Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 511 It’s hard to escape even if you have wings

"When our army left Yecheng, we first marched 120 miles, and the next day at night we marched another 100 miles. On the third day, the whole army marched day and night, marching 150 miles. Yesterday we marched 120 miles. The whole army assembled here and rested."

In Zhending, Changshan, Ju Hu listened to his colleagues' description of the march. Ju Hu estimated in his mind that it would take four days of rapid march from Yecheng to Zhending, and the total distance would be about 500 miles.

This speed was already considered restrained for the elite troops in the central army, but there was no other way. In the first two days, the army hid during the day and moved at night to avoid alerting the eyes and ears of Guanzhong around Yecheng.

After leaving Yecheng, the soldiers were tired from hiding during the day and marching at night. They had no time to rest for much and could only force themselves to keep marching.

If you count it, the last 100 miles of march yesterday was the last breath of the central army.

At this moment, the central army must rest and wait for the soldiers from the counties and powerful forces to join.

Although Hebei is vast, flat and open, the river network between Jizhou and Youzhou has formed large swamps and wetlands. The area that is truly suitable for large-scale marches is the eastern part of Taihang Mountains, the area around Changshan and Julu, which has higher terrain.

The main force will gather in Zhending, and the detachment will gather in Hejian in the east.

It will take at least ten days for the army to be assembled.

The main force of the central army was in Zhending, and the detachment was in Hejian. Fanyang, Zhuojun, north of Hejian was considered a gathering point.

While Ju Hu was calculating the deployment of troops in his mind, Li Fu led several knights to meet him. The flickering torches made Li Fu's expression look hazy and cold.

"The general has summoned you."

Li Fu simply conveyed a message, and Ju Hu and several other colleagues bowed and said goodbye. They also grabbed the spare horse brought by Li Fu and mounted the horse nimbly by grabbing the saddle.

After riding for seven or eight miles, Li Fu slowed down his horse in front, and several guard knights were tactful and held torches to guard the front and back.

Li Fu asked: "Where should the Grand Marshal be now?"

"Near Ji County. When I left, the Grand Marshal set out from Liangxiang. If nothing unexpected happens tonight, he will camp in Ji County."

Ju Hu hastily added: "The Grand Marshal is quite wary of the people of Youzhou, and he may not want to offend Lord Xuande. Therefore, the officials and people of Liangxiang County repeatedly invited him, but the Grand Marshal refused to enter the city and camped overnight on the outskirts of the city. Ji County is Lord Xuande's hometown, and there are trusted men guarding it, so I think the Grand Marshal will not enter Ji County either."

Li Fu frowned after hearing this: "So now our army is 600 miles away from the Grand Marshal, and he is marching too fast, but is he lightly equipped?"

"Yes, apart from the necessary armor and weapons, the Grand Marshal only brought 15 days' worth of food and fodder with him. There were also two battalions of chariot soldiers. At night, the soldiers camped around the chariots. Most of the soldiers were wrapped in blankets and fur coats and stayed with the cattle and horses at night."

Ju Hu patiently explained: "Therefore, the Grand Marshal saves the time of building camps and moving camps in the morning and evening, and can easily travel a hundred miles a day. If the road is good, it can travel a hundred and fifty miles a day. But it is still slower than when the Grand Marshal conquered the Hu people in the severe winter."

"This... If this is the case, our army will not be able to catch up."

Li Fu looked grim, and it was hard to see clearly in the dark. He said, "If we continue at this speed, by the time our army reaches Ji County, the Grand Marshal will have already passed Juyongkou."

Ju Hu remained silent after hearing this, as he couldn't think of any useful tricks.

Some things are very clear. Unless the central army reaches the front line, Yuan Xi's Fanyang soldiers will not be able to take the initiative to attack.

Even though Yuan Xi and the black bear were a hundred miles apart yesterday, Yuan Xi did not dare to take action.

This is not something Yuan Xi can decide on his own. The follow-up reinforcements are far away. If Yuan Xi does not have strong support after he presses forward, it will be easy for him to press forward but difficult for him to retreat.

Jiao Chu and his gang were only considering a simple military surprise attack, but Yuan Xi had many more aspects to consider, and these were all concerns.

Without a three-fold numerical advantage, Yuan Xi would not dare to take the initiative to send troops.

