Murong Xue made two judgments about the situation in front of her:

First, Bao Yuchun decided to bypass Nanyang and go north with heavy troops. Either occupy Nanzhao County and completely cut off the connection between Nanyang and Luoyi, or wave the army to attack the eastern capital, and then play a strategy of encircling the point to send reinforcements, and ambush Murong Xue's troops who went to rescue Luoyi halfway.

The second is that the enemy is bluffing. The Xuanjia army that set off this time was actually the same batch of Xuanjia troops last time, they just came back from a detour from other directions, and they re-enacted a play, the purpose was to confuse Murong Xue and the others, so that they could make wrong judgments.

For these two thoughts, Murong Xue was really a little uncertain, and Dong Tianxing also had a headache. As long as you guess wrong, you may fall for Bao Yuchun's plan and put the whole army in a situation from which you will never recover.

"What should I do?" Lao Dong frowned and kept rubbing his beard: "Bao Yuchun's methods are too weird, it's hard to figure out." ”

Murong Xue looked at the map for a while, shook her head and said, "I can't guess, I can't guess the purpose of Bao Yuchun." I cannot easily send troops north to reinforce and weaken Nanyang's forces; He didn't dare to completely ignore the rear defense area and give the rebels a chance to attack the eastern capital with heavy troops. ”

Dong Tianxing said worriedly: "If the 50,000 enemy troops really go north by boat, it will indeed pose a great threat to Luoyi. ”

"But what if it's fake?" Murong Xue said in a deep voice: "We can't be sure if Bao Yuchun is cheating. ”

Dong Tianxing scratched his head, pointed to the letter on the table and said: "The imperial court has issued a letter to ask us why the rebels were allowed to cross the Nanyang defense line, and strictly ordered the general to ensure the safety of Luoyi. Alas, it's hard to do. ”

Murong Xue bowed slightly: "I finally know now, why can Bao Yuchun be called a famous general of the Holy Tang Dynasty with Commander He and Xie Guang." Without spending a single soldier, it made us uneasy, and the strategy of holding Nanyang was originally planned, but at this time it became difficult to make a decision. Lao Dong, why don't we take a step back? ”

"Retreat? Where to retreat? How to return? Dong Tianxing was puzzled.

"Come and see. The reason why Bao Yuchun can stir up the wind and rain is because he has a large number of sailors and ships at his disposal, and he has the convenience of the river, and he can attack our flank at any time," Murong Xue pointed to the map: "If I retreat one hundred and fifty miles to the north and build a defensive line north of the Baihe River, or even north of the Shahe River, his naval army will have no room to play, because from there to the eastern capital Luoyi, it is all plain terrain or hills and dense forests. ”

Dong Tianxing looked at the map, thought for a moment, and said with a slight hesitation: "If you give up Nanyang directly, then Caizhou will definitely not be able to keep it next." The vast land from the Great River to the Central Plains has all fallen into the hands of the enemy, can the imperial court agree? Can the emperor agree? ”

Murong Xue gritted her teeth: "That's better than our army being completely besieged here, or the east being attacked by them." Shrinking the defensive line will certainly result in the loss of a large area of territory, but it can also concentrate superior forces to block the enemy's northward advance and buy valuable time for troops in other directions. ”

Dong Tianxing thought for a while: "General, is there a big grasp of retreating?" What if Bao Yuchun takes advantage of the situation to pursue? ”

"After I personally broke off for the army, it shouldn't be a big problem." Murong Xue said: "The biggest problem now is how to convince the emperor and the imperial court. Lao Dong, are you willing to go up with me? ”

Dong Tianxing did not hesitate: "Of course there is no problem." I'm just worried that giving up Nanyang is not the best solution, and whether there is any other way. ”

Murong Xue shook her head firmly: "If I can continue to hold on, of course I don't want to abandon Nanyang easily, but the threat of the 50,000 rebels sent by Bao Yuchun through the waterway is too great, and the battle situation may fundamentally change at any time because of them, and if it is too late, I am afraid it will not be too late." ”

"That's good! Trust your judgment! Dong Tianxing slapped the table: "Lao Yu accompanied you to write a joint letter, suggesting that Nanyang be abandoned, or even Nanzhao, and set up a new line of defense in the further north." ”

Murong Xue's bold idea was soon secretly sent to the emperor. Li Bing didn't dare to discuss this kind of military affairs with too many people, so as not to leak the news, so he only discussed it with a few important ministers from the military department and the governor's mansion.

Although the abandonment of Nanyang suffered a lot of losses, considering the strength of Bao Yuchun and the advantages of the navy, Murong Xue's suggestion did make some sense. After careful consideration, Li Bing and the ministers reached an agreement and agreed that Murong Xue would move north to defuse the threat of Bao Yuchun's flank.

With the emperor's nod, Murong Xue immediately took action. He first ordered people to go and inform Gong Chengze, who was in the rear, and asked him to immediately rush to the Shahe River north of Nanzhao County, and build a defensive line on the north bank of the Shahe River. At the same time, more than 70,000 soldiers and horses stationed in Nanyang City marched north in batches to cover the echelon defense, and he led his own military battalion to cut off the whole army.

The imperial army suddenly abandoned Nanyang and retreated, which also did not escape Bao Yuchun's plan. However, he did not send troops to chase after him.

On the contrary, tens of thousands of rebels who had already reached Yazi Lake were summoned back by him and easily occupied Nanyang City.

Lao Jianhua deliberately rushed to Nanyang from Tanghe County, praised Bao Yuchun, and praised him again and again for scaring away Murong Xue without blood, which is simply a model of a soldier who surrenders without a fight.

