sovbooks Page 188
Page 188
The next day, Liu Bei named the Pang brothers General Zhonglang, left Pang Rou under Zhao Yun's tent in Chengdu, and sent Pang De to Langzhong to report to Zhang Fei.
Chapter 4 True Rumors
Although the Pang Rou brothers didn't bring many soldiers from Xiliang, they knew Hanzhong's military strength very well. Apart from the relatively complete supply of food and grass, the total number of defenders from all over the country was close to [-], which was almost the same as the total strength of Yizhou. .
Siege is not a child's play. After learning the real situation, Fazheng and Pang Tong stopped admonishing and attacking Hanzhong, and instead supported Zhuge Liang's policy of steady development.
Seeing that Liu Bei was noncommittal, Zhuge Liang mistakenly thought that the other party was very disappointed, so he comforted him with words: "My lord, don't worry, Zhang Lu will not last long if he has soldiers but no generals. Cao Cao has no war in Jingzhou and Huainan now, and Xia Houyuan has pacified Longzhou last year. Right, I predict that he will come to take Hanzhong this year, my lord can send some eloquent men to sneak into Hanzhong, and try to persuade Zhang Lu to surrender when the Cao bandits come, or take Hanzhong County without bloodshed."
Liu Bei frowned, "If Zhang Lu doesn't want to surrender to me, how should we deal with it?"
"Zhang Lu didn't have the heart of honoring a man. Liang thought that he was more likely to surrender to the Cao thief. Sending people to persuade him to surrender was just a try. Whether it succeeds or not depends on God's will..." Zhuge Liang smiled wryly.
"We really can't take Hanzhong before Cao thief?" Liu Bei confirmed again.
Zhuge Liang shook his head: "There are only two roads to attack Hanzhong, Yangping Pass and Miicang Road. Zhang Lu has so many troops guarding the pass. If we want to attack hard, we will be able to take it overnight. The pressure to transport food to the front is too great. If you don’t recruit civilians, you can’t guarantee the supply. Recruiting civilians will be at the expense of Yizhou’s grain production for several years. If you are not sure of victory, Liang does not recommend taking risks..."
"Hey, it would be great if Ziyu could be on the frontlines." Liu Bei sighed.
"It's a pity that there is only one Lan Ziyu in the world. It is more important to guard Jiaozhou now, but he is forward-looking enough. He arranged for Deng Shizai to farm in Jiameng in advance. Zhong Miao (Huo Jun) said that Deng Shizai did a good job, but the farmers in the farm There are indeed fewer people, if my lord can move tens of thousands of people to farm the fields, within two years we can grow the food and grass needed to attack Hanzhong." Zhuge Liang analyzed.
"The common people miss their homeland, and Yizhou has finally settled down. How can Bei forcefully relocate the population to farm fields? In addition, the land in Zitong is not fertile..."
"It's good that the lord understands, there is no rush for everything."
Liu Bei shook his head, "I'm not eager to capture Hanzhong, but I hate that Cao Cao has a better location than us. If he takes the Chencang Road, he can transport food by water, but we can only take the Jinniu Road and the mountain road..."
"Take the Chencang Road and attack Yangping Pass. If I use troops, I will use the main force to go to the Chencang Road, and then use a strange army to go on the Bao ramp. Zhang Lu's mediocre generals will definitely not be able to defend..." Zhuge Liang said.
Liu Bei asked: "Pang Lingming fled to Yangping Pass. Zhang Lu's side is now under strict investigation. I don't think it is necessary to send eloquent people there. Once recognized, it will be dangerous. How about learning Ziyu's method to bribe Yang Song?"
Zhuge Liangliang nodded, "This method is safe and feasible. Song Chen was invited by Deshun (Lai Gong) just now. Liang will go to him and ask Yang Song for details."
"Military division can go quickly. Song Chen should return to Jiaozhou after seeing Deshun."
After Zhuge Liang had a detailed discussion with Song Chen, he immediately sent a spy northward to infiltrate Hanzhong. Even if he couldn't compete with Cao Cao for Hanzhong now, he couldn't let the other side take all the benefits.
In March of the 20th year of Jian'an, Wei Gong Cao Cao personally led an army of [-] to march west to Zhanglu. On the way out of Wudu, he encountered resistance from the Di people. Generals Zhang He and Zhu Ling led the army to repel them. In May, Cao Cao stormed the city walled by the Di people, and all the men, women, old and children in the village were slaughtered.
