It has been three years since the preparations for the Northern Expedition began, and it was almost half a year since the troops were dispatched from Hanzhong. In the past six months, he has not had a normal sleep, and has stayed up all night countless times, sleeping in his clothes.
It is even more commonplace. Because since the troops were dispatched, various unexpected things have continued to appear, but the expected victory has always been so far away, and even more and more far away. Until now, Ma Di's whereabouts are unknown.
Ma Su's failure made him sadder, more disappointed and depressed than his own failure.
Zhuge Liang and the Ma brothers have a long history of friendship.
Thirty years ago, Zhuge Liang and his younger brother Zhuge Jun came to Jingzhou with their uncle Zhuge Xuan and took refuge with Liu Biao, who was the shepherd of Jingzhou at the time. Since then, Zhuge Liang has had contacts with the local wealthy and famous people in Jingxiang, and with the Ma family brothers.
The friendship also started from that time. When I first met Ma Su, Ma Su was just over ten years old, and he was still a charming and beautiful boy.
Zhuge Liang is nine years older than Ma Di, and three or four years older than Ma Liang, the best white-browed among the five permanent members of the Ma family. Ma Liang has always regarded Zhuge Liang as his elder brother, and Ma Di has regarded Zhuge Liang as his father and brother. Similarly, Zhuge Liang also regarded Ma Liang and Ma Di as his elder brother.
Like brothers. After Ma Liang died in battle, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to assume the responsibility of a father and brother, even though Ma Di was already in his prime at that time.
Ma Di is his confidant, his think tank, his sibling, and the first person he will think of when he is in trouble. To a certain extent, Ma Di is more important than Zhuge Qiao and understands his thoughts better.
His trust in Ma Di has aroused a lot of criticism, which he knows. But he insists that Ma Di is talented and he just lacks an opportunity. The reason why he has never had a chance is because the late emperor Liu Bei thought that he was flashy and could not be of great use.
Just like many issues, Zhuge Liang had different views from Liu Bei, such as the fight for Jiangnan, the crusade against Soochow, and his evaluation of Ma Di. However, Zhuge Liang never argued with Liu Bei. He just waited silently, waiting for the facts to be answered.
to prove yourself right.
Fighting for Jiangnan, half of Jiangnan was lost, and the alliance with Jiangdong broke down, which directly led to Sun Quan stabbing Guan Yu in the back during Guan Yu's Northern Expedition. The whole country attacked Wu, and they were completely defeated in the battle of Yiling. Liu Bei returned to Chengdu without shame, and died of illness in
Yong'an pushed the newly born Shu Han regime to the most dangerous edge.
However, this also gave him a chance to truly take over the power and prove himself.
Since he came to power, Zhuge Liang has worked hard to prosper, and has done everything himself. With his extraordinary energy and talent, he has restored the Yizhou left by Liu Bei. It only took him three years to basically restore people's livelihood. Three years after Jianxing, he
He sent out a large number of troops to wipe out the southern barbarians and prepare for the Northern Expedition. In the fifth year of Jianxing, he assembled an army of 100,000 and stationed in Hanzhong. He would once again prove that he was equally outstanding in the military.
Among them, there is Ma Su's contribution. He also has high hopes for Ma Su. He not only hopes that Ma Su can become his right-hand assistant in governing the country, but also hopes that Ma Su can fight side by side with him, stand alone, make achievements, and shut up those who question them.
. He hoped to take this opportunity to prove their talents, prove his correctness, and prove that Liu Bei had misjudged the person with his unobjectionable military exploits.
Unfortunately, the Northern Expedition did not go so smoothly since arriving in Hanzhong. The stubbornness of Wei Yan, Wei Ba and his son caused conflicts within the Jingxiang Clan that he relied heavily on, and made him see the danger of division. In order to appease the Wei family and his son, he had to
Modifying the battle plan and delaying the launch of the army turned unfavorable factors into favorable factors and created a better fighting opportunity. With Sun Quan attacking in the front and Wei Ba and his son guarding Guanzhong in the back, the difficulty for him to seize Longyou was greatly reduced. The battle flag had just appeared.
In Longyou, Tianshui, and Nan'an surrendered, and soon after Anding surrendered, Ma Di conquered Xiangwu, and pacified Longxi. The entire Longyou became his possession, leaving only the city of Shanggui still lingering.
If Zhang He hadn't suddenly appeared in Longyou, it would have been easy to capture Shanggui after months of siege. The Northern Expedition would have been a complete success, and he would use this victory to prove that he was right.
However, all this took a turn for the worse with the arrival of Zhang He.
Zhang He rushed to attack Mumen, pushing him into a dilemma. If he persisted, he would have to transport grain from Hanzhong for the third time. Retreating would mean the complete failure of the Northern Expedition.
Under this situation, he took the risk and made a plan to lure Zhang He with the food and grass in Mumen as bait. Everything went smoothly. Ma Su arrived at Mumen in time and blocked Zhang He's retreat. Seeing that they had half a day left, they
They were able to block Zhang He at the wooden gate, kill this five-son general of Cao Wei, and defeat the Wei army in Longyou. This was the last glimmer of hope, adding a heavy contribution to the Northern Expedition.
However, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slipped through Ma Su's fingers.
Because of Ma Di's haste, Zhang He broke out of the encirclement, and he himself fled, which not only ruined his plan to encircle and annihilate Zhang He, but also pushed him into an embarrassing situation where it was difficult for anyone to defend himself.
