Although the Juyongguan Great Wall in the Warring States Period was far less majestic, strong and difficult to attack than the Juyongguan Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty.
However, relying on the dangerous terrain, this Guancheng also brought huge troubles to Li Xin's troops.
When the Qin army's rear infantry arrived, they made simple siege equipment overnight and launched the siege on the second day. The Qin army encountered the Yan army's stubborn resistance and suffered a large number of flying arrows and stone barriers.
Guan Fortress is a must-pass road in the mountains. Not only is the mountain road narrow, but the terrain is steep. The widest part of the mountain road can only accommodate two carriages traveling side by side. Large siege equipment such as tower carts and ladders cannot be pushed to the front of Guan Fortress.
All the Qin army could rely on were the tic-tac-toe ladders and simple rams they had made overnight, and they used ant attack tactics to attack.
As a result, without the cover of large equipment, the Qin army fought with the Yan army defending the city under unfavorable circumstances, and the casualties were very tragic.
By dusk, the Qin army had killed hundreds of people, which made the generals more and more anxious.
Casualties and injuries are still a trivial matter. The longer we stay here, the farther away King Yan may be. How can we pursue him?
"General, this place is too dangerous, almost comparable to our Qin State's Hangu Pass. I don't think we can attack by force, so we might as well make a few more giant cannons and blast this pass open directly!"
"Yes, the giant cannon is in the army. It will definitely work if he makes it. That giant cannon can blast down Jicheng, so there will be no problem in Juyongsai."
…
In the commander's tent, the generals who yesterday were clamoring to storm Guancheng with their exhausted soldiers no longer mentioned the storm today, and all put their hopes on the newly-appeared giant cannon.
Li Xin rubbed his swollen temples and called outside the checkroom: "Zhao Tuo, come in."
Zhao Tuo smiled bitterly outside the tent.
As a short-term general, he was originally under the command of Li Sheng, the leader of the 2500, and Su Jiao, the leader of the 500, and was directly commanded by Su Jiao.
But since Li Xin expressed his respect for him and he created the giant cannon, neither Li Sheng nor Su Jiao dared to instruct him easily anymore.
Su Jiao, who had previously been very prejudiced against Zhao Tuo, now smiled when he saw him, and asked Zhao Tuo to accompany General Li all the time and no longer participate in daily defense. As for Zhao Tuo's hundreds of soldiers, under his strong insistence
Next, Shejian will temporarily act as commander for him.
When General Li was discussing matters, Zhao Tuo was always on duty outside the tent, waiting to be summoned and asked at any time.
Li Xin was noncommittal about this.
At this moment, after hearing General Li's call, Zhao Tuomai stepped into the tent.
"Zhao Tuo, can the giant cannon you made break through the fortress?"
As soon as he came in, Huan Zhao couldn't help but blurt out a question, and the other generals also looked at him expectantly.
Although Li Xin did not speak, Zhao Tuo's figure was reflected in his eyes.
Zhao Tuo had a look of helplessness on his face. The voices of the generals and commanders were so loud. He had heard it clearly just standing outside. Now when he was asked, he could only hold back his hands and said: "Commander, I'm afraid this is not possible. First of all, it's a giant cannon. Although it looks like
It's simple, but it's cumbersome to make, and some parts need to be made of metal according to certain specifications. Now that our army is on an expedition, I'm afraid we don't have the conditions to make it."
As soon as these words came out, everyone shook their heads and sighed. Without the cannons to attack the city, even if they could forcefully break through the fortress, it would take many days. By then, King Yan would have disappeared.
Huan Zhao still refused to give up and asked: "What about sending people back to Jicheng overnight to fetch those cannons?"
Zhao Tuo smiled bitterly and said: "Jicheng is a hundred miles away from here. It has to go back and forth, and the movement of carrying the giant cannon is slow. It will not work in less than three to five days. Not to mention, the terrain in front of the pass is steep. It is not conducive to setting up artillery. Even if it is reluctantly set up, it will be difficult to aim at Guancheng."
"From this point of view, those giant cannons are useless."
