Shuhan

Xuzhou.

The sky was covered with dark clouds and thunder and lightning.

Zang Ba stood on the city wall, staring intently at the Wei army pouring in like a tide outside the city.

At this moment, he had a haggard look on his face.

After all, the main army of Wei State came to attack Xuzhou, and now Pengcheng has become an isolated city.

It is impossible to say that Zang Ba is not panicking.

Facing Wei's persuasion to surrender, and Wei's coercion and inducement, Zang Ba knew that he had no choice.

Only by guarding Pengcheng can we have a chance!

Because of the siege, Zang Ba didn't know the situation outside, but he firmly believed that when Wei attacked Xuzhou, Han would never remain indifferent.

If you persist, there is hope!

woohoo~

dong dong dong~

The sound of drums and siege horns came from outside Pengcheng.

Zang Ba clenched his fists and roared.

"Defend the city!"

The Xuzhou soldiers on Pengcheng immediately clenched their spears, and their crossbowmen were even more ready to attack.

"Come on!"

"Kill~"

Under the cover of siege engines.

The Wei army began to launch a fierce attack. They carried huge ladders and braved the rain of arrows from the defenders as they climbed up risklessly.

The Pengcheng defenders on the city immediately poured kerosene on the city and then fired a rocket. The kerosene was ignited by the way.

For a time, the city became a sea of ​​fire.

At the same time, the crossbowmen on the city also exerted their strength, and the defenders' arrows shot down like raindrops. Wei troops continued to fall, but the soldiers behind did not flinch and charged forward one after another.

The Pengcheng defenders relied on the city wall and resisted bravely.

They used spears to stab the enemies on the ladders and stoned the siege troops. Up and down the city wall, blood splattered, and screams came one after another. The offensive and defensive battle entered a fierce stage.

The battle lasted for a whole day. Although the Wei army was brave, the tenacious resistance of the Pengcheng defenders made their attacks in vain.

In the end, it was almost dark, and light rain was falling in the sky. The Wei army was unwilling to do so, but in the end they had no choice but to withdraw their troops.

Cao Pi watched the entire siege.

But after reading it, his face suddenly darkened.

At this rate, when will Pengcheng be defeated?

The Wei army had already suffered a lot of damage due to the forceful attack on the city.

Although those attacking the city are all Xuzhou soldiers, if this continues, sooner or later the elite ones he has will be used.

"It finally cleared up one day, but we still couldn't capture Xuzhou." Chen Qun sighed.

"Do those Xuzhou generals have any complaints?" Cao Pi suddenly asked.

It took a lot of time to capture the fortress outside Xuzhou City in the early stage. Among the people sent to capture the fortress were the people brought by Xuzhou's surrender.

They lost a lot of soldiers and horses when they captured the fortress, and now they are asked to attack the city again. I'm afraid many people have complaints in their hearts.

"Your Majesty, there are indeed a few people who have complaints."

Chen Qun said slowly on the side.

We can't blame them for complaining. Who else could have no complaints?

They surrendered to the Wei State, originally thinking of glory and wealth, but in the end they were asked to come with their soldiers to die.

If all the troops and horses under their command are sent away, where will their wealth be?

"Those who complain will be relieved of their military power and handed over to those who have no complaints. The previous rewards will still be valid. Take them back to Luoyang to enjoy wealth and honor!"

If Cao Cao were here, he would definitely appease these Xuzhou surrendered generals.

But Cao Pi didn't follow his father's methods.

What he wants is to completely control Xuzhou. It seems that when powerful military generals controlled Xuzhou before, they would give birth to careerists like Zang Ba.

Cao Pi refused to take it.

But Cao Pi also paid attention to methods in dealing with these people.

There are rewards for asking them to die. For many generals who surrendered, Cao Pi gave them the title of marquis.

Even if we want to take away the military power of those who have complaints, they will not be put under the command of the Wei army generals, but will be put under the command of other Xuzhou surrendered generals.

