Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 557
Lite 14 years, December.Zhuge Liang asked for an eastward expedition to Hedong, and Han Emperor Liu Chan agreed.That is to say, Huang Quan, the Taiwei, was transferred to the general of Hushi, Wu Yi, the general of Zhengxi, was promoted to general of chariot, and the governor of Guanzhong was transferred to Zhijinwu, and he was ordered to return to Chengdu to recuperate.The former general Wang Ping moved to Guanzhong as the governor, false festival, and supervised the military affairs of Guanzhong.

Lite 15 years, the first month.The left army guarding Longliang arrived in Guanzhong, led by Hussar General Huang Quan; the elite troops of the Bashu Front and Central Army arrived in Guanzhong and were transferred to Zhuge Liang's command.

In February, the Great Han Dynasty should join forces with Soochow in the Northern Expedition, so they raised their troops to the east. Hussar general Huang Quan supervised the left army, Zhuge Liang led the front, middle and rear armies, Liu Chan commanded the right army and Hu Qi, and the troops marched in three routes.

On the west side of Tongguan, Sanhekou.

The soldiers of the Han army set up camp by the river, and two big red and white banners were raised in the Chinese army to identify their identities.The soldiers either dug deep ditches, went into the mountains to chop firewood, or drew water for use.

At this time, Liu Chan was leaving the camp, leading the generals and school's personal guards, and took the trail to Linzhi Xiyuan to inspect Wei Jun's defense line at Tongguan.

This time Liu Chan was able to lead an army to Tongguan, and it was entirely for the purpose of responding and attacking the two armies of Huangquan and Zhuge Liang in the east of the river.However, in order to assist Liu Chan, who commanded a large-scale army for the first time, Wang Ping, then the governor of Guanzhong, went out with the army, thinking that he could consult affairs.

Liu Chan and others crossed Tongshui, and under the guidance of scouts, they arrived at the foot of Xiyuan, ready to go up the mountain, across the forbidden ditch, to investigate the enemy's situation in Tongguan.

On Shangyuan Road, the guards opened the way ahead, and Liu Chan walked slowly behind.The grass and trees between the roads are beginning to be green, and the air is slightly cool.

Liu Chan wiped the fine sweat from his brow, and asked, "How is the situation of the Prime Minister and General Hussar's Second Army? Do you have any military information to report?"

Wang Ping stepped on the stone and said: "Your Majesty, the army of General Hussars is stationed in Puban, and the army of the Prime Minister has arrived at Longmen and the Second Ferry of Fenyin. Cross the river from Caisang.”

Zhuge Liang conquered Hedong and played a trick against Sima Yi. He asked Huang Quan to station in Puban and planned to cross the river. With the help of Si, he crossed the river from picking mulberry and attacked Beiqu, which was not well defended.

Supporting the tree trunk, Liu Chan used his strength to climb the slope, and said: "That's good. As a support for the prime minister's army, our army should restrain the army against Wei and relieve the pressure on the army of Hedong."

"Where have you been?"

Before the words fell, Zhao Tong, the leader, stopped and said, "Your Majesty has arrived."

Wang Ping pushed aside the branches in front of him, pointed to Tongguan through a wide field of vision, and said, "Your Majesty, the guard of Tongguan is Xiahouba, the second son of Xiahouyuan. He is quite brave and good at military strategy. Since he guarded Tongguan, he has Linzhi repaired the camp on the east plateau, and wanted to control the forbidden ditch. When he wanted to repair the west plateau, the minister sent Liu Lin to fight, and had many fights with him, and each had victories and losses, so as to contain his momentum.”

Historically, the reason why Tongguan can be called "the most powerful pass in the world" is not only related to its terrain, but also has a great relationship with its auxiliary defense facilities.

Since Cao Wei was defeated and retreated into the Kanto, under the command of Sima Yi, he repaired the Tongguan and the Yellow River defense lines.Therefore, under the exploration of Sima Yi, the master of defense, he ordered Xia Houba to build camps on the left and right plateaus of the forbidden ditch on the west side of Tongguan to form a city-linking trend to control the forbidden ditch.

Faced with Wei Jun's actions, Wang Ping, under Zhuge Liang's instruction, sent Liu Lin to lead the army to compete with Xiahouba for the mountainous terrain of Linzhi Xiyuan in Tongguan.After several battles, due to the strength of the Han army, Xia Houba was inconvenient to fight across the forbidden ditch, so he had to retreat through the forbidden ditch. He only built three camps on the dangerous point of the Eastern Plateau, which served as a barrier for Tongguan.

