Just when Cao Rui received the battle report from Sili, Sili's situation changed again.
This change was caused by Wei Yan's partial division in Hongnong County.
Yang Bing chose to "welcome Master Wang" and helped the Han persuade the Hongnong family and Hongnong counties to surrender, but this would take time.
Even if they just accept the appointment of the Han Dynasty again, the county magistrates still remain in office. This also requires sending people out to announce the handover, and it cannot just rely on the local noble family to make the final say.
The procedure still needs to be done.
Therefore, Pang Tong and Wei Yan stayed in Hongnong for a while, not long, about ten days.
Another problem, Tongguan behind Hongnong County, is also a problem that needs to be solved. Where is Wang Chang, the prefect of Hongnong in Cao Wei, and the 10,000 Tongguan garrison under his command.
Wang Chang is not a figure that Yang Bing can persuade to surrender by relying on the prestige of the Hongnong Yang family. If Wang Chang could be persuaded to surrender so easily, he would have surrendered long ago when the battle of Tongguan was so fierce, and there would be no performance in turning the tide later. .
Therefore, regarding Wang Chang, neither Wei Yan nor Pang Tong believed that he was a figure who could be easily persuaded to surrender.
In the direction of Tongguan, there is still a fight.
As for Wang Chang, he also fell into panic after learning that Hongnong County behind him had surrendered without a fight.
There was no way, the entire county of Hongnong had surrendered, and he was stationed at Tongguan, thus losing any defensive significance.
Tongguan's grain, grass and ordnance all need to rely on Hongnong to maintain supplies. Although there is no need to worry too much for the time being, Tongguan has stockpiled some grain, grass and ordnance, but these grains and grass will eventually be eaten up one day.
When the supplies run out, who would be willing to go into battle hungry?
Another thing is that Wang Chang still has some strategic vision. He can see clearly what kind of situation Luoyang will face once Hongnong falls.
Hongnong could march to Luoyang at any time, but if Sima Yi stayed in Luoyang at this time and was still in Yingchuan County, the entire Sili situation would be completely corrupted.
In this case, it makes no sense for him, Wang Chang, to stick to Tongguan.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Wang Chang decided to leave a thousand soldiers behind just in case, and took 9,000 troops to attack the Shu bandits in Hongnong.
In fact, Wang Chang wouldn't even want to keep these thousand soldiers if it weren't for the precaution.
Attacking the Hongnong Shu bandits was a one-shot deal.
If he wins, he can retake Hongnong, stabilize the situation west of Luoyang, and then return to defend Tongguan. In a short period of time, the Shu thieves have no time to react.
If you lose, there is no point in holding on to Tongguan. Losing is just a matter of time.
Wang Chang actually understood very well that the focus was not on whether he could hold Tongguan, but on whether he could retake Hongnong.
Therefore, Wang Chang led his troops from Tongguan with the determination to determine victory in one battle.
Then as he walked, he felt something was wrong.
This speed of advance is a bit too smooth.
We marched all the way without encountering any resistance at all. Hu County, which is closest to Tongguan, welcomed Wang Chang and his troops into the city just like the "welcoming king's division" a few days ago. Can you county magistrates and noble families please be a little more careful? Do you want something to show off? !
Can you still change families back and forth like this? !
Anyway, Wang Chang became more and more frightened as he walked, always feeling that there was something wrong here. Maybe the Shu thieves were deliberately luring him forward and then looking for an opportunity to ambush him.
Wang Chang was suspicious and did not dare to move forward in the direction of Hongnong County. He immediately changed his direction and marched to Lushi County in the southeast. If it was not possible, he would kill the entire Hongnong County and retreat into Henan to defend it.
But before Wang Chang arrived in Lushi County, Wang Chang suddenly received a report from the front scouts. A large number of troops under the banner of Shu thieves suddenly appeared near Hongnong and Shaanxi counties. They were quickly gathering and headed for Lushi County. No less than ten thousand people.
This means that they want to intercept the advance route of Wang Chang's troops.
Wang Chang thought about it for a while and felt that this matter was a bit strange.
Yes, after occupying Hongnong, the Shu thieves not only had a relatively stable logistics and food supply base, but also could quickly recruit and expand their troops with the help of local aristocratic families. But suddenly tens of thousands of people gathered in the direction of Lu County. , is not an easy task either.
Therefore, Wang Chang made a rough judgment and believed that this was the elite main force of Shu thieves. The goal was to block his passage to Luoyang and prevent him from reinforcing Luoyang.
But there is one thing that Wang Chang doesn't quite understand. If the Shu thieves deploy their elite troops to Lushi County to intercept him, what should they do along the way to Hongnong and Shaanxi counties? !
You must know that the best and most critical road from Hongnong County to Luoyang is the road from Hongnong County to Shaanxi County. If the Shu thieves want to launch an attack on Henan County from Hongnong County, then which road, It is the logistics supply channel for Shu thieves.
But now if the Shu thieves dispatch their troops to Lushi County to encircle and suppress themselves, how should they guard that road? !
Just rely on these Hongnong families to defend themselves with private soldiers? !
Is the commander-in-chief of the Shu thieves a little too ambitious? !
If he changes the direction of his attack again at this time and attacks Hongnong County, wouldn't he directly block the logistical supply line for the Shu thieves to attack Luoyang? !
Since the commander-in-chief of the Shu thieves had the ability to move south from Pubanjin and easily persuade Hongnong County to surrender, thus gaining a strategic advantage, how could he be such an unwise person? !
Therefore, among the two groups of soldiers and horses, one must be imaginary and the other real.
