In the third year of Xingping, at this time it had not been changed to Jian'an, and by the end of January, Zhang Ji decided to go south from Wuguan to Kouluo Nanyang.

There is really no food, and in the past two years, there has been a drought and locust plague in Guanzhong, and the people have dragged their families and fled to Yizhou or Jingzhou, causing a large number of people to lose.

Now in the entire Guanzhong Basin, there are really ten rooms and nine emptiness.

Those who had the ability to escape had fled, and those who were not able had basically died in that land.

Population loss means that there is no one to grow food, and the more food is scarce and there is a famine, the more people have to flee to other places.

Under the vicious circle, Guanzhong has empty land and no people.

In addition to this, strength is also a big issue.

At the end of last year, Zhang Ji had a discord with Yang Feng and Dong Cheng, who escorted Liu Xiedong's return together, and the two sides fought.

Although he later defeated Yang Feng and Dong Cheng with Li Dao and Guo Yan, he was not much better and lost a lot of men.

The army was severely short of food, and its strength was severely weakened.

And Li Dao Guo Yan is also eyeing him, under this kind of wolf pack and natural and man-made disasters, Zhang Ji has to choose to escape from this land of right and wrong.

It is definitely not possible to go to Kanto, Kanto is full of princes, Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao, none of these people are good stubble.

What's more, Zhang Ji's troops are already very small, no more than 10,000 people, even if he travels a long distance to Kanto, it is just to send him to death.

If you go south to Yizhou, Zhang Lu guards the gateway to Hanzhong, and the Shu road is difficult, and it is impossible to break through. This choice is the same as going to Kanto, which is an act of seeking death.

Therefore, the only direction that can be gone is to go from Wuguan to Nanyang and find trouble with Liu Biao in Jingzhou.

It's not that Zhang Ji looks down on Liu Biao, but there are really not many places he can choose from. Guanzhong is now poor enough, so it's impossible to go to the even more barren Xiliang.

Han Sui Ma Teng's strength is also much stronger than him, Xiliang, Yizhou, and Kanto, there is almost no place that can accommodate him, so he can only choose to come to Nanyang.

First of all, the Nanyang Basin is not much smaller than the Guanzhong Basin, and there has been no large-scale destruction here, so there must be no problem with food.

Secondly, Liu Biao's main troops were deployed in Xiangyang, and only Wenpin brought some people to garrison in Nanyang.

So Zhang Ji finally came to Nanyang.

Of course.

This is not without Jia Xu's advice.

As he expected, Liu Biao did not expect that someone would take the initiative to attack him, the guards of Wuguan were extremely loose, and under Zhang Ji's onslaught, Wuguan was quickly lost, and the army threatened Danshui.

On the fourth day of the second lunar month, before the sky was bright, Zhang Yun sent people to find Gan Ning, Lou Fa, Shen Mi and several other subordinate captains and Sima to discuss the matter.

The news of the loss of Wuguan came seven or eight days ago, and the latest news was that Zhang Ji Badanshui, Nanxiang, Shunyang and other places were storming the city at this time, and Liu Biao's troops in the city were not much, and he was afraid that he would not be able to withstand it, so he considered letting Zhang Yun and Deng Ji send some reinforcements.

In the hall of Fancheng County's Yafu Mansion, Zhang Yungao sat on the main seat, and most of his side were cronies and generals, Gan Ning, Lou Fa, and Shen Mi were the generals of Yizhou, and their status was not high, and the ranking was at the end, very far away from Zhang Yun.

Zhang Yun looked around and said in a deep voice: "You all know that Zhang Ji of the Xiliang Army came to attack my Jingzhou, and Wen Ping has led his troops to defend in Qiancheng, but we don't have many troops in Nanyang, so my uncle asked me to select soldiers and go to the rescue, who is willing to fight?" ”

Lieutenants Liu Wei, Zhou Jian, Wang Jie, Sima Huodu, Wu Shuo, Han Hu, Zhao Jun, Li Ying, Gan Ning, Lou Fa, Shen Mi and others all immediately stood up and said, "The last general is willing to go." ”

Military generals want to be promoted, purely by military exploits.

There were not many battles in Jingzhou, and if it was a civilian from a poor family, there would be no way to rise at all, so now Zhang Ji is coming to attack, and in the case of very few troops, everyone wants to receive this battle achievement.

Zhang Yun saw that everyone wanted to go, and after thinking about it, he said: "Liu Wei, Wang Jie, you can take Wu Shuo, Han Hu, Zhao Jun, and Li Ying to go with eight thousand people." ”

Gan Ning suddenly became anxious and said, "The last general also wants to go." ”

Zhang Yun frowned and said, "Little Xiliang Army, why do you need so many people?" Fancheng still has to be garrisoned, follow orders. ”

Ignoring him, he got up and left.

"General.....

Gan Ning shouted unwillingly.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yunquan didn't hear about it, so he threw up his sleeves and walked away.

