Hanzhong City.
The Zhang family has been operating in Hanzhong for hundreds of years, and 56 out of 10 of the people there are members of the Five Dou Rice Cult. For many years, Zhang Lu used a county to resist Dong Zhuo from the north and Liu Zhang from the south, which shows how powerful he is.
With Zhang Fu's help, the Chu army took over Hanzhong smoothly without any resistance. In the daytime, the people of Hanzhong even went out to celebrate. The only unlucky thing was the family that betrayed Zhang Lu. The direct participants were beheaded, and the rest of the family members were expelled from their homes and their property confiscated.
"The Lord Dao Dao has restrained himself a little, otherwise there will be a lot of blood, and the ministers in the court will have to read several books. I'm afraid it will be difficult for His Majesty to explain."
Lu Xun drank wine and sat in the pavilion with Huo Yi and Su Fei, chatting casually.
Su Fei took a sip of a glass of wine and said nonchalantly.
"Those scholars are troublesome and talk about benevolence, justice and morality. In my opinion, Your Majesty is too lenient and indulges them. They only know how to gossip all day long. Dong Zhuo's army burned, killed and looted wherever they went. When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, he slaughtered the city all the way. Only Your Majesty has always been strict in running the army and has done no harm to the common people. Why did he kill a few traitors for Mr. Zhang to relieve his anger?"
Su Fei was born in a poor family, and he could not urinate in the same pot as those masters from aristocratic families. He relied on himself to earn military merit.
Huo Yi sat on the fence next to him, crossed one leg, raised his glass with a smile and said.
"This time, I support Brother Su. Hey, Boyan, you are just too cautious! There is no need! You are not only Lord Situ's beloved disciple, but also His Majesty's trusted general. If I had your relationship, I would have to respect you. Look at those civil servants with your eyes and chin."
After saying that, Huo Yi and Su Fei laughed, and only Lu Xun shook his head helplessly. He knew that warriors pursue pleasure, and literati are the most disciplined in reading books from sages. Since ancient times, it has been normal for civil servants and military generals to look at each other with disapproval.
I don’t know what the teacher thinks about this issue.
After all, it had been quiet for a few years, order had been re-established, the frameworks of various departments and ministries had been established, and there were more domestic construction projects, so civil servants naturally became active. I remember that when the Jiangdong Army was first established, Sun Ce was surrounded by military generals, and he could only discuss political affairs with Ji Shu and Zhou Yu, which was not like the civil servants in the Manchu Dynasty today.
Thinking of this, Lu Xun spoke.
"In three days, the teacher and several marshals should arrive. The rest of our armies should also be over. You have time to train your soldiers more. I estimate that the most brutal battlefields will be Chencang and Xicheng Fortress."
"I know, I know, we won't underestimate the enemy."
Su Fei and Huo Yi responded perfunctorily.
As soon as he finished speaking, an anxious scout ran up not far away. He walked forward and half-knelt down, crying.
"General Qi, a big disaster! A big disaster! Lu Bu led eight thousand soldiers to attack our vanguard camp. General Zhang Yun was beheaded. General Wang Wei fled back to Yangping Pass with five thousand remaining soldiers. Now thousands of Lu Bu's cavalry are in the army. Camped outside the pass, General Lei Tong is in urgent need, please Hanzhong to send reinforcements quickly!"
What!
Lu Xun, Su Fei, and Huo Yi all stood up suddenly, feeling like a bolt from the blue and their heads were spinning.
It is not that they have never had contact with the Qin army before, but this is the first time they have suffered such a big loss. At present, most of the soldiers and horses in the Yizhou Theater have gathered in Hanzhong, and they can only launch a full-scale offensive when the centrally-affiliated Forbidden Army arrives. At this time, the news that the vanguard troops are almost completely wiped out will definitely greatly dampen the morale of the entire army.
Su Fei frowned and looked at the two of them before speaking first.
"Bo Yan, I will lead my troops to Yangping Pass for support first."
Lu Xun thought for a moment. Qin State did not have Chu State's carrier pigeons. It would take almost three days for the news from Hanzhong to reach Chang'an Kuaima. It would take ten days for the court meeting to discuss, mobilize troops and horses, and prepare food and grass.
It's okay to have 10,000 or 20,000 troops. The more troops and horses there are, the longer it takes to prepare. Otherwise, the Chu army would not have stayed near Hanzhong County for more than half a month.
After thinking about this, Lu Xun said in a deep voice.
