The next day, it was not until midnight that the large army of the Han army reached Jushui. The first to arrive was Liu Guangyi, the Wujie Army Lieutenant.
After Qin Feng was completely restored, the Han army carried out a major defensive adjustment and rest. During the war, the three imperial armies, Longqi, Xingjie, and Neidianzhi, were the main ones. The officers and men served. Although they gained a lot, they also suffered a lot of casualties, lost, and were scattered.
Although the upper-level generals such as Gao Huaide, Wang Quanbin, Shi Shouxin, etc. were still high in fighting spirit, they were still suppressed by Xiang Xun and were forced to rest and defend separately. The Neidian Zhijun was stationed in Fengzhou to ensure the supply of the post road; the Longqi army was stationed in Chengzhou as a backup; the Xingjie army was stationed in Jiezhou to train for Minzhou; Wang Jingzi was stationed to suppress Qinzhou and divided his divisions to guard the front and rear The captured Shu army.
Therefore, there were only 20,000 Han soldiers accompanying Xiang Xun in the winter expedition to Hanzhong, and they were mainly composed of the southwest frontier army. When Wang Jingna's army attacked Qinzhou, there was not much fierce fighting and there was not much damage. Wu Jie's army was transferred south to join the battle.
At Jushui Ferry, Han soldiers and civilians worked together to cut wood and bundle rafts, and then built a pontoon bridge based on the burned pontoons. Many civilians floated on wooden rafts, rarely suffering from the cold water on their hands. A Han army was stationed on the east bank in a defensive position to provide support and prevent the Shu army from attacking.
Xiang Xun arrived and ordered all the troops to rest. The first thing he did was to go to the ferry to check the situation. Murong Chengtai accompanied him and reported the situation to him.
"This morning, the last general sent people in advance to cut down bamboo and wood in preparation for the construction of the floating beam. General Liu Guangyi arrived and took a detour from the shallow and narrow place upstream to protect the construction of the floating beam. When the Shu army attacked, we saw that our army was severely We are well prepared and dare not attack, so we retreat back to the west city." Pointing to the Fuliang that has been laid across the center of the river, Murong Chengtai said: "According to the current progress, Fuliang will be completed in another hour, and the army can calmly cross the Ju River. water!"
"Is it possible to withstand the passage of carriages?" Xiang Xun asked after trying it out on the bridge himself.
"Already tried it, no problem!"
"Well done!" Xiang Xun walked up in person, stepped on it hard, as if to test its sturdiness, and raised his hand to point to Xixian County: "How is the enemy situation in the city?"
Murong Chengtai replied: "The last general sent someone to sneak across the other side and captured the enemy sentry. After interrogation, he learned from his mouth that in the past few days when our army attacked Xingzhou, the Shu army overhauled the city defenses and stocked up on grain and equipment. The commander-in-chief Li Tinggui Frankly speaking, our army is blocked and we want to live or die with Xixian County!
In addition, at this time, there were about 20,000 soldiers in the West City. Except for the 3,000 Nanzheng Shu Imperial Army, the rest were either defeated soldiers or newly recruited young men, and there were quite a lot of them!
The strange thing is that the last general ordered people to check Dingjun Mountain, but there was no Shu army stationed there! "
"The exploration was quite careful!" Xiang Xun said, feeling more relaxed and praising Rong Chengtai.
After being praised by Xiang Xun, Murong Chengtai was a little overjoyed. He smiled and said: "If you win Dingjun Mountain, you will win Hanzhong. The Shu army will not establish a stronghold. After crossing the river, the last general is willing to lead the army and garrison it!"
After hearing what he said, Xiang Xun immediately shook his head and said: "Dingjun Mountain is ten miles away from the West City. If what the enemy sentry said is true, the Shu army is garrisoned regardless of the troops. This means that its army is a mixed bag of good and bad, and its combat effectiveness is worrying. I am afraid that I will defeat them all. The enemy is neither Why should our army divide its troops and occupy that useless ground?"
After such an explanation, Murong Chengtai thought thoughtfully and complimented with a smile: "The last general will stick to the past and be more handsome than the first. I really admire him!"
He smiled faintly and ordered Xiang Xun: "Send more men to cross the river and set up camp. I want to see if Li Tinggui has the confidence to stop me from moving forward!"
"yes!"
Following the commander's order, the construction speed of the pontoon bridge was indeed increased a lot. When the sun set over the Western Mountains, the two thousand horse troops accompanying the army crossed the river first and dispersed in the lowland wilderness outside the West City to provide surveillance.
Afterwards, the army, auxiliary soldiers, civilians, food, and ordnance crossed the river one after another. The huge trees and tents that had been prepared were quickly set up on the selected flat ground. There were no seats in the camp, and they were eyeing the west city.
"We need more people here!"
"This needs reinforcement!"
"Prepare more arrows on the city!"
"Spread more caltrops under the city!"
"..."
"Let me move quickly. The Shu army has arrived and the attack is imminent. We don't have much time to prepare!" Looking at the movements of the Han army, the atmosphere in the city became increasingly tense. Li Tinggui personally went to the city to inspect. The arrangement is adjusted, the speech is very fast, and the attitude is strict.
He looked like someone who had suffered from sleep deprivation, his eye sockets were sunken, and the whites of his pupils were bloodshot. The sun was setting low, and the little sunshine that shone on the body made people unable to feel the warmth.
