March 21 was the fifth day of Bai Qi's army attacking Yangguan.

In the first four days, the 60,000 Qin troops under his command launched dozens of waves of offensives, and attacked the wall of Yangguan dozens of times, but in the end, the Qin army was still repelled by the Wei army in Yangguan again and again.

This is also something that can't be helped, after all, there were only more than 60,000 troops under Bai Qi's command at that time, and the Wei army in Yangguan was twice as many as the Qin army, and in this case, Bai Qi's army was able to suppress Yangguan for a time in these four days, blocking the gate and attacking the pass repeatedly, although part of the reason was that Meng Zhong and Zhai Zhang did not want to fight hard with the Qin army, but it was really a very remarkable thing.

Up to now, the Bai Qi army has lost nearly 40,000 battle losses, and the corpses of these 40,000 Qin soldiers have piled up like a mountain, piling up a slope composed of corpses outside Yangguan City, making the Yangguan Pass almost useless.

It can be seen how ferocious the Qin army's offensive has been in the past few days.

But unfortunately, with the gradual casualties of the soldiers, the strength of the Bai Qi army will inevitably gradually fade, although there are still 20,000 soldiers surviving, but the morale of the army has almost fallen to the trough, although the generals of the Qin army such as Ji Hong, Meng Yi, Zhong Xu, Tong Yang, Wei Yuan and so on are still trying to boost morale, and repeatedly told the Qin soldiers that they only need to work harder to capture Yangguan, but the morale of the army is still not improving.

It is also thanks to the army of the Qin State, even if the casualty ratio reaches sixty percent, or even seventy percent, the soldiers still rarely have escapees, if they are replaced by the army of other countries, it is only fifty percent...... No, with a death rate of 30%, I am afraid that it will collapse immediately.

And this is also the most terrifying place for the Qin army in the Central Plains, except for the soldiers of Wei, there is no army in the world that is more tenacious and difficult to defeat than the Qin army.

"Kill—"

In the distance of Yangguan, there are still Qin soldiers attacking the pass, but the intensity of the battle is much inferior to that of the previous days, even if there is no longer any need for cloud ladders and long ladders, you can step on the piles of corpses and rush straight to the city wall of Yangguan, it is difficult for the Qin army to pose any big threat to Yangguan.

The Qin army, the spirit has been lost, the fighting spirit has been extinguished, although there are still 20,000, but it is on the verge of collapse.

"It's the limit......

Watching this scene from afar, Bai Qi thought secretly in his heart.

"Jin." He looked at the battlefield and called out without turning his head.

Hearing this light call, Sima Jin, who was standing beside Bai Qi at the moment, was slightly stunned, and immediately clenched his fists and said, "Here!" ”

I saw Bai Qi looking at the battlefield and said calmly: "Jin, as my messenger, you will immediately go to the army of the national captain and convey a message to the national captain, asking him to withdraw to Wuguan immediately." ”

Sima Jin was stunned for a moment.

As Bai Qi's guard, how could he not know that Bai Qi had written a letter a few days ago and sent it to his grandfather Sima Cuo, according to his understanding of Bai Qi, this letter must have written this matter, so did he need to convey any more messages?

In the final analysis, Bai Qi just wanted him to leave this battlefield early and escape to the safer Sima Cuo army in advance.

Thinking of this, Sima Jin said quietly: "It seems that for such a thing as a summons, you can just choose two soldiers, I don't think there is any need to go down...... How can the guards who are white and handsome under him leave the left and right without permission? ”

Maybe because of the unfavorable situation of the war, Bai Qi didn't have much patience, and frowned and scolded: "I ordered you to go!" ”

"Please forgive me for disobeying orders!"

“……”

Bai Qi frowned and glared at Sima Jin, but Sima Jin raised his head, his face full of the stubbornness of a young man.

Also, if Sima Jin is so obedient and obedient, then his grandfather Sima Cuo doesn't have to feel a headache for this grandson.

After staring at Sima Jin intently for a few breaths, Bai Qi asked in a deep voice, "Aren't you afraid?" ”

"Fear!"

Sima Jin nodded and said truthfully.

In the past few days, he has been listening to Bai Qi's teachings and listening to Bai Qi's analysis of the situation, of course he knows what will happen next as his Bai Qijun gradually loses its strength.

