Shu Chen

Chapter 196
Blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes do not come singly.

The ten years of Jianxing was not a good year for Dahan.

Following the death of general Zhao Yun in late spring and March, veteran general Chen Shi who guarded Ayang County in Longyou also died of illness at the end of June; even Gao Xiang who guarded Daxia County in Longxi also fell ill.

Although he recovered later, his bones were no longer as strong as before.

In any case, the generals who fought on the battlefield will more or less have some old injuries and hidden diseases.

Once you get older, you will have frequent minor illnesses and occasional serious illnesses.

This made Prime Minister Zhuge Liang even more worried.

Chen Shi, who died of illness, was about the same age as Gao Xiang, Wu Yi, Wu Ban, and Ma Dai; and they are now the mainstay of the Great Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition.

If so.
The consequences would be unimaginable.

After all, after the Battle of Yiling, the younger generation of generals had just emerged and had not had time to accumulate rich experience on the battlefield.

But there are not many people who can stand alone.

In this regard, the prime minister promoted Guan Xing, who had great status and ability, to be the general of Anbei and lead the Central Guard Army, taking over the vacancy left by Chen Shi; he also transferred Zheng Pu's troops to Pingxiang City.

It is planned to attack Zuli County in Wuwei County with him as the main general and Guan Xing as the deputy in July before the autumn harvest.

I hope that after the capture of Zuli, he will threaten the Yinsai and Wushui River Valley at the northern gate of Longyou, so that Li Yan, who is stationed in the Xiping Army, and Wei Yan, who is outside Yuzhong County, Jincheng County, will be able to take Jincheng County without distraction.

However, before Zheng Pu and Guan Xing sent troops to march, the prime minister called them back again.

It is not a change of order overnight.

But in terms of the overall situation, it is no longer possible to attack at this time.

Li Yan was defeated.

And it failed miserably.

The reason was his arrogance, and the fact that the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty had been too smooth in recent years, which made all the generals of the Han army faintly contemptuous of the Wei State.

As for how to lose, we have to start with Guo Huai officially becoming the governor of Liangzhou in Wei State.

At that time, the Han army was victorious in Guanzhong and Yuzhong counties, and Ma Dai and Shaodang Qiang king Mangzhong made a surprise attack on Zhangye County in Hexi. The morale of the Wei army in Liangzhou was inevitably low.

Even some Haoyou and Qianghu tribes began to think about how to protect their own interests if the Han army occupied Liangzhou in the future.

Under such circumstances, Li Yan, who has become the supreme commander of the attack on Liangzhou, also has an extremely longing for achievements in his heart.

Whether it is out of flaunting of one's own prestige, or the idea of ​​opening up territory for the great man and honoring the name behind him.

He is eager.

Also underestimate Wei Jun.

Guo Huai lived here and set a trap for him.

Let a Qiang tribe whose habitat is in Zhiyang County, Jincheng County, go to seek the surrender of the Han army, claiming to be willing to act as an internal response.

His name is Kewu. 【Note 1】

With more than [-] Luo people, it is considered a powerful tribe in Liangzhou.

However, he is greedy and despicable, and only seeks profit. He often condoned the lawlessness of his clansmen, and was often condemned by Wei Jun.

It's just that the crimes committed did not rise to the point of threatening the rule of the Wei State. Therefore, the successive prefects of Jincheng or the captains of the Qiang Guards did not send troops to attack and kill them based on the mentality that more things are worse than less things.

It is just to file a complaint according to the law and to confiscate some cattle, sheep and property.

But many people know that Ke Wu, who has many misconducts, can always be at ease under the eyes of Wei Jun. The reason is that his half-sister is the general of Wei who died in battle, and the concubine of Wang Mi!

Wang Mi was born as a humble husband.

He was the first to establish himself with bravery, so there is no difference between Han and Hu in his concept.

As his status gradually became noble, his mind also became utilitarian, and he also wanted to use his power to make future generations one of the righties in Liangzhou.

Nakewu's sister is a concubine, which is one of them.

