Chapter 3168: Caution is nothing more than a lot of leeway
Chapter 3167 Caution is nothing more than a lot of leeway
The Liang Diren King originally thought that he was just following Cao Jun to pick up some bargains this time, but he didn't expect that he would be taken as a bargain now.
Normally, on the territory of Shangyong, nothing would happen. After all, the Liang Di people are the most numerous and powerful Di people group in this area.
But unexpectedly, something happened in Jing County.
The king of Liang was woken up in the middle of the night, and he was very unhappy. When he heard that Cao Jun had killed Zhang Duili, the middleman of the Liang people, and wanted to trouble them, he was immediately furious and immediately
How to shout.
If Cao Jun had a better attitude towards the Di people before, if they could treat them equally when allocating food and grass, and if they did not want to treat the Di people as cannon fodder but as partners at the beginning, then what would have happened to King Liang?
I would at least think about asking, or investigating further, but unfortunately there are not so many ifs.
Things got worse and worse.
In the dark night, a soldier of Cao's army who was on duty suddenly heard the sound of arrows being inserted into his body. He quickly turned his head and looked around vigilantly, and saw an arrow inserted straight into the temple of his companion.
Blood is flowing out from around the arrow.
Cao Jun's soldiers opened their mouths in horror and were about to shout.
Another arrow whizzed over, shot into his mouth, passed through his neck, and nailed him to the wooden stake behind him.
Among the Di people, there are also good hunters.
However, the rest of the Di people may not be able to kill silently like good hunters, and the alarm was eventually triggered during the attack.
Warning sounds sounded over Xing County.
The king of Liang was ordered to hold his ax and rush forward with a howl. He screamed strangely, waved the ax, and cut into the chest of a Cao soldier with a "pop" sound.
The sound of crunching bones was heard, and the Cao army soldier was hacked to death without even being able to utter his final scream.
More Di people roared and charged randomly, trying to show off to Cao Jun...
Bright red color.
Some houses were set on fire, and then the supplies stored in them were ignited, and flames rose into the sky.
…
…
The abnormality in Xing County was noticed by Li Dian's scouts.
After all, the light of fire in the dark night is just like fireflies in a pile of coal.
But when the news was rushed to Mulan Village, Li Dian did not immediately send troops. Instead, he hesitated and called Chang Lin and Ma Zhong.
Ma Zhong's eyebrows were flying, "General, let's march! Cao's army is looking for death now, and there is internal strife when the battle is about to begin! This is simply a God-given opportunity! As long as the general leads the attack, Cao's army will definitely not be able to take into account both internal and external forces! It will definitely be defeated!"
Li Dian nodded slightly.
Although Ma Zhong said it seemed easy, Li Dian didn't show much excitement.
Ma Zhong was a little confused and turned to look at Chang Lin.
Chang Lin glanced at Li Dian, raised his hands and said, "Does the general suspect that this is Cao Jun's strategy to lure troops?"
Li Dian pondered for a while and said: "Cao Jun has been coveting Hanzhong for a long time. If this is the case, how can there be such a fallacy?"
Chang Lin also nodded when he heard this, expressing his approval.
Ma Zhong was a little anxious on the side, "Chang Zhi, you..."
Chang Lin laughed and said: "What Lieutenant Ma said is not unreasonable. This is indeed a good opportunity, but the general must be cautious... We have decided to use Mulan Village to defend it, so why change the order every day?"
?』
Ma Zhong looked at Chang Lin and then at Li Dian, but hesitated to speak.
In fact, Li Dian was very moved when he received the news about Cao Jun's unrest in Xing County.
But when Li Dianzhen was about to take action, he hesitated again.
It's not that Li Dian is timid and afraid of fighting, but that the incident of defending in the military camp and then suddenly receiving good news brought back some not-so-good memories for Li Dian...
After thinking about it, Li Dian decided to play it safe, but he was unwilling to give up this opportunity, so he asked Ma Zhong to lead a small group of troops to Xixian County to test it out, and then he led a large group of troops to follow behind.
…
…
Wuming Mountain is thirty miles away from Jing County.
The mountains here are gentle and the terrain is open.
Cao Zhen stood on the top of a hill, raised his head and took a sip of cold water.
The county was really dangerous last night. When the Liang people started to cause trouble, they were almost in a state of disintegration, with a tendency to disperse.
