Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 507. Making a Feint to the East and Attacking in the West
"Your Majesty, urgent news from the border: the Pseudo-Han seems to want to take advantage of the recent death of the previous emperor, Your Majesty's succession to the throne, and the instability of the court to launch a northern expedition in one fell swoop and destroy our Great Wei Kingdom."

Luoyang, Cao Wei's court. As the saying goes, a new official has three things to do when he takes office, so the new emperor naturally has to find something to show his ability. Now that the Han army is invading the north, Cao Li thinks it is the best target to establish his authority.

When his father Cao Pi was in power, the Wei Kingdom had launched military operations against the Han Kingdom several times, but was basically defeated every time. If he could reverse the Wei Kingdom's decline and achieve a great victory over the Han army, he would surely gain the respect of a group of court officials.

"Don't panic, Shangshu Ling. How many enemies are there? Where are they coming from?"

Cao Li looked confident, which reassured those who were a little restless and suspicious of the new emperor. They wanted to see how much the new emperor had in his hands.

"Yes, the former general reported urgently that the Han army in Jingzhou has crossed the Han River and is heading north, intending to take Wancheng directly. Now the Han army has broken through Dengxian and Chaoyang, and the defenders of both places have all died for their country. Now the Han army is besieging Xinye City.

The former general's intention is to use Wancheng and the surrounding counties as a corner to resist the attack of the Han army. However, the former general still hopes that Your Majesty can send reinforcements to assist in the defense of Nanyang."

Shangshu Ling Chen Qun stood in the hall, his face full of worry. Nanyang was the most tightly guarded and critical place for Cao Wei.

If Nanyang were lost, the Han army would have truly opened the door to the Central Plains. At that time, they would have the final say on where they wanted to attack. Even the current Luoyang City would probably be threatened by the Han army.

Cao Li naturally knew the importance of Wancheng and Nanyang County, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought. A few days ago, he ordered Jiang Ji to lead troops to support Huainan, but now Nanyang was attacked by the Han army again, which made him feel a little anxious, but the situation was still under control.

"Let the Grand Marshal defend the city, and order Jiang Ji to split the troops. 20,000 men will support the former general, and Jiang Ji will personally support Huainan."

Finally, Cao Li could only make the decision to split his troops into two groups. After all, it seemed that the situation in Jianghuai was far from being in dire straits.

What Cao Li didn't know was that the bad news he had to face was far more than that.

In Jigu, a Han army of 20,000 was stationed, led by the great general Zhang Fei.

Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition route this time was very similar to the first Northern Expedition in the original timeline. Both involved using a small force to make a feint attack on Baoxiade, and then Zhuge Liang's army personally took the Qishan Road to recapture Liangzhou.

The purpose of this strategy was also very simple. As long as Liangzhou was recovered, the Han army would have more offensive routes to Guanzhong, and the Wei army would be unable to defend against it. In addition, Liangzhou produced horses, which could also supplement the Han army's cavalry.

As for Zhang Fei, he replaced Zhao Yun in the original timeline. After all, Zhuge Liang considered that Zhang Fei was too old and had a high status, so he really didn't want Zhang Fei to get into trouble in the desert of Liangzhou. It just so happened that Zhang Fei's status as a general was here, so it was quite credible as a feint attack.

However, the order Zhuge Liang gave to Zhang Fei was also very simple, which was to confront the possible Wei army at Baoxiade Road, and there was no need to try to break through Baoxiade Road.

Although Zhang Fei was somewhat dissatisfied, being able to fight was enough for him, so he just complained a few words and then obediently guarded the Jigu camp with Deng Zhi.

Zhuge Liang personally led 70,000 elite Han troops along the Qishan Road. Zhuge Liang was surrounded by many brave generals, including Ma Chao, the General of the Cavalry and the Governor of Liangzhou, who was specially brought by Zhuge Liang and always wanted to fight back to his hometown, his cousin Ma Dai, the sons of generals Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, and the young Guan Suo; the veteran Zhao Yun, and other young generals were countless. Just looking at the lineup, Zhuge Liang's side was countless times more luxurious than Feng Xi's, but this was also intentional by Feng Xi. The troops on his side were originally better equipped than Zhuge Liang's side. If all the people were taken away, Zhuge Liang's side would definitely have a lot of trouble.

When Guanzhong heard that General Zhang Fei's troops were advancing towards Baoxiade, General Cao Zhen, who had also just returned to Chang'an and was also the governor of Guanzhong, did not dare to be negligent. He naturally knew what kind of man Zhang Fei was, and that even though he was old, he was still a brave man who could not be matched by ten thousand men. So Cao Zhen immediately ordered his generals Guo Huai and Wang Shuang to lead 40,000 troops to guard Xiegu to prevent Zhang Fei from opening up Baoxiade and approaching the Weishui line.

Zhuge Liang's army set out from Wudu County and headed north to Tianshui County. As expected, they did not encounter much defense from Cao Wei. With Ma Chao, who was once a powerful figure in Xiliang, leading the way, almost all the counties and towns along the way opened their gates to surrender.

However, this unstoppable momentum came to an end when they arrived at the seat of Tianshui County, because Ji County was an important town in Tianshui County and, like Shanggui, was a barrier for Zhuge Liang to attack Liangzhou.

When Ma Zun, the governor of Tianshui County, received the news that the southern counties had opened their gates to surrender and the Han army was marching into Tianshui County in a mighty force, he was so frightened that he didn't know what to do.

Their Liang Province was not valued by Cao Wei. Now the entire Liang Province could only gather 20,000 county soldiers. If Cao Zhen did not send reinforcements, I am afraid Ma Zun would have no choice but to flee or surrender. As for fighting to the death, it was definitely impossible to fight to the death.

"Don't panic, sir. These are just Shu soldiers. I am willing to lead them in person to kill their spirits, and then defend Ji County to the death. I hope you can quickly ask the general for reinforcements."

When everyone heard someone volunteered, they looked over and saw that it was Tianshui Zhonglang Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei's father was the former Gongcao Jiang Jiong, who died for his country during the Qiang and Rong rebellion, so Ma Zun treated Jiang Wei well. In addition, Jiang Wei was indeed very capable, at least with a spear, he was unmatched in Tianshui.

"General Jiang, do you have any strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Ma Zun seemed to have found a life-saving straw at this moment, and quickly opened his mouth to ask.

"Don't worry, sir. The Shu soldiers have come from afar, and it's difficult for them to get food and grass. As long as our army kills the Shu soldiers and holds the city, once the general's reinforcements arrive, the Shu soldiers will have no chance to succeed. When their food runs out, we can only retreat."

Jiang Wei was full of confidence, with a smile on his face, which made Ma Zun feel a little relieved.

"In that case, I will give you most of the army to resist the Shu army."

Now Jiang Wei is one of the few generals that Ma Zun can use, so he can only try his best to save the situation.

Jiang Wei clasped his fists and accepted the order, his heart leaping with joy. He had long heard that the Han army was full of talented people. Although Jiang Wei was born in the bitter cold land of Xiliang, he believed that his talent and martial arts were not inferior to others. This time, he would definitely kill a few Han generals first to scare the Han army, and then defend Ji County to rest assured.

Jiang Wei led 10,000 soldiers from Tianshui County to Ji County to strengthen the city's defenses.

The Han army marched northward, with the brothers Guan Xing and Zhang Bao as the vanguard, and Zhang Yi, Zhang Yi, and Wang Ping as their deputy generals, and 20,000 troops, heading straight for Ji County.

(End of this chapter)