Three Kingdoms

  Chapter 1136 Initiative

   "It really is here?" Yang Jun said in a deep voice with a serious face.

   "Yes, within a hundred miles..." The scout lowered his head and reported. He saw the battle flag of General Zhengxi with his own eyes, and saw Zhang Liao and his troops camping by the forest, and even saw them catching animals in the forest, lighting a firepit to cook food, and he could smell those things with the wind. The aroma of food.

   But what the scouts didn’t know was that when he was lying on the hillside and staring at Zhang Liao’s camp, Zhang Liao’s scouts were also leaning against the grass and looking at him from the grass...

Speaking of bionics and camouflage, the old scout under the command of General Zhengxi, who has learned some fur from Fei Qian, would never stand on the hillside to ostentatiously, because even though that would look far away, it would also make his own figure appear exposed. The best way is to tie some grass or branches on your body, and then squat in the grass, or climb up the treetops, so that even if you walk in front of you, you may not be able to find it.

   "Is there any contact?" Yang Jun asked.

  The scout arched his hands and said: "I haven't contacted, and I haven't seen the scouts it sent..."

   "No scouts were sent?" Yang Jun frowned, then waved his hand to let the scouts go down first.

  Yang Jun couldn't help standing up, frowning, pacing back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back.

  Maybe it's because of overconfidence?

   Maybe it was because they were afraid that the scouts they sent would alarm Tongguan?

  Yang Jun stopped slowly, stroked his beard, and smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth. Zhang Liao came quickly and secretly, but to no avail. After passing Shan County, it is considered a relatively large county, which is Zheng County in the southwest, which is the most important base of Yang Family Hongnong. Although it was destroyed by Dong Zhuo, it still has some foundations, so After Zhang Liao's whereabouts were noticed by the locals, they quickly reported to Yang Jun...

   "Just come."

  Yang Jun rubbed his hands slowly, and a smile slowly climbed to his face.

  If Zhang Liao had not been discovered in advance, then when he was attacking Tongguan, he was suddenly attacked on the back. Naturally, even if he could resist, it would be a miserable victory, not to mention if one is not well controlled...

  However, now that I am prepared, with only Zhang Liao's strength...

Yang Jun has already sent people to ambush on the high **** leading to Tongguan in the northwest of Zheng County. No matter who comes, there must be only one way to get to Tongguan. Attack the **** from the bottom up, so that Zhang Liao's cavalry advantage will be reduced to a minimum.

  If you are unwilling to attack by force, you can only confront. And confrontation is definitely unacceptable for a small army like Zhang Liao. Although the number of troops is small, although it is flexible, it also means that the supply is limited, which is conducive to quick battles and quick decisions, and cannot be used for a long time. Another important point is that the longer the delay, the more likely Zhang Liao's troops will be surrounded by Yang's reinforcements from Heluo!

   Such a risk, presumably no one is willing to bear it.

  Zheng County in the southwest of Shan County is also within Zhang Liao's attack range, but Yang Jun doesn't think Zhang Liao has the guts to take down a heavily guarded county with a thousand horses.

You must know that Zheng County is also a large county, with 1,200 soldiers and 1,800 auxiliary soldiers, and there are five or six docks in the surrounding area. Even if they do not belong to the Yang family, they are still related to the Yang family. However, Zhang Liao's 1,000 soldiers were not enough to go to Zheng County.

  So since Zhang Liao's troops have come here, they can only pass through the high **** in the northwest of Zheng County, and then attack Tongguan all the way!

  The distance of more than one hundred miles, if it is slow, it will take two days at most, if it is fast, it will be completed in one day. So Zhang Liao was repairing a hundred miles away, which also met the requirements of the Art of War. I guess he was planning to raid Tongguan tomorrow, right?

  Who would have thought that he was already prepared?

Thinking of what he was proud of, Yang Jun almost laughed out loud. He coughed twice to cover up his emotions, and then said in a deep voice: "Come on! Send an order! Withdraw troops early today! Reorganize the defense! Send someone else to go Gaobei, Zheng County, let him be prepared, and the enemy who invades in the future must be defeated in one fell swoop!"

  Since Zhang Liao is coming, let him come!

   I recharged my energy and stored up my energy, and I happened to use Zhang Liao's head to blow the morale of Tongguan soldiers!

   "Wei!" The orderly standing outside the tent answered loudly, and then hurriedly ran to deliver the order.

  Yang Jun was a little excited. After all, this was not the same as the siege of a city at a glance. Although he ordered the soldiers to rest earlier, Yang Jun thought about his plan over and over again, and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became, the more he couldn't fall asleep. It was not until the middle of the night that he forced himself to lie down with his eyes closed for a while. Early the next morning, Yang Jun got up, thought over and over again, made the best preparations for the upcoming battle, and waited for Zhang Liao to appear...

  As time passed, the tense atmosphere before the battle became more and more intense, and even Ma Yan, who was above Tongguan, noticed something was wrong.

