Hanzhong, Xi County.

The fire in the head of Xixian County did not stop for an hour, and a strong scorching smell spread around, which was the smell left after the corpses of the soldiers were burned. Xixian is located in the southwest of Xicheng Province, which is the southerner county seat in the central part of Hanzhong and the southern defense line of Xicheng. Now, the army of the Shu army has appeared here, attacking and defending this place with the Han army. Since then, after the reinforcements of the Shu army went north, these areas, which were originally the rear of the Han army, have now also fallen into the flames of war.

Fang Zhaoyan, the guard of Xixian County, looked at the Shu army that disappeared at the limit of his vision, and his brows couldn't help but shrink. The reinforcements of the Shu army arrived, and they attacked the entire Hanzhong from west to east, and his city in the rear was also attacked by the Han army. Fortunately, this land of Hanzhong is the nest of the Han army for many years, and the king of Hanzhong is still good to the people here. Therefore, the people in the city bravely assisted and defeated the strong attacks of the Shu army several times.

What worried Fang Zhaoyan was not the attack of the Shu army, but some intelligence about some actions and scouts around the city by the Shu army. Because the strength of the Shu army increased, and the Han army was in Yinping Mansion in the north of Yizhou, the Han army in the land of Hanzhong was gradually at a disadvantage, and then could only defend the city.

It is naturally no problem for the Han army to defend the city, but for the people and squires outside the city, it is naturally not good news. The Shu army began to plunder many gentry and township people near the county seat, and for the Han army, the Shu army was destroying their foundations.

The Han army has been running Hanzhong for many years, and the people and squires here are all supporting the king of Hanzhong, and now they are facing the attack of the Shu army. If you want to survive and protect your family property, you naturally have to take refuge in the Shu army. Otherwise, it will become the soul of the Shu army's soldiers, and if it is a little better, it will also be ruined and the property will be lost.

For these squires, without family wealth and private affairs, in the eyes of the Han army, they naturally do not have much status and do not have much right to speak, which is not what these squires who put their families before their countries want. Therefore, many squires surrendered to the Shu army when the Shu army came.

This is definitely not good news for the Han army. These squires, with a lot of wealth and countless fertile fields, can provide a large amount of grain and grass materials for the army at any time. The Shu army was greatly weakened and threatened by them with their help. These were originally supposed to be the help of the Han army, but now they have become the help of the Shu army.

"Someone, immediately report the information here to the king, and in addition, tell us about the problems we are worried about." Lack of strength naturally cannot solve the current problem. These things, Fang Zhaoyan can naturally only be handed over to the King of Hanzhong to deal with.

…………

Chenggu, the headquarters of the Han army, the king of Hanzhong is personally sitting here at this moment, responsible for the overall war in Hanzhong. At this moment, the face of the king of Hanzhong was very ugly, and he found that the situation in Hanzhong was no longer what he expected. The Zhao army in the north was as he expected, and it was also what he wanted to see, and there was no intention of going south to Yizhou. However, the Shu army also saw this problem, and did not care at all that Wenshan Mansion and Yinping Mansion might be attacked by the Zhao army, and directly sent the army to Hanzhong, so that the Han army gradually had the upper hand, and the situation was very bad.

The Shu and Han wars, and the Han army was in a great advantage at the beginning, after all, it was fighting in its own territory, and the soldiers, horses, money, and grain could be collected on the spot. In the battle between the two armies, in addition to the soldiers, food and armor are also very important. Fighting on their own turf, the Han army naturally took a big advantage. However, as the Shu army approached, except for some cities, the towns and villages outside the city were occupied by the Shu army, and after the Shu army occupied these areas, grain and grass materials could be collected, and there was no need to transport them from the rear.

Don't underestimate these areas outside the city, between many towns and villages, but there are a large number of squires, and there is really a lot of food stored in their homes, and at this moment, they have become the things of the Shu army.

"King, the defenders of Xixian County have sent a military report!" While Situ Fei was staring at the map in front of him, the guards around him reported and handed over the general's report.

"Xixian?" Hanzhong Wang Situ Fei's face sank, Xixian County is located in the south of Xicheng County, and it was attacked by the Shu army, which means that the Shu army has begun to take action against the central part of Hanzhong. If Xixian and Xicheng counties are lost, then Hanzhong will be divided into two halves by the Shu army, and his western half of the army will be cut off from Jingzhou.

