Arm Ridge is ten miles behind Yiling. The terrain here is shaped like a slightly curved arm, with two mountains on both sides, and a not-too-deep valley in the middle connecting the two mountains, forming a V-shaped row. Liu Bei led Guan and Zhang together
Ten thousand soldiers and horses arrived here, raised their heads and took a look. They took a deep breath and detoured from the small path to Yiling. They were exhausted.
The mountain path is extremely difficult to walk. There are cliffs and thorns everywhere. Every step you take will cost you blood. Many war horses cannot withstand the sting of thorns and become uncontrollable, throwing the knights off their horses and falling into the depths.
He died unexpectedly in the gorge. Liu Bei ordered the march on foot, which made the walking speed much slower. After arriving on the ground in Jingzhou, in order to avoid the people who traveled during the day, they could only march at night. The mountainous area of Yiling made the road difficult.
, many soldiers took the opportunity to desert. When they arrived at Arm Ridge, there were less than 8,000 soldiers and horses left out of 10,000.
"Two brothers, the front is Xu Huang's camp. We will set up camp here! Attack tomorrow!" Liu Bei looked around. This arm ridge is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The side facing Yiling is a steep slope. If you want to come up,
It was a bit difficult, so he stationed his army at Arm Ridge.
Long Fei led 3,000 soldiers and horses and rushed over. There was still a mile to go. The scouts came to report that a large number of Shu troops were found in the arm ridge, led by Liu Zi Daqi. Long Fei frowned: "You came really fast.
!”
Dian Wei smiled slightly: "Don't worry, boss, we must let them taste my double halberd in this battle!"
Long Fei shook his head slightly: "We have few soldiers, they have many soldiers, and they have the advantage of terrain. I'm afraid it's impossible to attack by force. Now it seems that we can only outsmart them!"
Xu Chu said: "Then we will rob the camp tonight. If they dare to go deep into our hinterland, they will not be able to fight for a long time. As long as their food and grass are burned, the Shu army will be in chaos without a fight!"
"Don't alert the enemy!" Meng Shuo said hurriedly: "Liu Bei is going around behind our army because he wants to attack Zhuge Liang from both front and back. He must send troops. Why don't we lie in wait here and catch Liu Bei by surprise when he marches tomorrow?"
"This plan is more reliable!" Long Fei grabbed Meng Shuo and whispered in his ear for a while. Meng Shuo agreed with a smile on his face and immediately asked people to follow him.
Before dawn, Liu Bei was very active. He had already gotten up and went to a large tent. He immediately ordered people to find Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Ma Liang. Guan and Zhang arrived in an instant, but Ma Liang was still missing. Zhang
Fei was furious and wanted to go find him. As soon as he reached the big tent, he saw Ma Liang coming in disheveled clothes and yawning. Liu Bei laughed and said, "Did you sleep well yesterday?"
Ma Liang ignored him and turned to look at the sky outside: "It's so early, Lord, it's not yet dawn!"
"Hey!" Liu Bei sighed: "It's a tough battle now, and we can't care about that much. I came here today just to talk about the attack on Yiling."
Ma Liang had a straight face, yawned continuously, and said nothing. Guan Yu said: "The scouts patrolled around us and found no Dragon Army soldiers and horses. They should not have noticed us. This is the right time to attack."
Zhang Fei said: "Second brother is right. What's negotiable? Why don't we just kill him?"
Liu Bei shook his head: "You still don't understand Long Fei. He always likes to use underhanded tactics. All his generals are masters of warfare. If we don't find anyone, it doesn't mean that Xu Huang didn't find us. If we attack at this time, we might be ambushed!"
"Brother is always so cautious!" Zhang Fei was a little dissatisfied: "We have an army of 10,000, and Xu Huang also has 10,000. Why are we afraid of what he will do?"
Ma Liang smiled: "The third general is right, kill him directly, and there are military advisors on the other side to support you. Even if Xu Huang has three heads and six arms, it will be difficult for him to deal with it."
Liu Bei didn't answer and thought to himself: "I intend to divide the army into three waves. The first wave will go first to be prepared for Long Fei's ambush. The second wave will be the middle army led by the second and third brothers and go straight to Xu Huang's camp. The remaining We have soldiers and horses as preparations, so if something unexpected happens, we can escape unscathed!"
Ma Liang yawned again: "Then do as the lord wants and send troops immediately!"
Liu Bei glanced at Ma Liang and shook his head: "It's just that the former military commander has not yet been decided. Who does Mr. Ma think is suitable?"
"Huh?" Ma Liang was stunned. He immediately put back his yawn in the middle and looked at Liu Bei: "Master, will you let me go? I'm just a counselor. I have never led an army in a war. I will lead an army." I’m afraid it’s inappropriate!”
Liu Bei smiled slightly: "Mr. Ma is too modest. Your skills are rare in the world. As a former army commander, I think it is perfect. I will help you this time. When I return, I will make it clear to the military advisor that the victory in this battle is entirely due to Mr. Ma." !”
"You!" Ma Liang swallowed his words before he spoke, glared at Liu Bei fiercely, flicked his sleeves and walked out.
Xu Huang felt that he was a bit cowardly as a coach. He couldn't handle the mere 30,000 troops in Yizhou. If it weren't for Long Fei and Guo Jia, Zhuge Liang would have made dumplings. If he were defeated, he would lose face. He is a general again. Looking at Guo Jia opposite who was still drinking, Xu Huang couldn't hold himself back: "Commander, it's been a day and Zhuge Liang hasn't made any movement. Is he afraid to come?"
