webnovelfull Chapter 784 Exploiting Liu Bei's Reputation Again
Chapter 784 Exploiting Liu Bei's Reputation Again
Wearing bright armor and wielding a halberd, E Huan charged into the Wei army's ranks, wreaking havoc on all sides. He stood like an iron tower guarding the entrance to the cave, covering the main army behind him as they successfully broke out of the cave.
Seeing that E Huan had successfully reached the city wall, Jiang Wei decisively ordered two soldiers from each of the Wudang Flying Army to rush up the city wall at top speed to support E Huan and seize the beachhead together.
The city wall defenders' conventional tactics against the enemy below the city were bows and arrows, as well as rolling logs and stones. They would shoot arrows at the enemy in the distance and throw rolling logs and stones at the enemy close to the city wall, and even splash them with molten gold. However, all these conventional methods were ineffective against the Han army's arched cave dwellings.
The arched cave dwellings provided excellent protection from all sides, preventing any attacks from bows, arrows, crossbows, or catapults from harming the Han soldiers inside.
Using the cave dwellings as cover, the Han soldiers ran in pairs to the exit and onto the city wall at top speed, joining E Huan's attacking force.
As time went on, more and more Han soldiers rushed onto the city walls, and even Jiang Wei went up to command them.
After Jiang Wei went up the city wall, he did not join the battle. Instead, he used a megaphone to shout: "Brothers of Wei army, the Wei army at the front has been defeated. Cao Pi and Cao Ren have been captured. What are you still struggling for? Surrender now. Liu Huangshu is benevolent and will not make things difficult for you."
For the Han army, Liu Bei had already declared himself emperor and should be addressed as "Your Majesty." However, for the Wei army, the title of "Imperial Uncle Liu" was far more prestigious than that of Emperor Liu Bei of Han. Therefore, when facing the Wei army, the Han army would still refer to Liu Bei as "Imperial Uncle Liu."
After all, Liu Bei was known for his benevolence and righteousness; even a three-year-old child in the Central Plains knew of his reputation. But what kind of person was Emperor Liu Bei of Han? We don't acknowledge him.
Jiang Wei shouted several times, and the nearby Han soldiers echoed him, finally managing to get the message to the Wei army. Upon hearing this, the Wei army's morale instantly collapsed...
What? The front lines have been defeated, and even His Majesty and the Grand General have been captured?
It's possible. Otherwise, how could the Han army have reached Dagu Pass? Dagu Pass is the rear area, and Guangcheng Pass is blocking the way ahead.
The Han army has already reached Dagu Pass, so what is the situation of the frontline troops?
It's all over, His Majesty's hundreds of thousands of troops have been defeated, what use are our few people?
Ordinary Wei soldiers had limited knowledge, and most of them couldn't even read. Naturally, they didn't know what flanking maneuvering was. They only knew that the Han army had already reached Dagu Pass, so the main force of the Wei army in Nanyang was probably finished. Otherwise, why would the Han army dare to bypass the main force of the Wei army to attack Dagu Pass?
The moment this thought arose, the morale of the Wei army melted away as quickly as snow under the scorching sun, leaving Zhu Shuo, the Wei general guarding Dagu Pass, feeling utterly disheartened.
Zhu Shuo was from Qiao County, Pei State. He became an official under Cao Pi at the end of the Jian'an period. He was known as one of Cao Pi's Four Friends along with Chen Qun, Sima Yi, and Wu Zhi. He was one of Cao Pi's strategists and an absolute confidant. As soon as Cao Pi ascended the throne, he promoted Zhu Shuo to General of the Central Army and put him in charge of the Imperial Guards, which shows his trust in Zhu Shuo.
Cao Pi entrusted the defense of Dagu Pass to his most trusted imperial guard general, which demonstrates the importance he attached to Dagu Pass.
After all, this was Cao Pi's escape route back to the capital; if anything went wrong, he might not be able to return.
Zhu Shuo was naturally aware of this as well. When he saw the Han army launching a psychological offensive, he panicked on the spot. Without thinking twice, he immediately led his personal guards into the battle and shouted loudly to remind the Wei army not to believe the Han army's nonsense and to work together to drive the Han army off the city.
But is it useful?
The city wall was limited in width, and the number of soldiers who could join the battle was also limited. The Wei soldiers fighting at the front had no time to think wildly, but there were Wei soldiers at the rear who could not join the battle. With the Han army's roar and their own imaginations, their morale collapsed like a tide.
