What Zhao Xi was worried about was that although their group had taken a step earlier than the Linhu people, if they were slow to act, the Linhu people would find that the ancestral hall was empty and would still be unable to escape from their encirclement. Therefore, Zhao Xi was in a hurry along the way, but due to the burden of the prince's car, he couldn't speed up the march.

The situation expected by Zhao Xi really appeared, and the commander-in-chief of the Lin Hu people's operation, Zuo Xian Wang Mantuo, was the first to find that the ancestral hall of Zhao Guozong had been emptied, and he hurriedly sent someone to find Zhang Yi and Gongsun Yan to discuss.

Zhang Yi carefully inspected the terrain near the ancestral hall and realized that the crown prince Zhao Yong had escaped from a path in another valley.

Zhang Yi then sent Gongsun Yan to lead the Wei army to chase after him from the path, and he and Mantuo led nearly 30,000 troops of the Linhu people and more than 10,000 Qin troops, totaling nearly 40,000 people, and still retreated north along the main road, preparing to intercept the crown prince Zhao Yong at the northern foot of Huotai Mountain.

The Wei army led by Gongsun Yan wore the trousers and short coats of the Linhu people, and although many of them did not fit properly, some of them seemed to be wider and more relaxed, and some of them were narrower and tightly wrapped around their bodies, but they acted very quickly. In particular, they can ride on their horses relatively freely, and they can speed up their horses and move forward.

Prince Zhao Yong's team set off nearly an hour in advance, but was only less than forty miles ahead of Gongsun Yan. Of course, the crown prince Zhao Yong did not know the danger of Lu Dao, and he did not estimate the situation so seriously. He also thought that only the Linhu people were involved in this sneak attack, and with what he knew about the Linhu people: these people were more than brave, but they were not enough. In addition, they don't understand the language of the Central Plains, how can they catch up with themselves?

Although the crown prince Zhao Yong is a good martial artist, he usually wields a knife and a stick, but after all, he has not participated in the actual war experience. The real war is not a joke, it is a fight of swords and swords, a fight to the death, which one does not want to put the other party to death?

Due to the optimism of the enemy's estimation, Zhao Yongcai was reluctant to abandon his car. This was the first time he had taken an armed escort to replace his father, and he didn't want to make a mess. He thought: "It is inevitable that a gentleman will die and be crowned, and the guard of honor will not be dispersed when there is chaos." I can't let anyone see my jokes! ”

Zhao Yong had a good face and firm ideas, so he pretended not to know the situation outside, but in fact, he had already felt the ruggedness of the road from the violent bumps of the carriage, but he just ignored it. Zhao Xi could only call in vain, and secretly prayed in his heart for the blessing of the heavens and did not let the Lin Hu people chase after him.

However, the Wei army led by Gongsun Yan was not so polite, and Gongsun Yan constantly sent orders to the sergeants, urging the troops to speed up the march. He shouted: "Come on, sons, the king is looking forward to us capturing the prince of Zhao and making Zhao submit to us." For the sake of the king, for the sake of the country, rush forward. ”

The Wei army tried their best to advance on the path, and in less than half an hour, they saw the figure of the personnel behind Zhao Yong's army.

And at this time, the scouts of the Zhao army also brought the news of the discovery of the pursuers to Zhao Xi. Zhao Xi was particularly anxious, and he once again ordered all the soldiers of the Zhao army: "Put down all unnecessary things, reduce the weight, and move forward at full speed." ”

Zhao Xi glanced at the mountain and found that the road was getting flatter and smoother, and he judged that the team was close to the end of the mountain road, and if he walked two or three miles further, it would probably be flat land. He had the heart to persuade the crown prince Zhao Yong to abandon the car again, but he couldn't hold back when the words came to his lips. I thought to myself, "It's only a quarter of an hour, and if you go a little further, the carriage will be fine." Don't fight with the prince. ”

In this way, in the extremely critical situation where the Wei army and Prince Zhao's troops were facing each other, Zhao Xi still held back the dissatisfaction in his heart, hoping to reach the flat land as soon as possible, and then he could speed up his escape.

However, what Zhao Xi did not expect was that the Wei army was not only fast in marching, but also in large numbers, the prince's entourage was only a few hundred, but the Wei army pursued 10,000 people.

The prince's carriage finally walked out of the valley after the last round, and Zhao Xi hurriedly gave the order to move forward at full speed. Poor Zhao Jun had less than 100 people left at this time, and they were carrying carriages and stepping on uneven rocks along the way, and they were so tired that they were out of breath.

Zhao Xi simply asked the remaining sergeants to gather all the horses they could find, and everyone rode either in pairs or alone, and galloped with the prince's car.

Gongsun Yan led the Wei army to hurry, he had vaguely seen the tip of the banner on the prince's car, and his heart was naturally ecstatic, and he personally led more than 30 people with his own entourage, riding war horses, and covering up from behind.

Gongsun Yan thought to himself: "I finally caught the crown prince of Zhao for me, whether it is the king of Qin Yingsi or the king of Wei Wei, I have to thank my Gongsun Yan again." This prince Zhao Yong is a fragrant bait, use him as a bargaining chip, I don't know how much money he can get in exchange. ”

However, Gongsun Yan also noticed the change in the terrain, the mountain road had come to an end, and Zhao Yong's car could speed up. He was in a hurry, and he desperately pumped his horse wildly, and rushed forward with all his might.

The northern foot of Huotai Mountain is a relatively flat plateau, with three roads leading to the west, north and east. To the west, you can reach the city of Lishi, which is close to the river, to the north is Jinyang, the old capital of Zhao, and to the east is a road through the Taihang Mountain, which can go straight to Cishan and reach Handan.

After Zhao Xi and the crown prince briefly discussed, their first choice was, of course, to run east to Handan. Zhao Xi thought to himself: "No matter how bold you are Lin Hu people, you don't dare to go to Handan with us." ”

However, Zhao Xi's judgment was wrong, just because the Lin Hu people did not act alone, but Zhang Yi, a senior staff member in the army. Zhang Yi and Mantuo made a detour north along the main road, and the speed of their march was not slow, so although the road was long, they arrived at the northern foot of Huotai Mountain soon after Zhao Yong's army left the valley.

Mantuo asked Zhang Yi, the interpreter of the Linhu people, "Which direction should we pursue next?" ”

Zhang Yi thought for a while, pointed in the direction of Handan, and said: "Handan is safer, they must think that we dare not pursue Handan, so they went to the east road." ”

Zhang Yi had a plan, he decided to divide his troops into two routes, he led the Qin army to chase from behind, and Mantuo led the Lin Hu cavalry to detour back to the front of Zhao Yong to intercept them. He made such an arrangement because the cavalry of the Linhu people was proficient in horse skills, and their speed was extremely fast, and they could receive unexpected results.