My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 617 Li Dian's Advice
From this perspective, the movements of the Left Army seem to be without any problems.

However, the movements of He Qi's troops aroused Li Dian's vigilance, and the Left Army began to carry out large-scale construction and fortifications from the next day.

The fact that the Left Guard Army did not attack Zitong immediately, but instead built camps and fortifications, aroused Li Dian's suspicion.

However, in a fair comparison, it makes sense; a steady and methodical approach isn't necessarily worse than a hasty attack. There's a saying that sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work, which is reasonable, but Li Dian also keenly noticed that He Qi's construction direction and location were both incorrect.

Normally, the most important thing for a besieging force to build is defensive fortifications for the city. Firstly, these can serve as forward bases for the army to attack the city. Secondly, they can help to eliminate the defenders' field fortifications outside the city and drive the defenders back into the city. Thirdly, they can cut off the connection between the inside and outside of the city.

However, Li Dian astutely discovered that most of the fortifications built by He Qi were actually facing south. Not only did He Qi utilize the hilly terrain to construct a defensive system in the south, but he also deployed a large number of siege weapons within the defensive line.

This is not an attempt to attack Zitong; it is clearly a conscious effort to defend against an enemy coming from the south.

Although Li Dian had just arrived in Shu, how could a general not be able to discern the timing and geography?
Therefore, when Li Dian was stationed in Zitong, he often went out of the city to ride horses to familiarize himself with the terrain around Zitong. He used this to imagine how he would attack Zitong if he were the attacker, and then used this to strengthen the defense of Zitong.

Li Dian knew very well that the reinforcements from Zitong only had two routes: one was from Hanzhong in the north, and the other was from Shuzhong in the south.

Whether they come from Hanzhong or Shu, they must come from the east of the Zitong River.

Taking Sichuan as an example, there was originally a Jinniu Road connecting Fucheng and Zitong, and the Jinniu Road passed through Zitong City, crossed the Zitong River, and then went to Guanghan.

Now that the Left Guard Army has besieged the city, this route is inevitably cut off.

Surely the reinforcements to Fucheng can't cross the river right under the noses of the Left Army?
Do they really think those two thousand naval troops of the Left Army are just sitting around doing nothing?

Therefore, if the reinforcements from Fucheng wanted to rescue Zitong, they would have to find a calm spot downstream of Zitong to cross the river first, and then head north to provide assistance.

In this way, wouldn't the intelligence match up?

Li Dian pondered for half a day and came to a conclusion.

It is true that He Qi attacked Zitong, but he must have had another purpose, which was likely aimed at Cao's reinforcements in Shu.

Thinking of this, after returning to the county government, Li Dian immediately wrote several letters and sent them to his warriors across the Zitong River at night to deliver the letters to Jiange, Fucheng, and Luocheng respectively.

Because of the lack of horses, it was delayed for a while, and it was not until three days later that it was delivered to Li Zheng's desk in Fucheng.

After receiving the letter, Li Zheng didn't bother to read it. He first arranged for a messenger to deliver Li Dian's letter to Luocheng, and then he began to read the contents of the letter.

Li Dian mainly talked about three things in his letter.

The first thing to do was to voice his doubts and remind Li Zheng of Fucheng that if he went to provide aid, he must be especially careful and make preparations for retreat.

The second thing was to inform Li Zheng and Cao Ang that he had sent someone to warn Jiange, demanding that the Jiange garrison be on high alert and defend carefully. At the same time, he also sent someone across Jiange to Tianxiong Pass to warn Cao Ding, requesting that Cao Ding allocate some elite troops to reinforce Jiange and increase its defensive strength.

However, he was still not optimistic about the situation in Jiange, because there were only two thousand soldiers from Hanzhong County stationed there.

In fact, this was out of necessity. Although Cao Cao's army seemed powerful, Yizhou was simply too vast, with too many mountain passes and strategic locations. Every place required troops to be deployed to guard it, which was like scattering a handful of sesame seeds on the ground, which would immediately disappear without a trace.

Therefore, it was already quite difficult for Jiange, with its relatively safe geographical location, to be able to accommodate two thousand soldiers from Hanzhong Commandery.

Previously, Li Dian had also worried that after He Qi besieged Zitong, he would send a light force north to launch a surprise attack on Jiange.

Normally, He Qi doing this would be tantamount to courting death.

After all, the side of Jiange facing Shu is notoriously easy to attack but difficult to defend. Even if you take it, Cao Cao's army can easily retake it, thus forcing yourself into a dead end with no way out.

But the current situation is quite different, since Jiameng Pass is still in the hands of the Left Army.
With the cooperation of Jiameng Pass, the raid on Jiange had sufficient support.

If the Left Guard Army succeeds, they can immediately join forces with Jiameng Pass to launch a pincer attack on Tianxiong Pass.

