Chapter 1209: Carrying on the Past and Opening up the Future (Ninety-Nine) Difficulties of Advance and Retreat

Li Ru's critical illness was like a thunderbolt on Lu Chao's head. For him, Li Ru was not only his academic mentor, but also his political guide. It was because of Li Ru's guidance that he started much higher than others. In more than ten years, perhaps others could struggle from a mere book to a county magistrate, but he was now the number one general in the Great Qin Kingdom.

Of course, there was a monster who was stronger than him, that was Gao Yuan, who grew up with him. Gao Yuan had created a huge kingdom, and Lu Chao had to admit that the Great Han Kingdom had now replaced the Qin Kingdom and surpassed the Qin Kingdom, becoming the most powerful country on this continent.

Li Ru was over seventy years old. Whether it was him or the second generation of Li Ru academic inheritors headed by Lu Chao, they had actually been quietly preparing for today. In the past few years, Li Ru had been creating a good environment for Lu Chao in the political arena, and determined Lu Chao as the successor and head of the Li Ru School. To ensure that after Li Ru left, the Li Ru School could still have the right to speak in the Qin State.

But the layout was not perfect, especially after Fan Sui's assassination, Lu Chao realized that there had always been a conspiracy group against Li Ru's academic thought within the Qin State. The result of Qin Wang Yingying's treatment of Fan Sui made all the people of Li Ru's school more vigilant. As the saying goes, a new emperor has his own ministers. After the death of Qin Wulie, whether the new king would not always adhere to the existing national policy is a question in itself.

But as long as Li Ru is still there, Qin Wang will not act rashly, and Li Ru's health has always looked very good. No one expected that he would fall so suddenly and unexpectedly.

Compared with Li Ru, the incident in Xi Zhao was naturally nothing in Lu Chao's mind. He also knew that Cui Yuan sent someone to inform him in a hurry. What does it mean to let him rush back to Xianyang? The Li Ru School needs someone who can have an absolute influence on Qin Wang Yingying to appear in Xianyang after the teacher falls, appear beside the king, and deal with all the officials of the Li Ru School.

Lu Chao also knew that he had to go back to Xianyang. If the teacher died, the King of Qin wanted to change his ways, and the Li Ru School would lose its voice and dominance. There was no doubt that the Li Ru School was his solid backing. If the Li Ru School fell, he might not have any problems for the time being, but as time went on, no one could tell. The affection that Ying Ying had accumulated from following him in the north and south might be consumed at any time.

Lu Chao stepped into Hangu Pass and, regardless of the hardship of the journey, immediately convened a meeting of all the Qin army generals and local civil officials in Hangu Pass to prepare for the proper arrangements. Immediately embarked on the road back to Xianyang.

In fact, there was not much to say. In Lu Chao's eyes, Xi Zhao was no longer an opponent of the same level. Now, for the Qin State, they were more like a pet that would sometimes be willful. As long as it was within the tolerance range, they could respond with a tolerant smile, but it would be too much. Of course, a beating was inevitable, this time the Jinyang mutiny. That's what Lu Chao thinks, and he needs to give them a good beating.

By the way, let them clear up, the master's majesty cannot be challenged.

This little thing is enough for Gou Yi to handle. Compared with the matter in Xianyang, this little thing of teaching a pet a lesson is really not worth the burden. At the meeting, Lu Chao did not mention the Jinyang mutiny, but emphasized the stability of the army and the local area. After he returned to Xianyang, before he redeployed the generals guarding Hangu Pass, there needs to be absolute peace here.

The peace here represents his authority and influence. When Gou Yi quelled the Jinyang mutiny and officially turned Xi Zhao into a vassal of Qin, he would have enough merit and qualifications to guard Hangu Pass for himself and lead the 100,000 troops for himself.

Gou Yi is Lu Chao's absolute confidant, and Lu Chao has great trust in Gou Yi.

However, things in the world are not as they wish. Just when the meeting was over, when all the important generals and officials stood up and bowed to Lu Chao to say goodbye, the door of the hall was pushed open with a bang, and a bloody Qin general rushed in. In the surprised eyes of everyone, he fell to the ground with a thump, and tried his best to struggle to get up, but he had no strength at all. Only one bloody hand stretched upward, and a hoarse voice sounded in everyone's ears.

"General, our army was ambushed, and the Han cavalry entered Jinyang on a large scale. Our army was ambushed and in danger."

With a bang, Lu Chao stood up from his seat suddenly. The movement was so big that even the chair he was sitting on was turned to the ground. All the generals and officials in the hall were also stunned. After a moment of silence, all kinds of surprised voices rang in the hall.

The sudden appearance of the Han cavalry in Jinyang County on a large scale can only indicate an astonishing fact, that is, the Western Zhao has betrayed the Qin Dynasty and become an accomplice of the Han army. Only with the help of the Western Zhao people, the Han cavalry can hide from the Qin army's eyes and ears, appear silently, and catch the Qin army off guard.

