Eight hundred and sixtieth chapters hurried northward withdrawal
Zhu Tao received an urgent eagle message from Yizhou. The content inside shocked him so much that he collapsed on his seat and was speechless for a long time. A Jin army of tens of thousands had entered Yizhou, and Feihuxing was guarding the eastern front.
The army retreated north in panic, but before that, the Tumenguan garrison at Jingxing had been completely destroyed, and the situation in Youzhou was critical.
Li Bochang read Ying Xin and said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, if I guess correctly, the army that appeared in Youzhou is the main force of the Jin army. This army in front of us is just to hold us back. We must withdraw immediately!"
"Withdraw troops!"
Zhu Tao jumped up. At this time, he could no longer care about the big plan with his brother. The main force of the Jin army had entered Yizhou. If he did not retreat, his lair would be doomed.
More importantly, he had vaguely guessed that the main force of the Jin army that entered Yizhou was most likely led by Guo Song, who had disappeared since entering Hebei. Guo Song had never failed to attack the city. Thinking of this, he was even more excited.
I was so anxious that I couldn't stay any longer.
Li Bochang hurriedly advised: "My lord, don't be too anxious. The Jin army is eyeing us. If we withdraw in a hurry, we will be chased by the enemy. We must think of a safe way."
Zhu Si was flustered at this time and had no idea. He nodded and said, "What does the military advisor say?"
Li Bochang pondered for a moment and said: "We can't go to Hengshui County to cross the Zhangshui River. The distance is too far and we will be overtaken by the enemy's cavalry. Our camp is less than three miles away from the Zhangshui River. It is better to cross the river directly from here."
Their pontoon bridge is in Hengshui County, fifty miles to the east. If they evacuate, they will be discovered immediately by Jin army spies, and crossing the river will be dangerous. Therefore, Li Bochang suggested that he cross the river directly from the camp, which can greatly shorten the time. Even if they are caught by Jin army
After discovering it, they were too late to pursue him.
"But what should we use to build a pontoon?" Zhu Tao hesitated. It would take a lot of time for them to collect the boats. The problem now is that there is no time.
Li Bochang smiled and said: "The humble position has two plans. The first plan is to use sheepskin rafts and wooden boards to build a pontoon bridge. This is what the Khitan people did. There are also disadvantages. The pontoon bridge is unstable and light and cannot carry luggage. The second plan is to use sheepskin rafts and wooden planks to build a floating bridge.
Just dismantle the pontoon bridge on the east side and drag it over, and it will be able to carry heavy loads, but it will take a little longer."
Zhu Tao thought for a moment. It would take at least a day and a night to dismantle the pontoon bridge and drag it back over. He couldn't wait that long. Besides, they were retreating north with a light force and it was impossible to carry baggage.
Thinking of this, Zhu Tao made a quick decision: "Just use a sheepskin raft!"
They carried sheepskin rafts, but there were not many of them, but they were enough to build a pontoon. Moreover, they set up in the military camp, so they did not have to worry about being discovered by the Jin army.
The Youzhou Army immediately took action and built a sheepskin raft pontoon dozens of feet long in the military camp, and finally put up wooden planks to cross the river.
As night fell, the gate of the North Camp quietly opened, and a long dragon-like sheepskin raft pontoon was carried by hundreds of soldiers and ran towards the Zhangshui River three miles away. Immediately after, groups of infantry came out of the camp. Zhu Tao's
Ten thousand cavalrymen were stationed in Youzhou and Yingzhou, but they did not bring Xindu.
Xindu's 50,000 soldiers were all infantry, which was more convenient for light soldiers. They abandoned their food and baggage and only carried a few days of dry food. They had to return to Youzhou as soon as possible.
Just as Li Bochang feared, they were immediately discovered by Yao Jin's scouts posted outside the enemy camp as soon as they set off from the camp. The scouts immediately fired special signal arrows to notify the Jin army's camp.
This kind of signal arrow is a gunpowder arrow. There are seven groups of twenty-one shots in total. They are fired continuously into the air. Another team of scouts ten miles away also fires immediately. Another team of scouts ten miles away to the south also fires. This is actually a beacon.
The principle is mainly used to convey enemy information at night, which can greatly shorten the warning time.
The Jin army deployed a total of five scout teams. As soon as Zhu Tao's army left camp and burned incense, Yao Jin got the news.
Of course, Yao Jin was strictly carrying out the tasks assigned to him by Guo Song. He was holding back Zhu Tao's main force in Xindu. Once Zhu Tao retreated, he would immediately pursue him.
Yao Jin immediately ordered Wei General An Zhong to lead five thousand cavalry to rush to the Hengshui Floating Bridge to cut off the enemy's retreat before the enemy.
He immediately led 20,000 cavalry to kill the enemy's camp.
This is also the shortcoming of the gunpowder early warning. It can only report the enemy's retreat, but it cannot report the details. This requires the commander's own discretion, so Yao Jincai sent An Zhong to take the lead and lead 5,000 cavalry to the ferry in Hengshui County.
He himself led 20,000 cavalry to the enemy's camp. No matter which way the enemy retreated, the camp was their starting point.
Still more than ten miles away from the camp, Yao Jin met a scout who came to report the news. The scout bowed on his horse and saluted: "General, the enemy has crossed the river three miles away from the camp!"
Yao Jin was stunned and asked urgently: "When did they build the pontoon bridge?"
"They used rafts and put them directly on wooden boards."
