Chapter 458 Be Prepared
"Reinforcements are coming again!" the soldiers at the South Gate shouted again.
With the previous example, the defender opened the city gate directly with great familiarity.
As for the process, it is extremely urgent now. The Qi army at the north gate is about to attack the city wall. What's the point of talking about the process?
These brothers in front of me are holding the flag with the word "Liu" on it and wearing their own standard uniforms and armor. What is there to doubt?
The enemies are all in the north. Is it possible to fly to the south gate?
Under the city wall, Zhang He, who was about to show his token, saw this scene, was stunned for a moment, and then was overjoyed.
That's great, I don't have to bother myself anymore.
That’s right, the troops that appeared at the south gate of Jiange at this time were not the defenders from Chengdu, but Zhang He’s army.
As for the clothes and armor on his body, the style of clothes and armor in Yizhou was not difficult to imitate. The plan to sneak into Yinping was decided early, and Zhang He had already changed into all of them when he led troops to Yinping.
The only difference is that there is a concealable red ribbon tied on the right shoulder of the armor, which is not visible now.
It was with the help of this set of armor, and the intelligence and tokens provided by the people Jia Xu had contacted in Chengdu in advance, that Zhang He launched a surprise attack and captured Fucheng. After leaving 20,000 soldiers to garrison, Zhang He took a short rest and then led his troops straight to Jiange.
Because they crossed Yinping in advance, Zhang He had more time to prepare.
The intelligence personnel who had been planted in advance had already reported to Zhang He the many movements of Liu Fan’s army that they had learned about.
After carefully sorting out and screening this information, Zhang He quickly made a judgment.
After sending scouts to cooperate with secret agents to learn about the movements of Liu Fan's reinforcements, they followed the first reinforcements and arrived on the second day.
It has to be said that the strength of the Yizhou army was indeed worrying and its organizational ability was extremely poor. It was only several days after Liu Fan's order was issued that most of the troops began to set off in small groups.
Regarding these reinforcements, Zhang He initially considered whether he should surround and attack them, but seeing the situation, he simply ignored it.
Such a mob can only defend the city. If they fight in a field battle, they are basically just food for the hungry ghosts. There is no need to take so much effort to deal with them. After we capture Jiange, we can just sandwich them and eat them.
Yizhou’s natural barrier is a protection, but it is also an obstacle.
The Yizhou soldiers, who were accustomed to stability, had extremely poor field combat capabilities, otherwise they would not have been unable to deal with Hanzhong and allowed Zhang Lu to establish his own regime.
The journey was so smooth that even Zhang He found it unbelievable. He was really impressed by the vigilance of the Yizhou soldiers.
Fortunately, it’s an enemy!
At one point, Zhang He couldn't imagine how desperate he would be if he had such a stupid teammate.
Coincidentally, Liu Bei thought so too.
After receiving the news that Tian Ze had marched south and reached Jiange, Liu Bei, who was in Xiangyang, suddenly changed his expression.
"Liu Fan is so weak!"
There were two unexpected things for Liu Bei. One of them was the direct surrender of Hanzhong.
The second reason is Liu Fan’s incompetence and the carelessness of the Yizhou army.
You know, Jiange is indeed the most solid and final checkpoint on the Jinniu Road.
But who would go straight to the king bomb when playing a card?
There are so many dangerous places on Jinniu Road. Doesn't Liu Fan know the principle of blocking the enemy layer by layer? He was directly rushed to Jiange!
If Liu Fan had held on for a day or two, sent a message to Huang Zhong, and asked Huang Zhong's army to rush to Jiange in advance to meet up, the situation would not have been like this.
Even though Jiange is as strong as a rock, it is the only line of defense left!
Once Jiange was broken, the Shu Basin was directly open to Zhang He's army.
Who can guarantee how long Jiange can hold out?
How can we fight this battle without even a backup insurance?
Liu Bei was now worried that if he sent troops to support, Chengdu would be lost before they arrived.
With Liu Fan's ability and the character of those aristocratic families in Shu, they might be able to do such a thing. Liu Fan was also feeling miserable at this time!
How many years had he only taken over? He hadn't even filled the hole that Liu Yan had dug yet, so how could he dare to reorganize the troops in Yizhou?
Besides, he was not good at military affairs, so it was already good enough that he could promote Zhang Ren, Wu Yi, Yan Yan and other confidants who were knowledgeable about military affairs in recent years.
Only 30,000 to 50,000 elite soldiers were trained. Except for a small number who were kept as a reserve under Yan Yan's command, the rest were all in Chengdu.
After all, given the style of the Yizhou noble families and the recent situation, he would feel uneasy if he didn't have one or two soldiers loyal to him by his side.
He knew he should play the cards one by one, but the problem was that he had too few cards in his hand.
He had to guard against Tian Ze, as well as the powerful families within the clan, and he could not take the southern barbarian tribe lightly. He even had to be wary of Liu Bei.
There are not many generals that can be used in total, and the current situation has naturally emerged as a result of this division.
"My lord, the best plan now is to send troops to Yizhou quickly. Otherwise, it will be too late!" Pang Tong said with a grim expression.
He left Huang Zhong, Liu Bei's most capable general, and Kuai Yue, whose strategy was second only to his, at Migang Road so that they could hold on at the critical moment.
Unexpectedly, Liu Fan was so incompetent that all his arrangements were ruined.
"My lord, I'm afraid we have to be prepared for both situations." Chen Qun sighed.
"If Chengdu is besieged or even falls, we must seize the advantageous areas and prepare for a long-term battle with Tian Ze in Yizhou."
There was one more thing Chen Qun didn't say, which was to be prepared to turn against the surrendered Liu Fan.
Although Liu Fan still has some tough guys, based on his understanding of Liu Fan's civil and military officials and the powerful families in Yizhou, he is afraid that he will not be able to do anything when the time comes.
Surrender is something that you can never control.
Pang Tong also nodded and said, "Tian Ze would never fight a battle without confidence. Since he dared to order Zhang He's troops to march south, he must have a certain confidence in breaking through Jiange and taking Chengdu, otherwise he would not take such a risk."
The biggest advantage of fighting with Tian Ze is that it makes it easier to speculate on the battle situation.
Once Tian Ze started taking risks, they knew that the other party must have a backup plan.
Because Tian Ze never cheats and always likes to rely on his strength to win.
I won't take any risk unless I'm 80% to 90% sure.
But the more this happened, the more powerless Pang Tong felt.
Sure enough, wanting to counterattack was just my wishful thinking.
Liu Bei, who had an extremely firm belief, was different from other princes. He really wanted to launch a Northern Expedition all the time and had been working hard for it.
Today, Nanyang is still stockpiling heavy troops, not only for defense, but also to wait for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Sili or Xiliang.
If you defend for too long, you will lose. Liu Bei wanted to delay Tian Ze in Yizhou and seek an opportunity.
However, this idea is undoubtedly shattered now.
Not to mention fighting on two fronts, if Tian Ze makes the slightest move now, Yizhou will be lost.
What's the point of waiting for an opportunity? If you don't give it your all, you'll just be waiting for death.
"Mobilize all the troops that can be mobilized except those from Nanyang and enter Shu!" Liu Bei said in a deep voice without hesitation.
(End of this chapter)
