Shu Han Confucian General of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 131
Wuguan, also known as Qinnanguan, is located in the west of Nanyang, on a steep hillside in the north of Wuguan.Together with Dashan Pass, Hangu Pass and Tongguan, it is called the Four Fortresses of Qin Dynasty.The steep Shaoxi Mountain in the south and the Wuguan River in the north are natural barriers.Moreover, the roads in Kansai are flat, which is suitable for the army to station or walk, but the roads in the Kanto are rugged, which is not conducive to the army's attack.With this natural advantage, Wuguan, like Hangu Pass and other pass cities, are also guarded by one man.Under the guard of these four pass cities, the entire Guanzhong area is really like a tortoise with an iron shell.In addition, the Guanzhong Plain is a grain production base. In the past, the pre-Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang and others all occupied Guanzhong and won the world.In history, Zhuge Liang's Longzhong pair also took occupying Guanzhong as one of the important strategies.

One of the reasons why Cao Cao only kept 5 horses in the entire Yongzhou is that the natural advantages of the four major pass cities and Qingni Pass are enough to withstand thousands of troops.The second is naturally because Liu Bei occupies Runan, which is too close to Xuchang, so Xuchang needs to be heavily guarded.Although it is said that Liu Bei's current lack of food and grass cannot afford a major battle, and considering that Liu Bei is a clan member of the Han family, it is unlikely to attack Xuchang where the emperor is.But Cao Cao has never been a person who pins his hopes on others, let alone such a life-and-death matter.

Zhu Ling, the general of Wuguan, is also an old subordinate who has followed Cao Cao for many years since Chen Liu started his army. There is no problem with his loyalty. At the same time, he is capable of being a mere Wuguan prefect.The defenders of Wuguan are only [-], but if you want to win Wuguan by force attack, you need at least [-] to [-] lives. not come out.

"Kong Ming, why are you rushing to seize Wuguan now?" Guan Yu was a little surprised by Zhuge Liang's decision. "Your Majesty, look, the land of Nanyang is all plains. Cao Cao occupies the land of Yongzhou, and he can send troops out of Wuguan to harass the hinterland of Nanyang at any time, and then threaten Jingxiang. When Liu Jingsheng was in Jingxiang in the past, it was because Wancheng and Wuguan were both Being occupied by others, Nanyang County can only occupy a few small counties in Fancheng. If we don’t take Wuguan, then Nanyang County will be too passive. Nanyang has a population of 50 and rich products. If Nanyang is unstable, then Jingxiang The loss will be huge." Zhuge Liang explained in detail.

"That's true. Now Cao Cao occupies Wuguan, just like he occupied Taishan County in Xuzhou. He can only beat me, but I can't beat him. It's really a headache." Thinking of what happened that day, Guan Yu also strongly agrees.In fact, since Zhao Feng blackmailed Taishan County from Lao Cao, Xuzhou has become much safer.

"Furthermore, right now Cao Cao's army is fighting fiercely with Yanzhou and Yuan Shao, and Yongzhou's defenses are empty. If you don't take this opportunity to take Wuguan, it will be too late!" Zhuge Liang said again.

"This is true, but Kong Ming lost a lot of money and food in the previous fierce battles in Jingbei, and last year's severe drought in Jingbei. At present, the food and grass are not enough to provide for the army to fight." Although Guan Yu is not a person in charge of civil affairs, he still knows these things some.

"Don't worry, my lord, Jiangling was flooded in the past. Although the granary was also submerged, 4% to [-]% of the stored grain was preserved after being salvaged and exposed to the sun. The current army is not enough to fight, but send [-] to [-] horses to attack Wuguan. It's still more than enough." Zhuge Liang smiled.He is now engaged in Jingzhou Diannong, and he is almost in charge of the entire civil affairs of Jingzhou.When it comes to the allocation of money and food, and the logistics support of soldiers and horses, they must be grasped.

