Early the next morning, Yan He and others ordered their troops and horses to line up outside the city, and then sent people to the Han army's camp to hand over the letter of war.
Unexpectedly, the messenger came to the gate of the Han army camp and shouted for a long time but received no response. So he boldly stepped forward to check, but was surprised to find that the Han soldiers on the arrow tower were all disguised as straw men. He immediately turned around and reported back to Yan He.
Yan He was surprised when he heard this, and immediately ordered Bian Bao to lead two thousand cavalry into the camp to investigate. Bian Bao carefully led the army into the camp and found that it was empty. The Han army had already disappeared.
"General Yan, there are not a single Shu soldier in the stronghold. There are only hundreds of straw men scattered everywhere. I think the Shu army escaped last night." Bian Bao said when he returned to the formation.
Yan He nodded and asked Bian Bao to go to the Han camp in Beicheng to check. Soon after, Bian Bao came back and said that the situation in Beicheng was the same.
"It seems that when the Shu army saw our army coming, they knew they were no match and withdrew overnight." Yan He analyzed.
Bian Bao said: "I think so too. If we lead tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to help, the Shu army will no longer be able to attack Linjin. Yang Qing is also a smart man who is good at judging the situation. He knows that there is no point in staying here any longer." It’s meaningless, so I decided to withdraw decisively based on a fool’s plan.”
"This Yang Qing ran too fast. It's a pity that he couldn't stay in Linjin." Wu Gui on the side sighed softly, remembering the mission of annihilating the enemy given by Cao Zhen.
Bian Bao snorted and said coldly: "They haven't escaped yet. If I chase them now, I still have a chance to defeat them."
"Yes, the task of relieving the siege of Linjin has been completed. Now it is time to catch up with Yang Qing and the others to complete the second task assigned to us by the general."
Yan He paused for a moment, then turned to Bao Bao and asked, "Do you know which direction the Shu army fled?"
"The West." Bian Bao said without thinking: "Although the Shu army escaped quietly last night, it still left many traces. Just now I checked the Shu village and found that the road outside the west gate was full of traces of trampled weeds. , they must have gone west."
Yan He said: "To the west? To the west is Beidi County. It is very likely that the Shu army will return the same way and go to Qixian County to join the Shu army there."
"The general is absolutely right. I'm afraid this is the plan of the Shu army." Wu Gui also had the same idea.
Yan He said: "In that case, General Bian, please lead five thousand light cavalry to the west to pursue the Shu army. Once you catch up, don't act rashly. Just bite the enemy and wait until I arrive with my army before launching an attack."
"Don't worry, General Yan, I will save you money."
Bian Bao cupped his hands, clamped his legs, urged his horse, and led five thousand cavalry in pursuit to the west.
In a valley ten miles south of Fuping City, Feng Chong was leading a thousand Han riders to rest here. They had traveled all night and were already exhausted.
Although Niyang and Fuping, the only two cities in the north, had been conquered by the Han army before, the Han army did not leave any officers or soldiers to garrison them. They only allowed the people in the city to elect a few highly respected sage directors.
It was already daylight when Feng Chong and the others entered Fuping. Therefore, in order to avoid leaking the news, Feng Chong did not lead his troops to approach the county seat, but instead went around to this valley to rest.
Of course, in order to make the Wei people believe that they had five thousand troops, Feng Chong still sent a message to the city and ordered the people in the city to prepare meals for five thousand people and send them to the valley. In this way, when the Wei army chased Fuping and asked, they would definitely I will have no doubt about Feng Chong and the others.
"Have you ever seen the Shu army?"
When Bian Bao led his army to catch up to Fuping without stopping, he immediately summoned the village elder in charge for questioning.
The leader of the village, whose surname was Zhu, cupped his hands and replied: "General, the Han army... no... the Shu army did rest in the valley outside the city, and asked me to wait for him. They prepared meals for five thousand people and sent them.”
"Well, where is the Shu army now?"
