Chapter 52: Battle on Wu Pass

Perhaps because Cao Pi was not good to Cao Rui back then, Cao Rui also distrustd the few people Cao Pi valued at that time. In addition, with Xu Shu's dependence on Sima Yi has greatly reduced Cao Rui's dependence on Sima Yi.

Xu Shu took a deep breath and continued, "Your Majesty, the situation is not optimistic now. If I was not wrong, Zhang Fei, who attacked Wu Pass, may be just one of them. In addition, Liu Chan will definitely send someone to attack Tongguan."

"Tongguan? I remember that the garrison of Tongguan is Guo Huai, but I don't know much about Guo Huai. Prime Minister, what do you think?"

"Guo Huai's father was Guo Hu. Guo Hu was the prefect of Yanmen back then, and Guo Huai was also considered a general's tiger. Guo Hu has been guarding Yanmen for many years and has attacked several times by the Huns, Xianbei and other tribes. In this way, as long as Guo Huai stayed peacefully in Tongguan, there would be no problem in defending for the past year. Moreover, the walls of Tongguan are tall and strong, and have the advantage of terrain, so Tongguan is definitely worry-free."

"Oh, then I'm relieved." Cao Rui breathed a sigh of relief. Cao Rui still trusted Xu Shu very much. Since Xu Shu said there was no problem, it should be no problem.

"Your Majesty, what I am really worried about is Sun Quan from Jiangdong."

"Sun Quan from Jiangdong?" Cao Rui was slightly stunned, and then immediately understood: "Sir, does Sun Quan join forces with Liu Chan to attack?"

"Your Majesty said that if I were Sun Quan, I would definitely choose to send troops to two groups, one was to attack Xuzhou from Huainan, and the other was Lu Xun going north to attack Xiangyang."

"If Wuguan and Tongguan are added, wouldn't there be a total of four armies?" Cao Rui's face was filled with a hint of solemnity.

"Your Majesty, it's not the fourth route, but the fifth route!" Xu Shu said.

"Five roads? Why do you have another road?" Cao Rui asked immediately.

"Your Majesty, I have been with Zhuge Kongming for many years and know him very well. If I was not wrong, Zhuge Liang would definitely send someone to find soldiers there..."

"Other place?"

"Your Majesty, don't forget that there is a Northeast king in the Northeast!"

"Are you talking about Gongsun Gong?" Cao Rui thought for a while, and then said, "It shouldn't be. Although Gongsun Gong is a little ambitious, he should not dare to offend my Great Wei. Over the years, their Liaodong Gong has always been very respectful to me, Cao, and he pays tribute every year and comes to court every year. When I was the King of Pingyuan, Gongsun Gong would pay tribute to me every year. He should not dare to rebel against the Great Wei! Besides, Gongsun Huang is still hostage in Yecheng?"

"Your Majesty, what I am talking about is not Gongsun Gong. Gongsun Gong is ambitious but not courageous. But as far as I know, Gongsun Kang once left two sons, the eldest son was Gongsun Huang of Yecheng, and the second son was Gongsun Yuan. Gongsun Yuan is quite as popular as his grandfather Gongsun Du, so he can be regarded as a hero!"

"Sir, are you saying that there is something wrong with Gongsun Yuan?"

"Your Majesty, the Gongsun family has lived in Liaodong for many years and is now established for three generations. I remember that Sun Quan, Jiangdong, had fought against the Taizu army with the people's hearts established by the three generations, and then now it has developed to such a level. Maybe Gongsun Yuan is the next Sun Quan, and Your Majesty must be guarded!"

After Xu Shu said that, he took a deep breath and then said, "But for the time being, you may not have to worry about Gongsun Yuan. If Gongsun Yuan wants to rebel, he will definitely remove Gongsun Gong first. So we just need to keep a close eye on the movements in Liaodong. If Gongsun Gong has nothing to do, it would be fine. If Gongsun Gong has something to do, Your Majesty needs to send troops to Youzhou immediately to prevent changes in Liaodong."

"What the sir is saying is that I plan to place the main force on Sun Quan's side in the east, and the Lu Xun faced by Sima Yi in the west has fewer troops and should be able to defend it. Tongguan and Wuguan can rely on the convenience of the wall to drag down the Shu army with a small amount of troops. As long as the war between Cao Zhen in the east is over, they can divide their troops to support the Western Front... What do you think of this arrangement?" Cao Rui asked.

"Your Majesty is wise..."

Nanyang.

Deng Ai came to Sima Yi's door and hesitated for a while, but finally he did not push the door open.

At this moment, Sima Yi just pushed the door and walked out, and saw Deng Ai who was still hesitating.

