Feng Duhu has always recognized General Guan's military talent.
If he didn't have a sharp enough vision and decisive enough actions, even if Feng Duhu could arrive at Tongguan in time, the situation he would have to face would be far more complicated than it is now.
At a time when the battle situation in Shangdang was confusing and everyone in the Han Dynasty was speculating on Sima Yi's true intentions.
General Guan did not wait for the army to be assembled, and immediately rushed to Hedong in advance to adjust the defense deployment in Hedong in time.
On the premise of ensuring that Hedong was safe, he also led the strongest strategic maneuver that the Han Dynasty could mobilize to rush to Taiyuan.
It can be said that General Guan grasped the core contradiction in a timely and accurate manner under extremely chaotic circumstances that made it difficult for people to see the situation clearly.
If Hedong is lost, Taiyuan will not be preserved.
If Taiyuan is not defended, then the state cannot be defended.
Moreover, there is a sequence between the two.
Hedong comes first, Taiyuan follows.
It was precisely because of the precious time General Guan bought that Feng Duhu had the opportunity to look for opportunities to counterattack after arriving at Tongguan.
If not, then it may be necessary to think of ways to defend Hedong.
Although the latest news from Taiyuan has not come back yet, Feng Duhu knows that Guanjue Valley is most likely not lost.
If it is lost, then the news that General Guan was blocked at the mountain pass should be delivered to him in the next two days.
Since no news has been sent, it means that this is good news.
As long as the Guanjue Valley is not lost, the worst-case scenario is that Taiyuan City will temporarily fall.
The best-case scenario is to keep Hedong and Taiyuan and block Sima Yi to Shangdang.
If you think about it boldly, you might be able to regain Shangdang again.
So everything... maybe it's not too late - as long as Wang Ping and Deng Zhi can hold on until General Guan arrives.
"General, it's too late, retreat quickly! If you don't retreat, the thieves will probably circle back and surround us!"
Wang Ping's camp at Dagukou in Taiyuan is like a lonely boat floating in the sea.
The Wei troops that were rushing out of the mouth of the valley were like huge waves set off by a hurricane.
The lone boat was tossed up by the angry waves again and again, but fell back to the water safely.
It was shaking extremely, but it didn't capsize.
The trenches had been filled in, the antlers had been bulldozed, and even the fences of the camp had been patched up again and again. In the end, they couldn't be patched up, so human lives were used to block them.
Even so, the huge disparity in numbers finally allowed the Wei army to rush into the camp.
Wang Ping stood in front of the commander's tent, holding a long knife with blood still wet on the blade.
The armor on his body reeked of dirty blood.
"Retreat? Retreat to where? How to retreat!"
Wang Ping raised his long knife, pointed it not far below, and shouted sternly.
There, all the Han soldiers who were slightly injured and could still hold swords and guns were already preparing to go back to battle.
The last two thousand soldiers who still had fighting ability were trying their best to prevent the Wei army from charging towards Shuai Qi.
As for the soldiers who were placed at the back and could not afford serious injuries...if the commander's flag fell, it would mean the death of the commander.
Naturally, they can only accept the arrangement of fate.
The small highland with Shuaiqi as the center is the last position of the Han army.
The flag is a symbol of the existence of a combat unit, and it is also one of the means of conveying military orders.
As large as an army or as small as a team, each has its own unique flag.
Regardless of offense or defense, the soldiers of the team must follow and surround the flag, advancing and retreating together.
As long as the flag is there, even if it is scattered and dispersed, the soldiers in the chaos can quickly move closer to each other to form a new fighting force by virtue of the flag's location.
On the contrary, if the flag is captured and destroyed, it is also common for it to lead to defeat.
In particular, the commander's flag of the Chinese Army is the soul of the entire army and the most important flag.
Once he falls, it is like a person without his brain. No matter how strong his body is, he will fall down and die.
Now, the location of Wang Ping's commander's flag has become the final gathering place for the Han army.
The Wei army, as if they had smelled bloody leeches, rushed forward desperately.
The situation was so urgent that even Wang Ping had led his personal guards and personally went into battle to block the gap several times.
"In Jinyang, Governor Deng is not ready yet. If we block it for half a day, Jinyang will have half a day to prepare!"
"Otherwise, we would have stayed here and so many people had died. What are we trying to do!"
Wang Ping looked towards the distance, towards the peaks on both sides of the valley.
What a great blocking terrain.
It's a pity that Sima Yi came too quickly.
It was so fast that Wang Ping had no chance to make full use of this favorable terrain.
"Everyone, follow me!"
Wang Ping raised his sword, ordered the remaining guards again, and took the lead in charging forward.
Countless wooden boards and poles were either cracked or broken, tents were wrapped in mud and stones, and even unknown objects were scattered and piled up on both sides of the battlefield.
This is an extremely crude defense line made by the Han army in the camp, using all available objects at hand.
This line of defense only played a small blocking role.
Soon, the front facing the Wei army with the largest concentration of troops was broken through.
The little role of the defense line was finally reflected at this time.
