Early in the morning, Zhao Yun took Wei Yan and stood on the tower of Tongguan City, looking at the main battlefield from a distance.
Zhao Yun set the time for the breakout in the afternoon, so the battle to defend the city throughout the morning had to continue.
It is impossible to choose to break out of the siege as soon as they come up. After all, they are facing front and rear attacks. If they leave the city early in the morning to break out of the siege, the Wei army behind the pass will have enough time to enter the city and take over the pass defense.
Therefore, according to Zhao Yun's plan, Xiahou Shang behind the pass must still think that the Han army is holding on to Tongguan, misleading Xiahou Shang's judgment and buying time to break through.
As for Wang Chang in the front, he couldn't hide it. After all, the way to break through was through the front door. The first person to face was Wang Chang.
But it is also beneficial to continue to hold on. At least through defense, you can clearly see Wang Chang's siege force layout today and plan a suitable breakout route, so that you will not rush out without knowing which direction to run.
By the way, Zhao Yun actually wanted to see if Zhang Xi could seize the opportunity to break through Cao Zhen's obstruction and send enough reinforcements to Tongguan after a whole morning of fighting.
As long as there are 3,000 infantry who can break through the defense line to aid Tongguan, Zhao Yun will immediately give up the battle of abandoning the pass to break out, and instead send troops to meet the infantry. With 3,000 infantry coming to the rescue, he can not only defend Tongguan, but also suppress the gang. Thinking of the Liangzhou cavalry who were fleeing for their lives.
Therefore, early in the morning, Zhao Yun took Wei Yan to the city tower, commanding his soldiers to defend the city while watching the battle between the two armies.
In fact, Zhao Yun didn't want to give up Tongguan just like that. He finally trapped Wei Jun's Sili Army, so he just gave up.
"Chang Wen, get ready, light the food and weapons in the pass, and prepare to withdraw!"
After observing the battle situation all morning, Zhao Yun said to Wei Yan.
But Wei Yan still hesitated and persuaded, "General Zhang Yuanchang clearly has the upper hand now. If he waits a little longer, maybe he can..."
What Wei Yan was referring to was that Zhang Xi had now completely suppressed Cao Zhen's central army, forcing Cao Jun to start to gather the troops on the left and right wings into a formation. As long as he continued to attack for a while, the left wing would be short of troops.
At this time, the more than 4,000 Yongzhou soldiers led by Su Ze had not made any move yet.
Doesn't this mean that Zhang Xi may break through the Wei army's defense and reinforce Tongguan? !
Wei Yan didn't understand why Zhao Yun ordered the entire army to break out at this time? !
Zhao Yun also sighed after hearing this. He did not answer Wei Yan's question directly, but instead said, "Chang Wen, how many times did the Wei army attack the city wall in front of and behind the pass today?!"
Wei Yan was stunned for a moment, but then he replied, "In total, there are eleven times in total. They have all been repulsed by our army."
"How many times did the Wei army attack the city wall yesterday?" Zhao Yun asked again.
"Ten times." As soon as Wei Yan said this, he realized something.
Zhao Yun had no choice but to speak out what was in his heart for Wei Yan.
"Yesterday, when we held on for a day, the Wei army attacked the city wall ten times. Today we held on for less than half a day, but it exceeded yesterday's number." Zhao Yun sighed again and said, "This is my fault. The military's morale is no longer guarding. How can we hold on until Yuan Dynasty?" The commander is leading the troops to come for reinforcements?!"
Zhao Yun also regretted that he should not have ordered the entire army to prepare to abandon the pass and break out yesterday.
With this order, all the soldiers wanted to break out of the encirclement as soon as possible, and their belief in holding on to the city had been shaken.
Therefore, although today Zhang Xi outside the city is desperately trying to break through the Wei army's defense line to help, and there is hope that he can do it, the Tongguan side has lost the possibility of holding on because of the loosening of military morale.
Zhao Yun couldn't wait any longer. If he kept waiting, the closer it got to afternoon, the more his soldiers thought about breaking out, and they had no faith to stick to it.
Once that time comes, I am afraid that Zhang Xi will not be able to wait until he breaks through the Wei army's defense line.
Therefore, it was Zhao Yun's fault. Zhao Yun admitted it, but now, he could only order Wei Yan to light the food and grass in the city, burn the defensive equipment, and lead his army to break through.
If you lead the army to break through, you can still fight, but if you continue to hold on, you will be dead.
Wei Yan thought about it seriously and wanted to persuade him again. But when it really didn't work, Zhao Yun left 500 men for himself and continued to defend Tongguan with 500 men. Zhao Yun led the troops to break out of the city.
But Zhao Yun rejected Wei Yan again.
Once they abandon the pass and break through, who is willing to stay and defend? With only 500 men, how can Wei Yan hold on and withstand the Wei army's attack from both sides? !
Today's Wei army's attack, Xiahou Shang behind the pass, was not bad, and the intensity of the attack was still the same as usual, but Wang Chang's troops in front of the pass were already fighting for their lives.
Otherwise, there would not be a record of 11 climbs on the city wall in half a day, eight of which were caused by the Wei army led by Wang Chang in front of Guanqian.
The number of times you have climbed the wall is actually no different from losing the wall.
Therefore, the whole army broke out.
Just like this, at the gate of Tongguan Pass, when no one expected it, Zhao Yun burned Tongguan's grain, grass and ordnance hoards, opened the main gate of Tongguan, led the remaining more than 1,500 cavalry, and killed the left wing of the Wei army's defense line flanking Tongguan.
There are few soldiers there. As long as they break through the Wei army's interception, they can directly contact Su Ze's troops and return to the main camp.