"Shizai, is there anything you need to look for me?" Sima Yi asked.

"Taiwei, Your Majesty has issued an order to ask General Zhang He to go to Wuguan to replace General Xiahou Ba."

"What?" Sima Yi's face suddenly changed drastically, and then he asked, "Is the news true?"

"It's absolutely true, it's the news from Luoyang. The day before yesterday, Zhang He had passed by Luoyang. Calculate the time. Now General Zhang He should be almost at Wuguan!"

"It's over, Wuguan is probably hard to protect!" Sima Yi sighed to the sky.

"Master Taiwei, General Zhang He has been through the battlefield for a long time after all, and should be able to defend for a while! Taiwei, you can immediately write to Your Majesty and ask for a replacement to guard Wu Pass. If it really doesn't work, the last general will go to Wu Pass to help General Zhang He with his arm."

"No, the divisive strategy used by Zhuge Liang a few days ago made Your Majesty suspicious of Xiahou Ba. It was not unexpected for Your Majesty to replace someone to guard Wu Pass! If Your Majesty gets a mediocre talent, I can send you to secretly promote the fire and take charge of the overall situation. But Zhang He is here! Zhang He has a high position and a high spirit, and his arrogance, if you go, it will make Zhang He feel that I will send you to point fingers. This is not good. Besides, don't talk about you, even myself, you may not be able to command Zhang He!"

"Taiwei, what should we do?"

Sima Yi lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "Your Majesty's will, we cannot refuse. I will write to Your Majesty now and recommend the right person to guard Wuguan."

"The right candidate? The Taiwei already has a suitable candidate in his heart?" Deng Ai asked hurriedly.

"Sun Li, the commander of Xingyang, was a general who was personally appointed by Taizu at that time. He was quite talented. I am going to write to Your Majesty to recommend Sun Li as Zhang He's deputy general and help Zhang He with his strength. Sun Li was also a general in Hebei back then, and he had some friendship with Zhang He. If Sun Li went, Zhang He would not make things difficult for him. I hope Sun Li could check for the gaps and help Zhang He defend Wu Pass."

As soon as Sima Yi finished speaking, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from outside.

"Report..." The school rushed in with Changyin, came to Sima Yi, knelt down and said, "Master Taiwei, Jiang Xia urgently reported!"

"Wenpin? It seems that Lu Xun has attacked!" Sima Yi sighed lightly, and then continued, "I guess there should be some movement on Sun Quan's side, but I didn't expect that Sun Quan was so impatient. He sent an order to get promoted!"

Compared to Adou, Sun Quan was indeed much more anxious. When the envoy returned to Jiangdong, Sun Quan immediately ordered an attack on Cao Wei.

On the eastern front, when Sun Quan wanted to attack Xuzhou, he first had to go out to Hongze Lake to attack Huai'an, and then Huaiyin and Pengcheng. On the western front, Lu Xun either attacked Jiangxia or Xiangyang. The two roads were not far, but they were still much further than Chang'an.

It took Chang'an a day to attack Tongguan, and it was only a day to attack Wuguan. It can be said that A Dou sent troops forward, and Tongguan and Wuguan were the best to prepare for battle. The reason for the distance also made Sun Quan take the lead in launching an attack.

To the east, under the cover of the navy, Sun Quan left Hongze Lake. Cao Zhen also knew that the Wei army was far inferior to the Wu army, but when it was put on land, the Jiangdong infantry could not stop the attack of the tiger and leopard cavalry, so Cao Zhen simply let Sun Quan leave Hongze Lake and prepared to fight Sun Quan on land.

Sun Quan set up a camp on the lake, connecting the navy and army camps, and advancing can attack and retreat or defending. Sun Quan also knew that on the front battlefield, it would be difficult to gain a advantage unless it was several times that of the Wei army. So Sun Quan sent a small group of navy troops out to harass the Wei army along the Huai River, preparing to use exhaustion tactics to make the Wei cavalry run away.

In Jingzhou to the west, Lu Xun's army set out to fight and conquer Xiakou. Then he used the navy to block the coast of the Yangtze River, and then the army set out and rushed straight to Xiangyang. Sima Yi hurriedly led his troops to the Xiangfan line and confronted Lu Xun. Because the Yangtze River was completely blocked by the navy, Jiangxia's nail could not play a restraining role. In addition, the frequent unfavorable news came from Chang'an to the west, Sima Yi strategically chose to give up Jiangxia, leaving only 500 remaining soldiers to guard the town, while the general Wen Pin was dropped back to the Jingxiang line.

