Chapter 423: Asking Divination
Outside the nine gates, there is the Wulitun camp.
Lu Xiang wrapped his wounds and cursed there. For a while he said that the Youzhou people were not a thing, and he forgot about the blood feud with the Hu people. He also sent armored sword soldiers to the Hu soldiers, which would be a disaster for China in the future. After a while, he scolded the battle for being poorly fought. In Hebei, how could we fight without cavalry?
Many of the heroes present were also not very interested. They more or less thought like Lu Xiang.
At this time, Zhang Dan and Dong Fang opened the tent one after another and entered.
As soon as he came in, Dong Fan cursed at Lu Xiang:
"Hua Zhi, are you really not afraid of death under military law? Are you chatting in the big tent?"
The one with flowery arms is Lu Xiang.
Lu Xiang met a Yue named Li Gan when he was in the military academy. At that time, this person was in the Central Guards Army system, and like Lu Xiang, he was recommended to become literate.
Li Gan was eager to read, but Lu Xiang was not interested in this. He objected to the tattoo of a pig-shaped dragon on Li Gan's back. Later, he also found a good person who knew this and tattooed a peony on his arm. Full of bushes. And every time he captures an enemy's head, he puts one on his arm. After that, he was called Big Flower Arm in the army.
At this time, Dong Fang called Lu Xiang Hua Arm instead of calling his name, so he knew that he actually did not really want to blame Lu Xiang, because Hua Arm was a good name for Lu Xiang and a symbol of his outstanding martial arts.
Lu Xiang also knew that, so although he was scolded, he didn't panic.
Of course he was so angry just now, not because he was shot in the back. When a warrior is on the battlefield, his scars are his military exploits. What made him angry was that the arrow hit his flowery arm so hard that the beautiful peony bush would look ugly from now on.
However, he didn't dare to say any more. He just took a peek at Zhang Dan in front of him and saw that the commander's face was not good, so he didn't dare to worry about bad luck at this time.
So, Lu Xiang muttered and retreated.
Dong Fang tidied things up a bit, and the warriors present returned to the order of an accomplished master.
Although Zhang Dan was a generous man, he attached great importance to military discipline, so he waited until all the generals were in line to be silent before he took his seat. Then Dong Fang, as his deputy, sat on Zhang Dan's side.
After looking around at the generals present, Zhang Dan said in a deep voice:
"We are all gathering together now to discuss whether we should defend the stronghold in this battle or go out to fight the Yan soldiers in the field?"
As soon as he said this, Xie Bi, who was always known as a wise general in the Youjun system, frowned and asked:
"Commander, we don't have to make this choice. Before the main force of the Yan army goes south, we can retreat to the south of the Hutuo River and join the base camp. At that time, the disadvantages our army encounters now will become the disadvantages of the Yan soldiers. . Once our army uses the Hutuo River as a defense line, how can the enemy's cavalry cross? And once the Yan soldiers have no cavalry, how can they dare to go south? "
Xie Bi's statement won the approval of most knowledgeable generals in the army.
Yes, why do they need to compete with Yan Bing here? Take a step back and the sky will be brighter.
It was just Xie Bi's words that made Shi Shenshang, the chief of the Right Army Marshal's Department, frown, but he had never been willing to express his stance first, so he remained silent for the time being.
Seeing Xie Bi say such words, Zhang Dan was not surprised. He asked:
"Now the four thousand elite cavalry of the Yan soldiers are at Sanhe Pavilion. Once they know that we are going to cross Hutuo south, do you think the Yan soldiers will not attack us halfway across the river?"
Xie Bi was silent for a while and said frankly:
"So I am willing to lead my troops to cover the retreat south."
All the generals present knew that Xie Bi was a man of his word. His life was saved by the king. In terms of loyalty, courage and righteousness, he could be said to be the best in the army.
Even some generals who were transferred to the Youjun system later heard a secret.
Even before the Battle of Jize, Qingzhou Qushuai Jisun at that time also coerced Zhang Shuai, and then used this to coerce the right army to join them in a decisive battle with the Han army. When the other generals were panicking, Xie Bi said:
"These soldiers are General Chongtian's soldiers, not Colonel Zhang's soldiers."
With just one word, the army was pulled away, and Zhang Dan was forced to fall into the hands of Ji Sun.
It's a shame that Sun Ji didn't kill Zhang Dan and let Zhang Dan go back, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.
But even so, everyone has to admit that it was Xie Bi's overall view that preserved the strength of the Right Army. He entered the battlefield at the end of the Battle of Jize and finally defeated the main force of the Army, winning the biggest victory since the founding of the Right Army. victory.
Therefore, at this moment, all the generals in the Youjun system believed that Xie Bi really thought so and planned to do so.
He will use his 2,000 elite troops to cover the main force of 13,000 men retreating south.
So when Xie Bi said these words, even Zhang Dan fell silent.
At this time, someone suddenly asked:
"What about the thousands of people in Sanhe Pavilion?"
