Chapter 627 The troops approach Longxi
Just when Cao Xiu was writing the memorial and preparing to send it to Chang'an, the Han army that was guarding Bi Daocheng in Nan'an County finally began to march towards Longxi again after nearly two months.
This time, the Han army's commanding flag has been changed to the word Zhuge. Zhuge Liang, the false prime minister of Shu, actually led the troops here personally. It seems that the war in the east is not good.
Hao Zhao led the Liangzhou soldiers and horses, and relied on the elite cavalry army to try to fight against the Shu army in the wild. He thought he could take advantage, but he did not expect that the opposite side would form a formation that he had never seen before.
Not only are they integrated from head to tail, but no matter where they attack from, they will encounter the same number of Han troops, which is really weird.
More importantly, even if the cavalry army breaks through the gap and rushes into the formation, it will not be able to play its role at all, and will often be submerged in the siege from all directions.
There is no way to continue to rush forward, let alone make repeated attacks, and no matter which direction you attack from, you will be surrounded by superior forces.
If he hadn't seen the opportunity quickly, he would have been surrounded by the Shu captives catching up from behind.
Fortunately, the Han army had no cavalry, so in the end, Hao Zhao had to retreat towards Xiangwucheng, the county seat of Longxi County, leaving behind more than 2,000 corpses and wounded soldiers.
At the end of April in Longyou, the weather has started to get hot.
Under the scorching sun, shoulder to shoulder, head to toe, the fallen soldiers of the Han and Wei armies were mixed together in random directions, most of them standing still and motionless.
But there are still some people lying there, whining and moaning, and there are even incomplete bodies that twitch from time to time.
Swarms of flies have begun to crawl and buzz on the faces of the dead soldiers.
There is blood everywhere, the stench of sweat, gore, rotten meat, and feces, blowing in waves along with the hot wind...
At the edge of the battlefield, a war horse neighed softly, lingering beside its dead master and unwilling to leave.
This time the Han army no longer advanced as lightly as last time.
After finishing cleaning up the battlefield, they continued to move forward slowly, advancing towards Longxi, and finally set up camp under Xiangwu City, cutting down trees to use as siege equipment.
Hao Zhao, who originally wanted to take advantage of the Han army's victory and underestimate the enemy, could not find an opportunity and had to retreat to Xiangwu City.
At the head of Xiangwu City in Longxi County, Hao Zhao looked at the flag of the Shu army in the distance and frowned.
He is only over forty years old, with a stiff back, a habitually raised chin, and a serious face.
Because he has been stationed in Hexi for many years and has been rubbed by the wind and sand in the border areas, he seems to age faster than others, and his forehead already has wrinkles that have weathered the weather.
The wind in the city was strong, and the gray hair was blown upright.
Liangzhou was originally the place where the Qiang and Hu rebelled. Now the Wei Dynasty not only has to deal with Wu and Shu, but also has to deal with Xianbei in the north, so the princes in the DPRK naturally don't have too much interest in the Western Frontier.
If they really paid attention to it, Tianshui County, the most important county in Longyou, would not have fallen into the hands of the Shu captives so easily.
With hurried steps behind him, I saw You Chu, the governor of Longxi, walking over quickly with a serious expression, "General, there are traces of Shu captives in the north of the city. It seems that they are preparing to cross the Wei River and surround the city."
Hao Zhao shook his head, "It doesn't matter, I have already expected this and have sent people to block the south bank of the Wei River to prevent them from crossing the river."
"Based on the observation of the Shu camp and the information obtained by the sentries, the number of Shu captives should not exceed 50,000. Now there are more than 20,000 soldiers in Xiangwu City, and the people in the city are united, so they have nothing to fear."
As the prefect of Longyou, You Chu naturally knew where his own weaknesses were. “It’s just that Longxi is located in a remote location and the small walls of Xiangwu City are low, making it difficult to defend.”
This is why he told the Shu captives that he would surrender as long as they could block the Long Road for a month.
For a city like Xiangwu, if the opponent had enough troops, they would not be able to defend it for a month.
