Longguan, Zhao Guang looked at the Wu Yang Wei army, and couldn't help but gasp.

The mountains and fields are full of people, filling the valley in front of the pass, and I don't know how many there are. Most of these people have beards and don't have much armor, but they all have fierce expressions, and at a glance they know that they are not the regular army of the Wei army, but the Qiang people.

Of course, it is not a good thing for so many Qiang people to suddenly gather in front of Longguan, and of course the movement will not be small. A few days before that, Zhao Guang had received news from the scouts that many Qiang people were gathering here. After the weather warms up, the Qiang people will come out of the mountains, drive the sheep to live in the water and grass, or find a suitable place to farm, this situation is not uncommon, but now is wartime, Zhao Guang does not dare to take any situation lightly, seeing the Qiang people gathered here, especially many Qiang people are still carrying weapons, he reported the news to Zhuge Liang.

But that was just a matter of vigilance, and he didn't expect that the Qiang people would really gather to attack Longguan. He did not affirm that the Qiang people would have an unfavorable shape, for fear of interfering with Zhuge Liang's strategic deployment. Now seeing so many Qiang people, Zhao Guang felt that his previous report was too understated, and it could be called a delay in the fighter.

Clearly, these Qiang people were not good people, and they were organized military operations, not mere nomads.

Zhao Guang's guess was not bad at all, these Qiang people were here to attack Longguan, and the general who led them was Xiahou Ru, the general of Wei Pingxi, and the one who gave the order was Zhang He, the general of the Che Cavalry of Zhengxi.

Zhang He had this jihua, long before Cao Zhi entered Guanzhong.

The heavy snow last year interrupted the fierce battle between the two sides, but it did not hinder Zhang He's understanding of Zhuge Liang. The battle at the foot of Liupan Mountain did not last long, though. It wasn't that intense, but it made Zhang He see the improvement of the combat ability of the Shu Han army. In particular, the equipment and ordnance of the Shu Han army left a deep impression on him, whether it was a crossbow or a thunderbolt, or the armor and weapons of ordinary soldiers, they all exceeded Zhang He's estimate, and the quality was much better than the last time he fought with the Shu Han army. Compared with the standard oracle bones of the Wei army, the armor of the Shu Han army is no different in appearance, but the protection range is larger, but the degree of solidity is more than one. The armor used by each ordinary soldier was almost as protective as the armor used by the high-ranking generals of the Wei army.

Zhang He realized. It is almost impossible to break through Zhuge Liang's battle formation from the front, and the risk of expecting Tian Fu and others to enter the pass from the old road of Yunyang is also very large, and before the crops are ripe, the cavalry will not play much role in breaking into the pass.

What's more, he can't afford to wait that time.

Since then. Zhang He prepared another set of plans. Levy the Qiang people. Attack Guanzhong from the direction of Longshan, so that Zhuge Liang is attacked on both sides to reduce the difficulty of breaking through head-on. This thing has been going on. It's just that the Qiang people are scattered in the mountains, and it is not easy to gather them, so it has been delayed until now.

Zhang He led the main force to attack at the foot of Liupan Mountain for a long time, just waiting for the Qiang people to launch first. And Cao Zhi's unexpected entry increased Zhang He's confidence. He believed that with Zhuge Liang's current strength, it would be impossible to hold all three directions tightly, and he would inevitably show flaws in one side. As for which side it was, he couldn't guess, but he had greater hopes for Longshan's side, after all, this road was hidden, and the other two roads had already been revealed.

Zhang He's guess was not wrong, the appearance of the Qiang people did startle Zhao Guang. Longguan originally had more than 5,000 people, after Zhuge Liang moved to Wangxian, Ma Dai led more than 1,000 cavalry to Zhuge Liang, Cao implanted in the pass, Zhuge Liang transferred 2,000 people, and now the Longguan garrison is less than 2,000.

And he has to face thousands, maybe even tens of thousands.

Zhao Guang knew that it was difficult to hold Longguan, but he also knew that it was even more undesirable to give up Longguan. If these Qiang people are allowed to enter Guanzhong, Guanzhong will be finished.

Zhao Guang sent people to Zhuge Liang for urgent help, and on the other hand, he was preparing to fight.

Xiahou Ru didn't give him much time and immediately attacked. He and Zhang He were two or three hundred miles apart, and they were separated by Liupan Mountain, so it was very inconvenient to communicate, so they could only launch an attack at the pre-agreed time.

The Qiang people roared all over the mountains, they did not have many large-scale attacking equipment, only a simple ladder, they could only be the most primitive ant attached to the city, they did not have a large bow and crossbow, and even did not have formal weapons, some people held a wooden plank, holding a scimitar, some simply held the lid of the pot, holding a sickle for mowing grass, but they acted vigorously, fierce and fierce, especially climbing the mountain very neatly, which caused a great threat to the Longguan built by the mountain.

Under the all-out attack of the Qiang people, the battle in Longguan entered a white-hot state from the beginning. If it weren't for the fact that Zhao Guang and his subordinates had been guarding Longguan for three years, were very familiar with the situation here, and their training was very strict, they would probably have fallen quickly under the attack of the Qiang.

Even so, Zhao Guang still felt tremendous pressure.

There were too many Qiang people, killing one, rushing up two, killing two, rushing up five, as if they couldn't finish killing, the soldiers didn't even have time to catch their breath, they just kept holding knives and machetes. Zhao Guang's throat was hoarse, and he clashed back and forth on the city wall with the guard battalion, hacking to death those Qiang people who rushed up the city wall, throwing them down, and constantly paying attention to the top of his head, so as not to have Qiang people fall from the sky. There are not many of them, and it is easy to fall and die if you jump off a cliff, but once someone jumps up, it is easy to cause chaos.