Although the Han army was able to collect food and armor equipment from Hanzhong on the spot, most of it was still transported from Jingzhou. In the big war, the biggest consumption is naturally food, followed by armor and equipment. Think about it, in an offensive and defensive battle, hundreds of thousands of arrows and crossbows will be shot alone, and how many can be recovered? In the battle between soldiers and soldiers, how many swords, guns, swords, halberds in their hands were damaged? Therefore, a large number of grain, grass materials and armor equipment are transported from Jingzhou all the time. If the connection with Jingzhou is severed by the Shu army, then the Han army will be in an extremely dangerous situation.

"Damn! Could it be that the Shu army did not receive the emergency military intelligence from Jingzhou? Did they want Jingzhou to be occupied by the Zhao army? Situ Fei shouted coldly. The message sent by the king of Luoyang asking for help had reached his hands, and the king of Luoyang asked them to stop the war and jointly resist the Zhao army, and the king of Hanzhong was also ready to accept it. In addition, both the king of Luoyang and the king of Qi had the intention of withdrawing the Shu army from Hanzhong and jointly resisting the Zhao army.

Regarding the meaning from the King of Luoyang, Situ Fei naturally welcomed it. In addition to the intention of letting the Shu army withdraw, it is more about the importance of Jingzhou to him. Although he ceded the power of Jingzhou to the king of Luoyang, Jingzhou still had its generality, and Jingzhou could provide him with a large number of grain, grass, materials and armor equipment. If Jingzhou is gone, even if he is the king of Hanzhong occupies Hanzhong, what can he do? Isn't it happening yet?

But the current situation is that the Shu army didn't care at all, and the offensive became even more rapid. It has the meaning of taking the land of Hanzhong before the Zhao army attacks Jingzhou.

Shi Wang Hewen, the head of the Han Palace, smiled bitterly and said: "Great King, I'm afraid that Situ Che, the king of Shu, doesn't care about these at all. Although King Zhao personally went to Dongyongzhou, he did not have the intention of a large army to go south. In addition, even if the Zhao army went south, the king of Shu did not have the intention of letting the Luo army and the Qi army take the lead in resisting. In addition, when the Zhao army goes south, I am afraid that we will have to back down, after all, the land of Jingzhou is also very important to me. Once Jingzhou fights it, we will not be able to get support from Jingzhou. At that time, there would not be much trouble for the Shu army to take Hanzhong. ”

Situ Fei's face was gloomy, his eyes squinted and he said coldly: "You mean to say that Situ Che wants to take the land of Hanzhong first, and then go to the land of Jingzhou to defend against the Zhao army?" ”

Wang Hewen said in a deep voice: "The King of Shu is determined to take Hanzhong, and he will not back down, especially since the Shu army occupies the southern half of Hanzhong, and now their advantage is getting bigger and bigger." In addition, although King Zhao personally went to Dongyongzhou to inspect various places, he had no intention of going south. If Zhao Jun really hadn't gone south, how could he give up on the seizure of the land of Hanzhong? ”

"In addition, according to our investigation, Xuzhou and Yongzhou in the territory of Zhao State are building large-scale roads, dredging rivers, and building new water conservancy projects, which consume a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, so I am afraid that Zhao Jun will not easily go south at this moment."

Situ Fei's face suddenly became even more gloomy, and the king of Luoyang and the king of Qi successively sent messages to the king of Hanzhong and the king of Shu, saying that the Zhao army was approaching, asking them to stop fighting and join forces to resist Zhao. Moreover, both sides are on their own side, letting the Shu army withdraw and cede Hanzhong. However, all this is based on one foundation, that is, the Zhao army will really take action against Jingzhou when it goes south. If Zhao Jun didn't move, all this would be nothing.

Will the Zhao army attack Jingzhou? Judging from the current situation, Zhao's attack on Jingzhou is indeed a good opportunity. At least, he and the Shu army were pinned down by infighting, and the resistors in Jingzhou were at most the Luo army and the Qi army. However, if the Zhao army really went south, their own Han army and Shu army would not sit idly by, but would let the internal strife in Hanzhong subside. In addition, Zhao Jun's large-scale construction in Xuzhou and Yongzhou was not a good time to mobilize troops.

