Rewarding the army can indeed boost morale, and rewarding the three armies after a great victory has an even more significant effect. The mental outlook of Sun Jian's soldiers, who had suffered a defeat, improved greatly.
But the biggest improvement in morale was among the troops in Ju County.
It has been a long time since Zhang Xiu and his followers retreated to Ju County. The county is not big, the population is sparse, and there is less arable land. They can only make a living by fishing and hunting. Their life is not easy. Later, the Liangzhou rebels entered Wudu and dispersed.
Occupied, the old roads were cut off, merchants and travelers were blocked, and their lives became even more difficult.
The supplies for the army were transported into the city. This was the best meal they had had in more than a year. They were even more happy when they heard that they had been ordered to be safe by the imperial court and would be able to return to their hometown soon.
Many people gathered around the bonfire, singing and dancing happily.
The shouts of "Seize Sanguan! Go back home!" resounded through the night sky. The moon in the sky was frightened and hid behind the clouds, never daring to show its face again.
The army only celebrated for one night and set out for battle the next day. The river was empty and the fighter plane was right in front of him. Liu Xiang did not want to waste time. On the same day, more than 6,000 Baima Qiang prisoners were escorted back to Hanzhong by troops sent by the governor of Yizhou.
On September 16th, when the sky was high and the clouds were clear, and the autumn wind swept across the earth, Zhang Xiu's 14,000 horsemen, riding a withered yellow color, rushed towards the river and pond, and came down with a drum.
The defenders of Hechi were less than a thousand men, all of whom were old and weak, and all were captured. The tens of thousands of Han people in the city were unwilling to fight for the Qiang people. They were the happiest after Wang's army recovered.
Liu Xiang commanded Sun Jian's troops and then entered the city. Without him watching, Sun Jian would have killed Zhang Xiu.
The soldiers and horses of the Yizhou governor, together with 30,000 civilians, were slowly arriving to transport siege equipment, grain, grass and baggage.
Standing at the head of the city in Hechi County, looking at the road extending to the west, this is Qishan Road, also called Wudu Road. This is where Zhuge Liang walked when he left Qishan. This road leads to the south bank of the Weishui River in Hanyang County and ends at the right
It was the battlefield where Liu Xiang rescued Dong Zhuo.
It felt like he had drawn a circle, but unfortunately he had to go north to clear the Sanguan Pass, and the gap in Qishan Road could not be drawn, so it was not very complete.
He was sighing in boredom. Zhang Xiu and his troops were heading north out of the city. Their destination was Gudao County, or the Shannan exit of Sanguan. By occupying that place, they could block the Sanguan garrison in the mountain road. The followers of Wu Dou Mi Dao
Even more anxious than Liu Xiang, they wished they could capture Sanguan tomorrow and then set off home immediately.
It's a pity that they didn't know that the documents from Zhao'an and the others were still running on the plank road just a few days after they were sent out. It was unknown whether Yuan Pang would object and whether the court would approve it.
Liu Xiang decided on Zhao'an privately. He didn't think Yuan Pang would object, and he didn't care whether the court would approve it. The worst he could do was lie about these people being drafted civilian husbands, and let them go back to Ba County to continue being rice thieves after the war.
It has almost become a common practice for the Han army for Ban Luman to be drafted into the army, and he is not the only one who has done this.
The movement of Sun Jian approaching interrupted Liu Xiang's thoughts. He walked very close and whispered: "Yicheng, the battle has begun. Zhang Xiu is useless. The hatred for the destruction of the front camp and the hatred for Liu Xuande's death in battle.
You must retaliate. For the sake of the overall situation, I know that you are also forbearing. If Sun does this, you will treat it as if you don't know. Afterwards, you will punish Sun and you will be able to explain it. No one can accuse you of breaking your trust.
"
Liu Xiangxin said: I don't want to avenge Liu Bei. I wanted to bring him here just to kill him. But before he took action, Zhang Xiu took care of Liu Xuande. What a good thing, it saved his hands and feet.
There will be no hidden dangers left.
But this thought could not be exposed, so he could only pretend to be sad and said: "Brother Wentai, the battlefield is dangerous and life is at stake. When we step into the battlefield, we have already put life and death aside and kill friendly troops with personal hatred. Once this case is opened, the morale of the army will be
If the enemy collapses, this battle cannot be fought. Han Sui's hundred thousand troops are under Longguan, Liangzhou, Qiang and Di are all rebelling, and the land of ten counties has been lost. Brother Wentai can tell which one is more important. I can't bear it.
