Chapter 222: Wolong Tomb Tiger, Each Shows Its Ability
Chapter 222 Crouching dragon and tiger, each showing his abilities
The news of Ma Su's military expedition to Guanzhong soon spread to Longxi.
In front of the generals, Sima Yi's expression hardly changed at all. He just waved his hand lightly and told the soldiers not to panic or move rashly. Everything was still under his control.
When all the generals saw that Sima Yi was so calm and confident, they immediately felt at ease and retired one after another, each taking up his duties.
The crowd dispersed, leaving only the father and son in the hall.
Brothers Sima Master and Sima Zhao looked at each other with admiration.
Sima Zhao hesitated and asked: "Does father really have a plan in mind?"
Sima Yi waved his hand calmly, "This is a time of national crisis. If even this governor panics, the morale of the army will be chaotic and our army will be defeated!"
"Master Sima, I order you to lead 10,000 elite cavalry and rush to Qingyang as quickly as possible. If Qingyang is lost, retreat to Xiaoguan to protect our army's retreat."
The two brothers, Master Sima, looked at each other with awe-inspiring hearts.
This order showed that the father was not at peace in his heart.
Master Sima quickly accepted the order, held his sword and strode out.
While Sima Yi spread out the map and observed the situation, he pondered over and over again.
Today, one of the four major passes guarding Guanzhong (Dasan Pass, Wuguan, Tongguan, and Xiaoguan) has been lost. If Xiaoguan is lost again, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in Longyou will not be able to survive.
Although Xiaoguan sounds like a pass, Xiaoguan is not a single pass fortress. Xiaoguan is built on a high ground, and there are many city barriers such as Chengzigang and Yuhuang Mountain nearby, forming an excellent defense system.
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Xiaoguan is located at the commanding heights of the surrounding area and can have a panoramic view of the situation within ten miles around. This is the Silk Road from Guanzhong to the Western Regions. It is also a must-pass place and is the center.
If this pass is in the hands of the Wei State, it can ensure that Longyou's hundreds of thousands of troops advance and retreat without worries; if it is in the hands of the Shu Army, the Western Front of the Wei Dynasty will be at a standstill!
However, even if Sima Division led troops to occupy Xiaoguan, it would only solve the urgent needs in the Longyou area. What should be done on the battlefield in Guanzhong?
Sima Yi thought hard.
Protecting Xiaoguan only protected the Longyou army's retreat, and did not help the corrupt situation in Guanzhong.
You know, Ma Su has 60,000 soldiers and horses under his command.
These soldiers and horses were stationary, and when they moved, they were like thunder sweeping the holes. Since there was no useful commander in Guanzhong, it was difficult for the 70,000 to 80,000 Wei troops to withstand Ma Su's offensive.
As an opponent, Sima Yi knew Ma Su very well and had analyzed every battle of the latter.
Ma Su has extremely high military qualities, is cunning and cunning in fighting, and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.
Looking at the entire Wei state, there are very few enemy generals like this who can confront them head-on.
Hao Zhao and Guo Huai were defeated one after another, Chen Tai was captured, and the rest... were of no use.
Sima Yi sighed slightly, feeling that the matter was very difficult.
He could block Zhuge Liang's attack, and he was confident that he could block Ma Su, but he couldn't stop the two from attacking separately.
I'm so overwhelmed.
For now, the only way to protect yourself is to cut off your arm.
Abandon the Longyou area, return to Guanzhong, turn passivity into initiative, concentrate superior forces, deal with Ma Su first, and deal with Zhuge Liang later...
If the delay continues, the situation will become difficult to deal with.
But in retrospect, we still have to wait for His Majesty Cao Rui's order to withdraw troops on a large scale.
Otherwise, if we retreat without a fight, no one can bear the responsibility of losing the city and territory.
After making up his mind, Sima Yi looked at Sima Zhao with a serious face and said in a deep voice: "Sima Zhao, pass my order to the Chu army to withdraw from Longxi and retreat to Tianshui!"
"Father, where are the defenders of Qishan Fort?"
"Retreat to Shanggui and defend the city."
"yes!"
Sima Zhao turned around and hurried away.
………
Almost at the same time that the Wei army shrank its formation, most of the Longxi County area was already under Zhuge Liang's control. The Wei army, frightened by Ma Su's Guanzhong offensive, could only huddle in several cities in Tianshui and Anding counties, waiting. Following Cao Rui’s latest order.
The next question is how to withdraw the troops and horses as quickly as possible and concentrate the superior forces to drive Ma Su out of Guanzhong.
In order to achieve this goal, there must be a planned and gradual retreat to give up cities one by one, so that Zhuge Liang's army unknowingly disperses its forces (to garrison each newly obtained city), and thus cannot concentrate its forces. Form an effective interference to the Wei army in a timely manner.
