Jiang Wei led his army across the rugged west-sloping mountains and suddenly appeared in the small town of Panhan!
This area belongs to Longxi County, located directly south of Jincheng, Liangzhou (Lanzhou), and is almost entirely mountainous. The most important river in Longxi County is the Taoshui River, which flows roughly north-south and runs vertically through Longxi County.
Among them, Didao County is the most important city in Longxi County.
Although Didao County is not the county seat of Longxi, it is located above the Tao River, in the hinterland in the middle of Longxi territory. The county seat of Xiangwu is on the upper reaches of the Wei River and is located on the eastern edge of Longxi County, making it inconvenient to control the entire Longxi County.
In addition to Longxi County and Xiangwu, there are also Nan'an County, Tianshui County and other important county governments, all of which are in the Wei River Basin, probably to facilitate reinforcement and transportation. Many important towns are on the same river, so they can naturally support each other and are not easily
captured; but the Shu army did not attack those places.
The place where Jiang Wei's army appeared was in the northwest of Didao County.
The Wei people did not expect that Jiang Wei would arrive at Panhan first. Because the Shu army came from the south, they should attack Didao in the south first, not to mention Didao is much more important! But Jiang Wei decided to take a detour and go to the northwest first.
There is nothing anyone can do.
So Panhan, who had almost no defense and few soldiers, resisted for a while and was captured in less than half a day.
In late October, the weather became increasingly cold.
Wang Jing led the Longyou Army with thousands of infantry and cavalry, plus the county soldiers from Longxi County, a total of tens of thousands of people arrived at a place called Guguan.
Guguan is located between Pouhan and Didao, in a valley on the west side of the Taoshui River Valley. If the Shu army wants to attack Didao from Pouhan, it must pass through this road!
At the same time, the reinforcements from the direction of Jincheng will also have to go south through the Taoshui River Valley. If the enemy troops occupy the old pass, not only will there be no more danger in heading to Didao County, but they will also be able to block the reinforcements of the Wei army coming from the direction of Jincheng.
Therefore, under the current battlefield situation, the old pass is a very important place.
However, Hu Fen, the governor of Longxi County, was urging Wang Jing to leave quickly and give up this place!
Not long after Hu Fenggang became the governor of Longxi County, his father was Hu Zun, the current governor of Xuzhou. (Hu Fen had a younger brother named Hu Lie.)
Hu Fen's reason was very simple. He pointed to the large valley in front of Guguan and said concisely: "This place cannot be defended."
Wang Jing stood on the dilapidated gate tower, facing the cold and dry wind, looking at the wide valley in front of him, the terrain on both sides was not steep, and he seemed a little hesitant for a moment.
The Guanlou in Zhongju Valley is right at the wind outlet, and you can hear the "whirring" of the wind. On the large hillside in the distance, the dust is blown up by the wind among the withered and yellow grass, and the smoke is filled, as if there is a fire.
This place controls the north, south, east and west, which is indeed very important, but the terrain does not seem to be very dangerous.
Wang Jing muttered: "If we give up garrisoning here, the Liangzhou army coming from the north will also be blocked by the rebels. At that time, we can only rely on the reinforcements from the east. The troops from Guanzhong will arrive as soon as possible."
Then Jiang Wei had to take a detour to the northwest and go to Panhan. This was probably his plan. He wanted to destroy Wang Jing first, and then destroy the Liangzhou army reinforced by Jincheng! He would defeat them one by one.
Several generals around him just nodded in agreement. Wang Jing had a shoehorn face. People at this time didn't like this kind of narrow face, and he looked unfriendly. However, coupled with Wang Jing's cold eyes, it was somewhat
Powerful. Hu Fen's voice said: "We have few soldiers and there is nothing we can do."
Wang Jing did not make a decision immediately, and then went down to the Guanlou and patrolled the surrounding area.
Not long after, the two people who fled from Panhan arrived at the old pass and reported to Wang Jing: The bandit army numbered tens of thousands, maybe 40,000 to 50,000 people!
The enemy's army was several times greater than his own, and Wang Jing finally felt that this place was not dangerous enough and could not be defended. He then ordered the entire army to retreat in the direction of Didao.
The army followed the valley eastward in a mighty manner, and soon the terrain suddenly became clearer, and they came to the wider Taoshui River Valley. This valley is more than ten miles wide from east to west, and it looks like a long and narrow plain.
There is no dangerous terrain and it is almost impossible to defend.
The Wei army continued southward, camped on the west bank of the Taoshui River that night, and crossed the Taoshui River early the next morning.
Although the enemy was numerous and we were outnumbered, Wang Jing was not afraid of the enemy. At this time, he discussed with the generals and wanted to set up camp on the east bank of Tao River and wait for the rebels to cross the river and attack them halfway across the river.
Hu Fen, the governor of Longxi County, objected again. Hu Fen said: "Captain Guo, Commander Chen asked us to guard Didao. Why don't we retreat to the city to guard the city? We don't have to think so much. We can just do our own thing. Although Didao County is
It is small, but with complete walls and moats, it is a fortified city. Even though the bandit army numbered tens of thousands, they just came out of the mountains and lacked siege equipment, so they were unable to capture Didao for a while."
Wang Jing said: "When I arrived at Didao, I counted the grain and grass. It was only enough for the army for a month at most. You have hoarded all the grain and fodder from Longxi to Xiangwu, and now it is too late to transport it."
Hu Fen said awkwardly: "Longxi grain was mainly stored in Xiangwu before, and it was not something I did after taking office. We will guard it for a month, and reinforcements should have arrived by then."
