This then forced Sima Division, whose military capabilities were still immature, to lead his army to a decisive battle.
This is by far the most effective strategy.
In fact, Han Xin four hundred years ago, and Zhuge Liang and Ma Di today all faced the same problem: how to gain a firm foothold after crossing the natural dangers of the Qinling Mountains and sending troops to the Guanzhong Plain?
The final result was that Han Xin easily climbed over the natural dangers of the Qinling Mountains, wiped out the Three Qins without any effort, and helped Liu Bang lay the first step to unify the world;
Zhuge Liang also climbed over the natural dangers of the Qinling Mountains, but failed to gain a firm foothold. In the end, he could only withdraw his troops hastily and give up halfway;
Ma Di also easily crossed the natural dangers of the Qinling Mountains and captured parts of Guanzhong. He is planning to capture more areas and expand his results.
The same route of dispatching troops, the same commanders with superb military qualities, why is it so easy for Han Xin, so easy for Ma Su, but so difficult for Zhuge Liang?
Is it because Zhuge Liang is incompetent?
Of course not.
Although Zhuge Liang was good at military management and poor at strategizing, his military ability was still among the best in this era.
There is only one reason. The opponents faced by the three people are of different strengths and weaknesses!
When Han Xin came out of Sichuan, he commanded 150,000 Han troops. The opponents he faced were three kings of Guanzhong who were fighting on their own. Each of these three princes and kings only had about 50,000 soldiers and horses. Their strength was extremely weak. Not only did they not have an inch outside the pass.
The land, even the Longyou area is not under their control.
Han Xin led his army from the western part of Hanzhong. The troops were divided into two groups. One group was led by Han Xin himself along the Chencang Road, leaving Chencang City and approaching Guanzhong. The other group was led by Fan Kuai and entered Longxi from the Qishan Road, and then followed the Long Road into the Guanzhong Plain.
, attacking Zhang Han from both sides.
King Yong Zhang Han was originally a general of the Qin Dynasty. He was named king after surrendering to Xiang Yu. Zhang Han originally had a main force of 200,000 Qin troops, but they were all killed by Xiang Yu after the Battle of Julu, so he was actually a polished commander when he was King Yong.
, the men and horses that can be mobilized mainly come from the original Qin Guanzhong army adapted by Xiang Yu, and the total number does not exceed 50,000.
Not only are this group of men and horses small, but their combat effectiveness is not strong either.
It can be seen that in terms of strength comparison, Han Xin was at least three times stronger than Zhang Han, and the Han army was divided into battles. Except for a part that moved up in Ziwu Valley to confuse Zhang Han, the rest were Han Xin who came out of Chencang, and those who came out of Qishan
Fan Kuai and Guan Ying. The number of soldiers and horses in any of them is greater than that of Zhang Han.
Although Han Xin divided his troops into two groups, which theoretically gave Zhang Han the opportunity to defeat each one, that only existed in theory. In fact, the three forces of King Yong, Zhang Han, King Sai, and King Zhai were not as strong as any of the Han army's soldiers if they were taken alone.
Horse's opponent.
Originally, after Chencang City was captured, Zhang Han struggled with Han Xin for some time, but soon Fan Kuai and Guan Ying's cavalry rushed to the Guanzhong battlefield, instantly widening the strength gap between the two sides. Zhang Han failed to gain control of the enemy.
With the rapid support of King Wang and King Zhai, they were quickly defeated by the Han army and fled to Feiqiu to set up a defense line.
After Zhang Han was crippled, he could barely defend, but he also lost the ability to take the initiative. The remaining kings of Sai and Zhai had already been defeated by the powerful Han army.
Han Xin used the strong to conquer the weak, quickly occupied most of Guanzhong, pacified the Three Qin Dynasties, and achieved the initial victory in the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony.
The scene switches to Zhuge Liang in the original time and space.
In the original time and space, during Zhuge Liang's last Northern Expedition, Chen Bing marched across Wuzhangyuan, facing his opponent Wei - a country whose strength was equal to that of King Yong, King Sai and King Zhai combined, which was more than ten times stronger.
