Chapter 194: Morale High
On top of Huguan, Zang Ba and Xun You stood on the east city wall, looking at the endless camps of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's armies and the flags flying high, their expressions slightly solemn.
They didn't care about Lü Bu's 20,000 siege troops at all, and the two leading troops were not to be feared at all, they were just a bonus. With the towering and solid Huguan Pass, any 2,000 defenders would be enough to deal with the other side.
The key is how to resist the 200,000 troops of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
"Judging from the smoke from the kitchen stoves alone, the number of these 200,000 troops is probably not inaccurate," said Zang Ba.
"It doesn't matter. For such a strategic pass, even an army of one million can only deploy a few thousand soldiers. Any more will be meaningless." Xun You said.
The keys to defending a city are: first, city defense; second, logistics; third, command; and fourth, morale.
As for the first two, they have already achieved the utmost. In terms of command, Zang Ba is an expert, and his talent is a sharp weapon for defending the city. When it comes to defensive ability, he can barely rank among the top ten among the heroes of the world today.
As for morale.
Zang Ba turned around and laughed loudly at the tens of thousands of soldiers: "My fellow soldiers, now we are defending the pass to fight the enemy. Ten thousand elite soldiers against an enemy force of more than 200,000, isn't that great?"
"nice!"
"nice!"
Zang Bajun shouted in unison. There was no fear in his eyes, but excitement instead.
Seeing this, Zang Ba smiled slightly and continued loudly: "Our pass is high and the city is strong, occupying the natural barrier. There are countless food and military equipment in Guanzhong. Let alone an army of 200,000, even an army of one million, what is there to fear!"
"We have only bullied weak troops before. This time, we are going to fight a tough battle and have a good time. We will also let the world see the bravery of the men of Youzhou! The military merits of this battle will be doubled, and the compensation for those who died in the battle will be tripled!"
"The general is mighty!"
"The general is mighty!"
Zang Bajun's eyes were filled with fanaticism.
Seeing this, Xun You nodded slightly.
Tian Ze’s work on military morale over the years has not been in vain, so there is no need to worry about morale issues.
Although the Youzhou Army adopted unified training and rotation deployment, they were rotated in parts to prevent too much fluctuation in the strength of the troops under the command of each general.
Each general has his own style, so the troops under his command will be quickly assimilated.
Zang Ba led his troops to be stationed in Taihang Mountains for such a long time. Considering the particularity and importance of the garrison area, the troops had never been rotated and had long been completely assimilated by Zang Ba's temperament. The entire army showed a tough and arrogant temperament.
This temperament was clearly visible at the moment. Zang Ba raised the morale to the maximum with just a few words, as if he wanted to keep all the 200,000 troops in front of him.
That night, after strengthening the vigilance, Zang Ba prepared a big meal for each army, with an almost unlimited supply of beef and mutton, allowing his soldiers to eat to their heart's content.
As for the gold and silver, Zang Ba did not need to use such means. After all, they were inside the pass and it was not easy to take them away.
One sentence, "Military merit will be doubled, and the pension for those killed in battle will be tripled," is enough.
These soldiers in the army all know the weight of this sentence, which is more precious than real gold and silver.
The armies of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao arrived almost at the same time in tacit understanding. They occupied half of the road respectively in the south and the north, leaving a small gap in between, so they could be said to have kept to themselves.
That night, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, who were in the center of the army, both went to the military tents set up between the two armies.
Yan Liang and Wen Chou, Xu Chu and Xiahou Yuan guarded the two men respectively, while Ju Su and Xi Zhicai followed on their sides.
"Brother Benchu, I haven't seen you for two years, but you're still as charming and elegant as ever!" Looking at Yuan Shao, who was even more majestic than before, Cao Cao laughed out loud.
"Meng De, you too! You have grown a lot in two years." Yuan Shao also said with a smile.
But my mood is mixed.