Cao Cao frightened Xiaoxiao, who was a foreigner in the vicinity, with the thunderous method of massacring the city. Han Sui, who was fleeing far away in the direction of Siping and Jincheng, was frightened by his generals and beheaded the head of the owl and gave it to Cao Cao. No one dared to resist Cao Cao.
The news of Cao Cao wielding the butcher's knife spread to Hanzhong. Although Zhang Lu knew that he had slaughtered many cities, he was terrified at being so close to him now. He called his brother Zhang Wei to discuss surrender with Cao Cao Yanpu.
"Mr. Cao is invincible with his soldiers, and Ma Chao is so brave that he can't stand against him. Why should we fight for the chariot? I want to raise Hanzhong and surrender to Wei, so that the people in the county will not be burned..." Zhang Lu sighed.
Zhang Wei, brother of Lu, clasped his fists quickly: "Brother, there are still [-] to [-] elites in Hanzhong. As long as we defend the dangerous pass, we may not be able to defeat the enemy. We brothers are happy here, so why bother to live a life of relying on others? My brother would rather fight now."
"Don't be reckless..." Zhang Lu shook his head.
Yan Pu saw Zhang Wei's firm eyes, so he advised Zhang Lu: "The lord can follow the words of the public rule, and surrender easily will not be taken seriously. It is also good to play a few games to show your strength."
"Since you're talking like this, I can't stop you. Hanzhong's soldiers and horses are deployed by the public at will. I will do my best to guarantee your food supply, but I don't know which way Cao Guild will come from..." Zhang Lu frowned.
Yan Pu replied: "Cao Gong is now in Hechi, he must come through Chencang Road, and you can go to Yangping Pass to strengthen the city defense."
Zhang Wei nodded confidently. When he sent troops from Hanzhong to support Yangping Pass, he recruited thousands of people along the way. Zhang Wei planned to build a city along the Hengshan Mountain of Yangping Pass to maximize the geographical advantage of Yangping Pass.
When people in Hanzhong were panicking, another guest came to Yang Song's house, bringing news of his old friend 'Song Jiang' who had disappeared for several months.
Yang Song learned from Xizuo that Song Jiang (Song Chen) had safely transported grain to Yizhou and made a fortune with the two thousand shi of grain. Now he has bribed several Liu Bei's generals and is planning to take advantage of Cao Cao to attack the people of Hanzhong For the opportunity of escape, set up porridge sheds in the Zitong and Langzhong areas for "relief", and asked Yang Song not to miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a fortune.
Yang Song naturally understood the meaning of "relief" in Song Chen's mouth, and he must try his best to let the people in Hanzhong flee to the south. The more people who fled to Yizhou, the more money they made.
The opportunity to achieve "financial freedom" was in front of Yang Song, and he was greedy by nature and quickly made up his mind.
Yang Song sent servants and trilogy to spread the news in all counties and townships in Hanzhong, saying that Cao Cao, who likes to slaughter cities, has come to Hanzhong. of the Di family.
Cao Cao's reputation for liking to slaughter cities has spread far and wide. Now a large part of the people in Hanzhong are refugees from Sanfu. Ready to run, the Hanzhong area suddenly fell into panic.
Those legends about Cao Cao failed to attract the attention of Tianshi Zhang Lu, after all, these news are not rumors at all.
Cao Cao's army was getting closer and closer to Yangping Pass, and the people fleeing from Hanzhong were also getting closer and closer to Yangping Pass and the Micangshan trail. At this time, Zhang Lu was still practicing for the believers in Nanzheng. He didn't know that there was a mess outside.
In July of the 20th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao's [-] troops came to Yangping to pass the north, but the sight of the pass made the Duke Wei dumbfounded.
Chapter 4 Pretend to be a pig and eat a tiger?
After setting down the village outside Yangping Pass, Cao Cao, counselors Jia Xu and Liu Ye rode horses to visit the pass, and saw that the newly built city wall was built along the ridge, stretching between the two mountains, undulating and majestic like a dragon. , This is the fortification that Zhang Wei worked overtime to build against Cao Cao.
In addition to this exaggerated city wall, there are more than a dozen wooden camps for garrison troops outside. They occupy high ground in an orderly manner, not only echoing Yangping Pass, but also an outpost barrier for Yangping Pass.
Seeing this situation, Cao Cao felt cold, it was not as simple as those surrendered generals in Liangzhou said.
The generals in Liangzhou said that Zhang Lu was easy to attack, and Yangping City was far away from the north and south mountains. Following Chen Cangdao, he drove his troops to Yangping Pass.
