Although Mengjinguan is said to be a pass, in the end it is just a ferry. At that time, General He Jin ordered people to build a small city on the tidal flats on the north and south banks of the river to guard the ferry. What he envisaged was that once the enemy attacked, the boats on the river bank would be burned and the guards would huddle in the small city. If the enemy did not attack, When the city crosses the river, its flanks will be exposed and can be attacked by the defenders of the small city. If the enemy besieges the city and does not cross the river, the defenders on the south bank can cross the river to come for reinforcements. The design of Xiaoping Jinguan is no different.
It's just that Chen Chong was too careful with his timing. Mengjin Colonel Zhang Ji was setting up defenses in the city at this time. How could the Mengjin Pass defenders be even prepared? After all, the garrison in Guanzhong was less than 300 people. They sent a team of envoys to the south bank to deliver the message, and the remaining soldiers stood guard on the wall in vain.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, the muddy yellow river water was covered with a layer of gold. This was the last high tide of the river this year. The boats on the shore drifted slowly in the river waves as the water rose, and were moved ashore one by one. Chen Chong divided his troops into three thousand Xuzhou soldiers boarded the boat and were led by Zang Ba to seize Guancheng on the other side. Zang Ba was originally a water pirate from Xuzhou. After getting on the boat, he operated the oar, felt the waves of the river, and said with a smile to his subordinates: " Everyone says that this place is very turbulent, but the turbulence of the big river is not half that of the Huai River."
So they rowed their boats across the river one after another like flying geese. As Zang Ba said, the water surface of the Huai River is often three hundred feet wide, but the river here is only two hundred feet wide. Although there are sandbars standing in the river, the Xuzhou soldiers rowing their boats southward on the river look like they are on the water. They were as comfortable as swimming fish, watching the water flow like a breeze. In about two-quarters of an hour, they crossed the sandbar and reached the Mengjin Ferry on the south bank.
There were even fewer guards on the south bank. When they saw that the north bank had fallen and the enemy troops were extremely skilled in maneuvering the boats, it was obviously difficult to stop them. They suddenly ran out of ideas and looked for a general who could make a decision.
The person guarding Nanguan was Zhang Xiu, the military commander. He was Zhang Ji's nephew, so the soldiers came to ask his opinion. Zhang Xiu pondered for a moment and said to the soldiers: "Although I don't know what is going on on the north bank, the Prime Minister is still guarding Luoyang, so there will be no big chaos. We are not many people, and we will die in vain if we forcefully defend here. It is better to go to Xiaopingjin At this place, Jia Xiaowei is guarding there. As long as Xiaopingjin is not lost, Nanguan is just an isolated city, and we can surely recapture it quickly." He convinced his subordinates, and then left the city gate to find Jia Xu for help.
It's just that the movements of the soldiers in Nanguan are all seen in the eyes of the soldiers in Beiguan. Mengjin has double passes in the north and south, with the other side being isolated and difficult to defend. The soldiers in the north pass have been cut off, and the city is tightly surrounded by a large army. Only crows can still go in and out, but they can't give birth to wings.
At this time, Chen Chong personally led 300 soldiers to the city. He first announced his name, and then persuaded them to surrender, saying that as long as they presented themselves to the city, not only would they be allowed to live, but they would even be allowed to keep their weapons and leave. After that, he ordered his soldiers to clear a path east of Guancheng.
Although the Liang people were brave, they were all in a commotion when they heard this condition. Several music leaders discussed: "Chen Chong is famous for his trustworthiness and generosity, which is known to everyone in the world. If Beiguan cannot be defended like this, why bother to let the soldiers be buried?" Here? Why don't we go find Colonel Wang." Having decided this, they returned to the city and responded to Chen Chong, saying that they were willing to dedicate the city and leave, and Chen Chong let them go as promised. …
The guards in Heyang City on the other side had the same reaction, and Chen Chong was able to lead the army and stationed in Heyang City.
