In the end, Man Chong failed to break through from the east gate of Zhi County.
On the one hand, Hu Fen brought his own soldiers to the front of the front to command operations, boost morale and stabilize the defense line.
On the other hand, Zhuge Liang from the south gate of Zhi County came to help much faster than Man Chong expected.
With Zhuge Liang's timely reinforcements, Hu Fen stabilized the defense line.
Man Chong saw that it was difficult for the cavalry to maintain its impact after constant battle losses. If the Shu thieves' east gate defense line was shaken and they did not withdraw, I'm afraid all the cavalry would have to be left outside the east gate.
Therefore, Man Chong had to temporarily retreat to the city and continue to hold on, waiting for the next opportunity to break out.
It's just that, in fact, Man Chong also knew that after the failure of this breakout, it would be difficult for him to find another chance to break through.
The breakout failed, with nearly half of the cavalry injured and more than 4,000 infantry injured, which did not include the part of the soldiers sent by Man Chong to attract firepower outside the south gate. After learning that Man Chong had broken through from the east gate, some of the soldiers immediately understood. He had become an outcast, and his army's morale was weakened, and it soon collapsed. Some fled and some surrendered, but not many people escaped back to the city.
It seems that Zhuge Liang's purpose was to trap Man Chong, not to capture Zhi County. Otherwise, if Zhuge Liang took advantage of the situation and attacked the city, Zhi County would probably be captured overnight.
But if this happens, Zhuge Liang may not have time to respond to Hu Fen, and will really let Man Chong lead the cavalry and at least 20,000 infantry to break through the encirclement.
So, Zhuge Liang has always had the clearest mind. He always knew what he wanted. After blocking Man Chong back to Zhi County this time, it actually put Qin Lang in a dilemma.
After leading his troops back to Yewang County and joining Xia Houxuan, Qin Lang was indeed worried about Man Chong's safety.
Although the two people had a bit of an unpleasant quarrel over the issue of withdrawing troops and cutting off the rear, Qin Lang also figured it out later. Man Chong suddenly turned his back and chose such a dangerous job to cut off the rear. He was probably worried about his own safety and was afraid that he would risk his life. Take risks.
Therefore, after returning to Yewang County, Qin Lang also tried to discuss with Xiahou Xuan whether Xiahou Xuan could lead 20,000 troops close to Zhi County. If Man Chong broke out, he could provide some support.
But just when Qin Lang and Xia Houxuan finished their discussions and prepared to mobilize their troops to attack, Man Chong's letter to Qin Lang was delivered to Yewang County.
After seeing through Zhuge Liang's strategic plan, Man Chong sent his confidants to break out in the direction of the four city gates and send messages to the east, west, and south gates. The confidants at the three gates were intercepted. As for the north gate, Because there were too few defensive troops, Man Chong actually let Man Chong pass the letter out.
Therefore, four days after Qin Lang returned to Yewang County, he still received a letter from Man Chong.
In the letter, Man Chong not only informed Zhuge Liang of his strategic purpose, but also gave his own suggestion - let Qin Lang join Xia Houxuan, and the two of them immediately led the troops back to Chaoge to defend Chaoge in case of emergency.
Man Chong didn't know how long Xia Houba could stay in Wen County, or whether it was still too late for Qin Lang and Xia Houxuan to retreat to Chaoge. But doing it was better than not doing it.
But Qin Lang and Xia Houxuan were hesitant about such a strategy.
On the one hand, it is because although Chaoge is far away from Yewang County, more than three hundred miles away, according to the army's marching speed in this era, this distance is only about half a month's march.
No matter how incompetent Xiahou Ba is, can he still not be able to do it in half a month in Wen County? !
On the other hand, if Qin Lang and Xia Houxuan withdraw, then the 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry in Zhi County will have no way out. A total of more than 40,000 troops cannot be abandoned simply by abandoning them.
With such a huge responsibility, even if Chao Ge could be defended in the end, the court would pursue him afterwards, but he would end up in vain.
Even with Qin Lang and Xia Houxuan's special status, both of them can't bear it.
Especially Qin Lang, in addition to not having such great courage, he also feels a little sorry for Man Chong. If Man Chong hadn't come up with a battle to break up the matter, then the people trapped in Zhi County now should be You are right.
In that case, for the sake of his own safety, Man Chong took the job after the break. Now when Man Chong is in danger, how could he just abandon Man Chong and leave directly? !
Therefore, Qin Lang felt that he should still think about whether there was a way to have the best of both worlds. After a discussion between Qin Lang and Xia Houxuan, they really came up with a way that both of them thought could have the best of both worlds.
Qin Lang led 30,000 troops and continued to defend Yewang County, while preparing to support Man Chong's withdrawal, while Xia Houxuan took his 10,000 troops and returned to where they came from.
At the same time, Qin Lang sent someone to pass an order to Xiahou Ba of Wen County, asking him to try his best to hold on to Wen County and ensure the safety of Chaoge. If the gap in military strength is really too big and cannot be defended, then try to conserve your strength, retreat to Chaoge, and continue to hold on. .
