After a while, the south gate opened again. Zhou Zhuo ordered the five thousand infantrymen divided into three square formations and rushed towards the Han army camp. With the addition of this new force, the Wei army's offensive became even more fierce. The Han army was in a difficult position and was exhausted to deal with it, and had completely fallen into a disadvantage.

The Wei army had the advantage in its military strength. After Fei Yao discussed with Zhou Zhuo, he divided nearly 10,000 soldiers into three teams, each launching a siege from north, east and west, leaving the South Gate without fighting to reduce the Han army's will to resist.

The Wei army surrounded three and one, which was clearly intended to defeat the Han army camp in one battle, but Guan Xing, who was commanding on the high platform, was not at all confused, and issued orders in an orderly manner, without any panic.

Not only that, Guan Xing was very happy when he saw more and more Wei troops coming out of the city. He looked very happy. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He turned his head and looked southwest with an expectation.

Before Zikou Pass, Cao Zhen felt more and more soldiers fleeing outside the valley, and he couldn't help but feel a little relieved. But when he thought that the scout had just returned, Zhuge Liang personally led an army of 30,000 to 40,000 to kill him, and he couldn't help but worry.

Although the invading Han army was similar to the Wei army withdrawn from Ziwu Valley, the Wei army had been exhausted for most of the night. In addition, the Han army was hit by the fire attack plan, not only did the soldiers in the rear camp suffer heavy casualties, but also countless food and supplies were damaged. After suffering such a great defeat, the morale of the soldiers can be imagined that they had fallen to the bottom.

Even though Cao Zhen was arrogant and had extraordinary strategies, he had no confidence in leading his troops to fight with the Han army that had been replenishing his strength for a long time. What's more, this Han army was an elite commander led by Zhuge Liang himself, including Yang Qing, Zhao Yun, Guan Xing and other famous generals of Ji Han.

"Report, Grand Sima, the Shu army brigade is less than twenty miles away from our army." A scout came on his horse and said with his fists.

Cao Zhen waved his hand: "I understand, I'll report it again."

"No." The scout turned his horse's head and galloped away.

Cao Zhen turned his body toward Liu Ye who was standing aside and asked, "Zi Yang Gong, Zhuge Liang's army is coming soon. Are we going to fight him to the death here?"

"Although the Grand Sima had more than 40,000 soldiers evacuated from the valley, most of them were exhausted and could not fight the strong Shu army. Therefore, Ye thought it would be better not to fight without fighting." Liu Ye said.

Cao Zhen said: "It is of course the best to avoid war, but we do not have a solid camp as a support for long-term defense. Although Zikou Pass is strong, it cannot accommodate tens of thousands of troops. We finally retreated from Ziwu Valley. If we are forced into the valley by the Shu army, we will really fall into a place of doom."

"So we can't stay here for a long time, we must evacuate as soon as possible."

Cao Zhen asked, "Where to retreat? Chang'an?"

"The road to the north was blocked by the Shu army, so Chang'an would definitely not be able to go, so he had to retreat elsewhere for a while."

Cao Zhen sighed and said, "Oh, these days when we were trapped in Ziwu Valley, I am afraid that the cities south of the Wei River will be occupied by the Shu army. Where can we settle down now?"

"Our army has just left the valley, and the latest situation in Guanzhong is still unknown, and Ye doesn't know where to withdraw? The three directions of the west, north and south are incredible, so you can only try your luck in the east." Liu Ye said.

Cao Zhen pondered: "Is it east..."

At this moment, a cavalry rushed from the front, and Cao Zhen and Liu Ye looked at each other, but they should have commanded Zhang He in the front.

"Why did General Junyi come here in person? But what happened to the previous situation?"

Zhang He said: "Don't worry about the Grand Sima. Everything was normal in the front. Yang Qing's troops were descending on the mountain. There was no sign of an attack. They should have wanted to wait until Zhuge Liang's main force arrived before launching an attack on our army. Taking advantage of this gap, someone rushed back to report something to the Grand Sima."

