Chapter 638: Zhao Army withdrew from Longguan

On the third day of the third month of the Tiantong year, Deng Han led the Qianniu Guard, Feipeng Guard and Taishan Guard to walk out of the Baoqianqiu Road and set foot on the vast Guanzhong land. Due to the two major battles between Li Siye last year, there was almost no Qin army in the Qinchuan area.

"Your Highness, we have entered the Guanzhong realm. What should we do next?" asked Yang Zongbao, the general of Feipeng Guard.

Deng Han looked around and said, "The soldiers were already a little tired after the marching for several days. Let's write down the spot for a while, and then send scouts to investigate the area within a radius of fifty miles to see if there are any traces of the Qin army."

"Here!" Yang Zongbao responded, and then sent a large number of scouts from the army to conduct investigations within a radius of fifty miles. The army built a simple camp on the spot. The scouts could not complete the investigation in one or two hours. So Deng Han planned to stay here for one night, but after all, it was not for a long time, so it was just a simple camp.

The next day, the scouts sent out had already investigated Qinchuan's radius of fifty miles, and Yang Zongbao and Xue Dingshan came to Deng Han's central army tent together.

"Report to Your Highness, according to the scout's return, there is no trace of the Qin army within a radius of fifty miles. What should you do next? Please tell me clearly!" Yang Zongbao said.

Deng Han thought for a while, then walked to the map, thought carefully, and then said: "According to Mingjing's news, the Qin army is now mainly stationed in Wugong County, and Wugong County has arranged a star-destroying crossbow formation within a radius of five miles. It is not appropriate to go rashly, so I plan to attack Chen Cang west, and then attack Yong County, Yumi, and Feng County, and head straight to Longguan!"

"Your Highness, isn't this contrary to our previous plan?" Deng Han's decision made Yang Zongbao and Xue Dingshan very puzzled. Didn't they come to attack Chang'an? Then they should go all the way east, why did they go west instead?

Deng Han explained: "Attacking Chang'an is of course our purpose, but it is not so easy to break through the star-destroying crossbow in Wugong County. If you want to break through the star-destroying crossbow formation, you must have a large number of cavalry, especially the Rangers, which are not something our army can have. The West Route Army of Li Siye is different. The West Route Army has incorporated a large number of Qiang cavalry. With these cavalry, it will be much easier to deal with the star-destroying crossbow formation. Therefore, I plan to first open the passage between Guanzhong and Xiliang, join forces with General Li Siye, and use the Qiang cavalry to defeat the star-destroying crossbow formation."

When Yang Zongbao and Xue Dingshan heard this, they immediately understood.

In the fifth year of Tiantong, on the eighth day of March, Deng Han led his army to capture Chen Cang and headed westward. On March 11th, he conquered Yong County and headed straight to Yumi.

At the same time, Li Siye's western army has also entered Long County, Tianshui County, and is only one step away from Longguan, the gateway to Guanzhong.

At this time, Zhao Kuo, the chief general of the Zhao army who was in charge of guarding Longguan, was suddenly panicked.

"General, Li Siye's army has entered Longxian and will soon arrive at the city of Longguan. News has also been heard from Guanzhong that a Deng army has entered Guanzhong again and successively captured Chencang, Yongxian, and Yumi, heading towards Longguan. Now our army is being attacked on both sides, so please get up early to decide!" Zhao Jun deputy general Chang Ju said to Zhao Kuo.

When Zhao Kuo heard this, he frowned and said, "Who is the leader of the Deng army in Guanzhong? How many troops are there?"

Chang Ju replied: "Return to the general, according to the spies' reward, the head general of the Deng army in Guanzhong is King of Jin of Deng, with a total of more than 100,000 troops."

"King of Jin in Deng State? There are more than 100,000 troops. If Li Siye's troops are added, the Deng army coming to our Longguan will have nearly 300,000 troops. The Deng army really respects us!" Hearing this, Zhao Kuo said sadly.

Zhao Kuo knew the difficulty of guarding Longguan. When Qin asked him to come at first, he refused in his heart. However, considering the alliance between the two countries and the Qin State was really no soldiers to send, Zhao Kuo would agree. But who knew that this time, he was soft-hearted and caused such a big trouble for himself. You must know that he only had 30,000 people. Although Longguan was in hand, he would not be the opponent of nearly 300,000 Deng's army no matter what.

"General, we have done our best to Qin. Deng's army is powerful and we cannot compete with us. Longguan cannot stay there. Otherwise, all our 30,000 brothers will die here." Chang Ju persuaded.

The Zhao army was just a guest army in Guanzhong. Although there was an alliance between Qin and Zhao, it did not mean that the Zhao army had to fight for the last soldiers and soldiers for Qin.

"What do you mean to retreat?" Zhao Kuo said.

Chang Ju nodded and said, "That's right, General, 300,000 Deng's army approaches Longguan, Guanxi is no longer defended. Even if we fight all 30,000 of us, we can't change anything. We can't watch 30,000 men die in a foreign land. These are all great men of my Dazhao."

