Shu Chen

Chapter 225 Arbitrary
Feeling that Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei could keep Xiao Guan Dao intact, the prime minister slightly changed the deployment.

Since Cao Zhen dared to restrain him with [-] paces, the prime minister didn't mind doing what he wanted.

Instead, he moved the front of the camp to guard the mouth of the river valley, and also used Jufu, who had already become a miscellaneous general and was especially good at attacking, to supervise the headquarters of [-] people out of the valley mouth, and marched towards Gaoping City for more than ten miles, obliquely inserting Cao Zhen and Gaoping City They fell into camp between them, cutting off the food road of Wei Jun.

It is equivalent to "treating others in the same way".

Cao Zhen has few soldiers here. If he dares to send other tribes to attack Jufu tribe, the prime minister can wait for the opportunity to destroy the other tribes or break down his camp.

And if Cao Zhen stood still and instead dispatched Wei Da Sima's army division Zhao Yan from Gaoping City to lead the rear army, or recalled a general from Fei Yao's army, then the prime minister would continue to confront him instead.

Because Cao Zhen's plan for Xiao Guandao's scheduling was broken—even if Fei Yao's troops broke through the camp of Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei, it was impossible for Cao Zhen, who was under the prime minister's nose, to sneak to Xiao Guandao smoothly. .

As for whether Cao Zhen will transfer all Fei Yao's troops back, it is unlikely.

The prime minister's main force did not go out of the river valley, and the geographical advantage was still there, and Fei Yao's return would not help.

The only danger in such a dispatch is that the Jufu Department will be cut off from their way back.

For example, Cao Zhen could mobilize nearly [-] cavalry led by Zhang Xiong and Liu Bao, the Xiongnu left sage king, and Bei Dao rushed back to monitor the prime minister's movements, and then joined forces with Zhao Yan to trap Jufu.

If the prime minister rescues, Cao Zhen will surround the spot to help.

If it is not rescued, in the face of Cao Zhen's absolute superiority in military strength, the Jufu Department will usher in annihilation of the entire army.

However, the Prime Minister has no worries about this.

Liang Yuanbi, the leader of the Xiongnu branch, and more than a hundred people from his tribe, are now monitoring the cavalry against the Wei Dynasty.

They have been nomadic here all year round, and they are familiar with every gully in this area. It is tantamount to a dream come true for nearly ten thousand cavalrymen to gallop back without anyone noticing.

The two hundred armored cavalry led by Zhang Tedu rode spare horses as light cavalry temporarily.

Scattered around the Jufu camp, intercepting and killing the ranger scouts against Wei.The same is true for Jufu to act as eyes and ears: once the army against Wei comes, Jufu will be informed and withdraw.

Cao really reacted very quickly.

Knowing that the Han army had left the camp, he really planned to bring Zhang Xiong and other cavalry back.

But before nearly Wanqi arrived, he saw the smoke rising from the camp of the Han army, and the Jufu department directly pulled out of the camp and went back.

The two battalions of the Han army were only ten miles apart, so he couldn't intercept and kill them.

Otherwise, they will become light soldiers and rush forward, and be ambushed by the prime minister along the way.

But after he continued to send the cavalry to Changli Shuihe Valley, the prime minister repeated his old trick, and once again sent a sentence to help out to disturb the grain road,
Repeated this several times, he became very annoyed.

Simply, he personally supervised the army to monitor the prime minister's main force, and also sent three thousand elite generals to protect the food road, intending to force Jufu to retreat.

But the result surprised him.

Jufu went back as he wished.

But before going back, he had a head-to-head battle with his troops.

In that battle, both sides had no geographical advantages to rely on, and they were both elite infantry in the army, so they fought recklessly.

It also ends quickly.

In less than half an hour, Wei Jun fled back with the result of being beheaded and killed more than [-] people and wounded (fleeing) more than [-] people.

The death and injury of the Jufu Department was less than [-].

After only two or three days of rest after returning, he came out again to show off his might.

This small conflict made Cao Zhen lose his luck, and directly asked Zhao Yan to lead the [-] rear troops from Gaoping City to confront the prime minister evenly.

So far, all of Cao Zhen's troops have been placed on the bright side, and there is no chance to sneak into Xiao Guandao.

It also let the variable that determines the outcome of the war fall back to the offense and defense of Zuli County.

For Wei Guo, if Zuli County can be captured, the connection between Guanzhong and Liangzhou will be re-established, and there will be a place to store grain and fodder, so as to avoid the difficulty of transporting grain for thousands of miles in the future when it continues to attack Longyou.

For the big man, keeping the Zuli County without loss means that Longyou will not be broken, and he can always wait for work at ease.

Waiting for Niwei to slowly ferment into a rebellion due to the disadvantage of transporting grain and fodder for thousands of miles, and lose the opportunity to attack Longyou again in the future.

Let me ask, how much power will it take for Cao Zhen to lead an army of more than [-]?
If the conquest lasts for many years without returning an inch of land, how much damage will it do to the morale of the army?