This is a conspiracy, and it is also a problem that the attacking side must face.
In many wars, when victory is achieved and the troops are divided step by step, the hidden danger of failure is gradually laid.
After Zhuge Liang entered the Longxi region and took control of the three counties of Longxi, Nan'an, and Guangwei, the main force quickly shrank from 110,000 to 80,000.
These 80,000 soldiers and horses were also divided into two parts. One part was the Xixian soldiers and horses commanded by the three generals Wei Yan, Wu Yi, and Deng Zhi. There are currently 40,000 soldiers and horses in this part, all infantry, stationed in the Qishan fortress vacated by the Wei army. .
The other part is the Qiang cavalry commanded by Zhuge Liang himself. There are currently 40,000 Qiang cavalry left in this part.
On Zhuge Liang's route alone, ten thousand cavalry were assigned to garrison the newly acquired cities in various places to maintain order and appease the people and officials.
At this time, Sima Yi still had 150,000 soldiers and horses under his command (actually 140,000, Sima Division took away 10,000), all shrinking in the two counties of Anding and Tianshui, like a gradually clenched fist, ready to attack hair.
One hundred and fifty thousand versus eighty thousand.
Even because of the division of troops into two groups, the military strength disparity between the Wei army and the Shu army on local battlefields has reached a disparity of four to one.
One hundred and fifty thousand versus forty thousand.
Of course, this is just a difference in military strength. In terms of combat effectiveness, the advantage is still with the Shu army for the time being.
Zhuge Liang soon realized the change in the strength of the enemy and ourselves, immediately stopped the advance of the army, began to frequently mobilize infantry to garrison various places, and transferred the replaced cavalry to the front again to ensure the advantage of the cavalry.
At the same time, Zhuge Liang also realized that the Longyou battlefield seemed to be changing from the main battlefield to a secondary battlefield; and the Guanzhong battlefield where Ma Su was located was changing from a secondary battlefield to the main battlefield.
When he realized this, Zhuge Liang was a little dumbfounded, and at the same time lamented that Ma Di loved to steal the show.
Maybe talented people love to steal the limelight.
In fact, Ma Su has been like this since the first Northern Expedition, without any intention of playing a supporting role.
At that time, Zhuge Liang asked Ma Di to go to Jieting to block reinforcements and cooperate with the army to attack the five counties of Longyou. However, Ma Di forcedly used Jieting to block reinforcements and turned the main battlefield into a decisive victory.
Later, Ma Su led his troops to surprise Chencang, forcing him to launch the second Northern Expedition, and he was forced to fight Cao Zhen in Chencang.
Afterwards, Zhuge Liang arranged for Ma Su to guard Lueyang to resist Zhang He. As a result, this guy turned Lueyang into the main battlefield. He fought with Lianjie and pushed the troops all the way to Xixian County to build Wei. He also planned to recapture Yinping and Wu. Matters concerning the two counties of Dudu.
Later, when Ma Su attacked Xiqiang, he went almost empty-handed, bringing only nine thousand troops with him; when he attacked Liangzhou, it only took him nine days to accomplish what Zhuge Liang could not accomplish even with hundreds of thousands of troops. .
This time Ma Su sent troops to Guanzhong, and the situation was the same.
Originally, when Zhuge Liang sent 50,000 troops to Ma Su, he was still worried that this small force would not be able to break through the Guanzhong defense line and would not be able to contain the main force of Wei.
But unexpectedly, Ma Su not only easily broke through Xiegu and Chencang Road, but also captured Beiyuan, Hanxing and other places, controlling nearly one-third of the entire Guanzhong area.
It seems that the next step is to besiege Chang'an.
When Zhuge Liang learned the detailed battle report for the first time, he was so pleased that he was so surprised that his expression lost control.
You Chang is so good at fighting!
Occasionally, Zhuge Liang would recall the scene when Ma Di was sent to guard the street pavilion.
At that time, a heated debate broke out in the army over who should be sent to defend the important area of Jieting. Ma Su volunteered to propose that he should personally lead the troops and shoulder the task of blocking reinforcements.
This proposal was immediately opposed by most generals. Even Zhuge Liang had mixed doubts and disapproval at the time.
Just like what the late Emperor Liu Bei said when he was dying, "Ma Su exaggerated and cannot be used to great effect. You should check it out." Zhuge Liang was assured of Ma Su's resourcefulness, but he did not trust his ability to command troops.
The reason why the generals insisted was that such an important task as garrisoning the street pavilion should be handed over to experienced generals like Wei Yan or Wu Yi, rather than to a general who had never led an army alone.
Some people even mentioned Liu Bei's comment and reminded him not to use others for selfish purposes.
Zhuge Liang still remembers how much pressure he endured before he was able to defy all opinions and appoint Ma Di as his general.
