My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 586 A Great Defeat to the Rice Thieves
The arrival of Huo Du's troops, even if it was only two hundred vanguard soldiers, greatly strengthened the defense of Jiameng Pass. Objectively speaking, after Huo Du entered Jiameng Pass, he persuaded Xiang Cun to send him as reinforcements, leaving Zhang Wei's Hanzhong army with no chance.

Huo Jun held out for a year against the siege of over ten thousand troops under Fu Jin and Xiang Cun. While the bravery and unity of his elite troops were certainly major reasons for his victory, the strategic importance and fortification of Jiameng Pass was another crucial factor. Throughout the entire Han Dynasty, perhaps only Liu Feng's army, which had mastered the technology of counterweight catapults, could have captured Jiameng Pass in three months.

However, Huo Du was bold and meticulous, so how could he be content with such a small achievement?
After a brief discussion with Xiang Cun, a plan was finalized.

Huo Du deployed one hundred crossbowmen on both sides of the city wall, and arranged for armored soldiers to rest at the city gate, where they removed their armor and had water and food. Then they waited for the enemy to arrive.

Despite the imposing force of the Hanzhong army, they were actually quite far from the pass. Moreover, due to the presence of Tianxiong Pass, they had to take a detour, otherwise they would have entered the range of Tianxiong Pass's long-range firepower.

For these reasons, it wasn't until Huo Du's rear guard had safely entered Jiameng Pass that the vanguard of the Hanzhong army joined forces with Cha Xian's troops in Jiameng County and arrived outside Jiameng Pass.

The first to arrive were Zhang Cheng's 800 vanguards, Cha Xian's 200 troops, and 200 able-bodied laborers.

Cha Xian's men were of average fighting strength, and the able-bodied men were even more vulnerable. However, they brought a large number of simple siege weapons, including twenty simple siege ladders, four battering rams, and even two siege towers.

Xiang Cun was able to have Cha Xian build so many siege weapons right under his nose. While the situation in Chengdu was critical and the continuous troop withdrawals caused chaos and negligence, Xiang Cun's abilities were truly questionable.

Huo Du secretly peered out from the city wall, and after observing the scene, he made up his mind to fight a fierce battle. Otherwise, once the Hanzhong army arrived, it would be much more difficult to destroy these siege weapons.

Immediately, Huo Du ordered Xiang Cun to deploy all his troops on the city wall, pretending to be on guard.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Cheng, who was outside the city gates, turned to Cha Xian and asked, "Master Cha, are you sure there are only three hundred people in the city?"

"I would stake my life on it."

Cha Xian said without hesitation, "That brat Liu Zhang has been drawing troops from the four passes of Jiameng, Baishui, Tianxiong, and Jiange. In total, he has no more than two thousand men left, of which five hundred are from Jiameng Pass. Xiang Cun has placed two hundred of my troops in Jiameng County, so that they can support each other. Little does he know that I have long since converted to the Five Pecks of Rice sect and have repeatedly sent messages to the Grand Celestial Master."

Zhang Cheng looked satisfied upon hearing this.

"Since that's the case, we must seize this opportunity. We can't let the Shu bandits in the pass calm down."

Zhang Cheng waved his hand and immediately ordered the vanguard to deploy, preparing to attack the city.

In other words, Zhang Cheng's troops were all loyal and elite soldiers. After receiving the order, they disregarded their hungry stomachs and immediately deployed their troops. Under the command of junior officers, they distributed simple siege equipment such as cloud ladders and slowly approached Jiameng Pass.

Huo Du, watching from the city wall, was not surprised but delighted. He had been worrying about how to lure the enemy into attacking the city, but unexpectedly, his wish had come true.

The reason for this misunderstanding is actually the gap in military capabilities between the two sides.

If it were Huo Du, he certainly wouldn't have been in such a hurry to attack the city; he would most likely have set up camp north of Jiameng Pass.

If Cha Xian's words are true, then only the five hundred men in Tianxiong Pass can provide support to Jiameng Pass. However, Tianxiong Pass itself is an extremely important strategic pass, and its commander is currently preoccupied with his own affairs, so it is impossible for him to take the initiative to attack and reinforce Jiameng Pass.

Since the enemy has no external support and our side has ample time to capture the city, and since it was not a successful surprise attack, why rush things? If we make a mistake, it will only boost the morale of the defenders and cause us to lose the easy prize.

But Zhang Cheng didn't think so. In his view, Jiameng Pass was already a piece of fat meat that was within reach; the only difference was who would ultimately swallow it.

Zhang Cheng is no ordinary person. His father is Zhang Lu's third brother, and the commander-in-chief, Zhang Wei, is his second uncle.

He volunteered to be the vanguard, wasn't it all for military merit?
If we don't hurry up and swallow Jiameng Pass now, are we going to wait for our comrades to come and share the credit?
As Zhang Lu's personal guard, the Daobing soldiers were quite well-trained and capable in combat.

The troops were deployed in just fifteen minutes.

Zhang Cheng's 800 men, along with Cha Xian's 200 men, formed five square formations of 200 men each, pushing their siege towers, battering rams, and siege ladders, and rushed towards Jiameng North Pass.

