Chapter 1248 Another defeat
“Feng Thief has retreated?”
Jiang Ji, who was waiting at Zhiguan, received the news from the scouts, and was a little unbelievable:
“Are you sure? Are you sure you really returned it?”
This battle between Han and Wei has exceeded everyone's expectations in terms of scale and duration.
Handong and Hanoi areas, it has already rained twice.
The coolness after the rain seems to announce the official entry of autumn.
The Central Plains area, although unlike the Hanzhong area, often experiences continuous autumn rains in August and September.
But there will be a few autumn rains more or less.
After several successive groups of scouts reported that the Western bandits had indeed retreated, Jiang Ji could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But I still have doubts in my heart:
“Why did Thief Feng retreat half way through?”
Possibly it was because the autumn rain made it difficult to travel on the mountain road, and Feng Thief retreated when he saw the difficulty.
I think back then, when Cao Zidan wanted to march to the right, the partial division he sent had to walk in the Ziwu Valley for a month because of heavy rain, before they could complete half of the journey.
Could it be that... the tide is turning?
Now it's Feng Thief's turn to be stumped by Qiu Yu?
Jiang Ji himself felt that this idea was a bit ridiculous, but for a while, he couldn't think of any other reason.
But his doubts did not last long.
The transmission of news in Wei may not be as smooth as that of Ji Han.
However, the critical military situation on the southern front was related to the gains and losses of the Central Plains. Three days after Feng Yong withdrew his troops, it was finally delivered to Jiang Ji as quickly as possible.
“What happened at Hangu Pass and Shaanxian County?”
Jiang Ji took the military report and suddenly felt like the world was spinning.
“Aren’t we on the Maojin Ferry side always on guard? How could something happen?!”
Jiang Ji's lips were trembling. If it hadn't been for so many years of self-cultivation, he would have almost cursed.
Hangu Pass is understandable. After all, facing Tongguan, it is normal for people to attack it.
But the inexplicable loss of Shaanxian County really made him feel a little unreasonable - strictly speaking, it was not lost yet, but it was basically a matter of time.
How many days can the defenders of Shaanxian County hold on since their retreat is cut off?
“What do the defenders at Maojin Ferry do for food? They don’t even know how the Western bandit army crossed the river?”
Maojin Ferry was lost so quickly that no one from the defenders ran out.
As a result, Luoyang only knew that the Han army had crossed the river from Maojin, but how they got there is still a mystery.
Not to mention why the defenders of Shaanxian County allowed the Western bandit army to cross the river without any reaction, but instead cut off the other party's retreat, which is even more of a mystery.
Jiang Ji was about to curse, but suddenly thought of something:
Where did the army of Western thieves at Maojin Ferry come from?
Feng Thief?
Feng Thief has been making great efforts in the past few days and has made a gesture of attacking Zhiguan.
Now it has started but ended again, and retreated in an extremely strange manner.
Perhaps he is defrauding me?
Actually, it was to cover the bandits who were sneaking across to Maojin Ferry?
As soon as he thought of this, Jiang Ji was so frightened that his eyes widened, his mouth opened wide, dumbfounded, and cold sweat broke out on his back.
After a long time, Jiang Ji finally closed his mouth and squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth:
“Thief Feng, treacherous!”
I could only hear a sound like a cow's wheezing coming from his mouth and nose.
The spinning feeling came over again.
"Master, I am incompetent and have been deceived by thieves. Luoyang...cannot be defended!"
At this time, he had fully understood.
Feng Thief simply used himself as bait, made such a big noise, and deliberately drove slowly on Zhiguan Road, just to focus all eyes on him.
In fact, he had already sent another army from Hedong, quietly passed through the pass between Wangwu Mountain and Taihang Mountain, and ambush at Maojin Ferry.
Just wait until the time is right and then cross the river in one fell swoop.
No wonder, no wonder Feng Thief suddenly retreated.
Just because he has achieved his goal, he no longer needs to act for himself in Zhiguandao.
Think about myself, who is over sixty years old, and yet I am being played with by a child.
