still has nearly 20,000 troops left in the main camp, and Su Honghui should also have more than 10,000 remaining soldiers. Together with the troops of Governor Zhao and General Yang, our army is still strong."

"The Khitans are here with all their might, so they will surely gain something from Governor Zhao. As long as the general can go back and reorganize the army, the Khitans will no longer be able to resist."

"General, I, Yan, should have died in Huangzhang Valley a long time ago. It was Governor Zhao who saved my life. Now that the army is in danger again, how can I still live in shame?"

"The army can do without Yan Bandit Shi, but it cannot do without the general. If the general cannot break through, Su Honghui and Zong Huaichang, who are cowardly and incompetent, will surely give up the rest of the army."

"Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. Let's go! If you can defeat the Khitan and kill Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong, I will die with no regrets!"

Wang Xiaojie sighed, his eyes filled with tears, and nodded heavily.

Yan Fei Shi breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly stood up and shouted, "Protect the general to break through!"

The remaining cavalry of the Zhou army followed Wang Xiaojie to break out, while Yan Feishi took over Wang Xiaojie's flag and turned back to fight with the Khitan army...

(End of this chapter)