Chapter 465: Qin Sun Cao's sworn alliance
Zhang Shicheng left Luoyang with full heart, but before he could reach Dagu Pass, he got the news that the first wave of reinforcements had been defeated by Bai Qi.
In desperation, Zhang Shicheng had to wait patiently for the follow-up troops to make sure everything was safe, but what he didn't know was that every time the time was delayed, the possibility of him conquering Dagu Pass became lower.
Fang Guozhen on the other side was equally miserable. Before he even reached Meng Pass, he got the news that Meng had been captured by the Han army.
This time, in order to capture Meng and the three-party coalition forces of more than 100,000 in Liangshan, the fortress was barely captured at the cost of more than half of the damage.
Although more than half of the Han army in Meng Pass was damaged, it was not something that Fang Guozhen could handle, so he had to retreat to Pingping and wait for reinforcements to arrive before attacking.
Song Jiang, who accepted the recruitment, took the initiative to take over the main attack task in order to show his loyalty to the Han Dynasty.
For this reason, Liangshan paid a bloody price. The entire army was directly reduced by three-quarters, and three leaders, Ruan 2, Ruan 5, and Ruan 7, were killed in the battle.
Song Jiang's efforts were rewarded. Huangfu Song directly appointed him as a partial general and reported his achievements to the court truthfully. It is estimated that after the war, Song Jiang would at least be given the position of governor.
Meng Yi's battle caused the water of the Yellow River to turn red again. Last time it was Xiang Yu's and He Jin's Yellow River decisive battle, and the Han army lost, but this time it was the Yellow Turbans.
The fall of Mengguan marked the formation of the "trapped dragon situation". Eight hundred thousand Yellow Turbans were completely trapped and died in Sizhou, unable to advance or retreat from then on.
Now, Luoyang is already facing three enemies: Huangfu Song in the north, Bai Qi in the east, Qin Hao in the south, and Qin Wen in the west. The four armies are like a curse, directly locking the fate of the Yellow Turbans.
If it were Xia now, with the Yellow Turban's huge military strength, it might not be impossible to break the cage.
But the key point is that it is winter now. The Yellow Turbans' military advantage has been weakened to the lowest by this ice and snow. In such a cold climate, the army cannot exert its full strength at all.
Of course, the biggest crisis facing the Yellow Turbans is not the climate, but the depletion of private grain reserves.
Three million people in Sizhou are about to run out of food. Will the Yellow Turbans provide food to the people?
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Hangu Pass, Han army commander's tent.
Qin Liangyu's delicate face was filled with joy. After walking quickly into the commander's tent, he reported: "I would like to inform my father, Commander-in-Chief, that Meng Pass has been captured by General Huangfu. Now all four gates of Sizhou have been returned to our army."
Neither Qin Liangyu nor Mu Guiying went south with Qin Hao. During the time they left Qin Hao, the two women joined forces with the Yang family's daughter-in-law to create a women's army and defeated the Yellow Turbans several times.
This army is led by Qin and Mu, with the Yang family's daughter-in-law as the backbone. Although it is currently only an archer infantry with 500 swordsmen, it can be greatly expanded at any time, and there is no shortage of soldiers.
During the war years, women and widows were the most numerous, but the Women’s Army only recruited women between fourteen and thirty-five years old.
At present, the composition of the Detachment of Women is very mixed. There are women from the common people and ladies from the rich families, and the proportion of sisters from wealthy families is not low. This is all thanks to the Yellow Turbans.
The Yellow Turbans massacred the Guandong aristocratic families and showed mercy only to women and children. Without the protection of their families, the lives of these women will definitely be very difficult in the future.
The birth of the Women's Army gave those poor women who could not survive a place where they could live well without selling their bodies.
Guanzhong has not been devastated by the Yellow Turbans, so the attraction of the Detachment of Women has not yet been reflected. If the Detachment of Women marches to Guandong, it is not impossible that the strength of the Detachment of Women will quickly exceed 10,000.
"Okay, that's great."
After hearing Qin Liangyu's report, Qin Wen stood up from his seat excitedly. After fighting for so long since he went south, Qin Wen had never been so excited.
But this time is different. Retaking the four gates means that the end of the Yellow Turbans is not far away, and the end of the Han Dynasty is coming, so Qin Wen can't be excited.
Most of the generals present are future princes, and their knowledge and strategies are very comparable. After hearing the news, it is natural to see that the big man won this battle.
Dong Zhuo was the first to stand up and said with a smile: "Congratulations, virtuous brother, you are about to make an unparalleled contribution."
Killing 800,000 Yellow Turbans in one fell swoop, couldn’t this be an unparalleled achievement?
At this thought, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but flash a trace of jealousy in his eyes.
No matter civil servants or military generals, the highest pursuit is to be famous throughout the ages, and Qin Wen will soon achieve it.
Regardless of whether Qin Wen has any achievements in the future, history books will write that Qin Wen was the coach who destroyed 800,000 Yellow Turbans in one fell swoop, and this alone is enough to make Qin Wen's name passed down through the ages.
Qin Boren, just wait, sooner or later I will achieve greater achievements than you, and I, Dong Zhongying, will never be weaker than others. Dong Zhuo secretly made up his mind.
The concept of hierarchy in the military is very strong. Even if Dong Zhuo is the deputy governor, it is very rude to call the general "brother" in a formal occasion. However, Qin Wen did not care at all.
Dong Zhuo was on the same level as Qin Wen in terms of official position and title, and he controlled more troops and horses than Qin Wen. Naturally, Qin Wen didn't care about this kind of thing.
"No matter what, I am just trying my best. The current situation is all due to your contribution." Qin Wen said modestly.
When the generals heard this, they all laughed and said, "The Commander-in-Chief is too humble."
Qin Wen did not refute, but smiled calmly and said: "The three eastern gates of Sizhou are weak, but they have to face the counterattack of nearly 700,000 Yellow Turban troops. If the Yellow Turbans really break one gate, they will regret it.
Now Hangu must allocate troops to support to strengthen the defense of the third east gate, so as to completely trap the Yellow Turbans. I want to divide the troops into two groups, one in the south and one in the north to support the three passes. Who among the generals is willing to lead the army? "
The Han army only has a few hundred thousand troops in the three passes. Even if they sometimes help each other, it is not easy to block the Yellow Turbans' counterattack. Everyone knows this, so it is imperative to divide the troops to support them.
Cao Cao was the first to stand up: "The last general is willing to lead troops to support the three passes.
Seeing this, all the generals couldn't help but cursed Cao Cao for being cunning, and then they all began to ask for a fight. After all, staying at Hangu Pass was useless, so it was better to lead the troops out.
"Captain, Yuan Shao is willing to lead the army to support."
"Sun Jian..."
"Gongsun Zan..."
…
"Since the third brother asked for orders first, let the third brother lead the Southern Route Army, and the second brother will be the deputy general." Qin Wen looked at Cao Cao and said with a smile.
Cao Cao was immediately overjoyed and said quickly: "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, no, thank you, brother."
Why did Cao Cao and Sun Jian become brothers with Qin Wen?
This started two months ago, when Yiyang City was lost and Qin Wen encountered Zhu Yuanzhang's ambush on his way back to Yewang City.
If Cao Cao and Sun Jian hadn't tried their best to save him, Qin Wen might have been killed by Zhu Yuanzhang, so he naturally had a good impression of them.
In the subsequent series of battles, the three like-minded people quickly formed a deep friendship, so they simply became brothers with different surnames.
