Chapter 1011 Bait
In fact, the conflict between Jia Xu and Guo Huai has been around for a long time.
To be precise, Jia Xu has been dissatisfied with Guo Huai for a long time.
Thought that Guo Huai was too timid and was beaten by the Shu people in the battle of Xiaoguan.
So he complained privately more than once that Guo Huai was as afraid of Shu as a tiger.
If the opponent is Feng Thief, it can also be understood as being cautious.
So after Feng thief withdrew from Qiaoshan, facing the unknown thief general, Guo Huai actually suffered the opponent's loss, which was simply extremely incompetent.
Most of the army's chief generals are at odds with their subordinates. This is probably the military tradition of the Wei State.
At that time, Zhang Liao was at odds with Yue Jin and Li Dian, but they all stayed in Hefei to guard against Sun Quan.
Cao Xiu and Jia Kui were at odds, and they were often sent together by the Lord of Wei to fight against Jiangdong.
Now Man Chong is at odds with Wang Ling, and at the same time they each lead an army to guard the front line in Yangzhou.
Therefore, it is not unexpected that Jia Xu and Guo Huai are at odds.
At this time, after Guo Huai asked Jia Xu to stop, Jia Xu immediately felt that the other party was pretending to be public for personal gain and retaliating against him, so he was naturally very angry.
It's just that military orders are like mountains, and Guo Huai is the commander-in-chief of the army after all. Jia Xu is not angry when he returns, but he can only obey the orders.
Jiang Wei, who had been observing the hilltop opposite with a telescope, immediately noticed the large-scale mobilization of the Wei army.
So he discussed with Li Qiu:
“I saw the thief’s movement, which is quite strange. Is he trying to escape?”
In the past few months, Jiang Wei and Guo Huai have played against each other many times.
Jiang Wei has the advantage of having sharp soldiers and swords, while Guo Huai has the advantage of having more troops. Each has its own victory or defeat, and everyone knows that the opponent is not an easy person to deal with.
Li Qiu can now be regarded as one of the top figures in the Xinghan Association, and he is quite talented.
In normal times, he might not have accepted Jiang Wei.
But my brother has always been very discerning about people, and this time he ordered the general in person.
In addition, for the sake of the overall situation, he had no objections on the surface, but in fact he buried his dissatisfaction in his heart.
After several months of working together, and after witnessing Jiang Wei's inferior force, which prevented the other party from daring to attack easily, he finally let go of his prejudices.
So after Jiang Wei asserted that the Wei thieves wanted to retreat, Li Qiu did not object, but asked:
“Why did General Jiang say this?”
Jiang Wei explained:
"I see that the thieves are making a lot of noise. It seems that the whole army is out. If they are not preparing to go out to fight with us, they must have some plans."
"However, over the past few months, the thieves and I have known that unless reinforcements arrive, the forces on hand will not be enough to shake the other side's camp."
"So I think that if the thieves are making such a move, they are not making a large-scale attack, but in all likelihood they are preparing to retreat."
Li Qiu looked thoughtful after hearing this:
"In this battle to regain Guanzhong, the prime minister sent troops from Hanzhong, and the princes led the army to attack Bingzhou. Could it be that there was a change in Guanzhong?"
"This is exactly what I expected!" Jiang Wei's eyes flashed with excitement, "Who in the world can stop the prime minister and the princes from attacking from east to west?"
“Therefore, the prime minister or the king must have made some progress, and there was an emergency in the pass, so the thieves had to withdraw from Qiaoshan.”
The Liangzhou Army has traveled thousands of miles across the desert and is already considered an elite soldier rarely seen in the world.
Even I didn’t dare to think that after reaching Jiuyuan, the Liangzhou Army would still be able to attack thousands of miles again.
It is even less likely that the Wei thief would have thought of it.
The Battle of Guanzhong has been going on for more than half a year. If the king goes well, not to mention taking over Bingzhou, if he is a little bolder, he might even try to drink from the Ma River.
As long as the princes enter Hedong, the whole country of Wei will be shaken.
If the Prime Minister's side cooperates to hold back the main force of Wei thieves, then...
Thinking of this, Jiang Wei became more and more excited.
Although it is speculation, Jiang Wei's tone is extremely affirmative. It is obvious that his confidence in the prime minister and Feng Governor is much stronger than that of Li Qiu.
“Then…what does General Jiang want?”
Li Qiu asked hesitantly.
Obviously, before getting the exact information about the thief, Li Qiu was more cautious than Jiang Wei.
Jiang Wei's somewhat radical and adventurous temperament was fully exposed at this time:
"According to the art of war, if you want to retreat, it is best to win and then retreat, so that you will not have to worry about pursuing the army."
“Being second is to show war and then retreat, which can make the enemy have doubts and not dare to pursue with all his strength.”
"The third time is to retreat without fighting, and the rear army will be in danger; the worst thing is to retreat after defeat, and there is the worry of the entire army being annihilated."
