Cao Cao accurately predicted that this battle might be his last chance.
After Zhang Xiu has firmly occupied Guanzhong and the Hetao area, after two years of development, his strength will inevitably advance by leaps and bounds. The cavalry army will gallop all over the world, and Han Sui of Xiliang will be nothing more than a grasshopper after autumn. The offensive and defensive momentum between him and Zhang Xiu will be reversed, and there will no longer be an opportunity to attack Hangu Pass.
So he decisively ordered, and even went into battle in person, to capture Hangu Pass within these few days.
The news about Xiao Guan has not come yet.
No news is the best news for Cao Cao.
If Huchuquan had not surrendered, he would have aroused the fighting courage of the Huns after he broke through Hangu Pass, thereby achieving the goal of blossoming on both sides; if Huchuquan had surrendered, he would not be afraid of a head-on confrontation with Zhang Xiu.
It has been two years since he started attacking Zhang Xiu in 196, and he has not had a head-on confrontation with Zhang Xiu's main force.
Cao Cao was eager to fight Zhang Xiu head-on.
Next to Hangu Pass.
On the supervising stage, Cao Cao was in armor. His body was not majestic but he had an irresistible majesty after putting on the armor. He looked at the dilapidated Guancheng in front of him with bright eyes. Behind him, there were 30,000 people standing densely ready to go. The soldiers of Cao's army were covered in darkness.
The black armors are all densely connected together like a black ribbon.
Looking at the majestic Zhang Xiu troops on Guancheng, Cao Cao's eyes were solemn, as if he was making some kind of determination. Suddenly, his right hand quickly grabbed the hilt of the sword hanging on his left waist, pulled it out with a "clang" sound, and shouted : "Siege the city!"
"kill!"
On the high platform, the messenger waved the flag.
The soldiers of Cao's army roared angrily, carrying the ladder, and ran towards the city of Hangu Pass. At the same time, the catapults began to roar towards Hangu Pass, and huge rocks were flying.
"Archers, listen! Release!"
On the Guancheng, Ji Ling looked solemnly at Cao Cao on the battle supervising platform below the city. Fazheng standing on the right also had a solemn face.
They all expected that Cao Cao's attack on the city would most likely be desperate.
The bow shook like a thunderbolt.
Countless arrows roared, pierced the air, and shot towards the city as fast as lightning. Suddenly, a series of screams rang out from the city. At the same time, Cao Jun's eight arrow towers also pushed up, and arrows were fired. The archers of Cao's army on the tower also shot arrows towards the city, suppressing each other.
"I'm afraid Cao Cao is going to fight with all his strength. This battle must be a fierce battle." Fazheng shook his head, and countless soldiers were about to stain the city with blood again.
Ji Ling's eyes shone brightly: "Cao Cao dares to fight his best, why should I, Ji Ling, dare not? If I, Ji Ling, can exchange my life for Cao Cao's life, it will be worth it."
"Three days!"
Fazheng said, "In three days, the lord's army will arrive here, and Cao Cao will have no chance to attack Hangu Pass. We only need to hold on for three days."
"Three days?"
Ji Ling murmured to himself, then looked sideways at the captain on the other side, "How many more heavy armor soldiers are there?"
The captain quickly replied: "Back to the general, there are one hundred and twenty-one people left."
"How many of the trebuchets sent from Chang'an are still available?"
Captain: "Chang'an sent thirty planes. Including the previous ones, there are twenty-five more. Now there are fifty-five in total."
"Pull them all out for me and bombard them outside non-stop."
Captain: "Here!"
Since Cao Cao wants to fight to the death, Ji Ling will follow suit and fight to the death with Cao Cao with his own life. It feels very worthwhile.
Fa Zheng smiled calmly and said: "General Ji is so courageous. Since Cao Cao wants to fight for his life, why don't we fight with him?"
Ji Ling: "Fa joins the army. You are young and promising. At such a young age, you have already won the favor of my lord. Your future prospects are limitless. You will definitely be an indispensable adviser to my lord. And I, Ji Ling, am just a mere military general. I hope my lord knows how to meet me." Well, I will repay my kindness to my lord here, even if I die without regrets, but you are different, you must not make a mistake here, and please leave Hangu Pass as soon as possible and go to meet my lord."
Fazheng raised his head and stared at Ji Ling squarely: "General Ji's words are easy to bully. You and I are ordered to stick to Hangu Pass and share the kindness of our lord. How can I retreat due to difficulties or shrink due to danger? It is human nature. Once I die, it may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather. Even if I die here, my name will go down in history." As he said this, he stood up straight and exuded an awe-inspiring aura.
Ji Ling did not expect Fazheng to have such a heroic side: "Okay. I said the wrong thing. We share the same hatred and will fight to the death to defend Hangu Pass, waiting for the Lord to arrive."
Fa Zheng laughed.
The attack below became more fierce, and the ladder was already raised with difficulty. Xu Chu, Xia Houyuan, Xia Houchun, Cao Ang and other important generals of Cao's army led their troops to rush to the city, and they were bound to break through Hangu Pass in one fell swoop.
All the heavy armored infantry came to the city head without reservation, and the trebuchets in Guancheng also began to operate, throwing countless flints towards Cao's army's position outside Guancheng.
Seeing countless flints flying up from the city, Cao Cao shrank his eyes and looked solemnly at the whistling flints. His face was tense and he said nothing. When the flints rose to the highest point, Cao Cao said coldly: " Send an order to the entire army to move forward at full speed, break through the pass, and fight to the death without retreating. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!"
The word "Zhan" carries a cold murderous aura.
"Here!"
The ordering soldiers behind did not dare to neglect, and immediately waved the order flag to convey orders to all armies.
Ji Ling was wearing armor and holding a broadsword. He stood majestically on Guancheng, staring sharply at Cao Jun's flag. After seeing the order conveyed by the enemy Cao Jun, Ji Ling's brows condensed into the word "Sichuan", and his eyes There was a strong sense of murderous intent.
"Come here! Go and plant our army's sacred cow camp flag on Guancheng." Ji Ling stared at the city and made a cold voice. "The whole army uses the military flag as an order to tell all the soldiers that as long as I am here, the military flag is here, and in this battle, the soldiers and I—" he said word by word, "—live and die together!"
"Here!"
The soldiers next to him were also infected by the heroic spirit, and their voices rose a bit.
After the military flag was erected at the top of the city, the soldiers who defended the city were shocked and their morale was greatly boosted. Both sides began to enter a desperate state. The battle situation above and below the city head pushed the tragedy to a new climax.
General Cao Jun led his personal guards to attack the city. The attack was very fierce and desperate.
On Guancheng, Ji Ling personally led the team and set up flags to fight.
On the battle supervising platform, Cao Cao's tense face turned livid when he saw the tall sacred bull with a yellow background and red embroidery erected on the wall of Hangu Pass. He did not expect that the guard of Hangu Pass could do such a desperate job.
In his heart, he envied Zhang Xiu for having such an excellent general, but also hated that such a general could not be used by me.
With complicated emotions, Cao Cao suddenly ordered:
"attack!"
After a month of fighting, even if Chang'an has replenished the troops at Hangu Pass, the defenders in the pass are still very limited. No matter how brave Ji Ling is, when the last soldier is killed, Hangu Pass will be defeated. It was won, and Cao Cao would use his military superiority to kill Ji Ling.
Of course, if you do this, you will suffer a lot of losses, but you can't care about that now.
