At Longguan, Zhao Guang couldn't help but take a breath as he looked at the swarming Wei army.
People from all over the mountains and plains filled the valley in front of the pass. I don't know how many there were. Most of these people had no heads and didn't have much armor, but they all looked fierce. At a glance, it was clear that they were not regular soldiers of the Wei army, but Qiang people.
It is certainly not a good thing that so many Qiang people suddenly gathered in front of Longguan, and the movement is certainly not small. A few days before this, Zhao Guang had received news from the scouts that many Qiang people were gathering here.
When the weather gets warmer, the Qiang people will come out of the mountains and drive their flocks to live in pursuit of water and grass, or find suitable places to farm. This is not uncommon, but this is wartime, and Zhao Guang is not concerned about any situation.
Dare to take it lightly and saw the Qiang people gathering here, especially many Qiang people with weapons, so he reported the news to Zhuge Liang.
But that was just out of vigilance. He did not expect that the Qiang people would really gather to attack Longguan. He did not definitely say that the Qiang people would behave unfavorably, for fear of interfering with Zhuge Liang's strategic deployment. Now he sees so many Qiang people.
, Zhao Guang felt that his previous report was too understated and could be said to have delayed the war effort.
Obviously, these Qiang people came with bad intentions. They were an organized military operation, not just nomads.
Zhao Guang's guess was correct. These Qiang people came to attack Longguan. The general who led them was Wei Pingxi General Xia Houru, and the person who issued the order was the Western Conquest Cavalry General Zhang He.
Zhang He had this plan long before Cao Zhi entered Guanzhong.
The heavy snowfall last year interrupted the fierce battle between the two sides, but it did not hinder Zhang He's understanding of Zhuge Liang. Although the battle at the foot of Liupan Mountain did not last long and was not very fierce, it allowed Zhang He to see the combat capabilities of the Shu Han army.
The improvement. Especially the equipment and ordnance of the Shu Han army left a deep impression on him. Whether it was the crossbow chariot or the thunder chariot, or the armor and weapons of ordinary soldiers, they all exceeded Zhang He's estimate. Compared with the last time with the Shu Han
The quality of the Shu-Han Army's battles was much better. The occasionally captured Shu-Han Army armors became treasures that soldiers competed for. Compared with the Wei Army's standard oracle bones, there is no difference in appearance between the Shu-Han Army's armors, but their protective range is larger.
That's all, but the sturdiness is more than a step above. The armor used by ordinary soldiers is almost as protective as the armor used by senior generals of the Wei army.
Zhang He realized that it was almost impossible to break through Zhuge Liang's battle formation from the front, and the risk of expecting Tian Fu and others to enter Guanzhong from the old Yunyang Road was also very high. Before the crops matured, the cavalry would not be able to break into Guanzhong.
to have too great an effect.
What's more important is that he can't wait for that time.
From that time on, Zhang He prepared another plan to recruit the Qiang people and attack Guanzhong from the direction of Longshan. Zhuge Liang was attacked on both sides to reduce the difficulty of a frontal breakthrough. This has been going on, but the Qiang people are scattered in the mountains.
, it’s really not easy to call them together, so it’s been delayed until now.
Zhang He led the main force and did not launch an attack at the foot of Liupan Mountain. He was waiting for the Qiang people to attack first. Cao Zhi's unexpected entry increased Zhang He's confidence. He believed that with Zhuge Liang's existing troops, he could defeat three
It is impossible to guard all directions tightly. He will inevitably reveal a flaw on one side. As for which side, he can't guess. But he has greater hope for the Longshan side. After all, this road
It is secret, while the other two paths have been exposed.
Zhang He's guess was correct. The appearance of the Qiang people really shocked Zhao Guang. There were originally more than 5,000 people in Longguan. After Zhuge Liang moved to Qixian County, Ma Dai led more than a thousand cavalry and returned to Zhuge Liang's command. Cao Zhizhi passed through the pass.
Zhuge Liang transferred another 2,000 men, and now the Longguan garrison is less than 2,000.
But what he has to face is thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of Qiang people.
Zhao Guang knew that it was difficult to hold Long Pass, but he also knew that giving up Long Pass was even more undesirable. If these Qiang people were allowed to enter Guanzhong, Guanzhong would be over.
Zhao Guang sent people to Zhuge Liang for emergency help while preparing for battle.
Xia Houru did not give him much time and launched an attack immediately. He and Zhang He were two to three hundred miles apart, with Liupan Mountain in between, making communication very inconvenient, so he could only launch the attack according to the pre-arranged time.
The Qiang people came roaring from all over the mountains and plains. They did not have many large-scale offensive equipment. They only had simple ladders, which could only be used for the most primitive ants to climb the city. They also did not have large-scale crossbows or even formal weapons. Some people carried
A piece of wood, holding a machete, some simply holding a pot lid, holding a sickle for cutting grass, but they moved vigorously and fiercely, especially climbing mountains very quickly, causing damage to Longguan, which is built on the mountain.
A great threat.
Under the all-out attack of the Qiang people, the battle at Longguan entered a fierce state from the beginning. If Zhao Guang and his men had not been guarding Longguan for three years, they were very familiar with the situation here and their training was very strict.
It probably fell quickly under the attack of the Qiang people.
Even so, Zhao Guang still felt tremendous pressure.
There were too many Qiang people. One was killed, two were rushed forward, two were killed, and five were rushed forward. It seemed like there was no way to finish them all. The soldiers didn't even have time to take a breath, they just kept raising their swords.
