Han officials

Chapter 164 Dragon and Tiger Fight [4K]

In the third month of the first year of Chuping, on the Gengxu day.

On that day, peach blossoms were in full bloom and it rained occasionally.

But looking at the gorgeous peach blossoms in the wilderness, Wei Zhe couldn't help but sigh.

The Four Classes of People's Monthly Orders states:

Peach blossoms are in full bloom in March, and farmers plant them when the time is right.

It can be used to grow rice, barley, beans and hemp, and is also good for ditches.

However, at this moment, there is no sign of spring plowing on the fertile fields in the Heluo area.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe on the watchtower couldn't help but shake his head and said, "It seems that the people in Guanzhong will starve this year!"

Upon hearing this, Xi Zhicai smiled bitterly and said, "It's fate, what can we do about it?"

Human power is limited, and no matter how conceited and strategic he is, he cannot change the general trend.

Once war breaks out, it won't be easy to put it out.

In comparison, Xi Zhicai cares more about the supplies of his own army.

Fortunately, they captured Ao Cang, which allowed the food and grass from Yuzhou to be transported here by water.

And this is exactly what Xi Zhicai wants to talk about.

"Last month, we sent 100,000 hu of grain, and earlier this month, another 80,000 hu. All told, it's barely enough to feed us. However, our army already has a large number of horses, and with the new volunteers who have joined us in the Jingnan Rebellion, our needs for food and fodder will be even greater..."

Xi Zhicai said with a worried look on his face, "My lord, I think it's best to make other preparations. The current situation is turbulent, roads are blocked, and there are many cases of looting by powerful families and nobles. If the ferry supplies are affected, our army will be in a very disadvantageous position!"

It’s not that Xi Zhicai looked down on Yuzhou Governor Kong Rong... Well, he did have some doubts about his abilities.

Because judging from Kong Jun's past behavior, he really doesn't seem like someone who can quell rebellion and bring peace.

If Kong Jun were to fail miserably in Yuzhou, Wei Zhe would be in trouble.

Xi Zhicai felt that no matter whether Kong Jun would get into trouble or not, it would always be a good idea to take precautions in advance.

After all, stupid teammates are sometimes more terrifying than enemies, and it’s easy to capsize if you’re not careful!
Hearing him say this, Wei Zhe thought for a moment and nodded, "That's quite true... Hmm~ Send a message to Ren Boda, ordering him to act as the governor of Henan and to do his best to raise grain. If necessary, purchase is also acceptable, as long as we can get the grain."

It just so happened that Wei Zhe had seized a lot of valuables along the way, but there was no use in keeping them.

At this time, Wei Zhe felt that recommending Yang Yuan as the governor of Henan was the wisest decision he had made since he sent troops.

Even though there are only a dozen counties left in Henan Yin today, it is still a big county in the Central Plains and still has some heritage.

After hearing this, Xi Zhicai thought about it carefully and felt that this was the only way.

There is no way. If there is no food, there is no food. No matter how good the plan is, food cannot be conjured out of thin air.

No sowing, no harvest; this is an iron rule that has remained unchanged since ancient times.

After resolving this hidden danger, Wei Zhe turned to look at the revolving door in front of him.

It's been three days!
However, Wei Zhe remained motionless, causing Hu Zhen, who was waiting on the city wall, to grow impatient. Many officers and commanders on the Wei side also volunteered to join the battle, but Wei Zhe refused any of them and instead ordered the baggage carriers to frantically build siege equipment.

Especially the improved shield carts and counterweight catapults, which almost made the craftsmen of the baggage camp so busy that they almost vomited blood.

In order to produce as many rolling stones as possible, Wei Zhe even recruited a group of laborers to chisel the mountains and cut the stones.

Facing a world-renowned pass like Xuanmen Pass, Wei Zhe felt that it would not be too much to be fully prepared.

It is better to sweat more now than to let the soldiers bleed more during the siege.

This is what war is like. Dullness and boredom are the norm, and most of the time we are preparing for battle.

However, just as Wei Zhe was patiently preparing his troops for battle, the audience outside the stadium was getting a little anxious.

There is no way. As the war progresses to this point, Xuanmen Pass has already attracted worldwide attention.

Regardless of whether Wei Zhe wins or loses this battle, he has already been remembered by caring people all over the world.

That very night, Zhenxing, Yinghuo and Taibai gathered in the Weixiu constellation.

When this phenomenon appeared, the whole world was shocked.

……

The next day, in the Wei army camp.

Even Xi Zhicai couldn't help but talk about the strange celestial phenomena last night.

The so-called Zhenxing, Yinghuo and Taibai conjunct in the Weixiu constellation actually means that Saturn, Mars and Venus meet in the east.

"The Tail constellation belongs to the Eastern Palace, the Azure Dragon." Xi Zhicai frowned and said, "The Heart represents the Mingtang, the Fang represents the Palace, the Kang represents the Shumiao, the Di represents the Heavenly Root, the Ji represents the Aoke, and the Tail represents the Nine Sons. It indicates discord between ruler and minister. The Book of Celestial Officials says: If fire offends the guard corner, there will be war... This phenomenon should be reflected here!"