Huan Zhao cursed angrily, but as soon as he finished cursing, he felt a chill on his back.
Huan Zhao looked up and saw Li Xin looking at him coldly. He suddenly trembled and said with a smile: "I mean we are really useless. We can't even win a pass..."
As soon as he said these words, Huan Zhao noticed that Li Xin's eyes looked at him even colder, and then he realized that he had just spoken unscrupulously and seemed to have scolded Li Xin as well.
Failure to defeat this barrier would not prove the general's incompetence.
Fortunately, Li Xin was in no mood to scold him at the moment.
The Juyong Fortress in front of us is worthy of being as famous as Jingxing as a dangerous pass in the world.
Li Xin had never been here before and didn't take it seriously. Now he knew that the terrain of this fortress was dangerous. With his strength, even a strong attack would take several days. In this way, what he said to Wang Jian before Wouldn’t it be an empty statement to say “I will kill Yan Dan’s head and return it”?
When he thought of this, Li Xinton felt his face turn red.
Zhao Tuo stood in the tent, hearing the sighs of the generals, especially when he saw General Li Xin's face turning red for no apparent reason.
He opened his mouth and swallowed the words again.
But he didn't expect this scene to be seen by Li Xin. He raised his eyebrows and said directly: "Zhao Tuo, do you have a plan to break this barrier quickly?"
Zhao Tuo blinked. He didn't expect Li Xin's eyes to be so sharp. He could see Li Xin even if he opened his mouth.
After thinking for a while, Zhao Tuo said honestly: "General Geng, I am in a dangerous place, easy to defend but difficult to attack. I don't have a plan to break through, but I have a bold idea."
"A bold idea?"
"Let's talk and listen."
The generals and commanders in the tent also turned their attention to Zhao Tuo.
Zhao Tuo took a deep breath and said: "My subordinates believe that instead of wasting several days in front of Juyong Fortress, it is better to lead the army to the east, and go straight from Youbeiping County on the east side to western Liaoning and eastern Liaoning, and maybe we can intercept the king of Yan. Father and son."
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the tent.
Especially Huan Zhao, who had just been holding back his anger.
At this moment, when he heard Zhao Tuo say such stupid words, he couldn't help but sneered: "Zhao Tuo, are you trying to make yourself stupid? When Prince Yan and his son enter this fortress, they must go to Shanggu behind the pass to fish. The two counties of Yang are recruiting troops to deal with our army. You don't want to break through the pass as soon as possible and capture the King of Yan before he can regroup. Instead, you want to abandon the pass to the east and go to Liaoxi and Liaodong. Isn't this just making people laugh? Don't you think Will Prince Yan and his son give up Shanggu and Yuyang counties and go to Liaodong to stay with the savages?"
"That's right, the western part of Liaoning and the eastern part of Liaoning are bitterly cold places. I heard that no birds left their arrows there. Why did King Yan go there?"
All the generals laughed, Zhao Tuo's words were indeed ridiculous.
King Yan is running to the north, but you are chasing him to the east. Are you talking without thinking?
The people General Li likes are nothing more than this.
Facing the laughter in the tent, Zhao Tuo looked calm and said calmly: "What the captain said is exactly what I thought. Prince Yan and his son would abandon Shanggu and Yuyang counties and flee to Liaodong. If our army goes eastward like this, Maybe we can intercept it in the middle and achieve great success."
After saying that, Zhao Tuo stared at Li Xin who was lost in thought and thought to himself.
Just listen to me!
General, let's take a shortcut and block them!
Wang Jian defeated Jicheng in the 21st year of King Qin's reign, and in the same year King Yan left Liaodong to protect Liaodong.
According to what is recorded or cited in "Shui Jing Zhu", the three counties of Yuyang, Youbeiping and Liaoxi were all established in the Qin Dynasty in the 22nd year, and Shanggu County was established in the 23rd year.
It can be seen that after the fall of Jicheng, King Yan did not rely on the four counties to resist. He directly gave up the territory west of Liaodong and fled directly to Liaodong.
Reference related papers: Wang Hai's "On the King of Yan's Conquest of Liaodong and Related Issues"