ps: It’s Monday, and it’s almost the end of the month. The captain is asking for votes from the army.
Yan Liang gave the order, and arrows rained down from the shore.
More than 4,000 crossbowmen of the Chu army rushed to the shore and fired at the bamboo rafts on the Yellow River wantonly. Locust-like arrows rushed towards them like a violent storm.
The Yan army on the Yellow River was defeated, and this was a disaster.
They thought they would be lucky enough to escape by grabbing the bamboo raft, but they didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, a rain of arrows would hit them.
The river was surging, and the bamboo rafts were already unstable. Now they had to free up one hand to wave their weapons and block the incoming arrows. You can imagine how dangerous it was.
As a result, the screams soon resounded across the river.
The soldiers of Yan Army were either killed by random arrows, or their clinging was unstable, and they slipped from the bamboo rafts into the Yellow River and were swallowed up by the surging water in an instant.
As the commander-in-chief, Le Jin was like a turtle at this time, almost clinging to the bamboo raft, relying on the shields held high by the soldiers on his left and right to save his life.
From the river beach to the Yellow River, a navigation distance of more than 200 steps, nearly one or two thousand people were either shot dead or slipped into the river and drowned.
Finally, hundreds of bamboo rafts finally sailed out of the arrow range of the Chu army on the shore.
Just when Le Jin and his remaining soldiers wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, they soon discovered that they were in a more dangerous situation.
When the bamboo rafts entered the middle of the Yellow River, the water was far more turbulent than near the beach. The turbulent water knocked over several bamboo rafts in a few strokes. A dozen frightened Yan Army soldiers were swallowed up by the flood in the blink of an eye.
Above the river, there was a loud scream and a loud roar.
Screaming could not change the predicament of the Yan army. In the following time, bamboo rafts were overturned one after another. Thousands of Yan soldiers fell into the Yellow River, and they did not even have time to howl.
It was submerged by the torrential water without a trace.
At this time, Le Jin was almost desperate. He closed his eyes tightly, not daring to open his eyes and look around.
He gritted his teeth and prayed secretly in his heart. Praying that he would not die in humiliation in the roaring Yellow River.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the bumps of the bamboo rafts gradually calmed down.
Le Jin secretly exhaled and slowly opened his eyes, only to see that the north bank of the Yellow River was already more than a hundred steps away.
There was a burst of ecstasy in his heart. He never thought that he was lucky enough to escape this disaster.
But when he turned around and looked around, Le Jin took a breath again, because the number of bamboo rafts was reduced by almost one-third, and nearly four to five thousand of his soldiers were buried in the river.
Of the 30,000 soldiers on the bank, the Chu army surrounded and killed more than 10,000, and several thousand were shot and killed on the bank. Thousands more were swallowed up by the flood in the middle of the river. At this time, only less than 10,000 survivors remained.
Le Jin felt pain and shame in his heart. He felt that his face had been disgraced and he felt unworthy of the great trust he had given to Cao Cao.
"Yan thief, Yan thief" Le Jinkong felt resentful, but he could only gnash his teeth and curse.
Le Jin was filled with vengeance, but the Yan Liang soldiers who were lying on the bamboo rafts, who were in shock and survived the disaster, were full of terror towards Yan Liang, but they all had one thought in their hearts:
I never want to fight against the Chu army led by Yan Liangtong again in this life!
When the Yan army was in shock, tens of thousands of Chu soldiers on the south bank were waving their weapons in the air, waving their harvested heads, cheering and shouting, showing off their power to the fleeing enemies.
Yan Liang stood on his horse, a cold and disdainful smile floating on his knife-like face.
Although Cao Cao saw through Cao Cao's plan a moment late and was unable to completely surround and kill Le Jin's army, this pursuit severely damaged Le Jin's fleeing army and caused him to lose at least nearly 20,000 troops. The result was considered a big one.
Gain complete victory.
