If the state shown by everyone just now was still hypocritical, then the expressions on their faces at this moment were truly shocked.
Twenty thousand! ?
You must know that there are no civilians living in Sishui Pass, and there are no grain fields for farming. In addition to drinking water from the surrounding mountain springs, just the supply of food and grass for the soldiers and horses is a very critical thing.
There are a full 20,000 soldiers. Just to provide supplies, more than twice as many people must serve these soldiers guarding the gate, and this does not include horses!
So many siege soldiers had died in such a short period of time. No one suspected that Sun Jian was telling lies. At this time, they were silently calculating in their hearts, should they fight the Sishui Pass?
"Why don't we send out several lines of elite troops to attack Luoyang from General Zhao's Bingzhou?" someone suggested at this time.
"Don't think about it anymore in Bingzhou. Not to mention that there is not even a road from Bingzhou to Sizhou. Just by climbing over those high mountains, I'm afraid more people will die than now." Zhao Yun snorted coldly, "My lords, don't forget , it’s winter now.”
Some people have already begun to think about quitting. It is conceivable that there is more than one person in the room who has such thoughts.
Just like Gongsun Zan said, if the number of soldiers guarding Sishui Pass really exceeds 10,000, then the attack on Sishui Pass must be considered in the long run.
"What about entering from the direction of Jingzhou?" the man asked again.
"Jingzhou? After we cross the mountains and reach Jingzhou, I'm afraid the three passes over there are already well prepared. Are you sure it will be easier than here? With the movement of half a million troops, do you think you can hide it from the Dong thief?" Zhao Yun Then he said, mercilessly attacking the other party's confidence.
As we all know, the city of Luoyang is surrounded by fortresses and there are many great passes. The situation is very dangerous. Emperor Ling appointed He Jin as the general, led the left and right Yulin troops and the five captains to camp in Tuendu Pavilion to control the capital, and set up eight major passes around Luoyang, the capital. It is called "Eight Pass City"!
Sishui Pass is not easy to fight, but if you change the direction, you will still be tested by other passes. Therefore, this proposal is meaningless except that it can effectively reduce the morale of the army.
You know, when Dong Zhuo went to the capital to serve the king, he sent out almost all his troops. When he left Xiliang, he brought all his own elites with him. The entire capital was almost completely occupied by these soldiers. Even if he sent tens of thousands more, it would not be difficult.
You can't go around it, so... what about withdrawing?
No one present made such a proposal, but the silence now seemed to represent the thoughts of most people.
However, Sun Jian's words shattered everyone's last hope.
"Leader, Sun Jian apologizes again!" As he spoke, he knelt down again.
Yuan Shao was shocked, but he had already prepared for it. There was no reason to let Sun Jian bend down again this time.
"General Sun can speak openly about anything. The entire coalition still relies on General Sun. We must not humiliate ourselves like this. If anyone dares to blame General Sun for the unfavorable outcome of the war, I, as the leader of the alliance, will be the first to not spare him!" The first half of the sentence is What he said to Sun Jian, the second half of the sentence was obviously a lesson to everyone.
Sun Jian sneered in his heart, but there was still a sad look on his face, and sighed: "Just now, everything was changing rapidly on the battlefield. When we lost four thousand soldiers, thanks to the strong soldiers and horses of the generals, the defenders on the city tower were already exposed. After feeling a little tired, our vanguard almost attacked the city."
He paused for a moment, and then continued after seeing the curious looks in everyone's eyes.
Said: "Unfortunately, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Army only wants our vanguard army to attack for another hour. In desperation, I can only increase the intensity of the siege, so... so..."
"So what?" Yuan Shao felt bad when he heard Sun Jian's words and asked anxiously, not even noticing that his voice was trembling.
"Hey! Let me tell you clearly, so far, the losses of the vanguard army have reached 20,000, and the soldiers in Sishui Pass have been tortured by our vanguard army. Several times, our army has stood on the city wall, but it was still helpless. The opponent is repulsed. As long as we attack for two more... no, attack for one more day, we will definitely be able to capture Sishui Pass!" Sun Jian said with cupped fists and hands.
Sun Jian spoke very fast at the front and word by word at the back. Therefore, it was obvious that many people did not hear or automatically ignored the number of 20,000. When Sun Jian said that the victory had been achieved, everyone felt relieved. One breath.
However, the wily Yuan Shao did not. He asked solemnly: "Brother Wentai, how many soldiers did you just say you lost?"
Sun Jian was waiting for him to ask. He clasped his fists in pain and said, "Twenty thousand!"
Only then did the others react and couldn't help but gasp.
The sound of air pumping came and went, and for a moment it was like a bicycle tire being deflated.
Twenty thousand? !
You must know that there are only 20,000 soldiers guarding Sishui Pass!
After spending the same amount of troops and losing money, they didn't even stand on the city wall. Are you kidding me? !
In the first two hours, four thousand people died, but in the end, four times the previous losses were incurred in one hour. How was this battle fought?
