The city of Chang'an was destroyed and most of Guanzhong was recovered.
Afterwards, the defeated soldiers of Cao's army fled to the rear. Xu Huang and Zhu Ling gathered the defeated soldiers, abandoned the south of the Wei River, and retreated to Tongguan.
Cao Zhen of Lantian Valley assessed the situation and knew that there would be a dead end if he continued to hold on, so he burned his stored grain and fled into Zheng County through the trail north of Lantian Valley. He joined Xu Huang, Zhu Ling and others to defend Tongguan.
Shen Chen did not pursue him. Although he had harvested supplies from Chang'an City, the soldiers had been besieging Chang'an for half a year. They were exhausted and their morale was not high, so they needed a short rest.
What's more, he has to pass the news to Liu Bei immediately. Now that the Wuguan Passage has been opened, Guanzhong and Nanyang will be completely connected. In the future, there will no longer be a need to travel long distances to transport grain from Hanzhong. This is a great opportunity for the Liu Bei Group. A good thing.
So when Huang Zhong's troops occupied Lantian Valley and made contact with the Han army in the direction of Shangluo, the news was quickly sent to Nanyang through the Wuguan Passage, and then sent to the front line by Zhou Buyi, the prefect of Nanyang in Wancheng.
Zhou Buyi is currently responsible for transporting grain and fodder to the rear in Nanyang. His talent and ability are quite good. He is an excellent commander and should be able to get better opportunities to lead.
However, it is better for an experienced old man to accept such a country-destroying war, so he still needs a certain amount of time to settle and grow.
May 9th, Dingling.
Today, the Liu Bei Group has more than 100,000 troops occupying Yingchuan at the exit of Nanyang and the western area of Runan, almost covering the area of Xuchang City, Zhoukou City, Luohe City, and Pingdingshan City in later Henan Province.
There are more than a dozen camps, large and small, mainly concentrated in Changshe, Yanling, Fugou and other places. The camps stretch for dozens of miles, and the flags cover the sky and the sun.
The frontline commanders are not Zhang Fei, but Pang Tong and Fazheng. Several great counselors, Jia Xu, are old and have not been in good health recently. They are currently recuperating in Xiangyang. Zhuge Liang is in charge of Xiangyang to allocate grain and grass supplies, and Xu Shu is in the rear army.
Therefore, Liu Bei was accompanied by several ministers as his staff, such as Ma Liang, Yang Yi, Dong He, Jiang Wan, Huang Quan, Zheng Du, etc. In addition to these people, there were also Zhuge Ke, Lu Xun and other Jiangdong nobles.
The Jiangdong nobles were the last to join and had the lowest status. However, Zhuge Ke and Lu Xun were talented, so they were gradually promoted by Liu Bei, and they are currently serving as ministers.
At this moment, in the main camp tent of the Han army in Fenqiu area north of Dingling City, a scent of medicinal fragrance floated.
Liu Bei was sitting next to the desk, wearing a long black silk coat and holding an official document in his hand. His hair was already white, his temples were gray, his face was slightly sad, and he coughed from time to time. It was obvious that he was not in good health.
Historically, he had been dead for four years, but now he has lived for four more years, and it seems that his destiny has changed against the will of heaven.
But no matter what, at this age, the aging body is something that cannot be changed by human power.
He is already sixty-seven years old this year, almost a senior citizen in this era, and his physical functions have seriously declined.
A little bit of wind chill can be fatal.
It happened to be the rainy season in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River recently. The weather had not become colder, and it was even a little sultry. However, the heavy rains during the plum rainy season also caused his old injuries to attack, making him very uncomfortable.
Therefore, he has not gone to Changshe and Yanling front lines for inspections more than two months ago, but has been staying at the Chinese Army in Dingling and Linying areas to recuperate.
The rain has become much lighter in the past two days. The slanting wind and drizzle gently blew the door curtain outside the tent, making a small tapping sound, and the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers outside the camp could be clearly heard.
"His Majesty."
At this moment, Ma Liang and others suddenly walked in and handed over to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was a little surprised to see their sudden visit.
Because they are not just staff officers, they have multiple positions. For example, Ma Liang and Yang Yi are responsible for the deployment of logistics and equipment, and Dong He and Huang Quan are in charge of some troops. Therefore, when there are no meetings, they will perform their respective duties.
There must be something wrong with this sudden visit. Liu Bei put down the official document in his hand, tightened his robe slightly, pushed the pale hair on his right temple behind his ear, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ma Liang smiled and cupped his hands and said: "We just came from the rear to report that the governor stormed Chang'an, successfully broke down the city gate, captured Zhong Yao alive, beheaded Xiahou Mao, and achieved a great victory in Guanzhong. We have regained Chang'an."
"ah?"
Liu Bei was surprised at first, and then he patted the table with great joy and said: "Great, Xiaoqing actually regained Chang'an, cough cough cough cough."
