In fact, as Zhang He expected, the Han army did withdraw part of its troops at the five secret gates. This was because at dawn on March 25, Liu Chan and others arrived with his first line of reinforcements - the town.
Northern General Wei Yan.
General Wei Yan led his army to come to the rescue, which was a great joy in itself. After all, Wei Yan was also a general who had experienced hundreds of battles.
But soon Liu Chan was not happy at all, because Wei Yan was followed by Guo Huai, the general of Cao Wei Guanzhong.
Wei Yan brought nearly 5,000 elite Han troops, but Guo Huai behind him also led nearly 8,000 elite Cao Wei cavalry.
Originally, it only had to block the five secret doors. As long as Zhang He was not allowed to break through, Liu Chan's Tongguan would not be said to be as solid as gold. At least there was no danger of being breached for the time being.
Because of that Zhanghe, we have been attacking five secret doors for three days, but not a single soldier has broken through the five secret doors.
Things are different now.
Wei Yan is here.
They also brought Cao Wei's Guo Huai and nearly 8,000 Cao Wei cavalry to Tongguan.
This frightened Liu Chan.
There is Zhang He outside this pass, and Guo Huai comes from inside this pass. Before that, Liu Chan only had to guard against the outside.
But now, he will be attacked from both sides.
Once Zhang He breaks through the five secret doors and the Wei army attacks from both sides, Tongguan guarded by Liu Chan may not be able to hold on for long.
Wei Yan is also a battle-hardened general.
Not long after leaving Chang'an, he already knew that a big tail was following behind him. He originally wanted to turn around and fight Guo Huai for 300 rounds.
However, both of them led cavalry.
But Guo Huai had the advantage in numbers, and his troops were riding Xiliang horses, which were much stronger than Wei Yan's Shu horses.
Fighting in this flat wilderness, Wei Yan was convinced that he had the ability to defeat Guo Huai, but the price paid for defeating Guo Huai was not something Wei Yan, or the current big man, could bear.
Originally, the Han army was not as powerful as Cao Wei. If there was such a head-on fight, the Han army would have fewer and fewer effective forces. However, Cao Wei still had elites several times larger than the Han army outside the pass, and could enter the pass at any time to assist in the battle.
It is definitely not advisable to fight head-on.
So Wei Yan accelerated his march and arrived at Tongguan ahead of Guo Huai.
Before Wei Yan approached Tongguan, he sent people to Tongguan to inform Liu Chan, telling Liu Chan that Wei Yan was coming with nearly 5,000 elite Han troops, but he was also followed by nearly 8,000 Wei troops from Guo Huai.
After learning the news, Liu Chan hurriedly used his brain to think of a way. He understood what Wei Yan meant. Wei Yan was reminding him to prepare in advance.
Eat Guo Huai who is following behind.
This is what the Han army must do now, otherwise Tongguan will inevitably encounter attacks from both sides, and Tongguan will be very dangerous.
After some thought.
Liu Chan decided to withdraw a thousand soldiers from the five secret doors and return to Tongguan, leaving only 500 men to block the exit of the five secret doors.
As long as Zhang He's people cannot pass through the five secret doors, he will still have time and ways to deal with Guo Huai who is about to arrive at Tongguan.
Liu Chan now knows the terrain of Tongguan very clearly, whether it is the terrain outside Tongguan or inside Tongguan.
Outside Tongguan, there are Huangxiang Slope and five secret doors.
There is also a forbidden ditch in Tongguan.
The name "Forbidden ditch" was only called it after the Tang Dynasty. It was called "Forbidden ditch" because Empress Wu Zetian once ordered that pedestrians were not allowed to pass through.
Forbidden ditch is located on the west side of Tongguan Pass. The army from the Central Plains must cross Tongguan and enter Guanzhong. They must cross the Forbidden ditch, or go all the way south from Forbidden ditch to reach Wuguan.
This can also be regarded as a barrier for Tongguan.
Now Liu Chan plans to use this forbidden ditch.
March 25, noon.
Guo Huai's army arrived as promised.
Liu Chan, who was standing on the tower of Tongguan City, could not help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly. He was a little proud.
This is the moment he has been waiting for.
