Zhang Xi's troops were stationed outside Tongguan. Taking advantage of the slowly warming weather, they began to cut down trees and build siege equipment in preparation for the storming of Tongguan.
The harsh words have been put aside. Without a beating, it is really unjustifiable and cannot pass the test in Zhang Xi's heart.
As for Wang Chang, Wang Chang closed the door tightly and could not get out.
Actually, in Tongguan today, Wang Chang brought 3,000 Forbidden Army reinforcements, plus the 3,000 county soldiers stationed here before, there are a total of 6,000 people.
As for Zhang Xi's troops outside the pass, there were only about 10,000 men. The gap in strength between the two sides was actually not large. It was not that Wang Chang did not have the ability to fight outside the pass.
However, Wang Chang now really has no shame in leading his troops to take the initiative.
The things Zhang Xi said were true, and Wang Chang had no doubt at all.
One is because there is no need for a famous general like Zhang Xi to lie to him, and the other is that people cannot be deceived about this kind of thing. You can find out with a little inquiry.
Therefore, Wang Chang is now ashamed and unstoppable. There is no free card in this era, and his responsibilities do not allow him to abandon Tongguan and retreat. Otherwise, Wang Chang would not want to face Zhang Xi's challenge head-on.
Yes, theoretically, from Wang Chang's standpoint, he can argue that after all, his original intention was indeed just to "borrow" the people's rations, and not all of them. He only "borrowed" half of the people's rations, so He made an agreement with the people that as long as he arrived at Tongguan, he would repay the people's rations.
What he did can only be said to be a matter of urgency and for the sake of national affairs, not for his own personal gain.
But the final result was actually the same as Wang Chang's plunder.
Wang Chang also understands this truth, so it is meaningless to argue or not.
Although most of the aristocratic families in this era were quite miserable, the things they did in private were basically limited to personal matters, ranging from hiding their children and evading taxes, to bullying men and women, bullying the market, indulging in slaves and hurting others. Oppressing the people, etc. are all things that these aristocratic families often do.
But the Wang family in Taiyuan, especially the generations after Wang Yun, actually have quite good character and style of life.
The Wang family of Taiyuan has a very long-term vision, and it is obvious that in today's world, the foundation for the rise of aristocratic families has been laid. Whether the Wei Dynasty dominates the world, or the Han Dynasty achieves three resurgences in the future, the imperial power can no longer exclude the power of the aristocratic families. Outside the court.
At this time, for the benefit of the family and to strive for a longer-term inheritance for the Taiyuan Wang family, the Taiyuan Wang family still pays more attention to the education of their children, especially the attitude towards the people.
It's not that he really cares about the people. What the Taiyuan Wang family pursues is still just reputation.
However, while other aristocratic families were still pursuing the reputation gained from touting each other, the Taiyuan Wang family was keenly aware that only by establishing enough reputation and reputation among the people could their family stand firm for a long time. The place of defeat.
After all, if there is not enough prestige and respect among the people, then it will be difficult for the aristocratic family to gain enough benefits from the game with the imperial power.
If you only gain a foothold within the Wei regime, rely on the protection of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System, and live like other aristocratic families, then it won't be a big problem, but what if the Han Dynasty revives three times? !
Without this layer of protection from the common people and the people, with the Liu Bei Group's attitude towards the aristocratic family, it is surprising that they can survive.
In fact, if it hadn't been for the mischief of a certain time-traveling native dog, families like the Wang family in Taiyuan, the Cui family in Hedong, and the Lu family in Fanyang would have relied on this set of methods for nearly a thousand years, and really achieved "flowing water". Emperor, a thousand-year-old family." It was not until the end of the Tang Dynasty that the power of the family completely collapsed.
And the so-called famous families at the same time as them, whether they are the Yang family of Hongnong, the Yuan family of Runan, or big families like the Li family of Yizhou and the Xun family of Yingchuan, have all been lost in history. in the dust.
At this time, it was the time when the Wang family in Taiyuan was rising, so Wang Chang, well, his three views were quite upright.
Wang Chang was really ashamed. If he had followed the education of his family, he should have directly gone to the court at this time and requested to be removed from his official position. From then on, he would stay behind closed doors and no longer serve as an official, as a token of the Taiyuan Wang family's respect for the people of the world. An explanation.
But now the heavy responsibility of Tongguan is on his shoulders. Wang Chang has been unjust to the people and can no longer be disloyal to the emperor's edict. He still has to defend Tongguan, but if you ask him to take the initiative to leave the pass to attack Zhangxi, he will also do it. Less than.
Zhang Xi naturally didn't care that Wang Chang couldn't come out of seclusion, and was seriously building siege equipment, especially the heavy-duty catapults. Zhang Xi was seizing the time to build as many as he could.
To be honest, apart from this method, Zhang Xi didn't know if he was sure that he could storm Tongguan.
Zhang Xi didn't even dare to have too much faith in the power of the counterweighted trebuchet.
After all, this is Tongguan, the most important pass through the ages. Can a catapult like the one Zhang Xi built really bring down the wall? !
Zhang Xi himself has no psychological confidence.
But what Wang Chang saw was frightening.
In the past few years, as the war in the northwest has spread throughout the world, everyone knows that Liu Bei's army in Western Shu has a sharper siege tool called the Thunderbolt Chariot. This siege tool was invented by Zhang Xi and is best at breaking down city walls. .
Chengdu, a world-famous fortified city, and Fancheng, a military fortress on which Cao Cao had high hopes, were both destroyed by the bombardment of counterweight catapults.
