SFS Chapter 205 The Han Army Successfully Enters Dazhen Pass
Chapter 205 The Han Army Successfully Enters Dazhen Pass
If you rely on the mountains, you will eat the mountains; if you rely on the sea, you will eat the sea.
Qianxian County is nestled against the Qinling Mountains, and many of its residents rely on hunting for a living. They spend most of their time traversing the mountains and know the terrain of the Qinling Mountains better than their own backyard.
Therefore, Guo Huai easily found several guides and gave them a lot of money to lead the way for Hao Zhao. Hao Zhao rested for half the night, and was woken up by Guo Huai just as the hour of Yin arrived. He led the army and followed the guides into the Qinling Mountains, preparing to bypass Dazhen Pass and enter the Longshan Road to intercept the Shu army coming from Dazhen Pass.
The reason for setting off in the middle of the night was to mislead the Shu army inside the pass, so that they would not know Hao Zhao's movements, thus giving Hao Zhao enough time to reach the designated location and establish a defensive position.
After sending Hao Zhao away, Guo Huai did not rest. At dawn, he selected five hundred elite cavalry to set out again to harass the Shu army and buy time for Hao Zhao.
This time, Guo Huai learned his lesson. He didn't fight Zhang Fei head-on. He fired an arrow and ran away. That night, he retreated directly to Qian County to sleep and never camped in the wild again.
Guo Huai successfully used this method to delay the Shu army for most of the day, turning a journey that Zhang Fei and Huang Quan could have completed in two days into a three-day ordeal.
But that was all. That evening, Zhang Fei and Huang Quan led their troops to Dazhen Pass. Wei Yan personally went out of the city to greet them and said with delight, "General Zhang, Huang Zhizhong, you have finally arrived, and you have not lost any troops or supplies. That's wonderful."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhang Fei inquired about the situation at Dazhen Pass and said, "Wenchang, you immediately enter the pass to receive the main army and supplies into the city. I will lead the army to provide cover."
"Yes..." Wei Yan entered the pass to make arrangements.
Zhang Fei led 800 cavalry and 5,000 elite soldiers to cover the rear and prevent Guo Huai from launching a sudden attack.
Unexpectedly, Guo Huai never appeared, and Huang Quan entered the pass smoothly without any harassment.
Two hours later, everyone entered the gate and closed it tightly.
Zhang Fei, Huang Quan, and Wei Yan reunited. Wei Yan excitedly said, "We've finally arrived safely. With us here, our plan is at least 60% successful. Now it's Zhang He's turn to be in trouble."
After entering Dazhen Pass, the Wei army could no longer block or even surround them as they had in the open field. If they wanted to come over, they could only launch a strong attack from Dazhen Pass, which greatly improved the safety of the Han army.
They are safe, but Zhang He is in danger.
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple. My right eyelid has been twitching badly since we entered the pass, and I haven't found any trace of Hao Zhao on the way here. Where do you think that kid could have gone? Could he still be hiding in Chencang and hasn't come out yet?"
Huang Quan rejected the idea without hesitation, saying, "That's impossible. Even if Hao Zhao is stupid, he wouldn't just stand by and watch us enter Dazhen Pass without doing anything. Besides, Guo Huai didn't stop us when we entered the pass. That's not normal. Something must be amiss."
Wei Yan interjected, "I've met Hao Zhao. That kid came to Dazhen Pass three days ago. When he saw that Dazhen Pass had fallen, he retreated to Qian County. I thought he went to intercept you. Didn't you see him?"
Zhang Fei and Huang Quan exchanged a glance and exclaimed at the same time, "This is bad!"
Huang Quan explained, "On the way here, we only encountered harassment from Guo Huai, we didn't see Hao Zhao. It's impossible for Hao Zhao to disappear into thin air with three or four thousand men, unless..."
Zhang Fei added, "Unless this kid, like Wen Chang attacked Dazhen Pass, went deep into the Qinling Mountains and bypassed the Longshan Road directly along the mountain path, intending to ambush us in the middle of the road, since Hao Zhao has entered the Longshan Road, then the Jieting garrison and even Zhang He must know that we have entered Dazhen Pass. This Guo Huai is really persistent, not giving up any hope at all."
Zhang Fei suddenly felt a sense of admiration for Guo Huai, this young man; he was indeed a capable general who could stand alone.
Huang Quan asked, "Then what should we do?"
Zhang Fei said, "Tomorrow I will lead 10,000 troops to set off first and try to defeat Hao Zhao and clear the road. Gong Heng, you will lead 6,000 men to escort the supplies and follow later. Be careful on the road, and watch out for Hao Zhao rushing out of the mountains to attack you."
"Wen Chang, I'll leave you with four thousand men. You'll guard Dazhen Pass for fifteen days. After half a month, abandon Dazhen Pass and retreat to Jieting to join me. We only have enough food for about twenty days. If we can't take Jieting in twenty days, we're doomed."