After all, if you don't have a good Qianghu tribe in Liangzhou, you can't become a powerful rightist who dominates the roost.

Moreover, his clan and family members were all placed in Jingzhao. Even if prestige was established, his heirs would not be able to come to Liangzhou to settle down and inherit.And if you accept a concubine, if you have a son, you can become a branch Xiaozong and stay here.

Therefore, Ke Wu hit it off with him.

Ke Wu also wanted to inherit Wang Mi's identity and power as Xiahou Ru's confidant general, and expand his tribe and territory.

And in his heart, he thought further.For example, after Wang Mi passed away in the future, as an uncle, he would not worry about not having the opportunity to take Wang Mi's legacy.

It's a pity that there are unpredictable things.

Wang Mi died in battle, and his hope became the moon in the water.

However, there is another kind of luck, which is that there is no unparalleled road.

Guo Huai was reminded by Xia Houru's previous appointments, so he brought a few followers to visit Ke Wu's tribe in private.

Few people knew about that visit; no one knew what agreement was reached.

The scholars of Zhiyang County in Jincheng only knew that after the new Zhenxi General was in charge of Liangzhou, they began to sort out some injustices.

For example, Ke Wu, who used to rely on Wang Mi's power and domineering, was dealt with.

General Guo directly confiscated 7000 cattle and more than [-] sheep on the grounds of committing crimes and disturbing the peace of the county; and must recruit [-] young and Zhuang people to bring their own food, and build fortifications for the Wei army for free for one month!

What is even more annoying is that Ke Wu dared not refuse.

Because Guo Huai directly took his headquarters to guard Zhiyang County, and led the [-]-step riding to the habitat of the Kewu tribe, very gently asking Kewu to "observe the law".

It is time, it is summer and May.

Ke Wu couldn't bear the humiliation and bullying, so he frequently sent his cronies to climb over the mountains and sneak across the river to Xiping County, claiming that he was willing to lead his people to become the vassals of the big Han, but asked the Han army to come and capture Jincheng County as soon as possible.

In addition, the Jincheng County generals Hao Zhao, Jia Xu, Pang Hui, and Guo Huai's garrison locations, the number of soldiers and horses, as well as the ordnance supplies and grain and fodder storage points in each city were reported to the Han army in detail.

However, Li Yan did not send troops immediately.

It’s just that Haosheng appeased the envoy and asked him to go back and tell Ke Wu and be patient first. After the big man broke through Jincheng County, he must personally go to the court to ask the emperor Liu Chan to make Ke Wu the king of Fuyi.

It's not that Li Yan found out about Ke Wu's false surrender.

The Qiang tribe in the Huangzhong River Valley is no stranger to Kewu, so they naturally know Kewu's current situation.

Moreover, the military situation obtained by the Han army's careful investigation is almost exactly the same as what Ke Wu said.

However, following the common sense of "soldiers should be cautious", Li Yan will not easily believe in Ke Wu's sincerity and use soldiers and horses.

In particular, he and the prime minister had already discussed the strategy of attacking Jincheng County through letters.

It was to let Zheng Pu and Guan Xing march into Zuli County, Wuwei County, and restrain more than [-] soldiers and horses of Fei Yao, the general who rebelled against Wei, and then let him and Wei Yan attack east and west at the same time, creating opportunities for Ma Dai.

Yes, Ma Dai's headquarters, which has been staying in Xihai, is the key to capturing Jincheng County.

Zhi Wudai and Bai Huwen, the leaders of the Xiongnu tribe who were defeated by Guo Huai and Hao Zhao in the past, came to attach themselves to the great Han.

In other words, they had suffered heavy losses and had no choice but to take the initiative to seek refuge from the big man.

Otherwise, they will be used as seedlings by Xihai Shao, who lives next door, and will be gradually eaten away and swallowed up.

And the big man did not hesitate to extend a helping hand to protect and support them.

As far as the big Han is concerned, they also don't want to see the Shaodang Qiang rise too fast, and then evolve into a big tail.

The West Sea outside the Riyue Mountain and the middle and upper reaches of the Datong River can only be nomadic and cannot be farmed, and the big Han who mainly focus on farming cannot occupy it.