"But retreat, where can we retreat? Chang'an cannot go. If we want to leave, we can only go north. But what can we do when we go north? Could it be that we retreat to the Great Zhao?" Zhao Kuo said in a striking manner. He came from Jinyang to make achievements. But now he has not fought a battle and has to run back to Zhao in shame. How can he raise his head?

"General!" Chang Ju said loudly: "You must remember that we are all from Zhao. Being able to come to Guanzhong thousands of miles away is already the most righteous. There is no need to work hard for Qin. It is necessary to make achievements, but there is no need to lose your life here for the sake of making achievements."

Chang Ju's words made Zhao Kuo wake up and thought to himself: Yes, I am from Zhao, not from Qin, so there is no need to lose my life in order to save Qin. This is not worth it.

So he looked at Chang Ju with gratitude and said, "I almost made a big mistake because of a single thought. Thanks to General Chang's wake me up. Thank you for General Chang."

"The general is so serious!" Chang Ju said: "You and I are both generals of the Great Zhao, and we should support each other. Moreover, as the son of General Zhao Xin, the general has a noble status and should cherish his life."

"General Chang is right!" Zhao Kuo said: "General Chang is a veteran general in the army. I wonder what the general thinks our army should do?"

Chang Ju thought for a while and said, "Now Li Siye's army has entered Longxian, and it can reach the city of Longguan in less than three days. The troops of King Jin of Deng State are approaching Xianxian. There are only a few hundred defenders in Xianxian, which cannot stop the Deng army at all. According to the last general, the Deng army can arrive in Longxian within five days. We should take advantage of the fact that the two Deng troops have not yet formed an encirclement against Longguan, and lead the army northward and retreat to Shangjun through Fengyi County. As for Chang'an, we can only help."

Zhao Kuo thought for a while and said, "Okay, as General Chang said, I will order the three armies to pack their luggage. In addition, in order not to delay the marching, the soldiers in the army will make dry food, and each person will bring dry food for fifteen days and go home with me!"

"General wise!" Chang Ju said.

With Zhao Kuo's slogan of returning home, Zhao Jun was full of energy. He had been in Guanzhong for almost a year and they all wanted to go home. When they were in the rich and rich place in Chang'an, this feeling was not so strong, but since they arrived in Longguan, Zhao Jun had all wanted to go home as soon as possible.

In the fifth year of Tiantong, on March 13, Zhao Kuo led a 30,000 army to evacuate from Longguan, heading north and heading straight for Fengyi County.

The next day, that is, the fifth year of Tiantong, on March 14, Li Siye led a large army to the city of Longguan. However, seeing the empty Longguan, Li Siye was puzzled. At first, he thought that the Zhao army had any conspiracy, but after careful investigation, he finally confirmed that all the Qin army in Longguan had been evacuated, and now there is only one empty city left.

After entering the city, Li Siye was still very puzzled by the Zhao army's retreat without fighting. At this time, Jia Xu walked in with the truth and said, "General, his subordinates finally know the reason why the Zhao army retreated without fighting."

"What exactly is the reason that made Zhao Jun give up Longguan?" Li Siye asked.

Jia Xu replied with a smile: "His highness of Jin's army has approached Xian County. The Zhao army must be afraid of being attacked by our army on both sides, so he dare not stay in Long County."

"So that's it!" When everyone heard this, they suddenly realized that it was because Deng Han's army was heading straight to Longguan. The Zhao army was afraid that they would be attacked from both sides, so they simply gave up Longguan.

"Mr. Jia, are you saying that the army of His Highness King Jin is approaching Xian County? No, shouldn't His Highness King Jin enter Chang'an east? According to the inference, His Highness King Jin's army should be outside Wugong County at this time." Deng Zhong, the general of Wudangwei, asked in confusion.

Everyone came to their senses after being reminded by Deng Zhong. Yes, shouldn't Deng Han be attacking Wugong County at this time? How could he come to Longguan? You must know that they were rushing to Chang'an just to be able to arrive at Chang'an before Deng Han conquered Chang'an, but who knew that Deng Han would not attack Chang'an, but went westward to Longguan.

"No matter what His Highness King Jin's idea is, being able to capture Longguan without bloodshed is also a good thing for our army. By the way, Junshi Jia, I wonder how long will His Highness King Jin reach Longguan?" Li Siye said.

Jia Xu replied: "I think His Highness King Jin can arrive at Longguan in less than three days."

Li Siye thought for a while and said, "Send someone to meet His Highness the King of Jin immediately, and say that I have conquered Longguan and asked him not to use it. I will lead my army eastward to join him." Since Longguan has been taken down, there is no need for Deng Han to come to Longguan again. Anyway, he will lead his army eastward.

"Here!" Jia Xu replied.

