At the southwest foot of Micang Mountain, a large army emerged from the inaccessible mountains and forests. The surrounding landforms are complex and the peaks are majestic. The wild forests all over the mountain exude primitiveness and wildness. However, affected by this uninvited guest, The birds were frightened and the beasts ran away, staying far away.
From Sanquan to Jiazhou, it was about 180 miles of winding mountain roads and narrow trails, which took a full 6 days to complete. The flag was covered, and the soldiers carried their general armor on their backs. They did not dare to make any noise or complain, and marched silently.
Even after training and being mentally prepared, the fatigue of crossing mountains and ridges was still beyond Gao Huaide's imagination, especially the unexplored rice warehouse trail. The soldiers accompanying the army were also fully equipped and carried food and water. Adds more burden.
Fortunately, after climbing over the northern foothills, the terrain became much gentler. Gao Huaide worked hard and shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. He also stayed in the advance camp. The work of opening the road was much more tiring. Hundreds of soldiers abandoned their armor and unloaded their equipment. They held woodcutter in hand and cleared weeds and branches along the way, leaving messy footprints. , and also opened up a road barely suitable for the brigade to pass.
"Du Jian, the guide said that after passing the gap in front, you can go out of the mountain. There is a road leading directly to Jiachuan County!" Next to Gao Huaide, a middle-aged general with a handsome appearance, a stern look, and a hint of violence pointed ahead and said to him road.
This man's name was Guo Jin, and he served as a military envoy to the two Sichuan camps. He served the great ancestor Liu Zhiyuan in his early years. Because he was a bodyguard of the great ancestor, he bore the mark of the Liu family. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was repeatedly rewarded and served as the governor of Cizhou and the commander of Longzhou. Later, he was transferred to the Southwest Army by Liu Chengyou. He ran the army very strictly and was decisive in killing. The emperor regarded him as a famous general.
"It's not easy!" Hearing this, Gao Huaide's tired face showed a little smile: "Send the message to the camps behind us and tell the soldiers to persist. We will go directly to the city to rest!"
After listening to Gao Huaide's words, Guo Jin couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said: "Is the governor's intention to capture the county?"
Hearing his doubts, Gao Huaide nodded: "The soldiers have been marching for days and are in urgent need of rest and replenishing food and water. Is there any place more suitable for rest than the county seat?"
Guo Jin said: "The main point of the partial division's roundabout march is to be secretive. Are the governors not afraid of exposing their whereabouts and arousing the alert of the Shu army?"
Gao Huaide smiled slightly: "This depends on our ability to hide our troops! Furthermore, we have arrived at Jiachuan and have circled the enemy's side. We have succeeded in the period when we need the most concealment, so there is no need to worry too much!"
After looking at the sky, the clouds were light and the wind was light, and it was still early. Gao Huaide said: "We will occupy the city today and rest all night. We will set out tomorrow, turn northwest, take the Luochuan Trail, and attack the Mantian Ridge!"
"Leave the task of capturing the city to the general!" After listening to his consideration, Guo Jin thought for a while and said with cupped hands: "I have checked the terrain of Jiachuan. There are steep mountains and ravines. There is only one trough running from east to west. The county seat is located in it, and the Songjiang River separates it to the east. We only need to divide two divisions, one to control the west entrance, and the other to siege the city, and we can capture the city without any news leaking!"
"Since General Guo has this intention, I have no reason not to agree to it!" After listening to his analysis, Gao Huaide showed a satisfied expression and ordered: "How many troops and horses does the general need?"
"Although Jiachuan belongs to Lizhou, it is actually very narrow. Without a detour, it would be difficult for the army to pay attention to this place. It's just a small county with a thousand soldiers, so we can attack it!" Guo Jinxin said.
"Okay! Then I'll go ahead with the general's two battalions. General He and I will lead the troops behind, just in case something unexpected happens!" Gao Huaide said.
"yes!"
Gao Huaide's partial division had a total of 14 battalions and more than 7,000 troops. It was mainly composed of the Huaiwei Shu army, plus 2,000 elite troops from the southwest. Gao Huaide directly transferred the two battalions of the southwest troops to Guo Jin.
After leaving the hills, the road you step on can finally be called a road. Although it is still winding and complicated, it is much better than wandering around Micang Mountain. They are about to rest and have expectations. The morale of the soldiers has also recovered a lot. All the fatigue and hardship have been suppressed by the uplifting spirit.
The commander of the Huaiwei Army rushed up. The veteran general was nearly sixty years old. Considering his old age, he didn't want to accompany him to the army for this attack, but why should he rebuild and invite him. The results proved that he seemed to underestimate this old guy. He followed the army over the mountains and ridges, even though he was not walking on flat ground, he still took his time and ran up the mountain trails as well as many young and powerful soldiers.
"General Lao has been with the army and suffered all the way!" Gao Huaide had a tolerant attitude towards He Jianjian.
Gao Huaide was polite, but He Xianjian was careful. After all, as a general who had been demoted repeatedly with a criminal record, he responded humbly: "The emperor ignores past grudges and shows great kindness. I am a powerful general. I shall die in service." Report. When I was in the Shu army, I often walked through the Qinling Mountains. Although the Micang Trail is difficult, I can still walk freely!"