When the Tongguan fire broke out, all the people fighting under the pass were stunned.
Both Wang Chang and Xia Houshang were wondering what happened in Tongguan. Could it be that the Shu thieves guarding the pass were in a hurry and caused a fire in the pass? !
Really, neither of them ever thought about whether the other party had already breached Tongguan, causing the Tongguan fire.
Because both of them know very well that the Sili Corps of the Wei Army trapped in Guanzhong is now seriously short of food. Once Tongguan is captured, the first thing to do is to seize the protective grain depot for supplies. This fire must not be caused by the Wei Army It was released after Tongguan was captured.
Since it wasn't Wei Jun who released it, it's not good! ! !
Wang Chang and Xia Houshang realized at the same time that the fire was most likely set by the Shu thieves, and the purpose was obviously that the Shu thieves thought they could no longer defend Tongguan. After setting fire to burn food, they planned to break out and retreat.
Xia Houshang was still stunned for a moment, and then immediately ordered the entire army to stop resting and launch a full-scale attack. Wang Chang had no chance at all. He dared to think about this problem. The main gate of Tongguan was already opened, and Zhao Yun came out with 1,500 cavalry. .
When Wang Chang saw so many cavalry coming out, his first reaction was to rush into the pass to put out the fire and rescue the army. But then, Wang Chang immediately calmed down and began to mobilize his troops.
Five thousand soldiers rushed forward to seize Tongguan, put out fires and save food, and the remaining soldiers immediately deployed on the spot to prevent cavalry assault.
In order to attack the city, Wang Chang arranged a lot of offensive troops on both sides of Tongguan. These troops are currently in attack mode and have no awareness of defense. Once attacked by these cavalry, they are likely to cause chaos and collapse.
Don't wait until the hope of victory is just around the corner. In the end, you will have to incur a large number of casualties to quickly gather your formation and set up defenses on the spot.
By the way, Wang Chang also quickly sent someone to send a message to Cao Zhen, asking him to retreat in an orderly manner.
Now that the retreat has been opened, there is no need to continue to fight against the Shu thieves. Let's quickly withdraw our troops and return to the pass.
In fact, when the Tongguan fire broke out, Cao Zhen realized what the Tongguan defenders were going to do earlier than Wang Chang, and he was already ecstatic.
The Shu thieves took the initiative to abandon Tongguan, and their way back was clear, and they could lead their troops back to the pass. Cao Zhen now wanted to lead his troops to retreat immediately.
But unfortunately, no, Zhang Xi refused to agree.
It was also the signal that the Tongguan fire broke out, which made Zhang Xi understand that Tongguan could not be defended after all.
Zhao Yun led the army to break out. Zhang Xi was not worried. With Zhao Yun's battlefield experience, he would not be able to see the current battlefield situation clearly and would definitely choose to break out on Su Ze's side. Zhang Xi immediately ordered Su Ze to take the initiative and prepare for Zhao Yun's response. Preparation for a breakout.
As for himself, he led the 13,000 Liangzhou Army and continued to strengthen the attack.
Once Tongguan is lost, Cao Zhen's main army cannot stop him, but the 10,000 Wei troops in front of him may not be able to stay.
As long as Cao Zhen is eager to retreat and encounters problems, Zhang Xi will have the opportunity to divide and surround the 10,000 Wei troops in front of him, and then gather them together to annihilate them.
But Cao Zhen is a famous general after all. Although he learned the good news of escaping, he still maintained a certain degree of calmness.
He did not rush to order a full withdrawal of troops, but continued to struggle with Zhang Xi, just retreating while fighting, and slowly moved towards Tongguan.
At the same time, Cao Zhen also gave Wang Chang a timely order, asking Wang Chang to lead his troops to respond after organizing his troops, and use cross-covering methods to cover his withdrawal.
It was a good idea. If Cao Zhen really wanted to do what he imagined, although the Wei army would still inevitably suffer some losses, most of them would still be able to withdraw from Tongguan and return to the pass.
But at this time, Zhao Yun's army, which was supposed to break out on the flank of Tongguan and join Su Ze, suddenly returned to the main battlefield after making a half-circle on the main battlefield of Tongguan, and went straight to Cao Zhen's central army. behind.
Zhao Yun's battlefield experience is so rich, and his ability to make decisions on the spot is so strong. Of course, the most important thing is that Zhao Yun is the founder and actual commander of this Liangzhou cavalry. His prestige within this army is not Wei Yan can compare.
Furthermore, Zhao Yun is also very aware of the virtues of his cavalry.
That is to say, break the sky, and now this group of cavalry also abandoned the barrier and broke through. Let alone credit, they are lucky if they are not held accountable. How can this bunch of bastards who bully the weak and fear the strong be able to endure this? !
So when Zhao Yun saw that he had an opportunity, he immediately gave some encouragement before the battle, saying that a great achievement was just around the corner, and asked these cavalrymen if they were still willing to give him a try.
If you ask these guys to hold on to the city, they will definitely not be willing to hold on in the face of constant casualties every day, but if you ask them to use the cavalry to pinch the weaklings, then they will definitely be willing to do it.
Therefore, Zhao Yun took more than a thousand cavalry back to the battlefield and went straight to the rear wing of Cao Zhen's army.
At this time, although Cao Zhen had gathered more than 7,000 soldiers in the central army, they were still fighting and retreating, so the number was not small.
But the problem was that Cao Zhen had to face an attack of 10,000 Liangzhou infantry, and more than 2,000 cavalry harassing him back and forth. It was already very difficult for him to retreat.
At this time, Cao Zhen couldn't bear the more than a thousand cavalrymen coming from behind.
(End of chapter)
