"Big brother, even if you don't think about yourself, you have to think about your brothers, we have traveled thousands of miles to Yangping, all the way through the village, last night and all night long, and now the soldiers have their last breath."

"Yes, Major General." A Xiliang general said: "There are many bows and arrows at the head of the city, obviously there are already preparations, plus so many homeless people, the horse's hooves can't charge at all, since the Sichuan army is so unbearable, let's rest for a few days and come again, and wait for the young general to recover from his injuries, are you afraid that you won't be able to capture the next Yangping Pass?" ”

The generals persuaded each other, Ma Chao hesitated for a long time, pointed at the head of the city, and immediately shouted: "Liu Zhang, you wait, my horse will come to take your head in a few days." ”

Liu Zhang stepped into the city with a powerful Fa Zheng and other generals, and said loudly: "Horse, you wait, Benhou will tame your fierce horse sooner or later." ”

"Hmph, I don't know how powerful the guy is, but he can still do it at this time." Ma Chao snorted, and finally unwillingly turned the horse's head and retreated north with the soldiers and horses.

Liu Zhang and the others watched the retreat of the Xiliang army from a distance, and joined the other cavalry to go north, Fa Zheng said: "What a Ma Chao, no wonder the people of Xiliang call Ma Chao a god and a mighty general, Qiangdi does not know his name, and it is indeed worthy of its reputation, if it is provoked, it will win 100,000 troops." ”

Liu Zhang smiled: "I prefer an army of 100,000, the tens of thousands of Xiliang horses under Ma Chao's command, so many horses, so many knights, if you can have it, you can dominate the world." ”

Fa Zheng sighed: "It's a pity that now the enemy is strong and I am weak, and our army has just been defeated, so we can only temporarily take the defensive." ”

Liu Zhang frowned, and said to Yang Ren: "Pass the order, first send the people to Nanzheng, and then rectify the city defense, and count the casualties in this battle." ”

"Yes."

The displaced people were centrally resettled and transported to the Tuntian area around Nanzheng, and before dusk, the defeated soldiers returned to the camp one after another, and many light and serious wounded supported each other. Entered Yangping Pass together.

Liu Zhang led his own soldiers to inspect the wounded and listened to Yang Ren's report on the casualties.

"In this battle, our army suffered heavy losses, tens of thousands of people did not return to the pass, countless weapons and armor were discarded, and more than 20,000 people who came back were wounded and their morale was low.

But the good thing. Regardless of whether they were injured or not, most of the soldiers had already returned to the camp, and there were soldiers rushing back one after another, and it was estimated that the real casualties would not exceed 10,000 people. ”

"Where can they go if they don't come back?" Liu Zhang said coldly: "Since then, to the north, there are mountains and no people. The Xiliang army didn't have much food, and if they didn't come back, they would have to freeze to death and starve to death. ”

Yang Ren was speechless.

The soldiers had no food to retreat, and the mountains were undulating, and the jungles on both sides of the road gave the defeated soldiers a place to hide.

Liu Zhang thought in his heart. If this is a battle on the plains, it is difficult to say whether he can run back or not, and the soldiers and horses must have lost more than these, and sighed: "This battle is Ben Hou underestimating the enemy." 'Liangzhou Horse, rampant all over the world,' although there is an estimate of the combat power of the Western Liang Army. But I didn't expect it to be so strong, let those imprisoned soldiers go. ”

"Lord ......"

"It's not their fault that the pass is lost, I'm like this, let alone them."

"Yes." Yang Ren took the order and left.

Liu Zhang walked in the wounded barracks and saw Hu Che'er lying down, Hu Che'er was seriously injured, but fortunately he ran fast, ran past the war horse and ran back, Liu Zhang comforted him a few words and continued to look at the wounded.

Fa Zheng listened to the snorting of the wounded, frowned and said to Liu Zhang: "Lord, our soldiers were originally afraid of the Xiliang soldiers, but now that they have suffered a big defeat, I am afraid that they will not dare to engage in battle, and there must be countermeasures." ”

Liu Zhang nodded, in fact, the cavalry is not good at attacking the city, sometimes the defenders are frightened by the cavalry troops, Liu Zhang believes that if he is not in the pass, Yangping Pass will suffer such a big defeat, and he may abandon the pass and flee.

In today's troubled times, the army is neither as strong as the compulsory soldiers of the Qin Dynasty, nor as strong as the professional soldiers of Rome, they are basically recruited from the farmland and have practiced spears for a few days.

In the case of not elite soldiers, morale is a very important issue.

Liu Zhang convened the generals to discuss the matter, and all the generals looked solemn, Liu Zhang spread out a map on the table with his own hands, and said casually: "Are you all scared?" ”

Several generals looked at the map and did not speak.

