Although the words were spoken softly, they were like a heavy hammer hitting Sima Cuo's heart! For a moment, Sima Cuo felt his eyes darken: He and his six hundred warriors risked their lives, traveled day and night, and fell short of success after all?
No one can accept such a result!
"Is it too late to hurry up and hurry up?" Sima Cuo's heart could not help but beat loudly, almost as if it would jump out of his throat.
He slapped the big tree next to him hard, and the rough and old bark penetrated straight into Sima Cuo's palm, and the bright red blood instantly flowed along the fingertips to the trunk.
"General." The leader of Tan Ma on the side hurried forward. It was obvious that he was also a little unable to accept this result.
A sharp stinging sensation ran down the palm of his hand and went straight to his forehead, and this severe pain also made Sima Cuo calm down even more.
It can be said that he has been traveling day and night non-stop. According to his own speed, unless Zhao Kuo also works day and night like himself, it is impossible to cross him. Then there is only one possibility - Zhao Kuo's marching speed is extremely slow and he is still behind.
Thinking of this, Sima Cuo shook his head helplessly. A not-so-beautiful misunderstanding almost made him think that he had failed.
But okay, since Zhao Kuo is still behind, we have enough time to recover our strength and prepare for the ambush.
Heaving a long sigh of relief, Sima Cuo looked at the leader of the probing horse and said, "Don't worry, we are coming at a gallop. Zhao Kuo can only be behind us and cannot run in front of us. It should be because of the unknown. For this reason, Zhao Kuo deliberately slowed down his marching speed."
When Tan Ma heard this, it seemed that this was indeed the case. Zhao Kuo was not in a hurry and could not run as carelessly as he and others did, and the distance between himself and Zhao Kuo was only a few hours, two days. The pursuit had already brought back this small distance. If there is no trace of Zhao Kuo from behind, it can only mean that Zhao Kuo has slowed down.
Then the leader of Tanma nodded in approval.
Sima Cuo did not hesitate and immediately ordered: "Let the brothers who have just returned take a rest, wake up the second group of scouts, continue the search and advance, and ambush at forty and fifty miles respectively. Remember, once the notice is released, Zhao Kuo’s traces must not be acted upon rashly and must be reported immediately.”
"Yes!" The leader of Tanma immediately responded.
In just a short time, Sima Cuo felt as if he had experienced a roller coaster ride. Fortunately, the final result was not bad for Sima Cuo and his 600 Ruisi! There are even some unexpected gains. Obviously, Zhao Kuo's marching speed made Sima Cuo more confident.
However, everything has two sides. Although Zhao Kuo's speedy march here gave Sima Cuo enough time to prepare, over there, Zhao Ping and the retainers sent by Pingyuan Jun finally found him when the sun had given up the last ray of light. Zhao Kuo and his party.
"General." Zhao Ping turned over and dismounted. Because he was not good at riding a horse, and he had been riding a horse for a long time, and suddenly dismounted, Zhao Ping was almost unsteady. Fortunately, Pingyuan Jun's retainer stood beside him. He supported Zhao Ping.
Without bothering to thank his companions, Zhao Ping staggered towards Zhao Kuo's tent not far away, muttering "General, General..."
The soldiers all know Zhao Ping and will not stop him, and Zhao Kuo's tent is large enough and easy to recognize.
Lifting the curtain, Zhao Ping screamed and walked to Zhao Kuo, who was checking the military situation of Daidi. With a plop, he knelt down in front of Zhao Kuo.
"General!" A call finally came out.
Zhao Kuo, who was frowning at the bamboo slips, was also surprised. When he saw the person coming, he felt even more uneasy - why is Zhao Ping here? Coming here like this, it's obviously something urgent! Did something happen in Handan City? Or...I've only just been away for three days!
He immediately put down the bamboo slips, walked around to Zhao Ping, lifted him up with both hands, and asked in a slightly impatient tone: "Why are you chasing me? Did something happen in Handan City? Or is it my mother..." "
The words came out
, Zhao Ping knew that the general had misunderstood, and immediately explained: "General, don't worry, there is nothing abnormal in Handan City, and the old lady is also safe and sound."
Without waiting for Zhao Kuo to continue asking, Zhao Ping immediately blurted out: "The Qin delegation suddenly split up less than a day's journey outside Handan City. Hundreds of horses rode to the northwest. Lin Shangqing and Ping Pingjun judged that this was for the general. You are here, so I was specially ordered to travel day and night to report to you, the General. I finally caught up with the General."
After saying so many words in one breath, Zhao Ping, who was already exhausted, was now even more out of breath.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuo took his own water glass on the table and put it into Zhao Ping's hands, and then slowly sat back down.
Zhao Ping took Zhao Kuo's water cup and felt warm in his heart. The general could give him his own cup, which obviously meant that he completely regarded him as one of his own! His hard work of running all the way from Handan City was not in vain. Immediately, he raised his head and drank the full glass of water.
The cold river water quickly washed away Zhao Ping's fatigue, and then he gently put down the cup and stood quietly beside Zhao Kuo. Obviously Zhao Ping is very self-aware, and delivering Lord Pingyuan's words satisfactorily and promptly is all he can do. As for the rest of the matter, he only needs to obey orders.
"Order: The whole camp is on alert. Don't take off your armor when sleeping. Keep your sword close to your body. Keep your troops tight inside and out. Send all the scouts out to me. Don't let the enemy know it until they touch it under their noses. Make sure there are no Qin troops within a radius of five miles." After receiving the news, Zhao Kuo did not hesitate to ensure the current safety first.
"Yes." The soldier on the side immediately agreed.
After arranging the current defense, the next step is to solve the problem of the Qin army. At this time, Zhao Kuo was a little entangled - whether to fight or retreat, that is a question!
If you want to be on the safe side, the best way is to enter the nearest city and at the same time order the 10,000 troops from Shangdang heading north to move closer to you. You can even order the army from Daibei to go south to meet them, and at the same time order the cities along the way to be on alert.
By doing this, he can of course ensure completeness on his side, but at the same time, the small group of elite troops of the Qin Army will also get the news and will most likely give up the plan and disperse.
In this way, the safety is safer, but it slightly destroys the prestige of one's own family.
What's even worse is: once mobilized in this way, the Qin army will retreat, and if the Qin army retreats, it will inevitably not be able to annihilate them all. This is a very serious problem.