Not to mention that Sima Yi's military ability was much higher than that of the three kings, and the support Wei could provide was endless.
This left Zhuge Liang, whose own military strength was at a disadvantage, with no chance to divide his forces and attack.
Obviously, if he had not known that his fate was imminent, Zhuge Liang would never have sent troops to Wuzhangyuan to seek a gambling-style decisive battle.
The goal of Zhuge Liang's previous Northern Expeditions has always been very clear, which is to leave the Qi Mountains and try to seize the Longliang area. As for annexing Guanzhong, even Zhuge Liang himself believed that the Shu army did not have such a big appetite. Constrained by the small number of soldiers and people in the Shu country,
, despite all the efforts of the whole country, only more than 100,000 soldiers and horses were gathered for the Northern Expedition. It was impossible to replicate Han Xin's strategy of feinting one way and advancing simultaneously on the other.
This can be seen from the first Northern Expedition. At that time, Zhao Yun's containment troops along the way were only two to three thousand people, and they were quickly defeated by Cao Zhen's tens of thousands of troops. Even the original owner who was responsible for guarding the street pavilion to block Wei's reinforcements
Ma Su, a large part of the reason for the defeat was that he was also short of troops.
Just imagine, Zhao Yun had enough soldiers and horses to feign attack on this route, and he could contain more of Cao Wei's main force in Guanzhong. If the original owner Ma Di had enough troops to withstand Zhang He's attack head-on, he would definitely not choose to camp on the mountain. Zhuge Liang would have plenty of money.
If there was enough time to eliminate the remaining Cao Wei resistance forces in Longyou, then the situation of the Northern Expedition would be very different at that time.
It can be seen from this that there is no problem with Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition strategy, but the powerful Wei State infinitely magnified the shortcomings of Shu Han's insufficient military strength.
The weak military strength of the Shu Han Dynasty could not support Zhuge Liang's grand dream of the Northern Expedition, which resulted in several Northern Expeditions falling short.
The scene changed to Ma Su's side.
Due to Ma Su's arrival and Yitong's precise operation, the gap in national power between Shu and Wei was quickly narrowed, and the population comparison between the two countries was narrowed from one to six four years ago (1.1 million people to 6.9 million people) to what it is today.
The ratio of military strength has also shrunk from about one to four (150,000 soldiers to 550,000 soldiers) four years ago to one to two (280,000 soldiers to 500,000 soldiers).
In addition, Ma Su led his army to defeat the Wei army several times and wiped out a large number of Wei army's elite soldiers.
The situation suddenly reversed.
The most important thing is that Wei is surrounded by enemies on all sides. Sun Quan in the east and Kebineng in the north contain more than half of Wei's troops. Wei cannot devote all its military power to the western front. Under various constraints, Shu Han becomes
The one with the advantage.
Not to mention that the Shu Han also adopted a strategy of dividing their troops. Just like in the battle of Wei to destroy Shu in another time and space, Sima Yi was tripped by Zhuge Liang in Longyou (Jiang Wei was tripped in Dazhong by Deng Ai), and the Chang'an generals faced Ma Su's offensive.
(The Hanzhong generals faced Zhong Hui’s army).
The superposition of so many favorable factors gave Ma Di the conditions to thrive in Guanzhong today.
All in all, crossing the Qinling Mountains and marching into Guanzhong has never been a problem for the Sichuan regime. The problem is that it must be tough enough. Otherwise, even if you lead troops and horses into Guanzhong, you will soon be unable to withstand it and withdraw.
If you are not strong enough, nothing will happen.
However, Ma Su clearly realized that the current good situation was only temporary.
The situation between the Three Kingdoms and the situation when Han Xin came out of Sichuan was completely different.
When Han Xin left Sichuan, the chaos in Guandong continued. Although Xiang Yu was feared by all the princes and kings, he did not have the ability to unify the world. The princes often fought for their own interests, and the Han army could take advantage of the chaos.