To use infantry to run wildly for a day and night, marching eighty miles continuously to seize the city, for ordinary soldiers, this is really unbearable, and it is even more unimaginable. There must be no one in the world except Chen Chong who would arrange it like this. The soldiers were extremely sleepy. When they entered the city, many of them did not want to have dinner anymore. They only chewed a few mouthfuls of dry food and half-squinted their eyes while waiting for their superiors to assign barracks. After entering the room, they fell asleep. Soon, the city was full. It was all the loud snoring of the soldiers.
But Chen Chong didn't dare to fall asleep. He pulled up a root of barnyard grass by the roadside and chewed the root to extract the bitter juice, which he used to stay awake. He is still waiting for news about the division of troops into the other two groups. He knows very well that the soldiers have reached their limits, but he knows even better that only by pushing to the limits can the strategic purpose be achieved. Success or failure on the battlefield cannot be discounted in the slightest.
At night, two envoys came in the dark with torches to report that Bo and Zhi counties had also lost blood and had been captured by Tian Kai and Wei You. Chen Chong then breathed a sigh of relief. He asked the courier to have a meal and rest. He immediately wrote the letter and sealed it. He also found two couriers and asked them to go back and deliver the new military orders: each army rested for a day and night, leaving behind the garrison troops. The whole army set off the next day. Tian Kai went to attack Xicheng and ordered the cavalry at Tianjingguan to go down the mountain. Wei You came to Heyang to join him.
It wasn't until he saw the messenger's torch disappearing into the sky again that Chen Chong came down from the city. He was also very tired. Before going to bed, Chen Chong told the doorman that if anything happened, he must wake him up. However, after getting on the bed, a crow suddenly sounded outside the window. The cry was hoarse and long, which made him upset and unable to sleep.
At this time, Wei Yan came out of the bedroom, bent his bow and loosened the string, and shot the crow down from the peach tree with an arrow. The crow's body fell to the ground, making a big noise. Chen Chong put on his outer robe and came to see it with the guards. This crow was as big as a black dog. Everyone said: I have never seen such a big crow. I wonder if it is a bad omen. Chen Chong said with a smile: "If Chang Wen can shoot such a big crow, he is a lucky general!" Wei Yan was quite shy, so everyone stopped panicking and joked that Wei Yan was a fallen crow.
When Chen Chong woke up the next day, it was almost noon. The sun is shining high, and the eyes are full of golden light. He washed up hastily, woke up Wei Yan, and then rode their horses to Mengjin Beiguan. He watched the movement on the other side and asked the Taishan Colonel Chang Xi who was guarding the pass: "Have any Liang people been here at night?"
Chang Xi was on duty by the river that night, and the river wind blew all night. The river wind carried a little sand and dust, which made him rub his eyes. He replied: "There were some scouts, but they watched from a distance." After a few glances, they quickly retreated again. When it was daybreak, I saw that Xiao Pingjin in the west had also withdrawn some ships to the south bank. I guess they were also shrinking their troops there. If we count the time, Dong Zhuo should know the news."
Dong Zhuo had indeed just received the news. When he woke up, he received the emergency letter previously issued by Meng Jin and He Yang, which made him feel ridiculous.
Come this March. The Liang people can be said to be invincible. In several battles, the Liang people were less than 20,000 people, and they were invincible in Henan and Hanoi. Even though the coalition forces were often five to ten times more powerful than the Liang people, they only ended up losing their armor. At this time, the coalition forces in Hanoi had less than 50,000 soldiers and horses, and the Liang people facing the confrontation were close to 30,000 people. How could this allow the coalition forces to reach Mengjin? …
An hour later, Jia Xu sent another envoy to report that the rebels had captured Mengjin South Pass. He looked at the rebel flags and saw that it was probably Chen Tingjian of Yingchuan who had arrived, although the number of rebel troops controlling Mengjin Pass at this time was not much. Twenty thousand, but the situation in the other counties on the north coast was gloomy, and there were urgent messages. It was obvious that the enemy was fierce and the number of soldiers was by no means small. However, he had no time to confirm that the ship was not easy to build. Jia Xu prioritized saving the ship and sent Xiaopingjin to All the troops were transported back to the south bank, and the guards were withdrawn to await the follow-up.
