In the early autumn season, it is still a bit hot, the Sichuan Road is dangerous, and the strong mountain wind is enough to make people feel the coolness of autumn. From the north of Lizhou, there are two hundred miles of mountain roads and elevated plank roads, which create a clear path between dangers and obstacles.
Blocked by mountains and stone cliffs, the water of the Jialing River winds and flows southward. There is a sense of emptiness among the steep mountains, making the sound of the water hitting the rocks more clear. On a section of plank road on the right side of the river, there are military flags on tall trees, which are the Shu flags. Three thousand Shu soldiers are marching in earnest. Due to the road, the queue is very long.
The general's flag in front of the army was written with the word "King". This team was the army that went north to support Sanquan Pass under the military order of Zhao Chongtao, the envoy from northern Sichuan and Lizhou Jiedu. According to the military report from Sanquan Pass, the incoming Han army was only a few thousand troops supported by Wang Renzhong of Hanzhong. With the defense of Sanquan and the garrison of Li Jin, the "general of Hou Shu", they should be able to resist it.
But after all, he had fought against the Han army. After experiencing the Han-Shu war three years ago, he knew how powerful the Han army was. Han general Wang Rengan achieved his fame through the numerous corpses of Shu soldiers. Therefore, without much hesitation, Zhao Chongtao decided to strengthen the guard of Sanquan and asked the supervisor Wang Shenchao to go north in person.
Since the founding of the Northern Han Dynasty, during the ten-year conflict between Han and Shu, they had lost consecutive battles, lost troops and generals, and the morale of the army had long been destroyed. Most of the Shu generals had actually suffered from Sinophobia. Including Zhao Chongtao, this prince's loyalty to Shu is unquestionable, but his fear of the Han is also true.
This sudden attack from the Northern Han Dynasty still caught the Shu army by surprise. Because the Han-Shu peace treaty stipulated that the Shu army could only station 5,000 troops in Lizhou. Not only was it forced by the power of the Northern Han Dynasty, but also in order to shorten the distance for transporting military supplies to the north and reduce the pressure of transshipment, the peace treaty was fulfilled in a more serious manner. . The Shu army has 50,000 troops in the north, mainly stationed on the Jianmen and Jiameng lines.
Of course, when it comes to national security and border defense, the Shu army would not be so "honest". In the past three years, several defensive military strongholds were built on the Lizhou Road to cut off the river road, repair the city walls, and store up supplies. Ordnance and food.
After the Han division was launched, in addition to deploying troops to support Sanquan Pass, it also stepped up its deployment of troops and stationed them in various villages to strengthen defense and garrison.
After receiving the urgent news, Wang Shenchao's army decisively reorganized its troops and supplies, and headed north from Miangu City in Lizhou for more than seventy miles for more than three days before approaching Sanquan.
At this time, five days had passed since the Han army attacked the pass. In the process of marching north, we constantly received military reports from the north. In summary, there was only one sentence: the Han army was getting more and more urgent in attacking the city, the defenses were in critical condition, and reinforcements were urgently needed.
In this way, Zhao Chongtao's move of sending troops to support seemed prescient. On the way, Wang Shenchao felt that the situation in the north was urgent, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. He kept urging his soldiers to hurry up, otherwise, the march would be slower.
"Du Jian, the soldiers have been marching for days and are very tired. It's better to rest!" Standing beside the plank road, looking at the Shu soldiers passing by, a commander came up and suggested to Wang Shenchao.
"The fighting in Sanquan is urgent. We can afford to rest, but I'm afraid Li Jin can't afford to wait!" Wang Shenchao said helplessly: "Sanquan is the first pass for the Han army to enter Sichuan, so we must attack with all our strength. I have been ordered to do so. Support and don’t be negligent.”
"But after marching like this, the army is exhausted. Even if we reach Sanquan, the soldiers will not be able to fight!" said the commander.
Hearing this, Wang Shenchao's expression became serious and firm: "We can't delay it. If the Three Springs Pass is broken, our army will definitely be defeated. And once it stops, we don't know how much time will be lost!"
"Instruct all battalions not to relax, otherwise they will be punished according to military law!" Wang Shenchao said, paused, and then added: "This place is less than forty miles away from Sanquan. Let the soldiers hold on a little longer until they reach Guancheng. Rest again!”
After the order was given, the former military camp commander who had opened the way turned back in person, looking hurriedly, and said: "Report to the Supervisor, there is something strange ahead!"
Seeing this, his expression changed slightly. Wang Shenchao immediately ordered the entire army to suspend their alert, and rushed forward with the Chinese army escort. In the center of the plank road, the Shu soldiers in the front army could no longer care about their fatigue. They raised their shields, raised their guns, and set their bows and arrows, staring warily at the north.
The movement ahead was obvious, chaotic and noisy. When the faint sound of killing appeared, the atmosphere suddenly became tense. After a while, a team appeared in the field of vision. They were in a panic and had no flags to distinguish. But looking at their armor and uniforms, they were obviously the Shu army. Seeing this, Wang Shenchao's heart skipped a beat. Looking at the situation, it was obvious that something had happened at Sanquan Pass.
Although they are friendly troops, they dare not relax even if they are defeated. When they get close, they will stop them immediately. But no matter how many defeated troops there were, when they saw the reinforcements, those who were fleeing in front couldn't help but look happy, and regardless of the orders, they rushed straight towards Wang Shenchao.
Without the slightest hesitation, he ordered a round of arrows to be fired, and the dozen or so Shu soldiers at the front immediately fell to the ground. Only then did they calm down and not dare to approach rashly.
