Chapter 592 Fog of War
There were logs everywhere in the mountains, and soon someone came down from the mountain carrying thick logs and began to break into the village gate.
The village gate made of wood creaked and was about to be pushed open. Everyone's eyes in the Han army were square-shaped, ah, no, they were shining with ecstasy.
They faced the arrows shot out from inside, and no one retreated. They shouted slogans and banged on the door desperately.
With a "boom", the village gate finally fell down, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"careful!"
There were shadows of people in the dust. Someone noticed something was wrong and quickly warned him.
The sound of horse hooves sounded like a storm, and a group of men and horses rushed out. The Han army, which was about to swarm in, was unable to get out of the way. Some people were knocked into the air, vomiting blood in their mouths, their muscles and bones were broken, and they fell to the ground again. Can't get up.
The cavalry who rushed out were all wearing leather armor, and the weapons in their hands were all made of iron. They were strong personal guards.
They increased their speed to the maximum in the shortest possible time, broke through the encirclement, and even the barbarians who stood in front of them were hacked to death by them, and then ran towards the lower reaches of the river.
Before they could reach the mouth of the valley, crossbow arrows like locusts suddenly flew over from the front. The wave of people rushing at the front screamed in agony, including the horses and men. The horses rushed out a distance with inertia before they died. Then he threw the person out hard.
Since the Han army had ambushed here early, how could they not block the intersection?
“Get off your horse and go up the mountain!”
Speak loudly at the strong end.
Although there are Han troops all over the mountains and plains, most of them have already ran down the mountain to encircle them, and there are not many Han troops left on the mountain.
In addition, the Di people live in the mountains all year round, so they have many advantages over the Han people in the mountains.
Upon hearing the command, the guards quickly dismounted their horses and started running towards the mountain.
The mountains and forests here are dense, and it is impossible for the Han people to seal every corner. As long as they find a gap and climb over the mountain, it is impossible for the Han people to catch up with them.
It is a pity that Qiang Duan and his group were extremely conspicuous among the chaotic Hu people. Anyone who was not blind would know that this must be a leader of the Hu people, so the Han troops who had the strength to catch up followed them closely.
Seeing that he couldn't get rid of him, Qiang Duan ordered his followers to flee in all directions to distract the Han army. Then he saw the right direction and went into the forest with his personal bodyguards.
I don’t know how long I walked after stumbling, but I felt that the shouts of killing were far behind me. Only then did Qiang Duan dare to stop for a moment, and took several sips of the mountain spring.
After drinking the cold mountain spring, Qiang Duan felt that he had regained some strength.
At this moment, a sound suddenly broke through the air!
I heard someone from the bodyguard shout, "Your Majesty, be careful!"
At the same time, they rushed forward to protect the strong end. With a "chi" sound, an arrow shot through the chest of the guard.
The remaining people quickly drew their swords and came up, surrounding the strong end.
Many people appeared not far from the opposite side, all holding crossbows and pointing them in this direction. When Qiang Duan saw the leader, his eyes were splitting: "Yang Pu!"
Yang Servant stood in the middle, laughed and said loudly, "Why is the powerful king coming so late? It's no use that I have been waiting here for so long."
Qiang Duan is a local snake, he knows where there are trails to walk, but Yang Pu was also the Di King of Wudu. He is more familiar with Wudu than Qiang Duan, the Di King of Yinping, so he is most likely to pass by Qiang Duan early. I waited at the right place and found a big fish.
"Why?" Qiang Duan stared at Yang Pu, the anger in his eyes almost bursting out, "I have no grudge against you, why did you harm me?"
Yang Pu sneered and didn't answer his words at all. He waved his hand and more than a hundred people around him fired arrows. The last few followers around Qiang Duan only had time to rush forward a few steps before they were shot into honeycombs.
Even Qiang Duan was hit by several arrows. He originally had an iron armor that he got from the Han people, but unfortunately he took it off and threw it away when he ran away.
