Chapter 1182 Strategic Retreat


    Chapter 1180: Strategic Retreat


    Wang Mang knew very well that if Yang Lin was defeated, the Southern Alliance would be isolated and unable to support him, and it would definitely be over sooner or later. Although he wanted to save Yang Lin, he was powerless at all.


    Just when Wang Mang believed that he was completely in a dilemma, a letter from Chen Qingzhi, who was far away in Hedong, once again gave him the confidence to persevere.


    In the confrontation with Xue Rengui, although Chen Qingzhi was repeatedly at a disadvantage, he was not crushed like Wang Mang, and the casualties of the army under his command were not too great. Therefore, against the backdrop of Wang Mang, Chen Qingzhi seemed extremely rare and valuable.


    As the only general who had never suffered a great loss in the confrontation with the Qin army, Chen Qingzhi had to pay attention to his advice.


    Chen Qingzhi said in the letter that Yang Lin''s entire army was annihilated, and even if Yang Guang captured Hangu Pass, he could not save it. Besides, he did not think that Yang Lin could capture Hangu Pass. After all, Li Cunxiao, the world''s number one strong general, was there.


    Since the fall of Hangu Pass, Yang Lin has become a turtle in the jar. The ending of the annihilation of the entire army has long been destined, but it is just a matter of time.


    So, instead of thinking about saving the doomed Liang army, it is better to think carefully about how to get out of the chaos in Sizhou.


    Although the Biannan General Army had more troops than the Qin army, its combat power was far inferior to that of the Qin army. This can be seen from the fact that the 120,000 Biannan Liang army was suppressed and beaten by the 50,000 Qin army.


    Without the Liang army, the Qin army could use up to 100,000 troops, not to mention that there were nearly 20,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, which was definitely not something that the Bingnan Alliance could fight against.


    Although there were few cavalry in the Qin army, when Qin Jian participated in the alliance of princes, he brought 30,000 Bingzhou wolf cavalry to the south, and this cavalry also became the trump card in Qin Hao''s hands.


    After experiencing the battle against Dong, the wolf cavalry also suffered huge casualties, but still had nearly 20,000 cavalry to fight. In addition, Qin Hao supplemented the Liang army''s prisoners of war, which also restored the number of cavalry owned by the Qin army to 30,000.


    After Yuwen Chengdu reorganized the 40,000 Liang troops, another 10,000 Western Liang Iron Cavalry will be released from the 40,000 reorganized army, and the Qin army will have 40,000 cavalry in Sizhou by then.


    However, for the Biannan Alliance, the difference between the Qin army, whether it has 40,000 cavalry or 20,000, is not very small, because no matter whether it is 40,000 or 20,000, they have no choice.


    The Southern Alliance also has cavalry, but the number is too small and the combat power is not strong. It is not the opponent of the Qin army at all. If you go out to fight, you will definitely lose.


    The lands in Hanoi and Hedong are flattering. For Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and Xiliang Iron Cavalry, they always come and go whenever they want.


    Although the Gangnan Alliance can use the city wall to defend, it makes no sense to defend. After all, the Gangnan Alliance Army is not sufficient in food and grass, and once the grain storage is exhausted, it will face the same ending as Yang Lin.


    For the current coalition forces in the Biannan, there is no chance of winning when fighting the Qin army on the Heluo Plain. It is better to preserve the vitality, withdraw from Sizhou, and return to Biannan.


    Bingzhou is mountainous, mostly with dangerous terrain. Only by occupying the territory can the Gangnan Alliance continue to fight against the Qin army.


    Wang Mang knew Chen Qingzhi''s words in his heart, but he was just the lord rather than the lord. He no longer said that he could give up just by giving up.


    However, Wang Mang was determined to retreat in the end, and what made Wang Mang decide was another point mentioned in Chen Qingzhi''s letter, that is, it is not easy for the coalition forces of the Southern Union to withdraw from Sizhou now.


