Looking at the top of Guang City, Zhuge Liang stood with his hands behind his hands. The cold wind blew on his face, but it could not blow away the anxiety in his heart.
Since the siege of Shanggui City in early August, he has been under Shanggui City for more than four months. The city has run out of food and Guo Huai is struggling to survive. If Zhang He had not suddenly come to help, Guo Huai would probably have invoked the Wei army's military law and surrendered the city.
Even if he refuses to surrender, others will be shaken. In the face of his attack, it should be expected that Shanggui City will be defeated.
Siege is the strategy with the least cost and the greatest gain. As long as the food and grass can support it, siege is more suitable than attacking the city, because this way you can get a relatively complete city and the casualties are relatively small.
During the siege, the battle was more about the mind. Wei Yan and his son occupied Guanzhong, and Cao Wei's reinforcements sighed when they looked at Guanzhong. Longyou became a rootless land, and the psychological impact on the people in the city can be imagined. After a few more months of siege, the reinforcements
If not, the food and fodder will be exhausted, hope will be lost, and the concerns of the family will disappear as the deadline arrives. The fighting spirit of the defenders in the city will quickly collapse, and it will be easy to attack the city again.
However, the arrival of Zhang He made all this come to nothing. The morale of the Wei army in the city was greatly boosted, and there were 10,000 elite cavalry outside the city watching in secret like a pack of wolves, making the Shu Han army, which was mainly infantry, very passive. Pursuing,
Unable to catch up, not pursuing, and always in tension, the psychological pressure was even worse than that of Wei Jun in the city.
Fortunately, Zhang He also has his insurmountable weaknesses. As long as he lasts for a few days and exhausts his energy and food, he can be left to fend for himself. By that time, the morale of the Wei army, which has been revitalized by his arrival, will be even stronger.
Disintegrate quickly.
It was precisely because he saw this that he and Ma Su decided on the static strategy, hoping to defeat Zhang He and capture all of Longyou, so that this Northern Expedition would have a more perfect ending.
However, the progress of the matter once again frustrated his hopes. Zhang He was not forced to attack, but seized the opportunity of the grain and grass shipment from Hanzhong, and suddenly reversed the situation of the battle.
Compared with Ma Su who believed that this was an accident, Zhuge Liang was more willing to believe that this was Zhang He's premeditation. He may have been eyeing the grain road for a long time, but he himself may not have thought at the time that this would really be an opportunity to turn the tide of the war.
.
But he was well prepared, and once he found the opportunity was ripe, he would attack with all his strength without hesitation.
He is a good general of Cao Wei due to his resourcefulness and good judgment.
When he received the news from Ma Su that Zhang He had gone to the direction of Zhuyu Mountain, Zhuge Liang knew that he had met a strong enemy. When Zhang He went to the direction of Zhuyu Mountain, his target should be the batch of grain and grass that had just arrived. Although he didn't know it clearly.
How did Zhang He get this news in time? But he believed that Zhang He's purpose was just for this batch of food and grass.
While praising Zhang He, Zhuge Liang was not too nervous. Even if the batch of grain and grass fell into Zhang He's hands, the final victory may not belong to Zhang He. On the contrary, this may be the best chance to defeat Zhang He. After confirming Zhang He's
Before revealing his true intention, he issued a new order to Ma Su, asking him to follow Zhang He and chase towards the wooden gate. His purpose was not to catch up with Zhang He - Zhang He acted first and was with the cavalry, so Ma Su could not catch up. His
The purpose is to ask Ma Su to block Zhang He's return path and leave Zhang He behind at the wooden door.
To the west of Mumen and to the north of Qishan Mountain, there is a county called Xi County. There are more than 2,000 people left by him in Xi County. Zhang He has no siege equipment. Unless he has the ability to reach the sky and the earth, he cannot attack Xi County. Ma Su only needs to grab
Entering Xi County before Zhang He leaves can block Zhang He's return. It doesn't take much. In just one day, the three generals Ma Dai, Gao Xiang, and Chen Shi will arrive with more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and together with Ma Su, they will encircle Zhang He. In total,
Thirty thousand people, even if they cannot defeat Zhang He, can still trap him.
