In the wilderness, thousands of soldiers scattered and took cover in the hills outside the city, slowly approaching the west of Chang'an City.
The Chang'an City Wall is really too long and too big.
The key point is that its city wall is not a straight line, but has many curved sections, and outside the west city is the Jishui River, with lush water and grass on both sides, dense forests, many high slopes and hills, and many bunkers.
Therefore, it is difficult for the sentry on the city wall to detect their presence in the first place.
The only problem was that they had to cross the river first. Fortunately, the river was a small river and it happened to be the dry season in winter. Even though the bridge on the river had been destroyed, they were still allowed to cross smoothly.
But just after crossing the river, there is still a buffer area from Yanshui to the Ximenzhangmen moat of Chang'an City. The distance is about one mile or four hundred meters. There are already relatively few bunkers. Commander Ma Dai wants to force
Rush over.
Unexpectedly, Zhong Yao sent thousands of scout cavalry to patrol the vast city wall. One of the cavalrymen with sharp eyes noticed something strange in the distance and quickly blew his bone whistle to alert the enemy.
After realizing that they had been discovered at the top of the city, Ma Dai gritted his teeth and issued the order to attack by force. The soldiers carried the trench bridge and ladders and ran away, charging madly towards the west gate of Chang'an not far away.
But it was too late, the melodious trumpet sounded, and the nearby Wei army and the large number of cavalry sent by Zhong Yao quickly gathered more than a thousand people, and arrows rained down like crazy.
During the volley of crossbows, Ma Dai was beaten back and forced to evacuate.
However, in comparison, the other two troops, Liu He and Deng Tong, who were also responsible for the raid, were lucky enough to rush up to the city wall. However, Zhong Yao came to his senses and immediately sent out a team to drive them down.
This is the disadvantage of Shen Chen not having an advantage in military strength.
If he has an army of 200,000, and there are only 50,000 in the city, he can just attack the city gates in the southeast, northwest, and north. The 26-kilometer-long interception area cannot be defended by a mere 50,000 Cao troops. It will definitely be like a sieve.
The same leaked out.
But now he only has 10,000 or 20,000 people more than the city, and it is still very difficult to force his way into the city with this, so this plan of attacking in the east and west has obviously failed.
At the end of the afternoon, after learning that all the soldiers and horses that had made sneak attacks failed and returned, Shen Chen ordered the withdrawal of the troops.
With the sound of clanking gold, the Han army began to retreat like a tide. Under the cover of the wooden curtain, the catapults and crossbows on the cloud floor stopped attacking one after another, and then retreated backwards.
Without the suppression of crossbows and catapults, the Wei troops on the city began to shoot arrows downwards. However, due to the distance problem, most of them hit the wooden curtains, causing almost no casualties. They could only watch helplessly.
The Han army left like this.
After an investigation afterwards, it was found that both sides suffered more than a thousand casualties. The Wei army had the strength of the city wall, and the Han army had the advantage of catapults and crossbows. Neither side could do anything to the other.
The situation on the north side of the city was also the same. Although Zhao Yun and Pang De also launched an attack, their scale was not as large as Shen Chen's side. Therefore, under the complete defense of the Wei army in the city, they were forced to retreat.
After returning to the camp, Shen Chen held a new meeting.
Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Pang De and their subordinate generals were absent from this meeting, because it is now divided into three main camps. Zhao Yun and Pang De's camp alone is 20 kilometers away from his camp, and Huang Zhong's camp is 40 kilometers away.
It's kilometers away, so it's not easy to come here.
Therefore, there are only more than ten famous generals below, including Ma Dai, Lei Ding, Dou Mao, Liu He, Deng Tong, Huo Yang, Wu Dang, Wu Tao, Shan Yi, etc. Jiang Wei, a close disciple, still works as a clerk, and Deng Ai becomes a clerk. Military staff officer.
Shen Chen sat in the main seat and first listened to the reasons why Ma Dai, Liu He, Deng Tong and others failed in today's sneak attack. After summarizing, he said: "Xiahou Mao, the chief general in Chang'an City, is an idiot and has no great talent. , don’t worry. But Cao Pi probably understood Xiahou Mao’s ability, so he sent Zhong Yao here.”
"Zhong Yao has been in charge of Chang'an for Cao Cao for many years, and he is well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of Chang'an City. This time we failed, it is very likely that Zhong Yao noticed our strategy, so he sent a large number of scouts on horseback to patrol the city walls and conduct investigations. Targeted defense.”
Shen Chen looked at them and said: "If our military strength is more than three times that of the city, it will be easy to defeat Chang'an City. But with insufficient troops, even if Chang'an City is large, they can barely defend it. It is still quite difficult to attack by force."
"But this seems to be our only recourse."
Deng Ai stood up and raised his hands and said: "Master, we"
Shen Chen interrupted him: "Shizai, how many times have I told you that in the army, you have to fulfill your duties."
"Yes, Grand Governor."
Deng Ai quickly changed his words: "Chang'an City is too tall. It is impossible for us to capture it with conventional siege methods. We can only take advantage of the weakness of its wall being too broad."
"Yes."
