That night, the Jurchen army began to slowly retreat towards Yichuan County. At this time, Wanyan Yinkeshu had not yet fully recovered. In today's terms, it was a cerebral hemorrhage caused by stimulation.
However, Wanyan Huonv, who was under temporary command, had too much force and lacked literary skills. He did not consider that something would happen to Wu Ren Dao and still retreated according to his previous plan.
The Jin soldiers retreated at night and were immediately discovered by Song army scouts on the periphery. Some soldiers rushed to spread the news to Fucheng County.
Chen Qing led the generals up to the city. It was already dark in the distance in the direction of the military camp. It was still brightly lit last night, but there were faint stars moving in the northeast.
Liu Cui whispered: "Capital, could this be a trick by the Jurchen cavalry to lure us out of the city to pursue them?"
Chen Qing smiled and said: "Actually, I am not afraid of the Jurchen Army when fighting at night. I just don't want to fight head-on with the enemy and cause too many casualties. But this is not a trick to lure troops. They should have got the news from Yichuan."
"Commander, let's pursue him!" All the generals looked at Chen Qing, their eyes full of expectation.
Chen Qing nodded, "It is better to pursue the enemy bravely. The pursuit must be done, but the key is how to pursue it?"
Chen Qing said to Yang Zaixing: "The Jurchen army will eventually withdraw from Luoshui Road to the north. We don't know the situation in Qingquan County. It is best for us to block the main enemy force on the southern line. You can immediately lead 30,000 troops to Luojiao."
County, block the northwest official road. I will lead the army to continue to follow the enemy. We must block the enemy's main force on the northwest official road. Once they run out of food and have to kill horses for food, it will mean the opportunity to completely annihilate the enemy.
It’s arrived.”
Yang Zaixing said excitedly: "I am also looking forward to this moment."
...........
Chen Qing's troops were divided into two groups. He gave half of the food to Yang Zaixing. Yang Zaixing led 30,000 troops to Luojiao County to block the northwest official road exit. Chen Qing led 40,000 troops and 5,000 camels to retreat with the Jin soldiers from a distance.
.
At this time, Fu Lin, an aide, urged his horse to catch up with Chen Qing and said: "Envoy Xuanfu, I have a suggestion for you!"
Fu Lin's prediction was wrong before. He thought that Jin Bing could not take Wu Ren Road. As a result, Jin Bing chose Wu Ren Road. Although Chen Qing did not blame him, Fu Lin himself was very ashamed. He had been thinking about ways to make amends.
With his familiarity with the road, he finally found an opportunity.
Chen Qing nodded, "Sir, please tell me!"
Fu Lin took out a map and unfolded it on his horse. This was a map of the southwest official road drawn by a humble official. The enemy retreated along the official road, which was basically far away from the valley walls on both sides. But if they continued to move forward for about fifty miles,
The canyon will become narrower, and the river will gradually lean against the south valley wall. The official road will also lean against the canyon wall, and the abandoned official road will be above our heads. At this time, we can attack the enemy from above our heads downwards."
Fu Lin was just a scholar, not a strategist. He only considered the opportunity to attack the enemy, but Chen Qing thought that the enemy could also use this method to deal with him.
"Thank you sir for reminding me, I know what to do."
Chen Qing immediately ordered someone to find Gao Ding. Gao Ding cupped his fists and said, "See Dutong!"
Chen Qing pointed at the map and said: "Fifty miles further forward is a canyon. Above the canyon is an abandoned official road. The enemy is likely to attack us above the canyon. You lead five thousand enemy troops to go up first and kill those who are preparing to attack us.
Army, then you harass the enemy troops from above with bows and arrows, boulders, fire kites, gunpowder barrels, fire oil balls, whatever."
"I understand the humble position!"
Gao Ding immediately ordered his five thousand soldiers, carrying a large amount of gunpowder and kerosene, to find a path up the mountain.
.........
On the vast Loess Plateau, water is the most precious thing. If there are rivers, there will be woods, cottages, wheat fields and corn fields. Without rivers, no matter how wide and flat the land is, it will become a wasteland.