Looking at He Xianjian, he saw that although he had white hair on his temples and a tired figure, he still had a hale and hearty temperament. Gao Huaide couldn't help but laugh and said: "The old general is so strong that he is not as strong as the young ones. He is enough to put the younger generations to shame!"
"I don't dare to be the governor of the Imperial Guard!"
After saying that, Gao Huaide put away his joking, his expression returned to seriousness, and he turned his gaze to the northwest and said: "If Guo goes in here, if nothing unexpected happens, we can go down to Jiachuan. Rest for the night, and we will change the route tomorrow. There is still more than a hundred miles of narrow road." Tao, we need to go!"
He Jianjian said: "You have traveled two hundred miles, why are you still afraid of a mere hundred miles?"
"Old General, what a hero!"
"Don't take it for granted. Inspector Gao is the real hero!"
During Gao Huaide's march, Guo Jin, on his side, drove his soldiers to advance quickly, occupy the traffic roads, and encircle Jiachuan. It went very smoothly and completely achieved the combat objective.
The whole process is like throwing a pebble into a quiet pool, making waves at first and then quickly returning to calm. Not a single Han soldier was killed in Kecheng, but there were more than a dozen soldiers. Because they could not bear the pain of the urgent advance, they neglected and were beheaded by Guo Jin.
...
Lizhou, Miangu City.
Lizhou is located to the east of the Jialing River, from north to south, in the transition zone from mountains to basins. Although it is surrounded by mountains and the terrain is rugged and complex, Miangu City, which is the state government, is not a place where Lizhou can be defended.
Therefore, the Shu army's imperialist forces in Lizhou were mainly stationed along the Mantian Ridge line in the northeast, guarding the various Mantian villages. There are not many defenders in Miangu City, only 3,000 soldiers, and they mainly play a supporting role. Most of the food, ordnance and other military resources of the Lizhou Shu Army are stationed here.
At the top of the north city, a human head hangs. The blood has long been dried, and the face is difficult to distinguish, but the horror is infiltrating. This is Liu Tingzuo, the former supervisor of Sanquan. He led his men to attack Wang Shenchao's reinforcements on the plank road more than ten days ago. In the end, he managed to survive and escaped back to Miangu City.
He originally planned to go back to Chengdu to do some activities to atone for his sins, but he was imprisoned by Wang Zhaoyuan, the privy envoy who arrived later. As the commander-in-chief appointed by the Shu court to defend the Han army in the north, the first thing he did when he was promoted was to kill Liu Tingzuo in front of all the Shu generals, hang his head on the city tower, and issue a strict order. If there is another loser, military law will be engaged. .
Wang Zhaoyuan's move was not only to establish his authority, but also to stimulate the fighting spirit of the Shu army generals through strict military orders, so that they could fight to the death to lead the army to resist. The idea is good, but the results are really poor.
Although Wang Zhaoyuan presided over the military affairs of Later Shu for many years and proposed a number of active military strategies, they were basically implemented in the Chengdu court and were actually separated from the army and soldiers below.
First, he has no great achievements, and second, he lacks prestige. He only takes it for granted that military discipline must be strict, and the result is disunity. To the generals of the Shu army in the north, Wang Zhaoyuan was just a man who got lucky and was a boaster.
The Empress Dowager Li of Shu once said to Meng Chang that Wang Zhaoyuan was raised by a servant and had no great achievements. He was not trained in military affairs and could not control the military. If there was trouble on the border, he would not be able to defend against the enemy! This statement later spread, causing Wang Zhaoyuan's reputation to suffer even more damage. Many military lieutenants and generals despised him for it.
However, Meng Chang couldn't listen to what the Empress Dowager of Shu said and still relied on Wang Zhaoyuan. Although old friendship is the basis for his consideration, apart from Wang Zhaoyuan, Meng Chang seems to have found no other candidate. Like Zhao Chongtao, Yi Shenzheng and other leading generals, there may be many young talents. They should rely more on the shadow of their fathers. Although they lead the army, But he may not be convincing. He is probably no better than Wang Zhaoyuan, and he is not as close to Meng Chang as Wang Zhaoyuan.
The only person whom the Empress Dowager of Shu praised and believed could be trusted with great things was Gao Yancian, who was captured by the Han army during the Qin-Feng battle three years ago, and finally committed suicide and died for his country. For this reason, Liu Chengyou also specially ordered people to erect a monument for Gao Yanchou in Fengzhou to record his deeds and promote his reputation for loyalty.
As the saying goes, there are no generals in Sichuan, no one who can bear the heavy responsibility of holding up the sky.
At this time, in the Miangu Shuai Yamen, Wang Zhaoyuan was worried about himself. He was facing a problem. Yesterday, Han general Wang Quanbin led his army to break through Jinshan stronghold. Zhao Chongpu, the Shu general in charge of the defense, was defeated and lost thousands of troops. He abandoned the stronghold and retreated.
According to his previous military orders, Zhao Chongpu was immediately captured, but Wang Zhaoyuan himself hesitated whether to kill him or not. During these days when he went north, he noticed some unfavorable atmosphere in the army.
