Facts have proved that Lin Zibiao's strategy was correct. He led the Chu army to quickly get rid of the Zhou army's internal and external cooperation, fled to a safe place, counted the number of people, and returned to the original coalition camp without stopping.
However, the Chu army still lost more than 20,000 lives in the artillery fire, which made him heartbroken.
Generally speaking, he was lucky. Compared with Tian He, the loss of more than 20,000 people was nothing at all! Because the Zhou and Han coalition forces were fighting in Qi, they took special care of the Qi army. During the bombardment, two-thirds of the shells were used They all flew to the front range of the Qi army, and more than 30,000 Qi soldiers died under artillery fire.
At the beginning of the cooperation between inside and outside, the 30,000 reserve troops left by Tian He rushed up to rescue him. Who would have thought that they did not succeed and ended up getting themselves involved as well. As for the reason, it was because Lin Zibiao retreated and the 10,000 troops originally reserved to deal with him The vanguard army on the right pressed forward, and the Qi army was defeated.
In the end, Tian He fled with less than 40,000 defeated soldiers. The Zhou army pursued him for thirty miles, and he was so frightened that he did not dare to look back when he ran away.
"General Tian He is back!" Lin Zibiao saw the disheveled Tian He coming back and stepped forward to greet him.
"Thanks to you, I'm not dead!" Tian He said in a bad tone. In his opinion, if Lin Zibiao hadn't escaped before the battle, how could he have been defeated so miserably!
Lin Zibiao disagreed. He chose to protect himself at the critical moment. This was a matter of course. You Tian He failed to escape in time because your reaction ability was too poor. If you had ordered the retreat earlier, wouldn't it have been so miserable?
From then on, the generals of the two armies felt dissatisfied.
Looking at the mess outside Xiaonan City, Ji Jie ordered: "The troops quickly cleaned up the battlefield and rested in the city for a day. The day after tomorrow, 80,000 people marched towards Linzi. The remaining people were divided into two parts. One group was led by Xiong Kui to defend the city. , Tai Shiyong, one of the troops, set up camp twenty miles outside the city and dug a deep ditch to defend against the enemy. The two troops serve as mutual barriers. We must block the Qi and Chu coalition forces here!"
"It's your order!" Xiong Kui and Tai Shiyong shouted together.
The King of Qi panicked again. He thought that the Qi and Chu army could defeat Ji Jie, but now that he was defeated, he could not even stop his advance. There was no barrier along the way from Xiao Nancheng to Linzi, and several small towns on the way were stationed. The quantity is limited, Linzi is dangerous!
As long as there is something that cannot be solved by himself, King Qi will definitely go to his wise mother.
"Why are you panicking? You are the king of a country no matter what!" The queen first scolded her son, and then said earnestly: "It is a taboo for military strategists to go deep alone. The reason why Ji Jie chose such a strategy is nothing more than In order to create a situation where Qi will be in chaos without fighting, as long as we stabilize our position, a temporary defeat will not matter. As time goes by, the enemy will retreat on their own. The worst result is that they are still stationed in Xiaonancheng!"
King Qi suddenly realized, clapped his hands and said: "The Queen Mother is still wise, and I am convinced! Then we have to do something. Do we have to watch Ji Jie lead his troops to kill all the way? I'm afraid the situation will be difficult to control by then!"
The queen smiled and said: "Ji Jie doesn't play by common sense, why can't we do the same? You immediately order the garrison of several small towns along the way to withdraw. As for the residents in the city, they can leave if they want to stay. Stay, Ji Jie, in the name of Zhao Wenjun, will not kill the unarmed residents! The defenders of several small towns gathered together, there were 30,000 to 40,000 people, and asked them to withdraw and set up camp outside Linzi City, and made If he looks like he is fighting a duel, Ji Jie will definitely retreat!"
King Qi nodded. He always obeyed his mother's advice.
"Also, order Tian He and the Chu army to go south and station them thirty miles north of Xiaonan City!" The queen continued: "Ji Jie cannot just watch his subordinates fighting on two fronts!"
"Okay, I will give the order immediately!" King Qi got what he wanted and happily left the queen's palace.
…
Ji Jie led his troops to march a hundred miles in one day. At this speed, it would only take three or four days to reach Linzi City.
"Reporting to the general overseeing the country, there are no defenders in the small city ahead. The city gates are wide open, and most of the residents in the city have fled out of the city!" The scouts sent back the news they had inquired about.
Ji Jie frowned slightly, feeling that something was not right, and immediately said: "Send out scouting horses to several other cities that must be passed through. Be sure to send back the news before dawn, and set off immediately!"
"yes!"
"What, is there something wrong?" Ji Xueling asked.
Ji Jie smiled bitterly and said: "Your husband, I may have met my opponent! If I guessed correctly, the remaining cities are also empty. Although they are not as strong as the walls and clear the fields, they are not too far away. I can't Because of the withdrawal of the Qi army, order the burning, killing and looting of the undefended city! They will concentrate their forces to garrison Linzi. With the tens of thousands of people I have in hand, it is simply a dream to capture the capital of Qi!"
"Indeed, you can't!" Ji Xueling said, "I didn't expect that King Qi would have such a capable person in front of him."
"It must have been his mother's idea!" Ji Jie looked back at the map hanging on the wooden pole and said, "And they must have other tricks to force me to fight on two fronts. Plus, if I go deep into this line alone, it's enough to kill you." I'm going to die!"
"Should we retreat back the way we came?" Ji Xueling said unwillingly, "Wouldn't that make Qi people laugh out loud!"
Withdrawal is impossible!
Ji Jie immediately made a new judgment and ordered the troops to set off immediately and march fifteen miles directly to the city. King Qi, don’t you want it? You don’t want my brother to want it. Anyway, this place is only one day away from Xiaonancheng, so my brother lives there. Here it is!
King Qi was well prepared to defeat Ji Jie in Linzi, imagining that after the victory, the world would praise him as the King of Wencheng and martial arts, but a battle report ruthlessly shattered the bubble of fantasy.
Ji Jie garrisoned Nanlu City. After two days of rest, he sent a cavalry team of 30,000 people to garrison thirty miles to the west of the city. It was only seventy miles away from the Zhou army stationed outside Xiaonan City.
"They can invade Linzi without fighting!" King Qi became furious and said to himself: "No, we can't let him succeed. Tian He must attack Xiaonancheng and attract Ji Jie to return for reinforcements!"
Tian He and Lin Zibiao were already in place, but based on their experience last time, they did not dare to attack Xiaona City easily. The artillery fire from the Zhou army made them frightened.
"Does General Lin have any good ideas?" Tian Heheng asked.
Lin Zibiao shook his head and said: "Besides digging tunnels, there is no other way! Unless General Tian wants to experience the defenders' salvo of thousands of artillery fire, of course my Chu army will not participate!"
If you can imagine how long it will take to dig a tunnel, there is a vast plain outside Xiaonan City. It would be strange to dig a tunnel as big as a siege wall without exposing it.
"Your Majesty's Order..." The guard of the Qi Palace with a red feather knelt on one knee in front of Tian He, holding up a brocade bag with both hands.
Tian He took the brocade bag, took out a letter from it, opened it and took a look, his eyes suddenly widened. King Qi actually ordered a fierce attack on Xiaona City, which must be captured within three days!