It suddenly occurred to me that now is really not the best time for the Zhao army to move troops, that is to say, the intention of the Zhao army to go south is not great. In this way, external forces are not counted on. Situ Fei looked at the map carefully, and saw that the Shu army wanted to cut off contact with Jingzhou on the map, and couldn't help but feel angry in his heart.

Although he insisted on taking back the land of Hanzhong, even if it was a surprise attack on the northern part of Yizhou, he did not forget the overall situation and let the Zhao army go south from Yizhou. But now, Situ Che wants to kill him and will not let go of Hanzhong, and the only extravagant hope in Situ Fei's heart has been given up. In this half-month battle, the Han army has lost more than 13,000 people, and the people are even more young and strong. There are countless consumers of grain, grass, supplies and armor and equipment. Now, the situation is getting more and more unfavorable for him, Situ Fei decided to borrow an external force and make a last stand.

"Transfer the defenders defending the Luogu and Qigu lines in the north to the center, and don't let the Shu army break through our central line area." Situ Fei gritted his teeth and ordered.

Wang Hewen exclaimed: "King! This...... If the defenders of the northern defense line are transferred, the Zhao army can go straight south to Hanzhong, and we will be in a state of being attacked on our backs. ”

Situ Fei said coldly: "Enemy on the belly and back? No, when the Zhao army goes south, we will withdraw our troops to the east! Evacuate the troops occupying the checkpoints in all parts of Yinping Province, and remember, destroy all the checkpoints they occupy. This king wants to see that he Situ Che is not dead and really doesn't care about the Zhao army going south to occupy Yinping Mansion. Without these checkpoints, the Zhao army would have been able to advance hundreds of miles south. ”

"King! New information came from Jingzhou! Wang Hewen wanted to object, but Sima Weiping hurried in with a bitter expression.

"What's the news? Could it be that Zhao Jun went south? Wang Hewen couldn't help but be overjoyed. Zhao's southward movement is indeed not good news for Jingzhou, but it is a good thing for the situation in Hanzhong.

"News came from Nanyang Mansion that the envoys of the Zhao army arrived in Nanyang Mansion and reached an agreement with the king of Luoyang, so that the king of Luoyang would not stop the exiles from going north. Zhao Jun needed these displaced people to enter the country to increase their manpower for the construction of the project in Yongzhou, and Zhao Jun promised not to go south to Jingzhou. Wei Ping said astringently.

"Look! This Zhao Xun is by no means a person who only cares about immediate interests. He had already seen that going south to Jingzhou would not only not be able to take Jingzhou immediately, but would make the Hanzhong War disappear. Wang Hewen, convey the military order of this king just now! Since he Situ Che doesn't care about the alliance, this king doesn't need to have any scruples. The land of Hanzhong, if it really can't be kept, this king would rather let him fall into the hands of the Zhao army, and our Han army can only be defeated by the hands of the Zhao army. Situ Fei said sharply.

Wang Hewen naturally understood the meaning of this, the Zhao army did not go south, and if there was no other reason, the Shu army was afraid that it would not let go of Hanzhong. And the Han army could not be defeated in the first battle with the Shu army, and if it fell, I am afraid that the Han army would not be able to continue to exist. Among the Shu army and the Zhao army, the Han army could only be defeated by the Zhao army in order to keep the Han army from being defeated and annexed by the Shu army.

Seeing that Wang Hewen still had an unwilling look on his face, Situ Fei said in a deep voice: "Whether Zhao Jun will go south or not, this king did this to let Situ Che know that he was persecuted too much, and this king would rather let Zhao Jun go south than give up this place to him." In addition, it is also to tell the soldiers that we have no way to retreat, and we must not be defeated by the Shu army, so as to inspire the soldiers of our army. If Zhao Jun really wants to go south, it is also due to our luck. ”

"Obey the order! Chen believes that our Han army will not be defeated by the Shu army. Wang Hewen said in a loud voice.

Situ Fei sighed and did not speak. If you will not be defeated by the Shu army, won't you still be defeated by the Zhao army in the end? Situ Che, I wanted to form an alliance with you to carry Zhao, but you were treacherous. Father, this is the heir you have chosen, and he has no sense of the big picture, hehe...... In this case, what do we have to scruple about......

The Zhao army, who had been paying attention to the situation in Hanzhong, naturally knew the situation of the Han army very well, and the Han army began to fall into disadvantage, and the movement of preparing to withdraw from Yinping Mansion also spread back to Luoyang. Although the Zhao army hoped that the Han army would not be defeated by the Shu army, the situation was like this, and the Zhao army could not do anything.

