"Is it really Yang Qing? Is it someone pretending to be? Can you find out clearly?" Cao Zhen still couldn't believe it and asked again and again.
The scout said: "Reporting to the general, the flag raised openly by the Shu army at the foot of Anling City does indeed have the words "Puppet Shu Yongzhou Governor, Prime Minister Joining the Army, Former General, Linchang Tinghou Yang". And we have also captured two people. Shu soldiers, according to their confirmation, there is no doubt that the leader of the Shu army is Yang Qing."
After hearing this, Cao Zhen no longer had any doubts. He sat back feebly and did not say a word for a long time.
Although the subordinate Yan Fei was also stunned by the news, he forced himself to calm down and took over Cao Zhen's words and continued to ask: "Have you ever found out the strength of the Shu army?"
"From what I heard from Lord Huifu, the Shu army has about seven to eight thousand troops, including about four to five thousand cavalry and about three thousand infantry," the scout replied.
Seeing that the actual strength of the Han army was less than 10,000, Yan Fei finally felt relieved and asked, "What's the situation in Anling City now?"
"When the villain left, Anling City was still in the hands of the Wei Dynasty. Zhang Mingting was gathering more than a thousand county soldiers, civilians, servants of wealthy households, and private soldiers in the city to resist desperately. However, the Shu army was in a hurry to attack the city. Under siege from all sides, the city is already in danger. If no reinforcements arrive, Anling City may not be able to hold on for long."
Yan Fei nodded, waved his hand and said, "I understand. It's very hard for you to travel back and forth. Go down and rest."
"Yes, please excuse me."
The scout was about to stand up and retreat when he suddenly heard Cao Zhen from the main seat ask: "Yang Qing should only have cavalry in his hands. Do you know where those three thousand infantry came from?"
After all, Cao Zhen was one of the most famous generals in the Wei State. When he came to his senses, he quickly discovered the problem with the strength of the Han army. Although he only had a rough guess about the true situation of Yang Qingsheng's plan to attack the east and west, he could conclude that What's more, the soldiers and horses in Yang Qing's hands can only be the cavalry he has brought with him since he marched eastward to Feng Yi.
Because only the cavalry Yang Qing could sneak to the outskirts of Chang'an so quickly, and neither Wu Yi of Qixian nor Zhuge Liang of Chencang could have sent a force of 3,000 infantrymen to fight with Yang Qing in Anling without knowing it. Meet in one area.
"Returning to the general, we haven't fully understood this matter yet. We only learned from the prisoners that these three thousand infantry were basically composed of our prisoners, surrendered soldiers and farmers who were captured by the Shu army. Those two tongues are the farmers in the Beiyuan area."
Cao Zhen nodded and said: "So that's it. A certain person said that Yang Qing couldn't have any infantry in his hands. It turned out that he was holding them hostage on the spot. In this way, these three thousand infantry are just a bunch of rabble, and the most important ones are the four or five Qian Shuqi.”
"General, I think it will be much easier for the Shu army to deal with this." Yan Fei agreed.
Cao Zhen smiled noncommittally, first waved his hand to signal the scout to retreat, then turned to Yan Fei and shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. It's actually okay for Yang Qing to wrap up some prisoners and surrender, but he still stretched out his hand. If we don't handle those farmers well, it could lead to a big disaster!"
Yan Fei was also a long-time and capable official. After hearing this, he immediately woke up and said hurriedly: "In that case, General, I will wait and come up with a way to deal with it quickly!"
"Don't panic, we will discuss it carefully when all the generals arrive." Cao Zhen said.
In Anling City, Yang Qing looked at the corpse hanging from the beam in the lobby of the county temple and sighed softly: "This Pei is completely loyal to the puppet Wei Dynasty. Let's find a coffin and bury him properly."
"yes."
Zhang Ni responded, and with a move of his right hand, he signaled the sergeant behind him to step forward and take down Zhang Pei's body.
Just half an hour ago, after a whole day of fierce attacks by the Han army, the Anling City Gate was successfully breached.
The county soldiers under Zhang Pei, Minzhuang, and the private soldiers contributed by powerful surnames were no match for the Han army. After Liu Yin led his troops into the city, they encountered almost no decent resistance. The Wei army either scattered and fled or knelt down to surrender.
Therefore, when Yang Qing entered the city, Liu Yin and the others had basically eliminated the remaining enemies, and even posted the announcement of Anmin.