A large section of the southwest official road from Yichuan County to Central County is in a grand canyon with a width of more than ten or twenty miles. The reason is that there is a river in this grand canyon, which nourishes the people on both sides of the river and breeds on both sides.
Full of corn and wheat.
But it was still spring, and the wheat had not yet headed, so it was of no use to the Jin soldiers who were short of food. Even the common people along the way had fled. They could not find food or fat sheep, and there were no livestock that could eat meat.
The Jin soldiers could only eat dry food to satisfy their hunger, and complained all the way. Fortunately, the war horses could eat wheat seedlings, which solved the forage problem.
Wanyan Yinkeshu had woken up, but he had lost feeling in his legs and could no longer ride a horse. He had no choice but to lie on a carriage specially used to transport grain and grass, with thick grass underneath and a blanket covering him.
It can make him feel more comfortable.
Wanyan Yinkeshu looked back from time to time. He also knew that Chen Qing's main force was following them. Although he did not admit it with his mouth, he knew in his heart that it was his responsibility for the destruction of Wanyan Helisha's army.
He fell into Chen Qing's scheme, and Chen Qing made a plan. Finally, he couldn't bear the desire to enter Guanzhong and fell headlong into it.
In the final analysis, he still underestimated the enemy. This lesson was so profound that it broke his heart.
"Go and fetch the living female marshal!"
Not long after, Wanyan Huonv hurried over on horseback, cupped her fists and said, "See you, Marshal!"
"Let me ask you, how is the morale of the army now?"
"This...it's okay!"
Wanyan Yinkeshu's face sank, and he said dissatisfied: "Don't fool me, it will lead to my wrong decision. How about you tell the truth?"
Wan Yanhuo Nu sighed, "The morale is very low, and the soldiers are seriously war-weary."
"what is the reason?"
"There are many reasons. They don't have enough dry food, and there is no oil or water in their stomachs. The soldiers are complaining, but this is not the most important. I think there are really two reasons. One is that the entire army of 20,000 people was destroyed..."
"what happened?"
Wanyan Yinkeshu said angrily: "How could this news get out?"
"I don't know how the news got out because of my humble position. I guess it was the soldier who escaped and came back to report the news. He stayed in the military camp for a long time before reporting to the marshal. Because it happened to be the siege of the city, the news probably got out at that time."
Wanyan Yinkeshu was extremely annoyed. He knew very well that once this news got out, it would have a huge impact on morale.
"Then what?"
"Then there is no hope for this expedition. This is what most soldiers are complaining about, so that they are seriously war-weary."
Wanyan Yinke was speechless for a while. Of course he understood what the soldiers meant. If he couldn't get property or women during this expedition, he didn't want to fight and sacrifice his life.
During the campaign against Liao, they plundered the land, wealth and women of the Liao Kingdom. When they attacked the Song Dynasty, they also plundered gold and silver, plundered the women of the Central Plains, and plundered all the wealth that could be plundered. This was done every time they went out for more than twenty years.
This gradually became a tradition, a habit, or a rule. In order to boost morale and maintain the tradition, General Jin Bing would plunder wherever he went. Wanyan Yin Keshu did the same, so he decided to kill
After entering Guanzhong, they allowed the army to burn, kill and loot.
But the problem is that Chen Qing didn't give them a chance to enter Guanzhong. Until now, they have been wandering back and forth in the barren mountainous areas. Without the benefits, the soldiers no longer want to fight.
A clever woman can't make a living without rice, and there's nothing that can be done about a perfect face. The few counties he encounters are empty. They want money but no money, women but no women, and no oil or water. Where can he go to satisfy the interests of the soldiers?
In desperation, since there is no way to encourage fighting, we can only encourage people to flee. Wanyan Yinkeshu said: "Tell the brothers that after we withdraw to Taiyuan, I will give everyone double their military pay and give them three days' leave.
They are having a great time in Taiyuan City!"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Wanyan Huonu turned around and was about to leave when Wanyan Yinkeshu stopped him again. "Wait a moment, I still need to explain something!"