Bao Yuchun smiled faintly at this: "Lord Lao, I really hope that Murong Xue is not in such a hurry to leave, in that case, I will be able to eat 80,000 enemy troops in one bite." Murong Xue is a very good kid, he has such courage and sees that the only way to save himself is to take the initiative to give up Nanyang City. Hmph, it's worthy of being Bao's opponent. ”

Lao Jianhua knew his previous battle layout, and said with a smile: "Bao Shuai, you are indeed smart!" Whenever you play on the battlefield, you can always force your opponent to choose between the several options you are given. But no matter how you choose, the opponent can't escape the end of defeat, it's just a matter of losing more and losing less, hahaha. ”

"Master Lao has won the award," Bao Yuchun laughed loudly: "How to get it next, you can talk about it." ”

Lao Jianhua stroked his beard and smiled indifferently: "Of course, the Metropolitan Governor still has to call the shots." ”

Bao Yuchun nodded and analyzed seriously: "The reason why Murong Xue retreated north, in addition to avoiding being flanked by our army, is that he saw my advantage - the navy. The navy has the convenience of rivers, can quickly transport troops, and pose a threat to his flank and rear at any time. Therefore, he directly retreated hundreds of miles, just to completely dodge the water network area and fortify the plains. ”

Lao Jianhua listened to Bao Yuchun's words quietly and did not say a word.

Bao Yuchun continued: "Murong Xue's mind has already been seen through by me. He didn't care about the loss of one city and one place now, but wanted to try to delay time, and wait for the other two imperial armies to free up their hands, and then surround our army. Therefore, I suggest that there is no need to continue attacking him for the time being. ”

Lao Jianhua said curiously: "You mean, only consolidate the current victory, and no longer take the initiative to attack?" ”

"No, the offense still has to be attacked," Bao Yuchun smiled proudly: "It's just a change of attack target." ”

"Oh? Please advise Bao Shuai. Lao Jianhua's expression was slightly exaggerated.

Bao Yuchun pointed to the map: "Didn't Murong Xue take the initiative to give up Nanyang?" In his opinion, this is only the southern defense line of Luoyi, but in my opinion, it is a critical entrance! Lord Lao, please see, if our army sets out from Nanyang and enters Baiyun Mountain and Laojun Mountain to the west, what will happen? ”

Lao Jianhua's eyes lit up: "If you enter these mountain ranges, you can go west to Wuguan; And going north, it is the battlefield where Ma Hongjie and Helian Xiong confront! ”

"Hahaha, that's right" Bao Yuchun laughed loudly: "A surprise soldier crossed the line of Laojun Mountain, Yawu Mountain, and Niangniang Mountain, but attacked Ma Hongjie's flank and directly disrupted his position. ”

Lao Jianhua was a little curious: "Does Bao Shuai want to join forces with the Turks to eliminate the Southern Army?" ”

Bao Yuchun shook his head: "I'm not that kind." Lord Lao, my purpose is to add fire to the battlefield, so that Helian Xiong's iron cavalry can successfully break through the defense line of the Southern Army, and then threaten Luoyi. At that time, whether it is Ma Hongjie's southern army or Murong Xue's northern army, they will have to fight the Turks, wouldn't it be more beneficial to us? ”

Hearing this, Lao Jianhua couldn't help but slap his hands and laugh, and praised him again and again.

Murong Xue and Dong Tianxing, as well as Li Bing, who was in the eastern capital, did ignore this crucial issue: Nanyang was not only a defensive town south of Luoyi, but also a key point into the western mountains of the Han River Plain.

The loss of this place, from the perspective of ordinary people, it is indeed difficult to think of the Tongguan battlefield hundreds of miles away, but in the eyes of a famous general like Bao Yuchun, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If Murong Xue's position was changed to Li Jiangyao or Xu Youchang, they would definitely not easily give their opponent such a good opportunity. Unfortunately, however, there are never assumes in the brutal battlefield. As a general, if one son makes a mistake, it can often only lead to a total crisis.

Just when Murong Xue retreated to the front line of the Shahe River and desperately built fortifications, the rebels had no intention of coming to fight hard, and 60,000 elite soldiers and horses, under the command of Bao Yuchun, secretly entered the mountains west of Nanyang, and then advanced north along the rugged mountain road.

Ten days later, after a difficult trek, the Xuanjia army suddenly appeared in Lingbao County, Dingzhou, thirty miles behind the southern army camp!

An unexpected sneak attack was staged on a moonlit night.

Ma Hongjie never expected that there would be enemies behind him! The 200,000 Southern Army was suddenly taken by surprise. Overnight, four rear barracks were destroyed, millions of catties of grain were completely burned, and a reorganized division surrendered, and then it was slaughtered again.

When the generals of the Southern Army recovered from their shock and were ready to organize a counterattack, they unexpectedly launched a frontal attack by the Turks at this time. The iron cavalry of the Golden Clan is like a mountain and a tsunami towards the defense line of the Southern Army, and it is unstoppable!

It would be nice to have a hoplite corps in hand at this time. Ma Hongjie secretly sighed in his heart, and at the same time struggled to command his subordinates to implement echelon defense.

Three days and three nights!

The soldiers of the Southern Army fought fiercely with the Turks for three days and three nights, and finally began to retreat in a comprehensive way because the formation was chaotic and unable to return to the sky. Lingbao County, Luoning County, Yiyang County and Xin'an County were lost one after another, and Dingzhou completely fell.

Behind him, it's Luoyi!