Shen Chen nodded, looked around the crowd and said, "Do you know why we can't take advantage of this weakness?"
Soldiers, you look at me and I look at you. Who knows where to go?
After a while, a voice suddenly came from the corner and said: "Grand Governor, it's because we didn't put enough pressure on them, leaving them with enough energy to rush to other walls."
"Exactly."
Shen Chen glanced at the corner with approval, waved his hand for Jiang Wei to sit down, and then continued: "Although we have been preparing for this battle for a long time, it is still difficult for large siege equipment to be built in Hanzhong and then transported thousands of miles away. When we come to Guanzhong, we can only make temporary arrangements. There are not enough catapults and crossbows to give the city a sense of oppression."
Ma Dai said: "Grand Governor, should we cease our activities and wait to build large-scale siege equipment?"
"No."
Shen Chen shook his head, glanced at everyone, and then said: "Starting from tomorrow, we will attack the city every two to three days. The craftsmen in the camp will work hard to build equipment and greatly increase the number of catapults. I will not let the Wei army stop for a moment. Pause. ”
"The art of tiring the enemy?"
Deng Ai was confused and said: "But in that case we will also be very tired. The morale of the soldiers was high, but if the attack continues for a long time and no results are achieved, not only will the soldiers and horses be exhausted, but the morale will also be slack. This will This is not a good thing, Grand Governor."
"Um."
Shen Chen nodded: "Yes, but there are benefits to doing this. We must analyze the pros and cons and make a decision whether to continue the attack or rest and wait for equipment."
Ma Dai asked curiously: "What are the benefits of the governor?"
"Benefit one."
Shen Chen raised a finger: "Continuous attacks will keep the people in the city in a highly nervous state, and they will also worry about sending small groups of troops to sneak attack while we attack. Then we will pass. In a month or two, we suddenly launch a sneak attack, and maybe we can break through the city."
"Is this the psychology of war that the Governor once said?"
Deng Ai said thoughtfully: "If we continue to attack, they will always be on guard against us attacking from other city walls. If something like this doesn't happen for a long time, they may relax their vigilance?"
"good."
Shen Chen nodded: "This is the saying that you can only commit a thief for a thousand days, but there is no way to prevent a thief for a thousand days."
"I see."
Everyone suddenly understood and felt that the Governor was right.
"Benefit 2."
Shen Chen raised his second finger: "Now that His Majesty has launched an attack from Nanyang, we must put pressure on Cao Wei on the Western Front. If Cao Wei feels that Guanzhong is in danger and Chang'an is in danger, he may continue to send reinforcements to reinforce His Majesty. Clear the way.”
"Um."
The soldiers nodded one after another. This is some basic military knowledge, and they naturally understand it.
"Benefit three."
Shen Chen looked to the south and said: "General Huang is attacking Lantian now. Cao Zhen is afraid that we are pretending to attack Chang'an, but in fact we want to annihilate him and open the passage between Guanzhong and Nanyang, so there is a high probability that we will not leave Lantian Valley and continue to guard the dangerous point. But if we continue to attack Chang'an and make Chang'an feel in danger, he may come to support us."
"Once Cao Zhen comes to support Chang'an, our Liangzhou Iron Horse heavy cavalry will defeat him in one fell swoop?"
Ma Dai stretched out his fist and punched him.
He is now the commander of half of Liangzhou's heavy cavalry, and the other half is commanded by Shen Chen's disciple Shan Yi, so he is full of confidence in the combat effectiveness of the heavy cavalry.
"Exactly."
Shen Chen smiled and said: "Now Cao Wei already knows that we have cavalry, but he would never have thought that we also hid a group of heavy armored knights. If Cao Zhen left Lantian Valley to help Chang'an and used the same method to deal with light cavalry against us, then I would definitely It will make him understand what it means to be a warrior and an iron horse!"
"The Governor is wise!"
When Ma Dai heard that he could lead the heavy cavalry in battle again, he immediately became energetic.
Which general wouldn't want such a day?
Shen Chen looked around at everyone and finally said: "There are three advantages, so we should continue to attack Chang'an and put more pressure on Cao's army in the city. Zhong Yao is also old. I don't believe it. Under my offensive with this combination of fists, he If you can do it without leaking, and be able to defend every move, send an order to the three armies and tell Pang De and Zhao Yun to rest for a day tomorrow and continue to attack the city the day after tomorrow."
"only!"
The soldiers agreed with a bang, and at least at the general level, their morale was still very high.
When Shen Chen's offensive didn't make much progress on the first day, they took a day's rest and continued their fierce attack on the third day.
Moreover, catapults and bed crossbows are still being manufactured, and new catapults and bed crossbows are put into the battlefield every day. At the beginning, the number of bed crossbows of the Wei army overwhelmed the Han army.
Later, when the number of catapults and crossbows of the Han army increased significantly, in the long-distance offensive, when the Wei army almost huddled behind the parapet, it was difficult to fight back with long-range firepower like in the previous defensive battles.
The main reason is that the catapults are too powerful. The crossbows on the city walls are all fixed crossbow stands. Under the fierce bombardment of the catapults, many crossbow stands were destroyed. The crossbowmen no longer even dared to approach the crossbow stands. Because the catapult is aimed towards the crossbow platform and if it misses once, it should hit ten times.