Two years ago, Cao Cao was still his younger brother, but he never expected that he would grow up to be as strong as him now. "No, no, I can't compare to you, brother Benchu. You control two states and have 400,000 soldiers. How magnificent! Among all the heroes in the world, only you can lead the way!" Cao Cao said modestly.
Although Yuan Shao now appears to be an amazing and heroic person, his childhood friend Cao Cao will never ignore his narrow-minded nature.
If he did not behave more modestly, Yuan Shao would probably record his misdeeds in his notebook and secretly plot against him.
After hearing what Cao Cao said, Yuan Shao felt a little relieved.
After all, the old people are considerate. Although they have gone out to work on their own, they still talk about the old times.
"Meng De, you and I are brothers, so I won't say any more empty words. This battle not only concerns you and me, but also the whole world." Yuan Shao said solemnly.
"Tian Chengshou has evil ambitions. He received favors from the imperial court, but he has no intention of repaying them. Not only did he secretly establish his own territory in Youzhou and plunder everywhere, but he also allowed bandits like Zang Ba to cause trouble in the area. Now he wants to harm Bingzhou."
"As Han officials, we have received Han's grace for generations. How can we tolerate such traitors being so rampant? We must eliminate this evil for the court! Give the people of the world a peaceful and safe world!"
Yuan Shao's words were righteous and powerful.
Whenever you raise a military force, you must have a legitimate reason.
Previously, all the warlords had mostly launched expeditions in the name of suppressing bandits, even Tian Ze was no exception.
Tian Ze was not unaware that Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Lu Bu had taken the initiative to send troops to Huguan this time.
But he did not rush to mobilize troops.
Firstly, he believed in Zang Ba's strength. Secondly, as the attacked party, he would have a legitimate reason to send troops.
When Cao Cao heard this, he sneered in his heart.
What a gentlemanly demeanor! Don't you know how Dong Zhuo entered the capital? Don't you know how Luoyang was lost?
He talks all about morality and righteousness, but his heart is full of cunning and plundering.
But after experiencing the campaign against Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao has now "awakened" and is no longer the relatively naive and hot-blooded middle-aged man he used to be.
With a serious face and generous words, he responded: "Brother Benchu is righteous! Cao will work together with you to kill this thief! To repay the court!"
Hanging the map on the shelf, Ju Shou said, "This is the latest map of the Taihang Mountains."
Looking at the map that was much more detailed than the one he had, Xi Zhicai nodded slightly. As expected, Yuan Shao had already made preparations.
However, when he saw that some of the terrain on the map was very different from what he knew, Xi Zhicai frowned and said, "Gong Yu, there is something wrong with this map, right?"
"Here, here, and here, there are deviations. And what about Hukou Pass? Why is it not marked on the map?"
Ju Shou shook his head slightly and said, "This map is correct. The map you memorized was from two years ago. Over the past year or so, Zang Xuangao has invested a large number of manpower and laborers in the Taihang Mountains, and has changed the topography of many places."
"Hukou Pass ceased to exist half a year ago. It is full of huge rocks and is impassable. The map in front of us is the latest map we can find.
Cao Cao's face turned pale, damn krypton gold dog!
He thought Yuan Shao was already wealthy, but he didn't expect that there was someone even more extravagant than him!
Hiring people to fill valleys and change terrain, is this something that humans can do? This is a wasteful operation that only people with nothing to do can do.
We were having a headache with the food and wages for our troops, but the other side just threw the money and food into the mountains. It was simply...jealousy made people unrecognizable.
Xi Zhicai's expression froze when he heard this. In this way, his previous plan was in vain. Hukou Pass was blocked, so only Huguan Pass was passable.
"Are there any small paths around Huguan?" Cao Cao asked.
Ju Su shook his head.
"Zang Ba has been operating here for more than a year, and all the small paths have been completely blocked. Even if there are secret passages, they must have been well hidden and ambushed."
"Moreover, Tian Chengshou's talent is very special. I advise you not to have any delusions. There are only two roads around that can allow the army to enter the pass. One is Huguan Pass, and the other is...Tumen Pass."
(End of this chapter)