Seeing the chaotic scene on the city wall, Zhang Cheng revealed a smug look. He had guessed that the morale of the Jiameng garrison was low and their fighting spirit was waning. It was time for Zhang Cheng to make a name for himself and take the credit.

Just as Zhang Chengzhi was smugly imagining how he would claim credit for himself before Zhang Wei, a sudden, urgent gong sounded from the city wall. The previously panicked soldiers suddenly seemed to find their anchor and began frantically throwing logs and stones down towards the city.

It wasn't that Xiang Cun's troops had suddenly become elite; rather, Huo Du had already made an agreement with them. Once the Mi bandits attacked the city, all they needed to do was throw all the rolling stones and logs off the city walls after hearing the sound of the gong, and that would be considered fulfilling their duty. The rest would be left to the Left General's army.

Although the Shu army was weak, it did not lack the courage to fight after receiving proper command and having its responsibilities clearly defined. Otherwise, it would not have become one of the strongest armies in the world during Zhuge Liang's time in charge of the army, and would have been able to suppress the Cao Wei central army, which accounted for six-tenths of the world, in open field battles.

A hail of logs and stones rained down on the city wall, greatly catching the Hanzhong army off guard. Even the elite soldiers were thrown into disarray. One battering ram was hit directly by the rolling stones and rendered immobile.

Immediately afterwards, the city gates opened, and hundreds of elite troops charged out.

The first two hundred men were all clad in iron armor and wielded long swords, resembling human iron men, while those closely following behind were elite warriors clad in leather armor.

At the same time, ambushes sprang up from the city walls, and two hundred archers wielding large crossbows and powerful bows unleashed a rain of arrows down upon the city.

Crossbowmen prioritize targeting armored soldiers, while powerful archers prioritize targeting officers.

Although there is some overlap between the two, they are not completely overlapping. In an instant, Zhang Cheng's junior officers and soldiers were struck as if by lightning, collapsing like wheat in autumn harvest.

Before the Dao soldiers, who had been hit hard, could recover, the Han army's armored soldiers, who had rushed out of the city gate, had already reached them. Like splitting a rhinoceros or tiger, they shattered the enemy's formation and destroyed their stronghold. In just a dozen breaths, they had cut Zhang Cheng's formation in two.

Subsequently, Huo Du's armored soldiers swept clockwise, overwhelming the Dao soldiers.

Although the soldiers fought bravely and relentlessly, the exchange ratio between the two sides was not even five to one. What was even more despairing was that the arrows raining down from the city walls continued to fall. The crossbows were slow to load, but the powerful bows were different.

The powerful bow could unleash a dozen or even dozens of arrows in a short time, providing the best firepower cover for the comrades attacking from below the city.

Dao Bing, being human after all, finally broke down and fled without looking back.

Taking advantage of the situation, Huo Du's troops launched a counterattack, pursuing the enemy for two miles. Meanwhile, the Shu army in Jiameng Pass was greatly encouraged. Xiang Cun personally led two hundred Shu soldiers out of the pass to rescue the wounded, seize weapons, kill the wounded rice bandits, and burn the siege weapons abandoned by Zhang Cheng's troops. When Huo Du led his armored soldiers back, they were greeted with a warm welcome from the Shu army.

In this battle, Huo Du killed nearly 600 soldiers of the Hanzhong army, including wounded soldiers who could not escape and later died in the clearing of the battlefield by the Shu army, as well as more than 60 prisoners.

Zhang Cheng's troops suffered losses of over four hundred men, with the remaining hundred or so belonging to Cha Xian's troops.

Eight hundred elite vanguard soldiers came, but only three hundred or so remnants escaped.

If it weren't for the fact that Zhang Wei's main force was about to arrive, allowing Huo Du to continue the pursuit, Zhang Cheng himself would certainly have escaped, but those remaining soldiers might have all perished outside Jiameng Pass.

When Huo Du retreated to Jiameng Pass, Zhang Wei had already led a large force to Jiameng County. They ran into a group of defeated soldiers, which gave Zhang Wei a big fright.

After Zhang Cheng was brought in and told what had happened in detail, Zhang Wei became even more enraged and immediately wanted to kill Zhang Cheng.

The generals immediately knelt down and begged for mercy. Zhang Cheng was the nephew of Zhang Lu and Zhang Wei, and the son of Zhang Lu's third brother. Zhang Lu's third brother was killed by Liu Zhang along with Zhang Lu's mother in Shu, leaving only this one heir.

If we don't plead for leniency and Zhang Wei actually kills Zhang Cheng, then everyone present will suffer the consequences.

After being persuaded by the crowd, Zhang Wei's anger subsided somewhat, and he then kicked Zhang Cheng out.

Eight hundred soldiers, more than half of whom were killed in just a quarter of an hour, was enough to break Zhang Wei's heart. What troubled him even more was that Jiameng Pass had clearly received strong reinforcements.

Zhang Wei wanted to attack the pass again, but Cha Xian had already given away all the siege equipment he had prepared in advance.

