Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 551 The Battle of Hanzhong
"Report! General Tian, ​​there's a fire at Yangping Pass! The fire... the fire is soaring into the sky, I'm afraid the entire pass is on fire!" A Qiang man came to Ma Chao's tent to report urgently.

Although it was the middle of the night, Ma Chao was not sleeping at all. Instead, he was holding strange postures, as if he was doing some kind of practice.

Since receiving the military talisman, Ma Chao has spent every night practicing and has not yet gotten married.

Tomorrow, Ma Chao can enter Shenwei mode again, so he needs to recharge his batteries tonight.

During the practice, Ma Chao's consciousness will be more fully rested than sleep, but when the Qiang people who reported the report finished speaking, Ma Chao naturally opened his eyes...

"Fire? Oh, I escaped fast enough." Ma Chao said disdainfully.

Ma Chao seemed to be quite convinced that the other party was escaping rather than something else, but he still took people to have a look in person.

In the middle of Yangping Pass, the fire reflected the cloudy night sky red. After Ma Chao was equipped with armor, he shattered the gate with one blow - at this time, he was convinced that there was no large-scale defenders in the pass.

After all, when the power of the people's hearts takes effect, even Ma Chao, even if he has no suppression, will not break through the city gate so easily!

The power of people's hearts in Hanzhong is comparable to that of the Chu State. After all, the people at the bottom generally believe in the Tao of Heavenly Masters... The closed door can gather the support of the people on a larger scale than the city gate.

However, after the garrison in the pass withdrew, the pass became unmanned and ownerless, and there was no longer any bonus from the people's support.

After Ma Chao broke through the door with one strike, tongues of fire spurted out from inside, but Ma Chao quickly retreated to avoid it.

It's not that there is any conspiracy, but at the city gate, a large amount of combustibles are piled up. It seems... It is the materials that cannot be taken away in the pass, including camp tents, house beams, and straw. The door!

As a result, even if the pass catches fire, it will be difficult for Ma Chao to quickly enter it, and naturally he will not be able to pursue Zhang Wei.

After all, this is a pass, not a city, and it is not enough to bypass it.

"Put out the fire." Ma Chao frowned and then ordered.

Not only was the door closed, but when I looked inside, I saw that the urn city at the pass was also burning, and the interior of the pass... was probably burning too!
Whether it was houses or supplies that couldn't be taken away, Zhang Wei obviously didn't want to leave them with them.

The sooner a fire is extinguished, the easier it will be to make repairs in the future.

……

Zhang Wei looked back at the Yangping Pass where the flames were blazing into the sky. While feeling distressed, he also felt a little happy, wishing that Ma Chao would be burned to death inside.

There are actually a small number of ordinary people in the pass, most of them serving the army in various walks of life. However, with the appeal of Tianshi Tao, there is no objection to Zhang Wei's burning of the pass, and the people who want to migrate are also very cooperative.

But at this time, Zhang Wei felt a little uneasy - now he just evacuated safely from Yangping Pass... What kind of ability is it to evacuate from his own pass?
Especially Yangping Pass, which is not far to the northwest of Nanzheng. Once Yangping is lost, the entire Hanzhong will fall under the butcher's knife of the northwest barbarians without reservation!

Zhang Wei shed tears of sadness, and then shouted a few words such as "The believers in Hanzhong are in trouble", "The barbarians in the northwest are too cruel", "The Ma family are not good people", etc., which made the generals around him angry.

Believing that this emotion would be passed on at any time, until the grassroots generals and the relocated people... Zhang Wei then continued on his way.

Zhang Wei was not worried about being punished, and his retreat was not a whim. It had been reported to Zhang Lu after Ma Chao's third "transformation" a few days ago.

It was certainly a big mistake to fail to hold the pass, but after all, Zhang Wei was Zhang Lu's younger brother, and the only younger brother... His other biological brothers were all killed by Liu Zhang!
Since Zhang Lu allowed him to evacuate, then... Zhang Wei would at most blame Zhang Lu, and at that time he could just say that he made his own decisions, and Zhang Lu would not punish him too much.

only……

Zhang Wei is worried about Hanzhong now!