Since this is the case, it is better to support the tribes of Zhi Wudai and Baihuwen, and treat it as a constraint on Shaodang Qiang.

Two little wolves are easier to deal with than one strong male.

Don't forget to divide when you are restrained~~
The methods used by the Central Plains Dynasty are common sense.

Naturally, the kindness of the big man's protection is not granted in vain.

Zhi Wudai and Bai Huwen must also show their value—as the pioneers of the Han Dynasty, they led the Han army from the mountain trails, obliquely into the Wuting River Valley, and wiped out the geographical advantage of Jincheng County.

After all, the last thing the Han army could afford to consume was the lives of soldiers.

In Jincheng County, whether it is Siwang Gorge or Yuzhong Sangyuan Gorge, they are all dangerous passes that must be piled up with countless lives before they can be conquered.

Such a strategy is most suitable for the national conditions of the Han Dynasty.

No matter how bad Li Yan was, he would never send troops to attack Siwang Gorge in advance just because of a mere Qiang leader.

However, soon he decided to send troops.

Ke Wu gave reasons he could not refuse.

One is sincerity.

Ke Wu sent his eldest son, the future heir of the tribe, to Xiping County as an envoy, and stayed in the Han army as a hostage.

It is indeed the eldest son.

The other Qiang leaders in the Huangshui River Valley have all confirmed it.

The other is that he, who has lived in Zhiyang County for generations, knows a small path that can enter Jincheng County without passing through Siwang Gorge, and directly reach Wuting Nishui River Valley.

Li Yan asked more than a dozen guards to visit this path along with Ke Wu's clansmen.

It is indeed very secretive.

It is a trail that oxen and horses cannot walk on.

The widest part can accommodate four or five people side by side, and the narrowest part can only accommodate one person; and there is a small puddle about ten steps wide in the middle.

What is gratifying is that the exit of the trail is in the pasture where the Kewu tribe lives.

It is still forty or fifty miles away from the Wei army stationed in the city of Zhiyang County!

Such a distance, even if the Wei army knew about it, it would be enough for the Han army to walk through the trail and rest in formation to fight.

Of course, if Ke Wu was ordered by Wei Guohuai to feign surrender and deliberately lure the Han army to go deep and destroy them in one fell swoop, that would be another matter.

But Li Yan felt that Ke Wu was not cheating.

Ke Wu only has three sons, and the eldest son was sent to the Han army as a hostage. Isn't such sincerity enough?

Tiger poison does not eat its seeds.

How many Qiang and Hu leaders took the initiative to send their own tribal heirs to death during the struggle between the Han and Wei dynasties?
For them, both Da Han and Ni Wei are Han people.

Not the same as them.

Furthermore, it is reasonable for Ke Wu to come to attach himself to the big man.

Wang Mi, the general of the Wei army he relied on earlier, has already died in battle!

He was not only held accountable by the Wei State for committing crimes and bullying others, but also other Qianghu tribes would not let go of the opportunity to beat the dog in the water and tear off a few pieces of flesh from him.

This is the law of survival in Xiliang.

Everyone knows it well, and everyone waits for the time to move.

Or in other words, he has no other way out except to cling to the big man.

In particular, Ke Wu's willingness to act as an internal agent is not without conditions.

In the details of the negotiations between the two parties, his greedy and mercenary temperament was fully revealed.

It was whimsical to ask the big man to give him the entire Zhiyang County as his territory after he captured Jincheng County!And it will never be possible to levy taxes on military supplies such as war horses, cattle and sheep.

His request was naturally rejected.

The two sides went back and forth on this issue for nearly a month, and finally made Li Yan furious, and asked Ke Wu to go back and continue to serve as a subject against the Wei Dynasty. The big man refused to accept him, and they agreed on a post-war distribution agreement.

This move convinced Li Yan of Ke Wulai's sincerity.

According to common sense, if he was ordered by Ni Wei to come to feign surrender, he should try his best to facilitate the Han army to penetrate into the enemy's territory!
How can you stalk and bargain because of your own self-interest?
Is it impossible to not be afraid of the Han army?

