Plan to cut off the nine states

Most of the old Tiancheng clan were strong on the outside and weak on the inside. The Xi family was weakening day by day. The Sheng family was barely able to protect itself. The Shen family was busy retaking Bingzhou. The Lou and Lan families disappeared. The Huangfu family was the first to enter the decline. They were unable to stabilize their own Jizhou and fled to After Liaodong, many attempts to move southward were unsuccessful.

Huangfukai, Duke of Yingguo, was the first to join the strong-armed Chanyu. He was once ordered to guard Tongguan, and then followed the Chanyu in the war. He did not show his ability, but he was very good at pleasing the Shanyu's eldest wife and was quite trusted.

No one saw that this Tiancheng veteran still had any remaining strength. Even Xu Chu thought that Huangfu Kai was willing to be a sycophant.

After the He Rong people were defeated in Xiangyang, the remaining soldiers fled back to Taizhou. Just when Shanyu's eldest wife came to power, she handed Hanzhou to Huangfu Kai for guarding and named him the shepherd guard of Hanzhou, but she did not leave many soldiers.

As soon as the Yizhou Army arrived, a small number of He Rong's soldiers either fled or died. Soldiers from the Central Plains recruited from various places opened their doors to surrender one after another. Huangfu Kai did not show resistance and led his troops to withdraw from Hanzhong City early and fled eastward to avoid the enemy. Military edge.

Until most of the Hanzhou city was lost and Tie Zhi led his army into Qinzhou, Huangfu Kai, who had been hiding everywhere and was almost forgotten, suddenly led his troops to break through the Yizhou army's food road.

Huangfu's troops were not large, but they hit the enemy's weak spot.

After the two Yizhou armies entered the Han Dynasty, they progressed too fast. The grain road extended relatively long, and the surrounding counties and counties had not yet sincerely surrendered. Even if they saw the Yizhou army being attacked, they refused to provide support and instead closed in on the enemy.

Huangfu cut off the Yizhou army's food road, took away a large amount of food and grass, and burned all the things that could not be taken away. He deliberately let some prisoners go and asked them to inform the Yizhou soldiers that the Hanzhou army was going to block the plank road in the rear, so he ordered the Yizhou army to Unable to return to school.

Most of the Iron Prey troops were taken to Qinzhou, so the impact was less. However, Feng Yechou's army was in a state of chaos. As soon as the general ordered the withdrawal, the troops lost control. Those with horses ran first, and those without horses followed. All of them abandoned their helmets. A, I’m afraid I won’t be able to return to Yizhou if I’m too late.

Huangfukai did not block the plank road, but deliberately let some soldiers escape back to Yizhou, and then intercepted the remaining soldiers. He won consecutive battles and quickly received responses from various counties and counties, and his military strength increased day by day.

When the news reached Qinzhou, the scale of Huangfu's Hanzhou army was exaggerated to two to three hundred thousand, and it was even said that he received support from Qin, Luo, and Jingzhou...

The Yizhou army that entered the Qin Dynasty fell into the same chaos. They were farther away from home and naturally more fearful.

It was only a day's journey from Xijing, but Tie Zhi had to give up the siege plan and quickly led his troops back to the entrance of the plank road to join the army in the rear and discuss the plan of advance and retreat.

There was a quarrel in the Chinese army tent. Even the brother of General Yizhou could not shut up the generals. Tie Zhi was reminded over and over again that people had already said that leading troops to attack Qin was too risky.

Xu Chu was just a guest in the army. He was not invited to participate in the discussion and stayed in the tent to rest. He was bored and went out to chat alone.

The Yizhou Army had just built a low wall with discarded bricks and stones, barely blocking the entrance to the plank road, but they could not withstand a fierce attack.

In the military camp, everyone looked panicked. Although the general had not made a final decision, all the soldiers were packing their things and preparing to return.

