While Shao Xun was chasing all the way towards Peiguo, Jin Kang had already retreated towards Dongping with his infantry.
Before leaving, they even set off a fire and burned Gaoping County to the ground.
The more than 2,000 Huns cavalry who came towards Jin Zhun did not know where they were going, so they followed Jin Kang's 9,000 infantry and retreated northward. A few days later, they arrived in Dongping and connected with Shi Le's cavalry.
Cao Yi, who was raising grain and fodder in the territory of Lu, heard about Gaoping's defeat and retreated directly to Mount Tai to join Liu Ya and Hu Yanyan.
The two of them had 10,000 cavalry in total, but they gave Jin Zhun 3,000 or 4,000, leaving about 6,000 men. He estimated that this force was not enough for Shao's thieves to fight, so he retreated towards Jinan.
Now, everyone has a question, where has Jin Zhun gone?
Well, Jin Zhun did go to Pengcheng and arrived on the night of the 14th.
They ran all the way, dispersed all the way, and some people came to join them all the way. When they arrived at Pengcheng, their strength swelled to 7,000 cavalry.
After counting with fingers, it was clear that about two thousand riders were lost in this wave, all of them died under Gaoping City.
So, where did the other five thousand riders go?
Jin Zhun sighed. He had fought in battles and knew that most of these people were actually looking for him.
Unfortunately, he never stopped.
While in Fangyu County, I raised some supplies, but soon I heard that the Shao bandits were marching here, with an unknown number.
So after resting for a night, we headed south along the Surabaya River, passing through Peixian County, and rushed all the way to Pengcheng.
When we got here, we were so sleepy that we almost cried.
The stubborn Shao Thief has been following behind. Every time he wanted to stop and set up a containment point, he would hear the news from the scouts that the pursuers were heading south, so he was forced to set off and did not gain a foothold until Pengcheng.
I once wanted to cross the river and go north to join Shi Le, Liu Ya, Hu Yanyan and others, but the other side was full of lakes and swamps, making it difficult for the cavalry to drive, and there was no way to find boats.
It would take time to make a temporary wooden raft. But Shao Thief had been hanging far behind. When it was closest to him, it was only a day's journey, and when it was further away, it was only two or three days away. He really didn't have the courage to stop.
He actually knew very well that with such a fierce pursuit, Shao Thief actually didn't have many men left. Unfortunately, his troops were even worse, their morale was so low that they couldn't fight in a short time.
In this way, the thief Shao drove the sheep all the way to Pengcheng.
To be honest, he didn't even want to stay in Pengcheng.
After resting for two days, he whizzed northward towards the East China Sea and towards Langya.
The most important task now is to gather Shi Le, Liu Ya, and Hu Yanyan.
As long as he can find them, join forces and reorganize them, he will still have more than 20,000 cavalry, plus 30,000 old and new infantry. He can also contact Zhao Gu and Cao Yi's tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry, relying on the city.
Restoring morale may not mean there is no chance of a battle.
Of course, from his own heart, he really didn't want to fight.
Without that momentum, fighting again will be a bad battle, and the resources may not be enough.
If the King of Hanoi agreed to withdraw his troops, he would support it with both hands.
However, after returning home, there is a high probability that he will be deprived of his job and all other positions. If he wants to climb up again, he does not know how much effort it will take.
well!
But it's better than losing his life. On this point, Jin Zhun still wants to be open-minded.
****
On the east bank of the ferry, the Silver Spear Army has been stationed here for several days.
Within a few days, they had not thought about developing outward. Unfortunately, they had no baggage vehicles and it was difficult to move under the supervision of the cavalry.
Fortunately, there are still supplies on the ship. After they are all unloaded, it will not be a problem to support them for another ten days.
Jin Zheng and Wang Queer patrolled near the ferry all day long.
They did not know that destroying the pontoon bridge was the decisive factor that shook the Huns' military morale and prompted them to retreat.
They are like an isolated island now, with no news from the outside world at all.
It wasn't until the Battle of Gaoping broke out and all the Shilebuqi who were operating nearby were withdrawn overnight that they slowly smelled something different.
On October 11th, three days after the Battle of Gaoping, Wang Queer, who served as the temporary governor, ordered the troops to be transported and the trackers disembarked, and they went upstream at night toward Lingjin.
On the 12th, Liu Can came to Dongwuyang and looked at the Yellow River.
Following him was Zhu Ji, the eunuch of the Zhongshu.
After hearing that Thief Shao had returned, Emperor Liu Cong sent Zhu Ji over to learn about the situation.
The situation is more severe than imagined.
Four days after the Battle of Gaoping ended, the news was already known here.
We are all old people, so why don’t we know what will happen next?
Master Wang's morale has been dampened and it is no longer appropriate to continue fighting.
In some wars, there are often only one or two key battles. If you lose, you should withdraw.
For example, in the battle of Luoyang two years ago, Beigong Chun attacked the camp at night and killed Yanhao. He later won another battle and shocked the besieging army.
At that time, Jin Shang still wanted to continue the fight, but the late emperor decisively recalled the army and returned to Pingyang to reorganize.
At this time, it was time for the King of Hanoi to make a decision.
"Can Sima Rui capture Xuzhou?" Liu Can asked.
This is the message just sent by Zhao Gu.
