The mobilization of Zhu Si's 100,000-strong army was immediately discovered by intelligence spies in Luoyang, who immediately notified the Jin army in Hebei by flying pigeons.
Guo Song immediately realized that Zhu Si would withdraw his troops soon. They had captured several enemy spies outside the city and learned from the spies that the enemy's food supply could last for another month.
If the Jin army had not captured Huaizhou and Liyang City, Guo Song might have believed that Zhu Si would confront him for a period of time, but the situation had changed, especially with the loss of Liyang, a logistics center. Zhu Si would definitely not be able to withstand the huge pressure and would definitely go south in advance.
withdraw.
Therefore, during this period of time, Jin army scouts were paying attention to every move in the city.
A few days ago, a high wooden platform was completed on the high ground to the west of Changle County. The wooden platform is five feet high and covers an area of about three acres. There is a wooden platform on top of which a dozen soldiers can stand.
In fact, this is an observatory, about two hundred steps away from the city. From the high platform, you can clearly see the situation in the county. As long as Zhu Si's army gathers and retreats, the soldiers on the high platform will immediately notice it.
This high platform really made Zhu Si hate him to the bone. He ordered his soldiers to shoot with crossbows. Although the high platform was within the range of the crossbows, the thick wooden boards around the high platform formed a natural shield, making it impossible for Zhu Si's soldiers to hurt the soldiers watching.
, but the wooden platform was covered with arrows, tens of thousands of them. Under the moonlight, the platform looked like a furry monster.
That night, the moon was dark, the wind was high, the clouds were dense, and it was pitch black just a dozen steps away. This was the fifth day after Liyang fell. As usual, the soldiers on the high platform were still patrolling back and forth, paying attention to what was going on in the city.
In fact, the night was so dark that the soldiers on the high platform could not see clearly what was going on inside the city. Even the county seat could only be vaguely seen in outline.
However, there were torches on the wall. Under the light of the fire, you could see soldiers standing on the top of the city with spears in their hands. As the time gradually reached the third watch, some soldiers finally discovered something was wrong. Two hours had passed. How could they stand there?
The soldiers at the top of the city remained motionless.
"Shoot him!" the brigade commander on the high platform ordered.
Immediately, a soldier raised his crossbow and aimed it at the enemy soldier under the fire. With a "click!", an arrow was shot out. The arrow was very accurate and hit the enemy soldier's chest. The arrow went into the chest, but the soldier still
Motionless.
"No, it's a dummy!" Everyone exclaimed together.
The brigade commander immediately sounded the alarm, 'Dang! Dang! Dang!'
A patrolling cavalry rushed up and asked loudly: "What happened?"
"Hurry and report to Your Highness that the soldiers standing guard on the city wall are dummies."
The cavalry immediately turned their horses and ran towards the camp. At this time, Guo Song had fallen asleep. The soldiers pushed him awake and said, "Your Highness, there is something abnormal in the city!"
Guo Song suddenly sat up and asked, "What's going on?"
"The soldiers at the observatory reported that the soldiers on guard at the top of the city were dummies."
"not good!"
Guo Song suddenly realized that the enemy army was going to escape tonight. He thought Zhu Si's army would escape a few days later, at least until reinforcements were deployed before evacuating!
He didn't expect to escape tonight, which was completely beyond Guo Song's expectations.
He immediately ordered: "Instruct the cavalry to prepare to pursue!"
At this time, Zhao Jun, the general of the army, said cautiously: "Your Highness, I'm afraid tonight is not suitable for cavalry combat."
Guo Song suddenly thought of something and walked quickly outside the tent. He saw nothing but darkness outside the tent. There was no moonlight or starlight. The dark clouds were heavy and the big tent more than twenty steps away could no longer be seen.
If the cavalry attacks at this time, it is likely that the cavalry will collide with each other. Zhu Si really knows how to choose the moment.
At this time, a soldier hurried over to report, "Your Highness, the peripheral cavalry has discovered a large group of enemy troops evacuating to the south. There are a lot of people. They should be the main force of the enemy!"
Guo Song felt really regretful. He was still considering this afternoon, directly using a large iron fire mine to blow down the city wall, or burning Changle County to force the enemy out of the city. Both of these methods were sure to defeat the enemy.
But he just hesitated a little and the opportunity was lost.
"Go and ask Mr. Wang to see me immediately!"
Guo Song sent his soldiers to invite Wang You, and he himself was pacing back and forth in the tent. Guo Song also realized that he had been a little complacent recently, or a little underestimating the enemy. He always thought that Zhu Si could not escape his grasp, so that
They didn't even use effective methods like attacking or burning the city, and just waited for Zhu Si's army to retreat.