A group of people walked out of the Chinese army tent, and they were all filled with indignation. It seemed that the negotiation was not going well. As expected, soon a Yizhou general shouted to the soldiers who were coming towards him: "General Tie Er refused to retreat, saying that there would be more Think about it. Let him think about it. When Huangfu takes over Hanzhong City and seals the plank road, we won’t be able to go back even if we want to. "

The soldiers shouted loudly, but the Tie family's prestige was still there, and no one dared to just throw away their hands and leave.

Xu Chu was originally standing under the wall, but after seeing him, several generals came towards him.

There are five people in total, all of whom are leaders of Hanzhou's world-born army. They are now called "General" instead of "Heavenly King".

Du Heimao had a broken hand, but he was still as reckless as before. When he came to Xu Chu, he was the first to speak: "Mr. Xu is going to join the Golden Saint, right?"

"Well, there is a plan."

"Okay, let's go with you."

Xu Chu smiled and said: "You are all Yizhou soldiers and generals. You have been favored by the Tie family. How can you come with me?"

Du Heimao's face turned red and he murmured: "It is Tie Da who is kind, not Tie Er."

Another general, Mu Jian, said: "It's not that we are ungrateful. The current situation is clear: He Rongren and Huangfu made a plan to lure our army deep and then cut off the retreat. Now it is difficult to return to Hanzhou, let alone Yizhou." The second general hesitated, and the Yizhou generals wanted to go back. Although we remembered the kindness of the Tie family, we did not want to die for no reason, so we would rather go to the Golden Saint and find a way back after escaping this difficulty. Yizhou.”

Several generals nodded.

Another group of Yizhou generals looked at them from a distance, and one person shouted loudly: "It is indeed the Hanzhou people who are attacking the Hanzhou people!"

Du Heimao's face turned redder and he said louder: "Is Mr. Xu from Hanzhou? He is...he is from Dongdu!"

The two sides immediately started to quarrel, and Xu Chu whispered: "There are many soldiers in Yizhou, so you should be cautious when staying under someone else's fence. Please go back to your tents first and appease the soldiers. I will make a decision after I talk to General Tie Er." "

Several Hanzhou generals took their leave and chatted while walking, obviously not changing their minds easily.

Xu Chu did not need to see him, and was soon summoned to the Chinese army's tent. However, Tie Zhi came to him not to ask for advice, but to scold him: "This is a time when the morale of the army is unstable. Mr. Xu must not interfere."

Tang Weitian was also there, standing aside and saying nothing, but nodded to Xu Chu to express that he could protect his safety.

Xu Chu said: "Is it because of those Hanzhou generals?"

"Um."

"General Tie Er can rest assured that I will not interfere. They want to follow me to defect to the Golden Saint, but I have refused."

"Hey, they're not even really the Advent Army."

"I think they just said it out of anger and didn't really want to leave."

Iron Bird's lips were tightly closed, his eyes were determined, he was silent for a moment and said: "You can't retreat. If you say retreat, it will lead to chaos."

Xu Chu said nothing.

Tie Zhi thought for a while, then raised his eyes and looked at Xu Chu, "Mr. Xu knows He Rong people?"

"Know a little bit."

"Are they really trying to lure troops in?"

Xu Chu also thought for a while and shook his head, "No, the He Rong people are busy fighting for the position of Shanyu and have no intention of fighting. They transported the grain, grass and property back to the outside of the wall to regroup."

"Hey." Tie Ji exhaled, "How can I trust you? Maybe you just want to use the Yizhou Army to go north and join the World Army."

"General Tie Er, you don't have to believe me. Please make your own decision."

Tie Zhi said coldly: "I am in charge of the whole army, so of course I will make the decision. You have to watch your mouth."

Tie Zhi waved his hand, and Tang Weitian motioned for Xu Chu to follow him.

The two came to Tang Weitian's tent.

"Where are you going, Master? I'll go with you."

"No, you are the general of Yizhou..."

