"I really want to retreat? Luzhou can still gather 200,000 troops and horses, and there is no shortage of food, grass and supplies. Why can't we fight the Ming army here?" Yi Hongyuan, the burly Luzhou county magistrate, stared at Guo Xiancheng with blood-red eyes. Although his voice was extremely low, it could be heard that he suppressed his great anger and did not let himself burst out.

Although he was not as high as Guo Xiancheng, he was also a senior official of the Great Qi Dynasty. He served as the county magistrate of Luzhou as a military general. He worked in Luzhou for more than ten years. After the late emperor of Qi defeated the main force of the eastern border army of Chu, he was in Luzhou and seized both military and political forces. It was not until Cao Yun took office and sent Guo Xiancheng to take charge of Luzhou's military affairs that he turned more attention to civil affairs.

Luzhou has always been the most important county governor of Qi. Years of war with Chu made the Qi court always lean here in terms of resources. The people of Luzhou, as border prefectures and counties, have always been extremely tough.

"This has nothing to do with how many troops and horses, and food and supplies." Guo Xiancheng looked at Yi Hongyuan calmly, "Mr. Yi is also an old military service. I don't need to say the current situation. You can also see that the destination of the two Ming army Wulin and Zhang Xing is now obvious, just to Xuan'en. Once they meet in Xuan'en and seal the gap, our 200,000 army will be put in the big pocket of Luzhou. At that time, even if they want to withdraw, they will not be able to withdraw."

Yi Hongyuan stared at Guo Xiancheng: "The general had never thought of defeating the Ming army head-on? If the battlefield was victorious on the front, all the problems would be solved."

Guo Xiancheng smiled bitterly for a while and said frankly: "Zhou Jiyun has gathered more than 100,000 troops on the front of us, including more than 20,000 cavalry. Roughly speaking, this army has hundreds of artillery pieces, and this is not their biggest reliance. Now, they have more than 40 airships and can carry out unscrupulous bombings anywhere in us at any time. If I can still hold on to these, then the Ming Emperor Qin Feng will personally lead the army and come to command the battle in Luzhou, which is the most important reason why I make up my mind to retreat."

"Are you so afraid of Qin Feng?"

"It's not that I'm afraid, but if Qin Feng personally arrives in Luzhou, it means that all the resources of Ming Kingdom will focus on here. Now we have already dealt with the difficulties. Ming Kingdom has done its best to launch an offensive in this direction. How much opportunity do you think we have to win? Once we destroy all 200,000 soldiers here, what should we do next?" Guo Xiancheng explained.

"Once you give up Luzhou, it means that Huangzhou, Qinzhou and Jianzhou will also fall one by one, and you will have to retreat to the Daling River line before you can defend it. However, the Daling River line is only a hundred miles away from Chang'an. The Ming army's military front is aiming directly at Daqi's confidant. General Guo, can you afford this consequence?" Yi Hongyuan asked.

"I will bear all the consequences." Guo Xiancheng said frankly. "Because I think this is the most suitable choice now in military affairs."

"What about politics?" Yi Hongyuan asked softly.

"If the military fails completely, there will be no political matters." Guo Xiancheng said decisively: "Military is a means of extension of politics, but at the same time, it is also a means of ending politics. County Governor Yi, our 200,000 soldiers are the elites of Daqi. Once they are surrounded and annihilated by the Ming army in Luzhou, the consequences are even more difficult to predict. Although Luzhou is abandoned, at least this army still exists. You still understand the gap between actively retreating and defeat or being eliminated. If we are eliminated, the Ming army will still point directly to the hearts of Daqi, and there is no barrier. If we are actively retreating, then we can set up obstacles and delay time, hoping to find an opportunity to change the situation of the war."

"The 200,000 army will retreat hundreds of miles even if it is a small defeat. The general must have someone to take responsibility. Otherwise, even His Majesty cannot explain it."

"I know." Guo Xiancheng said frankly: "The command of the great retreat of these 200,000 troops may be my last military service. The Great Retreat of County Governor Yi and Luzhou are incredible, and you still need your strong cooperation."

Yi Hongyuan was silent for a while and finally nodded: "I will cooperate with this great retreat with all my strength, but I will not leave myself. The 30,000 soldiers under Luzhou will not retreat. They are all Luzhou's soldiers and will fight in Luzhou until the last moment."

Guo Xiancheng stared at Yi Hongyuan for a while, sighed, but said nothing.

Guo Xiancheng's retreat plan was implemented very quickly. When his memorial to the emperor was still speeding towards Chang'an, the retreat plan had already begun to be implemented. The army escorted a large amount of supplies and made great strides backwards. In more than ten days, various materials and a large number of troops passed Xuan En and entered Huangzhou. Guo Xiancheng even stationed his central army camp in Xuan En, personally guarding this node with 10,000 troops. He hoped to firmly grasp the portal here and leave a retreating gate for the county magistrate of Luzhou Yi Hongyuan. At this moment, Yin Ming, who was still resisting the attack of the Ming army in Meixian County, was still in Meixian.

