Li Tong led the Han army to sneak attack Yancen's camp in Beishan. The sudden Han army caught the Shu army by surprise, and Yancen's troops were killed and defeated. When Yancen led his troops to flee, Zhu Fu also
Bring the troops over and beat the drowned dog with clubs.
The Yancen tribe fled all the way to the west. Tens of thousands of soldiers ran and died along the Qinling Mountains and fled to the Nanshan Mountains.
Before Li Tong came, Zhu Fu did not dare to take a step out of Chang'an. Now that Li Tong came and Yancen was defeated, Zhu Fu became more energetic and suggested to Li Tong that he should surround Nanshan and capture Yancen's troops.
Trapped to death in Nanshan.
Compared with Zhu Fu who was overly excited, Li Tong was still very clear-headed and did not adopt Zhu Fu's opinions.
Although Yancen was defeated, the main force still existed, and the Nanshan Mountain in the Qinling Mountains was so big that it was completely impossible for our own army to surround Nanshan with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.
Moreover, this will cause our own troops to be greatly dispersed, and it will be easy for Yancen's troops to defeat them one by one.
Li Tong said to Zhu Fu: "Zhi Jinwu, although our army has the advantage in this battle, it has not yet been able to crush the enemy. Besieging Nanshan is too risky and the return is too low. In my opinion, you
I will unite our forces and attack the enemy head-on!"
Zhu Fu was not good at commanding troops. What he was good at was governing.
After Liu Xiu came to the throne, he has been reducing Zhi Jinwu's military power, causing Zhi Jinwu to almost become a bare commander, and began to become a civilian official from a military attache. This is the main reason why Liu Xiu appointed Zhu Fu as Zhi Jinwu.
After listening to Li Tong's words, Zhu Fu had no objection, raised his hands and said: "I will listen to the order of the former general!"
The Han army led by Li Tong and the Zhengxi Army led by Zhu Fu joined forces and launched a fierce attack on the remnants of Yancen's troops who had fled to Nanshan.
The remnants of Yancen resisted the Han army's attack in Nanshan. The two sides fought fiercely. On the Han army's side, Li Tong's more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, plus the 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Western Army, totaled more than 70,000 soldiers.
There are more than 30,000 soldiers and horses on Yan Cen's side. In addition, the 10,000 soldiers and horses sent by Yan Cen to harass the third auxiliary have been withdrawn. A total of 40,000 people are coming. In terms of military strength, the Han army already has the strength.
An overwhelming advantage.
However, the terrain of Nanshan is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Yancen tribe has an absolute geographical advantage, which greatly makes up for their lack of military strength. When the two sides fought fiercely, they also showed a situation of even strength.
Yancen was attacked by the Han army in Hanzhong, and the war became tense. The news soon spread back to Chengdu. After hearing the news, Gongsun Shu was shocked and immediately issued an edict, ordering General Meng Ying stationed in Bajun to lead 50,000 troops.
Go to Hanzhong and rush to Yancen's aid.
Meng Ying was a general under Gongsun Shu and one of the four fierce generals in Shu. He held a Mo Yuan gun and swept across Shu, rarely encountering an opponent. After receiving the edict from Gongsun Shu, Meng Ying did not dare to delay and ordered his troops to mobilize.
Horse, go straight to Hanzhong.
Bajun is a large county in Yizhou, adjacent to Hanzhong. Meng Ying led an army of 50,000. After entering Hanzhong, he went all the way north, taking the Tangluo Road to Nanshan.
There are four roads going north in Shu territory, the first is Ziwu Road, the second is Tangluo Road, the third is Baoxie Road, and the fourth is the famous Chencang Road.
The Ziwu Road leads to Beishan, and the Tangluo Road leads to Nanshan. Now that Yancen has retreated to Nanshan, and Meng Ying comes to reinforce him, he naturally has to take the Tangluo Road.
