Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3404 The Farthest Point

Since I arrived at the front line, my mind has actually still been a little dazed.

  He didn't expect that even though he had intentionally concealed his identity, he would be recognized by General Fei Qian so quickly!

Even though he had been prepared for his identity to be revealed, it happened too quickly.

  Is it because there are people around the Cavalry who know him?

Or because...

I never couldn't help but sigh.

He abandoned his original surname simply because it had fallen into disrepute. Even if he kept his original surname, it would not necessarily bring any benefits. Instead, it would add many disadvantages. It was better to remain anonymous.

This kind of behavior is very common in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, the saying "You can't change your name or surname" was only promoted among the "heroes" and "knights" after the household registration system was strengthened. As for why it was said at that time, most people didn't dare to ask, and even if they thought of it, they didn't dare to say it.

After arriving at the front line, Cong Lai was of great help to Xu Chu and others. After all, Xu Chu and others were not familiar with the terrain here, and were relatively unfamiliar with Hedong and Heluo. Cong Lai had traveled all the way from Heluo to Hedong. He not only stayed in Anyi camp, but also stayed in Zhongtiaoshan camp for a period of time. So after he arrived at the scene, he proposed a new plan.

Qin Shihuang built a road to connect the north, which is the main passage of Zhongtiao Mountain today. This road is wide, solid, and easy to walk on. It can accommodate carriages and heavy objects. It is the main road connecting Heluo and Hedong. Therefore, the main defense system of Cao's army is built on this passage. There are heavy troops stationed, and there are all kinds of equipment and traps. It is difficult to succeed by force attacking this road. Once the cavalry soldiers consume too much power in the attack on Zhongtiao Mountain Camp, they will inevitably lose the follow-up to Shandong.

Moreover, the land of Suanzao had been completely destroyed by the coalition forces last time. If the Hussars wanted to cross Heluo and enter Shandong, the supply line would be the next serious problem they had to consider. Once the supply line was destroyed, even if the Hussars reached Shandong, they would inevitably face failure.

He proposed a strategy that neither Xu Chu nor Sima Yi had thought of.

  Yuban Road!

Perhaps this road is not as famous as the Eight Jings of Taihang Mountains, but it was a very important road in the Spring and Autumn Period and even earlier in ancient times.

Because there are salt ponds formed by ancient geological movements in Yuncheng, the primitive natural formation and convenient collective fishing mode were adapted to the low productivity at that time when the Huaxia tribes were thriving. Salt is important, but it cannot be eaten, so people here began to form trade and began to move out of the mountains.

It is said that the root cause of the conflict between Yanhuang and Chiyou was salt.

Chiyou occupied the salt pond, and then raised the price without increasing the quantity, which gradually aroused the resentment of the surrounding tribes. The Yellow Emperor tribe, which came from the Weihe Plain, expanded eastward along the Yellow River and occupied the Luohe Plain. After establishing its capital in Xinzheng, it joined forces with the Yan Emperor tribe to cross the Yellow River and the ancient road, and fought the first recorded battle in Chinese history, the "Battle of Zhuolu", defeating the Chiyou tribe and occupying the Hedong Salt Pond.

  From this perspective, are Yanhuang the "invaders" or the "rebels"?

Later, there were some myths and legends saying that Yanhuang killed Chiyou, and Chiyou's blood flowed into the salt pond, and "the blood in the pond turned into brine."

  So the marinade should actually be called "Chiyou blood marinade"?

In the Zhongtiao Mountains in the southeast of the Yuncheng Basin, there is a low place with a thin mountain called "Boshan". The height difference between the mountain pass and the top of the mountain is also relatively low. Since ancient times, a natural trail has been formed from the salt pond to the Dahe Ferry, and then to the Luohe Plain. After continuous excavation and construction during the Tang Yao period, it eventually became a major trade route, and Anyi became the imperial capital of Yao, Shun and Yu.

It is also the birthplace of Xia and Shang dynasties.

During the reign of Wu Ding, Fu Yue, the first sage in China, invented the art of block-building when he was repairing the Yuban Ancient Road in Yuyan. He was highly valued by the King of Shang, which led to the "Wu Ding Restoration" in history. Later, as a large amount of salt from Hedong was transported southwards through the "Yu State", the ancients called the section from the north entrance of Zhongtiao Mountain to the Yellow River Ferry the Yuban Salt Road.