It is precisely these details that make these Xuzhou generals and soldiers fall into his hands, like dough, which he can knead at will.

It would not lead to a roaring incident.

Although he oppressed Xuzhou generals, he still gave him benefits.

After hearing what Cao Pi said, Chen Qun immediately took the order and left.

"promise!"

just

Looking at Chen Qun's leaving figure, Cao Pi still frowned unconsciously.

He can play with people's hearts, but if he wants to capture Pengcheng, he can't do it by playing with people's hearts.

"I wonder how the general is progressing in Xiapi?"

Zang Ba guarded Pengcheng, and his son Zang Ai guarded Xiapi.

Zang Ba had great prestige among the people of Xuzhou, so it was difficult to persuade him to surrender. However, his son Zang Ai did not have the prestige of his father.

Maybe we can capture Xiapi first.

With only Pengcheng left as an isolated city, the difficulty of capturing Xuzhou has dropped a lot.

"Report~"

At this moment, a messenger hurriedly walked in outside the camp.

"Your Majesty, urgent news!"

Urgent news for Shouchun?

Cao Pi narrowed his eyes, immediately picked up the report, opened the military report, held it in his hand and looked at it carefully.

"Han and Wu are in alliance?"

Cao Pi's eyes widened with disbelief on his face.

"How can this be?"

This is wrong!

Wasn't there a life-and-death fight before?

You, the State of Wu, sent an envoy to request Wei to send troops. How come you are now in alliance with the State of Han?

Cao Pi felt that his own brain was not enough.

"What exactly is going on?"

Liu Ye, Jia Xu and others immediately came forward and carefully studied the contents of the military report.

"It seems that the prince of the Han Kingdom is afraid of our great Wei Dynasty, so he does not dare to lose too much strength in the attack on Wu."

Liu Ye analyzed from the side.

"The State of Wu has mobilized the whole country and has 100,000 soldiers, which can be called an army of 500,000. Even if the Prince of the Han Dynasty is not afraid of the Wu army, he is still afraid that he will lose his troops and generals in the fight with the Wu army, which will be taken advantage of by our Wei state. Now he has captured Xunyang, and Negotiating peace with Wu and getting so many benefits is the right choice."

Cao Pi thought about it carefully, and it seemed to be the truth.

"Hey~"

He sighed deeply and said: "It seems that my request for Hefei has pushed Wu too hard. Compared with Wei's request for Hefei, the conditions of Han's state seem to be better in comparison." It’s not that hard to accept anymore.”

In the battle between Han and Wu, both sides suffered losses. It was a pity for Cao Pi that this good show was not successfully staged.

"The veteran has a different view."

Jia Xu stared at the military report in his hand, frowning tightly.

"What do you think, Mr. Jia?"

Cao Pi still valued Jia Xu's opinions very much.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid that the Han crown prince never thought of conquering Wu from the beginning."

Didn't you want to conquer Wu from the beginning?

“How come you see?”

Jia Xu said slowly: "Didn't your Majesty realize that there were too few Han troops to defeat Wu?"

Are there too few Han troops?

Cao Pi thought about it and nodded immediately.

"According to what you said, it's true."

Jia Xu continued: "The Han army that defeated Wu was less than 50,000 people, and no more troops were added later. The secret agent of the school affairs office said that the people in Nanyang and Runan were not mobilized, which is very strange. "

Logically speaking, to defeat Wu, it would definitely take the strength of the whole country.

After all, it is a collision between two countries.

But the prince of Han Dynasty did not have the power of the whole country.

"The prince of Han Dynasty only mobilized half of Jingzhou's civilian power, plus 50,000 military personnel. And judging from the contents of this military newspaper, after Han Dynasty signed an alliance with Wu, it dismissed most of the civilians and mobilized Doesn’t Your Majesty find it strange that you have left twenty thousand useless soldiers?”

