Tongguan fell into the hands of the Chu army. Once such news spreads throughout the world, it will definitely shock the whole world.
Qining didn't know what Qu Yuangu would do when he got the news about the fire in his lair. Should he continue to march towards Luoyang, or turn around and return to attack Tongguan and then recapture the northwest
But no matter what choice Qu Yuangu makes, since Qi Ning has controlled Tongguan, he will naturally hold Tongguan firmly in his hands.
Early the next morning, he personally inspected various places in Tongguan.
This is a dangerous pass, and the people who have occupied this pass in the past have certainly spent all their efforts to strengthen the defense here. Because of this, the thickness of the walls of this pass is really amazing, and the layout of the pass is extremely complete.
Not only does it have a special weapons depot, but it also has all the necessary food, drink, and toiletries. There are enough food and water reserves in the pass. It will not be any problem to persist for three or four months.
After taking a closer look at Motong Pass, Qin Ning marveled at the majesty of this pass.
Although it is an important pass that everyone in the world cares about, if you really want to guard this pass, you really can't waste much troops. As long as the defenders are arranged in the right place, it can really have the effect of one man guarding the pass, and the arrows at Tongguan The arrows were extremely well prepared and had a lot of inventory. Qining stood on the pass, overlooking the east, and saw the winding path leading here. He couldn't help but think that if he attacked from the east, he might not be able to do anything. How can we capture Tongguan
I have to say that winning Tongguan this time was really due to luck.
If he hadn't gotten the secret letter and intercepted Qu Manbao halfway, it would really not have been easy to capture Tongguan.
He has been wondering who sent the secret letter. Not only did the secret letter not reveal the whereabouts of Qu Manbao, but it also carried a map of Xianyang. This shows that the person not only knew the situation in Xianyang extremely well, but also had a close relationship with Qu Manbao. The relationship between them is also very close. It is of course impossible for an ordinary person to know the whereabouts of Qu Manbao.
Qu Manbao mentioned Daosheng last night, which surprised Qi Ning. He learned some information about Daosheng from Qu Manbao. Qi Ning also felt that Daosheng's words and deeds were a bit strange, and wondered whether the secret letter really had something to do with Daosheng. relation
The soldiers and horses under Qi Ning were divided into two teams. One team was responsible for burying the corpses, while the other team was stationed at Tongguan.
To set up defense at Tongguan, three to four hundred people are actually enough.
The sun was shining on Tongguan. Qining was standing at the top of the city. He heard the footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw that Lu Kang was already behind him. Lu Kang saluted Qining. Qining saw that his right arm was bandaged. Yesterday Lu Kang led his men to support from behind. He also took the lead and made many military exploits.
"How's the injury?" Qining said with a smile.
Lu Kang said hurriedly: "Thank you Sir for taking care of me. It's not serious. I will recover in two days."
"Tongguan is already in our hands. Do you think Qu Yuangu will come back?" Qining asked.
Lu Kang thought for a moment and then said: "My subordinates feel that it is not very likely that Qu Yuangu will mobilize all his troops to attack Tongguan. He understands the dangers of Tongguan better than anyone else and knows how difficult it is to capture Tongguan under the current circumstances." It is impossible. Once the Northwest Army is trapped in Tongguan and Luoyang cannot be captured, the entire Northwest Army will suffer disaster."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "Beitangfeng leads the troops into the pass. He is naturally Luoyang's number one enemy. Luoyang will definitely pay attention to the movements of the Northwest Army at all times. If Tongguan is lost, Luoyang will soon know. In this way , On the contrary, it will make Beitang Hao firmly guard Luoyang's heart. They know that the Northwest Army's logistics supply is insufficient. If the delay is one more day, the Northwest Army will face a day of difficulties. As long as it persists for a period of time, the Northwest Army will collapse without a fight."
"Exactly." Lu Kang said: "Bei Tanghao currently controls Luoyang, and as long as he survives this period, the people of the Northern Han Dynasty will definitely turn to him. The longer the delay, the more beneficial it will be to Beitang Hao." After a slight pause, he said: "Qu Yuangu should know that his only hope is to fight with all his strength to capture Luoyang before the Northwest Army collapses. He has tens of thousands of elite soldiers. If he really attacks Luoyang with all his strength, it will not be impossible. Chance."
Qi Ning said: "I got the news that Beitang Zhao's frontier army was sharp at the beginning, but after fighting Beitang Hao for a few times, it was now exhausted and at the end of its rope. The Northwest Army and Beitang Zhao They are all in trouble, and they may not reach an agreement privately and join forces to attack Luoyang."
Lu Kang said: "If this is true, Beitang Hao's strength cannot compete with these two people, and Luoyang is really in danger. However, Qu Yuangu will not ignore the fall of Tongguan, and his subordinates believe that he will deploy a team of The troops coming here may not really want to capture Tongguan, but to set up defenses on Tongguan Road to prevent us from entering the pass from the northwest and sneaking up on him from behind."
Qi Ning smiled and said: "Yes, it is commendable that you can think of this. I don't know how the battle is going in Xianyang. Now that we have taken it, we must control Xianyang next. I am going to send troops to Xianyang early tomorrow morning to support Tongguan." This side... I leave it to you."
