Chapter 248: It is difficult to return to the homeland, and people’s hearts are unpredictable
Hangu Pass.
Wang Jian had been staying here for three days and three nights without rest or sleep.
Every day brought bad news. The Qin army was defeated, Shang Jun died in battle, the King of Qin committed suicide, Prime Minister Wei Liao was killed, Xianyang fell, and the Yue army was rampaging in Qin territory...
It makes people dizzy.
In addition to the tense situation at home, there was also a series of bad news on the Eastern Front.
When Wang Jian learned that the Yue army had crossed the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains and suddenly appeared in the Guanzhong Plain, he knew that something bad was going to happen. Without any hesitation, he immediately ordered a withdrawal.
Prepare to return to Guanzhong as quickly as possible to provide assistance to Xianyang.
But...
"Jia Xu is that lunatic!" Wang Jian gritted his teeth.
Obviously,
Jia Xu, the prime minister of Yue State who was far away in Daliang, always kept in close contact with the King of Yue who was far away in Hanzhong.
The two are interconnected...
Almost at the same time as the Yue army marched into the Guanzhong Plain, the allied forces, which had previously been adopting a cautious offensive and evacuation strategy, suddenly changed their normal behavior and launched a more radical and proactive attack.
Wave after wave, like vicious wolves, bit the Qin army relentlessly.
If it weren't for the urgency at home, Wang Jian would have a thousand ways to deal with the Allied forces' poor attack methods. He only needed to deliberately lure the enemy deep into his territory and he could easily defeat them.
However, Wang Jian's intention had already been seen through by Jia Xu.
There was no room for maneuver at all. Wang Jian could only send out wave after wave of rearguard troops to buy time for the main force to evacuate.
The result is,
More than one-third of the Qin army soldiers died on the road of retreat, which in turn made the allied forces famous.
In Wang Jian's eyes, apart from the Yue army, the so-called allied forces were just a group of foxes relying on the power of others to bully others, a group of sheep in wolves' clothing.
There's no way we can fight a tough battle.
But if they encounter a favorable situation, the allied forces will be able to kill and scream, and be very proud.
That's so positive.
Especially the Wei army, which had been beaten by the Qin army and had almost no power to fight back, and each of the soldiers was holding a grudge.
When faced with such a godsend opportunity, why not beat him to death?
In addition to Wei,
The armies of Qi, Chu and Yan also behaved out of character and acted like a group of tigers and wolves.
The reason is very simple. It is not that all countries hate Qin to the core, but it involves a conflict of interests.
Take the battlefield of Zhao State as an example.
According to the terms of the alliance, Yan, Dai and Qi could all participate in the division of Zhao's former territory, but the specific amount each country would get was not specified in the terms.
It can't be reflected at all.
The simplest and most brutal approach is that whoever occupies it owns it.
In order to fight for more land and cities, the armies of Qi and Yan, which had been hesitant and cautious, suddenly went crazy and pursued the Qin army relentlessly.
It is reported that,
The State of Qi was even preparing to draw more troops from the country to the front line.
As for the weak Dai State, it could have also wanted to get a share of the pie, but it was tacitly ignored by Qi and Yan, who deliberately did not give the Dai army any room to operate.
Wherever they went, the armies of Qi and Yan would overtake them.
In addition to the allied forces, in the old territories of Han and Zhao, when they heard that Xianyang had been captured and the King of Qin had committed suicide, the people and dignitaries of the two countries also became restless, and some even raised the banner of restoring their country.
The Qin army in the two places suddenly became rats crossing the street, and everyone wanted to kill them.
The situation is extremely sad.
Those rebel troops were also cunning. Knowing that they could not compete with the Qin army on the front battlefield, they resorted to despicable means, such as ambushing scattered Qin army troops or raiding food and supplies.
This made the Qin army extremely annoyed.
Because their food and supplies were burned, in order to fill their stomachs, the Qin army had to split into small groups and enter various villages and towns to plunder food during the retreat.
This dispersion made them the target of rebel forces in various places.
Every day there were reports of missing soldiers, which came to Wang Jian like snowflakes, making the Qin general's face darker and darker, so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to ooze out of it.
It has almost become a vicious cycle.
As a result, the originally planned orderly evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Qin troops gradually turned into a disorderly escape, with food and grass in short supply, roads and bridges destroyed, and attacks everywhere.
All the favorable conditions of time, place and people vanished in an instant.
The result is,
Of the 700,000 strong Qin army before the war, only 300,000 were withdrawn to the Hangu Pass area.
It’s not that 400,000 soldiers died in the battle, but that many soldiers were separated from the main force, scattered across the vast battlefield in the East, and lost contact.
With the decline of the Qin State already inevitable, what will be the future fate of these soldiers?
It's already imaginable.
Due to the above changes, Wang Jian was unable to return to Xianyang in time to provide assistance. By the time he led his troops to Hangu Pass, Xianyang had fallen a day in advance.
Under such circumstances, how could Wang Jian dare to lead his troops to provide assistance rashly?
I was afraid of falling into the encirclement of the Yue State.
Wang Jian had no choice but to send people to continue to inquire about the domestic situation while speeding up the withdrawal of troops still remaining in the eastern battlefield, trying to rescue as many as he could.
Wang Jian knew very well that
The army in his hands is the last hope of the Qin State.
There is no room for error.
…
In the stone house on the top floor of Hangu Pass Fortress.
Although Wang Jian was over sixty years old, dressed in military uniform, he still stood straight with a resolute face. He stood at the lookout and looked into the distance at his homeland with a complicated expression.
The latest news he received was that the State of Yue was still sending reinforcements to Guanzhong, and had already begun a large-scale sweep of the Guanzhong area to consolidate previous victories.