Dong Zhuocai was shocked to learn that it was Chen Chong who had arrived. He read Jia Xu's reply twice and asked the messenger: "Didn't Wang Fang Zhang Ji send a message?" After learning that there was indeed no news, he asked a question first In front of Dong Zhuo, how many people came when Chen Chong came this time?
According to common sense, since Chen Chong is here, Liu Bei must also be in the army. Jia Xu saw about 20,000 troops at Mengjin Pass, and they were only flying the banner of Chen Chong, which meant that they were just the forward troops. After all, Mengjin and Tianjing Pass were separated by hundreds of miles, and there were eight soldiers on the road. If we were to march straight into a city, we would have to conquer three cities before we could put aside our worries. Therefore, there would be at least 50,000 soldiers and horses among the troops who had not yet arrived.
Calculating this, Liu Bei and Chen Chong had at least 70,000 people coming to participate in the battle this time.
After making this clear, Dong Zhuo was extremely anxious because he knew nothing about the losses on the north bank. Dong Zhuo currently has nearly 90,000 soldiers and horses in Henan, and 30,000 people must monitor and guard against Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao on the front line, and must not move lightly. It is necessary to allocate 20,000 troops to garrison various passes. There are only 40,000 mobile troops and horses, and of these 40,000 troops, 20,000 are staying in Hanoi.
If all the soldiers and horses in Xin and Kui cities were wiped out, would the remaining Wang Fang troops on the north bank be able to escape? Chen Chong has been fighting for many years. Even if his soldiers are slightly inferior, they are no better than those rice bugs in the coalition who only care about the Qing Dynasty. They must not be underestimated. Now how can he resist the rebels with 20,000 people?
Li Ru consulted Dong Zhuo and asked him whether he wanted to lead an army to capture Mengjing Pass. Although Dong Zhuo was confused for a moment, he quickly calmed down. He thought about the situation on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and replied: "No rush. Although they only have the vanguard facing the river now, they have captured the South Pass. You and I both know how strong the South Pass is. , as long as there are enough troops, it cannot be conquered by a sudden attack. By then, the troops will be tired and the horses will be tired, and the enemy will cross the river to rescue us. We do not have many troops and horses, and we will easily be defeated."
At this point, he was determined to cope with all changes by remaining unchanged, and decided: "Garrison the remaining troops on Mang Mountain. We will overlook the south bank from a high place. What if we give up all the river banks to Chen Chong?" Then he sent his envoy. Dong Yue, who was in Aocang, crossed the river to inquire about the specific situation in Hanoi.
The situation in Hanoi was certainly not as bad as Dong Zhuo thought.
When Zhang Ji learned about the fall of Qinshui and Bo County, Tian Kai was still resting and recuperating. However, Zhang Ji considered the situation and realized that he had been cut off from backup, and there were Bingzhou cavalry watching at the Tianjing gate. If he held on where he was, there would be no survivors. When there was no one left out of ten, on the fourth day of the lunar month, Zhang Ji led his men to abandon the cities of Xie and Kui and headed straight for Wude County along the Qinshui River.
It happened that Dong Yue, the general of Dong Zhonglang, sent an envoy to inquire about the news. He saw that the Liang army in Hanoi had Wang Kuang in the east and Chen Chong in the west. They were in a dilemma. It was extremely unwise to continue to defend Hanoi. So while replying to Dong Zhuo, he made his own decision and ordered all 30,000 soldiers and horses from Huai County to cross the Henan Province on the eighth day of the lunar month.
When the Xiuwu coalition forces saw the Liang people on the front line suddenly disappearing, they were inexplicable, but they did not dare to pursue them. It was not until July 11 that they sent scouts to Wude City to inquire about the situation. The scouts rode to the outskirts of the city. They saw that the city gate was wide open and the yellow and black gunpowder smoke was very conspicuous in the air. However, as they approached, the city remained silent. When they walked into the city, they saw traces of charcoal fire, and many houses were still burning. One or two sparks burst out from time to time. When the scouts reached the center of the city, they were greeted by a strong smell of burnt meat that was nauseating. They looked up and saw When I went there, I saw a burnt two-foot-long Jingguan. .
