Chapter 356: Battle of Hanzhong! [Subscribe]

The terrain of Hanzhong is high in the north and south and low in the middle.

It borders Longnan to the west and Shu to the south.

It is backed by the Qinling Mountains to the north, the Migang Mountains to the south, and the valley plains of the upper reaches of the Han River in the middle.

Hanzhong is not a large place, but it has abundant agricultural products and is a place that military strategists must fight for.

When talking about the famous battles of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, the first ones that come to mind are Guandu, Chibi, and the final Battle of Yiling.

These three battles were the most significant in terms of form, politics, and status.

But the Battle of Hanzhong was actually not weak at all, and its political impact was particularly important.

Because of this battle, the power of the Three Kingdoms was clearly determined.

After Liu Zhang was forced to abdicate, Fa Zheng reminded Liu Bei of the importance of Hanzhong.

Shu is mountainous, and the only area above the basin is Hanzhong, a blessed land located in the mountains that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

If Hanzhong was in the hands of Cao Wei, the gateway to and from Shu would be in the hands of Cao Cao.

He could come whenever he wanted, lead his troops south, and enter the Yizhou Basin after leaving Hanzhong.

Its vital points were all under the threat of the Wei army.

Hanzhong was controlled by Cao Wei, which made Liu Bei unable to sleep or eat.

In terms of military status, if Cao Cao controlled Hanzhong, he could "take Long and aim for Shu" and put strong military pressure on Shu.

Only if Liu Bei could take back Hanzhong would he have a truly stable foundation.

So after he had stabilized Yizhou a little, he was eager to raise troops to seize Hanzhong.

Boom-boom-boom!

The sound of the hooves of Cao Wei's heavy cavalry was like drumsticks beating the earth.

Hanzhong is high on all sides, but the east and west sides are accessible by water and land, but it is not easy to travel.

It was difficult for a large group of cavalry to enter.

The cavalry squad was fine.

Cao Cao's personal cavalry rushed into Hanzhong in mid-April.

The main city of Hanzhong is located in the center of the entire valley.

It was foggy this morning.

All the officials of Cao Wei came out to greet him.

Cao Cao's personal cavalry, fully armored, burst out of the fog like a torrent of steel, bringing an impact so intense that it was beyond description.

The Hanzhong officials who saw Cao Wei's heavy cavalry for the first time couldn't help but feel nervous.

The giant horse was more than a head taller than an ordinary horse, with muscular lines on its body that were as strong as iron, and even its face was covered with black plate armor.

At the front of the team are Xiahou Yuan and Ma Chao, with great momentum.

In addition to officials from Zhang Lu's faction in Hanzhong, Cao Cao was also welcomed by many civil and military officials from Cao Wei.

Before Cao Cao arrived, he ordered Zhang He and Xu Huang to lead troops from the southern line of Yuzhou to strengthen the defense of Hanzhong.

Li Dian and Man Chong were transferred to guard the southern line of Yuzhou.

On Liu Bei's side, Fa Zheng knew that Xu Huang and Zhang He were guarding Hanzhong. He said that these two people were not capable enough to defend Hanzhong, and that the opportunity was rare, so they should send troops quickly.

For this battle, Liu Bei mobilized almost all of Yizhou's troops, totaling 80,000 men.

On the local battlefield, a numerical advantage was formed.

This also shows the importance of the Battle of Hanzhong to Liu Bei.

When Cao Cao came, besides Zhang He, Xu Huang, and Le Jin came out to greet him.

In fact, the two sides had already had a contest before Cao Cao arrived.

There were many reasons why Liu Bei dared to pull out the tiger's whiskers of Cao Wei and take the lead in starting a war.

With the help of Fa Zheng, he instigated a general under Zhang Lu to rebel.

This person was responsible for guarding the southwest entrance and exit of Hanzhong, which was a military stronghold.

Hanzhong has a special terrain, and the only relatively easy way to enter and exit is the road to the southwest that connects to Shu.

And on this road, there is a fortress called Dingjun Mountain.

The general who was instigated by Liu Bei to rebel was stationed in Fucheng near Dingjun Mountain.

The main reason why Liu Bei obtained Yizhou was because he had Zhang Song and Fa Zheng as his accomplices.

He had benefited from the help of an insider, and this time he wanted to repeat the previous method when attacking Hanzhong.

When the generals under Zhang Lu rebelled, Liu Bei sent out a special force, marching in secret, hoping to gain the upper hand by relying on internal support.

What Liu Bei did not expect was that when the Shu troops he sent out to march secretly approached the city where the internal response was, it was Le Jin, not the internal response, who was waiting for them.