The 50,000-strong army headed by Meng Ying marched all the way north. After Luoyang's spies in Shu learned about the situation, they immediately rushed to the Han army camp at the foot of Nanshan and reported the news to Li Tong, Zhu Fu and others.
Hearing the news brought by the spies, Zhu Fu couldn't help but take a breath. He said seriously to Li Tong: "Former general, this Meng Ying is not a simple man. He is a powerful general under Gongsun Shu. It is said that this man has infinite manpower and is the bravest of the three armies.
Sweeping across Bashu, no one can defeat it!"
Li Tong frowned, turned around and walked to the map. He put his hands behind his back and looked at the map attentively. Tangluo Road is different from Ziwu Road. Ziwu Road is really dangerous. At least half of the road section is built on cliffs.
The Tangluo Road is much flatter. However, from Hanzhong to Chang'an, Ziwu Road is the shortest way. If you take the Tangluo Road, you have to make a big detour.
Zhu Fu, Ma Wu, Wang Ba, Hou Jin and others gathered around and looked at the map with serious expressions on their faces.
Now we have a military advantage over Yancen, but once Meng Ying's reinforcements arrive and join Yancen's army, our superiority in military strength will be gone.
Li Tong looked at the map and said quietly: "We must not allow Meng Ying's tribe to arrive at Nanshan and join Yancen's tribe."
Everyone looked at each other, and Hou Jin frowned and asked: "What the former general means is that our army needs to intercept Meng Ying halfway?"
Li Tong shook his head and said: "It's not enough to intercept it halfway, we have to defeat it halfway!"
It is meaningless just to block Meng Ying's troops. Instead, Yancen's troops will come up from behind at any time, join forces with Meng Ying, and attack our side from front to back.
Now, the Han army had only two options to choose from, either to retreat as soon as possible and retreat immediately, or to defeat Meng Ying who came to reinforce Yancen with lightning speed.
Zhu Fu frowned and said meaningfully: "Former general, Meng Ying has fifty thousand troops under his command, and Meng Yingyong is brave and fierce, so it is difficult to deal with him!"
Li Tong didn't answer immediately, his mind changed rapidly, and he kept thinking about whether his side had any hope of winning.
After thinking about it, he still felt that if his side chose to retreat now, it would be a missed opportunity. If he divided his forces to attack Meng Ying, his side would not have no chance of winning.
His eyes flashed and he said: "Zhi Jinwu, I thought that you and I could divide our forces to fight!"
Zhu Fu looked at Li Tong with confusion, and asked: "Former general, how can you divide your troops into battles?"
Li Tong said seriously: "I will lead my troops to the south to stop Meng Ying. Zhijinwu can lead your troops to stay in Nanshan and delay Yancen. I wonder what Zhijinwu thinks of this plan?"
"This..." With Li Tong here, Zhu Fu felt very confident. Now that Li Tong was going to lead his troops south to fight Meng Ying, leaving himself alone to deal with Yancen, his heart shrank into a ball.
He hesitated and said nothing for a long time.
Seeing this, Ma Wu and Wang Ba showed impatient expressions at the same time. The former said with a gloomy face: "I don't need to send troops to fight Yancen. I only need to stay in our camp and protect Yancen's troops as much as possible.
Just drag it to Nanshan!"
Wang Ba answered: "When our army defeats Mengying, returns to Nanshan, and joins Zhijinwu, it will not be too late to attack Yancen again!"
Hou Jin nodded repeatedly, feeling that Li Tong's strategy was still very feasible.
Zhu Fu grinned secretly and said worriedly: "Former general, after excluding the casualties, your troops only have 20,000 troops left, while Meng Ying has an army of 50,000. With 20,000 tired troops, we attack an army of 50,000 fresh troops.
Isn't this... an egg hitting a stone? This battle is really difficult to win!"
