Zhao Guo withdrew from Huashan, and there were two more choices.

Or the intersection, to the southeast, bypassing Changbai Mountain and Zhangqiu and other counties, with the Wenhua Congress. Or go straight south, cross Mount Tai, and rush to Tai'an. This second option is actually Pan Xianji's earlier proposal. However, the danger is too great. If you go south, there is Wang Baobao's chasing soldiers in the back, and Yan Sixiao's interception in front, it is better to stick to Huashan. Therefore, I can only choose to go to the southeast and join the Wenhua Division. After the meeting, you can choose to guard the Changbai Mountain Pass and block Wang Baobao and other troops along the Jinan line; You can also choose to return to Yidu and look for the decisive battle of Chahan first.

Of course, the best policy is not the latter, but the former.

Because if you want to return to Yidu, the threat force left outside Changbai Mountain will definitely be small. As soon as the threat force is small, it can no longer play the role of deterring Wang Baobao and other departments. Wang Baobao and the others could naturally take the route of Zhao Guo's withdrawal, or simply bypass Changbai Mountain and move to the vicinity of Yidu.

In this way, the two main forces of the Yuan army were equivalent to the union in one place, with a total of 60,000 military horses. And Haidong is only 30,000 or 40,000 people, and many of them are tired remnants, such as Zhang Yuer's camp and Zhao Guo's camp.

Therefore, all in all, Zhao Guo could only withdraw his troops in the southeast direction and join the Wenhua Congress. After marrying with Wenhua, their two armies could not return to Yidu, so they could only stick to the Changbai Pass. So, can it be said that Chahan has the absolute upper hand again? Not really.

If Zhao Guo and Wenhua Guo can firmly hold the Changbai Pass, Wang Baobao, Guan Bao, and Yan Sixiao will not be able to cross the Lei Chi by one step, in other words, that is to say, the war west of Yidu will be at a stalemate again. The focus of the entire Shandong battlefield was thus transferred from Huashan to Yidu. From the battle for Jinan between the enemy and our armies, it has redeveloped into a head-on decisive battle between Deng She and Chahan.

If Chahan can break Yidu, Haidong will be defeated. If Deng She can break Chahan, then Haidong wins.

So, judging from the strength on the surface alone, who can win between Chahan and Deng She? There are not many horses left in Dunshe. Chahan divided his troops into Changbai Mountain, and there were only 20,000 military horses left at hand. Chahan's army may have been in the majority, but Dunsha had a fortified city to rely on. The two sides seem to be half-hearted.

However, Deng She is outside the city, but there is still Zhang Yi'er's team. Suddenly, Zhang Xiao'er seemed to have become Yan Sixiao, and he became the key force that decided to occupy Yidu. Coupled with his thousands of men, Deng She was hostile to Chahan, as if he had steadily occupied the upper reaches.

When the military report of Zhao Guo's withdrawal and the division of Wenhua Guo was transmitted to Yidu City, Monk Li, Bi Qianniu, Ji Zongzhou, and Zhang Yu were all worried first and then happy. Worry, the general trend of Jinan has gone. Hey, Yidu is expected to win. Deng She summoned everyone and held a military meeting in the hall. and specially invited Fu Youde to observe.

Monk Li and the others unanimously requested that Deng She give an order to immediately start a decisive battle with Chahan. Seize the advantageous fighter in front of you, cooperate with Zhang Lu'er inside and outside, fight quickly, and defeat Chahan, so as not to have too many dreams at night.

Hong Jixun disagreed. He tapped his palm with a folding fan and said in thought: "Although the battle plane in front of me is beneficial to me, Chahan is not easy to match. If our army wants to win quickly, even with Zhang Yan'er's cooperation, I am afraid it will be even more difficult. Moreover, counting the enemy of Changbai Mountain, the Yuan army had 60,000 people, and Wen Pingzhang and Zhao Zuocheng together had about 30,000. Outnumbered. If on the one hand, I can't win quickly, and on the other hand, Wen and Zhao can't hold on, this battle situation? ”

"What do you mean, sir?"