Now the arrow wounds on his body were enough to kill him. He was lying on the ground, eyes wide open, holding on to his last breath and unwilling to swallow it.
"Why?"
There was a dark shadow above blocking his sight. His lips moved, and he squeezed out the last bit of strength in his body and murmured repeated questions.
Yang Pu squatted down with a cold face, "For the wool. King Qiang, in the past two years, the life of my people in Ji County has become increasingly difficult."
“The land allocated to us by the emperor of the Han Dynasty in the north has been continuously annexed by the Han people in recent years. Especially in the past two years, they have farmed their own land and at the same time robbed our land and forced us to herd their sheep.”
“The Han prime minister in the south promised me that if I am willing to help, he can set aside a place in Longyou and let the Han people teach us how to cultivate pastures, and we can stay there and graze our cattle with peace of mind.”
"You can also exchange wool for grain, salt, woolen cloth, anything. King Qiang, you should know how much benefit there is in cooperating with the Han people."
"Now you have all the benefits, so you hope that Longyou and Wudu will remain the same. But for me, only when Longyou and Wudu change can my people have a way out. Do you understand? "
After listening to what Yang Pu said, he shouted twice in his throat and wanted to speak, but he couldn't speak anymore, and the light in his eyes finally dimmed.
In the distant valley, the battle finally came to an end.
This battle not only captured a large number of Di people, but also harvested a lot of horses, cattle and sheep.
The whole valley is filled with a happy atmosphere.
"King Yang, after this battle, there will be no one here who can stop you from returning to Yinping and becoming King of Di again." Gao Xiang looked at Yang Ju, "Wudu is connected to Longyou to the north, Hanzhong to the east, and Bashu to the south. This is the key point. place."
"What the Han Dynasty needs is a calm Wudu Yinping, and he doesn't want a strong character like him to appear again. Do you understand?"
“The villain understands.”
“Okay, then go ahead.”
)
Yang Ju clasped his fists heavily, and then left with the others.
“Every mountain road leading to the north must be strictly guarded, and no one is allowed to escape to avoid leaking the news.”
Gao Xiang ordered again to the people next to him.
“No!”
Just when Qiang Duan was ambushed in the valley, Cao Zhen finally led his army to Gudao County and attacked Hechi County where Zhao Yun was stationed.
Zhao Yun relied on danger to defend, and repeatedly repulsed Cao Zhen, preventing Cao's army from crossing the pass and threatening Yang'an Pass in the east and the Jinniu Road leading to the middle of Shu.
Cao Zhen suffered a small loss from Zhao Yun at Jikou, and now he ran into a wall here. He attacked for two consecutive days and lost some men and horses, but all returned without success, and he couldn't help but feel a little irritable.
Just when his heart was on fire, Wei Zhen, the general who conquered Shu, entered the tent and said, "General, there is news from the strong end in the south."
“Oh, where is the strong end?”
Upon hearing this, Cao Zhen asked hurriedly.
He is now blocked here and can only rely on the cooperation of the strong end and attack from both sides.
It would be best if the Shu captives' food route could be cut off. If not, it could at least force them to return to defense and reduce the pressure on Longyou.
“Let him in quickly.”
I saw a foreigner enter the tent and saluted Cao Zhen, "Young servant Yang has seen the general."
Cao Zhen looked at Yang Pu with some doubts and said, "I do think you look familiar, but where have I seen you before?"
A respectful smile appeared on Yang Pu's face, "The general defeated the Shu captives in Xiabian ten years ago. The villain raised his troops to respond to the Wei Dynasty and was commended by Emperor Wu. Later, the villain joined the clan again, and the emperor refused to give up and moved to The clan members live in Ji County."
During the Battle of Xiabian that year, Cao Zhen served as a partial general and followed Cao Hong and Cao Xiu to defend Xiabian.
When Cao Zhen heard this, he remembered, "Oh, no wonder, I remember that you sent dozens of cattle and sheep to the army as military food."