Wang Chang really didn't dare to think how long he could hold Tongguan where he was stationed.
It sounds incredible, but Wang Chang really felt that it was unlikely that he could hold Tongguan.
The reason is very simple. There is a discrepancy between Wang Chang's understanding of Tongguan and Zhang Xi's understanding of Tongguan.
In Zhang Xi's eyes, Tongguan must be a great pass through the ages, and it will be known as "the best pass in the world" in later generations. It should naturally be extremely strong.
The source of Zhang Xi's knowledge of this is the stereotype accumulated in his previous life. After all, Tongguan has been the site of countless battles in history, and has also experienced continuous reinforcement and repairs in the past dynasties. Basically, as long as the general is not forced If you take the initiative to fight, Tongguan will generally not fall.
It can be said to be truly the first level in the world.
However, in Wang Chang's perception, although Tongguan is indeed a dangerous pass, it is indeed not a great pass.
Tongguan was a newly built pass by Emperor Taizu Wu in order to resist the Liangzhou Group in Guanzhong.
If it weren't for the Battle of Tongguan between Emperor Taizu Wu and Ma Han of Liangzhou, not many people would know about Tongguan today.
Before that, the barrier in Guanzhong had always been Hangu Pass, which was more than a hundred miles behind Tongguan. It was the real "first pass in the world" before the Han Dynasty.
In Wang Chang's eyes, Tongguan is just a new pass built more than ten years ago.
Really, there is no doubt about the strategic vision of Emperor Taizu Wu. The location of Tongguan is very important. It completely blocks the eastern gateway of Guanzhong. The geographical location is very dangerous and it is indeed a strategic location.
But this Tongguan Pass did not take long to build. Therefore, whether it is the thickness of the pass wall, the number of archery towers, or the number of caves for hiding soldiers, it is not at the same level as the Hangu Pass, which is more than a hundred miles behind.
Seeing the counterweighted trebuchets being built on the opposite side, Zhang Xi felt that it was not enough after building more than a dozen of them, and was still exploding equipment. Wang Chang's heart almost went cold.
If you want to take the initiative to fight, you really can't face Zhang Xi, but if you continue to defend like this, can Tongguan's defense really be able to withstand such a bombardment? !
But Zhang Xi doesn’t think so.
He didn’t know that this Tongguan was not the Tongguan that had been strengthened through the ages in his mind. Zhang Xi had never been to Tongguan in his previous life. He didn’t know what the difference was between the Tongguan in front of him and the Tongguan of later generations. He only knew that Tongguan was an ancient pass and was I'm really afraid that there won't be enough catapults.
In this way, Zhang Xi was worried and had been working hard to explode equipment and build a catapult. However, Wang Chang, because of shame, never dared to take the initiative to attack the Han army. He could only defend the dangerous position of Tongguan and watch helplessly. .
Building catapults also takes time. Zhang Xi plans to refer to the Chengdu war example and build fifty catapults to test the water first, and this will take at least more than a month.
Therefore, the Tongguan War temporarily stopped.
The fighting here in Zhangxi has paused, but in the Youfufeng area, fighting has started again.
Man Chong is relocating the people and moving the last 200,000 people in Chang'an into the pass, but this will also take time.
Although Cao Zhen only gave Man Chong fifteen days, forcing Man Chong to panic, it was not that Cao Zhen didn't want to wait a few more days to buy Man Chong more time.
It's just that time doesn't allow it.
As the weather got warmer, Cao Zhen looked at the snow slowly melting away day by day, not to mention the anxiety in his heart.
If the situation continues, let alone fifteen days, I am afraid that in ten days, Cao Zhen will be worried about when the flood of the Weishui River will arrive.
If the weather continues to be like this, Cao Zhen may not be able to survive even fifteen days.
It's not okay to go on like this, we have to find a way.
There are actually only two roads before Cao Zhen.
One is to seize the time and take the initiative to retreat into Wuguan Road before the spring floods come. Then leave Guo Huai to garrison Wuguan and lead his troops on an urgent march to rescue Wancheng.
As for the migration team of Man Chong and the people of Chang'an, we really have no choice but to ignore them and let nature take its course.
The other is to attack head-on, fight with the Shu thieves, find a way to disperse the Shu thieves on the embankment, temporarily control the embankment, and not give the Shu thieves a chance to flood the city.
But for this one, it is probably a bad idea to burrow into the pockets set by the Shu thieves.
Cao was so worried that he discussed it with Guo Huai every day.
And Guo Huai, Guo Huai's suggestion is the second one.
Two hundred thousand people, anyone who is not a reckless person without political acumen will not think that these two hundred thousand people are insignificant.
As for the Shu thieves on the opposite side, although they were forced into a dilemma by conspiracy, if they took the initiative to attack, the battle on the battlefield would be the commander's command and response, and the battle would be the lives of the soldiers.
Although after taking the initiative to attack, the initiative will fall into the hands of the Shu thieves, but in the current situation, the Wei army still has some advantages in taking the initiative.
Once the snow melts and both sides fight on the mud, the combat effectiveness of the Wei imperial army will still be higher than that of the Shu thieves.
As for the commanding ability of the coaches of both sides. To be honest, Cao Zhen and Guo Huai, I really don’t think that the two of them combined will be worse than the opposing commanding combination of Zhang Fei and Liu Bei.
The two people on the opposite side were a reckless man and an often-defeated general. They only had one record in Hanzhong worth bragging about. They were still fighting more and less. I really don’t think these two have much ability.
(End of chapter)
