While the situation in Guanzhong was becoming increasingly tense, the war in Linhe County was also about to break out. After Lu Xun sent Fei Yi away, he marched to Linhe and approached the Guishan position. Seeing Lu Xun leading the army in person, the prime minister did not dare to be careless and immediately
Reported the news to Wei Ba. Wei Ba immediately led the guard camp to Guishan.
After carefully observing the situation at the Guishan position, Wei Ba decided to abandon Guishan and retreat to Linhe City. Linhe City was already at the southernmost end of Linhe County and was about to enter Cangwu County. Retreating here would be equivalent to giving up.
Most people in Linhe County don't understand Wei Ba's decision, especially those barbarian generals who have just taken refuge. They all think that the divine general is invincible, and no enemy is a problem. The war has not yet begun.
, the god general decided to retreat, which was a bit frustrating.
The prime minister was also a little confused, but he was more worried about the reputation of the divine general. When he saw the generals next to him exchanging glances, he knew what they were thinking, and took the initiative to ask: "General, is this too weak?"
Wei Ba said disapprovingly: "Why are you weak? There is offense and defense, advancement and retreat. This is inevitable. No one said that you must attack to win. Successful defense is also victory. Don't you think so?" He turned to those people.
The barbarian general said: "Have any of you heard me say in class that you must attack to win?"
The generals looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. After they became Wei Ba's subordinates, they all received Wei Ba's military training. However, for many people, listening to the divine general's personal lectures was just an honor.
What, they actually didn’t care much about it. For them, fighting means charging forward after hearing the order, and whoever rushes faster is the bravest. As for the strategy and so on, which are too complicated, this kind of brain-consuming thing is still left to the gods.
I will consider it in the future.
Now Wei Ba is testing them in front of everyone. But they can't say that they don't know. That would be too embarrassing. They can only nod their heads seriously, as if they understand the meaning of the god general very well. They just nodded.
After shaking my head, I found that everyone else was nodding, and I couldn't help but doubt that others really understood. Only I didn't understand, and I didn't dare to reveal my true meaning.
For a moment, there was a chorus of agreement.
Wei Ba didn't point it out. He knew that these people were insignificant. It was impossible to significantly improve their quality in a short period of time. He said to his husband: "Our goal is to win, not to attack or defend. It doesn't matter if we attack or not."
Regardless of defense, they are all means, not ends. Sun Tzu said that winning without fighting is the highest state of military use. The Guishan position was not established to block Lu Xun's army. The terrain here was only suitable for blocking small-scale cavalry.
But it cannot stop a large number of infantry. Choosing a suitable position is the basis of using troops, and we cannot put ourselves at a disadvantage just because of the so-called face. This is a sign of stupidity, not bravery."
The prime minister nodded repeatedly. He himself knew some truth. The reason why he said this was just to cooperate with Wei Ba in educating the barbarians. With the prime minister setting an example and Wei Ba showing up to speak out, the barbarians didn't have any big objections. They were very obedient.
Withdrew.
Wei Ba retreated all the way to Linhe City. Behind him was the narrow valley. Seeing the mountains, the barbarians felt much more at ease. Some smart people had slowly realized Wei Ba's intentions. When someone questioned Wei Ba again, they
He took the initiative to explain to Wei Ba. After Wei Ba noticed these situations, he rewarded those people and used every opportunity to educate the barbarians.
Lu Xun was not surprised to learn that Wei Ba had withdrawn his position. On the contrary, he felt very uneasy. He convened the generals for discussion and decided to continue advancing. The army advanced to Linhe City. Although Linhe City was not yet captured, it was successfully recovered.
Most of Linhe County also played a great role in boosting morale. After the Battle of Xiangyang, Wu Jun had no confidence in facing Wei Ba. Several important generals, including Lu Xun, were defeated by Wei Ba. Many of them were defeated by Wei Ba.
Everyone has a sense of fear of Wei Ba. Especially those in Shanyue, some people privately say that Wei Ba is an invincible general. This time they recaptured several cities without firing an arrow, and their morale has improved somewhat, at least for them.
Wei Ba is no longer considered invincible.
Between the advance and retreat, the morale of both sides changed subtly. These changes were quickly noticed by Wei Ba. However, he did not react excessively. He just quietly observed the situation on both sides without moving.
He eloquently guided the direction of his own morale. Although morale was a bit low, it was not to the point of collapse. Under Wei Ba's guidance, many people believed that this was just a temporary retreat for the final victory, just like beating someone.
Just like you had to pull your fist back before, temporarily retreating just to have a better chance of attacking.
In this matter, Wei Ba's grassroots officers who were transferred from the personal guard camp played a good role. Their confidence in Wei Ba was unquestionable.
The morale of Wei Ba's men was not greatly disturbed, but his temporary retreat had a considerable impact on others. Fei Yang came to Linhe City again. After meeting and greetings, he said to Wei Ba, we have already contacted each other.
As soon as the general entered Changsha, we raised troops to respond. However, as soon as Lu Xun arrived, the general retreated without a fight. Now many people began to suspect that the general was not Lu Xun's opponent, and they hesitated again.
