Chapter 1137 Initiative

"You are really here?" Yang Jun said in a serious voice with a serious face.

"Yes, we are already within a hundred miles..." The scout lowered his head and reported. He saw with his own eyes the battle flag of General Zhengxi, and also saw Zhang Liao and his troops camping by the forest. He even saw them catching animals in the forest, lighting a fire to cook food, and he seemed to be able to smell those things with the wind. The aroma of food.

But what the scout didn't know was that when he was lying on the hillside staring at Zhang Liao's camp, Zhang Liao's scout was also hiding in the grass watching him...

When it comes to bionics and camouflage, Youzi, an old scout under General Zhengxi who learned a few things about later generations from Fei Qian, would never stand on a hillside and show off, because even though he could see far in that way, he would still lose sight of his body shape. exposed. The best way is to tie some grass or branches on your body, and then squat in the grass, or climb up the treetops, so that you may not be able to find it even if you walk in front of it.

"Have you been in contact?" Yang Jun asked.

The scout cupped his hands and said, "There has been no contact, and I have not seen the scouts sent by him..."

"No scouts were sent?" Yang Jun frowned, then waved his hand to let the scouts go down first.

Yang Jun couldn't help but stand up, frowning, pacing back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back.

Maybe it's because of overconfidence?

Perhaps it was because he was afraid that the sent scouts would disturb Tongguan?

Yang Jun stopped slowly, stroked his beard, and showed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. Zhang Liao came quickly and covertly, but to no avail. After passing Shaanxi County, there is a relatively large county town, Zheng County in the southwest, which was the original most important base of Yang Jiahongnong. Although it was destroyed to pieces by Dong Zhuo, it still has some foundation after all, so After Zhang Liao's whereabouts were noticed by the locals, he quickly reported to Yang Jun...

"Just come."

Yang Jun slowly rubbed his hands, and a smile slowly spread to his face.

If Zhang Liao's traces were not discovered in advance, then when he attacked Tongguan, he was suddenly attacked on the back. Naturally, even if he could resist, it would be a miserable victory, not to mention if one was not controlled well...

However, now that he is prepared, with Zhang Liao's small force...

Yang Jun has already sent people to ambush on the high slope leading to Tongguan in the northwest of Zheng County. No matter who comes, there will be only one way to Tongguan. Even if General Zhengxi comes in person, he can only go from Attack the slope from bottom to top. In this way, Zhang Liao's cavalry advantage will be reduced to the minimum.

If you are unwilling to attack by force, you can only engage in confrontation. The confrontation is definitely unacceptable for a small force like Zhang Liao. The small number of troops, although it is flexible, also means that the baggage is limited, which is conducive to quick battles and cannot be fought for a long time. Another very important point is that the longer the delay, the more likely it is that Zhang Liao's troops will be surrounded and caught in the middle by Yang's reinforcements coming from Heluo!

No one would be willing to take such a risk.

Although Zheng County, southwest of Shaanxi County, was within Zhang Liao's attack range, Yang Jun did not think that Zhang Liao had the guts to capture a heavily guarded county with a thousand cavalry.

You must know that Zheng County is also a large county, with 1,200 regular soldiers, 1,800 auxiliary soldiers, and five or six large and small forts nearby. Even if it does not belong to the Yang family, it is still related to the Yang family. After going to Zheng County, Zhang Liao's thousand troops were not enough.

Therefore, since Zhang Liao's troops came here, they could only pass through the high slopes in the northwest of Zheng County, and then rush to Tongguan!

The distance of more than a hundred miles can be reached in two days at most if you go slowly, and in one day if you go fast. Therefore, Zhang Liao was renovating a hundred miles away, which was in line with the requirements of the art of war. He was probably planning to raid Tongguan tomorrow, right?

Who would have thought that they were already prepared?

Thinking of what he was proud of, Yang Jun almost laughed out loud. He coughed twice to hide his emotions, and then said in a deep voice: "Come here! Send the order! Retract the troops early today! Reorganize the defense! Send another person there Gaopei, Zheng County, tell them to be prepared and be sure to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop!"

Since Zhang Liao is coming, let him come!

After recuperating his energy, he just happened to use Zhang Liao's head to undermine the morale of the Tongguan soldiers!

"Wei!" The ordering soldier standing outside the tent responded loudly, and then hurriedly ran to convey the order.

Yang Jun was a little excited. After all, this was different from attacking a city step by step. It had some elements of strategy and calculation, which gave him a somewhat strange sense of excitement. Although he ordered the soldiers to rest early, Yang Jun repeatedly thought about his plan. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more unable to sleep he became. It was not until late at night that he barely squinted his eyes and lay down for a while. Early the next morning, Yang Jun got up, and then thought about it over and over again, making the best preparations for the upcoming battle, and waiting for Zhang Liao to appear...

As time passed, the tense atmosphere before the battle became more and more intense, and even Ma Yan, who was above Tongguan, noticed something was wrong.

