Chapter 457 Reinforcements are coming
Kuai Yue’s overall idea can be summed up in one word: stable!
Although the Jinniu Road has been lost, it is no longer meaningful to stick to the Micang Road, but it is still meaningful after all.
Firstly, it can avoid direct collapse after a battle failure, as at least there is a rear base.
Secondly, with Mi Cang Dao in their hands, they could keep threatening Hanzhong at any time, reducing the force of Qi army in the front. When necessary, they could also harass Qi army's grain route.
As a veteran, Huang Zhong could see the meaning of this arrangement. After pondering for a moment, he felt that what Kuai Yue said made sense, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's do as Yidu said."
Liu Bei had already given them some instructions before they set out.
We can't do much with just these 40,000 troops, so we just hope they can hold steady.
Although Liu Fan trusted Liu Bei very much, having 40,000 troops stationed here was actually a bit of a chore.
However, if they want to increase their troops, it will be difficult for Liu Bei and Liu Fan to maintain daily logistical support.
Moreover, if there are too many troops stationed there, Liu Fan will inevitably have some thoughts in his mind.
Liu Fan could give up Yizhou, but Liu Bei could not snatch it.
In order to take this into consideration, Liu Bei could only use the defenders of Micang Road as a nail.
So Huang Zhong and Kuai Yue took quick action.
Tian Yu took the order and led 20,000 troops to hold the Micang Road, strengthen defensive fortifications, and closely monitor the movements in the north.
Although the food supply route to Jiange was blocked, fortunately Huang Zhong had already stored several months' worth of food in the camp in advance, which was enough to sustain for a long time.
Huang Zhong and Kuai Yue led another 20,000 troops and slowly marched towards Jiange.
Along the way, they were cautious and sent out multiple scout teams to explore the movements of the Qi army ahead. When they arrived at the Qi army camp 20 miles away from Jiange, they quickly set up camp and built fortifications.
Guo Jia was not surprised by the arrival of Huang Zhong's army. He had never ignored this group of people and was even more wary of them than the troops in Jiange.
"Military advisor, should we destroy Liu Bei's army first to avoid being attacked from both sides?" Pang De asked.
Guo Jia shook his head: "This Liu Bei army is much more difficult to deal with than Yan Yan's army in Jiange. It is not so easy to defeat them. And we don't have time to waste our energy on them."
Guo Jia knew very well that the combat effectiveness of Liu Bei's army was far superior to that of Liu Fan's army.
Moreover, this army was flying a flag with the word "yellow" on it. Combined with the information gathered previously, it seemed that the leader was most likely Huang Zhong.
He is a great general who is both good at martial arts and commanding. Only Zhang Fei can match his ability under Liu Bei. Even if he were in the whole world, there would probably be few people who could defeat him.
Our side was originally using Zhang He's name to bluff and conceal our actions. If a war really breaks out, it would easily expose our true strength. There is no need to get into this trouble.
"We don't need to panic. Although Huang Zhong and Kuai Yue are leading their troops here, they dare not attack easily. They just want to put pressure on us."
"We just need to strengthen our defenses and continue to attack Jiange. At the same time, we need to allocate some troops to closely monitor their movements and respond if they make any unusual moves."
In fact, Guo Jia knew that he wanted Huang Zhong to come out of the camp and fight them in the open, but he knew that was almost impossible. If the opponent was not stupid, he would know the gap between the two sides and would definitely choose to defend to the death.
Pang De followed the plan, leaving part of his troops to guard against Huang Zhong and Kuai Yue, while he continued to command the army to attack Jiange.
Now, all three parties are very anxious and everyone is racing against time.
Yan Yan was busy defending and repairing the city walls, waiting for reinforcements from Chengdu.
Pang De was busy attacking the city, waiting for good news from Zhang He.
Huang Zhong was busy sending scouts to gather information, waiting for Liu Bei to send troops.
As the siege entered its eighth day, a large army appeared on the north side of Jiange. Seeing the "Liu" flag fluttering in the wind and the familiar armor on the soldiers, the soldiers on the south gate were all excited.
"Reinforcements are coming!"
"Reinforcements are coming!"
With the continuous shouts from Yan Yan's soldiers, the morale of the soldiers defending the city was boosted. The soldiers who were fighting at the north gate suddenly became brave again and beat back Pang De's army that was rushing up.
After several days of continuous bombardment by huge rocks, the Jiange city wall has suffered extensive damage, which has significantly increased the pressure on the defenders, caused a significant increase in damage, and also reduced morale.
However, the news of reinforcements immediately resolved the dilemma.
Yan Yan, who was fighting, also breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
"It's good that the reinforcements have arrived! It seems that this Sword Pavilion can't be lost!"
"It's a pity that Zhang Ren has to guard Chengdu. Otherwise, if they came together, we might be able to take advantage of the situation and charge for a while!" Yan Yan said somewhat unwillingly as he looked at the countless corpses of defenders on the city wall.
After several days of defense, Yan Yan fully felt the gap in strength between the enemy and us.
In terms of the soldiers' combat capability and will, our side is indeed far behind.
Especially since he was not good at attacking and had no ability to fight back, the battles in the past few days had been too frustrating.
Seeing another wave of attack being pushed back, Pound snorted in frustration.
He also heard the shouts that rose to the sky, but he did not stop attacking.
So what if reinforcements came? My own reinforcements would arrive soon.
Guo Jia, who was standing next to Pang De, smiled at this time.
"Great, reinforcements are finally here."
Pang De was slightly stunned when he heard this, then looked at Guo Jia who was in a good mood and asked: "Military Advisor, the reinforcements coming are not ours, why are you so happy?"
"The arrival of the enemy's reinforcements means that Jun Yi is approaching." Guo Jia said mysteriously, as if he saw through everything.
When Pang De heard this, he was confused, but he felt relieved in his heart.
The military advisor has never made a mistake. Since the military advisor said so, it means that he will win!
"Military Advisor, what should we do then?" Pound asked.
"Continue to attack the city, the more fiercely the better, day and night. If possible tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, we will definitely take Jiange!" Guo Jia said with a gleam in his eyes.
"promise!"
Next, under Pang De's military order, the army seemed to go crazy and launched an attack on Jiange regardless of casualties.
Groups of people fell down, and new groups filled in, as if they would not give up until Jiange was conquered.
Yan Yan, who had just breathed a sigh of relief at the arrival of reinforcements, suddenly became nervous again and quickly dispatched elite troops to strengthen the city defenses.
The extremely fierce offensive of Pang De's army made Yan Yan, who was exhausted from dealing with it, feel a little relieved.
This kind of offensive at all costs can only last for two or three days at most, and it is extremely damaging to morale. As long as we hold on, there will definitely be enough time to rest and recuperate, and this Sword Pavilion will be defended.
After a night of fierce fighting, at noon the next day, just when Yan Yan was already exhausted, another reinforcement force appeared at the south gate of Jiange.
(End of this chapter)
