Historically, Zhuge Liang was a cautious man. Because he did not adopt Wei Yan's Ziwu Valley plan, Zhuge gained the reputation of being cautious throughout his life.
Including Chen Shou, when he wrote "Three Kingdoms", he also commented that Zhuge Liang "ruling the army is the best, making clever plans is the shortcomings, and managing the people is better than general strategy."
But in fact, this does not mean that Zhuge Liang is not good at leading troops in war, but that compared to his ability to govern the country, his fighting and strategic abilities are just inferior.
For example, if a top student scores 100 points in six subjects, and only scores 96 or 98 in two subjects, it does not mean that the scores in these two subjects are far behind others.
To a certain extent, Zhuge Liang's military ability is indeed poor, but it is only relative to his own other abilities.
If compared with others, it would score over 95 points at least, which is a first-rate military capability.
In history, it does not mean that he was incapable of making clever plans because he had few tricks. During his several Northern Expeditions, there were many examples of his troops being divided into feints and surprise attacks.
It was just that Ji Han's country was weak at that time and could not withstand the hardships, so he focused on caution.
How is the national strength of the Han Dynasty now?
It can be said that the oil is cooking in a fierce fire, and it is steaming day by day.
With such strong national support, why can't we set up an ambush?
Zhuge Liang immediately began to make arrangements to withdraw his troops.
However, retreating troops is not something that can be done in a day or two, so the main task internally is to pack up the baggage and salute, and then start to retreat after the reorganization is completed.
More than ten days later, in early September, at the rear of Cao's army, in the county government of Yanling County in Yingchuan, Sima Yi sat in the first position at the bottom.
Xia Houyuan sat in the main seat above.
Cao Pi had already returned to Luoyang by this time, but he still sent Sima Yi over to carry out the order.
The specific order is also simple. If there is a flaw in the Han army, then Sima Yi can look at the opportunity and suggest to Xia Houyuan whether to send troops to attack or sit back and observe the situation.
If the Han army's retreat was more orderly and flawless, then Sima Yi would assist Xia Houyuan in withdrawing the main force to Luoyang.
Cao's army now has too many men on the front line, and its daily consumption is extremely exaggerated. Therefore, after the Han army retreats, they must station less than 100,000 troops and horses as before, and the rest will go back.
In this way, they can carry out instructions to advance westward or attack eastward.
Xia Houyuan was also very old at this moment, more than sixty years old. He sat on the main seat with an old face and looked around at the people below and said: "Recently, the troops in the south are evacuating. They are in Xiangcheng, Sicheng, Yingyang and other places.
They escorted the baggage to Kunyang and left the main force behind. What does this mean?"
"Could it be that you want the main force to stay and break up the rear?"
Zhang He said.
"Ah."
Xia Houyuan sneered and said: "How dare Zhang Fei cut off his own throne and fight to the death with me? I can't kill him at the moment. This thief took away my niece's hatred, and I will definitely repay him, Zhong Quan!"
"The end is here!"
Xiahou Ba stood up and saluted with his hands in hand.
"You take it."
Before Xia Houyuan could speak, he was interrupted by Sima Yi.
"General Hussars."
Sima Yi said: "Wait a minute."
Xia Houyuan looked at him, Cao Pi actually trusted the second generation of the Cao family and the Xiahou family more than they, the veterans who were left over from Cao Cao's era.
In addition to the second generation, there are four close friends of his.
So although it was rude for Sima Yi to interrupt him, he represented Cao Pi, so Xia Houyuan could only ask patiently: "What does Zhongda have to say?"
Sima Yi said: "General, I heard that Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the south, has come to the front."
"hehe."
Xia Houyuan smiled contemptuously and said: "He is just a Confucian scholar, how dare he come to the battlefield to fight with me?"
Sima Yi said: "Although Zhuge Liang has been running the country from the rear, he has also pacified Nanzhong, so it should not be underestimated. I think this must be his plan to cut off the rear in person and lure us to pursue."
"Did he personally cut off the queen?"
Xia Houyuan wondered: "Does this guy really dare to cut off his wife himself?"
"Report!"
At this time, the messenger came to report: "The scouts from the front came to report that the enemy's right wing was flying Zhang Fei's flag and retreated, and the Chinese army's main camp is now flying Zhuge's flag."
Now the distance between the front lines of the two sides is actually only twenty miles. The main force of Cao's army is on the north bank of Yingshui, and the main force of Han's army is on the south bank of Yingshui.
The scouts and scouts on both sides were running towards each other. The situation of the enemy camp, the changes in the flags above, and the movement of the opponent's soldiers and horses could be seen at a glance from several miles away.
In particular, Cao's army occupied a hillside on the north bank of Yingshui River and was constantly observing the movements of the Han army.
The Han army's camp, which stretched for more than ten miles, changed the general's flag, so naturally it could not be concealed from the scouts.