Guo Jia shook his head slightly: "Don't worry, General Xu. Although Zhuge Liang is cunning, he can't escape from the palm of my hand. I have set up sentries outside his camp. If there is any trouble, I will report it immediately. General, just wait." that is."
Xu Huang scratched his head and sighed: "I really want to kill him, so as not to have to wait so painfully!"
After Liu Bei left, Zhuge Liang was also on guard against Xu Huang's sudden attack. Although he had 20,000 soldiers and horses, he had not had enough food for several days and his morale was low. Head-on confrontation would definitely not work, and the only way to attack from both front and rear might be It can work. But he is also worried that this must be the land of Jingzhou. Soldiers and horses from Nanjun and Xiangyang can come to reinforce at any time. If Liu Bei is surrounded, he will not be able to save him.
"Go find Wei Yan!" Zhuge Liang ordered his men while looking at the map.
Wei Yan raised the curtain and walked in. Zhuge Liang glanced at him: "Wei Yan, do you dare to attack Xu Huang?"
Wei Yan was startled and rolled his eyes: "As long as the military advisor gives the order, the subordinates must obey their orders!"
"Okay!" Zhuge Liang waved Wei Yan over. When he came to the map, Zhuge Liang pointed at a few small circles: "This place is where Xu Huang separated his troops. There are three places in total. They want to block us out of Jingzhou. I have sent people to check, and there are less than five hundred soldiers and horses in each place. I will give you a thousand soldiers and horses, and you have to seize these three checkpoints from me within half a day!"
"No!" Wei Yan took the order arrow without hesitation, turned around and walked out the door.
Zhuge Liang hurriedly called out: "Wei Yan, this place is not far from Xu Huang's camp, so be careful."
An alarm came from the checkpoint in the southwest. Wei Yan, the general of the Shu army, was leading a thousand soldiers and horses to attack. He asked Xu Huang for rescue. Xu Huang grabbed his helmet and was about to go out. Guo Jia stretched out his hand to block Xu Huang's way: "General Xu
, this is Zhuge Liang’s plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain, don’t fall for it!”
"But what to do about the checkpoint? There are five hundred soldiers there!"
Guo Jia took another sip: "It's a small trick, the general can send people to withdraw all the soldiers from the three checkpoints, and this plan will be defeated!"
Xu Huang was stunned: "What if Zhuge Liang passes by?"
Guo Jia smiled slightly: "Don't worry, Zhuge Liang will not pass. I also hope he will pass. As long as Zhuge Liang dares to enter our Jingzhou, his death will come!"
Xu Huang thought for a while, nodded and said: "Okay! Just listen to the military advisor!"
Wei Yan came back less than an hour later to hand over the order. Zhuge Liang was stunned: "You took down all three checkpoints so quickly?"
Wei Yan smiled and nodded: "Jingzhou soldiers are vulnerable. As soon as my army arrived, they fled and killed the first one. The other two were already gone! Military advisor, should we attack Xu Huang's camp immediately?"
Zhuge Liang pondered carefully for a long time. He had already guessed that there must be a problem, but he still didn't understand where the problem was. Looking at the marks on the map indicating the deployment of troops on both sides, Zhuge Liang fell into deep thought.
Long Fei leaned against a tree and took a nap. Chen Dao gently pushed him awake and said in a low voice: "My lord, here we come! Liu Bei is here!"
Long Fei climbed up, looked around, stretched out his hand and drew out his sword: "Brothers, get ready for action!"
Ma Liang was very helpless and followed Liu Bei to decide that nothing good would happen. As soon as he arrived at Yiling, Liu Bei asked him to test whether Xu Huang had an ambush. Looking at the dark woods on both sides, Ma Liang's heart was already in his throat. In this situation,
It would be strange that there was no ambush. He should have attacked on the day he arrived at Arm Ridge, but Liu Bei had to rest for the night. This place was only ten miles away from Xu Huang's camp, and people had already discovered it.
"Cheer up, everyone! Be careful around you, and report any changes immediately!" Ma Liang ordered loudly while riding on his horse.
The soldiers who were exhausted by fatigue and hunger could not lift their spirits with their hands in their arms. The soldier at the front suddenly stopped and looked around with wide eyes. The soldier behind did not stop and bumped into the person in front.
Suddenly, the whole marching group was in various situations.
Long Fei looked at this group of soldiers and horses, counted the torches briefly, and shook his head frequently: "That's wrong! Why are there so few people?"
Dian Wei said: "Whatever, kill him first. If you don't eat the fat meat delivered to your door, it will be free!"
Another scout ran over quickly, panting and told Long Fei about Liu Bei's division of troops. Long Fei nodded: "No wonder, Liu Bei actually used two thousand troops as bait, brothers, tell me what to do."
Now, let’s kill his bait first so that Liu Bei doesn’t dare to move forward. As long as Liu Bei doesn’t come, Zhuge Liang won’t dare to come! Shoot the arrow!”
Suddenly, countless arrows flew out from the dark woods on both sides. The Shu army was still arguing and had no reaction at all. The sudden blow made the Shu army dizzy. There were arrows everywhere and they didn't know where to hide.
Ma Liang was frightened. He hurriedly jumped off his horse and hid behind a tree. He looked at the howling soldiers and horses and had no idea what to do for a while.
"Kill...!" A huge shout of killing came from the woods. The frightened Shu army could no longer care about resistance, and turned around one by one and ran away in panic.