The battle has not yet been completely determined, and the number of enemy troops is still huge. The god and ghost Danyu chose to flee at such a time, which was beyond everyone's expectations, especially Han Ruzi.
For a long time, he has been trying to figure out the minds of the gods and ghosts, and he has become more and more accurate, but it fails at the last moment.
Han Ruzi deeply blamed himself, and at the same time seized the opportunity to march north to sweep away the remaining enemy troops in the pass.
Shengui Dadan was the biggest cohesive force of this army. After the news of the escape spread, the enemy troops scrambled to surrender, even the soldiers of Shengui Dadanyu's own clan were no exception.
At Shenxiongguan, the Chu soldiers sent a special prisoner. It is said that this person is a close official of the god and ghost Dachanyu, who can speak the Chu language, and only he knew in advance that his master was going to flee back to the west.
The prisoner's name is Qiu Hong, with a face of a Chu person, the clothes on his body are tattered, his face is full of dust and blood, this is not left in the battle, after the defeat of the army, he escaped without life, lost his way, The horse was also exhausted, and if it hadn't fallen into the hands of the Chu soldiers, he would probably have died in the ice and snow.
Many of the previous captives claimed that Qiu Hong knew the gods and ghosts the most, so he was one of the people the emperor named to be captured alive.
Qiu Hong was dragged into the hall by the soldiers. As soon as the soldiers let go, he collapsed on the ground. He quickly reacted and kept kowtowing and kissing the ground.
The man's Chu language was fluent, Han Ruzi waved his hand, a soldier kicked, Qiu Hong's whole body shook, and he immediately shut up.
"Raise your head." Han Ruzi said.
Qiu Hong kowtowed several times before raising his head, but he didn't dare to leave the ground with his hands.
"It is said that you have had a lot of contact with the ambassador of Great Chu."
"Yes, the villain was once ordered to serve the envoy of Great Chu, and he did his best and did not dare to neglect."
"Where's the messenger?"
"He was taken away by the gods and ghosts. This is his usual tactic, taking hostages as a threat."
"God and ghost want to blackmail me with the King of the East Sea?"
"It may not be your majesty, but the army your majesty sent to the west."
Han Ruzi's heart moved, but his face did not change, "In this way, the god and ghost Da Shanyu also knows that the Western Chu army has not been defeated."
"Of course I know that the god and ghost Dadan got the news a long time ago, but he was very strict, and the others didn't know the truth, and thought that the two Chu troops were wiped out. Victory, all the cities passed by surrendered. The gods and ghosts were so eager to end the war here. Once setbacks, they fled back, but left us to work for him, let us hold on until the spring, and wait for him to bring his troops back. ,how can that be?"
"What about the Chu army at sea?"
"To tell the truth, there is really no news of the Chu army at sea. The gods and ghosts don't want to see their subjects go to sea. They destroyed the docks and ships along the coast and isolated them from overseas."
Han Ruzi moved his fingers off the table, the eunuch nodded, and the soldiers picked up Qiu Hong and dragged him outside.
Qiu Hong shouted: "Your Majesty, spare your life! I will say everything, no one knows the gods and ghosts better than me..."
The soldiers dragged Qiu Hong out. Han Ruzi felt that he knew enough about the god and ghost Da Chanyu. The next thing he did was how to win the war completely.
A general came in, "Your Majesty, General Laches of the Baijia Army asks to see you."
"Um."
Laches came in together with the interpreter, knelt down and kowtowed, very respectful, and then spoke in a pleading tone, the interpreter preached: "Your Majesty, he said that the Baijia Army has fulfilled its promise, and I hope that Da Chu can also abide by the original agreement and let them go. back home."
"Ask him, what should I do after returning to my hometown?"
Laches' tone became passionate and generous.
"He said that the gods and ghosts have shown weakness, they will not submit to slavery again, and will call on the nations to stand on their own as soon as they return home. But the gods and ghosts have taken away the seven kings and a team of elite cronies. The army, the cities in the West are now empty, only the old and the weak, women and children, all the relatives of the army of hundreds of families, once controlled by the gods and ghosts, it will tie the hands and feet of many people.”
"Tell him, I will reply to him tomorrow."
Lahes's face showed obvious disappointment, got up and retreated, and suddenly said loudly: "Emperor, we... have fought."
Lahs's Chu language was very blunt, but Han Ruzi understood it. He was reminding the emperor that the Baijia army had fought for the emperor, and it was time for the emperor to obey the agreement and let them go.
Han Ruzi summoned his ministers and generals, and most of them opposed the immediate release of the Baijia army.
"The people of the West are capricious, the gods and ghosts have already fled one step, and they will have an advantage after returning to China. The army of hundreds of families may surrender again. It is better to stay for half a year, and wait for the gods and ghosts to kill the hostages and cause public anger. After that, let them go back for revenge."
Xie Cun was one of the few people who held different opinions. In the gambling game in Yingfeng Village, he bet at the closest time and won a lot of silver taels, but he donated all of them to reward the army, and was well appreciated by the emperor, so he dared to speak.
"This statement is bad. The army of hundreds of families is homesick, and it is useless to keep it, and it will bring disaster. The people in the West are capricious, but it is because the gods and ghosts are capricious, how can Da Chu follow in their footsteps? There was an agreement long ago that we should release a hundred armies in time to return to their hometowns, and take advantage of the fact that the monarchs of the gods and ghosts were wiped out of their prestige, to recover the countries, and to avoid future troubles forever.”
Another official stepped forward and said, "Let the Baijia army go back. What about the army of the gods and ghosts of Da Chanyu's own tribe? What about the large number of soldiers who surrendered outside the Great Wall?"
