"The generals and prime ministers are very delicate, and they are dangerous both at home and abroad. When you pay homage to someone who is very sparse, a piece of paper comes out in the middle of the night." [Joining the Army in Linjiang]
"Sima Supervisor, how are you?" As soon as Sima Yi returned to his residence, Sima Yi didn't even have time to rest, and Pingdi General Ma Teng came up from the corridor to greet him.
Sima Yi took a sip of tea, slowly exhaled a mouthful of white steam, and said in a relaxed tone: "The Lord has said that heavy snow is coming now, and the weather is not favorable for our army, so we have to wait until the battle begins before advancing."
"But Jicheng..." Ma Teng was not worried. He remembered that Zhong Yao, Jian and others were surrounded in Yongzhou Prefecture to govern Jicheng, and there were endless letters asking for help. If the city of Hebei is not saved and Yongliang is completely lost, then the northwest
The situation has really deteriorated.
Sima Yi smiled slightly and said: "Liangzhou has been plagued by droughts in recent years, and there are not as many canals as there are in Guanzhong. They are prevented and controlled every year, so the disasters are more serious than anywhere else. I don't believe it if Han Sui has accumulated millions of dendrobium grains."
.How much food and grass will be consumed for tens of thousands of people? When winter comes, even if Han Sui wants to persist, the Qianghu people he gathered will not benefit from besieging the city, so how can they continue to besieged?"
Ma Teng thought of the profit-seeking and impatient nature of those Qiang and Hu men, and nodded in agreement and said, "It is true that there are General Anji and the Colonel Protecting the Qiang in Jicheng, so we should be able to ensure that nothing happens during these two months.
"
Sima Yi smiled softly, did not answer, and said to himself: "General, should you have figured out what to do?"
"Han Sui has not sent me any more letters recently." Ma Teng honestly explained the recent correspondence between him and Han Sui. Ever since Huangfu Song gave him instructions, Ma Teng had often made excuses and talked about old friendships with Han Sui.
In the letters, Han Sui inevitably tried to instigate Ma Teng, but Ma Teng was always vague and forwarded all letters to Huangfu Song to show his innocence. This situation continued until Han Sui besieged Jicheng.
There are fewer letters, and all the previous attempts to persuade him in the letters were bland and perfunctory: "I'm afraid he is determined that the war will go smoothly, and he doesn't need me to provide him with internal support and compete for the limelight, right?"
"The only soldiers and horses in Yongzhou are General Anji, and the 20,000 people who protect Qiang Xiaowei can be called elites. Han Sui's army is so fast that he defeats all the counties. He thinks he has no rivals." Sima Yi said calmly, he and he
Huangfu Song conspired and planned to use Ma Teng to make Han Sui bypass Hanyang and send the entire army deep into You Fufeng. As long as Han Sui led the main force deep into You Fufeng, Zhang Ji from Hanyang and Xu Rong, who had already secretly moved to Beidi County, would take the opportunity to intercept them.
If Han Sui retreats and cooperates with Ma Teng, Huangfu Song will attack him head-on and completely eradicate the rebel forces.
This plan was first proposed by Huangfu Song, who was eager to completely solve the Qiang problem. It was improved by Sima Yi's advice and was already quite feasible. Even though it was not the time to implement this dangerous plan, Huangfu Song and others still did not give up:
"Not only has General Xu arrived at Beidi County, and has reserved the passage from Anding County with General Zhang, but General Gai, who is stationed at Ping County in Yizhou, has also sent troops to Wudu, pretending to attack Longxi, and is always concerned about Chencang..."
The more he listened, the more uneasy Ma Teng became. He quickly stopped, looked around at the deserted surroundings, and asked in a low voice: "The supervisor only needs to tell me what to do, and there is no need to tell me everything."
"I'm telling you this to give you some peace of mind, so as not to..." Sima Yi looked at his nervousness in a funny way. As the other party received high-ranking officials and generous salaries after entering the court, his previous ambitions gradually faded away, and he became just like the other princes in the court.
He became cautious. He rolled his eyes, put away the unspoken words, and said: "It's okay to say it. There is no need to doubt anyone. Since you and I have chosen to trust the general, we will no longer doubt it."
"Only, only." Ma Teng responded in a low voice. Now that all the children in his family were left behind in Chang'an, he had to consider the consequences of whatever he wanted to do. What's more, he knew in his heart that even if he accompanied Han Sui to resume his old career,
What can I get? With the imperial court's coping methods, at best, they can cause a big fuss in Sanfu and other places, and then escape to Yongliang under the encirclement and suppression of Huangfu Song, Xu Rong and other famous generals, and lose their reputation.
Ma Teng is not stupid. He knows that this is not only an opportunity to completely draw a line with Han Sui, but also a time to revitalize the Fufeng Ma family and make contributions. The previous resistance was just because he was worried about the risks involved, especially because his commissioned thieves would not be known to outsiders for a while.
I know, I'm afraid something might happen to Ma Chao and others.
