[The fall of Jianmen Pass]
Dong Zhang of Dongchuan won the first battle and captured Langzhou in the east, so he turned north and attacked Lizhou. Lizhou is the headquarters of the Zhaowu Army. It is located in the north-east direction of Jianmen Pass. It is the only way for the central reinforcements to enter Shu. The control of Lizhou is the initiative to enter and exit Shu.
Dong Zhang captured Langzhou on September 20. He did not advance to Lizhou until October 8. He also encountered heavy rainfall and the logistics supplies could not keep up, so he withdrew to Langzhou.
After Meng Zhixiang received the news, he was shocked and said, "Dear me, 20 days! What is this guy thinking? When we first captured Langzhou, we should have taken advantage of the victory to attack Lizhou non-stop. At that time, the central garrison was like a frightened bird. It was inevitable that If we run away, we will directly take over Lizhou. As long as we send troops to garrison Mantianguan (north of Lizhou), there is nothing the Central Army can do. However, Dong Zhang actually stationed a large army in the remote Langzhou, far away from Jianmenguan. It is really a mistake. ah!"
Lizhou can be regarded as the first line of defense at Jianmen Pass, adding strategic depth to both Sichuan and Sichuan, and is of very important strategic significance. Obviously, Lizhou did not attract enough attention from Dong Zhang.
Meng Zhixiang hurriedly contacted Dong Zhang and said that he was willing to send 3,000 people to help defend Jianmen Pass.
Dong Zhang refused decisively, claiming that he had a perfect plan and did not bother Meng Gong.
Why did Dong Zhang refuse? the reason is simple.
The Alliance of Sichuan and Sichuan is not like what Meng Zhixiang described in his statement, where people are of one family and work together in the same boat. As mentioned above, the two sides were already at war with each other over the issue of salt. When Dong Zhang came to Meng Zhixiang for an alliance or marriage under pressure, Meng Zhixiang refused. It was under the persuasion of his adviser Zhao Jiliang. Only then did they agree to form an alliance.
Therefore, the Liang-Sichuan Alliance is very similar to the Sun-Liu Alliance during the Three Kingdoms period. It was forced to join forces for warmth when facing a more powerful third party. Within the alliance, the two sides were wary of each other and distrusted each other. This alliance was subtle and fragile. .
This is also one of the reasons why the two families split into two routes and opened up two battlefields. Even if it is to support the other party, the strength of the reinforcements is only about two to three thousand people. They cannot dominate the situation, otherwise the party being assisted will doubt the motives of the party providing assistance.
Therefore, Dong Zhang would never allow Xichuan soldiers to appear at Jianmen Pass, the most important fortress in the north. Will you help me guard the sword gate? It would be great if you just help me guard Zizhou. If you sell me, I will still count the money for you!
Meng Zhixiang looked up to the sky and sighed, hoping that God would bless him and he would not be dragged down by this pig teammate.
Meng Zhixiang sent the famous Shu general and "Lock Gorge Hero" Zhang Wu to lead his navy down the river and directly attack Kuizhou.
Dong Zhang sent troops to seize the eastern city and captured the five prefectures of Chang, He, Ba, Peng and Guo. Dongchuan territory doubled to the east.
The Xichuan Navy captured the important stronghold along the way - Yuzhou (the intersection of the Jialing River and the Yangtze River), and controlled the waterways in and out of the Yangtze River and Jialing River. Then they divided their troops into two groups, turned around and returned to capture the isolated and helpless Luzhou; the other group continued along the way. They flowed down and attacked Fuzhou and Qianzhou.
Judging from the actions in the early stages of the Sichuan War, Dong Zhang was short-sighted and only focused on grabbing the petty profits in front of him, busy occupying cities and expanding territory; while Meng Zhixiang had a clear and long-term strategic plan.
From the perspective of an outsider, one might praise Dong Zhang for his step-by-step approach and his steady attack, while accusing Meng Zhixiang of going deep alone and stretching the battle line too long.
However, upon careful analysis, it is not difficult to find that what Meng Zhixiang occupied were all strategic locations. After gaining control of these cities, the two Sichuan forces would be able to fully grasp the initiative in the war, and be able to advance, attack, retreat and defend, and recover. Be free.