"Boqi, there are many farmers in Anling County, right?" Yang Qing asked as he walked to the courtyard outside.
Zhang Ni followed him closely and replied: "There are quite a few. We just captured a Diannong Captain who was stationed in Anling by the puppet Wei Dynasty. According to this person's confession, there are about three thousand people in Anling. Households, more than 10,000 people.”
"Okay, then just like before, mobilize these people who have been bullied by Cao Wei's evil government, and make the momentum as big as possible."
Zhang Yi cupped his fists and said, "No."
It turned out that after crossing the Jingshui River from the west and entering Fufeng County, Yang Qing led the army and continued to march day and night and quietly followed the Jingshui River southward. Most of the Wei soldiers in the hinterland of Guanzhong were transferred to Chang'an. In addition, Yang Qing and the others were able to leave. It was a remote road, so the Han army arrived near Chang'an almost unimpeded.
Until they reached densely populated areas such as Qianxian and Liquan, the Han army could no longer hide its traces and was discovered by the people and reported to the Wei government.
However, at this time, the Han army was only more than a hundred miles away from Chang'an. There was basically no need for the army to hide anymore, and it was time for the army to replenish food and grass. Therefore, Yang Qing simply raised his flag openly and attacked three small cities north of Chang'an. .
In order to make the momentum even greater, Yang Qing also made a temporary decision, that is, to accept the rebels as much as possible and increase his own troops as quickly as possible.
However, there were too few Wei soldiers in the counties around Chang'an, and they defeated several cities one after another without recruiting many surrender troops, so Yang Qing turned his attention to the farmers.
Over the years, Cao Wei set up many settlements in Guanzhong. Tens of thousands of people who had previously migrated from Hanzhong, Wudu and other places were resettled in Guanzhong. Many of them were forced to leave their homes because they were far away from their hometowns and their wealth was gone. From a farmer to a farmer.
The cruel exploitation of the villages had already made them dissatisfied with Cao Wei's rule. Therefore, when Yang Qing shouted the slogan of dividing the fields and restoring self-cultivation, there were many people who responded, and Yang Qing was able to quickly arm thousands of villagers to attack Chang'an. Momentum.
After capturing Anling, Yang Qing's troops continued southward and approached Chang'an. In the next few days, Weicheng, Changling, Pingling and other counties were defeated by the Han army. A large amount of money, food and military supplies were collected by the Han army. The strength of the Han army also expanded to tens of thousands.
What makes Yang Qing even more happy is that as his own military strength becomes more and more powerful, Chang'an, a place with the strongest Han Dynasty atmosphere, has finally awakened many people's memories of the four hundred years of Han Dynasty. Some people who cherish the loyalty of the Han Dynasty have finally awakened many people's memories of the Han Dynasty. Scholars also came to surrender one after another, causing Cao Zhen and others in Chang'an City to become increasingly panicked.
In the military meeting a few days ago, Cao Zhen and others gradually calmed down after experiencing the initial panic. They believed that although it was a big surprise for Yang Qing to lead his troops to sneak into the outskirts of Chang'an, the current situation was still under control. middle.
The walls of Chang'an were tall and strong, and there were seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses in the city. There was no need to worry about Yang Qing's thousands of cavalry and the thousands of rabble he had brought with him.
As for the cities around Chang'an, they can only give up temporarily and wait for Yan and others to lead their troops to return for reinforcements before recovering them.
Therefore, Cao Zhen made up his mind after deploying the countermeasures. The only thing that worries him now is that Zhuge Liang's army outside Chencang City may take the opportunity to take action.
Therefore, he has sent a letter to Guo Huai, Fei Yao, and Qin Ji, ordering them to hold on and pay close attention to the movements of Zhuge Liang's army, guard the line of the Wei River, and never let Zhuge Liang's army and Yang Qing's troops compete with each other. catch.
Although Cao Zhen's idea is very good, the changes in the situation are far beyond his control. At present, Yang Qing is constantly conquering cities and territories outside Chang'an and trying to win over people's hearts, which has posed a serious threat to Cao Wei's rule over Chang'an and even Guanzhong. The clan can never ignore it.
Therefore, Cao Zhen now believed that holding Chang'an was not a long-term solution, but taking the initiative and not being sure of victory, he was in a dilemma and had to call everyone to discuss it together.