"I know!" Yao Jin felt a little depressed. He didn't expect that the other party had an expert and thought of such a simple and effective method.
At this time, General Xu Yun whispered from the side: "The raft can't carry the baggage, and the opponent's food, grass and baggage are all there, so why not use it as bait to catch this old turtle Li Wujun!"
Yao Jin nodded. In order to deal with Li Wujun, he still had a hand left, which he used just in time. He took out the command arrow and handed it to Xu Yun and said: "Since you know how to deal with Li Wujun, I will leave the capital city to you."
"I humbly obey orders!"
Xu Yun took the order arrow and left the team with more than a hundred cavalry and headed south.
Yao Jin sternly ordered: "Pursue!"
Twenty thousand cavalry launched and chased towards Zhangshui, which was twenty miles away.
Half an hour later, he arrived at the south bank of Zhangshui River. He was still two miles away from the river. He saw flames in front of him. Yao Jin felt a chill in his heart. He was still a step too late.
They were indeed a step late. Zhu Tao's army was not encumbered by baggage and could cross the river very quickly. In less than an hour, all the 50,000-strong army had crossed Zhangshui. Zhu Tao immediately ordered the pontoon bridge to be burned, and he ordered others to burn it.
The floating bridge in Hengshui County, but this time Zhu Tao was a step too late. General An Zhong had already occupied the floating bridge in Hengshui County.
Yao Jin had no choice but to lead an army of 20,000 people and rush to the floating bridge in Hengshui County, fifty miles away...
Although Li Wujun was addicted to wine and sex, it did not mean that he did not care about the outside situation. On the contrary, he was deeply scheming and cruel. The murder of his son caused him great pain, but when the city was breached, it was his turn to be killed. Li Wujun
How can you not care about it at all?
Although Li Wujun did not object to Huo Weiran defending the city for him, he still firmly held the three thousand direct guards and hundreds of Jiuzhonglou warriors in his hands. As long as he gave an order, he could kill all those who betrayed him.
, this is why Huo Weiran did not dare to agree to Liu Kun. He knew that Li Wujun's people were secretly monitoring his family. Who knew if Liu Kun was sent by Li Junwu to test him? He betrayed himself as soon as he turned around.
However, Huo Weiran still did not escape Li Wujun's purge. Just two days ago, Huo Weiran was named king prime minister and Jizhou governor by Li Wujun, taking full charge of Zhao's government affairs. In fact, he was relieved of his military power.
At present, the command of the 20,000 troops in the city is held by Li Wujun's cousin Wang Wuhong, and the tens of thousands of militia groups have been disbanded.
Huo Weiran was immediately sent home to rest. The entire Huo Mansion was controlled by the Zhiwei Army, and no one was allowed to enter or exit. In fact, Huo Weiran was placed under house arrest.
Before dawn, Li Wujun got the news that Zhu Tao had withdrawn his troops, and Yao Jin led the army to pursue him. The Jin army's camp also retreated, and it is now only an empty camp.
"Are you sure?"
Li Wujun lay on the legs of his two concubines, enjoying them peeling and feeding oranges, but looked at the reporting soldier suspiciously.
The soldier who reported the news did not dare to raise his head and reported on his knees: "I went in personally and took a look. In fact, there is only a wooden wall left, and everything inside is empty."
Li Wujun believed that the Jin army had withdrawn and the main force was chasing Zhu Tao. Only a few thousand people were left to guard the camp. Aren't they afraid of being swallowed up by him?
"Where is the Youzhou Army's camp?" Li Wujun asked again.
"The Youzhou Army has withdrawn. All the food, grass and baggage are still there. I also visited the humble post. The tents are still there, and there are sufficient supplies in the warehouses. They evacuated with light troops and it was very hasty."
"oh?"
Li Wujun suddenly became interested, "What good stuff is there?"
"Reporting back to the prince, their tents are all made of cowhide and are of very good quality. There are thousands of tents. They also have at least 200,000 dan of grain, hundreds of thousands of bundles of fodder, and a large number of soldiers and armor."
"There are actually soldiers and armors?"
Li Wujun sat up all of a sudden. What he lacked most was armor. The soldier's words made his eyes light up.
"There are soldiers and armor. I saw at least thousands of suits of armor, tens of thousands of spears, and at least 10,000 swords."
Li Wujun was very excited and immediately ordered: "Let Wang Wuhong come to see me!"
Not long after, Wang Wuhong came in a hurry. Wang Wuhong was a farmer ten years ago. After his cousin Li Wujun became prosperous, he came to join him. He could not read a word and had no skills, so Li Wujun had to arrange for him to do odd jobs.
But Wang Wuhong's greatest advantage is that he is loyal to Li Wujun, and now, 'loyalty' is too important to Li Wujun.
Wang Wuhong was reused as a result, and was promoted from the general of the Zhiwei army to the defense envoy of Jizhou, replacing Huo Weiran and becoming the chief general of the 20,000-strong army.
"Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty!" Wang Wuhong said with a formal salute.
"Zhu Tao has withdrawn his troops, but there is still a large amount of food, grass and baggage left in his camp. You take five thousand brothers and move all this food, grass and baggage into the city."
"I humbly obey the order!" Wang Wuhong saluted and hurried away.
Wang Wuhong picked up the wine cup and took a sip. He was thinking about whether he could take the opportunity to recover Shenzhou, Xingzhou and Zhaozhou as well.