Hearing that the opponent actually changed his general before the battle, Xiahou Yuan was quite shocked. He looked around and said, "I don't know if Zhuge Liang is stupid or courageous. When others withdraw their troops, shouldn't the left and right wings cover the retreat of the main force? He actually personally
Lead the main force to cut off the rear?"
Sima Yi said: "That's why I feel that there is a fraud in it. Maybe this is Zhuge Liang's plan."
"But even if it's a strategy, it should be consistent with common sense."
Below, Zhang He couldn't help but say: "If he leads the main force of the lone army to break up the rear, if he is surrounded by our main force, wouldn't he be looking for death?"
On the southern battlefield, Cao's army was dominated by Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Shang.
However, because Cao Pi was close to Xiahou Shang, Xiahou Shang was currently in charge of the main force of the Wei army south of Yingyin, while Xiahou Yuan was in charge of the central army.
However, Xia Houyuan still had the power to command the army. He nodded thoughtfully and said: "Yes, there is no reason for the main force to cover the retreat of the two wings. I guess Zhuge Liang is just a kid who doesn't know how to fight. It's okay to attack the barbarians in the south.
How can we defeat the elite men of Wei Dynasty?"
"General Hussars, it's better to be cautious first."
Sima Yi advised.
"It doesn't matter."
Xia Houyuan looked around and said: "Jun Yi, Zhong Quan!"
"The end will be here."
Zhang He and Xiahou Ba came out.
Xia Houyuan said: "You lead 20,000 men each, outflank the enemy's main camp from the left and right wings, and then order Boren to pursue Zhuge Liang head-on."
"only!"
The two immediately took the order and left.
There are now 130,000 Han troops on the front line and 150,000 Cao troops.
The two sides faced each other on the front line with about 50,000 to 60,000 people, and then the two wings spread out tens of thousands more.
Before, the two sides basically faced each other across the Ying River, and the Han army even gained an advantage in the early small-scale battles and occupied the Yingyang City to the north of the Ying River.
Now that the Han army's two wings have withdrawn, a huge defensive gap has been exposed, and their two wings can pounce on it and launch a pincer offensive against the Han army.
As a veteran, how could Xia Houyuan not take advantage of this gap?
But Sima Yi felt that no matter how stupid Zhuge Liang was, it was unlikely that he would reveal such an obvious flaw when Fazheng and Pang Tong were around, so he suspected it was a trick.
However, Xia Houyuan believed in his own judgment and was unwilling to listen to him. He had no choice but to follow Xia Houyuan's wishes.
At that moment, the two wings of Cao's army in the rear quickly launched an offensive.
What Cao Jun didn't know was that Zhuge Liang had actually come to the front line secretly more than ten days ago. He had been flying Zhang Fei's banner before, but today he suddenly changed it to his own "Zhuge" banner.
After changing the flag, the work that had been prepared for more than ten days was quickly completed. The Han army threw down some of the baggage in the camp and left in panic all the way south.
At this time, Zhang He and Xiahou Ba received the order, and they led the troops to set off, while Zhuge Liang withdrew his troops.
There is a time difference between the two sides.
Because Zhuge Liang knew that his two wings suddenly evacuated, the opponent would be a little confused. During the investigation, he would also be confused because he kept seeing Zhang Fei's flag.
When he suddenly changes his flag, Cao's army will think that this is a random operation by someone who does not understand military affairs, and they are likely to pursue him immediately.
He ran away at this time and did not engage in combat with Cao's army. He pretended to be evacuating in panic, which would naturally confuse the enemy.
Xia Houshang, who was on the front line over there, was actually confused.
Faced with the enemy's strange move of suddenly abandoning both wings, Xia Houshang, Guo Huai, Jia Kui and others discussed it, but they couldn't come up with a reason.
He hesitated for a moment and did not pursue immediately.
It was not until the afternoon that Zhang He and Xiahou Ba arrived from behind and used Xiahou Yuan's order to urge Xiahou Shang to attack.
At present, the main force of Cao's army was about 60,000, plus the 40,000 brought by Zhang He and Xiahou Ba, a total of 100,000. They crossed the Yingshui River and quickly arrived at the Han army's camp.
At this time, the camps were already empty, and there were more than a dozen consecutive camps that contained baggage and many siege equipment that could not be taken away.
Everyone was very puzzled when they saw this scene. Since the enemy evacuated in a hurry, why didn't they burn the camp?
Burning the camp can not only stop pursuing troops, but also prevent supplies from being obtained by the enemy.
The situation here is so weird.
From all indications, Zhuge Liang's march seemed to be that of an inexperienced novice, who withdrew his troops hastily and had no preparation at all.
But if you think carefully about Pang Tong and Fazheng, even Zhang Fei is a veteran and shouldn't make such a low-level mistake.
All the officers and men of Cao's army hesitated for a moment.
Xiahou Shang was riding on horseback, looking at the entire southern camp of the Han army, with Guo Huai, Jia Kui and others beside him.
