Outside Hangu Pass, in front of the Zhao army's army formation and at the foot of the city wall, there were fragments of swords, guns, swords, halberds and arrows stuck diagonally. The ground was also full of potholes, and there were blood stains everywhere.

And the strong tiger prison wall is also full of potholes and arrows. Tiny cracks spread all over the wall. And the female wall above the city wall is also uneven, and the remnants are different.

The Zhao army besieged the city for two days, so that the entire wall was filled with this thick bloody atmosphere. Within two days, the Zhao army did not capture the city, but the two sides spent a lot of arrows and supplies.

During the siege of the city in these two days, the Zhao army did not forcibly attack the city, but took turns to let the six generals under his command take turns to approach the city wall. At the same time, the Zhao army covered the city with a rain of arrows and crossbow arrows, and ravaged the walls with catapults. After two days, cracks appeared in many places on the tall wall, and there were scattered arrows and crossbow arrows all over the city wall. Although the Han army occupied the advantage of the city wall, it was far inferior to the Zhao army in terms of troops, weapons and siege equipment. Therefore, in the past two days, the casualties it inflicted on the Zhao army were not many, and they were almost comparable to the casualties suffered by the Zhao army on its own.

You must know that this is the Zhao army attacking the city, the Han army defending the city, and Hangu Pass is a natural danger. Theoretically, the Zhao army besieging the city suffered more casualties than the defending team. However, here, it is comparable, mainly because the siege equipment and strong bows and crossbows of the Zhao army suppressed the counterattack of the defenders.

But fortunately, because of the attack on Hangu Pass, the defenders of Tongguan also sent 4,000 reinforcements on the afternoon of the first day, bringing the total strength of Hangu Pass to about 13,000. Although in the two-day battle, both the attacking and defending sides lost nearly 2,000 men, but the strength of Hangu Pass did not decline.

Even so, Zhang Ling, the guard of Hangu, did not show the slightest joy, and his face became even more anxious. In the battle of a few days, the soldiers guarding the pass spent a lot of arrows, crossbows and materials to defend the city, but the casualties caused by the Zhao army were not satisfactory. In addition to the fact that the Zhao army did not forcibly attack the city, the heavy armor infantry in front of the Zhao army and the shield guards also made it impossible for the Han army to give full play to its advantages.

The most important thing is that there are not many large equipment such as catapults and bed crossbows on Hangu Pass, and it can even be said that there are almost none, so that the huge number of catapults and bed crossbows of the Zhao army suppressed the defending soldiers very much.

"General, Zhao Jun has started to send persuasion letters in the royal city again, and the last general can't stop them at all, some of the persuasion letters have been secretly hidden by the soldiers, how is this good?"

Hearing this, Zhang Ling couldn't help frowning. At the beginning of the siege, the Zhao army was shooting persuasion letters into the city, because of the gap in strength between the two sides, because of the great military might of the Zhao army, Zhang Ling had to order that these persuasion letters be confiscated. However, after two days of fighting, some soldiers, especially those recruits, were even more frightened by the attack of the Zhao army. Therefore, many soldiers began to secretly hide Zhao Jun's letters of persuasion, which made him feel extremely heavy.

If it is on weekdays, if it is in the case of a small gap between the two sides, Zhang Ling is naturally not afraid. However, now the defenders of Hangu Pass have found it difficult to suppress the Zhao army outside the city, especially after the Zhao army's nearly 100 catapults and hundreds of crossbow formations appeared, the defenders in the city did not have the initial fighting spirit. Therefore, this letter of persuasion was a huge blow to the morale of the defenders.

"Since you can't stop it, you don't need to pay attention to it, and tell the soldiers that our reinforcements are marching here, and the Zhao army outside the city can't attack the pass at all. As for this so-called letter of persuasion, it is just that the Zhao army wants to break up the resistance of our Han army, and it must not be believed. Zhang Ling rubbed his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "In addition, tell the soldiers that after defeating the Zhao army, all the officers and soldiers of the army, officers and students, will be rewarded with ten silver coins." ”

"Huh?" The adjutant general smiled bitterly, "General, the officers and men of the whole army will be rewarded for promotion?" If it is said that it is still possible to be promoted, but the reward money, does my Han army have so much money? Even if there is, I'm afraid the king won't give it, if it ...... in the future"

Zhang Ling said astringently: "Then what do you say?" Could it be that Hangu Pass was conquered by the Zhao army? What we need to do now is to hold the Hangu Pass, and wait for the Zhao army outside the pass to retreat, as for this reward, there are people above who are worried. ”

"But...... Naturally, the above will not take out this batch of money, but I am afraid that you will ...... when the time comes."

