Chapter 485: Zhuge returns to the army and has a clear mind
The surprise attack by the Han army caused Cao Hong to suffer heavy losses, which made him feel anxious and uneasy.
But looking back at Liu Feng, his emotions were completely opposite to Cao Hong's.
Liu Feng didn't know exactly how many soldiers and horses Wei Jun had lost that night, but Wei Jun's subsequent reaction let him know that he must have won a great victory that night.
On the second day after Cao Hong learned of the loss, Cao Hong issued an order for the entire army to retreat five miles.
Originally, the Wei army was several miles away from Jiange. After Cao Hong ordered to retreat, the distance between Wei army and Jiange reached ten miles.
Cao Hong took this action because he was worried that the Wei army would be raided by Liu Feng again when their morale was unstable.
After all, someone who can lead an attack on a snowy night will do something irrational if he can't protect everyone.
And Wei Jun's "retreat" behavior is enough to prove that Liu Feng beat them very painfully that night.
Liu Feng was not the only one to see the Wei army's reaction. When the Han army on the Jiange city wall saw the Wei army retreating in disgrace, they all couldn't help but cheer loudly on the city wall.
This sense of joy spread throughout the entire sword pavilion at an extremely fast speed.
Liu Feng was sitting in the tent, listening to the cheers outside. He did not order the soldiers to keep quiet.
Because at this moment, how could the joy in his heart be any less than that of the soldiers outside?
This battle not only caused heavy losses to the Wei army, but also caused significant changes in the morale of both the enemy and ourselves, which was very important for the subsequent defense of the sword pavilion.
According to Liu Feng's inference, it would be difficult for the Wei army to organize a large-scale attack on Jiange for at least a month.
Liu Feng's heart, which had been hanging in his heart, could relax a lot.
But before the joy in Liu Feng's heart could last for too long, he received a piece of news that made him very unhappy - Zhuge Liang was coming to Jiange.
As a staunch supporter of Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang is also his biggest political stumbling block!
...
In March of the fourth year of Emperor Zhangwu of the Han Dynasty, after the Han army in Liangzhou fought with the Wei army for another two months, Zhuge Liang, who was in Nanzhong, finally returned to Chengdu.
Worried about the situation in Liangzhou, Zhuge Liang, after arranging the governance strategy for Nanzhong, left all chores in the hands of Li Hui, and he led tens of thousands of Han troops back to Chengdu as quickly as possible.
The first thing Zhuge Liang did after returning to Chengdu was of course to meet with Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was very happy about Zhuge Liang's return.
Not long ago, he received the news that Zhuge Liang's army was surrounded by rebels, but not long after receiving that news, the news that Zhuge Liang put down the Nanzhong rebellion was also delivered to him.
Because the situation changed so quickly, Liu Bei, who had experienced hundreds of battles, was also surprised.
In that surprise, Liu Bei realized that Zhuge Liang's military talent was probably not inferior to that of any famous general in the world.
Putting aside these personal thoughts, Zhuge Liang pacified Nanzhong and cleared up future troubles for the Han Dynasty. This was definitely a great achievement.
In order to commend Zhuge Liang for his great achievements, Liu Bei personally led his officials out of the city to greet him on the day Zhuge Liang returned to Chengdu with his army.
The emperor personally welcomes him, and the nine ministers list him. This is a great honor for ministers.
In addition to giving Zhuge Liang this great honor, the delighted Liu Bei also read out the reward to Zhuge Liang in public.
Not to mention gold and silver, in this reward, Liu Bei also gave Zhuge Liang a reward that everyone envied - the title of Marquis.
Liu Bei granted Zhuge Liang the title of Marquis of Wuxiang, with the title of 3,000 households!
Since Liu Bei was founded, he has kept in mind the lessons of the previous dynasty and has always been very strict in rewarding marquises.
Especially in terms of Liehou.
This is in sharp contrast to Cao Wei. Cao Wei's feudal lords are almost overrun, resulting in a great reduction in the value of the lords in Cao Wei.
But the Han Dynasty does not have this phenomenon.
At present, in the minds of the officials of the Han Dynasty, the princes are still the goals they pursue throughout their lives.
Therefore, after learning that Zhuge Liang suddenly became a prince, all the ministers present were envious of Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang is the only living civil servant in Hanzhong today who was named a lord for his merits!
Zhuge Liang was also a little surprised when faced with Liu Bei's reward of becoming a prince.
With a humble personality, he could not help but refuse this favor, but Liu Bei insisted not to do so. In the end, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to accept Liu Bei's gift.
After welcoming Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei held a grand banquet in the palace to honor the generals who had made contributions in the Southern Expedition.
Maybe they wanted to use this grand banquet to clear away the gloomy atmosphere that has been shrouding Chengdu in recent times. This banquet was very grand.