"Like the Baijia Army, the troops who surrendered outside the Great Wall come from Western countries. If you want to surrender to the Great Chu, you can put them back. As for the soldiers and soldiers of the gods and ghosts, they will be handed over to the Baijia Army for disposal."
"Ha, the Baijia Army has only fought for Da Chu once, so they have this kind of preferential treatment?" Cui Teng walked out lame, "Then what benefits do we soldiers of Da Chu who have fought bloody battles get?"
Xie Cun bowed his hands politely, "This is not a preferential treatment, but to observe his actions. If the Baijia Army kills the soldiers of the gods and ghosts of their own clan, it means a break, and they can be released back to their hometowns. Make another decision."
Cui Teng was speechless and turned to look at the emperor.
"Do so."
The fate of the gods and ghosts and the tens of thousands of soldiers of the same family was thus decided.
Han Ruzi only stayed at Shenxiongguan for one day, and set off for Iron Broken City the next day, where he joined Chai Yue's army and accepted the surrender and allegiance of a large number of foreign princes.
Chai Yue has dispatched several armies to track down the ghosts and ghosts, but no reply has been received so far.
The emperor was still stationed not long ago, and he separated five thousand soldiers of the Southern Army from Chai Yue's army, and went to chase the ghost Da Chanyu in person.
Han Ruzi felt unwilling and felt that there was still a chance to catch up.
No one dared to oppose the emperor's will now. Chai Yue dispatched elite soldiers and strong generals to quietly increase the number of 5,000 people to 7,000, prepare more horses and food and grass, and send the emperor a hundred miles away.
Winter is not good for marching, but it will also leave obvious footprints, so the Chu army can pursue it.
A few days later, Han Ruzi caught up with a Chu army and left them to camp in a leeward place. At the same time, he sent people back on the same route to requisition some food and grass.
The emperor's army can last for a month at most. Including the return journey, he can only pursue it for fifteen days. Han Ruzi plans to stay in the camp along the way, so that he can pursue it for a few more days without worrying too much about the supply during the return journey.
After more than 20 days of running around, Han Ruzi caught up with Liu Heixiong, who was the first to set out to chase the enemy chieftain.
Danyu, the god and ghost, was like a lost dog. He fled all the way, leaving behind a lot of luggage, horses and personnel. The Chu army captured many, and once approached the target, but was restrained by a team of enemy troops and failed to surround it.
Liu Heixiong led 3,000 troops, and it was estimated that the god and ghost were within a day's journey ahead, and there were only 400 or 500 soldiers left.
Liu Heixiong's army was exhausted, so Han Ruzi ordered him to choose a place to camp, leaving part of his own army behind, and only taking 2,000 people to pursue it lightly.
Liu Heixiong did not expect that the emperor would personally pursue the enemy and did not dare to object, but he reminded: "The scouts in the army have seen the Huns in the north, and they seem to be chasing the enemy chieftains. The number is unknown. Your Majesty must be careful."
In this war, the Huns had always been ambiguous. Except for sending a small army to take part in a sneak attack on the food route, they never participated in the war. Liu Heixiong was therefore very vigilant.
Han Ruzi still had to chase, even if there were less than a thousand soldiers around him, he still had to chase. This became his obsession and had to be completed.
Another five days passed, and the deserters' footprints became clearer and clearer. There were often fallen soldiers on the side of the road. Han Ruzi knew that he was very close to the target.
At noon that day, the army stopped for a nap, and the scouts went forward and returned quickly. They saw a camp in front of them from a high place, which was probably the enemy team.
The enemy could not flee all the way, and had to stop and rest. Han Ruzi immediately ordered to mount his horse, and a thousand men marched forward, and a thousand men followed.
Driving through a hillside, Han Ruzi saw a small camp. Although there were no flags flying, but the footprints were the same, it must be a team of gods and ghosts.
After chasing him all the way, at the last moment, Han Ruzi recovered a bit of caution, and ordered the soldiers to spread out and divided into three teams, one to attack, one to detour and intercept, and one to stand by.
It is possible that the gods and ghosts Danyu would flee alone. After leaving the army, Han Ruzi had to keep his men. Once he found that there was no target in the camp, he immediately sent people to continue to chase.
He waited for a while, and was about to order an attack when a general reminded the emperor to look into the distance.
There was an extra army on the high ground in the distance. It didn't look like much, but the number was increasing rapidly.
"The Huns." The general said in a low voice, slightly panicked, this is outside the Great Wall, not the border of the Great Chu, but the territory of the Huns.
The camp of the gods and ghosts was flanked by the two armies, making it even more small and weak.
"In the name of the general Liu Heixiong, I went to condolences to the Huns, and told them that only gods and ghosts in Great Chu were needed."
The general followed the order, and with a few soldiers, bypassed the camp and galloped towards the opposite side.
There was no response in the camp, no one came out to fight, and no one fled, as if they had accepted their fate and were ready to surrender to the strong.
Han Ruzi also assigned a general to lead dozens of cavalry around the camp as well, and continued to check westward.
The second general sent back the letter first. There was no escape trail west of the camp, and he would continue to check.
The first general came back relatively late and brought a Hun envoy.
The Hun envoy was a woman. She saw the emperor from a distance and said with a smile, "Miss, you can't guess, it really is the emperor."
The opposite army turned out to be led by Jin Chuiduo. Han Ruzi breathed a sigh of relief and asked Jin Chuiduo's maid, Dragonfly, "You are also here to chase the god and ghost Da Chanyu?"
The dragonfly came to the front on horseback, "Let's all come one step later, the two big danyu are meeting."