Chapter 47 Hanzhong Confrontation

"There is Cao Ren, a general under Cao Qian's command, who is stationed in the Huluo Pass. Cao Renjing is good at defending the city, and he is also Cao Qian's clan brothers. He is loyal to Cao Qian. I'm afraid that the Huluo Pass will be difficult to attack!"

In Wancheng City, Chen Gong pointed to the sand table on the table and talked. In three days at most, Liu Bei's 300,000 troops are about to be assembled. Except for the Yizhou Army and the Xiliang Army, which were already powerless in this battle, the army that Liu Bei could mobilize was only more than 400,000. Now you can invest 300,000 yuan in one go, which can be said to be a full capital. In this battle to the north, it was completely to destroy the dead. First, Cao Jian left in Henan County in Henan and the part south of the Yellow River in Hongnong County were annexed, and then the army marched west or north to fight to the death with Cao Jian.

"The public platform can rest assured that this Northern Expedition has already prepared a generous gift for Cao Ren in the tiger prison. He wanted to rely on Hu's prison to block our army. I'm afraid he made a mistake!" Pang Tong, who was beside him, listened to Chen Gong's words, but he was full of self-confidence. As soon as he said this, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei couldn't help looking at each other. Those who participated in the crusade against Dong Zhuo naturally knew how dangerous the tiger prison was. Now Pang Tong's words are so light-hearted that they all don't believe it.

"That being said, I'm afraid you need to be careful about everything!" Liu Bei knew that Pang Tong was resourceful. Since he was so confident, he would not damage his morale.

"Don't worry, you will have your own moderation!" Pang Tong said with a smile. At the same time, after seeing the recently sent military newspaper, Cao Wei also quickly summoned everyone for discussion.

"Thirty thousand? Except that Xichuan's army can't be used, Liu Bei has also paid enough money. It seems that in this battle, he is aiming to seize the land of Henan, and then go north to fight to the death with us!" Looking at the detailed military newspaper in front of him, Cao Shen also smiled.

"General Guan Zixiao of Hulao has a large army of 40,000 troops stationed in Guancheng. Liu Bei even tried his best to attack, and it was difficult to take all of Henan for a while. First, use the tiger prison gate to consume Liu Bei's morale. After he takes a lot of effort to take down the tiger prison gate, and then kill Luoyang, you can lure him into the middle in one fell swoop, let him and his 300,000 troops, and all of them will be wiped out in an instant!" Cheng Yu, who was beside him, smiled when he heard the words. So far, everything has been expected by Cheng Yu. And the preparations have been completed as early as a year ago.

"Yes, but Liu Bei is extremely cautious, and there are many wise people around him. For the sake of safety, I still lead the army to make all the best! Inform Li Yang's Gongming, lead the army west to Hanoi, and join us!" Cao Wei immediately arranged and thought about it. Cao Wei said again, "Now Liu Bei's army has come out to attack Sili. The land of Yanzhou and Qingzhou is under-prepared. Inform the Yuanrang of the plain and let him act at the right time!"

"No!" Someone went to inform me and didn't mention it. Cao Zhen was complacent, but he saw that there was only a trace of sadness on Jia Xu's face among the crowd. Then he quickly asked, "Wenhe, do you think there is anything incomplete?"

"I dare not say anything. This time is carefully designed by Zhong De, and with the help of the Prime Minister, the material is not inconvenient. It's just that now General Xiahou in Guanzhong confronts Zhao Botao. Although General Xiahou is brave, Zhongde is not in Guanzhong at present. There are no wise people around him to assist him. What's more, Zhao Botao has always been full of tricks. In case something happens, won't it be a big deal? Jia Xu was a little worried.

"It doesn't matter. Now Zhao Yun and Ma Chao are trapped in Xiliang, and Zhao Botao is under the command of tens of thousands of horses. How can they set off a storm? Perhaps soon, Miaocai has captured Hanzhong and pointed directly to Chengdu!" Cao said with a smile, and there was still an obvious sadness on Jia Xu's face.

