To the right of Fufeng, Liu Bei's main army and Cao Wei's Yongzhou Army faced off at Huaili, preparing to block the water and build a dam to flood the city of Huaili.
Zuo Fengyi and Zhang Xi led Liu Yin and advanced directly with light troops, and also arrived outside Changling City.
Wang Chang, who was stationed in Changling, was very anxious about this.
After all, You Fufeng still had more than 20,000 soldiers and horses. In Wang Chang's hands, only 6,000 soldiers who had retreated from Wugong County were left to guard Zuo Fengyi.
Actually, it wasn't that much in the first place. Zuo Fengyi originally had five thousand county soldiers left behind. With these county soldiers in hand, plus Changling and Weicheng's city defenses, Wang Chang was not sure that he could defeat the enemy, but Persisting in stalling for time, Wang Chang felt that he could still do it.
Although his opponent was Zhang Xi, a famous general in the world, Zhang Xi's soldiers were not many, only more than 10,000. If they were used to attack the city, the advantage would not be obvious.
But the problem is that Manchong wants to move millions of people into the pass, and it is impossible to have any soldiers on hand without the escort of these soldiers. Who among these common people and aristocratic families will go to the pass obediently? !
Therefore, Fengyi on the left, Fufeng on the right, and all the county soldiers left behind in Chang'an were conscripted to Chang'an by Man Chong and were responsible for the armed escort of the people to move.
Therefore, Wang Chang only had 6,000 central imperial troops who had retreated from Wugong County.
Of course, the combat effectiveness of these six thousand Central Forbidden Army is still guaranteed. It was proved when they were in Wugong County. With the combat effectiveness of Cao Wei's Central Forbidden Army, even in a field battle, it is not a problem to fight one against two, let alone a city defense battle. .
But Wang Chang was also unlucky.
The Fengyi area on the left is completely different from Fufeng on the right.
In the Youfufeng area, as long as Cao Zhen and Guo Huai lead their troops to Huaili, even if the Shu thieves want to bypass Huaili and attack Chang'an, they will always have to worry about the Wei army in Huaili counterattacking.
Because Huaili is located on the southwest side of Chang'an, like a screen, it protects the city of Chang'an.
But the Zuofengyi area is different. In this place, Changling is located on the north side of Chang'an, and Weicheng is located on the west side of Chang'an. These two places are both on the north bank of the Weishui River, and what's even more terrible is that not far behind these two cities , each also has a Wei Bridge, which can cross the Wei River and lead directly to Chang'an.
This resulted in Wang Chang having to divide his troops to defend two places. Otherwise, if either place was lost, the Shu thieves could cross the river and directly threaten Chang'an.
There are only 6,000 soldiers, and we have to divide our troops. We are facing more than 10,000 soldiers led by the famous Shu thieves Zhang Xi. How can we defend like this? !
Wang Chang is not a man without courage, nor is he without strategy, but this matter is really difficult to handle.
The biggest headache for Wang Chang was not the problem of scattered troops, but the defender Hu Zun sent from Chang'an to assist him in defending Weicheng.
Zhang He was seriously injured and was sent back to Luoyang for treatment by Cao Pi's urgent order. As Zhang He's lieutenant, Wang Chang naturally had to shoulder the task of defending Zuo Fengyi.
But after all, Wang Chang was too junior and had little military experience, and he had to defend two places. Man Chong was also afraid that there would be problems if he could not command alone, so he sent a helper to Wang Chang.
This was originally a good thing. Wang Chang could not defend two cities by himself. With a helper coming, he could help Wang Chang share the defense of one city.
But there is one thing Wang Chang doesn't understand - have you, Man Chong, lost your mind and actually sent a local military general from a noble family to help me guard Zuo Fengyi? !
Hu Zun was from the Hu family in Anding, and he was considered a powerful person in the Anding area.
Anding itself is close to Zuo Fengyi. The Hu family has a close relationship with the aristocratic families in Zuo Fengyi. Now the attitude of Anding County itself is also very wavering. Although it is still nominally under the jurisdiction of the Wei Dynasty, But they may surrender to the Shu thieves at any time. Are you sure you are not here to open the door for the Shu thieves by sending such a person to guard Weicheng? !