When I got excited, I coughed violently again and had to cover my mouth with a handkerchief.
"His Majesty."
Everyone hurriedly came forward to show concern.
"I'm fine."
Liu Bei waved his hands with a flushed face, holding back his cough and said: "Guanzhong has been recovered, and my big man has returned to the old capital. Xiaoqing has done a great job in this matter, and I am very happy for the moment."
Ma Liang said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, you still need to take care of your health first. The doctor said that your Majesty should not be overjoyed or sad. I decided to tell your majesty about this matter after discussing with many colleagues. Otherwise, I would rather hide it for a while, otherwise I am afraid that your majesty will be overjoyed and hurt your body."
.”
"Eh."
Liu Bei's old face showed a smile and said: "How can such a great event hurt my body? It will only make my spirit stronger. Now that we have retaken the old capital, it has inspired people and I have regained it."
The world's wish to rejuvenate the Yanhan Dynasty has taken another step forward."
"Congratulations to your majesty, congratulations to your majesty."
"Now that we have recaptured two-thirds of the country, only Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Huainan, Bingzhou and Youyan are left. Your Majesty, the three-pronged Han Dynasty is just around the corner."
"Recently, the general from the Huainan direction is also aggressively attacking Hefei. Cao Xiu was afraid that Hefei would be lost, so he rushed to help. The general fought with Cao Xiu several times and gained the upper hand. Maybe it won't be long before Huainan and other places will be recovered."
Everyone came forward to congratulate Liu Bei with their hands in hand.
Just because this battle is so inspiring.
What the capture of Chang'an brought to Liu Bei's group was far from being as simple as clearing the Wuguan Pass or occupying an uninhabited Guanzhong with a radius of thousands of miles.
The Chinese nation is not called Zhou people or Qin people, but Han people, because before Qin, the land of China was not unified.
The Rebellion at the end of the Qin Dynasty was also a rebellion launched by the descendants and nobles of the Six Kingdoms under the banner of restoring the Six Kingdoms.
Some people in later generations thought that Qin Shihuang was a tyrant and Liu Bang was an old gangster. They were not good emperors and were not as great as the later founding emperors.
However, in fact, the achievements of Qin Shihuang and Liu Bang should be among the best in Chinese history. Even the later Liu Xiu, Li Shimin, and Zhu Yuanzhang were far behind them in terms of great achievements.
Because if it were not for the two of them, then China would not be a continuous unified dynasty, but would be divided into dozens of large and small countries like Europe.
Especially Xiang Yu.
Some people think Xiang Yu is a great hero.
But in fact Xiang Yu was the main leader of the restoration of the Six Kingdoms.
If he defeats Liu Bang, then the history of the Han Dynasty will be another Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. China does not know when it will be unified.
Therefore, the greatest achievement of Qin Shihuang and Liu Bang was to integrate this land early and turn people from different countries into a unified nation, so that Qin people, Qi people, Koreans, Zhao people, Wei people, Chu people,
The Yan people became Han people.
Qin Shihuang was a pioneer, but he maintained superficial unification for only fifteen years. Although Liu Bang was a latecomer, he allowed unification to last for 210 years with only the experience of people fifteen years ago.
It was these more than two hundred years that completely integrated the Han people, and coupled with the second revival of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, the concept of Han unification has been deeply ingrained in our bones since then.
It can be said that the significance of the two Han Dynasties is very important to the entire Chinese nation. Without the Qin and Han Dynasties, there would be no Chinese nation.
By the end of the Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty, as the first empire to be unified for more than two hundred years, also had an unusual status and significance in the minds of the Han people.
Especially after Liu Xiu re-established the Yanhan Dynasty, the argument that destiny was in the Han Dynasty continued for many years. Even after experiencing the Yellow Turbans and the rebellion of the princes, Cao Cao, even though he was so powerful, did not dare to usurp the throne.
Therefore, as the capital of the Western Han Dynasty, Chang'an naturally also bears its glorious history of more than 200 years. In the hearts of the people, it exists alongside Luoyang, the eastern capital.
Therefore, Shen Chen conquered Chang'an and allowed the third Han Dynasty in the south to once again possess the old capital. The political significance far outweighed the actual benefits.
This will undoubtedly be an exciting thing for the Han people in the south.
"I want to tell the world and let everyone know about this."
Hearing everyone's congratulations, Liu Bei was also very happy. He looked around, and finally fixed his eyes on Ma Liang and said: "Ji Chang, please immediately send the news back to Xiangyang, inform the Prime Minister, and ask him to write it in the Di Bao.
I wish I could write an article myself and let everyone in the world know that we have regained Chang'an."
Ma Liang cupped his hands and said, "Yes."
"Cough cough cough."
After finishing speaking, Liu Bei coughed a few times and asked: "Now that Chang'an has been restored, there should be more than just news. Has Xiaoqing sent me a letter? What are his plans?"
