Tangcang Town discovered the grain storage of the Shu Army garrison. Upon hearing the news, Guo Shao gave the vanguard command to Li Chuyun and personally rode to Tangcang Town. On the way, he met the First Army Du Yuhou, who ordered him to take the four commanders and horses to leave Huanghua Valley and return to Weiwu City.
In the southwest of Tangcang Town, with the mountains behind and the Gudao River in front, there was a large camp of the Shu army with many houses. At this time, all the officials and generals who stayed behind had surrendered. Guo Shao, Wang Zhang, Luo Yanhuan and others rode on horseback, waded through the river valley, and arrived at the granary that had been guarded by soldiers.
Guo Shao couldn't wait any longer, so he strode into a room, where he saw seven or eight cylindrical granaries, surrounded by dense bamboo strips. Guo Shao pulled out his sword, stabbed the middle, and then pulled it to the side. The bamboo strips were torn, revealing the sack inside, and the wheat flowed out. Guo Shao reached out to catch it, put it in his mouth and chewed it, then turned around and asked: How many granaries like this are there, and how much grain is there in total
An official from Shu hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying: In reply to the general's question, Tangcang Town has 20,000 hu of grain in stock, which can supply the military and civilians near Tangcang for more than a month.
Guo Shao's eyes lit up, his face turned red, and he couldn't suppress his excitement. Just as they were short of food, this food was really a timely help.
The official hurriedly said: "The guard Wang Jian found that Zhou's army had entered the valley entrance, and thought that Tang Cang's army had been defeated when they came out of the mountain, so he ordered me to burn the granary. I used a trick to lure him into the house, ambushed him, and captured him, so that the grain was saved."
You did a good job, Guo Shao said casually.
Twenty thousand hu was the only number that lingered in his mind for the time being. The Shu army in Tangcang Town had to supply rations for the army and the civilians, but Guo Shao would not consider feeding the captives and the Shu people. It was already a benevolence not to allow the soldiers to plunder and massacre. The captives were escorted directly out of Qinling Mountains and the baggage was thrown to Wang Jing. Guo Shao only had to consider the army's rations. The soldiers could continue to fight only when they were full.
Since the Tang Dynasty, one dou is equivalent to ten dou, which is equivalent to a stone. Guo Shao calculated in his mind that supplying 6,000 infantrymen could theoretically last more than a hundred days.
Hehe. Guo Shao laughed out loud.
Wang Zhang, Luo Yanhuan and others also smiled when they saw this. Guo Shao turned around, patted Luo Yanhuan on the shoulder, and looked at Wang Zhang: Send someone to guard it, and we will take a look at the other granaries.
Guo Shao thought to himself: Please allow me to be intoxicated for a while, and enjoy the full warehouse of grain first.
Then he said loudly in front of the Shu officials: Treat the surrendered Shu people well, and send the captives to Fengxiang first. Zuo You, record those who have made contributions.
Guo Shao was now swept away from his melancholy. Although he was relatively calm at that time, he was still uneasy. It was like when you were studying away from home and your living expenses could only last for ten days, you were always uneasy. That kind of panic should be even worse than this, because there are a lot of people asking you for food, and you can't save money. If you owe the soldiers food, they will also lack the strength to fight. There is no reason for warriors. Everyone can't tell the truth, but they know it very well.
For a while, he walked with a swagger and spoke in a different tone. There was no way, Guo Shao didn't like to pretend, and there was no need to hold back his happiness.
When he returned to the outskirts of Weiwu City in the evening, Guo Shao was no longer panicked when he saw the city. It didn't matter if the Shu army was hiding inside. Anyway, I had food to eat and would slowly think of a way. Because of his ups and downs in mood, he suddenly relaxed from his worries. Guo Shao looked at Weiwu City and cursed: Damn Wang Huan, let me see how I will kill you
Don’t say that sometimes it’s not bad to speak dirty words. Once they come out of your mouth, it feels like you’ve let out some bad air, and it feels so refreshing.
After hearing this, all the generals burst into laughter.
Guo Shao thought for a while and said: Send someone to report the victory to General Wang Jie, and then ask him to send troops to follow up.
Without Guo Shao sending anyone to report the victory, Wang Jing knew the situation of the battle in the front within two days. The military officers and officials of Fengxiang Town were all surprised and looked at each other in bewilderment in front of Wang Jing.
Ten days and ten days of work, they gained tens of thousands. Could it be that the people in front deliberately exaggerated and reported falsely? The middle-aged staff who often followed Wang Jing looked puzzled. There is such a battle.
The general said: "More than 2,000 prisoners were sent back a few days ago. This time they said they defeated 6,000 Shu troops in Huanghua Valley and Tangcang Town. When the prisoners are sent back, there are more than 8,000 living people we saw. It's not a big deal to report that 10,000 people were captured."
Wang Jing said calmly: "The vanguard fought smoothly, and the entire Western Expedition Army saved trouble. This is not a bad thing. I think we can mobilize the Fengxiang Town soldiers to enter Chencang Road for reinforcement, hand over Weiwu City and Fengzhou City to us, and order Guo Shao's troops to drive directly to Guzhen."
The staff suddenly realized that as long as they occupied Guzhen, they could threaten the throat of Qingniling and block the Shu army from coming north to reinforce. Qin Feng would be trapped.
Wang Jing said: "Since that is the case, you can give the order. Xiang Xun's troops will go from Sanguan to Qinling Road and approach Qinzhou. A part of Fengxiang Army will go to Qinzhou along the Weishui River; another part will go to Chencang Road, go out of Sanguan, and replace the vanguard army to attack the mighty city of Fengzhou. The vanguard of Guo Shao's troops will go straight to Guzhen, quickly blocking the throat of the Shu army. The Western Expedition Army will attack on all fronts and catch it off guard.
All the generals bowed in admiration, and marveled at how well Wang Jie planned and strategized, and how he could decide the battle while chatting and laughing.
But the guest minister Zan Jurun did not think so. He now believed that the person who decided the battle was the vanguard Tiger Army Guo Shao. Although there were risks, he seized the opportunity and had good luck. The vanguard swept the main forces of Fengzhou in ten days, used troops quickly and seized 20,000 hu of grain and grass, which fundamentally made up for the lack of poor grain and grass preparation in the early stage of the Western Expedition Army.
Zan Jurun believed that he did not favor one side, but just reported the situation in a proper manner. He wrote a letter and then immediately prepared to go to the front line to see the situation for himself.
Zan Jurun paced back and forth in the house. He felt that the government and the Privy Council would celebrate this great victory with great joy, but his memorial was too plain and would have no outstanding impact at all.
Of course, he hurried to the desk, picked up the brush and rewrote the end, using the same lyrical and lamenting style as Taishigong, predicting that the recovery of Qin Feng would be as easy as autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, and it would be just around the corner. Then he also said that the emperor had great achievements in civil and military affairs, had a great vision, and had found a breakthrough to unify the country; he also praised the prime minister of the Privy Council for his good planning and recommendation of talents. The country has a wise ruler and loyal and brave generals, which is unprecedented in history.
Zan Jurun finished writing it in one breath. He read it himself and felt that it was brilliant and the words were heroic. He was very satisfied and was busy transcribing it. He called his attendant in and told him to send the report to Tokyo immediately by express horse for 600 miles.