Chapter 672

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“General, the Huainan army and the Yong army will arrive at Juyong Pass soon.”

In the Zhao army’s grand camp, Wei Shaojie reported to Deng Yuan.

He had arrived under Juyong Pass a day earlier, awaiting Deng Yuan’s orders.

“How many men do the Huainan army and the Yong army have in total?” Deng Yuan asked.

“The Huainan army should have 80,000 men, and the Yong army is estimated to have 70,000. This time, there are also 40,000 musketeers accompanying them.”

Deng Yuan’s face seemed to have aged a little. With the convergence of these three armies, their numbers reached over 200,000, and the tide of the battle had been reversed.

Moreover, these past few days, he had grown increasingly less confident of victory. Prince Qi’s army was highly skilled in the use of firearms. In the siege these past few days, he had already lost 20,000 men, and this had only caused minimal casualties to Juyong Pass.

“Retreat!” After pondering for a long time, Deng Yuan softly uttered a single word.

“Retreat!” The generals in the tent were greatly alarmed.

Deng Yuan nodded. He said, “Prince Qi’s army alone is already difficult to deal with. Now, with the addition of the Huainan King’s and Prince Yong’s armies, we are bound to lose this battle. Instead of fighting, it’s better to retreat to Yuanzhou and use its strategic importance to defend against Niu Ben’s attack.”

As his voice fell, a sharp voice suddenly rang out, “Retreat! General Deng speaks lightly! If Juyong Pass cannot be taken this time and Prince Qi’s army is not defeated, then what will be lost next is Chang’an! General Deng, I ask you, can you bear this responsibility?”

“Assistant Minister Wang.” Deng Yuan was startled to see the newcomer. It was none other than Wang Xi, the eunuch by Prince Zhao’s side.

Wang Xi snorted softly. He said to Deng Yuan, “This time, His Highness was worried that General Deng would act on his own temperament, so he specifically sent this humble one to supervise the army. It shows how truly farsighted His Highness is. If this humble one had arrived a little later, General would surely have led the army to retreat to Yuanzhou.”

Deng Yuan explained, “Assistant Minister Wang, the art of war says: ‘When you are ten to one, surround them; five to one, attack them; two to one, fight them; if equal, you can divide them; if fewer, you can escape; if unequal, you can avoid them. Therefore, a small force that holds firm can capture a large enemy.’ At this moment, our forces are fewer than the enemy. At this time, we should avoid fighting them and instead maneuver using the natural defenses.”

Wang Xi grew even more displeased upon hearing this. “Five to one, attack them! Then why couldn’t the General take Juyong Pass when we had more men? Now that you see the enemy has more men, you want to run away, and you still have the nerve to talk about the art of war with me, a mere eunuch!”

The generals around Deng Yuan all showed anger. This Wang Xi, relying on being Prince Zhao’s favorite, had always looked down on them, the generals who fought on the front lines.

And he often took credit for the capture of Chang’an for himself.

For this eunuch, the Zhao army generals harbored much resentment but dared not offend him.

Deng Yuan, though a seasoned veteran, had to bow before Wang Xi. He said, “Assistant Minister Wang, Prince Qi’s firearms are indeed formidable. These past few days, due to heavy casualties during the siege, morale has plummeted. The timing, terrain, and harmony are all gone.”

Wang Xi, however, paid no mind to this. When Prince Zhao dispatched him here, he ordered him to absolutely prevent Prince Qi’s army from moving south towards Chang’an. If they couldn’t take this opportunity to annihilate Prince Qi’s army at Juyong Pass, then Chang’an would inevitably become the next target.

“Assistant Minister Wang, if we don’t leave, all of His Highness’s troops will perish here,” Deng Yuan said urgently. This Wang Xi was proficient in schemes and tricks but utterly ignorant of military maneuvers.