The largest city in the four counties of Longyou is Jicheng in Tianshui County. Unfortunately, when Tianshui County heard that the Shu captives were coming, they raised their flags and surrendered.
"It's not a big problem that the city is small," Hao Zhao glanced at You Chu with sharp eyes. "Our army and horse army are elite. Half of them can defend the city and half of them can swim outside the city, waiting for opportunities to attack and disturb them, so that they can't concentrate on attacking the city."
Xiangwu City was built on the edge of the Wei River. As long as people were sent to guard the river, the Shu captives would not be able to surround the city and cut off the connection between the inside and outside of the city.
More than 20,000 people defend the city, and only 50,000 Shu captives attack the city. No matter how we defend it, it is not a problem. Our biggest problem is not the city or the strength of the troops, but the food and grass.
Twenty thousand horse troops consume a lot of food and grass in one day.
Longxi County is the most remote county in Longyou. It is already desolate and does not have much food and grass. Not to mention that Nan'an is in the hands of Shu captives, and it is not easy to transport food from Liangzhou.
Even if it can be transported, Liangzhou, where Qiang and Hu rebels are prone to rebellion all year round, may not have enough food and grass supply.
Presumably the Shu captives had thought of this a long time ago, so they stabilized the eastern front first and did not rush to attack Xiangwu City.
Thinking of this, Hao Zhao felt regretful, "I made a mistake. If I had taken advantage of the Shu captives to deal with the east, and captured Bidao City in Nan'an County, I wouldn't have been so passive."
Upon hearing this, You Chu shook his head and smiled bitterly, "General, why do you have to blame yourself so much? The defender of Bidaocheng is Wei Yan, the Shu general. He leads more than 10,000 people and is assisted by Nan'an County rebels. How can the general's 20,000-horse army attack?" Do you have to come down?"
"This is also a point of confusion," Hao Zhao looked at the Shu army in the distance with a worried look in his eyes, "Twenty thousand horses cannot attack Bidao City, which is guarded by more than 10,000 Shu captives. These 50,000 Shu captives, How can we be sure of capturing Xiangwu City, which is guarded by more than 20,000 people?"
Hearing Hao Zhao's words, You Chu was also a little puzzled. "Although the Shu captives are said to be hundreds of thousands, after more than two months of investigation, it seems that they are only more than a hundred thousand at most."
Hao Zhao nodded, "So, if we can defend Xiangwu City this time, they may not be able to mobilize more soldiers and horses. Moreover, it is more than a thousand miles from Hanzhong to Xiangwu."
"We don't have enough food and grass. According to my opinion, the Shu captives may not be able to supply the food and grass. This time it's just a matter of who can use it longer."
"Besides, the counties in Longyou are suffering from war this time, and at least half of this year's grain harvest will fail. If the Shu captives want to appease the people of Longyou, food is indispensable. It is impossible to say that they are more short of food than us."
You Chu has been in Longyou for a long time and knows Longyou better than Hao Zhao. I heard that in the past two years, the Longyou family has bought a lot of food from Guanzhong. If they are willing to help, I am afraid that the Shu captives will not have to worry about food shortages. .
What's more, his good friend Gongsun Zheng had personally been to Hanzhong and knew how much preparation the Shu captives had made in order to plot Longyou.
Zhuge Liang has been in Hanzhong for more than a year, but the princes in the court have never thought of strengthening Longyou's defenses, which makes You Chu do nothing.
It’s just that these words cannot be said at this time.
Because what he had told the Shu captives to occupy the city and defend it for a month before surrendering was now known to Hao Zhao.
Although Hao Zhao didn’t say it on the surface, it could be seen from his words and deeds that he was already dissatisfied with himself.
If he poured cold water on him again at this time, I'm afraid Hao Zhao would decide that he was really ready to surrender.
You Chu was thinking when he suddenly saw a man and a horse coming from the direction of the Shulu camp.
“Who is that?”
Hao Zhao was a little strange.
“Could it be that you are here to declare a challenge?”
You Chu said speculatively.