There are hundreds of thousands of civilian husbands who are only enlisted in corvee!
The delayed farming and mulberry affairs, the wasted military supplies, and the low morale of "invincible against Han", at least within a few years, Wei Guo will not be able to organize a large army to attack Longyou again!

Not to mention, the noble family of the Guandong family of the Wei State insisted on abandoning Liangzhou, and used the Guanzhong Sanfu as a barrier to protect the capital Luoyang.

If Cao Zhen came back from the battle without any results, then the entire temple of Wei State would not have any support for the conquest of Longyou.

Moreover, they had good reasons for their refusal—Cao Zhen had tried his best once and failed once, who would believe that he could succeed the second time?

Even Cao Rui, who is the son of heaven, cannot suppress this kind of voice.

Otherwise, committing public anger will inevitably arouse people's desire.

After all, the state of Wei was established by usurping the Han.

There is not such a solid foundation for ruling, and there is not such a loyal heart.

And at that time, the big Han can take advantage of the few years of vacancy when the Wei State cannot conquer, and use a large army to attack the Hexi Corridor and Jincheng County with a large army, and completely erase the worries of "recovering the Central Plains and returning to the old capital".

This is the biggest reason why the prime minister set up a defensive stance.

Endure for a while, and seek further.

The prime minister didn't have much worry about whether the Yuyinsai and Zuli counties, which fell into the siege against the Wei Dynasty and would not be rescued by the big man, could be held.

Needless to say, Shuyinsai, the gateway to the Hexi Corridor.

Although the prime minister hadn't been there in person, Zheng Pu claimed that he only needed to provide sufficient food, fodder and luggage, and only let Liu Yin have an army of [-] men from his headquarters, and no matter how many troops against Wei Wei came, he could sit back and relax.

Jiang Wei also asked his relatives to come forward, claiming that only the infantry of the headquarters can protect the city.

You know, Jiang Weiqiang has only three thousand infantry, and nearly half of them are new soldiers!
This greatly increased the prime minister's confidence in Xiangyinsai.

He also recalled how in the past Huo Jun defended Jiameng Pass with hundreds of people, faced more than [-] enemy troops knocking at the pass, held the pass for a year without breaking through, and chased down the generals.

The precipitousness of Yuyinsai is at least five or six points similar to that of Jiameng Pass.

And Zhang Bao, who is the next general, together with Yan Yu and Liu Yin who was recommended by Zheng Pu, at least have six or seven points of Huo Jun's talent, right?

So, what worries the Prime Minister!

If we go against Wei to attack Shuyinsai, it will only accumulate merit for Zhang Bao and others.

As for the general who sticks to Zuli County, Wei Yan is the leading general in the Han Dynasty, the prime minister need not worry.

In other words, if Wei Yan, who once said, "If Cao Cao comes from the world, please reject it for the king; if you send a crowd of [-] people, please swallow it for the king", would not dare to trust his defensive ability, then The prime minister has no one to trust.

In fact, Wei Yan also lived up to his promise.

When Xia Houru and Guo Huai came together with [-] soldiers, they couldn't help frowning when they first arrived at the city to watch the fortifications of the city.

The ancestral city on the west side of the river is no longer low and easy to break into the memory.

First of all, it was the Han army who forcibly raised the city wall by half a foot.

However, the original crenels were not filled, but were left as launching holes for Yuanrong crossbows, bed crossbows and other equipment.

This approach is very clever.

At least Wei Jun wanted to use thunderbolt chariots to throw stones to destroy these defensive ordnance, but he couldn't do it.

Secondly, it is the change of the city gate.

The Han army tore down both the north and east city gates, and directly piled up soil and built them with stone strips to become part of the city wall, leaving only the south city gate.If the Wei army wanted to break into the city, they would have no extravagance to go through the city gate.

They can only rely on the method of ants attaching to the city with the most casualties, and pile their lives on the top of the city.

Finally, it's outside the city.

In addition to the common roadblocks such as traps, antlers, and buried barbed wire within a stone's throw from the city wall, the Han army also dug a canal for more than one foot along the perimeter of the city wall, leading the Zuli River on the west side into it. moat.The surface of the water was wrinkled by the new wind, reflecting light constantly, making it hard to see the depth of the moat.

But one thing is certain is that there must be some kind of picket pile buried under the river.

With such a complete fortification, no matter who saw it, they couldn't help but show their teeth.

Both Xia Houru and Guo Huai felt that if their soldiers wanted to touch the ancestral city wall, at least two or three thousand soldiers would have to sacrifice their lives to clear the barrier!
However, they soon discovered something unusual.

I don't know if the Han army wanted to lure them to focus on the south gate, or if Wei Yan, the guard, was too arrogant.The south gate of the city is between the moat and the city wall. The Han army even built two small garrisons.

It is not high, more than Zhang Zhang, about fifty-sixths of the height of the city wall; not too big, it can cover the city walls on the left and right sides of the city gate.

It seems to be set up to prevent Wei Jun from filling the moat.

