Zheng Pu finally led the army to the Yuanchuan River Basin.
The arrival time was a full six or seven days later than expected.
At that time, because the cavalry of the Wei State were displayed outside, frequently spying on the Han army's marching opportunities, Zheng Pu had to gather his troops and horses to guard the grain and move slowly and vigilantly.
With this time difference, Wei Guo arranged the camp very properly.
On the grounds that the terrain was flat and there was no danger to rely on, several garrisons on the left and right were connected in series with barracks, and they shrank diagonally to the rear. When they converged in the center, the Chinese army camp fell. If you look down from the sky, you will find that
The structure of the combined barracks of the Wei army is somewhat similar to the huge "flying geese formation" that can maximize the power of crossbows and other arms.
Moreover, many pits, trenches and other obstacles were dug outside the garrison on both sides, leaving only the land in front of the Chinese army intact.
That is the road left for your own army to attack, and it is also a dead end for luring the enemy's army to fight.
Using the Chinese army's fang flag as a temptation, the enemy soldiers swarmed in eager to kill the general and capture the flag, and then they were all shot to death with powerful crossbows by the garrison camps on both sides.
The cavalry of Wei State was stationed in Muyuan in the north, about ten miles away from here.
This distance is just enough for the cavalry to adjust its formation while the horse is slowly accelerating after attacking.
It doesn't take much thinking to know that the tactics of these cavalry are definitely to attack the flanks of the Han army during the fierce battle between the Han and Wei armies, causing the Han army to lose ground. And if the Han army retreats, they can still rely on their war horses.
With their mobility, they rushed ahead to cut off the Han army's return route, allowing the Chinese infantry to gain time in pursuit.
Overall, Xia Houru's arrangement can be regarded as an offensive and defensive one.
Naturally, it is not impossible to defeat.
At least for Zheng Pu.
When the Han army arrived here, Zhang Yi, Zhou Tai and others were busy constructing a defensive line and building a military camp with iron and steel chariots and carriages. Zheng Pu and his wife's brother Zhang Bao took their retinue and drove their horses to watch the enemy's formation.
As soon as he arrived, Zhang Bao took a brief look, then turned his head and said, "Zijin, Wei Wei has arranged this, and our army cannot attack by force."
After saying this, he hesitated briefly and added in a low voice, "If we can't induce Wei to fight, our army would rather return without success than attack by force and suffer too many casualties among our soldiers."
"Well, you can't attack by force."
Zheng Pu nodded slightly and did not look back.
Still holding his forehead with his hands to block the dazzling sunlight that was already in the west, he looked far and wide.
Zhang Bao was the only general who opposed sending troops here.
Not only because the enemy is outnumbered but we are outnumbered, but also because we feel that sending troops this time may be in vain.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's military order is for them to hold on to Pingxiang City. As long as they hold on to Longyou, they are supporting the overall situation. Why bother to send troops here to fight?
Since Jincheng County is easy to defend but difficult to attack, it is not easy for the Han army to gain advantage by attacking with troops!
To take a step back, if Zheng Pu feels that he can defend Pingxiang City with ease and his troops are left in Longyou with nothing to do, then he can send one or two troops to Xiping County or Xiaoguan to assist in the battle.
Why come here and damage your reputation?
Yes, reputation.
Zhang Bao, who has become an in-law, has a deeper consideration of Zheng Pu's reputation.
Since Zheng Pu led the army in the campaign, he has never been defeated. He has become a "constantly victorious general" according to word of mouth among the army's sergeants.
At a time when the Han Dynasty was united in the Northern Expedition, having a general who praised him so highly was extremely beneficial to the Northern Expedition. Whether it kept the morale of the soldiers high, or it was a deterrent to the Qiang and Hu tribes in Liangzhou.
But if we return here without success, wouldn't we ruin our reputation of being invincible in every battle?
But now that the matter was settled, Zhang Bao could not say much. He only tried to persuade Zheng Pu not to order a strong attack to avoid heavy casualties among the soldiers and damage to the war foundation of the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition.
Therefore, after receiving Zheng Pu's reply, he felt relieved.
Unavoidably, he sighed and said, "Oh, it would be great if we could force the rebel Xia Houru to fight. With the strength of our army, we are not afraid of him in field battles."
"Haha~~"
Hearing this, Zheng Pu turned around, looked at this extremely majestic brother-in-law, chuckled and joked, "Brother Wen Rong said this, do you think that the two hundred armored cavalry under his command can be equal to ten?"
"That's natural!"
Mentioning the cavalry under his command, Zhang Bao suddenly became very excited and said with great pride, "If Zijin can let the Xiahou Ru of Ni Wei come out to fight in the field and create an opportunity to charge into the formation, my cavalry will kill two or three of Ni Wei.
Thousands of infantrymen are no big deal!"
"There is no joke in the army!"
Zheng Pu's smile became even brighter and he continued to joke, "Brother Wen Rong, please don't make grand statements and make me believe them to be true but the arrangements are wrong."
Hearing this, Zhang Bao glanced at him.