When the news that the Han army had transferred troops from the northern part of Hanzhong to defend Yongzhou reached Chang'an, the generals in Chang'an were a little impatient. However, they also know that even so, this is not a good time for them to make a move. Therefore, this information was immediately transmitted to Luoyang.

After Zhao Xun got the information, he was also very surprised, and immediately summoned his important ministers to discuss the affairs of Hanzhong.

"King, the situation of the Han army is very bad! This king of Hanzhong is already making the final blow, and he wants us to make a move. Situ Liang said in a deep voice.

Zhao Xun said in a deep voice: "What about the losses of the Han army? How could it be so quickly unable to hold on? It stands to reason that with the strength of the Han army going west, it should not be defeated and lost now. ”

Zhao Xun decided not to want the Han army to suffer defeat at this moment, otherwise, this land in Hanzhong would only fall into the hands of the Shu army, and it would be well managed. In addition, if the Han army was defeated so quickly, it would not be able to have the effect of consuming the strength of the Shu army. The loss of strength is not large, but it occupies Hanzhong, which is definitely not good news for oneself.

Situ Liang said in a deep voice: "The loss of troops is not large, but one-third of the territory of Hanzhong has been occupied by the Shu army. In addition, as the Shu army occupied more extensive territory, the more the squires and common people in Hanzhong joined the Shu army. In this way, the Han army needed to transport more grain, grass, materials and armor equipment from Jingzhou, and local supplies were no longer enough. ”

"Contrary to the Han army, as it occupies a wider area, its logistical pressure becomes lighter and lighter, and its strong military might has allowed the newly annexed land of Hanzhong to provide it with a large amount of grain and grass materials."

In particular, the Shu army began to attack the central and eastern parts of Hanzhong, which had the intention of cutting off the main force of the Han army from Jingzhou. In this way, the Han army will lose its way out. The king of Hanzhong could not let the Shu army cut off his way back, so he could only let the Yinping Mansion and the northern garrison start to move eastward and prepare for contingencies. ”

"Speaking of which, the land of Hanzhong is still too small, and everything is plain. Although the Han army occupies a favorable position, it can only defend the city, and the field can only raid or fight more and less. However, after the Shu reinforcements arrived, they directly attacked the city of Hanzhong, intending to interrupt the east-west connection of the Han army and force the Han army to retreat to the city or fight a decisive battle with the Shu army. This made it impossible for the Han army to give full play to some of its geographical advantages, but instead dragged down the Shu army's large number of soldiers and the advantages of strong logistics. ”

"Why don't you let the Chang'an garrison go south and enter the land of Hanzhong? Since the king of Hanzhong can't hold on, we can't watch Hanzhong fall into the hands of the Shu army. Zhao Jie, the general of the town army, said in a deep voice.

Liu Wenqi shook his head and said, "No!" If we go south, there will be a battle between us and the Shu army in Hanzhong, in the land of Hanzhong, we do not have the advantage of the Shu army, and it is not too easy for us to transport supplies from the rear. In addition, although the king of Hanzhong got out of the way, he would never want to give up the land of Hanzhong like this. If we fight against the Shu army, no matter who wins in the end, we will encounter a fierce attack by the Han army waiting on the side. Hanzhong is the one who has the greatest advantage here. ”

"What we want is to let the south fight among themselves, to consume the strength of the Shu army that has been hiding in the corner, rather than directly fighting it. The forces that the Shu army can use now are not weaker than ours in the slightest. In addition, the logistical support of the Shu army is even stronger than we are now. Because of the construction of the project in the two states, we have dragged down the support of grain and grass materials. If we fight a big war together, we cannot win in one battle, and if we continue to stalemate for a long time, it will be extremely unfavorable to us, and we will even be defeated and retreat. ”

Situ Liang also nodded: "That's right! The Shu army is a frontal enemy and should not be underestimated. This Han army, which has been evacuated, should not be underestimated. If we are dispatched, we will calculate for this Han army who is hiding on the sidelines and watching the play. Originally, we were sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, but it will become the Han army sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight. The king of Hanzhong gave way, not really wanting us to occupy his lair, but wanting us to compete with the Shu army so that he could take advantage. ”