Shu Chen

Chapter 221 Scheduling
The blue sky is as clear as washing, and the azure blue is delightful; the white clouds are like clouds, dotted outside the sky.

In Longyou after autumn, people can always find a peaceful time to soothe their minds.

In Jixian County, Luomen Gathering, Lu's other courtyard.

By the bank of the gurgling brook on the green hill, Zheng Pu leaned on the pillar of the small pavilion, half-closed his eyes and listened to the soft chatter of the begging tooth house sitting opposite.

He who is very silent on weekdays has become very talkative today.

He just came back from Chengdu.

The travel-stained and tired face can't hide the joy bursting out of his eyes.

His only child, Zheng Chou, is the heir of a vulgar man in Nanzhong. He was first given the status of a good family son by Zheng Pu, and entrusted to the leader Xiang Chong to take him as a palace guard. Now, Zheng Yan is ushering in a marriage.This made him, who didn't change his expression in the face of the blade and body, feel that there is nothing more he can ask for in this life.

After a while, he finished sharing his joy and took his leave.

Three days later, Zheng Pu's rest period will be over, and he must seize the time to recuperate from the fatigue of commuting to and from Chengdu, and continue to fulfill his duty-bound loyalty and gratitude.

This time, Zheng Pu's rest time was very long.

After leading the army back from Hanpingchuan in mid-June, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang allowed him to return to his home and rest until August.

There are two reasons for this.

First, it is related to the time when Cao Zhen's army against Wei came.

If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.

If Cao Zhen wanted to attack Longyou with all his strength, he had to wait for Cao Rui in Luoyang to transport all the food and fodder from other states and counties to Gaoping City for hoarding.Given the road conditions in Anding County, it will take at least three months to conscript Li Shu corvee, transfer and coordinate the gathering of troops and horses from various ministries.

Even if Cao Zhen sent the front to harass, the earliest time would have to wait until August before dispatching troops.

What's more, Niwei's attack this time can be called a battle that will determine the fate of Liangzhou, and it is also a battle of integrity.

There is no room for surprises.

Coincidentally, what Zheng Pu has learned is his ingenuity.

In this kind of formation of "being invincible by oneself, and waiting for the victorious of the enemy", Zheng Pu had very few military plans that he could refer to in detail.

Or, in other words, when it comes to the battle of "Zhengbing", Zheng Pu has no right to speak in front of the prime minister.
After all, he is not a general, and he has not been influenced by his ears and eyes since he was a child. In this kind of war, the role he can play is not comparable to Guan Xing, Zhang Bao and others.

Therefore, the prime minister was very considerate and let him enjoy the rare leisure.

Another reason is to record meritorious service.

In a strategic sense, the capture of Shuyin Fortress was a turning point like a milestone for the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty.However, in the imperial court law that rewards meritorious deeds based on war gains, it is nothing more than conquering a pass.

It is a bit too thin to record the work alone.

And at the time when the generals against Wei are attacking aggressively, the capture of Yuyin Fortress can be regarded as the prologue of future wars.

Therefore, when the prime minister dispatched the various troops to prepare for the war, he also took advantage of the situation and made slight adjustments to the official positions of the outstanding young men of the Han Dynasty.

In the tactical deployment, the prime minister concluded that Cao Zhen's offensive must not last long on the grounds that Ni Wei had recruited too many troops, consumed too much food and fodder every day, and the logistics supply line for attacking Longyou from the Wushui River Basin was too long.

He also chose to be on the defensive.

Plan to go deep and build high forts, not to fight with them, and wait for Cao Zhen to attack and get nothing, so he has no choice but to retreat.

Just like the battle of Hanzhong in the past, after the first emperor Liu Bei attacked and killed Xia Houyuan, he faced Wei Wu Cao Cao's tactics when he personally led the army to fight.

Hu Ji led the headquarters of the Chinese army to guard Xiaoguan, and Jiang Bin's department entered Longguan Road.

Although it is unlikely that Wei State will attack the Longshan-Liupanshan pass, it is better to be prepared.In the past few years, the big man has been caught by surprise several times, and no one can guarantee whether Niwei will try to "treat him in his own way."

The Gaoxiang Department was stationed in Pingxiang City to prevent the Wei army from Jincheng County from coming out of Sangyuan Gorge to harass.

The Zhangyi Department originally stationed in Xiaopingdi, Yuzhong County, migrated to the local Li Shu and returned to Longyou, and then went to Didao, Longxi County to station, and guarded it with the Wangping Department of Daxia County, resisting the possibility of Guo Huai's invasion of Longxi County along the Taoshui River. .

As for Xiping County, there is no need to increase troops.

The prefect Liao Hua has been guarding the front line all year round and is very familiar with defense, and the Qianghu tribe in the Huangshui River Valley is full of hatred for Wei Wei.If Guo Huai sent troops to Xiping County, they would take the initiative to lead their people to help the battle without Liao Hua's call.

After making these arrangements, the prime minister left the right general Wu Ban to guard Ayang City. He led [-] troops north of Ayang City for a hundred miles, and set up camp at the western foot of Liupan Mountain to protect the rear of Xiaoguan. Enter Longyou.

Because this location is not far from Gaoping City.

Cao Zhen wanted all the troops to enter Longyou, so he could only pull out the prime minister's camp first, otherwise he would face the danger of cutting off the food road.

Naturally, he can also divide his troops into two groups, leaving some soldiers and horses here to trap the prime minister, and then personally lead the army to besiege Ayang City or Pingxiang City.

But such scheduling is more difficult to make merit.

A strong city is much more difficult to capture than a camp.