Just yesterday,
The southern gate of the Guanzhong Plain also fell into the hands of the Yue State.
Originally, Wang Jian had some ideas about Wuguan, but the allied forces were chasing him too closely, and he had no time to make any arrangements, and was overtaken by the Yue army.
Wang Jian's troops were trapped in the Hangu Pass area, unable to advance or retreat.
In the Guanzhong Plain to the west, a million-strong Yue army was sharpening their swords. With Xianyang as the center, they set up a dragnet, waiting for Wang Jian's troops to fall into it.
Not to mention the east.
It has become the main battlefield of the Allied forces, with Allied troops everywhere and nowhere to hide.
Perhaps the only thing that is gratifying is that the Hangu Pass area, as the transit hub for Qin's grain and supplies, has a large amount of grain stored there, which can still support the consumption of an army of 300,000.
otherwise,
Without food and supplies, the army would have collapsed without a fight.
Another purpose of Yue's large-scale sweep east of Xianyang was to prevent Wang Jian's army from obtaining food and supplies, which was a sinister intention.
"What should I do next?"
This is the most realistic and urgent problem facing Wang Jian and even the 300,000 Qin troops.
What can I do?
No one can give an answer.
Almost unsolvable.
In just one year, tremendous changes have taken place in the Warring States world.
The Qin State, which was originally designated as the "overlord of the world", is now gathering the hearts of the people across the country and embarking on the road to destroying the six states with the most high-spirited fighting spirit, the most surging blood, the most brilliant wisdom.
Who would have thought,
They were actually defeated by a newly born Kingdom of Yue.
Wang Jian suddenly felt that he had aged, not physically, but mentally and mentally. It was as if his faith had collapsed overnight and there was no place left for him to go.
Like a wandering ghost.
Under the sunset,
Wang Jian's shadow was stretched out and projected onto the mottled wall behind him, swaying unsteadily.
…
Wei State, Daliang.
Since being elected as the commander-in-chief of the allied forces, Jia Xu has been staying in the Daliang Royal City to dispatch orders from all directions in order to facilitate the command of the armies of the four countries.
The fact is,
The moment the Yue army marched into the Guanzhong Plain and Wang Jian's army decided to withdraw from the eastern battlefield, Jia Xu lost command of the allied forces.
Become in name only.
The armies of the four countries had already been fighting each other in order to seize the spoils.
They almost started a fight.
Because of this, as soon as Wang Jian's army retreated to the vicinity of Hangu Pass , no matter which country's army was chasing them, they would stop tacitly.
Allow Wang Jian's army to enter Hangu Pass.
On the one hand, they were afraid that the Qin army would become desperate, and on the other hand, they were naturally on guard against the State of Yue.
I guess now,
The King of Qi, the King of Yan, the King of Chu, the King of Wei and the like would probably be hoping that Wang Jian's army would advance to Xianyang and have a great battle with the State of Yue, preferably with both sides suffering heavy losses.
These last kings,
Although the bloodiness in his body is gone, the calculations in his heart are still clear and innocent.
Even a fool could see that the originally isolated State of Yue had become another State of Qin after it successively conquered Bashu, Hanzhong and the Guanzhong Plain.
In a sense,
After absorbing the old territories of Qin, Yue will become even more terrifying than Qin.
How can the princes not be afraid?
"Prime Minister, should we go to Xianyang?" Diao Chan asked.
She and her senior sister Lu Xueqi escorted the prime minister all the way. To be honest, they have been out there for more than half a year and have seen a lot of the world, but they also miss their master.
Hearing that Master was in Xianyang, little Diao Chan was eager to go and reunite with Master as soon as possible.
Lu Xueqi also looked over curiously.
"We can't go back now." Jia Xu shook his head.
"Why?"
Jia Xu smiled and explained: "As long as I don't leave, I will still be the nominal commander of the allied forces. Even if the armies of various countries quarrel, they can still unite and continue to wipe out the remnants of the Qin army.
"But if I leave, it will be a declaration that the alliance is dissolved, and the armies of all countries will no longer be bound by constraints."
"Isn't that better? Let them fight."
Diao Chan is simple, but not stupid.
Especially in the past six months or so, he has been following Jia Xu as a bodyguard, going to various occasions, and through what he has seen and heard, he has a thorough understanding of the subtle relationships between countries.
"It would be good to fight, but they could also unite to deal with us again." Jia Xu's thoughts were naturally deeper than Diao Chan's. "All countries are very afraid of Qin, so they naturally don't want another Qin to appear."
What he worries about most is that
If the armies of various countries even collude with Wang Jian's army, it would be a big trouble.
"this……"
Diao Chan's face was dull. She was so naive that she couldn't imagine such a sudden change of expression. "Will he, will they?"
"Yes."
Jia Xu nodded affirmatively, "In diplomatic relations between countries, there is no such thing as eternal alliances, only eternal interests. For the sake of interests, we can be friends today and enemies tomorrow. And vice versa."
“It’s so complicated.”
Diao Chan frowned, and then asked worriedly: "Then, Master, isn't that dangerous?"
"So, I will continue to stay in Daliang and try my best to maintain the alliance, so that other countries dare not openly turn against each other, and still unite against foreign enemies, continue to wipe out the remnants of the Qin army, and buy time for the king to pacify Guanzhong." Jia Xu said.
"All right."
Although it's a little regrettable, little Diao Chan still knows the big picture.
Lu Xueqi was smarter. She heard something and said, "Prime Minister, if this is the case, won't it be dangerous for you to continue staying in Daliang? I'm worried..."
Jia Xu looked at Lu Xueqi approvingly, his face became serious, and he said slowly: "For the sake of the king's great cause, this little risk is still worth taking."
" Don't worry, I will protect you." Diao Chan said suddenly.
All three of them laughed...