He didn't think it was strange at first, but now that Jia Xu said this, Cao Pi also had a look of suspicion on his face.

"What does Mr. Jia mean?"

Jia Xu stroked his short, white beard on his chin and said: "The Han Kingdom has always united with Wu to fight against the Wei Dynasty, but the prince of the Han Kingdom found an excuse that was not a reason and came to attack Wu. Your Majesty does not think this is too strange. ?" Cao Pi thought about it and found that it was really the case.

"Does Mr. Jia mean that conquering Wu is not the purpose of Mr. Liu?"

"He broke through Xunyang's defense line too quickly, which made us think that he was here to defeat Wu, but now it seems that is not the case."

Not to conquer Wu

Could it be that he wanted to attack Wei from Runan?

By weakening Wu and harming Wu, Liu Gongsi has already achieved his goal. Now is he trying to weaken Wei and harm Wei?

"Then the Han Dynasty's unworthy flying army retreated to where?"

"The military newspaper said it was Xiangyang!"

At this moment, the military report is already in the hands of a young man. This is Chen Tai. Chen Tai has made great achievements in defending the city of Shenyang. Now he has been promoted to the rank of Sanqi Shilang and can follow Cao Pi.

It can be said that he is a close minister of the emperor.

"Xiangyang, hum! Sure enough, we intend to break through from Runan. Now all our troops are in Xuzhou, and part of them is on the border of Wu. Now is indeed a good time."

Cao Pi slapped his thigh fiercely, looking scared.

"If it hadn't been for Mr. Jia's words, I might have fallen into Mr. Liu's trick again."

Jia Xu's expression was still stern.

"If we want to break through from Runan, then the prince of Han chose the wrong time."

Bad timing?

"What do you mean by Mr. Jia's words?" Cao Pi, who thought he had seen through the situation, narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly.

"Although our army is not around Runan now, there are still 10,000 soldiers in Suiyang who can support Runan at any time. And our army is on the border of Xuzhou, which is not too far away from Runan. Could it be that Liu Gongsi was there in a few days? , can you go to the city and break the county?"

Go to the city and break the county in a few days?

That is simply impossible.

It would take several days to travel, not to mention that Wei Jun was not the Jiangdong rat like Wu Jun.

His Wei army is an elite division!

It is not something that the Han army can defeat in a short time.

In particular, there are many cavalry, and the speed of support is unmatched by Wu's army.

"So, the prince of Han's goal is not to break through from Runan. Could it be that he is preparing to send troops from Wancheng to attack Yingchuan?"

Cao Pi thought of another possibility.

"According to the school affairs office, Nanyang has not requisitioned civilian husbands. It should not be this place."

That's strange. Where can we go?

"Perhaps, the Han State wanted to teach the Wu State a lesson and gain some benefits. After that, Chen sent troops to Runan to rescue Xuzhou."

Chen Tai, son of Chen Qun, said on the side.

This is also possible.

Cao Pi was confused in his heart, but he still ordered: "Let Suiyang's 10,000 mobile troops be transferred to the vicinity of Nanyang. If you want to send troops to Runan, let me give up the attack on Xuzhou. Then this is Liu Gongsi's plan. Wrong call!"

Cao Pi has already decided.

No matter what disturbance Liu Gongsi made, he would definitely take back Xuzhou!

My heart is firm, no matter how you, the clown of Han Dynasty, dance, I will not change my mind!

And thousands of miles away.

The vanguard of the Han army had already left Yangping Pass and captured Ju County with lightning speed.

And the vanguard general is Zhao Yun, the Marquis of Yongchang Ting!

There were not many Wei troops in Ju County, only 500 brave men in the city and countryside.

After Hanzhong was defeated, this area was already within the Han's sphere of influence.

After all, Ju County was too close to Yangping Pass. Although the Han army did not attack, they often went to plunder. Five county magistrates died in Ju County within a year. By the time Zhao Yun was the vanguard to capture the city, the city There is simply no more county magistrate.