What does this mean? All the Qin generals are very clear. This is not just a matter of Qin losing a source of food and silver, but from now on, Hangu Pass will once again confront the enemy head-on. Hangu Pass, which has been silent for less than two years, will once again become the front line of defending the Qin Dynasty.

Yes, it is defense, because everyone understands in their hearts that now, the Qin army has lost the capital for large-scale offensives. Without strong money to support it, long-distance expeditions can only be a joke.

The tooth general was carried to a side room, and several doctors were summoned for emergency treatment. Half an hour later, Lu Chao appeared in the lobby again, with a sinking expression on his face, which made all the generals and officials feel their hearts sinking. .

"Now we can be sure that Western Zhao has betrayed us. The so-called Jinyang mutiny is an out-and-out trap. Our army was attacked by a large-scale cavalry of the Han army dozens of miles away from Jinyang. From then on, Judging from the flags that appeared, it should be the Donghu Independent Cavalry Division and the Xiongnu Independent Cavalry Division. The two cavalry divisions of the Han Dynasty are foreigners and are good at riding and shooting. Our infantry team was suddenly attacked by these two cavalry divisions during the march. , the entire army has been destroyed, and the condition of the five thousand cavalry led by Gou Yi is still unknown. In addition, the five thousand troops stationed by Yang Jie in Jinyang City are definitely gone." Lu Chao's voice was extremely low, and everyone was stunned. From Lu Chao's gloomy face and his extremely suppressed voice, he could feel the general's deep, irresolvable anger.

Any pet owned by a family suddenly bites its owner, and bites it hard, and everyone will be furious. Everyone is waiting for the extremely angry General Lu Chao to issue a military order, and tens of thousands of troops will be sent to Hangu Pass. Attack in full force to avenge this.

After a long silence, all the generals heard were military orders that were extremely confusing to them.

"All generals return to their camps and the entire army is on combat readiness, waiting for the next order."

Under everyone's surprised and puzzled gazes, a livid-faced Lu Chao waved his hands and left the lobby. Generals, you look at me and I look at you. I don’t know what the general is waiting for. The Han army came too suddenly. Under such circumstances, Gou Yisuo led a cavalry raid. Failure was inevitable, but that was nothing. They are two Han cavalry divisions, with a combined strength of only more than 10,000 people. Within Hangu Pass, even if Gouyi's 20,000-strong army is completely destroyed, there will still be an army of more than 80,000 people. As long as they attack, there will be no The reason for defeat is that it is not difficult to defeat the Han army and regain the territory of Western Zhao.

After swallowing Western Zhao, the general once again expanded the territory, and this time for a good reason without any political pressure. Everyone did not understand why the general hesitated and why he just asked everyone to prepare for war instead of attacking immediately. At this time, time is everything, because every day that passes, the enemy is likely to increase their strength and consolidate the fruits of their victory. Therefore, every day that passes, it will make victory more difficult.

With great confusion, everyone left here and returned to their respective armies. Although they were confused, the military order must be carried out.

After the generals left, in the back hall of the general's mansion, Lu Chao was like an ant on a hot pot, spinning around in the room. On the other side of the hall, a man decorated with scribes' clothes stood there, His face was also full of anxiety.

"General, it is indeed not the time to start a war. Mr. Li is in danger. You must return to Xianyang immediately. Since the Han army is only two cavalry divisions, any general can do this job. This does not prevent When you return to Xianyang, even if you secure Hangu Pass, no one will dare to say anything to you. Under such extreme weather and the enemy's situation is unclear, you should focus on being prudent and defend Hangu Pass. Even if you have no merit, you will not have a fault. "Xi Zhao is just a disease of mustard moss. It won't be too late to come back and take care of it when the big event in Xianyang is over."

Lu Chao glared at him fiercely, "What do you know? This moment is the best time for us to attack. I dare to conclude that the only two cavalry divisions of the Han army arriving in Jinyang now, because there are only They can arrive in the shortest time. Their infantry must still be on their way at this moment, but with every passing day, their reinforcements will be closer to Jinyang. Every passing day, we are closer to losing Zhao. One thing, if I avoid fighting and return to Xianyang at this juncture, what will the king think of me? "

"General, what matters now is not what the king thinks of you. As long as you return to Xianyang and give everyone a backbone and gather under one banner again, even if the king is dissatisfied in his heart, there will be nothing he can do to you. If you don't go back and choose to fight, let's not say whether you can win. As you said, the Han army is all cavalry. If he doesn't want to fight, how can you fight with him? They have the right to choose the battlefield. "

"I don't have to choose. As long as all my troops go out to attack Jinyang County, I'm not afraid that they won't come to me."

"How long will it take to defeat Jinyang?" the scribe asked. "Even if the Western Zhao army is vulnerable, they have a strong city to help them. Ten days, a month, or half a year. General, have you ever thought about it, if this time is really needed, then everything will be over. We have already obtained The exact news is that the king has indeed issued an edict to summon Fan Sui back to Xianyang!" (To be continued)