The village elder surnamed Zhu replied: "I left half a day ago."
"Do you know which direction it went in?" Bian Bao continued to ask.
The old man surnamed Zhu said: "It should be heading north."
"Oh, the north?" Bian Bao asked, "Have you seen with your own eyes the Shu army escaping to the north?"
"Not really. Not long ago, we were afraid that the Shu army would ask for food, so we sent people to the valley to check. The five thousand Shu army there had long since disappeared, but according to a hunter in the north of the valley, last night I saw the Shu army heading north."
Bian Bao nodded slightly: "I see." He thought to himself: "Isn't the Shu army going to retreat west to Qixian County? Why did it go north?"
He thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with any clues, so he decided not to worry about it and caught up with the Han army as soon as possible.
"The Shu army is afraid of King Wang and will not dare to return to the north. Soon the court will send officials to govern Fuping. You continue to maintain order and stabilize people's livelihood, and wait honestly for the officials to come back." Bian Bao said to all the village elders. warned.
The village elders bowed and said: "General, don't worry, we will understand."
Bian Bao hummed, then said nothing, got on his horse, ran outside the city, joined a group of soldiers and continued to pursue north.
Ganquan Mountain is east of Jingshui River and is the starting point of Qinzhidao. In the early Han Dynasty, there was a palace built at the southern foot of the mountain, which was the famous Ganquan Palace. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and other early Han kings often went to this Ganquan Palace to escape the summer heat.
It is a pity that with the passage of time, this magnificent royal palace in the past has been destroyed in the war, and now only the platform base, broken walls, pillar holes and other relics remain.
Yang Qing looked at these relics and couldn't help but sigh with emotion. In the past, when Ganquan Palace was still there, the Han Dynasty was prosperous. Now that Ganquan Palace has been destroyed, the Han Dynasty is in decline. This is really the reason why the Han Dynasty was prosperous and also in decline. Let the Han Dynasty perish!
"Your Majesty, the pontoon bridge has been built and the army can cross the river." Just as Yang Qing closed his eyes and felt helpless in the vicissitudes of life, Liu Yin's report interrupted his thoughts.
Yang Qing opened his eyes and looked at the fearless and resolute expressions of Liu Yin and others. The sadness caused by the historical changes just now was instantly swept away. He got on his horse and waved his hand: "Let's go."
Ganquan Palace is only more than ten miles away from the east bank of Jingshui River. Yang Qing and others arrived at the shore soon. At this moment, a pontoon bridge based on a boat and a wooden plank road came into view, and the vanguard led by Zhang Ni had already passed by. , is now waving to them from the West Bank.
"Shijun, let's go there as well. Don't keep Bo Qi and the others anxious." Liu Yin said with a smile.
Yang Qing also smiled, nodded and said: "Then give the order to cross the river."
"Cross the river!" Liu Yin immediately raised the flag in his hand and shouted loudly.
So the sergeants who had already lined up in two lines led their mounts, and under the leadership of their senior officers, they went up the bridge and crossed the river in order.
More than half an hour later, there was no more Han soldiers on the east bank, and all four thousand Han cavalry had crossed to the west bank.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with this pontoon bridge? Should it be burned down?" Zhang Yi approached and asked.
Yang Qingdao: "If you don't burn it, hide the wooden planks of these boats and leave a few people to guard them. We will need these things in the future."
"Your Majesty, do you think we have to cross the Jing River again in the future?"
Yang Qing smiled and said: "Yes, this is very possible."
"Before marching eastward to Beidi, Feng Yi and I have already crossed the Jingshui River once. Now we have crossed the Jingshui River for the second time. Doesn't it mean that our army still needs to cross the Jingshui River three times?" Liu Yin interjected.
Yang Qing said with a mysterious face: "Perhaps it is very possible to cross the Jingshui River not only three times, but also four times." After that, he laughed loudly and urged his mount to move forward.
Zhang Yi and Liu Yin looked at each other. Although they were a little confused, they still followed excitedly.
