When the tired bird enters the forest, the autumn sun sets in the west, clouds cover the sky, and the trees on the mountain are dyed. On the plank road to Sichuan, the chase that lasted for nearly half a day has come to an end. The smell of blood gradually dissipated under the blowing autumn wind. Although the killing sound stopped, the surrounding birds and beasts still stayed away, and the sporadic chirping of cicadas could be heard. A kind of desolation and caution.
More than fifty miles south to Sanquan Pass, the plank road has been cut off. Further south, under the orders of Wang Shenchao, the general of Shu, the plank road was either burned or demolished, and the plank road was completely destroyed. Under the leadership of Wang Shenchao, the Shu army retreated and destroyed at the same time. They stopped in one place and burned stacks of them, just like lighting up the bright lamps one by one, stretching for more than 20 miles until Mantian Ridge. The smoke and fire were blazing, as if competing with the setting sun that reflected the red mountains and forests.
Standing in front of the cut-off plank road, the fire at the first burning point has weakened, but the rising black smoke and permeating heat can still be felt. The already dark face could not help but be stained even deeper. Murong Chengtai was full of blood and couldn't help but cursed: "These Shu soldiers are really hateful. How can you not feel bad if the plank road that you worked so hard to build is destroyed like this? "
After the Sanquan Pass was defeated, Murong Chengtai was ordered by Wang Renzhen to lead his troops across the pass and go south. In addition to chasing the defeated soldiers, his main purpose was to seize the plank road between Sanquan and Sichuan Village to avoid being attacked by them. Burn.
What the Shu army could think of, the Han army could also think of. In order to destroy Shu, the Han Dynasty has been fully prepared for the past three years from the imperial court to the southwest, and has fully understood itself and the enemy. For the army attacking Shu, although the city gates of the Shu army are dangerous, they should not be overly worried. No matter how strong the city is, it still needs people to defend it. When it comes to generals and soldiers, the gap between Han and Shu is as vast as clouds and mud.
Therefore, the smoothness of roads and the protection of baggage are the keys to this battle to destroy Shu. After breaking through Sanquan Pass, Wang Renfan made a decisive decision and sent Murong Chengtai southward without even bothering to clear out the remaining enemies in the pass.
However, I hurriedly pursued, but I didn't expect that I was delayed by reinforcements and successfully destroyed the plank road.
"General, the remnants of the enemy in the road have been eliminated, and more than two hundred people have been captured alive. It's a pity that Liu Tingzuo, his supervisor, escaped!" A subordinate battalion general, carrying thousands of evil spirits after the war, looked towards Murong Cheng who stopped to look south. Tai said.
"Kill them all!" When Murong Chengtai heard this, he suddenly said with murderous intent: "If these defeated troops hadn't stopped them, I would have chased them all the way to Mantian Ridge!"
After listening to the order, knowing that Murong Chengtai was depressed, the camp general still cautiously advised: "General, the commander-in-chief has strict orders. You cannot do this killing of prisoners!"
Of course, Murong Chengtai was just unhappy in his heart and vented his anger. He immediately said: "Leave one battalion to rest and patrol on the spot to ensure the plank road to avoid accidents. The remaining people will take care of the fallen brothers and take the wounded soldiers with them." , captured, return to Sanquan Pass!"
"yes!"
After autumn, the sky was obviously getting dark quickly. With a depressed mood, I took the cool breeze and walked back to Guancheng at night.
Sanquan City is adjacent to Jigong Mountain in the south and Jialing River in the north. It is named after Sanquan Mountain. If Lizhou occupies the main road of Shu and strangles the throat of northern Sichuan, then Sanquan is the mouth of Lizhou. To the southeast is the Micang Mountains, which is the only way to enter Sichuan. It is also an important area that the Han army must capture in the first battle.
After half a day of cleaning up, the city gates had been cleared and completely brought under the control of the Han army. The captives of the Shu army were stationed outside the city and set up separate camps to guard them. The army attacking Shu had also arrived one after another under the leadership of the generals, and the camp was Guannan.
Xiang Xun, the commander-in-chief of the Han army who was attacking Shu this time, was also welcomed into the city by the vanguard general Wang Renfan. The gate building in the north is covered with scars of war. The blood has not yet dried, and the dust and smoke are rising. Although the corpses have been cleaned, the remaining traces all show the fierceness of the fighting.
"The defenders of Sanquan are resisting very tenaciously!" Xiang Xun said, donning his military uniform and looking majestic, observing the traces of the battle.
Wang Renfan was in a good mood after making great achievements in the first battle, and said: "Li Jin claimed that he was a mighty general in Shu, but he was nothing more than that. After all, he could not defeat my Han warrior and was beheaded by Zhang Qiong. It can be seen from this that there is no one in Shu. An unknown person dares to call himself a general."
After hearing what he said, Xiang Xun asked: "How many casualties were there in this battle?"
"We have been fiercely attacking for days, killing 263 people, and more than 500 people were lightly and seriously injured!" Mentioning the casualties, Wang Renfan lamented: "However, we made a lot of gains, killing more than a thousand enemies, capturing more than 700 people, and seizing 50,000 dendrobium of grain. . The Shu army is here, and there is quite a lot of food to be gathered!"
"The casualties are not small!" Xiang Xun said, but he still expressed his affirmation of Wang Rengan's victory in this battle: "However, this battle is of great significance, and it demonstrated the prestige of our Han army. Sanquan Pass can be said to be solid, and it is still Within a few days, it was defeated by our army, which was enough to warn the Shu army in Zhuchengzhai that three years later, they are still no match for our army! From then on, the enemy will be timid at first!"