Hao Zhao saw the person coming closer and closer, his face changed slightly, and he said, "Maybe he's here to persuade you to surrender."
The man came to the city and shouted loudly, "Hao Bodao (characterized by Hao Zhao), my old friend Jin Xiang is here to see you."
When You Chu heard this, he understood.
Hao Zhao leaned against the city and responded, "Although you and I are old friends, I am a Wei general and you surrendered to Shu. Now the armies are confronting each other. To avoid misunderstanding by others, sir, please come back. As long as the war subsides, if you are interested, sir, I will talk to you again." Sir, reminiscing about old friendships.”
Jin Xiang sighed, "Why is Bo Dao so unkind?"
“Even if you don’t tell me your purpose, I already know it!” Hao Zhao said with emotion, “Sir, you were once a native of the Wei Dynasty, so you should be familiar with the laws and regulations of the Wei State.”
“Anyone who fails to defend the city and surrenders to the enemy for no reason will have his family members affected. Do you want me to do something unworthy of a son of man?”
"Moreover, I know what Hao Zhao is like. I have been deeply favored by Wei and have a prominent family, so I have already made up my mind to die. Sir, there is no need to waste words here. Please go back quickly and tell Zhuge Liang to let him lead his troops to attack the city. "
Before Jin Xiang could say anything, he was blocked by Hao Zhao. In desperation, he had no choice but to turn his horse around, return to the camp, and tell the story to the Han Prime Minister.
Zhuge Liang heard Jin Xiang's narration, looked at Xiangwu City in the distance, frowned and said, "If we take it with all our strength, I'm afraid there will be heavy casualties. Go there again and tell him that there is a huge disparity in military strength now, and in Guanzhong If you can’t help, why bother resisting?”
Jin Xiang came to Xiangwu City again. Hao Zhao's attitude was still firm. He only heard him shout loudly, "I have said it to death before, sir. No need to say more. I recognize you, but I don't recognize my bow and arrow. You still Come back to camp quickly."
Jin Xiang heard this and knew that his mind could not be shaken, so he had no choice but to retreat.
“Prime Minister, this person has rejected the Prime Minister’s kindness several times. He really doesn’t know what is good and what is wrong. Let the last general lead an army to attack the city to show him how powerful he is!”
Wei Yan saw that Jin Xiang failed to persuade him to surrender again, and his face looked angry, so he volunteered.
Zhuge Liang glanced at Wei Yan, his eyes flashed, and he pondered, "That's fine, you can try to attack the city tomorrow."
Although the new stone-throwing vehicle is powerful, judging from the results of the experiments in Shanggui, even if it is to break the city, it will take several days or even ten days of continuous stone-throwing. If the city is high and the pond is strong, it may even be more.
It requires a lot of stones, and they have to be polished by craftsmen in advance to make them more powerful.
More importantly, the team that controls the catapult is not here, but far away in Guangwei County. Therefore, if you want to capture Xiangwu at this time, you can only attack the city according to the old method.
The next day, Wei Yan led his army to the foot of Xiangwu City, but saw that the trench of Xiangwu City was very wide and the water was deep, making it difficult to approach the city.
It turns out that in the past two months, Hao Zhaoyouchu and others have dug and widened the moat, and it is no longer what it was before.
Wei Yan had no choice but to order his sergeants to transport soil to fill the trench. He also filled sacks with rocks and soil, and then had people chop wood and weeds and throw them inside to prepare for filling the moat.
At this time, there was a drum sound on the city, and the Wei troops who had long been hiding on the top of the city shouted in unison, raised their bows and crossbows, and fired arrows like rain. For a while, the Han troops screamed and fell to the ground.
“Raise the oar and shield!”
Wei Yan ordered people to hold up large shields to protect the soldiers filling the river, but in this way, the speed of filling the river was much slower.
At this time, I saw another cry of killing coming from the right. It turned out that Hao Zhao had gathered a group of troops there and was preparing to charge over.
Fortunately, Zhuge Liang came behind him and quickly sent people to block it.
(End of this chapter)