"I can't care so much, the lesser of two evils, now Hangu Pass is already in danger, and if I don't take some measures, I'm afraid that without the Zhao army's strong attack, the defenders of Hangu Pass will collapse under the strong deterrence of the Zhao army. As for the future...... How to say it again, General Ben has a clear conscience. ”

"That'...... General, what does Chang'an say? It's been two days, and judging from the distance between Chang'an and here, Lord Lin should also send out rescue. Seeing Zhang Ling say this, the adjutant general had no choice but to put the matter aside and ask about the reinforcements instead.

"Reinforcements?" Zhang Ling couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Don't count on reinforcements, even if there are, they are all young and strong organized from the land of Chang'an, and it will be a few days before they arrive here." As for the soldiers, I am afraid that they will not be able to be drawn now. ”

"What?" The adjutant general and several generals were suddenly anxious, "General, Hangu Pass is in danger, how can Lord Lin not shoot reinforcements to support?" Isn't he afraid that Hangu Pass will be captured by the Zhao army? As soon as the Hangu Pass is broken, it will not be far to go west to Chang'an. ”

"It's not that Lord Lin doesn't send reinforcements, but now there are Zhao troops in the northwest and north of Chang'an. In contrast, we have Hangu Pass here, and it is more difficult elsewhere. However, Lord Lin also said that the situation here has been reported by him to the place of the king of Jingnan, and in addition, he will also let the army of Jingbei move north to contain the Zhao army of Dongyongzhou. Therefore, brothers, as long as we can hold on for a period of time, not only will we have the help of tens of thousands of young people, but also tens of thousands of soldiers from Jingbei. Zhang Ling said this, also for the sake of An Yi'an, the hearts of these generals.

"Report ...... Ladies and gentlemen, the Zhao army outside the city has begun to attack the city again! ”

…………

In Jiangling Mansion, the princes' alliance basically reached a certain agreement, and the king of Shu and the king of Qi also put aside their disputes with each other and worked together with the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang to fight against the state of Zhao. For this reason, both the kings of Qi and Shu will reduce their defenses in the borders of each other and turn north to support the lands of Xiyongzhou and Jingbei. In addition, they should reduce the infighting between each other, and turn their energies to the governance and recovery of the jurisdictional areas, and hoard grain and grass materials.

At the strong request of the king of Hanzhong, and even under the threat of losing Xiyongzhou to Zhao, the kings of Qi and Shu finally agreed to support Jingbei and Xiyongzhou. Of course, in order to prevent the threat of the king of Shu to Hanzhong and Xiyongzhou, the king of Hanzhong asked the Shu army and the Qi army to support grain, grass, materials, money, and armor, rather than directly sending troops to support the land of Xiyongzhou. After all, the Shu army was too close to the land of Xiyongzhou, but the Qi army did not have a border with the land of Xiyongzhou, and the king of Hanzhong could not use the Qi army to balance the Shu army. In addition, the Shu army is not in direct confrontation with the Zhao army now, and the gains and losses of the land of Xiyongzhou are also very important to the Shu army, so what the land of Xiyongzhou needs is supported by the Shu army.

In the land of Jingbei, the king of Hanzhong asked both the Qi army and the Shu army to send troops to support. Because it was located in the middle of the southern princes, the Zhao army captured here, and it was a threat to both the Qi army and the Shu army. And the king of Hanzhong also used the king of Qi and the king of Shu to balance each other, so he asked both sides to send troops to garrison this place together to prevent the Zhao army.

However, when the king of Hanzhong was discussing the details with the people of the Qi army and the Shu army, Lin Shucheng's urgent letter of request for help reached the hands of the king of Hanzhong. Seeing the information in his hand, the king of Hanzhong almost couldn't believe it. Hangu Pass was attacked by the Zhao army and was in danger, and this news could not help but make it panic. You must know that as soon as the Hangu Pass is broken, the land of Chang'an will be directly under the tiger teeth of Zhao Jun. If Chang'an is gone, it means that Xiyongzhou is gone. If Xiyongzhou is lost, what is the point of his alliance?

In a panic, the king of Hanzhong informed the king of Shu and the people of the Qi army, especially the people of the Shu army, and immediately asked them to support Jingbei in order to contain the Zhao army's army in Dongyongzhou. The reason why the Shu army was not allowed to directly send troops to Xiyongzhou was not that the king of Hanzhong was still afraid of the Shu army at the moment, but that when the Shu army appeared in the land of Xiyongzhou, he was afraid that the land of Chang'an Sanfu had been lost. And the army from Jingzhou to the north can further contain the Zhao army. Lin Shucheng said the same in his letter, pointing out the importance of it to the king of Hanzhong.