His tone was also displeased, "Why did Zijin say such a thing? I have been in the army for many years, and An Neng doesn't know that military warfare is nothing but a piece of cake? Furthermore, the armored cavalry under my command was built by the imperial court at a huge cost. If
We can't use one for ten, just cancel the establishment! Why keep it and waste military supplies in vain?"
Well.
Indeed, the armored cavalry commanded by Zhang Bao cost the imperial court a huge amount of money.
Every cavalryman must be equipped with a dead horse.
The horse that rushes into battle wearing a horse is a good horse that is worth a lot of money. It can only be ridden during training and before battle.
The other horse is an auxiliary horse, which is slightly less qualified than the main mount for charging into battle. It is also used by the cavalry on a daily basis and serves as a backup horse for the main horse when he is injured or injured in battle.
The other two are pack horses, responsible for transporting the heavy armor and ordnance of the horsemen and cavalry.
According to ordinary conversions, the resources consumed by an ordinary light cavalry are equivalent to ten infantry; and in terms of war horses alone, one armored cavalry is equivalent to the resources consumed by training three or four light cavalry.
And the loss of armor is not calculated yet.
The armored cavalry charging into the formation, both men and horses, must wear heavy armor and be equipped with spears, swords, etc.
With the huge body of the war horse, the fine iron required to forge the horse armor is more than the 500 heavy infantry under Zheng Pu's command.
This is also the reason why it has been nearly three years since Prime Minister Zhuge Liang decided to build the Han Dynasty's armored cavalry before he was able to have two hundred cavalry. Not only were there many cavalrymen to choose from, he would rather lack them than have too many, but also because the Han Dynasty's finances were limited, so he could only slowly build up cavalry.
And the picture.
Naturally, if Zhang Bao, as the commander of the armored cavalry that cost so much money to build, did not have the confidence to fight one against ten when he charged into battle, he would have simply written a letter begging to step down and make way for someone more worthy.
So as not to disgrace his late father's reputation.
Zheng Pu knew this.
The purpose of provoking him with words was to make him give it a try.
Don't worry about Zhongzhong because it is difficult to win the battle, and feel that your two hundred armored cavalry were lost in vain.
"nice!"
He raised his palms and praised, Zheng Pu laughed, "Everyone in the world says that Brother Wenrong has the style of a maternal uncle, and today is the right time to say so! Well, since Brother Wenrong is so sure, then I will let the armored cavalry under my supervision show off here.
Bar!"
Um?
Hearing this, Zhang Bao first smiled and then was stunned.
After being stunned for a moment, he asked urgently, "Does Zijin have a way to force the anti-Wei Xiahou Ru to go out to fight in the wild?"
"There are ways, but I'm not completely sure."
Nodding in reply, Zheng Pu turned the horse's head and returned slowly.
Seeing this, Zhang Bao stood up and stroked his beard. He pondered for a moment but had no answer. He quickly drove his horse to ride side by side and continued to ask, "What can Zijin do? If you don't want to tell me first, maybe I can provide some details."
two."
"Hahaha~~~"
Unable to help, Zheng Pu smiled and said softly, "Brother, you are asking because you don't believe me. Well, Brother Wenrong, how about we make a bet. If I can force Ni Wei to fight, you have to lose to me."
One thing; vice versa. How?"
Zhang Bao, who was told what he was thinking, was slightly surprised and asked, "What is it?"
"A jar of machine bar."
Zheng Pu's tone was a little sad, "Bo Qi, Anyue and others asked for the wine from Mr. Xi and me, alas~~~~"
It also made Zhang Bao grin.
Before Zhang Yan returned to Shu, she gave each of them five jars of machine wine, so that they could drink a few sips to express their feelings when they were tired in the march.
But after Zheng Pu led his army to Pingxiang City, he gave a jar to Zhang Ni, Zhou Tai, Mi Wei, Liu Lin, and Guan Xing, who later led the army to accept the defense, and each of them lost his own life.
Zhang Bao is different.
He only had two hundred armored cavalry under his command. He only opened three jars to drink together before the troops went out, and the rest was kept for celebrations!
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with him being interested in Zheng Pu.
However, after he laughed, he refused directly, "No gambling!"
"Why!?"
Zheng Pu was surprised and suddenly raised his voice and asked.
"A few days ago, I received a letter from home."
Zhang Bao laughed softly and said leisurely, "After my family learned that I was returned to Zijin, the queen warned me in a letter not to be arrogant with you as a wife and brother. She claimed that I was only brave enough to fight with you.
The rest are not as good as anything else. I am convinced of this. Since you dare to invite me to bet now, you must have a good chance of winning."
At this point, Zhang Bao blinked and raised his eyebrows in a mocking manner, "Well, what Zijin said just now is that he is not completely sure, right? With the danger of Xiaoguan, Zijin can seize it without bloodshed, let alone force.
Are you going to fight against Wei?"
Uh~~~
Zheng Pu was speechless.
Then, he whipped his whip on his horse and galloped away.
