A Clash of Gods - Chapter 1203

[Chapter 1193]

Tongguan is the eastern gate of Guanzhong. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. It is surrounded by mountains and mountains, peaks and peaks, deep valleys and cliffs, high mountains and narrow roads. The name of the road to the world stops at Tongguan.

This pass is a veritable one-man pass, ten thousand people can’t open it.

Because of the steep terrain, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once Tongguan is controlled, the connection between the northwest and the customs is almost blocked.

From ancient times to the present, it is really difficult to reach the sky to conquer Tongguan. Under the Tongguan, there are countless soldiers and dead souls.

Although Tongguan is the east gate of the northwest, and its geographical location is extremely important, it has never required too many troops to guard it. Even in the face of a million troops, as long as a few hundred people hold the pass, it is difficult for the enemy to advance. The soldiers and horses in Guanzhong also have enough time to come to support.

When Qu Yuangu was guarding the northwest, the control of Tongguan was not in the hands of Qu Yuangu in the early years, but was appointed by the imperial court to guard it. It was only because the guarding officers exploited and squeezed the merchants, he was used by Qu Yuangu, and then he dismissed the original one. The guard, with the help of Queen Qu’s pillow, Qu Yuangu got his wish and sent his confidant general to guard Tongguan. A few years ago, he transferred his adopted son Xue Ren to Tongguan to help him guard the east gate.

Qu Yuangu also fought in the South and the North in his early years. Although he did not make many military exploits, he still had qualifications. He also had a group of soldiers who had followed him for many years. Before Tongguan, he even accepted Xue Ren as his adopted son, and Xue Ren was as loyal to his adopted father, according to the words of his colleagues in private, as a hunting dog raised since childhood.

As the sun went down, the guards above Tongguan saw a group of cavalry appearing from the west, and immediately reported to Xue Ren.

If there are soldiers and horses appearing from the east, the trumpet will be sounded immediately above Tongguan, and the Tongguan guards will be ready for battle in the shortest time.

Tongguan stone wall is thick and thick, it is really an insurmountable barrier, and the city wall is very high, because of the terrain, those siege weapons such as ladders are not useful at all.

The troops coming from the west were naturally their own family in the eyes of the defenders, but the sudden appearance of hundreds of cavalry made the defenders a little strange. Xue Ren was also a little surprised when he got the report. The cavalry was already in sight.

“It’s a valiant under the eldest son.” Xue Ren breathed a sigh of relief. He was the confidant of the Qu family, and he naturally knew the situation of the Qu family very well.

The eldest son recruited the brave men of the northwest many years ago and formed the so-called warriors. According to the eldest son, there are many people in the northwest who hold grudges against him. He must have an elite guard by his side to protect himself. Qu Yuangu After

giving him a staff of 300 people,

the eldest son recruited 300 people a lot. These people are indeed strictly trained and well-equipped. Even their wages are far above the Northwest Army.

The money spent by the three hundred guards in the rearing area was, of course, a drop in the bucket for the Qu family.

As soon as he saw the equipment of the cavalry team, Xue Ren recognized at a glance that it was a warrior under Qu Manbao.

He wondered in his heart that these three hundred warriors were Qu Manbao’s guards. They had always been responsible for guarding Qu Manbao’s safety. Qu Manbao now guards Xianyang and has a heavy responsibility. Of course, he will not leave Xianyang easily. If so, why are the warriors under him? Are you coming to Tongguan?

He was puzzled, so he didn’t go down to greet him immediately.

The cavalry team finally stopped in front of the gate. Xue Ren just glanced at it and knew that the number of opponents was around 300. That is to say, almost all of the eldest son’s 300 soldiers were dispatched. He was even more puzzled. At this moment, I suddenly saw a person walking out of the team, and each riding on the left and right, and Xue Ren’s heart froze when he saw that person, but the one who had already recognized it was Qu Manbao.

“Eldest son!” Xue Ren was busy shouting from the front of the city, “Why are you here?”

He was full of anger and his voice was loud.

Qu Manbao was wearing armor and a battle helmet. He raised his head and did not speak immediately. He glanced at him next to him, coughed softly, and pressed the handle of the knife with his right hand. Qu Manbao glanced sideways, his eyes twitched, and finally he raised his head and said. : “Xue Ren, is there a battle report from the front?”

“Go back to the eldest son, the general led the army like a broken bamboo, and it has already conquered two cities.” Xue Ren said loudly: “There is no new battle report yet. If there is a battle report, the subordinate will immediately send someone to Xianyang.

” I have something to discuss with you.” Qu Manbao said, “You open the door first.”

Tongguan Pass is a pass, with a gate on each side, but between the two thick walls is very spacious, and the guards eat, drink, drink, sleep, and sleep in it. , and there are warehouses in it to store food and drinking water, and many weapons are also stored in it.

Xue Ren was about to instruct someone to open the door, but his arm was only raised halfway, but he did not continue to raise it. He hesitated, and then said, “Eldest son, come here in person, what instructions do you have?”

“Open the door first.” Qu Manbao said, “Xianyang that There are some things that I can’t decide, so I came to discuss with you.”

“Xianyang?” Xue Ren was suspicious and said with a smile: “Eldest son, your subordinate’s duty is to guard Tongguan under the order of the general. At that time, the general said that when people are locked up, people are lost when they are locked up. Apart from this, subordinates are not qualified to ask about anything else, matters over Xianyang, subordinates… subordinates even dare not. You

talk too much.”

The cavalry next to Qu Manbao coughed again, and Qu Manbao immediately said, “Don’t talk nonsense, open the door and talk about it.”

