Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 444 Weak
As the night deepened, Bao City gradually became blurred in Sun Ce's eyes, with only a row of torches flickering on the city walls. In the dim light, Shanxi soldiers moved about on the city towers, some organizing their weapons, others repairing the towers.

The Shu soldiers gradually withdrew to their camps, leaving only a thousand men to guard Tushan to maintain a deterrent effect on Baocheng.

Han Dang's suggestion to build earthen mounds did indeed pose a significant threat to Shi Yi, as the Shu army, relying on the mounds, gradually approached the city walls. However, the soldiers inside the city were well-prepared and, by building high city towers, still maintained their superior position.

Under these circumstances, the generals of various tribes took turns leading their troops to attack the city, but because the Shu soldiers were not as fierce as the Long soldiers, they ultimately suffered heavy casualties and retreated in disarray, leaving behind their corpses. Fortunately, at least some soldiers managed to climb the city walls today, giving Sun Ce hope of breaching the city.

But seeing the hope of breaching the city also made Sun Ce realize the weakness of the Shu soldiers.

The soldiers from Hebei were far superior to the Shu soldiers in terms of combat strength and fighting spirit. If it were a battle of equal numbers, the Shu army would be no match for the Hebei troops.

"Xiaozhi, why do you think the Northern Army soldiers are so fierce?"

Sun Ce gazed at Bao City under the night sky and suddenly asked a question.

Fa Zheng pondered for a long time before saying, "Zhang Yu has long been stationed in Dai, constantly fighting with the Hu people, so his soldiers are fierce and brave. Since the chaos in the world, Zhang Yu raised an army in Shangdang, attacked the Bai Bo, pacified the Xiongnu, marched west to Guanzhong, and launched a distant campaign against Longyou, defeating all the powerful armies in the world and capturing the elite troops of the northern frontier. Therefore, his army is well-trained and his generals are brave. Looking at the world, no one can compare to him, and Yuan Shao was defeated because of this."

"Although the soldiers and generals are brave, they are still human beings after all. The reason why the Shu soldiers are weak is that they have little military experience and little training. If you can take Hanzhong this time, you should first gather troops and train them in military affairs before you can launch another northern expedition."

Besides the influence of the natural environment, the combat effectiveness of soldiers is also closely related to the generals, the military system, and their experience.

Not long after the Sun family conquered Ba and Shu, Sun Jian died in battle before establishing a proper system. Therefore, Sun Ce only hastily formulated relevant systems, such as allowing soldiers to be exempt from household taxes. As for the system of soldiers occupying land, Sun Ce did not have time to implement it.

The Shu army under Sun Ce, apart from the soldiers who entered Shu and became wealthy through their military achievements, received almost no benefits from the surrendered Shu soldiers, thus lacking motivation to fight.

Furthermore, the intensity of wars within the Sichuan Basin differed significantly from that in the Central Plains. A prime example is the presence or absence of large-scale cavalry deployments. Zhang Yu's various troops all had experience fighting cavalry, and Zhang's army even possessed a large number of cavalrymen.

In addition to the intensity of the wars, the Central Plains experienced even more frequent warfare, with almost no year passing without conflict, not to mention the small-scale conflicts at the local level.

Therefore, Sun Ce's biggest takeaway so far is that he underestimated the strength of Zhang Yu's troops. He never expected that three thousand men could withstand a siege of tens of thousands of his troops for over a month in a small city. Now, let alone his Shu soldiers, even the elite troops of Yuan Shu and Cao Cao are probably no match for Zhang Yu's forces.

Sun Ce nodded slightly and said with emotion, "The troops in Hanzhong are not a strong enemy. If it weren't for the city of Nanzheng, they would have fallen to me by now. On the other hand, the troops in the north are a formidable force. Fortunately, I did not rashly engage in battle with Zhang Yu."

As Sun Ce was talking, they suddenly heard hurried footsteps.

Sun Ce looked in that direction and saw Meng Da walking quickly towards him with a flustered expression.

"Zijing, what's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

Meng Da took a deep breath, bowed, and said, "My lord, the defeated troops at Tangkou have reported that the enemy launched a surprise attack on the Tangkou camp, and now the Northern Army is pouring into Hanzhong."

"what!"

Sun Ce's expression changed drastically, and he laughed angrily, saying, "Wasn't the enemy army supposed to enter Hanzhong through the Ziwu Pass? How come they're coming from the Tangluo Pass now? Why didn't the garrison soldiers and sentries notice? Where is the garrison commander?"

Inaccurate intelligence led Sun Ce to make the erroneous decision to deploy troops at the Ziwu Valley. Now, the enemy has entered Guanzhong via the Tangluo Road, how could Sun Ce not be furious? The four questions that follow clearly demonstrate Sun Ce's state of mind!

"My lord!"

Meng Da explained, “When the enemy on the Ziwu Road reached the halfway point, they were repairing the plank roads along the way, which we assumed was the vanguard of the main reinforcements. However, the Tangluo Road is rugged and full of mountains and forests. The enemy troops moved stealthily, and our sentries were either killed in the attack or failed to detect them, so we were unable to ascertain the enemy's movements.” “As for the garrison commander, according to deserters, he died in the chaos of battle.”

