It was actually not Liu Fan who was the first to learn that Chen Chong was in Chencang. After the Battle of Duanliuyuan, although Han Sui and others led their troops to withdraw westward, they were not ready to withdraw directly to Longshang. In their view, although Liu Fan had temporarily won, he still had to face many tests if he wanted to occupy Guanzhong. Therefore, at Ma Teng's suggestion, they prepared to temporarily occupy Fufeng to watch for further changes in the situation.
But after a short rest in Xi County, they were surprised to find that the Shu army did not attack Chang'an directly, but instead a large number of sergeants approached Xi County. The Liang people had no intention of fighting Liu Fan, so they had to abandon the city and continue to retreat westward.
On the way, Cheng Gongying thought about the current situation and suggested to everyone that even if the Shu army continued to press, for the sake of the future, whether it was war or peace, they could not always give in. The immediate priority is to seize Chencang, Yumi, Yongxian and Qianxian before the Shu army can reach them. For Liangzhou, having these four cities in hand means that the gateway to Guanzhong is wide open, but it is difficult for the Shu army to attack this dangerous place. By then, whether it is rushing to aid Lu Bu or negotiating with Liu Fan, the Xiliang people will take the initiative.
Cheng Gongying especially emphasized the importance of Chencang. For this reason, he said metaphorically: "If the four counties are the wings that can help our eagles fly, then Chencang is the wing bone. Without Chencang as the foundation, the other counties would be nothing but nothing." Bones, skin and flesh, just for people to laugh at."
Everyone agreed with this, but Li Kan was worried about it. Ten years ago, when Huangfusong was responsible for resisting the Xiliang coalition forces, more than a thousand people defended Chencang, and the Xiliang coalition forces continued to attack for more than a month. He still vividly remembered the past. He also recalled that he passed by Chencang before the war and had a discussion with the county magistrate Zhang Ji. Zhang Ji's talent made him even more uneasy. He discussed this matter with everyone: "What should I do if I can't be surrounded?"
Han Sui heard that he and Zhang Ji had discussed and they liked each other, so he immediately smiled and said: "What's so difficult about this? I might as well let you go first, and then invite the county magistrate to come out to meet you. Once we take advantage of the opportunity, the defenders in the city can still How about it? I can only open the door obediently."
After hearing this, everyone praised the clever plan. Even though Li Kan didn't want to, he had no better plan, so he had to act according to Han Sui's instructions. He led more than 5,000 cavalry to break away from the main group first, ran with the army for more than ten miles, then slowed down, passed through Moxing Ridge and Dongguan as usual, and then crossed Lianshui, about ten miles away from Chencang, he Then he sent the messenger who had met with Zhang Ji last time to inform Chen Cang that he was going to pass by from now on, so that they could wait for a moment to greet him.
Not long after the whole army crossed the river, the messenger returned to the army and reported that the county magistrate had agreed. He just said that the army had arrived in a hurry. He wanted to prepare food, fodder and cooking utensils, and he might have to wait in front of the door. Li Kan was originally worried, but seeing that Zhang agreed so smoothly, he couldn't help but feel more relaxed, and instead felt a little guilty.
He said to his accompanying brother Li Wangtan: "I heard that the kings who conquered the world mostly won in a dignified way. Even if they occasionally resorted to tricks, they were just expedients. But now our army has been avoiding battles one after another and has repeatedly resorted to this devious trick. , I’m afraid it will make the world laugh at you and ruin the reputation of our army!”
Even though he couldn't bear it, he knew that capturing Chencang was the top priority right now, and he could only continue westward along the Weishui River. After walking for another half an hour, the outline of Chencang City gradually came into view. ….
Even though it was not the first time to see Chencang, people in Liang couldn't help but marvel when they looked at it from a distance: Chencang City is located under Changle Yuan, on the north bank of the Weishui River. It covers an area of about two miles. It was built by Qin Wugong when he was visiting. It is not a big city. However, after the key repairs by Zhang Wen, Huangfu Song, and Dong Zhuo, Chencang City is one of the few cities in the country that is completely built of wood and stone. At a glance, it is densely packed with blue-black bricks and stones, and it is nearly five feet high. The height of the wall, as well as the deliberately semi-concave curvature inside the wall when building the wall, basically eliminated the possibility of any ants attacking the city. The countless crenellations on the wall also represent the endless rain of arrows shed during the siege.
The Liang people almost unanimously recalled several sieges over the past few years. These experiences of failed attacks told them that if they wanted to conquer the city head-on, they would probably have to build mountains on all sides and besiege it for a long time. But thinking that they might not need to attack today, they all felt slightly relieved.
When Li Kan led more than a hundred cavalry to arrive at the east gate of Chencang, he saw some guards guarding the city gate. The defense was much tighter than when they arrived. He felt slightly nervous and pretended to hand over his famous assassin and official seal to the guards for no reason. They watched and chatted, first asking when Zhang Ji would arrive, and then asking about the nearest city.
How is the situation? Is there a snowstorm? Finally, he asked seemingly casually: "I have been here since 2016. There don't seem to be so many guards in the city. Are they recruiting soldiers?"
One of the guards looked at Li Kan strangely, and then replied: "Why did the envoy forget? When the envoy came with his army a year ago, the county commander was recruiting people to guard against the Shu people!" Li Kan was immediately stunned. I was relieved when I remembered that when I was separated from Zhang Ji last time, I did see people gathering.