Just as Guo Huai led his army into the Forbidden Valley and prepared to launch an attack on Tongguan, Liu Chan waved his flag and saw a group of about 3,000 Han troops rushing out of the hillside in front of Tongguan Pass.
"Dong, dong dong, dong dong dong!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The sound of war drums and shouts of killing immediately shook the heaven and earth. Guo Huai really did not expect this. The Han army actually dared to come out to fight with him.
In his expectation, the Han army in Tongguan should stay in seclusion, why would they directly come out to fight?
However, now that the Han army has left Tongguan, Guo Huai is happy to fight. It is much better to fight hand-to-hand than to attack the city by force.
Moreover, he also needs to capture Tongguan as soon as possible and open the passage between Guanzhong and the Central Plains.
More importantly, Guo Huai needs time now.
As early as yesterday evening, he had overtaken Wei Yan who was rushing to Tongguan. He needed to quickly capture Tongguan before Wei Yan arrived.
Therefore, Guo Huai immediately ordered the battle.
The Han army charged from top to bottom, but stopped halfway through the charge. They were still three to five hundred meters away from Guo Huai's army in the forbidden ditch.
"Not good!"
"Quickly retreat!"
Guo Huai hurriedly urged his soldiers. He understood the intention of the Han army. The Han army did not really want to engage him in a close combat, but deliberately charged to lure him into battle.
Now that Guo Huai's entire army has entered the forbidden ditch, whether the Han army is throwing stones or shooting arrows, the Wei army has become a direct target.
But——
Just when Guo Huai ordered his soldiers to retreat, a Han army suddenly appeared on the cliff on the west bank of the Forbidden Valley.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The Han army's shouts of killing shook the heavens and the earth. The general leading this Han army was none other than Wei Yan, the general of the Han Dynasty in the north.
"Wei Yan?"
Guo Huai said in horror, he had obviously bypassed Wei Yan yesterday, how could he arrive at Tongguan in advance?
What Guo Huai didn't know was that this was actually a deception trick used by Wei Yan. Just yesterday evening, Wei Yan felt that Guo Huai would soon follow, so he deliberately left a thousand people on the road and set up camp.<
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However, Wei Yan himself led more than 3,000 people to Tongguan on a starry night journey. Guo Huai, who was following him, saw that Wei Yan's troops had stopped to camp, so he deliberately bypassed Wei Yan's troops in order to rush to Tongguan before Wei Yan.<
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What a pity——
This time around, he increased the distance between him and Wei Yan.
"Guo Huai!" Wei Yan drew his sword and immediately shouted at Guo Huai: "Seeing that I, Wei Yan, are here, why don't you quickly dismount and accept surrender? When will you wait?"
"Wei Yanpifu!" Guo Huai sneered: "Do you dare to come down and fight me for three hundred rounds?"
"Hahaha!"
Wei Yan laughed when he heard this and said: "You are at the end of your rope now, what qualifications do you have to challenge me?"
"Fire the arrow!"
Following Wei Yan's order, arrows rained down from the Han army beside him. Guo Huai's army in the forbidden ditch hurriedly evaded from left to right.
However, after escaping the rain of arrows from Wei Yan's troops, the Han army in front of Tongguan Pass on the east bank of the Forbidden Valley launched a new attack on them.
Rolling wood and rocks immediately roared down.
There was a rain of arrows in front of it, and there were rolling logs and rocks behind.
This means we cannot advance, and we cannot retreat.
Guo Huai's army was in chaos. The soldiers were either shot to death by arrows or hit by rolling logs and stones. They were knocked upside down. Wails and roars suddenly came one after another. Even Guo Huai could only evade in a hurry.
After the Han army took turns to attack, most of the Wei army had been killed or wounded, and it was already in ruins. Seeing that the situation was over, Wei Yan on the west bank of the Forbidden Valley immediately rushed towards the Forbidden Valley with his troops.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Seeing that Wei Yan had led his army towards the forbidden ditch, the Han troops in front of Tongguan Pass also responded, screaming and rushing towards the Wei army, which had mostly been killed and injured.
Soon the two sides were in close combat.
The Han army took advantage of the terrain and fought fiercely. Although the Wei army resisted tenaciously, their momentum was already at a disadvantage. After half an hour of fighting, Guo Huai was finally outnumbered and became a prisoner of Wei Yan.
……
……
This chapter has been completed!