Half an hour.
An hour.
Time continues to pass, and the sun has moved westward, but the shouts of killing outside Donghe Village have not weakened. They are always spreading outwards, echoing in the Qinling Mountains, and from time to time, there will be a clear high-pitched roar, like the rising tide.
Tens of thousands of Shu troops, led by Yao Yuanfu, surrounded the Han army on a slope that was not high enough but could be defended. They had launched no less than ten charges in a complete contest of wills, using their lives to fill the gaps.
Since the Northern Expedition, the Shu army, which had suffered successive setbacks, released the last bit of its bloody spirit under strict orders. It seemed a bit brave and fearless of death, but it faced stronger resistance and was not timid.
There is the veteran general who is nearly seventy years old and still standing on the front line to command. He takes the lead and greatly inspires morale. Following a wave of counterattacks led by Yao Yuanfu himself, the cavalry charged from a high position and once again repelled the Shu army's attack.
Although Yao Yuanfu restrained himself in a corner, he also restricted the expansion of the Shu army. He was focused on exchanging lives for lives and waiting for reinforcements. He believed that Zhao Hui and Xiang Xun would definitely react. They not only wanted to stay alive, but also wanted to turn defense into offense and win a big victory.
Donghe Village is under the jurisdiction of Fengzhou. It is an important road between Sichuan and Shaanxi and is surrounded by mountains and rivers. However, it has been abandoned for a long time because it is a border area. Among the ruins, Li Tinggui, the commander-in-chief of the Shu army, was restless and pacing. The bright military armor restrained him so much that he could hardly breathe, and the sweat had already soaked the lining.
They kept urging the offensive, but under the determined will of the Han army to resist, little effect was achieved. It was like a rock, standing still under the attack of wave after wave of tide.
"Another wave of people will rush to kill. Send my order. Anyone who dares to fight will be killed!" Li Tinggui couldn't help but get angry and issued another stern order.
They kept pressing for attacks, but it was difficult to make a breakthrough, which made Li Tinggui realize that something was wrong. Looking from a distance, amid the tight siege of the Shu army, the banner with the word "medicine" still stands.
"This Yao Yuanfu is so difficult to deal with? Our general can't even defeat an old man with a bright head?" Li Tinggui couldn't help but said angrily.
"What's going on over there with He Jianjian? Haven't they wiped out the Han army yet?" Li Tinggui asked again.
No one answered, but the principal rushed to inquire. About a quarter of an hour later, the principal came to report, with caution in his voice: "General He launched ten attacks on the Han army. The Han army built strongholds in the mountains and forests and resisted stubbornly, so that they were unable to defeat it after repeated attacks..."
"Damn it!" Li Tinggui was a little bit off guard.
A member of the army who joined the army couldn't help but said: "The pursuing Han army is obviously elite, brave and capable, and fights tenaciously. They rely on the mountains and rivers to win. Although our army is large, it is difficult to fully deploy, so it cannot be defeated. Recruiting envoys Think about how to adapt!"
"How to seek change?" Li Tinggui calmed down a little.
"After all, the Han army is outnumbered. Either seize the time and fight hard to defeat it, or withdraw from the siege!" Shen Jun said.
"Can we retreat when we are in this situation?" Li Tinggui scolded, a flash of hesitation flashed across his expression, he hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, waved his hand and said: "Send an order to Sun Hanshao, and ask him to lead the Gudao army to the north to reinforce the battle. !”
There are more than 30,000 Shu troops in Chencang's front line. In the south of Gudaoshui, there is still a team of 10,000 soldiers led by Shu general Sun Hanshao. Li Tinggui issued this order, but he was determined to make a desperate effort to compete with the Han army to the end. Of course, as he said, there is absolutely no reason to retreat at this time, otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted and it will easily lead to a rout.
However, Li Tinggui wanted to buy time, but the Han army did not give him more time. The reinforcements came in quickly, which was unexpected.
Six or seven miles away, there was also a siege, but in terms of intensity, it was much lower than Yao Yuanfu's. Li Yan, the assistant general of the Han army, was also an experienced general. Although he followed the rapid advance and maintained a fast pace, he did not relax his vigilance. During the advance, he always maintained a counterattack and even defensive formation.
After Yao Yuan Fulian defeated the Shu Army and was surrounded, he led his troops and speeded up, intending to go south for rescue. He had no choice, neither willing nor daring to sit on the sidelines while his general was trapped.
So during the march, they were surrounded by the Shu army led by He Zhanjian. However, thanks to his mental preparation, Li Yan did not panic and responded quickly. Like Yao Yuanfu, he chose to storm a mountain forest and occupy it.
It was also the same as Yao Yuanfu's idea. Standing still and waiting for reinforcements. With him as a check, how could he rebuild the garrison, which would also reduce the pressure on Yao Yuanfu's side in a disguised manner. In comparison, the situation here is much better than Yao Yuanfu's.