Yes, the Wei army will take the opportunity to launch a counterattack, and when the time comes, the foot soldiers and cavalry in the Yangguan will rush out, and if one is not good, they may become prisoners of the Wei army, and even die tragically under the weapons of the Wei army.

“…… But, in the lower part of the white handsome guards, how can there be a guard who abandons the Lord and flees? Sima Jin Zhengse said: "Where Bai Shuai is, where he is!" In my opinion, this is loyalty! ”

"Stupid."

Bai Qi snorted lightly, and then said to the other guard: "Bo Yang, you take a few people and take the kid to the captain's side." ”

The guard named Bo Yang hesitated for a moment, and was about to clench his fists to receive his life, but saw Sima Jin stubbornly interrupted: "I won't leave!" Even if you knock me out and tie me up with a rope and take me away, I will find an opportunity halfway to return to Bai Shuai. ”

Hearing his words, although the guards on the side did not dare to openly disobey Bai Qi's order, they also cast approving glances.

Only Bai Qi is very dissatisfied with this.

It is true that he let Sima Jin evacuate first, which is indeed selfish, after all, he likes this kid who worships him very much, and he doesn't want the latter to encounter accidents in this battle at a young age, not to mention that this son is also Sima Cuo's second grandson, even if it is for the sake of Sima Cuo's face, Bai Qi can't let this kid encounter any danger.

But as the saying goes, newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, although Sima Jin understands Bai Qi's kindness, he refuses to accept this kindness.

After all, in a sense, Bai Qi is his teacher, the teacher who taught him the art of war, coupled with his longing for Bai Qi, so the more critical the moment, the more he will not abandon Bai Qi and run for his life.

This is not in line with the loyalty that his grandfather Sima Co taught him!

Looking at Sima Jin, who was holding his head high and openly disobeying his orders, Bai Qi was angry and funny, he felt that Sima Jin's stubbornness and stubbornness were exactly the same as his grandfather Sima Cuo, and he really deserved to be a grandfather and grandson.

He deliberately scared Sima Jin with a straight face: "If you don't leave at this time, when the Wei army launches a counterattack, it will be too late to regret it." ”

However, Sima Jin, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, showed no fear on his face, patted the sword on his waist, and said: "When the time comes, I will perform my duties as a guard and protect Bai Shuai until he falls." ”

“……”

Bai Qi stared at Sima Jin for a while, and seeing that the latter had a resolute attitude, he was also a little unremarkable.

At this time, the deputy general Ji Hong drove the chariot from a distance and came slowly, after coming to Bai Qi's side, Ji Hong got off the chariot, walked in front of Bai Qi and hugged his fists and said: "Bai Shuai, the last general will have something to do." ”

"Get in the car." Bai Qi said casually.

Seeing this, Ji Hong boarded Bai Qi's chariot, and at the same time, Sima Jin immediately gave up his position to the former.

I saw that after Ji Hong nodded to Sima Jin, he walked to Bai Qi's side and stopped, and said in a low voice: "Bai Shuai, our army ...... I'm afraid that we have reached the limit, even if we continue to storm Yangguan, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the Wei army on the opposite side to suffer casualties, and it is just a waste of our soldiers......"

"......" Bai Qi did not say a word.

Of course he understood what Ji Hong meant, Ji Hong was tactfully advising him that it was time to evacuate.

But the problem is that Bai Qi knows very well that once he leads the remnants of the army to retreat, the counterattack of Yangguan will inevitably follow one after another, and at that time, the surviving soldiers under his command at this moment, although they can withdraw from this battlefield alive, are also destined to be killed by the Wei army's foot soldiers or cavalry in the pursuit of the Wei army on the way to Wancheng and Wuguan.

With this in mind, Bai Qi will continue to try to see if he can inflict some more casualties on the Wei army in Yangguan, after all, in terms of the current situation, killing one more Wei pawn is his Bai Qi's advantage, even if he uses the only remaining 20,000 Qin troops under his command to exchange the casualties of only 10,000 casualties of the Wei army on the opposite side, it is also a worthwhile matter.

It's a pity that his idea is good, but the Qin soldiers under his command are not thoughtless mustards, where are they willing to let the Wei army pay another 10,000 casualties at the cost of the total annihilation?

Therefore, Ji Hong's suggestion is not wrong: it is time to withdraw, order a retreat at this moment, so that the only remaining 20,000 soldiers can still buy them some time to escape, otherwise, if the stalemate continues, when the Wei army takes the initiative to attack, then these generals will fall into a greater crisis when they flee.