Cao Wei has been in the battlefield for a long time, and he is a soldier in the world. However, he didn't expect that Xia Houyuan's assault on Hanzhong would be so bad. With more than two to one troops, he took the Xiegu Road to attack Hanzhong. Xia Houyuan thought it could be easily taken, but the result was shocking.

Xiahou Yuan never thought that the valley road in Qinling would be so rugged and difficult. After Tan Ma was convinced that Zhao Yun had taken almost all the cavalry in the river, what he relied on most was his 40,000 elite riders. But in this rugged valley, the cavalry did not charge, and it was very difficult to go hand in hand. The Yizhou army only needs to set up a few big villages at the dangerous pass. When their army arrives, it will throw some stones and shoot a few arrows, which is enough to make it difficult for the army to move.

Yes, Zhao Feng set up a camp in each dangerous place in each valley according to the historical routine of Wei Yan and Wang Ping guarding Hanzhong, with 500 elite soldiers as part, and took turns to guard against Hanzhong. With the hands of these thousands of people scattered out, Xia Houyuan was suddenly difficult to walk. I led the army again and was ready to take care of everything at any time. Under such strict precautions, even Xia Houyuan, who is known for his bravery in battle, is helpless.

Xia Houyuan was depressed in his heart. If he was on the Guanzhong Plain, he would rely on the 100,000 elite soldiers under him, and a single assault could kill the tens of thousands of Sichuan infantry. But now, in the face of this natural danger, my magic tricks have become floating clouds. A few disgusting valleys made his army sleepy. It has been nearly a month since the war started, and Zhao Feng was stunned that he did not take the initiative to attack.

"Uncle, I just count the grain and grass, and it's about ten days. However, General Jiang Qi is about to escort food and fodder, and he can arrive in five days at most. After the routine patrol on this day, Xia Houyuan's nephew, Pingko Lieutenant Xia Houen, reported.

"I know!" A trace of worry flashed in Xia Houyuan's eyes. Although Jiang Qi can still rush to transport grain after a few days, Qinling Valley Road brings not only the natural advantage that the other party is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but also the inconvenience of transporting grain. Just yesterday, more than a hundred people in charge of transporting grain secretly ran away. Even if Xia Houyuan is confident, it is a little difficult now. Therefore, it is the best policy to make a quick decision.

"En'er, you go and choose 5,000 elite soldiers, and then send people to the nearby mountains to find some hunters who are familiar with the local mountain roads. Don't scare them. Haosheng and I will take them to the army. I can use it!" Xia Houyuan thought for a long time and suddenly said.

"No!" Xia Houen went to select people by himself. As soon as Xiahou En left, Xia Houlan, the middle man of Yongzhou beside him, listened to Xia Houyuan's words, and couldn't help frowning a little. Then he asked, "The general wants to find a way to bypass these passes from the local hunting household registration until Hanzhong?"

"That's good!" Xia Houyuan nodded. After thinking about it, Xia Houyuan also felt that it was indeed difficult for some strong people to attack through the pass of Hanzhong by a strong attack, and he could only take a coincidence from it. When Xia Houlan heard this, she didn't say anything. After a long time, he carefully reminded him, "General, what if I can't find such a path?"

"If so, I will return to the army and attack Chen Cang." Xia Houyuan didn't think so. As soon as he said this, Xia Houlan was also secretly relieved. He was afraid that once Xia Houyuan did not work for a long time, the cow's temper broke up and attacked hard, then the army would be passive.

Although Xiahou Lan is also surnamed Xiahou, he is a real person from Changshan, Hebei Province, and is not the same as the Xiahou family in Qiao County. In addition, he was even Zhao Yun's fellow countryman, but when he joined the army, he was Yuan Shao. Later, when the Yuan family was destroyed, he turned to Cao Wei. As a good friend of Zhao Yun, the battle of Hanzhong is somewhat embarrassing. Most of the time, it's a little inconvenient to talk. Now seeing that Xia Houyuan's mind is still calm, he is also slightly relieved.