And among the Yuban Road, the most important one is Suoyang Pass!

Suoyang Pass is the narrowest part of the ancient Yuban Salt Road. It is an important military pass built on cliffs and deep ravines.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, Suoyang Pass was the boundary between the states of Yu and Jin. Later, Duke Xian of Jin used the Yuban Pass to attack the state of Guo and destroyed the state of Yu, leaving behind idioms such as "using Yu to attack Guo". What is often suggested today is to raid Suoyang Pass and march to the Yuban Pass!

If this strategy is successful, once we break through Suoyang Pass, we can move to Heluo and even have a chance to block Cao Cao directly on Zhongtiao Mountain!

Even if this strategy fails, it can still draw in Cao's army, forcing them to send troops to garrison Suoyang Pass, thereby weakening the strength of Cao's army camp in Zhongtiao Mountain, laying a foundation for Fei Qian's direct attack on the Zhongtiao Mountain camp in the next stage!

This strategy has always been risky and unconventional.

This may be related to the fact that it has always been a side track.

Obviously, the key to this strategy is to occupy Suoyang Pass.

  After occupying the Suoyang Pass on the Yuban Road, even if they fail to capture Heluo, they can still retreat to Hedong to continue fighting with Cao's army. In this way, the danger will not be very great, and it will not bring too many losses. More importantly, it can mobilize Cao's army!

Even if they did not take any action after capturing Suoyang Pass, Cao's army would have to be led by the nose. Not only would there be an additional window for attacking Cao's army, but there would even be the possibility of a direct threat to Cao's rear.

Xu Chu said directly that this plan was good, but the risk was too high.

But there is always a reason.

  He always said that the purpose of the general attacking Cao Cao was for Cao Cao? After defeating Cao Cao, what happened next?

Such a simple question made Xu Chu and Sima Yi ponder.

  Cao Cao is not the end, the world may be a temporary end. If the cavalry is to finally take over the world, isn't Heluo, located in the middle of the world, important? Can occupying Heluo be considered as having Heluo? So, will Cao's army easily give up Heluo?

He always said it with absolute certainty, "The Cao thief must be relocating the people of Heluo now!"

The defeat of Cao's army was a matter of time, but the people of Heluo had to bear the consequences of that time...

Before Dong Zhuo, Heluo was the capital of the world and the most prosperous region in the entire Han Dynasty. But now, after experiencing several catastrophes, it has been reduced to a place where people stand on the street and anyone can have sex with it.

The army marched to the Yuban Road to lock Yangguan Pass, which at least gave the people of Heluo some hope. If the Hussars took over Heluo in the future, the people of Heluo would also be more or less grateful for this friendship.

Moreover, although the Yuban Road is a radical move, it is also very powerful. If the Yuban Road is really taken, even if Cao Cao is not besieged, the cavalry can be quickly sent to the battlefield of Heluo through the Yuban Road, and they can also kill all the way to Yanzhou and Yuzhou. Are the people of Shandong afraid? !

By then, even if Cao Cao was in Zhongtiao Mountain or retreated to the Tongguan camp, he would be like a duckweed that had lost its roots. Even if he had more soldiers, how could he hold on?

Sima Yi had been listening the whole time, without giving any comments midway. When Xu Chu had finished speaking and was even somewhat moved, Sima Yi slowly said, "Captain Cong... so your last name is not Cong? Are you from Heluo?"

He was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "To be honest, I am from Heluo. As for my original surname... it's better not to mention it."

Sima Yi nodded, "In that case, why not attack from all three directions at once?"

"Three routes?" Xu Chu asked, "Where do we get so many troops?"

Sima Yi smiled, "I will return to Puban immediately, and lead the original troops with Hao Bodao as the eastern route. General Xu and Lieutenant Li will remain in the middle route, and we only need to divide some troops and let the Lieutenant lead a small force to Yuban Road as the western route. The number of troops is not important, but the strength. If the weakness can be broken, then it is time to turn the weakness into strength! After three days, use the beacon fire as a signal, and attack together!"

Xu Chu frowned and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "That's it!"

……

……

Youzhou.

Yanshan battlefield.

Because of Huang Si's escape at the last minute, the originally planned second line of defense collapsed directly. Zhang He quickly took his troops to occupy the two counties of Xixi and Guangping, and stayed there for a while to make some adjustments and contact Zhao Yun's headquarters.