The guards outside Hong Jixun's order hall came in, spread out the map, and took a closer look. His gaze paused for a long time between Yidu and Jinan, thought for a long time, and said: "Since the fierce battle, although our army has a slight upper hand in Yidu, this advantage is only short-lived. In the long run, from the overall point of view, our army is still in the lower reaches. In the opinion of the minister, if you want to really make a quick decision, it is still far from enough to rely only on my Yidu side. ”

"I want to hear about it."

"If you only expect me to benefit from the strength of the army, there are two possibilities. Or before Wang Baobao, Guan Bao and others crossed Changbai Mountain, our army defeated Chahan by luck. Or before Wang Baobao and Guan Bao crossed Changbai Mountain, our army failed to defeat Chahan. If it is the latter, the two main forces of the Yuan army will be combined, and the future of our army will be worrying. If it is the former,......。 ”

Monk Li asked, "How?" ”

"If it is the former, after all, there are still 20,000 Chahan troops, and with the strength of Zhang Yi'er in our city, it is difficult to annihilate them all, and at most a small victory. Since they can't be annihilated, in case Chahan escapes south, and then rendezvous with Wang Baobao? ......, the enemy is still strong and I am weak. No matter how you calculate it, our army is still inferior. ”

Monk Li said: "The transportation of Tartar grain and grass is inconvenient, and his grain should be short until now." ”

Before he finished speaking, Hong Jixun said: "Yes, until the battle has been fought so far, there should be a shortage of grain and grass for the Yuan army. However, the grain and grass of the Yuan army are inconvenient, what about our army? The grain reserves stored in Yidu City and the various ministries have long been insufficient. Most of the cities in Shandong are now under the control of the Yuan army. If our army wants to replenish grain and grass, it can only be transferred from the southeast. What if Chahan sends another army of horses to retake the southeast and cut off Haidong's connection with me again? ”

Monk Li concluded his words and asked, "What does Mr. think our army should do?" ”

"You have to borrow external forces."

"Borrowing external forces?"

"The current fighters are advantageous to our army. It's like two people fighting, one has a slight upper hand, but the other party's strength is actually stronger, if you continue to fight, maybe both sides will lose, maybe the victory will turn into defeat. So, at this time, it's time to fight again. Instead, we should take advantage of this 'slight upper hand' to encourage the people around us to participate in the battle, increase the momentum, surrender without a fight, and scare the opponent away! ”

Monk Li and the others are not stupid people, and they immediately thought of who the so-called "people watching the battle" in Hong Jixun's mouth were. Ji Zongzhou said: "Mr. Hong is talking about Dizhou Tianfeng? ”

"Not bad!"

"Tian Feng is in Dizhou and has been watching from the wall. The lord sent many letters, but he ignored them. I think that Chahan will definitely have a surrender to him, but so far, he has not taken a step out of Dizhou. The state of the two ends of it is unmistakable. Although our army now has a slight upper hand in Yidu, as Mr. said, in terms of the overall situation, Chahan still has the advantage. Can the gentleman be sure that he is willing to participate now? ”

"If only I Yidu has the upper hand, Tian Feng may still be hesitant. But, Lord Ji, have you forgotten that in the military newspaper sent by Wen Pingzhang earlier, it was mentioned that Yao Haogu wrote a letter to Polo Timur? Hong Jixun also thought while talking, speaking of which, the whole planning is considered mature.

"Lord Yao? Polo Timur? ”

"Yes, yes. Polo was hesitant in Yixing Prefecture, and Wen Pingzhang's latest military newspaper also said that he had heard that he was already on his way back to Datong? ”

Hong Jixun gave a salute to Deng She, opened the folding fan, and closed it ,——with a "snap", which was a habitual action that he had a fixed time. He was confident and said eloquently: "Lord." So far, our army and Chahan have been full of wisdom, and the soldiers on both sides can be said to be evenly matched. The losses are all significant. The following battles can no longer be solved by fighting alone.

