Tuk~tuk~tuk~
The gate of Yangpingguan opened, and a group of white cavalry swarmed out and headed straight for the Qin army's camp thirty miles away.
However, the expected first head-on collision between the Qin and Chu armies did not come. When this white torrent arrived at the Qin army camp, there was only an empty shell left here.
Han Zong frowned slightly, holding a spear in his hand, riding on his horse, spinning slightly at the entrance of the camp. Over the past few years, his youthfulness has faded away, making him appear mature and capable.
Soon, a cavalry team that went inside to investigate returned to the gate of the camp.
"General, there is no one in the camp. There is no ambush, and no food, grass or baggage has been found."
It was indeed an empty camp.
After hearing that Lu Bu's troops had not attacked Yangping Pass for many days, Han Zong had some guesses, but he still had a glimmer of expectation in his heart, hoping to meet this world-famous trap head-on.
Suppressing his disappointment, Han Zong got off his horse and threw the spear back. The guards behind him quickly caught it. Everyone just listened to Han Zong's words.
"Hurry back and report to the marshal. The Qin army is afraid of our army's strength and will flee without a fight. Our army will continue to pursue in the direction of Duangu. Send an order to the soldiers to demolish everything in this camp if they can, and burn what cannot be demolished." Now. Send out all the scouts again. I want to know where the Qin army is as soon as possible?"
The soldiers accepted the promise and left, while some of the guards around him asked doubtfully.
"General, aren't you rushing to pursue the Qin army? Why did you let the brothers demolish the camp first?"
Han Zong rolled his eyes and said confidently.
"I've been shading others a lot. If I don't dismantle this, I won't feel at ease."
······
Han Zong discovered that there was an empty camp left outside Yangping Pass. He originally guessed that the Qin army was hiding somewhere and wanted to attack him again, but in the end he received news that the scouts had discovered that the Qin army was retreating towards Tianshui.
When Han Zong led the white horse Yi Cong to Duangu County, there were countless people waiting outside the city gate.
The people actually lined the streets to welcome our troops?
The soldiers looked at each other in confusion. This was the first time they saw such a formation outside Jianye. Han Zong also walked in front of him with confusion and asked the old men standing at the front.
"Old man, what do you mean?"
Several old men standing in front of the crowd saw a white-robed general wearing silver armor asking questions, and suddenly he knelt down with a plop.
"Please be kind to the King of Chu and save the people of Duangu!"
Like the wind blowing through the rice fields, the people waiting outside the city all fell to their knees with a crash.
"Please be kind to the King of Chu and save the people of Duangu!"
It seemed like thousands of soldiers were drinking together, and the shouts were loud and loud. The people here still have little information. Otherwise, if they knew that Sun Ce had proclaimed himself emperor, they might have cried long live.
Han Zong, who was secretly happy to see the people lined up to welcome him, felt a thump in his heart and his whole heart was sinking. He quickly dismounted, helped the old man up, and muttered.
"Old man, what are you doing? Get up quickly and tell me what's going on."
The old man was in tears at this time and couldn't stop crying.
After some words, Han Zong understood that Lu Bu not only withdrew the defenders from the trapped camp and Duangu Valley, but also captured a group of strong men before leaving and robbed all the food stored by the people in the city. There were originally more than 10,000 people in Duangu, but now more than 9,000 people have been digging wild vegetables outside the city for half a day.
The reputation of the Chu army among the people is the best among the Three Kingdoms. The people of Duangu recommended several famous clan elders to welcome them here to ask for food.
Han Zong's eyes were twitching wildly, and his face seemed to be twitching.
He never expected that Lu Bu would play dirty tricks with him. Maybe this was not Lu Bu's idea. After all, the Qin State also had many counselors, but Han Zong was still angry.
Lu Xun's plan for a surprise attack on Hanzhong was top secret, and even he didn't know about it. After arriving at the front line, Han Zong shamelessly asked Zhao Yun and Ji Shu for a battle, and finally got the permission. He came in a hurry to meet Qin's trapped camp, but he didn't expect that the battle would not be fought, and he would make a lot of money.
"Come here, give one day's rations from our supplies to the people in the city."
After Han Zong said this with a livid face, he smiled slightly and helped the old man in front of him to continue speaking.
"Don't worry, old man, since this place has returned to your Majesty's rule, we will never ignore the people. However, we are chasing the enemy lightly. We only brought four or five days of food and grass, and we will allocate 20% at most. Please save some and just wait. When our army arrives, we will properly arrange the people in Duangu."
The elected clan elders were immediately overjoyed. They had originally heard that the Chu army had strict military discipline and did not offend the people. But if they were not desperate, how could they dare to ask the military master for food?
