Soon, the Han army led by Liu Xiu left Chang'an and headed westward to Hanyang County. Hanyang County is the central county of Liangzhou, connecting Anding, Wuwei and Jincheng counties in the north, Longxi County in the west, and Wudu County in the south.
, the third assistant of Dongtong Sili.
It can be said that Hanyang County was the core of the battle between Luoyang and Liangzhou.
If the Han army cannot capture Hanyang, there is no need to talk about getting close to Liangzhou. If the Han army captures Hanyang, then most of Liangzhou's defense system will collapse.
The Battle of Hanyang can be said to be the first battle between the two sides, and it can also be said to be the decisive battle between the two sides.
After the Han army arrived at Fufeng County, they set up camp in Fufeng. Liu Xiu summoned the generals and held another high-level military meeting. This meeting was to reorganize his own offensive deployment.
A sand table was set up in the Chinese military tent, and Liu Xiu and the generals stood around the sand table.
Liu Xiu pointed at the sand table and said: "Longguan, Qinting, Jiequan, Longxian, and Qingshui, these five places are the primary targets of our army's attack. Among these five targets, Longguan and Qinting are the most important.
The most important thing.”
Longguan is a pass and Qinting is a small town. They are not cities. However, these two strategic places are just at the junction of Hanyang and Sanfu. Just like the two door gods, they must be captured by the Han army.
of.
Liu Xiu looked around at the generals and asked: "Which general is willing to attack Longguan? Which general is willing to attack Qinting?"
The generals present looked at each other, and no one said anything. Longguan is a small pass, and Qinting is a small town. Conquering these two places is not difficult in the eyes of the generals. People are more willing to attack Jiequan County.
, Long County and Qingshui County.
After waiting for a while, when no one answered, Liu Xiu raised his eyebrows and asked: "What? None of you dare to attack Longguan and Qinting?"
Ma Wu cleared his throat and said: "Your Majesty, it is easy to capture Longguan and Qinting. I am willing to lead my troops to attack Long County!" Long County is located between Jiequan and Qingshui. These three counties are arranged from north to south.
Long County, which is located in the center of the line, is naturally the most difficult to defeat and has the most strategic value. When Liu Xiu decided to divide his troops and fight, Ma Wu set his sights on the target of Long County.
Geng Yan and Wang Ba were thinking the same thing as Ma Wu. Ma Wu had already mentioned that he wanted to attack Long County. Geng Yan was embarrassed to fight with him, but Wang Ba didn't care about it. He said anxiously: "Your Majesty, I would like to
If we lead the army to attack Long County, I can issue a military order. If I cannot attack Long County, I will raise my head and come back to see His Majesty!"
Ma Wu clicked his tongue angrily, glared at Wang Ba fiercely, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I am also willing to issue a military order!"
Ha! It turned out that everyone wanted to fight the big one, but no one wanted to fight the small one! Liu Xiu straightened his face, pointed at Longguan and Qinting on the sand table, and said: "If our army wants to get close to Hanyang,
The battle for Longguan and Qinting is crucial. If we can't capture these two places, even if we capture Longxian, Jiequan, and Qingshui, what's the use? Aren't our retreats cut off?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Jun bowed his hands and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the army to attack Longguan."
Liu Xiu looked at Fu Jun, with a smile on his face, nodded, and said, "Okay! Ziwei will fight at Longguan!"
Zang Gong raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to lead an army to attack Qin Ting."
Liu Xiu thought for a moment and said, "Yes!"
Geng Yan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to lead my troops to attack Qingshui."
Liu Xiu pondered for a moment and said: "Bo Zhao can capture Long County, Zizhang can lead his army to capture Jiequan, and Yuan Bo can lead his army to capture Qingshui."
Ma Wu and Wang Ba looked at each other and said nothing. They argued over their feelings, and in the end the task of attacking Long County fell on Geng Yan.
Liu Xiu asked: "Whoever is dissatisfied with this arrangement can raise it now."
"I obey my orders!" All the generals who dared to raise objections bowed down to accept the order.
Under Liu Xiu's arrangement, Geng Yan led an army of 20,000 to attack Long County, Ma Wu led an army of 20,000 to attack Jiequan, Wang Ba led an army of 20,000 to attack Qingshui, Fu Jun, and Zang Gong, each with 10,000 troops.