After all, chariots are not as fast as cavalry.

“……”

Bai Qi frowned and pondered for a moment, and finally nodded slightly.

"Dingding-ding-"

"Dingding-ding-"

At the main position of the Qin army, there was a sound of gold, and when they heard this sound, the Qin soldiers who were still continuing to attack the city retreated like a tide.

It is no exaggeration to say that the speed at which these Qin soldiers retreated at this time was much faster than when they attacked Yangguan just now, and they retreated completely in the blink of an eye.

At this time, on the tower of the pass, Sima Zhai Zhang, the great master of the Wei State, saw this scene and exhaled as if relieved: "Qin Jun...... It's finally all over. ”

Beside Zhai Zhang, Meng Zhong crossed his arms and frowned silently.

I have to say that the defensive battle in the past few days has indeed made him extremely depressed.

Because of a momentary mistake, he did not send the cavalry led by Meng Hu and Hua Hu in advance, so that Bai Qi seized the flaw and blocked the door to attack frantically, even though he sent someone to inform Yingshan's Wu Ying, as well as Yingshan's Wei Xu and Yu Ying's two generals, asking the three of them to try to harass the Qin army and reduce the pressure on Yangguan's side.

But unfortunately, the little soldiers under the command of Wu Ying, Wei Xu, and Yu Ying were barely able to defend the mountains and forests, and let them harass the Bai Qi army, which had 60,000 people at the time, which was inevitably difficult for some strongmen, after all, the three of them were all foot soldiers, and there were no cavalry, so there was no advantage in the face of the Qin State at all.

What's more, Bai Qi on the opposite side had already known that there were thousands of Wei soldiers deployed in Yingshan and Yinshan, so he naturally had already taken precautions, how could he be easily attacked by Wu Ying, Wei Xu, and Yu Ying?

All in all, in just four days of battle, Yangguan sacrificed nearly 30,000 Wei soldiers.

Of the nearly 30,000 Wei soldiers who died, half were Meng Zhong's Fangcheng army and Zheng Zheng's Xu County army, and the other half were reinforcements brought by Zhai Zhang.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Bai Qi army is close to collapse, in fact, the Wei army in Yangguan was almost defeated by the Qin army.

The entire 120,000 or 30,000 Wei troops were almost defeated by more than 60,000 Qin soldiers under Bai Qi's command, who would dare to imagine?

But in fact, if you think about it carefully, it is not incomprehensible that these 1230,000 Wei troops were almost defeated by more than 60,000 Bai Qi.

Let's talk about Mengzhong's Fangcheng army, as many as sixty percent of them were Chu people who defected to Fangcheng and Yeyi, just to defend Yeyi and protect their relatives, so they joined the Fangcheng army, and did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives to resist the Qin army.

After all, the armies of all countries in the world were defeated and fled when the casualty ratio was only one percent, and there were many of them, if it weren't for the families of these Chu people in Yeyi, maybe they would have collapsed long ago, so Meng Zhong really couldn't ask too much of these people.

As for the seventy or eighty thousand troops brought by Zhai Zhang this time, they are not elite troops in themselves, at best, they are just a team of county troops in charge of public security and anti-theft in the local county seats, although there are seventy or eighty thousand people, but in terms of strength, they may not be able to defeat the original 40,000 or so Fangcheng army under the command of Meng Zhong.

was almost defeated by the Qin army, in fact, it was mainly about these soldiers.

In contrast, the most dazzling thing has to be said to be the army under the command of Sima Zheng Zheng of Xu County, especially the thousands of veterans who participated in the Battle of Yique, these days the Wei army has repelled the Bai Qi army again and again, this Xu County army has to account for at least thirty percent of the credit, although this army was only close to 10,000 people at the beginning.

It was precisely because of the uneven quality of the Wei army that although there were 120,000 people at the beginning, because of the casualties of nearly 30,000, they were almost demoralized by the Qin army.

Although at this moment, there are only about 20,000 troops left in Bai Qi on the opposite side, and there are still more than 90,000 troops on his side of Yangguan, as long as he launches a wave of fierce attacks, he may wipe out Bai Qi's army, but to be honest, Meng Zhong does not have the slightest joy of imminent victory.

There is no other reason than because the casualties of his Wei army in this battle have greatly exceeded his expectations, or are acceptable.