The generals under Zhang Yu each had their own distinct military styles. For example, Zhang Liao's style was swift and decisive, adept at seizing enemy weaknesses and striking them with lightning speed; Man Chong's style was more stable, skilled at utilizing terrain to maneuver the enemy and attack them one by one.

Xu Huang's military style was somewhere between that of Zhang Liao and Man Chong. Xu Huang marched swiftly, often sending scouts to the outer perimeter to spot enemy troops before they could engage in battle. However, in the midst of fighting, Xu Huang was more cautious, making thorough arrangements before deploying his troops.

Therefore, when Xu Huang led his troops to rescue Hanzhong, in order to catch the enemy off guard, in addition to sending troops out of the Ziwu Road to attract attention, he also sent out scouts disguised as refugees or mountain dwellers to explore dozens of miles ahead, and then the scouts would take care of the sentries set up in the mountain roads.

Having lost their eyes and ears, the Shu army at Tangkou was completely unaware that Xu Huang had led his troops to approach their camp. So at dawn, Xu Huang led his troops in a surprise attack. Caught off guard, the Tangkou camp was easily breached, and reinforcements poured into Hanzhong in droves.

Upon learning that another contingent of Zhang Yu's troops had broken through the defenses to reinforce the area, Sun Ce felt a surge of rage. He had painstakingly captured Yangping Pass, only to find himself unable to stop Zhang Yu's reinforcements. If the Tangluo Road troops were to establish a foothold, all his efforts would be in vain.

"How many enemy soldiers are there?" Fa Zheng asked. "Do you know the name of the enemy general?"

"We do not know the details of the military situation, but we have already deployed scouts to investigate. Among them, the enemy general is raising the banner of 'Xu', and there are also banners of generals such as 'Ke' and 'Guo'."

Meng Da said, "According to the rough account of the surrendered soldiers, the enemy's numbers should not be many, probably more than five thousand. If you can defeat the enemy in time, they will not be able to enter Hanzhong. After that, we can capture Baocheng, and once the heavy snow blocks the roads, Nanzheng will surrender, and Hanzhong can be taken!"

"I am willing to lead troops to Tangkou and defeat the enemy for you, my lord!" Huang Gai said with high morale, volunteering for the battle.

Sun Ce composed himself and said in a deep voice, "Zhang Yu has many fierce generals under his command. Ke is a Xianbei named Kebi, and the one who can command Kebi and whose surname is Xu is, as I expected, the great general Xu Huang."

"Zhang Yu has now dispatched a strong and brave army to reinforce us; these are his elite troops. If we do not exert our full strength to subdue them and instead send ordinary soldiers, we fear we will be defeated in this battle!"

"Does Your Excellency intend to personally lead the troops?" asked the veteran general Zu Mao.

Sun Ce placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, looked at the generals on either side, and said, "If I do not lead my elite troops to defeat the enemy this time, no one will be able to shoulder this heavy responsibility!"

Since the outcome of this matter was crucial, Sun Ce dared not entrust the task to his generals; he had to personally lead the troops this time.

"Your Excellency is leading your army eastward. I wonder who will be left to guard Baocheng, and how many troops will you be leading?" Fa Zheng asked.

Sun Ce pondered for a moment and said, "To prevent the troops of Nanzheng from supporting the enemy, the main camp will send 5,000 troops to Xu Kun, while I will lead 10,000 elite troops to Tangkou. General Huang will lead the remaining troops to guard the city, and we will build a siege around the city tomorrow."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

Although Sun Ce had 50,000 to 60,000 troops, less than half were elite soldiers. Dividing his forces to defend the various sieges would reduce his numbers by several thousand, leaving him with 50,000 men available. He would leave 20,000 troops to besiege Nanzheng, while Sun Ce would lead 30,000 to besiege Baocheng. Of these 30,000 troops, it was impossible to send them all out to attack Xu Huang; they would need to be stationed elsewhere.

Considering the possibility that Xu Huang might contact Zhang Lu, Sun Ce had to transfer 5,000 troops to Xu Kun to strengthen the siege of Nanzheng. To defeat Xu Huang's forces stationed at Tangkou, Sun Ce needed to lead 10,000 elite troops to ensure victory. To prevent the Shi Yi rebels in Baocheng, or rather, to continue the siege of Baocheng, Sun Ce left 15,000 elderly and weak men there, with Huang Gai in charge of the main camp.

After Sun Ce had made the arrangements, Fa Zheng advised, "Zhang Yu's elite troops are mostly equipped with horses, and Xu Huang is a famous general in Zhang Yu's army, so he must have a lot of cavalry under his command. His cavalry is renowned throughout the land, and even the soldiers of Guanzhong and Longxi dare not stand against his might. Now that you are going to attack Xu Huang, you should pay close attention to the enemy's cavalry."

"I have my own strategy to defeat the enemy!" Sun Ce said confidently.

(End of this chapter)