The Korean army had almost taken him in and dispatched him, but there was still no news about Gongzi Jiu. Si Mang sent out more sentries to patrol in the direction of Yanhe, and at the same time called all the battalion commanders and school leaders.
According to the practice of the Wei State, all officials above the rank of uncle in the civilian army were filled by military soldiers. After the war, the civilian army returned home and the military soldiers returned to their camps. After the Battle of Huayang, the soldiers suffered heavy losses. The senior officers above the Xiangbi were usually Wei nobles. Most of them were frightened and refused to leave one by one. Intermediate officers such as Bo, Si, and Lian were originally in the war. The losses were huge, and most of the remaining people were promoted to newly established posts to train the civilian army. The few who were still in the military soldier camp were no longer able or dared to go out into battle. So this time Si Mang did not bring out any military officers. All the officers were served by retainers of Lord Xinling in the fiefdom. Si Mang asked Lord Xinling to send a few retainers to help. Lord Xinling was not stingy and directly sent him a hundred warriors to protect his safety. He also asked Mr. Jin and Cao, who were proficient in battle formations, to assist him. However, these retainers and retainers seemed unconvinced by Si Mang. They treated each other politely and said nothing at critical moments. Si Mang did not dare to offend him. Apart from greetings in the morning and evening, he did not dare to let them do any other work.
Fortunately, Si Mang was born into a noble family and had extensive experience in these matters, so he had already come up with countermeasures. He set up an assistant under the officers at all levels and selected one or two hundred outstanding people from the one thousand standing army to serve. The daily management of the army and the formation of troops during war are all completed by this group of people. Although those retainers and retainers usually talk eloquently and seem to know everything, in fact they have no understanding of the specific business and cannot get involved at all. Both sides are in peace. It's just more troublesome when holding a military meeting: retainers, retainers, and actual executors all have to gather together, and there are a lot of people; there are also many issues such as etiquette, status, etc. to consider, and to coordinate the self-esteem needs of different groups, which is annoying! In order to avoid trouble, Si Mang held almost no meetings along the way.
Looking at the crowd of people in the darkness, Si Mang first saluted everyone, and then said: "The matter is about to become urgent, and I would like to ask you gentlemen. First, we are ordered by the king to join forces with Qin and Han to attack Yanyu. Qin, The two armies of Han and Han have entered Yanyu. I heard that the Qin army has retreated, and the Han army is defending alone. It is cold and the soldiers are in trouble when facing the enemy, so they will wait for the spring to warm up. So they humiliate their husbands and live together in the wild. Now, Zhao Guo's reinforcements have arrived, and their generals Zhao She, who is in charge of Naitian, has an army of tens of thousands. The front of the army has been defeated by the Korean army. Now that the Korean army has been defeated and has retreated to the state of Zheng, I will discuss with you sir, where should I go?"
One person stood up and said: "In ancient times, those who attacked the country only submitted to it. Yan Yu has already submitted, and the Qin army has retreated. How can he come back to attack it?"
One person stood up and said: "The Master said that if there is a way in the world, rituals, music, and conquests come from the emperor; in the world without a way, rituals, music, and conquests come from the princes. Today, kings attack, which is unheard of in ancient times. This is what is called a world without means!"
One person stood up and said: "It is not too late to cut down, do not rush into battle, and do not surrender until you are punished. This is the right time to cut down in winter and wait for the warmth of spring. It is not the right time!"
…
In this way, all the gentlemen in the seat stood up one after another, citing scriptures and making grand discussions. Si Mang secretly complained in his heart, but did not dare to interrupt. He waited patiently for each important person to finish speaking, and concluded: "Sir's teachings are all the teachings of saints. I sincerely thank you, you have learned from your heart!" Everyone sent it out respectfully!