Wang Chang really couldn't trust this Hu Zun, but it happened that this person was sent by Man Chong, and the person who recommended General Hu to become an official was still famous in the northwest region. Zhang Ji, a famous minister in the northwest who had just died of illness the year before last, Zhang Derong.
Therefore, even if Wang Chang cannot believe it, after all, he has too little military experience and insufficient foundation. In addition, in these years, although the Wang family in Taiyuan has been on the rise, it is still far from the influence of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties. , Wang Chang was in Chang'an in the northwest, and he really couldn't speak.
With the arrival of Hu Zun, two thousand soldiers were taken away from Wang Chang to guard Weicheng.
This was the result of Wang Chang's uneasiness.
Wang Chang only has a total of 6,000 men on hand. If only 1,000 men are assigned to Hu Zun to defend Weicheng, even if Hu Zun has no dissent, he will be forced to have dissent by Wang Chang. With just a few people, how can he face thousands of thieves in Shu? An attack by others? !
But if half of the three thousand men were to guard Weicheng, Wang Chang himself would not be at ease. If Hu Zun really voted, then Wang Chang would not even have the capital to resist.
Therefore, Wang Chang could only give Hu Zun 2,000 men.
Anyway, Changling and Weicheng are not far apart, less than a hundred miles away. If Hu Zun encounters a fierce attack in Weicheng, he only needs to hold on for four or five days, and Wang Chang can lead troops to rescue him. In theory, there is still a possibility. It is possible to persevere.
As for Hu Zun, without saying a word, Hu Zun led two thousand Wei soldiers and went to Weicheng to defend the city without even a single complaint.
Regarding this matter, on the surface, Hu Zun gave people the feeling of being loyal to state affairs and did not look like a young man. But Wang Chang always felt uneasy.
If you are really loyal to your duties, even if you complain twice at this time, it is normal for two thousand people to guard a city. Faced with the siege of more than 10,000 enemy troops, if you complain a few times and order more troops, then Is this human nature? !
But Hu Zun left so simply, which made Wang Chang feel a little unhappy.
But now that the matter has come to this, Wang Chang can't openly question Hu Zun. What if he is confident or really dedicated to serving the country? !
Therefore, after dividing his troops, Wang Chang could only ask Hu Zun to besiege the city and defend the city to support each other.
Since Hu Zun went to garrison in Weicheng, Wang Chang has always been uneasy, fearing that he would get the news that Hu Zun had surrendered to the enemy in Weicheng, so he paid special attention to gathering intelligence in the direction of Weicheng.
But after more than ten days in a row, no strange movement was found in the direction of Weicheng, but in the direction of Changling, Zhang Xi's troops were already approaching the city.
Although Wang Chang was a little surprised that Zhang Xi appeared under Changling City at this time, after all, the snow had not yet melted, the journey from Wugong County to here was also very long, and there was no place in the middle for Zhang Xi to rest and replenish his army supplies.
However, because Wang Chang had directly fought against Zhang Xi in Wugong County, it can be said that Wang Chang had a very deep impression on Zhang Xi.
People say that Zhang Xi is a famous general in the world because of his cautious and tactical tactics in using troops. Wang Chang did not realize the cautious aspect, but in terms of strategic tactics, Zhang Xi left a deep impression on Wang Chang.
With only a few words of probing, he saw through the reality of Wugong County where he was stationed, and immediately made a decision to rush to the aid of Dachangji and completely block General Zhang He in the mountain road. This decisive strategy is truly unparalleled in the world. Famous general.
Therefore, it can be said that Wang Chang is very afraid of Zhang Xi. Even though Zhang Xi has moved hundreds of miles unreasonably and appeared under Changling City from Wugong County. Although Wang Chang is surprised, he does not think it is this. Something unacceptable.
The next step is nothing more than defending the city.
Wang Chang ordered the entire army to be under martial law and climbed onto the tower to prepare to defend the city. As a result, the next day, Wang Chang received a request for help from Weicheng.