"It's rare to listen to other people's speculations and act according to your own ideas..." Cao Cao shook his head and sighed.
"My lord, Zhang Lu's defense is tight here. It's not easy to take Hanzhong. You don't have many troops left in Huainan. If you spend a long time at Yangping Pass, Sun Quan will definitely attack Hefei..." Jia Xu didn't continue explain.
Cao Cao sneered and said: "Although there are few troops left alone in Hefei, they are only facing Sun Zhongmou. With Wen Yuan, Wen Qian, and Man Cheng around, it is not a problem to defend Hefei."
"Then this Yangping Pass?" Jia Xu asked again.
Cao Cao stroked his beard and said: "It's not easy to march for several months. How can you return without success? Although the Yangping Pass is steep, it may not be indestructible. Take your time and pull out the outer ten military strongholds first, and then find a way to attack Yangping. city.
Liu Ye said: "The other army is condescending and waits for work with leisure. My lord, it is better to divide the troops and attack together. If one village is destroyed, all ten villages will be destroyed."
"Zi Yang is right. There are thirteen strongholds on the outskirts, and the soldiers are divided into thirteen routes to climb the mountain. I want to try the strength of Zhang Lu's monster soldiers." Although Cao Cao nodded in agreement, he did not have much confidence in attacking the strongholds. .
On the second day, Cao Cao ordered Xia Houyuan, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, Zhang Ying, Zhu Ling, Xu Huang and others to lead their troops to attack the mountain and seize the stronghold.
As for the general Xiahou Dun, who seldom accompanied the army, he was in command of the Chinese army with Cao Cao.
Facts have proved that Cao Jun is not good at fighting in the mountains. The soldiers tried their best to climb up to the top of the mountain, and the opponent still had a camp as a fortification.
Cao Jun's attack on the mountain was frustrated for more than ten days in a row, and there were tragic deaths on the hillside every day.
Zhang Wei personally supervised the battle in the outlying camps. Seeing that he was able to defeat the majestic Cao Cao, he felt a lot of pride in his heart, and couldn't help but fly to Nanzheng to seek Zhang Lu's victory.
Since Cao Cao attacked Yangping Pass, the panicked residents of Hanzhong began to flee. When people are panicked and anxious, it is very easy to make unwise decisions. No one in Hanzhong believes that Zhang Lu can resist Cao Cao, and Yang Song sent people There was a lot of incitement in various places, so they chose to run away immediately, and most of them flocked to Yangping Pass. They wanted to escape to Shu through the Jinniu Road.
The physical fitness of the common people is not as good as Pound's Xiliang soldiers. If there is heavy snowfall in Bashan in winter, there will be few people left who can really escape to central Sichuan, so they choose to flee with the old and the young at this time.
Zhang Wei went to the outskirts of the village to supervise the battle, and handed over the defense of Yangping Guancheng to Yang Bai and Yang Ren.
The generals of Yangping Pass were originally Yang Ren and his deputy Yang Bai, but because Zhang Lu was angered by Pang De's escape, Yang Ren was transferred to the north of Hanzhong to guard Baoxie Road, and Yang Bai was successfully promoted under Yang Song's activities.
Cao Cao invaded Yangping Pass. Zhang Wei, who was in the main battle, took Yang Ren back from the Baoxie Road because he was familiar with the terrain. This back and forth operation made Yang Ren and Yang Bai change their identities.
The chief general is generally responsible for controlling the overall situation, and the specific implementation is carried out by the deputy general himself. It is Yang Ren's job to patrol the city on weekdays.
Men, women, old and children outside Yangping Pass poured in like a tide. Although these people cried and begged to go to Sichuan to escape, they would not be allowed to enter the pass at this time.
Yangping Pass City is a three-sided pass. If Cao Cao's espionage is mixed among the fleeing people, there will be potential risks if they are allowed to enter the city.
The fleeing people were blocked outside the city, and the voices of crying and insulting were endless. Yang Ren threatened to kill with bow and arrow several times, but these panicked men and women didn't care at all.
Yang Ren saw that he had no choice but to return to the city to report to Yang Bai.
Yang Bozai had already learned that Song Jiang (Song Chen) had entered Shu, and the grain that he risked away had been replaced with fertile land. When Yang Ren came in, he was lying on the couch daydreaming.
"General, general..." Yang Ren called softly.
Yang Bai sat up in shock, and he covered his head with his hands and asked in a panic, "What's the matter? Did Cao Cao call in?"