It will mess up the great plan."
Sun Jian was a little ashamed when he heard this: "Yicheng is far-sighted, but I am short-sighted."
Liu Xiang was afraid that if he was perfunctory in front of him, he would act behind his back, and cause a scene of igniting an enemy, which would affect his reputation for being an effective leader, so he continued to persuade him: "If the earthen pot is not broken away from the well, the general will inevitably die on the battlefield. Liu Xuande is
The country fights and deserves to die. Just keep your eyes open, maybe in the next battle we will wrap up our bodies and go to the battlefield, just leave it to fate."
Sun Jian nodded and said with some emotion: "When you go out to fight in the army, your life is not yours with your head in your belt. Alas! I really envy those sons of aristocratic families."
"Strive for military merit and find a title. A great future is not far away. Brother Wentai, please don't lose heart. Military merit is everywhere in Liangzhou, just waiting for you to pick it up."
Upon hearing this, Sun Jian patted the battlements in front of him and said with excitement: "Yicheng's words are very exciting. Han Sui's child's head is waiting for you and me to pick it off. When Sanguan is captured,
So we sent out troops to destroy him. What do you think we should do to defeat him?"
"Just take his back route from Qishan Road. It's very simple."
Of course, things are not that simple, just a joke. Sun Jian also knew that he was teasing and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The two of them stopped talking and went to deal with trivial matters in the army, waiting for the arrival of the follow-up troops.
Hechi connects the old road and Qishan Road. It is in a critical position and must be guarded by soldiers and horses, otherwise it will be easy for the enemy to steal the retreat. This responsibility was left to the governor of Yizhou, who led his headquarters of 6,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians to guard it.
Carrying baggage and guarding the food route.
On September 24th, a partial division of 24,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilians gathered in the old county.
Liu Xiang was not in a hurry to attack the city, and first sent Han Dang to lead his headquarters of 5,000 men to camp at the mountain pass, blocking the retreat from Sanguan and cutting off their supply route.
Then Zhang Xiu's troops were sent to surround the county town and build trenches to block the three gates. Therefore, Dao County is located on the mountain and faces south. There are only three city gates in the east, west and south. The separated passes are less than 20 miles apart. They are the gateway to the south of the mountain.
Land is also the place where materials are stored and transferred.
Without its supplies, the scattered garrison defenders would starve.
Everything has advantages and disadvantages. Sanguan is steep and narrow, making it difficult to deploy a large army to attack. The terrain is extremely conducive to defense. However, because of the terrain, the city is too small to store a large amount of supplies, so it needs supplies from the county behind. Now, both ends are blocked
After being blocked, the scattered defenders were like small fishes in a water tank or loaches in a clay pot. It all depended on Liu Xiang's taste, whether it was steamed or braised.
He led Sun Jian and Cheng Pu as reserve troops and set up camp between Han Dang and Zhang Xiu to support the two sides at any time. He also sent people across the path to contact Zhang He, ordering him to pay attention to the scattered garrison at all times and launch a test attack.
The army calmly felled trees, built strongholds, and dug trenches. The defenders in Gudao County and Sanguan could not sit still. They did not receive an alarm from the rear, and the enemy came to the city. The more than 10,000 defenders in the two places were caught off guard and were divided and surrounded.
The scattered garrison at the pass could not move, and the garrison at Gudao County did not dare to leave the city. They only had a few thousand men and could not defeat the enemy's tens of thousands of troops. They only hoped to hold on to the city until reinforcements came to rescue them.
The ideas they could think of, Sun Jian could naturally think of, and he volunteered to ask for orders: "General, I am willing to lead people to attack the city with all our strength. As long as we capture the old county town, we will conquer the pass. If the enemy army comes to help, there may be setbacks.
"
Liu Xiang smiled. There is no need to be so explicit when competing for credit. There are soldiers and horses guarding Hechi County behind. Can the enemy's reinforcements fly here?
"I am a swordsman and the enemy is fish and meat. Why should I be so urgent? Therefore, the city defense is strong and it is not a good strategy to attack hard. If the damage is too great and the morale of the army is shaken, the enemy will definitely take the opportunity to counterattack. This is how Bao Hong of You Fufeng was defeated. We can't wait.
Accidental. Just wait a moment and set up camp first."