Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1421 Juyongguan Incident

"General, urgent news from Nankou: Han cavalry has appeared in the direction of Ji County and has blocked the exit of Xingdao!"

When the sun was setting, General Zhendong reached the southern entrance of Jundu Xing. Thirty miles away, Xianyu Fu, who was guarding Juyong Pass, received the bad news.

"what?"

"impossible!"

As if he could not accept the news, the bamboo slips of battle report in his hand seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and fell to the ground with a "click", and were broken into pieces by his staggering steps.

"There are at least 10,000 defenders in Ji County and Yuyang!"

The roar suddenly changed its pitch, and the ending sounded as sharp as a woman's:
"What were they doing? Are they all dead? Why did the Shu barbarians get behind the city without any news?"

"How did the Han army get here? Did they fly here?"

No one can answer this question.

After Xian Yu Fu roared these words, he was panting like a cow, staring towards the south, as if he was nailed to the top of the city wall.

Nearly ten thousand Han cavalry appeared behind Juyong Pass, so it was impossible for them to take those dangerous mountain paths, because those dangerous paths could not accommodate so many cavalry.

The closest and most likely road that can avoid Juyongguan and allow a large number of cavalry to pass is Baoqiu River.

As for how the Han army crossed the swamp in such a short time, why the Buyao tribe in the northeast of Youzhou did not give timely warnings, and how the ancient pass of Yuyang was breached...

These are no longer important.

What’s important is that the Han cavalry entered Youzhou, which meant that there were no more strategic locations in the entire Hebei Province that could stop the Han cavalry.

Thinking that the Grand Tutor had entrusted the most important pass in Youzhou to him, the Han army cut off his retreat without his knowledge.

Xian Yu Fu felt as if all the strength in his body had been drained away. He staggered towards the arrow window involuntarily, and his iron armor hit the battlement, causing dust to fall off.

The dull sound of the left knee iron armor hitting the parapet woke everyone up.

The old Youzhou general actually knelt down facing the southwest, and the scales on his armor scraped against the wall, making a sound like a ghost grinding its teeth.

When the personal guards beside him tried to support him, they touched his trembling shoulder armor. He saw that the old general's pupils were sometimes contracted like needles, and sometimes dilated like dead fish, and his beard was swaying with the twitching of his facial muscles.

Xian Yufu turned to the front of the checkpoint like a puppet, and every word he uttered mechanically seemed to chew on his throat bones:

"Guan Suo led the Han cavalry to appear in the southwest of Juyong Pass..."

"The Han-Hu coalition forces at the pass..."

I was halfway through my words when I couldn't go on any further.

At this point, all the anomalies have been perfectly explained.

In the months after the Han Dynasty sent troops to the border areas in winter and exterminated the Tuoba clan, there was no major movement outside the border areas except for the constant harassment of the three passes on the Taihang Mountains by the Hu people.

It was not until a month ago that the Han army appeared outside the pass and suddenly increased the intensity of the siege.

It turns out that all this was planned.

Xian Yu Fu's nails dug deeply into the cracks in the earth of the city wall, plowing out five hideous bloody grooves, but he felt no pain at all.

I don't know what he was thinking about, but he suddenly laughed, and his laughter was mixed with the sound of phlegm:

"Good, good, good! A good trick to make a feint to the east and attack in the west... A good winged tiger of the east... Ha... I have become the scrap of this person's chessboard!"

Guan Yihu's way of using troops is just like a wolf ripping its belly apart:
It seems that the main forces are facing each other head on, but the real killer move has already gone around and tore open the internal organs.

At this time, the last ray of setting sun had completely disappeared into the horizon, dusk fell, and a few bright stars rose in the southwest, exploding countless star flowers in the sky.

Xian Yufu, who had just sorted out his thoughts, suddenly changed his expression again, and his pupils suddenly contracted again:
"Beacon... Beacon..."

He moved his lips in vain, but could only make breathy sounds. His Adam's apple rolled up and down, and he could not utter another word.

Look at the place where the falling star rises, there are already beacons on the Xing Road to signal the surrender of the Han army.

Where the stars fall, there must be Han troops.

Starfall is a unique communication method used by the Han army.

Legend has it that it first appeared in the Battle of Jieting.

But Xianyu Fu first saw Xingzhui during the battle in Guanzhong.

That time, his opponent was also Guan Yihu.

That time, after he saw Xingzhui, he was also forced to cross the river by Guan Yihu's feint to the east and attack in the west.

Everything goes around in circles, like a nightmare, but the cycle continues.

After the falling stars in the southwest disappeared, after a long while, stars suddenly scattered in the sky above the north side of the city.

"The Han army outside the city has received the news..."