After a while of squeezing, a Shu general rushed out from the defeated army and came forward with several sergeants. The person who came was Liu Tingzuo, the supervisor of Sanquan City. He was in a state of embarrassment. Seeing his condition, Wang Shenchao pulled him over and asked urgently: "Supervisor Liu, what's going on? Sanquan Pass is lost? Where is General Li?"
When he arrived at Wang Shenchao's reinforcements, Liu Tingzuo breathed a sigh of relief, but when he heard his question, his eyes were a little evasive, and he nodded and said: "The Han army is not afraid of death and has been attacking the city for days. Although our army fought tooth and nail to resist, it failed in the end. General Li was beheaded by Han generals at Beiguan. I had no choice, so I gathered some defeated troops and retreated south!"
As he said that, looking at Wang Shenchao, Liu Tingzuo lamented: "If Wang Dujian could arrive one day earlier, he would definitely be able to guard Sanquan!"
"What do you mean! Are you blaming me for the delay?" After hearing what he said, Wang Shenchao couldn't help but get angry: "After receiving your military report, I was ordered to organize my troops to the north and marched for days. There was not a moment's delay, and the soldiers did not fail. Weary ones. You have 3,000 men, and you cannot defend a dangerous fortress for even five days?"
Seeing that Wang Shenchao was offended, Liu Tingzuo's face changed slightly and he quickly explained: "That's not what I meant! Wang Dujian, the Han army is chasing after them. Let's not talk about it. Let's think about how to resist!"
The sound is still ringing in my ears, and the shouts of killing coming from the north road are getting clearer. It is obvious that the pursuit of the Han army is approaching. There were more and more defeated soldiers in the front, and there was already a commotion. The front camp of the reinforcements also began to feel uneasy.
Wang Shenchao's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly realized the embarrassment and danger of his situation. His reinforcements were exhausted and scattered on the plank road. The defeated troops gathered in front and the pursuers were in a hurry. Under such circumstances, there was not enough time and it was difficult to organize an effective defense.
"Liu Jianjun, I am gathering here for defense. You go back immediately, organize the defeated army, resist the Han army, delay their pursuit, and buy me time!" After a moment's consideration, Wang Shenchao immediately ordered: "Flee blindly. They will only be chased and killed by the Han army!"
After hearing the order, Liu Tingzuo shook his head repeatedly: "Wangdu Supervisor, the defeated army is no longer organized, and the morale of the army has been lost. It is impossible to resist and reorganize the army at the same time. If you get out of the way and let the defeated army retreat south first, you resist here, I Go to the south and assemble your army!"
After hearing what he said, Wang Shenchao almost spit on Liu Tingzuo's face, his expression became ugly, but at this moment, he couldn't care less about it, his eyes flashed and he said immediately: "Okay! But don't be so chaotic and careless. Xu, you go immediately, make some arrangements, and tell Sanquan's defeated troops that I will open the road and let them go south in an orderly manner, and lead people to set up defenses here!"
"Okay! Wangdu Supervisor Zhenyi General!" Seeing his statement, Liu Tingzuo looked happy and cupped his hands.
After saying that, he turned back to the organization. As soon as he left, the military academy around him couldn't help but said to Wang Shenchao: "Captain, the defeated soldiers cannot be used, and the exhausted troops cannot be relied on! Once the road is opened and Sanquan's defeated troops can pass by, It will definitely disrupt our army and lead our army into the abyss of defeat!"
"How could I not know this?" Wang Shenchao changed his face and said coldly: "Listen to the order, the front camp will occupy the plank road, and everyone coming from the north will be shot!"
After saying that, he ordered the deputy general to command: "Immediately give orders to the rear army to retreat slowly and retreat to Jinshan stronghold. You personally lead the people and pile up firewood and grease along the road at the entrance of the rear, and prepare to burn the road to prevent the Han army from advancing." !”
"yes!"
Wang Shenchao quickly made a decision and arranged actions. Liu Tingzuo, on his side, returned to the defeated army and informed Wang Shenchao of Wang Shenchao's intentions. The defeated army was overjoyed and within a moment, he led his men while shouting and running south, without any intention of "reorganizing a little bit".
Wang Shenchao looked to the south and couldn't help but cursed. On his side, he was still ordering people to rush arrows forward. Without caring much, he directly ordered to shoot arrows to kill any living creature that dared to come south.
When Liu Tingzuo saw Wang Shenchao occupying the road doing this, he still didn't understand that he had been tricked. Faced with the friendly arrows fired mercilessly, his eyes were splitting, and he cursed Wang Shenchao for killing each other, which was inappropriate. Son of man.
The Shu army that withdrew from Sanquan Pass was defeated, and there were more than a thousand soldiers. Reinforcements came in front of them with bows and arrows, and Han troops in the back slaughtered them. They completely collapsed.
After hearing the news, the Shu soldiers who were in contact with the pursuing troops simply abandoned their weapons and surrendered. However, the Han army did not understand their situation and directly killed them without any intention of surrendering. All the way forward, every step was bloody, resulting in Sanquan's defeat. Advance was also death, retreat was also death.
Under this situation, the defeated army was inspired to their final bloody spirit. Under the leadership of Liu Tingzuo, they chose to attack directly towards Wang Shenchao who was setting up a blockade. With a fearless attack, Wang Shenchao's temporary front camp defense line was destroyed. disturb......
Wang Shenchao had to be defeated.
