This city is only more than fifty miles away from the coast. Fifteen thousand troops and horses led by Zhang Fei have been stationed here for a month.
Bohai is a prosperous state because of its fishing and salt industry. However, in the past year, hundreds of ships from Chu State have been harassing the coast day and night, causing the Han people along the coast to panic and dare not go into the sea.
After Zhang Fei led his army to retreat to Nanpi, he unexpectedly attacked Haixing eastward. He raided a Chu army squadron docked on the coast and captured nearly 25-6 large and small ships. It was a rare feat for the Han army in recent years.
A victory.
However, this trivial victory can basically be ignored in terms of changing the entire battle situation.
Zhang Fei's real purpose was naturally not to clear the coast. He just used this as an excuse to refuse Liu Bei's call.
In recent days, intelligence has been returned from detailed operations in the south, and the Chu army has begun to gather again. A large-scale northern invasion will soon be launched.
At this time, Liu Bei's envoys came to Nanpi several times, trying to persuade Zhang Fei to send troops to join Julu. After all, Zhang Fei's more than 30,000 infantry troops were already a large number for Liu Bei.
However, Zhang Fei never responded to the imperial edict. He was determined not to take on the important responsibilities for Liu Bei, lest he follow in Guan Yu's footsteps.
However, this did not mean that Zhang Fei had given up on Han. He thought that by stationing his troops in Haixing, far away from the main battlefield, he could paralyze Yan Liang and make him ignore his flanks and concentrate all his efforts on attacking Julu.
Once Yan Liang and Liu Bei reached a stalemate, Zhang Fei would move south along the Qinghe River and attack the Chu army's flank, thus achieving the same purpose of relieving Liu Bei.
In Haixing City, in the simple military mansion, Zhang Fei stared at the map intently, thinking about the future layout.
"Yan thief. Although the death of my second brother was done by my eldest brother, it was ultimately forced by you. I, Zhang Fei, will never let you go."
Zhang Fei gritted his teeth and swore secretly.
At this moment, Zhang Bao hurried in and said in a deep voice: "Commander Father, something bad has happened. Nanpi sent an urgent report. A Chu army suddenly arrived and Nanpi was in danger. Please come back to rescue me quickly."
.”
Zhang Fei, who was originally solemn, suddenly changed his expression.
"How could the Chu army suddenly attack Nanpi? Where are our scouts? Why is there no report?" Zhang Fei roared in horror.
"I don't know." Zhang Bao looked confused.
Shocked, Zhang Fei quickly turned his attention to the map. According to the map, although the Chu army captured the counties on the north bank of the Yellow River, only Pingyuan County had more than 10,000 troops stationed there. The rest of the counties on the north bank, such as Leling Kingdom and Qinghe County,
There are not many troops stationed.
Under such circumstances, how could Zhang Fei not be surprised when the Chu army suddenly attacked Nanpi City?
Zhang Fei didn't dare to think too much, so he urgently ordered the entire army to assemble and quickly set off from Haixing towards Nanpi.
Nanpi is not only the seat of Bohai County, but the city is also a key point. If Nanpi is lost, Zhang Fei will be isolated in the east of Bohai and will no longer be able to evacuate to other counties.
The matter was so important that Zhang Fei did not dare to stop for a moment. He led his army in a hurry and marched under the stars at night.
At dawn the next day, the army was less than twenty miles away from Nanpi City.
At this time, Zhang Fei encountered a large number of defeated soldiers of the Han army who had fled from Nanpi City. From the mouths of these defeated soldiers, Zhang Fei got the shocking news of the fall of Nanpi.
Zhang Fei was shocked and asked angrily, only to learn that the Chu army that rushed to attack Nanpi turned out to be 20,000 cavalry.
Only then did Zhang Fei realize that the Chu army must have set off from Wei Commandery with light cavalry and marched for hundreds of miles along the Qinghe River before unexpectedly arriving at Nanpi City. No wonder no scouts sent intelligence in advance, because the cities along the way sent out
The intelligence simply could not keep up with the attacking speed of the Chu army's light cavalry.
"Damn it, I was confused. I should have known better than to hide in Haixing, but I didn't expect that Yan Thief took advantage of him!" Zhang Fei was anxious and angry, blaming himself.
When Zhang Fei was blaming himself, the scouts sent an urgent report. More than ten thousand Chu cavalry in Nanpi had left the city and seemed to be heading towards his own army. The flag they were fighting was the Chu cavalry general Wen Chou.
Zhang Fei knew that Wen Chou was following Yan Liang's orders to kill him.
Zhang Feitian is not afraid of ground or ground, and naturally he is not afraid of Wen Chou, but what Wen Chou is leading is the Chu State's light cavalry, and he only has 15,000 infantry troops in his possession.
In the wilderness of the Hebei Plain, even though Zhang Fei had great self-confidence, he did not dare to fight with more than 10,000 enemy cavalry with only 10,000 infantry troops.
In desperation, Zhang Fei did not dare to stay for a while, so he had to retreat to Haixing overnight.
At this time, the news that the Chu army had captured Nanpi had quickly spread among Zhang Fei's army. Most of the family members of Zhang Fei's soldiers were in Nanpi. The fall of Nanpi caused panic among the Han army.
Therefore, during Zhang Fei's retreat, sergeants continued to flee. When he withdrew to Haixing, there were only less than 9,000 direct troops left.
After Wen Chou captured Nanpi, he left Jiang Wei and Deng Ai to guard Nanpi with 10,000 cavalry, waiting for Yan Liang to lead his army to join him. He then led more than 10,000 light cavalry and continued to advance eastward, preparing to completely wipe out Zhang Fei.
Department.
At this time, Zhang Fei was already in a desperate situation.
