Liu Xiu got up, put on a robe, and walked out of the sleeping tent. Zhang Kun, Long Yuan and others outside saw Liu Xiu coming out, and they all bowed and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty!"
"Yeah!" Liu Xiu nodded, moving his arms and asked, "What are you talking about? It's so lively?"
Zhang Kun shrank in fear and did not dare to answer. Long Yuan and others looked at Zhang Kun and smiled without saying a word. Before Liu Xiu could ask any more questions, Fu Jun and Lai She came over and saluted Liu Xiu.
Said: "Your Majesty!"
"Pingsheng!"
"How is your Majesty's recovery?" Fu Jun asked with concern.
Liu Xiu stretched his muscles and said, "There is no serious problem." After a pause, he said, "After breakfast, we will gather all the generals to discuss matters in the central military tent."
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Fu Jun responded quickly. Liu Xiu asked: "Is there any battle report yesterday?"
Fu Jun said: "General Jianwei has joined forces with General Captor and General Tulu. However, our troops only have 30,000 troops, while the enemy's troops exceed 60,000. The situation of this battle cannot be tolerated."
optimism!"
Liu Xiu was silent for a while, nodded and said, "I understand."
When Liu Xiu returned to the sleeping tent, he found Luo You still lying on the bed. He stepped forward and looked down. Luo You was not successful in pretending to be asleep. At least the trembling eyelids from time to time betrayed her.
Liu Xiu smiled, stretched out his hand, and pinched Luo You's delicate nose.
After a while, Luo You couldn't stand it anymore. She opened her mouth and breathed in haha. She opened her eyes, looked at Liu Xiu pitifully, and said softly: "Your Majesty."
"It's three o'clock in the morning, it's time to get up."
Luo You's face turned red and she whispered: "Yesterday, maid... maid..."
Liu Xiu said casually: "You are sleeping very deeply." He also pressed my arm for the whole night.
Luo You sat up from the bed, looked at Liu Xiu with her bright beautiful eyes, and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, don't you blame the maid?"
Liu Xiu smiled and said, "I allowed you to sleep on the couch last night. Why do you blame me? Get up quickly, wash up, and eat."
Liu Xiu was not very picky about the cost of food and drink. After a hasty breakfast, Liu Xiu went to the Chinese army tent. When he came in, the tent was already full of people, including both civil and military officials.
Seeing Liu Xiu coming in, everyone stood up, bowed their hands and saluted, saying in unison: "Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu sat in the middle, waving his hands to the people on both sides, indicating that everyone should sit down. After everyone took their seats, Liu Xiu said bluntly: "A few days ago, our unit was attacked by a large number of enemy troops at the beginning of the mountain, and the camp was destroyed.
, out of 10,000 soldiers, only more than 3,000 escaped. General Jianwei's army was at a disadvantage in the battle in Long County. Now he joined forces with the two generals, the captives and the captives. With 30,000 soldiers against more than 60,000 enemies, the situation was unbearable.
Optimistic; General Wei Wei attacked Qin Ting, but Qin Ting had many defenders and the war has not made progress." At this point, Liu Xiu looked at Fu Jun again and said: "General Jinu led his troops to attack Longguan, but Longguan
The terrain of the pass is steep, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack, and our troops will not be able to attack it for a long time."
Having said this, Liu Xiu sighed softly. From the current point of view, his own division of troops was a complete defeat. He glanced at the people in the Chinese army tent and asked: "Do you have any good strategies for the current war?"
Everyone looked at each other and lowered their heads. At this point in the battle, one's side was already at a comprehensive disadvantage. If the battle continued, one's side's battle losses would only increase.
There was silence in the Chinese army tent. After a long time, Fu Jun finally spoke: "Your Majesty, I believe that the enemy is fully prepared but we are not prepared enough, so this battle... has no chance of winning."
After hearing this, everyone's expressions changed and their heads dropped lower. In fact, everyone thought so in their hearts, but no one dared to say this. The war was not over yet, so they said that their side had no chance of winning.