"Therefore, if the thieves go out to fight in a big way tomorrow, they are really guilty. We must fight hard, and it is best to win the battle, so that the thieves dare not retreat easily."
“If the thief does not go out to fight, then we must pay attention to the fact that the thief has escaped. It is the time for us to achieve great success.”
Such a determined tone made Li Qiu a little worried:
“In case the thief doesn’t retreat...”
"It doesn't matter." Jiang Wei knew what he meant and suggested: "If we go to battle tomorrow, I will personally lead the Tiger Infantry into battle. General Li, you can guard the rear camp. You can not only respond, but also prevent the thieves from committing fraud."
The terrain of Qiaoshan is complex. Unless they are surrounding the mountain and attacking from above, the two armies will fight in the mountains, forests or valleys. They can range from more than a thousand to two or three thousand. No matter how many there are, it will be difficult to deploy.
Even if they are divided into front and rear echelons and take turns to fight, there will not be more than 10,000 people.
In this case, Jiang Wei, as a general, actually had to go into battle himself.
Li Qiu said euphemistically:
"General Jiang is the commander-in-chief of the army, how can he easily approach the enemy's formation in person?"
"E Shun of Modao camp is a fierce general. Tomorrow we can let him lead the front army of Modao camp, and General Jiang can lead the tiger infantry in the center. In this way, there is no need to worry."
Before Governor Feng left, he left the entire Modao camp behind, especially the leader of Modao camp, Mo Dao's hand E Shun, who was born with supernatural powers but was as ugly as a ghost.
Even if you don’t wear a ghost mask, it can still scare the faint of heart like a ghost in broad daylight.
Jiang Wei received the support of Li Qiu and said with great joy:
“That’s very good.”
At three o'clock in the morning on the second day, I saw a Wei army and came to the flat ground under the Han army's stronghold to form a formation. At the same time, I sent people to provoke and curse.
Jiang Wei smiled and said to Li Qiu:
“The thief turned out to be just as I expected.”
Li Qiu couldn't help but admire him.
Seeing that Jiang Wei was eager to lead others to fight, he quickly reminded:
“If the thieves want to win and retreat, this fight will be like a battle between trapped animals. General Jiang still has to be careful of the thieves’ ambush.”
Jiang Wei responded with his mouth full.
Just when Jiang Wei and Li Qiu were concentrating on dealing with the provocative Wei army, they did not know that Guo Huai in Xinglong Pass had quietly led the army before dawn and began to cross Qiaoshan along the Qin Straight Road. The main peak is behind the mountain.
The main peak of Qiaoshan where Xinglongguan is located is higher than other peaks.
The so-called climbing high to see far away refers to the fact that the Han army could detect the enemy's movements in advance with the help of telescopes.
But the telescope cannot penetrate the mountain and see Guo Huai's real movements behind the main peak.
Guo Mo, who was riding away with Guo Huai, couldn't help but look back at Xinglong Pass, which was getting farther and farther behind him, with admiration on his face:
"How did the general know that Jia Xu would not listen to the general's order to guard the camp, but went to meet the enemy without permission?"
Guo Huai smiled proudly:
"Jia Xu talks a lot about how I am afraid of the enemy. He seems to despise me, but in fact he doesn't take Shu captives seriously."
"He was dissatisfied when I suppressed him before. Now I specifically let him lead the army alone, and before leaving, I deliberately provoked him with words. How could he not feel indignant?"
Speaking of this, he said with a sneer:
“But he doesn’t know that the more this happens, the more he follows my will! Otherwise, how could he confuse the Shu captives and willingly cover our retreat?”
Jiang Wei understood the principle of retreating after victory or withdrawing troops after fighting. How could Guo Huai, who had been fighting for so many years, not understand?
Jiang Wei guessed from the large-scale mobilization of the Wei camp that Guo Huai might withdraw his troops.
However, he never expected that Guo Huai would retreat in this way.
It can even be said to be a kind of strong man's arm severing.
It's this wrist, it's a little different.
High emotional intelligence is said to be more assertive and very persistent in doing things.
The term for low emotional intelligence is that you are stubborn, a bit naive, and stubborn...
Since the death of Liu Bei and the first time Zhuge Liang left Qishan, the Wei State has never defeated the Han army on the battlefield.
The emperor of Wei, the chief minister, generals, governors, etc. were all defeated by the Han army.
Jia Xu thought he could be an exception.
Guo Huai is not Jia Xu. He does not have Jia Xu’s self-confidence, let alone trust Jia Xu:
"We have to go faster, otherwise, if Jia Xu is defeated too quickly, the Shu captives will catch up soon."
Guo Huai used Jia Xu as bait to stop Jiang Wei's pursuit.
What he didn't know was that Sima Yi also used him as bait, preparing to use him to catch a turtle, the big turtle that was fishing by the river.
Not only that, while Guo Huai was retreating, he did not forget to follow Sima Yi's instructions and send fast horses to the northwest along the Jing River.