After thinking about this, Jiang Ji couldn't help but feel ashamed, ashamed, angry and angry:
“Thief Feng, you’ve gone too far to deceive others!”
Then he felt a sweet sensation in his throat, spit out a mouthful of blood with a "wow" sound, turned over, became so out of breath that he passed out.
Just when Jiang Ji fell into a coma, Sima Division, who was still staying in Gaodu City, had not yet received news of the crisis in Luoyang.
At this time, he had just had his sarcoma removed, and he wrapped his left eye with a white cloth, somewhat like a one-eyed pirate.
Niu Jin, who was following him, was quite worried about his health and persuaded him more than once to return to Luoyang to recuperate.
Sima Shi naturally refused.
So Niu Jin advised again:
"The Central Supervisory Army is in ill health. If he does not want to return to Luoyang, he can retreat to Tianjing Pass."
Sima Shi pointed to the north and sighed:
"General Niu, I don't want to retreat, but the traitors have a large army heading north a few days ago, and most likely they are going to attack Shangdang."
“The Shangdang is in danger, and I am sitting on the strength of the army. If I retreat without fighting at this time, and just sit back and watch the traitors attack friendly troops without caring, how will I gain a foothold in the army in the future?”
Sima Shi is not a stupid person. He knows very well why the Lord allows him to lead an army alone this time.
Things were going smoothly.
Wei Yan has a very high reputation among the Western Bandit Army, and it is his first time to lead an army. He does not dare to expect to defeat this person head-on, but he has already paved the way for himself.
As long as Wei Yan is defeated in the end, he will naturally take some credit for this matter.
But something went wrong in the end.
In the battle at Gaopingguan, his embarrassed appearance was seen by all the soldiers, and he had lost a lot of prestige.
If he retreats without a fight at this time, I am afraid that he will never have the opportunity to lead an army again in his life, let alone be given an important task by an adult.
So Sima Shi knew that even if he could not cross Gaoping Pass to support his eldest son, he would still act as if he could attack Gaoping Pass again at any time.
At least on the surface, we should try to delay the rebels living in Gaoping Pass so that they dare not leave the pass and go northward without any scruples.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to withdraw his troops, but that he has no way to withdraw his troops now.
In other words, since we haven’t had a chance to withdraw yet, we have to have a justifiable reason, right?
Sima Shi certainly knew about Sima Yi's plan.
Moreover, the Shangdang side has also sent the latest news to itself through Hanoi.
Sima Division is waiting for the news that the Party's garrison has retreated to Hanoi, so that he can legitimately withdraw.
Niu Jin couldn't persuade Sima Shi, so he could only sigh helplessly:
“Zhongyunjun, do we still want to test today?”
Sima Shi smiled and said:
"Why don't you go? The thieves dare not go out to fight. This is the time to boost the morale of our army and wash away the humiliation of the previous defeat."
After learning that the army of Western bandits in Gaoping Pass had gone north, Sima Division did not dare to neglect. He sent a group of troops and made a gesture of attacking Gaoping Pass again.
Who would have expected that the current garrison in Gaoping Pass would only focus on guarding the pass and protecting the retreat of the rebel army in the north, and did not even think about leaving the pass to fight.
After Sima Shi's first test failed, he sent troops several times.
Even the last two times they provoked people directly at Guanxia, even if their own sergeants yelled insults at Guanxia, the Western thieves in Guancheng seemed to be deaf and ignored them at all.
After these days of testing, Master Sima, even if he has no experience, can still see:
The Western Thief is determined to cross Danshui by force and capture the eldest son!
I think the main force of the army must be in the north. Nine times out of ten, only the bandits who are capable of guarding the pass are left in the city.
It is estimated that the generals guarding the Western Bandits in Gaoping Pass knew that they had few troops, so they retreated to avoid fighting.
But even if he guessed the opponent's true and false situation, facing the thieves huddled in the pass, Sima Division still had no good solution.
After all, he neither dared to raise an army to attack the city, nor did he dare to bypass Gaoping Pass and go north.
Because when the army is raised to attack the city, let alone whether it can be captured, if the main force of the rebel army in the north suddenly turns around, it will be a dilemma.
