All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 254 Tongguan
In midsummer the sun is scorching and the sky is like fire.

The lush green forest swayed left and right with the hot wind, and heat waves were faintly visible between the shadows.

In such weather, the famous Western Army general Zhong Shizhong, still wearing iron armor, patrolled the wall with a stern face.

After completing the inspection, he turned around and returned to his camp.

The bodyguards quickly stepped forward and took off his armor which was already hot from the sun.

As soon as he sat down, a group of staff quickly gathered around him.

"Sir, are there any loopholes in the city defense?"

In the Song Dynasty, the title of "Xianggong" was not used to address the husband, but a respectful title. Only those who entered the central government and were in charge of the east and west governments could be called Xianggong.

Later, as time went by, those political governors, that is, the deputies of the Xianggongs, were also called Xianggongs.

Later, the governor of a region was also called Xianggong.

Zhong Shizhong and his brother Zhong Shidao had both served as military envoys, so people respectfully called them "Little Zhong Jinglie Xianggong" and "Old Zhong Jinglie Xianggong".

"The defense of Tongguan is fine." Zhong Shizhong took a teacup and drank it, then heaved a sigh of relief. "What I'm worried about is Pujin Ferry."

Pujin Ferry is located dozens of miles north of Tongguan and is an important ferry crossing on the Yellow River.

Tongguan is located at the confluence of the Huang, Wei and Luo Rivers. It is backed by the Yellow River to the north and the Qinling Mountains to the south. There are overlapping mountains for more than a hundred miles from east to west, and the valleys are deep and the cliffs are steep.

"There is no room for carts on square tracks, and horses cannot be ridden side by side." The terrain is extremely dangerous and is a place that military strategists must fight for.

It is very difficult to break through Tongguan head-on.

However, the Puzhou Ferry to the north of Tongguan is a huge gap. As long as the troops cross the river from Puzhou Ferry, they can easily enter Guanzhong and bypass Tongguan.

"You don't have to worry, sir." An aide said with a smile, "With sir Yao and his son, leading the Xihe troops stationed at Pujin Ferry, the enemy troops will definitely not be able to get through."

Yao Gu, the governor of Xihe Road, and his son Yao Pingzhong were both famous generals of the Western Army, and their status and position were similar to those of the Zhong brothers.

"There was a letter sent to the interior this morning." Another staff member said, "Old General Zhong, who is in charge of Jingzhao, has dispatched Zhe Yanzhi and other troops to Pujindu to reinforce and ensure that nothing goes wrong."

The city of Bianliang fell, and the imperial court and government collapsed overnight.

Tong Guan, the nominal supreme commander of the Western Army, was far away in the southeast. Later, he suffered a great defeat in Huaixi and even lost his life.

There was chaos among the Western Army on the hills.

Fortunately, the Zhong brothers, Yao Gu and his son, and other generals who stayed behind gathered in Jingzhao Prefecture for discussion and recommended the highly respected Zhong Shidao as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, nominally commanding all troops.

It was because Chen Ran came too quickly. If he had waited for two more years, without the Western Army suppressing him, the various hilltops would have been in chaos and people would have been fighting each other.

At this time, the Song Dynasty, except for the areas controlled by Chen Ran and the areas controlled by Fang La and other rebel forces, had basically become a form of separatist regimes in various places.

According to the tradition of Middle-earth, whenever there are divisions in different places, heroes will inevitably rise up and try every means to annex each other until someone comes out to unify the world.

This is also Chen Ran's fault. If he had been willing to collude with the literati and continue to implement the rule that the emperor and the literati share the world, then almost every place would be ruled by a proclamation, and there would have been "peace under heaven" and a change of dynasties long ago.

But he refused to do so and instead massacred the scholars and officials, their foundations, and the gentry in various places.

They plundered property and materials, swallowed up fields, shops and properties, and even killed people and reduced them to slaves. This was to dig up the roots of the turbans.

If there is an irreconcilable conflict of interest with the literati, then the only option is to fight for the world all over again.

