Chapter 58: Forced to defeat Tongguan

Looking at the rows of siege weapons in front of him, a satisfied smile appeared on Wei Yan's face.

"Meng Da, the Minister of War, has not been in vain. He has only taken office for so many powerful tools!" Wei Yan sighed lightly, and also admired A Dou's wisdom.

After the establishment of these six ministries, all the military equipment was the responsibility of the Ministry of War, which was much more efficient than before. Meng Da, the Minister of War, was originally a general who led the troops. He was considered a man of knowledgeable troops and knew how important these siege weapons were in attacking cities. Therefore, after Meng Da took office, he spent a lot of effort to build a batch of siege weapons.

Chang'an is not far from Tongguan, but some large siege weapons are still very troublesome to transport. The main general Wei Yan personally brought people to Chang'an, and the front line commander directly handed over to the pioneer Guanping. The moat just filled up and the siege weapons had been delivered.

The city walls of Tongguan are tall, and the siege weapons of the Ministry of War are built according to Tongguan for imaginary goals. In particular, the sharp weapons used to climb the city walls are exactly higher than the city walls of Tongguan.

Guo Huai's face was so ugly that he looked so ugly. The defenders at Tongguan were just the only ceremonial advantages of the terrain. However, the current terrain advantages may be greatly reduced in the face of these sharp siege weapons.

At the same time, in Wancheng south, Sima Yi also stood in Chengtong, looking at the flying Jiangdong flag in the distance.

In comparison, Lu Xun's preparations were not as sufficient as the Han army, but Sima Yi did not shrink all the troops into the city, but left some of the troops to camp outside the city to resist Lu Xun. At the same time, he also told Lu Xun that if he wanted to attack Wancheng, he would first pass the level outside the city!

Compared with Huainan in the east, Lu Xun had far fewer troops than Sun Quan. Jiangdong's aristocratic families were full of families, and Sun Quan had to rely on and be cautious about these aristocratic families. Over the years, Sun Quan has always used and guarded against the strategies of the Jiangdong family. Among the Jiangdong gentry, if there were anyone who wanted to be an official, Sun Quan would refuse anyone and even promote some of the capable people, such as Gu Yong and others. At the same time, it would be impossible for these gentry to obtain military power in Sun Quan. In terms of military power, Sun Quan did not completely believe in the Jiangdong gentry.

Lu Xun was also a gentry family, and the Lu family was a large Jiangdong family. Fortunately, Lu Xun was Sun Ce's son-in-law and Sun Quan's niece's son-in-law, which was considered to have some relatives with Sun Quan, so compared to others, Lu Xun could still gain Sun Quan's trust. However, this trust was limited. This can be seen from Sun Quan's concentrating a large number of soldiers in his hands.

Wancheng is the capital of Nanyang, and Nanyang was indeed the richest county in the Han Dynasty at that time, so at its peak, Nanyang was comparable to Chang'an. However, in recent decades, since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Wancheng changed hands several times, and the wars also made many places in Wancheng's walls disrepair and dilapidated.

What made Sima Yi happy was that after the Han army captured Wu Pass, it did not continue to attack Wancheng, which made Sima Yi slightly calmer. Facing Lu Xun's Jiangdong army alone, Sima Yi still had the power to defend.

Deng Ai returned to the camp with an excited look on his face, threw the long knife in his hand to the soldiers next to him, and then wiped the dust on his face.

Sima Yi came out and looked at Deng Ai's blade with some blood stains, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Shizai, are you back?" Sima Yi said.

"Taiwei, fortunately, I have been beheaded by two generals from Jiangdong." Deng Ai said.

"Yeah, it's not bad!" Sima Yi nodded with satisfaction. Deng Ai's martial arts are much better than those Jiangdong generals. No one can stop Deng Ai when he fights alone. However, such a small advantage does not matter to the overall situation. At most, he can boost his morale. Deng Ai killed only generals like Jiangdong, and Lu Xun, who led the troops, still had no impact on the command of the battle.