As for bypassing Gaoping Pass and heading north for support... when the thieves cut off the escape route from Gaoping, they would be like a bird and become the second Zhao Kuo.
Faced with this retreating tactic, Sima Division was somewhat helpless. All he could do was to send people to the pass to shout and provoke them every day to see if he could attract the rebels from the pass.
Hearing Sima Shi’s explanation, Niu Jin thought about it too.
The previous defeat destroyed the morale of the army.
Now that they have been bullied under the eyes of the rebel army, they are unable to retreat.
These days, the soldiers have taken turns shouting and cursing, which can be regarded as a breath of bad breath.
"Hey, General Niu, these days, you have been going there in person every time, and you have been tired. Now that the officers and soldiers have recovered, you can have a good rest."
Sima Shi waved his hand. He knew that if it weren't for Niu Jin, even Tianjing Pass would not have been stormed by the bandits last time.
“This time, let me go.”
As a general, it’s time for him to show his face.
Niu Jin advised with some worry:
"No, the Central Supervisor is ill, how can he go to the front of the battle in person?"
It’s because of my appearance now that I went to the front of the battle line to let the soldiers take a look!
The face lost in the previous defeat can be restored, so naturally we should try to restore it as much as possible.
But seeing Sima Shi’s resolute attitude:
“Needless to say, after recuperating for so many days, I feel much better and no longer feel pain.”
“Since I have not shown up in the army these days, going in person this time will also give the soldiers peace of mind.”
Hearing this, Niu Jin felt that it made some sense, so he had no choice but to stop persuading:
“The Central Supervisor must be careful.”
Sima Shi smiled and said:
“It’s just a scolding of thieves, why should we worry?”
After finishing speaking, Sima Division personally led the front army to Gaoping Pass.
As usual, more than a dozen soldiers with loud voices walked up to them and shouted curses.
At the same time, Master Sima ordered the tables to be set up, and he sat in front of them to watch the sumo wrestling of the sergeants in the army.
Since the general came in person, the sergeants of the Wei army were particularly energetic today.
Not only was his voice a bit louder than before, but the generals who were watching the sumo wrestling also laughed loudly on purpose, quite unscrupulously.
Compared to those generals who were laughing wildly, Master Sima sitting behind the desk was more cautious.
Although the Western thieves have not dared to go out to fight these days, he still asked the soldiers behind him to set up arrays just in case.
Watching the sergeants' sumo wrestling, listening to the soldiers shouting and cursing in different ways, and then watching Gaoping close the city gate tightly,
Sima Shi felt it was a bit novel and quite interesting at first.
In addition, the previous team suffered a loss at Gaoping Pass, and now they returned with the army again. Looking at the thief army that was unable to retreat, I felt a little more comfortable.
Only after the sun has passed directly overhead and the novelty has passed.
The rebel army on the opposite side looked like they were all dead, with no movement at all.
This gradually made Master Sima feel a little bored.
It rained two days ago. Although it is not too hot, the weather in autumn is always relatively dry and makes people easily irritated.
After sitting there for an unknown amount of time, Master Sima finally stood up impatiently, built an awning and looked at Gaopingguan.
Except for the traitor flag that hung lazily and did not want to move, not even a single traitor soldier raised his head to take a look.
I guess the other party has gotten used to it in the past few days, so he might as well just ignore it.
Sima Shi turned around again and looked at the soldiers behind him.
After standing for nearly half a day, although the sun was not too bright, the soldiers were no longer as energetic as they were at first, and even the formation seemed a little scattered.
Some people even took off their clothes and armor privately and sat on the ground to rest.
Even the general who was laughing was already weak from laughter.
As for the scolding sergeants, there have been several changes.
Anyone who knows the military should know that this is a sign of the soldiers being restless and lazy.
It’s just that I don’t know whether it was because Sima Division was inexperienced or because he believed that the defenders in the pass did not dare to come out, so he didn’t care.
He even went to the place where the sergeant was yelling and scolding, trying to make the Western thieves on Guancheng see him clearly.
It is a pity that there is still no movement in Guancheng.