"You must not go out of the city to fight with Lu Bu! I don't expect the Qin army to gather so quickly. Lu Bu must have led the cavalry first, and there are insufficient siege equipment. Fortunately, the city wall on the other side of Yangping Pass is intact, and there are 3,000 Tiger Roar Battalions stationed there. Five thousand defeated troops can defend the city wall for at least ten days. Lu Bu may not be willing to use his elite cavalry to attack the city. After you arrive with 10,000 troops, as long as you don't go out of the city to fight, there should be no worries at Yangping Pass."
After hearing Lu Xun's analysis, Su Fei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly clasped his fists.
"Okay, I will not leave. Farewell!"
······
Time soon came to the early morning three days later, and Ji Shu and others finally arrived at Hanzhong City.
The news of the defeat of the vanguard army has spread. There is no need to suppress this news. After all, this is a fact that must be faced sooner or later. Now, while there is still plenty of time, the soldiers can adjust their mood.
"Lü Bu's bravery is still so amazing. In Hanzhong, we had been planning for many years before we succeeded in a sneak attack during the enthronement ceremony, and defeated his 50,000 elite soldiers to gain the upper hand. Unexpectedly, Qin State hurriedly mobilized its troops and generals, and then turned around and defeated him. Give me 20,000 elite soldiers."
Ji Shu had met Lu Bu when he was in Situ Mansion. Although he marveled at Lu Bu's bravery, he also despised him as a person. Time passed, and when Ji Shu became a Situ of the Chu Kingdom, he met the man again on the battlefield.
Time and space are messed up, it feels like a different world!
Jiang Qin and Huang Gai led their soldiers and horses to station outside the city. Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan and others accompanied Ji Shu on horseback and walked slowly. Zhao Yun looked at the status of the soldiers he met along the way but nodded slightly.
"Don't worry, Ziyuan. A small defeat will actually be of some benefit to our army. In the previous confrontations with the Qin army, the two battles in Jingzhou were mostly water battles, and the first battle in Yizhou was in rugged mountains. Most of them were shortcomings that the Qin army was not good at. . And this time they are fighting in Liangzhou, which is a vast area. The Qin army has tens of thousands of cavalry, and its combat power is incomparable. This defeat can also suppress the arrogance in the army."
Zhao Yun has commanded the cavalry for many years, and no one knows better than him the power that cavalry can exert on a vast terrain. In recent years, with the improvement of Chu's national power, the people's pride has been increasing, and the soldiers are naturally more willing to serve the country, but most people will inevitably have some thoughts of looking down on Qin and Wei.
In Zhao Yun's view, underestimating the Qin cavalry on the territory of Liangzhou is likely to lead to a big mistake.
Misfortunes are where blessings depend, and blessings are where misfortunes lie.
Using this incident as a wake-up call for the military is not a bad thing in Zhao Yun's opinion.
Ji Shu, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan and others all nodded slightly when they heard this.
Everyone dismounted in front of a mansion. Zhang Fu, Lu Xun, Huo Yi, Li Hui, Huang Quan, Yan Yan, Wu Yi, Zhang Yi, Zhu Qingshan, Hou Cheng, Yang Ren, Yan Pu and others were waiting at the door. Outside, everyone greeted each other, and after a while of politeness, they all walked into the mansion.
Walking into the mansion, I saw that a huge sand table had been equipped in the lobby, covering the general terrain of Liangzhou.
Ji Shu was not polite and directly grabbed the short stick on the side and pointed at Yang Pingguan and said.
"Generals, I believe you have a general understanding of the terrain of Liangzhou. There is a trail heading northwest from Yangping Pass to Wudu. After passing Wudu, you can capture Tianshui. But the Qiang people near Tianshui on the border are like a piece of tasteless food. , it would be a pity to abandon it.”
"So, our plan is to go due north, capture Duan Valley between Tianshui and Chencang first, use Duan Valley as a stronghold, attack Chencang and Yicheng eastward and approach Chang'an City. This is the shortest route, which also means We are going to have a head-on confrontation with the Qin army on the frontal battlefield, and I hope all generals will not underestimate the Qin cavalry."
Speaking of this, several generals felt a chill in their hearts. Naturally, they all knew the news that the vanguard troops had retreated and Zhang Yun was dead.
Ji Shu twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, inserted the short stick in his hand in front of Yang Pingguan on the sand table, and said.
"Okay, now our first goal is to drive Lu Bu away first and capture Duangu!"
