Sima Cuo asked Pang Ci: "I just heard Ji Fen say that the army led by Ning Jun is overwhelming, several times the defenders of Jiaoyang City, is this true?" ”

Pang Ci lowered his head, thought for a moment, and replied: "Chief General Qi, what General Ji said is true. The troops led by Na Ning Jun were not only numerous, but also extremely cunning and ferocious, and they actually descended from the outer hills of Jiaoyang City to the city, and our army had no time to defend at all. ”

Sima made a mistake "oh", he listened to what Pang Ci said, and it was not much different from what Ji Fen said, and he felt that the loss of Jiaoyang City might not really be regarded as Ji Fen's personal responsibility.

As for Pang Ci, of course he had his considerations for agreeing with Ji Fen so much. One is that even if he denounces Ji Fen's mistakes in front of Sima Cuo, he can't avoid how much responsibility he has; Second, Ji Fen has been partnered with him for so long, why bother to turn his face because of the defeat in Jiaoyang's first battle, who knows if Ji Fen will turn over one day?

Jiaoyang City has been lost, and the matter has come to this point, no one can save the situation there, so it is better to send a favor to Ji Fen, so that he will be grateful to himself in the future, and exaggerate the military strength of the joint column army led by Ning Jun, wouldn't it be possible to partially clear himself of his guilt?

This Pang Ci is a shrewd person with a quick brain, and he thought clearly about the pros and cons almost in a moment, so he simply echoed Ji Fen's statement.

Sima Cuo listened, he glanced at Ji Fen who was standing aside, and saw that he lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, unable to muster a little energy, and there were still a few tears in the corners of his eyes, Sima Cuo's sympathy increased greatly, he waved his hand to the school guard, and ordered: "Untie the rope for General Ji Fen." ”

Personally accompanied the school guard to untie the knot tied to Ji Fen, Ji Fen hurriedly knelt on the ground again, and said loudly: "Thank you General Sima for your grace not to kill, and the last general will definitely repay the general's great virtue in the future." ”

Sima Coo waved his hand at him and didn't say anything. In fact, the reason why Sima Cuo spared Ji Fen was because he felt that the crisis seemed to be coming towards him in an all-round way. He vaguely felt: "The defeat of Ji Fen and Pang Ci in Jiaoyang City is also related to their own mistakes in arranging troops and intelligence gathering. ”

Since Ning Jun led the main force of the Combined Column Army to appear in Jiaoyang City, where did the Combined Column Army still have the remaining strength to attack Mianchi City along the Xipi Mountain Road, could it be that they suddenly increased a lot of troops?

Sima mistakenly said, "I haven't gotten any information about this." However, according to the eyeliner reports arranged by the Qin State to the princes from all walks of life: the eastern princes except Korea all thought that they had been deceived by Han Gu, the marquis of Han, and threw their troops into the stalemate of the war. They are planning to withdraw their troops back to their home countries in the near future. How can you suddenly increase your troops? ”

Sima thought about it and smacked out a hint of something wrong, "If the main force of the Hezhong Army appeared in Jiaoyang City, wouldn't the information that Su Qin was preparing to attack Mianchi head-on sent back by Lu send back a false piece of information?" In fact, the Wei army deployed at the forefront was just a bait to lure itself into being deceived? ”

When Sima Cuo thought of this, he was also taken aback by his own thoughts, and at the same time, his heart was like a large number of ants crawling out, very anxious and uncomfortable. Once this situation is true, then Sima Cuo is equivalent to cutting off his "arm".

Because he listened to the false information sent by Lu Ji, he ruined one of the horns that Mianchi City relied on, Jiaoyang City. Without this horn, the Qin army almost completely lost the initiative in the campaign and became only defensive, unable to take the initiative to attack. "The fist that swung out is broken, how can you beat people."

Ji Fen and Pang Ci knelt on the ground for a long time, they were really kneeling and their legs were numb, but they couldn't get Sima Cuo's order to get them up. They are all sins, and they dare not stand up casually, so they can only work hard. Pang Ci peeked at Sima Cuo, and found that the horsewhip he held in his right hand was hanging low on the ground, and his left hand touched the short beard under his chin from time to time, and fell into deep thought.

At this time, the Qin soldiers who were building a position outside the city couldn't wait any longer, so they encouraged Sima Cuo's personal lieutenant and asked him to ask Sima Cuo for instructions: "Do you want to continue to build this position?" ”

It was not easy for these thousands of soldiers, who had to pay heavy physical labor, and just now they had to temporarily tie up their robes, regain their weapons, and prepare for battle.

However, in the end, they saw that it was only Jiaoyang's own family who had retreated from the southeast, and the tens of thousands of soldiers didn't know what to do next, whether to continue to build a position, or to talk about it after lunch. “

Under the encouragement of everyone, Sima Cuo's personal lieutenant mustered up his courage and asked Sima Cuo, who was pondering, for instructions: "General Qiqi, what are the next steps for those sergeants who are building the position, is it to continue to build?" ”

When the captain asked Sima Cuo, he deliberately did not say whether he wanted to eat first, for fear of provoking Sima Cuo, who was shocked and angry, so he only asked if he wanted to continue to build the position.

Sima Cuo was interrupted by the captain's question, and as soon as he heard the question, he immediately felt bored and weird, and replied angrily: "Don't fix it, the matter has come to this, what else to repair?" ”

Sima Cuo's answer was very loud, which frightened the lieutenant so much that his face turned pale in an instant, and he regretted it: "What is your head, whether you work or not, what does it matter to you?" Why get into trouble! ”

He was frightened by the grim expression on Sima Cuo's face, and he didn't dare to ask for instructions anymore, but fortunately, Sima Cuo didn't continue to pursue his faux pas.

Sima Cuo didn't give a clear order at this time, and the more than 20,000 Qin troops were waiting outside the city, not knowing what to do. At this moment, four or five war horses galloped out of Michi City, and they were all heralds in the military camp of Michi City.

I saw them galloping over, driving straight in front of Sima Cuo, and then reported breathlessly: "Report! The chief general of Qiqi, the big thing is not good, the army has occupied Baishi City, and the defenders of Baishi City have retreated to Hangu Pass. ”

Sima Cuo heard the news that Baishi City was also occupied by the Hezhong army, and he was even more shocked that his hair stood on end. He muttered to himself, "How is this possible! What nonsense are you guys, how is this possible! ”

At the same time, Sima Cuo felt that his heart was about to jump to his throat, and he felt suspicious, frightened, and panicked in his heart, with mixed tastes, but none of them made him feel better.

Sima Coo heard the herald's report, and even Gongsun Yan couldn't blame him, and he couldn't help but believe that the situation was true. Because before, not long ago, he heard the incredible news of Jiao Yang's loss, and now he heard that Baishi City had changed hands, although it was also unbelievable, however, he had to believe it.