"Also, Military Advisor Jia, can you tell where the Zhao army retreated?" Li Siye asked again. Since the Zhao army left Longguan, where would it go? You must know that the Zhao army has 30,000 people. Although it does not pose any threat to the Deng army, it is also a problem that is neither big nor small, and it must not be taken lightly.

Jia Xu replied: "There is a 150,000 army of His Highness King Jin in the east, and the Zhao army will never advance eastward. In other words, the Zhao army cannot return to Chang'an, so there is only one direction, that is, to go north to Fengyi County and retreat to Zhao State through Fengyi County."

"Yes!" Li Siye nodded and said, "Since that's the case, Zhao Jun doesn't have to worry too much, just send someone to keep an eye on it."

"Here!" everyone responded.

When he received the news from Li Siye, Deng Han was ready to lead his army to leave Wenxian and continue to move westward. However, after receiving the news, Deng Han decided to return to Wenxian and wait for Li Siye's arrival.

In the fifth year of Tiantong, on March 19, Li Siye led a large army on the west route to arrive in Fengxian County and met with Deng Han.

In the county government office of Fengxian County, the generals of the two armies gathered together. Li Siye asked Deng Han: "Your Highness, shouldn't you go to attack Wugong County? Why did you come to Fengxian?"

Deng Han smiled bitterly and said, "General, I want to fight Wugong County, but I am really not sure that I can break through the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation outside Wugong County. You must know that whether it is Qianniu Guard or Feipeng Guard, Taishan Guard are soldiers who have not experienced the war. It is too difficult to let them attack the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation, so I plan to advance westward to meet with the General, and use the Qiang cavalry under the general to break through the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation. Otherwise, if I led my army to attack the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation, I would probably suffer heavy casualties."

When everyone heard this, they immediately realized that it was because of the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation. It was no wonder that when the West Route Army arrived outside Wugong County, they were also very troubled by the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation. After finally thinking of a solution, Deng Sheng sent him to attack Xiliang, which led to the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation staying safely outside Wugong County.

"Your Highness is calm!" Li Siye immediately looked at Deng Han with admiration. He did not expect that Deng Han was so steady and was greedy for merit and made arbitrary progress. In order not to let too many casualties of his troops, he chose to give up on the eastward advance of Chang'an. Li Siye did not believe that Deng Han could not break through the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation. You must know that Deng Han had an army of 150,000, and only 10,000 Star Destroyer crossbows could be destroyed by people's lives. Deng Han could still enter Chang'an, but Deng Han did not choose to do this.

"The General is praised, I am just doing what I can!" Deng Han said.

"Your Highness does not need to be too humble. You can withstand temptation. For the sake of your soldiers, you will give up the merits that are within your reach. Not everyone has such courage." Li Siye sighed.

"Thank you for your praise, General!" Deng Han said: "General, now the two armies have joined forces, and our army has a total of 300,000 people. What should we do next? Please tell us clearly!"

"I wonder what Your Highness thinks he should do?" Li Siye asked back.

Deng Han thought for a while and said, "I think that although the Zhao army is gone, it is not so easy to conquer Chang'an. Now that our army is advancing eastward, the strength of the Qin army in Chang'an will definitely not be able to stop it. Therefore, Qin will definitely draw border troops and horses back to Chang'an. Since this is the case, it is better for us to make the news bigger and scare Qin. It is best to withdraw all the troops of Bai Qi and Ying Huai back to Chang'an. In this way, General Xue Rengui and General Murong Ke can enter Guanzhong, and the army of Jieshi will meet and fight with the Qin army in Chang'an City. One battle will determine the world."

"But in this case, there will be great casualties." Li Siye thought for a while and said.

Of course, the decisive battle would be good, but in this way, the Deng army would have a total of 700,000 troops, while the Qin army would have more than 100,000 troops and nearly one million troops would have a decisive battle. Besides, the Qin army would have Chang'an City in hand and a large killing weapon like the Star Destroyer Crossbow Formation. Even if it could be won, there would be huge casualties.

"General!" Deng Han said: "As the saying goes, "Ci doesn't control the troops. If we only go to Chang'an, the Qin army would only need to draw tens of thousands of people. In addition to Chang'an City and the Star Destroying Crossbow Formation, it would not be so easy for our army to take down Chang'an City. Once it takes too long, the Zhao army will quell the Hu people's rebellion, and it will probably be complicated."

Li Siye thought about it and felt that Deng Han’s words were very reasonable. Once the Zhao State quelled the Hu people’s rebellion and had no worries, hundreds of thousands of Zhao troops would go south in large numbers. By then, not only would the time for destroying Qin will be longer, but the casualties will be greater.

"Okay, as Your Highness said, then we will make the momentum bigger so that Qin will withdraw the troops on the border. We will have a grand decisive battle with the Qin army in Chang'an City, and one battle will determine the world!" Li Siye said.

"The general is wise!" everyone said in unison.
Chapter completed!