Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 735: Dream Broken at Qishui
Upon receiving the declaration of war from Zhuge Liang, Cao Rui summoned Sima Yi, Tian Yu, Qin Lang and other generals to discuss the matter.

In the tent, Cao Rui handed the letter of challenge to the generals and asked, "Zhuge Liang sent a letter, saying that he wants to cross the river to the north of Qi in three days to fight with our army. Do you have any suggestions?"

The generals passed the letter around one after another, and their expressions were different.

After reading the letter, Qin Lang said happily: "Your Majesty, we are now arrayed near the water with the enemy. This is a long-term strategy, and it is difficult for our army to win quickly. Now we move the formation back a little, so that the Han army can cross the Qi River and decide the outcome, which will be beneficial to our army!"

Qin Lang made a plan and said, "Our army can pretend to retreat and let Zhuge Liang lead his troops to cross the river. When they are halfway across the river, our army will lead the troops to attack them, which will greatly defeat the enemy and reverse the current predicament."

Sima Yi frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the reason why Zhuge Liang refused to fight is not because his troops are afraid of us, but because Zhuge Liang is full of tricks and knows that our army is short of food and supplies. Now he has sent a letter to ask for a fight, which is full of strange things. Our army should not trust it."

Having fought with Zhuge Liang so many times, Sima Yi already understood Zhuge Liang's methods of employing troops. His most frequently used tactic was to throw out bait in exchange for the enemy to take the bait.

The fish feed today might be what Qin Lang mentioned as "attacking when the enemy is halfway across the river", but Sima Yi still didn't understand what the fish hook behind the fish feed was.

After hearing what Sima Yi said, Cao Rui turned to look at Tian Yu and asked, "Does Guo Rang have any different opinions?"

Tian Yu was silent for a while, then said, "There is a shortage of food and supplies now. What can we do if we don't fight?"

Tian Yu's tone was full of helplessness. Given the current situation, if they did not fight Zhuge Liang, they would not be able to sustain much with the current military and food reserves. In other words, the initiative of war or peace was not in their hands, but in Zhuge Liang's hands.

The advantage in war always belongs to the party that holds the initiative. Take Zhuge Liang's five expeditions to Guanzhong as an example. Although Zhuge Liang forced Sima Yi to stay in his camp, on the other hand, it can be revealed that the overall situation on the battlefield at that time was not under Zhuge Liang's control.

This is because the party that controls the war situation has the right to fight the opponent at any time and in any place. Provoking the enemy is a strategy that is used out of necessity when one cannot control the battlefield situation.

In the current plane, because the Southern Han Dynasty has a strategic advantage and Zhuge Liang has consumed the enemy's food and grass, he has completely mastered the right to fight. Even though Sima Yi can see through Zhuge Liang's tricks, he has to fight.

Cao Rui hesitated for a moment and asked, "Zhongda, do you know what Zhuge Liang's trick is?"

Sima Yi hesitated for a long time and said, "When Han Xin killed Long Ju, he first used the strategy of half-crossing the Wei River, and then lured Long Ju to fight. His troops pretended to be defeated, luring Long Ju to chase. After the Chu troops crossed the river, he used the strategy of breaking through the water, so he was able to take the Qi territory. Now that Zhuge Liang is crossing the Qi River, we should be wary of the Han army following Han Xin's old plan."

"Ok!"

Cao Rui stood up from the couch, paced back and forth and said: "Our army has the assistance of Xianbei cavalry, with more cavalry than infantry. In order to prevent the Han army from breaking the water upstream, we should divide 5,000 infantry and cavalry to the north. And the army will withdraw a little, so that the Han army can half cross the Qi River. I will order the cavalry to charge and kill them, so there is no need to worry about not winning!" ""

Cao Rui said, in order to boost the morale of his generals, "The country is now in danger. If we can defeat the enemy at the Qi River, we will be able to inflict heavy damage on the Han army, recover Henan, and restore the old territory of Wei. I hope you will live up to my expectations."

"promise!"

The generals each had their own thoughts and cooperated with Cao Rui's performance.

Three days later, the weather cleared up.