After counting, Xia Hoo'en took 5,000 fine soldiers selected by himself, and under the leadership of several hunter guides, he followed a mountain road that was said to be very remote and went to Hanzhong. At the same time, Xia Houyuan personally led the army and fought hard against the Hanzhong army position at the end of the Xiegu Road.

"General, it seems that Xia Houyuan is so angry that he attacks so fiercely that he doesn't care about his own death or injury!" Looking at the bodies piled up at the entrance of the Xiegu Road, Ma Yan was also shocked. It was said in a row that the casualties of Xiahou Yuan's subordinates were about a thousand people. And the Sichuan army guarding the customs has more than a hundred deaths and injuries every day.

Zhao Feng knows that the strength of a customs city can be reflected by the proportion of casualties on both sides of the attack and defense. Generally, the casualty ratio can reach more than 1:3, even if it is relatively dangerous. The world-famous Xiongguan, such as Tongguan, Jianmengguan and even Jianmenguan and Huluoguan, can achieve a casualty ratio of nearly 1:10. I have an advantage in being so defensive now.

"General, I think there's something wrong with me!" Lu Xun suddenly said. Despite the confused eyes of most people, Lu Xun said to himself, "It has been nearly a month since Xia Houyuan confronted the general here. Now that I suddenly attack so hard, I'm afraid I don't want to do anything!"

"Xia Houyuan's surname has always been impatient. Now it's not surprising that he is ashamed and angry. Bo Yan, do you think too highly of him?" Ma Zhen didn't think so. When everyone heard the words, they suddenly had different opinions. Until they found that Zhao Feng had always said nothing, they stopped talking and watched Zhao Feng listen to him.

"Yesterday, the unprecedented flying army has sent a military report. It is said that a few days ago, thousands of enemy troops left Xiahouyuan's barracks, and then they did not know where to go. Counting the period, it happened at that time that Xia Houyuan began to attack. I think there must be an intrinsic connection between the two!" Zhao Feng looked at the crowd and said something that surprised almost all of them.

"It turns out that the general asked Wei Gong to replace Yifeng and garrison Yangping Pass in order to let Yifeng and Wang Zi lead the unprecedented flying army to deal with the enemy's situation?" When Ma Yan heard the words, his eyes suddenly lit up. Yes, Zhao Feng just wants to take advantage of his unprepared flying army to cross the mountains and flat land. He is familiar with the advantages of Hanzhong geography with Wang Ping, and is ready to launch an all-round attack on Xia Houyuan's army anytime and anywhere. At first, he just attacked Xia Houyuan's grain road, but now he is also in charge of spying the enemy. Originally, it was enough to send Wang Ping for this kind of thing. I didn't expect Wang Ping to be illiterate. The unprecedented flying army was born in the Southern Central Barbarian Department, and they were all illiterate. As a last resort, Yang Yi was used to replace Zhu Ran, the general of Yangping Pass, so that Zhu Ran, who had been in the flight army, could fight together with the army.

"Exactly, I think the reason why Xia Houyuan dares to attack head-on is to attract our attention, so that the enemy attacking on this way can take advantage of it!" Zhao Feng said with a smile. When everyone was sighing, it happened that at this time, Liu Bei sent an envoy to read Liu Bei's king's order in front of the Taoist army, and sent Zhao Feng from the marquis of Jiangdu County to the marquis of Wuxiang County, adding 200 households. A civil and military official in Sichuan gave another 500 catties of gold and a 1,000 catty of silver. All the officials in Sichuan were rewarded. Zhao Feng and others finished their thanks, and they were all overjoyed.

"The lord has personally led an army of 300,000, waving his army to the north and taking Luoyang!" After the messenger finished the notification, another revelation broke out. After everyone heard the words, there were those who were amazed and those who were stunned. Only Zhao Feng and Lu Xun looked at each other and saw that there was a trace of worry in each other's eyes.

(to be continued)