At this time, Wei Yan, who had a circle of gauze tied to his arm, said: "The lord is too worried, as long as I rest for a few days, I will definitely lead the army to defeat the enemy." ”

"That's right." Huang Zhong said: "Ma Chao is so heroic, I must fight with him for three hundred rounds." ”

Wei Yan and Huang Zhong were unabated, and other generals also raised their courage.

Liu Zhang pressed the folds of the map with his hand and said, "Okay, as long as you are not afraid, Wei Yan, you said that you want to lead the army to defeat the enemy, and the Xiliang soldiers are brave, why are you so confident?" ”

"Hmph." Wei Yan snorted and bowed to Liu Zhang: "Lord, I don't know if I don't fight, I don't know if I fight, the Xiliang cavalry is very powerful, but it is also this battle, let the last general know that the Xiliang army is far from being invincible." ”

"Tell me about it." Liu Zhang lowered his head and carefully inspected the place names and topography in the area of Yangping Pass.

"First, our Changge and hook sickle guns are useful to the Xiliang army, today our army is arrayed, and the Xiliang army did not break through in one fell swoop, it is because of the Changge soldiers and hook sickle spearmen, and the final breakthrough is due to Ma Chao's bravery.

Ma Chao is certainly brave, but as long as someone entangles him, and there are enough Changge soldiers and hook and sickle spearmen, it will be difficult for the Xiliang soldiers to break through our infantry formation, and I think that General Huang Zhong's force is not under Ma Chao. ”

Huang Zhong laughed: "It is my Huang Zhong's long-cherished wish to fight with the fierce generals of the world, and if I don't fight with Ma Chao, I Huang Zhong will never be reconciled." ”

"The old general is invincible, what about the second?" Liu Zhang asked.

"Second, the Xiliang Army is brave and unscrupulous, because the Xiliang Army is like a sharp blade, everything is unbreakable, Ma Chao is the first brave general in Xiliang, the general of Shenweitian, there are such brave generals, plus such a strong army, everyone will be arrogant, and will ignore the basic resourcefulness.

Today, although our army was defeated, I didn't appreciate Ma Chao's approach, Ma Chao knew that the Xiliang army was tired, and he knew that our army was waiting for work, so he still went to war.

If it were I, Wei Yan, who commanded the Xiliang soldiers, I would inevitably avoid fighting and cultivate my combat strength, so that the enemy army would not know my true combat strength and would be recuperating. Defeat the enemy army in one fell swoop, if so, Ma Chao will take advantage of the situation to attack the city today, and Yangping Pass will fall.

Today, the Xiliang army can only retreat because of exhaustion, but it gives us time to gather the soldiers. And knowing the true combat power of the Xiliang Army, it is really unwise.

This is the reason for this three-point arrogance, Ma Chao thinks that the Xiliang Army is not afraid of fatigue and is invincible in the world, even if he wins today, this is also the Achilles heel of the Xiliang Army and Ma Chao.

An army that has won many battles will have a defeat, and it will definitely be a crushing defeat. ”

"Is there a third?"

Wei Yan said: "No, these two points show that. Our army has an advantage, the enemy has a weakness, and attacking with a long attack is short enough, which is enough to kill. ”

"Third." Liu Zhang stood up and said, "The Xiliang army is not united, have you seen it?" Fight today. The Xiliang soldiers shouted fiercely, but there was a force, but it lacked the fighting spirit, and there were quite a few of them. There were five or six thousand of them. ”

"Which troops?" The generals asked.

"Tsing Yi Qiang."

"Tsing Yi Qiang?" The generals looked at Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang said to Fa Zheng: "Filial piety, haven't we deduced? Nine times out of ten, the leader of Tsing Yi Qiang died at the hands of Xian Lingqiang, it is obvious. The people of Tsing Yi Qiang are not stupid, first Ling Qiang annexed Tsing Yi Qiang at the first time, and the people of Tsing Yi Qiang know it well.

So today I took a closer look at Tsing Yi Qiang's flowing water flag (totem flag, three-striped flowing water. Position, except for a few puppet leaders with high fighting spirits, the people in Tsing Yi Qiang are all lifeless and have been falling to the rear. ”

"The lord is really discerning." The generals bowed to Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang raised his hand, stopped everyone, and said with a solemn expression: "But no matter how you analyze it, now the enemy is strong and I am weak, and the morale of our army is low, a few days later, if the Xiliang soldiers attack, it is estimated that it will not last long, and our first task is to consolidate the defense, Yang Ren." ”

"The end will be."

"Divide all the soldiers who can fight, divide them into an echelon of 6,000 people, take turns to be responsible for the defense of the city, if the Xiliang army attacks, 5,000 people defend the city, and 1,000 people supervise the battle, take turns to fight, and those who dare to retreat in fear will be killed."