The King of Qi and the King of Shu also learned the information of Zhao's actions one after another, and while they were taken aback, they also felt a trace of fear. Both of them immediately agreed to the request of the king of Hanzhong. At this moment, it is no longer the time for them to negotiate conditions with the king of Hanzhong, and if Xiyongzhou is lost, it will not be a good thing for the southern princes.

Therefore, both the king of Qi and the king of Shu hurriedly mobilized their troops and headed towards Jingbei, preparing to press on Eastern Yongzhou, so that the Zhao army of Eastern Yongzhou would abandon the attack on Western Yongzhou.

In addition to worrying about the situation in Xiyongzhou, the king of Hanzhong was also worried about the situation in Jingbei. More precisely, he was more worried about the situation of the king of Luoyang. While Lin Shucheng asked the king of Hanzhong for help, he also explained to him. Hangu Pass was attacked by the Zhao State, and the land of Jingbei will definitely get the news as well. And Jingbei to Jingnan to deliver news is definitely faster than Chang'an to Jingnan. If the king of Hanzhong has not received news from Jingbei, it means that there is something wrong with the king of Luoyang.

Of course, Lin Lin Shucheng did not say that the king of Luoyang had a connection with Zhao and would descend to Zhao. After all, even Lin Shucheng would not believe that the king of Luoyang would surrender to the Zhao State, after all, the king of Luoyang was not only the prince king, and now, the king of Luoyang was not forced by the Zhao state to the point of having to surrender.

And what worries the king of Hanzhong is that there is indeed no news from the land of Jingbei.

…………

Zhao Junxing's news, the king of Luoyang in Jingbei got the news before the king of Hanzhong. However, it did not transmit the information to the south, nor did it take the initiative to stand up and call for anything. Since the last time the envoys of the Shu army and the Qi army pressed him to meet with the envoys of the Zhao State, he had already ceded the identity of the commander of the Jingbei garrison to Qin Jiang, the commander of the Han army. Now that the Zhao army is moving, it will naturally ignore it, after all, the Zhao army is attacking Xiyongzhou, not Jingbei. I have to say that the current King of Luoyang is already dissatisfied with the King of Hanzhong.

The king of Luoyang did get some news, after all, he was the highest-ranking person in Jingbei, but he did not pass the news to the south. In the eyes of the king of Luoyang, he is also a prince of a place, why do he need to report the news to others?

Therefore, when Qin Jiang learned that the Zhao army on the opposite side was attacking Hangu Pass, he didn't know what to do. attacked, not all the Zhao troops on the opposite side went west, and in addition, he was not the only one who could call the shots when he caused a war with Zhao State. Therefore, he consulted with the generals of the coalition forces. At the same time, Qin Jiang did not know the details of the land of Hangu Pass, and he did not know that Hangu Pass was now difficult to resist the attack of Zhao State.

However, at this time, the generals and colonels of the Han army were okay to say that they all supported the attack. However, none of the generals and colonels of the Luo army put forward an opinion. Although Luo Jun did not object to him, it also made Qin Jiang feel extremely troubled. The allied army in Jingbei was less than 50,000, of which 20,000 were Luo troops and 30,000 were Han troops. Although the Han army has the advantage, if you want to compete with the Zhao army on the opposite side, you can't do without the Luo army, not to mention, it also needs the approval of the king of Luoyang. After all, only the king of Luoyang could afford to start a war with the Luo army.

What made Qin Jiang feel bitter was that when he found the King of Luoyang to report the situation, the King of Luoyang coldly told him that in order to avoid suspicion, he no longer paid attention to the war with Zhao State, and in addition, he was no longer the commander of Jingbei Land. In this land of Jingbei, you are naturally in charge of General Qin.

The look of dissatisfaction on his face made Qin Jiang deeply regret that he had put up a fight in front of the King of Luoyang at the beginning, so that the situation had reached such a point that he could not advance or retreat.

It was also because of this, coupled with the fact that he did not know the situation at Hangu Pass, so Qin Jiang did not march north. It was not until the arrival of the military order of the king of Hanzhong in Jingnan that he began to mobilize his army and march north. At this moment, the Zhao army in the north also recruited a large number of young and strong, prepared for a big battle, and in various places, it was also ready to resist the Jingbei army.

Outside Hangu Pass, the Zhao army camp.

