Wei Yan was mentally prepared for Chencang City's strategy.
Wei Yan knew very well how many difficulties he faced, and knew that he had to seize the time to attack. At the same time, he also knew that facing such a strong city, he could only rely on his numerical advantage, so the attack at the beginning was very fierce, and more or less weak. A posture that does not care about one's own casualties.
Wei Yan even let his Chinese guards take the lead, trying to use the bravery of the Chinese guards to inspire the morale of the army and strive to climb the city wall in one go.
Therefore, at the beginning of Wei Yan's attack, the battle on the city wall was extremely fierce.
The Han army did not have large-scale siege equipment, so they could only rely on hooks and ladders to hook up the city wall and climb up. What they fought for was a spirit of courage, and what they won was a brave and unafraid of death. And Wei Yan's Chinese army guards took the lead. From the beginning, they The Wei army's defense was somewhat suppressed, and there was a panic everywhere on the city wall.
As for the Wei army, their morale and morale were not at the same level at all.
Last night the general said he was going to retreat, and the soldiers were all ready to retreat into Guanzhong. However, at noon the next day, the Shu army came to attack. The army was not prepared to hold on to Chencang at all, and the morale of the army was basically improved. Can't get up.
Everyone wants to run away, who has the heart to fight with you here.
In addition, up to now, Xia Houmao has not distributed all the ordnance to each soldier. There are still some soldiers who do not have any ordnance and armor. Even if Xia Houmao wants to add, he does not have so many ordnance. After all, There is still a shortage of a thousand sets of ordnance.
After such a back and forth, the two sides were not on the same level in terms of morale or combat effectiveness. Chencang City faced a precarious situation on the first day it was attacked.
And all this scene, presented in front of Xiahou Mao, was a situation where the Shu army was as powerful as a tiger and the Wei army was barely holding on. In fact, it was almost the same. If Zhuge Qian hadn't led hundreds of soldiers from his army to support back and forth on the city wall, If the Shu army is defeated, Wei Yan may have already reached the city wall in his first attack.
Xia Houmao was really stunned.
Strictly speaking, this is Xia Houmao's first formal experience in battle.
Don't look at how many flattering opinions Xia Houmao expressed before when he was sitting and talking, and how he boasted about how he dealt with the battle formation, it was all useless.
Only when he actually went to the battlefield, faced with the bloody fighting, the battles back and forth on the city wall, and the soldiers from both sides who were constantly missing arms and legs, did Xia Houmao realize that his mind was now blank and he could not say anything. I couldn't think of it, and I didn't even have the courage to move my legs.
Some people, when faced with their inner fears, can rely on their own perseverance and faith to break it and defeat it. Such people will often become famous generals as they grow up.
Although some people cannot defeat their inner fears, they can act instinctively and strive to adapt themselves to the battlefield. Although it is impossible for such people to become famous generals, they can still become a general who charges into battle through hard work.
There are also people who, faced with their inner fears, choose to escape. Xia Houmao is such a person.
Xia Houmao was scared, really scared.
He discovered that war is really not a child's play, and the lives of soldiers are not just a string of numbers that he spits out from his mouth. The direction of the war and the battle for the battlefield are not things that he can decide with a slap on his head.
The most important thing is that Xia Houmao discovered that once Chencang City was lost, he was likely to die here.
This is not possible!
Who am I, Xia Houmao, a member of the great Wei clan and a born noble? How could I die on a dangerous battlefield like a soldier? !
Looking back and thinking about it, in Yecheng, I have fine clothes and delicious food, surrounded by beauties, countless money and treasures to play with, and countless "young talents" accompanying me. Why should I waste my good years in a place like Chencang? !
When he thought of this, Xia Houmao no longer wanted to stay on this bloody battlefield. He just wanted to leave, leave Chencang, or even leave Chang'an. He just wanted to go back to Yecheng.
What a bloody battlefield, go to hell!
Therefore, when Zhuge Qian spent a lot of effort and kept responding back and forth, and finally managed to hold on to Chencang City at the cost of more than 200 casualties, Xiahou Mao had already made a very determined decision in his heart. A decision was made.
After nightfall, Wei Yan reluctantly withdrew his troops and returned to the camp, while Zhuge Qian also breathed a sigh of relief.
But this tone is only for today. The real test will be tomorrow.
If the Shu army continues to attack the city with this intensity tomorrow, and the Wei army still looks so half-dead, Chencang City really cannot be defended for a few days.
We must take this opportunity to convince Xia Houmao to stay and hold on, so that we can have hope of holding on to Chencang.
Only if Xia Houmao is willing to stay and hold on, and express enough faith to hold on, can the morale of the Wei army be truly boosted, allowing the soldiers to fight with peace of mind, instead of always thinking about when they can retreat to Guanzhong. Such a mentality, if Damn it if you can hold Chen Cang.
However, this time Zhuge Qian did not even see Xia Houmao's face, and was directly blocked from Xia Houmao's mansion by Xia Houmao's personal guards.
No matter how Zhuge Qian asked to see him, Xia Houmao always had only one answer - not to see him.
Not long after, a new military order came out from Xia Houmao's house - the entire army should assemble overnight and evacuate Chencang City before dawn.