Next, he will arrive with 20,000 infantry and give Zhang He the final blow.
This batch of grain and grass will become Zhang He's deadly bait. Even if Zhang He burns the batch of grain and grass, he will not be able to save the defeat. Because after killing Zhang He, no one will come to Longyou's aid. Even if Guo Huai runs out of Shanggui City, he will not be able to save him.
The only option is to escape.
As for grain and grass, compared with Longyou, what is this batch of grain and grass?
The biggest variable now is not whether Zhang He will rob the army rations - there is no suspense that he will succeed - but whether Ma Su can leave Zhang He at the wooden door. If Zhang He succeeds in robbing the rations, his whole body will
If he retreats, no one will be able to catch his traces anymore.
The only ones who can catch up with the cavalry are the cavalry, but now he only has two thousand cavalry scattered here and there, which is no match for Zhang He.
Alas, if Ma Su could capture Yuzhong before, he wouldn't be so passive now. Most of the Han's war horses come from Wuwei and Zhangye to the north of Yuzhong. If he doesn't capture Yuzhong, he won't be able to go to Wuwei smoothly, and he won't be able to get a large number of troops.
of high-quality war horses.
Now, the important task once again falls on Ma Su's shoulders. It depends on whether he can intercept Zhang He.
He has more than 20,000 infantry, most of which are elites who are skilled in mountain warfare. Sieges may not be their strong point, but fighting in mountains, Ma Su will not let him down again, right?
You Chang, you must stop Zhang He. You know best how heavy the burden is on my shoulders.
The sound of rapid footsteps interrupted Zhuge Liang's contemplation. Jiang Wei hurried over and said with a smile on his face: "Prime Minister, Ma Dai sent news that he has fought with Zhang He."
Zhuge Liang was startled and quickly took the military report. While reading it, he walked towards the tent. He walked to the map and looked at the mileage marked on the map. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes were full of everything.
It's a smile.
"Okay, according to the schedule, it shouldn't be a problem for You Chang to intercept Zhang He."
"Yes. As long as Ma Canjun follows the Prime Minister's military orders and executes them to the letter, he will definitely be able to keep Zhang He at the wooden gate." Jiang Wei agreed excitedly: "Moreover, there are a lot of terrains near the wooden gate that are conducive to interception, so I guess
Ma Shenjun will definitely not let him go. With the favorable terrain and the presence of those Southern Barbarian Qiang soldiers, Zhang He may not be able to escape unscathed."
Zhuge Liang also laughed and looked up to the sky and sighed: "The sky has eyes. This time, we can finally kill Zhang He and end the war in Longyou. Before the New Year, we can present a victory report to His Majesty and sacrifice it to the late Emperor. The two of us will
Years of hard work will be in vain."
Jiang Wei cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations to the Prime Minister, congratulations to the Prime Minister."
"It's too early to celebrate now. Boyue, is the army ready?"
"Don't worry, Prime Minister, everything is ready. Twenty thousand elite troops are ready to go at any time."
"Very good!" Zhuge Liang also became a little excited and said loudly to the guards at the door: "Please come, Chief Shi Xianglang and Chief Secretary Hu Ji."
"Here." The guard responded and left.
Not long after, Xiang Lang and Hu Ji hurriedly walked in. Zhuge Liang bowed his hand to Xiang Lang with a pleasant look: "Mr. Xiang, I have to work hard with Gong Xiang for the matter of Shanggui."
Xiang Lang bowed and returned the courtesy: "Prime Minister, please rest assured that Lang will do his best to prevent Guo Huai from leaving the city."
"With Xiang Gong's words, I feel relieved." Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Xiang Gong doesn't have to rush to attack. When You Chang and I kill Zhang He, Guo Huai won't have anything to worry about."