"General, in the past five days, the new officers and men of our army have undergone an iron-blooded test and have become a qualified soldier. As for the Han army defending the city, the opportunity has also almost lost their arrows and crossbow arrows. Especially since our army's archers, crossbow arrays, bed crossbows and catapult arrays have already frightened the Han army, so is it time to start a strong attack? ”

Zhao Xiong looked at the generals and said in a deep voice: "It's okay, according to the news from the Flying Eagle Guard, the land of Chang'an, under the organization of Lin Shucheng of the Han army, has pulled up nearly 10,000 young people and is rushing here. And in the land of Jingbei, Zhao Jun also seems to have taken action. Therefore, it is time for our siege operation to be implemented. ”

"It's a pity, if it weren't for the Governor's request that the Heaven-Shaking Thunder not be used, we would have been able to blow up this Hangu Pass directly."

Zhao Xiong said with a smile: "This Hangu Guancheng is high and thick, and it is not an easy thing to explode. It's really not worth wasting a lot of sky-shaking thunder for the sake of this mere pipe card. In addition, this tube card is also useful to us, and it cannot be ruined in our hands because of this. "Actually, Zhao Jun in Dongyongzhou didn't have too many earth-shattering thunders in his hands. Even if she wants to blow up Hangu Pass, it is also difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice.

"But you don't need to worry, when the final siege comes, the Heaven-Shaking Thunder will still be thrown at the head of the city. At that time, the Han army in the pass will inevitably have no fighting spirit and let us enter. ”

"The order goes down, the army is ready for battle, and we must take Hangu Pass within these two days. From now on, the siege battle will enter a situation of hand-to-hand combat. ”

Since the king of Hanzhong learned that Hangu Pass was attacked by the Zhao army, he had not been able to live in peace, and at the same time he had to worry about the situation there of the king of Luoyang. On the one hand, he ordered the garrison originally located in Hanzhong to prevent the garrison of Yizhou from moving north to support Xiyongzhou. On the one hand, he gave an order to the chief general of Jingbei to attack the Zhao army. In addition, he also immediately ordered his secret guards to inspect Zhao Jun's actions this time and the recent changes in the King of Luoyang.

The king of Hanzhong, who did not dare to stay all the way, hurried to Nanyang Mansion, and only after arriving at Nanyang Mansion did he understand that the Zhao army did not all go west, but partly attacked Hangu Pass, and partly stayed in Henan Mansion to resist the attack of the coalition army. Because at this moment, the reinforcements of the Qi army and the Shu army had just left, and they did not arrive at all, so the combined forces of the king of Hanzhong and the king of Luoyang in Nanyang Mansion were not enough to enter the territory of Dongyongzhou.

When he arrived at Nanyang Mansion, the King of Hanzhong realized that his eldest brother, that is, the King of Luoyang, did not pay attention to the battle situation in Nanyang Mansion and Hangu Pass in the north. After understanding, he realized that the king of Luoyang was dissatisfied with the princes' alliance and had already ignored the Jingbei war.

What makes the King of Hanzhong feel unacceptable is that the current King of Luoyang is very different from before. Before he could inquire about the war in Jingbei, the king of Luoyang, after he arrived at Nanyang Mansion, directly handed over all the rights, turned south, and prepared to return to Xiangyang Mansion.

"Big brother, what are you?" Situ Fei, the king of Hanzhong, said with a surprised face, "Now that Zhao Guoda is moving, it is the critical time for you and me to move Zhao Guo, how can the eldest brother leave easily?" ”

Situ Hao said lightly: "Resist Zhao Jun? You are responsible for everything in Jingzhou. This king has met the envoy of Zhao in person, and there is a lot of inconvenience for this battle. In addition, the king's army has been withdrawn from Jingnan, and the king also needs to deal with it. As for the Jingbei War, the reinforcements of the Shu army and the Qi army are rushing here, whether I am or not, it is the same. ”

After that, Situ Hao turned his head and said: "Lin Zixun, from now on, you will obey the military orders of the King of Hanzhong and resist the army of Zhao." ”

After handing over the matter of Jingbei, Situ Hao left directly, which made Situ Fei ready to ask why he had not reported the situation to the south, and he could not speak. Seeing Situ Hao like this, the king of Hanzhong could only take over the affairs of Jingbei, after all, the Zhao army on the opposite side was the key.

Situ Hao, who had left Nanyang Mansion, looked at Nanyang Mansion City, where the atmosphere had become tense, and couldn't help sneering: "Rescue Hangu Pass? Just you princes who don't have the same heart? This king has lost Dongyongzhou, but you can't keep this Xiyongzhou. If you want to look down on this king, none of you can escape. ”