To get back to the topic, Zhong Shidao was stationed in Jingzhao Prefecture and arranged for his younger brother Zhong Shizhong to lead the Zhong family army, that is, the Qinfeng Road troops, to garrison Tongguan.

Faced with Chen Ran's invading army, Yao Gu and his son gave up the idea of ​​fighting and led the Yao family army, that is, the Xihe Road troops to garrison Puzhin Ferry.

In terms of military command ability, Zong Shidao had no problem. The key to entering Guanzhong lies in Tongguan and Pujindu.

As for Shangzhou and other places in the south, Chen Ran never sent any troops there, so naturally there was no need to pay attention to them.

"So good."

Master Zhong heaved a sigh of relief, but his expression remained solemn. “I just hope I can bear it.”

Regardless of whether they can withstand it or not, it will be difficult for the Western Army.

After all, the Western Army at this time is not the same Western Army as two years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers who were truly capable of fighting were almost all killed in Huaixi.

Although the remaining ones are still huge in number, their combat effectiveness and fighting will are far behind.

If they lose the battle, there is naturally nothing to say. Whether they die in battle or surrender, Chen Ran will never leave the Western Army, a military group that is dominated by aristocratic factions, and will definitely swallow it up in one gulp.

But what does it matter even if he wins? Chen Ran has countless people, wealth and food supplies. It doesn't matter if he can't attack. He can just drag it out with the Western Army.

But the Western Army can't afford to waste time.

Guanzhong is no longer the Guanzhong that was rich in resources during the Qin and Han dynasties.

Soil erosion, poor land, large-scale sheep farming, and a large population.

The food and grass here are simply not enough to feed such a large population, and in the past they had to rely on transporting supplies from Sichuan.

But at that time, the government offices in various parts of Sichuan and Shu were independent of each other and no one could provide resources.

To this end, Mr. Zhong has planned to go there in person to explain to the various separatist factions the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold when one is gone", and ask them to provide food and military pay.

However, Master Zhong was not optimistic about his brother's trip.

After all, people are short-sighted. Who would be willing to take out their own money and food to help others?
This is not just ten strings of coins or a hundred shi of money, it will require at least tens of millions of money and grain!
"We can't lose. If we lose, we'll lose everything." Zhong Shizhong sat on the chair, his eyes gradually becoming absent-minded. "We must win, and it must be a big win, or even annihilate or at least defeat Chen Ran's main force. Only then can we have a way out."

Dozens of miles away is Puzhou Ferry.

"It's useless to just defend the ferry." Yao Gu paced back and forth in his tent with his hands behind his back. "Even if they don't fight, they will station heavy troops in Hezhong Prefecture across the way. We can't retreat. We have to defend here all the time. How much money and food will be spent day by day? Guanzhong can't afford to delay."

"What do you think, father?" his adopted son Yao Pingzhong immediately said, "Are you planning to cross the river and attack us?"

"Right on my mind."

Yao Gu turned back to the table and pulled out the map to show, "Look, the Hezhong Prefecture on the other side is in chaos now. The bandit troops are ransacking homes everywhere, distributing land and houses to the peasants, and even holding grievance meetings, killing countless landlords and gentry families."

Their family was a general of the Western Army and occupied a large amount of land in Guanzhong.

According to Chen Ran's behavior, if he was allowed to attack Guanzhong, his house would be ransacked, and he would be taken to a meeting to appeal and be beheaded.

So even though he had the intention of competing with the Zhong brothers, he was cooperating wholeheartedly at this moment to fight against Chen Ran's threat.

However, Yao Gu did not want to follow Zhong Shidao's orders to go to war.

It is easy to defend Puzhou Ferry, but it is difficult for the enemy's large ships to cross the river in Shanzhou area.

Without enough boats, as long as we guard the pontoon bridge, no matter how many enemy troops there are, they can only watch.

