Lizhou is located on the east bank of the Jialing River, surrounded by mountains and with steep terrain. It is the choke point for entering Sichuan.
"Quick, hurry up and add more troops to Jianmen Pass."
Meng Xuanzhe didn't even have time to ask the reason. As soon as he opened his mouth, he sent more troops to Jianmen Pass.
The loss of Lizhou meant that only Jianmenguan was left as the defensive fortress in the north.
Jianmen Pass is the last link on the North Road. Once the Central Plains conquers Jianmen Pass, they can then drive straight in to the outside of Chengdu.
Jianmen Pass is already the last defensive fortress in the north.
Fan Yucuo, the envoy of the Third Division, comforted him and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, this Jianmen Pass can be guarded by one man and not ten thousand people can open it. From the big sword to the small sword pass, the road is bounded for thirty miles, and the mountains are dangerous. Even if it is given Even if the soldiers from the Central Plains have wings, it will be difficult for them to fly across."
Meng Xuanzhe felt relieved after hearing this and said: "The words of the three envoys are reasonable. I am confused because of the incompetence of the generals. This Lizhou also has dangerous mountains and rivers and plank roads. How could it be so easily defeated by the Central Plains bandits?" "
He said and finally looked at the commander Ke Bo who was retreating from the front line.
Ke Bo hurriedly said: "Admiral Han and Deputy Admiral Li divided their troops into two groups to prevent the Central Plains troops from advancing southward. Admiral Li burned down the plank road and retreated to Jiameng Pass. Admiral Han led his troops to guard Lizhou City and the large area to the north. , various key points of Xiaomantian Village are used to block the Central Plains bandit soldiers."
Meng Xuanzhe inspected Hanzhong and the Lizhou area on behalf of Meng Chang. He found that Han Baozheng and Li Jin had no problems with their defensive response. He wondered: "Han and Li two commanders, the response was not inappropriate, why did Lizhou still have to deal with it?" Will it fall?"
There was a hint of fear on Ke Bo's face, "The thief general Gao Huaide found out that our troops were divided into two groups, and he followed suit. When Ming Kang met again, Kang Baoyi and his son rushed to repair the plank road and attack Xiaomantian Village."
"I led the main force to march south from Luochuan in the southeast of Jiachuan, seize the Jialing River Bridge, and sent the imperial camp commanders Liu Fu and Chang Side to attack Damantian Village. The governor of Yizhou personally led his troops to rescue, but was blocked by Gao Huaide on the way. , Governor Wang was killed in battle."
"Damantian Stronghold was also captured by Liu Fu and Chang Side. Marshal Han went to Lizhou to withdraw his troops, only to learn that Lizhou had been defeated by Kang Baoyi and his son, and Zhao Dujian withdrew to Jianmen Pass."
"The life and death of Marshals Han and Li are unknown now!"
Meng Xuanzhe and the Shu civil and military officials in the palace were dumbfounded.
What is this?
Fighting the battle is like reading a history book.
Xiaomantian Village is built on the mountainside, protecting the mountain plank road.
Kang met again. Kang Baoyi and his son rushed to repair the plank road while attacking Xiaomantian Village?
Damantian Village is located in Chaotian Ridge, with steep mountains and dangerous paths. It is built along the mountains and rivers.
Why did Liu Fu and Chang Side capture it?
Wang Shenchao, the governor of Yizhou, was the best in Sichuan and Shu in his stick skills. He personally rescued Damantian Village and was killed in battle.
Kang met again. After Kang Baoyi captured Xiaomantian Village, he was able to take advantage of the situation and attack Lizhou, forcing the governor Zhao Chongtao to withdraw to Jianmen Pass.
The summary is that Han Baozheng and Li Jin defended according to the danger, while the Central Plains did not use any fancy tactics. They just defended wherever they defended and the Central Plains attacked.
Moreover, the soldiers and horses of the Central Plains will surely win in battle and attack with victory.
As a result, the defense lines of Lizhou and Jiameng Pass were completely defeated. Commander Han Baozheng and his deputy commander Li Jin were not sure whether they were alive or dead. The warrior Wang Shenchao was killed in battle, and the governor Zhao Chongtao withdrew his troops from Jianmen Pass.
Meng Xuanzhe lost his voice after a long while: "How could this be?"
He found that he couldn't find anyone to take the blame.