It is never easy to attack from above, especially when faced with an infantry army that is well-positioned to defeat the defender. In the Shu army formation, He Jianjian looked tired, observing the offensive and defensive situation with a solemn expression.
"General, Li Zhaoping ordered us to defeat the Han army within half an hour and set up barriers on the spot to prevent enemy reinforcements!"
Hearing the order, He Jianjian almost cursed out loud. He had already tried his best here. The difficulty of the Han army was somewhat beyond his expectation, and he had no idea that he had fallen into a trap and was trapped in a tight siege. According to his estimation, unless the Han army ran out of arrows and food, it would be difficult to defeat it even if given two hours, let alone half an hour.
"Return to the order to summon the envoys, saying that our army has been ordered to defeat them!" He suppressed the unhappiness in his heart and ordered with an ugly face.
He Jianxiong was originally an envoy of the Jianxiong Army of the Later Jin Dynasty, stationed in Qinzhou. After the Khitan destroyed the Jin Dynasty, he led his troops to seek refuge in the Later Shu Dynasty, and assisted him to capture the four states of Qin, Feng, Jie, and Cheng in one fell swoop. During the confrontation between the Shu and Han Dynasties, , his figure has always been active.
However, after surrendering to Shu, although he was treated favorably by Meng Chang, the leader of Shu, and was generously rewarded with titles, high officials, honors, and beauties, he was transferred away from Qinzhou. After being away from the old nest and letting He rebuild over the years, it actually felt quite boring.
Including this second Northern Expedition to Guanzhong, although he was appointed as the general commanding the army, the discomfort in his heart did not decrease but increased. Seeing the Northern Han Dynasty becoming more and more prosperous over the years, and seeing how Zhao Hui, Shi Kuangyi, Yao Yuanfu and others were respected, I felt envious and regretted what would have been the result if I had waited and watched the situation more and took refuge in the Northern Han Dynasty. ...
It was difficult for He Xianjian to defeat Li Yan's army. In addition to the strong combat power of the Han army and his ability to deal with it properly, he did not devote himself fully to it. This was also the reason.
"General, the reinforcements of the Han army are near and are coming quickly!" The sentry rider's report made He Jianjian's heart sink a little.
"So fast?" He Jianjian couldn't hide his surprise.
However, he didn't care much and immediately made emergency adjustments to divide his troops to fight. In this way, it became even more impossible to completely defeat Li Yan's army.
The first person to feel the battlefield was Wang Renfan who came from Sanguan and led his thousands of troops who were ready to attack. After Xiang Xun led his army out south, he took the initiative to request a battle, and Xiang Xun agreed.
The leader of the army approached and took a quick look at the battlefield situation. Without any hesitation, Wang Rengan took the lead and was eager to achieve great results. He directly led his men and rushed towards the Shu army formation without fear, aiming at He Jianjian's general flag. Not to defeat the Shu army, but to disturb their morale and disrupt their position.
After that, Xiang Xunqin led the main force of reinforcements, maintained his physical strength, maintained the formation, and calmly pressed forward. In addition to the necessary defense, Zhao Hui sent all the remaining troops in Baoji City to Xiang Xun. He was not in a hurry. Being impatient will easily lead to opportunities with the enemy.
On the Donghe Village side, under the strong pressure of Li Tinggui, the Shu army changed two waves and launched an attack on Yao Yuanfu. Their tactics of disdain for casualties once forced Yao Yuanfu into a desperate situation. However, on the edge of defeat, he struggled with difficulty. Withstood.
Yao Yuanfu felt very distressed. He felt it was wasteful and stupid to use the cavalry in this way and to be surrounded and killed like this. If the final result was irreversible, he wouldn't know how to deal with it.
Seeing the Shu army's offensive weakening, Yao Yuanfu, who was full of blood, knew that he had won this wave again. But how long it can last depends on reinforcements.
"The reinforcements of the Han army are coming. Attacked from two sides, General He is hard to defeat. He has been defeated. The Han army is pursuing southward!" A military report made Li Tinggui feel a little unbalanced.
"What!" Li Tinggui's face turned red from the heat, and he couldn't help but turn pale. His voice was trembling: "How could the Han army be so fast? Why did He Xianjian lose so quickly!"
Including the military academy who reported it, no one could answer his doubts at this time.
"The situation is not good, we need to make a decision immediately!" Li Tinggui was a little panicked, but his generals advised him.
Hearing this, Li Tinggui took a few deep breaths and tried hard to calm down. His mind was still a little confused. He hesitated for a long time, and with a look of reluctance, he finally ordered: "Send an order to He Jianzhuan and ask him to reorganize his troops and move behind the Taoist Palace. Fight while fighting." Withdraw, you must stop the Han reinforcements for me!"
Turning back, he looked at Yao Yuanfu's army in the distance, which was still as stubborn as a rock, and reluctantly ordered: "Keep the military formation and withdraw!"
