readytorunbook Chapter 198 Wei Yan Sells His Daughter
Chapter 198 Wei Yan Sells His Daughter
Guo Huai's actions did not escape the eyes of the Han army scouts, who quickly arrived before Zhang Fei and bowed, saying, "General, Guo Huai has headed towards Yong County."
Zhang Fei asked in surprise, "Are you sure?"
"Confirmed." The scout replied decisively, then added with a hint of doubt, "However, before retreating south, Guo Huai detached a cavalry force that turned east and its destination is unknown. I am currently investigating. By the way, that cavalry force numbered about a thousand men."
Zhang Fei slapped his thigh and said, "No need to investigate. They must have thought we were in their way and took a detour to Dazhen Pass. Let's not be idle. Leave the team behind to take care of the wounded and sick, and the rest of us pack up and set off. Let's try to reach Yujun City before dark."
We just fought several battles with Guo Huai and suffered casualties, but fortunately the number of wounded is not large and none of them are serious, so the problem is not too serious.
As for what Guo Huai was doing in the south, it's obvious he was heading for Huang Quan. Liu Bei had already considered this before leaving and provided a solution, so Zhang Fei didn't need to worry about Huang Quan's safety and could just focus on his own business.
Zhang Fei planned to first go to Yujun to gather provisions and rest. After receiving news that Wei Yan had captured Dazhen Pass, he would then head south to meet Huang Quan. Without Zhang Fei's support, Huang Quan would not leave Yong County.
The Han army needed to overcome two difficulties to successfully enter the Longshan Road. The first was how Wei Yan could seize Dazhen Pass without anyone noticing before Guo Huai's reinforcements arrived.
Secondly, after Wei Yan captured Dazhen Pass, how did Zhang Fei lead the main force of the Han army to evade the Wei army's encirclement and successfully bring troops, supplies, and provisions to Dazhen Pass?
Zhang Fei is now addressing the first challenge: using various blocking tactics to slow down Guo Huai's advance to Dazhen Pass, thus buying time for Wei Yan to launch a surprise attack on Dazhen Pass.
Once he receives news that Wei Yan has captured Dazhen Pass, he will no longer need to rush around like he is now. He can simply meet up with Huang Quan at his leisure and then leisurely make his way to Dazhen Pass.
He believed that Wei Yan's two thousand elite troops could hold Dazhen Pass once they captured it, and that if Wei Yan held out for seven days, he could reach Dazhen Pass and join Wei Yan before entering the Longshan Road.
It should be noted that there were no Wei troops stationed near Dazhen Pass. Seven days was not enough time for Wei troops to arrive, let alone launch a fierce attack on Wei Yan to retake Dazhen Pass.
For now, time is on their side. As long as Wei Yan successfully takes Dazhen Pass, his plan to strike directly at Zhang He's rear will be a success.
On the way to Yujun, Zhang Fei looked up at the direction of Qian County and muttered to himself, "Wei Wenchang, the lives of 20,000 soldiers are now in your hands. You must not let me down."
……
"Hurry, hurry! We must get to Dazhen Pass before dark."
"Brothers, give it your all! If we can successfully take Dazhen Pass, everyone will be promoted three ranks. Also, I have a daughter. Whoever is the first to break through Dazhen Pass, I will take him as my son-in-law. I, Wei Yan, keep my word."
On the way to Dazhen Pass, Wei Yan sprinted at full speed, encouraging his troops as he went, and even promised his daughter as a reward.
Because he knew the importance of Dazhen Pass, and even more so the consequences of the plan's failure. If the mission failed, the loss would not only be 20,000 troops, but also Zhang Fei's life.
Zhang Fei would never surrender to Cao Cao. If he were defeated and surrounded, he would definitely choose to die to prove his loyalty, which would have serious consequences.
You should know that this plan was proposed by Wei Yan himself. When the plan first came to mind, even he thought it was a bit crazy. He originally thought that Liu Bei would not take the risk, but unexpectedly Liu Bei agreed.
Not only did they agree, they also let Zhang Fei lead the troops, which was tantamount to betting Zhang Fei on the gambling table.
Liu Bei trusted Wei Yan so much that he risked his third brother Zhang Fei's life to accompany Wei Yan in his madness. How could Wei Yan not risk his life?
The soldiers, unaware of Wei Yan's intentions, were energized when they heard that Wei Yan had brought out his daughter, and they sped up their pace again.
That's General Zhenyuan, Governor of Hanzhong, and Prefect of Hanzhong, Wei Yan! Becoming his son-in-law means you've latched onto his coattails and your career will soar to great heights.