  Because Yang Jun was uncharacteristically today, he didn't send soldiers to continue to attack the city at all. Instead, most of them were repairing around the camp, and even sent some troops to the east.

  Yang Jun would be so kind, willing to let the defenders of Tongguan take a breather?

  Ma Yan doesn't think so, and for the side with the superior number of troops, if they want to attack the city, they can only use the tactics of crowds and waves to exhaust all the strength of the defenders, and they will naturally win.

  So, what happened to the East?

   Whatever he is, Ma Yan didn’t dare to rush out of Tongguan without any information about the battlefield, but since Yang Jun didn’t attack the city, he took this opportunity to take a good rest...

  The entire Tongguan battlefield suddenly fell silent, as if everyone was waiting for something.

  However, no one expected that after noon, Zhang Liao's men and horses did not appear, and it was hard to endure the sun to the west, and there was still no figure.

  Yang Jun couldn't sit still anymore, risking Zhang Liao finding out that he was in an ambush, and dispatched a large number of scouts again, but when the scouts rushed back, they were all surprised...

  Zhang Liao's troops disappeared.

  If it wasn’t for seeing some camp wreckage at the edge of the forest, even the scouts would doubt whether what they saw before was real or fake...

  Zhang Liao didn't come to Tongguan, nor did he stay at his original location, and just disappeared out of Yang Jun's perception.

  Where did Zhang Liao's troops go?

  Yang Jun turned around in the big tent, thinking about it for a long time, but he couldn't figure out what happened.

   Hiding?

  But what's the use of hiding it?

gone back?

  But if you go back, won’t you lose the meaning of understanding Weitongguan?

  Yang Jun was fidgeting, anxiously waiting for the follow-up detailed investigation by the scouts. Before there was any updated news, he could only wait.

   Apart from waiting, Yang Jun has no better way...

   Another night passed, and at dawn the next day, Yang Jun finally waited for the latest news from the scouts. Zhang Liao's troops did not go to the Tongguan defense line, but returned the same way, turned around and headed east.

  Yang Jun was puzzled, he couldn't understand why Zhang Liao brought his troops back.

   Isn't Zhang Liao ready to break the siege of Tongguan?

   This phenomenon is contrary to the common sense of the art of war, and even made Yang Jun wonder if the scouts misread it and were deceived by Zhang Liao. It wasn't until noon that new scouts rushed back and stated in convincing words that Zhang Liao had indeed gone east. Only then did Yang Jun accept the result with suspicion.

  But Yang Jun still didn't know, since Zhang Liao didn't plan to surprise him, why did he lead the troops here?

Although Yang Jun couldn't figure it out, since this is the case, the army that was originally sent out to ambush is useless. We can only withdraw first, and the soldiers of the ambush army cannot be allowed to lie down in the field every day in order to prevent Zhang Liao from finding out. Come on, sleep in a nest every day, right?

  If that were the case, Zhang Liao wouldn't even have to attack in person, as long as he waited for two or three days, the ambushing troops would be infected and wiped out.

  So ambush for a day or two is more or less acceptable, but after a long time, it will fail and must be withdrawn for repairs. And these soldiers were set up to ambush Zhang Liao's troops, but if Zhang Liao didn't come, it would be meaningless to make the soldiers work in vain.

  Do you want to send someone to a further place to check?

Yang Jun hesitated. If it was more than a hundred miles, if the army was not marching, then it meant that the return journey of the scouts could not shorten the distance, that is, it would take two or three days to go back and forth. In this way, not only the scouts would be exhausted Unbearable, the wear and tear on the war horse is also great, and the flexible and mobile scout manpower that I only have under my command is somewhat not worth it...

Yang Jun thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to give up the investigation beyond the distance. He just kept the scouts at a distance of one hundred miles. Even if Zhang Liao returned with his soldiers and horses, he would be able to detect it immediately and respond fully. time.

   But Zhang Liao's whereabouts are uncertain. Even when Yang Jun commanded his soldiers to attack Tongguan again, he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, and even turned his head to look east involuntarily from time to time. This kind of emotion seemed to have infected Yang Jun's soldiers, and they looked somewhat weak when they attacked Tongguan, and the perfunctory atmosphere was also spreading.

   On the third day, early in the morning, there was still no news of Zhang Liao's troops.

  Yang Jun thinks this is Zhang Liao's bluff. After all, the siege of Tongguan is indeed here, and it is also Zhang Liao's ultimate goal, but why not come?

At this time, Yang Jun suddenly longed from the bottom of his heart to have a cavalry unit, not too many, just two or three thousand, so that he would not be like now, pinching the only two hundred cavalry, like a golden bump , reluctant to use it, and dare not use it indiscriminately.

   Cavalry...

   This time the battle is over, I must suggest that Duke Yang form a large enough cavalry team!

   It must be built no matter what, even if it consumes a lot of money!

   There must be at least three thousand or more!

  Even if all the cavalry in Guanzhong were transferred over, it would not hesitate!