Five thousand, attack Longguan and Qinting respectively.
Relatively speaking, it is easier to attack Qin Ting. Zang Gong's task is to immediately march to Longguan after capturing Qin Ting, assist Fu Jun, and capture Longguan. Then the two armies will move westward to assist Geng Yan, Ma Wu, and Wang
The attack of Ba Sanbu.
As for Liu Xiu, he led an army of 10,000. As a maneuver, wherever the battle was unfavorable, reinforcements could be made in time.
The offensive arrangements were made, and the Han army began to move in batches.
The three Han armies headed by Geng Yan, Ma Wu, and Wang Ba, with a total of 60,000 troops, entered Hanyang County via the Kaushui Mountain between Longguan and Qinting. After leaving the Kabutei Mountain, the troops were divided into three groups.
Head to Long County, Jiequan and Qingshui.
After that, two groups of Han troops led by Fu Jun and Zang Gong also approached Hanyang County and marched towards Longguan and Qinting respectively. Finally, it was the 10,000 Han troops led by Liu Xiu who entered Hanyang County.
The troops and horses of each unit marched in an orderly manner according to the pre-planned offensive deployment.
The first to fight was Fu Jun's tribe who attacked Longguan.
Fifteen thousand Han troops, under the command of Fu Jun, launched a fierce attack on Longguan. There were a large number of defenders in Longguan, and they launched a tenacious resistance to the Han troops who stormed up.
Longguan is located between two mountains, and it is also on a hillside. The terrain is high, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
When the enemy attacks, they don't even have to rush to the city. The defenders on top of the city can throw logs and rocks out. The logs and rocks that fall outside the city will roll down the hillside, causing great damage to the attacking enemy.
of killing.
Now, the Kaixiao army guarding Longguan is using rolling logs and rocks in this way. Looking at the densely packed attacking Han troops on the hillside, the defenders throw the rolling logs and rocks stored in the pass to the outside of the city in a steady stream, and the rolling logs and rocks are rolled along the hillside.
Rolling all the way down, many soldiers of the attacking Han army were unable to dodge. The rolling logs and rocks knocked down and crushed them, and screams could be heard endlessly. At the same time, the defenders on the top of the city were still there.
He kept shooting arrows.
As soon as the Han army attacked, they were pushed back by the defenders. After a whole day of fierce fighting, the Han army not only failed to capture Longguan, but suffered heavy casualties.
On the other side, the Han army led by Zang Gong also launched a fierce attack on Qin Ting.
The information that the Han army had previously grasped was that there were only a few thousand defenders in Qin Ting, but now that the two sides were fighting head-to-head, the Han army suddenly discovered that the enemy troops in Qin Ting were far more than just a few thousand people.
No less than 20,000 people.
The Han army that took the initiative to attack the fortress only had 15,000 men, but the defenders who had the advantage of the geographical location had 20,000 people. Under such circumstances, it would be strange if the Han army could successfully capture Qin Ting.
Liu Xiujun's camp was located at the foot of Kaichui Mountain. Battle reports from the front came back one after another. The soldiers reporting the news came in and out of the central military tent, and the soldiers setting up the sand table were busy.
Lai She looked at the situation on the sand table, turned around and said: "Your Majesty, the attacks of Ji Nu (Fu Jun) and Fu Wei (Zang Gong) have both been blocked!"
Liu Xiu stepped forward and said seriously: "General Fuwei has just sent back a letter. There are no less than 20,000 enemy troops guarding Qin Pavilion, and they have set up thirty-seven camps around Qin Pavilion. Our offensive has been blocked."
Listening to Lai She's introduction, Liu Xiu's eyes fell on the sand table with a solemn expression. The battle reports of Longxian, Jiequan and Qingshui have not been sent back yet, but according to the Longguan battle report and Qinting battle report that were sent back first, our side's
The offensive did not go smoothly. The number of enemy troops, preparations before the battle, and even the will to fight all exceeded our expectations.