After pondering for a long time, he ordered the guards beside him: "After the Qin army retreats, order all the Sima to gather at the Guanlou to discuss the military situation. ”

"Whoa!"

After a while, after the Qin army withdrew to the periphery of the valley mouth of this valley one after another, it seemed that Mengsui, Menghu, Huahu, Lejin, Tang Zhi, Zheng Zheng and other military horses came to the Guanlou one after another, regardless of the blood stains on their bodies, and sat down.

In order to express his respect for Zhai Zhang, Meng Zhong looked at the veteran who was sitting in the main seat before the meeting began, and after the latter nodded, he said to the generals: "After days of fierce fighting, the offensive of the Qin army is not as good as day by day, and today it is even earlier to withdraw the troops, which shows that the Qin army has exhausted its spirit, and it is the time for our side to take the initiative to attack and break it." ”

After a slight pause, he continued: "Thanks to Bai Qi's gift, our previous strategy was disrupted by him, and now, I don't have much certainty, after defeating Bai Qi's army, I marched into Sima Cuo, and used the strength advantage of the Wei and Han coalition forces to defeat it, but at least Bai Qi's army must be defeated in one fell swoop!" Now I'm going to assign the task...... Tang Zhi, Lejin! ”

Hearing this, Tang Zhi and Le Jin immediately got up, walked to the center of the building, and stood with their fists clenched: "Here!" ”

I saw Meng Zhong ponder for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "The Qin army withdrew early today, I suspect that Bai Qi will lead the army to flee here in the middle of the night while our army is unprepared, therefore, I hope you two are always ready to pursue the Qin army!" ”

"Whoa!"

"Menghu! Huahu! Cao Chun! Cai Cheng! ”

"In!"

"Once the Qin army shows signs of retreat, Menghu, Cao Chun, and the two of you will lead half of the cavalry from Niuweipo to Wancheng, on the one hand, cut off the return route of the Bai Qi army, and on the other hand, contain the Qin army in Wancheng...... I thought about it, Sima Cuo probably already knew about the attack on Wancheng at this time, and Bai Qi should also inform Sima Cuo of his intentions, if Sima Cuo wants to save Bai Qi, he will definitely enter Wancheng, so if there is a chance, find a way to contain Sima Cuo's army! …… There is no need to rush to engage Sima Cuo's army, and wait for the army to arrive in Wancheng after defeating Bai Qi's army, and then make plans. ”

"Whoa!"

Meng Hu and Cao Chun replied with serious faces.

“…… As for Hua Hu and Cai Cheng, the two of you assisted Tang Zhi and Le Jin in pursuing Bai Qijun, and during this period, they tried to hold off this Qin army and not let it escape. ”

"Whoa!"

Meng Hu and Cai Cheng led the order.

Immediately afterwards, Meng Zhong made arrangements for Meng Sui, Zheng Zheng and others, and finally he said in a deep voice: "Bai Qi is a person who is very good at using troops and is scheming, he may deliberately withdraw his troops in advance, and ambush our army when our army pursues it, therefore, I hope that all of you will be vigilant." …… Our casualties are too heavy, and we must reduce them. ”

"Whoa!"

The military commanders responded with their fists clenched.

Seeing this, Meng Zhong turned to Zhai Zhang, who was sitting on the main seat, and asked, "What does Da Sima have anything to add?" Please advise. ”

I saw Zhai Zhang stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "The arrangement of the strategy, Fang Chengling has been arranged very thoroughly, and the old man thinks that he has nothing to add, and the old man only says one word...... In the past 20 years, our Wei State has been repeatedly defeated in the war with the Qin State, and has lost a lot of territory...... If we can defeat this total of more than 100,000 Qin troops in one fell swoop, I believe that the Qin State will be more jealous of our Wei State, so the victory or defeat of this battle is very important, and Wang'er and others will do their best. ”

"Whoa!"

Including Meng Zhong, the main generals in the house all responded with fists.

At the same time, Bai Qi had returned to Fangcheng and was discussing the retreat with Ji Hong, Zhong Xu, Tong Yang, Wei Yuan and other generals.

In view of the fact that the generals are all clear about the situation in front of them, Bai Qi's words are also very direct: "...... Today, our army withdrew early, and I believe that Meng Zhong and Zhai Zhangding on the opposite side have seen that our army's strength has been exhausted, so once our army shows signs of retreating, Yangguan will inevitably pursue...... I don't want the 20,000 people under my command to evacuate to Wancheng safe and sound, in short, I can withdraw as much as I can, and if necessary, leave some soldiers behind......"