"If that's the case, then I'll lead the army to attack Wuguan in person!" Guan Yu didn't have any awareness of being a Jingzhou shepherd at all, and he was always on the front line when encountering wars.

"Your Majesty, this battle does not depend on the large number of people. Why do you need the Marquis to go out in person? In my opinion, let General Liu Pan lead an army of [-] troops out of Nanyang and attack Wuguan." Zhuge Liang said with a smile.

"Huh?" Liu Pan on the side was quite surprised when he heard the words, why did Zhuge Liang leave this kind of thing to him?But I heard Zhuge Liang continue to say: "Although Wuguan is dangerous, it has a disadvantage, that is, the defense of the outside is not the defense of the inside, and the defense of the back pass is extremely weak. If the general can bypass Wuguan and attack from behind the pass, then Wuguan It must be broken."

"This statement is true, but Kong Ming, Wuguan occupies a dangerous place, how can we get around it?" Liu Pan asked a little uncertainly.

"Hehe, General Liu may have forgotten that our Jingzhou navy is sharp, as long as we go upstream from Wuguan River, it is not difficult to go around to the back of the pass." Zhuge Liang smiled and pointed to the Wuguan River on the map.

"So that's it, Kong Ming, the day before yesterday you sent Gan Xingba and his men to scout various rivers, just for this battle?" Guan Yu recalled what happened a few days ago, and suddenly understood Zhuge Liang's intentions in doing so.

"That's right, my lord. According to Gan Xingba, due to the severe drought this year, the originally turbulent waters of the Wuguan River have calmed down. It is not difficult to go upstream. Cao Cao has no sailors under his command, so he can't think of precautions." Wuguan River is a natural barrier. General Liu can lead a large army to station in front of the pass, and at the same time order an elite army to raid the enemy's rear. Under the attack from the two sides, Wuguan will be owned by me." Zhuge Liang said confidently.

"That's right!" Liu Pan said excitedly after looking at the map. Who doesn't like the opportunity to make meritorious deeds?Hearing what Zhuge Liang said, it seemed that taking Wuguan was an easy task, which also made Liu Pan extremely excited.After discussing with Guan Yu in a hurry, Liu Pan impatiently went to rectify the army horses.

"Kong Ming, why did you let Liu Pan go to this battle?" After Liu Pan left, Guan Yu asked with some doubts.

Knowing the meaning of Guan Yu's words, Zhuge Liang also sighed softly and said: "Your Majesty, this General Liu Pan is Liu Jingsheng's nephew. Although he was quite dissatisfied with our taking over Jingxiang, he didn't have any objection at first. Xin; secondly, when I first arrived in Jingxiang, if I ostracized him too blatantly, it would inevitably make Jingxiang's old officials feel uneasy; thirdly, General Liu is quite brave, and he is a rare general, a rare talent. But Liu Most of the general's cronies are in Jingnan, so my lord named him General Yangwei and asked him to garrison Jingbei with us, just to transfer him away from Jingnan. Now send him to attack Wuguan. The name will be transferred to Xuzhou to listen to it."

"This is the best way. The eldest brother can only control him." Guan Yu didn't want to fight among himself all day long. Although Liu Pan was a bit rebellious, he was more inclined to adopt this kind of gentler method.

Not to mention that Liu Pan led his army out of Nanyang and marched westward. At this time, Gan Ning's navy was also gathering in Jiangxia, then took the Xiangshui River, then went to the Zheshui River, and finally sailed into the Wuguan River.This time, Gan Ning dispatched more than 50 sturdy warships, each of which was equipped with dozens of elite soldiers in addition to the sailors, a total of [-] elite soldiers.Just waiting to bypass Wuguan, and then launch a surprise attack behind the opponent.Although this strategy is simple, Cao Cao and his advisers were absolutely unexpected.There is no other reason, because they are completely amateurs in water warfare, and they never imagined that the Wuguan River, which they relied on as the barrier of Wuguan, would become a broad avenue for the Jingzhou army to advance.

