Shu Chen

Chapter 232
The wind and snow that had been raging for more than ten days suddenly stopped.

The originally dense red clouds dissipated in an instant, and the gloomy and oppressive sky suddenly became clear. At night, there were brilliant stars shining on the crescent moon hanging on the night.

If it weren't for the still howling cold wind, it would almost make people think that they are in the beauty of April in the world.

In the Han army camp on Xiao Guandao, many fires had been extinguished, the snoring of the soldiers continued, and occasionally a few wolf howls could be heard from a distance.

A fire near the tooth flag was still burning, illuminating two slightly haggard faces.

Zheng Pu was sitting on the ground without any image, with his back leaning against the balustrade of the tooth flag, his legs stretched out, holding a kumiss bag in his arms, and he was staring straight at the waning moon with his head raised, wondering what he was thinking.

But Jiang Wei is much more dignified.

Although it is inappropriate to sit cross-legged, but the waist is straight and the eyes are not squinted.

But his brows were tightly furrowed, and the wine bag in his hand kept pushing towards his mouth, which made the few strands of melancholy flowing on his face more obvious.

Last night, more than ten soldiers defected, all under his command.
This is quite surprising.

Since he led the army, he has run alone twice, and all the soldiers under his command are willing to accompany him through life and death.

Who would have expected that there would be soldiers defecting now?

But after careful investigation, it is not surprising to find that they have defected.

These more than ten soldiers were all Qiang people newly recruited by Jiang Wei from the Baima Qiang tribe in Huawai. They were considered to be tribal leaders or nobles who were greedy for rare items such as pearls and abas, and were half driven and half sent to become soldiers of the Han Dynasty.

He is not keen on exploits such as fighting on the battlefield, beheading generals and capturing the flag.

After coming here, Jiang Wei mixed these newly recruited soldiers into the ranks of veterans based on the idea of ​​training in front of the battle, and took turns defending the front line.Under Ni Wei's attack regardless of casualties, many people were killed and injured.

Originally, such an approach was a common practice in the military, and there was nothing wrong with it.

After all, on the battlefield, no one will prepare in advance, and everyone has to go through the baptism of life and death before they can be transformed into old soldiers in blood.

But later, after the Han army retreated into the inner encirclement, the situation changed.

Both Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei felt that these new recruits had gotten used to the battlefield and completed their transformation, so they placed them behind the chariot formation and let Liu Lin's [-] heavy infantry defeat the enemy instead.

It also caused a flash of dissatisfaction in their hearts: Obviously there are elite soldiers who can defeat the enemy, why didn't they send them to fight in the first place, but let them new recruits consume their lives?
Such dissatisfaction, some people let it go after thinking about it.

Some people remember it in their hearts and can't let it go for a long time.

As time went by, the hostility in my heart grew more and more.

When Prime Minister Zhuge's reinforcements never showed up, and when it was accidentally discovered that the military supplies were about to be exhausted, these hostility broke out.A few people who have little sense of belonging to the big man can't help thinking that there is another possibility in life: vote for Wei!

They don't want to die.

They have become extreme after accumulating resentment for a long time, and they don't want to die under the banner of the Great Han Banner.

Therefore, it happened that they defected to Wei during the interval of guarding at night.

After Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei realized the reason, they were a little bit dumbfounded.

No one thought that these Qiang people, who had gone through the three-month test of life and death, would feel that the Han army could no longer defend and defected in fear of death!
Obviously, the offensive against Wei has weakened!

The time for Prime Minister Zhuge's main force to come to help is getting closer and closer!
He kicked at the door, but withdrew and left.

Zheng and Jiang didn't know whether they should be lamenting that they were too stupid, or bemoaning the bad luck of their own army.

These rebels have given the news that the ordnance is about to be exhausted to Wei Wei!
On Jiang Wei's lap was a small piece of cloth, which was sent by Ni Wei in the morning, and part of the contents stated exactly how many arrows the Han army had.

The other part of the content, of course, is to persuade the two of them to surrender by repeating the old things.

The tone of the sentence is much tougher than last time.

At the end of the letter, a sentence was added, saying: "The next day, at the end of the hour, dare to invite Zheng Zijin out of the camp for a meeting."

The signature is Xia Houba.

Perhaps it was because Zheng Pu's wife, Zhang Yan, was Xia Houba's niece.

"Zijin, are you going to be invited tomorrow?"

After a long silence, Jiang Wei finished the wine bag in his hand and asked aloud.

"Um"

Like a dreamer, Zheng Pu's voice was a bit ethereal, "Let's go and see you. It's nothing more than to preach to me, such as 'surrender with your hands, without losing your position as a lord, and also save the soldiers from being destroyed. Disaster' and so on, hehe~~~ However, there is no fraud, so there is no need to worry."

"That's true."

Jiang Wei nodded slightly, not thinking it was funny, but fell into silence again.