But it's also weird.

Obviously there is a city wall as a backing, why did the Han army go to the trouble?

Isn't this kind of temporary siege built with wood as the main body stronger than a thick city wall?

Furthermore, once breached, these two small sieges became the help for the Wei army to climb the city wall.

Xia Houru and Guo Huai couldn't figure it out.

They didn't think that Wei Yan, who had always been relied on by the big man as the country's fence, would make useless contributions.

It may be a deceptive trick, so that the Wei army will focus on the direction where there is no city gate; it may also have ulterior motives, and there are murderous intentions hidden in the small siege.

When the two asked their respective generals to lead the army to besiege the city and set up camp, they had a detailed discussion.

But neither can speak for themselves.

In the end, it was decided that Xia Houru would lead the army to attack the south gate, and Guo Huai and another general would lead the headquarters to try to attack the north and east of the city.

no way.

The north and east of the city can only be climbed by cloud ladders or long ladders.

On the south side of the city, at least there is more hope of breaking through the city gate with a car.

If you are worried that there is no danger, after breaking through these two small sieges, just set them on fire!
When the two of them were looking at the city, Wei Yan and Guan Xing also stood side by side on the top of the city to watch the mighty Wei army approaching.

Seeing that the Wei army had transported many siege equipment to the south gate to pile up, Guan Xing couldn't help but smiled, and said softly, "As General Wei expected, that traitor really attacked the south of the city! It's done!"

"It's a small plan, nothing to worry about."

But Wei Yan didn't show much joy, but waved his hands absent-mindedly, still looking left and right while leaning on the new crenel.

It seems that he is looking for something.

It also surprised Guan Xing a little.

What is General Wei looking for?
Could it be that there is still a mystery hidden in Bini Wei's army?
After thinking to himself, he also looked at it carefully, finding out the difference.

But he didn't want to, just a moment later, Wei Yan, who was beside him, slammed his fist on the city wall, and cursed a little bit angrily, "The traitor Cao Zhen'an dares to lighten me! I defend the city in person, but he doesn't come in person! Could it be?" Do you think that Xia Houru and Guo Huai and other innocent idiots can capture the city I am guarding?"

Uh.
Hearing this, Guan Xing couldn't help being dumbfounded.

It turned out that Wei Yan was looking for Cao Zhenda just now.

Moreover, he also felt that Cao Zhen did not come to supervise the battle in person, because he looked down on his ability
Alas, General Wei is the mainstay of the Han Dynasty. He is both offensive and defensive, loyal, and there is only one thing wrong.

He has a high self-esteem and is not good at getting along with others.

For example, there are many inadequacies in the words just now.

Cao Zhen, as the Great Sima against the Wei Dynasty, naturally leads the army to confront Zhuge Cheng, how can he come here to supervise the battle and attack the city?

Could it be that the prime minister's status or ability is not as good as yours?
But Wei Yan obviously didn't realize his gaffe, and was immersed in anger.

When he was young, he turned his head and whispered in a low voice, "An Guo, you are here to supervise the soldiers on duty tonight."

Immediately, Guan Xing was startled.

He was young and talented, and when he heard it, he understood that Wei Yan was planning to go out of the city to attack at night!
Otherwise, if the officers and soldiers on duty were alerted to any military situation, they would report it to the chief general Wei Yan, so how could it be his turn to take over?

Although, taking advantage of the night attack when the enemy's foothold is not stable, the chances of winning are very high.

But Xia Houru and Guo Huai on the other side are both veterans in the army, so Ning Wu is not prepared?
He couldn't help lowering his voice, and eagerly persuaded, "General Wei, the last general thinks that a night attack is inappropriate, and the rebels may be on guard. The prime minister ordered us to stick to the city, and it is not appropriate to cause trouble!"

"Hey, no problem! No problem!"

But Wei Yan had a good time, and Gu Pan retorted with a little complacency, "This is the reason why Anguo has too few conquests. Come, come, look here." Speaking of this, he pulled Guan Xing to point out the city, "The rebels are besieging the city on three sides. The most siege equipment is in the south of the city, and they will definitely have a large army to guard it. Therefore, the troops in the north and east of the city must be weak! And now that the north and east gates have been sealed, what can they do? Can you guess that I will attack at night from the north of the city?"

Attack the north of the city?
Guan Xing didn't answer immediately, but lowered his head and contemplated.

Just as Wei Yan said, he would not think that the Han army dared to go out of the city to attack the city with common sense.

In particular, Wei Yan did not intend to attack the south of the city where the siege equipment was stockpiled.

But there are also problems.

Going out from the north of the city, you can only rely on ropes to hang down the crenel.

You can hang down one by one when you go out, but the speed of returning to the upper city is too slow.Once things don't go well and Wei goes after him, how can Wei Yan come back?
"Well, that's it!"

But Wei Yan was not discussing with Guan Xing at all, but was ordering, "An Guo should worry more tonight."

After dropping these words, he turned around and went down the city wall.

(End of this chapter)