Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 612 The first meeting between dragon and tiger
In the Xia Dynasty, in order to prevent Cao Wei from sending troops from all walks of life south to Shouchun, the Han Dynasty used force from Jianghan and Longyou directions to contain the Wei army.

Zhuge Liang led Zhao Yun and Wenpin out of Jianghan to conquer Xinye and Wancheng. Ma Chao responded to the Han's request and left Ma Dai with 10,000 people in Longyou. He led 20,000 troops and horses north to capture Xiping and Jincheng counties.

When the troops arrived at Xinye, Zhuge Liang left Zhao Yun behind to surround Xinye. He led Wenpin to march north to Huangyouju, where he set up camp at the intersection of the Tuo River and the Tuan River. He built a water fortress and overhauled the fortress, making him look like he was fighting a protracted war.

Huang You gathered and the Han army gathered in the stronghold.

Because Zhuge Liang first arrived, the soldiers of the army built their own camps according to the tasks assigned by Zhuge Liang in advance.

The scouts dispersed twenty miles outside the stronghold and planted flags of different colors according to the landscape and terrain for identification purposes. Then the auxiliary soldiers cut wood in the safe area marked by the flag, or went to the waterside to fetch water.

In the stronghold, the soldiers of each battalion set up camps in their respective areas according to the signs set by Zhuge Liang. The elite soldiers and horses are outside, and the old and weak soldiers are inside. And the camps are separated by horses and deer antlers. Looking down from the sky, each battalion is both independent and subordinate, and each battalion headquarters is connected to each other.

Zhuge Liang, who was sending troops to Cao Wei for the first time, was extremely cautious. Now he led the civil and military officials to personally enter the camp to inspect the layout of the camp.

"Zhongye, your troops have been on the battlefield for a long time. Now you have stationed troops outside. You need to beware of night attacks by the Wei army."

Zhuge Liang pointed at the layout of the camp with a feather fan and said: "There are five pots of torches every 100 steps, and one pot of torches every 20 steps. The troops are divided into five groups, one group of soldiers patrolling at night, and one group of soldiers patrolling at night. Two groups of soldiers wear armor. While sleeping, some soldiers have a normal rest!”

Wenpin felt that he was right. Zhuge Liang felt that he was not a genius. The current marching arrangements were almost made for possible events.

"promise!"

Zhuge Liang smiled and stroked his feather fan, and said: "Although Xinye has few soldiers and horses, the city looks dead and cannot be broken easily. If it takes a long time to reach the city wall, our army's morale will be exhausted. Then Sima Yi sent his elite troops to help and sent cavalry. If we do this, our army will be defeated!"

According to Zhuge Liang's idea, he used the siege method to surround Xinye and led his army to intercept Sima Yi. If you are lucky, not only can you achieve your goal of containing Sima Yi, but you can also easily regain Xinye.

Of course, such a careful layout of the fortress will inevitably bring a certain price. For example, Zhuge Liang spent a lot of energy and his soldiers spent more time repairing the fortress. But compared to defeat, this price is completely acceptable to Zhuge Liang.

The Southern Han regained control of Xinye, and Wancheng lost its buffer zone. In the next Northern Expedition, the Han army can directly attack Wancheng.

Such a careful layout of the camp reflects Zhuge Liang's very distinctive style, that is, Zhuge Liang tried his best to prevent any offensive incidents that would lead to the defeat of the army.

If Zhuge Liang is worried about encountering an ambush while marching, Zhuge Liang will divide his troops into multiple groups, keep a distance from each other, and send out scouts along the way to put up flags of different colors according to the terrain to identify the following troops.

Although Zhuge Liang made his first Northern Expedition, he was not eager to achieve success. As he said, although Xinye City is small, it does not mean that it can be easily conquered. Once it cannot be defeated, similar to the battle of Zhongli, the morale of the army's soldiers and horses is exhausted, and Sima Yi defeats it with his elite cavalry, then the army will be defeated.

Listening to Zhuge Liang's arrangements, Wenpin frowned slightly, feeling deeply that Zhuge Liang was too cautious and had to intervene in all matters in the army. Even the arrangement of troops and horses was stricter than when he used troops, almost strictly following the standards for building camps mentioned in the military book.

"If Sima Yi doesn't want to break the siege, our army will disperse and gather the people of Jingwan to contain Sima Yi. Our army is not serving to defeat the enemy, but to assist Sima in using troops."

When Wenpin was ordered to retreat, Ma Su advanced and said: "Prime Minister, our army has 30,000 troops. Why not go to Xinye in one go and then march north to Wancheng. If we divide our troops to surround Xinye and then encircle the main roads, we may not be able to achieve great results!"

When going down to camp, Zhuge Liang was worried that there would be a series of defeats, so he separated each camp. Even if one camp is destroyed, it will not affect other camps; if they are worried about encountering a night attack by the Wei army, they will place elite soldiers and horses outside and garrison the old and weak soldiers inside.

"otherwise!"