"Ma Chao, Ma Xiu, Ma Tie and others are young and handsome, and have new growth. I will entrust someone to take care of them, and they will not suffer." Sima Yi knew Ma Teng's hidden worries and said confidently.
Ma Teng knew that Wang Fu, the son of General Wang Bin, who was in charge of the imperial court, was on good terms with Sima Yi. With Sima Yi's promise and Huangfu Song's guarantee, Ma Teng could completely relax and use his reputation to fight for a future.
"This battle is related to the safety of the northwest, and I will do my best." Ma Teng said solemnly.
Sima Yi smiled, he was so confident: "The general strategy is established. As long as the soldiers obey orders and follow them, this battle may not be as critical as others think. The general can only deal with it normally."
Ma Teng is not as confident as his opponent. After all, the battlefield is extremely dangerous and any change will trigger a chain reaction. He does not believe that there is anyone in the world who can account for all the variables.
Yongzhou, Hanyang County.
Han Sui took advantage of the poverty caused by years of drought and locusts, and tens of thousands of Qiang and Hu followed him to raise troops. Soon, the nearly 100,000 people were overwhelming in Yongliang, re-enacting the Qiang chaos of several years or even decades ago.
Almost overnight, the local establishment that had been rebuilt by the imperial court for less than five years was destroyed.
As Cheng Gongying led a partial army to conquer the four counties in Hexi, defeated the governor of Longxi Liu Yao, and joined forces with Han Sui in Jicheng, Han Sui saw that the progress was going smoothly and the situation was favorable, which he had never expected since he started his army.
He knew that the imperial court's defense in Yongliang was weak and wanted to mobilize elite troops for the eastern expedition, but he did not expect that it would be so empty! It made Han Sui wonder several times whether the imperial court regarded him as a serious enemy or had prepared a trap for him.
No matter what the reason was, Han Sui was about to capture Jicheng. This was his last step to re-separate Yongliang. However, he repeatedly entered the army, but was firmly defended by Zhang Ji, Zhong Yao and others in the city. Although Jicheng could only defend Yongliang.
He had an army of more than 20,000 people, but after a few days of observation, it was found that many powerful families in Hanyang County even sacrificed their own troops to resist him.
The morale of the army gradually deteriorated after a long battle, and the food and grass were consumed too quickly. Han Sui could not give strict orders, so he postponed the advance of the army in the dense cloud weather and allowed the Qiang Di kings Qian Qian, Yang Teng, A Gui and others to divide their troops to search the county.
Caogu. Han Sui also ordered Qu Yan, Jiang Shi, Yan Xing and other generals to guard the camp strictly to prevent surprise attacks. After making various arrangements, he had the opportunity to talk to his confidant Cheng Gongying.
"This battle will never end this winter!" Han Sui looked up to the sky and sighed. The sky was filled with clouds, and the new wind was like a knife, making the sound of hunting in the camp. The sound of the wind muffled his voice, and even the subtle sound of horse hooves was covered up.
Only Cheng Gongying, who was walking side by side, could hear clearly: "Look at the weather, if there is no heavy snowfall, then the snow will block the road, and it will be difficult to retreat! In my opinion, it is better to take advantage of the fact that there is still some food and grass left.
, so that we can go more leisurely and come back next year when we start collecting food and grass from the four counties of Hexi Province and gather warriors."
"Our army has no intention of defeating the enemy in one battle. In recent years, the imperial court has been focusing on managing Gyeonggi and Yizhou, focusing on Guandong. As for Yongliang, it has paid little attention to it, and the garrison troops are mostly concentrated in key passes. Jicheng is an important town in Yongliang, and Zhongzhong
Under Yuan Chang's rule for many years, it is not unreasonable for our army to win for a while." Cheng Gongying patted his horse's mane and signaled his mount to walk slower in the wind. Compared with the reluctance on Han Sui's brow, he was quite open-minded.
: "What we need to pay attention to now is, firstly, how to prevent Zhang Ji and other troops from leaving the city to pursue after our army retreats; secondly, how to assemble suddenly once the Qiang and Di armies disperse; thirdly...
"
"In these ten months, Zhang Ji has not gone out of the city to fight once. It can be seen that although his men are brave, they are controlled by Zhong Yao. Zhong Yao, the scribe, did not dare to take risks. When I left, I personally stopped the rear and retreated calmly. As long as the army is in order, they dare not measure it.
Come out of the city to fight. As for the Qiang, they dispersed as soon as they wanted. For example, the Xingguo Di and other tribes, whose homes are in Hanyang and are stable, can just monitor the army here for me." Han Sui looked at the narrow road in the camp without squinting.
Before Cheng Gongying could finish speaking, Bai said. The two of them had gotten along tacitly for many years, and Cheng Gongying could often roughly guess what the other party was going to say before Cheng Gongying said anything: "What I'm worried about now is Huangfu Yizhen.
If he doesn't move, I can't guess his thoughts, so how can I dare to suggest retreating."
