The Hanzhong Basin has an area of 5,000 square kilometers, sits on thousands of miles of fertile land, and occupies a strategic terrain. It strangles the only route between Liangzhou and Yizhou. With prosperous commerce and trade, it is indeed a battleground for military strategists.
After the Qin State captured Hanzhong, it stationed 50,000 elite soldiers here all year round. The commander was General Niu Fu, who was Dong Zhuo's son-in-law. The current county governor is named Yang Song, who was a former subordinate of Zhang Lu. He rebelled against Zhang Lu a few years ago and led the Qin army into the pass, thus gaining his current status.
The curtain fell at midnight, and the entire Hanzhong City was quiet, with only the sound of the watchman echoing in the streets.
Several black shadows flashed, passing through the shadows cast by the buildings in the dim moonlight, and walked up to the tower on the west city wall.
Strangely, the soldiers in the city seemed to turn a blind eye to these suspicious figures wearing cloaks.
When the leading man in cloak opened the door, three men were sitting in the room, drinking tea. The others stayed outside the door, and only the leader of the cloaked man walked in. He stared at one of them, his hands were trembling, and he quickly walked forward and prostrated.
"Young Master! It is indeed Young Master! God has mercy on me, and my lord finally left a trace of his blood. My lord finally left a trace of his blood!"
Yan Pu's cloak fell down and he knelt down in front of him, crying bitterly.
The person drinking tea here is named Zhang Fu, who was the eldest son of King Lu at that time. Seeing his old minister at this moment, he couldn't help but bring back the wounds he had suffered over the years. He supported Yan Pu, raised his head and held back tears as he said.
"Yeah, I didn't think I could survive either."
"Back then, the Qin army suddenly appeared among the people entering the city and seized the city gate without any warning. Our army had no time to resist. They surrounded the palace and killed everyone they saw, whether they were guards, eunuchs or maids!"
"I will never forget that day. There were corpses all over the ground. The soldiers of the Qin army killed the palace maids in broad daylight. Fires were lit everywhere. I disguised myself as a eunuch and escaped but was still chopped down with a knife. Someone among the old soldiers of the Lu army who surrendered was responsible. They burned the corpses, secretly picked me out from the pile of corpses, and treated me secretly. It wasn't until the Chu army captured Yizhou that they found an opportunity to send me out of Hanzhong."
When Zhang Fuyan came here, his eyes were full of anger and he said with hatred.
"Except for the guards guarding the palace, thousands of palace people, and hundreds of members of my Zhang family, countless innocent souls linger in my dreams every night. My Taoist heart has long been broken. If I don't take revenge, Zhang Fu swears Not a human being! Yan Pu, are you willing to help me?"
"What did the young master say? When the incident happened suddenly, and when we reacted, Hanzhong had already changed hands. Over the years, Yan Pu has never thought about being widowed by the two thieves Yang Song and Yang Bai! If the young master has already If you have a plan, Yan Pu will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Yan Pu looked directly at Zhang Fu with sincere eyes.
Zhang Fu believed it. After all, the people on this city tower were from Yanpu. If he really surrendered to the Qin army, the people coming here now would be his captors.
"Okay, okay, okay."
Zhang Fula sat Yan Pu down. After Yan Pu calmed down, he also looked at the others. The man in Confucian uniform sitting opposite him was unknown, and the person sitting on the other side of Zhang Fu was also an acquaintance of Yan Pu.
"Yang Ren! Didn't you already join the Chu army after surrendering to Shu? How could you be with the young master?"
Yang Ren just held his fists and smiled.
Zhang Fu smiled and said again.
"Let me introduce you, this is Lu Xun, the general of the Yulin Army of Chu State."
Six years later, Lu Xun looked more mature than before, and his skin was a bit darker.
At this moment, Lu Xun, who had been waiting for the two of them to reminisce, clasped his fists and said.
"General Yan, I have admired you for a long time!"
Yan Pu didn't know that Zhang Fu had defected to Chu State, he sighed.
"I also thought that the young master would flee to Chu and Wei, but there has been no news about the young master in the two countries for many years. There are also activities of the Five Pecks of Rice Cult in Hanzhong County. I still don't know whether the young master is in other countries. , still don’t want to meet one of my surrendered subjects.”
It seems that Zhang Fu has bet on Sun Ce.
Relying on the influence left by the Five Dou Rice Sect to regain control of Hanzhong is extremely difficult. After hearing the news, Yan Pu felt reassured.
"General Lu Xun is so brave! Although there is no martial law in Hanzhong County, General
Jun dared to enter the city alone, which is admirable. I heard that Master Sun Ce is about to proclaim himself emperor. Could it be that he will go to war with Qin after proclaiming himself emperor? "
Lu Xun touched his nose and said with a weird smile.
"General Yan only needs to order the city gates to be opened, and our soldiers can take Hanzhong tonight."
"What!"
The Chu army has arrived at Hanzhong City?
Yan Pu's hair trembled. Since they failed to capture Jianguan that year, the Qin army had already set up three levels of checkpoints between Jianguan and Hanzhong. Over the years, the Chu army had never shown signs of attacking Hanzhong. Three years ago, the focus of the Three Kingdoms War was also the Jingzhou, Silizhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou areas.
After many years of calm, without any warning, tens of thousands of Chu troops arrived at the city, but the Qin army was unaware of it. Thinking of Zhang Fu's years of silence and today's sudden appointment, a big net may have been woven many years ago.
Yan Pu gathered his emotions and asked solemnly, clasping his fists.
"How many people did the general bring?"
"The Habayashi Army has 20,000 troops."
The leader of the three elites of the Chu State, known as the Chu King's trump card, is as famous as the Qin Army's trapped camp, and Yan Pu has also been famous for a long time.
However, there were only 8,000 people trapped in the camp. After all, it was difficult for Qin's finances to support the huge expenditure on weapons and equipment. Even if Hanzhong had not been captured, the Qin army would have to frequently plunder the lands of Wei and Chu for food and grass. From here we can also see the gap in national power between Qin and Chu.
Yan Pu swallowed.
"Is the number of people a little smaller? I'm not questioning the fighting strength of your army, but there are 50,000 Qin troops in the city. If they counterattack, I'm afraid your army will also suffer heavy losses."
Lawrence Lu shook his head and said calmly.
"No, mobilizing a large number of local troops will easily expose the plan. With my 20,000 Yulin Army soldiers and Niu Fu's 50,000 Qin Army, I will definitely win the battle without any surprises."
The strong confidence revealed in Lu Xun's words and the prestige of the Yulin Army over the years reassured Yan Pu. He looked at Zhang Fu and cupped his fists.
"Young Master, I will order the city gate to be opened right now."
"General Lu Xun, please be prepared. Once the city gate is opened and the Chu army enters the streets, the movements here will no longer be hidden from the Qin army. We will face a counterattack by the Qin army at any time."
"Thank you, General Yanpu."
Yan Pu turned around and walked out of the room, facing a gust of wind blowing on his cheeks, and cold sweat suddenly broke out on his back.
The Chu army has been planning for a long time. The key is not to be able to open the city gate. I am afraid that there are arrangements around me. After all, my old army is also the young master’s old army. If I am disloyal, I am afraid...
Yan Pu stopped thinking and gave instructions to the sergeant beside him.
"Open the city gate."
Zhi~zhi~zhi~
The heavy door slowly opened, and the slight friction sound was particularly abrupt in the silent night, making people feel nervous.
A pair of fierce eyes lit up in the shadows outside the city wall, as if surrounded by a pack of wolves.
