Shu Chen

Chapter 205 Lonely City
Three days later, in front of Hanpingchuan.

Liu Yin took the scorpion army to escort the food and supplies.

Zheng Pu, who was bluffing with two thousand soldiers, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It is impossible to say that he did not have the slightest bit of anxiety in his heart, which is the biggest factor related to his wealth and life and the outcome of this battle.

Fortunately, Wei Ping, the general against Wei, was very cautious and cooperative.

"Brother Xiuran, the Xihou army will have to work hard later, and take over the daytime guard."

When the soldiers were unloading their supplies, Zheng Pu also came to Liu Yin's side and said in a low voice, "The soldiers under Anyue's command have been on duty day and night for the past few days and are panic-stricken. I plan to let them rest."

With [-] soldiers guarding a barracks that can hold four to five thousand people, and they still have to confuse Ni Wei and can't see the truth, Zhoutai's subordinates have been physically and mentally exhausted these days.

Now when the follow-up soldiers and horses arrived, they suddenly let go of that breath, and everyone must feel exhausted.

Liu Yin is also aware of this.

Therefore, he nodded without making any excuses, "Okay, Zijin is at ease. I have carried the army along the Zuli River all the way, and the march is not exhausting. Well, I will let half of the soldiers rest first , tonight's duty is also my department."

It also made Zheng Pu smile, "Then there will be brother Lao Xiuran."

"Hey, why are you tired!"

Liu Yin waved his hands with a smile, and said with a little self-deprecating emotion, "Every time I lead the army, I do some things like guarding and escorting the army, and I have long been used to it."

indeed.

Since the Northern Expedition, he has almost always guarded the rear or acted as a rear army escorting grain and fodder, and he has experienced very few battles.

Promotion in the army is only based on combat merit, and there is little merit if you don't fight in battle.

Looking at his old friends and generals who were granted military power at the same time in the past, they kept accumulating meritorious service, promotion and gaining fame on the battlefield, while he himself had nowhere to go. If he said he was not eager, he would not be able to lie to himself.

Especially since he was over forty.

"Hahaha~~~"

Involuntarily, Zheng Pu laughed loudly, patted him on the shoulder, and said in relief, "Brother Xiuran's talent, if you don't make a name for yourself, it's enough. If you make a name for yourself, you will be amazed. Why bother to belittle yourself?"

But Liu Yin didn't answer the words.

He just looked at Zheng Pu with a slightly playful smile.

It also made Zheng Pu smile even more, and jokingly said, "Brother Xiu Ran, if he wants to use the headquarters as the forerunner this time, how can I not allow it? Is it possible that when you come under my control, you can still have leisure?"

Immediately, Liu Yin raised her brows with joy, "If a gentleman says it's hard to chase, I'll thank Zijin first. Well, I'll arrange the soldiers on duty."

After saying that, as if afraid of Zheng Pu's repentance, he immediately turned around and strode away.

"All the soldiers are using their lives, and Huo Ran is also eager."

Looking at his back, Zhang Bao who was also by his side also smiled, and handed Zheng Pu a piece of cloth.

When his cavalry don't pay attention to heavy armor, it is also one of the most elite light cavalry songs of the big man.

Therefore, when they were on the way, they intercepted and killed many ranger scouts sent by Wei Ping to Zuli County, and took advantage of the opportunity to search for Wei Ping's letters.

He said only a few figures: "Reinforcements are coming soon, please encourage me!"

It's not an important military situation.

Zheng Pu glanced casually, and put it in his sleeve, "It's still early, brother, are you tired? Why don't you take the cavalry with me to see the front camp of Niwei?"

"it is good."

Let's go, let's watch.

The location of Yuyinsai is not where the Zuli River flows into Dahe (now Jingyuan County).

Because when the Zuli River and the Dahe River converged here, they created a flat river valley similar to Jincheng County (Lanzhou Basin) but much smaller. There were acres of land for soldiers to support themselves, but there was no narrow and dangerous valley mouth as a defense support.

A deeper consideration is that the fortifications built at the mouth of the Zuli River cannot rely on the natural barrier of the Quwu Mountains to the east to prevent nomadic tribes from entering the four Hexi counties from the Wushui River Valley or the Hetao Plain.

Coincidentally, after passing through the mouth of the Zuli River, the river was blocked by the mountains, and suddenly bent to the west, bypassing the Quwu Mountains before flowing to the Hetao Plain in the north again.

It also provides a natural and dangerous place where mountains contain water.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened the frontier, out of strategic considerations, two sites were selected for the construction of fortifications.

One is Naowei County at the western end of the Quwu Mountains (now the ancient city of Diaogou in the southeast of Jingtai County), which is a barrier to prevent nomadic tribes from crossing the deserted desert and entering the Hexi Corridor from the north.

On the other hand, about forty miles to the northwest along the mouth of the Zuli River (in the area of ​​Hongshan Gorge today), the current Shuyin Fortress was built.