The beard on Xiang Lang's lips twitched, but he hesitated to speak. He once suggested Zhuge Liang to retreat to Longshan in public, but Zhuge Liang rejected it and had a conflict with Lai Min, which also made Zhuge Liang not satisfied. This time Zhuge Liang will stay behind.
He was given the matter of Shanggui, which surprised him greatly. He originally wanted to remind Zhuge Liang to be careful of Zhang He's cavalry, but seeing Zhuge Liang so excited, he felt it was inappropriate.
Zhuge Liang saw it in his eyes and knew it well. "Xiang Gong, just say it if you have anything to say. Xiang Gong is loyal and upright. Even if something goes against your ears, I think I can still bear it."
Xiang Lang smiled sheepishly: "Prime Minister, although you often have an army of 20,000, and most of them are elites, the art of war has it that if you fight for a profit of a hundred miles, you will have to defeat the general. If you fight for a profit of fifty miles, he will get half of it.
.You Chang is marching a long distance of three hundred miles, and it is inevitable that there will be soldiers who fall behind. What if..."
Before Xiang Lang finished speaking, Zhuge Liang laughed loudly, took Xiang Lang's hand and said, "Xiang Gong, I understand what you mean. I know that you all think that Youchang is too young and has not experienced war to be an official.
It’s a big event. Everyone, including Xiang Gong, is a bit disapproving of the important task I entrusted to Youchang. However, I believe that Youchang will prove his ability with an uncontroversial victory."
Without waiting for Xiang Lang to explain, Zhuge Liang said again: "Xiang Gong, when the late emperor went against the crowd and promoted Bourne (Xiang Chong) to be the general of Yamen, weren't there many people who disagreed? In the battle of Zigui, all the armies retreated, except for Bourne's battalion.
It's so complete that even the late emperor was a little unexpected. The Ma family and the Xiang family are both from Xiangyang. If the Xiang family can produce a talented person like Bourne, why can't the Ma family produce a young man named Youchang?"
Xiang Lang couldn't say anything more. Zhuge Liang had already rejected him in a joking tone. If he tried to remonstrate any more, it would be suspected of belittling the Ma family. Furthermore, Zhuge Liang was a scholar like Ma Su, so he spoke too harshly.
It's hard to guarantee that Zhuge Liang wouldn't think that he had ulterior motives. On the surface, he was questioning Ma Di, but in fact, he was questioning Zhuge Liang himself.
Zhuge Liang arranged for the remaining personnel in the camp and personally led 20,000 elite troops to rush towards the wooden gate.
Xiang Lang and Hu Ji sent Zhuge Liang out of the camp. The two stood side by side outside the camp, looking at the war flags disappearing in the distance. Xiang Lang sighed heavily. Hu Ji looked at Xiang Lang in confusion: "Xiang Lang
Sir, are you worried about this war?"
Xiang Lang nodded: "Wei Du, it's not that I have any objections to the Prime Minister, he really trusts You Chang too much. I watched You Chang grow up with my own eyes. I don't know what he is capable of? He is very talented.
Yes, the ability to govern is not bad, but the experience in using soldiers is less. Soldiers are fierce and dangerous, and they cannot be compared to writing an article, nor can they be compared to being a county guard. The competition is not about talent and learning, but killing.
Be decisive. A moment's mistake may lead to catastrophic disaster. When did You Chang have such an experience?"
Hu Ji raised his eyebrows, and after a while, he slowly calmed down. "But, the Prime Minister has a thorough plan, so... there won't be any surprises, right?"
"What if an accident happens?" Xiang Lang asked, "Who will bear the consequences then? The prime minister or You Chang?"
Hu Ji was speechless.
Xiang Lang sighed again.
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I'm in a hurry today, so I may not have time to update the chapter about repaying the debt tonight, please Haihan. Don't worry, everyone, Lao Zhuang said, I am just like the Lannister, I must repay my debts, and I will never miss the remaining three chapters.
of.
By the way, I want to complain, except for this motto, the Lannister family in Casterly Rock seems to be nothing else. (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)