Hu Zun claimed that Zhang Xi personally led an army of more than 10,000 people and stormed Weicheng. He hoped that Wang Chang would send troops to help immediately, otherwise Weicheng would not be able to hold on for ten days.
Wang Chang was stunned at the time, and his first reaction was to become furious.
Does this Hu Zun think I am an idiot? !
You have Zhang Xi leading an army of more than 10,000 men to attack fiercely. Then who are those in the Shu bandit camp outside my city? !
Even if Zhang Xi really has the ability to clone himself, he doesn't have the ability to clone all the more than 10,000 soldiers under his command, right? !
Wang Chang almost subconsciously thought that Hu Zun had surrendered to the enemy, and wanted to use this method to lure him out of the city for rescue, so that Zhang Xi outside the city could take advantage of the opportunity to attack Changling, or he could ambush him halfway.
As expected, this Hu Zun is unreliable.
Wang Chang had the intention to ignore the military report and let Hu Zun act on his own. But when he calmed down and thought about it, this was not right.
If Hu Zun really surrendered to the Shu thieves, then why did he send him a distress report when Zhang Xi's troops were already at the city? !
The normal strategy should be that there are no Shu thieves on our side, and then Hu Zun asks for help, and he rushes to lead his troops to save him, only to be ambushed by Shu thieves on the way? !
How can anyone use a plan that is not logical from the beginning? !
Zhang Xi, in addition to being cautious and resourceful, is also said to be quite good at strategy. Can he come up with such a heartless strategy? !
The more Wang Chang thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong. He looked back and thought carefully about whether this was Zhang Xi's plan. !
He faked suspicions on his side and pretended that a large army was approaching the city to scare himself so that he would not dare to act rashly. But in fact, the real Zhang Xi really led the army to attack Weicheng.
If this is the case, it would be a very reasonable thing for Hu Zun to send a distress report at this time.
And Wang Chang thought about it carefully, and it seemed that he had indeed just received a battle report, and learned that Zhang Xi was leading an army. Due to the snow blocking the road, even the scouts could not go too far away from the city.
When he thought of this, Wang Chang immediately called the scouts who came out of the city to investigate. After careful questioning, he learned that in fact, the scouts did not see with their own eyes how many soldiers were in the camp outside the city. They only saw the size of the enemy camp and the amount of smoke. To judge how many enemy troops came.
But one thing, the scouts were sure, they all saw Zhang Xi's handsome flag.
But this evidence, on Wang Chang's side, really cannot prove that Zhang Xi himself was in the Shu army camp ten miles outside the city.
After all, when Wang Chang himself was guarding Wugong County, he also borrowed Zhang He's big banner to bluff. How could a cunning man like Zhang Xi not come up with the ideas he could come up with? !
After having such suspicion, the more Wang Chang thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. Don't look back. Hu Zun was really being besieged by Zhang Xi.
If Hu Zun was urgently besieged by the enemy, and he stood still in Changling, and Hu Zun saw that reinforcements were not available, and finally surrendered, the responsibility for the loss of Weicheng would be his own.
Therefore, Wang Chang thought about it and decided to personally lead two thousand soldiers out of the city and take the initiative to attack the Shu bandit camp ten miles away.
It's not really about a head-on attack, it's just a test of reality. With the combat power of two thousand forbidden troops, it is still possible to break out in a field battle as long as they are not surrounded by more than five thousand enemy troops.
Besides, it's just a test. Just fight and see the situation. If it doesn't work, just retreat. There won't be any big danger.
Then Wang Chang encountered almost no resistance and easily occupied the Shu bandit's camp. It was only at this time that Wang Chang discovered that most of the Shu soldiers in the camp were straw men. The only ones who could really move were... About three thousand people.
At this time, Wang Chang suddenly realized that he had fallen into the trap of the Shu thieves.
At this time, Wang Chang no longer hesitated and hurried back to the city to reorganize his army and horses, leaving a thousand men to guard the city. He personally led 3,000 men to rescue Hu Zun in Weicheng.
(End of chapter)