On the side, a little unbearability flashed in Sima Jin's eyes.

Of course, he understood that the broken queen in Bai Qi's mouth was equivalent to letting those Qin soldiers stay and send them to death, and use their lives to buy time for the rest of the Qin soldiers to escape.

But then again, although this move is quite cruel, it is the most rational judgment.

After a while, after Bai Qi finished explaining the task and the generals left one after another, Sima Jin hesitated for a while, and said to Bai Qi: "Bai Shuai, since our army will be pursued by the Wei army once it withdraws, can we take the opportunity to ambush the Wei army?" If we can successfully ambush the Wei army, maybe our army will be able to buy more time. ”

Bai Qi glanced at Sima Jin with some surprise when he heard this, nodded and praised: "Very good advice......

Seeing this, Sima Jin's face was overjoyed, and he was about to speak, but when he saw Bai Qi, he shook his head again, and explained with a little smile: "But this is not applicable to that Meng Zhong. …… With Meng Zhong's intelligence, how could he not have guessed that our army might be able to make a plan? The Wei army has a chance of victory, and when it encounters an ambush of our army, it can take advantage of the numerical advantage, besiege but not attack, and wait for the dawn. After dawn, the remaining ambush soldiers will inevitably be surrounded by the Wei army, and it will be impossible to escape. Besides, the soldiers of our army have no morale at the moment, even if they set up an ambush, how many casualties can they cause to the Wei army? …… Like, it is better to tell the soldiers to flee at night, and go as much as they can. …… Besides, there are cavalry under the command of Meng Zhong, once it is dawn, it is the time when those Fangcheng cavalry are powerful, as long as they are seen by those cavalry, they will almost not be able to escape alive. Therefore, the ambush plan you mentioned is of little significance. ”

Hearing this, Sima Jin showed a little disappointment on his face.

Seeing this, Bai Qi taught: "The art of war must be studied and applied, and it must not be rigidly copied, just like the current situation of our army, which can only be resigned to fate......

With that, his heart moved slightly.

Although in his opinion, the ambush plan is meaningless, but if he goes the opposite way and sets up suspicious troops to confuse the Wei army, it is a good strategy to win some time.

Of course, as for the effect, it can only be said that talk is better than nothing.

In short, something is better than nothing.

"Do you regret it?"

Glancing at Sima Jin, who was nodding slightly, Bai Qi suddenly asked, "If you are willing to follow my advice this morning and join the national captain's army first, when our army withdraws tonight, you will most likely have already arrived in the national captain's army......"

Hearing this, Sima Jin shook his head and said, "I don't regret it, I just feel a little unwilling for Bai Shuai." …… In my opinion, Bai Shuai's defeat this time is really ...... If Wancheng was not attacked by the Wei army, Bai Shuai would not be defeated at all. ”

Bai Qi was stunned and shook his head with a smile.

It is true that for this defeat, in fact, the generals under his command are very unwilling.

Because when summarizing the reasons for the defeat, the generals summed up two reasons: first, Sima Cuo's subordinate Peng Tang dragged them back, and they were easily attacked by the Wei army; Second, Zhai Zhang led reinforcements to support Yangguan.

Removing these two factors, it seems that Ji Hong and the others really can't think of any reason why they will lose in Yangguan, at best, they will lose both.

But Bai Qi didn't see it that way, he said to Sima Jin with a straight face: "Meng Zhong was quietly planning a sneak attack on Wancheng in the winter last year, but I can't anticipate the enemy first, this is the reason for my defeat, even if it is replaced by the generals of our army stationed in Wancheng, I am afraid it will be the same result." ”

Sima Jin didn't know what to say, so he just nodded.

That night, around the time of the hour, when the troops under his command were ready for a rapid march, Bai Qi immediately issued an order for the whole army to withdraw to Wancheng.

Seeing that the soldiers under his command were in order to survive, regardless of the injuries on their bodies, Bai Qi exhaled slightly and turned his head to look in the direction of Yangguan.

He knew that it wouldn't be long before the Wei army in Yangguan would come out of the nest and launch a hunt for his Qin army.

At that time, he commanded 20,000 surviving soldiers, and I don't know how many of them could escape to Wancheng alive.

Ten thousand?

Five thousand?

Maybe less.