The dust kicked up by the horse's hooves flew up indiscriminately, and all of it fell on Zhang Bao who was caught off guard, causing him to curse for a while.
Two days later.
After the soldiers built the camp and relieved the fatigue of the march, Zheng Pu asked one of his followers to go to Wei Wei's outermost military camp alone.
The retinue only held a shield, and slowly stepped into the place where Wei Guo's strong crossbowmen were aiming.
The Wei general who stood guard at the outermost military camp happened to be the king's secretary.
It was also he who stopped the impulse of his subordinates to shoot the Han envoys: Liangzhou has a fierce folk custom, and when the two armies are engaged in fierce battles, they often send envoys to invite battle. If he kills the Han envoys, it will lower the morale of his own army.
After the Han envoy had stopped within a stone's throw, he shouted loudly on the low wooden fence, "Stop whoever comes!"
Hearing the sound, the guard couldn't help but put down his shield.
Since someone was talking to Ni Wei, he would not shoot him.
He casually took out a tied piece of cloth from his arms, raised it above his head, and said loudly, "My general has a letter to your commander-in-chief, inviting your army to fight to the death the next day!"
Then, he gently placed the cloth on the ground, covered it with his shield, and turned around to leave.
Secretary Wang quickly tied one person down with a rope, fetched the cloth, and then ordered his deputies to keep a tight guard before heading to the Chinese military camp with a few retinues.
The reason why he was so eager was because he wanted to leave the camp to compete with the Han army.
It was just that it was not easy to persuade Xia Houru to give up his plan to clear the country and defend this place; if he had made any more remarks, he might have been trapped in Sangyuan Gorge.
After a while, when he arrived at the central army, he found Xia Houru. He bowed first and then handed over the cloth in his hand.
"General, Zheng Pu of Ni Shu has sent a letter of war."
"Well, a letter of challenge?"
Somewhat unexpectedly, Xia Houru took the cloth.
A brief glance showed that his face was completely dark.
This made Secretary Wang feel a little happy and a little worried.
Perhaps, the letter contained the words of Zheng Pu who was against Shu and insulted and angered the general?
I wonder if the general will be angry and go to war?
Or are you taking your anger out on me?
However, what he didn't expect was that Xia Houru closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then put the letter on the table and looked sideways at the mountains in the distance, his eyes vaguely filled with reminiscence.
What did Zheng Pu, the rebel against Shu, say that made the general act so evil?
Wang Mi was extremely surprised and did not dare to disturb him when he saw this.
Seeing that the cloth was open on the case, he narrowed his eyes and looked at it furtively.
The letter sent by Zheng Pu was not long.
say:
"I heard that you were once the commander of the heroic cavalry general, and he went to conquer Karasuma, the commandery of Dai County. Before the battle, the heroic cavalry general had a few arrows in his armor. He became more energetic and took advantage of the victory to drive north to counterattack. The king's shadow followed, and his arrogance was unparalleled. It was a beautiful story for a while. He was not talented at all, but also I once led the army into Yinping and killed countless Di captives. Now we meet on the battlefield. I hope to line up in the field the next day and dare to test whether the former heroic spirit of following the brave cavalry general is still there!"
After roughly looking at it, Secretary Wang also said to himself: No wonder.
He was Xia Houru's confidant. During their many years of working together, they had many close encounters such as drinking together. Occasionally, he heard some past stories from Xia Houru's drunken remarks after drinking too much.
For example, the heroic general is Cao Zhang.
He used to be Xia Houru's superior officer, and he was also the person Xia Houru admired the most since he took up the military post.
Not even the current Great Sima Cao Zhen can compare with him.
Today, Cao Zhang has been dead for many years, but Zheng Pu, who rebelled against Shu, used this as an excuse to invite Xia Houru to come out for a fierce battle. It can be regarded as a way to provoke the general.
There was silence in the Chinese army tent for a long time.
When Xia Houru slowly retracted his face with a lonely face, Wang Mi, who had been paying attention, asked, "General, are our troops going to fight?"
"No fight."
Xia Houru waved his hand, his voice was soft, but his tone was firm.
It also left Wang Mi speechless.
I wanted to say a few words of advice, but when the words came to my lips, I swallowed them unconsciously.
But he didn't want to, and Xia Houru said slowly, "Send someone for me to inform Zheng Pu, the traitor who rebelled against Shu. Just say that I am the general of the Wei Kingdom who conquered the west. I have been in the army for decades. If I bully him, a child with a yellow mouth, I will feel guilty." He has a shameless face and is smiling for the world. If he wants me to go to war, let him attack now. If he captures my outer military camp, I will definitely not despise him."
Is this a retort, asking Ni Shu to attack the enemy regardless of casualties?
Or are you looking for excuses for your own fear of war?
Secret Wang felt speechless again.
He didn't dare to refute, so he bowed his head and said, "Promise!"
In the Han military camp, Zheng Pu, who had received the reply from Wei, ignored Zhang Bao and raised his eyebrows with a smile. He waved to the personal guards guarding the Chinese army and said, "Go and order the entire army to go to battle tomorrow!"