In this way, Qin Lang felt that he could not only ensure the safety of Chao Ge, but also build layers of defenses to continuously delay the advance of the Shu thieves, getting the best of both worlds.
Qin Lang thought very well, but there were two things he didn't expect.
One is that Man Chong simply cannot sustain it for too long.
After the failed breakout, the morale of the Wei army in Zhe County was severely damaged. Although there were still more than 20,000 troops, the morale of the army had fallen to the bottom. The soldiers were in panic all day long after being surrounded.
Even with Man Chong's ability, I'm afraid it won't be able to sustain it for long.
Faced with this situation, even if Zhuge Liang does not want to capture Zhi County, as long as he continues to besiege the city for about ten days and a half, it is not impossible that the Wei army's internal military mentality will change.
The other one is in the direction of Wen County. Xiahou Bazhen may not be able to hold it for too long.
Xiahou Ba failed to take the initiative to attack and lost his troops and generals under Beizhong City. As a result, he now only has more than 25,000 defenders left.
In this case, in order to help defend Chaoge after Xiahou Xuan sent troops, Xiahou Ba also allocated 3,000 troops to Le Wei's current Xiahou Ba, leaving only over 20,000 county troops to defend Wen County.
As for Pang Tong outside Wen County, after receiving the reinforcements sent by Zhuge Liang, there were probably about 70,000 people.
Although comparing the strength of the troops, Xiahou Ba still had the capital to hold on, but in terms of military morale, Xiahou Ba's side was far inferior to the Northern Expeditionary Army under Pang Tong.
Moreover, Pang Tong may not want to attack Wen County head-on.
Unlike Zhi County, the northwest side of Hanoi County is close to Wangwu Mountain and Taihang Mountain. The mountain road is inconvenient. If you want to go north without passing the official road, it will not only be difficult for the soldiers to move, but also the supply of food and grass. Therefore, Zhuge Liang leads so many troops. If you want to continue going north to attack Yewang County, you must first capture Zhi County.
But Wen County in the south of Hanoi County is different. The terrain here is flat and close to the Yellow River. If a large-scale invasion of troops is not required, it is not impossible to send a small number of troops to bypass Wen County and attack Chaoge.
We didn't do this before because this sneak attack force could not have too many troops due to logistical issues. It could only have five or six thousand people at most. At that time, Chaoge and Xia Houxuan were guarding, and there was Yanjin Ferry. To help with the defense, sending such a small number of people to attack Chaoge would basically mean getting killed.
But now, Xia Houxuan has led his troops to Ye Wang, and although Le Wei is still in Chaoge, there are only 3,000 defenders left in his hands. If Pang Tong really wants to make a surprise detour and sneak attack, Le Wei may not be able to defend Live.
And this is what Xiahou Ba is most worried about.
And Pang Tong's performance further confirmed Xiahou Ba's worries.
When Pang Tong received the reinforcements from Zhuge Liang, his troops greatly increased, but he did not launch a strong attack immediately. After Pang Tong received the reinforcements, the first thing he did was to adjust the deployment of the siege and replace the soldiers and leaders of the siege. general.
In Xiahou Ba's view, this move was to confuse his vision so that he could not accurately judge the deployment of offensive forces in various gates near Wen County, and could not detect in time whether the Shu thieves had mobilized elite troops and left the vicinity of Wen County.
After all, five to six thousand soldiers, for an army of about 70,000, is less than one-tenth of the force. It is too difficult to judge with the naked eye whether one-tenth of the soldiers are missing. .
Therefore, Xiahou Ba always doubted whether the Shu thieves had really divided their forces and were preparing to bypass Wen County and attack Chaoge.
Take the initiative to test, but Xiahou Ba doesn't dare. He has few troops and the morale of his soldiers is not high. If he suffers more battle losses, it will be even more difficult to defend Wen County.
The only thing that can be done is to keep writing letters to Le Wei, asking Le Wei to be more alert and to strengthen the investigation of the dynamics around Chaoge. No matter what kind of situation he encounters, he should not go out of the city to fight easily.
But if this was all that could be done, Xiahou Ba was still uneasy. He was even considering whether to simply abandon Wen County, lead more than 20,000 soldiers, and retreat to Chaoge.
Yes, Wen County is the home of the Sima family. Guarding Wen County plays a very important role in appeasing Sima and his son. It also serves as a great role model for the Hedong aristocratic families. It means that the Wei Dynasty will not easily abandon these Hedong aristocratic families. .
But... if compared with the safety of Da Wei, Wen County is not that important.
Besides, as long as we can hold Chaoge and finally force the Shu thieves to retreat, Wen County will not be impossible to take back.
Xiahou Ba had such thoughts, but he never made up his mind until he received a military order from Qin Lang.
Since even Qin Lang has this idea, what else does Xiahou Ba have to say.
Choosing an opportunity to break out of the encirclement, he abandoned Wen County and retreated to Chaoge.
Chaoge is the most critical node in the entire Hanoi County war situation.
(End of chapter)
