The military situation was extremely urgent, and Shao Heng, who was ordered at the critical moment, did not dare to neglect. After receiving the golden lacquered arrow, he immediately said goodbye to Zhang He and walked out of the tent. He went to the rear camp, ordered two thousand soldiers and horses, and rushed to the Ax Mountain Stronghold.

Although the strategy of recapturing the key passes on the rear route has been decided, the Wei army's deliberations have not yet ended. Zhang He in the commander's tent changed his calm demeanor before and said with a heavy face: "Everyone, as Ma Xi just said, Ax Shanzhai This group of Shu troops came very strangely, I guess they definitely did not come from the west in a detour."

"General, you mean this group of Shu troops came from the south?" Ma Xi asked uncertainly.

Zhang He nodded slightly and replied: "Yes, they must have come from the south."

"The rebel army in the south is confronting the general and the generals on the Weishui River in Chang'an. Logically speaking, it is impossible for a bandit army of two thousand people to break through the Wei River and pass through hundreds of miles of our territory without being discovered? What exactly is this band of bandits? How did you do it?" Ma Xi still couldn't believe it completely and analyzed it with a suspicious look on his face.

Zhang Hedao: "There can only be one explanation. Something happened in Chang'an. The general and the others probably suffered a big defeat, which allowed the Shu army to divide their troops and attack northward."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this. If this is true, the entire battle situation will be very bad. What's worse is that if Chang'an falls into the enemy's hands, it will be a fatal blow to our own side.

"General, if Chang'an is really defeated, what should we do?" Sima Fangyi asked, cupping his fists.

Zhang He said: "If this is the case, we are beyond our reach and can't do anything for the time being. We can only hope that the situation in Chang'an will not be too corrupt."

Although he knew that a large number of reinforcements were coming from the east of Tongguan, and as long as Cao Zhen and the others could not hold out, Chang'an was 80% safe. However, when he thought about the scheming of the Han army commander Yang Qingsu, his heart was always hanging in the air and difficult to land. They were afraid that Cao Zhen and the others would fall into Yang Qing's trap again, which would affect the whole situation.

"I hope the situation isn't too bad!"

Zhang He was silent and prayed secretly. He raised his head and looked around. Seeing that everyone looked more or less panicked, he immediately cheered up and said loudly: "You don't have to worry too much. What we just said are all our guesses. What if the situation in Chang'an is not as bad as we thought?

The most urgent task at the moment is to eliminate the Shu army at the Ax Mountain Stronghold first. As long as the pass is recaptured and the return route is smooth, our army will have no worries. Once the situation changes, we can calmly withdraw to Qicheng and defend it. So I hope you can Let’s work together to overcome the difficulties together.”

After hearing this, everyone's morale was slightly boosted, and they all expressed their willingness to be dispatched. So Zhang He issued three military orders in succession. The first was to temporarily stop attacking the mountain for the next two days, and the camp should be kept loose on the outside and tight on the inside. The soldiers packed their bags and were ready to evacuate at any time. .

The second was to send people back to Qicheng and order the defenders in the city to be ready to attack and respond at any time. The last order was to send out multiple groups of scouts to the south in order to find out the latest situation in Chang'an and the direction of the Weishui River.

With these arrangements, Zhang He felt a little relieved and ordered everyone to return to their headquarters and prepare for the attack.

On the Hengshan stronghold, Liao Hua was quite puzzled by the sudden withdrawal of the Wei army and returned to camp. He was afraid that Zhang He had other plots. He was about to order the troops to be on strict alert and send scouts to investigate. Suddenly, he heard that Wu Que, the governor of the Yongzhou governor's office, came up the mountain to ask for a meeting.

He knew that Wu Que was a close confidant of Yang Qing, and usually accompanied Yang Qing. This person suddenly appeared here, and there must be something important. Not willing to be neglected, he quickly ordered people to invite Wu Que in.

"Que has met Lord Liao."

"No need to be polite. Isn't Shu Qi following Yang Shijun to attack Chang'an? Why did he come here suddenly?"

Wu Que then told the whole story, and Liao Hua was ecstatic after hearing this. He raised his hands and shouted: "Okay, Yang Shijun is really like a god with soldiers. In this way, the nail in Qicheng can finally be removed."