Of course, if Zhang He pursued Cao Chun recklessly at this time, he might be able to catch up with the fleeing Cao Chun and kill or capture him before he entered Yuyang City, which would greatly speed up the progress of the Battle of Youzhou.

It’s a pity that Zhang He didn’t have a pair of God’s eyes, nor did he have the keyboard and claws of a keyboard warrior, so he chose a safer way to consolidate the route he had obtained and wait for follow-up.

Zhao Yun led most of the central army, passed through the Gubeikou mountain road in Yanshan, joined forces with Zhang He, advanced to the city of Yuyang, and launched an attack on Yuyang.

In the entire Youzhou, there are only three key points where Cao's army is stationed: Yuyang, Jixian, and Yijing.

Although Gongsun had been destroyed in Liaodong, Cao's army only sent a few troops to garrison and claim sovereignty, without many troops. Yuyang and Jixian can be regarded as the focus of the entire Youzhou, while Yijing is relatively remote. As a support and reserve force, it also shoulders the responsibility of transporting grain and fodder from Jizhou to Youzhou and transferring supplies.

After Cao Chun's failed attempt to march into the desert last year, he used the entire winter to strengthen the defense in Youzhou. Especially in Yuyang, he deployed a lot of heavy city defense equipment and stored a large amount of food and supplies. This also created certain favorable conditions for Cao Chun to hold on to Yuyang City.

Zhao Yun launched several exploratory attacks, but because Yuyang's defense was well prepared and had a large number of heavy defensive equipment, he lost some men and horses, so he had to temporarily stop the attack and besiege the city to wait for a turnaround.

Zhao Yun himself led an army of 10,000 to block outside Yuyang, and sent Zhang He with 5,000 cavalry to operate outside the city of Yuyang.

In this way, Zhao Yun divided the troops into two parts. One part was to move from Yuyang through Xixi, Guangping, to Gubeikou area to ensure the safety of the army's food and rear routes; the other part, led by Zhang He, was divided into small groups, with a team of a hundred cavalrymen, and they roamed day and night in the hills and plains between Yuyang and Jixian, frequently attacking Cao's food transport teams and the camps set up by Cao's army, making Cao's soldiers nervous, exhausted, and their morale gradually low.

At the same time, the troops near Yuyang were not idle either. They took advantage of the late autumn to cut down trees, build siege weapons, and hammer rocks to make stone bombs.

Cao Chun in Yuyang City also saw Zhao Yun's move of making the catapult.

Someone suggested sending troops to destroy the place where Zhao Yun manufactured catapults and delay the progress of Zhao Yun's siege equipment. Cao Chun was somewhat tempted at first, but when he saw that Zhao Yun's cavalry were always on the battlefield with their spears in hand, he finally gave up the idea.

You can organize a suicide squad once or twice, but it is impossible to do it three or four times.

An army without faith cannot even organize a suicide squad and can only be imagined in movies and TV.

  Cao Chun could certainly organize a suicide squad charge and carry kerosene for a suicidal attack, but could destroying Zhao Yun's siege equipment manufacturing site rewrite the entire course of the battle?

Obviously impossible.

In the midst of hesitation and confusion, Cao Jun watched helplessly as Zhao Yun set up a catapult position under Yuyang City...

When Zhao Yun's catapults were erected under Yuyang City, Cao Chun suddenly realized that these catapults seemed to be one size bigger?!

There weren't many catapults under the city, but they were neatly arranged. Compared with the catapults on top of Yuyang City, they seemed to be more "robust"...

Sorry, Cao Chun doesn't know what diameter is, nor does he know what a sling is, let alone understand the principle of leverage, but just look at this head...

  Cao Chun looked down at the city, then turned around and looked up at the city. He felt like a small witch meeting a big witch!

Far below the city, in addition to some slow horses, one could also see some cavalrymen temporarily forming a carriage out of several war horses, driving and dragging baggage carts to transport stone bullets.

War horses have bad tempers and don't like to do such heavy work, so the cavalry masters have to coax them and give them some sweet words from time to time. Even so, it is only temporary. The main force of transportation is still the long-haired horses that Zhao Yun brought from the northern border. They work diligently and will drag the horses even if they don't need sweet words.

However, these slow horses are also responsible for transporting supplies back and forth from outside Gubeikou. Now the transportation capacity is insufficient, so Zhao Yun has transferred some war horses to urgently supplement the transportation capacity and ensure the transportation of stone bullets.

