Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 317 Jincheng
(Looking at the map first will make the content of the novel clearer, in the comments!)
In July, Liangzhou, Jincheng County, by the Yellow River.

In the early morning, a veil-like morning mist rose from the river, and Wei Yan walked along the river bank.

Through this thin layer of 'veil', Wei Yan and others watched the river water rushing, and the rapid flow of the deep ditch rolled up small whirlpools.

Wei Yan raised his head again and looked at the north and south mountains on both sides of the Yellow River, and said with emotion: "Jincheng locks three rivers, there are mountains in the north and south, and the city is surrounded by big rivers. If we break through the Wei army camp, Yan may still be blocked by the Siwang Gorge."

Chen Shi was a step behind, and said modestly: "General Zuo is too modest. Brother Wen just had no intention of attacking Siwang Gorge. If the soldiers are transferred back to the camp from the north of Gaomen County, it will be easy to pass through Siwang Gorge."

There are counties in Jincheng County, six counties including Gaomen, Jincheng, Yuzhong, Lingju, Yunjie, and Zhiyang, and Yuzhong is the governing place.

Jincheng and Yuzhong are close at hand, distributed along the Yellow River, and belong to the same river valley, but if they are broken down in detail, Jincheng is in today's Lanzhou Basin, while Yuzhong is in today's Yuzhong Basin.

Gaomen County is located in the Gaomen River Valley of the Gaomen River (lower reaches of the Datong River), and the remaining Lingju, Yunjie, and Zhiyang counties are located on the banks of the Wuting Nishui (Zhuanglang River) River.

Going northward along Wuting against the water, you can pass through the west side of Wushao Ridge to the foot of Guzang City.

Wei Yan shook his head and smiled wryly. He knew exactly what was going on. If he hadn't been blocked at the mouth of the Siwang Gorge, he wouldn't have let Jiang Wei go north to pacify the tasteless Gaomen County.

Wei Yan stood by the bank of the Yellow River with his hands behind his back, looking at the Jincheng city wall in the distance, and said: "The prime minister ordered Zhongfa to come to support, but is there any other military order?"

Chen Shi thought for a while, and said: "Before leaving, the Prime Minister ordered my subordinates to let Shi and General Zuo say that Jincheng and Yuzhong are difficult to overcome, and we still need to cooperate with General Zhenbei (Wang Ping)."

"Hmm!" Wei Yan frowned slightly, and said, "General Zhenbei also came to Jincheng County to help out?"

Chen Shi shook his head, cupped his hands and said, "No, the prime minister ordered General Zhenbei to go north to meet Zhang He, and sent Deng Shizai to help him. There is no news about General Zhenbei at present, and I don't know how the battle is going."

Wei Yan was somewhat puzzled by Zhuge Liang's military order, although his official position was higher than Wang Ping's, but he and Wang Ping were not subordinate to each other.Logically speaking, he should be responsible for the attack on Jincheng and Yuzhong. Why is he still cooperating with Wang Ping now?

According to the language of later generations, Wei Yan is the person in charge of the Liangzhou Military Region, leading all wars in Liangzhou; and Wang Ping is the person in charge of the Hanzhong Military Region. The war is still unrestrained.

Lu Yi, who was standing beside him, groaned while stroking his beard, and said: "The Prime Minister made such an arrangement because of deep meaning. I will just wait for news from General Zhenbei. The most important task for our army at present is how to conquer Jincheng and Yuzhong. I don't know. Does General Zuo have a plan to defeat the enemy?"

Wei Yan looked at the solid Jincheng with a look of embarrassment on his face.

The north of Jincheng is close to the Yellow River, so it is difficult to deploy. Only the other three walls can be attacked.If that’s all there is to it, the key point is that the city of Jincheng is high and strong, and it is guarded by Yang Fu, with about 4000 people and about 2000 people in Yuzhong. The two cities echo each other.

As far as the current situation is concerned, there are only 8000 people under Wei Yan's sergeants, and with the 5000 people of Gao Xiang who attacked Yulin, there are currently only 3000 people.

3000 people seem to be twice as large as 6000 people, and they have a military advantage.But in fact, it can't be counted like this. Some of the people in the Han army are auxiliary soldiers, who are responsible for logistics and chores. If it is not the end, they will not be allowed to fight.As for the Wei army defending the city, the people in the city can all contribute to the battle.