   If you can’t do it, you can ask the nobles in Guanzhong to ask for horses. These people must have some horses, and they can form an army together!

   Being led by the nose by a thousand cavalry like this, the feeling of being unable to fight and grasp is really uncomfortable, and I have no initiative on the battlefield at all...

   Just as Yang Jun was thinking about the future, the latest news was delivered to Yang Jun.

   "What? Heading towards Luoyang?" Yang Jun couldn't believe his ears.

  The scout nodded and said: "Yes, I can already see the black smoke of the beacon fire burning in the direction of Heluo, and it should undoubtedly go in the direction of Luoyang..."

  Yang Jun sat blankly, blinking vigorously.

   Instead of coming to Tongguan, I went to Luoyang instead. What do you want to do?

not good!

  Hangu Pass!

   It must be Hangu Pass!

Because Yang Jun passed through Hangu when he led his troops, he also knew the situation in Hangu Pass, because it was already a pass inside Hongnong, so Hangu Pass did not have too many troops stationed, with four hundred soldiers and auxiliary soldiers. Six hundred, that is, a thousand people...

   Moreover, there are still a lot of transshipped grain and grass stored in Hangu Pass!

  Zhang Liao's cavalry is only a thousand. As long as the defenders of Hangu Pass wake up a bit, make some preparations after seeing the beacon fire, and close the city gate, it may not be an easy task even if Zhang Liao wants to attack.

  Thinking of this, Yang Jun sat down slowly, let out a breath, and calmed down.

  In the camp, it was the time for dinner, and the big soldiers gathered around the fire, holding a cauldron, and cooking porridge. The army gathered, and the food and grass were consumed faster than anything else. The food bags that were piled up in a mountain a few days ago were now much smaller. Some of the wild vegetables in the surrounding area have been almost eaten up. If you want to get more wild vegetables, you have to go farther to pick them.

Oops!

  Yang Jun looked at the rising smoke, suddenly his heart skipped a beat, and his head felt a little dizzy.

   Grain...

   Grain!

  Yang Junteng stood up abruptly, slapped his forehead hard with his hand, and suddenly his forehead turned red. Damn it, how could he be negligent!

   Negligence!

  I only thought that Zhang Liao would come to raid the camp, but I didn't think that Zhang Liao turned around and went to Hangu...

  The terrain from Luoyang to Tongguan is too special, like a long pipe, thick in the middle and thin at both ends, and these two ends are Tongguan and Hangu. Then there is another section to the east of Hangu Pass, some of which are like tied sausages.

   And such a sausage terrain, once cut at the joints...

   It was as if General Zhengxi seized Tongguan, and immediately cut off the connection between Hongnong and Guanzhong. Of course, there are other routes, such as bypassing Hedong and then going to Guanzhong, or going to Yuzhou and then going to Wuguan, and you can also enter Guanzhong. However, these other routes are not as convenient as going directly to Tongguan.

  The same is true for Hakotani.

   Let’s not talk about whether Hangu Pass can be captured by Zhang Liao, but as long as Zhang Liao is still wandering around Hangu Pass, then the grain and grass from Hangu will not be transported!

what to do?

  Yang Jun sighed for a long time, there was no other way but to collect grain and grass from Zheng County again.

It’s not that Yang Jun didn’t have the awareness to protect the grain roads, it’s just that when he came to Tongguan, he had already transferred grain and grass from Zheng County for convenience, and originally planned to transport the second batch from Mianchi to the east of Hangu The grain and grass came over, but Zhang Liao got stuck in it at such a critical moment, so the second batch of grain and grass might not be transported temporarily.

Although it is said that they can be recruited from Zheng County again, it is inevitable that they will hate the members of the Yang family in Zheng County. After all, as a member of the Yang family, he is also aware of the current situation. In the area, whether it is Zheng County or Shan County, it can be said that they have tightened their belts. When they brought out food and grass for themselves, Zheng County can be said to have searched out the old foundation...

  And now, as a last resort, I still need to strangle him again. I really can't bear it.

  But I have to do it.

   Alas, it can only be compensated with the materials in the pass after breaking through Tongguan!

"Come on! Order the rear army to move to Shan County! This thief must be killed!" Yang Jun gritted his teeth and ordered, the loss of food from Zheng County can only be an emergency, and the threat of Zhang Liao must be eliminated before he can truly devote himself wholeheartedly. Attack Tongguan!

  Almost at the same time, Yang Biao, who was in Luoyang and was warned by the beacon fire, also said almost the same words, dispatched the only cavalry unit in his early thousand and rushed to Hangu Pass.

Yang Biao also believed that the cavalry of these generals conquering the west would not be able to capture Hangu, but they would put great pressure on Yang Jun in Tongguan, and even cause Yang Jun who attacked Tongguan to be unable to take care of the head and tail, so No matter whether it is defeated or repelled, anyway, such an army must be cleared out of the Hongnong realm, otherwise the land of Hongnong will not be safe!

  (end of this chapter)