Chapter 143 Tongguan Road

After Murong Zan led his army to besiege the city, he immediately began to cut down trees to build siege equipment, conscripted laborers, built fortifications, and then launched the siege.

On the Qiao-Han Road, Mr. Lou led 80,000 elite soldiers of the Yan army and galloped all the way, but was blocked by the natural barrier of Tongguan.

During the Warring States Period, the Qin State relied on Hangu Pass to control the Xiaohan Road and single-handedly resisted the million-strong army of the six states, providing a geographical advantage for its subsequent unification of the world.

But later, during the Chu-Han contention, a section of the Yellow River beach west of Hangu Pass emerged above water, making it possible to bypass Hangu Pass by walking along the river beach. So at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao, built Tongguan on the Linzhi Plateau, seventy miles west of Hangu Pass.

The plateau is a landform formed by the erosion of flowing water. It is terrace-shaped with steep surroundings. Jianguanyuan is like adding a natural wall.

Tongguan looks north to the Yellow River and overlooks Fengling Ferry. Yes, it is the Fengling Ferry where Yang Guo was ruined for life after seeing him.

With the Wei River to the west and Mount Hua to the south, it is located at the end of the old Xiaohan Pass and guards the Guanzhong Plain. It has become the new key to the Xiaohan Pass, replacing the role of Hangu Pass.

The present Tongguan is the Hanguan Pass built under the supervision of Cao Cao during the Han Dynasty. What made this pass famous throughout the world was that its owner, Cao Cao, was almost shot to death by Ma Chao's army outside the pass. This was also the first time that the name of Tongguan appeared on the historical stage.

More than 30 years ago, the first King of Wei in Dayan, Taizu's younger brother Murong Lin, once led an army of 200,000 and attacked day and night for more than two months before he captured Tongguan from the Wei army.

This is mainly because Tongguan is not a simple fortress, but a complete defense system.

There are two deep ditches in front and behind the Linzhi Plateau where Tongguan is located, namely the Jingou and Yuanwanggou. The walls of the two ditches are as deep as a hundred meters, forming a natural wall outside Tongguan. There is a river outside the Jingou, which is the Tongshui River, and Tongguan got its name from it.

Between Tongshui and Jingou, there are twelve beacon towers, also known as the "Twelve Liancheng". To the south of the Twelve Liancheng, there are more than a dozen sub-passes, whose function is to coordinate early warning to prevent Tongguan from being attacked from behind.

There is only one road leading to Tongguan, called Huangxiangban. This path is extremely narrow, with a plateau in the south and a cliff in the north, running east-west and about 15 miles long.

After the Yan army finally passed through a very narrow path, they encountered another pass, Jindou Pass.

This pass is the outpost of Tongguan, which means that even if there is gold in the pocket, it has to be taken out quickly, so it is named Jindou Pass.

After three days of continuous siege, and the loss of more than 2,000 soldiers and civilians, the Yan army successfully captured Jindou Pass.

Then they drove straight to Tongguan Pass. The East Gate Tower faces the Yellow River to the north, the Qilin Mountain corner in front, and the Yuanwanggou natural moat to the east. It is the only gate to enter the pass from the east. It is extremely steep and dangerous, with the momentum of "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men cannot open it".

When entering the pass, you climb up the steep slope outside the east gate and look up at the pass tower and the majestic Qilin Mountain, which is like a fierce tiger guarding the east gate of Guanzhong and is famous for its majesty and ruggedness.

Thanks to the small number of rebels, they could only defend around the main city gate, which saved the Yan army a lot of trouble when attacking.

But it was this main pass city that still caused the Yan army to suffer heavy casualties.

Looking at the elite soldiers of the Yan army who were trying to climb the city wall one after another, General Lou Jushi on the viewing platform had a gloomy face and was extremely anxious in his heart.

For the Yan army, the consequence of the Tongguan Pass being occupied by the rebels was extremely fatal.

Although Chang'an is a strong city, it is a question of how long it can last in isolation.

Once Guanzhong fell behind Murong Zan, the rebels could even compete with the imperial court in Luoyang.

"Do you have any good plan to break into the city?"