These provisions were the result of their desperate efforts to protect them, and even their plundering and extortion of Yongxian and Yujun; otherwise, they would have been able to hold out for an even shorter time.
It must be understood that transporting so much grain and supplies under the obstruction of the Wei army was truly no easy feat.
Wei Yan rose and bowed, saying, "General, rest assured, even if I die, I will hold Dazhen Pass for fifteen days."
Silent all night.
At daybreak, Zhang Fei and Huang Quan led their troops out again, while Wei Yan led 4,000 troops to continue guarding Dazhen Pass and preventing an attack from the Wei army.
Guo Huai stayed in Qianxian County and waited patiently for reinforcements from Chang'an. He slept for four days in the county government office. Finally, Protector of the Qiang, Su Ze, arrived with 20,000 reinforcements.
Upon receiving the news, Guo Huai hurriedly went out of the city to greet him. He saw Fei Yao, who was just as disheveled as himself, next to Su Ze. However, he did not bother with pleasantries and bowed, saying, "This humble general greets Captain Su."
In the Han Dynasty, the position of Colonel was a very peculiar one. Ordinary Colonels were just mid-level officers similar to regimental commanders in later times, but there were a few Colonels who held high positions and wielded immense power, such as the Protector of the Qiang Colonel that Su Ze served as.
The Protector of the Qiang was a special position established by Emperor Wu of Han. He was responsible for suppressing Qiang rebellions, cutting off communication between the Western Qiang and the Xiongnu, and other important tasks. He was also responsible for military and political affairs, including land reclamation, irrigation, planting grains, and animal husbandry.
The Protector of the Qiang was not only a rank equivalent to that of a commander with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), but he was also assigned subordinate officials such as a chief clerk and a military advisor, making his status much higher than that of Guo Huai.
As for why Protector of the Qiang, Su Ze, didn't go to Longxi to cultivate land, but stayed in Chang'an, don't ask. Ordinary people shouldn't inquire about matters of officialdom.
Besides the Protector of the Qiang, there was also the Commandant of the Capital Region. The Commandant of the Capital Region was also established by Emperor Wu of Han to supervise the capital and local areas. Almost all officials in the court were under his supervision. This was a transitional position for powerful ministers. Almost all the powerful ministers in the history of the Han Dynasty held this position. Cao Cao almost broke his head with someone in order to seize the position of Commandant of the Capital Region.
Su glanced at the wound on Guo Huai's left arm and said fiercely, "General Guo, you've had a hard time. That damned big-eared thief dared to cross the heart of Guanzhong. He really doesn't take us seriously at all. What's the situation now?"
When they received Guo Huai's plea for help a few days ago, Zhang Jisu and the other big shots were dumbfounded. They had considered the possibility that the Shu army would launch a strong attack on Mei County, that the Shu army would turn around and attack Chencang, and even that the Shu army would bypass Mei County and risk attacking Chang'an. They had considered all the possibilities, but they never thought that the Shu army would cross the Guanzhong Plain and rush to Dazhen Pass to stab Zhang He in the back. This was too damn ridiculous.
After the initial shock, both Zhang Ji and Su Ze realized the seriousness of the matter. Zhang Ji immediately transferred troops from the surrounding cities of Chang'an and Xianyang to Su Ze for support. He then continued his efforts to mobilize troops from even more distant places and even sent envoys to Cao Cao for help.
Zhang Ji was terrified. If the Shu army really reached Jieting and blocked Zhang He's retreat, or even joined forces with the Shu army in Longxi to annihilate Zhang He's army from both sides, his position as governor of Yongzhou would be over.
Guo Huai replied, "The Shu army has already entered the pass, but before they did, I sent General Hao Zhao into the mountains to intercept them in the middle of the Longshan Road and to notify Jieting. Jieting must be on guard, so we still have a chance."
Upon hearing this, Su Ze breathed a sigh of relief and patted Guo Huai on the shoulder, saying, "That's great. The army will rest today and work on building siege equipment. Tomorrow, you will be the vanguard, leading all the troops in a full-scale attack on Dazhen Pass. We must quickly take the pass and enter the Longshan Road. Once we enter the Longshan Road and form a pincer movement with Jieting, Zhang Fei and Huang Quan will be doomed."
Su Ze was filled with hatred. That damned Zhang Fei had forced him to lead troops into battle at his advanced age. He couldn't let his mind be at ease until he annihilated Zhang Fei's army in the Longshan Pass.
Guo Huai was overjoyed and said, "Yes..."
Su did not enter the city, as the county town was too small to accommodate so many people. Instead, he set up camp outside the city and went into the mountains to cut down trees and build siege equipment in preparation for the attack.
Early the next morning, Guo Huai led his army to the front of Dazhen Pass, roared at Wei Yan to vent his frustration, and then launched a fierce attack on the city wall.