“The general has a good memory!”
Yang Pu complimented again.
When he remembered who Pu Yang was, Cao Zhen's eyes showed suspicion again, "Since you have moved your whole family to Ji County, why are you here again?"
“Back to the general, after the city of Hebei was defeated by the Shu captives, the villain was afraid of being harmed by the Shu captives because he had raised troops to respond to Emperor Wu, so he led his tribe to flee back to Wudu and seek help from King Qiang.”
"King Qiangqiang heard about the arrival of the Wei army a few days ago. He has already raised his troops from the Qiang Road, crossed the Qiang River, and marched towards Xiabian. At the same time, he sent a small number of people to report to the general, hoping to respond to the general's north and south."
Qiang Duan beheaded the Shu general Wu Lan and sent him to Emperor Wu's camp in person. Later, Yang Pu became a member of the entire clan. They were all sincerely loyal to the Di king of the Wei Dynasty. Cao Zhen had dealt with them all. .
Now when he heard Yang Pu's words, he was overjoyed and said, "You are indeed loyal and righteous people! Let me ask you, do you know how many Shu captives there are over there in Xia Bian?"
"Back to the general, the enemy of Xiabian originally had only 3,000 people. Later, when the Shu captives from Qishan City heard that the general was coming from Chencang Road, they sent another 2,000 people. So now there are a total of 5,000 people, guarding Xiabian City. With Gushan.”
“But I heard that the reinforcements from Longyou are rushing to rescue them. Their number is unknown. General, if the Shu captives from Longyou turn back, it will be difficult to capture Xiabiao.”
"King Qiang is currently looking south of the Western Han River. As soon as the general's army arrives, King Qiang will cross the Western Han River north. Please send troops to defend as soon as possible and attack from the north and south to cut off the retreat of the Shu captives."
Wei Zhen, who was on the side, heard this and saw the thoughtful look on Cao Zhen's face. He was a little anxious at the moment. Why was the general hesitant at such a great opportunity?
This time he entered Wudu to cut off the food routes of Shu captives, which was his own initiative. If he succeeds, he is expected to make an immortal contribution.
If you miss the opportunity because of hesitation, you don’t know when you will have such an opportunity in the future.
Thinking of this, Wei Zhen approached and whispered softly, "General, this is a rare opportunity! If you don't divide your troops and let me lead ten thousand people to the east and attack the Di king from the north and south together, the five thousand Shu captives will not be able to defend for three days." "
"Not only will Longyou be saved by then, but the Shu army in Longyou will also be destroyed soon."
Cao Zhen raised his head and glanced at Wei Zhen, and then said, "Come, please send King Yang down to rest first."
After Yang Pu left, he said with some embarrassment, "I don't know how rare the opportunity is. It's just that although Yang Pu is an old man, you can't trust his words alone. You have to be careful. "
“General, Zhuge Liang personally leads the army in Longyou. Even if we count from the day we arrived in Gudao County, if someone sends him a message, it will take at least half a month for him to lead the army to come over.”
"Unless Zhuge Liang had expected in advance that we would enter Wudu via Chencang Road and immediately lead his army back after defeating Ji County, otherwise he would definitely not be able to come here in time. The remaining Shu captives are not enough in number, so what should we fear? ?”
"It's been eight days now, and we still have seven days. The terrain at Hechi Pass is dangerous, and the guard opposite is Zhao Yun. We may not be able to get there in seven days."
"It would be better if we divide our troops into two groups and stay here to watch over Zhao Yun. Then we go southwest and attack Xiabian from the strong end. We only need to break one area at Hechi and Xiabian and it will be a big deal!"
Cao Zhen was a little moved at first, but now after hearing Wei Zhen's words again, he thought to himself that this indeed makes some sense. As long as the army of Shu captives in Longyou did not come back in time, there would be thousands of Shu captives, and the army would have more soldiers. Why fear an ambush?