However, Shi Yi shook his head upon hearing this and retorted, "Mars follows Taibai, which means the army will be in trouble. When it moves, Taibai will catch it, destroying the army and killing the general. If it enters the defense and offends Taiwei, Xuanyuan, and Yingshi, the Lord will have bad luck..."

After citing classics and analyzing the situation, Shi Yi finally said in a serious tone, "It doesn't stay when it should, and when it does, it sways left and right. It leaves when it shouldn't, and when it meets other stars, it indicates disaster for the country, or worries for the ruler."

In an environment where the interaction between heaven and man is prevalent, even the smartest strategists cannot avoid being affected by it.

It’s not that they are not smart enough, they are just limited by the times.

But Wei Zhe didn't directly adopt an atheist attitude. He just laughed and said casually, "It's not that complicated. It's just Mars is out of alignment. Mars is the ruler of chaos, which corresponds to the diseases, mourning, famine, and war that are happening in the world today."

"Taibai governs killing and fighting. The Book of Changes says: 'Metal and Wood combine to shine, but fighting is not harmonious; even if armies arise, they will not fight.' It also says: 'If they clash, if Taibai appears in the east, the eastern country will be defeated; if it appears in the west, the western country will be defeated.'"

"Now that Taibai is passing through the sky, emerging from the west, doesn't that mean our army is about to achieve a great victory?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals in the hall immediately showed joy on their faces.

After all, the celestial phenomena have shown this, which shows that they will definitely succeed in this battle.

When these remarks spread in the army, morale was boosted and the military spirit was greatly boosted.

And this is why Wei Zhe did not engage in atheism...when in Rome, do as the Romans do!
Of course, turning external factors into one's own strength is also a basic quality of a general.

At least after being guided by Wei Zhe, the fighting spirit of the Wei army was not very high after a while.

Just looking at the tens of thousands of Wei troops marching aggressively under the city, Hu Zhen rarely took things seriously.

However, he was also a veteran who had experienced many battles. After observing the battle for a while, he found that except for the more than 10,000 elite infantry and cavalry in the central army, the rest were just new recruits and were nothing.

Hu Zhen is not bragging. If we meet him in the wild, his thousand cavalry can defeat more than ten thousand new soldiers.

If he led 3,000 Liangzhou cavalry, Hu Zhen would be more confident of annihilating the enemy.

After all, it is extremely easy for cavalry to hunt down infantry, especially when facing such recruits.

However, Wei Zhe soon gave him a warning!

In front of Xuanmen Pass, square formations were seen coming out of the Wei army camp and lining up in sequence.

Rows of infantrymen holding shields and Han swords hanging from their waists lined up in front, and behind them were rows of soldiers.

Following closely behind was a massive formation of shield carts, which, from a distance, looked rather like a group of turtles in a meeting. Behind the shield carts was the counterweight catapult that Wei Zhe had been preparing for a long time.

Since this modification reduced the huge space and the number of operators, the number of catapults that could be deployed in front of the revolving door was greatly increased.

When seeing this scene, even though he didn't know the power of this thing, Hu Zhen already realized that this was the key.

This is indeed the case. With Wei Zhe's order, the army under the city woke up like a giant beast.

In an instant, smoke and dust covered the sky, and the Wei army was seen rushing to the front of the pass like a black tide.

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

After three loud shouts, the Jingnan Left Army took the lead, pushing their shield carts forward. Even with the continuous rain of arrows from the city walls, they still formed a rough corridor in front of the moat. Like long snakes, they bit the river bank tightly and refused to let go.

Immediately following, the soldiers of the Jingnan Right Army ran frantically along the corridor, throwing sandbags into the moat in a sophisticated and smooth process. As trench-filling vehicles rushed into the moat, the process was greatly accelerated.

However, the Dong army on the city wall was not there to sit back and wait. They were already good archers, and after entering Luoyang, they seized countless powerful bows and crossbows, and their equipment could be said to be fully equipped.

Then the revolving gate closed, and a row of soldiers slightly raised their crossbows, and a rain of arrows blew towards the Wei army under the city like a strong wind. Only a muffled groan was heard, and many Jingnan volunteers fell on the road of charge without even having time to cry out in pain.

As for the Liangzhou cavalry who were armed with bows and scattering arrows, they were even more brutal. The Wei army under the city was unable to rise up due to their direct shooting.

Seeing this, Taishi Ci, who was in the formation in front of the pass, suddenly glared with anger.

He immediately rode forward, drew his bow and aimed at the top of the city wall. In a moment, three arrows flew out.

Immediately, three iron arrows flew through the air and hit the pillars of the city wall, making a buzzing sound.

In front of the pillar, three Liangzhou soldiers fell back in shock.

It seemed as if they had never imagined until their death that there was someone with such superb archery skills.

