Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 302 Stick to your point of view
"King of Heaven, in my humble opinion, instead of delaying the retreat under Yinchuan City, it is better to retreat as soon as possible and return to the east of Hedong to aid."

"King of Heaven! I agree, we have been besieging the city for a long time. If Xie Ai refuses to leave the city for one day, we will be wasted here forever!"

"Now Huanxi invades Hedong. Once Hedong is lost, what's the use of taking Hetao! Please think again, the king of heaven."

In the Yu army's camp, in the king's tent, the officials were admonishing and admonishing Fu Jian.

He had to look at Xue Zan, who had not expressed his attitude.

Of course Xue Zan knew what Fu Jian was thinking. He took a deep breath and said:

"To the king of heaven, I have something to say, and I won't be happy if I don't say it."

Fu Jian was secretly happy and said quickly:

"Xue Qing, just tell me."

Everyone's eyes were on Xue Zan, and Xue Zan said loudly:

As soon as these words came out, the king's tent was like a pot exploding. Everyone accused Xue Zan one after another. Fu Jian slapped the table and shouted:

"The strategic location east of Hedong is easy to defend but difficult to attack. All you need to do is occupy the dangerous pass. Huan Xi has few soldiers and few generals, so it is difficult to gain anything. This is the second reason."

After saying that, Fu Jian looked at Xue Zan and said with satisfaction:
"Xue Qing, please continue."

"I believe that we cannot retreat for three reasons.

Xue Zan said seriously:
"Xie Ai defends the city with heavy troops, how can the food and grass in the city last long? I think that within ten days, Xie Ai will definitely leave the city to fight. This is the third reason."

Even Fu Jian couldn't help but nodded and said:
"Lu Polou, the governor of Hedong, is a prudent man. He will not rush out of the city to fight Huan Xilang just because he is eager for success."

"Quiet! Let Xue Qing explain the reason!"

"The only people Huan Xi could call upon were the 30,000 elite soldiers under Deng Qiang's command and the guards who had followed him southward.

"Huan Xi has always been cautious in his actions, so how could he ignore the safety of Guanzhong and mobilize all his troops in Guanzhong to march east of the river.

"Now the king of heaven is in a stalemate with Xie Ai in Yinchuan. If Yinchuan is lost, the king of heaven can drive south and go deep into Guanzhong.

"As for Xianbei in Hexi, the road is far away and it is difficult to respond, and Huan Wen's elite Chu army is now in Jiangdong.

Even those who insisted on retreating had to nod secretly after hearing Xue Zan's analysis.

There was silence in the king's tent. Only Xue Zan explained to Fu Jian calmly:

When Fu Jian saw this, he decided on the spot:

Xue Zan smiled and said:

"What Xue Qing said resonates deeply with me. Since Huan Xi can't do anything in Hedong, and Xie Ai can't wait for reinforcements, if we just retreat, wouldn't all our previous efforts be in vain!"

"And the King of Heaven's Western Expedition did not go out in full force, but only brought 50,000 infantry and cavalry. Hedong has enough troops to hold on."

"Now that Huan Xi has sent troops to Hedong, Liang will definitely be unable to rescue Yinchuan. This is one of the reasons.

Before he finished speaking, Xinxing County Duke Fu Fei couldn't help but ask:
"How do you know Huan Xi's army?"

"All ministers please retreat, but I alone cannot do it."

After hearing Xue Zan's three reasons for opposing withdrawal, many people who were not firm in their stance began to waver.

Everyone saw that Fu Jian had made up his mind, and what Xue Zan said was not unreasonable, so they had no choice but to let it go and no longer insist on retreating.

In Yinchuan City, Xie Ai already knew that Huan Xi had given up rescuing Hetao and instead sent troops to Hedong.