It was Pan Zhang who spoke. At this moment, he stared at Xie Bi with red eyes and repeated:
"Let me ask you, if we withdraw, what will happen to the thousands of people in Sanhe Pavilion?"
Xie Bi stopped talking at this time, but his meaning was very clear.
That means it all depends on Sanheting's own destiny.
Because Xie Bi knew very well that as they retreated southward to the Hutuo River, the Hutuo River would become their confrontation line with the Yan soldiers for a long time. Therefore, the Taishan Army staying at Sanhe Pavilion on the north bank has absolutely no reinforcements.
And what is the result without reinforcements? That means these thousands of people will surely die!
But Xie Bi did not dare to say these words. He is not really fearless.
The Taishan Army has been fighting for so many years. When has a thousand-man army been annihilated? Xie Bi did not dare to shoulder this responsibility.
Pan Zhang also understood, but he was unwilling to give in and finally asked:
"Can we really not hold our Wulitun defense line?"
Xie Bi frowned and explained to Pan Zhang:
"The Wulitun defense line we are building now has a total of eight Dazhai on the periphery, all surrounding the Wulitun Dazhai. Each village is connected by a corridor, and the villages can quickly support each other. So simply use In terms of defense, there are more than 18,000 soldiers in our army who can hold swords. Relying on this stronghold to resist Yan's 50,000 soldiers, although it is difficult, it can be fought. "
Pan Zhang's eyes widened when he heard this, but Xie Bi then said:
"However, this is only in terms of defense. The biggest problem of our army now is the shortage of food. Originally we could use summer millet in the wild to alleviate it, but this time we failed to grab food. The entire army's reserves can last for ten days at most. Ten In the future, as long as the pontoon bridge over the Hutuo River cannot be erected, all of our 20,000 soldiers will starve to death without being killed by the Yan soldiers. So, Pan Zhang, do you dare to risk the lives of 18,000 people in the army? Three thousand people die, or eighteen thousand people die, give it to you, which one will you choose?”
Pan Zhang was scolded by Xie Bi, but he couldn't reply.
He and Xie Bi had not dealt with each other for a long time, but he also knew that the three thousand people Xie Bi mentioned at this time, except for the thousand people from Sanhe Pavilion, the rest were the two thousand people under Xie Bi's command, including Xie Bi.
Pan Zhang, such an arrogant man, couldn't hold back at this time and burst into tears.
He really regretted it. Why did he go to Xianyu Pavilion to collect millet? Why go back to Wulitun camp? If he was still at Sanheting at this time, even if he died, he would die with his brothers. Instead of living in shame like this now.
So, Pan Zhang opened his mouth and was about to say that he would stay behind the camp for Xie Bi.
But at this moment, a voice came from above:
"I'm willing to bet." Xie Bigang was still scolding Pan Zhang, but the voice came from behind.
He turned his head in confusion and glanced at the serious Zhang Dan. He was not sure that the words just came from his mouth.
He tremblingly shouted:
"Adan, are you crazy? You and I both know that giant boats can be built on the South Bank now, so how can we get a pontoon? So you are not gambling, you are obviously going to die!"
Zhang Dan looked straight at Xie Bi and said:
"We cannot withdraw, we must die on the north bank."
Xie Bi completely didn't understand Zhang Dan's stubbornness at this moment, but he knew that his stubbornness would definitely ruin the survival of the entire army, so he was desperate and wanted to persuade him again.
Zhang Dan stopped Xie Bi and said solemnly:
"Abi, you don't need to say anything. You said that we should withdraw from the south of Hutuo River to Zhending. I know you are right. You said that 3,000 lives must be exchanged for the survival of the entire army. I also know that you are right. But I know that what is more important than whether what you said is right, or what is more important than the lives of 20,000 people in our army?”
Xie Bi murmured:
"Something more important?"
Zhang Dan had already stood up and walked into the robes below.
He looked at the familiar faces. These people trusted him and even saved his life, but at this moment they might die because of their decisions.
All this moved Zhang Dan and said:
"Yes, there is something more important than our lives. That is our great cause!"
He pointed to the Hutuo River in the north of the camp, where endless water vapor was blown by the river wind all the way to the tent.
Zhang Dan pointed there and said emotionally:
"That is the Hutuo River. It is the last line of defense for us to conquer Youzhou. Back then, the Zhongshan people could rely on this Hutuo River to defend against the Zhao people's hundred-year attack. But do we have a hundred years? Our Taishan Army is seizing the day and night. Now, let's take advantage of Jiumen Feng Xun, the idiot in the city, didn't understand the importance of Hutuo and put us on the north bank. But this time, if we retreat to the other side, we will face the cunning Lu Zhi next time. This opportunity? ”
Zhang Dan looked around again and saw that everyone still didn't understand, so he said again:
"Some people may say, isn't it just a strip of water? Let's occupy all of Jizhou first. Then we can take care of the north later. I also told the king so before. But the king told me that the importance of Jizhou is It seems that the focus is on Jizhou, but in fact it depends on Youzhou. If you capture Jizhou, it will be in vain. With the strength of the cavalry, the Yan soldiers can plunder us overnight. Go down to Youzhou and annihilate the Zhenbei Army, the only large-scale army in Hebei, and the whole of Hebei will be able to spread the message. "
"This is what the king often said, the harder the road, the faster it goes."