It is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

Most of the officials who were awarded the title of county magistrate of Ju County also chose to abandon their posts.

There is no other way. Just to be a small county magistrate, you put your head on your belt?

For those children of aristocratic families who can become county magistrates, this is simply not worth it.

Zhao Yun was wearing silver armor and a white robe, and he was riding a tall white horse.

It can be said that he has white robes and white armor, and his appearance is extraordinary.

"Leave two hundred people to clear the city, and the rest don't need to waste time. They won't rest until they have marched two hundred miles tonight!"

Since it is necessary to be fast, the speed of the journey must also be fast.

The vanguard troops under his command were all carefully selected elites. They were able to march 150 miles a day under rapid march.

It will take three days to reach the next target, Hechi.

Travel for two days and rest for one day to regain combat effectiveness.

In short, when the war begins, you need to fight hard.

"Drive~"

After spending a quarter of an hour to regroup his soldiers, Zhao Yun led his ten thousand vanguards and rushed toward Hechi.

The road on Chencang Road is wide and the terrain is relatively flat, so it is very fast to get on the road.

"How much more explosives are there?"

Liu Chan turned to look at the quartermaster accompanying the army.

"There are still five hundred catties left."

Five hundred pounds?

It should be enough to blow up several cities.

When they captured Ju County just now, they only used a hundred kilograms of explosives.

It's a pity that although this explosive is good, its output cannot keep up.

If there were several thousand kilograms of explosives, he could blow them up even in Sanguan.

"It's been rainy recently, so keep it safe so it doesn't get wet."

These explosives are powerful siege weapons. With their power, they can save him a lot of time and reduce a lot of losses.

"promise!"

But in Liu Chan's opinion, the power of this explosive was still not satisfactory.

It can only be said that the development of this explosive needs to be further optimized.

To be able to achieve this in a short period of time, Qing Xuzi had to spend all his time forgetting food and sleep and killing several alchemists to achieve this effect.

Three days later.

Zhao Yun had already arrived at the river pond.

Under his deliberate control of time, it was late at night.

Hechi is an important place in Wudu County. It connects the old Chencang Road on one side and Wudu Road on the other.

It can be said to be a battleground for military strategists.

Walking along Wudu Road is the land of Longxi.

but.

There is no need to send a large army to attack Hechi.

Because the garrison in the city had already been bribed by the Han Dynasty.

really.

After the messenger entered the city through the drawbridge, the gate of the river pond opened.

Zhao Yun first sent a group of troops into the city to control the situation, and then led his elite division into Hechi.

After all, Hechi is too close to Hanzhong and too far from Guanzhong.

After the Han State occupied the land of Hanzhong, the Wei State's control over Wudu County became much weaker.

This can be seen from the fact that even Wei officials did not dare to go to Ju County, which was much closer.

"General, there are still thousands of people in the city for the general to drive around!"

General Hechi came from a powerful family in Wudu. He was not a Han, but a Di. However, some Di people recognized the Han people far more than those Han people.

This is what is called the fanaticism of converts.

This is the case for Li Hao, the Hechi guard.

"If Hechi is breached, I'm afraid that the Wei troops from the three counties of Hanyang, Longxi and Wudu will take action. Hechi still needs to be defended by defenders." Zhao Yun wiped his silver spear and said.

Li Hao immediately said: "I have a force of five hundred people. If I recruit the people in the city, it will be enough to defend the city. Besides, isn't Master Wang coming to Hechi soon? What should I be afraid of?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yun nodded.

"Please also ask the general to send some dry food, rice and water, and preferably some meat. After a full meal, our army will head towards Sanguan."

The journey from Juxian to Hechi was smooth and smooth, which can even be described as overwhelming.

But when it comes to Sanguan, it’s a test.

How to quickly break through Sanguan and Chencang City is related to whether he can quickly win the land in Guanzhong!

"The rice and meat are ready, general, please!" (End of Chapter)