The rest of Zhang Yun's cronies and others were all joking, but they didn't dare to speak out to provoke because of Gan Ning's personal strength, but the ridicule on their faces was on the surface.

Seeing this scene, Gan Ning, Lou Fa, and Shen Mi all looked at each other with resentment.

At the end of the day, they're just demotes.

Not only did Zhang Yun bother to take care of them, but even Liu Biao didn't care about them, he just arranged them in Nanyang, as if he had forgotten them and left them to fend for themselves.

Later, Gan Ning wanted to go to Jiangdong to defect to Sun Quan, but it was not because Liu Biao, Zhang Yun and others despised them.

Although he knew that Zhang Yun and the others didn't like to see them very well, they were unwilling to give them the opportunity to go into battle now, which made Gan Ning already understand that they had no way out here in Zhang Yun, and there was no future for them.

Shen Chen was right.

Liu Biao does not practice military affairs, and no matter how talented people have military talents, it will be difficult to be used under him.

Maybe it's time for me to find another way.

Gan Ning thought to herself.

.....．

.....．

Outside the city, the dense Xiliang army began to assemble like ants.

In fact, after entering from Wuguan, Zhang Ji broke several cities in a row and looted the military supplies he needed.

But his purpose is not to grab some food and finish the job, but to occupy Nanyang as a base.

So even after he had enough food and grass, he had no intention of withdrawing his troops.

At this moment, he rode on a war horse, constantly commanding the soldiers to line up in a neat line, and after a full meal, the morale of the soldiers also recovered a lot.

Zhang Xiu, who was in her thirties, followed her uncle, looked at the city in the distance, and said to Zhang Ji with some concern: "Uncle, this is not easy to deal with, last time our tentative attack was repulsed, I am afraid it is not advisable to attack strongly." ”

Zhang Ji said in a deep voice: "I don't want to attack the city either, but there is no way to do it." If we don't take advantage of the fact that Nanyang has fewer troops to quickly take Wancheng, seize a better city and more grain and grass, and wait for Liu Biao's reinforcements to arrive, we will have no place to hold on, and we will inevitably be destroyed at that time. ”

"I see, uncle, let me attack first."

Zhang Xiu asked for his life again.

Zhang Ji looked at his nephew and laughed: "Ah Xiu has always been brave, but I must take the lead in this battle, otherwise, I am afraid that the soldiers will not die." ”

Zhang Xiu looked back at the soldiers around him.

If the Xiliang army that had just entered Nanyang from Wuguan was a group of tigers, then it may be a group of wild wolves now.

Because of the lack of food in the army, Zhang Ji's banner was to go to Nanyang to eat, in order to have enough food, the soldiers fought bravely one by one, and soon broke several cities and looted a large amount of grain and grass.

But now that they have eaten enough, although their original morale has been restored, it is impossible to let them sacrifice their lives and die to fight hard.

At this moment, above the city, Wen Ping also stood on the edge of the female wall and watched the Xiliang Army in the distance.

The turbulent water flowing from the Funiu Mountain in the north is vast and endless, and on the horizon of the wilderness west of the county, the black-pressed Xiliang army has been assembled, slowly surging towards the city like a tumbling river.

The general hurriedly reported: "General, General Zhang and General Deng have already sent reinforcements, and they will arrive in the city in the afternoon at the latest." ”

"Hmm."

Wen Ping nodded and said, "Inform the soldiers of this matter and boost the morale of the army." ”

"Yui."

The generals were ordered to leave.

The city tower was densely packed with Liu Biao's army.

Looking around, the Xiliang army outside the city was like a wolf and a tiger, and Liu Biaojun was not afraid, looking at each other one by one, afraid of his hands and feet.

It was not until the news of the arrival of reinforcements came that the morale of the soldiers stabilized.

There are two reasons why they are afraid.

First, Liu Biao's Jingzhou has been very stable over the years, and there have been few wars except for a battle with Liu Zhang.

At most, many soldiers have fought with the Yellow Turbans in Funiu Mountain or Dabie Mountain, and even many soldiers have only trained and have not killed people with their own hands.

Second, the most important thing is that there are not enough troops.

Liu Biao's troop deployment in Jingzhou is actually mainly divided into three aspects.

One is the Jiangxia Naval Army, led by Huang Zu, whose main goal is to compete with Yuan Shu for the land of Yuzhang Jiangdong, which is now one or two hundred thousand, and it will take a few years to replenish to thirty or forty thousand due to the need to guard against Sun Ce and Sun Quan's forces.

The other is the main force of Jingzhou led by Cai Mao, the Taishou of Nanjun, and the Yangtze River Naval Division, which are currently stationed in Xiangyang, Wuxian, Zigui, Yiling, Linfu and other places.

This part of the population was the largest, reaching more than 40,000 people, and when Liu Biao annexed Zhang Xian in 200 AD, the number would reach 780,000, and the main strategic purpose was to prevent Liu Zhang of Yizhou from crossing the Yangtze River and disturbing the rear of Jingzhou.