Shen's Shen Yi was seriously injured, which made Shen's subordinates also suspicious. Although they did not fall out with Cao Zhen, they did not cooperate with Cao Zhen's actions.
At a critical moment, Cao Zhen stepped forward to turn the tide.
He led his elite troops to the stronghold of King Liang and killed him in one fell swoop.
The Liang Di people immediately panicked and fled in all directions. The soldiers under Shen were also frightened by Cao Zhen and never dared to disobey Cao Zhen's orders.
Since then, although Xi County has suffered great damage and Cao's soldiers have suffered many casualties, Cao Zhen's position in the entire army has been determined.
Faced with the dilapidated situation in Xi County, Cao Zhen first killed several Di leader and then dispersed all the remaining Di people. Shen Yi was seriously injured, so Cao Zhen naturally took over the military power of Shen's troops.
After Cao Zhen quickly calmed down the internal disputes in Xing County in a short period of time, he immediately began to prepare for external war.
At this time, what is needed is a victory that can revive morale.
Cao Zhen thought Li Dian would come.
Because normally, to deal with internal disputes like this in Jing County, even if the rebellion is suppressed, it will take a certain amount of time to regroup the troops, and during this regrouping process, there must be a certain period of weakness, so
Faced with such an opportunity, Cao Zhen felt that Li Dian would not miss it easily.
According to Cao Zhen's thinking, Li Dian would inevitably send troops to attack Jing County, so Cao Zhen arranged cannon fodder in Jing County and released Jing County for Li Dian to attack. Anyway, Jing County had also been seriously damaged. As long as Li Dian
Attacking Xin County, Cao Zhen will attack immediately to cut off the connection between Li Dian and Hanzhong, and the damaged Xin County will be surrounded by Cao Zhen and Cao Ren who follow...
As long as Li Dian attacks, he will have a chance to turn defeat into victory.
Cao Zhen carefully planned a situation to lure the enemy into an ambush. He thought about it over and over again and did not find any loopholes.
Cao Jun's scouts came flying over.
"General! The Hanzhong army has moved!"
Cao Zhen smiled, "Very good."
…
…
But soon, Cao Zhen couldn't laugh anymore.
"How far is the Hanzhong Army from Xing County?"
"About ten miles," the scout replied.
Cao Zhen was stunned for a moment, and then asked eagerly: "How fast is the Hanzhong Army marching?"
The scout didn't know what was going on, "Reporting to the general, the traveling speed is average."
Cao Zhen's heart skipped a beat, "General?"
"Normal." The scout replied, "Neither fast nor slow..."
Cao Zhen's brows slowly wrinkled, and his face became increasingly ugly.
"General, what's wrong?" the confidant guard standing behind Cao Zhen asked in a low voice.
"What is this Li Mancheng doing?" Cao Zhen frowned and said, "Normally speaking, after finding out that something happened in Xiang County, we have to rush in non-stop immediately... Only by letting the Hanzhong Army rush over can the formation be formed."
They will become scattered and thin... Then it will be very easy to kill them, and there will be a chance to annihilate them all... But now they are moving too slowly... Normal speed, this is not normal."
"General, we are hiding here. They have no idea that even if the Hanzhong army is in neat formation and we attack suddenly, we can still trap them in Xixian County. Can they still fly into the sky?" The confidant guard felt.
Not a big problem.
Cao Zhen thought about it, then shook his head. He ordered the scouts to investigate again, and ordered the hidden troops to retreat back, trying not to be discovered by the other party.
"Even if the Hanzhong Army discovers something, as long as they enter Xi County, they will still be surrounded by us," the confidant guard tried to comfort Cao Zhen, "Everything is under the control of the general..."
Cao Zhen remained silent and did not speak.
Suddenly, he felt a chill on his face.
Cao Zhen raised his head and looked up at the sky.
In the sky, some small snowflakes fell.
"It's...snowing?"
Cao Zhen's face suddenly became very ugly.
…
…
Ma Zhong sent people to ask Li Dian for instructions many times, wanting to speed up the attack and rush to Jing County as soon as possible to launch the attack.
Li Dian flatly refused.