Cao Rui and Zhuge Liang exchanged letters to agree on the date and location of the battle. At Cao Rui's request, Ke Bineng agreed to lead the Xianbei cavalry into battle.

At dawn, drums were beating in the Han camp, flags were flying, and cavalrymen were running back and forth. Under Zhuge Liang's command, the Southern Han army filed out of the camp and divided into several columns with great momentum, preparing to cross the Qi River and fight the Wei army.

On the north bank of the Qi River, Cao Rui authorized Sima Yi to be responsible for commanding the battle.

Under the command of Sima Yi, tens of thousands of Wei troops under his command lined up in the open plains north of Qi and sent people to inform that the Xianbei Hu cavalry were disembarking on the left and right of the Wei army's square formation.

At this time, if you look down from the sky, you can see the Wei soldiers holding spears and shields, forming a dense square formation in the center, and the Hu cavalry on the left and right riding horses and holding bows, with more than 20,000 cavalry on each side. The military formation was full of flags and banners, the drums were beating loudly, and the military formation stretched for ten miles.

Under the great banner, Sima Yi stopped his horse in front of the battle line, looking at the Han army gathering on the other side of the Qi River, feeling worried.

In recent days, Sima Yi has been thinking about Zhuge Liang's actions day and night, but he still can't figure out Zhuge Liang's strategy. Now the two armies are about to fight, and the only hope is to succeed in attacking halfway across the river, so as to defeat the Han army crossing the river.

"General, the Han army has lined up on the south bank and is about to cross the river. Should we order the army to retreat now?" The scout came on horseback to report.

Sima Yi nodded slightly and said, "Order all troops to follow the military order and slowly withdraw ten miles from the battle. When the Han army is halfway across the Qi River, order the cavalry to charge."

Sima Yi added: "Send someone to tell Ke Bineng that if our cavalry charges, he should send out cavalry to support them. He must not sit back and watch the Han army retreat peacefully."

"promise!"

After a while, the waiter rode on a fast horse and told Ke Bineng the military situation.

At that moment, in order to understand the strength of the Han army, Ke Bineng went out with his trusted confidants to observe the Han soldiers on the south bank.

He saw that the Han army's infantry and cavalry were holding flags, and even when they were marching in formation, their formation was still neat and uniform. Moreover, when the marching formation turned into a square formation, the drums, trumpets, and flags were the same, and there was little confusion among the various units, which made Ke Bineng feel awe.

Pointing at the Han army, Ke Bineng said with emotion: "The Han army is the strongest army in the world. If it weren't for the Xianbei leading the cavalry south, how could the Wei people defeat the Han army?"

After a pause, Ke Bineng smiled and said, "If the commander of the Han army was Huo Jun, I would lead the cavalry and flee. However, the Han people now have Zhuge Liang as their commander, which is the shortcoming of their army."

Compared to the world-famous Huo Jun, Zhuge Liang was not enough to attract Ke Bineng's attention. Now Zhuge Liang took the initiative to cross the river, which made Ke Bineng laugh at him. After all, the tactic of attacking halfway across the river was not only known to the Han people, but also to the Xianbei people.

Budugen held the reins and flattered him, saying: "The Chanyu has unified the south of the desert, and all the tribes have submitted to him. If you can help Wei defeat Han, your name will spread all over China. Then both Han and Wei will submit to the Chanyu, and all the money in China will be taken."

Kebi Neng smiled triumphantly and said, "If we can defeat the Han in this battle, our troops will return to the south of the desert, and we will be able to attack the north of the desert and take over both sides of the desert. Then I will lead my troops westward to make the countries in the Western Regions submit, and my achievement will be comparable to that of Maodun!" Kebi Neng had great ambitions. He always hoped to restore Tan Shihuai's prestige and longed to emulate Maodun and establish the Xianbei Empire that would dominate the grassland.

Unifying the Xianbei and other Hu tribes south of the desert can be considered the cornerstone of establishing the Xianbei Empire; intervening in the war in the Central Plains should be Kebi Neng's second step.