Liu Xiu rubbed his chin and said quietly: "According to our reconnaissance, the enemy's troops in Hanyang are about 100,000, while here in Qinting, the enemy has deployed 20,000 troops. At Longguan, the enemy's troops
There are also 10,000 soldiers and horses in our country. In these two places alone, the enemy has 30,000 soldiers and horses."
This kind of troop formation was very abnormal in Liu Xiu's opinion. Thirty thousand troops and horses were deployed in only the two small places of Longguan and Qinting, and the remaining 70,000 troops were to defend the entire Hanyang County.
, this kind of formation is simply against common sense.
He murmured: "Does the enemy army in Hanyang County really only have 100,000 troops?"
Lai She's face became serious, and she looked at Liu Xiu and remained silent.
Even a layman like him felt that the enemy's strength in Hanyang seemed to be more than 100,000. Just when Liu Xiu was worried about the battle situation in front of him, good news finally came back from the battlefield ahead.
The Han army led by Ma Wu defeated the Jiequan defenders in one fell swoop and successfully captured Jiequan City.
The Han army led by Wang Ba defeated the Qingshui defenders in one fell swoop and successfully captured Qingshui City. When these two battle reports came back, cheers rang out in the Chinese army tent.
Lai She placed the two-sided Han chess piece on the sand table, and then said to Liu Xiu with a smile: "Your Majesty, the two generals, Capture and Capture, lived up to their expectations and captured Jiequan and Qingshui. This allowed our army to finally win in Hanyang."
We have a place to stand!"
Liu Xiu also had a smile on his face. He held the case on the sand table with both hands, looked down at the situation on the sand table, and said: "Don't be too happy too early. Of the five goals, we are just going to win two first. Next.
, it depends on Bo Zhao!"
As long as Geng Yan successfully captures Long County, the situation will be great for his side. Long County, Jiequan, and Qingshui are connected in a line, which is equivalent to cutting off Longguan and Qinting from Hanyang County.
, making these two places become isolated places, and the enemy troops stationed in the two places also became isolated armies. It was only a matter of time before our own soldiers would annihilate them all.
The war evolved very quickly, and the focus of the battle was all concentrated from the eastern battlefield of Hanyang to Long County.
Geng Yan led 20,000 Han troops to massively attack Longcheng. Unlike the Jiequan and Qingshui defenders, the Longcheng defenders were large in number and extremely tenacious.
More than 10,000 defenders began to defend Longcheng city tightly. Every time the Han army soldiers were about to tear through Longcheng's defense, they were eventually driven back by the defenders.
It was like this once, twice like this, and it was like this every time during the three-day siege. This made Geng Yan's heart become serious. He felt that the defenders of Longcheng were deliberately showing weakness in order to kill themselves.
Drag it here in Longcheng.
Geng Yan was very keen. When the Han soldiers thought that the defenders of Longcheng were at the end of their strength, he sensed something was wrong and sent a large number of spies to the two wings of Longcheng to investigate.
After half a day, the spies sent by Geng Yan returned and brought back two surprising pieces of news.
The previously defeated Jiequan garrison and Qingshui garrison, with a total of more than 30,000 enemies, were approaching us from the north and south, and seemed to be forming a double-team on us.
The generals of the Han army were all shocked when they heard the news. Geng Yan frowned and said: "Our army can no longer fight in the battle of Longcheng and must retreat immediately!"
One of the generals looked troubled and said: "General, the Longcheng defenders are at the end of their strength and are fighting against a trapped beast. Isn't it a pity to retreat at this time?"
"Yes, General, after three days of continuous siege, our army has killed and wounded thousands of brothers. Now that we are retreating, thousands of brothers have been killed and wounded, and our efforts in the past few days have... all been in vain!"
"General, please think twice!"
Geng Yan said with a deep look: "If our army does not retreat now and cannot capture Longcheng, when the enemy troops from the north and south arrive at Longcheng, our army will be deeply encircled and in danger of being annihilated!"
"General, I am confident that I will capture Longcheng today!" "General, I am confident that I will capture Longcheng today!" Everyone said one after another.
Geng Yan narrowed his eyes and said nothing for a long time. He was unwilling to evacuate now and give up halfway, and he couldn't swallow this breath. But the question is, can he really capture Longcheng? What if he still can't capture it?