Ma Liang replied: "The governor said that although Guanzhong was recovered, the enemy's remnants still retreated to Tongguan. Tongguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and his soldiers are exhausted and need to rest for a while before continuing the attack."
"Well, this is natural."
Liu Bei nodded. He had led troops in wars for many years, so he naturally knew how much damage it would take to besiege a large city for half a year like this.
Not only the loss of food, grass and ordnance, but also the morale and morale of the soldiers.
Before, everyone was tense and kept attacking Chang'an. Now that Chang'an City has been breached, the tense nerves of the soldiers have suddenly relaxed, and they will feel much happier, but their fighting spirit will also drop a lot.
If a new war starts again, the nerves that have just been relaxed will become tense again, which will have a big impact on the soldiers' psychology and military will.
So if you look at ancient wars, you will know that after a large-scale battle, the troops often have to rest for a period of time before they can continue fighting. It is not to replenish food and equipment, but to give the soldiers a period of relaxation, and not to keep them in a constant state.
in a stressful environment.
Yang Yi said: "Your Majesty, after Guanzhong is recovered, we can connect with Chang'an through Wuguan. After waiting for a while, after the governor has rested, we may be able to have the governor come to Nanyang from Wuguan to help us."
"Why not let Xiaoqing attack Tongguan from Guanzhong?"
Liu Bei was puzzled.
Lu Xun replied: "Your Majesty, we believe that Tongguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the governor has many cavalry. The advantage of cavalry cannot be used in terrain like Tongguan. When Cao Cao fought with General Ma Chao, the general won first and then lost, because of Tongguan." It is as difficult as climbing to heaven, so it is better to transfer the chief governor to Henan."
"Yes."
Zhuge Ke also echoed: "Henan has a flat river, which is more suitable for cavalry to gallop. In the past, because the cavalry road in Liangzhou was too far, it was difficult for us to transport large groups of cavalry to Nanyang. Now that we have opened up Wuguan, we have large groups of cavalry, and we can The land of Henan is like entering a deserted land."
"I see."
Liu Bei was also from the border of Youzhou. He was good at riding and shooting since he was a child, so he naturally understood these principles.
At the beginning, Cao Wei controlled the Chang'an and Wuguan passages, so his cavalry troops could only be used in Guanzhong. Guanzhong was really good to use. Shen Chen relied on the mobility of the cavalry to come and go like the wind, and he broke through several cities in one day and reached Chang'an. Under the city.
But Tongguan is located deep in the Qinling Mountains. If you want to go from Guanzhong to Guandong, you must walk along the road of the Yellow River. The road has the Yellow River to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south. It is not suitable for cavalry at all.
So now Shen Chen has completely opened up the Wuguan Pass and transferred the cavalry from Guanzhong to Henan. On the endless Henan plains, the cavalry can give full play to its advantages.
The counselors obviously thought very far.
"It's just that the Governor has rested his troops now. He still needs to be stationed in Chang'an for a while. At that time, he will probably send General Zhao or General Pang to lead the army. It may take several months."
Dong He said: "Your Majesty, please be mentally prepared. Even if you regain Guanzhong, you will not start a decisive battle with Cao Wei in a short time."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Ma Liang also said: "Now General Zhang keeps provoking Cao Pi in issuing letters of war, but Cao Pi can't hold on. It's not that he is afraid, but that he wants to fight us. But after Guanzhong was captured by us, he was the one who was anxious."
Liu Bei frowned slightly, relaxed his brows after a moment, and sighed softly: "I know, but I don't know if I can see the world unified in my lifetime."
Yang Yi said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Now there is a great victory in Guanzhong and good news has come from Huainan. We only need to contain the main force of Cao's army. The governor can seize Hedong calmly and then devour Bingzhou step by step. The general can also occupy Huainan and move towards Henan." And march to Xuzhou."
"Yes, the main force of Cao's army has been restrained by us. The east and west divisions are no match for the governor and the general. At that time, the governor can go south from Bingzhou and take Luoyang directly. The general will regain the land of Xuzhou and then join us westward."
Jiang Wan said: "Cao Wei is attacked from all sides and is worried about the situation in the northwest. It is very likely that he will retreat to the north of the Yellow River and does not dare to compete with us south of the Yellow River. Your Majesty can march straight in and clear the holes."
"Well."
After hearing what everyone said, Liu Bei suddenly became happy and kept nodding his head and said: "Okay, okay, today is really a happy day. I will write a letter to my second and third brothers to tell them the good news. You can leave first." , everyone goes to perform his duties."
"only."
Everyone knew that Liu Bei was in high spirits now and was about to share the good news with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, so they didn't bother him any more. They all stood up, handed over their hands, and walked away backwards.
When we got out of the coach's tent, the weather outside was still not that good. It was raining lightly and the camp was muddy.