Hearing this, Zhang Heng shook his head slightly.
"Don't be impatient, Mr. Xuande, we have to wait a little longer."
"Wait!" Zhang Fei shouted, "If the city wall collapses, we will be passive. Ziyi, let me go to fight. I will rush out at night with a thousand soldiers and horses, and I will not What do you think of fighting the enemy and only burning the oars and then coming back?"
The stone lacquer arson incident at the top of the city the day before yesterday gave Zhang Fei a great stimulus, and he even had some unfinished thoughts. Zhang Fei seemed to have transformed into the outlaw Zhang San.
Facing Zhang Fei who was eager to try, Zhang Heng just rolled his eyes.
"Yide, do you believe this?"
Once you get close to the oar, you will definitely be surrounded by Xu Rongjun who rushes out. You won't be able to escape without fighting.
"How long do we have to wait?" Liu Bei was silent for a moment and asked the most critical question.
Zhang Heng looked up at the sky.
"Wait one more day, before noon tomorrow, if there is no news from Wenyuan, we will lead the army out of the city and fight Xu Rong openly."
"good!"
Liu Bei nodded heavily.
…
night.
Outside the city, Xu Rong camped.
Xu Rong was dignified and silent. He didn't like drinking, and he was not good at camp. Although his military skills and strategies were excellent, he was never reused.
When he has free time on weekdays, his favorite thing is to read.
Yes, speaking of it, Xu Rong was still a Confucian general, and he especially loved reading the Art of War and biographies of famous generals from past dynasties in history books.
He is an idealistic person and has always had the ambition to make achievements.
Since he set up the Thunderbolt Chariot Formation the day before yesterday, he has ordered the entire army to hibernate. Just as Zhang Heng expected, while he sent heavy troops to ambush the area, he let the thunderbolt chariots continue to project into the city.
But after two or three days in a row, Liu Bei neither went out of the city to fight nor sent people to burn the oars. Instead, he acted like a coward.
Seeing that the fish did not take the bait, Xu Rong was not impatient and even read his favorite military book in his spare time.
Soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival. We must pay attention to them!
This sentence is the principle that Xu Rong adheres to throughout his life. Precisely because the military is dangerous, he will never put his own chips down until he is completely sure.
Not to mention three days, even thirty days, it doesn’t matter. The war is not so easy to win. With the Xingyang granary at his back, he was not afraid of losing his battle with these Kwantung bandits.
After reading the military book under the oil lamp for half an hour, Xu Rong felt his eyes were a little sore, so he stood up, put on his armor, and prepared to patrol outside the tent.
After all, it’s because I’m getting older and my eyesight is not working properly.
Xu Rong looked at the brilliant starry sky above his head and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
We are in troubled times that have not been seen for hundreds of years. This should be a great opportunity for people with lofty ideals to make contributions, but I am old and unable to do what I want.
When Xu Rong got up this morning, he suddenly found a strand of white hair growing on his head. Then he suddenly remembered that he was already forty-two years old, how many more good years could he have?
The days and months are wasted, people are getting old, and their achievements have not been completed. It is heartbreaking to think about them.
In comparison, he quite envied Zhang Liao. This son is not only brave and resourceful, but also in his prime. If he does not die young, he will surely shine in the future.
Just as Xu Rong was sighing, there was sudden commotion ahead.
Xu Rong frowned, and when he was about to step forward to check, he saw several soldiers in ragged clothes rushing over, threw themselves on their knees in front of Xu Rong, and cried loudly: "General, Xingyang is lost!"
"What!"
Xu Rong's intuition was spinning, and he could hardly stand, so much so that he didn't even hear what the soldier said behind him.
"General, general!"
The soldiers rushed over and hugged Xu Rong, shouting with concern.
"You...speak carefully..." After a moment, Xu Rong came to his senses and pointed at the soldiers with trembling fingers, "What happened? The city's defenses in Xingyang are so solid, how could it be lost?"
"It's Zhang Liao! General, Zhang Liao has surrendered to the enemy. He led the bandits to trick him into opening the city gate and captured Xingyang in a surprise attack. The villain risked his life to break out!"
Hearing this, Xu Rong's heart sank completely and his eyes dimmed.
Even if these people succeeded in breaking through, it was clear that Zhang Liao deliberately let them back. There is only one purpose, to disrupt your own military morale!
This routine was very familiar to Xu Rong. It was similar to the thunderbolt car formation he set up at the bottom of the city the day before yesterday.
"General, what should we do now?"
The soldier next to him immediately asked.
what to do?
Xu Rong laughed miserably.
What else can be done?