Xian Yu Fu's pupils reflected the falling stars that exploded in the night. The successive military intelligence in a short period of time made his face become dull, and he could only mutter something.

Facing this falling star that seemed like a natural phenomenon, at a certain moment, in the dark, he suddenly felt that the Liu Han dynasty did not seem to be cut off, but was still continuing.

As an eyewitness to the Battle of Guanzhong, Xianyu Fu knew very well how terrifying the Han cavalry was and how terrifying the Hedong Winged Tigers were.

It can be said that among all the bandit generals of the Han State, this man is the most cunning and fierce after the bandit Feng.

The Han cavalry led by Hedong Winged Tiger is one of the most terrifying existences in the world.

The Han cavalry led by the Hedong Winged Tiger cut off their food supply route...

It was a hot July day and the mountain breeze blew at night, bringing a slight chill, but Xian Yu Fu felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

"General!"

After the star fell, the old general seemed to have lost all his energy and spirit and lost his soul. The personal guards held the old general's arm and dared not let go.

He just couldn't help but raise his tone, trying to call the old general back to his senses.

Perhaps the guards' shouting had worked, Xian Yu Fu regained consciousness a little. As a veteran, he pulled himself together and almost instinctively ordered:

"Send someone to investigate immediately. We must find out the situation at the South Gate before tomorrow morning!"

"Here!"

In fact, there was no need to wait until dawn. The beacon towers in the south kept lighting up signal smoke at night, and the flames could be seen clearly from more than ten miles away.

There was an endless stream of messengers sent to Juyongguan, delivering military intelligence all night long.

In the end, even a copy of the Han army's letter of surrender was delivered to Xianyu Fu.

That night, Xianyu Fu was not sleepy at all. He stood on the city wall of Juyongguan like a sculpture, wondering what he was thinking about.

This is bound to be a sleepless night.

The beacon fires blazing into the sky and the endless stream of messengers made even the most slow-witted soldiers feel that something was wrong.

Unrest began to spread throughout the army like a plague.

It is not surprising that there is enemy force to the north of Juyongguan.

After all, the Youzhou border has only been stable for a few years.

In his early years, when Tian Yu was still in Youzhou, Kebineng even led his troops to besiege Macheng for seven days and seven nights.

But as long as they rely on the Yanshan Pass, even if the Hu people outside the Great Wall can occasionally break through the pass, they will not be able to penetrate deep into the hinterland, let alone stay inside the Great Wall for a long time.

But this time it seems different.

The pass in front of us has not been lost yet, so what’s going on when smoke signals suddenly appeared in the rear?

The tense atmosphere in the army made many soldiers and even officers feel uneasy.

Until the quietest time in the second half of the night, a faint singing voice came from the south:
"The willows at Jimen break one's heart. Ten years of guarding the country have brought on autumn frost. The Sanggan River flows day and night, and flows to Yuyang, which is my hometown."

"White dew falls, millet scatters, Jinan and Jibei are suspicious of each other. Wine at the east gate, flags at the west gate, after drinking, I don't know where to go."

"The geese of Yuyang, with their feathers withered, fly over the dome with empty reed leaves in their mouths..."

"The blood written on the iron armor is blurred. The blurred words are not my tears, but the red in your bones."

……

At this time when people are most prone to sleepiness, the Wei soldier who was on duty on the city wall and was already a little drowsy suddenly woke up with a start.

I thought I was in a dream, but when I listened carefully, I found that although the singing in my ears was not very clear, the familiar tune was lingering.

"This is... this is a folk song from Yan..."

The soldiers from Youzhou were confused and looked towards the south.

In the moonlight, the mountains were hidden in darkness, with only the undulating ridges showing, like a lurking giant beast.

"General..."

The hurried footsteps of the guards broke the silence on the city wall.

"What's the matter?"

Although I couldn't see the commander's face clearly in the dark, I could hear the fatigue in his tone.

It was obvious that from the time the Han army appeared at Nankou to the time military intelligence was continuously sent in at night, the situation behind Juyongguan was deteriorating rapidly every moment.

This put Xian Yu Fu under great pressure.

The guard's tone was a little hesitant:
"Behind the city gate, someone is singing..."

"Sing?"

"It's the Youzhou accent, singing the ballads of our Yan land..."

The personal guards were the people Xianyu Fu trusted the most. Most of them came from Youzhou, and many of them were even from Yuyang, the same place as Xianyu Fu.

When Xian Yu Fu heard this, his body, which had already been numb enough, suddenly shook!
"Yan Ge?"

"Exactly."

"What are you singing about?"

"Jibei Ballad, Bailu Song, Zhengyi Yuan... we have them all!"