Li Tinggui looked at the Shu soldiers above and below the city. Under his personal guidance, their morale had recovered somewhat, but it was far from being high. It was more of a kind of numbness. Especially the soldiers who retreated from Cheng and Feng have long been accustomed to defeat. At most, they will be defeated again and retreat again.
Of course, Li Tinggui was unwilling to use such demoralized soldiers. However, given the actual conditions, it was impossible for him to put the newly recruited men at the front, and those people were even less reliable.
In fact, in terms of ambition, how much Li Tinggui himself has left is also debatable. When the Han army set up Fuliang, a general asked for instructions whether to send troops to harass and disrupt its progress.
Li Tinggui refused, and even though there were not many Liu Guangyi troops wading around the beach to the east coast, they still refused to move lightly. Perhaps in Li Tinggui's subconscious mind, he did not dare to risk a field battle with the Han army. Without a city to support him, he didn't think he could defeat the Han army.
The news from Chengdu has come, and the results of his treatment and the arrangements for the north have also come out. Li Tinggui was moved by his demotion and retention, and it was also in line with his wishes.
In fact, Li Tinggui really did not have the confidence to hold on to Xixian County. He only wanted to delay and hinder the progress of the Han army and buy time for Nanzheng and even Lizhou, Jianmen and other places. However, in the specific implementation, the actions always feel inadequate and incompetent...
At this time, Li Tinggui even gave up hope that the Shu army could hold Hanzhong. According to Chengdu's military deployment, the plan was to consolidate the defense from Jiange to Chengdu before moving to Hanzhong.
He defended Xi County to buy time for Nanzheng, but the Shu court planned to use Hanzhong to buy time for Shuzhong. However, if Hanzhong is lost, how long can Shuzhong be protected? Li Tinggui just thought about these things. Now, he only wanted to fight the last battle with the Han army and die to serve the country.
"Your Majesty, you haven't rested for a long time. Come down to the city and take a rest!" Seeing Li Tinggui staying in Xiguancheng for half an hour, the principal beside him couldn't help but persuade him.
The sound of advice brought Li Tinggui back to his senses. The coldness of the city wall almost made his hands and feet numb.
Seeing that Li Tinggui didn't say anything for a while, the principal said again: "If your body is exhausted and the Han army comes to attack, who will lead us to resist?"
Perhaps this sentence touched Li Tinggui, who finally sighed and said: "I won't go back to the office anymore. Bring me my quilt and rest in the city compartment for a while!"
"yes!"
"The Han cavalry is coming!" Just as he was about to start, the sentry guard on the guard tower suddenly shouted, and the nervous voice shocked the guards.
Li Tinggui also cheered up, took three steps and two steps at a time, quickly climbed up to the gate tower, supported the barrier and looked over. To the west, under the setting sun, a group of Han cavalry came at a light gallop from far to near. They were so far apart that they couldn't see clearly, but the person guarding the center was obviously a Han general.
"What are you panicking about? It's just the Han army's sentry cavalry!" Sensing the tension of the guards on the city, Li Tinggui immediately yelled and the atmosphere eased.
"Commander, please lead a team of cavalry guards to explore the city. Is it too much of a risk? If the Shu army comes out of the city to attack..." Coming with Xiang Xun was General Wang Renfan.
Xiang Xun replied: "When you attacked Huangniu Stronghold, didn't you also personally sneak outside the stronghold to observe?"
"The commander-in-chief is the commander-in-chief of the three armies. He should not stand in danger of the city. How can he be compared to the generals!" Wang Renfan shook his head.
Xiang Xun smiled: "Let's take a look in advance and decide on a strategy to break the city. The Shu army has become a frightened army, not to mention whether it dares to leave the city. Even if it does, can't we leave?"
In this way, the cavalry approached the city gate with a confident and calm pace, reined in their horses two arrows away, and observed the city defense a little wildly under the watchful eyes of the Shu troops on the city.
Looking at the obvious signs of repairs throughout the city gate, Xiang Xun's expression gradually became serious, with a deep look between his brows.
Two newly constructed walls of Giethoorn; a trench widened about three feet and filled with water, but its depth is unknown; a thickened and raised city wall with strict sentry posts; and high piles of visible arrows, spears, crossbows, and stones. .....
On the city, Li Tinggui frowned when he saw that the Han cavalry were as carefree and fearless as they were patrolling their own city. A general from Nanzheng couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, the Han army is too rampant and treats us like nothing. They only have a few dozen horses. The last general is willing to lead the horse army to attack and hold the Han army for future sacrifice. In the West City, There is still a cavalry force of 500 soldiers.
After hesitating for a long time, Li Tinggui couldn't bear the humiliation. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and said: "Open the door and attack! Remember, it's best to kill the enemy. You can chase them away, but don't pursue them deeply. Be careful of the Han army's tricks and ambush!"
Li Tinggui's arrangement showed caution.
"yes!"
Xiang Xun and his party at the foot of the city looked around twice and finally saw the reaction of the Shu army. The suspension bridge fell, the city gate opened wide, and the Shu cavalry stood out.
"Let's go!" Xiang Xun simply turned his horse's head and led the people back to the camp. He also paid attention to the pursuit of the Shu cavalry, and did not forget to tell Wang Renfan: "Hold the Shu army and send someone to gallop back to inform you." Ma Renyu, if the Shu army pursues me deeply, I will annihilate this Shu cavalry!"