"General... along the way, Cao Jun's scouts appeared frequently. There may be something wrong with Xi County... Otherwise, there wouldn't be such precautions..." Chang Lin couldn't help but said, "Now that Cao Jun has discovered it,
We, the front-line troops, might as well speed up a bit...otherwise, when Cao Jun is ready, there will be no chance to attack."
Li Dian hummed and suddenly asked, "Bo Huai, where were you when you first met my lord?"
Chang Lin didn't know why Li Dian suddenly became interested in chatting at this critical moment, but he didn't refuse to answer Li Dian's questions. He just told the story of his chance encounter with Fei Qian that year, "Wen Shuijing in the past"
When the master gave the lord a nickname, Lin Shang didn't take it seriously, but when he saw it in person, he realized that the lord was truly worthy of being a fish in the North Ming Dynasty. He lived in seclusion in the abyss. Now when he sees the wind and clouds, he turns into a roc and soars into the sky..."
Li Dian let out a laugh, with a look of envy on his face, "I didn't expect that Bo Huai would meet his lord so early... I'm so lucky, so lucky..."
"The general is skilled in martial arts, and when he meets his lord, he is ready to open up new territories and achieve unparalleled achievements..." Chang Lin said quickly, "I only have some knowledge of literature and arithmetic, and my prospects are not the same as those of the general..."
…』
Chang Lin thought Li Dian might be in some mood?
Naturally, he kept saying nice things.
"Okay, okay..." Li Dian waved his hands repeatedly, "I am just a martial artist... My martial arts skills are acceptable, my knowledge is sparse... But since the lord has given me a heavy responsibility, I should be cautious."
, you must not let down your lord's trust..."
Chang Lin nodded, yes, yes, you are right.
"Snowing……"
In the queue, a soldier suddenly shouted.
Li Dian looked up. There were tiny snowflakes floating down from the sky.
Li Dian stretched out his hand, and a snowflake fell on his hand, and the thin coldness quickly melted away.
"Send the order, the entire army stops advancing!"
…
…
Cao Zhen saw the scouts coming in a hurry, and his heart sank.
Sure enough, the Hanzhong Army stopped advancing.
The Hanzhong Army just stopped in the wind and snow and stopped moving forward.
"General! What should I do?"
Cao Zhen was very depressed and couldn't understand that he set up an ambush suddenly and did not talk to anyone else. Moreover, the troops he brought were all troops directly under Cao's army. It was impossible to leak the secret. However, the Hanzhong Army not only moved slowly, but at the moment
Still stopped moving forward...
Maybe it's because it's snowing?
Are the Hanzhong Army worried about abnormal weather conditions?
Cao Zhen looked up at the sky, hoping that the snow would end as soon as possible.
Maybe this can dispel some of the concerns of the Hanzhong Army?
As long as the Hanzhong Army continues to advance and enters Xing County, everything is still under its control.
But it's a pity.
An hour later, the ground gradually became whiter.
Cao Zhen watched the scout's running figure getting closer and closer, and his heart suddenly beat violently.
He eagerly hoped that the scouts would tell him that the Hanzhong Army was advancing again.
"The lord, the enemy... has been removed..."
"What?" Cao Zhen suddenly felt as if he had been stabbed by something, and all the strength in his body was released with a pop.
…
…
The snowflakes were not big, but they never stopped.
Li Dianjun returned to Mulan Village and ordered the soldiers to repair themselves and prepare warm clothing and related supplies.
Li Dian kept patrolling the camp until he saw that all the soldiers and horses were properly arranged, then he returned to the Chinese army's tent to rest. It was already late at night.
Ma Zhong stood beside the big tent.
The firelight shone on his face, and some of the light and shadow were uncertain.
"But you feel that today's military expedition has been in vain?" Li Dian called Ma Zhong into the tent, "Come on, sit down... don't be polite..."
Ma Zhong thanked him and sat down, "It's definitely not... it's just... I can't figure it out..."
Li Dian hummed, thought for a moment, and said, "In your opinion, how can you be sure that this is not a trick to lure troops?"
Ma Zhong said: "Attack Xin County! As long as we attack Xin County, if Cao's army has an ambush, it will definitely appear! We have war horses and can turn around quickly..."
Li Dian shook his head and said: "You know that we have war horses, but Cao Jun doesn't know? If Cao Jun really set up an ambush, how could he let you turn around easily?"
"This..." Ma Zhong was stunned.