Let's see if there is any way to get Deng Ai, who is approaching Xiao Pass, to try to return to Chang'an from Jingshui.
It is absolutely impossible to go back to Qian County.
In Guo Huai's view, Da Sima had already made plans to abandon most of Guanzhong, and was preparing to shrink his troops and rely on Chang'an or Tongguan to fight the Shu captives to the death.
It's just that Xiaoguan is too far away from Chang'an, so whether Deng Ai can lead his army back is still a question.
But this is not within the scope of Guo Huai's consideration. After all, he has problems with his own retreat.
As for Qin Lang, the Cavalry General, that is not something Guo Huai should consider. I think the Great Sima has his own arrangements.
Guo Huai didn't expect that Da Sima had arranged it, but in Da Sima's eyes, not only was he, Guo Huai, a bait, but Deng Ai, who was under Xiao Guan, was even more a bait.
As for Qin Lang... he is a bigger bait than himself, and this bait is about to be swallowed by the Han Prime Minister.
About forty miles west of Wuzhangyuan, Wei Yan of the Han army had already led his army around Weibei and could cross the river at any time and insert himself diagonally into Qinlang's rear.
As for Qin Lang's two wings, the northern and southern armies of the Han army finally regained their mobility because of the clear weather. Their armored cavalry have been wandering around, ready to attack.
Directly opposite, the Tiger Infantry pressed forward step by step, constantly demolishing the perimeter of Qinlang's camp.
“General, we can’t stop you from outside!”
"I saw."
Qin Lang stood on the command platform in the camp, looking at the last trench being filled in by the Han army, with a calm expression.
He was born of Du family and inherited his mother's excellent genes. As his name suggests, he has a handsome face that is always a bit soft, making people feel like they want to get close to him.
Cao Rui always likes to let him stay in the palace for a reason.
It's just that at this time, Qin Lang's face no longer had the usual softness, only calmness, with ashes in the calm, and despair in the ashes.
It was agreed to attack the Shu army together, but after a heavy rain, it turned out that the Shu army attacked him together.
Where is Da Sima? !
Where is Sima Yi? !
How dare he? !
“Where are the people who were sent for help today?”
Qin Lang asked in a low voice.
Until the Han army arrived at the gate of the camp, Qin Lang still couldn't believe that Sima Yi had left him and ran away.
He would rather believe that Sima Yi was defeated by Zhuge Liang.
These days, he has been trying to find ways to seek help from the outside.
“General...General, no soldiers are willing to break out and ask for help, and so many groups of troops have been sent out to ask for help. It has been so long, but no news has come back..."
The deputy general muttered, unable to speak any more.
To the north is the Weishui River, to the south is the Qinling Mountains, to the east is the Shu army, and the only place to go is Chencang in the west.
But Chencang only has 3,000 people, so what can they do?
Even if all the garrison troops from Qian County came over, they would just accompany him to death.
The only thing that can really save the current situation is the east.
"General? How about we..."
The deputy general said tentatively.
Qin Lang turned his head, his eyes cold:
"What?"
The deputy general swallowed a mouthful of saliva:
“Since there has been no news from Da Sima, why don’t we retreat to Chencang?”
Qin Lang had a bitter look on his face and pointed to the side:
“Can’t retreat.”
That's where the Shu captive cavalry hangs out.
If it were before, I couldn't beat him, but I could at least outrun him. After all, where did the war horses come from in Shu?
But since the loss of Longyou, especially Liangzhou, the Shu captives' cavalry became the best in the world overnight.
Whoever dares to escape with the Shu captives on his back will be doomed.
If you are defeated and flee, you may not be able to turn your horse back when the time comes.
When the deputy general heard this, he also had a sad look on his face:
“General, what should we do?”
"What should I do? I can only repay the king with my heart!"
Qin Lang seemed to have made his choice long ago, with a firm look:
"We have received great favor from Your Majesty and have already dedicated our lives to Your Majesty. Now that we encounter a strong enemy, we must fight to kill the enemy in order to repay Your Majesty's kindness!"
As he spoke, Qin Lang pulled out the sword from his waist and shouted:
“I, Qin Lang, swear here that I will fight to the death with all the generals in this battle, but if I have one breath left, I will fight to the death with all the generals!”
Infected by the general's emotions, the generals of the Guards standing around and under the high platform roared:
“Fight to the end!”
They were loyal to Cao Rui, and their family members were hostages in Luoyang, so there was no room for surrender at this time.
Qin Lang's eyes were filled with great resentment:
Sima Yi, if I am lucky enough to return to Luoyang, I must avenge you for not saving me today!
“Send my military orders, and the generals will return to their camps, mobilize their elites, and obey orders at any time!”
“No!”
Outside the camp, the Shu captives had filled in a section of the last trench, rolled out huge bridge carts, and built two wide roads.
The ramming car made of logs whittled into sharp points was pushed in front of the ditch.
It seems that Shulu doesn't want to give himself any chance to breathe.
Qin Lang gritted his teeth.
(End of this chapter)