Cao Zhen nodded with confidence when he heard this, and then asked, "Oh? What is the important thing worth General Junyi himself?"

Zhang He clasped his fists and said, "Sima, Zhuge Liang's army will arrive here in half a day at the earliest. Our army has just withdrawn from the valley and has not taken any rest. It is not advisable to fight the Shu army head-on at this time.

Someone suggested that while Yang Qing had not yet met with Zhuge Liang, the army quickly evacuated here, and then found a way to defeat the Shu army and lift the siege in Chang'an after resting."

"I and Mr. Yang also have this idea. But in the situation in Guanzhong, we are now blinded and we don't know where the army can settle down."

"The Grand Sima, after leaving Yugu Road, he sent a group of troops to Lantian County to station. It has not been occupied by the Shu army yet, and it can be used as a place for the army to settle down."

Cao Zhen was overjoyed when he heard this: "It turns out that Lantian is still in our hands! Haha, General Junyi, you really gave me a certain surprise."

"General Junyi is worthy of being a famous general who has been fighting for decades. He thinks of everything ahead. Lantian is located between Tongguan and Chang'an. When you go there, we can attack and defend our army. We have a lot of room for maneuver.

Moreover, when we were in the southern expedition, we almost had to pass from here to transport grain and grass from Guandong to Chang'an. I guess there was still a lot of food stored there, which was suitable for our army to rest and rest." Liu Ye said.

Cao Zhen nodded and said, "No need to delay, let's retreat to Lantian now." He turned to look at Zhang He and said, "General Junyi, you have to work harder to go there. Go back to the front and turn the front team into the back team to cover the evacuation of the army."

"Don't worry, a certain army led his troops to cut off the rear, and the Dingbao army evacuated safely." Zhang He patted his chest and continued, "Another, I heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the Shu formation, and then I saw a large area of ​​dust floating in the distance. It was probably because Yang Qing divided a cavalry and headed north. The Shu army's troops were reduced, making it even more difficult to stop our army from evacuating."

"Oh? Why did Yang Qing split a group of troops back to the north at this time? Could it be that something happened in Chang'an?" Cao Zhenqi said.

"I don't know, maybe Yang Qing sent him to pick up Zhuge Liang's army? After all, Yang Qing's general flag was still in place, and all the cavalry in his hand were transferred. What could this little force be saved when he returned to Chang'an?" Zhang He said.

Cao Zhen nodded: "Well, it makes sense. This Shu army is probably going to welcome Zhuge Liang."

"Grand Sima, Ye thought that Yang Qing was a bit strange when he divided his troops at this time. Zhuge Liang led the main force of the Shu army south, but it was only a few dozen miles away. It was just that Yang Qing sent a few envoys to lead the way. Why did he send a large group of cavalry to support him? I think there was something strange here."

Cao Zhen said: "But what conspiracies will be for this army? Why do we need to do this in an extra way to deal with us? I'm afraid it's impossible to go back to attack Chang'an. The main force of the Shu army has left Chang'an. This cavalry calculation can't break the city even if it sneaks back."

"Ye didn't know Yang Qing's real purpose, he was just a little uneasy."

Zhang He interrupted, "Semima, for the sake of caution, I think it would be better to send additional scouts to bypass the blockade of the Shu army's escort and return to Chang'an to inform the Xiahou Governor and others of this situation. I am not afraid of 10,000, but I am afraid of what if."

"Well, that's it."

Cao Zhen immediately called the side general Jie Wei and ordered him to send more scouts back to Chang'an to report the message. After that, Cao Zhen issued an order to withdraw the entire army to Lantian, leaving Zhang He to lead 10,000 troops to cut off the rear. He himself and Liu Ye, Zhang Hu and others led the main force of the army to Lantian first.
Chapter completed!