After nightfall, the main battlefield in front of Tongguan, which had been filled with loud killings during the day, fell into a period of silence. On the contrary, it added a bit of evil atmosphere to this place that had experienced more than ten days of fighting.
In the central camp of the Han and Wei armies, both Zhang Xi and Cao Zhen were thinking about how to deal with tomorrow's battle.
As the commander-in-chief of the Wei army, Cao Zhen must ensure that no Shu thieves can break through the defense line and support Tongguan. At the same time, he must also find a way to break through Tongguan before sunset tomorrow.
The food and grass can still last for two days. If Tongguan cannot be conquered tomorrow, it will be hard to say what will happen the day after tomorrow.
Perhaps the Wei army would burst out with strong combat effectiveness and continue to maintain offensive intensity under the actual pressure of life and death, but similarly, Cao Zhen must also be prepared for the possibility of military morale turmoil, or even the army's direct collapse.
Tomorrow is the day when the morale of the army can still be controlled. If the fight lasts until the third day, everything will have to be left to God's will.
In the Han army's tent, Zhang Xi actually had a headache.
Why didn't I realize before that this Cao Zhen was so difficult to deal with and his fighting style was so tenacious?
It's not that Cao Zhen's command was outstanding. In fact, after two days of fighting, generally speaking, the Wei army's battle losses were greater than the Han army's. However, under such circumstances, Cao Zhen managed to hold on to the defense line.
If on the first day of the battle, it could be said that Cao Zhen relied on his large number of troops to bully others, in today's battle during the day, in terms of the actual number of people fighting, Cao Zhen was the disadvantaged party.
The Han army once had the opportunity to create a breakthrough on its offensive right wing and the Wei army's defensive left wing, but in the end, it was blocked by the Wei army. Zhang Xi didn't know that Wang Chang had left a backhand to save one person. He could only be It is believed that Wang Chang's behavior was carried out under the command of Cao Zhen.
It can be seen that Cao Zhen can really handle it, and his judgment of the situation is also very accurate, leaving a lot of useful back-ups.
All of this made it more difficult for Zhang Xi to break through the defense line organized by Cao Zhen.
But fortunately, today Zhao Yun finally broke through the siege with nearly a thousand cavalry and entered Tongguan.
If Tongguan has some reinforcements, it shouldn't be too difficult to defend.
Another piece of good news came from Xi Zuo, who was lurking in the Wei army - Wei Jun's food and grass were enough to last for two days.
In other words, as long as Tongguan can hold on until the third day, the Wei army without food will inevitably collapse.
As for Zhang Xi, his current combat goal is very clear.
Zhang Xi still has to take the initiative to attack the Wei army, try to break through the Wei army's defense line, and send reinforcements to Tongguan. If he cannot do this for a while, he must also strengthen the attack to attract more Wei troops to flank and deploy defenses, so as to reduce the pressure on Tongguan's frontal attack. .
Therefore, after much deliberation, Zhang Xi still had to continue to contend with Wei Jun at the current pace.
Moreover, after carefully calculating the results of today's day's battle, Zhang Xi found that his side suffered nearly three thousand casualties in one day, and the Wei army's initial estimate should also suffer three to four thousand casualties. The military may not be without its benefits.
In order to prevent the Wei army from breaking through the defense line to support Tongguan, it must accumulate enough troops on the flanks to organize the defense line. The greater the loss, the fewer Wei troops will go to Tongguan to attack frontally.
Of course, if Cao Zhen really dares to risk his life and brings 10,000 people to form a defense line to fight him tomorrow, then Zhang Xi will really not be polite.
Ten thousand people are defending such a long area on the flanks, facing an attack by 20 thousand people, including cavalry. Even if Cao Zhen is very capable, he can't stop it, right? !
Zhang Xi thought this, and then. Early the next morning, the two armies faced off, and Zhang Xi somewhat respected Cao Zhen.
Cao Zhen really took 8,000 infantry and 2,000 archers to set up a defense line on the spot and continued to block Zhang Xi's flank attack.
Cao Zhen did not deploy any of the attacking troops in front of Tongguan. In order to make up for the losses in yesterday's siege, Cao Zhen even sent a thousand men to Wang Chang to support him.
Obviously, Cao Zhen wanted to risk his life to block Zhang Xi's breakthrough, and at the same time, he hoped that Wang Chang could break through Tongguan as soon as possible.
Anyway, the food and grass can last for two days. If Tongguan is conquered, everyone will live together. If Tongguan cannot be conquered, everyone will die. What is the difference between dying two days earlier and dying two days later? !
It has to be said that at this time, Cao Zhen really had the will to fight. Either life or death would depend on whether he could sustain the attack and defense for the past two days.
Cao Zhen wanted to bet and dared to bet, but Zhang Xi would definitely not let him do so.
As for Tongguan, Zhang Xi is not too worried yet. After all, seven to eight hundred reinforcements arrived yesterday. Zhao Yun is a veteran and is much calmer than Wei Yanke. With him guarding Tongguan, it shouldn't be a big problem for him to last for a day.
Therefore, his biggest task is still at hand, breaking through Cao Zhen's defense line and striving to break through to Tongguan.
Facing Cao Zhen in front of him, Zhang Xi thought for a moment and made some slight adjustments to his offensive strategy.