"Han Fei Ziyun: Spell, technique, potential. Compared with war, the law can be like a strategy, and the technique can be like a fight. When it is difficult to win in law and technique, there is only one way to choose the 'potential'. The minister invited the lord to write two secret letters. One with Tian Feng and one with Chahan. The minister dared to assert that as soon as these two letters came out, the war would be over. ”

Hong Jixun was very interested in the writings of the Legalists, even during the siege of the city, he could not release the volume, and the volume of "Han Feizi" was memorized. Therefore, he used the Legalist's "law, technique, and potential" to describe the war at this time, although it can be said that he has a different mind and rarely hears of it, but Deng She does not feel strange when he hears it.

He covered his mouth with his sleeve, coughed twice, and said with a smile: "Sir's opinion, it is really clever. He agreed with Hong Jixun's opinion. Immediately, he ordered someone to take the paper, pen and ink, and with a slight groan, the pen was like flying, and soon, the two letters were written.

Write a letter to Tian Feng and hand it to the messenger, ordering him to leave the city immediately, fight his way out of the siege, and be sure to send it to Dizhou within two days. The letter to Chahan was tied to an arrow and shot out of the city by the guards, which was called the "Book of Arrows".

The soldiers of the Yuan army picked up. However, all the army in battle, whether defending the city or fighting in the field, has military law, and all letters and other items of the enemy army must be handed over to the superiors, and they must not hide them privately. Violators are punishable by heavy penalties. This is also to prevent the enemy from using psychological warfare and propaganda warfare to break the morale of his own military.

Therefore, the pawn who picked up the arrow book did not dare to delay, and immediately handed it over to the top official. It was uploaded layer by layer, and after a short time, it was sent to Chahan's handsome account. Chahan Zhan Xin watched, see above wrote:

"Fang is in the middle of winter today, and the soldiers are four episodes. The reinforcements of my Haidong have arrived, and they have won successes again and again, first breaking the benefits of the ambush, and winning the Guizhou army Guanbao, and now, they will fight with Wang Baobao in the Changbai Pass. Outside the city of Yidu, there are only 20,000 horses. If I join forces with Zhang Ji'er in the city, can I ask if the public can win?

"It has been two months since Gongxi came to the war. The cold winter is cold, and if the time is long, the soldiers will not be able to endure the hardship. Winter goes to spring, the snow melts, and the public field stays outside the city, which is even more unfavorable for marching. May I ask you, although you have the upper hand, do you think you can beat me quickly? If you can't win quickly, it will be unfavorable for a long war, and you will work hard for yourself.

"Moreover, I heard that Polo is looking forward in Yixing Prefecture and is already preparing to go back to Datong, but your backyard is about to catch fire again. Stealing is a public degree, and it is true that the three armies look westward and live like a year. Your soldiers are looking forward to returning soon, and they have long lost their fighting spirit. In that case, why not withdraw?

"If you refuse to leave and still insist on attacking the city, within three days, you can listen to the news of Tianfeng in Dizhou. Again, those who lack food can see the language. The day before yesterday, he was given 100,000 arrows by the public, but there was nothing to repay, and there was only a lot of food in the city. ”

Deng She's letter first pointed out that Chahan had a slight advantage in Yidu. Then, a brief review of the course of the war and the difficulties that Chahan may face after the beginning of spring. At the same time, it is frankly admitted that on the entire battlefield, Chakhan still has the upper hand. Subsequently, he pointed out the threat that Polo and Tian Feng might pose to Chahan. Finally, in a tactful manner, it was shown that if Chahan insisted on withdrawing his troops, Yidu would accompany him to the end, suggesting that there was still a lot of food in the city.

"The day before yesterday, I had to give 100,000 arrows" Yunyun is a strategy that Hong Jixun came up with. When Chahan attacked the city, he erected the door board at the head of the city and caught the bows and arrows of the Yuan army. After several battles, a large number of arrows were obtained.