After everyone left, Mr. Jin touched Mr. Cao lightly, and the two of them deliberately stayed behind. After everyone had gone away, the two of them saluted Si Mang and said, "The Qin army has left, the Han army has been defeated, and the Zhao army cannot be defeated. Please leave quickly!"
Si Mang said: "Sir's words are indeed gold and jade. How should we leave them? Today, Han is defeated for the first time. We must pass through Shangdang and go out of Nanyang. I will be tired if I go with you."
Mr. Jin said: "That's what the captain said. We defeated more than 20,000 troops. We won't accomplish anything but will fail! If we block our way, although it is not difficult to break it, we will be tired! The old city of Wei, Anyi, is in the east of the river. From the top to the bottom, you can definitely get there."
Si Mang said, "Sir, do you know your way?"
Mr. Jin said: "I am a common man, but I have heard about it from the past, and it is not through his way. However, there may be people in Shi who have access to Anyi, so I will visit them." Si Mang thanked Mr. Jin. Then he ordered each battalion to visit those who could find out the way to Anyi. On the one hand, he ordered to strengthen the investigation of Yan Yu, and on the other hand, he ordered each battalion to prepare one stone of dry food for each person.
Yanyu is dozens of miles away from Shi, and it will take at least a whole day to walk back. Si Mang could only place sentry posts on the mountains on both sides of the valley road to monitor them. Zhao Jun was not seen attacking for two days in a row. In contrast, the situation in the south was very bad: the forcibly repatriated Korean soldiers lacked food and clothing, the strong ones were plundered in the valleys, and the weak ones were killed in the valleys. Since the Wei army issued a warning to the valley and was not allowed to retreat into the valley, the situation in the valley was temporarily stable, but Si Mang could still feel the great pressure. You can imagine what it would be like if the Wei army lost its geographical advantage and met the Korean army in a narrow valley!
Throughout the whole day, the soldiers found no one who had been to Anyi. Most people have never even heard of Anyi. Si Mang was a little desperate! He decided that if he couldn't find a rural guide to Anyi tomorrow, he would have no choice but to rush out of the narrow valley, confront the defeated troops face to face, and fight to open a bloody road. After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Jun attacked, and it was almost impossible to escape; even if Zhao Jun was repelled, he probably wouldn't be able to return to Daliang.
The next day, the good news came. The sentry soldiers discovered Gongzi Jiu and his party of more than ten people walking on the ridge. When Prince Jiu saw Wei Bing, he said "ouch" and collapsed to the ground.
The retainers half supported and half carried young master Jiu, and returned to Jicheng with Wei Bing. When Prince Jiu saw Si Mang, he was like a swallow returning to its nest. He hugged Si Mang's thigh and burst into tears!
Si Mang tried his best to help him, but all the retainers fell to the ground to persuade him, but they couldn't stop it. After finally holding back his cry, the young master said, "Fortunately, the captain is here, but I have nowhere to go!" After saying this, he was about to cry again. Si Mang took the opportunity to break free of his thighs, helped Young Master Jiu up, and said, "Young Master is fine, God is lucky! Don't be sad again!" Young Master Jiu was still twitching.
Si Mang said: "Zhao's army is about to arrive, Master, there will be someone to teach me!"
The retainers all stood up and asked Si Mang and Gongzi Jiu to sit on top, while all the retainers sat below. Si Mang ordered his soldiers to prepare hot porridge. He was frightened for his son's fault. He looked at all the retainers and said, "Everyone who has come to visit me will definitely tell me about the military situation!"
Young Master Jiu said: "I can't do it, I hope you will tell me the truth!"