In one day of bloody fighting, about four or five thousand Qiang people were killed in the battle, and the defenders of the city were also lost more than half. As night fell, the Qiang people who had been attacking for a day finally retreated, and the sky over Longguan was covered with a strong smell of blood, blood everywhere, and corpses everywhere. The day's battle was like a catastrophe, and under the attack of the Qiang people at any cost, Longguan was almost lost several times.

Listening to the singing of the Qiang people in the distance, Zhao Guang dragged his heavy steps, and on the bloody city wall, he wrote the third letter for help to Zhuge Liang today. Zhao Guang lost more than half of his soldiers in one day, and Zhao Guang's heart was heavy, and he didn't know if he could hold out until sunset tomorrow. The Qiang people's attack was so fierce that it was as if they didn't want to die, and they were fighting for their lives. This not only caused great pressure on the defense, but also caused a serious psychological impact on the soldiers.

Obviously, Xiahou Ru came prepared, he just wanted to take Longguan in one go and quickly break into the pass. The previous Zhang He and Chen Bing Liupan Mountain, including Cao Zhi's breakthrough into the Guanzhong, may only be clear, and these Qiang talents are the real killer moves.

Zhao Guang watched the messenger leave, but he didn't feel a little relaxed. It will take at least one day for these letters to be delivered to Zhuge Liang, and even if Zhuge Liang immediately sends reinforcements, it will take two days to get here, but he is not sure that he will hold on for three days at all.

The loss of Longguan seems to be a foregone conclusion.

Zhao Guang was a little annoyed, he should not have followed Zhuge Liang's orders if he knew this, if there were two more people to defend, his pressure would be much less.

……

Xiahou Ru sat in the middle, and more than a dozen Qiang leaders sat around, smiling and laughing loudly. In today's battle, although many people were killed in the battle, but several times they attacked the city, and the once formidable Longguan was obviously so fragile in front of the tide of Qiang, which greatly increased the confidence of the Qiang people. And Xiahou Ru's promise to them made their blood boil even more.

Xiahou Ru said that Emperor Bixia had issued an edict that all tribes that had made great contributions in this battle could move into Guanzhong and settle down. This is tantamount to great news for the Qiang people. Don't look at Guanzhong and Longyou are only separated by a Longshan Mountain, but the situation is completely different. There are many mountains in Longyou, and there is little arable land, which is suitable for grazing but not suitable for farming. Guanzhong is fertile for thousands of miles, the waterways are vertical and horizontal, and any wasteland is fertile land, which is an ideal home.

In order to be able to enter Guanzhong and settle down, the Qiang people have been fighting for hundreds of years, but they have not been able to gain a firm foothold in Guanzhong, because the Han people are guarding Longshan and Guanzhong. Now that the Han people have taken the initiative to let them enter Guanzhong, how can they easily let go of such a good opportunity.

It is precisely because of this that tens of thousands of Qiang people came to hear the news, knowing that the casualties in this battle would be very large, but they also had to fight bravely to be the first, lest they fall behind.

The Qiang people clumsily complimented Xiahou Ru and toasted to Xiahou Ru, Xiahou Ru was full of smiles, and those who came did not refuse, although it was only a shallow sip, but the etiquette was thoughtful. The Qiang people felt that they had a lot of face, and they raised it for a while, sang and danced, and talked and laughed loudly.

Xiahou Ru looked at all this, and secretly thought in his heart: "General Zhang, you should start attacking, I don't want these Qiang people to really enter Guanzhong." ”

……

At the foot of Liupan Mountain, a fierce battle is raging.

Zhang He knows Cao Zhi's details very well, and can roughly calculate how long he can hold on, and every day it drags on, Cao Zhi's fire of life will dim a little. Although everyone knows that Cao Zhi's lone army going deep into Guanzhong is throwing himself to death, no one can just watch Cao Zhi and those Wei soldiers die in vain, they must at least die worthily.

Zhang He suddenly launched an attack according to the time he had discussed with Xiahou Ru.

Zhang He was well prepared, and as soon as he made a move, it was a thunderous blow. The Wei soldiers pushed the siege vehicles converted from baggage trucks, braved the rain of arrows of the Shu Han army, and constantly attacked forward. They hid behind the cart and returned fire, with arrows flying through the air and screaming incessantly. Dozens of thunderbolts were pushed to the front of the formation, and with a roar, large and small stones flew into the distance and smashed into the position of the Shu Han army.

The fierce attack of the Wei army caused Jiang Wei a lot of trouble. The equipment of the Shu Han army is good, but it does not have an overwhelming advantage, and in the face of the Wei army's attack at any cost, the casualties of the Shu Han army are also increasing.

In a fierce battle for a day, Zhang He paid the price of more than 1,000 people and advanced the position by a hundred steps. Even as night fell, he did not retreat, but camped on the positions he had just occupied. The two sides were separated by a distance of two hundred paces, and they could almost hear each other's drums and horns, and this kind of close confrontation made the Shu Han army very uncomfortable, and Jiang Wei was also very unsuitable. After consulting with Hu Ji, Jiang Wei left 3,000 men to hold the position, and the army withdrew to the camp to rest.

In the night, seeing Jiang Wei's battle flag moving backwards, the corners of Zhang He's mouth showed a contemptuous sneer

(To be continued......)