Chahan saw it and laughed.

He was outside the city, and the news was better than Dunshe. Zhao Guo's military report of withdrawing troops and turning to Changbai Mountain was known half a day earlier. Sekiho tried to volley, but was unsuccessful. Tong Shengyang was ashamed and brave, and made a lot of contributions in the breakthrough battle. In fact, this military report is not enough. Zhao Guo's withdrawal and breakthrough was one of his many deductions about the possibility of the development of the future war situation. Not too unexpected.

However, just yesterday, Jining Road and other places sent him 100,000 urgent military information, and Polo was not "ready to go back to Datong", but had already returned to Datong. That's no small feat. Chahan turned to look outside the tent, looked at the vast sky, and thought to himself: "Shiye? Luck also? ”

Sun Zhu said beside him: "Lord, there seems to be handwriting on the back of the letterhead. ”

Chahan turned to look at it, and there was indeed language on the reverse side of the letter, only one sentence, which read: "I have sent an order to the three armies, behead the prince, seal the marquis of ten thousand households, and give cloth and silk ten thousand horses each." ”

Sun Zhu and the others changed color and said: "Xiao Deng deceives people too much! ”

Chahan was very generous, laughed, disagreed, and replied in handwriting, writing: "100,000 arrows, why worry about it!" A'er, you're too stingy. The price of my head, not only 10,000 households? And he ordered them to be tied to arrows and shot into the city, and they were given the right in reply.

Sun Zhu said: "In Xiao Deng's letter, although he still seems to have the courage to admit defeat, he is overflowing. Although Polo returned to Datong, it is estimated that for a while, all parts of Jining Road will still be safe. I don't know what to do next? ”

Although Chahan attacked Yidu in a big way, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei and other places were his lair, and since he had known that Polo coveted these places very much, he would obviously not be unguarded. The remaining military horses may not be enough to take the initiative to attack, and it is still possible to hold on for a while. Chahan pondered for a long time, pondered repeatedly, and said, "Wait three days, and then discuss." ”

Wait for three more days to see if there will be any movement in Dizhou Tianfeng. If Tian Feng didn't move, the Yuan army could still attack Yidu again. Chahan's main force is between Jinan and Yidu, and the Dongping Zhulu that is connected with Hebei, Shanxi, and Henan is very empty. ”

What he is afraid of is not Tian Feng's more than 10,000 people, but Tian Feng's move, which will inevitably urge Polo to act early. He is not afraid of one-sided enemies. There are enemies on both sides, but it is difficult to do it.

At the beginning, he gave Guan Bao two good strategies. Take Jinan as the next policy; First of all, it is the best policy to annihilate the Ministry of Wenhua. Who knows, Guan Bao failed to annihilate Wenhuaguo, and even if Zhao Guo was forced away, he actually lost the opportunity to fight quickly. At this juncture, if Polo and Tian Feng act at the same time, Chahan is alone, and it is indeed difficult to deal with it.

However, as the saying goes, "the house leaks when it rains". Three days later, news came from Dizhou that Tian Feng gathered the three armies, poured out of the nest, and rushed to Gaotang Prefecture and Hejian Road. Soon after the news came, another letter came in the city of Yidu. Still written by Deng She himself, in a few words, it wrote: "Today the prince is a guest, far away, I have nothing to entertain." I won't send you anymore. I will be a guest in Japan, and I will see Hebei with the convention. ”

Chahan put down the letter, walked slowly to the tent, and looked into the distance, seeing the banners of the battalion and the city of Yidu in the distance. Look at the picturesque mountains and rivers, and feel the cold wind. He let out a long laugh, summoned the generals, and ordered the three armies to pull out the camp, not to be impatient or impatient, and to slowly withdraw.

On the way back, he sent a partial division to defeat Tian Feng again in Gaotang Prefecture. But because Wen Huaguo and Zhao Guo followed him and acted as a send-off, Hejian Road was finally occupied by Tian Feng.