"Yes."

"All the seriously wounded soldiers were transferred to Nanzheng, and the military doctors concentrated on treating the lightly injured and wounded, and recovered as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

"Urge the people in the rear, send the adjustable Changge and hook sickle guns as quickly as possible, step up the training of Changge soldiers and hook sickle soldiers, we will hold on for half a month, after half a month, I will fight a decisive battle with the Xiliang army again, this battle will be won."

"Another decisive battle?" A general said in surprise, Liu Zhang looked at him coldly: "What, are you afraid?" ”

The general hurriedly shook his head.

Liu Zhang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "That's right, if we are tough, we will still not be Ma Chao's opponents, so we need to outwit." ”

Liu Zhang turned to a local general: "Are you from Hanzhong?" ”

"Yes?"

"Where's your hometown?"

"It's the southeast village of Yangpingguan."

"Do you know a place called Cockscomb Mountain?" Liu Zhang asked.

The general was surprised: "How does the lord know?" It was a barren mountain in the northeast of Yangping Pass, deep in the mountains and old forests, where I used to go with my playmates when I was a child, and I was scratched by the Pixiu (giant panda) there. ”

"Draw the terrain."

Liu Zhang handed a blank piece of paper and pen to the general, who took it, and always remembered the place where he played when he was a child, and drew it very skillfully.

Liu Zhang looked at it and nodded, and it was really similar to what he thought in his heart.

In fact, the reason why Liu Zhang knew about this place was because the Mongol army of later generations attacked Yangping Pass and annihilated the army of Cao Youwen of the Song Dynasty outside Yangping Pass.

This war is very famous, the reason is that Cao Youwen and other anti-Mongolian generals died too unjustly, Cao Anwen led the Song army, fought against the Mongol army under extremely unfavorable conditions, and won a great victory, but the general in charge of the rear army ordered them to abandon the dangerous pass in the north of Yangping Pass and retreat into Yangping Pass.

And outside Yangping Pass, although it is also a mountain undulating, but far less dangerous than other places in Shu, within dozens of miles north of Yangping Pass, only the Cockscomb Mountain is dangerous, Cao Youwen took advantage of this place, and Yangping Pass formed an angle of momentum, front and back attack, breaking the Mongolian cavalry.

Although Cao Youwen won a great victory, he also suffered heavy losses, coupled with the continuous flow of Mongolian troops in the rear, and his forces were lonely, but the general in charge of the rear army refused to send reinforcements.

In the end, Yangping Pass couldn't stand it anymore, and Cao Youwen was forced to withdraw, intending to give up the Mongolian army and contain the Mongolian army from the rear, and was finally annihilated by the Mongolian cavalry, and all the generals who followed Cao Youwen died.

Because of Cao Youwen's sadness, this war has been passed down to future generations, and Liu Zhang also knows about it. That is to say, outside Yangping Pass, you can find a place that is at an angle with Yangping Pass, and then hold Yangping.

"Wei Yan, you select the elite of the army, including my own soldiers. Assemble 8,000 soldiers and horses, bring water bags, and dive into Rooster Crown Mountain. Liu Zhang remembered that Cao Youwen said at the time that there is little water in the area of Jiguan Mountain, although there are pandas living in the area, it should not be a big problem, but it has to be stationed for more than half a month, so it has to be considered.

"Yes." Wei Yanlang agreed.

"In a hurry." Liu Zhang thought for a while and said, "Be sure to keep it secret, the Xiliang Army has been tired these days. The sentinel will not be arranged too far, you should be able to sneak into Jiguan Mountain, make food and make a fire in Jiguan Mountain, be sure to pay attention to less smoke, and stay until half a moon later, I will fight again with the Xiliang army. You take advantage of the opportunity to send troops to attack the rear of the Xiliang army. ”

"Wei Yan will never be dishonored."

"By the way, which of you knows the people of Tsing Yi Qiang?" Liu Zhang asked.

The generals shook their heads one after another, and Liu Zhang looked at a young Qiang general, who was selected through the four imperial examinations. said to him: "I remember that you are from Tsing Yi Qiang, and you don't know the leader of Tsing Yi Qiang?" ”

When the young general heard that Liu Zhang actually knew him, he was inexplicably excited. But he was stunned immediately, and replied weakly: "The lord forgives the sin, I am from South Tsing Yi Qiang, and I have nothing to do with Liangzhou and North Tsing Yi." ”

Liu Zhang shook his head, and everyone sighed, knowing that Liu Zhang wanted to contact Tsing Yi Qiang, but the Shu people were conservative, and although they were adjacent to Liangzhou, they basically had nothing to do with the people of Liangzhou.