Wei Ba smiled. "No wonder you are no match for Lu Xun."
Fei Yang looked a little ugly. "General, what do you mean?"
Wei Ba said unhurriedly: "Have you ever understood my experience of fighting with Lu Xun? So far, this is the third time that Lu Xun and I have fought. The first time was in Xiangyang, the second time in Chenyang, I don't
I dare to say that I won a great victory, but at least I was not defeated. As for you, you have fought against Lu Xun many times and suffered heavy losses. Now you can only hide in the mountains and dare not come out. Don't you think it's ridiculous that you still dare to accuse me?
?”
Fei Yang was silent, but could not hide his anger. He did not expect Wei Ba to be so rude. He thought for a while and said: "General, we don't know the art of war. Our defeat to Lu Xun was indeed due to our incompetence. Because
We ourselves are not capable enough, so we put our hope in the general. If the general cannot defeat Lu Xun, it will be difficult for us to make up our mind to support the general."
Wei Ba looked at Fei Yang intently: "Is this your personal opinion, or the opinion of all of you?"
Fei Yang bowed and said: "It's their opinion. For me personally, I believe in the general. But the general also has to understand me. No one will make a decision easily when it comes to wealth and life."
Wei Ba nodded. "I know your difficulties, so I won't force you. Cooperation must be voluntary on both sides. It's interesting if you and I are willing. If it's forced, it's not cooperation. Don't you think so?"
Fei Yang smiled very reluctantly: "The general is right, and we think so too. The general understands our difficulties, and I am very grateful."
Wei Ba stood up, led Fei Yang to the map, pointed at Nanhai County and said: "Several counties in Jiaozhou have basically fallen into my hands. If the Wu army wants to enter Jiaozhou, there are only three roads. Yanguan in the west and Yanguan in the middle.
Linhe, to the east is Dayuling. Both the central and western roads are under my control. What I am most worried about now is that the Wu army enters Nanhai County through Dayuling and then attacks Cangwu. This road is within your control.
If you can prevent the Wu army from entering the South China Sea, it will be a great achievement."
Fei Yang frowned and said nothing.
Wei Ba continued: "Currently, the main force of the Wu army is confronting me in Linhe. There will not be too many partial troops entering the South China Sea. I believe you will be able to do it with your strength. If you still have difficulties, I can send one
People are going to help you. I just don’t know if you have the strength to provide them with food and grass." Wei Ba smiled and said: "You also know that transporting food in the mountains is very difficult. If you can provide help, I will be very grateful.
Don’t worry, I will definitely repay you twice as much in the future and will never let you suffer a loss.”
Fei Yang smiled bitterly and said: "I am very grateful that the general can understand us. How many people can the general send to help us? I want to see if we can provide them with food and grass. The general also knows that the conditions in the mountains are relatively poor, so I have to prepare them in advance.
Just be prepared.”
"About two to three thousand. It's too much and I'm afraid you won't be able to afford it. It's too little and it won't be enough."
Fei Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "Two or three thousand people should be fine. When will we set off? General, will you go in person?"
Wei Ba shook his head. "I won't go there in person. I will fight against Lu Xun and defeat him again."
Fei Yang was a little disappointed. "It seems that their wish to meet the general will have to wait for a while."
Wei Ba comforted him: "I don't think it will take long. Sun Quan's rebellious behavior will lead to his death."
After sending Fei Yang off, Xia Houxuan pulled Wei Ba aside and said quietly: "Do you really want to send people into Luling?"
"Yes, I am now very worried that the Wu army will send a partial division into the South China Sea. I want to send people to control Dayuling to prepare for the future fight for the South China Sea."
Xia Houxuan shook his head. "I am not against your opinion, but I would like to remind you that Fei Yang may not be reliable."
Wei Ba was a little confused. "Why?"
Xia Houxuan smiled proudly: "Don't forget what I am best at."
Wei Ba looked at Xia Houxuan with a half-smile but not a smile. "Really or not, Fei Yang is unreliable? He has a brother-killing feud with Lu Xun, and he accepted Cao Wei's seal, so he shouldn't collude with Lu Xun. Otherwise, he
Who have you become?"
"That's what I say, but I just think Fei Yang is unreliable. I can't explain the specific reason. I just want to remind you to be careful."
Wei Ba patted Xia Houxuan on the shoulder. "Is this like a family? We must continue to work hard in the future."
Xia Houxuan glanced at Tai Tai: "Do you also think Fei Yang is unreliable?"
Wei Ba smiled and said: "You must not have the intention of harming others, and you must have the intention of guarding against others. When marching and fighting, caution is the best. Do you think I am such a careless person? I believe in Fei Yang, but I will not throw all my hopes away.
Place your trust in him."
Xia Houxuan was surprised. "Why didn't I see that you were still so cautious?"
"So, your ability to observe people needs to be improved." Wei Ba stroked his short beard under his chin and said with an old-fashioned look: "Boy, work hard."
"And -" Xia Houxuan lengthened his voice to show his disdain.