Cao Liang sent a scout to inquire from many sources and soon tracked down the whereabouts of Wei Guan and Wang Qi. After they fled east to Linyu Pass, they stopped there, obviously they wanted to use the dangerous Linyu Pass as a defense and defend Liaodong.

Generally speaking, the name of Liaodong and western Liaoning is bounded by the Liaohe River. It is called Liaodong to the east of the Liaohe River and Liaoxi to the west of the Liaohe River. However, from a geopolitical perspective, Changli County, which is west of the Liaohe River, is also considered to belong to Liaodong. Linyu Pass is the dividing line between Liaodong and western Liaoxi. It belongs to Liaoxi County to the west of Linyu Pass. After passing Linyu Pass, it is Changli County.

When Wang Qi was appointed as the prefect of Xuantu, he was ordered to take charge of the military of the Liaodong counties. Changli County was his sphere of influence. Wang Qi could give up Ji County and the entire western Liaoning, but he could not give up the Liaodong base camp. If you want to defend Liaodong, you must first defend the natural dangerous place of Linyu Pass. Linyu Pass is the main throat from western Liaoning to Liaodong, and it must pass, and it is also the top priority of the defense of the entire Liaodong.

If the name Linyu Pass is relatively unfamiliar, then if you change the name, it is Shanhai Pass, which is known as the world's most powerful pass. The name of Shanhai Pass was only found in the Ming Dynasty. Before that, this pass had existed for thousands of years. It was called Yuguan, Linlu Pass, and Linyu Pass. It was just that the names of the past dynasties were slightly different. However, this pass was the key to connecting western Liaoning and Liaodong. It has been a place that must be fought for by military strategists since ancient times.

Wang Qi has been guarding Liaodong for many years, and he knows more about where to go, so when he first retreated from Ji County, he had already thought about where to retreat.

There is only one road to go from western Liaoning to Liaodong, that is, go north from Linyu Pass, go east through Bailang, go east along the Daling River Valley, pass Liucheng, and pass Yiwulu Mountain in Changli, and you can reach Liaoyang. This road is tortuous and linger among the mountains and ridges. If this road is compared to a long snake, then Linyu Pass is an unyielding snake head. Therefore, if you want to defend Liaodong, the gains and losses of Linyu Pass are extremely important.

When Cao Cao attacked Wuhuan in the north and chased the remnants of the Yuan family, he walked to Linyu Pass and wrote the famous poem "Viewing the Sea" in Jieshi near Linyu Pass: "Looking on Jieshi in the east to observe the Sea."

So Wang Qi led his army to run wildly from Jixian. After rushing to Linyu Pass, he stopped and stationed his troops at Linyu Pass. At the same time, another army was stationed in Liucheng. In this way, one after another, they echoed each other and built a complete line of defense to ensure that the Bingzhou army could not cross Liaodong.

Although Wei Guan lacked some military command skills, it was not in vain that he was familiar with military books. The first time he came to Linyu Pass, he was deeply impressed by the dangers of Linyu Pass. Linyu Pass was surrounded by mountains and seas, and it was dangerous to achieve the world. Even if the cavalry in Bingzhou was fierce and wanted to cross, he would try to climb the sky. Wang Qi used Linyu Pass as a key defense site, and his vision was really unique.

"What a good place, it's backing mountains and facing the sea, and it's tied to the throat of Liaodong and western Liaoning. Even if there are a million soldiers, it's hard to cross." Wei Guan exclaimed repeatedly.

Wang Qi said complacently: "A certain town guarded Liaodong for many years and naturally knew the geography here. As long as you guard Linyu Pass, the land of Liaodong will be worry-free. Although the city here is not as strong as Ji County, it is far ten times more dangerous than Ji County. Once Ji County is surrounded, it is difficult to escape. However, there are no one to cross the two sides of Linyu Pass, and no one can cross it. Advance can attack and retreat can defend. In fact, it is a key defense area. If Cao Liang comes, he will definitely return in a desperate situation."

Wang Qi knew Linyu Pass very well and was full of confidence. When he was in Youzhou City, Wang Qi always felt uneasy. When he returned to the land he was familiar with, his confidence was rekindled. Relying on the natural dangers of Linyu Pass, he was fully qualified to challenge the Bingzhou Army.

There were not many troops stationed in Linyu Pass, only 500 people, but this time Wang Qi brought more than 40,000 people at once, and the entire inside and outside the pass were immediately overcrowded.

Linyu Pass is not too large. It is built along the mountain and is embedded in the valley. No matter who travels from south to north, you must pass through Linyu Pass. This is a pass that cannot be passed by no means.

Wang Qi divided the troops into two parts, one of which was stationed at Linyu Pass, and the other part was stationed at Liucheng to ensure that the Youzhou army could defend the two ports from the north and south. Even if one of them made a mistake, the other could make remedies.

Of course, Wang Qi would never think that Linyu Pass could easily be lost. The cavalry of the Bingzhou Army was indeed powerful. Wang Qi had already experienced this, but after all, the cavalry was only suitable for combat in plain areas. There was no place for cavalry to use for dangerous passes like Linyu Pass. When they arrived here, they were just sighing at the gate and had no way to do anything.

Moreover, Linyu Pass was not afraid of the Bingzhou Army's catapult cart, because the entire Linyu Pass wall was built with stones and was extremely sturdy. No matter how powerful the catapult cart was, it would only smash a small hole on the wall, and it would not shake the solid wall at all.

Most of the city walls in this era were built with rammed earth. It is not that the craftsmen of this era did not have bricks and stones, but that the bricks and stones were too bulky and demanded too much. Without good transportation conditions, using bricks and stones to build the city walls would be a life-threatening thing.

However, there is no problem in building Linyu Pass, because all the stones can be used locally, greatly reducing the labor force of the people and making it much easier to build the walls.

In terms of strength, the city wall built by rammed earth cannot be compared with stone bricks. Once the rammed earth wall faces a catapult, it is almost impossible to solve. The catapult car often does not require much effort to make a hole in the rammed earth wall and even collapse the entire wall.

However, the stone-built city wall can ignore the attack of stone bullets. No matter how far the range is, no matter how powerful the stone bullet attacks the city wall, it is useless. Because of this, Wang Qi dared to come to defend Linyu Pass with confidence and boldness to control this pass, so that the Bingzhou army would not want to step into Liaodong.

Wei Guan and Wang Qi have jointly submitted a report to Sima Shi. I believe that Sima Shi cannot remain indifferent and sit still to the fall of Youzhou. He will definitely send troops to rescue him. What Wang Qi has to do now is to defend Linyu Pass and wait for Sima Shi’s reinforcements.

As soon as reinforcements arrive, Wang Qi believes that the situation in the entire Youzhou will definitely change. With the inside and outside, the situation of the Bingzhou army may not be better than going there. It is only a matter of time before it counterattacks them.
Chapter completed!