"Chanyu, Sima Yi asks our army to retreat ten miles. When the Han army is halfway across the river, the Wei cavalry will break into the formation and attack. Chanyu, please send troops to assist us at that time." said the attendant.

"it is good!"

Ke Bineng rode back to the army and said, "Order the two cavalry units to withdraw ten miles to make room for the Han army to cross the river."

"promise!"

For a moment, flags flew, cavalrymen ran, and both the Wei army's infantry and cavalry and the Xianbei Hu cavalry retreated. The Han army, on the other hand, seized the opportunity to cross the river on ten floating bridges and quickly line up on the north bank.

As the Cao Wei army slowly retreated, there was suddenly an unusual movement in the phalanx.

In the army formation, Liu Qin saw that the time was almost right and shouted, "Quickly throw away our flags!"

"Why?"

The flag soldier asked, not understanding why.

Seeing that the banner soldiers did not follow his orders, Liu Qin hurriedly punched and kicked them, cursing: "Today, there are smoke and dust billowing on both sides. This is the enemy's encirclement. Our vanguard is not doing well in the battle, so I have ordered the army to retreat. If we don't flee quickly, we will be caught up by the Han army and we will not be able to survive!"

Under Liu Qin's rage, the flag soldiers threw away the signal flag and obeyed his military orders to escape.

"The Wei army is defeated, flee!"

Liu Qin shouted loudly, instigating his soldiers to flee.

"Run! Our army is defeated!"

With advance warning, more than a hundred of Liu Qin's trusted men shouted everywhere in the army and pretended to flee in panic.

Under the manipulation of their own generals, the 3,000 soldiers under Liu Qin's command suddenly became chaotic, fled to the rear, and attacked the various military formations blocking the front.

Liu Qin took the lead in shouting that the army was defeated, which aroused the reaction of Tian Zhang who was not far away. Tian Zhang tied a red ribbon on his shoulder and disrupted the army formation with more than 200 of his cronies. More than 4,000 Wei soldiers under his command, unaware of the situation, were bewitched by General Tian Zhang and abandoned their armor and weapons and fled.

The Wei army had only about 40,000 soldiers and horses, and the defeat of 7,000 men without a fight immediately caused chaos in the entire army. Moreover, the army itself was in the process of retreating, and with hundreds of people shouting defeat, the 7,000 soldiers lost their formation and fled.

In just a few breaths, the Wei army soldiers were in panic. Even the Wei soldiers marching in the front, due to low morale, believed the rumors behind them, gave up fighting and began to flee.

Sima Yi was confused by the sudden turmoil. He had no idea what was going on and why his army was fleeing. But Sima Yi suddenly thought of Zhuge Liang's strange behavior and instantly realized that it must be Zhuge Liang's doing.

"Zhuge Villager!"

Sima Yi gritted his teeth, gripped the whip handle tightly in his hand, and looked full of regret.

"Father, what should we do now?"

Sima Shi looked at the self-disintegrating Wei formation and asked at a loss.

Sima Yi looked angry and said, "We should order all the troops to gather their forces. If the army collapses without fighting, our Wei will be defeated!"

"go!"

Sima Yi rode out on horseback and led his personal cavalry to patrol the military formation, hoping to prevent the army's defeat.

"Shut up!"

Sima Yi grabbed the reins, blocked the fleeing soldiers, and asked, "Where is your commander? Why are you fleeing without a fight?"

Seeing that Sima Yi was coming in full force, the deserter was afraid that he would be held accountable for being a deserter, so he immediately changed direction and fled to a crowded place.

Seeing that the fugitive did not answer him, Sima Yi became furious and rode his horse to catch up with him, wanting to find out what was going on.

However, the horseshoe of the warhorse was seriously damaged. While galloping, the hoof suddenly sank into a small pit. The whole warhorse suddenly tilted forward, and both the horse and the rider fell to the ground.

Sima Yi was thrown dizzy by his warhorse. Due to his old age, he lay on the ground for a long time before being helped up by his confidants.

"kill!"

"Kill Cao Rui and Sima Yi, and you will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be made a marquis!"

Before Sima Yi could get angry, the Han cavalry came rushing in!

(End of this chapter)