He had no idea of ​​being abandoned. After all, there were still 100,000 defenders in Yinchuan City, and Deng Xia was also leading Baibao Xianbei to coordinate outside the city. It could be said that he had many soldiers and generals. If it weren't for food problems, Xie Ai would probably be able to stay there forever.

Shanyutai, left auxiliary wing.

There were only Xie Ai and Suo Xia in the room.

"Brother Suo, how much food is left in the city?"

Suo Xia was in charge of the army's logistics, so Xie Ai naturally wanted to ask him.

The two of them were former ministers together and became close friends. Suo Xia told the truth:

"There is no shortage of rice and meat in the city, but only firewood and salt are missing. According to the past consumption, firewood and salt will be exhausted in less than seven days."

If there is no firewood, one can find a way to demolish the house, but if there is no salt, it is a thorny problem that is difficult to solve.

Suo Ya saw Xie Ai frowning and suggested:

"It is better to reduce the cost, maybe we can support it for a while longer. When the salt is exhausted, it will not be too late for Zixiu (Xie Ai) to go out of the city to fight. For example, if the cauldron is destroyed, the three armies will be killed."

Xie Ai was silent when he heard the words. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said:

"Once the cost of salt is reduced, the soldiers must know that there is a lack of salt in the city, and they must have the courage to risk their lives and survive. If my subordinates are all elites, they may be able to follow suit.

"But if we expect these barbarians to live towards death, I'm afraid we will lose morale."

Suo Xia was not good at military affairs. He had known Xie Ai for many years, so he naturally knew how powerful the other party was. Seeing that Xie Ai rejected his proposal, he was not upset and just asked:

"What will Zixiu do?"

Xie Ai stood up and said:
"I want to select strong men and reward them with wine and meat. After three days, I will go out of the city to fight Fu Jian."

Of course it was impossible for Xie Ai to take out all the Yinchuan garrison at once. There were not many soldiers, but fine ones. Pushing some rabble up would instead be a hindrance and turn a partial rout into a complete defeat.

Suo Xia nodded and said:
"Since Duke Liang has entrusted Zixiu with all the military affairs in Hetao, it is up to Zixiu to decide whether to go out to fight in the city or hold on to the city. I only hope that Zixiu can come back victorious and live up to Duke Liang."

"Of course!"

Xie Ai affirmed that he was still full of confidence in this battle.

Although Xie Ai only selected the strongest men in the army to fight, and the number of troops must be smaller than that of Fu Jian, he did not believe that Fu Jian could use his arms and fingers with a hundred thousand infantry and cavalry.

Late at night, south of Yinchuan, twenty miles away from the city, Deng Xia and Baibao Xianbei were resting here.

Unlike Xie Ai who was able to sit back and relax in Yinchuan City, Deng Xia's Baibao Xianbei had gone through a lot of hard battles.

During these days, he often harassed the Yu army, and sometimes he was able to escape smoothly, but occasionally he was caught up by the Yu army's cavalry, and a fierce battle was inevitable.

Of course, due to the application of the steel filling method, the cost of armor casting has dropped sharply. The armored cavalry built by Huan Xi with the help of Kansai is definitely not something that the Yu army cavalry can compete with.

It's just that the opponent is more flexible. When he sees that the situation is not good, he will retreat and Deng Xia can't catch up. Therefore, he actually doesn't cause too much damage to the opponent.

After all, armored cavalry are not used to harass, but to play a role in frontal battlefields.

Since Deng Xia had handed over the command of the active war to Xie Ai, he naturally would not urge him to leave the city, but would patiently wait for the opportunity outside the city.

Now that the supplies are about to be exhausted, Deng Xia is preparing to temporarily retreat to Gaopingchuan for supplies. Xie Ai's messenger finally arrives at Baibao Xianbei's station.

Deng Xia looked at Xie Ai's handwritten letter and the ink dot on the letter that the two of them had agreed to use as a mark. After confirming the authenticity of the letter, Deng Xia murmured:
"This battle is finally here."

(End of this chapter)