"General, the spies have come to report that Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan have broken out of camp, and there seems to be signs of retreat!" Nangong Shi walked in quickly with the sword on his waist, panting and reporting to Xue Rengui.
When the two armies are fighting, they will naturally send out scouts and spies to observe the other side's movements at all times. Therefore, when Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan's army began to break camp, the scouts immediately discovered the news and reported back in time.
"Oh, the other party is finally withdrawing!" Xue Rengui put down what he was doing and said with interest.
However, looking at Xue Rengui's calm expression, it was clear that he had expected this incident and did not seem to be surprised at all.
In fact, after the Wuming Thirteen successfully burned the opponent's food and grass, they immediately sent out a signal through their unique method to let Xue Rengui understand that they had successfully completed the task.
Therefore, Xue Rengui had already been prepared for when Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan would retreat. Now that Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan had indeed retreated as he had guessed, Xue Rengui would naturally not be surprised by this news.
"Go, let all the generals come here!" Xue Rengui greeted the few soldiers outside.
Soon, the Huguan generals who received the news rushed to Xue Rengui as soon as possible.
"Generals,... Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan are about to retreat. I intend to leave the city to pursue them. I wonder if you, generals, have any suspicions?"
The enemy troops came in a big way, and Xue Rengui was naturally unwilling to let them leave easily. Moreover, in recent years, there have been endless talents in the Jin army, and Xue Rengui must seize the time to make more achievements.
"Pursuit?" After hearing these two words, the expressions of the generals changed one after another. Some were confused, some were happy, and some were worried.
"General, if we pursue rashly, we may be ambushed by the enemy!" Lian Po said with some worry. After all, the armies of Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan only retreated, rather than retreated. The opponent's strength was still there.
"Then Yuan Chonghuan has good military skills, so he will naturally set up an ambush!" Xue Rengui said with a hint of solemnity in his tone. The confrontation between the two sides during this period also made Xue Rengui see how difficult Yuan Chonghuan was.
"The general has a plan!" As soon as he heard Xue Rengui say this, Lian Po naturally knew that Xue Rengui had already planned the pursuit.
"I can lead one of my troops to pursue, and General Lian will lead another to follow. When I lead the enemy to ambush, General Lian will suddenly rush out again and catch the enemy by surprise!" General Xue Rengui had already thought of this in his mind! Talk about the plan.
"General, why don't we let the last general lead the front army and set off!" After hearing Xue Rengui's plan, Lian Po couldn't help but said anxiously.
Xue Rengui is the commander-in-chief, and there is real danger in the front army. How can the commander-in-chief of an army easily take risks?
"General Lian, if we want to draw out Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan's ambush, they must confirm that they are my main force in pursuit. Only by taking action personally can we gain the enemy's trust!" Xue Rengui shook his head and denied it. Lian Po came to replace his own ideas.
Unlike Bai Qi and Li Jing, commanders who were accustomed to sitting in charge of the central army, Xue Rengui was more accustomed to charging into battle personally when fighting. Therefore, if Xue Rengui does not show up, it is likely that Yuan Chonghuan and Gongsun Zan will become suspicious.
"General, should you order light cavalry to harass the enemy's troops along the way and wear them down, and then let the general pursue them?" Nangong Shi stood up and suggested. In this case, you can increase the probability of success.
"That's inappropriate!" Lian Po on the side said with a frown, "The enemy has elite soldiers like Baima Yicong, so our army can only give the enemy an advantage by sending light cavalry!"
The White Horse Yi Cong is a typical light cavalry unit with strong mobility and range advantages. In history, Gongsun Zan was able to rely on this light cavalry force to maintain a strong reputation outside the Great Wall for a long time, and to make the brave and capable light cavalry "family" such as Xianbei and Wuhuan flee after hearing the news. It is not difficult to see the actual combat effectiveness of Baima Yicong. If the ordinary cavalry goes away, they will only fall under the arrows of the white horse Yi Cong.
Although Baima Yicong in this world did not gain fame in the grassland, he gained fame with Yuan Shao. With Lian Po's talent, he naturally wanted to stop this stupid thing that cost people's lives.
After listening to Lian Po's words, Nangong Shi could only sit down again happily. Just now, he really ignored the opponent and Baima Yicong, an elite force.
Don't think that because the Baima Yicong were destroyed by the Xiandenxianshi Regiment in history, you should underestimate this army. In fact, although the powerful crossbows and tactics of the Xiandenshishi did restrain the cavalry, they were not able to destroy such an elite cavalry group as the White Horse Yi Cong.
The reason why Baima Yicong was destroyed by the Xianden Death Soldiers was because of his commander, not because of Baima Yicong's lack of combat effectiveness.
On the one hand, when Gongsun Zan saw that the enemy had few soldiers, he thought that the enemy was weak and despised the opponent's combat effectiveness. On the other hand, Gongsun Zan asked Baima Yicong to charge in the terrain that was least suitable for them. In addition, Gongsun Zan used light cavalry to deal with the crossbowmen, and launched a frontal attack against the strong crossbows.
Apart from anything else, if Baima Yicong relies on his speed advantage to constantly harass the first-death warrior, even the first-death warrior will be unable to do anything to Baima Yicong.
"Okay, let's pursue it according to my method!" Xue Rengui made a final decision.
"Ran Min, Yue Lun, Di Lei, Xue Ying, Li Tianchang, you guys will lead 10,000 troops and set off with me!"
"General Lian Po, you lead Yang Zaixing, two generals Hou Yi and an army of 10,000 to follow me!"
"Nangong Shi, lead the remaining soldiers and horses to guard Huguan to prevent any unexpected events!" Xue Rengui ordered one after another.
There were originally 30,000 defenders in Huguan, but even with the advantage of the wall, nearly 6,000 soldiers and horses were lost during this period.
Among the generals in Huguan, in terms of their ability to lead troops, Xue Rengui and Lian Po were the first to take the lead, and only Nangong Shi and Ran Min could take over.
Xue Rengui personally led the army. Ran Min, as the bravest general in Huguan, had to deal with Yuan Shao, and the second army had a heavy responsibility, so Xue Rengui handed it over to the more capable Lian Po. Therefore, Xue Rengui could only hand over the responsibility of guarding Huguan to Nangong Shi.
As long as the Hu Pass is not lost, Xue Rengui and the others will still have room for change even if their pursuit fails or is even defeated.
"General Nangong, after the soldiers and horses leave the city, unless the general sees the generals here again in person, the city gate must not be opened again!" Xue Rengui warned Nangong Shi.
To be honest, Xue Rengui was not sure of victory in this pursuit. After all, the enemy forces were twice as many as them. Xue Rengui told Nangong Shi just in case, to prevent the enemy from wearing their Jin army's clothes and pretending to open and close the door once they were defeated.