Originally, Zhang Xi and Su Ze discussed it and felt that the attack effect during the day yesterday was actually good, and they could just follow yesterday's attack plan today. But now, after Zhang Xi saw Cao Zhen's defense, he quickly sent envoys to Talk to Su Ze, the leader of the right wing, and ask him to postpone the attack for a while.
Without him, Cao Zhen only had 10,000 men deployed for defense today, which was 5,000 less than yesterday's strength. However, he had to take care of such a narrow flank defense line, and his defense line was not deep enough.
Zhang Xi wondered whether it would be more effective to adopt a plan of attacking in the east and attacking in the west, with key breakthroughs.
Zhang Xi's plan is to first let the cavalry attack the right flank of the Wei army's defense, but it is not a strong attack, just a feint attack. He will adjust the Wei army's strength and let them shrink their defense formation as much as possible. Then he will lead 10,000 Liangzhou troops to attack Cao Zhen. The army launched a fierce attack.
Yes, after yesterday's chaotic battle, Zhang Xi finally understood that it was a mistake to mix the Liangzhou Army and the Yongzhou Army. Therefore, Zhang Xi directly led the 13,000 Liangzhou Army this time. .
Ten thousand soldiers took the initiative to attack, and three thousand soldiers served as reserves.
Of course, whether it is a strong attack in the middle or a cavalry assault on the left wing, they are all just a cover. The real killer move is the right wing of the Han army's attack, the left wing of the Wei army's defense, and more than 4,000 Yongzhou County soldiers led by Su Ze.
When Zhang Xi launches a strong attack on the right wing and the center, Cao Zhen will inevitably be under great pressure, and the most likely way Cao Zhen will respond is to close the formation defense to ensure that the center is not breached.
A breakthrough in the middle would not only cause the defense line to collapse, but Cao Zhen himself might also be trapped in the rebel army, and it was hard to say whether he would survive.
In this way, the left wing of the Wei army's defense is likely to be mobilized to support the center. At this time, 4,000 Yongzhou County soldiers led by Su Ze launched an assault here, trying to break through the Wei army's defense line in one fell swoop and enter the main battlefield of Tongguan. .
Finally, Zhang Xi believed that Zhao Yun, seeing this situation, would definitely send cavalry to meet Su Ze, so that Su Ze could successfully break through Wang Chang's interception in front of Tongguan and support those entering Tongguan.
After all, he was General Hanwei, a veteran general who had been on the battlefield for more than 40 years, Changshan Zhao Zilong, who was both civil and military.
Zhang Xi's attack plan was like this, but the development of things was a little different from what Zhang Xi thought.
Zhang Xi discovered that in the face of his strong attack, Cao Zhen did not deploy any reinforcements to support the center.
On the right wing of the Wei army's defense line, Dai Ling led 2,000 infantry and 1,000 archers to resist the cavalry shooting and impact of 2,000 cavalry. The defense line was crumbling, but it still persisted. Cao Zhen did not give any instructions to close the formation and retreated into the position held by the Chinese army. Order.
Cao Zhen's own central army only had 4,000 soldiers, but it had to face the fierce attack of 10,000 Liangzhou troops. It was also very difficult. Cao Zhen himself was less than 60 steps away from the front army. This distance would be unlucky for anyone. , maybe he will be shot by arrows from the battlefield.
But even so, Cao Zhen still did not send any troops and horses from the left wing to support.
Is this posture going to fight to the end? !
Okay, Zhang Xi thought, since you are willing to die, then I won't be polite. He directly pressed on the last three thousand reserves in hand to strengthen the attack on the middle.
Thirteen thousand versus four thousand, three times the strength, I don’t believe Cao Zhen can still handle it.
And Cao Zhen really couldn't bear it anymore.
From the moment he made the battle plan early this morning, Cao Zhen knew that his defense would be difficult today, and he might have to risk his life.
But there was no way. In order to ensure that Wang Chang had enough troops to attack Tongguan and strive to break through Tongguan within today, Cao Zhen had to do this. He could only lead 10,000 soldiers to intercept the attack of nearly 20,000 Shu thieves.
As an old soldier, Cao Zhen had actually anticipated the current situation, and precisely because Cao Zhen had anticipated it, he did not dare to easily mobilize soldiers from the two wings to support the central army.
Cao Zhen knew very well how uncomfortable it was to defend an attack of 10,000 men with 4,000 men. However, Cao Zhen was also aware of the lesson learned yesterday when the left wing was almost broken by Shu thieves because it supported the Chinese army.
Therefore, Cao Zhen could only bite the bullet and put his command position at the forefront of the battlefield.
Cao Zhen wanted to use this method to tell the Wei soldiers that he, Cao Zhen, was always holding on with the soldiers, trying to use this method to arouse the morale of the whole army so that they could hold on for a longer time.
But this method can last for a while, but it won't last too long.
As the Shu thieves' attacks became more and more fierce, the casualties in the army became more and more serious, and there were fewer and fewer companions around me. The coach was standing above me, and my morale kept falling.
At this time, Cao Zhen was really seriously considering whether to ask the soldiers on the left and right wings to close their formation and come to support the central army.
If he doesn't come, I, as the coach, may really have to take up the gun and fight in person.
Just when Cao Zhen was thinking seriously about whether to give the order, a burst of thick smoke suddenly appeared on the Tongguan Pass wall.
Immediately afterwards, the main gate of Tongguan was opened.
(End of chapter)