And the big Han also built the Xigou camp on the dangerous land of Xiyuan to resist the invasion of the Wei army, and as an early warning to prevent the Wei army from secretly leaving Tongguan.

The competition between the Han Dynasty and Cao Wei's Tongguan Forbidden Ditch was just a prelude to the war, and it was also an exploration of Tongguan's topography.

After all, Tongguan has only been built for decades, and there are still not many battles around Tongguan. The understanding of Tongguan is still insufficient. It is not yet complete to have a system of defense like the later generations. Not built out.

However, one thing that can be confirmed is that it is the right to control the forbidden ditch on the west side of Tongguan. Both countries have a deep understanding. Whoever controls the forbidden ditch will have an advantage on the Tongguan battlefield.

As for why the forbidden ditch is so important, it is also very simple.Forbidden Ditch is a deep and dangerous valley running from north to south. The two plateaus face each other, and the valley stands on a wall.The depth of tens of meters, or even hundreds of meters, is an insurmountable natural moat, and the forbidden ditch is the only way between Guanzhong and Luoyang.In other words, as long as the defender defends the forbidden ditch, the Tongguan behind it can also be defended.

As for the construction of Liancheng, it was built on a dangerous place on the Forbidden Ditch, in order to better control the Forbidden Ditch.Therefore, it can be said that "Those who guard the pass but not the forbidden ditch are not good at keeping it, and those who guard the forbidden ditch and do not build the Twelve Linked City are not good at keeping it." '

After watching for a while, Liu Chan frowned slightly, and said: "This pass is so steep. If we attack by force, let alone whether we can take it, I am afraid that our army will lose a lot of soldiers before it reaches Tongguan. Besides, Xia Houba is not incompetent." Seniors, for the sake of being brave, don't attack by force!"

Wang Ping nodded slightly, and said: "This is the reason why I proposed to go to the east of the river, go south to Fenglingdu, and go around Houtongguan."

"In this battle, our army needs to respond to the battle of Prime Minister and General Hussars attacking Hedong. I don't know if everyone has a plan?" Liu Chan asked.

Wang Ping pondered for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, I think that to attack Tongguan, you must first take the Forbidden Ditch. This place is difficult and dangerous, and you must be brave to go forward. It is better for our army to send brave men to capture the camp against Wei Wei, and lead Xia Houba out of the pass to fight. Xiahouba can't get out, so our army can just take his camp and block Tongguan by relying on the forbidden ditch. We will discuss the advance of the army after the battle in the east of the river.

Wang Ping's meaning is very simple, the Han and Wei confront each other head-on, the big Han selects the elite to go up the eastern plateau and attack the Wei army's camp built on the forbidden ditch.If Xiahouba comes out to support, fight him; if he doesn't come out, attack the Forbidden Ditch camp and block the passage from the west of Tongguan.

Liu Chan pressed the long sword in his hand, thinking about Wang Ping's strategy, and looked at the Eastern Plateau to see if he could find a better way.

After a while, Liu Chan pointed to the southeast, which is the right side of Tongguan, and said, "Can we go to the Qinling Mountains from this direction, cut down trees as a road, and go around to the back of Tongguan, so as to support our army's conquest of Hedong?"

The generals followed the trend and saw that the direction Liu Chan was pointing at was the primeval forest, which stretched as far as the eye could see and was overgrown with trees.

"Report to Your Majesty, the forbidden ditch is difficult to navigate, the road is narrow, and there are Wei people around, so no scouts have been sent to investigate." Zhao Tong replied.

Liu Chan squinted his eyes and ordered: "Let's start with Zijun's strategy, and at the same time, send scouts to the south to explore the forbidden ditch to see if there is a small road leading to Tongguan."

"promise!"

Although Liu Chan has rarely been on the battlefield, he is quite familiar with wars because he has read history and often supervised battles.Famous passes in history were breached, and sometimes they were not breached head-on, but were broken through by accident, after finding a trail to detour.

For example, when Cao Cao attacked Yangping Pass, he almost returned to his army because it was difficult to conquer. In the end, he found a trail by mistake and broke through Yangping Pass.Or in the Battle of Hanzhong, Lao Liu was blocked outside Yangping Pass, and he used a unique strategy to cross Daba Mountain, bypass Yangping Pass, and finally conquer Hanzhong.

Now that he is blocked outside Tongguan, it is difficult to attack by force. It is better to see if there is a trail that can allow the big man to profit.

(End of this chapter)