Master Sima frowned and couldn't help but cursed secretly:
"Is this thief a tortoise? Is he so tolerant?"
Seeing the sun begin to turn westward, he finally gave up and ordered: "Retract the troops."
After the military order was passed down, the Wei army, which looked a little tired at first, immediately reorganized their formation. How could they still look as lazy as before?
And behind these Wei soldiers, there was actually a square formation of Wei troops, who were ready from the beginning to the end.
It was not until they received the military order that they began to relax.
Just when the Wei army was preparing to return, Gaoping closed the door. Someone put down the telescope, looked up at the sky, and suddenly said:
“The sky is cloudy.”
At some point in the sky, a dark cloud came and covered the sun.
A gust of autumn wind blew up, and the Han army flag that had been hanging down at the top of the city was finally blown up, making a loud sound.
"got windy."
“Isn’t it going to rain?”
"possible."
“Will it thunder when it rains?”
“How can it rain without thunder?”
“What if we don’t fight?”
“Then we’ll call them.”
"Hahaha…"
Some people laughed wildly, others smiled.
“I wish General Zhang a great victory!”
“Inherit the auspicious words of Governor Jiang.”
Just when the Wei army turned around and returned, the city gate of Gaopingguan suddenly opened.
At the same time, rumbling thunder began to emanate from Guancheng, causing even the ground to tremble faintly.
“Master Sima, General Zhang Bao of Anhan is here, come and die quickly!”
Dark clouds covered the snow, and Zhang Bao, who was in the prime of fighting, led the most elite cavalry of the Southern Army, one of the Eighth Army in Jihan Pass, out of Guancheng.
He gathered his military formation towards Kankan and prepared to break camp and return to the Wei army to charge.
Jiang Bin stood on the top of the city and looked at the Wei army who wanted to lure the enemy, but was tricked by him. At this time, he had no defense at all.
The infantry was in a hurry and it was simply delusional to resist the charge of the cavalry.
As soon as the two sides came into contact, the Wei army was immediately rushed out of a huge gap.
Jiang Bin sighed with regret:
“What a pity, what a pity, the terrain here is not conducive to the deployment of the cavalry. Otherwise, not a single one of the bandits will be able to escape this time.”
The terrain near Gaopingguan is undulating and surrounded by mountains.
Bai Qi surrounded Zhao Kuo's retreat and only mobilized thousands of cavalry.
Zhang Bao led only two thousand horses this time.
Two thousand cavalry is not the limit of the Southern Army, but it is the limit of the terrain in this area.
So this raid is destined to only defeat the enemy, not annihilate the thieves.
The defeat of the rear troops left Sima Division’s mind blank:
"How come there are cavalry in the pass? Did the traitor's cavalry fall from the sky?"
The turmoil in the rear began to spread among the Wei army like a plague.
The yelling and scolding was so enjoyable before, and now it is so painful.
“Block them, block them quickly!”
“We can’t stop it, general, let’s go!”
…
“Where is Master Sima? Come out and die!”
Zhang Bao wields his spear, picks, stabs, rushes left and right, like a **** of death.
The Wei army in chaos could not organize an effective defense at all.
“General, the flag of the thief!”
“Kill it!”
Seeing the Han army's cavalry, like the tip of a knife, stabbing directly at his own army, Master Sima felt his heartbeat speed up and his forehead beat suddenly.
“Capture Sima Shi!”
“Capture Sima Shi!”
Master Sima screamed "Ah", covered his bandaged left eye, and shouted in pain: "My eye!"
In September of the fourth year of Yanxi, Feng Yong finally mobilized the last strategic reserve after learning that Zhang Yi led the armed guards to successfully attack Maojindu at night.
That is the Southern Army that has been guarding the east of the river.
After receiving the urgent military order, Zhang Bao immediately secretly led the Southern Army and rushed to Gaoping Pass as quickly as possible to raid Sima Division.
Sima Shi was so frightened that his eyes were knocked out of his sockets.
The Wei army lost nearly half of its troops and retreated to Tianjing Pass in embarrassment.
(End of this chapter)