Han officials

Chapter 162 First Ascent【4K】

In the third month of the spring of the first year of Zhongping, flags were fluttering outside Ao Cang City.

Looking at the huge Wei army camps outside the city, many defenders on the city walls were pale and trembling.

But in view of Xu Rong's defeat of Cao Cao's troops last month, Ao Cang Ling could only suppress the fear in his heart.

"Quick, prepare the pounding stones, golden juice, and rolling logs."

I saw Ao Cang Ling Ma Hong running around on the city wall with a nervous look on his face.

Even without waiting for the Wei army to start attacking the city, he was so afraid that he forced the young and strong men in the city to guard the city.

But even so, there were only more than 3,000 guards on the city wall of Ao Cang.

It’s not that Ma Hong doesn’t want to continue conscripting men, but there are simply not that many young and strong men in the city.

Unlike other cities in Henan Yin territory, Ao Cang is actually not a living city.

Ao Cang, Ao Cang, means it is a warehouse city.

Almost everyone in this city serves for warehousing, transportation, and guarding.

It is precisely because of this that the population in Ao Cang City often fluctuates greatly.

For example, during busy times of canal transportation, tens of thousands of young and strong people would often gather here.

But if the canal transport is idle, the number of people in the city will drop sharply.

Especially after Dong Zhuo transferred the grain stored in Ao Cang to Luoyang and Chang'an, there were even fewer people in this city.

Moreover, since Ao Cang is located in the north of the Yellow River, and is located in Taohua Valley in the Sanhuang Mountains on the river bank, Ao Cang does not have the conditions for self-sufficiency, and most of its supplies have to be transported from outside.

Under such circumstances, Ao Cang Ling was still able to gather more than 3,000 people, which was already enough to recruit soldiers from all walks of life.

……

At the same time, under the city of Ao Cang.

Looking at the Cangcheng at the foot of the mountain, Wei Zhe couldn't help but shook his head with emotion.

This is probably the smallest city Wei Zhe has seen since he entered Henan Yin, only about a mile in radius.

But think about it, Ao Cang is called a city, but in fact it is just a large warehouse.

If it weren't for Ao Cang's special geographical location, Wei Zhe would have no need to attack this place at all.

Because the neighboring county of Xingyang is much richer than Ao Cang.

If it was for replenishing supplies, it would be more cost-effective for Wei Zhe to attack Xingyang City than Ao Cang. After all, Ao Cang was just a storage base under the jurisdiction of Xingyang County... and it was empty.

But then again, when it comes to reputation in the world, Ao Cang is much better than Xingyang.

You should know that after the First Emperor unified China, he began to build warehouses and store grain in Aoshan, and that’s how Ao Cang came into being.

When Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were fighting for the world, they fought over Ao Cang for several years.

It can even be said that it was Liu Bang's firm occupation of Ao Cang that laid the foundation for victory.

The stored grain in Ao Cang is one aspect, and the unique geographical location of Ao Cang is another key factor.

Even in the Qin Dynasty and even the early Han Dynasty, Ao Cang could be said to be "the safety of the world depends on his own life"!
Because to the east of Ao Cang is the vast Guandong countries, and to the west of Ao Cang all the way to Hangu Pass are mountains with peaks and valleys. The "Guohan Ancient Road" of more than 200 miles between Hangu Pass and Tongguan is "with hills and mountains piled up one after another, stretching endlessly. You have to walk through the valleys all day long, with no tracks for horses to ride!" You can imagine how difficult it is to travel through the mountains and rivers west of Ao Cang.

If Hulao Pass is the eastern barrier of Guanzhong, then Ao Cang is the eastern gate of this barrier.

So the significance of Ao Cang is not what is inside, but that it is there!
And since King Hui of Wei dug the Honggou Canal, Ao Cang on the Yellow River has become a waterway hub.

Whether it was the Qin Dynasty or the Western Han Dynasty, this waterway from Chang'an into the Wei River, from the Wei River into the Yellow River, and then through Sanmen and Mengjin to Ao Cang was the lifeline of the entire dynasty.

The Honggou Canal connected the Yellow River waterway after Ao Cang with the Jishui, Sishui, Yingshui, and Huaishui rivers, forming a vast Huanghuai waterway transportation network. Ao Cang was located at the throat of this waterway transportation network. If Ao Cang was cut off, the Huanghuai River and the Huaihe River would be difficult to connect. Therefore, whether by water or land, Ao Cang was actually a hub connecting Guanzhong and the Central Plains.

People in later generations only knew that there was canal transportation during the Sui, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, but they did not know that canal transportation had already existed as early as the Qin and Han dynasties.

After Liu Bang established Chang'an as the capital, he relied on this huge water transportation network to transport food and supplies from the nine provinces of the world to Chang'an, so that he could control Guanzhong and balance the world.

As the hub of the water transport network, Ao Cang undoubtedly became a transit station for grain transport.