Before Xian Yufu could speak, the deputy general's voice came along with the sound of hurried footsteps, "General, there are people singing outside the city..."

"I already know." Xian Yufu interrupted the deputy general and said slowly: "This is the Han army's strategy of tiring out the soldiers and destroying our army's morale."

Although the tone was calm, the dark shadow in the night seemed to be hunched over even more.

The fact that the singing could reach the city gate could only mean one thing, that is, the beacon towers on the pass either surrendered to the Han army or were captured by the Han army.

Whatever the case, it's probably lost.

The deputy general swallowed his saliva and said with some difficulty:
"General, it seems some of our soldiers have started to sing along..."

Quiet.

Deadly quiet.

After a long while, Xian Yufu suddenly laughed out loud like a nervous person:

"Hehe...haha..."

"How could I deserve the same treatment as the Overlord of Western Chu..."

Ambush from all sides, besieged on all sides.

In the Battle of Gaixia, Xiang Yu was defeated and committed suicide by slashing his throat at the Wujiang River.

Although it is not yet time to set up an ambush from all sides, the Han army is surrounded by troops in front and behind, and there are dangerous mountains on the left and right, which is not much different from an ambush from all sides.

Among the more than 30,000 defenders at Juyong Pass, more than half were from Youzhou.

How much better can they be than the soldiers of Chu even if they hear the accent of Youzhou?

I’m afraid it’s far from enough.

Guan Yihu, oh Guan Yihu, you think too highly of me, Xian Yu.

Can't even wait overnight.

Xian Yu Fu looked up at the sky and saw the morning star had appeared in the east.

It's almost dawn.

"Gather all the generals. I have something important to discuss."

After all the generals gathered, Xianyu Fu, who had not slept all night, sat in the main seat in the military meeting hall. He did not hide his tiredness at all and gave a brief account of the situation in the rear.

He also distributed the military intelligence that was transmitted back in the first half of the night to everyone for review.

Then he asked in a slightly hoarse voice:
"According to your opinions, what should we do now? Fight, defend, or surrender?"

No one answered.

Although many people already have guesses in their minds, guessing is one thing and actually knowing is another.

Even though they were mentally prepared, in the face of the cruel reality, everyone was still shaken and their faces turned pale.

Just like Xian Yu Fu when he first got the news, he was so hasty that he even couldn't accept the reality.

"Speak, are you all mute?"

Xian Yu Fu slammed the table and shouted, "The Han army has until noon to give you a reply. After this time, it will be difficult for you to surrender even if you want to, and you will have to fight even if you don't want to."

Seeing that everyone was speechless, and even the commander in chief seemed to be shrouded in pessimism, the military commander could not help but stand up and said:

"General, Juyong Pass is a great pass in the world. We still have 30,000 people in the city, and the food and grass are enough to sustain us for more than a month."

"Besides, the enemy are all cavalry and are not good at attacking cities. We just need to hold our ground and not fight. The enemy will not be able to break through the city."

"After the Grand Tutor hears the news, he will surely send reinforcements soon. Then, as long as we attack from both inside and outside, we may be able to defeat the Han army."

The military commander is a kind of military supervisor in the army, who was sent by Sima Yi. At this time, he will definitely not advocate surrender.

Xian Yufu glanced at the military commander without commenting:

"What you said does make sense, what do other people think?"

Although the generals from Youzhou below did not speak, they all signaled with their eyes tacitly.

Xian Yu Fu did not seem to notice the actions of those people below. He just looked at the military commander and said:
"According to the military commander, if we want to hold our ground and wait for help, we must work together."

"Many of the soldiers in the city now come from Youzhou. When they heard that their hometown had fallen into the hands of the Han army, their morale was inevitably dampened."

"Tonight, if someone suddenly heard the hometown accent outside the city, they would all shed tears. I'm afraid the army has no will to fight at this moment, but I don't know how the military commander will solve this problem?"

The military commander answered without hesitation:

"Is military law just for show? Anyone who is lazy in fighting will be executed!"

The laws and discipline of the Wei State were strict. For those ordinary soldiers, if they dared to escape, their family members at home, including their parents, wives and children, would be implicated.

When he thought of this, Jun Sima suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Hey, family members in the rear?

Xian Yufu didn't wait for him to think about it and asked again:

"Then according to what the military commander said, if the Grand Tutor sends someone to rescue us, who can defeat the Hedong Winged Tiger?"

The military commander opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

Unable to answer, Jun Sima felt a little embarrassed:
"The Grand Master leads hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers from Hebei. Would he be afraid of a mere 10,000 people?"