If the two Sichuan troops were deployed uniformly by Dong Zhang, then the war situation would definitely fall into a situation of repeated tug-of-war and brainless toughness; and if it was Meng Zhixiang, it would form a "closed door and beat the dog" trend against the Central Army. Close the gate to the Bashu land, then turn around and slowly digest the city strongholds controlled by the Central Army, while the Central reinforcements outside the door can only stare.
Under the leadership of Shi Jingtang, the central reinforcements crossed Dashan Pass and entered the battlefield of Liangchuan. The real test for Dong Zhang and Meng Zhixiang finally came.
In this round of competition, Dong Zhang's short-sightedness and Meng Zhixiang's foresight were fully demonstrated.
The main force of the Central Army avoided the front of Jianmen Pass, but outflanked it from the southeast, went around to the north of Jianmen Pass, and launched a surprise attack from the south. They conquered Jianmen Pass in one fell swoop, killed 3,000 Dongchuan defenders, and captured the general alive. Qi Yanwen. Wang Hongzhi, the governor of Jiezhou, even led a partial army to capture Jianzhou, but the main force failed to follow up in time. Wang Hongzhi had to loot all the food and grass in Jianzhou, and then set fire to the city, causing maximum damage to Jianzhou. Withdraw to Jianmen Pass.
At the same time, Li Siyuan issued an edict to deprive Meng Zhixiang of all official titles. We’ve all shown our cards and stopped pretending.
When Meng Zhixiang learned that Jianmen Pass had been lost, he stamped his feet angrily, "This pig teammate is really dragging me down!"
Meng Zhixiang made a prompt decision and sent Li Zhao to lead 5,000 people north from Chengdu for reinforcements. Before leaving, he warned Li Zhao that he must advance at double speed and control Jianzhou first. As long as Jianzhou is controlled, there is hope for a comeback; he sent envoys to Suizhou, He told Li Renhan to continue the siege of Suizhou, contain Xia Luqi, and prevent him from joining the main central force in the north; he also sent Zhao Tingyin to lead 10,000 people to go north from Suizhou to join forces with Li Zhao and garrison Jianzhou; Li Jun led 4,000 people to the north from Chengdu to control Longzhou on the west side of Jianmen Pass. He held tight positions and controlled the northern gates of the two rivers.
Dong Zhang was busy snatching the fruits of victory with Meng Zhixiang and digesting the eastern city, but he ignored the most important Jianmen Pass and the entire northern defense line.
The situation was critical, and Meng Zhixiang could not take into account the subtle tacit understanding between him and Dong Zhang. He could not wait for the Dongchuan soldiers to move north, so he sent multiple armies north to seize important strongholds.
Dong Zhang was also stunned by the news of the fall of Jianmen Pass, and hurriedly led his army from Langzhou to advance towards Jianzhou.
It was the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, and the weather was freezing. The Shu soldiers were afraid of the severe cold and the imperial army, so they were reluctant to set off northward. Zhao Tingyin cried to everyone: "At this moment, we have no choice. Once the Central Army crosses Long and Jianzhou, your wives and children will become slaves!" Everyone then cheered up and followed him north.
The central army came with force and victory. They captured Jianmen Pass as soon as they entered Shu. Seeing that the rebels in both Sichuan and Sichuan were about to be wiped out, at this critical moment, two little people successfully rewrote history.
These two people were junior officers Pang Fucheng and Xie Kun. They had been ordered to lead their troops to be stationed in Laisu Village, about 70 miles away from Jianzhou. When they heard that Jianmen Pass had been lost, they discussed: "If the Central Army takes Jianzhou, then the two rivers will be extremely passive. We have to take action."
So, the two men led a thousand soldiers and horses from their headquarters and took a small road to Jianzhou.
As soon as the two arrived in Jianzhou, they encountered more than 10,000 Central Army troops. At that time, it was getting late, and the two of them discussed: "The enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. The disparity is too great. If we wait until dawn and fight head-on, our entire army will definitely be annihilated. Therefore, we must win by surprise!"
Under the cover of night, Pang Fucheng led hundreds of death squads to quietly cross the North Mountain and slowly approach the back of the Central Army camp. Then he broke into the camp and shouted loudly; while Xie Kun led the rest to attack from the front of the camp.
