Tang Cheng arranged military affairs and came to the enemy tower again.

"General, you better rest." Tang Cheng waved at Gu Feng and said, "The rebels didn't take care of the siege equipment, if they want to attack the city, they must cut down trees and build ladders, so it is impossible for them to launch an attack before dawn, and now there is still half an hour before dawn, general, you better go back." ”

Gu Feng waved his hand and said, "I won't go back." ”

After saying this, Gu Feng said again: "Tang Cheng, what do you think?" ”

Tang Cheng pondered for a moment and then replied: "General, the rebels outside the pass are in tatters and their armor is not in order, it is absolutely impossible to be the remnants of the Chu army in Xiangzhuang, and besides, there are not so many people in the Chu army in Xiangzhuang. ”

Gu Feng nodded and said, "Don't you think it's strange? How did such a rebel army enter Sanchuan County? ”

Tang Cheng shook his head and said: "The last general is also puzzled, Sanchuan County has the Tiger Prison Pass as the gateway, with such a rebel army, how can it be possible to break the Tiger Prison Pass and enter Sanchuan County?" After saying this, Tang Cheng said again, "Could it be that this rebel army bypassed the Tiger Prison Pass by waterway and entered Sanchuan County?" ”

Gu Feng nodded and said, "It's also possible." ”

Tang Cheng smiled bitterly: "It's a pity that the news in the direction of Kanto has been tightly sealed by the rebel scouts, otherwise, you only need to ask the passing merchants and peddlers to know the truth of the reality, but no matter where this rebel army comes from and where it is going, we just need to guard the Hangu Pass." ”

Gu Feng was silent, just nodded.

Outside Hanya Pass.

In the sound of hurried footsteps, Xiao Kai and Tian Heng strode to Xiang Zhuang's horse.

"General." The two saluted Xiang Zhuang, and then Xiao Kai asked, "Why did the baggage team stop?" ”

Now the Chu army has also been burdened with baggage, not only cumbersome ladders, wells, siege vehicles, but also thousands of ox carts, mule carts and horse-drawn carts, loaded with grain and meat taken from Luoyang and surrounding counties, as well as tents, iron kettles, anvils and other various utensils.

Xiao Kai asked about the ladders, wells, and siege vehicles.

Xiang Zhuang said: "Tomorrow to attack the city, you can't use ladders, wells and siege vehicles. ”

"Huh? So how to siege the city? Xiao Kai was surprised when he heard this, and Tian Heng's face also changed slightly.

Xiang Zhuang said to Xiao Kai and Tian Heng again: "You will send troops to go up the mountain to cut wood, make simple ladders overnight, and use these simple ladders to capture the city tomorrow." ”

Xiao Kai and Tian Heng lost their voices: "General, this ......"

Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and stopped the two of them: "Execute the military order." ”

"No!" Although Xiao Kai and Tian Heng had doubts in their hearts, they still took the order.

Hangu Pass, enemy building.

Tang Cheng suddenly pointed his finger outside the pass and said to Gu Feng: "General, look, the rebels have gone up the mountain to cut wood. ”

Tang Cheng didn't say that Gu Feng had already seen it, a team of torches and long dragons had already driven up the high mountains on both sides of the galloping road, obviously, the rebels were preparing to go up the mountain to cut wood, Gu Feng's thick eyebrows were frowned upon, did the rebels really plan to attack Hangu Pass with the help of a makeshift simple long ladder?

Tang Cheng said coldly: "This group of rebels really doesn't know whether they are alive or dead. ”

Gu Feng's brows became more and more frowned, and he always felt that something was wrong.

Is the rebel commander outside the gate an idiot? He really thought that he could break the Hangu Pass with 20,000 or 30,000 ragtered and untidy soldiers? What is especially unbelievable is that the rebels do not even have a ladder, how can they climb the six-zhang high wall with a simple long ladder made of temporary logging?

However, after dawn, Gu Feng knew that the rebels were by no means bluffing, they really planned to attack Hangu Pass!

When the eastern sky quietly showed a trace of fish belly white, the rebels had already built dozens of long ladders more than six zhang long, and then the horn of attack sounded outside the pass, and the sound of horns continued, and hundreds of rebels carried dozens of simple long ladders and swarmed towards the towering wall of Hangu Pass.

When the rebels came within a hundred paces, the locust-dense arrows poured down from the gate.

After more than 100 casualties, the remaining rebels finally lost their courage and fled back down the ladder.

However, before the Han army could catch its breath, another group of rebels swarmed up.

When the rebels rushed within a hundred paces again, a dense rain of arrows poured down from the pass again, and the second group of rebels performed slightly better than the first group of rebels, and they advanced a few dozen paces, but still could not get close to the city wall, let alone put up a long ladder to prepare for the city.

Over the next day, the rebels launched more than 20 attacks on Hangu Pass.

However, it is very unfortunate that except for two times when the rebels approached the city wall, the remaining twenty or so attacks on the rebels were all defeated by the Han army in the middle of the road by the rain of arrows, and when the day slowly darkened, the wilderness outside the gate was already full of rebel corpses, not to mention more than 2,000 people.

On the enemy floor, Gu Feng held on to the fence and fell into deep thought.

Is the rebel commander outside the gate really an idiot? Knowing that such a way of fighting is simply sending people to death, but the rebels still rush up again and again?