When they returned to the military mansion, Zhang Fei's face was as gloomy as iron, and his brows were furrowed to the point of breaking. His temper was already bad, but now he was even more irritable.
Footsteps sounded, Zhang Bao walked into the hall, cupped his hands and said: "Father, the latest information is that the Chu army has divided its forces to capture Fuyang City in the northwest, Gaocheng in the south, and several counties in Rao'an. I heard that Nanpi has fallen.
, all of them have surrendered to the Chu State and refuse to obey my father’s orders anymore.”
Zhang Fei was shocked again, he was angry and anxious, and gnashed his teeth in hatred.
Suddenly, Zhang Fei slammed the case and said sternly: "The thief Yan wants to force me to a dead end, okay, I will use all my strength to fight with him, the worst is to die!"
"Father, the Chu army is all cavalry. On the Hebei Plain, our army can only fight with nine thousand men with low morale. How can we fight against the Chu thieves?" Zhang Bao advised.
"What can we do if we don't fight? My retreat has been cut off by the Chu thieves. If I don't fight to the death, why are I still sitting here waiting to die?" Zhang Fei shouted angrily.
At this time, Zhang Bao frowned and cupped his hands and said: "Commander father, I think we should preserve this new force and withdraw to other places in order to make a comeback."
"Retreat to another place?" Zhang Fei glared at him, "All three routes of retreat have been cut off. Do you want me to retreat to the sea?"
At this time, a sly smile appeared on Zhang Bao's face.
"Commander Father, have you forgotten? We captured twenty or thirty ships of the Chu army in the previous battle. There are many fishermen and sailors in Haixing. Why don't we take these ships and retreat by sea?"
Zhang Fei's figure trembled, and a glimmer of hope suddenly flashed through his desperate eyes.
"Yes, even though the land route is cut off, there is still a water route. The general can take a sea ship and retreat directly to Youzhou from here." Zhang Fei shouted excitedly.
Zhang Bao said solemnly: "Now that Nanpi has been lost, the Chu army will definitely march straight to the river, cutting off the emperor's retreat. The Julu defense line carefully constructed by the emperor will fall apart. With all due respect, I am afraid that the Han Dynasty will be annihilated.
It is inevitable that Commander-in-Chief Father will retreat to Youzhou to be buried with the Emperor?"
Zhang Fei's body shook violently, and a trace of shock flashed in his eyes.
Although his son's words were cruel, they were an indisputable fact. Even if he could escape to Youzhou by sea, what would happen next?
When the Chu State attacks Youzhou again, where can he retreat? Should he flee to the grassland and join the barbarians in herding horses and collecting dung?
No, absolutely not!
Zhang Fei's excitement, which had just surged, dimmed in the blink of an eye.
"What you said makes sense, but if we don't evacuate to Youzhou, where else can we evacuate to?" Zhang Fei sighed.
"I do know that there is another place to go." Zhang Bao's eyes suddenly became strange.
Zhang Fei was startled and looked at his son blankly.
Zhang Bao raised his hand and pointed to the east: "I know that floating on the sea to the east, there is a Japanese country thousands of miles away. This country is said to be the place where Emperor Qin sent Xu Fu to find the elixir of immortality. Now that we have sea ships, why don't Commander-in-Chief lead the way?
When we retreat to the Japanese country, the sea will block us and the Yan bandits will no longer be able to threaten us."
Japanese country?
Zhang Fei, who didn't read much, was naturally confused by this unfamiliar name.
However, Zhang Fei was familiar with the legend that Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu to lead boys and girls out to sea to search for the elixir of immortality.
After his son mentioned this, Zhang Fei perked up and suddenly thought that there was such a place in the world where he could stay.
Zhang Fei was only excited for a moment, but then he became worried again, "Whether there is a Japanese country you mentioned is a question, not to mention that even if there is such a Japanese country, the sea is so vast and we don't know the direction, how can we sail there?"
"The Japanese country does exist. During the reign of Emperor Guangwu, the Japanese country sent people to visit him many times, and Emperor Guangwu even gave the country a gold seal. As for how to get there, I have my own way." Zhang Bao was very confident.
Zhang Fei was confused and excited, and asked Zhang Baoding how to get there.
Zhang Bao said: "When I attacked Haixing earlier, I learned that there was a Japanese village on the seaside, where more than a dozen families of Japanese lived. These Japanese were all fishermen from the Japanese country. When there was a big wave, Wan Zhong was lucky enough to drift to our country in the Han Dynasty.
, the local government asked them to settle in Haixing. With these Japanese people as guides, I think we will be able to find the location of the Japanese country."
Only then did Zhang Fei suddenly realize why his son was so confident.
"Even if there are Japanese as guides, the sea is vast and the storms are unpredictable. If something unexpected happens, we will all be buried in the sea." Zhang Fei, a landlubber, seems to have an innate talent for the mysterious sea.
of terror.
Zhang Bao sighed, "If we stay on land, our destruction is inevitable. If we take the risk of floating eastward, there is still a chance to reach the Japanese country alive. When the time comes, we can attack the Japanese country and recruit the Japanese as soldiers."
There is a chance to make a comeback and restore a strong man. I think this risk is worth taking, and I ask my father to think again."
Zhang Fei fell silent, pacing in the hall with his hands behind his back, frowning deeply.
Think about Guan Yu's tragic end, think about Liu Bei's ruthlessness, think about Yan Liang's cruelty, and think about the desperate situation we are currently in.
All these things made the remaining thoughts in Zhang Fei's heart gradually disappear.
After pondering for a long time, Zhang Fei suddenly raised his head, took a deep breath, and said resolutely: "Please pass on the order. The troops will go to sea by boat and follow my general to the Japanese country."