Today the Shu Han is not facing that situation. If the first enemy Han Xin encountered when he came out of Sichuan were three hyenas fighting each other, then the enemies when the Shu Han came out of Sichuan were two tigers.
Once the Shu Han makes a major breakthrough in the Guanzhong battlefield and even the Western Front battlefield, and captures Cao Wei's base camp in Chang'an and sends his troops eastward to Luoyang, will it happen again that the Seventh Army was flooded in the Battle of Guan Yu and Xiangfan, and that Sun Quan copied it later?
Most likely it will.
You must know that if the Shu Han were to control the five lands of Guan, Long, Liang, Han, and Sichuan, it would be exactly like the posture of the Qin State during the Warring States Period when it looked to the east. This would cause a fundamental reversal in the balance of power among the three parties of Wei, Shu, and Wu. Soochow came out
In order to maintain their own interests, they would inevitably turn around and form an alliance with the Wei State and send troops upstream from the Yangtze River to attack the Shu Han.
Therefore, the Shu-Han Northern Expedition initially reflected only the bilateral relationship between Shu-Han and Cao Wei. However, as long as the war situation changed significantly, it would inevitably involve the intervention of Soochow and evolve into a complex triangular situation.
In order to prevent the already-defunct Shu-Wu alliance from accelerating the breakdown and prevent the Wu Kingdom from prematurely falling to the Wei Kingdom, the two families joined forces to sanction the Shu-Han. Ma Di's attack on Hanzhong could only be a show-off to attract Sima Yi's army back from Longyou.
, even if successful.
As for Guanzhong, this is a delicacy that the current Shu Han cannot swallow in one bite.
When Ma Di led 40,000 troops into Mei County, he did not encounter any resistance. After seeing the banner of the Shu army, more than 500 Wei soldiers stationed in Mei County immediately abandoned the city and headed towards Zhouzhi and Chang'an.
Escape. The Shu army easily controlled the entire Mei County city.
The city of Mei County was built in the Qin Dynasty. The city walls are old and the gates are mottled. It obviously does not have much defensive capabilities. This is the main reason why the five hundred Wei troops abandoned the city and fled.
Ma Di ordered Yang Wanwan to lead 500 soldiers into the city, set up a list to calm the people, and control the situation. He also ordered the three major generals to lead 3,000 troops each to send a message to the surrounding counties, ordering them to quickly open the city and surrender.
The rest of the large army set up camp in the open area on the south bank of the Wei River outside Mei County, waiting for an opportunity to advance.
"Waiting for an opportunity to come in?"
Yang Baiwan looked at Ma Su in surprise, and then asked hesitantly: "General, our army is unstoppable now. Why don't you take advantage of Sima Division's reinforcements being blocked at Xiaoguan to rush directly to Chang'an, march to the city, and capture Cao Rui alive?"
I have to say that this proposal is very constructive.
There is also a certain possibility of success.
"As you said, our army is approaching the city and the Wei lord is trapped in Chang'an. Who will be the biggest beneficiary?" Ma Su clasped his hands behind his back and looked down at the quietly flowing Wei River, his voice a little ethereal.
Yang Baiwan thought for a while and asked uncertainly: "Isn't it me, Ji Han?"
"No!" Ma Su shook his head.
"Millions, have you ever heard the saying: When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman gets the benefit."
Yang Baiwan cupped his hands and replied: "I have heard of it. I have also heard that 'the mantis stalks the cicada, and the oriole follows'."
"Then tell me, among the three kingdoms and the five forces in this world, who is the mantis and who is the cicada? Who is the oriole and who is the hunter?"
Yang Wanwan frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The last general is stupid and doesn't know."
Ma Su glanced back at Yang Wanwan, his eyes stayed on his jade-white face for a moment, and said with a smile: "You don't need to know who is the mantis and who is the cicada, who is the oriole and who is the hunter, you just need to know
, I, Ji Han, will never be that praying mantis."
"Oh." Yang Baiwan nodded as if he understood.
The scorching sun was high in the sky, and the two generals stopped by the Weishui River, looking at the vast land across the river in trance, each with their own thoughts.