The leader of the retainers said: "I'm sorry. It's the middle of winter, the weather is cold and the ground is cold, and it's difficult for the soldiers to hold their halberds and control the strings. The young master felt sorry for the soldiers and soldiers, so he surrounded the city in vain and ate in the city to wait for the warmth of spring. However, a few days ago, The Zhao army suddenly arrived fifty miles east of the city. I pressed an army to meet them. The Zhao army came out of the North Mountain before me. They were all naked and holding halberds. They were as strong as oxen and threw huge rocks with their hands. They injured countless of our troops and were defeated. , and retreated back to Yanyu. The prince heard that the Zhao army was coming to reinforcements and that it was unbeatable, so he ordered to retreat at night. However, the Zhao army suddenly arrived and set fire everywhere. Yanyu suddenly lost Zhao's hand. The prince and his ministers climbed over the mountains and ridges, and they were able to escape. !”
Si Mang said: "How big is Zhao Yuan's army?"
The retainer was a little shy and said: "The mountain road is winding and you can't see it clearly. Have you ever wondered its geometry?"
Si Mang was very disappointed. As the highest commander of Huayu, he lost the battle without even knowing the strength of his opponent. For such generals and assistants, he did not want to get any useful advice from them, and asked directly: "How many roads are there from Shi to Anyi? Do you know it?"
The retainer was a little surprised and said, "How can we go to Anyi?"
Si Mang said to him with a hint of ridicule: "Although the defeated Han army left Ji, they still moved to the south road, seeming to want to fight with Zhao again. Young master, do you want to share it?"
The retainer felt very ashamed and lowered his head and said: "Why delay?"
Si Mang said: "Maybe I want to plunder the wilderness, or I want to wait for the warmth of spring."
Young Master Jiu said: "The defeated army has no money to return to the country. This is the crime of the minister. Now I am just waiting for the crime!"
Si Mang saw that Gongzi Jiu still had some self-awareness, so he said no more and said: "The south road is blocked by defeated troops and it is difficult to pass. If there is no other way, all the Korean soldiers will be killed, so we can get there." !”
Young Master Jiu said: "No! I'd like to go with you, and I hope the captain will listen to it."
Si Mang was a little surprised to see Master Jiu come up with an unusual idea and said, "Master, please speak up!"
Young Master Jiu said: "Going west from here, there is a road that leads to the back of Dang City. This road is remote, so there will be no other obstacles. I would like to lead to Dang first, and then we will reconsider it!"
Si Mang looked at Gongzi Jiu's retainers. The group of retainers all flattered each other and said, "Young Master Wei, how can we do this? This is the best policy!" Si Mang was so angry that he wanted to kick them to death! But he put on a posture of asking for advice and asked about the situation of this road in detail. Then someone took Young Master Qiu down to rest.
Si Mang sent someone to lead a battalion the next day, led by a retainer who knew about it, to explore the road first. Then we set out camp by camp. The five battalions sent out on the first day came back one by one and reported that it was a mountain road. Although it was difficult to travel, it was clearly distinguishable. The next day, Si Mang asked the second group of five camps to set off together with the baggage and livestock. After another half day, he personally led the remaining ten battalions and set off. He was especially wary of the Korean soldiers entrenched outside the valley, fearing that if they made a mistake, they would catch him and cause any accident.
He put the most elite battalion at the end, and then slowly withdrew until the other battalions had entered the valley. At this time, the Korean soldiers outside the valley had already seen that the Wei army was about to leave. They were like wild dogs, staring with red eyes, ready to pounce and bite at any time. At this time, seeing the Wei army withdrawing from the mouth of the valley, someone rushed in with shouts. Si Mang gave the order, and the crossbow arrows were fired, knocking down one of them. The others shouted and retreated. After half the battle, they rushed in again, only to see that the Wei army had retreated to the valley mouth in the west. However, they did not force the Wei army. They only rushed to the nearest town and looted wildly. The people in the city were on guard for a long time, and a group of strong men fought with them with various weapons. The people in the city nearby also came to help. At this time, the Korean soldiers at Taniguchi also rushed in and joined the battle... Gradually, the battle began in various towns of Shi. One side is desperately defending their homeland, the other is forced by cold and exhaustion. Both sides are at a critical moment of life and death, and they are fighting fiercely.
