Shu Chen

Chapter 164
Different from the past, this time General Wei Cao Zhen's plan to attack Bashu was echoed by the temples of Wei State.

The biggest reason is naturally that there has been no war between the northern border and the southeastern front this year.

If you don't take the opportunity to attack now, you may be in a situation of fighting on two or even three fronts in the future.

Needless to say, Sun Wu, who has already proclaimed himself emperor and formed an alliance with Nishu, as long as he quells the internal rebellion, he will inevitably send troops to Nishu again.

The stability of northern Xinjiang may not last long.

Because Liang Xi just died of illness.

Liang Xi, a native of Zhe, Chenjun, was a famous minister promoted by Cao Cao, Wu of Wei.

During his tenure as the governor of Bingzhou, he attacked the powerful rightists and defeated all the ministries of the Xiongnu and Ke Bineng of Xianbei. He had great prestige in northern Xinjiang, and it was one of the reliance of Wei State to deter and appease northern Xinjiang.

His death may have occurred during the period of Wei Cao Cao and Wei Wen Cao Pi. The Baosai lords of the Xianbei tribes who moved into Bingzhou and the generals of the Xiongnu and the county tyrants colluded with the counties and counties.
Furthermore, it is the internal contradictions of Wei that need to be transferred.

After the emperor Cao Rui ordered to strictly investigate the embezzlement of the land by the rich and powerful families, and implemented the war preparation law with a strong attitude, the aristocratic families who benefited from the nine-rank official system began to feel dissatisfied.

Abandon the words of Liangzhou, although it will not be mentioned again, but "the mouth of the people is better than that of Fangchuan".

For internal stability, Wei State needs war to divert internal conflicts.

If this campaign against Shu and recapture the land of Longyou, Wei's military power can be demonstrated, all criticisms will be melted away.

Finally, it is about Liangzhou and the Western Regions.

When Wei Wendi Cao Pi came to the throne, small countries such as Shanshan, Qiuci, and Khotan in the Western Regions sent envoys to offer sacrifices.It also allowed Wei Guo to set up Wuji Xiaowei, and once again opened the Silk Road trade in the Western Regions.

And in December last year, Wang Bo of the Dayue Clan welcomed Wei Guoxian, the envoy dispatched by him.

This is a joyful event for all the people in the Wei Kingdom, and it is also a manifestation of the Han Dynasty in the Cao Wei Dynasty, who joined the Vega and the destiny returned.

Because the Da Yuezhi, who had been repeatedly defeated by the Xiongnu and Wusun, had already migrated out of the jurisdiction of the Western Regions Protectorate, far to the west of Dawan.

However, the envoy of Da Yuezhi even mentioned that he hoped to increase the trade of Shu brocade with the state of Wei.

The brocade of Shu is owned by Ni Shu!

In other words, the Qianghu tribes and Haoyou tribes in Liangzhou are secretly doing business with Nishu!
If the land of Bashu is not conquered as soon as possible, I am afraid that the people of Liangzhou will gradually tilt towards Nishu, and it will be more difficult to conquer in the future.

And for the sake of long-term stability, how can we sit back and watch against Shu to form cavalry?

Many reasons came together, and it became a situation where all the temples of Wei State spoke with one voice.

However, the route of the soldiers was slightly adjusted.

Based on the information passed on by ranger scouts and secret agents, General Cao Zhennai planned to feintly attack Wudu and Hanzhong County.

However, important ministers such as Chen Qun, Liu Ye, and Yang Fu all held different opinions.

It was because they felt that when they entered Longyou through Xiaoguan in Anding County, the terrain gradually rose to a height of nearly two or three hundred feet, and it was difficult to transport such a large army with supplies and food.

And there are many garrisons that Nishu has set up in the north of the Wei River!

If Cao Zhen goes out of Xiaoguan with the main force, it may be difficult to spread out, forming an empty force advantage but not being able to show it.

Therefore, on the grounds that 180,000 troops can be mobilized this time, it is suggested that Hanzhong and Longyou attack simultaneously!