Because Yang Jun was uncharacteristic today and did not send soldiers to continue attacking the city. Instead, most of them repaired around the camp and even sent some troops to the east.

Would Yang Jun be so kind and willing to let the defenders of Tongguan take a breather?

Ma Yan doesn't think so, and for the side with the numerical superiority, if they want to attack the city, they can only use the human wave tactic to exhaust all the strength of the defenders, and they will naturally win.

So, what happened to the east?

No matter what, Ma Yan didn't dare to rush out of Tongguan without information about the battlefield, but since Yang Jun was not attacking the city, he took this opportunity to take a good rest...

The entire battlefield in Tongguan suddenly became silent, as if everyone was waiting for something.

However, no one expected that after noon, Zhang Liao's men and horses did not show up, and they waited until the sun turned west, but still no one appeared.

Yang Jun couldn't sit still anymore and took the risk of Zhang Liao discovering that he was ambushed, so he once again sent out a large number of scouts. However, when the scouts rushed back, they all looked surprised...

Zhang Liao's troops disappeared.

If he hadn't seen the remains of some camps near the forest, even the scouts would have doubted whether the men and horses they saw before were real or fake...

Zhang Liao did not come to Tongguan, nor did he stay at his original location. He just disappeared outside Yang Jun's perception range.

Where did Zhang Liao's troops go?

Yang Jun walked around in the big tent, thinking for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what happened.

Hidden?

But what's the use of hiding it?

gone back?

But if we go back, won’t we lose the meaning of understanding Tongguan?

Yang Jun was restless, anxiously waiting for the scouts' subsequent detailed investigation. Until there was no updated news, he could only wait.

Besides waiting, Yang Jun had no better way...

Another night passed, and at dawn the next day, Yang Jun finally waited until the scouts came back with the latest news. Zhang Liao's troops did not go to the Tongguan defense line, but returned the same way they came, turning around and heading east.

Yang Jun was puzzled. He couldn't understand why Zhang Liao would go back with his troops.

Isn't Zhang Liao ready to relieve the siege of Tongguan?

This was contrary to common sense in the art of war, and even made Yang Jun wonder if the scout had made a mistake and was deceived by Zhang Liao. It was not until noon that new scouts came back and confirmed that Zhang Liao had indeed gone east. Only then did Yang Jun doubtfully accept the result.

But Yang Jun still didn't know. Since Zhang Liao was not planning to attack him, why did he lead his troops here?

Although Yang Jun couldn't understand it, in this case, the troops originally sent out to ambush were useless and had to be withdrawn first. The ambush soldiers could not be allowed to lie in the fields every day in order to prevent Zhang Liao from discovering them. Let's sleep in a nest every day, right?

If that were the case, Zhang Liao wouldn't have to attack personally. He only had to wait two or three days before the ambushing troops would get sick and all of them would be disabled.

Therefore, laying an ambush for a day or two is more or less acceptable. But if it lasts for a long time, it will become useless and must be withdrawn for repairs. Moreover, these soldiers were set up to ambush Zhang Liao's troops, but if Zhang Liao didn't come, then it would be meaningless for the soldiers to work in vain.

Should we send people to check further?

Yang Jun was hesitant. If the distance was more than a hundred miles, if the army was not on the march, it would mean that the scouts would not be able to shorten the distance on their way back. In other words, a round trip would take two or three days. In this way, not only would the scouts be tired, It's unbearable, the loss of war horses is also very large, and I only have this flexible scout manpower, which is somewhat not worth it...

Yang Jun thought about it for a long time and finally decided to give up the reconnaissance beyond the distance and just keep the scouts at a distance of a hundred miles. Even if Zhang Liao returned with his troops and horses, he would be able to detect it immediately and have a full response. time.

However, Zhang Liao's trace was uncertain. Even when Yang Jun was commanding his soldiers to attack Tongguan again, he felt a little uncomfortable and even looked back to the east involuntarily from time to time. This sentiment seemed to have infected Yang Jun's soldiers, who seemed somewhat feeble when they attacked Tongguan, and the perfunctory atmosphere also spread.

On the third day, early in the morning, there was still no news about Zhang Liao's troops.

Yang Jun thought this was Zhang Liao's bluff. After all, the siege of Tongguan was indeed here, and it was Zhang Liao's ultimate goal, but why not come?

At this time, Yang Jun suddenly longed from the bottom of his heart to have a cavalry unit, not too many, just two or three thousand, so that he would not be like now, holding only two hundred cavalry, like a golden pimple. , reluctant to use it, and dare not use it indiscriminately.

Cavalry...

After this battle, I must recommend that Yang Gong form a large enough cavalry team!

It must be built no matter what, even if it costs a lot of money!

There must be at least three thousand or more!

Even if all the cavalry in Guanzhong are mobilized, they will not hesitate!