Tang Weitian raised his head and said: "Early when I took refuge with the King of Shu, I told him that if the young master wanted to recruit him in the future, I would rush there no matter where he was. The King of Shu agreed at that time, so I can make the decision on this matter myself."

Xu Chu smiled and said, "We'll talk about it later."

"Young master, stay here with me from today on. Don't go out alone. There is some chaos in the camp now. What will happen if we don't keep it safe? Those Hanzhou people can't be trusted. Although they are all descendants of the World Army, I never regard them as one of my own."

Xu Chu smiled again and asked, "Do you think it's better to retreat or advance?"

Tang Weitian was stunned, "I only care about fighting, regardless of advancing or retreating. Anyway, it's the same whether I advance to fight the He Rong people or retreat to fight the Hanzhou army."

"To be a general, you have to think about some things."

"Do you want the forward general to think about it too?"

"Especially think about it, because there are thousands of soldiers following you, and they can feel at ease if you have a clear direction."

"That's true." Tang Weitian thought for a while, "I think it's better to retreat. After all, Hanzhou has not been completely occupied by Huangfu Kai. At this time, there is still a chance to turn defeat into victory. It would be more troublesome to attack, and I don't know what He Rongren is. Wherever I go, there is a shortage of food and grass.”

Xu Chu praised: "Well, we haven't fought yet, so we need to think about food and grass first. You look like a general."

Tang Weitian grinned sheepishly, "I have seen a lot, and I understand a little bit. What do you think, young master? Is it better to advance or retreat?"

“To advance is to retreat.”

"Huh?" Tang Weitian didn't understand.

"General Tie Er has 40,000 people under his command, which is enough to start a battle with Huangfu, and the chance of victory is not small. But there is one thing that General Tie Er is right about. Retreating will lead to chaos. If you are not afraid of defeat, you are afraid of defeat. All the Yizhou army There is no fighting spirit anymore. If you say "retreat the troops", everyone will inevitably rush to return to Yizhou and have no intention of staying in Hanzhou for a long time. This is the so-called defeat without a fight. "

Tang Weitian himself was not afraid, but when he saw the generals arguing in the central military tent, he knew that what Xu Chu said was right, and sighed, "Young Master is right. If you can't say the word 'retreat', does that mean you have entered?"

Xu Chu shook his head and said, "The He Rong people are retreating outside the fortress. It is useless to pursue them, but they will be harmed instead. Moreover, there is a shortage of food everywhere in Qinzhou. The Yizhou army cannot hold on here for long."

"What should we do?"

"We must return to Yizhou as soon as possible."

"Then we have to go to Hanzhou."

"If you don't go to Hanzhou, go to Liangzhou."

"Um?"

"You never look at a map?"

Tang Weitian scratched his head, "I've seen it, but I didn't remember it."

"This is Qinzhou, to the south is Hanzhou, and to the south is Yizhou. Among the nine states, Hanzhou has the smallest area. To the west of Qin and Han, there is another scattered state, which is Liangzhou. The southern end of Liangzhou and Yizhou There is an ancient road connecting them. I have read about it in books. Although this road is deserted, it should be possible to travel with a little repair. "

"Ah." Tang Weitian was confused.

"Although Liangzhou is not a prosperous place, it does have some food reserves, and the Yang family is at war with the Qiang people. If Yizhou can provide help, they can borrow food and grass."

"Oh." Tang Weitian was even more confused.

"After returning to Yizhou, you can enter Hanzhou again. Huangfu Kai will be in chaos when he hears the news."

Tang Weitian nodded and understood this sentence clearly.

"Remember?" Xu Chu asked.

"Remember what?"

"What I just said."

Tang Weitian was speechless, and after a long time he said: "Just remember 'Liangzhou'."

"Very good, that's enough. If General Tie Er asks again, you can offer some advice."

Tang Weitian smiled and said, "Can I still offer advice?"

"Of course, this is the duty of a general."

"Young master, stay here and don't go out. I will give you some advice."