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang pointed to the ground with his feather fan and said: "General Zhao is stationed in Xinye, and our army is stationed here. If Sima Yi wants to break the siege of Xinye, he must first defeat our army. Our army will defend the camp, and Sima Yi will attack me. His troops will at me."

Zhuge Liang seemed to have remembered something and ordered: "Wudang Feijun used to be barbarians in the south. Now he is marching to the north. He should place his camp in the center. Although his ten thousand soldiers and horses are brave and good at fighting, building forts is not his specialty. He is very young. You can take the formation map to his army and help Cuan Xi and Meng Yan build their camp."

"promise!"

After Ma Di left, Zhuge Liang led the civil and military forces beside him to circle around the camp. Returning to the tent, Zhuge Liang copied a copy of his formation map, along with a letter, and asked his attendants to send it to Huo Jun on horseback.

Not to mention, Zhuge Liang set up a camp at Tuankou and personally surrounded Sima Yi.

Sima Yi, who wanted to send troops to relieve the siege of Shouchun, learned that Zhuge Liang was leading Wenpin and Zhao Yun to send troops for the Northern Expedition, so he sent a letter to Cao Pi and then transferred his troops back to Wancheng.

Sima Yi, who returned to Wancheng, did not rush south. Instead, he stationed troops in Wancheng to observe Zhuge Liang's movements.

Why observing Zhuge Liang's movements was just as Zhuge Liang expected? Sima Yi was waiting to see whether Zhuge Liang, who was on his first Northern Expedition, would besiege Xinye.

It is a pity that although Zhuge Liang led his army in the Northern Expedition for the first time, he was not a rookie. Instead, he chose the strategy of surrounding but not attacking, and led his troops to personally stop Sima Yi.

When Sima Yi learned that Zhuge Liang was stationed at Tuokou, he did not dare to waste time and immediately led 30,000 troops southward.

Thirty miles away from Tuankou, Sima Yi led his army to camp in the countryside of Anle.

The next day, in order to defeat Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi personally led his cavalry out of the camp to observe the arrangement of Zhuge Liang's troops and horses.

Sima Yi is one year younger than Huo Jun and three years older than Zhuge Liang. Sima Yi, who was in his forties, had a bit of the heroic spirit of a warrior because he had been in the army for many years. His eyes were bright and his cheeks were thin, revealing a bit of shrewdness.

Today, for Sima Yi, who has experienced many battles, Zhuge Liang is just a fledgling. Sima Yi was slightly surprised that he dared to go deep into the border and set up camp at Tuankou, the capital. Of course, Sima Yi also doubted whether it was the suggestion from veteran general Wenpin.

Because Zhuge Liang had scouts outside the camp, the Wei cavalry had to disperse the Han cavalry. Under the protection of the rider, Sima Yi took the reins and rode his horse to the outside of the Hanzhai. Since the Han camp was located up and down Tuankou Island, Sima Yi could only observe Zhuge Liang's camp across the Jieshui River.

Entering the inner siege from the outside, Sima Yi observed the traces of the Han army, such as the flags on the outside marking the terrain, the Han cavalry following them like wolves from a distance, and the strictness of the water and land camps, all of which told him that Zhuge Liang was by no means an easy man.

The calm look on Sima Yi's face gradually turned into seriousness. He also observed Zhuge Liang's camp more carefully.

A series of defensive equipment such as antlers, trenches, iron caltrops, and watchtowers were just right under Zhuge Liang's arrangement. If you attack forcefully, you will suffer a lot of losses.

And it can only be attacked from the front. The camp stands with the river on three sides and the river at the back. There are a large number of boats and boats in the water stronghold. Once his troops and horses are frustrated, Zhuge Liang can quickly retreat down the river.

"Although Zhuge Liang is new to using troops, he is no ordinary person!"

Sima Yi called Zhang He beside him and said seriously: "The camp is well maintained and the troops and horses are arranged in an orderly manner. It may be difficult to defeat Zhuge Liang quickly now!"

Zhang He nodded slightly and said, "The Zhuge villagers have set up a well-organized camp and there is no chance for them to attack. If we want to break it now, we need to lure it out of the formation."

"In winter, when the Feishui River drops, we can send troops to cut off Zhuge Liang's retreat." Zhang He pointed at Zhuge Liang's camp and said.

Sima Yi shook his head and smiled bitterly, and said: "Today, Huo Jun is under Shouchun, and Zhuge Liang is asking Zhuge Liang to send troops to Jianghan, while Ma Chao attacks Hehuang County. If we wait until winter to send troops, I'm afraid Shouchun will not be able to survive the winter."

Shouchun was soaked in fertile water for several months, and many people in the city were killed or injured. If we don't break through the perimeter and fight to the bottom of the city for rescue, it will only be a matter of time before Shouchun is defeated.

Now that Zhuge Liang is ready to let you attack, Sima Yi doesn't even know what to do!
"Then what should we do?"

"Let's observe for a few more days to see if there is any chance to defeat the enemy!" Sima Yi said.

(End of this chapter)