Everyone found that even if they exhausted their imagination, it was difficult to restore the scene of the siege in their minds.
But everyone knows that once this news spreads among the military, how low military morale will be.
And if the coalition still wants to make some achievements in the crusade, then the only way is to regain the military morale lost at Sishui Pass at Sishui Pass. If not, they might as well just disband. , what else to fight?
This is why Sun Jian's words completely shattered everyone's retreat path.
Give it a try, there is still the possibility of turning a bicycle into a motorcycle. If we give up here, let alone the near future, I am afraid that the Xiliang Army will become a psychological shadow of the coalition forces for a long time, and it will be difficult to raise the desire to conquer.
Seeing everyone acting like this, Sun Jian let out a long sigh and said sincerely with a grimace: "To be honest, this time I returned to the Central Military Command, I came here to ask for my resignation. Sun Jian was not able to lead the troops well, so he asked the leader of the alliance to withdraw me as the vanguard. The office of a general.”
"Don't do this. I just said that whoever blames General Sun for the ineffectiveness of the war will not be spared even by me, the leader of the alliance. If you say this now, aren't you slapping me in the face?" Yuan Shao hurriedly appeased him. road.
"General Sun has been designated as the vanguard general of our coalition. Do you have any opinions?" Yuan Shao turned around and asked.
Naturally, no one dared to have an opinion, and even if they did, they would not say it out loud at this time.
But after all, this vanguard army was composed of troops from various families. One-third of it was lost at once, and no one was heartbroken.
If they knew that this was the result of Sun Jian's deliberate actions, and if less than one-fifth of the soldiers sent by Bingzhou, Youzhou, Nanyang and his Changsha soldiers were lost in battle, wouldn't they be so angry that they would vomit blood?
Yuan Shao saw no one reacting
, sighed, and suddenly seemed to remember something, and asked quickly: "Brother Wentai just said that we can knock down Sishui Pass in just one day tomorrow. Is this serious?"
A hint of panic flashed through Sun Jian's eyes at this moment, and he said hurriedly: "The general is really here to resign!"
This trace of panic happened to be caught by Yuan Shao, and he said eagerly: "Brother Wentai must never say that again! Our army cannot do without you!"
"Since Brother Wentai said it will take one day, how about giving you one more day?" Yuan Shao calmed down and rolled his eyes: "Come here, get the pen and ink!"
The soldiers presented blank silk and pen and ink and placed them in front of Yuan Shao.
"You and I are here to issue a military order today. If you can lead your army to capture Sishui Pass within two days, you will be credited with brother Wen Tai's great contribution. If not... After all, this coalition does not regard me as the greatest, I Always consider what other people think..." Yuan Shao left a blank space and said no more.
"I dare not disobey the alliance leader's orders, but..." Sun Jian hesitated.
"What else is there? As long as Brother Wentai can tell me, you will definitely support me!" Yuan Shao waved his hand and said loudly.
"Based on the current soldiers, I'm afraid it's still not enough." Sun Jian said softly.
Others in the room started to use air conditioning again.
Sun Jian started from entering the handsome platform, and finally got to the serious things he wanted to say.
At this time, Sun Jian's true purpose was revealed.
Taking advantage of the commander's ignorance of the military situation on the front line, Sun Jian first killed 20,000 coalition soldiers outside Sishui Pass. Among them, he selectively allowed many fewer sacrifices to be made among his own men and the princes who had helped in the previous battle.
If there are fewer sacrifices here, the other princes will have to sacrifice more. One is the other, and Sun Jian and his friends have the advantage.
When he came to the commander's platform, he stated in advance that the enemy was strong. When he blocked the detour and retreat routes, he also completely confirmed his position as the vanguard general. Once Yuan Shao opened his mouth, there was no way to take it back.
After stating that the enemy was powerful, he praised the bravery of the coalition soldiers, who could attack the city tower in just one or two days, and had already achieved certain results. This was naked hunger marketing.
Sure enough, Yuan Shao began to appease Sun Jian's emotions and firmly refused to allow Sun Jian to resign.
At this moment, Sun Jian revealed that the reason why he resigned was because he had lost 20,000 soldiers.
With a total of 20,000 soldiers, even Yuan Shao took a breath of air in his heart.
Have you ever heard of someone who attacked a city in three hours and lost 20,000 soldiers without even standing on the tower? Sun Jian said it nicely. If you really stood on the tower, how could you withdraw in an hour?
But the words had been spoken, and Yuan Shao could not take them back, so he said to get pen and ink, half to force Sun Jian to issue a military order. What would happen if he could not attack for a long time.
In fact, what Yuan Shao was betting on was that Sun Jian would not be able to capture it and that Sun Wentai's incompetence in leading the troops would be cured.
But it is estimated that it is difficult for the Chinese army to have a strong general like him who is willing to be a former general, so it is better to make the best use of everything. When he cannot be defeated, it is not too late to make long-term plans.
In this situation, Sun Jian expressed his true request.
If you want me to hit you, you can.
You have to give me some more blood!