Even if we can't attack Xiabian on this trip, we can still force Shu's Longyou army to turn back.
More importantly, when he participated in the battle of Xiabian, he knew that the terrain of Xiabian was far less dangerous than Hechi, otherwise Zhang Fei would not have dared to threaten to station troops to solidify the mountain and cut off Xiabian's retreat.
Think about Zhuge Liang, who is just a villager. I once defeated Ma Chao and Zhang Fei in a debate. How can I still be afraid of a mere villager? Let's see how I can defeat this Shu army again!
With this thought in mind, he finally nodded, "That's fine. I'll give you 20,000 people. You must be careful along the way."
"The Hu people are mostly a mob. If it is beneficial, they will swarm forward. If it is not beneficial, they will scatter. To defeat the enemy, you can only trust yourself and not entrust it to the barbarians. Also, there are many dangerous roads in Wudu, and the army is moving forward. Remember a lot. Send out sentries."
Cao Zhen warned again carefully.
“You will finally understand!”
Wei Zhen said with great joy.
Feng Yong, who was far away in Guanshan, naturally didn’t know everything that happened in Wudu.
Now he is like a deaf or blind man.
After losing nearly ten Night Hunters, the exact number of Cao's troops in Qian County was still not confirmed, which made Feng Yong worried. In the end, he had no choice but to order the Dark Night Battalion to closely monitor every move of Cao's troops in Qian County.
The person sent to deliver the message to Zhuge Liang never came back, which made Feng Yong a little suspicious. This shouldn't be the case. Even if the old demon Zhuge was nowhere to be found, the messenger should at least send a message back!
Is it possible that something happened to Longyou?
This shouldn't be the case. If something happens to Longyou, Jufu, who leads 3,000 people to garrison in Jicheng, will definitely send the news over according to the pre-agreed method.
“General, early this morning, another group of Cao troops from Qian County entered the city.”
Wang Han's life was very hard these days. He was running up and down mountains and hills, and sometimes he had to go back and forth once a day.
"how many people?"
Feng Yong handed over a bowl of water and asked.
"Three thousand or so, I will not count them myself."
Wang Han finished speaking with a gasp, and then drank it gurglingly.
"If there were 30,000 Cao thieves in the city originally, and adding those who have entered the city these days, there should be almost 50,000, right?" Feng Yong was a little confused, "Am I really wrong about this?"
In the Battle of Jieting in history, everyone was praising Zhang He's lightning speed. Could it be that he was blown away?
"These days, the general has renovated the city. Even if there are really 50,000 people, they can't easily capture Longguan. Why should the general worry?"
Zhang Yi said from the side.
The pass is not flat. If hundreds of people can attack the city at a time, it is considered crowded. Fifty thousand people are attacking the city. Even if Zhang He divides the people into a hundred teams and takes turns to attack, there is no need to worry if he wants to overwhelm himself.
There are now three thousand people in Guancheng, Wang Ping's three thousand people on the top of Guan Mountain, and four thousand people in the valley behind Guancheng, ready to respond. Who knows who will fall first?
Feng Yong felt a little relieved when he learned that there were at least nearly 50,000 people in Qian County in the city.
As long as Zhang He doesn't send anyone to Chencang, Cao Zhen's men plus the troops brought by Cao Rui, at most 30,000 people can enter Wudu. Mr. Zhao leads 20,000 people to defend Hanzhong. What is there to fear?
It is not certain who will cut off who's escape then.
Thinking of this, Feng Yong became suspicious again. Could it be that Cao Wei was waiting for the troops from Guandong to arrive and was preparing to fight a war of attrition?
If this is really the case, I wonder what Cao Rui's face will be when he knows that the food in Guanzhong has been emptied by wool in recent years?
Feng Yong chuckled: Xiahou Mao, who was originally stationed in Chang'an, liked money and was good at managing his family property. He has been eating very well in the past few years, but he doesn't know how much food he will be able to lose by then?
(End of this chapter)