Does it matter whether Wei Yan's daughter is pretty or not?
Upon hearing Wei Yan's promise, all the soldiers ran with all their might, fearing that if they were too slow, their wives would be snatched away by their teammates.
While they were running, someone couldn't help but tease, "General, with so many brothers, do you have enough daughters?"
Wei Yan patted his chest and said boldly, "Don't worry, I can still have children. I'm just afraid you won't be willing to wait."
"Hahaha..." A burst of hearty laughter instantly erupted from the group.
The distance from Wuzhangyuan to Dazhen Pass is three hundred li. Wei Yan galloped for three days and two nights and finally arrived near Dazhen Pass before sunset on the third day. He ordered the army to stop and rest and sent his eldest son, Wei Chang, with scouts to investigate.
Half an hour later, Wei Chang returned and whispered, "General, it seems the garrison at Dazhen Pass has received the news and has placed the city under martial law. What should we do?"
Wei Yan calmly smiled and said, "It seems that Guo Huai's messenger beat us to it, but it doesn't matter. There are only two or three hundred garrison troops inside the pass, and there aren't many troops stationed in Qian County nearby. If the garrison troops inside the pass want to ask for help, they can only send troops from Chang'an. It's five hundred li from here to Chang'an, and a round trip is a thousand li. The reinforcements from Chang'an can't be faster than us, so we still have time."
"Besides, so what if the city gates are closed? I wasn't planning on using the city gates anyway. What about the soldiers carrying ropes? Are any of the ropes damaged?"
Dozens of soldiers with rope coils around their necks stepped forward and threw the coiled hemp ropes in front of Wei Yan, saying, "Reporting to the general, all twenty-eight long ropes are intact and undamaged."
Wei Yan laughed and said, "Great! Brothers, come with me into the mountains to eat and sleep. We'll move at dawn and tonight we'll show the Wei army how good our Bashu brothers are at rock climbing."
Dazhen Pass is located at the crossroads between the Qinling Mountains and the Longshan Mountains. Theoretically, one could reach the back of Dazhen Pass by crossing the Qinling Mountains.
However, this location is quite dangerous, surrounded by towering mountains and ridges, making it impossible for ordinary people to get up there. Even if people did manage to get up there, horses and supplies would not be able to.
But this was no problem for Wei Yan. His Shu army had been climbing mountains since they were old enough to understand. They could climb the treacherous mountains of Bashu, so the Qinling Mountains were nothing to them.
After settling the soldiers in the mountains, Wei Yan led several skilled climbers to scout the route. Using ropes and iron hooks, they climbed for over two hours before finally finding a path to the summit on the right side of Dazhen Pass. However, this path was difficult, requiring them to cross two cliffs over twenty meters high. But was this a problem for Wei Yan?
After returning, Wei Yan ate some dry rations and slept for an hour. At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), he divided the army into two groups. He led two hundred personal guards to climb the cliff, while Wei Chang led the remaining troops, carrying makeshift ladders, to the front of Dazhen Pass to await orders and prepare for the charge.
Wei Yan led his personal guards to the cliff, grabbed the rope in front of him with a rope coil on his back, and started climbing. He had casually hung the rope when he was scouting the way earlier, and he felt very safe using it.
Wei Yan calmly climbed to the top of the cliff, took the rope from his neck, quickly unfolded it, tied one end to a tree, and threw the other end down.
The soldiers below the cliff grabbed the ropes and carried the rope coils on their backs to continue climbing. After they came up, they tied another rope and threw it down. Soon, there were more than a dozen ropes hanging on the cliff, enough for more than a dozen people to climb at the same time.
As for the remaining dozen or so ropes, the guards who had climbed up first took them to the second cliff.
After nearly two hours of this ordeal, at the end of the Yin hour, we finally reached the top of the mountain. Standing on the edge of the cliff and looking down, all we could see was the pitch-black Dazhen Pass.
Wei Yan glanced at the pass below the mountain and asked in a low voice, "Who wants to go down first?"
Before I could finish speaking, someone interrupted, "Father-in-law, don't worry, I'm determined to be your son-in-law."
When Wei Yan saw that it was Zhuo Han, the captain of his personal guards, he patted him on the shoulder and said with a laugh, "I knew you were thinking about my daughter. Don't worry, as long as you come back alive, you'll be my son-in-law. I'll accept you even if you're crippled."
Everyone looked at Zhuo Han with envy. This is truly a case of someone becoming a third-generation rich kid.
Thinking of the glory of marrying a beautiful and wealthy woman, the other guards couldn't stay calm and volunteered one after another: "General, oh no, father-in-law, we also want to try to become your sons-in-law."