Overwhelm Nishu's national strength with military superiority, and offset Nishu's geographical advantages.

Nishu, with few troops, had to spread the soldiers on the long border, and then became weak in defense!At that time, no matter where there is a lack of support, it will lead to a global collapse!

Cao Zhen did not refute this.

Although such an unknown advance, it also dispersed the strength of the own army.

However, as the commander-in-chief, he can schedule the time for the soldiers of the various ministries, so there is a difference between priorities.

For example, let the army in the Wushui River Basin and Anding County stand still for the time being, and wait for the other ministries marching into Hanzhong to attract the attention of Nishu, and then rush out with lightning speed!
With the way of falsehood and reality, the effect of collecting strange soldiers.

Therefore, after he bid farewell to the emperor Cao Rui, he rushed back to Guanzhong to fight hard.

All the important ministers of the Wei State are making decisions, and they are all busy, allocating supplies, food and fodder and so on.

Because the significance of this battle is the same as the previous battle of Shiting.

If he wins, Nishu can be expelled back to the land of Bashu, and let him continue to defend the land with small soldiers and widows, until he will be crushed by Wei State, which occupies all the rich land in the world.

If it fails, it is feared that Wei's western front will also fall into passive defense.

In the tug-of-war against Shu repeatedly, he lost the Liangzhou Qianghu tribe and the heart of Haoyou, and then lost the territory of Liangzhou.

However, with such an obvious advantage in our own forces, even if we can't win, we can both lose, right?
Both sides suffered losses, and it could be regarded as Wei's tragic victory.

After all, Wei Guo sent a lot of troops this time, but it can't be called a battle with all its strength.

And every time Ni Shu mobilizes troops, it is a desperate gamble on the fate of the country.

How can it be long?
Guanzhong and Jingbei's great strictness and the movement of the army will naturally be impossible to hide from others.

In other words, Cao Zhen didn't intend to hide his intentions at all.

After Jiangdong Sun Quan heard about it, he regretted that the battle was not at the right time.The anti-Wei army will go to the northwest. If he marches to the southeast at this time, there will be no worries that there will be reinforcements coming to rescue him.

Therefore, he sent several soldiers and horses to disturb the border in Huainan to see if there was any benefit.

And the Zhu Ran tribe stationed in Jiangling, South County, is waiting for death.

Jiangling City is on the north bank of the great river, and it has always been the bridgehead for Jiangdong to march into Jingbei.

As Sun Quan's childhood companion, he was trusted and possessed the power of arbitrariness.

Let's watch the fire from the other side first, to see if there is any possibility of taking advantage of the fire and looting, the right should be to support the Northern Expedition of the Alliance of the Two Countries and the Commonwealth!
Furthermore, when lips and teeth depend on each other, helping others is self-interest.

If you can break through the several sieges against the Wei Dynasty, or if you rob some Li Shu and their belongings and return, it will also weaken the strength of the soldiers against the Wei Dynasty going south in the future.

why not?

After the big man heard about it, he also waited for it.

Prime Minister Zhuge Liang ordered soldiers and horses from all counties to strictly guard the passes and dangerous points, and again dispatched soldiers and horses from Shu to guard them.

It was Li Yan.

At the beginning of this year, Li Yan wrote a letter to the emperor and the prime minister, claiming that he wanted to lead more than ten thousand people from his headquarters to fight in Longyou, in order to repay the kindness of the late emperor Tuogu.

And the words are quite sincere.

On the grounds that he is over fifty years old, he claims that if he does not lead an expedition today, he fears that he will have no chance in the future.

In this regard, the prime minister is not easy to refuse.

After all, when the first emperor Liu Bei was in Tuogu, Li Yan was entrusted with the duty of commanding Chinese and foreign military forces.

And seeking to fight with the conquest is a heart of loyalty and dedication to the country.

At that time, the prime minister euphemistically declined on the grounds that food and fodder were not abundant yet and the time for the war had not yet arrived, and that the prime minister, Shi Zhangyi, had just died of illness and needed him to stay in Chengdu to stabilize the situation. He asked him to stay in Chengdu for another year or two before going north. .