Ma Zhong did not try to make sophistry, because what Li Dian said was indeed the truth.
If he were a general of Cao's army, he would definitely consider this.
Especially in mountainous areas like Shangyong, war horses are also very restricted and cannot run around freely, so they will be very passive once they are really blocked in a certain area by Cao's army.
"General...is it because of this?" Ma Zhong asked, "Based on this alone...I still feel that I am too cautious...I may have missed an opportunity..."
Fighting is inevitably accompanied by risks.
No matter how perfectly prepared a war is, there are still uncontrollable risks.
So if it was just the risk of being ambushed, Ma Zhong would still have some disapproval.
Li Dian smiled and asked, "What is the reason why we gave up on Xing County?"
"The county is in ruins, easy to attack but difficult to defend...ah! The general's intention is..." Ma Zhong seemed to have thought of something.
Li Dian nodded, "That's right. I've been thinking about this too... Since we know that Xi County is easy to attack and difficult to defend, then when Cao Jun arrived in Xi County, even if they didn't know the surrounding terrain of Xi County, they saw it with their own eyes.
, I must have known that... Since it is easy to attack but difficult to defend, then why did Cao Jun still put on a defensive posture in Jingxian County after multiple inspections by Cao Jun's scouts? Did they really think that the cavalry could not attack the city? Or did they think that the cavalry could not attack the city?
Behind the cavalry vanguard, the pawns will not follow?"
"So..." Ma Zhong nodded, "After hearing what the general said, it is true... Cao Jun's behavior is indeed a bit strange..."
"That's it." Li Dian said with a smile, "What's more, we originally abandoned Xi County in order to lengthen the supply route of Cao's army and make it exhausted in the Shangyong Mountains..."
The Hanzhong army controlled by Li Dian was not unlimited, and he also had to weigh the cost of the war. If too much was consumed with Cao Zhen, what about Cao Ren next? If all the troops were consumed, even if Cao Zhen and Cao Ren were finally defeated
Cao Ren, then how will the follow-up matters be carried out in Hanzhong and Shangyong?
If there are not enough troops, and if the surrounding Di people and mediocre people have any ideas, then not only will they not be able to solve the worries of the Hussar General, but they will also need Feiqian to bring troops from Guanzhong or Sichuan and Shu to support...
That would really live up to Fei Qian's expectations.
"Jin County is easy to attack and difficult to defend, so even if there is civil strife in Cao's army..." Li Dian said slowly, "We attacked without an ambush, and Cao's army was repulsed by us... What then? We reoccupy Jing County?"
Facing the enemy in Jing County? Doesn’t that contradict the strategy we made before to weaken the army? Moreover, Cao’s army is only the front. Even if it defeats the enemy in Jing County, it may not be able to stop Cao’s army from continuing to advance, so when the time comes we give up again
Jing County? What’s the point of going back and forth like this, regardless of the casualties?”
"Ah..." Ma Zhong couldn't answer.
"There may be small gains, but there is a danger of big losses, so don't take them." Li Dian said, "This is the twenty-seventh theory of martial arts..."
Playing chess does not mean killing every piece, and fighting a war does not mean taking advantage of it.
Ma Zhong left the table and bowed, "I admire the general's thoughtfulness!"
Li Dian stood up, pulled Ma Zhong up, and said with a smile: "It was all taught by Hussar... I couldn't figure it out at first. I thought about it slowly on the way, and then I figured it out... It happened to be snowing at that time, so
Reminds me of the strategy we set to weaken the army... With the weather being like this, Cao Jun should be the one who is more anxious. Why are we anxious?"
"Yes!" Ma Zhong thought about it now and nodded repeatedly, "What the general said is true! Thank you, general, for your advice! The general has made many verbal offenses before, which is a death penalty, a death penalty!"
Li Dian patted Ma Zhong on the shoulder and said, "We are all dedicated to the great cause of Hussar, don't worry about it... It's already late today, let's go get some rest early!"
Li Dian escorted Ma Zhong out of the tent.
Ma Zhong bowed again, then said goodbye to Li Dian and left.
Li Dian looked up at the sky.
Snowflakes are flying and falling.
"It's snowing all over Hanzhong... Tongguan in Chang'an... I'm afraid it's..."
Li Dian sighed with emotion, and then a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