    If the Biannan Alliance Army wants to withdraw from Sizhou, it must withdraw before the Qin army solves the Liang army. Otherwise, if the Qin cavalry is out of control of the Liang army, if they drive straight into the Yellow River and directly cut off the retreat route, the Biannan Alliance Army will really not be able to leave even if they want to.


    As soon as he thought of this, Wang Mang had already made a decision in his mind. No matter how difficult the resistance to withdraw from Sizhou is, he must be withdrawn. He will definitely die sooner or later when he stays in Sizhou. There is still a glimmer of hope for returning to Bingnan.


    The princes of Bingnan still had tens of thousands of troops in Bingnan, plus the 120,000 troops in Sizhou, and the Gangnan coalition forces rely on their huge military advantages and the dangerous terrain to defend, which may not be able to block the Qin army''s attack. What''s more, even if Hanoi and Hedong were given up, the losses of the Southern Alliance were not huge.


    When entering Sizhou, the Southern Alliance had only 60,000 troops, but when they returned, it turned into 120,000.


    Even if 20,000 Chen Zhang''s mercenaries and 20,000 Baibo mercenaries are removed, there are still 80,000 left, which is more than 20,000 more than the previous troops.


    Chen Zhang and Bai Bo''s mercenaries also suffered heavy casualties in the confrontation with the Qin army, but the first thing Wang Mang did after the expansion of the army again was to make up for their losses. Only in this way can the Federation of Yugoslavia do not collapse.


    Although Wang Mang decided to withdraw from Sizhou, he would not be so cheap. Hedong and Hanoi have millions of people, and he decided to leave a mess for Qin Hao.


    That''s right, after surveillance of the aristocratic family, Wang Mang extended his claws to the ordinary people.


    Before withdrawing the troops, Wang Mang ordered the confiscation of all the food rations under his rule on the grounds that the war was approaching, and then distributed them uniformly.


    The people naturally did not want to hand over the food, but under the threat of the soldiers, they did not dare to hand over the food. A small number of people chose to resist in dissatisfaction, and naturally died under the suppression of the army.


    For a moment, the people of the two counties cried and screamed, and countless people cursed Wang Mang.


    After Wang Mang successfully confiscated the food, he took all the food and grass to retreat, but Wang Mang did not do anything and left the people with three days of food.


    In fact, Wang Mang could not leave any food, but in this way, he would starve a large number of people to death and would completely ruin his reputation.


    If Wang Mang really doesn''t want to take advantage of Qin Hao, he can implement the scorched earth strategy and kill all the people in Henoi and Hedong. In this way, Qin Hao can''t get any advantage.


    But Wang Mang''s heart was still not cruel enough after all, and the fact that the massacre of the city was too conscientious. Wang Mang could not do it, nor did he want to do it.


    But Wang Mang still didn''t have much burden to confiscate the surplus grain from the people and let the millions of people in Hedong and Henoi consume the Qin army''s food and grass.


    The Southern Alliance Army had many people and if they gathered together to retreat, the Qin army could not stop them even if they wanted to.


    Su Lie and Xue Rengui didn''t have much force in their hands, and they were afraid that this was a trap to lure them out of the city, so they didn''t go to stop them at the beginning, and after they reacted, they thought it was too late to stop them.


    After leaving behind the devastated Hanoi County, Wang Mang took all his troops and rushed to the south bank of the Yellow River, where the ships for the North Ferry had been prepared in advance.


    The south bank of the Yellow River, before the ferry crossing.


    Wang Mang looked at the soldiers who kept transporting supplies and the ships traveling repeatedly on both sides of the Yellow River, and couldn''t help but sigh: "This is just a strategic retreat, I will come back."


    Thanks to Bai Xiaosheng for the reward leader. Liuxiang has no choice but to increase the update efforts to express his gratitude. He will do his best to update in the second half of the month!


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    (This chapter ends)