"Taiwei, Liu Chan has already occupied Wuguan, why hasn't he sent troops? I heard that Zhao Zilong, Changbanpo, was in Wuguan in the past, really want to meet him for a while!" Deng Ai said.

"Shizai, if I expected it was good, the Han army might not have come."

"Not coming back? Why?"

"Haha, the scholars said that knowing oneself and his enemy will never be defeated in a hundred battles. Zhuge Liang is a man who is taking advantage of his life. How could Zhuge Liang be willing to give up such a big place in Nanyang? Now the Han army first captured Wuguan, but did not take Nanyang, but instead began to attack Tongguan. There is only one possibility, that is, Liu Chan and Sun Quan had already agreed that Nanyang belonged to Sun Quan. It is precisely because of this that the Han army would stick to Wuguan and not leave."

"Taiwei, then in this case, we only need to face Lu Xun's troops. Wouldn't Nanyang be able to defend it?" Deng Ai asked.

"It is not that easy to defend Nanyang. If you want to defend Nanyang, you must ensure that Luoyang is not lost. If the Han army occupy Luoyang and goes south, you can attack Wancheng or Xudu. We still cannot take care of both sides, so we can only abandon Nanyang and defend Xudu. Nanyang is also unsafe."

"If the Han army wants to attack Luoyang, they either go out to Wuguan to attack me, or break through Tongguan. The city walls of Tongguan are tall and strong, and with Guo Huai, they are so easy to be broken." Deng Ai said.

"Yes, Guo Huai is quite talented, but Tongguan has few soldiers, only two thousand people, and it's okay to support it in a short period of time. Once the time is long, Tongguan will inevitably be broken!" Sima Yi sighed slightly.

As Sima Yi expected, Guo Huai could no longer hold on.

Wei Yan was very good at leading troops. On weekdays, Wei Yan always shared the joys and sorrows with his soldiers. Whenever there was a reward, Wei Yan could not forget his soldiers. Speaking of which, Wei Yan was quite as popular as the general Wu Qi of the year. It was precisely because of this that every time he fought, the soldiers under Wei Yan were the most desperate.

Wei Yan has five hundred school knife hands under him, all of whom are brave and brave. Every time the battle comes to the most critical moment, these five hundred school knife hands can achieve unexpected results when they join the battle.

Guan Yu has a thousand school knife hands, all of which were trained by Guan Yu himself, so he is naturally the elite among the elite. Now, 800 of these thousand school knife hands are coming out with Guan Ping.

Now, the total number of 1,300 elite troops has not yet appeared, and Guo Huai is a little unable to hold on.

There are only two thousand defenders in Tongguan. Although the area where Tongguan is located is narrow, only a little area can be attacked. A few hundred people will be full of people just after a stop behind the battlements, but Guo Huai did not expect that the Han army had so many siege weapons.

From time to time, a few large stones were thrown back from the catapult. Although the frequency was very slow, they were powerful because they were huge. The tall stones fell from the sky, and even the walls made of bricks could not hold on. Some bricks had obvious cracks, and several battlements had been shattered, and some even the city towers had several large holes.

The crossbow arrows released by those crossbow chariots are all as long as javelins. The iron spear head is accompanied by a huge impact force, and can even penetrate small bricks on the city wall. If it falls to the city head, it will have greater lethality. Even if it is held with a leather shield, it will still be difficult to withstand the impact of the crossbow arrows.

Two huge well rails were mounted in front of the Tongguan city wall. There were not only two-story arrow towers on the well rails, but the arrow tower was more than ten feet taller than the Tongguan city wall. The archers above shot arrows at Tongguan like shooting targets. Fortunately, the front of Tongguan was not wide and could only accommodate two well rails. If there were a few more, Tongguan would have been unable to defend it for a long time. I really don’t know how these two big guys and the Shu army transported them.

The most lethal force against the soldiers in Tongguan is the number of soldiers who climbed up through cloud ladders and various long ladders. These soldiers were able to climb up the city wall quickly under the cover of the archers on the well railing. After all, the space on the city wall is limited, and the number of Wei troops has long been standing is still higher. Hand-to-hand combat is not a disadvantage, but the total number of Wei troops is much smaller. Even if the Han army dies three Wei troops dies, the Wei army cannot withstand such consumption.