"So you think we can withdraw?"
At this time, Pan Zhang, Luo Gang and other generals shouted:
"No!"
However, the turbulence of all the generals could not shake Xie Bi's reason. He only asked:
"No matter how simple the principle is, it must be implemented in food. Without food, there is no way we can fight fiercely to the base camp to come to the rescue."
But who knew that Zhang Dan smiled slyly, pointed in one direction and said:
"Who said we have no food? Look, it's all there!"
After saying that, all the generals looked towards where Zhang Dan was pointing, but it was the Jiumen City not far away.
……
In the Nine Gate City, there is a temporary county government office.
Our Feng Xun is seeking divination from the fortune tellers in his house.
At this moment, an old shaman was burning a piece of cow bone, and then he shook his head and told the nervous Feng Xun:
"It is unlucky. In the past, Zhou Dynasty died in Jiazi. It was called a disease and the military strategists were afraid of it."
Although there are three year names in the world this year, according to the heavenly stems and earthly branches, this year is indeed the year of Jiazi. So Feng Xun was greatly depressed when he heard the criticism of this famous wizard.
Reluctant and a little scared, he asked for advice:
"Then how to turn danger into good fortune?"
Wu Jin stopped talking, just silently gathered his clothes and retreated to the monastery, leaving his apprentice and Feng Xun to continue their response.
After a while, Feng Xun left a large sum of money to ask the old fortune-teller to make a ritual ceremony, and then returned to the mansion with a gloomy look on his face.
As soon as he came out, a heroic military officer next to Feng Xun couldn't help but said:
"Prime Minister, if you don't ask the heroes about their affairs while guarding the city, how can you ask the ghosts and gods for fortune-telling? Not to mention that the old fortune-teller looks like someone who is after money and food. He said that Zhou was killed by Jiazi. How can you not hear Zhou's words? How can martial arts flourish with Jiazi? Instead of relying on ghosts and gods, it is better to be humble, inspire heroes, and work together with one heart, and the nine gates will naturally be solid."
The person who said this was Guo Zhao, a hero of the county. After Feng Xun moved his army to Jiumen, he took the lead to defect to his sect and became an account supervisor.
However, Guo Zhao's advice was not praised by Feng Xun, but was reprimanded by him:
"Then who is Zhou Wu? Who is the Taishan Army outside the city?"
At this moment, Guo Zhao didn't dare to speak anymore, sweat dripped from his forehead, and he hurriedly stepped aside.
Feng Xuanye did not pursue Guo Zhao, but sighed behind Guo Zhao's back:
"At this point, only ghosts and gods can respond to me."
Some people may be wondering why Feng Xun is so depressed and has no fighting spirit? Haven't his reinforcements to the north already moved south? There are still 3,000 troops and hundreds of thousands of grains and grains in the city. Isn't it easy to defend it?
But these are outsiders' opinions, but insiders know the reason for Feng Xun's anxiety day and night.
There was an internal enemy force in the city, but Feng Xun couldn't find it.
If the former is just a problem, then the latter is a big problem.
It turned out that when Zhang Dan and Dong Fang of the Taishan Army attacked the Jiumen Outer Wall, their troops broke into the city that night, and at that time they were mixed up with the rebel spies.
Originally, it was very easy for spies to be exposed when they were lurking in the city, because there were soldiers patrolling at any time to assassinate Fu Jie and check Fu Jie's identity.
Therefore, if a spy wants to lurk, he must have a place to hide and provide him with water and rice. Only the powerful families in the city can meet the requirements of Taishan Army's espionage.
Although I don't know what reason the powerful people have for doing this, it doesn't stop Feng Xun from doubting them.
And how did Feng Xun know that there was a spy lurking in the city? He was the one who used to spy on the generals under his command, and then was tricked into him.
At this time, Feng Xun began to doubt the generals below again, because he did not believe that the Taishan Army only tried to instigate a few to rebel. And if the number of people is really large, but so far, only one or two people have taken the initiative to report. Does this mean that many people have been incited to rebel?
Feng Xunhuo felt like he was sitting in the crater of a volcano, with no sense of security.
In a bad mood, Feng Xun naturally had little patience with people around him like Guo Zhao.
Finally, Feng Xun, escorted by Guo Zhao and other guards, left the house and went to the top of the city for another inspection. It can be seen that Feng Xun is not confused, and he still knows who he needs to rely on.
But after Guo Zhao sent Feng Xun off, he secretly crossed the wall and met someone at night.
(End of chapter)