Guo Jia said: "I suggest that the lord send General Zhao Yun to lead his troops to pursue Liu Bei's remnants. I wonder what the lord wants?"

"Oh?" Li Li was shocked when she heard the sound and said in suspicion: "Why is this?"

Guo Jia said: "Now that all the princes are scattered and fleeing, our army may find it difficult to catch them all in one place. Since this is the case, General Zilong and Liu Bei are old acquaintances and had a lot of conflicts before, so why not let Zilong pursue Liu Bei. Anyway, this matter must be resolved sooner or later, so as to solve it together this time to avoid any more trouble in the future."

"Hmm?" Li Li's expression changed slightly. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said, "As Fengxiao said, Zicheng quickly sent Zilong to pursue the enemy troops south."

Watching Li Zhi leave with great strides, Li Li turned around thoughtfully to the official road to the east. At this moment, the Qinglong Camp war cavalry led by Pang De was gathering the unsuccessful princes' defeated troops there.

Jia Xu noticed that his lord Li Li seemed to have something to do, or that his lord was not very satisfied with the results of the original decisive battle in Loudi, so he couldn't help but feel worried and seemed to be full of worries and did not show the joy that the winner should have.

"The lord has something to worry about? Are you regretting that you were unable to capture and kill the princes who fled in a hurry in one fell swoop, or are you worried that Xu Rong of Xingyang could block the army of princes who fled in panic?"

“It’s both.”

After hearing Jia Xu's soft questioning, Li Li's body did not move and nodded slightly, "It's not a matter of concern, but he is indeed a little worried. Although the Allies are defeated and fleeing, there are still tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, and they are all desperate people who are eager to escape. Once their life is blocked, they will definitely fight with their lives and their combat effectiveness is amazing.

In contrast, the Xingyang camp was originally short of troops. There were only 40,000 soldiers in total, and now 20,000 infantry and cavalry were dispatched to help the decisive battle. In this way, only 20,000 infantry had to intercept five times his defeated army, and I was afraid that Xu Rong could not support it alone, and the situation in Xingyang was worrying!"

Jia Xu nodded deeply and continued, "The lord is very worried about it. When the Allied Army was defeated, all the princes fled. There must be not many princes who chose to cross the river to escape, and most of them will flee to Xingyang. In this way, General Xu Rong of Xingyang will face unprecedented tremendous pressure. Even if he is willing to intercept the defeated army of the princes, he will be unable to do so and can't support it alone.

What is particularly worrying is that Xingyang is not a dangerous pass. It is far less dangerous than Hulao Pass and Sishui Pass. One man should be able to pass tens of thousands of men; facing the surging defeated troops coming, Xingyang can almost be said to have nothing to do. Therefore, the poor ministers dare to assert that the 20,000 troops in Xu Rong's hands will definitely not be able to stop the way of the princes. If you try hard, it is like blocking a chariot by the mantis arm, and you will definitely be defeated.

Therefore, the empress suggested that the flying eagle send a message immediately. General Xu Rong did not have to fight to the death to block it, and could let the defeated army escape. At the same time, the edict ordered Xu Rong to recall all the troops in Henan County. When the situation was critical, he could consider giving up Luoyang and retreating to Hongnong County. I wonder what the lord wanted to do with such an arrangement?"

"Hmm?" Li Li changed his expression when he heard the sound. He suddenly turned around and looked at Jia Xu, and said in suspicion: "According to Wenhe's intention, wouldn't it mean that he completely gave up Luoyang and gave it to the defeated princes? Is it really necessary?"

Jia Xu nodded happily with a calm expression: "I am thinking of this. After this battle, the situation in the entire Central Plains will change accordingly. The strength of all the princes is greatly damaged, and only our Xiliang army is the leader. At this critical moment, if our army takes advantage of the victory to pursue, we will recover all the lost land in one fell swoop, completely take Sili into his pocket, and then set off the border to shock the heroes.

However, in this way, it will inevitably prompt all the princes to keep an eye on us, regard our Xiliang army as a huge concern, and have to use all their energy and troops to resist our attack, for fear that they will be killed by our army if they are not careful. If our army makes any abnormal movements, all the princes will be soldiers, and then they will be ready for battle, and even force them to join hands to resist our army again.

This is by no means an unscrupulous worry, but a fact that is inevitable. After all, it is related to life and death. Even if there are many hatreds among the princes, they will put them aside and then do their best to fight our army to the end. At that time, the army of princes that joined forces again will be different from this Hanoi Alliance. The purpose of their joint efforts to fight against the enemy will no longer be to seek greater territory and interests, but to fight for their wealth and life. Its strength and determination are conceivable.

Therefore, giving up the place of Luoyang and Henan is not because our army is cowardly in battle, nor is it because of the cowardly princess, nor is it because of short-sighted and pedantic views. It is because of the panic after the defeat of all the princes, so as to dispel their will to be enemies of our army to the death. Therefore, in the eyes of the ministers, it is necessary to exchange the place of two counties for peace of mind in the Central Plains, so that they can experience the taste of separation from life and death, and thus to eliminate their determination to resist to the death. This move is a greater advantage than disadvantage. If the army is defeated without fighting, it is the way to win the battle."