Now Zhuge Qian was really desperate. With this kind of military order, it would be impossible for anyone to defend Chencang anymore.
Everyone wants to evacuate quickly. From the generals to the soldiers, no one knows how to fight to the death. It is impossible to talk about holding on.
Even after Zhuge Qian returned to his palace in the city, he was in a daze for a while thinking about the letter he had saved from a big brother of his own clan.
Maybe it’s time to think about it for yourself.
This really isn't Zhuge Qian being unreasonable, it's actually that his general is a little too helpless to stand on the stage.
After only holding on for half a day, they thought about abandoning the city and leaving. At best, this meant retreating to Guanzhong, but at worst, it meant abandoning the city and running away.
Yes, Zhuge Qian was dispatched by Cao Zhen and came to Chencang Road to assist Xiahou Mao. Theoretically speaking, Zhuge Qian should not have any strange thoughts.
Although Xia Houmao couldn't help him up, Cao Zhen was kind to him.
However, the purpose of Zhuge Qian's surrender to Cao Zhen was not to serve Wei with all his heart.
People these days, when they join a force, the first thing they think of is to have a wife, a bright family, and a strong family. Only a very small number of people think of serving the country and asking for orders for the people.
After all, until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, scholar-bureaucrats emphasized "family, country, and world", and "family" came before "country".
Yue Wumu's four words "serve the country with all his loyalty" are easy to say, but there are still not many people who can actually do it.
Zhuge Qian was one of the "laymen" of this era. He took refuge in the Wei Dynasty and under Cao Zhen's sect, with the sole purpose of prospering his branch of the Zhuge family.
The Zhuge family has been inherited for nearly a thousand years and has many branches.
Zhuge Feng's branch of the Zhuge family has produced Zhuge Feng, a Sili captain, more than two hundred years ago. In addition, Zhuge Jin is now a general in Soochow and the right guard. Zhuge Liang is writing orders in Ji Hanzhong. , took charge of government affairs for a time, and it can be said that it has been revived.
But Zhuge Qian's branch of the Zhuge family is still unknown so far. Even Cao Zhen might not have met Zhuge Qian if it wasn't for the sake of Zhuge Qian's surname.
Therefore, Zhuge Qian's desire to glorify his branch of the Zhuge clan is the most urgent.
But once Xiahou Mao abandoned Chencang and fled after guarding Chencang for half a day, he would definitely be held accountable by the upper echelons of Cao Wei and despised by the world.
Similarly, as the deputy general of Chencang City, Zhuge Qian would inevitably be implicated in this way unless Zhuge Qian had the ability to turn the tide and lead the remaining troops to defend Chencang after Xiahou Mao abandoned the city and fled.
But it is obvious that Zhuge Qian believed that he did not have this ability, and the final result would inevitably be to retreat to Guanzhong with Xiahou Mao.
At that time, Xia Houmao would only receive a few scoldings because of his status, but Zhuge Qian did not receive such treatment.
At worst, he would be despised and despised by the world, thus losing his promotion path, and could only hang out at the bottom of the army. At worst, he would be beheaded by accountability.
In fact, Zhuge Qian didn't really care about his personal life and death, but the Zhuge clan that caused his branch to lose their promotion space in Cao Wei was what Zhuge Qian didn't want to see the most.
Xiahou Mao can retreat, but Zhuge Qian has no way out.
But Zhuge Qian didn't have the confidence to hold on to Chencang, so naturally he had no opportunity to seek development for his Zhuge family. It's understandable that Zhuge Qian had two minds.
Nowadays, the world is divided into three parts, and your family, Cao Wei, is not the only one.
Once the Han Dynasty can capture Guanzhong and occupy Chang'an in this Northern Expedition, it is not impossible for Liu Bei's Han Dynasty to revive again. It is really hard to say where the world will belong in the future.
Since there is no chance of getting ahead on Cao Wei's side, maybe there might be a chance to get ahead on the other side of Da Han? !
Besides, on the Han side, there is still a person of the same clan who holds the power. Isn't this much easier than working hard on Cao Wei's side? !
The more Zhuge Qian thought about it, the more he felt that instead of following Xia Houmao and retreating to Guanzhong and becoming unknown from now on, it would be better for him to make a firm decision. These days, betraying the enemy and surrendering might not necessarily lead to infamy. Zhuge Qian could definitely say that he had a Han Dynasty in his heart and did not want to do anything. Just work for the treasonous thief.
Well, now that we have a reason and a name, why are we still hesitating? If we hesitate any longer, Xia Houmao will run away tomorrow.
Zhuge Qian also made his decision, immediately wrote a letter, sent out his close personal guards, climbed over the wall overnight, and contacted Wei Yan who was stationed outside the city.
Speaking of Zhuge Jin's "General, Right Protector", it's actually very funny.
The official system of Soochow is slightly different from everyone's traditional understanding. Although Zhuge Jin is a general, above him, there is Lu Xun, who is "general on the top and protector on the left". He is completely different from the generals of the Han Dynasty and Cao Wei. On the contrary, it is more similar to the later Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. In the early days, there were generals everywhere in the court, and Shangzhuguo was more like an honorary title than real power.
It can be said that Zhuge Jin's general is a "general" with little value.
(End of chapter)
