A big battle under Tongguan, the warring sides only fought for about two hours and ended hastily.

In this battle, both sides actually have a chance to win, and neither side has been able to fully grasp the opportunity to win, and continuing to fight is just a futile loss of troops, it is better to collect troops and return to the camp and fight again in the future.

Zhang Xi's side is easy to understand, after all, they have few troops and can't afford to wave.

And although Cao Zhen has a lot of troops on his side, Cao Zhen is not yet at the end of the helpless time, he still has hope to break through Tongguan and recapture the retreat, so naturally he doesn't want to lose too many troops.

In addition, in the course of this operation, the Wei army made a lot of mistakes in many places, and even the rout of the army hit the Chinese army, resulting in Wang Chang having to shoot the rout. Cao Zhen also needs to properly rectify the morale of the army and recuperate, otherwise it will be difficult to cope with the next battle.

Of course, the most important reason is that Cao Zhen himself was hit by three arrows and urgently needed treatment.

Although Cao Zhen himself thinks it's not a big deal, and he doesn't hurt the vital point, although Zhang Xi is cunning, the bottom line is still there, and he won't smear poison on the arrow.

Therefore, among the three arrows, the most serious injury is only the arrow on the waist and abdomen, but it is only a penetrating wound that hits the ventral side, and it does not hurt the internal organs, but it only affects the action for a while. But Wang Chang, Dai Ling and others don't think so.

The old general Zhang He was just hit by an arrow in the knee, and as a result, he gave his life to himself. Today's Cao Zhen is the spiritual pillar of this Wei army, and there must be no accidents.

Therefore, it is better to withdraw the troops for the time being and fight again in the future.

And then Cao Zhen regretted it.

Near evening, Cao Zhen received information from the scouts that an army of more than 10,000 people appeared in the southeast corner of Tongguan, which was only less than twenty miles away from the main battlefield of Tongguan, and was approaching on a rapid march.

As soon as Cao Zhen heard this information, his face immediately turned pale, and he stood up angrily, but immediately, the pain in his thighs and waist and abdomen made him sit on the ground again.

Wang Chang and Dai Ling hurriedly went up to help, and at the same time retreated the scouts, but then, the two didn't know what to say.

The three of them can actually understand that the army with more than 10,000 people is definitely not their own.

All his troops are now blocked in front of Tongguan, and it is impossible for a force with more than 10,000 people to come to help. Even if they come to help, they are not welcome, and even if the food and grass in the army are only distributed once a day, they can only last for five days.

And on the land of Guanzhong, the party that can still organize and draw more than 10,000 troops must be Shu thieves. That army was a reinforcement of the Shu thieves.

Originally, Cao Zhen was not in a hurry, even if the grain and grass could not support a few days, even if there were some small setbacks in today's battle, Cao Zhen was still sure that he could retake Tongguan and open up a retreat.

Without him, his own forces do have an advantage.

In today's battle, although he suffered a slight defeat, the losses on the side of the Shu thieves were not small, and the gap in strength between the two sides still maintained the absolute advantage of the Wei army.

Cao Zhen lost most of the cavalry troops and the partial general Han De, and the light cavalry that was finally rebuilt was only more than 3,000 cavalry, but the cavalry could not be used to attack the city, and the biggest role was to contain the Shu thief cavalry.

The Shu thief cavalry had about 5,000 horsemen before the war, and the losses after a melee were not small, and the number of people who returned to the building in the end would not exceed 4,000 people, although the threat was still there, but the deterrent effect had weakened a lot.

In terms of infantry, although the Wei army lost a mess in the flank defensive battle during the day, and there was also a chaotic army attacking the Chinese army, resulting in the process of having to implement military law on the battlefield, but the Shu thieves were also cut off by Cao Zhen, and the losses of the front army in the melee were not small.

According to Cao Zhen's estimates, the casualties of the Wei army were about 5,000, and the casualties on the Shu thieves' side should be at least 3,000.

In this way, if the cavalry is removed, Cao Zhen still has 35,000 infantry to use, and on the side of the Shu thieves, even if the cavalry is added, the total strength is about 10,000 people.

Although the Wei army has experienced a series of retreats, and after a small setback, the morale of the army is somewhat inferior to the Shu thieves on the other side, but the gap between the forces of the two sides is still obvious, so Cao Zhen is really not too impatient.

According to Cao Zhen's original plan, tomorrow will still divide the troops to fight, give Wang Chang about 20,000 troops to attack Tongguan, and he and Dai Ling will take 15,000 infantry to block the attack of the Shu thieves from the future.

Yes, the cavalry of the Shu thieves is still a big threat, but Cao Zhen is ready to use the infantry to fight hard, as long as Wang Chang can capture Tongguan, the army can withdraw into the pass, then everything is easy to say.

This is Cao Zhen's original battle plan, and now it seems that it has to be scrapped and the battle plan is reconsidered.

There are more than 10,000 reinforcements from the Shu thieves, and the total strength of the infantry should add up to more than 20,000 people, and even if it is overestimated, there may be 30,000 people, and if there are 4,000 cavalry to assist in the battle, they will rely on 15,000 people, are they really sure that they can stop the Shu thieves? !