Seeing the poor expression of the white-robed general in front of them, they hurriedly thanked and left.
Seeing that the situation had become complicated, Han Zong did not dare to neglect and quickly sent a horse to report the situation here back to Ji Shu.
When Ji Shu received the news, the Chinese army had just left Yangping Pass.
"hehe"
Looking at the military report sent from the front, Ji Shu laughed out loud.
Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Jiang Qin, and Huang Gai around him frowned, and Zhao Yun said helplessly.
"Zi Yuan, can you still laugh at this? The Qin army uses such vicious tactics. Every time we advance, tens of thousands more people will appear. How can our army withstand the food and grass?"
Since the Qin army used this method in Duangu, it is inevitable that they will not use the same method when evacuating Chencang and Xicheng.
Although there is no big city in the middle, it is still a county town with tens of thousands of people. If the Chu army was carrying the grain and grass burden of tens of thousands of people when they arrived at Chang'an City, how could they still fight this battle?
Ji Shu looked at Huang Gai with a smile and said in a rather nostalgic tone.
"I still remember that when the eighteen princes attacked Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo abandoned Luoyang. The centuries-old capital was reduced to ashes and millions of people were displaced. Throwing out another jade seal completely ignited the conflicts among the princes, and the mighty alliance It fell apart in an instant.”
Human life is like a piece of grass and everything is a chess piece. His machinations are majestic, and he uses them as darkly as a snake. He is worthy of his reputation as a poisonous person.
"Today we face such an enemy again in the Northern Expedition. I am afraid that it will be much different from the previous battles. All generals should deal with it calmly. Although Han Zong is usually reckless, this time But it’s quite appropriate.”
Ji Shu continued with a calm expression.
"Mencius said: If there is a drought between July and August, the seedlings will be withered. When clouds form in the sky and it rains heavily, the seedlings will flourish! Who can control it? Nowadays, people in the world are not herding people. There are those who do not like to kill. If there are those who do not like to kill, then all the people in the world will lead and look forward to them. It is true that when the people return, they will descend from the water. Who can control them?"
"Dong Zhuo was so tyrannical that more than ten people from Qin fled to Chu every day, more than a hundred every month, and thousands every year. Since he wants to send my people away, should he send away tens of thousands?"
"Okay! Send an order to Han Zong to let the people of Duangu move to Hanzhong. Zhang Fu purged a large number of Qin officials, and many real estates and manors were brought under the name of the imperial court. Let these old and weak women and children live first. Tell these people , As long as he obeys the imperial decree and arranges accommodation, he will not starve to death. Then let Han Zong stationed in Duangu County and build the county into a military fortress."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong nodded slightly, while Wei Yan, Jiang Qin, and Huang Gai had some doubts on their faces. Not long after, Jiang Qin cupped his fists and said.
"Situ, although our army won Hanzhong in this battle, it took another month to mobilize the troops and horses. Now instead of seeking a decisive battle with the Qin army and capturing the city quickly, we stopped in Duan Valley to resettle the refugees. Isn't there something wrong? ? This will probably take another half a month, and it will be a burden for these refugees to have no livelihood."
Jiang Qin cut off half a month and said that these ordinary people were not as good as the army with their families. The journey of two or three days was estimated to take seven or eight days. After arriving in Hanzhong, it would not even take half a month to count the number of people, arrange accommodation, and work. It may not be possible to finish. If it takes another month to capture Chencang, then when can we capture Chang'an?
"The refugees don't have a livelihood, so just arrange a livelihood for them."
Ji Shu saw that Jiang Qin was sweating slightly on his forehead and knew that he had to say it bravely. He glanced at everyone and knew that Wei Yan, Jiang Qin and Huang Gai were worried that the treatment of the refugees would delay the Northern Expedition.
However, Ji Shu couldn't ignore it. Jia Xu had already made a move and he had to take it.
"If Zhang Song continues to work hard, the middle-aged men who can still exert some energy will be assigned to the logistics to transport food and grass for our army. The children will be arranged to study in schools, and the women will be arranged to enter the cloth factory that is just being built in Hanzhong. The laborers have their food."
"The Qin State lost this huge granary in Hanzhong and could not support its huge army. The generals may feel that relocating the people will delay the Northern Expedition, but if more than hundreds of thousands of people in Chencang and Xicheng are moved, Qin will How much tax and food will the country lose in a year? The people are the foundation of the country. Don't be afraid of consumption, Chu State can afford it. Even if the Northern Expedition fails, Chu State can also afford it, but can Qin State afford it? "
Jiang Qin, Wei Yan and others looked at each other and understood that Ji Shu had made up his mind, so they stopped trying to persuade him and accepted the order with clasped fists.
Within two days, the army arrived and stationed in Duangu and began the relocation of the people.