"What Dushuai said is true!" Wang Renfan said.
"All the casualties and casualties are heroes of the Han Dynasty. They should be recorded in the book together with the meritorious soldiers and reported to the court for reward after the war!" Xiang Xun instructed.
"The last general has gone to the army to comfort the military officials and make a register!"
"Okay! Where's Zhang Qiong? He should be the first to break the city and kill the general in this battle!" Xiang Xun asked.
Upon hearing this, Wang Renfan chuckled and said: "While he was recovering from his injuries in the camp, he took the lead personally and took the lead. He climbed to Guancheng three times in a row and was wounded several times!"
"Is it seriously injured?"
"The knife in the chest was a little heavy. If it weren't for the protection of the breastplate, it would have been cut open! This Zhang Qiong is really brave. He doesn't care about his life when he fights. He charges harder than the soldiers under his command!" Wang Renfan said in his tone. Appreciated.
"In our Han army, there is no shortage of these generous and heroic warriors, who can break through the barriers and seize the stronghold and win the battle! We should give them a heavy reward!" Xiang Xun said.
"Yes!" Wang Renfan immediately agreed.
Wang Renfan has now reached a certain status in the Han army. He is a senior general. He no longer needs to be in charge and fight on the front line like in the past. The perspective of looking at the problem is also different. Of course, I hope that the more generals and commanders like Zhang Qiong, the better.
Of course, how you view it in your heart is not humane. After all, Zhang Qiong was a member of the emperor's side, and had served as a general of the Su Wei, but he could only rely on his bravery and meritorious service to gain a foothold. A high-ranking general would naturally admire and admire him, but he could not help but feel sorry for him. Of course, there is indeed a shortage of such generals in the army.
"Where is Murong Chengtai?" Xiang Xun was concerned about this nobleman in the army.
Wang Rengan reported: "After breaking through the pass, I want to send generals out to pursue the defeated army and occupy the plank road. Murong Chengtai took the initiative to ask for orders. I asked him to lead the third battalion of troops to Ma Nan. Look at the time, it is time to come back!"
"Well done!" Xiang Xun said.
"The Guan Yamen have been cleared, so we can prepare the troops for the camp. Please move forward!" Wang Renfan said.
"good!"
The simple Sanquan County Government Office was occupied by Han soldiers. The place where tens of thousands of troops had military orders came out, and where safety depended, it was extremely tightly guarded. The handsome case, the scepter, the order talisman, the map and other necessary things are all ready.
Not long after we sat down, Gao Huaide, the governor of the camp, and Zhang Mei, the transport envoy of the camp, entered together. This time, Gao Huaide, who was accompanying the army as the deputy commander of the expedition against Shu, directly reported to him: "All the armies have been settled. The Forbidden Army and the Hanzhong Barracks are in the pass, and the rest are stationed in the south of the city."
"There is nothing wrong with General Gao commanding the troops and arranging his affairs!" Xiang Xun said with a smile.
This time, the North Route Expedition against Shu, commanded by Xiang Xun, consisted of approximately 40,000 infantry and horsemen, consisting of two-chamber guards, the Xingjie Forbidden Army, the Hanzhong Army, the Southwest Camp, and Huaide and Huaiwei. Of course, these are just soldiers, tens of thousands of civilians were also recruited.
Next to Gao Huaide was an ordinary-looking middle-aged general, Zhang Mei. He was an official of the Third Division. He was recommended by Xue Juzheng, the prime minister, to work in the southwest. He was initially the southwest grain envoy, and now he is in charge of the deployment and supply of supplies, grain equipment, chariots and horses for the entire army in Shu. management. Xiang Xun was highly praised for his quick work, well-organized work, and never a shortage.
"The five thousand civilians accompanying the army have been settled, and their baggage has entered the city, and the food and equipment have been seized and accepted. The remaining people should come back with the baggage. A total of six thousand light cars were built this time. Although the load capacity is not much, it is convenient for transportation between mountains..." Zhang Mei said.
"Leave the grain, grass and supplies to Commander Zhang, and the generals and I will have no worries!" Xiang Xun said with a smile after hearing this.
"You're all so handsome, so I don't dare to accept it!" Not daring to make excuses in front of Xiang Xun, Zhang Mei responded humbly: "But the Sichuan Road is difficult to travel. The further south you go, the farther the road is and the more difficult it is to transport people and animals. Be more!"
"It doesn't matter. After we capture Lizhou, we can mobilize the people nearby. It's autumn, and when we overcome the mountain obstacles, we can send grain to Shu. During the period, our army can collect the grain, money and goods!" Xiang Xun said.
Before long, the sergeant came to report that Murong Chengtai had returned from chasing the enemy and summoned him for questioning.
Seeing Xiang Xun, Murong Chengtai's mood improved a little, and he told the result of the battle: "Sanquan's defeated soldiers were basically wiped out. Unfortunately, a Shu army came to help. I took advantage of the chaos to attack and defeated them. There were hundreds of soldiers. But the Shu generals were more cunning, escaped quickly, and burned down the plank road. Therefore, only about fifty miles of the passage were saved, and troops were left to guard and patrol!"
"If you fail to do your best, please punish me!"
After listening to his narration, Xiang Xun laughed and said to Murong Chengtai: "It is already a great achievement to be able to protect fifty miles. Fortunately, we pursued the victory while we were victorious. Otherwise, if the reinforcements of the Shu army approached, the plank road would be completely destroyed! The three springs are far away from Mantian Ridge. The twists and turns are less than eighty miles. The remaining twenty miles of mountain road can be opened by ordering people to build stacks!"