However, now is the right time.

Ni Wei is about to attack in a large scale, and it is the moment when the great man is alive and dead, so he will call in all the troops of the whole country.

In particular, Li Yan's headquarters has more than ten thousand people who are quite elite.

It was after the Battle of Yiling that the first emperor Liu Bei transferred some remnants of the old soldiers to Li Yan's command as low-level generals to train elite soldiers who could defend the country.

Therefore, Li Yan got his wish and led his army to the north.

He was conscripted by the prime minister on behalf of the emperor, and sent to Mianyang County, Hanzhong County to guard the Baoxie Valley in Baozhong County.

The former general Zhao Yun transferred to Chenggu County to be stationed, supervised the general Yuan Wei, Yangwu general Deng Zhi, the gold garrison governor Huo Yi, and later joined the army Liu Min and others guarded the Tangluo Road, and joined forces with Sima Yi in Ziwu Valley. The golden gorge attacked.

Li Yan has a high official position to supervise the soldiers, while Zhao Yun has a low official position to supervise the soldiers, so there is no need to worry about conflicts in such a dispatch.

One of the reasons is that Li Yan, who just went north, is not yet familiar with the land of Hanzhong, so it is not easy to do it for him.

The other is that Zhao Yunnai is the veteran with the deepest experience in the Han Dynasty today, and he is also known for his virtues and is highly respected by the government and the public.Li Yan is often the first to greet him with a smile on his face when he sees him.

As for the defense of Wudu County, Zhang Yi, the prefect, added another two thousand troops, and personally supervised five thousand troops to guard Dasan Pass.

Jiang Wei, who was in charge of guarding the Qiang school lieutenant, was mainly composed of Qiang people who were good at fighting in the valley. He was not sent to guard the Lianyun plank road connecting Baoxie Valley to Chencang Road.

Liao Hua, the prefect of Yinping, led his soldiers to Tazhong, north of Qiang Road in Wudu County.

Above Tazhong is a tributary of Taoshui (Diezang River), which can be reached in Wangqu Valley in Lintao by marching in two or three days.

Because Ma Dai, who has been promoted to the general of Zhengbei, will lead the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and Shaodang Qiang of the headquarters, from Jishi Gorge in Heguan County to threaten Wei Xiping County from Heguan County, and reduce the pressure of Gao Xiang's troops to guard Longxi County.In the horse ranch along Lintao-Suoxi City, only Yin Shang is left on guard, fearing that there will be changes in the ginseng wolf species and Qiang.

The prime minister, who is cautious in planning things, will not neglect this.

Let Liao Hua march and strictly monitor Wangqu Valley, which is to prepare for a rainy day.

In addition, the prime minister said that the two counties of Hanzhong and Wudu were easy to defend and difficult to attack, so the prime minister did not dispatch the various ministries of Longyou to go back for the time being.

It is to stay in Jixian County, Tianshui temporarily as a mobile reinforcement, so as to be prepared.

Naturally, the food, fodder and supplies needed by each ministry were allocated in advance and hoarded to calm the morale of the army.

The pawns of the various ministries looked at each other in the road.

The combination of the busy sleepiness and the depression of preparing for the battle made some unfamiliar voices.

Wei Yan, the general of the left who was determined to make contributions, saw that the war was approaching and the transportation of food, fodder and supplies was slow, and he was impatient, so he rode back in person to urge him.

The person in charge of allocating supplies was none other than Yang Yi, who was moved to be the deputy head of the prime minister's office.

Both of these two are men with unruly temperament and high self-esteem.

In a few words, a dispute arose, and Wei Yan, furious, drew his blade and waved it as if to kill him, which made Yang Yi burst into tears immediately.

Fortunately, the assistants Fei Yi and Zhuge Qiao were both in the office.

Seeing this, the two quickly got up to persuade them, so that the farce ended.

Afterwards, Wei Yan was sent back to the station by the prime minister for blaming his colleagues; Yang Yi was also accused of inappropriate words.

It's just that the responsibilities of these two people have not relinquished.