Moreover, the most elite part of Liu Biao's army is this part, which fought a large-scale war with Liu Zhang, and later fought with Zhang Xian, and has experienced a certain baptism of war, and its current combat effectiveness is much higher than that of the other two parts.

The last one is in Nanyang, the entire Nanyang has no more than 10,000 troops, Wen Ping has thousands of men and horses in Wancheng, and Deng Ji is stationed in the area of Huyang Xinye, and there are also thousands of men and horses.

Although Zhang Yun stationed about 15,000 or 6,000 in Fancheng, Fancheng is located at the southernmost tip of Nanyang, separated from Xiangyang by the Han River, so it is not so much the Nanyang garrison as the penultimate line of defense to defend Xiangyang.

Therefore, in fact, the defenders of Nanyang actually only had the troops of Wen Ping and Deng Ji, and the other counties may be scattered with hundreds of parts, but they basically have no effect.

The defenders of Nanyang, who already lacked the baptism of war, were at a disadvantage in numbers, so they would naturally be afraid of the enemy.

Fortunately, Wen Ping is not an ordinary person, although he is outnumbered, he is good at motivating morale and is quite capable in defense, so he not only has sufficient preparation of arrows and equipment, but also stabilizes the morale of the army with the news that reinforcements are coming.

The Xiliang army on the vast land has been assembled, the turbulent water in the north is turbulent, and the rural people outside the city on the fertile field have already fled with their families, and the Xiliang army seems to be about to submerge the third largest city in Nanyang after Wancheng and Fancheng.

"Woooooooooooo

With the sound of the horn, the warriors in the front row of the Xiliang army had already carried the ladder and began to march towards the city.

Behind them were attacking soldiers lined up in phalanxes.

There is no armor, at most it is a small round wooden shield, the left hand is the shield, the right hand is the ring head knife, this is the most famous infantry sword and shield hand in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

They lined up in a neat formation, and under the leadership of Zhang Ji, they slowly approached the city, and they had reached half a mile away.

"Archer prepare!"

Seeing that the other party had launched an offensive, Wen Ping roared loudly.

At the same time, the archers on the city began to bend their bows and arrows, poking their heads out of the female wall and starting to aim.

In general, a soldier who wants to charge to the bottom of the city must go through at least three rounds of arrows.

The first round is the majority of the effective distance of the arrow, which is called the land of one arrow, which is about 120 meters.

The second round is in the process of initiating a charge, about fifty or sixty paces.

The third round is under the city.

Zhang Ji personally supervised the battle, and after an order was given, the death squad at the front howled and rushed forward.

It was as if a black flood was spreading towards the city.

When they ran within a stone's throw of the distance, Wen Ping gave the order again.

"Shoot the arrows!"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

The firepower network composed of countless arrows covered the sky and the sun and shot towards the Xiliang army.

They crossed a brilliant arc in the sky, and finally fell into the formation of the Xiliang Army like raindrops.

In an instant, the sound of popping into the flesh was endless, and the screams came and went, and there were countless falls.

But those who are in front fall, and those who are behind make up for it, and they continue to rush forward.

Zhang Ji himself was also in the charging ranks, he rode on his horse, and kept shouting: "Kill, kill!" If you don't want to go back to Guanzhong, just rush! ”

"Kill, kill!"

The Xiliang Army erupted in a roar.

Wen Ping kept waving the sword in his hand and shouted: "Release the arrow, release the arrow, release the arrow!" ”

The rain of arrows in the sky never stopped.

Even so, the Xiliang army finally broke through the arrow rain blockade and arrived at the city.

In the final analysis, there are only four or five thousand people in Wenpin, and not only the west city gate needs to be defended, but several other city gates are also divided.

In this way, his strength on the front was basically less than three thousand, and the number of archers was only seven or eight hundred.

No matter how you shoot, the first wave of attack of the Xiliang army under the city organized two or three thousand people, and it was impossible to shoot all the enemies to death within three rounds of arrow rain.

Until the attack led by Zhang Ji rushed to the city, it was only a loss of hundreds of people, and then the ladder was built and the siege began.

Seeing this, Wen Ping knew that the two sides were close to hand-to-hand combat, and had to go into battle in person to fight the enemy.

At the same time, the city-defending equipment such as rolling stones, sasswood, and lime were smashed down as if they didn't want money.

Zhang Ji did not prepare many ladders, and they were soon smashed by several rolling stone sassers, which made the offensive stagnant all of a sudden, and it was difficult to kill the city again.

Therefore, as a last resort, he finally chose to withdraw his troops.

The clanging sound sounded, and the first wave of the Xiliang army's attack was beaten back, leaving hundreds of corpses in place, receding like a tide.

Chenglou Wen Ping gasped, he had just killed seven or eight Xiliang soldiers in a row, and the other party's bravery was beyond his imagination.

This time, it was good luck that smashed a lot of siege ladders on the other side, causing the enemy to attack the city, but because the ladders were too damaged to go up to the city, they were not breached.

Next time, when Zhang Ji prepares enough ladders, he won't be so lucky.