Zhuge Liang raised his head, looked at Xiangwu City ahead, and sighed, "Xiangwu is in a remote place. I thought the city was not repaired, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult to defeat."
"Hao Zhaojiu has a long-standing reputation as a leader in Hexi. He is not one to be taken lightly by others. That's why I repeatedly asked the villagers to persuade him to surrender. Who knew he was so stubborn?"
Even someone as arrogant as Wei Yan had to admit after hearing these words that the Prime Minister's considerations were indeed more thoughtful than his own.
"There are only 50,000 big men. It's really a bit reluctant to attack a city defended by more than 20,000 people." Zhuge Liang said slowly, then looked up at the sky and narrowed his eyes slightly, "You have to plan for it slowly."
There is another reason Zhuge Liang did not mention.
That is, although the Eight Formation Diagram makes up for some of the shortcomings of the Han Dynasty's lack of cavalry, and can use infantry to block the cavalry, it can only block it.
Just like the battle with Cao Wei's cavalry a few days ago, although Hao Zhao suffered some losses, he immediately retreated to Xiangwu when he saw that the momentum was not right, but he could only watch helplessly and had no way to pursue.
This is the disadvantage of not having cavalry.
Even if they can defeat Cao Wei's cavalry, it is not easy to annihilate them.
But at this time, Xiangwu Xiangwu was built along the Wei River. Cao Wei relied on the water to guard the retreat route to the west, and most of the people in the city were cavalry. If Hao Zhao was determined to return to Liangzhou, the Han Dynasty would have no way to stop him.
Zhuge Liang had no choice but to first order Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, and Chen Shi to divide their troops into three groups and surround them on three sides: south, south, north, and south. At the same time, he ordered them to just defend the camp, dig ditches and erect walls, and not attack.
When Hao Zhao saw that the Han army's offensive had stopped, he thought he had scared Zhuge Liang. In addition, he relied on his elite cavalry and had a retreat in his hands, but he was not afraid of any conspiracy by the other party.
For a time, the armies of Han and Wei were at a stalemate.
In May of the sixth year of Jianxing, the weather became increasingly hot.
According to the experience of previous years, the rainfall in Longyou should gradually increase at this time, and the Wei River will begin to rise.
But this year is a bit unusual, with very little rainfall.
Guo Huai felt that God was really looking after him: if the Wei River rose sharply at this time, then there would be no way for him and the others to escape back to Chencang along the Wei River.
When Linwei City was defeated, Wu Yi sent Zhang Bao to set up an ambush at the east gate, forcing Guo Huai to go west. If it had been anyone else, he might not have been able to escape.
But Guo Huai was different. He participated in the Battle of Hanzhong, then became the governor of the west, went to conquer the Qiang guard army, and finally was promoted to the governor of Yongzhou. In the past ten years, he has stayed in Yongzhou, governing Guanzhong and Longyou.
Therefore, he is most familiar with the Longyou area of Guanzhong.
After learning that there was an ambush in the east of Linwei, he first got rid of Zhang Bao and instead of going east, he walked west instead.
At that time, the Han army surrounded the three palaces and attacked Linwei. A large number of defeated troops fled to the east gate, which attracted the attention of the Han army. Who would have thought that Guo Huai would do the opposite, and finally let him escape Linwei?
.
Not far to the east, we arrived at the confluence of the Qingshui River and the Weishui River. Here Guo Huai turned north along the Qingshui River, and finally found a Qiang and Hu tribe near Qingshui City.
The tribe's commander, Ye'er Mo, was shocked when he learned that Guo Huai had arrived. He secretly led him into his account and offered him food.
Just when Ye'ermo was about to enter the tent to see Guo Huai, a close acquaintance below quietly persuaded him, "Now that the Han Kingdom has occupied Longyou, Guo Huai is an important fugitive they are chasing. Why don't you take the opportunity to capture Guo Huai?"
As a result of advancement?"
Ye'er Mo was shocked when he heard this and scolded, "Guo Jun is kind to me, how can I do such an animal thing?"
"If your Excellency is unwilling to capture Guo Huai to claim credit, then you cannot try your best to help him. Otherwise, if the Han Kingdom finds out about it in the future, wouldn't you be inviting disaster to yourself?"
The confidant advised again.
When Ye'er Mo heard this, he hesitated for a long time and then said, "Let me go and have a look first to see what Mr. Guo wants to do when he comes here."
Then he entered the tent, first saluted and greeted, and then asked tentatively, "Why is Mr. Guo here?"