"This Wuguan is really majestic!"; Liu Panjiu has been in Jingnan for a long time. Although Wuguan is very close to Jingbei, it is his first time to come here.On the rugged mountain road, a pass city is connected to the high mountain on the left, and the deep valley and long river to the right. It is really a rare majestic pass in the world.Liu Pan is also a battle-tested man, and he knew at a glance that such a precipitous pass city would have no effect if he smashed it with a trebuchet.There is no other reason, but because the field in front of the pass is only large enough to place twenty trebuchets at most, and the effect of smashing them is limited.

Let the soldiers storm the pass and fill it with their lives?He can't do this kind of thing.At present, Liu Pan is also setting up camp five miles before Wuguan, posing as if he is preparing for a protracted war.

"General, the defenders in the pass did not challenge, but just stood firm." After the camp was settled, he came to report.

"Understood, pass on the order, and be careful about the movement of Wuguan. According to the estimated schedule, General Gan's navy will arrive after Wuguan at the latest by midnight today." Liu Pan waved his hand as a gesture.In the evening, Gan Ning's [-] elite soldiers quietly passed Wuguan, and found a relatively flat place about [-] miles upstream to land.Gan Ning ordered the soldiers to eat a little dry food to replenish their physical strength, and then marched at full speed to raid behind Wuguan.

Even if it is infantry within twenty miles, it will take a matter of time to make a surprise attack.But Gan Ning's character must have exploded today. He had just assembled a team by the river, and reported that there was a train team coming to Wuguan through Qingni Pass, with about 300 people.

"Wuguan does not produce grain, it must be the grain and grass allocated for Wuguan from the hinterland of Chang'an." Gan Ning quickly came to a conclusion, and then ordered a surprise attack on the supply team. What is the concept of 3000 people ambushing 300 people?Ten to one concept.In addition, this is the hinterland of Yongzhou, and the transportation team is mostly composed of county soldiers and even field soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is far inferior to that of the regular army.Therefore, the battle lasted less than half an hour, and the supply team was resolved. Of the more than 300 people, except for more than a dozen who fled back to the interior of Yongzhou quickly, the rest were either wiped out or captured.

"Are you in charge of transporting grain and grass?" Gan Ning asked, looking at the captured military lord in front of him. "Yes, the villain Xue Ze is a military marquis under Zhong Taishou's tent, and he specializes in transporting grain and grass for Wuguan." This Xue Ze looked at the fierce Gan Ning in front of him, and said tremblingly.

"Very good, help me open the gate of Wuguan later, there will be a lot of rewards. If you dare to play tricks, you will be killed with a knife!" Gan Ning shouted.Xue Ze was so frightened that he could only nod his head in agreement.Gan Ning ordered all the captives to take off their military uniforms. Together with the deceased's 300 or so pieces, Gan Ning led more than [-] elite soldiers under his command to put them on and disguised themselves as a transport team.

After a group of people came to Wuguan City with genuine luggage and grain, Xue Ze checked the documents with the guards with ease, and then the defenders put down the suspension bridge and opened the city gate to let the luggage team in.When more than 300 people were about to enter halfway, Gan Ning suddenly raised his voice and drew out his waist knife to kill the school lieutenant who came to receive the food, while the rest of the people also drew out their weapons and fought in a scuffle.After hearing the news, Zhu Ling hurriedly led people to check, but was hacked to death by Gan Ning, and the rest collapsed.At the same time, Liu Pan in front of the pass heard the sound of killing in the pass, and immediately sent troops to attack the pass city. Under the attack from two sides, the leaderless [-] defenders did not last long, and the pass city was broken.Liu Pan sent people to take over Guan Fang, and at the same time sent people to report to Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang.

Two days later, Jingzhou sent Hao Zhao and [-] elite soldiers to take over Wuguan. After Liu Pan and Gan Ning handed over Chengguan, they led their troops back to Jingxiang.To their surprise, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu went north to Xiangyang to welcome their triumphant return.

(End of this chapter)