Tianxiong Pass was not particularly precipitous among the passes in northern Shu, and with the Left Guard Army of Jiange attacking from the rear, even with Cao Ding's several thousand troops stationed there, it would be difficult to hold it.

Li Dian was worried about this, which is why he warned Cao Ang, Li Zheng, the garrison of Jiange, and even Cao Ding of Tianxiong Pass.

The third point was a veiled suggestion that the rear was unstable. Li Dian argued that while the main force of the army was currently bogged down in Shu, the rear, though seemingly well-fortified, was actually already overstretched and insufficient. He advised Cao Ang to engage in a decisive battle as soon as possible, or else to abandon some counties and retreat to the Fucheng and Zitong line.

Li Dian's idea coincided with Sima Yi's.

After reading Li Dian's letter, Li Zheng was also in a dilemma.

Geographically speaking, Zitong is extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Not only is Zitong surrounded by water on three sides, with only the east side available for troop deployment, but Zitong can also use the Zitong River to divide the enemy, while reinforcements from the west bank continuously supply the city.

But the problem lies with the Zitong River.

The Shu army's navy was always small and never became a significant force.

Otherwise, Gan Ning wouldn't have been able to roam the Yangtze River with just over a hundred boats, and all of these boats were small.

This shows the weakness of the Shu navy.

After Zhao Wei raised his army, the Shu army's only navy was all gathered in Chengdu. Even the land forces were withdrawn from Zitong, so naturally no navy was left behind.

Hanzhong is no different from Shu, and there is no navy to speak of. Moreover, even if there were, the water system of Hanzhong and the water system of Shu were completely cut off after the Wudu earthquake, so even if there were a navy, it would not be able to enter Shu.

However, the invading Zuo Mu army was supported by an extremely powerful navy, with four or five hundred ships controlling the Zitong River like an ironclad fortress. Except for a few brave warriors who could sneak across at night, the river was completely blocked during the day.

At this point, all communication between Zitong and the west bank of the river was completely cut off, and reinforcements could no longer travel along the Jinniu Road to reach the west of Zitong City and then cross the river into the city. Currently, if the Sichuan reinforcements wanted to rescue Zitong, they had to first cross the Zitong River downstream and then head north.

This would drastically increase the risk to the reinforcements from Shu, and Li Zheng currently only has 6,000 troops at his disposal. If they were to cross the Zitong River and encounter a counterattack from He Qi, they might not even be able to protect themselves.

The only solution now is to request Cao Ang to send reinforcements immediately. Only after the reinforcements have joined forces can we send troops to rescue Li Dian. With this in mind, Li Zheng quickly wrote a letter and sent someone to Luocheng to present it to Cao Ang.

Just as Li Dian, Li Zheng, and others sensed the danger and repeatedly warned Cao Ang of the urgency, Wang Ping had already bypassed Zitong via a mountain path and quietly sneaked to a place twenty miles south of Jianmen Pass.

It wasn't that Wang Ping didn't want to move forward, but that moving forward would expose him.

As is well known, about three or four miles south of Jianmen Pass, there is a small, rectangular plain, roughly the size of four or five football fields, narrow from east to west and long from north to south. Jianmen Pass itself is quite small, and being sandwiched between the western pass, it has very little space to garrison troops and is not suitable for stationing a large army.

Therefore, the garrison at Jianmen Pass often stationed troops and cultivated the land on this plain to support the rotating garrison. At this time, more than 1,500 soldiers from Hanzhong were stationed here, and another 500 were stationed in the Jianmen Pass city.

After obtaining this intelligence, Wang Ping decided to launch a night raid to capture Jianmen Pass. He then assembled his Ba people officers and began assigning tasks.

After the distribution was completed, Wang Ping strictly ordered that no fires be lit, and the entire army ate dry rations and drank cold water while waiting for nightfall.

It was only mid-March, and although the weather was warming up somewhat, Jiange was located in the mountains at a high altitude, so the temperature was naturally lower. At this time, a bowl of hot water would undoubtedly be a great comfort to the soldiers' bodies and spirits.

Wang Ping was worried about being exposed, so he strictly forbade it. Fortunately, the Ba people had lived in the mountains for a long time, and they were given a lot of supplies for this trip. Each of them was even given a blanket to wrap themselves in. The Ba soldiers did not complain about the ban.

Soon, darkness fell, and lights were lit in the Hanzhong military camp in the distance, with dozens of wisps of smoke rising and carrying the faint aroma of rice.

Two more hours passed, and the camp of the Hanzhong army gradually quieted down, and the lights became sparse.

The night is as dark as ink and the mountain wind is howling.

Wang Ping crouched on a mountain ridge, his eyes scanning the Jianmen Pass South Plain below like a hawk's.

On the plains, the camps of the Hanzhong army were sparsely lit, with soldiers carrying torches patrolling between tents. They seemed to be doing their duty, but when Wang Ping saw such defenses, they were full of flaws.