Looking at the enemy retreating on the other side, Yan Liang raised his whip and shouted: "Return to the army, it's time to deal with Cao Cao."
Yan Liang reined up his horse and turned around, leading his tens of thousands of soldiers and horses and marching away.
On that day, Yan Liang's army of more than 100,000 troops captured the important town of Shaanxi and opened the door to Hongnong in one fell swoop.
Hongnong County is narrow at both ends and wide in the middle. Once Shaanxi City is broken, the terrain in Wangxi will become flatter and flatter, making it more suitable for Yan Liang's large army to deploy.
Yan Liang rested for two days in Shaanxi County, and then mobilized all his troops and rushed towards Hongnong City, which was besieged by Cao Cao.
…
Outside Hongnong City, Cao Ying’s camp is located.
Cao Cao in the big tent was pacing non-stop, anxiously waiting for news from Shaanxi County.
"Thirty thousand troops, that's a thirty thousand army. Le Wenqian, you can't live up to the trust of me. You must bring 30,000 soldiers and horses back to me alive..."
Cao Cao murmured to himself, his uneasy mood clearly visible on his face.
Guo Jia comforted him from the side: "The Prime Minister has given General Le a secret plan. I believe that as long as General Le follows the plan, he will be able to successfully evacuate the army to Hedong. At the worst, only a few thousand people will be capsized in the Yellow River."
It’s just a hit, Prime Minister, don’t worry too much.”
"I hope so." Cao Cao sighed, his uneasy mood calming down a little.
At this time, Xu Chutong passed a message outside the tent, saying that Liu Ye was outside asking for an audience.
Liu Ye is in charge of intelligence. When he comes, he must have the latest information about Shaanxi City.
Cao Cao's nerves became tense and he quickly ordered Liu Ye to be brought in.
Not long after, Liu Ye hurriedly walked into the tent. The solemn expression on his face made Cao Cao feel nervous.
"Prime Minister, there is news from Shaanxi City."
"How is it? Has Le Wenqian successfully withdrawn the army to Hedong County on the north bank?" Cao Cao asked impatiently.
Liu Ye said silently: "General Le did withdraw to Hedong, but..."
Seeing Liu Ye hesitating, Cao Cao's heart was suddenly shrouded in shadow. He frowned and said, "It's just something, tell me quickly."
"Alas." Liu Ye sighed, "Although General Le withdrew to Hele, Yan Liang chased him when he boarded the ship. He lost most of his 30,000 troops, and only about 10,000 of them escaped to Hedong by luck.
"
Cao Cao felt as if he had been punched hard in the heart, and his face was full of shock.
The 30,000-strong army lost 20,000. Such a heavy loss was simply worse than adding insult to injury to Cao Cao.
"Didn't Le Jin act according to the truth's secret plan? How could the losses be so heavy?" Cao Cao yelled angrily.
Liu Ye had no choice but to tell Cao Cao the truth about the battle in Shaanxi City.
After hearing the truth, Cao Cao suddenly realized that his so-called secret plan had been discovered by Yan Liang.
The indignant and shocked Cao Cao was stunned for a moment without saying a word.
"Your Majesty, although General Le lost some troops and horses, he managed to save 10,000 soldiers. This is a blessing among misfortunes. Now that the Yan thieves have broken through Shaanxi County, they will definitely rush towards Hongnong City next. The entire
Hongnong County can no longer be defended. Please ask the Prime Minister to quickly order the entire army to withdraw to Tongguan and defend it."
Guo Jia's advice woke Cao Cao out of his daze and made him realize that there was a more urgent situation in front of him. He needed to calm down and face it.
"The truth is that Tongguan is still in hand. Even if the Yan bandits have an army of 100,000, what should they fear?" Cao Cao encouraged himself and forcibly cheered up.
At that moment, Cao Cao ordered to withdraw from the siege of Hongnong City and immediately set off to retreat to the Tongguan line.