Wang Jing retorted: "The first reinforcements to arrive must be the Liangzhou Army from Jincheng. If our army huddles in Didao City and there are few soldiers in Jincheng, they will not be able to save us and will be blocked in the north. The Guanzhong Army had previously
We are still far away in Chencang (Baoji), more than a thousand miles away from here, and the march will take nearly a month; if there is a slight mistake, we will be trapped in the city and we will starve to death!"
He continued: "We use attack instead of defense, and attack halfway across the river to defend Didao City. To defend the city, we do not have to stay in the city and not come out."
Hu Fen still persuaded: "Although the Tao River has not yet frozen, the water is shallow in winter, and you can wade across the river on foot in many places. We don't have many soldiers and horses, so we can't disperse. We can't hold the Tao River, and it's difficult to catch the half-crossed river."
opportunity to attack."
Both of them are fifth-grade prefects, but Wang Jing got a Polu General from the court this year, and he has a part of the Yongzhou Longyou Army in his hand, so he is still the highest general on the battlefield in Longxi County. So in the end it is Wang Jing's decision.
Most useful.
In early November, the Shu army arrived on the west bank of the Taoshui River and found a place with shallow water to camp more than ten miles north of Didao City to confront the Wei army across the river.
At this time, the river water already had ice. After the sun came out, it could not be dissolved all day long. There was no longer any flash of water on the river, but the motionless reflection of the ice cubes instead, which made people feel a little lifeless.
But the ice is just an illusion and will break into pieces as soon as men and horses step on it. If the army wants to cross the river, it has to wade through the water or build a pontoon bridge.
However, this confrontation only lasted for two days. Early this morning, Wang Jing received a report from a scout that a band of rebels had gathered several miles to the north and were wading across the river!
Wang Jing immediately mobilized elite troops, with the Longyou cavalry advancing first, followed by the infantry, and asked Hu Fen to stay in the camp for defense.
The cavalry brigade of the Wei army quickly arrived at the fording point of the Shu army. As expected, Wang Jing saw that the Shu army was still wading in the river. The enemy crowds and teams that had arrived on the east bank were not very orderly. Wang Jing's eyes emerged.
I saw a scene: the chaotic rebel army dispersed under the charge of cavalry and fled in all directions!
Just then, there was a roaring sound of horse hooves from the north, and someone shouted: "The enemy is coming!"
The Shu army has cavalry, but the total number is of course far less than that of the Wei army. However, Wang Jing's current army does not have many cavalry.
After a while, a strange cry of "Wululu..." came from the distance. People followed the sound and saw the group of people on horseback holding bows and arrows and decorated with feathers. Some of them didn't even wear helmets.
The disheveled hair was blowing in the wind. Such a strange attire was different from that of the Wei army and the Shu army.
Someone in the Wei army's cavalry finally recognized him and blurted out: "There is no such thing as a flying army!"
Among the cavalry and soldiers in strange clothes, the flags can also be seen clearly. The flag on the west side says "King" and the other side says "Zhang". The officers and soldiers of the Longyou Army of Wei State often fought with the Shu Army and fought countless battles with each other.
In the second battle, some military commanders soon guessed: "It should be Wang Ping and Zhang Yi."
However, the number of enemy cavalry who suddenly came for reinforcements was not too large, and the total number of the front and back might not be more than a thousand.
Wang Jing frowned and thought to himself: I don't care whether you are a flying army or an earth army, I will attack you without fail!
Wang Jing glanced at the infantry of the Shu army on the river beach, who were reorganizing their formation. The fighter plane was fleeting, so if you don't attack at this time, the enemy's infantry will form a strict formation, and it will be difficult to rely on cavalry attack alone to be effective!
With a "swish" sound, Wang Jing drew his sword and ordered the front troops to charge the infantry formation on the river beach. He himself led a group of men and horses, preparing to fend off the enemy cavalry in strange costumes coming from a distance.
The terrain of the river beach was slightly lower, and the Wei army's horsemen quickly swooped in and swarmed over.
At this moment, the crowd in the enemy's infantry formation suddenly waved their arms, as if they were trying to throw something forward!
A moment later, the offensive of the Wei army's cavalry immediately stagnated in place. "Neigh..." Many horses neighed. They must have stepped on something. Some knights were thrown off their horses and screamed loudly.
.
Someone in front shouted: "Damn, there are nails on the ground!"
The front of the charging cavalry was suddenly blocked. People and horses neighed, and it became a chaotic mess. The cavalry rushing up from behind even bumped into one of their own men, and they were knocked upside down by their own men, but they didn't even touch the enemy's hair.
The front of the Wei army had to temporarily stop the attack and retreated to regroup.
At this time, Wudang Feijun's cavalry also arrived! Wang Jing personally led the cavalry to fight. Before the two armies could engage the enemy, the rebels fired arrows first.
This group of people from Shu are actually good at Chi She! Even though they were dressed in fancy clothes and some had disheveled hair, as soon as Chi She met the enemy, you could tell that they were elites who had been trained for a long time.
The people on both sides were wearing iron armor. The armor was very protective against arrows, and they were generally immune to death. But someone in the crowd suddenly reminded him: "Wudang Feijun's arrows are poisonous, be careful!"
This reminder obviously had a counterproductive effect. The Wei army officers who were not afraid of arrows were suddenly more afraid of being injured because they were poisonous! Morale was instantly affected, and a few people were running around on horseback, trying to avoid the arrows.
arrow.
Wang Jing suddenly felt bad. He was at a disadvantage as soon as he met the enemy.