"Forget it, that's it, let's go back and rest first." Liu Zhang sighed and put away the map of Cockscomb Mountain drawn by the general along with the map.

"Yes."

The generals retired, Fa Zheng stayed, Liu Zhang looked at Fa Zheng, and said in a deep voice: "Xiaozhi, I saw that you haven't spoken just now, I know you have something to say, say it." ”

"The Lord sees it." Fa Zheng bowed for a moment, and said with some concern: "Lord, I know what the lord means, there must be a victory to boost morale, but my subordinates feel that the risk of confronting the Xiliang army is too great, even if Wei Yan is flanked in front and back, and then training the Ge soldiers and hook and sickle soldiers who restrain the cavalry, the chances of victory are not too great."

Just like today, we have also exhausted the Xiliang army, originally to lead the Xiliang army to fight, but it was defeated, and it is difficult to play a decisive role in the face of absolute strength.

We now have less than 50,000 soldiers and horses, excluding the seriously wounded, I am afraid that there are only 40,000 people, but the Xiliang cavalry has as many as 80,000 people, even if they are coalition troops, their hearts are not aligned, but they are strong and numerous, we should really take the defensive. ”

Liu Zhang sat on the chair all of a sudden, only to feel tired all over, let out a long breath, closed his eyes tightly, recovered a little, smiled, and said to Fa Zheng: "Xiaozhi, you have forgotten the purpose of our coming here again." ”

Fa Zheng was stunned.

Liu Zhang pinched his temples with his fingers, it was really tiring to think about so many questions every day, and he had to fight against strong soldiers in all aspects, and if he thought about it wrong, it would be a catastrophe.

"Boosting morale is only one aspect, and it must also boost morale, a big defeat and a collapse, that is Yuan Shao, there is no will to start over, no matter how strong it was at the beginning, it will also be defeated, so we are not afraid of failure, just to seek another opportunity, we must let the Sichuan soldiers form a belief that failure is not terrible, and they will be able to make a comeback."

"The belief that it will make a comeback?" Fa Zheng said silently.

Liu Zhang smiled: "In addition to boosting morale, there are two reasons, first, we have tens of thousands of people fighting, if it is delayed for a long time, it will inevitably shake the overall situation of recuperation, and we need a decisive battle."

Second, the most important point is that the purpose of our coming here is to prevent the four years of trouble in the north, not to defend Yangping Pass, we stick to avoid war, maybe it is more likely to keep Yangping Pass, but what will the Xiliang Army think? It will feel like we will only defend, they will come to attack the city, there is no risk.

If you lose, you will lose a little food, and the troops will not be lost, and if you win, you will win the entire Hanzhong, who doesn't bet on such a gamble? Xiliang soldiers don't gamble? Don't gamble first?

The nomadic cavalry has always been unprovoked, and when they are provoked, they are a pack of wild dogs, pestering you, and only when they are scared will they know that they are powerful. ”

"What if we are still defeated?" Fa Zheng asked.

Fa Zheng knew that it was a little discouraged to ask such a question, so he didn't bring it up just now, but as a military advisor, he had to mention it, even though the Sichuan army had Ge soldiers and hook and sickle soldiers, and Wei Yan was flanked before and after.

However, the number of Ge soldiers and hook and sickle soldiers is not large, and the strength of Wei Yan's thousands of infantry to flank the cavalry is also limited, with the combat power of the Western Liang cavalry, tens of thousands of people, even if it is consumed one-on-one, it is the Sichuan army that suffers, and the probability of the Western Liang army winning is at least seventy percent.

Liu Zhang let out a sigh: "Xiaozhi, maybe you think I'm too risky, I just don't want to be afraid, and I don't dare to let myself be afraid, just like a person who is poisoned and has no antidote, he may die quickly by fighting poison with poison, but waiting slowly and waiting for poison is a coward's behavior, I usually choose to fight poison with poison."

We must fight the Xiliang army, I have prepared for the worst, that is, the whole army will be defeated, defeated, our whole army will withdraw from Yangping Pass and retreat to Jinniu Road, I have arranged 2,000 people in Jinniu Road, while building a second line of defense, while waiting to meet us.

If we really fail again, we will mobilize the entire army of Yizhou to resist the Xiliang army, so that the supply of the Xiliang army is too far, and there will be many internal contradictions and it will inevitably retreat. ”

"In this way, it will shake the foundation of our recuperation."

"Hehehe." Liu Zhang looked at Fa Zheng and laughed softly: "Isn't this right?" If we stick to Yangping Pass, the northern border is endless, we will be shaken the foundation of recuperation, we defeat once, but also shake the foundation of recuperation, one is ruthless, the other is gentle, in fact, what is the difference? (To be continued.) )

PS: #暴君刘璋#