What made Guo Huai even more desperate was that there were fewer and fewer soldiers under his command. As the war continued, more and more people were killed, injured and lost combat power, and this consumption was the most unfavorable to the Wei army.

On the first day, could Guo Huai divide the two thousand people under his command into four groups and take turns to defend the city. Later, it turned into three groups, and then two groups of people took turns to defend the city. Now, these two groups of people are a little overworked.

Guo Huai didn't know how long he could last if he continued. As the number of casualties continued to increase, Guo Huai's confidence continued to decrease.

More importantly, Wuguan has been lost, and Nanyang may not be protected. If Nanyang is lost, the enemy can attack Luoyang from Nanyang, and ignore his Tongguan at all. At that time, Tongguan will become a lonely army. Without soldiers in his hands, it is hard to cook without rice. Guo Huai has gradually lost the confidence to continue to defend.

As the sun sets, the battle on the city walls gradually eases, and it is very inconvenient to siege the city at night. Therefore, according to the past, it is time for both sides to withdraw their troops and go back to lick their wounds.

In the distance, Wei Yan stared at the clearance eastward. Behind Wei Yan, a red and round sun was slowly setting on the top of the mountain.

"General, it's time, it's time for us to withdraw our troops!" Guan Ping said.

"No, we won't withdraw our troops today!" Wei Yan's eyes flashed with a sharp look, and then he said, "General Guan Ping, I will let me attack the city in a while. The eight hundred people under your command will also go together. Today is the time to break through Wu Pass!"

"The last general is ordered!" Guan Ping clasped his fists and retreated.

"Kill!" These thousand three hundred elite Han troops rushed straight to Wu Pass.

When he closed, Guo Huai was slightly surprised. It was almost dark. At this time, the Han army should have retreated, so why are there anyone rushing over?

Guo Huai secretly looked at the people who were charging towards Wuguan, and then Guo Huai suddenly discovered that compared to the Han army that had attacked a few days ago, the group of people had a strong sense of murderous aura. It seemed that each had been tempered by many wars.

"No!" Guo Huai immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. This group of people was obviously the elite of the Han army. With the Wei army on the city tower, which had been fighting for a day, how could they resist these elite Han army that were raising their strength!

"Hurry, call everyone who can fight here!" Guo Huai shouted. At the same time, the newly arrived elite Han army had already rushed to the city.

According to past practice, the Han army should withdraw its troops and rest at this time, so the Wei army was the most relaxed at this time. Many people did not realize that the new team of troops were all elite among the elite.

Finally, the first elite Han army climbed to the top of the city, and then others climbed over one after another. The joining of this group of new forces instantly reversed the situation.

The Wei army had been fighting for a day, and it was a time of hunger and thirst. In addition, the sky was getting late and the spirit was relaxed. When the Han army encountered a sudden and fierce attack, it was like a group of lions suddenly crawling into a flock of antelopes that had been traveling for a long distance for a day.

"It's over!" In an instant, Guo Huai made a judgment that Tongguan could not continue to defend.

Guo Huai hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Transfer the order, give up Tongguan, we will retreat immediately!"

Cheers came from Tongguan. As the Han army's flag fluttered on Tongguan, Wei Yan also showed a smug smile on his face, and Tongguan was finally taken down.

Although a lot of materials and soldiers were lost in order to capture Tongguan, as long as you capture Tongguan, it is equivalent to capturing the western gate of Luoyang. Next, Hongnong County is a plain without any defense, and the army can attack Luoyang.

Then, the city gate of Tongguan slowly opened, and Wei Yan walked in excitedly.

The road was covered with a mess, with weapons, supplies and military flags scattered by the Wei army everywhere, and some injuries that had not had time to walk were moaning beside the road. However, it was obvious that there was no humanitarian spirit in the Three Kingdoms era. These injuries would be captured as prisoners. Those who were willing to surrender might be given some water and food, and those who were unwilling to surrender would naturally be killed. As for those who were injured, they would naturally have some kind intentions to help them make up for their pain.