Sima Rui, the king of Langya in Jin Dynasty, heard that Zhao Gu had occupied Xuzhou, so he sent his boatmen northward to Xiapi, numbering tens of thousands.
Liu Can was still a little scared to fight in that place where there were many water nets.
He had just been put in a position by using a naval force, and now he somewhat understood the wonderful use of the naval force.
There is a saying in the Central Plains that "Chips in the South and Horses in the North". The terrain, weather, and the role of cavalry in the South are greatly reduced, which indeed requires a large number of naval forces. However, Xuzhou is surrounded by lakes and swamps and has many rivers. When fighting in this place, the presence or absence of naval forces makes a big difference.
.
"Zhao Gu only has more than 20,000 troops. It may be difficult to resist the Jin soldiers. We can make them retreat quickly." Zhu Ji said.
Liu Can nodded silently.
It was really a bit depressing to finally defeat Pengcheng and Xiapi, but to give up in the end.
But from a rational point of view, this is unavoidable.
Furthermore, if Zhao Gu is really allowed to gain a foothold in Xuzhou, can the court really control him effectively? Not necessarily, it is too far.
From this point of view, the value of Xuzhou is not very great. It is painful to lose it, but it is not unacceptable.
"Did Mr. Zhu have any lessons from the Henan-Yan war?" Liu Can asked again.
"Your Majesty has already decided, why bother asking me?" Zhu Ji shook his head and sighed.
Liu Can smiled and said, "I can't hide it from Duke Zhu no matter what. Indeed, I already intend to withdraw my troops."
Zhu Ji nodded, this was exactly what he wanted, although the emperor had not yet made up his mind.
"What's going on over there in Guanzhong?" Liu Can asked again.
"It's not very good." Zhu Ji said: "The Jin thieves contacted many people and divided their troops into two groups to march towards Chang'an. The King of Zhongshan (Liu Yao) has few soldiers and may not be able to resist."
Sima Mo has been killed, and local officials and tribesmen have sent hostages to the court.
But some people refused to surrender, such as Suo Wei, the governor of Feng Yi, Qu Yun, the guard of Anyi, Liang Su, the commander of Pinyang, and others, who rushed all the way to Anding County.
Jia Tong, the prefect of Anding, and the Di and Qiang chiefs in the territory all sent protons to Pingyang, but after joining forces with Suo Wei and his gang, they became more and more unwilling to do so, so they decided to do it anyway.
The crowd recommended Jia Tie as the leader, and he led himself as General Pingxi. Tie recruited the strong men in the county, and also mobilized the Di and Qiang chiefs, agreeing to fight against the Han together.
So, everyone gathered together a Hu and Han army, claiming to be 50,000 infantry and cavalry, and marched towards Chang'an.
Qu Te, the former governor of Yongzhou, Zhu Hui, the prefect of Xinping, Liang Zong, the prefect of Fufeng, and others heard that Jia Tong had raised an army, and they also recruited young men and strong men. They also persuaded the tribes in the territory to send troops, and they also gathered a wave of soldiers and horses, known as one hundred thousand infantry and cavalry.
The total number of the two armies is 150,000, which is definitely an exaggeration, but the momentum is really not small.
The most important thing is that Liu Yao, the king of Zhongshan who stayed in Chang'an, didn't have many soldiers. Now he doesn't even dare to trust the Jin army that surrendered to him. After all, didn't Jia Tong surrender before? He even gave away his protons. What now?
?
For them, raising troops and returning home is a big deal, and a few protons are nothing!
There are actually still soldiers on the Pingyang side, but it's not easy to start a war on two sides. It's best to end one side and concentrate on dealing with the other side.
In this way, it is actually the war in Henan that should end.
The Dongwuyang pontoon bridge was damaged and the morale of the army was shaken.
Gaoping lost the battle and his morale was depressed.
Shao Xun and Sima Rui each have their own troops to pursue them. It's time to end.
However, there is another thing that makes people upset now: Jin Zhun doesn’t know where he is.
Every time he thought about this, Liu Can felt upset.
Wouldn't he be chased by the Shao thief and drown himself in the river?
With no choice, he had no choice but to re-appoint Liu Ya as the commander-in-chief of the former army and command all the troops to retreat from Qingzhou.
Of course, Jin Zhun still had to fish for it, not for this incompetent person who suffered a defeat, but for the troops under his command - it is always good to have more people back.
As for Jin Zhun himself, he is already tired of it.
Although he is very nice to talk to, can make trouble, and is good at flattering others, but if he is not good at it, he is not good at it.
After this defeat, His Majesty will definitely remove him from his post - or at least demote him. Liu Can is not prepared to protect him, so there is no point.
"Shao Xun is more dangerous than those in Guanzhong." Liu Can suddenly sighed with emotion: "No wonder the late emperor valued him so much. It would be great if he could serve the Han Dynasty."
Zhu Ji smiled bitterly, slightly jealous of Shao Xun.
These people who "condescend to be thieves" endured many looks and ridicules on daily basis, and even had to offer their daughters to the emperor for the kings to enjoy, so they could barely maintain their current status.
Shao Xun was "rebellious" and "resisted the heavenly soldiers", but in the end he easily won the favor of the Huns nobles and even wanted to marry the princess to him.
One is to give a girl to the Xiongnu, and the other is to give a girl to the Huns. Thinking of this, Zhu Ji wanted to curse even though he had read so many poems and books.
This world, alas!
Chapter completed!