Tang Chengdao: "General, the rebels shouldn't be cornered, right?" ”

Gu Feng said: "You mean, there are people chasing behind the rebels' butts?" ”

Ten miles outside the gate, Xiangzhuang big tent.

Xiao Kai hurriedly walked into the big tent, rushed to Xiang Zhuang and Wei Yi respectively, and then said with a miserable expression: "General, it can't go on like this, the rear army of the last general is almost exhausted!" ”

In today's battle, Xiao Kai's rear army lost 2,000 people.

In addition, in order to rectify military discipline, Xiao Kai killed hundreds of deserters in front of the battle, and by the time it was dark and Xiang Zhuang ordered the troops to be collected, there were less than 2,500 people left in the entire rear army! What is especially frustrating is that so many people have died, and there is not even a moat in Hangu Pass, how can this battle be fought?

Xiang Zhuang said indifferently: "How much has the rear army lost?" ”

Xiao Kai said miserably: "Two thousand people were killed in battle!" ”

"Make up 2,000 of you!" Xiang Zhuang said without thinking: "You go to the Chinese army camp to pick people by yourself." ”

"This ......" Xiao Kai was surprised, and saw that Xiang Zhuang didn't look like he was laughing, so he quickly turned around and left.

Seeing Xiao Kai's figure leave, Xiang Zhuang fell into a long silence, and his eyes became unprecedentedly cold.

Ordered Xiao Kai's rear army and Tian Heng's right army to storm Hangu Pass at any cost, although the main reason was to paralyze the defenders on the pass and create an opportunity for Xiang Zhuang's pro-army to attack, another consideration was that Xiang Zhuang tried to pass the offensive and defensive battle of Hangu Pass, and give his 20,000 strong men a baptism of iron and blood!

A strong man is a strong man, and no matter how you exercise, you are still a strong man.

If you want a group of strong men to become a group of soldiers, you must let them undergo a baptism of iron blood.

It was cruel and cruel to drive a group of strong men to carry a long ladder to attack the towering Hangu Pass, and to paraphrase the civilized words of later generations, Xiang Zhuang was anti-human in doing so!

However, this is the most effective and effective method of military training that Xiang Zhuang can think of.

In the face of cruel and tragic siege battles, the strong men will quickly become polarized, and the weak who are not suitable for war, or those who are not strong-willed, will soon be eliminated and will soon die in battle, but those who are strong and strong-willed, and are naturally suitable for fighting as soldiers, will grow up quickly!

The Chu army had no foundation, no rear, and no logistical supplies.

If Xiang Zhuang was asked to choose between 30,000 strong men and 3,000 elite soldiers, he would definitely choose the latter immediately!

Therefore, Xiang Zhuang turned the Battle of Hangu Pass into a bloody assessment of the strong men of the Chu army in extreme cold blood, if they passed the assessment, these strong men would become fierce veterans of the Chu army, if they couldn't pass, then there would be only one result, and they would become one of the countless corpses lying in front of Hangu Pass!

The next day, the attack of the rebels outside the gate continued.

Groups of rebels swarmed towards Hangu Pass with long ladders, launching desperate and tragic attacks again and again, and then routed under the rain of arrows of the Han army in Guanshang, and their bones were broken under the ravages of rolling logs and stones, and several groups of rebels bravely climbed the long ladder without fear of death, only to be burned into ashes by the fierce fire oil.

By the next day, there were more than 2,000 more corpses outside Hangu Pass.

On the third day, the attack of the rebels outside the border continued.

Compared with the first two days, the rebels' attack on the third day was much stronger, perhaps because the previous deaths were all old, sick and infirm, while the rest were young and strong soldiers, or because the remaining soldiers had adapted to the brutal war both physically and psychologically, and they seemed more and more calm on the battlefield.

In addition, the rebels also had some improvised wooden shields in their hands, and the rain of arrows from the Han army was no longer enough to stop the advance of the rebels, and the rolling wood and stones were no longer enough to prevent the rebels from ascending the city.

The sun finally went down, and the rebels outside the pass finally retreated like a tide.

Under the majestic wall of Hangu Pass, thousands of corpses were added again.

However, after all, the Han army on the pass also suffered casualties, especially bad is that arrows, rolling wood, rocks and fierce fire oil are consumed severely, if the siege war of this intensity continues for three more days, the fierce fire oil hoarded in the pass will be urgent, if it lasts for five days, then the rolling wood, rolling stones and arrows will also be used up.

Gu Feng had clearly felt that the rebels' siege was intensifying.

It wasn't until this moment that Gu Feng suddenly understood that the commander of the rebels outside the gate was definitely not an idiot, on the contrary, the commander of the rebels was definitely a ruthless man, this guy clearly wanted to use the battle of Hangu Pass to train his troops, trying to use this vicious battle to form his tens of thousands of rabble into an elite division with a small number of people and an exponential increase in combat effectiveness!

Gu Feng breathed a long sigh of relief and instructed his adjutant general Tang Chengdao: "Except for the night guard and patrol team, the rest of the soldiers of each battalion should hurry up and eat, then sleep, recuperate enough physical strength, and prepare to expel tomorrow's evil battle!" "It is entirely conceivable that by dawn tomorrow, the rebels will be even more aggressive...