Even the arrogant Lu Bu couldn't help but look at this and said, "Continuous arrows!"

Seeing this, Lu Bu was rather delighted and immediately shot back three arrows in succession.

However, compared to before, Lu Bu's three arrows were aimed at Taishi Ci who was running in front of the formation.

Fortunately, Taishi Ci’s archery skills were not too bad.

He first used the Iron Bridge move to lie on his back to avoid two arrows, and then used the strong bow in his hand to deflect the third flying wolf-tooth arrow, glaring at Lu Bu on the top of the city wall.

After just the first fight, Taishi Ci realized that Lu Bu was indeed worthy of his reputation.

So he did not continue to show off his strength and immediately retreated into the formation under the protection of his personal soldiers.

"Quick! Second song trench filler, move forward!"

Following Taishi Ci's order, twenty trench-filling carts wrapped in raw cowhide quickly rushed into the moat.

Soon, the Wei army filled up several passages in the moat outside Xuanmen Pass.

Seeing this, the following Wei army immediately rushed in like a tide, connecting perfectly.

Ladders and tall siege towers were leaning against the city walls.

At the same time, behind the army, under the manipulation of craftsmen, bluestones weighing hundreds of pounds also roared and smashed against the city wall, and the rammed earth and brick-covered city wall shook violently.

On the top of the city wall, Hu Zhen swung his sword and chopped down two fleeing soldiers, roaring fearlessly:
"Fight back! Throw gold juice!"

Suddenly, foul-smelling smoke rose from the battlements, and boiling manure wrapped in poisonous smoke poured down, and violent screams were heard from below the city.

As the revolving door closed, rolling logs and golden juice continued to fall, and the Jingnan volunteers below soon suffered heavy casualties.

Even if the Wei army had already put up ladders on the city wall, they would often die from arrows and rolling stones before they could climb to the top of the city. Even if some of them could reach the top, they would soon die from the spears and swords of the Liangzhou soldiers on the city wall.

Before long, corpses of Wei soldiers could be seen everywhere under the wall.

Even so, Wei Zhe on the central army's cloud chariot remained unmoved.

Below, the sounds of winches and people's roars mixed together, but Wei Zhe on the cloud car continued to give orders coldly.

"Continue! Tell the artisan camp to activate all the trebuchets!"

Upon hearing this, the messenger immediately waved the flag in his hand downwards, and after a few breaths, the catapult formation in the rear formation began to run at full speed.

All that was heard was a series of sharp sounds of breaking through the air, and huge rocks crashed towards the revolving gate.

Some fell on the top of the city, and some fell on the city walls.

Then in the blink of an eye, loud noises of gravel breaking were heard in front of us.

Such a fierce attack, not to mention the Liangzhou soldiers on the city wall, even the officers and soldiers on the Wei army side couldn't help but change their expressions when they saw it.

It's not that there haven't been armies that used over a hundred catapults to attack cities in the past. In fact, there have even been battles between two armies that used hundreds of catapults. It's just that they were rarely concentrated in one area.

Quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes.

When the catapult achieves a certain degree of concentrated fire, its killing effect is doubled.

At the same time, the revolving door closed.

The continuous loud rumbling noises caused the wall tiles to fall into dust, and soon even Hu Zhen was covered in dust.

But that was already considered a good thing. When a hundred-jin boulder smashed into the western corner tower, sending wood chips flying everywhere, Hu Zhen instinctively raised his shield and ducked to avoid it. Even so, his armor clanked. His personal guards, who were a step slower, were directly hit by the flying debris, their brains splattering everywhere, and they fell asleep.

Even Hu Zhen, who was used to seeing life and death, couldn't help but feel a chill when he saw this.

Holding on to the shaking battlements of the city wall, Hu Zhen could vaguely see the catapults being loaded through the billowing black smoke. The sound of the capstans turning was like a giant beast grinding its teeth, which made his back cold.

Seeing this, Hu Zhen immediately knew that he could not continue like this.

However, when he was about to lead his troops out of the pass to destroy the catapults, Lu Bu standing beside him suddenly stopped moving.

He deliberately pulled off his helmet and said with undisguised sarcasm, "They say you're as brave as a tiger, but how come you've become a guard dog today?"

Hu Zhen deliberately raised his bloodstained ring-handled sword and pointed it at the catapults outside the pass, saying, "Could it be that without the Prime Minister's care, you can't even lift a sword?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Bu immediately put down his bow and arrow, turned around and looked at him coldly, with murderous intent and anger in his eyes, like a tiger devouring a person.

However, Lu Bu did not kill his own commander in the battle.

After taking a cold look at Hu Zhen, who had a defiant look on his face, Lu Bu turned around and climbed down the wall without hesitation.

Faced with such a crude method of provocation, Lu Bu proudly accepted it even though he knew it was a trick.

"Kaicheng!"

Following Lu Bu's cold shout, the revolving door finally slowly opened...

(End of this chapter)