Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 554. Breakthrough
"Master, now that the fire in Chang'an City has been extinguished, should we continue to chase the Wei army to prevent the Grand Commander from being alone?"

In Chang'an, the Han army worked for two nights and one day to put out the fire in the city. As a result, most of the once magnificent Chang'an city has now become ruins.

Now the Han army has begun to assist in reconstruction. First of all, the people who were not seriously affected have returned home. Although Cao Zhen set fire to the city, many neighborhoods were spared. Now that the poisonous smoke has dissipated, the fire has been extinguished, and there is no danger in the city, these people can naturally return to their homes to see if they need to clean and rebuild.

However, Jiang Wei could not hold back. He had not fought against the Han army in Liang Province because of his loyalty to Wei, but because he wanted to protect Liang Province for his dead father. Cao Wei had no special feelings for Jiang Wei, and he was even dissatisfied with Cao Wei's harsh taxes.

However, he later met Zhuge Liang, who treated him with sincerity. Not only did Zhuge Liang accept Jiang Wei as his apprentice and teach him everything he knew, but in his spare time he also told Jiang Wei the reasons why he and others insisted on the Northern Expedition.

Even people in later generations sometimes yearn for the ideal of supporting the Han Dynasty, and Jiang Wei, who is now in this era, is even more so. Jiang Wei was at an age when he was easily overwhelmed, and the military discipline and behavior of the Han army were indeed much better than those of the Wei army. Especially when Jiang Wei listened to Zhuge Liang's teachings on governing the people, he understood the policies of the Han army better, and he was no longer as resistant to joining the Han army as before.

Compared with Ma Zun in the past, the atmosphere in the Han army is now more harmonious, which makes Jiang Wei feel more at ease. At least no one will make things difficult for him just because he is a newly surrendered general. Even Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, who have fought against him before, are quite friendly to him, not to mention veteran generals like Zhao Yun.

Now that Jiang Wei has completely put his perspective into the Han army, he made this suggestion. Now that Chang'an City is a little more stable, it is time to prioritize the Northern Expedition. If there is no response from his side, Jiang Wei is worried that the Grand Commander, whom he has never met, may be unhappy.

"Yes, that makes sense. How about this, Bo Yue, you will go with Zijun, Anguo, Xingguo and others in this pursuit, and the rest of the generals will stay with me for the time being. Once the situation in Chang'an is settled, we will set off, follow the Wei River to Hongnong County, attack Hangu Pass, and threaten Luoyang from the west."

Zhuge Liang thought about it for a while and agreed with Jiang Wei's suggestion.

"Master, you're going to Hongnong? What about us?"

Jiang Wei was stunned for a moment. Isn't the easy route now the one between Hongnong and Hangu Pass?

"Bo Yue, although there is a shortage of troops in Luoyang, since Cao Zhen is going to Hongnong to defend Luoyang, then Cao Zhen must have left troops to defend Hongnong and Hangu Pass, which are places of strategic importance. At this time, we can only give you 20,000 troops. How can you capture so many passes?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and fanned his feather fan. Although Jiang Wei was intelligent and capable of both civil and military affairs, he was still a rookie and his actions were still immature, so Zhuge Liang arranged experienced generals such as Wang Ping, Guan Xing, and Zhang Bao to cooperate with him.

"Since the Hongnong Road is blocked, could it be that Master wants me to take the military officer route and go through Wancheng?"

Jiang Wei thought about it again and asked Zhuge Liang.

"No, we can march from here. Go along Luoshui, and then change to Yishui. I think the commander-in-chief is attacking Guangcheng Pass now. If we attack from Yishui, we can just reach the back of Guangcheng Pass. With the cooperation from inside and outside, Guangcheng Pass will surely be breached.

If Guangcheng Pass has been breached, you can also serve as a supplement to assist the Jingzhou Army in attacking Yique Pass. When you arrive at the Jingzhou Army, remember to listen more, watch more, and think more. If you have any questions, feel free to ask the Grand Commander. He is approachable and will not embarrass you. "

Zhuge Liang drew a line on the map. This route had many mountainous roads, but only in the first half. The terrain became more gentle in the second half, near the Luo River. Moreover, this road was quite steep, which meant that it was impossible for the Wei army to station a large army there.

"Master, this mountain terrain is difficult to travel in. I'm afraid..." Jiang Wei was a little hesitant, but since Zhuge Liang said so, he was naturally prepared.

"This is why I asked Zijun to follow you. Earlier, I asked Zijun to recruit the southern barbarians and the soldiers in our Sichuan who are good at mountaineering to establish the Wudang Flying Army, with a scale of tens of thousands. Now is just the right time for this. In addition, I will assign you some ordinary soldiers who can walk mountain roads to make up 20,000."

Jiang Wei felt relieved when he saw that Zhuge Liang had thought it all out. He immediately accepted the order and went to recruit troops.

Although this road is difficult, it is easier to travel than the Tongguan, Hongnong and Hanguguan routes. Now Chang'an is in ruins, and all kinds of supplies have begun to leave Hanzhong at Zhuge Liang's request, and it is expected to arrive in Chang'an soon.

In order to rescue the victims, the Han army had to distribute part of the military rations to civilians. Under this circumstance, it was unlikely for Zhuge Liang to continue marching, and he could only wait for the arrival of subsequent supplies.

"No, the Han army is coming again! Shoot arrows and throw rocks!"

At Guangcheng Pass, the defending general had been killed by explosives thrown by the Han army in the previous defensive battle. At this time, Hu Zhi, who had fled here, temporarily took over the command and tried to command the Wei army to counterattack.

However, there were only 3,000 defenders in Guangcheng Pass at that time, and because it was close to Luoyang, it had not experienced a war for a long time. Most of the soldiers were those who had never experienced blood and fire and were just trying to take advantage of the situation. Their combat effectiveness could not be relied upon at all.

For example, now, these Wei troops guarding the pass are on the verge of defeat. There are strong enemies outside and no reinforcements inside. They just live to eat food, so why should they risk their lives?
"Don't run away! If you run away, the Han army... the Han army will kill the prisoners!"

It was impossible for Hu Zhi to restrain his soldiers at this time. After all, Hu Zhi was an outsider and had no friendship with them. Moreover, no one believed what Hu Zhi said casually. At least everyone knew that the quality of the Han army was definitely higher than that of the Wei army.

"Damn it, Guangcheng Pass is so dangerous, why is there no reinforcement?!"

Hu Zhi's eyes were filled with despair, while the Han army below the city had already pushed battering rams and were preparing to attack the city after bombarding and burning the city walls.

Feng Xi is not a destruction maniac. If he were to blow up the city gate when he saw a pass, not to mention whether the logistics department would curse him, the people in charge of reconstruction after the war would probably curse him.

Don’t you see that Wancheng has not yet repaired the four collapsed city gates?

Today's battering ram has undergone several improvements. It is like an earth tank with a battering ram inside. Soldiers can operate the battering ram inside the ram without going out. The armor on the ram uses wood as the frame and the innermost armor, and is wrapped with a layer of iron sheet on the outside. Ordinary arrows cannot penetrate it, and hot water, boiling oil and other objects will not leave a trace. The safety factor of the soldiers inside is greatly improved.

Although normally if the defenders ignored the losses and used kerosene, fire, and falling rocks to attack, they could break the battering ram, but first of all, this thing was not a rare item. Feng Xi was willing to have the rear work on it urgently, and it would not be a big deal to make ten or eight of them, and it would not be a big deal to transport them to the front line by water.

Secondly, the defenders cannot be like the current defenders, who are unable to take care of themselves and have no ability to counterattack.

(End of this chapter)