Even if Cao Zhen wanted to use the mobility of his cavalry to pass through the loopholes in the siege between Ayang City and Pingxiang City, it would not be realistic to go into Longyou to burn, kill and loot.

The prime minister arranged two cavalry, Ma Dai and Zhao Guang, one on the left and one on the right to guard the Changlishui (Hulu River) valley.

If Cao Zhen dared to send cavalry to go deep alone, he would have to repeat the past when the rangers of Xianbei's bald-haired tribe were ambushed in the past.

Well, Zhao Guang has just been officially worshiped as General Xiaoqi.

Although he still held the position of a miscellaneous general, this position showed that he was no longer subject to Wei Yan's restraint, and began to have the same arbitrary authority as Ma Dai.

Furthermore, before capturing Zuli County, Cao Zhen will not enter Longyou in a large scale.

In other words, these dispatches by the prime minister were all for the sake of Zuli County and Yuyinsai to contain the forces against the Wei Dynasty.

For Ni Wei, the strategic goal of sending troops this time can be divided into three steps.

First, take back Zuli County and Yuyinsai, restore the connection between Guanzhong Sanfu and the Hexi Corridor, let Liangzhou maintain the status quo, and prevent internal chaos.

The second is to attack Longyou regardless of casualties.

In a way that hurts both sides, Bashu's war heritage is weakened, so that Bashu can no longer provoke wars in a short period of time.

The third is to capture an outpost in Longyou.

It doesn't matter if it's a city, or a valley that can be guarded by camps and troops.

No matter what it is, as long as it is in the middle area of ​​Gaoping City in Anding County, Zuli County in Wuwei County, and Yuzhong County in Jincheng.

Because of the outpost stronghold, these three points can be sheltered behind; these three points can support each other and become an offensive and defensive front; that is to say, it solves the biggest disadvantage of Wei State's attack on Longyou. The journey of transporting supplies and fodder in Guanzhong was difficult.

After all, if the front line is pushed forward, supplies such as shelter and fodder can be hoarded in advance.

Instead of getting the support of Luoyang Cao Rui to send troops like now, Cao Zhen still has to spend several months waiting for the transfer of materials to arrive, so that the big man is ready to face the battle.

His strategic purpose is to drag down the national power of the big man, which cannot be achieved through one or two wars.

But if time is spent on material transfer every time an expedition is made, then this goal will be difficult to achieve.

No matter how strong the state of Wei is, no matter how rich its war background is, it cannot withstand the big man's leisurely waiting for work.

And when it is impossible to attack, it gives the big man time to breathe.

If you want to speed, you can't reach it.

Cao Zhenxin, who has been in the army for decades, knows it well, so he will not be eager for quick success, and will not send troops to attack Longyou before he has captured Zuli County.

This obvious three-step goal was well understood by the Prime Minister.

That's why he personally led the army out of the city and fell into the camp, intimidating against Wei's army's food road.

Naturally, in order to preserve the strength to attack Liangzhou in the future, the prime minister will try to avoid field battles with Ni Wei.

Moreover, in order not to be attacked by Ni Wei, there will be no reinforcements in Zuli County and Yuyinsai!

If they don't want to be attacked and wiped out, they have to swear to the death until they run out of supplies against the Wei Dynasty or retreat when the veterans are exhausted.

As for how long you have to swear to the death
It may be several months, or it may be more than a year.

No one can tell for sure how much supplies Luoyang Cao Rui will prepare for Cao Zhen.

But everyone knows that one year is the limit.

No matter how powerful the anti-Wei was, it would be impossible to provide more than one year's supply of food, fodder and supplies to hundreds of thousands of troops; it was impossible for these soldiers who participated in the war and Li Shu, who served as the third assistant of Guanzhong, to last for a year.

It's just that soldiers who can stand alone for a year without support are not competent for ordinary people.

Among them, Zuli County, the most difficult to defend, was garrisoned by former general Wei Yan.

As the leading general of the Han Dynasty, he is no one else than me, and it happens that he is in the right place because he was ordered to build the city.The prime minister also asked Guan Xing to lead the headquarters to assist in the defense, and the two had a total strength of 5000 people.

This is a test, and it is also important.

After being a meritorious service, he directly became General Anbei after Chen Shi died of illness, and he would also be obliged to do so in critical moments.

Moreover, Wei Yan is also in charge of the governor of Liangzhou.

As long as he survives this attack against Wei, he will definitely lead the army to attack Liangzhou.

At that time, Guan Xing will take over the defense of Zuli County.

Based on the strategic significance of Zuli County, his authority is the same as that of Gao Xiang who guards Pingxiang City.

Coincidentally, Zhang Bao was also entrusted with important tasks.

The prime minister asked him to supervise the two troops of Liu Yin and Yan Yu, with a combined force of [-] soldiers standing firm at the fortress of Yuyin.
The official position is also to step into the heavy general - the prime minister recorded his achievements over the years in the list, so he took over the post of General Pingbei from Zheng Pu.

Jiang Wei, who captured Shuyinsai, has not changed his official position. He is still the general of the gangsters and the captain of the Qiang school.

The promotion to the rank of heavy general was a leap, and it was already very difficult.

After all, there are not many official positions for General Heavy.

Especially in recent years, there have been frequent wars in the Han Dynasty, and there are too many people who have accumulated meritorious service.

But no one felt wronged by him.

On the contrary, many lieutenant generals are envious.

The prime minister not only turned his title into a real title, but also asked him to expand the recruitment of the Qiang Guard camp under his command, with a quota of [-] cavalry and [-] infantry.

Two thousand pawns alone!
Ma Dai and Zhao Guang, who are in charge of the cavalry, each have no more than [-] cavalry
(End of this chapter)