CHAPTER 1460: CHAPTER 1377: ZHANG XUAN THE RABBIT

Zhang Xuan was ordering his troops to retreat immediately, but the withdrawal of his hundreds of thousands, or nearly a million troops, required a lot of time.

The undulating mountains in the Chu Territory are the best barriers for attack and defense, but also the greatest enemy of transportation and assembly. It takes time to get out of here, and a lot of time.

It was only at this moment that Zhang Xuan realized he couldn’t just run away whenever he wanted. There was the 6th Group Army of the Tang Army in front of him, and his rear was no longer safe.

However, he still systematically arranged a retreat plan for the troops: the rear guard troops would immediately retreat toward the Shu Territory, dispersing as much as possible to avoid being harassed by the Tang Army’s air forces.

Subsequently, his main forces would follow because the rear guard had already retreated, making the roads clear and allowing the main forces to retreat quickly.

The remaining frontline troops were the "cannon fodder" that Zhang Xuan abandoned. These troops would hold the positions until the main forces were out of danger, at which point they were allowed to leave their positions.

Whether these troops could actually hold until then was uncertain. They had no reinforcements, and even the ammunition supplies were woefully inadequate.

Zhang Xuan knew that if he did not take away as much material and equipment as possible, the retreat would become meaningless. He must bring back the precious ammunition to complete the mission.

After all, simply retreating with personnel was futile; relationships in warfare had evolved beyond being won just by numerical superiority. He had to ensure that the troops retreating maintained their combat effectiveness so they could continue to fight for the Qin Country.

The innumerable resources, which had taken much effort to transport to the Chu Territory mountains, now had to be transported back, turning into a severe waste.

Other than a few railways, Zhang Xuan virtually had no proper transportation routes. When he came, he was facing the air force of the Chu Country, so the supply lines were well preserved. But now he faced the air force of the Tang Country, and those roads, clearly mapped out long ago, had been bombed to ruins months earlier.

The previously rushed supplies became burdens, and the previously substantial manpower became a problem. After facing the Tang Empire’s offensive, Zhang Xuan felt for the first time that he had too many troops on hand.

The first one or two divisions managed to retreat relatively smoothly, but problems arose with the units behind them. A late-winter rain made the roads muddy, slowing down troop movements to an extreme.

On the other hand, the Tang Army, aware that the Qin Country might have obtained the movements of their 7th Corps, took action to try to stop the retreat of Qin Army in the Chu Territory.

They aggressively pursued the retreating Qin Army, keeping Zhang Xuan occupied and unable to focus all his attention on organizing the troop withdrawal.

Three days after Sun Guang learned that the Tang Army’s landing fleet had set off, Zhang Xuan’s forces were defeated by the Tang 6th Group Army, and Si Mountain City fell back into Tang hands.

Recapturing the largest city in the Central Region of the Chu Territory, Si Mountain, signified that the Tang Army had taken control of most of the Chu Territory, reducing the Qin-controlled area to near Xishan Fortress and the wild city near the King City.

Having lost Si Mountain, Zhang Xuan didn’t even dare to look back, personally leading the main forces to retreat southwest, leaving some troops to guard the Xishan Fortress and the wild city of the Chu Kingdom’s Royal City.

The next day, the Qin Country’s 306th Army stationed in the wild city surrendered to the Tang Army, and the wild city was occupied by the Tang Army. It was also on this day that the old King of Chu, Xiong Biao, abdicated at Nanshan Port, transferring the crown to his son, Xiong Xiao.

Xiong Xiao was quite straightforward, as he sat on his throne for only a few hours before meekly declaring the surrender of his country to the Great Tang, bowing and submitting, accepting a noble title "Duke of Chu" from the Tang Country, and went off with his father to Linshui to enjoy a peaceful life.

The Great Tang Empire treated the father and son very generously; as long as they did not rebel in their lifetimes, their lives would surely be better than when they were kings. Apart from power, they lost nothing and gained wealth beyond their wildest dreams.

From then on, the Chu Country became history, legally becoming part of the Great Tang Empire. Having achieved the righteous goal, the Tang Army advanced swiftly, surrounding the remnants of the Qin troops that Zhang Xuan had no time to withdraw, as well as a large number of Qin forces entrapped in Xishan Fortress.

At this point, the Battle of the Chu Territory was drawing to a close, with the Tang Army completely annihilating 300,000 Qin soldiers and encircling 210,000 more, while Zhang Xuan retreated with 600,000 troops into the Shu Territory. The numbers were larger because the Qin Army had also sent reinforcements and suffered heavy losses, all consumed by earlier battles.

Yet the events occurring over these few days were far from over. It was also during these days that, far across the Eastern Continent, the Laines Empire announced peace with the Great Tang Empire, conceding defeat, and compensating the Great Tang Empire for war damages to the tune of 120 million Gold Coins.

Qin Country was further isolated globally, and Zhang Xuan failed to accomplish the task of "bringing all troops back."

...

On the vast ocean, the old General Eric was somewhat unable to bear the pain of seasickness, his face a bit pale. He stood on the deck, eagerly hoping to see the coastline appear before him.

But everyone knew that, according to plan, it would be another two days before his troops could reach the shore of the Shu Territory. This was dictated by the speed and direction of travel, and could not be changed.

To accommodate the 7th Corps, which lacked experience in naval landings, this landing site was chosen as close to Nanshan Port as possible.

Landing here would save about three days of time, in addition to shortening the logistics transportation, facilitating subsequent meetings on land.

Indeed, according to plan, after the 7th Corps landed in the Shu Territory, the naval supply would only cover a part. Most supplies would be shipped from Linshui East Bay to Nanshan Port, and then transported overland directly to the front lines.

In other words, the 6th Group Army and the 7th Corps would soon meet, opening up the overland supply lines. The longer sea route from Nanshan Port to Qingluan Port... was merely a backup plan.

Thus, a day earlier than Sun Guang had speculated, the transport ship carrying the Tang Country 7th Corps reached the Shu Territory coastline, far surpassing the Qin Country’s estimations.

And the landing spot wasn’t near Qingluan Port at all, but rather closer to the Chu Territory. The Tang Army’s plan was far more conservative than Qin Country anticipated; they simply desired to encircle Zhang Xuan, but had not yet completed this strategic goal.

At this very moment, Zhang Xuan had already fled; he escaped the encirclement of the Tang Army because the Tang Nation Air Force, hindered by rain and limited airfields, had a significantly reduced sortie rate, failing to effectively intercept the retreating ground troops of the Qin Country.