"General, the scouts report that the main force of the Hanzhong army is stationed in the Pingyuan camp, with about 1,500 men, and another 500 men are stationed at the pass."

A Ba people scout quietly approached Wang Ping and reported in a low voice.

Wang Ping nodded slightly, his fingers gently stroking the short sword at his waist, a fierce blaze hidden deep in his eyes.

Liu Feng did not look down on him because of his status as a Ba people, but instead carefully cultivated and taught him. Now he has entrusted him with important responsibilities and given him the opportunity to make meritorious contributions. How could he not repay him with his life and a thousandfold gratitude?

"Pass down the order: the entire army shall rest until midnight, then divide into two groups—I will personally lead two thousand elite troops to directly attack the camp on the plain, while He Lan will lead one thousand men to ambush the mountain road leading to the pass, ensuring that not a single person escapes to the pass. After I break through the camp, we will join forces to seize the pass!"

"promise!"

The soldiers silently dispersed into the mountains and forests to rest.

Shortly after midnight, the Hanzhong army camp on the plains had fallen silent, with only a few patrolling soldiers still moving about.

Wang Ping personally led a thousand Ba soldiers out of the mountains from the east, while his cousin He Kui led a thousand men from the west. Another cousin, He Lan, led the remaining thousand men around the camp to the entrance of Jiange Road.

Under the cover of night, three thousand men moved silently.

"Fire arrows!"

At a command, dozens of arrows painted black shot out and accurately felled the sentries on the outskirts of the camp.

"Enemy attack——!"

Before a soldier from Hanzhong could even utter a sound, Wang Ping shot him through the throat with an arrow.

"kill!"

The Ba soldiers stormed into the camp like ghosts, their short swords, axes, and iron hooks gleaming coldly in the firelight. Caught off guard, the Hanzhong army suffered heavy casualties; many soldiers were cut down before they could even don their armor.

"Hold your ground! Form ranks!"

Wang Lu, the military commander of Hanzhong, rushed out of the main tent and shouted orders.

However, the Ba soldiers had already infiltrated the camp, setting fires everywhere, billowing thick smoke, and throwing the Hanzhong army into chaos.

Wang Ping locked his gaze on Wang Lu, sneered, and charged straight ahead with his sword, followed quickly by more than a hundred personal guards.

"You traitorous general, prepare to die!"

Wang Lu was shocked and hastily drew his sword to meet the attack. However, Wang Ping's swordsmanship was fierce, and within three moves, he severed Wang Lu's wrist. Then, with a single slash, Wang Lu screamed and fell to the ground, killed by Wang Ping's blade.

With their commander dead, the morale of the Hanzhong army completely collapsed, and they began to scatter and flee.

After capturing the camp, Wang Ping left He Kui to take over the defense of the camp and capture the scattered Hanzhong army soldiers, while he led his own 1,000 men to rush to the pass.

The camp on the plain south of Jianmen Pass is three or four miles away from the pass itself, most of which is on the plain, with only the last mile being the plank road leading to the pass.

After the camp was breached, many of the routed soldiers retreated toward the city gate.

Fortunately, He Lan had already successfully surrounded the enemy and wiped out these demoralized and desperate soldiers.

By the time Wang Ping arrived, the battle was already over.

Without taking a break, Wang Ping immediately joined forces with He Lan's troops and then marched straight to the pass via the plank road.

The Jianmen Pass is not a large city. Apart from a huge city gate and the gate tower on the gate, there are only some walls behind it, several corner towers, and a dozen or so small brick, stone and wood barracks below. The main garrison points in Guanzhong are also located in these places.

Because of the distance, and because the fortress is located between the Great Sword Mountain and the Small Sword Mountain, the mountain winds are extremely strong, especially at night, when they howl like thunder, so the battle cries from the plains cannot reach here at all.

Therefore, the Hanzhong garrison in the pass was still asleep at this time, and even the soldiers on night watch were dozing off while leaning against their posts.

Wang Ping's troops easily infiltrated the city. The Cong soldiers climbed the city walls like monkeys, with short knives in their mouths and their hands gripping the cracks in the stones, quickly scaling the walls.

Before long, the garrison on the city wall was either killed or captured.

By the time the south-facing city gate of Jianmen Pass was opened, the pass had already changed hands.

After the war, Wang Ping took stock of the personnel, weapons, supplies, warehouses and facilities, and was surprised to find that the camp south of Jianmen Pass not only had a large amount of food, weapons and other supplies stockpiled, but he also ran into a transport team from Hanzhong and seized a number of simple carts and mules that could travel on the Jinniu Road.

Even without these things, Wang Ping would still proceed with the next phase of his operational plan—namely, a surprise attack on the rear of Tianxiong Pass.

(End of this chapter)