As a general who made great contributions in the Southern Expedition, Deng Ai was of course also included in Liu Bei's banquet.
However, facing the fine wine and delicacies at the banquet, singing and dancing, Deng Ai could not arouse the slightest interest.
It's not that he doesn't love these worldly beauties, it's just that his heart has always been tied up by one thing.
On the way back to Chengdu with his army, Deng Ai received a lot of news about Liangzhou.
It can be seen from the numerous news that the current situation in Liangzhou is very bad.
Most of the cities in Hanzhong fell. Judging from the situation presented by the news, Mi Yang was in a dangerous situation.
Every time he thought that Mi Yang was in danger, every time he thought that his homeland was about to fall into the hands of the enemy, how could Deng Ai be in the mood to enjoy worldly goods?
Not only Deng Ai had this idea, but all the Liangzhou generals in the palace also had the same idea as Deng Ai.
Zhuge Liang valued Deng Ai very much, so he arranged for Deng Ai to sit not far from Liu Bei.
Originally, Zhuge Liang wanted Liu Bei to pay more attention to Deng Ai, but now his actions allowed Liu Bei to easily see the look on Deng Ai's face.
After seeing that Deng Ai, the good general recommended by Zhuge Liang, had his own concerns and could not fit into tonight's banquet, Liu Bei did not blame him.
How could he not know what Deng Ai was thinking about?
And isn't he worried about the situation in Liangzhou and Mi Yang's safety?
But he is an emperor, and an emperor must act with the overall situation in mind.
The Southern Expedition lasted for a year. Even if the Han army achieved a comprehensive victory, tens of thousands of Han troops were already very exhausted after a year of expedition.
Physical fatigue is secondary, and the most important thing is psychological fatigue.
In this case, even if he wants tens of thousands of Han troops to rush to Liangzhou, he must first re-energize the morale of the tens of thousands of Han troops with rewards.
Otherwise, if a tired and veteran Han army arrives at the front line, it will not be of much use, and may even lead to bad results.
Tonight he is not only rewarding the generals of the Southern Expedition, but also the tens of thousands of Han troops stationed outside the city. Under his arrangements tonight, they will receive many rewards from the treasury.
However, being able to express his displeasure under certain circumstances proves that Deng Ai's loyalty to Mi Yang is very high.
As Liu Bei, it was certainly impossible for him to explain to Deng Ai personally.
But in order to appease the Liangzhou generals, under Liu Bei's arrangement, the tool prince Liu Chan raised the wine glass in his hand and went to the bottom of the hall to salute the generals who had made military exploits for the Southern Expedition.
Seeing that Deng Ai's generals all expressed fear and surprise under Liu Chan's salute, Liu Bei also withdrew his gaze from below.
The moment their eyes were withdrawn, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang couldn't help but look at each other.
Just at this glance, both of them could read the solemn meaning in each other's eyes.
As time goes by, no matter how big the banquet is, there will be a moment when it comes to an end.
When all the officials attending the banquet retreated, Liu Bei left Zhuge Liang behind and took him to a side hall.
Even though the protagonists of tonight's banquet are Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, they both have their own concerns and have not drunk much wine tonight.
After the noise subsided, both of them had worried looks on their faces.
For the two most powerful men in the Han Dynasty to have such expressions, it shows that they are worried about the war in Liangzhou.
After bringing Zhuge Liang into the side hall, Liu Beiping retreated.
Then his first question to Zhuge Liang was: "Liangzhou is in danger, what is Kong Ming's plan to defeat the enemy?"
At present, the southern expedition army has returned, and since this is a new year, Yizhou can be replenished with food, grass, and troops.
But the problem now is not that Yizhou has no troops to send and no food to transport, but that Yizhou's support force cannot reach Hanzhong.
Although Liu Feng recently sent a good news of a great victory, the good news only hurt Cao Hong, making him afraid to peek into Jiange rashly.
Cao Hong's army is still stationed outside Jiange, which also means that Mi Yang in Yangping Pass cannot get support from Yizhou.
As long as this does not change, the situation in Liangzhou will not fundamentally change.
Let’s not mention the battlefield in Nanzheng for the moment. According to reports from spies, the Han army in Yinping gradually felt powerless in the face of the fierce attack by the Wei army.
Liu Bei, who had experienced hundreds of battles, even asserted directly in front of Zhuge Liang: If Liangzhou does not receive support from Yizhou within half a year, no matter how good Suan Zi Sheng is in fighting, Liangzhou will definitely not be able to be saved.
What Liu Bei knew, how could Zhuge Liang not know it too?
But no matter how strategic he is, he can't create a lifeline out of thin air in a short period of time to provide support for Mi Yang.
The real dilemma made both the monarch and his ministers feel helpless for a while.