If it doesn't work, go to the noble nobles in Guanzhong and ask for war horses. These people must have some horses, and together they can form an army!

Being led by the nose by a thousand cavalry like this, unable to hit or catch, is really uncomfortable. I have completely lost the initiative on the battlefield...

Just when Yang Jun was thinking about the future, the latest news was delivered to Yang Jun.

"What? Towards Luoyang?" Yang Jun could hardly believe his ears.

The scout nodded and said: "Yes, we can already see the black smoke from the beacon fire in the direction of Heluo. It should be heading towards Luoyang..."

Yang Jun sat blankly, blinking hard.

Instead of coming to Tongguan, I went to Luoyang. What do you want to do?

not good!

Hangu Pass!

It must be Hangu Pass!

Because Yang Jun passed through Hangu when he led his troops, he also knew the situation inside Hangu Pass. Because it was already an internal pass in Hongnong, there were not many troops stationed at Hangu Pass. There were four hundred regular soldiers and auxiliary soldiers. Six hundred, which means a thousand people...

Moreover, there is still a lot of transshipped grain and grass stored in Hangu Pass!

Zhang Liao only had a thousand cavalry. As long as the defenders at Hangu Pass were awakened, made some preparations after seeing the beacon fire, and closed the city gates, it would not necessarily be an easy task even if Zhang Liao wanted to attack.

Thinking of this, Yang Jun sat down slowly, exhaled, and calmed down.

In the camp, it was the time for dinner, and the soldiers gathered around the fire, setting up cauldrons and cooking porridge. As the army gathered, the food and grass were consumed faster than anything else. The food bags that were piled up in mountains a few days ago have now become smaller. Some of the wild vegetables in the surrounding areas have been pulled out and eaten. If you want to get more wild vegetables, you have to go farther to pick them.

Oops!

Yang Jun looked at the rising smoke, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and his head felt a little dizzy.

Food and grass...

forage!

Yang Jun stood up suddenly and slapped his forehead hard with his hand. His forehead suddenly turned red. Damn it, why did he neglect it?

Negligence!

They only thought that Zhang Liao would come to raid the camp, but they failed to think that Zhang Liao would turn around and go to Hangu...

The terrain from Luoyang to Tongguan is too special, like a long pipe, thick in the middle and thin at the two ends, and these two ends are Tongguan and Hangu. Then there is another section to the east of Hangu Pass, some of which are like tied up sausages.

And once such a sausage terrain is cut off at the joint...

Just like General Zhengxi seized Tongguan, he immediately severed the connection between Hongnong and Guanzhong. Of course, there are other routes, such as detouring to Hedong and then heading to Guanzhong, or turning to Yuzhou and then taking Wuguan, which can also enter Guanzhong. However, these other routes are not as convenient as taking Tongguan directly.

The same is true for Hangu.

Let’s not talk about whether Hangu Pass can be captured by Zhang Liao, but as long as Zhang Liao is still wandering around Hangu Pass, the food and grass from Hangu will not be transported!

what to do?

Yang Jun let out a long sigh. He had no other choice but to requisition grain and grass from Zheng County again.

It's not that Yang Jun didn't have the awareness to protect the grain road, it's just that when he came to Tongguan before, he had already transferred grain and grass from Zheng County once for convenience. He originally planned to transport the second batch from the east of Hangu and the Mianchi area. The grain and grass came over, but they didn't expect that Zhang Liao would be stuck in it at such a critical moment. As a result, the second batch of grain and grass might not be shipped temporarily.

Although it is said that they can be recruited from Zheng County again, it will inevitably offend the Yang family members in Zheng County. After all, as a member of the Yang family, I am also aware of the current situation. In order to support Yang Biao in Luoyang, Hongnong and others In this area, whether it is Zheng County or Shaanxi County, it can be said that they have tightened their belts. When they prepared food and grass for themselves before, Zheng County can be said to have dug out all their old foundations...

But now, I have no choice but to squeeze him again, which is really unbearable.

Yet it had to be done.

Alas, we can only use the materials from Guanzhong to make up for one or two after conquering Tongguan!

"Come here! Order the rear army to move to Shaanxi County! This thief must be killed!" Yang Jun gritted his teeth and ordered. He could only withdraw food from Zheng County as an emergency. The threat of Zhang Liao must be eliminated before he can truly concentrate on his work. Attack Tongguan!

At almost the same time, Yang Biao, who was in Luoyang and received the beacon warning, said almost the same words, dispatched the only cavalry troops in his early 1,000s and hurried to Hangu Pass.

Yang Biao also believed that the invading cavalry of General Zhengxi would not be able to capture Hangu, but it would put great pressure on Yang Jun in Tongguan, and even cause Yang Jun to attack Tongguan without taking care of the beginning and the end, so Regardless of whether it is defeated or repulsed, such a force must be cleared out of the Hongnong realm no matter what, otherwise the Hongnong land will never be able to live in peace!