In the year 197 AD, the first day of the first lunar month, we originally decided to launch a general attack on Liangzhou of the Wei State today. However, the snow that was half a man deep outside the city was distressing, so we had to change our original strategy and postpone it.
attack.
Taishi Ci gathered Ma Chao, Pang De, Wei Yan, and Chu Yan together and began to discuss the next move.
"Now the heavy snow has sealed the door, and half a man is deep. The roads outside are so covered with snow, making marching very difficult. When we attacked Wuwei that day, we set off one day in advance and marched forcefully. In addition, the Wei army was unprepared.
Wuwei was conquered just now. I also know the speed of the soldiers.
Reason, according to the combat intention formulated by the Privy Council, we should have sent troops to attack Hanyang County today, but I made a temporary decision to postpone the advance. I summoned the four generals today just to ask you if you have any other good strategies to defeat the enemy."
Taishi Ci looked around at the generals and spoke first.
Ma Chao, Pang De, and Chu Yan all shook their heads, looking troubled.
After seeing this, Taishi Ci sighed and said: "It's a pity that I didn't bring my wife with me that day. Otherwise, with my wife's wisdom, we would definitely be able to work together to defeat the enemy..."
Wei Yan frowned, thought hard, and suddenly thought of a plan, and said immediately: "General, Cao Xiu surrenders to our army, although he may not be sincere, but it can make a fuss about Cao Xiu."
Taishi Ci, Ma Chao, Pang De, and Chu Yan all looked at Wei Yan suspiciously, with a hint of expectation in their eyes.
Wei Yan cleared his throat and said: "Cao Xiunai was forced to surrender. He was not sincere towards our army. He must be concerned about Wei. He also tried his best to inform Xia Houyuan, but it was a pity that he was guarded too closely by our army.
, there has never been a chance. If you give him this opportunity, let him send the message
When we go out, Xia Houyuan will definitely lead his troops to sneak attack. When the time comes, our army will take advantage of the strategy and surround Xia Houyuan with a large army, and we will definitely be able to kill him! In this way, our army will not have to run around, and we can also wait for work. As long as we kill
Without Xia Houyuan, no one in Liangzhou will dare to resist our army."
Taishi Ci laughed and said: "What a brilliant idea! Can't you tell, Wen Chang's head is pretty easy to use. Wen Chang, tell us how to act quickly."
Among the five generals of the Northwest Army, Chu Yan is the oldest, followed by Taishi Ci, Ma Chao, Pang De, and Wei Yan. However, Taishi Ci, Ma Chao, Pang De, and Chu Yan are all more than brave but not wise enough.
Wei Yan alone was both civil and military.
, he used to serve as a deputy general under Zang Ba, and later served as a deputy general to several people one after another. Gao Fei thought highly of him, and gradually turned him from a fledgling young man into a general who can stand alone. He also gave him a book on the art of war.
Let him learn.
Wei Yan did not let Gao Fei down, and he finished studying all the art of war books given to him. However, there were so many talented people in China, so there was no room for him to display his talents. At this time, he finally found a person.
Naturally, Wei Yan would not miss the opportunity, so he told everyone his strategy.
After hearing this, everyone felt that this plan was good. In the end, Taishi Ci made the final decision and decided to adopt Wei Yan's strategy.
…………
Cao Xiu sat in the room, gently wiping the long sword in his hand, with a sad look on his face, and secretly shouted in his heart: "I sit here, it's like being in jail. There are so many spies outside, and every move I make is being monitored.
The year has passed, but Taishi Ci did not send troops, which makes it impossible for me to send the message. I am afraid that General Xiahou still doesn’t know anything? Who wants to run outside during the Chinese New Year?"
"Husband, I've stewed some soup for you. You can drink it while it's hot. You didn't eat much yesterday. If you don't drink it today, I'm afraid your body will be overwhelmed." Cao Xiu's wife came over, holding a cup in her hand.
A bowl of steaming chicken soup was placed in front of Cao Xiu.
Cao Xiu glanced at his wife and said: "Yin Yin, you said it would be great if the mother-in-law could run out. I guess my uncle, with his troops and horses, and I cooperated inside and outside, and the Chinese army had already been beaten away...
"
"I thought so too, but who knew there would be so many Chinese troops outside at that time..." Cao Xiu's wife is Xia Houyuan's niece, named Xia Houyin. It is normal for the Cao family and the Xiahou family to marry. Xia Houyin is gentle.
She was virtuous and a beauty. Cao Xiu fell in love with her at first sight and asked someone to propose marriage the next day. The two had a flash marriage, but they lived happily after marriage.
Cao Xiu shook his head, pushed the chicken soup aside, and said, "I have no appetite and don't want to eat. You can drink it."
Xia Houyin asked: "Is your husband still angry with me for what happened that day?"
"How could it be possible? Don't think too much. I just underestimated the capabilities of the Chinese army. It would be too wasteful for an army of 200,000 to attack a city." Cao Xiu touched Xia Houyin's face and said with a smile.
"Is General Cao at home?" A shout came from outside.
After Cao Xiu heard the shout, he asked suspiciously: "Is it Wei Yan's voice?"