The big river here, after experiencing the gentleness at the mouth of the Zuli River, suddenly encounters a canyon called "cliffs on both sides and a line of sky", making the raging river roar, gallop, and Roaring furiously, with the momentum of thunder, he wished to break through the shackles of the cliffs.

The Shuyin Fortress was built here, with canyons and large river barriers, so it can naturally be called "one man guards the gate and ten thousand men cannot open it".

However, the ferry to the Hexi Corridor (now Xiaohuangwan Village, Pingchuan District) outside the city is a narrow river channel with an "S" curved and slow flow, which is very easy to freeze in winter.

This is also a loophole in the line of defense that makes defenders extremely headache——

In the past historical process, the nomadic tribes of Hetao often came here on the ice when the river at the Shuyin Ferry was frozen in winter.

Fortunately, Dahe and Quwu Mountains are not seamlessly connected.

Between the mountain and the water, there is a small platform in front of the mountain called "Hanpingchuan", which is wide in the west and narrow in the east.

This also gave the defense line of Yuyinsai an extra opportunity to make up for it: in winter, when the big river is frozen, you can send troops to the narrow east side of the Hanping River, and set down the camp to prevent the enemy from passing through the ferry smoothly.

Wei Ping, the general who guarded the four counties in Hexi against Wei, now has his camp located on the east side of Hanpingchuan.

Although it is already summer and April, the ice layer of the river has already melted, and there is no hidden danger of the Han army crossing the river on ice.But Wei Ping didn't want to squeeze all the soldiers and horses into the Shuyin Fortress, so as not to destroy the original defense with a clear division of labor.

In addition, he also wanted to put some pressure on the Han army appropriately.

For example, the Han army who intercepted him here did not dare to return to the division to besiege Zuli City.

The power should be restrained, so it is better to let the ancestral calendar change hands later.

After all, the fact that the Han army sent more than [-] troops from Longyou to Zuli's military situation was confirmed by his scouts.

Four thousand Han troops were restrained here, facing the siege of six or seven thousand Han troops, Yin Feng defended the city with four thousand soldiers, should he be able to hold it?
Even if it is captured, time is not so fast.

With such thoughts in mind, Wei Ping, while ordering all the generals not to start the war lightly, still frequently dispatched ranger scouts to inquire about news, so as to remain unchanged to deal with all changes.

But Yin Feng, who was on the head of the Zuli city, had already realized in his deep eyes.

Within a month, the city will inevitably change hands.

Even earlier.

It's not self-deprecating, but the situation dictates.

The reason why Zuli County is an isolated city is because the water of the Zuli River is bitter and salty, neither humans nor animals can drink it, nor can it be used for irrigation.The fields outside the city are irrigated by the water from the big river through the ditches.

Therefore, the population has always been small, and the grain and fodder reserves are also very small.

Xia Siyue happened to be about to enter the lean and yellow season, and the daily consumption of food and fodder by the four thousand soldiers and Li Shu in the city was very huge. If they did not get supplies from Hexi within a month, they would run out of food and fodder.

Soldiers will collapse without food.

Another reason is that the [-] soldiers under his command are desperate to die.

This is related to the power game in the four counties of Hexi.

Ever since the Wei State implemented the "rule by the people on the border" and indulged the rise of the Haoyou, the prefects of the four counties in Hexi and the Qianghu tribe have gradually strengthened their power, and the filth of the flies and dogs has never stopped.

At the beginning, under the prestige and coordination of Yang Fu, the governor of Liangzhou, they were able to maintain a superficial harmony.

And in accordance with the previous agreement, I will send out the trilogy to advance and retreat with the Wei army.

But after Ma Dai attacked Zhangye County from a place beyond Huawai, he gave them an excuse to obey.

For example, in the great war two years ago, they called back all the private soldiers for the reason of protecting the country and the people, and Xia Houru, who was short of troops, had to give up Xiping County.

It also made him, the former Dunhuang prefect, forced to bear the charge of unfavorable supervision and was demoted to ancestral guard.

Of the four thousand cavalry under his command, half are county soldiers and half are private soldiers of Hexi Haoyou.

The military strength of the county soldiers is not strong, and the Haoyou private soldiers have no awareness of dying for Wei Guo-they were sent here for the benefit of the Silk Road, and to protect the trade route from Guanzhong to the Hexi Corridor.

It is too difficult to expect them to be "in the city".

At least Yin Feng felt that he did not have this appeal.

Therefore, when the rangers sent by Wei Ping sent the letter "reinforcement is coming", he had the consciousness of breaking the city.

If Wei Ping really led the army to help, the governor would have arrived long ago.

What letter to send!
In other words, as a native of Jixian County, Longyou, Yin Feng was too familiar with Liangzhou, and also knew that Zuli County was a tasteless tasteless rib for Wei Guo.

Wei Ping is the governor of the four counties in Hexi, and he will not care too much about the ownership of an isolated city.

It is the most sensible choice to temporarily abandon Zuli County, prolong the supply line of the Han army, and place the battlefield of the battle between the two sides in Shuyinsai, where the Wei army occupies the most advantageous location.

Such a decision has nothing to do with right or wrong, it is just a strategic decision.