Mr. Lou was still looking at Tongguan in front of him, watching the Yan army soldiers climbing the city wall using ladders. However, due to the terrain, they could only charge on that narrow slope. The rebels on the city used bows and arrows, boulders, battering rams and other throwing weapons to kill a large number of Yan army soldiers.

The sounds of killing, beating drums, whistling and shouting rose and fell one after another, and could not be heard. Among the generals standing behind him, there were veterans of the battlefield, wise men, and brave warriors, but none of them said anything, because this kind of frontal siege battle was bound to result in a pile of lives.

There's no tricks.

Otherwise, Tongguan would not be called a natural barrier.

After a while, Wei Xiaoju, a general of the Tiger Guards of the Xiaoguo Army, said, "General, our army is blocked outside Tongguan. It will be difficult to break through without a long battle. The terrain of the Xiaohan Road cannot allow the army to deploy fully. In my opinion, it is better to send a group of elite troops to Shan County, cross Bingzhou to the north, and go over Zhongtiao Mountain to Anyi and Jieliang in Hedong. The rebels will enter Guanzhong from the west, and the food and grass they consume will be huge. They must be transported through Hedong. As long as their food supply is cut off, the rebels will have a hard time maintaining their strength even though they have 100,000 people, and they will surely cause chaos."

Mr. Lou did not comment upon hearing this, and seemed to be thinking about the feasibility of it.

Another Tiger Guard General Duan Wuchen said, "If we just want to break through the pass, we might as well send thousands of elite troops to Niutouyuan and attack Linzhiyuan and the many sub-passes south of the pass. The enemy attacked Tongguan by surprise, so their troops are definitely not enough to cover all the sub-passes of Tongguan. Otherwise, there are only 200 people in such a dangerous place like Jindou Pass, which means that the rebels must not have many troops, at most 3,000. If everything goes well, we can go around the back of the pass. The troops here are empty, and if we succeed, Tongguan will not be a concern."

In fact, the defense of Tongguan does not simply rely on a city pass, but on a series of defensive fortifications and natural obstacles built around Tongguan.

Therefore, to defend Tongguan, a large number of troops are needed.

Geshu Han used an army of 200,000 to defend Tongguan, but was later forced to go to war, which resulted in a mess.

Therefore, Duan Wuchen's strategy is actually very feasible. After all, the Bingzhou rebels stationed in Tongguan may not be more familiar with the surrounding terrain than the Yan army.

Whether it was due to poor defense or insufficient troops, the sub-passes in the south became loopholes. Since it was difficult to break through the pass head-on, they had to find another way.

After a brief thought, Mr. Lou gave the order: "Okay, General Duan, since you have offered your advice, your troops will be in charge of this detachment. Whether we can capture the city and rush to Chang'an as soon as possible depends on you."

Duan Wuchen immediately responded upon hearing this: "I will obey your orders."

The frontal siege is still going on. Due to the terrain factors, it is definitely not convenient for Tongguan to use large siege equipment, such as siege towers and ladders.

Therefore, the casualties were not small. If the detour could be successful, it would definitely be a major benefit to the old saying of the Yan army.

However, after Duan Wuchen left to take a detour and the other generals dispersed, Wei Xiaoju was summoned again.

"Meet the General."

"As you said just now, we should return to Shan County, Hongnong Army, cross the river to the north and climb over Zhongtiao Mountain to cut off the enemy's food supply. However, the future is uncertain, and we don't know anything about the military situation in Hedong. Do you dare to lead the army there?"

Wei Xiaoju clasped his hands and said, "What is there that I dare not serve my country?"

Mr. Lou nodded and said, "Very good. I will let the military officer Liu Shen go with you. He is from Hedong, familiar with the local customs and well-versed in military tactics. He can participate in military affairs with you."

Wei Xiaoju said: "Thank you, General."

"After crossing the river, you are responsible for what you do. Don't rush ahead. Also, be careful of the Turkish cavalry."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, General."

Looking at Wei Xiaoju's departing figure, Mr. Lou's eyes were filled with worry.

Because the young man who was about to go north was his grandson-in-law.

(End of this chapter)