Wei Yan's five hundred school knife hands had already walked down the city tower and gathered in front of Wei Yan.

Wei Yan nodded with satisfaction. Wei Yan still cared about the elites he had trained.

Wei Yan glanced at these people, then suddenly raised his sword and asked, "Do you still have the power to fight again?"

"Yes! We can fight again!"

"Okay, are you willing to follow me to seize Luoyang?" Wei Yan continued to ask.

"I'm willing!"

"Very good, set off, march quickly, and target Luoyang!" Wei Yan pointed his sword to the east and was about to rush forward.

"General, wait!" Guan Ping came over immediately. Wei Yan had always liked to seize credit, so Guan Ping knew about it. But now Wei Yan was the main general, and he dared to attack a big city like Luoyang with only five hundred men. The credit was too outrageous.

"General, you are the head coach..."

"Guan Ping obeys the order!" Before Guan Ping could speak, Wei Yan interrupted Guan Ping.

"The last one will be there." Guan Ping replied subconsciously.

"Immediately prepare a daily food and grass for me, and I will leave all the military affairs to you. After I leave, you can order Liao Hua to lead three thousand troops and bring enough food and grass to Luoyang. You must arrive within five days."

"But the general..."

"Okay, needless to say, the soldiers are very fast, I have to set off as soon as possible!"

Tongguan is more than 210 kilometers away from Luoyang, which is equivalent to 610 kilometers per day based on the distance of the Han Dynasty. In ancient times, if there were not many people, infantrymen could walk from dawn to dark in one day. But now, Wei Yan only had to walk more than 210 kilometers for food and grass in one day. The difficulty and hardship can be imagined.

Wei Yan was very fast, with 500 people marching day and night. After a day of the night, it was midnight to the next day, and Wei Yan finally arrived near Luoyang.

In the early morning, a thin fog spread in the air.

On the city tower, a Wei Jun who had just changed his guard rubbed his eyes and yawned. It was obvious that he had just gotten up from his dream and had not yet fully awakened.

The soldier looked for the corner, urinated, then slowly lifted his pants, and then glanced at the front casually.

A floating thing appeared faintly in the fog, which immediately attracted the attention of the soldier. The soldier stared at his eyes and looked over carefully.

Gradually, the soldiers discovered that a large flag was floating in the mist, and under the flag, there were still dark figures shaking.

The soldier rubbed his eyes again, making sure he was not dreaming, and then shouted suddenly: "Come on, come!"

The officials guarding the city rushed over immediately. At this time, everyone could vaguely see that the flag had a big word "Wei".

"Hu..." When everyone saw the word Wei and looked at the Wei flag on the city tower, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's my own people, I'm scared." One of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Idiot, it's the enemy!" The city gate defender shouted loudly, and then raised the alarm bell.

"The enemy attacks, the Han army is coming, and Wei Yan is coming!"

The big word "Wei" is of course not the "Wei" of Wei, but Wei Yan's "Wei". The soldiers were confused for a while, but the level of education of the guards was obviously higher, so they immediately realized that this was not the big banner of Wei, but Wei Yan's commander's flag.

"The Han army is attacking!"

"Wei Yan is here!"

The news quickly reached the city.

Guo Huai climbed up to the Luoyang city tower, looked at the flag of Wei Yan in front of him, and Wei Yan in golden armor under the flag, muttering: "How is this possible!"

After Guo Huai gave up Tongguan, he fled back to Luoyang overnight. He probably panicked at night. Guo Huai had just arrived in Luoyang at noon yesterday. You should know that Guo Huai was riding a horse, so his speed was naturally much faster than that of infantry.

Guo Huai originally thought that the Han army would arrive at least two or three days later, but he didn't expect that Guo Huai had just arrived in Luoyang, and early the next morning, Wei Yan appeared outside Luoyang City.
Chapter completed!