If it were Yin Feng himself, he would choose the same way.

Therefore, he was abandoned by Wei Ping, and there was nothing to complain about.

There is also no thought of bringing down the city.

He was one of those who expelled Ma Chao with Yang Fu in the past, and his whole family was slaughtered by Ma Chao.

And Ma Chao's descendants are the emperor's relatives in Dahan. For this reason alone, it is impossible for him to give birth to the heart of surrender.

Not to mention, he was already old and ready to face death.

No matter how long the city can be guarded, do your best to obey the destiny, and if you can guard it day by day, the city will be destroyed and you will die.

What is there to fear.

Compared with him who did not report hope, Guan Xing, who led the besieged city, was hesitant in his ambition.

When he led the army to arrive, he rode his horse around the ancestral city, then smiled at Yan Yu who was by his side, "Wen Ping, our army wants to break this city, it's easy!"

Wen Ping is Yan Yu, from Nanjun, Jingzhou.

He is diligent in his work, and he has the reputation of being a talented person before he reaches his thirties.

Previously, he was a subordinate of Yuan Chen, the later general, and stayed with the army in Hanzhong County.After the death of the guard general Zhao Yun, he was included in the central army of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang.Last year his patriarch Xiang Fuxing joined the army and Jianyi General Yan Yan died in battle. He asked the prime minister to be transferred to the front line of Longyou, determined to kill the enemy and serve the country.

The prime minister couldn't bear to refuse him, so he was sent to serve as a general under Guan Xing's command.

After hearing Guan Xing's words, he also had a gurgling smile, and nodded in agreement, "What the general said is very true. From my observation, the morale of the soldiers on the Niwei city is low. It seems that they are timid before the battle, and they can rush to attack."

Indeed, the morale of the Wei army guarding the ancestral city was worrying.

It was when Ma Dai and Zhao Guang, the two generals who conquered the north, marched into the Wushui River Valley, they also responded to Zheng Pu's invitation and came to the city to show off their might before turning east.

In order to disintegrate the morale in the city.

After all, no matter how dull the Wei soldiers were, they could have imagined that with thousands of cavalry guarding around, it would be impossible for Zuli County to receive reinforcements.Even if there were, by the time they broke through the interception of these thousands of cavalry, it would probably be a month after the food and fodder in the city ran out.

Moreover, the Zuli City was built on the riverside, and the terrain outside the city was flat, with no danger to rely on.

There are no thunderbolt chariots, bed crossbows and other sharp weapons for defending the city.

With a city wall less than two feet high, facing the Han army's large-scale assault equipment such as ladders, siege towers, catapults, and well rails, they felt that it would be difficult to hold on to the city for a month.

"No hurry, we will attack the city again in three days."

Guan Xing said, "You first write some surrender letters, and send people to shoot into the city to see if they can break down their will to defend to the death, so that our soldiers will suffer less damage."

Yan Yu cupped his hands, "No! The last general will make arrangements."

"Ah."

Guan Xing nodded, and continued to drive his horse to slowly patrol the terrain, looking for the most suitable place to attack the city.

Although it is not difficult to break through this low-lying city, his headquarters has only [-] soldiers and horses, which cannot withstand too much consumption.

Otherwise, if the city is breached and the army is led to meet Zheng Pu, there will not be enough troops to meet Jiang Wei's troops.

Don't think too much, when the isolated city is under attack, any defender will order to block the city gate with rocks and trees.If you want to break through, you can only rely on ants to climb to the top of the city, and ants are the method of attacking the city with the most casualties.

After he is a famous general, he will never allow himself to be called not good at fighting.

Or in other words, he held his breath in his heart all the time, wanting to justify his late father's name.

Although, the defeat in the battle of Xiangfan in the past was not a fault of the war.

But he couldn't deny that the loss of Jingzhou was the main reason for the decline of the Han Dynasty.

Regardless of his sincerity to serve the great man, or his selfish desire to restore his father's reputation, he dare not be negligent in the slightest, and he can feel at ease only after he has personally experienced the smallest details.

Three days later, the Han army attacked the city.

Guan Xing led [-] soldiers to attack from the south gate, while Yan Yu led another [-] soldiers to besiege the east gate.

As soon as the war started, it fell into a fever.

Because the two agreed by coincidence, they would lead the trilogy and take Shiya as the first.

Not that they were rash.

But after the letter of surrender was brought into the city by the arrow, the effect was very good.

Those Hexi Haoyou's trilogy did not want to be loyal to the Wei State and die together with the guard Yin Feng.

When the content of the letter of surrender claiming that "the surrender can be granted land" spread throughout the city, many nobles took advantage of the night to slip down the city wall with ropes and come to the Han army camp to surrender.

Anyway, their family members are not here, and Yin Feng can't hold them accountable if they surrendered.

Based on this, Guan Xing and Yan Yu wanted to completely destroy their fighting spirit with the might of their soldiers because the morale of the enemy had already collapsed.

The lonely city does not guard.

When one person is defeated, all are defeated.

(End of this chapter)