It is the evening when the sun sets and night is approaching.
In the distance, the Han army camp a few miles away from the south bank of Yingshui River was extremely quiet. The autumn wind blew the Han army flags and made a hunting sound.
The densely packed Cao army used ladders to climb into the Han army camp, opened the camp door, and broke in.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhang He hurried over and reported to Xiahou Shang: "General, the Han army camp is empty, and there is a large amount of baggage in the camp, which is very puzzling."
"What on earth is this Zhuge Liang doing?"
Xiahou Shang learned about the situation and wondered: "How can anyone withdraw his troops first to the two wings and then to the main headquarters? Moreover, there is still so much baggage left in the camp. If I were him, I would set fire to it no matter what."
Guo Huai frowned and said, "Is there any fraud in this?"
"No matter how deceitful it is, it won't end like this."
Jia Kui thought: "It seems that Zhuge Liang doesn't know how to march and fight, so maybe we should wait for the scouts to report back."
Zhuge Liang and others withdrew their troops this morning, but Xiahou Shang did not dare to pursue them directly.
The main reason was that Xiahou Shang saw that Zhang Fei's flag on the opposite camp had not been withdrawn. He knew that Zhang Fei was brave and good at fighting, and he commanded the elite cavalry of the Han army.
Those cavalry were well-equipped and could fight fiercely in the wild much better than Cao Wei's cavalry, so he did not dare to pursue them.
As a result, yesterday suddenly Fei's flag changed to Zhuge's flag, and Xiahou Yuan's people were in the rear. They did not give him the order to attack immediately. In order to ensure stability, Xiahou Shang could only wait and see.
When we conducted reconnaissance this morning, we found that the Zhuge camp over there was already withdrawing its troops.
Xia Houshang temporarily assembled his team, but he did not dare to cross the river by force. He could only watch them leave on the north bank of Yingshui.
What I was afraid of was that tens of thousands of troops could not be commanded appropriately when crossing the river. If the Han army suddenly turned their guns and launched an attack while crossing the river, they might suffer a disastrous defeat, so they lost their military aircraft for a while.
By the time Zhang He and Xiahou Ba's troops arrived from both wings, it was actually a bit late, because Zhuge Liang had already walked for most of the day. They then crossed the river to the Han army camp to check the situation.
"Report!"
At this time, the messenger came to report: "After our scouts chased us, they were ambushed by enemy scouts. Almost the entire army was wiped out. Only two people came back, and they were both seriously injured."
"Bring it over here."
Xia Houshang frowned.
After a while, the two seriously injured scouts were carried out.
One of them was seriously injured and died while still on the road, and the other was slightly injured and was also dying.
Xiahou Shangcai was too lazy to care about the life and death of the scouts and immediately asked: "What's the situation with the enemy?"
The Cao Jun scout could have been cured if he had received first aid immediately, but now his wound was still bleeding. He fought hard to escape, and said with difficulty: "They retreated and the order was chaotic for me and us."
Before he finished speaking, the scout was already dead. His body was full of crossbow arrows. He was obviously shot into a hedgehog by the unique hand crossbow of the Han cavalry.
Although Cao Pi had been secretly learning stirrups and saddles, he had not learned the horseshoes.
And neither stirrups nor saddles were equipped with the whole camp.
Therefore, the speed and endurance of Cao's scout cavalry are far inferior to those of Han's scout cavalry. When the two sides fight, Cao's scouts are prone to suffer such losses.
Xia Houshang didn't care how the scouts were chased by the Han army scouts. He heard a key piece of information and immediately looked around and said: "Then Zhuge Liang really doesn't know how to fight. The retreat was so chaotic. It seems that we were too preoccupied before.
"
"General, where are we now?"
Guo Huai asked.
Xiahou Shang immediately said: "Pass my order, the cavalry will pursue at full speed, be sure to hold back their main force. If you encounter the main force of the enemy's cavalry, don't struggle, wait for our troops to arrive."
"only!"
All the soldiers responded with a roar.
Facing all the doubts of the Han army, Cao Jun finally felt that Zhuge Liang was unable to lead the army in the war and lacked experience, so he decided to attack with his entire army.
Now that the Han army was moving south, the infantry would definitely not be able to catch up immediately, so the cavalry was dispatched in large numbers.
The galloping cavalry galloped towards the south like billowing black clouds.
The night gradually began to darken.
Cao's cavalry followed the roaring sound, divided into several groups, and pursued the Han army fleeing south from several directions.
At this time, the Han army had crossed Ru River and was evacuating southward from Xiangcheng toward Kunyang.
However, I don't know if it's a coincidence or the location is really good.
When Zhuge Liang's main force retreated south, it happened to retreat to the Ziyun Mountains south of Xiangcheng.
This was the place where Cao Cao personally pursued Shen Chen and was finally repelled by Shen Chen!