Han Baozheng, Li Jin, Wang Shenchao, and Zhao Chongtao were not at fault in their response.
But they just lost, and they lost cleanly.
How could Meng Xuanzhe not know what it means?
The offensive and defensive battles between Lizhou and the Big and Small Mantian Villages directly demonstrated the insurmountable strength gap between the veterans of the Central Plains who had been on the battlefield and had survived hundreds of battles, and the Shu soldiers who were accustomed to storing their swords and guns in their warehouses and letting their horses fly to the Nanshan Mountains.
The gap in strength between the two sides has reached a point where it cannot be made up even if they occupy geographical advantages such as city walls and defense lines.
Meng Xuanzhe understood the fear on Ke Bo's face and crushed the fighting force without making any mistakes.
Far more shaken than the defeat caused by Wang Zhaoyuan's blind command was the military morale.
There was a dead silence in the hall at first, and then Wu Wei from the hall came out and said: "Your Majesty, the battle in the north has been defeated, and there is still Jianmen Pass that we can rely on. There are no dangerous passes in the east, and there can be no more accidents. These two groups of soldiers
The horse is approaching Chengdu, and we, Western Shu, have perished. General Shi Kai is old and no longer as brave as he was in the past. He is too timid to fight, and it is really difficult for him to take up a big position. I sincerely request your majesty to select another capable person to take over the position of general, so as to avoid the danger of becoming a general.
Fear the enemy and retreat again and again."
Wu Wei has been building momentum for the Wu family and Wu Linyang, but he has not openly slandered General Shi Kai, but secretly made others belittle him to promote his son.
At the same time, he used the Wu family's connections to put pressure on the court.
But now Wu Wei openly expressed his position in the temple, and his target was Shi Kai.
In fact, knowing a son is better than a father. How could Wu Wei not know how much his son weighed?
Meng Xuanzhe looked hesitant and said: "Changing generals before the formation is a taboo for military strategists, for fear of causing disaster."
Wu Weidao: "But using cowards as generals will lead to our army falling into defeat."
Meng Xuanzhe still maintained a certain degree of rationality and said: "Let me think carefully about this matter..." He paused, and he did not have the initial trust in Shi Kai in his heart, and said: "I will send three envoys to supervise the army.
Let him go to the front line to investigate the situation."
Chungju.
Shi Kai rested in Yuzhou for five days. For five days, he personally arranged for the governor of Yuzhou to organize the people to repair the city defense.
Yuzhou is equivalent to the Jianmen Pass in the north, which is the last barrier for the Shu soldiers in the east. The loss of Yuzhou means that the Central Plains soldiers and horses on the east road can march straight into Chengdu.
The importance of Yuzhou is self-evident.
But these years, there has been no war in Shu, Meng Chang is extravagant and lustful, and all officials in Shu are greedy.
After more than ten years, the city defense has never been consolidated.
Various places in Yuzhou have been in disrepair for a long time. They are used to resist the barbarians in the territory. However, they cannot hold out for long against hundreds of powerful forces.
In Shi Kai's heart, the final decisive battle was in Yuzhou, but he had to buy enough time for Yuzhou to repair the city's defenses.
This is also the reason why he is in Chungju at the moment.
As a veteran, Shi Kai's every move is brilliant, but every step and every intention is very organized, he looks forward and backward, and his strategic thinking is very obvious.
Shi Bo patiently explained his intentions to Fan Yujie, the supervisor sent from the rear.
"Fan Jianjun, the war in the north shows that the Central Plains is so powerful that even if it occupies a geographical advantage, it is extremely difficult to make up the gap. Compared with Gao Huaide's attack, Luo Youdu's attack is more terrifying. Facing Gao Huaide, you at least understand how you can lose.
Facing Luo Youdu, you don't know where he will defeat you. It's not that he is timid, but that Anzhou, Kaizhou, and Wanzhou really can't be saved. Of the 30,000 soldiers under a certain person, as long as they can enter the boundaries of Wanzhou, none of them will
Can’t come back.”
Fan Yuyou didn't quite understand Shi Kai's explanation, but he could hear Shi Kai's fear of Luo Youdu.
However, Fan Yuqi still wanted to take a look before making a decision.
That night, Fan Yuyou received Shi Kai's latest order: to withdraw to Yuzhou City.