As soon as Jia Xu finished speaking, Guo Jia walked to Jia Xu and said respectfully to Li Li: "What Wenhe military advisor said is extremely true, and I also have this intention. After this battle, the Allied forces suffered heavy casualties and fled in panic, but the casualties of our soldiers were not small, with nearly half of them, and heavy losses. What's more, since May last year, our army has been fighting continuously, fighting the Huns in the north and fighting the Southern Allied forces, and have been fighting continuously for ten months. Not to mention whether the soldiers of the entire army can continue to fight, just talking about the large consumption of money and grain and the huge consumption of military supplies, it is unprecedented.

In fact, our army had already sold out half a month ago, and now we have been trying hard to maintain it. Moreover, our army is a long-term army and has long been overwhelmed. The reason why we can win this battle is entirely due to the lord leading the way to gather the morale of the army and boost morale. However, after this great victory, the soldiers will inevitably relax. If they continue to advance eastward, they may be unfavorable to the war and will inevitably suffer losses.

Therefore, the meritorious minister fully agreed with the strategy of Wen and the military advisor, and gave up the land of Luoyang and Henan, and showed it to be weak and retreated as advance. In this way, we can not only calm the hearts of the princes of the Central Plains, but also win our army rest time. This is the best strategy, I would like to ask the lord to think twice."

Seeing that Jia Xu and Guo Jia had made suggestions and their opinions were unprecedentedly consistent, Li Li smiled and nodded and said, "What the two military advisors said is not without reason. Since that is the case, then according to what the military advisor said, Xu Rong ordered to shrink his troops, retreat to Hongnong, and send Luoyang and Henan to the princes to rest. When the time is right, we will get it back."

"No!" Chen Dao stepped out after hearing the sound, bowed and took the order and left.

After Chen Da left, the smile on Li Li's face gradually faded away, and his expression became a little heavy, and he said solemnly: "What are our casualties in this battle? Is it really as Fengxiao said, is there heavy losses?"

Guo Jia nodded gently and said respectfully, "I am not exaggerating, but a report based on facts. The war is still continuing, and I am not getting the specific number of casualties. Even so, the casualties of our army are not optimistic. It is roughly estimated that in this decisive battle, our army's casualties will be no less than 130,000 soldiers."

"ah!"

When Li Li heard about the number of casualties of 130,000, he was shocked. Not only that, but everyone present, such as Jia Xu, Gao Shun, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, etc., were also shocked and exclaimed.

"Is there 130,000? Why are there such great casualties? Our army's cavalry totals only 130,000. Doesn't this mean that our army has suffered all casualties?" Li Li asked in a deep voice.

And this is not just a question he was eager to know. Everyone present also had this question. The number of 130,000 soldiers was really scary, and the number of Xiliang Iron Cavalry participating in the decisive battle was exactly this number. If this number was true, then what was the matter with the combat cavalry chasing the defeated army at the moment? Where did these cavalry come from?

"Don't worry, lord, please be careful, please be calm, and let me come one by one."

Seeing everyone's eyes gathered on him, Guo Jia couldn't help but wiped a cold sweat. When he raised his hand to touch his forehead, he realized that he was not sweating at all.

Then, he said with a solemn expression: "The 130,000 numbers are absolutely not wrong, and it is optimistic and conservative estimates that the actual number of casualties in our army is probably the most. The first group of casualties was the infantry at the beginning of the decisive battle. In this battle, our army dispatched nearly 50,000 county government soldiers, including the chariot formation, the catapult formation, the giant shield formation, the bow and crossbow camp and the baggage. After the battle, there were only less than 10,000 soldiers left in the county government soldiers. Now the infantry occupying the Allied camp is still the 10,000 infantry brought by Wenhe Army from Hangu Guanzhong. Therefore, the casualties of the infantry alone were as many as 40,000, not including General Cao Xing's bow and crossbow camp and General Gao Shun's tent.

The most tragic army of our army was the Heishan Army under General Zhang Yan's tent. Almost all the troops were wiped out, with only more than 3,000 survivors. You should know that at the beginning of the decisive battle, the Heishan Army had 50,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry, totaling 70,000. However, in addition to the more than 10,000 people killed in battle, the remaining 50,000 people were almost buried in the pit, which was extremely tragic."

"call---!"

As soon as these words were said, Li Li, Jia Xu, Gao Shun, Xu Chu and others couldn't help but breathe a long sigh, and their tense mind finally calmed down and their expressions relaxed a lot. It turned out that Guo Jia's so-called 130,000 casualties were included in the 70,000 Black Mountain Army. This casualty alone accounted for most of the total casualties. No wonder the number of casualties was so large.

In fact, before Guo Jia reported the number of casualties of the Heishan Army, the generals of the Xiliang Army had not yet counted the Heishan Army in the Xiliang Army. At least they did not regard the Heishan Army as a soldier in the Xiliang Army, and even the commander Li Li was no exception. However, after Guo Jia reported the huge casualties of the Heishan Army, Li Li and the civil and military officials around him were in a heavy mood. It was not until this moment that they would truly accept Zhang Yan and the Heishan Army under their tent, because the Heishan Army died entirely for the Xiliang Army.

As the head coach, Li Li was even more guilty and was uneasy at this moment. He had an unshirkable responsibility for the tragedy of the Black Mountain Army being wiped out by him, or he was pushed into the pit. The plan to throw a stone to ask for directions was undoubtedly successful. The result was just as Li Li expected, the only drawback was that the Black Mountain Army was wiped out.

————————————————(To be continued...)
Chapter completed!