Morale is easy to lose but hard to regain. Therefore, when the Wei army at the front fell, the Wei army in the rear, which had been mentally preparing for battle, went forward to fight, and their combat effectiveness dropped by more than 50%.
On the other hand, E Huan, clad in heavy armor, was like a human tank, unstoppable wherever he went, causing the Wei army to retreat in defeat.
The Wei army had already lost morale due to their own overthinking, and their morale collapsed even more after being crushed by E Huan. After a long battle, some people finally couldn't hold on any longer, threw down their weapons and shouted for surrender. This triggered a chain reaction, and more and more people surrendered. Those who hadn't surrendered also lost their will to fight and turned to flee.
Zhu Shuo shouted desperately until his voice became hoarse, but he could not stop the decline. However, unwilling to betray Cao Pi's trust, he still led his personal guards to resist.
The problem is that he only has three hundred personal guards by his side. Although the rest of the army is large, they are all transferred from other places. They have not been trained for long enough. They are fine in normal times, but when it comes to the critical moment of life and death, he simply cannot control them.
In the end, Zhu Shuo was just a strategist. Although he was the General of the Central Army, he had never fought a battle and had almost no prestige in the army. Under such circumstances, how could he expect his soldiers to fight for him?
Soon the Wei army dispersed, and Jiang Wei led the Han army to surround Zhu Shuo and his personal guards.
Jiang Wei ordered E Huan to continue the charge, while he himself stood behind the army and shouted, "General Zhu, the Wei army's defeat is inevitable. General, why don't you give up and continue?"
Zhu Shuo responded, "In this world, there are only those who die in battle leading troops, not those who surrender. Brothers, follow me and fight!"
A scholar will die for one who understands him.
Although he was unable to defend the city for Cao Pi, he was determined to be loyal to Cao Pi.
Therefore, Zhu Shuo did not stop but attacked again, and this time he did not defend but attacked with all his might, trying to perish together with E Huan.
But how could a strategist who came from a civil official background be a match for a bandit like E Huan? He couldn't even last ten rounds before being knocked to the ground by E Huan. If it weren't for his personal guards risking their lives to protect him, he would probably have been cleaved in two on the spot by E Huan.
Dragged back by his personal guards, Zhu Shuo struggled to his feet, leaning against the wall, and shouted, "May I ask which general is in front of me? Let me die knowing why!"
Jiang Wei replied, "Jiang Wei, the General Who Punishes Rebels of the Great Han, greets General Zhu."
Zhu Shuo used his last strength to laugh wildly: "So it's General Jiang. I'll remember that. Please treat the soldiers in the city well."
After saying that, he suddenly raised his hand, drew his sword, and committed suicide. He was so fast that his personal guards had no chance to react or stop him.
Zhu Shuo died, but he fulfilled his loyalty to Cao Pi through his actions.
The rest was simple: the guards threw down their weapons and surrendered on the spot, then embraced Zhu Shuo's body and wept bitterly.
Jiang Wei arrived at the front lines and sighed, "General Zhu's integrity is admirable. Give him a proper burial."
Upon hearing this, the guards had no more doubts and consciously took off their armor to protect Zhu Shuo's body. Jiang Wei did not make things difficult for them, and ordered someone to find a coffin in the city and give it to Zhu Shuo's guards. He also gave them travel expenses and told them to leave on their own.
With Zhu Shuo's body being carried out of the city by his personal guards, the battle of Dagu Pass finally came to an end.
In this battle, Jiang Wei killed more than 600 people and captured more than 2,300. The rest took advantage of the chaos to open the north gate and escape back to Luoyang.
Jiang Wei did not pursue them. On the contrary, he allocated some grain from the granaries inside the pass to the surrendered soldiers and drove them all out of the pass to escape on their own.
The Han army forbade killing prisoners of war. Jiang Wei dared not kill, keep, or use these surrendered soldiers. He could only politely send them out of the pass so that they would not hinder his defense of the city.
After eliminating all the hidden dangers, Jiang Wei began to redeploy the defenses, preparing to hold the pass at all costs.
Dagu Pass is the only way in and out of Luoyang, so a full 80,000 shi of grain was stored in Guanzhong. With so much grain, even if Jiang Wei's main force came, it could last for one or two months.
After taking stock of the provisions, Jiang Wei quickly sent someone to Yique Pass to inquire about the battle situation on Zhang Yi's side, and at the same time sent a messenger to report to Shen Yi.