Chapter 81 Tian Yuanhao's plan to seize Tianshui County Zhao Botao's soldiers enter Ziwu Valley

Just as Zhao Feng led his army into Ziwu Valley Road, in Jicheng in the west, Ma Chao led 50,000 Xiliang iron riders, together with tens of thousands of horses of all departments of the Qiang people, a total of more than 80,000 troops, stationed in the small city of Beiyuan, and confronted 30,000 horses led by Meng Jian here.

Ma Chao is very familiar with the topography of Jicheng. At the same time, Meng Jian also relied on the Longshan Mountains to block Ma Chao. Meng Jian knew that he did not have a general like Ma Chao, and his troops were at a disadvantage. If it was a field battle, although he would not hit stones with pebbles, it was basically a dead end. Because he clearly chose to stick to it, he waited for Ma Chao to retreat because of the shortage of food.

"The wall of Jicheng is high and dangerous. If it is attacked by a large army, the casualties will inevitably be heavy, and it is necessary to think of a complete strategy." After inspecting the topography of Jicheng, Tian Feng, who accompanied the army to plan for Ma Chao, has basically given up the intention of a strong attack. After listening to Tian Feng's words, Jiang Jiong, who came with him, knew that he was a little interesting.

"What's the good strategy according to Mr.'s opinion?" Jiang Jiong asked. Tian Feng said after a moment of meditation, "Although there are not many good strategies at present, you can still have a try. General Ma, I visited Jicheng for a week. The water needed for the people of Jicheng came from the tributary of the Wei River. If it is cut off, it will inevitably confuse the people in the city because of the lack of water!"

"It's so good!" Ma Chao's surname is careless. Naturally, he can't pay attention to these problems. At present, 5,000 soldiers have started work overnight, cutting off the waterway of Jicheng. As Tian Feng expected, Jicheng was a little unstable in two days.

Although Meng Jian has also been active in Yongsi over the years, he doesn't know much about Xiliang after all. In his opinion, Jicheng is not a mountain. Even if you cut off my river, I can still dig a deep well in the city to get water. However, the western cool land was extremely dry. Meng Jian ordered people to dig many wells to get water. In the end, the wellhead was dug a foot square, but only a few pots of muddy water could be obtained. Tens of thousands of people and troops outside the city can only barely rely on this little water.

"Okay, you Ma Chao, you actually thought of breaking my water source, but I underestimated you. I lost this time." Meng Jian hated it. He knew that Ma Chao did not have much food and fodder. Although Yin Shang, the governor of Longxi, had defected to Ma Chao, he had sent people to harvest all the immature wheat and greens in Longxi. The food and fodder that Ma Chao could raise was actually quite limited, at most enough for the army for about a month. Guanzhong has a bumper grain harvest this year, so Jicheng can continuously transport grain from Chang'an and several large grain silos nearby. Even if Meng Jian sticks to it for a year, grain and fodder will not be a problem. At present, Meng Jian sent people to appease the people in the city, saying that the enemy would retreat in ten months, and then they could dig up the river to continue to divert water. Under his many comforts, the people in the city finally rested a little. As long as people can see hope, there is still hope after all. However, Meng Jian also vaguely realized that there was something wrong at this time. With Ma Chao as a person, how could he not rush up and wave the army to attack? It seems that in addition to Ma Chao himself, there should be someone in the Xiliang army who came to attack this time. At present, while Meng Jian was guarding the city, he sent many times to inquire about the news.

Two days later, Xi Zuo brought him two amazing news: Ma Chao sent General Pang De to lead a partial division to attack Jieting City, while Pang De led another partial division south to Wudu County, contacting the Dian tribe, and preparing to encircle and annihirate the Han De's subordinates in Wudu County. He defended himself in Jicheng, but it seems that Ma Chao did not come to fight with him at all.

"Sir, if the street pavilion is lost, then everything will be in danger!" Hearing that Ma Chao acted like this, General Zhao Ang suddenly exclaimed. No one will forget that when Ma Chao seized Xiliang a few years ago, the real fierce battle took place in the street pavilion. At that time, Zhao Feng was here, blocking the westward pace of Xia Houyuan and Cheng Yu, and then Ma Chao was able to regain Xiliang. Time has changed. Now if Ma Chao seizes the street pavilion, then he will not have to go to Jicheng to enter Guanzhong. Once the Xiliang iron horse stepped into the Guanzhong Plain, Meng Jian and Sima Yi could not stand it.

Nowadays, the street pavilion has been greatly improved compared with a few years ago. The small city of the street pavilion has been abandoned. Zhao Feng ordered people to build a big city at the key point of the five-way intersection. But even so, Meng Jian was not sure whether the street pavilion could be guarded by the 5,000 defenders under the impact of Ma Chao.

Of course, Meng Jian did not dare to easily transfer troops to save the street pavilion, because of the 30,000 defenders under his command, there were about 10,000 cavalry, and the rest were infantry. More than 30,000 cavalry in the whole pass, almost half of them were transferred to themselves to prevent Ma Chao. Ma Chao has a full 50,000 Xiliang iron riders, plus the Qiang cavalry. Once he moves rashly, the other party will make a long-distance raid, and it will be quite easy to encircle and annihilate.

After thinking about it again and again, Meng Jian finally said, "General Zhao, you lead 10,000 cavalry from Jicheng to the east and go through the customs to guard the street pavilion. After arriving, the city will be defended. Don't fight easily!" It is also relatively safe for Meng Jian to do so. If he goes outside the gate to save the street pavilion, although the road can be closer, he is likely to be surrounded and annihilated by Ma Chao. With Zhao Ang's ability, he will definitely die. It's a little farther, but under the feet of the cavalry, this distance only takes less than a day. To be safe, it's better to take this road.