After such a series of in-depth analysis, Wang Chang overturned his initial judgment and believed that the Shu bandit army that had just assembled and came to Lushi County may not be the main force of the elite Shu bandits that invaded Luoyang this time.
Maybe it was just a suspicious soldier put together by aristocratic families and bluffing to scare them into retreating.
It is possible that the real main force of the Shu thieves is still gathering in Hongnong and Shaanxian areas, or it is possible that they have already set off through the highway to Mianchi, Xin'an and other places, or even marched to Hangu Pass.
Therefore, what Wang Chang has to do at this time is to defeat this suspected army as soon as possible, and then lead his troops north to occupy Hongnong or Shaanxian County and cut off the Shu thieves' logistical supply channels.
After Wang Chang made his own judgment, he immediately led his troops to turn around and collided with the suspected Shu thieves coming towards Lushi County.
Then he hit his head directly and was bleeding.
Coming towards Lushi County were really the elite 7,000 Northern troops led by Wei Yan, and the vanguard was none other than Wang Shuang, the powerful general under Wei Yan.
There was no way, all Wang Chang's predictions were taken into account by Pang Tong.
After Pang Tong learned that Wang Chang did not march along the route of Hu County, Hongnong County, and Shaanxi County, but immediately turned to march to Lu County in the southeast after passing Hu County, he immediately judged that this The leading general is not a brave general who only rushes and fights.
Coupled with the information he had obtained before, after learning about the deeds of Tongguan guard Wang Chang, Pang Tong had enough knowledge and understanding of Wang Chang.
Wang Chang is a general who fights with his brain, and dealing with such a wise general is actually easy but difficult to solve.
It's easy to solve because this kind of general will fight with his brain, and will make adjustments immediately when he realizes that something is wrong. As long as you guess his train of thought and follow his train of thought to set up an ambush, he will take the initiative to infiltrate you. Go into the trap set.
The reason why it is difficult to solve is that you may be able to guess the temporary thoughts of such wise generals, but you cannot be right every time. Even after the enemy sees through your strategy, you may encounter enemy counterattack.
Therefore, at this time, you need to have enough understanding of the enemy's army, enough confidence in your own strategy, and enough courage.
This is an action to see who can see the other side's trump card first, and once one side fails to detect the enemy's true decisive method in time, it is basically equal to the defeat.
Obviously, Pang Tong was very confident in his strategy, and he also had a certain understanding of Wang Chang. In addition, now that the Hongnong family, under the leadership of Yang Bing, was on the side of the Han Dynasty, Pang Tong could use the family's The eyeliner knew Wang Chang's marching route well, and at the same time formulated a suitable routine to attract Wang Chang to fall into the trap.
So strictly speaking, the person who really plays away from home is Wang Chang.
Pang Tong had the right location and the right people, but Wang Chang didn't even have the right time. Wang Chang didn't have any of them.
Wang Chang's first mistake was to misjudge the actual commander of the Han army.
Wang Chang thought that his opponent this time was Wei Yan, but he did not expect that the dignified Mr. Fengchu was setting a trap for him. He misjudged the enemy coach, and his response was naturally not very correct.
The second mistake was not a problem with Wang Chang, but a problem with the combat effectiveness of the Tongguan garrison led by Wang Chang.
The Tongguan garrison led by Wang Chang was newly recruited after the second expansion of Sili County soldiers after the last war. Their combat effectiveness was not very strong. After all, they were there to guard Tongguan. Sima Yi didn't care about this force at all. How the troops' field combat capabilities are depends on Tongguan's wall defense. It doesn't matter if their field combat capabilities are slightly weaker.
The opponent Wang Chang had to face was the most elite Northern Army of the Han Dynasty. Their combat power was not at the same level.
The third mistake was Wang Chang's natural reaction after he misjudged his opponent. Wang Chang thought that the Shu thieves in front of him were just a ragtag group recruited temporarily. As long as he concentrated a little attack, he could directly break through the opponent's defense line and defeat the opponent.
Therefore, during the attack, Wang Chang chose the tactic of focusing on attacking the enemy's forward.
As it happened, Wang Shuang, the elite of Wei Yan's Northern Army, served as the vanguard. What he was best at was concentrating on attacking the enemy's formation.
The tip of the needle is facing the awn. Unfortunately, this side is a real needle point, but the other side is not a awn, but a thread.
Under the impact of Wang Shuang's personal troops, Wang Chang's troops were directly broken through the front army.
Although Wang Chang tried his best to adjust his formation to block Wang Shuang's advance after realizing that he had made a mistake, the problem was that Wang Shuang did not come alone. Behind him was the main force led by Wei Yan.
Under the continuous attacks of Wang Shuang and Wei Yan, Wang Chang finally could not maintain his front and had to withdraw his troops.
It is said that they are withdrawing their troops, but in fact, in this case, it is just a more honorable term for fleeing.
Under the protection of his personal guards, Wang Chang escaped from the battlefield without being caught by Wei Yan and others. But the problem was that of the nine thousand soldiers he brought with him, less than two were able to escape with him. Thousands of people.
In this case, what else can Wang Chang do? !
Two thousand defeated troops are not enough to threaten any city in Hongnong County. They may even encounter an army of Shu thieves at any time and are unable to suppress them. It is better to retreat.
Therefore, Wang Chang could only lead the defeated troops and return to Tongguan.
The hope now lies in Luoyang. Sima Yi can defeat the Shu thieves and recapture Hongnong so that Wang Chang will not be trapped in Tongguan.
For the rest, Wang Chang has tried his best and can't really help at all.
(End of chapter)