Le Jin suddenly led his troops to attack.

The Shu army's vanguard general was ambushed and nearly killed.

His troops were defeated by Le Jin and suffered heavy losses.

Liu Bei's plan to take the lead failed, and he even lost a vanguard army.

It was Jia Xu's spy who discovered first that Zhang Lu's men were unreliable and some of them had defected to Liu.

Cao Cao secretly dispatched Le Jin to come over, and when Liu Bei's troops were approaching, he used the same trick they had set for Liu Bei and defeated his troops.

At this time, Cao Cao came over, and everyone gathered in the main city of Hanzhong, talking about this matter and making it a laughing stock.

Inside the palace.

Cao Cao sat in the main seat, and behind the low seats on both sides sat Xiahou Yuan, Ma Chao, Gao Shun, Le Jin, Zhang Lu, Xu Huang, Zhang He and other civil and military officials.

It is worth mentioning that Cao Cao left Yecheng and went west to Dunhuang.

But when he left, he gave orders to Guo Jia and Cheng Yu.

The two men went south from Yecheng and arrived in Hanzhong before Cao Cao, responsible for making plans and supervising the overall battle.

Therefore, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were also there at this time.

Cao Cao glanced at the civil and military officials and his eyes fell on a young man.

[Zhang Lu, courtesy name Gongqi. His ancestral home is Fengxian, Pei State. He is the grandson of Zhang Daoling, the founder of Tianshi Taoism]

Zhang Lu has a square face and bright eyes.

He was the third generation Heavenly Master of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect and was quite courageous.

A few years ago, he assassinated Hanzhong Prefect Su Gu and Sima Zhang Xiu, and was able to establish his own regime in Hanzhong. He also spread the Five Pecks of Rice Sect in the Hanzhong area and called himself "Master."

Historically, he dominated Hanzhong for nearly thirty years, and later surrendered to Cao Cao and was appointed General Zhennan.

At this time, Cao Cao hesitated for a moment and said:
"Miaocai, go and defend Dingjun Mountain."

"Wen Qian, go guard Pingyang Pass."

Xiahou Yuan and Le Jin agreed immediately.

Cao Cao gave orders one by one, and the generals received the orders, divided the work and cooperated with each other, and retreated one after another.

The hall fell silent.

Cao Cao's gaze fell back on the map. He looked at it for a moment, and a smile spread across his face.

In history, Liu Bei led his troops to attack Hanzhong, personally occupied Yangping Pass, and held a stalemate with Xu Huang and Zhang He. Later, he crossed the Mian River to the south and set up camp at Dingjun Mountain.

Xiahou Yuan led his army to capture Dingjun Mountain but was killed by Huang Zhong.

Cao Wei's commander was killed and the defense line collapsed.

The Battle of Dingjun Mountain can be said to be the turning point of victory or defeat in the entire Hanzhong.

At this time, Cao Cao looked at the map and predicted that Liu Bei's primary goal was still to capture Yangping Pass first and then Dingjunshan.

Cao Cao thought that if he compared this battle with history, he was just using Liu Bei's generals to fight Liu Bei.

And my own will remain mine.

Cao Cao smiled to himself, and then he heard footsteps.

Diao Chan came back from outside with light steps.

The two generals Dian Wei and Xu Chu who followed behind her were carrying quite a few things of varying sizes.

With the help of the two men, Diao Chan went out to buy things.

The wives and concubines at home knew that Diao Chan had followed Cao Cao out.

She wanted to take some things back and share them with her other wives and concubines.

When she came back from outside, she saw that there was no one around Cao Cao. Diao Chan held up her skirt and trotted in, saying happily, "My husband, I have chosen a gift for you, too."

……

Shu Road is difficult, and it is difficult to ascend to the sky.

In the southeast direction of Hanzhong heading towards the Sichuan Basin, there is a pass called Yangping Pass, which has a dangerous terrain and is also called Yang'an Pass.

To its north is the Qinling Mountains, and to its south are the Daba Mountains and the Migang Mountains.

The majestic Jialing River, like a ribbon, connects the surrounding areas together.

Later generations renamed the mountain to the south of here Zilong Mountain.

It stands majestically on the bank of the river. It is said that Zhao Zilong once guarded and trained his troops here.

Standing on Zilong Mountain, looking at Jigong Mountain across the river, it looks like a rooster's crown, with its emerald green mountain standing tall.

A team under Liu Bei's command crossed the mountains and marched in secret. At this moment, they were on this mountain, looking in the distance towards Yangping Pass.