"Ah~~"

Therefore, Zheng Pu put away the feigned relaxation on his face, and sighed deeply, "Bo Yue, if we attack against Wei with all our strength, how long can our army last?"

When asked about the war, Jiang Wei did not remain silent.

"If Ni Wei attacks with all his strength, our army's arrows, crossbows and other things can only be used up for three days. At that time, both sides will fight their swords, our army will rely on chariots, and Zijin's heavy infantry will be able to defend for ten days. Or half a month."

It's only half a month~~~
After hearing this, Zheng Pu felt a little disappointed.

However, he also knew why Jiang Wei's estimate was so pessimistic.

The wind and snow stopped, and there was no obstacle to attack against Wei.

Moreover, there was a defection in the army, and no one can guarantee that other soldiers will follow suit in despair.

We can't blame the soldiers for being greedy for life.

In any case, there is too much disparity between the enemy and ourselves.

They have all stood there for three months with outnumbered enemies, and they have not seen reinforcements even when their armaments are exhausted. It is understandable that they have the instinct to survive in desperation.

There was silence again.

"Ugh"

Zheng Pu sighed again, and raised his head to look at the sky full of stars.

I feel that the sky dotted with stars has become so high, making people confused; I also feel that my sighs have become a lot tonight, "I originally expected the prime minister to come later, but now, I hope that the prime minister will come to help sooner, hehe~ ~~”

Hearing this, Jiang Wei opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But he closed it without saying anything.

Immediately, he lowered his head slightly, picked up a wooden stick and fiddled with the fire.

He knew that in just ten days and a half months, the chances for the prime minister to defeat Cao Zhen's troops and the besieged anti-Wei army outside were really slim.

He also believed that with Zheng Pu's wisdom, he would guess this point.

Therefore, he felt a little guilty.

If it weren't for training soldiers in front of the battle, perhaps there would be no rebels, and Ni Wei would not have insight into the truth and falsehood.

At this time, the firewood that happened to be burning cracked with a "pop", causing a few sparks to dance between the two of them.

In the blink of an eye, Zheng Pu turned his gaze back, "It's getting late, I'd better take a rest earlier, tomorrow I still need to supervise the battle and defend against the enemy."

But as soon as the words fell, he suddenly found that Jiang Wei's face became flickering under the mottled light and shadow, and he couldn't see the original appearance clearly.

Complicated and confusing.

And he also raised his head slowly, looked into Zheng Pu's eyes, and asked softly, "If...I mean, if the Prime Minister's reinforcements have not arrived by then, I am willing to oversee the army to fight to the death, can Zijin take Hu Panshan away?"

"Uh?"

Zheng Pu's expression was suddenly startled.

It can be seen that he really has not considered this issue.

He stared blankly at Jiang Wei for a while, then smiled, waved his hands and joked, "Why did Boyue say that? How can I let Boyue be more beautiful than before for the loyal hero who sacrificed his life to serve the country!"

But Jiang Wei didn't laugh.

It seemed that he hadn't smiled tonight.

He didn't say anything, his eyes reflected the light of the fire, and he stared straight at Zheng Pu.

After a long while, guilt gradually piled up between his brows, "Zijin, after all, the rebels came from my command; if you lose this time, it is not your responsibility. If you die here, I am afraid that you will not be able to rest in peace under my nine springs." Hey! Furthermore, at the time when the imperial court was in the Northern Expedition to employ people, Zijin's talent is the best among my big fellows! Can you not cherish your life for the country? Please don't think about honor and disgrace for a while, and keep it for the benefit of a big man. Share the worries for the prime minister."

Zheng Pu was silent.

He was tempted to say no.

But for some reason, the turmoil in his chest squeezed into his throat, but miraculously disappeared without a trace.

All kinds of thoughts flooded his mind, and he could only respond with silence.

After all, he has seen with his own eyes how the great man came from the Yiling battle to today step by step. He has seen Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's beard and hair slowly being turned white by frost, and his decree lines getting deeper and deeper.

He knew that the weakness of the big man was not only due to the small financial and material resources of the people.

He also knew that in the dusty memory, many people who are familiar with him now will be buried in the ground in the past few years.

Originally, he was not afraid of death.

But in an instant, he suddenly realized that he and Jiang Wei both died here and felt very guilty.

At least he never thought about what kind of changes this would cause the big man in the future.

Therefore, he suddenly found it difficult to answer.

Because, he never thought that he would sacrifice himself for others.

But sometimes, I find that I have no choice at all.

"Ah."

After a long silence, he made an inaudible nasal sound.

Immediately, he sighed in a leisurely voice, "Indeed, as Bo Yue said, my death here is meaningless. But if Bo Yue dies here, what is the benefit to the country? And is Bo Yue inferior to me? He Niwei called me "the scarred man, the great trouble of Wei", and there is no way for me to escape. With my skill, I am lucky to have climbed the mountains, but if I want to avoid the search of Niwei Xiongnu's rangers , very little."

Having said this, Zheng Pu paused slightly.