Jiangxia only has 500 remaining soldiers, and they are definitely goods that surrender when they encounter an attack. However, Lu Xun did not divide his troops to seize Jiangxia, but continued to put pressure on Sima Yi on the front line of Xiangfan. After all, Jiangxia is no longer a strategic focus now, and Lu Xun is waiting for the Shu army to send troops. Once the Shu army sends troops to attack Wuguan, Nanyang will be attacked on both sides. That is the best time for Lu Xun to start a war.

After several months of gathering and rectification, Chang'an's A Dou finally started to act.

The Shu army divided into two groups, one with Wei Yan as the commander and Guan Ping as the vanguard, leading 30,000 troops to attack Tongguan, while the other was led by Adou himself and Zhao Yun as the vanguard, leading 60,000 troops to attack Wuguan.

The walls of Tongguan Pass are taller and more solid than Wuguan, and the defenders are also more powerful. Logically speaking, more soldiers and horses should be sent. However, the places built by Tongguan are very dangerous, surrounded by mountains and rivers, easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are only such a large place in front of Tongguan, so no matter how many people come, they cannot fully expand the formation in front of Tongguan. If there are too many people, it is useless. It is better to send some elite soldiers and horses to cooperate with the powerful siege of the city, which has a greater effect.

Also because A Dou was in the direction of Wuguan, he had to bring more people, which also meant to protect the emperor.

With the consumption of decades of wars, it is impossible for the war in the Central Plains to fight for 400,000 or even one million people like before. Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the population has not increased much, and the medical level during the Three Kingdoms period was relatively backward. Many wounded soldiers were disabled because they had no time to treat or were improperly medical treatment and could not go to the battlefield again. This also caused a sharp decrease in soldiers.

The productivity was also exhausted due to forty years of war. In the past few decades, they could still fight with their old foundations, but as time went by, these old foundations became less and less, and the three countries experienced the pressure of logistics supplies. The war between countries was still exhausted. Now the three countries are gradually unable to afford it, so the three countries all began to take the elite route and sent a large number of low-combat soldiers to their hometowns or to military farming soldiers. This also reduced the number of soldiers sharply. Now a battle of 100,000 people is a big scene, not to mention that this is another war involving the three parties.

Tongguan.

Liao Hua came to the front of the gate and looked up at the gate.

After a stick of incense, Guo Huai walked out and looked at Liao Hua below, knowing that this must be the vanguard of Shu Kingdom who came to investigate the terrain.

"Is the person coming Liao Hua?" Guo Huai shouted loudly.

"Yes, I am Liao Hua? Are you Guo Hua?" Liao Hua replied.

"Hahaha, I'm Guo Huai!" Guo Huai said, pouting slightly, and then said, "There is no one in Shu, and you, a bandit, are actually sent as the pioneer! Hahahaha..."

Liao Hua was born into a bandit, and Guo Huai was considered a loss to the so-called exposing others but not the shortcomings.

"Hmph, who told you that I am the pioneer!" Liao Hua said with a look of reluctance.

"Well? You are not a pioneer, are you still the head coach? Let a bandit be the head coach? Haha..." Guo Huai continued to laugh.

"Hmph, I'm not the head coach either! Guo Huai, listen, I'm the pioneer of Wei Yan under the command of Guan Ping, the general of the Han Dynasty's warriors, and Liao Hua!" After Liao Hua finished speaking in one breath, he felt a little embarrassed.

When he was under Guan Yu's command, Liao Hua was the vanguard. Now Guan Yu is old and no longer on the battlefield, but Liao Hua has surrendered instead. Wei Yan is the head coach and Guan Ping is the vanguard, Liao Hua can only be a pioneer under Guan Ping.

On the city tower, Guo Huai was secretly shocked when he heard this.

Before, Guo Huai deliberately broke into Liao Hua just to gain some verbal advantage. Anyway, Liao Hua could not conquer Wuguan. However, Guo Hua did not dare to underestimate Liao Hua's ability at all. After all, he had been a vanguard officer for several years and had made many military achievements under Guan Yu's command. If Liao Hua was a mediocre person, he would not have been valued by Guan Yu.

Originally, Guo Huai thought Liao Hua was the pioneer, but he didn't expect that the pioneer was Guan Ping, while Liao Hua was just a pioneer who did odd jobs for Guan Ping. Liao Hua could only be regarded as a pioneer with such skills. It can be seen that Shu Kingdom's lineup is very strong this time. It seems that Shu Kingdom has invested in Tongguan.

Suddenly, Guo Huai felt the pressure increased dramatically. Although he had the advantage of Tongguan terrain, Guo Huai still felt uneasy in the face of the elite Shu army. Tongguan is the gateway to Sili. If Tongguan is in a mistake, Sili will not be guaranteed. This responsibility is quite great.