The Wei army, thinking that the overall situation was settled, did not clean up in time and did not have time to clean up the accumulations on both sides.
They just subconsciously rushed in through the gap.
The Wei army rushed in from the gap in the front and faced small circular formations formed in units of three.
Three flower array.
The Sanhua Formation is a circular formation. It is a small and medium-sized formation jointly improved by Feng Duhu and General Zhendong on the basis of the Eight Formation Diagram.
Of course, this is an external view.
As for whether there is some country turtle who has illegally crossed over and wants to try some formations that are more suitable for combat with new weapons on the premise of improving the Han army's weapons, then I can't say.
This round formation of three flowers was originally designed to prevent unexpected situations from happening to the commander's flag in battles or melees - for example, the thieves' generals unexpectedly rush into the formation to seize the flag.
At the same time, he protects the coach.
It has little mobility, let alone attack. Its biggest advantage is that it has strong defensive power - after all, Feng is more afraid of death.
Rotating the staggered formations allows the soldiers at the rear to continuously fill in a certain gap caused by too many casualties.
The small circular formation was constantly rotating, like a winch, crushing and crushing the rebels who rushed between the two formations.
The Wei army, which had superior strength, was scattered in all directions. From a distance, it seemed that they were forming an encirclement.
But in fact, they were isolated and scattered, and it was difficult to communicate with each other. In the end, they had to fight independently, and the entire army was torn into pieces.
The seemingly turbulent waves crashed into the jagged rocks and turned into countless broken pieces.
This is the last fighting force in Wang Ping's hands, and it is also the most capable and loyal team.
Almost every small circular formation has a core.
These core members are either descendants of the Nanxiang clan, have experience in the staff corps, or have come out of the martial arts hall.
Some even combine three identities into one.
They are the strongest backbone in the army.
The battle formation was filled with blood and flesh, and the Wei army, relying on its superior strength, finally broke through a small circular formation. Someone's weapon was forcibly knocked away by several thieves.
Before being overwhelmed by the Wei army, the unarmed soldier, protected by his fine armor, rushed forward desperately and bit down wherever he could with his teeth.
Using his last bit of strength, he pinched his fingers wherever he could.
Just to cause the last bit of damage to the bandit army.
It was as if they were not living bodies, but magical weapons that far surpassed swords.
The air was filled with the smell of thick blood-impregnated metal leather, mixed with some unknown stench, which made people sick.
Sima Yi stood at the original fence position of the Han army camp, looking at the fierce battle ahead with a somewhat angry face.
With an absolutely superior force, it is impossible to attack a temporary camp with thousands of people for a long time. How can you not be angry?
At this time, he was frightened, and even a sense of fear arose from the bottom of his heart:
"Western...The Han army fought to the death and refused to surrender, and the king was unknown. How could his officers and men be compared with the elite soldiers of the previous Han Dynasty?"
"Isn't it possible? Is it not possible? Does the Liu family really want Sanxing?"
Sima Yi naturally did not dare to say these words in his heart.
But as the commander-in-chief, seeing how crazy the Han army was, some of his thoughts could no longer be contained, growing like wild grass in spring.
The Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu fought endless conquests, and the soldiers were elite and tenacious in battle, which can still be praised.
Not to mention Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, even the soldiers who traveled thousands of miles to defend the Western Regions also acted like "when they were exhausted and poor, they boiled their armored crossbows and ate their sinews and hides."
This means that in the face of the siege of the Huns, the Han army trapped in Guancheng would rather boil and eat the strings made of animal sinews and the leather worn on their crossbows than to hold on.
It is precisely because of the soldiers of the Early Han Dynasty who achieved such feats that they created the illustrious martial arts of the Early Han Dynasty.
Sima Yi, who has been an official since Cao Cao's time, has seen countless military formations over the years.
But there are very few armies that have the legacy of the elite soldiers of the former Han Dynasty.
Because in the Later Han Dynasty, especially in the middle and late Later Han Dynasty, the composition of the soldiers in the army was greatly different from that in the Early Han Dynasty.
The elite soldiers of the former Han Dynasty were composed of truly good men.
In the middle and late Han Dynasty, the so-called good family members were not necessarily good family members. They were more likely to be libertines who were engaged in green trade.
Not to mention that even if there were nominally good family members, they were already very few in the army of the Later Han Dynasty.
Most of them are composed of "lazy children of merchants" and "stupid people from the countryside".
Although there is a multiplication system, it does not talk about military formations. It is not concise, and it hopes to watch the enemy. It does not live up to the name and reality, and it is difficult to prepare for emergencies.
After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it was hard to find even a good family son in name.
Cao Cao was indeed good at using his troops, but judging from the repeated massacres of cities, the establishment of many military lieutenant colonels to supervise the army, and the use of harsh laws and severe punishments to force his soldiers, some aspects of the army may not be satisfactory.
For example, as soon as Cao Cao died, the Qingzhou army immediately beat drums in public, swaggered through the streets, and led him away, without even paying attention to Cao Pi.
The difference in military discipline is evident.
Sima Yi has been on the battlefield for decades, and he has never seen an army of soldiers who sacrifice their lives and fight to the death without retreating.