With the sudden arrival of strong reinforcements and a major defeat of Zhang Cheng's vanguard, the morale of the troops in Jiameng Pass was soaring. To attempt to capture the city with only simple siege ladders would be a blatant waste of the soldiers' lives.

Left with no other choice, Zhang Wei could only temporarily establish a large camp centered on Jiameng County, build fortifications and siege equipment, and wait for Yan Pu to arrive before making further discussions.

While Zhang Wei waited helplessly for Yan Pu outside Jiameng Pass, Zhao Wei was also waiting for provisions in Luocheng.

Cheng Ji lived up to expectations and raised more than 200,000 shi of grain and more than 28 million taels of silver. Although this was still less than what Zhao Wei needed, it was enough for his army to move again.

After being delayed in Luocheng for a full twelve days, Zhao Wei's army finally set off. Pang Le was the vanguard, leading 6,000 elite troops to attack Xindu. Li Yi was the main general, leading 10,000 troops to bypass the right flank, first taking Fancheng to the west of Luocheng, and then heading south from Fancheng, crossing the Jian River and Tuo River, before attacking Pixian, the northwestern barrier of Chengdu.

In this way, the shelter from the east, west, and north of Chengdu was completely gone, leaving only the two counties of Guangdu and Jiangyuan to the south.

By the end of September, Pang Le had easily captured Xindu and was within 20 miles of Chengdu's outskirts, while Li Yi had also easily taken Fancheng and Pixian.

These three cities had long been abandoned by Liu Zhang, who then withdrew all the military equipment, supplies, and troops to Chengdu, so there was naturally no resistance.

However, after entering the city, Li Yi and Pang Le indulged their troops. Although they did not openly raid the city, they treated looting and rape as nothing, which made the people of Shu deeply resent Zhao Wei's army and had a very bad impression of them.

On the first day of the tenth month, Zhao Wei left Cheng Ji with 3,000 troops to garrison Luocheng and continue to procure food and supplies for him, while he himself led the main force of 20,000 troops, along with more than 10,000 troops under Du Yue, and a large number of siege weapons to slowly advance towards Chengdu.

On the third day of the tenth month, the army joined forces with Pang Le's troops in Xindu.

On the fifth day of the tenth month, the army successfully crossed the Tuo River, and there were no longer any obstacles in front of Chengdu.

On the seventh day of the tenth month, the army reached the city of Chengdu, joined forces with Li Yi's troops, and set up camp for twenty li, their banners obscuring the sun.

On the eighth day of the tenth month, Zhao Wei sent someone to Chengdu to persuade Liu Zhang to surrender, falsely claiming that he had 200,000 troops and wanted to enter Chengdu to purge the treacherous officials, clarify the administration of Shu, and help Liu Zhang govern Yizhou.

Liu Zhang refused to see the messenger and ordered him to be beheaded, with his head displayed at the north gate of Chengdu.

Zhao Wei was furious and immediately ordered an attack on the city, thus beginning the Battle of Chengdu, which lasted for a whole month.

At first, Zhao Wei thought he was invincible and could take Chengdu in one fell swoop. But he did not expect that the Shu army in Chengdu had high morale and a very firm fighting will.

Chengdu itself possessed an extremely formidable and comprehensive defensive system, and Liu Zhang further deployed 10,000 men to guard Guangdu and Jiangyuan to the south of Chengdu. As long as these two cities were in control, supplies and provisions could be continuously transported from the Jianwei direction to Chengdu via waterways.

Zhao Wei launched a fierce attack on Chengdu for seven or eight days, only to find that Chengdu remained unmoved. On the contrary, his own side suffered heavy losses, with four or five thousand casualties.

The Shu army in Chengdu also suffered two to three thousand casualties, but the number of Shu troops was in no way inferior to Zhao Wei's. The Dongzhou soldiers alone numbered more than 20,000 to 3,000. They not only made up for the thousands of casualties lost earlier, but also had a surplus.

As for the Shu army, it numbered as many as 35,000.

It was for this reason that Liu Zhang still had the resources to spare 10,000 men to guard Jiangyuan and Guangdu.

Left with no other choice, Zhao Wei appointed Li Yi as the commander-in-chief and dispatched 10,000 men southward in an attempt to capture Guangdu first.

As a result, after Li Yi went south to besiege the city, he did not expect that Huang Quan, with Liu Zhang's consent, selected a thousand brave men to sneak out of Chengdu under the cover of night, travel at full speed through the night, and launch a surprise attack on Li Yi's camp at dawn the next day.

The garrison in Guangdu City simultaneously opened the city gates and launched an attack. With the combined forces of the inside and outside, they inflicted a great defeat on Li Yi's troops, beheading more than 2,000 people and capturing more than 700 prisoners.

Li Yi retreated twenty li before Zhao Wei sent troops to reinforce him, allowing him to stabilize his position and gather his remaining troops.

This battle directly shattered half of Zhao Wei's army's morale.

Zhao Wei had no choice but to take out all his wealth to reward the entire army, and promised that he would not sheath his sword for three days after entering Chengdu, which finally boosted morale.

However, this news also reached Chengdu, and the entire city and the Dongzhou soldiers were horrified, which strengthened their resolve to defend the city to the death.

(End of this chapter)