At the same time, there must be three times the number of support troops, otherwise Yuan Xi would not dare to attack with all his strength after arriving and making contact. The most he could do was to entangle the enemy, reduce their marching efficiency, and buy time for the central army to arrive at the battlefield.

But the problem is obvious. The number of soldiers Yuan Xi mobilized for combat is only more than twice that of Black Bear.

What worried Yuan Xi the most was that he had no visible and tangible strong reinforcements. If 10,000 people rushed forward without follow-up forces, they would most likely be eaten up.

When the Grand Marshal conquered the various Hu tribes, he often annihilated scattered main forces of tens of thousands of cavalry.

It is barely acceptable that 10,000 people were defeated and died fighting.

The most terrifying thing was that the military chief was killed, and the enemy reorganized their soldiers, and after more than ten days they had an army of seven or eight thousand.

Just like when they were conquering the Hu people, they were fighting and expanding the army at the same time. In this case, Yuan Xi's death would be meaningless and would instead add great resistance to the central army.

Therefore, it was a wise choice for Yuan Xi to stop his troops.

Since Yuan Xi made a wise choice, forcing him to rush and pursue would mean that he would lose the initial advantage of using static state to overcome dynamic state, and would instead fight in a tired state, which would undoubtedly increase the risk of Yuan Xi's defeat.

Li Fu and Ju Hu had a brief discussion but could not find a way to delay the enemy's march.

They had no choice but to continue on their journey. Soon they entered Zhending County and went straight to the county government.

The county government had been requisitioned, sentries had been increased, and bonfires were burning at every intersection.

In the second-floor pavilion in the backyard of the county government, Yuan Shang saw Ju Hu and asked directly: "Does the Grand Marshal know about our army's movements?"

"I don't know, but I feel that the Grand Marshal must have noticed something wrong and didn't want to make things difficult for me, so he let me go back."

Ju Hu knelt down and patiently explained: "When the Grand Marshal left Feihukou, the road was dangerous and the soldiers fought hard to get through it quickly. When they arrived at Liangxiang County, they were worried that the people of Youzhou would know that the soldiers were exhausted, so they camped outside the city. After dawn, they immediately set out for Ji County and sent me south."

Li Fu glanced at him. Ju Hu didn't say these to him just now.

Then Ju Hu said, "In my opinion, if the Grand Marshal arrives at Ji County tonight, his soldiers and horses will be exhausted. Although the Chinese army is elite, it will be difficult to rest since they have taken the Feihu Road. They must rest for three to five days."

"Three to five days?"

Yuan Shang stood up and murmured, then reacted: "You mean he said that when he left Feihukou, the whole army was already exhausted?"

"Yes, judging by common sense, this is how it should be."

Ju Hu also lowered his voice and said, "I didn't know that Hebei had such a change, so I didn't report it. I am guilty."

"It's not your fault. I just changed my mind suddenly."

Yuan Shang waved his hand, still frowning: "In three to five days, according to the schedule, it is time for you to go back... If you don't go, he will be suspicious."

Ju Hu showed no emotion, while Li Fu stood up and saluted: "My Lord, with the sharpness of the Grand Marshal, I am afraid that he will be able to detect the change in the next two days. Tomorrow, our army will divide its troops to block Wuruan Pass and Feihu Pass, and the envoys from Guanzhong will not be able to pass. In three days, the Grand Marshal will know that the retreat is cut off. At this time, what is the point of Ju Jun going or not?"

Seeing Yuan Shang nod, Li Fu said, "We must not let the Grand Marshal pass Juyongkou. If he enters Dai, Liu Xuande is a strong ruler. If he sees the Grand Marshal, he will definitely be shaken and join forces with him. Therefore, I think we should immediately send an envoy to Youzhou to urge them to intercept and entangle the Grand Marshal. When our army arrives, we will surround him layer by layer, and the Grand Marshal will not be able to escape even if he has wings."

Seeing Yuan Shang in deep thought, Li Fu added: "The troops in Fanyang should not wait and see any longer. They should be urged to march north and unite with the troops in Youzhou to besiege the Grand Marshal in Ji County."

"The northwest of Ji County is mountainous, which is good for setting up camp."

Ju Hu also stood up to add his opinion, and Yuan Shang immediately said, "Okay, let's do it."

At this point, there is no turning back.

Hebei has no way out, and neither does he.

(End of this chapter)