Yang Ren sneered secretly in his heart, if it wasn't for Yang Song to help you speak, could he be the main general with this concentration?He clasped his fists and said: "General Zhang has successfully defended the perimeter. Now more and more people are fleeing to the east, and the final warning by shooting will not help. How do you think this matter will be resolved?"
Yang Ren really wanted to know how Yang Bai would respond. After all, it is easy to be embarrassed by luck. If Yang Bo recklessly ordered the killing of civilians and massacred civilians, Zhang Lu would definitely settle the score later. .
In short, this matter is very difficult, and if it is not handled well, it is a sign of incompetence. Thinking of this, Yang Ren suddenly thought that being a lieutenant general would be good.
Since Yang Bo became the general, he rarely went to the east of Hanzhong to patrol the city, and occasionally went to the north to exercise his muscles and bones. After all, Cao Cao attracted everyone's attention. Although he knew that Yang Song was inciting the people to flee, he really didn't expect them to Come so fast.
"Where did the fleeing people come from? Isn't Cao Cao still blocked outside the pass? Where are they going to escape? You didn't go out to comfort the people? General Zhang Gongze (Zhang Wei) is still fighting bloody battles." Yang Boming asked knowingly, The tone of voice appears bad.
Yang Ren swallowed his saliva and scolded Yang Baihu for pretending to be a tiger. He clasped his fists and replied: "I heard that someone spread rumors in Hanzhong that Wei Gong Cao Cao loved to slaughter cities and eat people. The people were afraid, so they ran away with their families, and the officials stopped him." Can't stop..."
"Cao Cao's massacre and cannibalism seems to be true, so it is not a rumor. Many people in Hanzhong come from Sanfu. They probably know Cao Cao's style. It is human nature to be afraid. It is really inappropriate to threaten... "Yang Bai shook his head.
"General, what do you mean?" Yang Ren was very surprised when he heard it, and thought that this Yang Bai was nothing, and he could say such things at any time.
Yang Bai's face was calm: "Take General Ben to have a look, it's nothing serious."
"only."
Yang Ren saw that Yang Bo was pretending so well, and he also wanted to know how this guy would deal with it. Could it be that he, who has been in the same robe for several years, can still look away?This guy was pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger?
Chapter 4 and Four
Yang Bo followed Yang Ren to the city wall, looked at the people fleeing like a flock of sheep, and the little joy in his heart slowly climbed to his forehead, thinking that this is not a fleeing people, it is clearly countless The lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
Song Jiang (Song Chen) has already set up a porridge shed in Shuzhong, and has managed to win over Liu Bei's generals. The more people escape from Hanzhong, the richer they will be.
According to Yang Song's deduction, if the two brothers work together and try their best to drive these lambs into Yizhou, they will finally get countless wealth.
Hanzhong County now has a population of more than [-] households. The wealth they created in Hanzhong supported the leaders of the Wudou Rice Sect, as well as Hanzhong officials and troops, and the number of them was tens of thousands.
But according to Song Chen's "relief" method, only the three of them can participate in the distribution of spoils in the end, so even if only tens of thousands of households enter Shu, the benefits for Yang Song and others are so rich that it is unimaginable.
Although the method of "relief" to collect money is shameless, Yang Song thinks it is understandable after thinking about it. Killing one person is a crime and slaughtering ten thousand people is a hero, which is very benevolent compared to Cao Cao and the others.
"What are you thinking? Why don't you let it go quickly?" Yang Bai ordered indifferently.
Yang Ren was dumbfounded when he heard this. It turned out that Yang Bo solved the problem in this way, which made him guess for a long time, "General, what did you say? If so many people are put into the city, if there is a danger of changing Yangping, what will happen?" Trapping the public will lead to injustice..."
Yang Bo said righteously: "Does the general have any intentions? We spend money on food and clothing, which one is not produced by them? There are unarmed people in the city. Are you worried that they will take the pass with their poles? You just need to follow the order and let it go. If something goes wrong, the general will be solely responsible for it.”
"Think twice, General." Yang Ren was so choked by Yang Bai that he couldn't refute. He never thought that the ordinary Yang Bai would say such a thing.
"Just follow the order." Yang Bai raised his voice.
Yang Ren swallowed his saliva and cupped his fists to refuse: "Forgive me, General, even if you are willing to take responsibility, the General will not dare to switch and let you go..."
Yang Bai shook his head: "Vice General Yang is so confused, you only know that there will be risks for the people entering the customs, but you don't know that they will block the food road if they block here, and our soldiers will starve in a few days."