It is to let the other generals who are not less angry with Wei Yan and Yang Yi on weekdays secretly joke about this matter.

Even Zhang Bao is not immune.

He is now in Xiaoguan Road, temporarily under the control of Zheng Pu.

The defense of Hanyang County is to build garrisons along the mountains, rivers and valleys with Pingxiang City and Ayang City as the rear.

Pingxiang City has always been Wei Yan's residence, and he even took care of the defense of the Changli River Valley.

As for Ayang City, it was guarded by Chen Shibu.The duty is to protect Zheng Pu's troops stationed at Xiaoguan Road, and to guard the passage north to Longguan Road.

All in all, Chen Shi's duties are easy.

One of the reasons is that once the rebellion against Wei strikes, the Prime Minister will inevitably increase his troops to defend the Longguan Road. It is not difficult for him to hold on to the city with his headquarters.

The other is Zheng Pu who is stationed outside, and he controls a lot of troops.

There are three thousand soldiers in his headquarters.

And because Zhang Bao was transferred to take charge of the heavy cavalry, Liu Yin was asked to lead the [-] "蜑獽" army on his behalf, and the prime minister was also assigned to him this time.

That is to say, in terms of the number of soldiers and horses in his command, Zheng Pu is now a general who does not have the title of heavy general, but has a solid general.

In this regard, the veteran generals in the army have no objections.

Gein Zheng Pu's achievements in planning and leading the battle since Zheng Pu's expedition are more than enough to be promoted to a heavy-ranked general!
He has never been relocated, but the prime minister was worried that his high position due to his young age might lead to self-indulgence and underestimation of the enemy, so he divided his military achievements with the real seal of food.

However, people also faintly realized.

After this battle, as long as Zheng Pu didn't mismanage, he would definitely be promoted to a heavy general.

Because Zheng Pu's Xuanwu warlord position was transferred to Zhang Yi by the prime minister, and he controlled the "蜑獽" army, which was the most obvious signal.

Don't be a superintendent, this is similar to the power of a miscellaneous general.

If it wasn't about to be moved to be a heavy general, how could he command the five hundred cavalry of the two other governors and Yang Ji?

This is not the first time that Chen Shi and Zheng Pu have worked together.

Therefore, they get along very well.

He not only fully supported the supplies needed by Zheng Pu's troops, but also often sent troops to assist Zheng Pu in investigating the enemy's situation.

Not only because of his devotion to his duty and his resolute temperament, but also because of his vague expectations in his heart.

He is an old man in the army!
Qualifications and abilities, etc., are no worse than Gao Xiang, Ma Dai and others.

But now Gao Xiang is General Zhenxi and Ma Dai is General Zhengbei, but his job prefix is ​​still "Anxi".

The reason is not that the prime minister favored him, but because of his bad luck.

Promotion in the army depends only on military merit.

And when he was in a big battle, he was either stationed or on the way to support, and he didn't catch up with the military achievements gained in the battle.
This time he is on the front line against Wei Wei, and he also wants to work together with Zheng Pu to accumulate military exploits and let his official position be mentioned again.

Not for vanity, nor for power, and not for the sake of that little salary.

The men in the army have to fight for this breath!
Besides, he is not young.

Throughout the ages, there have been very few long-lived men who marched with the army.

Who has been in the army for decades, who has no injuries or hidden diseases?

He has long looked down on life and death, and he also wants to win a better posthumous name for himself.

Zheng Pu didn't know about this.

He just carefully inspected the defense area under his jurisdiction with his sincere gratitude to Chen Shi.

The place where he and Ma Su stayed together is still where he and Ma Su used to be.

The only difference is that things are different.

For example, most of the soldiers of the original Xuanwu Army were buried in this mountain and river valley.

Zheng Pu, who felt a little sentimental in his heart, and Zhang Bao stationed horses on the gentle slope of the mountain road, looked far away at the valley road where the tributaries of the Jingshui meandered into Xiaoguan, and looked at the military flag with the word "Wei" embroidered on it above the pass, silent. .

(End of this chapter)