So most of the time, the Wei troops on the city wall were running around, either hiding behind the female wall and shivering, or running a little further away. When the Han infantry launched an offensive, they would regroup on the city wall and use bows and arrows.
Defeat enemies who climb the city wall.
The two sides have reached a stalemate.
While Shen Chen continued to attack Chang'an City, in late December, Zhang Fei's former army was already in a confrontation with Cao Wei's main force in Henan.
Cao Pi's group of advisers believed that the defenses of Kunyang and Wuyang had lost their strategic significance as they had done in the past to prevent Xu and Chen from being attacked and Liu Xie was taken away. The two cities were far apart and could not be stopped.
If the enemy forces an interception here, it will be difficult for the army to deploy.
Therefore, they felt that they could use the vast depth of Henan to lure the enemy deeper, and retreat the defense line to Yingchuan and Runan areas to lengthen Liu Bei's supply line, just like Emperor Wu once defeated Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, making it easier for the enemy to fall into a passive position.
.
Cao Pi felt that it made sense, so he adopted their suggestions. Not only did he personally go south from Luoyang to Chenliu to supervise the battle after learning that Liu Bei was going to fight in person, he also asked Xiahou Yuan to retreat on his own initiative and open the defense line.
Xia Houyuan received the order and acted according to the plan. Gan Ning, as the vanguard, led 8,000 men along the way and quickly occupied Kunyang, Wuyang and other frontline fortresses of Cao's army, and then fought a battle with Cao Wei's Jianwu general Wang Ling in the Dingling area.
, Wang Ling was repulsed to Linying.
The main force of Cao Wei was deployed around Yingchuan, Runan County and Henan County. Places such as Yangcheng, Changshe, Yangzhai, Yanling, Fugou, Changping, Ruyang, etc. were all Cao Wei's armies, forming a
A surrounding net seemed to be waiting for Liu Bei's main army to rush out from the Nanyang Basin and then dive into the net.
Cao Wei's initiative to retreat naturally aroused the alert of Liu Bei's adviser group. Pang Tong, Xu Shu, and Fa Zheng were not vegetarians. They immediately thought that this was Cao Wei's plan to lure the enemy deeper, so they advised Liu Bei to make a step-by-step plan, first occupy Linying and other places, and then
Go further north and engage in a tug-of-war with the main force of Cao Wei.
Liu Bei took the advice of his advisers and acted cautiously. Therefore, the main army had just left Nanyang, and the duel with them immediately began in the Yanling and Fugou areas where Cao Wei's main force had not yet assembled.
Now, in the three-pronged Northern Expedition, the center is the top priority. Once there is a problem in the center, it is very likely to radiate to both wings and cause a complete rout.
Therefore, even if Liu Bei is impatient, he will not make stupid mistakes.
Guan Yu, on the other hand, was not in a hurry to attack Hefei. He first went to the city of Hefei and ordered the army to set up camp. Naturally, he personally led the troops to inspect the situation in the city.
A few days later, the fortress was basically built. He personally led the army and tried to attack the city. However, Hefei was not as high as Chang'an. The city walls were small and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Twenty thousand people were enough to defend the entire city of Hefei, so the tentative attack failed.
Better results.
Guan Yu could only choose to surround Hefei on three sides, and at the same time send a fleet from Shishui in the west of Hefei to the north to block Hefei's grain roads, hoping to wait until the city's grain was exhausted and Zhang Liao was forced to break out or surrender.
This is a very common way to siege a city. After all, during the dry season in winter, watering is not a large river like the Han River. It is still very difficult to flood the city.
However, Guan Yu still communicates very frequently with the city these days. Seeing Zhang Liao also reminds Guan Yu of his prosperous days. Although both sides have their own masters, their friendship remains unchanged. Therefore, they write letters to each other to reminisce about the past, and there are often words in them.
To persuade to surrender.
Xue Ti saw this and saw that the letter written by Guan Yu to Zhang Liao was a personal letter, so Zhang Liao never showed it to Xue Ti. As a result, Xue Ti said nothing, but still had some grudges in his heart, so he reported the situation to Cao Xiu.
There, it is decided by Cao Xiu, the current supreme commander of the Huainan region.
Cao Xiu didn't do anything over there. After all, Zhang Liao was a frontline general and had a high prestige in the army. Even if he was suspected, he couldn't be dealt with immediately, so for the time being, it was like this. Chang'an was under heavy fire, Henan was seeking a steady victory, and Huainan was
It's extremely quiet.
The three wars all fell into stalemate and confrontation, and this confrontation lasted for half a year!
Some friends talked about making cannons... Let’s not talk about the lack of gunpowder in the Han Dynasty. How difficult it is to start from scratch with the gunpowder ratio and to perfect the full combustion of black gunpowder. Just getting gunpowder does not mean that you can make cannons.
, cannons can't blast through the city walls, and besides, they really disregard the actual situation and create guns and cannons, and most of the readers are lost. What everyone is looking at is the iron horse, and I'm afraid it's boring to see the firearms pushed flatly, right?