Gongsun Xun personally set off to attack Tongguan, which was undoubtedly an absolutely stupid move from a military point of view. This is because before this era, there had never been any clear-cut example in Chinese military history of being trapped in a two-sided attack but able to win, let alone

He entered on his own initiative.

Of course, the first explicit example of war is not that far away. Historically, it was during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty. When Zhuge Liang faced Sima Yi, Zhang Zha, Guo Huai and others in Lucheng, he did this with an absolutely inferior force.

From then on, he completely established his own military status and placed the military structure of the latter three under him forever.

However, at this time, Gongsun Xun and all the advisers and generals under his command did not know about this battle, and neither did Gongsun's aunt... But Gongsun Xun still chose to cross the river to knock Tongguan, and none of his subordinates objected.

Why?

Because there is really no other way.

Tongguan and Pujin are the two destinations. If you want to enter Guanzhong, defeat Dong Zhuo, and recapture the emperor and the center, you can only choose to attack these two points.

Judging from Gongsun Xun's current political situation, is it okay if he does not take Guanzhong, defeat Dong, and control the emperor?

In theory, of course, it is possible. After all, he has territory, soldiers and horses, and a mother who understands the direction of history to guide him in institutional construction, technological development, economic and people's livelihood, etc. As time goes by, the territory becomes larger, and quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes.

, perhaps it does not delay him from lashing out at the world and calling himself a loner.

But the question is, what is the cost of just turning around and leaving?

It is the large number of talented people in the hands of the Guanzhong court who are still confused and helpless; it is the fertile and wild land of Guanzhong; it is the disappointment and even disunity of the four Shanxi counties who have just surrendered to Gongsun Xun; and it is also the face of what they face after turning around.

Yuan Shaoshi must face the possible risk of a long-term confrontation!

Yuan Benchu's surname was Yuan, and he was the best surname in the world. He did not need the righteousness of the court. After he woke up, he climbed up and shouted, and he could take over the territory of Guandong at will. Dong Zhuo's surname was Dong, and he was a borderlander from Xiliang. Without the central government in hand, he was nothing.

Nothing can be done, and even with the center in hand, he is doomed to fail; Gongsun Xun's surname was Gongsun, and he also raised a lot of hopes. As the saying goes, he can accept the situation without the center in hand, but he has to worry about the fate of the emperor and the center.

He lost political points after being taken over by others!

There are some things that you can’t just fight for if you want to, otherwise others will take them away... This is the mistake Yuan Shao made in history, and Gongsun Xun cannot repeat the same mistakes on issues of this strategic level.

Besides, Gongsun Xun promised Jia Wenhe, promised Qu Yuanchang, promised those people who crossed Hedong and Taiyuan, even promised himself in Mengjin, and promised Liu Kuan that they would definitely come back!

How could he give up so easily with his character?

Not to mention, millions of people have moved into Guanzhong and may still be able to survive at this time. But if Gongsun Xun turns around and leaves, the world will be in turmoil. When he comes back again, how many people will be left?

Challenging Dong is a righteous thing... This sentence was a slogan at first, but now it is a fact!

On the tenth day of April, in the early summer, the general of the Wei army, Gongsun Xun, left the Zhenjun Zhonglang general Wang Xiu to garrison Anyi to take charge of the overall situation in Hedong. Zuo Lougui, Tian Feng, and Han Dang led the army to Pujin, and then went to Feng.

Fifteen miles east of Lingdu, Hedong County and Hebei County gathered boats and immediately set out to cross the river.

In the next few days, 10,000 cavalry, 5,000 infantry, plus more than 10,000 auxiliary troops, all crossed the Yellow River. By April 15th, Gongsun Xun's own white horse flag also entered the Huxian County seat of Hongnong County on the other side of the river.

stationed.

This place is fifteen miles away from Tongguan in the west, twenty miles away from Hongnong County in the east, forty miles away from Shaanxi County and Maojin in the east, and eighty-five miles away from Hangu Pass at the boundary between Luoyang and Hongnong...

...In other words, not only Lu Bu from Tongguan, but also Jia Xu's 5,000 troops, including Niu Fu from Shaanxi County, and Li Ru's main force of more than 10,000 people, Dong Zhuo's army can arrive at Hu County within one day and attack from both sides.

Even if they are willing, even the other 20,000 to 30,000 Dong Zhuo troops from Henan heading east of Hangu Pass can reach Hu County within three or four days.