In the past, during times of peace, the weak water transport capacity of the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River often caused grain ships to be stranded. Therefore, the court would generally choose Ao Cang to unload grain and temporarily store it, and then transport it again when the waterway was unblocked. It could also be transported to Luoyang or Chang'an by land.

If there is any change in the world, we can use the grain in Ao Cang and the soldiers in Guanzhong to march east to pacify the world!
It’s a pity that after Emperor Guangwu established the country, he chose Luoyang as the capital for various reasons. Compared with Chang’an, Ao Cang was not as important to Luoyang.

After all, as long as Hangu Pass was not lost and Ao Cang was still there, Chang'an would be as stable as Mount Tai.

But now Luoyang is the "capital of eight passes", and its defense system is network-like rather than linear. Defense in every direction is very important, and Ao Cang is at most one of the many passes guarding Luoyang, and it is even ranked outside the eight passes. Naturally, the military value of Ao Cang is greatly reduced.

Of course, no matter how outdated Ao Cang is, it still has strategic value.

……

At three quarters past noon, as the sun became brighter and brighter, the sound of continuous drums finally rang out from under Ao Cang City.

Wei Zhe also brought Taishi Ci, Zhong Hu and others to the high platform to overlook the entire battlefield.

As one troop after another came out of the camp gate and formed up in the open space between the two camps, Wei Zhe did not waste any time and issued the order to attack cleanly and neatly.

However, the protagonist here was not the Liaodong Army, but the "Jingnan Yicong" as the main force in the siege.

It’s not that I want to use them as cannon fodder, but if they want to become veterans, they must go through the trials of the battlefield.

In fact, this group of "Jingnan Yicong" were not bad in terms of individual soldier quality. In fact, the proportion of those who could recognize people and read was much higher than that of the Liaodong Yicong.

But private fighting and a battle involving tens of thousands of people are completely different concepts.

There are many things that the military officers don't need to explain too much; they will naturally understand them when they come down from the battlefield.

This is the most dangerous method of training troops, but also the most efficient method.

But they have no choice at the moment, and Wei Zhe has no choice either.

Because he needed this Jingnan volunteer army to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, he could bear greater casualties for this.

Xi Zhicai was clear about this, as were Zhong Hu and Taishi Ci.

So under the bright spring sunshine, groups of volunteers from various counties in Henan Province were seen silently forming a line outside the city wall like puppets, holding large shields, spears, and bows. The whole process was boring, but it made the guards on the city walls feel a chill down their spines.

During this period, there were soldiers who were driven by their passion and subconsciously wanted to do something, or wanted to say something anxiously, but without exception, they were stopped by a look from the sergeant or the squad leader.

After a few days of short training, they have used whips to teach the new recruits what military discipline is like.

This is the benefit of having a large number of experienced grassroots military officers. Their presence directly raises the lower limit of the army.

Under the strict constraints of military orders, Taishi Ci led the right army of Jingnan to attack the east city of Ao Cang, and Zhong Hu led the left army of Jingnan to attack the west city of Ao Cang. A battle between ants began.

As for Wei Zhe's Liaodong Army, they were also not idle. Although they were not the ones to launch the main attack, they could still make some feint attacks. They would not just stand by and watch the show.

"The general is here!"

"You will lead 6,000 infantry and cavalry to feint an attack on the south gate. Just keep the pressure on."

"I will obey your orders!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yi and others immediately took the order and left without hesitation.

In troubled times, people are like grass, and military generals are indifferent to everything, including their own lives.

Fortunately, there is the Yellow River to the north of Ao Cang, otherwise Wei Zhe would have to arrange a feint attack with his troops.

After all, it takes time to surround three enemies and miss one. For Ao Cang's situation, just use a saturation attack.

……

At the same time, the sound of arrows breaking through the air could be heard over the moat of Ao Cang East City.

A pile of corpses were floating on the dirty and turbid moat, both those of the enemy and those of their own.

Screams and screams of pain rang out one after another, and some recruits were so scared that they turned around and ran away. Then... they were beheaded by the supervision team after just a few steps, and died a worthless death.

But deserters are a minority after all, and most recruits just cower in fear.

However, under the encouragement of the military officers, they still followed the training formation, holding large shields, trying their best to block the arrows shot from the front and from above.

When they heard the dense "thump thump" sounds coming from the shields, they felt a rare sense of relief despite their fear. Of course, some recruits were so scared that they wet their pants.

However, bravery and wetting your pants are not contradictory. Wetting your pants did not prevent them from rushing out with sandbags on their backs and throwing them into the moat while roaring.

As one trench-filling vehicle after another was pushed into the moat, the road was finally filled up. Tens of thousands of Jingnan volunteers quickly reached the foot of Ao Cang City, and then began to swarm like ants.

However, compared to filling the moat, ant-like siege is more dangerous, especially the soldiers on the ladders, who are all given special attention without exception.