The two Ming teams Zhang Xing and Wu Lin did want to take Xuan En and close the gate of Luzhou, but now, they have encountered strong obstacles and cannot block this hole. Instead, they may be surrounded and annihilated by Guo Xiancheng at any time. They can only retreat without advancing and retreating, silently watching the main force of the Qi army retreating but are powerless.

In Meixian, Yin Ming was wrapped in bandages, like a walking mummy patrolling the city. Since yesterday, a large number of cavalry from the Ming army appeared under the city, and he even saw the flag of the Ming general Yang Zhi.

Fights were happening all the time outside the city. At that time, after the main force of the Qi army who had been broken by the Ming army, some scattered troops returned and fought with the Ming army again under the city. Unfortunately, Yin Ming could only watch helplessly at the top of the city. Unless these fleeing troops could enter the control of the city, he dared to open the city to go out to cover these people back. Otherwise, he could only watch these people either killed by the Ming army outside the pass, or flee to the distance again, and life and death could only look at their luck.

After a few days, Meixian gradually gathered thousands of defeated soldiers who fled back one after another. What made Yin Ming feel a little relieved was that these people were all cavalrymen, and their return made Meixian's defensive power stronger.

The last order Guo Xiancheng gave him was to let him act at the right time. This was a very lively order. Even if Yin Ming retreated immediately, he would not be considered disobeying the military order. But Yin Ming still decided to guard Meixian until the last moment.

Luzhou is still undergoing a major retreat. Every time he holds in Meixian for one more day, Luzhou can withdraw more people and more materials, so the capital to resist the Ming army will be more solid in the future. The news that the Luzhou County Governor Yi Hongyuan was unwilling to retreat and was preparing to lead Luzhou's soldiers to defend the territory and borders also reached Yin Ming's ears, which made him even more excited. He could do what Yi Hongyuan could do. If he stayed in Meixian for one more day, not only would Guo Xiancheng be able to withdraw more things, but also would make Yi Hongyuan prepare more.

We should make every step forward and pay the price of bleeding whenever the Ming army goes forward. If we continue to fight step by step, we may turn around at any time.

As a senior general, Yin Ming knew very well that Qi State is now a strong outside and a middle player, and the main army is arranged outside and inside, which is really empty, so he agreed with Guo Xiancheng's retreat plan. If hundreds of thousands of troops here are defeated by the Ming army in Luzhou, then the Ming army will have a smooth journey from Luzhou to Chang'an and head straight to Chang'an.

There were fewer and fewer cavalry under the city. Yin Ming knew that these cavalry must have bypassed Meixian and entered the hinterland of Luzhou. However, the Qi infantry camps under the city stood up one by one. Three days later, when he saw the Zhou flag appearing in the enemy camp in the distance, he knew that the battle was about to begin.

Although Meixian is small, it is strong enough. The city originally wrapped in blue bricks is now erected outside the city with a steel and concrete structure, with stronger protection ability. More than 30 artillery pieces were arranged on the city that is one thousand steps long and five hundred steps wide. Although it is incomparable to the artillery of the Ming army, the firepower is strong enough for the defender. The people in the city have long been retreating with the army. Countless catapults are installed in the entire city, which will cause great damage to the siege.

The only loophole is in the air.

Yin Ming looked up at the air with some difficulty.

The next moment, he saw a vast airship flying from a distance towards Meixian.

A shrill sound of trumpets and loud bells rang out from the high city tower. After a while, the soldiers who were originally densely spread over the city walls entered the Tibetan soldiers' cave, leaving only some officers standing alone on the top of the city to observe the enemy.

The enemy infantry has already begun to arrange their formations in the distance, and after the bombing, they will appear.

A shell fell from the sky with a sharp whistling sound and fell slowly. It did not hit the city wall, but fell into the city and hit a private house. With a loud bang, the entire house collapsed immediately, and the blazing flames immediately rushed out of the explosion of the hole.

It was this kind of bomb again. Yin Ming gritted his teeth.

Compared with ordinary bombs, the bomb that caused a raging fire after the explosion is even more troublesome. In essence, they are similar to the fierce tincture oil used by the Qi team, but the fierce tincture oil of the Qi people is still in the most primitive stage of use and is thrown by soldiers in a pottery jar, but the Ming people have already brought them into the bomb and used it.

Dozens of airships hovered over Meixian. Not long after, the entire Meixian county was completely covered by fire and smoke.
Chapter completed!