With the current situation, it is estimated that it will be very difficult to hold on for another day. By then, not only will Zaocheng be defeated, but everyone will most likely die in battle.
The words of the deputy general made Kong Wei even more confused. He was not a man who fought to the death. He hesitated for a long time and then said: "If we retreat to Xiangyang like this, we may be subject to military law. What should we do if we are charged with deserting before the battle?"
"The general is over-concerned." The deputy general said: "What does it mean to run away from the battle? Han Shuai refused to send reinforcements. He is obviously planning to abandon Zaocheng. Since he is giving up, how can our troops sacrifice themselves in vain and engage in a meaningless battle?"
After hearing his explanation, Kong Wei seemed to be suddenly enlightened, nodded slowly and said: "Yes, this makes sense."
"What does the general think?" the deputy general asked quickly.
"Withdraw your troops." Kong Wei no longer hesitated and said immediately: "In order to prevent the Qin army from pursuing, we have to abandon unnecessary baggage and use the cover of night to retreat lightly."
"No!" the deputy general hurriedly accepted the order.
Here they decided to abandon the city and retreat, and the military order was quickly conveyed.
On the other side, the Qin army camp.
In the Chinese army's tent, Su Yi was still looking at the sand table. What he was looking at was not Zaocheng, but the terrain near Xiangyang.
The other generals were discussing the Battle of Zaocheng.
After a moment, Goldman clasped his fists and said: "Commander Su, Zaocheng's city defenses are dilapidated and there are not enough defenders. Our army only needs to make repeated attacks and we will surely win. Why is this so?"
Su Yi seemed to have finally finished studying something. He looked away from the sand table and said: "Serial attacks have caused heavy casualties to the soldiers. In Zaocheng, there is no need for us to kill a thousand enemies and suffer eight hundred losses."
As he spoke, he explained: "In the past two days, the Chu army resisted desperately because in their hearts, reinforcements were coming. But now, there is no movement in Hanzhou. It is obvious that they are giving up Zaocheng, and there is no hope for reinforcements. The morale of the Chu army here will be greatly reduced and they will become vulnerable."
"We are not competing for time now, so take it as easy as you can."
After listening to what he said, Goldman Sachs nodded: "The general understands that Su Shuai is waiting for the enemy to lose all their energy and have no fighting spirit, and he will win with one more blow."
The search for fighter planes requires a commander's military vision, and Su Yi does have this plan.
But before he could say anything, a spy ran in quickly, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "Report to Commander Su, we found that Kong Wei's troops are heading towards Xiangyang."
"Oh? It seems that Kong Wei abandoned the city and fled before he could wait for reinforcements." Su Yi was happy, looked at the spy and said, "How many miles away is it?"
"About forty or fifty miles."
"Can the enemy army carry food, grass and baggage?"
"It was dark at night, so I couldn't see it clearly, but judging from its marching speed, it should be a light and fast move." The spy returned.
"Okay, you go ahead." Su Yi gestured.
"No!" The spy bowed and retreated.
After he left, Goldman said tentatively: "Commander Su, do you want to send cavalry to pursue him? Maybe we can take advantage of the situation and annihilate Kong Wei's troops."
"Forget it." Su Yi waved his hand and said, "It's far away from here, and Kong Wei is marching lightly and quickly, almost to Xiangyang. By the time the cavalry arrives, I'm afraid it will be too late, and it's late at night, so there are many things wrong. "
He disagreed with the pursuit. Firstly, it was meaningless, and secondly, there were certain risks.
Goldman Sachs said nothing more, but Ning Zhan said: "Commander Su, since Kong Wei has abandoned the city, after we enter Zaocheng and rest for a while, should the whole army go south?"
"Don't worry." Su Yi said calmly: "In this battle, the victory or defeat of Zaocheng is not important. The Xiangyang front is the most important. Now all the troops of the Chu army are concentrated in Xiangyang City and they will advance quickly. Even if they can reach the city, It has no effect, so we should prepare a good place to stay and open up the situation for the king."
As he spoke, he also drew out his war sword, pointed at the sand table and said:
"After our army rested in Zaocheng, the Ning War Department quickly occupied Tancheng and Xikou on the right side of Zaocheng. The Xu Rong Department recovered the three nearby counties centered on Linggang as quickly as possible, and ordered the Wei Qing Department to take Hanjiagou Push forward thirty miles to the southwest and build a military fortress at Tanggu Road to echo our main force."
"No!" All the generals accepted the order.
After issuing these orders, Su Yi also reached out and moved the small black flags representing the Qin army from the sand table one by one.
Looking further, there are many small black flags, already condescending to Xiangyang.
His intention is also very obvious, which is to first occupy all the counties north of Xiangyang, so that he can advance and retreat in an invincible position. When Xiao Yuan leads his army, he can expand the front line at will, covering hundreds of miles. .
The next day, the Qin army entered Zaocheng.
The county magistrate here ran away early, but the people were still there. Facing the Qin army, naturally the doors and windows were closed and they did not dare to show their faces. The streets were deserted.
Following Xiao Yuan's military order not to burn, kill or loot, Su Yi immediately ordered people to post notices to calm the people after entering the city.
Next, the Qin army took a temporary rest, and then according to Su Yi's instructions, each department sent troops and began to recover the surrounding counties.
As for the Chu army, the main force is all in Xiangyang City, and there are no troops stationed outside at all. Therefore, occupying various places is just a matter of arriving with troops.
Judging from the map, the Qin army began to spread rapidly north of Xiangyang.
Hanzhou's strategy of only sticking to Xiangyang was good or bad. After all, he was still worried that if his troops were dispersed, they would be gradually cannibalized by the Qin army.
Another day later, Kong Wei, who abandoned the city and fled, also entered Xiangyang.
In the meeting hall, after running all night, he looked somewhat embarrassed. After saluting, he bent down and stood below, feeling anxious in his heart, fearing that Hanzhou would be blamed.
Hanzhou did not delve into his retreat, because as Deputy General Zaocheng said, this was what he planned to give up.
However, regarding Kong Wei's cowardice, Han Zhou still glared at him with dissatisfaction, waved his hand angrily: "Stand aside!"
"Yes, yes..." Kong Wei didn't dare to say anything back, he just kept saying it, feeling somewhat relieved when he raised his voice.
Next, Hanzhou ignored him and started a military discussion with the generals.
Based on the current war situation, a biased general said: "The scouting horse reported that after Su Yi entered Zaocheng, he did not make a large-scale invasion of Xiangyang. Instead, he divided several troops and occupied Tancheng, Xikou, Linggang and other counties. And there is a group of elite troops camped near Tanggu Road..."
While the general was speaking, Han Zhou had already stood up. Similar to Su Yi, he planted the small black flags of the Qin army on the sand table one by one at the places mentioned by the general.
After he saw the distribution of troops on the sand table, he also frowned and said in a solemn voice:
"It seems that Su Yi wants to occupy various strongholds first and then look at Xiangyang. If this is the case, the Qin army may have to launch a long-term attack on Xiangyang..."