After all, he is the Zhang family and the great sacrificial wine of Tianshi Dao, so there is still no shortage of "ownership spirit".

At this time, Zhang Lu was in Nanzheng, also staying up all night. After all, he knew in his heart that after tonight, Yangping Pass would probably change hands!

If Yangping Pass cannot be defended, can Nanzheng... really be defended?
Zhang Lu repeatedly hesitated whether to call Yan Pu and others to discuss it, but finally gave up.

After all, Zhang Lu didn't want others to know, or rather... "I didn't want others to know" that he ordered the abandonment of Yangping Pass.

So we still have to wait for Zhang Wei’s official report!

He stayed up all night and couldn't even calm down to meditate. However, Zhang Lu finally got the news that Yangping Pass was broken after waiting until the next morning.

After Zhang Lu "learned the news", he immediately summoned Yan Pu, Yang Song and others to discuss the matter.

Hearing that Yangping Pass had been breached, Zhang Wei made a prompt decision and chose to withdraw in advance in order to reduce unnecessary casualties and preserve the effective strength of Tianshi Dao. Yan Pu and Yang Song were both shocked...

Although they knew that the Yangping Pass was not very good, in their impression, it was not so urgent. Yang Song was even ready to encourage Zhang Lu and send him to find Ma Chao for peace talks - Yang Song had almost written it in his heart. Zhang Lu sells it for a good price, becomes a hero of the resurgence of the Han Dynasty, is glorious for a lifetime, and becomes a celebrity through the ages!

Yan Pu was also speechless. Based on his understanding of Zhang Lu, this must have been a deliberate attempt to hide some key information from their counselors!

Yang Song rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth and said: "Heavenly Master! Without further ado, we should immediately contact all levels of the congregation to offer wine, mobilize the people, seize the summer seedlings, erect the walls and clear the fields, occupy the city, and wait for the enemy to retreat! "

Zhang Lu was a little moved by what Yang Song said - this is exactly what can be done to give full play to the advantages of Tianshi Dao. Ordinary princes have to fortify their walls and clear the country, which not only disturbs the people, but also directly affects their livelihood even now it is summer. It is undoubtedly a very unpopular move. .

But...it does work.

And for Tianshi Dao, the negative effects are much smaller. After all, it is easier to "trouble" believers than torment the common people!

Through Tianshi Dao and wine sacrifices at all levels, Zhang Lu could, to a certain extent, bypass the gentry and directly influence the people. This is something that only Chu State, except Hanzhong, can do now.

On the other hand, Hanzhong is indeed relatively wealthy and can fully afford the loss of strong walls and clear wilderness.

But at this moment, Yan Pu, who was very tired but still faithfully performed his duties, offered advice to Zhang Lu: "My lord! Once the Yangping Pass is broken, there will be no danger for Nanzheng to defend. Even if the walls are fortified and the fields are cleared, the people of Liangzhou can still do it." Bypassing Nanzheng, and plundering Xicheng and even Shangyong in the east of Han Dynasty, this is the plan... My lord can try his best to persuade the people to follow him south across Micang Mountain and take refuge in Bazhong for the time being!"

Yan Pu said, and glanced at Yang Song with a cold and cryptic look, feeling that this guy's suggestion was not only stupid, but also had bad intentions.

Zhang Lu also hesitated after hearing the two completely different arguments...

At this time, people outside the city of "Xin County", north of Shangyong and east of Xicheng, located in the Han River Basin and the northwestmost part of Hanzhong, discovered that accompanied by the morning fog, a large number of ships were approaching in the Han River!

At the same time, Zhao Yun finally took advantage of Xuanhan's lack of troops, crossed the Bucao River, and rushed to Xuanhan.

However, in the southwest of Jiangzhou, Zhang Ren, who also "should not appear", also led his troops to come...

(End of this chapter)