"Ha!" Xian Yufu seemed to be sneering, with contempt in his eyes:
"That's not just 10,000 people. That's 10,000 cavalry! The iron cavalry of the Han army! Looking at the whole of Hebei, unless the Grand Tutor leads the elite troops of Hebei to rescue, who dares to come to the rescue?"

Guo Huai?

Sun Li?

Bull gold?

Do you really think that fearing Shu like a tiger is an exaggeration?

Not to mention that the Hedong Winged Tiger was a real tiger.

"The Grand Master and his elite troops are all in Taihang to confront the Feng bandit. We dare not leave. Don't forget, there are also more than 100,000 Han troops to the west of Taihang!"

"So I ask you, where will the reinforcements come from? How will they come? Who will come?"

"As long as the Han army blocks the city for a month, the food and grass in the city will be eaten up. What will the city eat then?"

"Not to mention that Youzhou has been lost now, and the army has no will to fight. You can kill one man, can you kill a hundred? Can you kill a thousand?"

At this point, how could the military commander not understand that Xianyu Fu had already decided to surrender?

He immediately pressed his sword subconsciously and asked:
"General, what do you mean by that? Are you going to surrender?"

Xianyu Fu did not say anything, but just slowly glanced at the generals below, especially those from Youzhou.

I don't know who shouted, and rushed directly to Jun Sima:
"There is no way to retreat, there is no way to fight, how can we not surrender? If you want us to die, then I will send you to death first!"

With Xianyu Fu's hint, someone else took the lead. After a moment of surprise, the generals from Youzhou all drew their swords and stepped forward.

"How dare you disrespect the old general, you thief!"

"You are the one who is against it!"

……

Jun Sima was no match for the four punches with his bare hands. He blocked the first sword, but couldn't block several swords coming from several directions.

After only a few screams, the military commander was stabbed to death and his body was chopped into several pieces. Only then did everyone stop.

Regarding the chaos below, Xianyu Fu sat there with his head down, motionless, as if he didn't see it and seemed like he was asleep.

When the military commander was dead, he ordered the fight to stop and asked his personal guards to come in and clean up the mess.

Looking at the generals who did not take action, they all showed fear on their faces. Xian Yu Fu also had a look of pain on his face and said in a hoarse voice:
"I want to surrender to the Han, not for myself, but for the people of Youzhou. Youzhou has been lost, and the Youzhou people in the city have no desire to fight anymore, not to mention that the Han army is tempting them with huge benefits."

"If we don't surrender today, we won't be able to suppress the morale of the soldiers in the future. I'm afraid our heads will be chopped off to seek credit from the Han army."

"I have already failed my country and I do not want to let my colleagues down again. If anyone is unwilling to surrender, you can leave quietly before daybreak. I will not stop you."

"Those who wish to surrender, go back and pack your things, and follow me to Nankou tomorrow."

The singing of Yan all around is just the beginning.

If they really did not surrender, within a few days, the soldiers in the city would probably know that if they surrendered to the Han army, they would not only be given 50 acres of land and one-tenth of the tax, but would also be exempted from the head tax.

As an old man who had followed Cao Cao since the Battle of Guandu, Xianyu Fu knew very well how hard life had been for the people in the Wei Dynasty over the years.

With morale low and the army having no will to fight, once the news spread, it was obvious that soldiers would desert in large numbers.

If things get pushed to the limit, mutiny is possible.

Instead of doing this, it is better to be decisive when striving for the greatest benefit.

After hearing Xian Yufu's words, the others didn't know what to feel, but the generals from Youzhou all saluted Xian Yufu with joy:
"What the old general said is absolutely right."

"General, this is not for yourself, but for the people of Youzhou!"

The top three generals of Cao Wei's Youzhou faction were: Yan Rou, who had died; Tian Yu, who was squeezed out of Youzhou and appointed as the prefect of Runan; and Xianyu Fu.

At the same time, Xianyu Fu was also a veteran who had been guarding Youzhou, and he enjoyed considerable prestige among the middle and low-level generals in Youzhou.

But it was precisely because he was from Youzhou that when Youzhou had been lost and he knew it was hopeless to hold on, he decided to surrender after weighing the pros and cons for a night.

In his opinion, the battle in Hebei was over the moment the Hedong Winged Tiger led 10,000 cavalry into Youzhou.

Rather than struggling to the death and letting the people of Youzhou lose their lives in vain, it would be better to have less war and more vitality in Youzhou.

Youzhou is a cold and bitter place, and coupled with harsh policies and heavy taxes, the people have lived a very hard life for many years.

Xian Yu Fu looked at the people below, most of whom looked relieved, and couldn't help but sigh:

"Forget it, as long as the Hedong Winged Tiger can really keep his promise, it doesn't matter if I am cursed by the world as a slave of three surnames."