Yang Ren was taken aback when he heard this, and he really looked up to Yang Bai at this moment. In the past, the grain storage at Yangping Pass could be used for half a year, but at that time there were only 3000 troops in the garrison. Now Zhang Wei leads 6 to [-] people in the garrison. The consumption of grain and grass cannot be the same. language.
"But these are the people of Hanzhong, how can we allow them to flee to Shuzhong? Even if we can defeat Cao Cao this time, the Lord will definitely blame him after the battle. You might as well send a lot of people to persuade and appease you, General. General Wei) to resist for a while longer, and they will naturally resolve their fear and go home."
After hearing this, Yang Bai looked at Yang Ren coldly, "Persuade him back to comfort him? Didn't Vice General Yang try it? Now that the food road is blocked by refugees, what are you going to use to defeat Cao Cao?"
"Uh..." Yang Ren was speechless.
"Since Deputy General Yang refuses to carry out the order, I will go down and open the city gate myself." Yang Bo clangs and turns to go down the city.
"Why don't you try it, general, maybe you can persuade them to come back?" Yang Ren hurriedly chased after him. Yang Bai was guilty of releasing the people privately, and he was also guilty of a battlefield crime.
Yang Bo walked down the city wall without looking back, Yang Ren followed behind him like a tail, Yang Bo first deployed soldiers armed to maintain order, ordered the soldiers to guide the fleeing people to turn to Jinniu Road, and deployed troops to the intersection of Chencang Road, If someone is found maliciously breaking through the level, shoot and kill.
When everything was ready, Yang Bai asked people to open the gates of the city, and let the fleeing people enter the customs and divert them.Then the refugees rushed to Jinniu Road like a torrent, and no one went to Chencang Road.
"The general who opened the door is really a good man..."
"He must have many children..."
……
Apart from complimenting each other, the fleeing people also threw too much luggage in the city, saying that they were filial to the general who opened the city gate. Yang Ren looked at everything in front of him and felt his face was hot, thinking that Yang Bai was enlightened. Yet?Taking the risk to do such a big thing is worth the money.
Yang Bai looked at the endless crowd of people with a smile on his face, so he didn't like the rags and rags left by the refugees, and said to himself that if I keep my treasures in Yizhou, someone will come to take them.
"General, how long will the city gate be open?" Yang Ren saw that the refugees were like flooded water, and there was no end in sight.
Yang Bo replied solemnly: "Vice General Yang has seen it all, and it is completely out of the public opinion. As long as people come, we will continue to open. We will carry out our good deeds to the end, and they will remember your kindness. In this way, the food road from Nanzheng will also be opened up. Don't worry about General Gongze (Zhang Wei) running out of food."
"The general still sets a time for opening and closing the city gate. If there is any wrongdoing among the refugees, big trouble will happen." Yang Ren reminded again.
Yang Bai thought for a while, "Then only let them pass during the daytime, and close the city gate when it gets dark. Vice General Yang and we will take turns guarding it, so there shouldn't be any trouble."
Yang Ren had no choice but to obey, he was so busy that he didn't even have a chance to go to the front line to report the situation to Zhang Wei.
After Yangpingguan "opened the gates and released the water", refugees from all over Hanzhong moved to the west every day. County and township officials at all levels couldn't stop them, and they didn't want to stop them. They were also packing up the gold and silver, and they were always ready Escape from Hanzhong.
Zhang Wei struggled to resist outside Yangping Pass, and Zhang Lu transported food and grass for his brothers in Nanzheng. When he learned that the people in Hanzhong County were panicked and wanted to flee, Yang Song took the initiative to ask Ying to go to various places to appease the people.
The actual situation is that Yang Song fueled the flames under the guise, and finally most of the people outside Nanzheng began to flee.
When Liu Bei received the news that Cao Cao was attacking Yangping Pass, he immediately asked Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun to stay in Chengdu, and he and Pang Tong, Fazheng, Huang Zhong and others rushed to Zitong and Jiameng Pass to prevent Cao Cao from gaining Longwangshu after seizing Hanzhong.
After arriving at Jiameng Pass, Liu Bei was taken aback. Countless refugees poured in from Jinniu Road. Huo Jun and Deng Ai set up porridge sheds along the way to give free gifts to the refugees in Hanzhong.
Liu Bei was surprised after inquiring. Thousands of people enter Shu every day. He summoned the prefect Huo Jun and asked, "Zhongmiao, there are so many refugees every day. Is there enough food in Zitong's treasury?"