With this increase and decrease, the advantage of the Han army has weakened a lot. With the city wall as the support, it is simply whimsical for the Han army to want to quickly break through the city.

This is why Sun Tzu said in the Art of War: "Therefore, the law of using soldiers is to encircle them if they are ten, attack them if they are five, and divide them if they are doubled." '

Chen Shi pondered for a long time, and suggested: "General Zuo, it is better for our army to attack Yuzhong first. After Yuzhong City is broken, our army will then besiege Jincheng County."

Wei Yan took a few steps forward, sighed, and said: "No, the distance between Yuzhong and Jincheng is too close. Our army attacked Jincheng, and Yuzhong was afraid that its soldiers would be weak, so we dare not help each other. But attacking Yuzhong, our army There is not enough troops, with Jincheng's soldiers, Yang Fu will definitely dare to go out to rescue, our army is right in Yang Fu's plan!"

There is another point that Wei Yan didn't say, that is, Yuzhong does not rely on the Yellow River, but is separated by mountains. It is connected to the Yellow River through the Yuanchuan River, and the city itself is built against the mountains, making it more difficult to attack.

The only good news is that the communication between the two cities has been cut off by the big man.

After a pause, Wei Yan said regretfully, "If you can give me another 5000 people horses, Zhongfa's strategy may be feasible."

Hearing this, Lu Yi thought for a while and said, "What does General Zuo mean?"

Looking at Jincheng, Wei Yan pursed his lips and said, "Don't worry for now, Yang Fu is isolated and helpless, first besiege for a while, and send cavalry to intercept and kill scouts between the two cities, so that the two cities cannot communicate with each other."

"promise!"

As he spoke, Wei Yan rubbed the hilt of his sword thoughtfully, and said with emotion: "Perhaps this is the meaning of the Prime Minister's military order, asking me to cooperate with Zijun."

Before Wei Yan finished speaking, Jiang Wei came running from the direction of the camp, panting slightly, and said, "General Zuo, General Zhenbei and Prince Jun have received battle reports."

Wei Yan exchanged a glance with everyone, reached out to take the battle report, and opened it to read it carefully.

After a while, Wei Yan pointed at the battle report, beamed with joy, and said excitedly to the crowd: "Zi Jun is really a general! Zi Jun led [-] riders and marched for [-] or [-] miles, beheaded Zhang He, and surrendered three thousand Wei soldiers. The rest of the soldiers came to the city of Guzang."

After finishing speaking, Wei Yan passed the battle report to everyone, walked back and forth a few times excitedly, and after calming down, said hesitantly: "The battle report also has something to say, let our army send troops to go up against the river along Wuting, and capture the counties along the river. , we will meet together at the foot of Guzang City. I wonder what you think?"

After experiencing the battle of Guanchuanhe, Wei Yan no longer looked down on Wang Ping, but regarded him as an equal commander.

That's why I don't feel disgusted with Wang Ping's attitude in the letter of asking him to send troops to the north to meet up, but he just doesn't want to give up the Jincheng County in front of him.

Lu Yi looked up at Wei Yan and said, "What Wang Zhenbei said is true. Now that our army is unable to defeat Jincheng County, why not send troops north to assist Wang Zhenbei."

"Besides, the prime minister also said that our army and Wang Zhenbei should cooperate with each other." Chen Shi also added.

Jiang Wei pointed to the text on the back of the battle report, and said: "Wang Zhenbei has also ordered the Han army to stay in Yuyin and allocate 6000 people to make up for the shortage of our army."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Wei Yan nodded slightly, made up his mind, and said: "Yes, Jiang Wei obeys the order and orders you to lead three thousand troops to go up against the river along Wuting, conquer the counties, and meet Wang Zhenbei at the foot of Guzang City. , at his command."

It has to be said that Wang Ping's dazzling military exploits this time made all Han generals admire, and everyone called Wang Zhenbei, not a word, or a general's title.

"No!" Jiang Wei clapped his hands excitedly.

After a pause, Wei Yan looked at Jiang Wei and said seriously, "Don't let Wang Zhenbei underestimate our generals."

"Wei Biyan is the majestic general of our army."

Wei Yan happily stroked his beard and laughed, and said: "Shan, the whole army obeys the order. Our army will build siege equipment from now on, and capture Jincheng County as soon as possible to enhance our army's prestige."

"No!" Everyone agreed.

(End of this chapter)