"Where are our stone cannons?" Cao Chun shouted, "Smash them for me!"

The leader in charge of the catapults lowered his head, "General, this... this is too far away, we can't hit it..."

"Can't hit it?" Cao Chun was a little stunned, and even gestured, "What do you mean? We are on the top of the city, and we can't hit it...?"

The leader had a sad face and pointed at some stone bullet debris under the city. "Look, General, those are the stone bullets we threw out two days ago... The farthest one reached over there... and they are there..."

"What?" Cao Chun stared at him with wide eyes, "Why? Could it be that Zhao Zilong attacked just to find out our range? No, no! Since we can't hit these stone cannons, then these stone cannons can't hit us either! Right?"

The chief still had a sad face and remained silent, not answering.

In fact, when the leader first saw the prototype of what Zhao Yun was building, he knew that the situation was not good. He suggested to Cao Chun that they raid Zhao Yun's construction site, but Cao Chun thought it was unnecessary. But he couldn't say that all of Cao's stone cannons and catapults were inferior goods...

After all, Cao's army's standardization process could not be achieved in one day, so during the manufacturing process of the catapults, some parts were not as good here, and some parts were not as good there, so naturally there were quite a few differences in the final assembly.

Cao Chun was about to say something when he suddenly heard trumpets and drums blasting outside the city, like a violent hurricane sweeping through Yuyang City, shaking the earth and heaven.

"They are going to throw stones!"

"Get out of the way!"

Even the warning gongs seemed to tremble.

The sound of war drums and trumpets outside the city became more and more intense, as if they were going to directly break down the gate of Yuyang City.

The city of Yuyang trembled in this torrent of sound and groaned in the impact.

The drumbeats became more and more intense, like a landslide.

As the war drums sounded, stone bullets flew into the air. The sharp sound of friction in the air sounded like a taunt, mocking the Yuyang City.

  These stone bullets rushed into the sky, and then under the eyes of everyone, they slowly rose to the highest point, becoming a small black dot, and then fell from the sky like thunder, smashing heavily into Yuyang City!

"boom! 』

"boom! boom! 』

All the meteors fell on Yuyang City.

At this moment, the walls of Yuyang City began to tremble and shake, like a wounded beast, and let out a shrill howl.

The city gate tower on top of Yuyang City was the first to be hit and suffered a devastating blow.

The stone bullets that fell from the sky carried huge kinetic energy and potential energy, easily piercing through the roof of the city gate tower and destroying the beams and columns. Soon the city gate tower creaked and finally collapsed amid flying bricks, wood and rubble.

On the Yuyang City Wall, the temporarily installed horse-faced armor was unable to withstand the attacks of stone bullets due to its weak supporting points and insufficient thickness. After being hit by three or two bullets, it would begin to shake and then fall down the city wall together with the next stone bullet.

The tools, items, and sheds piled up on the top of the city walls were all made of wood and were basically vulnerable. Once hit by stone bullets, they would basically break and fly into pieces, turning into scattered wood fragments.

The only thing that could hold on was the city wall of Yuyang.

However, the outer wall had suffered so much from the trauma of the war that even though Cao Chun had repaired a lot of it, its structure was no longer intact. Under the bombardment of stone bullets, many of the blue bricks on the outer wall collapsed and fell off, revealing the rammed earth layer inside, like a cracked wound.

As a stronghold for resisting foreign invasions from the north since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the city wall of Yuyang is almost the pinnacle work of this era. The rammed earth is solid and the stones are neatly laid out. Even after experiencing wind, frost, rain, snow, and war, the city wall of Yuyang still protects all living things within the city wall as much as possible, just like a mother instinctively using her arms to protect her children, no matter whether the children are well-behaved or naughty, stupid or smart, even if they are covered in scars and blood.

"Fight back!" Cao Chun hid under the battlements of the city wall and grabbed the leader of the catapults. "Fight back! Do you hear me?! Fight back no matter what! Otherwise, I'll chop off your head first!"

The leader had a sad face, "General! I, I...how about changing to lighter stone bullets, maybe I can throw them farther..."

"Then hurry up!" Cao Chun yelled.

While the catapults outside the city were loading the second round of stone bullets, the leader fled away in panic, covering his head.

Cao Chun lay on the edge of the battlement, half of his head exposed, looking at the busy cavalry in the distance outside the city, and felt a chill in his heart...