The machete. Zhao Guang's throat was hoarse from shouting. He led the guard camp to clash back and forth on the city wall, hacking the Qiang people who rushed up the city wall to death and throwing them away. He also had to keep paying attention to the top of his head to avoid Qiang people.
People fall from the sky. There are not many of them, and they can easily fall to death if they jump from the cliff. But once someone jumps up, it is easy to cause chaos.
After a day of bloody fighting, about four to five thousand Qiang people were killed, and more than half of the defenders on the city were lost. As night fell, the Qiang people who had been attacking for a day finally retreated. The sky above Longguan was filled with a strong smell of blood, and everywhere
It was all blood, and there were corpses everywhere. The day's battle was like a catastrophe. Under the attacks of the Qiang people at all costs, Longguan almost fell several times.
Listening to the singing of the Qiang people in the distance, Zhao Guang dragged his heavy footsteps and wrote the third letter for help today to Zhuge Liang on the bloody city wall. He lost more than half of his soldiers in one day, and Zhao Guang was deeply worried.
It was so heavy that he didn't know if he could hold on until sunset tomorrow. The Qiang people's attacks were so fierce that they seemed to be desperate for their lives. This not only put great pressure on the defense, but also
It had a serious psychological impact on the soldiers.
Obviously, Xia Houru came well prepared. He wanted to take Longguan in one go and quickly break into Guanzhong. The previous Zhang He and Chen soldiers who broke into Liupanshan, including Cao Zhi's breakout into Guanzhong, may have just done it openly. These Qiang people are the real killers.
trick.
Zhao Guang watched the messenger leave, but he couldn't feel any relief. It would take at least one day for these letters to be delivered to Zhuge Liang. Even if Zhuge Liang sent reinforcements immediately, it would take two days to get here, but he had no confidence in holding on for three days.
The fall of Longguan seems to be a foregone conclusion.
Zhao Guang was a little annoyed. If he had known this, he should not have followed Zhuge Liang's orders. If there were two thousand more people defending, the pressure on him would be much less.
…
Xia Houru was sitting in the middle, and a dozen Qiang leaders were sitting around, all smiling and talking and laughing loudly. In today's battle, although many people died in the battle, they attacked the city several times, and once ordered
The intimidating Longguan was obviously so fragile in front of the tide of Qiang people, which greatly increased the confidence of the Qiang people. And Xiahou Ru's promise to them made their blood boil even more.
Xia Houru said that His Majesty the Emperor has issued an edict that all tribes that have made great contributions in this battle can move to Guanzhong and settle down. This is great news for the Qiang people. Don't look at Guanzhong and Longyou.
Only separated by the Longshan Mountains, the situation is completely different. There are many mountains in Longyou, but little cultivated land, which is suitable for grazing but not suitable for farming. Guanzhong is thousands of miles of fertile wilderness with crisscrossed waterways. Any piece of wasteland that can be reclaimed will be fertile farmland, making it an ideal home.
In order to enter and settle in Guanzhong, the Qiang people have been fighting for hundreds of years, but they have never been able to gain a foothold in Guanzhong. This is because the Han people guard Longshan and Guanzhong. Now that the Han people have taken the initiative to let them enter Guanzhong, how can they
It is easy to let go of such a good opportunity.
It is precisely because of this that tens of thousands of Qiang people came upon hearing the news. They knew that the casualties in this battle would be heavy, but they still had to fight bravely to be first, lest they fall behind.
The Qiang people clumsily complimented Xia Houru and toasted to Xia Houru.
.
Xia Houru looked at all this and thought to himself: "General Zhang, it's time for you to start attacking. I don't want these Qiang people to really enter Guanzhong."
…
At the foot of Liupan Mountain, a fierce battle was going on.
Zhang He knew the details of Cao Zhi very well and could roughly calculate how long he could persist. Every day he delayed, Cao Zhi's fire of life dimmed a little. Although everyone knew that Cao Zhi would surrender to death if he went deep into Guanzhong alone, but no one could just
Watching Cao Zhi and those Wei soldiers die in vain, at least their deaths must be worthwhile.
Zhang He suddenly launched an attack according to the time discussed with Xia Houru.
Zhang He was fully prepared, and his attack was a thunderous strike. The Wei soldiers pushed a siege vehicle converted from a baggage cart, braved the rain of arrows from the Shu Han army, and continued to attack forward. They hid behind the cart.
, fought back violently, arrows from both sides flew across the air, and screams were heard endlessly. Dozens of Thunderbolt Chariots were pushed to the front of the formation, and with roars, large and small rocks flew into the distance, hitting the Shuhan army.
position.
The Wei army's fierce attack caused a lot of trouble to Jiang Wei. The Shu Han army's equipment was good, but it did not have an overwhelming advantage. Facing the Wei army's attack regardless of the cost, the Shu Han army's casualties continued to increase.
One day of fierce fighting, Zhang He paid the price of more than a thousand people and advanced his position a hundred steps. Even when night fell, he did not retreat, but camped on the position he had just occupied. There were only two hundred steps between the two sides.
Within a walking distance, one could almost hear the sound of the opponent's drums and horns. This kind of close confrontation made the Shu Han army very uncomfortable, and Jiang Wei was also very unsuitable. After discussing with Hu Ji, Jiang Wei left 3,000 men to defend the position, and the army withdrew.
Rest at camp.
In the darkness, seeing Jiang Wei's battle flag moving backward, a contemptuous sneer appeared on Zhang He's lips.