This is a statement that shakes the morale of the military. If you look into it further, you can definitely be punished and severely punished.
Liu Xiu looked at Fu Jun and asked, "What about Yi Ziwei's opinion?"
Fu Jun said sternly: "Withdraw your troops! Your Majesty, while our army still has a chance to escape unscathed, we must make a decisive decision and withdraw from Hanyang. This will also stop the loss to the maximum extent."
Liu Xiu looked at Fu Jun and remained silent. On the other side of the civil servants, Lai She coughed dryly and said, "Your Majesty, I think General Fu's words are reasonable. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you survive a hundred battles. But now, what our army knows about the enemy is
Very few, but the enemy knows our army very well, and our army is fighting in the enemy's territory, so victory is already... very slim."
When Lai She finished speaking, the tent became silent again. Liu Xiu rubbed his chin, his eyes flickering. At this time, his brain was also running rapidly, thinking about whether his side still had a chance to turn defeat into victory.
But no matter how he thought or deduced, it was really difficult for his side to win. After thinking about it again and again, Liu Xiu took a deep breath, turned his head and said, "Zhang Kun!"
"My slave is here!" Zhang Kun, who was standing aside, hurriedly bowed and saluted.
"Draft an edict, send orders to establish authority, capture prisoners, punish prisoners, support and intimidate all the ministries, all retreat, exit Hanyang, and return to Sanfu!"
Zhang Kun looked at Liu Xiu blankly and did not answer immediately. This time, we are conquering Hanyang, but the emperor is personally conducting the expedition. Even if we urgently mobilize troops from other places, we cannot retreat. This would be too detrimental to His Majesty's reputation.
.
He bowed and said: "Your Majesty, think twice..."
Liu Xiu said firmly: "Draw up the decree!"
"His Majesty……"
"I'll let you draft the decree!" Liu Xiu frowned and looked at Zhang Kun displeased. Zhang Kun didn't dare to say more, bowed to Liu Xiu and said, "Slave, I will draft the decree now."
.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Jun stood up and left the table, knelt down and kowtowed to Liu Xiu, and said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise!"
The other civil servants and generals in the Chinese military tent also left their seats one after another, kowtowed to Liu Xiu, and said in unison: "Your Majesty is wise!"
When the war has reached this stage, withdrawing troops is the most rational choice. If, for the sake of face and anger, we insist on not retreating and continue fighting, maybe one hundred thousand soldiers will be buried in Hanyang County.
After the discussion, Liu Xiu deliberately stayed with Fu Jun. No one else was present, and both of them felt much more relaxed. Liu Xiu also specially asked Zhang Kun to make a pot of tea, and he and Fu Jun drank tea while discussing the matter.
Fu Jun said: "Your Majesty, this battle is unfavorable because our army's intelligence is weak."
Liu Xiu also nodded with the same feeling and said: "Yes, we have no idea how many troops the enemy has deployed in Hanyang, what arrangements they have made overtly or covertly, and even where the enemy's defense focus is."
Fu Jun said sternly: "Our army came to Chang'an from Luoyang. We only rested briefly in Chang'an before advancing into Hanyang. We don't know anything about everything here. If this battle is fought by General Zhengxi, it will not be possible.
I feel that this situation will never happen. General Zhengxi has been stationed in Sanfu for many years. He has already placed many eyes and ears in Hanyang County. If there is any trouble in Hanyang County, General Zhengxi will be aware of it at the first time.
.”
Liu Xiu deeply believed Fu Jun's statement. Without Feng Yi's assistance, they would have been completely blind in Hanyang County. Fu Jun continued: "Your Majesty, I believe that our army's temporary retreat is not to attack the enemy."
Let’s admit defeat, but stay away from the edge for now. When General Zhengxi leads his troops back to Sanfu, it won’t be too late for our army to send troops to Hanyang, but..." At this point, he paused and looked at Liu Xiu with concern.
Liu Xiuxiao asked: "Just what? Ziwei just said it doesn't matter!"