But those soldiers are all the soldiers whom the coach treats most favorably.
It is rare for the whole army to be uniform like this.
What Sima Yi cares about most is:
Among the generals of the Han army, Wang Ping did not have much sense of existence at all, and he could even be said to be unknown.
It is even more rare that the soldiers under his command are so elite.
It's just obvious that regardless of the final outcome of this battle with Otaniguchi, he will become famous.
Seeing that it was the last piece of high ground that was on the verge of collapse, Sima Yi let out a breath:
"Tell them to move back."
With the sound of gold ringing, the Wei troops on the front line retreated from the high ground in embarrassment once again, as if they had heard the fairy music.
"Tai Tuo, please ask me to personally lead the elite troops to defeat this thief for the army!"
The generals around Sima Yi were unwilling to fight and asked for a fight one after another.
It was obvious that the Western thieves seemed to be able to break through the formation with the last charge, but they were forced to rush up again and again, and then retreat again and again.
Many people are already filled with anger.
"It can definitely be broken, but it's not certain when it will be broken."
Sima Yi stared at the Han army flag still flying, expressionless, not knowing what he was thinking:
"The defensive strength of the thieves is much higher than that of the past few days. If we can repel the thieves on the hills on both sides of the valley entrance, it is because they did not have time to prepare."
"Then I suspect that the reason why we were able to break through the traitor's outer camp so quickly was because the opposite general did it intentionally."
Hearing what the Taifu said, the generals of the Wei army couldn't help but look at each other.
Someone had the courage to remind:
"Taifu, it took a lot of effort for the soldiers to attack the bandits' camp..."
"How does that compare to what's happening right now?"
Sima Yi raised his finger and pointed in the direction of Wang Ping, "If the rebel army had been so tightly defended from the beginning, could you have attacked so quickly?"
The generals were a little stunned.
After a while, someone asked cautiously:
"Then what Taifu means is..."
"The thief is showing weakness and wants to drag us here!"
Sima Yi said word by word, "They are stalling for Jinyang City!"
Having said this, Sima Yi's face became a little gloomy:
"We don't have much time left."
"But Taifu," the people below still couldn't believe it, "if this is really the case, then wouldn't this army of thieves have the intention of sharing their fate with each other from the very beginning?"
is it possible?
Sima Yi shook his head:
"You don't need the entire army, just the general and the generals below are enough."
As for those soldiers, with the commander making up his mind and the general taking the lead, do they still have a chance to escape in the current crisis?
After Sima Yi finished speaking, his face became more and more gloomy.
When he broke through the Huguan easily and joined the Shangdang, and people from all over the country fell in love with him, and the situation was great, even he, unintentionally, developed a feeling of contempt that he shouldn't have.
This person, Wang Ping, is most likely an important figure specially arranged by Feng Yong in Bingzhou.
Sima Yi took a deep breath:
"Leave three thousand people and keep an eye on them. The rest, follow me around and attack Jinyang!"
"But Taifu, with three thousand people, I'm afraid I can't watch them."
"I have observed that there are no more than 2,000 Han soldiers capable of fighting today, and many of them are injured."
Sima Yi turned his head and looked at the generals with bright eyes:
"There is no need to surround them, as long as they do not affect the army and continue to move forward."
Here at Dagukou, a lot of water flows out of the mountains. Wang Ping naturally chose a place to set up camp to ensure the convenience of getting water.
If we want to completely surround this Han army and force them to be unable to fight anymore, it will take at least three to five days.
But after Sima Yi had an insight into Wang Ping's plan, he immediately understood:
Time is running out!
Based on Feng Mingwen's past combat style and Sima Yi's own lessons learned from the Han army's cavalry.
He was certain that the Han army was definitely going to take advantage of the cavalry to come for reinforcements.
The journey from Chang'an to Taiyuan is no less than fifteen hundred miles.
In addition, the transmission of battle reports also takes a certain amount of time.
But the time left to himself should not exceed half a month at most - Sima Yi believed that Feng Yong had this ability.
Because Sima Yi himself had done something like traveling 1,200 miles in eight days.
Use yourself to judge others, expect the enemy to be lenient, and half a month is the most limited time Sima Yi has left for himself.
For him, this Han army has already consumed too much of his time.
After thinking about this, Sima Yi made a decisive decision and immediately gave up his plan to continue to entangle with Wang Ping here.
"Now, immediately, send out scouts to find out about Jinyang City!"
"Here!"
ps:
It's snowing in the northwest, and it's heavy snow. There's wind and snow all over the sky, but I don't feel cold at all.
It is said that if you drink ice for ten years, it will be difficult to cool your hot blood.
I have struggled on this land for more than ten years?
But looking at the pot of porridge that was about to burn the lake, my heart felt very cold, very cold.
I really want to cry.
I'm sorry, I shouldn't be like this, but I broke my guard.
Because there are too many things going on during this period, I am physically and mentally exhausted, so please forgive me, readers.
I solemnly promise that although I cannot maintain the speed, I will definitely finish writing this book seriously.