The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 777 The Western Qin Dynasty Vanishes
Xue Rengao fled south in haste and entered Lintao County three days later. Lintao County was basically built along the Tao River, which runs east to west and then turns north at the easternmost part of the county. All the counties of Lintao County are located on both banks of the Tao River.

Xue Rengao rested for only one day in Meixiang County, the county seat, before setting off south. He was very anxious, fearing that the Sui army would catch up with him and cast the spell of the Thunder God on him, at which point he would be finished.

Three days later, Xue Rengao finally arrived in Lintao County. He had never been to this area before, and the treacherous roads left him in a truly miserable state.

All the baggage was discarded, and the 30,000 soldiers could only travel light. Each soldier carried a ration bag containing only six days' worth of provisions. Xue Rengao had absolutely no military experience. From Fuhan County to here, a mere 400 li (approximately 200 kilometers), it took him seven days, including one day of rest. When they reached the north bank of the Tao River, they only had six days' worth of provisions left. Xue Rengao had never even considered whether they could reach Hanzhong in six days. What would they do if they ran out of provisions halfway there?
Xue Rengao had never thought of this, nor had his generals. Perhaps it was too early for them to consider this issue. They would wait until they had the opportunity to cross the Tao River and reach Lintao County.

All the supplies were gone, but there were still several thousand single-person rafts. The soldiers inflated the rafts and began preparing to cross the river.

The Tao River here is about thirty zhang wide, and the current is rapid; if you are not careful, you will be swept away.

The first batch of three thousand soldiers went into the water. Rather than using rafts, they used lifebuoys. They put three inflated sheepskin bags on their bodies and swam across.

People kept screaming in terror. By the time they had swum halfway, the number of people had dwindled from 3,000 to 2,500. Five hundred people had already been swept away by the river. In this situation, death was inevitable.

Just then, countless soldiers suddenly appeared on the opposite bank of the river, raising their crossbows and firing arrows at the soldiers in the river. The arrows rained down like lightning, and the soldiers screamed in agony. Some were hit by arrows, while others had their leather rafts blown apart. In either case, they were quickly swept away by the water and disappeared without a trace.

More than 700 people were shot dead in an instant, and the remaining 1,800 were so frightened that they turned around and swam back.

Xue Rengaoye was stunned. How could there be Sui soldiers on the other side of the river, and so many as several thousand? How did they know he was going to Hanzhong?
The crossbowmen on the opposite bank moved with practiced skill, drawing their crossbows and firing a second volley of arrows. This time, the arrows were fired at the enemy from behind, making them even more effective. A group of rafts burst open, and countless heads were swept away by the rapid current, disappearing into the water in the blink of an eye.

The short thirty-zhang waterway became a nightmare for the three thousand vanguard soldiers. Some were shot in the body, some had their rafts blown apart, but most lost their balance in terror and were swept away by the current, leaving only the sheepskin rafts floating on the water.

Of the three thousand vanguard troops who swam back, only four hundred or so remained; the rest had all perished. On the north bank, tens of thousands of soldiers stood in complete silence, each feeling as if they had fallen into an ice cave.

"Young Prince, why don't we cross the Tao River somewhere else?" a general suggested.

His suggestion received no response. Everyone could clearly see the terrain on the other side; there were mountains on both sides. No matter where you crossed the Tao River from, if you wanted to get to Lintao County, you would have to come back here and cross the Tao River again.

What's worse is that they still have two thousand rafts left, but also twenty-seven thousand soldiers. Originally, they planned to have everyone take turns using them, but now three thousand rafts are gone and will never return, and enemy troops are still watching from the other side.

Everyone fell silent; no one knew what to do.
Xue Rengao sighed, "Order the army to rest where they are!"

The soldiers had no tents and could only sit on the ground in the open. No one knew what the future held. Everyone was filled with uncertainty about what would happen next.

As night fell, the deserters reappeared, and a group of soldiers whispered among themselves, “Don’t be stupid. I’ve been to Hanzhong. It takes more than twenty days to cross mountains and valleys. With this little bit of food, we’ll starve to death halfway there. The young prince doesn’t know anything. If we follow him, we’ll all die!”

"Yes! He's cursed by Thor. He'll bring us down with him, and we'll be cursed too. Let's run for our lives tonight!"

Most of the soldiers were talking about similar topics. It wasn't that they weren't afraid of Thor's curse, but rather that they still had a little bit of loyalty, which was why they followed Xue Rengao to Lintao County.

But as conditions worsened and hope dwindled, their last shred of loyalty was extinguished by the cruel reality. That night, groups of soldiers began to desert. Of the 27,000 soldiers who remained before nightfall the previous day, only 9,000 were left by the next morning—two-thirds had fled.

Xue Rengao had no choice but to order his troops to go to the nearest county town, Hezheng County, hoping to find some food and women to appease the soldiers, otherwise they would all run away.

Hezheng County is located forty li east of Lintao County, on the opposite bank of the Tao River. In other words, they also had to find a way to cross the Tao River. At this time, they had already come up with a solution. Although the surrounding area consisted of large rocky mountains with no trees, there were many vines. They could weave a vine bridge. In fact, there used to be a vine bridge, but it was cut down by the Sui army.

Nine thousand soldiers entered a valley with cliffs on both sides, but the valley was relatively wide, about a hundred feet wide, and about seven or eight miles long.

Just then, countless Sui soldiers suddenly appeared on the high ground at the exit of the valley ahead. Behind them, at the entrance, countless Sui soldiers also appeared. Luo Shixin's army had arrived and blocked the nine thousand soldiers in the valley.

Now, the Western Qin army was completely trapped. More than a dozen generals urged Xue Rengao, "General, surrender! We have no way out."

Xue Rengao sighed deeply, "I, Xue Rengao, have killed countless people, but I never imagined that the last person I would kill would be myself!"

"No!"

Xue Rengao drew his sword, about to commit suicide, but suddenly changed his mind. He roared, brandished his broadsword, and charged toward the valley entrance. Only three hundred of his personal guards followed him, while the other Western Qin soldiers remained motionless.

The three thousand crossbowmen above were arranged in three rows, raising their crossbows and aiming at Xue Rengao and his personal guards.

Luo Shi casually waved his hand, "Release the arrows!"

Three thousand crossbow bolts were fired at once, instantly turning Xue Rengao into a pincushion, and all three hundred of his personal guards fell in the middle.

The remaining nine thousand soldiers all knelt down and surrendered without prior agreement.

The Western Qin army, which had fought alongside the Tang army for two years, was finally wiped out by the powerful Sui army.

In Chang'an, Li Yuan opened Li Xiaogong's urgent report again. This was the third time he had opened it. Tianshui County and Longxi County were undefended. Li Xiaogong suggested taking these two counties to establish a western defense buffer for Chang'an.

Li Xiaogong's suggestion was certainly good, but Li Yuan hesitated to make up his mind. He was worried that there would be a conflict with the Sui army. The Sui army had not said that they would give up the two prefectures. Once the two armies clashed, it would be a big problem.

But the allure of Tianshui and Longxi counties was so strong that it made him restless.

Pei Ji suggested, "Your Highness might as well take these two prefectures first. If the Sui army protests, we can sit down and talk. These two prefectures will become our bargaining chips."

Pei Ji was right. Everyone was relying on their own abilities, so why couldn't he take Longxi County and Tianshui County? Besides, the enemy's army hadn't even entered those two counties. So why should they claim those counties as theirs?
Li Yuan was finally persuaded by Pei Ji, and wrote the word "Approved!" on Li Xiaogong's proposal with a vermilion brush.

(End of this chapter)