Lu Kang was startled and said in surprise: "Sir, my subordinate... this...!" He was really surprised, thinking to himself that Tongguan was such an important place, how could the little prince give it to him
"You don't have to think too much." Qi Ning said: "Actually, I discussed it with Duan Canghai when we were on Ziwu Road. At that time, I asked Duan Canghai to recommend a loyal and brave general, and Duan Canghai was the first to recommend you. It goes without saying that you are loyal. The most rare thing is your tenacity. If Tongguan is handed over to you, it will be absolutely foolproof. It is for this reason that I took you with me when we attacked Tongguan. I originally wanted to place you here in Tongguan. Stay on the sidelines.”
Of course, Lu Kang knew how much trust he placed in handing Tongguan over to him. He hesitated for a moment and then said: "Sir, my subordinates are mediocre in talent. I may not be able to take on such an important task. But... if the Lord orders me to let my subordinates Stationed here, my subordinates will obey the military orders, and I promise the Lord that anyone who wants to pass through Tongguan will have to step on my subordinates’ corpses.”
"Don't say such unlucky words." Qi Ning said with a smile: "Before the imperial court has a new decree, Tongguan will be handed over to you. How to arrange it in the future will be determined by the imperial court's decree."
Lu Kang raised his hands and said yes.
Qining asked Lu Kang to select 500 people from the army to stay in Tongguan. He did not have to worry about the shortage of supplies in Tongguan. Both food and equipment were fully stocked here.
Qining knew in his heart that Lu Kang and these five hundred people would live and die together in Tongguan in a short period of time, and that they would even be stationed here for a long time. When he was leaving, he offered water instead of wine and toasted everyone with a bowl. Early in the morning, he led the rest of the troops and headed west towards Xianyang.
Tongguan was only a few days' journey from Xianyang. On the third day, he saw billowing dust in front of him. A small group of cavalry came towards him. Qining raised his hand and ordered the team to stop. Soon, the group of cavalry had arrived in front. Qi Ning got off his horse and ran towards him. He saw that the man looked familiar. After thinking about it, he remembered that his name was Zhou Yunbin. He was also a member of the Black Scale Camp back then. Like Lu Kang, it was Duan Canghai who was rebuilding the Black Scale Camp. When recalled, this person seemed to have been a school captain before.
"Sir, Commander Duan reported that Xianyang has been captured. Now our army has entered Xianyang and has roughly stabilized the situation in Xianyang." Zhou Yunbin said respectfully: "Now a ban has been issued in the city, and all officials in Xianyang have been Take control and ask Sir Alex to make a decision on how to deal with it."
As soon as these words came out, all the soldiers behind Qin Ning cheered.
Qi Ning also said happily: "Has Xianyang been captured?"
"The night before yesterday, Commander Duan led the main force close to the west gate of Xianyang, where the defenders were the weakest. Moreover, the brothers who had entered the city in advance used sound arrows as a signal that night. After sending the signal, the brothers in the city immediately launched an attack on the west gate and robbed the west gate. , the main force of our army immediately attacked the west gate. Before their reinforcements arrived, they had already captured the west gate of Xianyang. After entering the city, we quickly occupied the warehouse and the Zhenxi General's Mansion." Zhou Yunbin's voice was also quite excited: "The defenders in the city did not Not many, and when many Han soldiers saw us entering the city, they immediately surrendered and occupied Xianyang City almost without a fight."
Qining looked up at the sky, feeling excited and relaxed.
Of course he knew that this attack on the northwest seemed to go well, but in fact the result was not due to the bravery of the Chu army. In the final analysis, the Han army's own problems were too big.
Qu Yuangu commanded the main force of the Northwest Army to enter the pass. The force left behind in Xianyang was naturally very weak. Qining had already judged this in advance.
The most terrible thing is that Xianyang's defense is already weak, but the city guard, Qu Manbao, left Xianyang for Tongguan. As a result, the Xianyang defenders were left without a leader.
Of course, the defenders of Xianyang could not have thought that the narrow passage in the Qinling Mountains had been breached, and it was even less likely that the Chu army had been prepared for the attack.
They thought that with the Qinling Mountains as a barrier to the south and Tongguan to the east, the entire northwest could sit back and relax. Of course, they were not prepared for the sudden enemy.
When he and the young emperor Longtai made the plan to attack Xianyang, Qi Ning had thought about the dangers involved and knew that this attack would either be solved neatly and quickly, or it would fall into an extremely difficult predicament.
It's just that things developed so smoothly, which Qining really didn't expect.
Looking at the vast sky, Qi Ning suddenly realized a question. Was it not just his own force that attacked Xianyang? Did the Chu State make more arrangements behind this? Otherwise things would never have progressed so smoothly.
Qi Ning led the team non-stop, all the way to Xianyang. At noon the next day, he saw a magnificent city on the earth from a distance. The huge city was quietly creeping on the earth. Qin Ning knew that it was Xianyang City has fallen into the control of the Chu army.