After waiting quietly for a while, Li Kan suddenly heard a noise in the city. Looking towards the city gate, he could vaguely see a person wearing a black and red robe with wide sleeves walking towards here. Li Kan immediately cheered up, controlled the horse and retreated slightly, patted the side of the entourage on both sides with his left and right hands respectively. This was the signal they had made when they arrived, implying that once they saw Zhang Ji coming, the three of them would immediately ride away. Go up and take him down quickly.
As the figures in the distance got closer and closer, the palms of Li Kan and others could not help but sweat. Just as they were gazing intently at the door, like thunder on the ground, a loud horn sound suddenly sounded from the city tower. Under the originally unremarkable female wall, countless heads suddenly appeared densely. They stretched their bows and pulled strings, and arrows clustered like arrows. It shone coldly in the sunlight like ice. The guards guarding the city gate immediately surrounded him, and their changge stood in front of Li Kan like a shrub.
Even though the sitting horse was restlessly restless, Li Kan did not dare to make any move. He was not wearing a hat at this time, knowing that if he resisted, he would be shot into a hedgehog by the arrows from the city. But on the outside, he still showed an expression of shock and anger. While holding the bridle, he shouted at the surrounding soldiers: "What do you want to do by threatening the superior officer? Are you rebelling? Are you messing with me?!"
However, as soon as the words came out, Zhang Ji was seen walking slowly out of the city gate, stopping a dozen steps away from him, and said with a half-smile but not a smile: "The general is leading the army here, I'm afraid it's not in line with the order! I heard that the general is on the front line We were defeated and had already retreated to Xijing. Why did the general come here instead? I'm afraid he had the idea of seizing the city and wanted to harm me in front of the gate!"...
Li Kan secretly screamed something bad. Unexpectedly, Zhang Ji was so well-informed. In only four or five days, he already knew the results of the battle on the front line. If he couldn't handle it properly, he might not even be able to capture Chencang, let alone capture Chen Cang. Preserved. Therefore, he forced a smile and continued to make his last effort: "De Rong is half right. Our army was indeed defeated by the Shu people, but coming here at this time is just to let De Rong open a passage and let me wait. We are just going back to Longshang, why should we fight with swordsmen?"
Zhang was a little amused when he saw Li Kan's face changing so quickly. He waved his hand and said, "General, there is no need to be so panicked. I met with the general today. I just want the envoy to give you a few words."
When Li Kan heard this, some hope suddenly ignited in his heart, and he raised his hand and said, "What conditions does De Rong have, but it doesn't matter. I know the former general well, so I won't let De Rong down."
Unexpectedly, Zhang Ji shook his head and said, "Where are my words? I am just a mere county magistrate, what can I ask for?" He then bowed to the side, asked the people behind him to come forward, and then said to Li Kan He said slowly: "Please let the envoy speak to you personally."
Li Kan only looked at him briefly and felt cold all over. After all, he had seen the wanted notice when he was in Chang'an. How could he not recognize Chen Chong? Suddenly enlightened and full of fear, Li Kan immediately got off his horse and faced the forest of spears and halberds around him. He solemnly bowed to Chen Chong and said, "I didn't expect you to be here!" After that, he couldn't help but laugh at himself and said: "If we had known that your envoy was here, I'm afraid we would not have come here even if we went directly to Liu Fan."
Chen Chong looked at Li Kan indifferently for a moment. He patted the dust on his sleeves and then said, "General, why don't you mean what you say? With Han Wen's wisdom, you should attack with all your strength!"
Li Kan's hair grew cold when he heard this, and he didn't even dare to say it. Chen Chong did not continue to embarrass him. He just ordered the soldiers around him to disperse. After Li Kan stood up, he continued: "I have no intention of fighting with them anymore. You go back and pass on a few words for me. If they understand the current situation, they can do it now." If you surrender to the Ba Mansion and fight against me, I can forget the blame. If you still insist on separatist control of Longshang now, I can let go for the time being, but it is inevitable that we will meet in war in the future."
After saying that, the soldiers immediately made way for Li Kan. Li Kan felt like he was being pardoned, and he no longer knew what to say. He could only kowtow to Chen Chong repeatedly, then immediately climbed onto the saddle, lowered his head and did not dare to look around again, then turned the horse's head and left in a hurry.
In the afternoon of that day, Liang Jun was frightened when he received the news that Chen Chong was still in Chencang. The generals had a lot of disputes over Chen Chong's words. After all, they didn't know Chen Cang's strength, and they didn't know whether Chen Chong had other arrangements. But in the end, they still did not choose to surrender. After all, the current situation in Kanto and Kansai is extremely chaotic. Even if Liu Bei, Chen Chong and the great ancestor Han Xin are resurrected, it is difficult to say that they will win. Moreover, Chen Chong's conditions were too harsh and difficult for the generals to accept.
But at the same time, the Liang people also gave up their plan to occupy Chencang and no longer hoped to occupy Sizhou City. Instead, they chose to change direction and follow the Qianshui River back to Longyou via Fanxukou.
Chen Chong was not surprised by this situation. In fact, most of his conversations with Li Kan were just pretending. After all, the biggest problem before him was how to deal with Liu Fan's Shu army. He didn't have the strength to provoke the others. The situation in Guandong has been delayed for several months, and he has no more time to waste time in Guanzhong.
After arranging the last troops, Chen Chong rejected Liu Fan's envoy who came to recruit him, and he was determined to fight quickly.
Chen Ruicong