On the other side, Zhao Yun had already arrived at the city of Wuguan.

On Wuguan, a big flag fluttered in the wind, and on the flag, a big word "Zhang" is particularly conspicuous.

"Yeah, it's indeed Zhang He!" Zhao Yun murmured.

Zhang He is from Hejian, while Zhao Yun is from Changshan. In fact, the two are still fellow Hebei people. However, there is a great hatred between these two people.

Zhang He was originally a general under Han Fu. Later, Yuan Shao destroyed Han Fu, and Zhang He made his friend Gao Lan surrender to Yuan Shao. The four generals Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He and Gao Lan became the "Hebei Four Courtyard Pillar".

After Yuan Shao destroyed Han Fu, he naturally had to kill Gongsun Zan from Youzhou and unify Hebei. In the battle between Yuan Shao and the battle against Gongsun Zan, Zhang He made many military achievements. However, at that time, Zhao Yun was a general under Gongsun Zan, and there was inevitably some intersection between Zhao Yun and Zhang He.

Although Zhao Yun was not yet at the peak, he was also very powerful. In the battle, Wen Chou and Zhang He defeated Zhao Yun just now. As a result, Zhang He was still injured by Zhao Yun and stabbed in the arm with a shot.

Unfortunately, Gongsun Zan was still defeated, while Zhao Yun broke through the army. Zhang He wanted to chase him, but Zhao Yun was good at horseback, so Zhang He didn't catch up.

Originally, Zhang He thought that he would never have any contact with Zhao Yun again. But unexpectedly, when he was on Changbanpo, Zhang He met Zhao Yun again.

At that time, Zhao Yun's martial arts had reached its peak, far stronger than Zhao Yun who had just started his army in Youzhou. In addition, on Changban slope, Zhao Yun was already dead and reborn, and his combat effectiveness was a little more than usual. Therefore, Zhang He and the four generals did not stop Zhao Yun alone. Instead, Gao Lan, in order to help Zhang He avenge a revenge, attacked too far forward, and was caught by Zhao Yun and stabbed him on the horse with a flaw.

Zhang He and Gao Lan have been in love for more than ten years, and Gao Lan can be called the "Hebei Four Courts Pillar" and have a very good martial arts skills. They once fought with Xu Chu for dozens of rounds. It was such a person who was killed by Zhao Yun, and Zhang He was killed in front of him again.

Zhang He was heartbroken when his friend was killed, and the hatred became even greater. In the next few decades, Zhang He practiced martial arts diligently in order to seek revenge on Zhao Yun. Finally, Zhang He found another opportunity, which was when Cao Cao conquered Hanzhong.

When Zhang Lu surrendered, Cao Cao returned to his army and left Zhang He, Xiahou Yuan, Xu Huang and others to defend Hanzhong to resist Liu Bei. In the same year, Zhang He led his troops south to attack Baxi County, hoping to migrate the local people to Hanzhong. Liu Bei sent Zhang Fei, the general of the expedition, to be the prefect of Baxi County, to fight against Zhang He. As a result, Zhang He was defeated by Zhang Fei, and Zhang He had only a few dozen people left to escape. Then Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong, and Xiahou Yuan died in the battle of Dingjunshan, but Huang Zhong and Yan Yan were ambushed by Zhang He because of their greed for merits. Zhuge Liang sent Zhao Yun to support Huang Zhong, which was the second battle between Zhang He and Zhao Yun.

As a result, Zhao Yun plus Huang Zhong, Zhang He was defeated again and retreated to Yangping Pass. Later, Cao Cao came in person, and was defeated by Liu Bei, and lost to Hanzhong. Then Zhang He began to guard Chen Cang.

However, Zhang He never gave up seeking revenge on Zhao Yun. For many years, Zhang He has practiced martial arts diligently, but now Zhang He has no rival in Cao's camp in terms of martial arts.

Finally, after waiting for so many years, Zhang He once again waited for the opportunity to fight with Zhao Yun.

After looking at the big banner under the pass, with the three big words "Duke Ding" on it, Zhang He pursed his lips slightly, and it seemed that Zhao Yun had been promoted again.

Before he knew it, Zhang He touched the scar on his arm that was injured by Zhao Yun, and Gao Lan's voice and smile appeared in his mind.

"Duke Ding? Humph, you Duke Ding! Zhao Yun, you Duke Ding is not just stepping on the bones of many of our brothers!" Zhang He took a deep breath.

"Brother Gao Lan, look at it. You have a spirit in the sky. You must bless me and avenge you!" Zhang He's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he just held the sword around his waist.
Chapter completed!