And for Li Yan, he urgently needs a big victory to prove his strategy.

The previous attack on the Qiang tribe of the Shenlang species did not demonstrate his ability.

Just a group of barbarians scattered like sand!

If any of the big men in the army would supervise the attack, the results of the battle would not be worse than him.

Not to mention, Jiang Wei's feats in that battle, when he ran for thousands of miles and made an emergency landing on Huawai Baima Qiang, were even more dazzling than him.

Also, it is much better to listen to Ke Wu and have his tribe act as internal support than the strategy he and Prime Minister Zhuge Liang made.

After all, Zhi Wudai and Bai Huwen, the leaders of the Xiongnu tribe, had already entered the valley of the Wushui Basin once.No matter how stupid Guo Huai is against the Wei Dynasty, he will definitely make up for it and strengthen the defenses of the Wushui River Valley.

At that time, the Han army will attack east and west, and Ma Dai will make another detour to march, which may not be able to make a contribution.

Moreover, when Li Yan made a decision, there was very little opposition from the generals under his command.

Almost negligible.

Since the prime minister asked Xue Yong to be the prefect of Xiping, Liao Hua became a general at the border of the town and no longer participated in the battle and planning to attack Jincheng County.

Li Yan's long history, Yan Yan, who led General Jianyi, had no objections.

But the two generals directly under Li Yan, Li Sheng and Huang Xi, strongly agreed, and repeatedly claimed, "This is God's help, this opportunity must not be missed, and the time will never come again!"

Both Li Sheng and Huang Xi were former generals of Ma Di.

Because of the battle of Xiaoguandao in the past, the two of them were defeated, and the prime minister seized the military power, and turned to Hanzhong to garrison the fields.

Later, Li Yan led the army to Hanzhong, and there were not many soldiers under his command, so he brought them back to lead the army on the grounds that "Ma Su was the main responsibility, not the two of them".

In this regard, the prime minister did not object.

Ma Di has continued to use him, and the two of them can't treat him harshly.

This is also the reason why the two of them agreed - in order to accumulate meritorious service.

Only Jiang Wei, General Dangkou and the leader of Qiang Xiaowei, felt that it was too dangerous to follow Ke Wu's plan.

Because while the trail is hidden, it is also very difficult to pass through.Once Kewu is deceitful, the Han army entering Wuting Nishui Valley will have no way to retreat.

However, Li Yan still felt that the military struggle was all about life.

If you don't enter a tiger's den, you can't get a tiger's son!

In the four years of the Northern Expedition, the Han army has not lost a single defeat, so why dare not take risks?
Besides, Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, Zheng Pu and other generals can all defeat Wei Wei, how can he be inferior to Li Yan?
After writing a letter and sending people to Hanzhong and the prime minister, he used the right to act arbitrarily before the battle and asked Jianyi General Yan Yan to lead the front, and led Li Sheng and Huang Xi to follow Ke Wu's tribe into Wuting Nishui River Valley.

Lead the Chinese army by himself, and follow closely behind.

Jiang Wei, who held objections, became the rear army to escort the supplies, food and fodder.

Also don't send envoys to Daxia County, let Zhenxi General Gao Xiang secretly dispatch troops, and when Siwang Gorge is attacked by him from the rear, the whole army will be killed, flanking both inside and outside.

As for the Wei Yan tribe far away in Sangyuan Gorge, Yuzhong County, Li Yan did not ask anyone to inform them.

Because it is not needed.

If he successfully entered Wuting Nishui River Valley and captured Siwang Gorge, Jincheng County would be in the pocket of the big man.

At that time, there is no need for Wei Yan's troops to attack, and the guards against Wei Sangyuan Gorge will also voluntarily flee.

At this point, the outcome of the war naturally cannot be changed.
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[Note 1: Ke Wu, the leader of the Qiang people in Liangzhou during the Three Kingdoms period, once raised his troops to rebel against Wei, and was defeated by Xu Miao, who was then the governor of Liangzhou and the leader of the Qiang school. 】

(End of this chapter)