Chapter 456 Caught on both sides
"General Yan Yan said in the battle report that the Qi army attacking him was extremely fierce, and they used a new type of weapon. They were able to hurl boulders several times the size of catapults, which were enough to smash the walls of Jiange, which is why it was in danger of overturning," Liu Fan explained.
Not only that, he also carefully asked the soldier who delivered the letter about some details, and only after confirming that there was no problem did he completely accept this shocking fact.
"Your Majesty. Tian Ze is coming with great force and it is obvious that he has been planning this for a long time. I think the most urgent task is to gather troops as soon as possible to support Jiange. You can draw troops from the surrounding areas of Chengdu and at the same time contact Liu Xuande of Jingzhou to ask him to send troops to help and force Tian Ze to retreat." Huang Quan suggested.
Liu Fan nodded slightly and was about to give an order when he saw Li Yan step forward and said, "Your Majesty, this is a good move, but it also has risks. Too many troops have been withdrawn from the surrounding areas, and Chengdu's defenses will inevitably be empty. If the enemy takes the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, the consequences will be disastrous."
Zhang Song heard this and smiled faintly, "You are worrying too much. The Qi army must pass through Jiange to enter Yizhou from Hanzhong. As long as Jiange is guarded, Tian Chengshou will not be able to get through. Even if he gets through, how many troops can he have?"
"There are still 100,000 elite soldiers in Yizhou City. Even if the Qi army comes to attack, we can hold out for a few months at least. Moreover, Lord Xuande will definitely arrive in less than two or three months if he transfers troops from Jingzhou."
Considering the overall situation, Liu Bei naturally could not stay in Yizhou at this time. Huang Zhong, Tian Yu and Kuai Yue were stationed at Micang Road, with a force of no more than 40,000.
Liu Bei's main army is still in Jingzhou, waiting for the situation to change.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan glanced at Zhang Song indifferently, which made Zhang Song feel a little scared. Then he kept silent.
Liu Fan knew that what Li Yan said made sense, but the situation was critical and he could not afford to hesitate too much.
"First, gather the troops and prepare to support Jiange. Li Yan will be responsible for the defense of Chengdu, and we must increase vigilance." Liu Fan finally made a decision.
Just as the court in Chengdu was discussing countermeasures, the situation on the Jiange battlefield became increasingly tense.
Pang De saw that after several days of siege, even with the help of the Thunderbolt Chariot, it was still difficult to break through Yan Yan's defense line. Although he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually extremely anxious.
He decided to change his tactics and sent out an elite force to launch a tentative attack on Jiange under the cover of night.
However, Yan Yan, who was cautious in employing troops, was not careless at all. He soon discovered the sneak attacking troops and then attacked them head-on, defeating them outside the city, causing Pang De's sneak attack plan to fail directly.
"Let's wait for Junyi's reinforcements."
Looking at the dusty siege troops, Guo Jia shook his head slightly.
He had long anticipated that a night attack was not a good idea.
Because Jiange was too tall and steep, narrow inside, and with no climbing objects on both sides, there were too few soldiers who could attack the city wall at the same time. Unless the enemy was completely unprepared, even if the attack was successful, it would be a fierce battle.
In recent years, not only Tian Ze has made progress, but other princes have also made progress.
In other words, it was precisely because of Tianze's rapid development that other princes felt a huge sense of crisis, causing them to also begin to "roll up".
The Jiange in front of us was one of the proofs. It had definitely been reinforced more than once. This defensive strategy of building high walls and storing up food was exactly the same as Tianze's.
Pang De slapped the armrest beside him angrily, his eyes full of unwillingness.
If it was a field battle, he could kill these weaklings without leaving a single piece of armor, but the terrain of Yizhou was too powerful for the attackers.
Moreover, the defending general was very experienced in using troops. He would never leave the pass or seek credit under any circumstances. Even if he had a myriad of abilities, he would not be able to use even a single bit of them.
Guo Jia shook his head slightly, still young.
How can there be so many comfortable battles? The enemy is not a fool. This kind of confrontation is the norm.
In Guo Jia's eyes, Pang De's failure in the attempt might not be a bad thing. At least now Pang De had definitely focused his attention completely on them.
In this way, Zhang He's sneak attack has a greater chance of success.
Jun Yi, whether we can take Yizhou depends on your choice!
Guo Jia murmured in his heart.
……
The attack and defense of Jiange was fought with great momentum.
On the Micang Road, Huang Zhong was on pins and needles. Although there were only 40,000 soldiers stationed here, they were all elite, including nearly 10,000 armored soldiers and 5,000 cavalry, accounting for nearly half of Liu Bei's army, which showed how much he valued them.
Yizhou is of vital importance to Liu Bei.
Others, whether it is Xiliang, Sili or Central Plains, cannot compare.
Because it means a stable rear base, and it is also the place where Emperor Gaozu achieved his empire.
Jiange is not only the exit of Jinniu Road, but also the exit of Micang Road.
Therefore, Huang Zhong noticed it the moment Jiange was attacked.
But he faced three difficult choices: to defend, to help defend Jiange, or to attack Hanzhong.
Huang Zhong did not have Tian Ze's map, because Zhang He's army attacked suddenly and deliberately guarded the openings on both sides of the Micang Road, making it impossible for Huang Zhong to obtain any information.
"Yidu, what should we do now?" Huang Zhong asked.
Kuai Yue was also having a headache at this time.
Long before stationing troops here, he had discussed various possibilities with his brother, Pang Tong, Chen Qun and others.
But who could have expected that Hanzhong would surrender without a fight, and without any news getting out, it just disappeared so quietly.
As a result, they did not realize what was happening until Pang De's army arrived at Jiange.
With his side blocked on both sides and unable to get much information, he didn't know what to do.
Attacking Hanzhong? This is undoubtedly a bad idea. With Tian Ze's character, he has definitely begun to build Hanzhong into an iron barrel. The troops left behind must be quite a lot. Unless the lord leads the main force to assist, they will definitely not be able to achieve anything.
He had no idea what Liu Bei's current situation was.
It would be impossible to attack Hanzhong before receiving the news that Liu Bei was sending troops.
Aid Jiange?
Pang De's army had already stationed under Jiange, with a huge "Zhang" flag fluttering. The camp blocked out the sky and the sun, with no edge visible.
Kuai Yue looked at the situation and was not sure about the reality, but he thought that there must be at least 70,000 or 80,000 troops as the base, otherwise there would not be such momentum. He could feel it just from the size of the smoke from the cooking fires.
They attacked from the rear, seemingly from both sides.
But when it comes to field battles, can they defeat the elite Qi army?
Definitely not possible.
Otherwise, they would not be focusing on defense now.
Since both paths are not feasible, Kuai Yue’s choice is self-evident.
After thinking for a long time, Kuai Yue looked at Huang Zhong and said in a deep voice: "We must hold steady."
"The speed at which the Qi army broke through Hanzhong and Jinniu Road was too fast, leaving us no chance to react. It's too late to attack either side now. We can only hold on."
"But Jinniu Road has been breached. What's the point of us staying here? It's better to encircle the Qi army from both sides together with the Jiange garrison." Huang Zhong frowned.
"We need to encircle them from both sides, but we are not the ones who initiate the attack, we are the ones who defend!" said Kuai Yue.
"We will split our troops into two groups, with Tian Yu leading 20,000 troops to garrison the original location. Han Sheng, you and I will lead the remaining 20,000 troops to slowly march to the Qi army camp 20 miles away around Jiange to garrison and put pressure on the Qi army."
(End of this chapter)
