Chapter 416: Zhang Liang’s uneasiness
Xiang Yu trusted Shan Xiongxin, but that didn't mean Zhang Liang would believe him.
Zhang Liang is now the second-in-command in the Southern Route Army, holding the command of a hundred thousand troops in Yuzhou, and his opinions also play a decisive role.
At this time, Zhang Liang's brows were furrowed tightly. He rarely showed such an expression. He had already guessed Shan Xiongxin's reaction to whether he was surrendering, but the current situation was beyond his expectation.
"Isn't Shan Xiongxin pretending to surrender? But is he sincerely surrendering?"
Zhang Liang thought about it and couldn't find any flaw. After all, what kind of fake surrender needs to reach this level? Even at the expense of...
"Forget it, let's see if Shan Xiongxin can complete the plan first. If it is really possible, let's just trust him." Zhang Liang thought to himself.
On the other side, Xiang Yu continued to talk to Ji Bu, issuing orders without even asking Zhang Liang about many things.
Faced with Xiang Yu's attitude of directly ignoring him, Zhang Liang was very dissatisfied, but his face did not show it at all. If he and Xiang Yu conflicted at this time, the only person who would benefit would be the Han army.
"What? Not only were all the defensive equipment in Yique Pass destroyed, but even the grain depot was burned down?"
Xiang Yu's voice became louder unconsciously, and Zhang Liang's brows wrinkled again.
"Qin Hao issued a death order. As soon as the city gate was breached, the Han army immediately burned all supplies. Even if the general wanted to stop it, it was too late." Ji Bu explained.
"This bastard." Xiang Yu cursed through gritted teeth.
Zhang Liang's expression couldn't help but become a little serious, because he had vaguely guessed Qin Hao's intention.
Xiang Yu marched 200,000 elite troops from Luoyang to Yique Pass. The grain depots of all the cities he passed along the way had been burned. Not only could they not collect grain from the people of Sizhou, but they had to consume grain and grass to relieve the people of Sizhou. This also made The logistical pressure on the Yellow Turbans was huge.
Is this an attempt to bring down our army? But Qin Hao, you can't wait for this day. Zhang Liang secretly thought.
Seeing that Xiang Yu ignored him all the time, Zhang Liang had no choice but to increase his presence by himself, so he said to Xiang Yu: "General, the current guard of Xuanyuan Pass, Su Lie, is a difficult opponent. There are also three good generals, Zhang Liang, Xu Huang, and Yu Jin to assist us. Should the army consider moving south to Guangcheng Pass after taking Xuanyuan Pass?"
Qin Hao has an army of 100,000 in his hands, and Yique Pass, Xuanyuan Pass and Guangcheng Pass each have 10,000 defenders, so the total number of troops in Qin Hao's hands is actually 130,000.
After returning to Yique Pass, Qin Hao deliberately deployed large-scale troops for the follow-up plan.
Qin Hao deliberately placed the main army camp in the middle of the three passes. In the eyes of outsiders, as long as any one of the passes has insufficient troops, the main army in the middle can provide support. This also eliminates the problem of the number of defenders at Yique Pass.
Xuanyuan Pass was the only checkpoint where troops were added, and the choice of guard was replaced by Su Dingfang from Qin Hao, and three of the five good generals were asked to assist, which can be said to be foolproof.
Xiang Yu had just formulated a strategy to go south, but Zhang Liang stood up to oppose it in an instant. Xiang Yu had a problem with Zhang Liang, so naturally he was very unhappy when he saw this, and said to Zhang Liang indifferently:
"It is because Su Dingfang is difficult to deal with that I will let Xuanyuan Pass go for the time being. As long as Guangcheng Pass is captured, Xuanyuan Pass will become an isolated city. As long as the food in the pass is exhausted, Xuanyuan Pass can be taken without a single blow, so Why should I let my soldiers make unnecessary sacrifices?"
According to the Yellow Turban's intelligence, there are 20,000 defenders in Xuanyuan Pass, and all the defense equipment is in place, and there are some good generals guarding it. Obviously, it is not an easy bone to chew.
The reason why Xiang Yu left it alone for the time being was simply because Xuanyuan Pass did not have much threatening power.
A trace of surprise flashed in Zhang Liang's eyes, he didn't expect Xiang Yu to see so clearly.
Although there was no flaw in what Xiang Yu said, Zhang Liang always felt a little uneasy, but he couldn't tell what it was.
"General, for the sake of caution, it is better to capture Xuanyuan Pass first. If our army confronts the Han army, it will be very troublesome if this part of the Han army comes to cause trouble."
Xiang Yu obviously didn't take Zhang Liang's advice to heart. All he wanted to do now was to go to Guangcheng Pass to see for himself whether Shan Xiongxin's plan could be realized.
"That's long-winded." Xiang Yu said with an impatient look on his face, "I, Xiang Yu, will never allow my soldiers to be wasted needlessly."
"But……"
"There is no but, don't forget, I am the commander-in-chief."
Seeing Xiang Yu being so stubborn, Zhang Liang didn't know how to persuade him, so he had to comfort himself in his heart.
If everything goes well in Guangcheng, maybe everything will end here.
…………
Xiang Yu's 200,000 Yellow Turban elite only stayed at Yique Pass for three days to repair. They handed over the troops immediately after the grain and garrison troops arrived at the rear, and then the whole army moved southward to Guangcheng Pass.
Zhang Jiao of Luoyang also knew the importance of Yique Pass, so he sent a total of 30,000 troops to garrison.
Of course, their task is not only to protect Yi Que Pass, but also to force the 20,000 Han troops in Xuanyuan Pass to surrender when Xuanyuan Pass runs out of food.
Guangcheng Pass was Sizhou's first line of defense against the south, but now it has become the last line of defense for the Han Dynasty to protect Jingzhou.
Once Guangcheng Pass falls, Xiang Yu can respond to the Yuzhou Yellow Turbans to attack Nanyang from both sides, and then drive straight into Jingzhou.
The 200,000-strong army arrived at Guangcheng Pass and began a three-day continuous siege without any conventional challenge.
The Yellow Turbans didn't seem to have any urgency in taking Guangcheng Pass. Under Xiang Yu's command, the siege was carried out in an orderly manner, and Yue Fei naturally faced it calmly.
After three days of siege, the losses on both sides were still bearable.
"Ding dong, under Yue Fei's command of defending the city, he killed 15,000 enemy troops and suffered 5,000 losses. The host was rewarded with 10,000 war points, which has been automatically converted into 100 summoning points for the host. Currently, the host has a total of 1,850 summoning points."
Looking at the densely packed Yellow Turban army below the city tower, Qin Hao couldn't help but sigh and thought to himself: This day is finally coming.
Xiang Yu drove slowly to the front of the city and shouted to Qin Hao on the city tower: "Qin Hao, now most of the world has been captured by our Yellow Turban Army. The Han Dynasty can't even defend the capital Luoyang, so why do you continue?" How about using a mantis' arm as a chariot?"
"I, Qin Hao, am watching from here at Guangcheng Pass to see if Xiang Yu can crush my mantis arm." Qin Hao responded without any politeness.
Xiang Yu's eyes were slightly cold, and he thought to himself: I don't know how to praise him, I will see you later.
Xiang Yu didn't think so. He continued to persuade Qin Hao to surrender even though he knew it was impossible to succeed. Naturally, Qin Hao would not be persuaded by Xiang Yu, so he shouted and the two sides started to fight from afar.
The generals were scolding each other like shrews. This scene was rare. The generals on both sides also looked at the excitement with great interest and did not think it was a big deal.