The most trusted confidant, the general who had always placed high hopes on him, the man who was so masterful in his military strategies, Ma Su actually deserted?
Zhuge Liang still can't accept this reality, and he began to hope to find Ma Di's body. For Ma Di, dying on the battlefield is the best result.
He has not received news about Ma Su's whereabouts, and he even hopes to never hear news about Ma Su. He cannot face this humiliating fact.
Because of Ma Su, he will face doubts from both the government and the public.
Because of Ma Di, Zhang He ran away and used the speed of the cavalry to attack Gui again.
Because of Ma Su, he was unable to return reinforcements in time. Now he could only lead the main force as a separate force as the prime minister to fight for opportunities for Xiang Lang and Wei Ba to capture Shanggui.
For this reason, he couldn't sleep at night.
Although he was reluctant, Zhuge Liang still made the best arrangement. He ordered Gao Sheng and Chen Shi to lead 10,000 infantry, and together with Wang Ping, Huang Xi and others, they attacked the wooden gate in an effort to recapture the food and grass. No matter how unsuccessful they were, they could not
Let that batch of grain and grass become supplies for the Wei army. He personally led 20,000 infantry and cavalry back to Shanggui to assist Xiang Lang.
Now, he must first break through Xia Houru's interception.
Although this was only a local battlefield battle, a battle to set off Xiang Lang and Wei Ba, Zhuge Liang paid equal attention to it and was equally meticulous. Although he disliked this situation very much, he knew that if he could not arrive at Shanggui City in time, even if
Even if Wei Ba succeeds in his attack, he may not be able to defend Shanggui.
To truly defeat Zhang He, it is not enough to rely on Xiang Lang's 10,000 infantry and Wei Ba's more than 2,000 cavalry. They need the 20,000 infantry led by him. Only by arriving at Shanggui in time can they truly defeat Zhang He.
Only by occupying Shanggui can the Longyou battlefield of this Northern Expedition be achieved, and can a solid foundation be laid for the capture of Longyou in the future.
For the sake of the overall situation, Zhuge Liang did not want to see the disobedient force of the Wei family and his son become more powerful, but he had to cooperate with Wei Ba for the sake of the overall situation.
This is his pain, but also his helplessness.
And all this is because of Ma Su.
Zhuge Liang looked at the infantry who were suppressed by the Wei army's crossbowmen and could not move forward at the foot of the hillside. He narrowed his eyes slightly and pinched his hands in his sleeves until it hurt.
"Crossbowmen, step forward to cover!"
"Here." Liao Hua responded and passed on the order.
Under the cover of the shield soldiers, two thousand crossbowmen rushed to the front of the formation and began to fire concentratedly on the hillside.
The dense rain of arrows attracted the crossbowmen on the hillside, and the rain of arrows directed at the charging infantry began to thin. The infantry stood up again and attacked the Wei army's position on the hillside.
At the same time, the Qiang soldiers on the hillsides on both sides also stood down and began to attack the two wings of the Wei army. These Qiang soldiers, who were accustomed to running in the mountains, jumped between the rocks like dexterous mountain apes. The simple bamboo bows in their hands also
Exhibit incredible damage
The force of the shots made the Wei army miserable. Those bamboo arrows were coated with all kinds of weird poisons. Once the arrows were hit, they would be paralyzed and unable to move, or in worst cases, they would be killed on the spot. The Wei army had almost no experience in fighting these Qiang soldiers. Once they came into contact,
, there was chaos in the position.
The flags of the generals of the Wei army were constantly waving, showing the panic of the generals of the Wei army.
Zhuge Liang looked at the general flag and wondered which one of the Xiahou family it belonged to. There were two branches of the Xiahou family. The Xiahou Dun lineage produced trash like Xiahou Mao, while the Xiahou Yuan lineage had some capable generals. However, no matter where this Xiahou came from
Zhuge Liang is confident enough to defeat him.
Under the command of Zhuge Liang, three groups from the left, middle and right came out. Taking advantage of the climbing ability of the Qiang soldiers and the powerful bows and crossbows of the Shu Han army, they quickly approached Xiahou Ru's position. In just one meal, they reached Xiahou Ru's position.
Confucianism is fifty steps ahead, and there is a strong tendency to encircle him.
Xia Houru could no longer hold on to him. He roared at the top of his lungs from behind the shield of his personal guard, and rushed all the soldiers around him to the front of the formation, trying to hold on for as long as possible.
It's a pity that his efforts were obviously so weak and powerless in the face of Zhuge Liang's pressing step by step. Although the Wei army was very tenacious, under the three-sided attack of the Shu army and the seemingly tireless shooting of the Shu and Han army, his position was completely destroyed.
It's still shrinking.
"General, leave quickly, we can't hold on anymore." The guard general blushed and shouted loudly.
Xia Houru looked at the clearly identifiable tattoos on the faces of the Qiang soldiers ten steps away, looked at the ferocious expressions of those Qiang soldiers, and listened to their beastly howls, he shuddered involuntarily, and secretly apologized to Zhang He.
.
"withdraw!"
The three hundred personal guards were divided into two parts. One part broke off and the other part embraced Xia Houru. They hurriedly jumped on their horses and galloped away.
The Wei army immediately collapsed and dispersed like birds and beasts. Some knelt down and surrendered, while others turned around and ran away.
The Shu army swarmed forward and quickly pushed away the roadblock.
Zhuge Liang waved his hand: "Order Ma Dai to pursue!"
Ma Dai, who had been waiting for a long time, raised his arms, shouted, and the war horse began to run. (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)