Wang Xi snorted coldly. He said, “That’s not up to you. Although Zheng Chengwen is leading the troops this time, in reality, it is Wuzhu Gu Taiji who instructed Zheng Chengwen to attack Juyong Pass with His Highness. If you retreat at this time, where will you place His Highness? And how will you explain yourself to Wuzhu Gu Taiji?”

Hearing Wuzhu Gu’s name, Deng Yuan’s eyes narrowed. He said, “Assistant Minister Wang, the barbarians are man-eating wolves. Colluding with them will not end well.”

“Deng Yuan!” Wang Xi shrieked, “How dare you! You are slandering His Highness! When we return to Chang’an, I will certainly report this to His Highness.”

Deng Yuan laughed bleakly upon hearing this. He had long been dissatisfied with Prince Zhao’s submission to the barbarians.

In his battles against the barbarians, his three sons had all died in combat. If not for Prince Zhao’s benevolence towards him, he would not have come to help the barbarians attack Prince Qi’s army, even if it meant his own death.

Now Wang Xi was constantly talking about worrying about offending Wuzhu Gu. He immediately became furious and said, “Assistant Minister Wang, you can say whatever you want to His Highness when you return to Chang’an. But this subordinate does not want the soldiers of Zhao to die in vain. Retreat!”

“You dare!” Wang Xi’s chest heaved rapidly with anger. He then took out a golden fish tally. “This is the military tally bestowed upon this humble servant by His Highness. Without this humble servant’s word, you are forbidden to move a single soldier.”

Deng Yuan’s face changed dramatically upon seeing the golden fish tally.

Wang Xi sneered, “General Deng, if Prince Qi’s army attacks Chang’an, neither you nor I will survive.”

Deng Yuan sighed and stomped his foot heavily. He left the tent in anger.

While the two were arguing, the Prince of Huainan’s army had already set up camp on the spot. At the same time, Chen Xinran also arrived with his troops.

He immediately led his army to join forces with the Prince of Huainan.

“General Niu said to wait for his order before attacking,” Di Ying said, looking at the flag signaler on the city wall.

The flag signaler had just conveyed the order to him.

Chen Xinran, the Prince of Huainan, and Cui Shang’an stood together. All three nodded upon hearing this.

In Juyong Pass, Niu Ben was deploying troops. At this time, he had Qi Guangyi and Bai Mu reorganize the cavalry, and the musketeers in the city were responsible for defending the North City.

Now the balance of offense and defense had shifted. They no longer needed to defend the city; a full-scale attack would be enough.

With the cavalry assembled, Niu Ben glanced at the sun. It was noon now. Then he ascended the city wall. At this time, Prince Zhao’s camp still showed no signs of retreat.

“What is this Deng Yuan thinking? Does he really believe he can defeat an army of 200,000?” Niu Ben was very puzzled.

However, he only thought about it for a moment. For him, he would prefer to retaliate against Deng Yuan’s fierce attack from a few days ago.

After waiting for an hour, Niu Ben had the flag signaler convey a series of orders. At this moment, Qi Guangyi and Bai Mu, having gathered their strength, simultaneously led their cavalry out of Juyong Pass.

At the same time, Di Ying immediately led the chariot formation towards the Zhao army’s grand camp, with the cooperation of the Huainan army and Yong infantry. At the same time, Luo Xin concentrated all his field guns and began to bombard the Zhao army’s grand camp fiercely.

These past few days of defending the city had also made him feel quite suppressed. Now he wished he could fire all his shells.

Cui Shang’an and Chen Xinran simultaneously mounted their horses. Chen Xinran led 15,000 cavalry, and Cui Shang’an led 5,000 cavalry to join forces with Qi Guangyi.

With the armies converged, they pressed down on the Zhao army’s grand camp like a dark cloud.

Deng Yuan looked at the fiercely charging allied forces, his eyes filled with a trace of despair. At this moment, even if he were possessed by a god of war, he could not avert the fate of defeat.

However, he had already understood Prince Zhao’s intention. Just as he sent soldiers to their deaths to consume cannonballs, this battle was merely for them to exhaust the enemy