Dozens of ladders that had just been set up were knocked down in the blink of an eye. In just a moment, the casualties of the Jingnan Yicong exceeded one hundred, but at this point they had forgotten their fear.

Like fear and excitement, you'll become numb after a while.

When the soldiers became numb to fear, killing became a subconscious obsession.

However, the Jingnan volunteers who attacked the city suffered heavy casualties, and the defenders on the city walls were not much better off.

Taishi Ci and Zhong Hu took full advantage of the high quality of the individual soldiers of the Jingnan Volunteers and each organized more than 2,000 archers to provide protection under the city.

As wave after wave of arrows fell, the guards who were leaning out from the top of the city wall fell down from time to time.

Especially those young and strong people who had no experience in defending the city suffered the heaviest casualties.

But even so, Ao Cang Ling could only grit his teeth and persevere.

Because his entire family was in Chang'an, if he surrendered, his entire family would be executed.

It’s a pity that the Jingnan volunteers under the city did not understand his difficulties.

"Get out of the way!" Under the city wall, a young man with a crazy look and red eyes was seen. He roared and rushed up carrying a round shield. In just a moment, he climbed to the end of the ladder.

However, at this moment, a scarred guard on the top of the city wall also discovered him, and immediately raised a rolling stone and prepared to throw it down. Seeing this, a middle-aged man under the city wall immediately threw the spear in his hand with all his strength, hitting him in the face.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the young man climbed up the wall like a monkey and engaged in a melee among the defenders. He was not very strong, but he just couldn't stand it. He was as agile as a fox and held on until the subsequent soldiers climbed up the city.

Seeing this, Wei Zhe on the platform immediately became interested.

"Who is this person?"

To Wei Zhe's surprise, Shi Yi only took a quick look and replied, "Your Excellency, the first one to ascend was Yangwu Mao Kun, followed closely by his elder brother Mao Xiong and his younger brother Mao Kuan."

The reason why Shi Yi remembered it so clearly was because the Mao family in Yangwu County was a rare family that joined the army as a whole.

Therefore, even though Mao was just a local martial emperor and a powerful country tyrant, Shi Yi was still deeply impressed.

Seeing Shi Yi's words, Wei Zhe smiled with satisfaction and said:
"Order the whole army to roll out the names of the troops. Promote the Sima of the other division and reward him with a hundred gold coins."

Upon hearing this, the messengers immediately ran back and forth in Ao Cang City, shouting:

"The first one to ascend is Yangwu Maokun!"

"Jin Biebu Sima, reward 100 gold!"

As loud roars rang out all around, the attack on Ao Cang City became more and more intense.

The three brothers Mao Kun, Mao Xiong and Mao Kuan on the city wall were even more excited and happy when they heard this.

Mao Kun, covered in blood, grinned and said, "Brother, it's time to stand out!"

"Hahaha~" Mao Xiong just laughed when he heard that, and then rushed out like a bear.

Seeing this, the Mao clan members and family soldiers behind him also pounced on him with ferocious smiles.

Unlike the Shi clan of Yanshi, the Mao clan of Yangwu actually had no deep blood feud with the Dong army.

Because it was far away from Luoyang, and the martial spirit was prevalent in the clan, and there were fortresses guarding the area, the Yangwu Mao clan did not suffer much damage in this turmoil.

Therefore, they joined the army this time purely for the purpose of making a name for themselves.

There was no way. There were too many dignitaries in Luoyang, and Yangwu Mao was tired of being ordered around and bossed around.

However, despite her fertility and fondness for fighting, Mao lacked any talent for literature. Therefore, until the generation of Mao Kun, she remained a minor tyrant. If Cao Cao had been able to hold out longer and win a few more battles, perhaps Mao would have joined the army.

But then again, this kind of thing of risking one's life for wealth is very normal nowadays.

For example, under the stimulation of the Mao brothers, in just a short while, more and more Jingnan volunteers attacked the top of Ao Cang City.

When he saw this scene, Wei Zhe knew that the outcome was decided.

However, seeing Ao Cang being taken so easily, Xi Zhicai, standing by, could not help but frown and said, "It seems that the Dong thief has concentrated all his troops at Xuanmen Pass."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe nodded slightly and shared the same judgment.

Wei Zhe, holding the longsword at his waist, said with emotion, "If Dong Zhuo still had ambitions for the world, then Ao Cang would be heavily guarded today. But if Dong Zhuo has given up on ambition and is only content to be the King of Guanzhong, then Xuanmen Pass is the key."

"Today's battle is just an appetizer!"

Because for Dong Zhuo, who had no ambition to pacify the world, Ao Cang no longer had any meaning.

After he gave up going east, the geographical advantage of Xuanmen Pass for defense became very important.

Although Wei Zhe had only guessed about Dong Zhuo's mentality before, after the battle of Ao Cang, he was almost certain that Dong Zhuo had short-sightedness!
Thinking of this, Wei Zhe couldn't help but feel more confident about the upcoming battle...

(End of this chapter)