Cheng Gongying had already thought about this question and asked himself if it was not a problem. When Han Sui asked, he took off his hand from the horse's rein and pointed to the mountains and valleys in the distance: "Jicheng is located in the upper reaches, and the mountains around it stretch endlessly, reaching as far south as
The Qinling Mountains are connected to the Longshan Mountains in the north, with undulating ravines and crisscrossing riverbanks, and the Wei River Valley between the east and west. Although this area has been an important road connecting Yongliang and Guanzhong in the past dynasties, the mountainous terrain in the north and south of the road is undulating, making it difficult for the army to move quickly. Our army
As long as he defends Shanggui, Huangfu Song will not be able to enter easily. I think he must have expected that Shanggui would be difficult to advance, so he would not come from Shanggui, but would go to the street pavilion."
The street pavilion is located in the northeast of Jicheng, where the weak area of Longshan Mountain stretches to the north. The geography is not dangerous, but the location is very important to Han Sui.
"I have already sent troops to garrison there." Han Sui smiled proudly, and then the smile disappeared briefly, and he was a little confused: "But if Huangfu Song was walking in the street, I should have got the news, but there has been no movement. Could it be that?
He is old and timid, and has lost the majesty of his youth. Seeing that Jicheng is in danger, he refuses to come to help. Will he fight with me?"
Cheng Gongying slowly shook his head and continued: "I thought so too, but Lian Po can still weigh ten pounds of rice and be mounted on a horse, and who is Huangfu Song? We cannot underestimate him. Therefore, he
The reason why he refused to capture Xian and refused to march to the street pavilion, and why he has not mobilized troops for a long time, must be that he had something to rely on."
Han Sui's face darkened, and he turned his head and looked over: "He is sure that Jicheng will not be captured by our army, so he is not in a hurry to send troops and wants to wait and see the opportunity?"
"It's not that we won't, but we are sure that our army will not be able to capture Jicheng in just ten months before the heavy snow falls. Huangfu Song knew that our army will retreat when the heavy snow comes, and the siege of Jicheng will not be rescued by then.
, I will fight with them again next year." Cheng Gongying felt a little regretful, it would have been better if he had one more month, and said in a low voice: "Speaking of which, it is still too late for our army to raise troops."
Han Sui's face froze, and he was to blame for this. When he found out that the imperial court's military power in Yongliang was weak and almost defenseless against him, he was very confused about the imperial court's attitude towards him. Based on Chang'an
The wisdom of the emperor and his ministers meant that even if they wanted to go all out to conquer the east, they should be well prepared for themselves. But the court insisted on urging him to work with Zhong Yao to cure Yongliang, and the tone seemed to treat him as equal to Zhong Yao.
Minister.
Neither deliberately beating him up, nor using money or money to win over him, this "equality" attitude greatly confused Han Sui, and even horrified him to have the idea that the imperial court did not regard him as a thorn in its side at all? Or was he impressed by his obedience over the years or perhaps?
Did it confuse the emperor and his ministers?
This absurd idea frightened Han Sui. He refused to believe it, but after hesitating for a long time, he couldn't help but raise his troops at the urging of Yuan Shao's messenger.
"Sooner or later, the century-old Qiang chaos cannot be resolved in one battle." Han Sui's expression gradually became firm. He was not a person who liked to regret. Once he chose a certain path, he would keep going: "If it doesn't work, I and Da
You can maintain a stalemate with Huangfu Song here, and then contact Xianbei, Wuhuan and other tribes to attack Bingzhou. As long as the emperor divides his troops to rescue, Yuan Shao will be free to make progress. The general situation of the world has not yet been determined, and the emperor is eager to seek credit, and goes out to Guandong to conquer.
If you ignore me, you are looking down on me."
Cheng Gongying nodded and replied: "In that case, we will return to Jincheng for the time being, and we can make plans again this winter. There are not enough troops and horses left in Guanzhong, and our army still has a great chance."
Han Sui analyzed the pros and cons and found out that Huangfu Song's intention coincided with his own, so he chose to fight again. Suddenly he remembered something and said: "That's right, Huangfu Song didn't dare to rush into the army. Will there be any danger in this?"
Is there a reason for Ma Shoucheng?"
Ma Teng was now an important general under Huangfu Song. Han Sui wanted to instigate him from the beginning to join in the rebellion, and cooperated with both inside and outside. However, Ma Teng was used to being a good son in Guanzhong, and he had seen the power of the imperial court with his own eyes, so he refused to do so.
He gave a positive answer. But this time Ma Teng seemed to see that the defense in Guanzhong was empty. Han Sui gathered the Yongliang Qianghu and the army was strong, and his heart began to move again.
If it is said that Huangfu Song was concerned about the relationship between Ma Teng and Han Sui and did not dare to attack easily, it is very possible. Cheng Gongying nodded and said: "My lord Ruijian, if Ma Teng leaves Huangfu Song and joins forces with my lord, why should Huangfu Song not worry about it?"
defeat?"
"Although Ma Shoucheng refused to give me a direct answer, he continued to exchange letters in private, and recently talked about the events of the army." Han Sui thought quietly in his heart and said in a low voice: "It's a pity that my progress has been too fast and smooth these days.
As for forgetting to borrow his power, now it seems that I was short-sighted."