After the Han army regained Longyou, Liao Hua, who was stationed in Lueyang County, often wanted to lead his army across Longshan Mountain and march eastward. However, the city at the foot of Longshan Mountain in Qianxian County always curbed his ambition, and he could only send out troops several times. Playing the role of harassment and containment, unable to conquer the city and achieve great achievements, this dilemma always made him feel like a stuck in his throat.

Now, once Qicheng is successfully captured this time and the 10,000 Wei troops under Zhang He are annihilated or driven away, the vast area east of Qicheng will be at your fingertips, and Liao Hua will be able to make more achievements in future battles.

Thinking of this, Liao Hua was very excited and hurriedly asked Wu Que: "Uncle Qi, what should Liao do next?"

"Yang Shijun asked Fujun to contain Zhang He here. After defeating the reinforcements sent by Zhang He to the Ax Mountain Stronghold, Shijun will lead his army and attack Zhang He together with Fujun."

Liao Hua said: "I see, I understand. Please report back to Ambassador Yang. Liao will do his best."

"The humble duty must bring the word."

Wu Que bowed and clasped his fists, and said: "Master Fu, I have to go back to resume my duties, so I will take my leave first."

"Okay, the military situation is urgent, so I won't keep you here. Come, send Governor Wu down the mountain."

On the other side, Yang Qing already knew that the Wei army was attacking with more troops. Although the opponent also had 3,000 troops, his own side now occupies the advantageous location. It should be no problem to defeat this enemy army while waiting for work. After all, the enemy does not seem to know his side yet. The number of troops is also three thousand.

During the previous attack on Ax Mountain Stronghold, only two Han troops showed up at most. Yang Qing left a thousand men hiding in the dense forest as a reserve force. He originally wanted to send out the remaining one thousand troops as full strength when the attack did not go well. As a surprise soldier, Feng Chong did not expect that before he could be put to use, Feng Chong had already broken through the enemy stronghold.

Therefore, Yang Qing estimated that Zhang Heshang did not know his true strength, so he dared to attack with 3,000 soldiers and horses. In this case, of course he had to take advantage of the information gap to defeat the 3,000 Wei troops who were coming.

"Report, the Wei army is already two miles away."

"Very good, order the troops to prepare for battle."

After a while, Shao Heng and Fan Jing led 3,000 Wei troops to the foot of Ax Mountain Stronghold. Seeing that the smoke on the mountain was still there and the fortifications were damaged, they knew that the Han army's establishment was not stable enough. They had not yet had time to clean up the battlefield and did not move the fortifications. Completely repaired.

The opportunity was rare, and the two men could not miss it. Each led a thousand troops to attack the relatively flat east and south slopes, while the remaining one thousand troops were deployed on the west and north slopes to assist in the containment attack.

"General Wei who leads the team is quite capable. Such a deployment is indeed appropriate. It's a pity that he failed to find out the true strength of our army." Seeing that the enemy general's command on the battlefield was not bad, Yang Qing couldn't help but thought to himself.

With the waving of the command flag, the Han army's bows and crossbows fired in unison, showering the advancing Wei army with a hail of arrows. Immediately afterwards, rolling logs and stones fell down the mountain, making a sound like thunder and unstoppable.

Although the Wei army's shield hand was at the front to cover the damage with the robe behind them, casualties began to appear under the Han army's repeated long-range attacks, and soon there were screams from the mountainside.

However, the Wei army under Zhang He can be considered an elite division with strong combat capabilities. The current casualties are not enough to shake their morale. The Wei soldiers are still brave enough to climb to the top of the mountain without fear of death.

"What? Yang Qing personally led thousands of Shu troops to suddenly go north, defeated Yan He of Anling, swept across Liquan and other places, and came straight to our Qicheng city?" Zhang He exclaimed in the commander's tent.

Not long ago, the scout who went south to inquire about the news happened to meet the messenger sent by the Fufeng County official who had narrowly escaped on the way. After asking, he learned that such a big change had occurred in the south, so he hurried back to Hengshan to report to Zhang He.
Chapter completed!