But he forgot that although Zhu Si was unbearable, he had experts under him. His military advisor Liu Sigu made suggestions and really deceived him. It seemed that the so-called reinforcements were also a deceptive strategy, which made him have trouble.
Misjudgment.
Soon, Wang You also hurried over, "Your Highness, Zhu Si withdrew his troops, why didn't he pursue him?"
Guo Song smiled bitterly and said: "Look at the night, you can't see your fingers, how can you pursue me?"
"Your Highness, let each of the cavalrymen hold a torch, and then slow down the horse speed, so that they can be ahead of the enemy and reach the north bank of the Yellow River at dawn, and then go back to intercept them. Zhu Si's army will not be able to escape."
Guo Song was stunned for a moment, wishing he could slap himself in the face. He went astray in his thinking and wanted to fight fiercely with the enemy, but he forgot that he could intercept the enemy in front. If he was walking at night, he could just light a torch.
The cavalry can control their horses according to the distance of the fire.
Guo Song immediately said to Pei Xin: "General Pei can lead 30,000 cavalry south. He will not fight the enemy for the time being. He must rush to the Yellow River to intercept the enemy before they can. Each cavalry is required to bring more torches!"
Pei Xin had already heard Wang You's suggestion. He was very clear about his lord's fighting intentions. He immediately bowed and said: "I will obey your highness's orders!"
At this time, the 50,000 cavalry had been assembled, and Pei Xin left 20,000 cavalry behind. He and Yang Xuanying led 30,000 cavalry and rushed toward the north bank of the Yellow River with torches in hand.
...........
Zhu Si's retreat was carefully prepared. They originally planned to retreat last night, but Liu Sigu noticed something unusual in the weather and concluded that it might be cloudy the next day, which would make it dark at night, which would be very conducive to the withdrawal.
They postponed their plan for a day, but Liu Sigu was caught by the weather. It was gloomy, with dark clouds, and it was hard to see at night.
It was not until an hour before departure that Zhu Si summoned the generals to evacuate tonight. According to the previous plan, the 90,000-strong army was divided into three groups. Zhu Si led the 40,000-strong army to evacuate to the southwest, passing through the forest towards the Yellow River.
General Niu Zongliang led 30,000 troops to evacuate to the southeast, and he ordered General Wang Guo to lead 20,000 old and weak troops to evacuate from the south, using them to attract the attention of the Jin army.
What Liu Sigu wanted was time. He was not afraid that the Jin army would see through. He just hoped that by the time the Jin army saw through, it would be too late to intercept the main force.
Zhu Si's main force was 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry. They came out from the south city gate and turned around and ran to the southwest. The cavalry and infantry ran in formation. No one was allowed to stop or slow down.
Keep running at a constant speed.
At the fourth watch, the army entered the forest. This was not a virgin forest, but a 300-year-old secondary forest with lush trees, numerous creeks, and an official road in the woods. The entire forest was about 40 kilometers wide from north to south.
After running out of the forest, we were less than ten miles away from the north bank of the Yellow River.
So the moment he entered the forest, Zhu Si breathed a long sigh of relief. Ninety percent of his army was expected to return south.
Hebei is Guo Song's home court. He had a decisive battle with Guo Song in Hebei and had little chance of winning. But if he fought the Jin army in the Central Plains, the outcome would be 50-50. Therefore, although Zhu Si's army was about the same size as the Jin army, he
Still did not have the courage to fight the Jin army decisively.
The 20,000 troops evacuated due south were also running southward. They were afraid of being chased by the Jin army, so they did not light torches, but ran in the dark. They rushed along the west bank of the Lu River, and they rushed out.
After about twenty miles, I suddenly found a cavalry brigade on the other side of the river running southward. The cavalrymen were holding torches, two in a row, running at a slow speed. In the dark night, they could not see the end at a glance, just like a fire dragon floating in the air.
.
The hearts of the 20,000 soldiers of the Zhu Si Army became heavy. They actually encountered the Jin Army. However, the strange thing was that the enemy did not come to kill them even though the river bed was frozen. This made them feel at ease. Maybe the opponent's target was not them.
After a while, the cavalry gradually moved away, and the last spot of fire disappeared. The soldiers all breathed a long sigh of relief.
It was getting daylight, and 20,000 troops arrived at Guanshui Town, which was still thirty miles away from the north bank of the Yellow River. The soldiers were exhausted after running all night, so they rested in the town for half an hour.
The town is very small, with only one street in fact. The people in the town have fled to Jin State, so the town is basically an empty town.
At this moment, a low horn sound came from the front, ‘Woo——’.
All the soldiers were stunned and stood up one after another. Then the sound of horns was heard from the east and west sides, and three dark cavalry groups appeared, surrounding them from three directions.
They had no other way to go but to run back.
But soon, the soldiers found that the road to the north was also blocked, and a stronger army appeared in the north.