Wen Zhong sat in the big tent with his brows furrowed and his mind haggard, asking himself in his mind.
Four months, a full four months, he had not even meditated calmly once. Coupled with the consumption, Wen Zhong was actually quite tired now. It was not only his body that was tired, but also his heart.
Four months passed from Sishui Pass to Jiepaiguan and then to Tongguan. Whether it was Wen Zhong, Chaoge's army, or the garrison officers and soldiers in various fortresses, they never felt that one day the time would pass.
It's so difficult.
But the only good news is that Jiang Ziya was unwilling to overly consume the effective strength of the Zhou Dynasty army, which played into Wen Zhong's plan to delay time. Otherwise, with the power of Lu Ya's army, the three fortresses would not be able to withstand such a long time.
There was more bad news. The 30,000 soldiers at Sishui Pass and all the disciples of Jiejiao were collectively defeated. Then Jiang Ziya led his army to Jiepai Pass, surrounded but did not fight, and adopted the strategy of applying pressure and recruiting surrender, hoping to disintegrate Chaoge from within.
The defenders' will to resist lasted for more than a month and nearly two months.
In the end, the monks of the Zhou Dynasty who lost their patience used the intimidating power of land pressure to invade the interior of the fortress from the side and underground, stole the gate of the fortress, and succeeded in the night attack, forcing the defenders to withdraw from the fortress in a hurry. They were hunted down for hundreds of miles and suffered heavy losses.
It is said that more than half of the soldiers were captured.
Although the Jiepaiguan was lost, Wen Zhong didn't feel it was unacceptable to be honest. This was something that was expected, and because of Jiang Ziya's "cooperation", the delay was even greater than previously expected. As for the loss, Wen Zhong is now
There was no time to calculate. All hopes were pinned on the "turnaround" mentioned by Shen Gongbao, and Wen Zhong was willing to pay any other price.
For the sake of luck, the monks are willing to accept death even if they are destined to die.
As soon as Jiepaiguan was lost, Tongguan was next. The garrison at Tongguan was fifty thousand, and as many as two hundred mid-level monks had gathered. Even Wen Zhong's disciples were arranged here.
In order to prevent the Zhou Dynasty from repeating the same tricks as before when they entered Jiepaiguan again, the Tongguan guard did not refuse the offer but acted very ambiguously. He dragged the Zhou Dynasty away and tried to delay the attack as late as possible.
But eggs are still eggs. Without the high-end combat power at the monk level, tactics cannot stop the enemy. What's more, Jiang Ziya is not a fool. After several times, why didn't he understand that the possibility of Chaoge's surrender is still very low? So Tongguan was captured
After breaking through, the Zhou Dynasty army was approaching again, and its next target was the last fortress to the west of Chaoge City: Lintong Pass.
It took four months for the news to spread throughout the entire Shang Dynasty. Both the princes and ordinary people knew that the three Bohou kingdoms in the southeast, southeast and west had rebelled, and an alliance with Xiqi as the main body had been established.
The empire, named Zhou. Now it not only withstood the attack of the Shang Dynasty, but also led the army all the way closer. The overwhelming force came to Lintong Pass. The edge of the sword has reached the fate of the Shang Dynasty.
The situation changed rapidly, and within four months, many princes who had not been optimistic about the Zhou Dynasty had their eyes opened, and at the same time they had to start to consider their future stance.
Should we continue to follow the Shang Dynasty or join the Zhou Dynasty to get a share of the credit when it has not yet established the world? Or should we continue to wait and see and see if the Shang Dynasty is really exhausted?
As the saying goes, there is a quick hand and a slow hand. The princes also know that if they win a gamble at this time, there will be a lot of benefits. But it will be a tragedy if the gamble loses. Therefore, even though there were princes who responded to the Zhou Dynasty's call to change their flags, the number was not
Not many. Most of them chose to continue to wait and see. But almost all the princes' attitudes towards the Shang Dynasty were uniformly indifferent.
Due to the situation. Who made the Shang Dynasty's army so ineffective? They lost three western gates in a row, and now they are about to be beaten to Chaoge City.
Wen Zhong did not continue to retreat this time. He chose to stay at Lintong Pass. Behind him were one hundred thousand soldiers and all the existing Jiejiao monks in the entire Shang Dynasty. It was not that he could not gather more, but Wen Zhong did not want to do so.
He did it, and even rejected many of his fellow disciples who came to serve in the army.
Now it was time to stall for time. Wen Zhong didn't care about using the lives of mortals to drag him down, but he felt that the lives of fellow monks were not worth it. Except for the Jie Jiao disciples who had arrived to serve in the Shang Dynasty early and were already stuck in this mud, Wen Zhong
Zhong will not allow other disciples to come in and take risks.
"Senior brother, it's better to withdraw to Chaoge. It doesn't make much difference if you stay here. Sitting in Chaoge can delay the situation for some time. If senior brother is worried, I will stay. I believe I can calm the situation.
"Shen Gongbao and Wen Zhong stood on the archery tower of the fortress and looked into the distance. Their moods were also low, but they still tried their best to persuade Wen Zhong. If they stay here, the possibility of death is too great.
Wen Zhong shook his head and said with a smile: "Junior brother, how long has it been since you joined Jiejiao? Many monks here came from other fortresses and border troops. How can you calm down the scene if you can't even call them by their names? Besides, nowadays
The situation has reached this point. If we retreat any further, we may lose morale and lead to a rout. Therefore, Lintong Pass must be defended."
"But how could that savage Lu Ya..."
"Okay, junior brother. Although Lu Ya is powerful, he really dares to kill my disciples without restraint? I don't believe it. You have noticed that after Lu Ya killed Zhao Gongming, he only assisted in the attack, but never killed anyone with his own hands.
Do you know why this is?"
"Huh? Senior brother has discovered something?"
"Yes. Lu Ya is now making plans for his future. After all, whether it is the Conferred God List or the war between the three religions, it will eventually come to an end. If he, Lu Ya, offends me, Jiejiao Taisheng, he will definitely be remembered by his master.
If you go down, there will be a day of death and death. Therefore, he does not dare to be too presumptuous. And it is possible to defend Lintong Pass." Wen Zhong explained firmly.
Shen Gongbao suddenly understood and secretly praised Wen Zhong's thoughtfulness. But he still didn't think that Lintong Pass could be defended, and it was too dangerous for Wen Zhong to stay here. Once something unexpected happened to Wen Zhong, the whole situation would collapse immediately and there would be no recovery.
room.
"Okay, Shen Gongbao, you can take the remaining soldiers back to Chaoge now. Remember what I told you. No matter who it is, any minister who dares to propose surrender or peace talks will be killed. Don't give up half-heartedly. At the same time, you must
Promise me that you will never betray Jie Jiao under any circumstances!"
"...I, I understand, senior brother. Don't worry. I'll be waiting for news of your victory in Chaoge!"
"Hahaha, okay! Just wait for the news of my victory!" Wen Zhong laughed and patted Shen Gongbao on the shoulder, watching as Shen Gongbao led the 10,000 most elite soldiers from the fortress and galloped away from the back of the fortress.
As soon as Wen Zhong turned around, he saw a thick plume of smoke slowly rising from a very far distance.
"Come on Jiang Ziya, let's have another good fight whether it's life or death!"