After all, we landed temporarily at a not-so-serious ferry.

However, the Youzhou Army was cautious during the entire process of crossing the river, which lasted for five days, but they did not suffer any harassment, let alone a military attack.

This is not incomprehensible. It is obvious that Dong Zhuojun wanted Gongsun Xun to be beaten to death at Tongguan, or wait until the entire Youzhou army was exhausted before launching a flanking attack, which would be more effective at that time.

This is of course very true.

On April 17, the third day after arriving in Hongnong, he took a short rest and handed over Hu County to Gao Shun. After Jiao Chu defended it, Gongsun Xun personally led the crowd to appear under Tongguan. Faced with such

Xiongguan, many people who arrive here for the first time are inevitably confused.

"Is this Tongguan?" Young people like Tian Yu couldn't help but ask curiously. "It is indeed majestic and the terrain is excellent, but why is there no word Tongguan and it seems a bit old?"

"The official name of this place is Taolinsai. Although we have troops stationed in this dynasty, we don't have a dedicated captain." Xi Zhong explained calmly and looked a little busy. "It is named after the land under our feet.

The place of Taolin is said to be the place where King Wu of Zhou grazed cattle... However, the name Taolin has long been abandoned, and the people instead called it Chongguan or Tongguan because the river on the side couldn't hit Huashan for thousands of miles and turned eastward.

"

"In other words, this place is not a permanent pass. It is called Tongguan just because it is a natural pass?" Tian Yu suddenly realized.

"It is precisely because it is a naturally formed pass that it is scary!" The actor shook his head and sighed more and more. "It is located on the plateau, from a high position, and then it is surrounded by Huashan Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. In fact, the three passes of Hulao Pass, Hangu Pass and Tongguan Pass are all

The same posture... such as Hulao Pass, which is linked to the Yellow River by the Songshan Mountains, and there is a Sishui River in front of the pass; another example is the Hangu Pass, which is linked to the Yellow River by the Qinling Mountains, and is located in a valley, with its own unique stream;

And Tongguan is like this!"

"Although I haven't seen it in person, I think Tongguan Pass is more dangerous than the other two passes." Tian Chou said seriously. "For example, if Hulao Pass was breached before, Liu Xuande jumped along the waterway to the back of the pass, and Hangu Pass is also difficult to come to."

There is no isolated waterway except Tongguan, where the Yellow River from the north turns. The current is fast and the coast is steep. If you want to jump behind the pass..."

"If you want to jump to the back of the pass, don't you have to go ashore at Pujin?" Wei Yue sneered from the side. "The two military advisors from Hedong led so many people to Pujin for show?"

Tian Chou was ridiculed, but he was unable to refute.

"It's difficult!" Cheng Lian quickly sighed and changed the topic. "I'm afraid you can only risk your life for this kind of level? I don't know anything else, but even if you capture the place below the plateau,

This small section of city wall on the plain can be recaptured in a moment as long as there are three thousand cavalry on the plain and they rush down first, right?"

"What else?" Xi Zhong responded with a sneer. "Gentlemen, this is the Baier Qin Pass where 20,000 people can resist a million soldiers! According to this calculation, with 5,000 people in the city, we need 250,000 troops.

Only then can we break the barrier!"

After saying that, he turned around and left the front line, walking under the umbrella where Gongsun Xun was, causing all the generals to shake their heads, but they also followed suit.

"What, do you guys have a way to break through the barrier?" Seeing a group of generals returning from a distance, Gongsun Xun was the first to laugh and say. It turned out that it was his military order to let the generals go ahead to observe the terrain.

"Return to your Majesty." Xi Zhong did his duty, he just cupped his hand slightly and said frankly, "No."

"Do you all talk like this?" Gongsun Xun didn't take it seriously and just continued to ask with a smile on his horse.

The other generals looked at each other in confusion. From Tian Chou to Wei Yue, from the taciturn Zhao Yun to the surrendered Yang Feng, almost everyone shook their heads.

Gongsun Xun also nodded slightly: "Actually, I won't hide it from you, facing such a powerful pass, I also have no intention of fighting at all..."

"How about persuading you to surrender?" At this moment, Cheng Lian suddenly spoke in front of everyone's slightly shocked eyes. "The city guard Lu Fengxian is an old general of the king and an old acquaintance of Wei Yue and I. I am willing to enter the pass."

Ask, persuade Lu Bu to offer up the pass for the king."