"My lord, let us seize this pass. We must win this battle and not lose."

The general sent by Liu Bei was called Lei Tong.

Its body is well-proportioned and as agile as a monkey, and it can climb mountains and cross streams as if walking on flat ground.

This is a characteristic of the Shu tribes; they are accustomed to fighting in the mountains.

"The outcome of this battle does not depend on us, but on whether the city can open on time." said the deputy general next to Lei Tong.

Hanzhong was originally under the jurisdiction of Liu Zhang's Yizhou.

Zhang Lu's rule was short-lived, and he had not yet achieved complete control.

The situation of infiltration between the generals under his command who originally belonged to Yizhou and Liu Zhang was quite serious.

And Liu Bei inherited all of Liu Zhang's political assets.

The surrender of Fa Zheng, Huang Quan and others, as well as Liu Zhang's own initiative to submit to him and give up Yizhou, enabled Liu Bei to simultaneously obtain a large number of spies that Liu Zhang had been operating in Yizhou for many years.

Including some people under Zhang Lu.

When Liu Bei attacked, he deployed these people one after another.

He had previously instigated a rebellion, but was discovered by Cao's army and defeated by Le Jin.

But Liu Bei was not seriously injured.

He used the first spy with the intention of testing the enemy.

The second person they mobilized to rebel was the key point. His name was Xu Jiang, the deputy general of Yangping Pass.

According to the agreement, Xu Jiang will be responsible for guarding Yangping Pass a few nights later.

At that time, he would open the city gate and let Liu Bei's army in.

If we can capture Yangping, we will have the vanguard position for attacking Hanzhong.

Liu Bei’s next step was to plan to take Junshan again.

This was the plan that Fa Zheng gave him to discuss and formulate.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

The situation on both sides changed and each side had its own arrangements.

The Sichuan Basin, adjacent to Hanzhong on the north, is Yizhou's front line against Hanzhong.

Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Fa Zheng and others are all here.

They were waiting for tonight's action to unfold.

In the darkness of night, Liu Bei stood in a county town and looked towards Hanzhong:

"Whether Yangping Pass can fall into our hands tonight is crucial to the upcoming battle. Does the front army have any news?"

"Don't worry, my lord. We are using a series of strategies. If one strategy fails, we have another one.

In the past, Cao's army was able to fight without defeat, mostly relying on cavalry. But my Yizhou is not conducive to riding horses, and the terrain restricts Cao Wei, this is one of the reasons. "

Fa Zheng said solemnly: "Secondly, we can transport grain and baggage nearby, which is more advantageous.

Cao's army invaded Yizhou from outside. The weather, terrain, and people are all in your hands. There is no reason why the enemy will win and we will lose. "

Liu Bei said happily: "Xiaozhi is right. With Xiaozhi as my advisor, I have no worries about not winning."

Zhang Fei followed beside him, staring at Fa Zheng with his big, copper-bell eyes, thinking:

"You have never fought against Cao Wei. I was captured alive once. I'm afraid these Yizhou troops are unreliable."

But seeing that his elder brother Liu Bei seemed to have a good chance of winning and was very confident, he did not say what he was thinking and sing a different tune.

At the same time, after nightfall, the Shu army lurking in Zilong Mountain quietly descended the mountain and approached Yangping Pass.

A signal has been sent at the pass, just as agreed.

The gate of Yangping Pass is slowly opening.

What’s interesting is that a similar scene also occurred outside Pingyuan County where Liu Bei, Fa Zheng and others were.

Ma Chao and Gao Shun hid not far from the county town where Liu Bei was, waiting for the city gate to open.

Ma Chao laughed softly:
"Liu Bei wanted to attack Hanzhong, but he didn't know that the King of Wei was a master of military strategy and would never passively defend. He had already arranged for us to attack Liu Bei from behind.

He thought he had instigated a few people under Zhang Lu to rebel, but he didn't know that we also have people in Yizhou who are more prepared than he is. We marched down from Bashan in secret, using the same means as he did.

This battle is interesting.”

Gao Shun said: "The city gate is open!
The King of Wei said he wanted to inflict heavy damage on Liu Bei!"

Ma Chao stood up suddenly and said: "My fellow soldiers, a good man should strive for great achievements! Follow me into the city, and we will achieve great success and kill the enemy. It is just around the corner."

"war!"

"Kill!"

The Xianzhen Camp in the rear and a group of personal troops under Ma Chao's command rushed out like a tide and rushed towards the county where Liu Bei was entrenched.

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(End of this chapter)