At the same time, Cao Cao sent an order to Hedong, ordering Xu Huang and Lejin to join forces and station themselves on the north bank of the Yellow River. Yan Liang must not be allowed to cross the river and threaten Hedong County.
After everything was arranged, Cao Cao took a breath and prepared to pack up and retreat to Tongguan.
At this time, Liu Ye added: "Prime Minister, I think that although Tongguan is dangerous, the Yan bandits are attacking from Nanyang and Hanzhong at the same time. With the current strength of our army, it is difficult to take care of all three sides."
Liu Ye's words reminded Cao Cao, and he suddenly remembered that Yan Liang wanted to attack Guanzhong, but Tongguan was not the only way.
Cao Cao's mood suddenly became heavy again. He raised his head and asked, "In my opinion, what should I do?"
Liu Ye coughed a few times and said silently: "In Ye's opinion, at this time, we must ask Liu Bei for help."
Ask Liu Bei for help!
Cao Cao was shocked, and his expression of reluctance immediately appeared on his face.
Of course he will not forget that just last year, as an ally, he "stole" Luoyang from Liu Bei while Liu Bei was being restrained by Yan Liang.
But now, he was in a critical situation, but he had to shamelessly ask Liu Bei for help. How would Liu Bei's face look like?
"A big-eared thief..." Cao Cao gritted his teeth secretly, seemingly unwilling.
At this time, Guo Jia also solemnly said: "Prime Minister, the overall situation is the most important thing, the overall situation is the most important thing."
Cao Cao remained silent for a long time, then shook his head helplessly and sighed.
…
From Shaancheng to Hongnong, from Hongnong to Huxian, and from Huxian to Tongguan.
Yan Liang's army of more than 100,000 troops advanced along Cao Cao's retreat route, and within a few days, they reached the east of Tongguan.
After the defeat of Luoyang and the defeat of Shaanxi County, Cao Cao's total military strength at this time was less than 80,000.
In order to cope with Yan Liang's attack of hundreds of thousands of troops, Cao Cao deployed 20,000 troops in Hedong to prevent Yan Liang from attacking Bingzhou in the north. There were also 10,000 troops stationed in Jinyang, commanded by Cao Ren, to prevent Liu Bei from stabbing him in the back.
In the direction of Tongguan, Cao Cao deployed 30,000 elite troops to block Yan Liang's frontal attack with all his strength.
In addition, Cao Cao deployed 5,000 troops in the Shang County area to resist Yan Liang's Nanyang Army, while in the Chencang and Qishan areas, Cao Cao deployed more than 10,000 troops to resist Yan Liang's Hanzhong Army.
After all the troops were dispatched, there were only less than five thousand defenders left in Chang'an City.
In order to deal with Yan Liang, Cao Cao went bankrupt this time and moved out all his belongings.
Cao Cao himself was also stationed in Tongguan, desperately resisting the frontal attack of Yan Liang's main army of more than 100,000 troops.
Before Yan Liang's army arrived at Tongguan, they attacked the city for several days. They were indeed rejected by the fortified city of Tongguan and could not overcome this last barrier to Chang'an.
Yan Liang, who was having trouble attacking the key points, decided to strengthen his attack on Cao Cao's flanks on Pang Tong's suggestion.
So they galloped south, heading straight to Hanzhong, and issued Yan Liang's royal order to the generals in Yizhou.
Yan Liang ordered Li Yan, who was in Chengdu, to mobilize all the troops from Yizhou and march north to Hanzhong to join Lu Xun.
Yan Liang also appointed Lu Xun, the commander-in-chief of Hanzhong, as his commander-in-chief, Li Yan as his deputy commander-in-chief, Fazheng as his counselor, Zhang Ren, Yan Yan and others as generals, and mobilized 80,000 Shu troops to march out of the Qinling Mountains and attack Guanzhong from the north.
After several days of gathering, 80,000 Sichuan soldiers marched north from Qishan and headed toward Longxi in a mighty and mighty manner. (To be continued...)