Unexpectedly, this appointment would directly change the fate of Shu Han.
Judging from the current situation, it can be foreseen that in the near future, the Shu Han will be able to completely occupy Longyou, command Guanzhong, become the foundation of a strong Qin, and look down on the world.
This future may be within a year.
As he thought about it, Zhuge Liang's eyes moistened unconsciously, and then he coughed violently.
If Ma Di worked so hard to help the Han Dynasty just to prove that the late emperor was wrong, then we have to say.
He did it……
If the late Emperor Liu Bei knew about it, he would probably be extremely ashamed.
…
Three days later.
Guanzhong, the north bank of the Wei River, the head of Beiyuan City.
Ma Su stood here with a long, long face.
The scouts brought news that an hour ago, Sima Division led 10,000 troops to move into Xiaoguan.
Of course, what made Ma Su unhappy was not that he failed to capture Xiao Guan. Xiao Guan was originally given to Master Sima on purpose.
He knew better than anyone else the truth of "the cunning rabbit dies and the lackey cooks". Sima Yi could not die now and would not die.
Even if he takes Xiao Guan, there is a high probability that he will not be able to trap Sima Yi who has four special talents.
Therefore, Ma Su stopped his troops in Beiyuan and did not continue to expand outward.
What made him unhappy was that Zhuge Liang sent Wang Ping, who had withdrawn from Ziwu Valley, and appointed him as his deputy general again.
Wang Ping is on the road at the moment and is expected to arrive at Wuzhangyuan from Xiegu within three to five days and come to meet him.
Frankly speaking, Ma Di disliked Wang Ping very much. Although this man was mature and prudent and cautious in using troops, Wang Ping was illiterate.
As an educated general, what Ma Su hated most were illiterate generals.
It doesn't matter if the general is illiterate, but if the deputy general or even the chief general is illiterate, it will really delay things.
In addition, Wang Ping's character is narrow, stubborn, and extremely suspicious.
In short, Ma Su didn't have the slightest fondness for Wang Ping.
Since the last battle at Jieting, the two of them have hardly worked together in the past few years, and they have only met a handful of times.
The three accompanying generals exchanged glances with Yang Wanwan, and everyone winked at Zhang Xiu. Zhang Xiu had no choice but to take a step forward and asked, "General, are you worried about Wang Ping?"
After hearing this, Ma Su calmed down his emotions and shook his head.
I don't want the generals to get involved in this matter.
Huang Xi hesitated for a moment and said, "General, I have a plan to solve this problem."
Ma Su looked over and said nothing.
Huang Xi continued: "General, why don't you ask him to lead five thousand soldiers and horses to station in Wuzhangyuan and be responsible for the transportation of grain, grass and equipment. In this way, you can keep out of sight."
This is quite a good arrangement.
The two of them did not meet each other to avoid embarrassment to each other.
I just don’t know if Wang Ping is willing to accept the order.
Ma Di knew that Wang Ping was a stubborn man who would not obey anyone except the Prime Minister's orders.
However, with his current status and reputation, Wang Ping would not dare to refuse this order.
Thinking of this, Ma Su grinned and waved his hand to Huang Xi, feeling inexplicably happy again.
Yang Wanwan had just been promoted by Ma Su to the position of Vice General of Silver, equal to the position of the three major generals. He was in a good mood. He noticed the smile at the corner of Ma Su's mouth, so he asked the question that everyone was concerned about at the right time:
"General, after this Northern Expedition, will the last general be promoted to the rank of golden lieutenant general?"
"Then it depends on whether you can survive." Ma Su looked around and said with a smile, "As long as you can survive, it won't be that difficult for you to become a platinum deputy general."
Yang Baiwan thought for a while and asked another key question: "General, your majesty, this platinum deputy general...oh no, does the prime minister agree with it?"
Hearing this, Ma Su and the three major generals laughed at the same time.
Yang Wanwan didn't know what was going on. He scratched his head and asked in confusion: "Did the general say something wrong?"
Ma Su looked at him with a smile and explained patiently: "From a bronze deputy general to a half-step peak deputy general, to be precise, you are not yet a deputy general. Each level up does not only mean that you are closer to the position of deputy general."
"It means your salary is more."
Hearing this, Yang Wanwan was shocked: "Can a general decide the amount of his salary privately?"
This power is comparable to that of "Fake Festival".
Before Ma Su could speak, the three generals gave him the answer.
"That's right! This is a privilege granted to the general by Your Majesty and the Prime Minister."
"Otherwise, why do you think I, Ji Han, have more than 200,000 soldiers? Why would every one of them rush to serve the general?"
"that is!"
Yang Baiwan glanced at Ma Su, who was looking at the sky at an angle of 45 degrees, and said weakly: "Isn't it because the general is invincible that everyone is willing to serve the general?"