Guo Huai had ruled Yongzhou for a long time. Whenever Qiang and Hu came to surrender, he would always ask people to find out the status of their tribe in advance, such as the number of men and women, their age, etc., and then receive them.
With this method, Guo Huai already knew what they wanted to do before the Hu leaders revealed their intentions, and seemed to care about them very much. Therefore, he was called a god-like figure by the Hu people.
When Ye'ermo led his clan to seek refuge, he was greatly favored by Guo Huai, so he respected Guo Huai very much.
"Ye'er Mo, now I am extremely poor, have no way out, and am almost starving to death, so I risk my life and come here to seek refuge, begging for a full meal."
Guo Huai was hungry, tired, and in a state of embarrassment. He gulped down the food prepared for him by Ye'er Mo and said at the same time.
"What are you talking about, Mr. Guo? I'm not even happy that you are willing to come to my small tribe. As long as you have everything in the tribe, you can just ask."
When Ye Ermo heard this, he quickly said in panic.
Guo Huai shook his head, "Now I am a person that the Shu captives are eager to capture. I come to you just because I can have a good meal. If you can remember that I have helped you before, can you lend me a few horses?"
Ma, then I would be very grateful."
"If you want to capture me to claim credit, I can understand you. After all, Longyou is now ruled by Shu captives. I heard that many Qiang and Hu have attached themselves to Shu captives."
"If you tie me up and send me to Linwei, I think it will be a great achievement, and the Shu captives will give you a lot of rewards."
Guo Huai said, stood up, and handed over the long sword at his waist, "I only hope that you can let go of those Bu Qu who came with me. They are all loyal and brave men. Even if you take them, you will not be able to do anything."
Not much credit."
When Ye'ermo heard these words from his great benefactor, especially the words "loyal and brave man", he couldn't help but feel ashamed and ashamed when he thought of his own little thoughts.
He just felt a surge of blood rushing to his head, and he immediately fell to the ground and cried, "What did Guo Jun say? Without Jun Guo's great kindness back then, how could Ye'ermo be where he is today? Please don't worry, Jun Guo, little man.
Even if you die, I will send you back to Guanzhong safely!"
Guo Huai quickly stepped forward to help him up and sighed, "I'm just afraid I'll hurt you."
"If Mr. Guo really wanted to harm me, why would he wait until today?"
After Ye Ermo stood up, his face was full of determination.
"Thank you!"
Guo Huai bowed deeply.
Ye'ermo saw Guo Huai's gift, and immediately became more determined to help Guo Huai, "Guo Jun, please sit down and I will send someone to Qingshui City to find out the news."
Among the Qiang and Hu people in Longyou who are willing to rely on the Han, Tianshui County is the most popular.
As for those who love Cao Wei, Guangwei County is the most common.
The reason is also very simple, because Guangwei controls all the traffic arteries between Longyou and the east. Even if you go over the mountains from Anding County in the north, you have to pass through Guangwei before you can reach Tianshui.
Therefore, Cao Wei's emphasis on Guangwei is definitely greater than Tianshui County, the actual center of Longyou.
A few months ago, the Northern Expedition army appeared out of Qishan. Many places in the two counties of Tianshui and Nan'an rebelled, but Guangwei County mostly held firm and few places surrendered. This is enough to prove Wei's control over Guangwei County.
If Guo Huai dares to come to Qingshui to seek help from Ye Ermo, he is naturally confident.
But if he dares to go looking for the Qiang Hu in Tianshui, he will basically end up being captured.
Because Qishan Road, the main thoroughfare connecting Hanzhong and Longyou, goes directly to Tianshui County, and most of the large families in Longyou gather in Tianshui, the mutual trade between Hanzhong also has the greatest influence on Tianshui.
Guo Huai is not a simple figure. He is regarded as a god by the Qianghu people in Guanzhong, and he also has some influence on the Qianghu tribe in Longyou.
When Longyou changed hands, Ye'ermo was still able to take risks and help Guo Huai escape. This was the result of his good care of the Qiang and Hu in the past.
Clear water originates from Longshan, and there are actually many tributaries coming down from Longshan. However, there is insufficient rain this year, so some river valleys have dried up.
Guo Huai and others replenished their supplies. They did not enter Qingshui City at all. They walked eastward and found a dry river valley. They walked south along the river valley. After making a big circle, they actually reached the Wei River on the east side of Linwei.
river valley.
The water level in the Weishui River Valley was much shallower than in previous years. Guo Huai rode his horse towards Chencang day and night.