Once the Shu thieves broke through their own defense line and entered Tongguan to increase the defensive strength of Tongguan, the more than 30,000 Wei men led by themselves had no other fate except to starve to death on the land of Guanzhong.

If you want to prevent the Shu thieves, you must increase the defensive strength in the rear, but in doing so, it will inevitably weaken the frontal offensive force, and if the frontal offensive force is insufficient, it will not be able to capture Tongguan in three days. The end is the same.

So. Do you have to use all your main forces to deal with the Shu thieves behind you?!

What about Tongguan?!

Although Wang Chang said that behind Tongguan, it is suspected that there are friendly troops also attacking, but now that the back road has been cut off and information transportation is inconvenient, Cao Zhen does not dare to fully believe Wang Chang's statement.

Again, pinning his hope of escape on others, Cao Zhen is not so naïve.

Therefore, after hesitating for a long time in the end, Cao Zhen decided to carry out tomorrow's operation according to the original plan.

20,000 people, under the leadership of Wang Chang, stormed Tongguan, while he and Dai Ling led the remaining 15,000 soldiers and the last more than 3,000 cavalry to fight the rear pursuers of the Shu thieves head-on.

But there's a slight difference. Early the next morning, before Cao Zhen officially issued the military order, he asked the soldiers to line up outside the camp.

He has something to say.

As the whole army finished arraying, Cao Zhen rode his war horse, appeared in front of the army, and began to lecture.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today Cao Mou, there is a truth to tell you - the grain and grass in the army can only last for three days."

Yes, Cao Zhen's purpose in convening the whole army is to openly and honestly say the biggest problem that the army is facing now.

As soon as Cao Zhen's words came out, the soldiers gathered in the front row were stunned after hearing this, and then began to commotion.

As the heralds of each military camp passed Cao Zhen's words to the arrays of each military camp in turn, the soldiers in the rear also began to make commotions after hearing the news that the grain and grass could only last for three days.

In fact, since the withdrawal of the army from Linjin, Cao Zhen has already given a gag order to the quartermaster, and at the same time, he must report to himself every day on the use of military rations, so as to save the use of military rations as much as possible.

Theoretically speaking, at this time, the sergeant did not know how many days the military rations could last.

However, the soldiers are not all fools, these days, the supply of military rations has become less and less, although it is still maintained at the scale of two meals a day, but the amount of each meal is significantly reduced compared to before.

It's just that no one stands up to make trouble when they can still eat seven points full, but it doesn't mean that the soldiers can't guess the situation in the army, at most, they don't know that the military rations are enough to support them for a few days.

Now I heard my own commander admit that it is impossible not to stir up if there are only three days of food and grass left in the army.

And at this time, Cao Zhen's advantage of letting the soldiers line up in advance was revealed.

Everyone gathers together, and does not give these soldiers more time to think and ferment, and if anyone dares to sabotage the formation and incite without authorization, the army can directly enforce military law.

Therefore, such a commotion did not last long, and was quickly suppressed by the army.

And as the commotion slowly subsided, Cao Zhen slowly looked at all the soldiers and continued to shout.

"The urgency of the soldiers is also the urgency of Cao. Cao is with the soldiers, if the thieves can't get out of trouble within three days, Cao, like the soldiers, will also be killed by the thieves. ”

When these words came out, the soldiers suddenly felt that it seemed to make sense.

Now the back road is broken, even if Cao Zhen wants to run, he can't run.

The predicament faced by the soldiers was actually the same for Cao Zhen.

Even, some smart soldiers have already thought of it-their own people, who are really hungry, can surrender to the Shu army, but Cao Zhen, as the general of the Cao Wei clan, has no possibility of surrendering the Shu army.

Once defeated, Cao Zhen would either die on the battlefield or kill himself, and there was no option to surrender.

Obviously, Cao Zhen also thought of this possibility, so he continued to lecture.

"All the soldiers, wives and children and parents are all in the pass, if there is disharmony, whether the soldiers are killed on the battlefield, or surrender to the thieves and steal their lives. In this life, I am afraid that it will be difficult to see my wife and children. This is the death of a father, this is the death of a son, even after death, how can you see your wife and children and parents underground?! ”

This is a bit difficult to preach, and the soldiers most likely don't understand what "mourning" or "mourning" is, so the words conveyed by the herald are more straightforward - don't forget the law of Dawei, if you surrender, your parents will have no one to support them, and your wives and children will remarry someone else, and call someone else's husband, Daddy.

Well, as soon as he said this, the Wei soldiers understood much more in an instant.

Then, Cao Zhen suddenly raised his arms and shouted, saying, "Soldiers, life and death are only between three days, if you break the Tong Pass, you will live, and if you don't break it, you will die, but you are willing to survive with Cao?!" ”

Okay, although this is a little difficult to understand, the soldiers still understand what it means.

Break through Tongguan within three days, and everyone can escape back to the pass together, if you can't break it. If the righteousness of the country is put aside, his small family will be scattered.

That being the case

"I am willing to follow the general to the death!"

As Wang Chang, Dai Ling and others arranged in advance in the military camps, after shouting these words, slowly, the entire Wei army camp, every soldier, was chanting such a sentence.

The morale of the Wei army was completely aroused.

(End of chapter)