"These bandits are very scattered. This is a good opportunity to defeat them one by one." Yao Gu's finger landed on Hezhong Prefecture on the map. "Let's cross the river and kill these 20,000 to 30,000 bandits first, inflicting heavy damage on them."

"After that, we will seize Hezhong Prefecture and transport the stored food and supplies back."

"Didn't Lao Zhong transfer Zhe Yanzhi and Fan Qiong to provide support? Then let them garrison Hezhong Prefecture."

"When the enemy army attacks, if they are strong, we will mainly harass them."

"If it comes with oil, then eat it bite by bite!"

"In short, we must destroy the bandit army as much as possible, or at least force them to retreat in large numbers. Otherwise, if the stalemate continues, people's livelihood in Guanzhong will inevitably decline."

The people that Yao Gu was talking about were not ordinary farmers. In his mouth, those farmers were called "mud legs".

The people he was referring to were wealthy landlords and local gentry who could pay taxes.

At this time, the food and wages of the Xihe Army were paid by the Yao family themselves.

After all, the imperial court was gone, so it was naturally impossible to transport food and wages.

Zhong Shidao was even more furious, and simply said, "There is nothing in Jingzhao Prefecture, food and wages, etc., you have to find a way yourself."

All the money consumed by so many soldiers and horses every day is the property of the Yao family.

If the reinforcements can gain a foothold in Hezhong Prefecture, he can reduce the supply of money and food.

So Yao Gu’s idea was very simple, to attack, grab a wave, betray his teammates, sell heads, take advantage, and wait for the opportunity.

All the generals in the account were either members of the Yao family or their trusted confidants, so naturally no one would object.

After deciding on a strategy, the Xihe Army quickly began to mobilize.

Two days later, tens of thousands of Xihe troops, under the cover of darkness, crossed the river and entered Hezhong Prefecture by pontoon bridges and boats.

Yao Gu dared to cross the river to grab a wave of enemies, and his confidence came from an important piece of news.

That was the bandit Chen Ran, who personally led the main force of the bandit army and stationed at the foot of Tongguan City.

The Xihe Army crossed the river under the cover of night. The scouts who had been lying in ambush nearby immediately set out on the road, rushing at full speed and quickly delivering the news to Yongle Town near Fenglingdu.

Chen Ran, who had been stationed here for a long time, stood up immediately and said, "As expected, they are here."

Chen Ran knows Yao Gu. He has average abilities but likes to take credit for things.

In the historical period of rescuing Taiyuan, he rushed forward to win the credit and was beaten to a bloody pulp. The second time, he simply betrayed his teammates and sold out the whole army of his division.

Deliberately scattering troops throughout Hezhong Prefecture was to give him the opportunity to cross the river and grab the credit.

Chen Ran quickly issued an order: "The entire army is dispatched, carrying only dry food, and marching north along the Yellow River."

The reason why I didn’t go to Fengling Ferry which was so close by, but went north to Puzhen Ferry.

That's because the Yellow River turns here, from flowing south to flowing east.

Fengling Ferry runs from north to south, and crossing the river south is right at the entrance to Tongguan.

After Puzhin Ferry, you will reach Tongzhou and Huazhou, and further west is Chang'an City, Jingzhao Prefecture.

The so-called main force under Tongguan City was mostly composed of new troops sent from training camps in various places.

Most of the elite veterans who had real combat experience were brought by Chen Ran to the north bank of the Yellow River to prepare for the attack on Puzhou Ferry.

He knew very well that even if he attacked Tongguan head-on, it might take several months to break through.

If they wanted to quickly attack Guanzhong, they had to follow the path that Prime Minister Cao took against Ma Chao and attack from the side by crossing the Puzhou Ferry.

Nearly 100,000 new recruits were mostly stationed on the line from Tongguan City to Guozhou and Shanzhou.

Only one group of new soldiers was different. They were specially transferred to the north bank and incorporated into Chen Ran's central army and set out together.

This group of new soldiers is called Xiangzhou Battalion!

(End of this chapter)