Xue Ren felt more and more that something was wrong, glanced at the team behind Qu Manbao, and before he could speak, he heard Qu Manbao’s voice

Said

: “Xue Ren, I heard that the two cities were conquered by Man Ying troops. Is that true?

” After making great achievements in battle, do you want to let Lao Tzu stay in Xianyang and wait?” Qu Manbao suddenly scolded: “I thought about it, you go to Xianyang to guard instead of me, I will lead the troops into the pass, catch up with the army, and will attack Luoyang with my father. ”

Xue Ren heard the words, and his originally tense heart suddenly relaxed.

Qu Manbao appeared in front of him with three hundred warriors, and it really surprised Xue Ren. He didn’t know what Qu Manbao wanted to do, and when he heard Qu Manbao only asked himself to open the door, he spoke vaguely and became suspicious. At this time, he heard a few words from Qu Manbao. When he said that, he was relieved immediately, thinking that the eldest son was dissatisfied with his younger brother’s achievements in the customs, and wanted to enter the customs to make contributions.

He naturally knew Qu Manbao’s temperament quite well. This eldest son has the will to fight for merit, but it is not uncommon. He cupped his hands and said, “Eldest son, since the general has left you in Xianyang, there is a reason for the general. Xianyang. It is the important place in the northwest. The general is worried that the army will enter the customs and the rear will be empty. There will be people with ulterior motives who will take the opportunity to cause chaos and leave the eldest son. Naturally, it is because the eldest son has the ability to stand on his own. As long as you are in Xianyang, no one in the northwest dares to act rashly. If the eldest son enters the customs rashly, this…!”

“Why, what should I do, I need you to teach me?” Qu Manbao’s tone was not good.

Xue Ren hurriedly said: “My subordinates don’t dare. It’s just that the eldest son asked his subordinates to go to Xianyang to guard, and his subordinates dared not take orders. The subordinates are only shallow, and guarding Tongguan is already worrying day and night. How can they be qualified to guard Xianyang. The eldest son , the subordinate dared to persuade, although the young master has made meritorious deeds in Guannei, if the eldest son is in the middle of the general expedition to ensure peace in the northwest, then no one can compare the credit, the general must be very happy.”

Qu Manbao thought about it. After a while, he said: “I’ll think about it first, and then open the door first.”

If it were someone else, Xue Ren might not have opened the door, but Qu Manbao asked repeatedly, and he had no reason to keep Qu Manbao outside the door, and said with hands: ” Eldest son, wait a moment, my subordinates will open the door for you immediately.”

After Xue Ren disappeared from the city, Qu Manbao breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately his face became ugly, and he didn’t look back, just said: “General Qi, I have already followed your instructions. I also hope that you can keep your promise.”

“Don’t worry, eldest son, I said that as long as you help me, I will never hurt you.” A cavalry soldier behind Qu Manbao laughed: ” This time, Tongguan was won, and the eldest son made a great contribution, and the wine and beauties will never lose the eldest son in the future.”

The cavalry who spoke was naturally Qi Ning.

Qi Ning led troops to attack Qu Manbao’s camp at night, forcing Qu Manbao to kneel and beg for surrender, but Qi Ning did not delay. He chose three hundred elite soldiers of the Chu State and changed into warriors’ clothing and equipment, and then forced Qu Manbao to bring his team to Tongguan.

The terrain of Tongguan is dangerous. From the northwest of the pass, there is a long and narrow road, which is narrow and difficult to navigate, but the road from the northwest to the pass is much wider.

But even so, Qi Ning knew that it would not be easy to attack Tongguan by force. Even if there were a lot of people on his side and the troops were strong, but even if Tongguan was finally captured, the Chu army would inevitably suffer countless casualties.

In fact, he had already planned for the worst and was prepared to pay a heavy price.

However, a secret letter changed Qi Ning’s original battle plan.

Qi Ning led dozens of warriors to win the two checkpoints in the Qinling Meridian Road in a row, but Xianyang knew nothing about all this. Qi Ning waited at the checkpoint for a few days, and the troops led by Duan Canghai finally arrived in time. arrived.

In this surprise attack on Xianyang, Qi Ning temporarily transferred troops in Xichuan. After removing the king of Shu Li Hongxin, Qi Ning immediately commanded the assembled 10,000 troops to march north.

Qu Yuangu led his troops into the customs, and Qi Ning knew that in a short period of time, the Northwest’s attention would definitely be on Qu Yuangu’s Northwest Army. No one would notice the movement on Xichuan’s side. But as time goes on, there will be many nights and dreams, and the surprise attack on Xianyang, naturally, the sooner the better, and there can be no delay.

In order to ensure the secrecy of the march, Qi Ning and Ban Yun deliberately staged a scene of encircling and suppressing bandits in Hanzhong, while Duan Canghai had led nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses to enter Qinling silently.

According to the pre-operational deployment, Qi Ning led 2,000 people to attack Tongguan, while Duan Canghai led the main force to launch a surprise attack on Xianyang. One was caught off guard.

Compared with Duan Canghai, Qi Ning had no previous experience of marching and fighting. He knew that a surprise attack on Xianyang was not a child’s play. He had to hit it with one blow, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, Duan Canghai, who was experienced in combat, was assigned to lead his troops to attack Xianyang.

The main force of the Northwest Army had already entered the border, and there would be not many troops left behind in Xianyang, and the defense was weak. When Lu Kang cooperated with the main force of the Chu army, it might not be possible to attack Xianyang in one fell swoop.

After leaving the Qinling Mountains, just as the troops were being divided, Qi Ning suddenly received a secret letter very unexpectedly.

( = )