"Ju Zheng (characterized by Cheng Lian), are you addicted to being a lobbyist?" Gongsun Xun couldn't help but laugh. "Well...if you can persuade Lu Bu to surrender, I will definitely give you a generous reward, but his title has reached the end, so I can only

Can we grant him a posthumous position as the Nine Ministers, plus some wealth... That should be all we can do, right?"

The generals looked at each other in confusion, but the circus loyalist who had already turned over simply responded: "What else can we do, allow him to lead his own troops? Even if the prince said this, Lu Fengxian couldn't believe it!"

However, Cheng Lian was already overjoyed: "Thinking about it this way is enough... I will enter the customs immediately!"

Gongsun Xun didn't take it seriously, just waved his hand slightly and let him do whatever he wanted.

In fact, at the same moment, Lu Bu, Jia Xu, Wei Xu, Huang Yuan and other generals were closing the gate and discussing the troops and horses outside the pass. It's just that the terrain of Tongguan was too extreme. At this time, they were on the upper city gate tower.

They were so high up that they could clearly see what was going on below, but the Youzhou Army outside the pass had a hard time seeing their figures clearly.

"Logically speaking, General Wei should not be an enemy because he has been kind to you and me." Lu Bu, who was fully clothed in uniform, looked at the white horse flag visible in the distance at Guanxia, ​​and couldn't help but sigh. "But the current situation is like this, how can he be an enemy?

How about it? Isn’t Mr. Dong kind to you and me?"

Jia Xu remained silent.

"It's not just the chance to know the prince and Captain Jia." Huang Yuan couldn't help but interject. "The prince didn't know something. When I came from Bingzhou, a group of people did something.

The discussion was that Gao Sima, who was in Yanmen at that time, was the closest and he was also a fellow from Bingzhou. If he voted for him, he would also vote for General Wei... Unexpectedly, Gao Sima suddenly followed Captain Cheng to Youzhou, and we finally made up our minds.

Come to Luoyang to find your prince."

"Yes." Even Wei Xu, Lu Bu's brother-in-law, also sighed. "General Wei is very famous in Bingzhou. The brothers who came out of Jiuyuan that day, Cheng Lian and my brother Wei Yue, also came with him.

General Wei?"

Lu Bu was thoughtful, but glanced at Jia Xu slightly, but the latter remained silent, just looking at the white horse flag outside the city in a daze.

While the generals were chatting on the plain, suddenly, a military official came to report that there was an envoy outside the city who claimed to be an old friend from Lu Bu's hometown and came to see him. Lu Bu and others didn't need to think about it. They knew that it was either Cheng Lian or Wei.

Yue... When I asked, it turned out to be the case... but the reaction of this world's greatest villain was beyond everyone's expectations!

"Please Cheng Lian go back!" Lu Bu replied directly on the tower with emotion. "Tell him that the envoys should not be banned when the two armies are fighting, but he and I do have a strong nostalgia, and we have repeatedly received kindness from General Wei. If we really see him,

I'm afraid I really can't help but hesitate and do something. When the time comes, I, Lu Fengxian, will be regarded as the person who betrayed the master. I just don't want to implicate the family members of the lieutenant general and the soldiers in Guanzhong.

!Tell him again that my mentor Cai Bojie’s family is also in Chang’an, and my little junior sister is still young this year. How can I bear it?”

Huang Yuan and Wei Yue looked at each other speechlessly, but the military officer nodded repeatedly after receiving the order.

"Captain Jia." Lu Bufu turned around and looked at the person beside him. "What do you think?"

"Add a few more words!" Jia Xu rolled up his sleeves and said casually. "Please ask Wen Hou, a fellow countryman, to tell General Wei on his behalf that although we are on two sides, it is because of the current situation that there is really no choice.

No disrespect intended...it’s just that the Prime Minister’s kindness is more profound!”

Lu Bu nodded repeatedly. After remembering this, the county official quickly turned around and prepared to carry out the order.

"There's one more thing." Jia Xu suddenly stopped the other party and said, "It's a small thing, and I'd like to tell it to General Wei by the way... Previously, the Prime Minister had prepared to burn Luoyang to stop the Eastern Allied Forces, but after thinking about it,

After all, we didn't make any move to the century-old capital, except that the relocation was too urgent. Marquis Wen and I finally arrived, but we threw away a lot of books from Lantai along the way. If he was interested, he might as well go east to tidy them up.

"
To be continued...