He did not dare to delay, so he hurried to the door. When he opened the door, he saw that Wei Yan was well-dressed in military uniform, helmet, and armor. He hurriedly bowed: "General Wei, are you... going on an expedition?"
Wei Yan nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, the general thought about it and decided to let us take advantage of this time to go on an expedition. We are going to attack Jincheng County, but we are not familiar with the road, so we want to ask General Cao to be our guide.
I wonder if General Cao has any free time?"
Cao Xiu asked: "Go to attack Jincheng County? Why not attack Hanyang County directly? As long as the Liangzhou governor is killed, the rest of the counties will be pacified."
Wei Yandao: "I don't know about this. It's the general's order, so I just follow it. However, according to the general's instructions, it seems that he is going to attack the east and the west. I pretended to attack Jincheng, made a noise and marched in, and then tricked Xia Houyuan into coming out. The general
Then lead a group of troops to attack Hanyang County."
After hearing this, Cao Xiu was shocked. If this was true, once Hanyang County was captured, Liangzhou would be captured, because all the money and food in Liangzhou were hoarded in Hanyang County. He was still smiling,
He gave a thumbs up and praised: "What a brilliant idea, the general!"
"Can General Cao accompany me to pretend to attack Jincheng County?" Wei Yan asked.
Cao Xiu thought to himself: "This place has been closely monitored, and it is difficult to send out news. If I follow Wei Yan to pretend to attack Jincheng, and then take the opportunity to get him drunk, and then sneak back to Hanyang County to report the news, then what will happen if I follow Wei Yan to pretend to attack Jincheng?"
You can atone for your sins."
When he thought of this, Cao Xiu hurriedly said: "General Wei, I, Cao Xiu, have never made any achievements since I surrendered to the Huaxia Kingdom. Today, General Wei personally comes to invite you, how can I refuse? Cao Xiu has no choice but to refuse."
Wei Yan smiled and said: "Okay, okay, I know that General Cao is a cheerful person, so I will wait for you at the gate of the city. The troops and horses have already been assembled."
"Oh, I'll be there later."
Wei Yan turned around and left, and at the same time shouted loudly to the guards outside the door: "General Cao is going to follow me on the expedition. You must protect General Cao's family and do not let General Cao's family be harassed."
"promise!"
Cao Xiu hurriedly closed the door, turned around and said to his wife Xia Houyin: "Madam, when I go out this time, I will wait and see what happens. You will be safe if you stay here. After I go out, I will look for an opportunity to escape, and then lead my troops to rescue you.
Come in through the secret passage outside the city and take you out. It may take at least three days, or at most five days, and I will be back."
Xia Houyin nodded and said: "Husband, go ahead, I will just wait for you here."
Cao Xiu hugged Xia Houyin and kissed her deeply, then put on his armor, hung up his sword, and left.
When they arrived at the gate of the city, Cao Xiu saw that Wei Yan and two thousand infantry were ready, so he hurried to Wei Yan and asked, "Aren't you going to ride a horse?"
"There is heavy snow outside the city, which is as deep as half a man. It is more difficult for horses to move. Besides, we are feigning an attack. We only need to make a show of force. Why are we riding horses?" Wei Yan said.
Cao Xiu said "Oh" and asked: "By the way, General Wei, I happened to pass by the barracks when I came. There seemed to be only a few people left in the barracks. Wouldn't the general take all the rest of the troops away?"
Alright?"
Wei Yandao: "Generals are always cautious when doing things, let alone attacking a city. With more people, we are more powerful. Even if most of them don't participate in the battle, they can still give our army a strong momentum. General Cao, let's set off."
"Yeah, okay."
After leaving the gate of Wuwei City, Cao Xiu noticed that there was a long mark heading towards Hanyang County. The snow on the road had been cleared away, and there was fresh horse manure on the road. He must have just walked there not long ago.
As soon as he left the city gate, Wei Yan ordered his generals to beat gongs and drums, hoist the banner, and headed towards Jincheng County. The two thousand soldiers dispersed like this, let alone tens of thousands of them.
, looking from a distance, the mountains and plains are covered with the banners of the Chinese army. If Cao Xiu didn't know the specific number of people, he would have thought that there were tens of thousands of troops if he saw this formation and didn't take a closer look.
Wei Yan walked in front, and a few soldiers in front opened the way and cleared away the snow. Cao Xiu also followed, and after walking about four or five miles, everyone was tired, so Wei Yan ordered a rest.
After such repeated stops and starts, until evening, these people walked twenty miles. When they couldn't walk any further, Wei Yan asked people to find a high slope, dug some cave dwellings, and lived in them.
This cave dwelling is warm in winter and cool in summer. We brought in some dry firewood and lit a bonfire, making this cold winter day warm and cozy.
At this time, everyone was hungry, and seeing that it was getting dark, Wei Yan said, "Everyone has worked hard. Let's finally go out and get some game."
When Cao Xiu heard that he was going hunting, he felt that the opportunity had come, and he readily agreed. Later, Wei Yan took 500 people to hunt in the mountains, leaving 1,500 people to rest in cave dwellings. After entering the mountains, Wei Yan said to Cao Xiu:
"General Cao, let's go together, the others will form their own teams."