"It's just that, people may say that your majesty's leadership of the army is far inferior to that of the general who conquered the west." At this point, Fu Jun lowered his head.
Liu Xiu was startled at first, then he looked up and smiled and said: "As long as we can win, as long as the casualties of our soldiers can be minimized, even if I am not as good as Gongsun, I will happily accept it."
He still has a bit of heart and mind. If Liu Xiu was jealous of talents, he would not have gathered so many talents under his command.
On the second day after meeting Fu Jun, Liu Xiu issued a retreat order to all the troops. It must be said that Liu Xiu's decision was very decisive, but even so, all the troops of the Han army wanted to retreat intact.
, is not an easy task either.
In particular, the three Han armies, Geng Yan, Ma Wu, and Wang Ba, have penetrated deep into Long County. In the process of retreating, they will inevitably be chased and intercepted by the enemy. In fact, this is indeed the case.
After receiving Liu Xiu's edict, Geng Yan, Ma Wu, and Wang Ba immediately gathered their troops.
Wei Xiao's army also reacted quickly. They saw that the Han army was shrinking its troops and showing signs of retreat. The more than 60,000 Kai Xiao's army began to approach the Han army in an orderly manner. The two wings rushed forward while the Chinese army dragged back.
, put on a pocket formation posture.
Geng Yan, Ma Wu, and Wang Ba had disagreements about how to retreat.
Both Ma Wu and Wang Ba believed that their retreat should take the main road. In this way, they could retreat to the Longguan area as quickly as possible and rendezvous with His Majesty. However, Geng Yan believed that this was inappropriate because the enemy would inevitably set up traps on the main road.
There are layers of interceptions. If one's own side retreats through the main road, it may be blocked by the enemy's army halfway. At this time, the pursuers from behind will come up to pursue them, and one's own soldiers will be in danger of being annihilated.
Therefore, Geng Yan believed that he should take a small road. Although the distance was longer and more rugged, it would be safer.
After listening to Geng Yan's suggestion, Ma Wu and Wang Ba frowned. Ma Wu said: "Bo Zhao, our army's baggage is quite heavy. The paths you chose are mostly rugged mountain roads. How about our army's baggage?"
Transport?”
Geng Yan said: "Take away as much as you can. If you can't take away, leave all behind."
Wang Ba said: "In this case, our army's losses will be too great!"
Geng Yan said: "The baggage is gone and can be bought and remade. Compared with the life and death of the entire army, what does this mere baggage mean?"
Ma Wu said unconvinced: "Taking a small detour back to Sanfu will greatly slow down our army!"
Geng Yan said: "Of course our army's speed will slow down, but can the enemy's speed be faster?"
Ma Wu and Wang Ba looked at each other and said nothing.
Geng Yan said: "I am the general, you two listen to me. Walk through Wushan, go to Qin Pavilion first, meet up with General Zang Gong, and then go from Qin Pavilion to Longguan to meet up with His Majesty! Something really went wrong, everything will happen.
It’s all my responsibility!”
Wang Ba pondered for a moment and asked: "So, where are the soldiers we left behind at Jiequan and Qingshui?"
"Abandon the city and let the soldiers retreat to Sanfu!" Geng Yan said decisively.
Ma Wu spread his hands and said: "Jiequan and Qingshui City, are we just giving up to each other?"
Geng Yan narrowed his eyes and said: "The enemy must hope that we can defend these two cities. In this way, the enemy can attack our army separately and encircle and annihilate it!"
Wang Ba nodded and said: "Based on the current situation, our army cannot hold the two cities of Jiequan and Qingshui, so we have no choice but to give up!"
Ma Wu couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said angrily: "What kind of battle is this? It's so annoying!" Geng Yan and Wang Ba looked at each other, with sad and helpless expressions on their faces.
At Geng Yan's insistence, 30,000 Han troops began to retreat toward Wushan.
The retreat route of the Han army was something Wang Yuan did not expect. Wang Yuan expected that the Han army would retreat, but what he expected was that the Han army would retreat through the main road. After all, it was fast and easy to retreat.