Staring into Jiang Wei's eyes, "I am the commander of this camp, and I will swear that the banner will not fall. At that time, Boyue, you can go to climb the mountain. With your bravery, it is easy to kill a Hun and a barbarian and seize a horse."

It also surprised Jiang Wei.

He hurriedly refused, "Zijin, I."

But Zheng Pu also got up at this time, turned his back and went back, ending the conversation, "It's night, and I have to supervise the battle tomorrow."

The next day, at the end of the hour.

Xiahouba was alone, and walked slowly to a place within a stone's throw away from the formation.

And Zheng Pu also went to the appointment under the guard of Qi Yacuo, the two of them talked at a distance of four or five feet.

What is surprising is that, after taking a closer look at Zheng Pu's appearance, Xiahouba kept asking about the daily trivialities of Xiahou and his children, without any intention of persuading him to surrender.

Therefore, when it was time to part, Zheng Pu couldn't help asking, "Your invitation to the meeting is to discuss a private matter?"

"You will not surrender."

Unexpectedly, after Xiahou Bade asked, he grinned instead, "Although General Fei and General Wei sent me to speak, I know that you are not a member of Qu Zhi. Therefore, instead of doing useless work, it is better to take the opportunity to ask some private matters .”

After finishing speaking, I held back my face, cupped my hands and saluted farewell, "I will hold you back and bury you when you die, don't worry about it."

Is this following the story of the Xiahou family begging to bury Xiahouyuan's body after the Battle of Dingjunshan?

Oh, this person is quite interesting.

Zheng Pu also smiled.

After bowing his hands to his back, he joined the car formation.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the tragic offensive and defensive battle started again.

When Fei Yao and Wei Ping dispatched their troops, they killed horses and assembled a crowd to swear: attack for ten days, do not break the chariot formation, and kill everyone from Sima down to Du Bo!Attack for half a month, if you don't kill the general to capture the flag, you will be cut from the general down to the school lieutenant!

If the camp is broken as scheduled, all the rewards from the Luoyang court will be distributed to the soldiers, and their generals will not take any money.

The dead in battle earn twice as much as the survivors.

Therefore, the Wei State, which still had nearly [-] troops left, made this attack even more decisive.

Moreover, Fei Yao's troops attacked during the day and Wei Ping attacked at night, leaving the Han army with no time to breathe.

This gave the Han army no chance to sweep the battlefield to collect arrows, knives, spears, shields and sculls when the Wei army returned to camp.

Therefore, after only two days of attack and defense, the Han army's crossbow arrows were exhausted.

Had to fight hand to hand.

In just three days of fighting hand-to-hand, the Han army lost more than [-] people.

There were too many battle losses, the enemy continued to attack, the morale of the whole army was low, and defected soldiers appeared again.

However, these rebels ended badly.

As soon as they dropped their swords and spears and rushed out of the car formation, before they had time to claim that they were willing to surrender, they were stabbed in the chest by Wei Jun with a knife or a spear.

It's not that Wei Jun didn't accept surrender, but those Wei Jun were already jealous.

There was no time to curb the instinct.

Since then, there have been no surrenders in the Han army.

Another day later, the snow fell like a goose feather, and the eyesight could see that it was less than ten feet.

The Wei army was relentless in attacking, but limited by the snow, it was impossible to break through the Han army's chariot formation.

Because of the bitter and cold weather, the resentment of the soldiers increased greatly. Fei Yao and Wei Ping had no choice but to stop fighting and wait for the weather to clear.

However, just two days later, they regretted the decision.

It was that although the snow was getting smaller and was about to stop, the reinforcements from the Han army had arrived!

It is not the main force supervised by Prime Minister Zhuge.

It was Zhang Yi who supervised the Xuanwu Army and had been guarding Didao in Longxi County.

However, after Zhuge Prime Minister supervised the main force to threaten Wei Gaoping City's grain road, the head of Longyou was temporarily replaced by Wu Ban, the highest official right general.He who sticks to the city of Ayang has repeatedly wanted to send troops to rescue Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei these days, but because of too few troops, he has been blocked by the cavalry of Liu Bao, the left wise king of the Xiongnu.

Therefore, he sent an order to Longxi County to let Zhang Ni's troops come quickly.

Anyway, Wei Ping, who was guarding Hexi, and Guo Huai, who was in Jincheng County, both led the army out of Longyou, and Ni Wei did not have more troops to attack Longxi County from Siwangxia.

Only Wang Ping alone can defend Wuyou.

Moreover, Zhang Ni was originally under Zheng Pu's command, and his headquarters Xuanwu Army was created by Zheng Pu himself.

Hearing that Zheng Pu was in danger, he would never delay for a moment.Even his headquarters only had [-] soldiers, while Zheng Pu and Jiang Wei had tens of thousands of soldiers defending against the Wei Dynasty.

The only thing to worry about is how to break through the siege of the Huns cavalry.

But obviously, this is nothing to Zhang Yi.

(End of this chapter)