Li Tong said: "If the enemy's troops are not united in one place, we still have hope of victory. Once the enemy's troops are united in one place, our army will no longer be able to win. It is imperative that you and I divide our forces to fight.
OK!"
Seeing the bitter look on Zhu Fu's face, Ma Wudun was furious. He raised his eyebrows and shouted loudly: "Zhi Jinwu, we are going to attack more with less, and we are not afraid. Zhi Jinwu will take advantage."
Soldiers, can’t they do it just by holding Yancen back in Nanshan?”
Ma Wu and Zhu Fu were very close. When Liu Xiu was campaigning in Hebei, Ma Wu was a general and Zhu Fu was the chief secretary. The two worked together for a long time.
Zhu Fu understood Ma Wu's temper and was not afraid of showing weakness in front of Ma Wu. He smiled bitterly and said, "Zizhang also knows that I have never been good at leading troops in battle."
After hearing what he said, Ma Wu almost laughed out of anger, and said in a serious tone: "Shu Yuan is also the Jinwu appointed by His Majesty!"
When His Majesty appointed you to be the King of Immortals, you did not refuse His Majesty's appointment because you did not know how to lead troops or fight. Instead, you readily accepted it.
Now that you are needed, you excuse yourself by saying that you are not good at leading troops in war. This is outrageous.
Zhu Fu was a petty-minded person who always wanted to retaliate. Even ministers with a higher rank than him were reluctant to offend Zhu Fu.
There are very few people in the world who dare to be so outspoken and merciless in front of Zhu Fu, and Ma Wu is one of them!
Zhu Fu really liked Ma Wu, a rough man, and would not hold a grudge against him because of his unpleasant words. He frowned and asked, "What if Yancen suddenly attacks while you are waiting to fight Meng Ying?"
What to do?"
Before Ma Wu could speak, Wang Ba said anxiously: "Then fight him! Now Yancen's troops are only about 40,000, while Zhijinwu has 50,000 brave and capable Western Expeditionary Army. If we really fight, Zhijinwu can't
Must win!"
After hearing this, Zhu Fu's nervous mood relaxed a little. He pondered for a moment, nodded, and said: "Okay! I will lead the army to stay in Nanshan and hold Yancen back!"
After speaking, he looked at Li Tong again and said: "Former general, when fighting Meng Ying, fight if you can. If you can't fight, retreat immediately. Don't act out of anger!"
Li Tong nodded to Zhu Fu and said, "Don't worry, Zhijinwu. If there is no chance of winning this battle, I will immediately withdraw my troops and retreat to Chang'an with Zhijinwu!"
Zhu Fu responded repeatedly: "That's very good!"
After hearing the news that Meng Ying had come to Nanshan for reinforcements, Li Tong, Zhu Fu and others discussed it and finally decided to divide their forces for battle. Li Tong led his soldiers to go south to Tangluo Road to attack Meng Ying's army, while Zhu Fu led the expedition to the west.
The army stayed behind at Nanshan to hold Yancen back so that he did not dare to act rashly.
Li Tong arranged it very well, and Zhu Fu promised well, but when it came time to implement it as planned, everything went wrong.
Let's talk about Li Tong. He led Ma Wu, Wang Ba, Hou Jin, and soldiers of the Han army, and went south along the Tangluo Road. On that day, the Han army reached the Zhouzhi Pass.
Zhou Zhi Pass was originally called Zhou Zhi Post. It was originally a post station on the Tangluo Road. Later, due to its special geographical location, it gradually turned into a small pass.
Its area is not large, but its location is unique. It is located between two mountains. Zhou Zhiguan just cuts this narrow ravine in two, and it has become a must-pass for the Tangluo Road.
The pass can accommodate thousands of people. On weekdays, the Shu army is stationed here. When the force is large, there are more than a hundred soldiers. When the force is small, there are more than ten or twenty people.
The people who settled in Zhouzhi Pass numbered about a hundred families. The other people in the pass were either traders or passers-by.