"The last general will save!" Zhao Ang also knows his own affairs. He knows that if he meets Ma Chao in the field, he will definitely be dead, so his advice to Meng Jian is also good. After a pause, Zhao Ang asked again, "It's just that, sir, I'm afraid there needs someone to pick up at General Han De's place in Wudu County!"

"As long as the Sanguan and the street pavilion are guarded, then the gate will be as safe as Mount Tai!" Meng Jianyi said something. Although Zhao Ang was not very smart, he also understood the meaning of Meng Jian's words: Han De was basically an abandoned son. Wudu County is easy to attack and difficult to defend, and it is also a place where people live. Over the years, wars have been frequent, and the Han people have basically migrated to Hanzhong, and it is even more regrettable to lose it.

What Meng Jian did not expect was that Ma Chao and Tian Feng's goals were neither Wudu, nor Jieting, nor Yinping, or Jicheng. After marching into Wudu County, Tian Feng and Jiang Jiong led their troops from Wudu County to the north and bypassed Jicheng to Shangbang County.

Shangbang County is located in the center of Guanzhong and Jicheng, and the county magistrate is Liang Qian, Liang Xu's younger brother. After his eldest brother's friend came to the city, and after reading Liang Xu's personal persuasion to surrender, Liang Qian did not have any psychological pressure at all and immediately surrendered. Tian Feng led people to settle in Shangbang County and did nothing else. He immediately cut off the grain road transported from Guanzhong to Jicheng.

Guanzhong is from Jicheng, most of which is a plain of Pingchuan, which is very convenient for food transportation. Now that Shangbang County has been strangdued, the grain in the customs can't be transported, and tens of thousands of defenders in Jicheng can only starve. Of course, Shangbang County is not a dangerous place. Even if it is defended, as long as Guanzhong sends troops to attack, it will be difficult to defend if the troops are insufficient. But now there are few soldiers and horses in Guanzhong except for the garrison of the passes. Even if Jing Zhao Yin Zhongyao wanted to send troops, he could only send soldiers and horses to attack Shangbang.

In a word, Tian Feng is now ** naked to bully Sima Yi with insufficient troops, so he exercises such a seemingly unreasonable strategy and cuts off the grain road by occupying the upper state. It's also because Sima Yi is too big. In history, when Cao Jian defended against Ma Chao, he just relied on Sanguan to stick to it. He never laid the line of defense to the front line of Longxi. But Sima Yi can't do it. He has little capital. If he loses Longxi again, he really has to stay in Guanzhong. Now every inch of land is like cutting a piece of meat for Sima Yi. Once personal interests are involved, it is difficult to make an accurate judgment.

Of course, there are other benefits to occupying the upper state. Zhao Ang, who didn't know that Shangbang had lost, led 10,000 people who were going to rescue the street pavilion and plunged into Shangbang City. At the instruction of Tian Feng, Liang Qian did not play the banner of Liu Bei, but welcomed Zhao Ang into the city. When he held a banquet, he unexpectedly restrained Zhao Ang. Almost without blood, Tian Feng solved Zhao Ang. Now only Meng Jian has nothing to eat or drink in Jicheng, and he has to face the fierce god Ma Chao.

Thirsty can be tolerated, but hunger is pure intolerable. However, on the tenth day, the garrison of Jicheng couldn't help it. In the past few days, the defenders can only eat a little cake every day, and they have been hungry. Although the wheat green in the three counties of Longxi has not been cut out, the wheat green in April cannot be used to satisfy hunger. Meng Jian had no water or food, but Ma Chao did not understand his situation and began to attack the city on a large scale. In fact, in the days when Tian Feng pretended to attack Wudu, Ma Chao was not idle. He sent people to cut trees everywhere, built nearly a hundred simple Thunderbolts, and began to attack around Jicheng all night, almost without giving Meng Jian a chance to breathe.

The result is self-evident that the defenders without food and water can hold on for a long time in the face of such a strong attack. After three days of siege, the exhausted defenders ignored Meng Jian's continuous shouts and went out of the city to ask for surrender. Ma Chaoxi sent people to the city to catch Meng Jian. Finally, under the influence of his brother-in-law, Ma Chao is now more measured in doing things. Unlike before, the city will be slaughtered. Only then did the people of Jicheng avoid a disaster.

When Meng Jian, who was tied up, was sent to Ma Chao, the Renan famous scholar did not kneel down and beg for mercy. Looking at Ma Chao contemptuously, Meng Jian asked directly, "What a good plan. First cut off my drinking water, then pretend to attack Wudu and the street pavilions, and finally cut off my food and forced me to fight to the death. This serial plan is by no means what you, a martial artist, Ma, can come up with, but I don't know who came up with it?

"Hey hey, it's a good strategy to beat you!" Ma Chao is a man of good face. Naturally, it can't be said to be Tian Feng's plan. Seeing that Meng Jian was so arrogant, Ma Chao didn't bother to continue to pester him and directly led the army to Shangbang to meet Tian Feng and others. At about this time, Zhao Feng had entered the Meridian Valley Road for four days.

"If everything goes well, you can get out of this valley in seven days at most!" After walking through the most dangerous mountain road on this day, Wang Ping reported. Hearing this, Zhao Feng ordered people to take out four carrier pigeons with the army, write four letters and tie them to the pigeon's legs, and then release them.

"General, did you inform General Zhang that he could move troops?" Zhang Yi, who was beside him, saw clearly and couldn't help asking.

"It's almost done!" Zhao Feng replied. Looking up at the sky, a few pigeons have become smaller and smaller. After turning into small black spots, they can't finally be seen again. The blue sky and white clouds are very clear. Finally, I am lucky. I took this mountain road in spring, and it hasn't rained for so many days in a row.

(to be continued)