In desperation, Zhuge Liang could only hold a candle and go to the map hanging in the side hall, carefully looking for a way to break the game.
The dim light did not hinder Zhuge Liang's thinking. In order to protect Mi Yang, and more importantly, to protect the Han Dynasty's foundation, Zhuge Liang's Crouching Dragon Wisdom was constantly at work.
As Zhuge Liang's thoughts continued to diverge, a bold idea suddenly appeared in his mind.
Although this idea was bold, it gradually made Zhuge Liang's vision firmer.
He turned around and looked at Liu Bei, who had a troubled face, and said to Liu Bei: "Your Majesty, I want to go to Jiange with my party!"
Liu Bei suddenly heard Zhuge Liang's words. Unable to follow Zhuge Liang's thinking, Liu Bei subconsciously wondered:
"Um?"
If the way to break the situation has not yet been found, what is the use of going to Jiange.
unless......
Thinking of this, Liu Bei suddenly stood up excitedly.
unless!
...
It has been some time since Mi Yang led his army back to Nanzheng.
After he led his army back to Nanzheng, the Wei army's actions did not exceed his expectations.
At first, the Wei army was still attacking other counties in Hanzhong steadily. After basically taking over all the counties in Hanzhong except Xingshi and Hancheng, Cao Zhen finally set his sights on Nanzheng.
Just last month, Mi Yang received intelligence that two groups of Wei troops in Lecheng were marching towards Nanzheng.
As if they were worried that Mi Yang would find an opportunity to defeat the enemy, the two Wei armies were not advancing very fast.
The two Wei armies strictly abided by Cao Zhen's orders. While marching, they constantly maintained the consistency of the march of the two armies and sent out scouts along the way to detect the enemy's situation.
This way of marching greatly slowed down the marching speed of the Wei army, but also greatly ensured their safety.
At least after hearing the Wei army's cautious march, even Wei Yan, who had always been impulsive, did not propose sending troops to attack the invading Wei army.
Although the Wei army has not yet completely completed the encirclement of Nanzheng, judging from their marching speed, it is only a matter of time.
Based on this inference, recently in Nanzheng City, from Famiao to the common people, there seems to be a dark cloud lingering in their hearts.
The silence before the storm is something no one wants to experience.
Mi Yang, who is the hope of all the subjects in Nanzheng at present, seems to have lost his former resourcefulness and judgment during this period, and can only sit back and watch the Wei army approaching step by step.
The only thing Mi Yang has done during this period of time is to continuously patrol and survey the Nanzheng city defenses, just like he did when he was in the police.
The common people may be confused, but as Mi Yang's confidants, Fa Miao and others understand the helplessness in Mi Yang's heart.
He has done everything he needs to do, and he has done it well.
But a wise woman cannot make a meal without rice, and a commander like Sun Quan is rare in a hundred years. When facing a famous general like Cao Zhen, Mi Yang has not many methods at his disposal.
But today, Fa Miao, who was originally handling official duties, was suddenly summoned by Mi Yang.
Mi Yang's sudden summons surprised Fa Miao.
In the past, Mi Yang rarely summoned his ministers, and more often he patrolled the interior and exterior of Nanzheng with his personal guards.
What could be the purpose of Mi Yang's sudden summons today?
Even though he had doubts in his heart, Fa Miao quickly arrived in front of Mi Yang.
Mi Yang summoned Fa Miao on the city wall.
When Fa Miao met Mi Yang, he saw a letter in Mi Yang's hand. This letter was written by Zhuge Liang to Mi Yang.
After saluting, Fa Miao asked Mi Yang why he had been summoned.
Facing Fa Miao's inquiry, Mi Yang did not respond immediately. He just pulled Fa Miao and stood by the city wall, looking at the south of Nanzheng City.
"Do you still remember what I said to you on this city wall when the bandits first arrived?"
Seeing Mi Yang say this, Fa Miao suddenly remembered the events of that day.
That past incident was also very simple. It was nothing more than Mi Yang and him looking forward to the process of their ancestors, Julu Lanlu, taking Hanzhong.
At that time, Mi Yang specially pointed out Junshan from a distance, with a look of longing on his face.
Mi Yang mentioned the past again, which made Fa Miao think that Mi Yang wanted him to go and appease the people in the city. However, Mi Yang's next words made Fa Miao look at Mi Yang in disbelief.
"Back then, His Majesty made a surprise attack on Dingjun Mountain and laid the foundation for his hegemony.
Why can't we rely on Dingjun Mountain today to help our army survive the desperate situation?
The Yizhou reinforcements cannot come in from other places, but what if they come from Dingjun Mountain?"
Having said this, Mi Yang's face showed a bright smile.
Looking at Fa Miao's unbelievable expression, Mi Yang raised his head slightly - do you really think that he was just simply inspecting the city defense during this period?