There are enemy troops in front, and the rear is cut off. He is caught in the middle and has become a lone army.
Supplies have been cut off, and there is no need for the enemy to attack. As long as he is delayed for half a month, all 5,000 of his men will starve to death!
Is there any way to survive now?
A flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in Xu Rong's mind, and he turned around and strode towards the tent.
"General?"
The soldier shouted in confusion from behind.
"Don't follow me, go and call me the army chief! In addition, block the news. Don't let the news of Xingyang's fall get out. Anyone who dares to spread rumors in the army will be killed!"
"only!"
Xu Rong quickly walked into the tent, his eyes immediately focused on the map behind Shuai's case.
Now I am at the foot of Juan County, about a hundred miles away from Xingyang. There is no way to go back to Xingyang now. Even if Zhang Liao doesn't have many soldiers and horses, he will never be able to capture Xingyang within a few days. By then, he will inevitably be attacked from both sides.
Thinking of this, Xu Rong's eyes moved down to Longcheng in the southwest of Juan County.
Xingyang is in the west, Juan County is in the east, and directly south of the middle area between the two counties, there is a small city called Longcheng.
Longcheng is not even an administrative unit at the county level. It is just a small city. Strictly speaking, it is under the rule of Xingyang. To put it bluntly, the scale is similar to the street pavilion that Ma Su would guard decades later.
But just such a small town has become Xu Rong's life-saving straw at this moment.
Once you can withdraw your troops to Longcheng, you can build defenses, gain a firm foothold and continue to retreat south, passing through Jingxian County just south of Xingyang, then bypassing Meishan and returning to Xuanyuan Pass, one of the eight passes in Luoyang.
There, Niu Fu's general Zhang Ji led a heavy army to garrison, and he would be safe by then.
But the current question is, will the enemy allow him to cross the mountains and return to Xuanyuan Pass?
Even if the enemy troops in Juan County were not aware of it, there were still several problems facing Xu Rong.
First, although the retreat from here to Longcheng is less than seventy miles, it has to pass through the Yingou River and the Bian River. There is no official road in between, and the road is muddy and rugged, not enough for the army to pass.
Both of them, at the same time that they received the news, Juan County City also definitely received warnings of the fall of Xingyang. I am afraid that the enemy is already planning how to surround their lone army.
Finally, and the most critical point, retreating all the way to Longcheng, then to Jingxian County, and finally back to Xuanyuan Pass took a long time, at least ten days. Do you have enough food and grass?
While Xu Rong was thinking, the military chief followed him into the tent, clasped his fists at Xu Rong and said, "General, what are you calling your subordinates for?"
Xu Rong took a deep breath, stared at the army chief, and said solemnly: "Let me ask you, how much food does our army still have?"
"Back to the general, there are still six days of food in the army. Calculating the time, the next batch of food and grass should be delivered tomorrow." The army commander said with his fists.
The next batch of grain and grass will not come again!
Xu Rong lamented in his heart, but his face remained calm. He waved his hand and said, "I will give you an order. Starting from tomorrow, the army's food will be halved!"
Six days of food and grass should be enough if you use them sparingly.
"Why is this?" the military commander asked in shock.
Pay arrears in the army often happen, and soldiers generally understand it, as long as they can get it into their hands at the end of the war.
But withholding food can easily lead to mutiny.
The soldiers are all hard-working people with their heads in their belts. They work hard every day. Every meal may be the last meal. If they are not fed, then don't blame them for turning against them.
"What, are you questioning this general?" Xu Rong glanced at the army chief, and the words in his mouth were extremely cold.
Xu Rong had been a soldier for half his life, so he didn't understand this truth, but there was really nothing he could do now.
The chief secretary of the army quickly raised his hands and said: "I don't dare!"
"Go down and give the order."
"As you command!"
The military commander responded and turned around.
Xu Rong summoned the messenger again and said: "My general ordered me to send an additional 500 patrol soldiers tonight to prevent the enemy from hijacking the camp at night. In addition, early tomorrow morning, the entire army will pack up and march towards Longcheng." Let’s go!”
Xu Rong understood that after the enemy troops in the city knew the news, they would definitely do everything possible to prevent him from withdrawing, and they might even attack tonight, so it was necessary to make adequate preparations in advance.
"As you command!"
The messenger clasped his fists and left. Just as he walked outside the tent, Xu Rong's voice came from inside again.
"In addition, let the soldiers driving the thunder chariots in the front throw all night long, without even a moment's neglect."
"As you command!"
After arranging all this, Xu Rong let out a long sigh of relief.
Now I just hope that the enemy troops in the city will not react so quickly and give me time to retreat.
But will he get his wish?
