Blessings come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone.
The tenth year of Jianxing was not a good year for the Han Dynasty.
Following the death of General Zhao Yun in March of late spring, Chen Shi, a veteran guarding Ayang County in Longyou, also died of illness at the end of June; even Gao Xiang, who was guarding Daxia County in Longxi, also fell ill.
Although he recovered later, his body bones were no longer as strong as before.
In any case, generals who fight on the battlefield will more or less have some old wounds and hidden diseases.
Once you get older, you will have minor ailments and serious illnesses will occur occasionally.
This made Prime Minister Zhuge Liang even more worried.
Because Chen Shi died of illness, his age was almost the same as that of Gao Xiang, Wu Yi, Wu Ban and Ma Dai; and they are now the mainstay of the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition.
If so.
The consequences will be disastrous.
After all, after the Battle of Yiling, the younger generation of generals had just emerged and had not yet had time to accumulate rich battlefield experience.
But there are really not many people who can do it alone.
In response, the Prime Minister promoted Guan Xing, who was outstanding in both status and ability, to General Anbei to lead the Central Guard Army to take over the vacancy left by Chen Shi's death; he also transferred Zheng Pu's troops to Pingxiang City.
It was planned that in July before the autumn harvest, with him as the chief general and Guan Xing as his deputy, he would join forces to attack Zuli County in Wuwei County.
After Jiwang captured Zuli, he could threaten the Anyin Fortress at the north gate of Longyou and the Wushui River Valley, allowing Li Yan, who was stationed in the Xiping Army, and Wei Yan's troops outside Yuzhong County, Jincheng County to conquer Jincheng County without any distractions.
However, before Zheng Pu and Guan Xing sent out troops, the prime minister called them back.
It is not that orders are changed overnight.
But in terms of the overall situation, it is no longer possible to attack at this time.
Li Yan was defeated.
And it failed miserably.
The reason was his pride and the fact that the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty had gone too smoothly in the past few years, which made all the Han generals feel a faint contempt for Wei.
As for how he was defeated, we have to start with Guo Huai officially becoming the governor of Liangzhou in the Wei State.
At that time, the Han army was in Guanzhong and won a great victory in Yuzhong County. Moreover, Ma Dai and Shaodang Qiang King Mangzhong made a surprise attack on Zhangye County in Hexi Province. The morale of the entire Wei army in Liangzhou was inevitably low.
Even some Haoyou and Qianghu tribes began to think about how they could protect their own interests if the Han army occupied Liangzhou in the future.
Under such a situation, Li Yan, who has become the supreme commander of the attack on Liangzhou, also has an incomparable desire for success.
Whether it was to show off one's own prestige, or to open up new territories for the Han Dynasty and glorify his posthumous reputation.
He was eager.
This is also a small glimpse into the Wei army.
Guo Huai lived here and set a trap for him.
Let a Qiang tribe whose habitat is Zhiyang County, Jincheng County go to seek the surrender of the Han army and claim to be willing to act as internal agents.
His name is Ke Wu. [Note 1]
With more than five thousand tribesmen, it is considered a powerful tribe in Liangzhou.
However, he was greedy and greedy, and often allowed his clan members to do illegal things, and he was often reprimanded by the Wei army.
However, what he committed did not rise to the level of threatening the rule of the Wei state. Therefore, the successive governors of Jincheng or the captains of the Qiang Guards all followed the mentality of doing more things than doing less and did not send troops to attack and kill him.
It is just a matter of acknowledging responsibilities according to the law and confiscating some cattle and sheep property.
But many people know that the reason why Ke Wu, who had many misbehaviors, could always stay at peace under the eyes of the Wei army is that his half-sister was the concubine of the Wei general who had died in the war and Wang Mi!
Wang Mi was originally a humble man.
The first to establish one's identity was through bravery, so there was no difference between Han and Hu in the concept.
As his status gradually became noble, his thoughts became utilitarian, and he also wanted to rely on the power in his hands to make future generations one of the powerful people in Liangzhou.
Nakowu's sister is a concubine, which is one of them.
After all, if you don't have a good relationship with the Qiang and Hu tribes in Liangzhou, you won't be able to become a powerful right-winger.
Moreover, his family members were all settled in Jingzhao. Even if he established prestige, his descendants would not be able to come to Liangzhou to settle down and inherit the clan. If he had a concubine, if he had a son, he could become a branch of the clan and stay here.
Therefore, Ke Wu hit it off with him.
Ke Wu also wanted to inherit the identity and power of Wang Mi Nai, Xiahou Ru's trusted general, and expand his tribe and territory.
And in his mind, he thought further. For example, after Wang Mi passed away in the future, as his uncle, he would not worry about not having the opportunity to get Wang Mi's legacy.
It's a pity that there are unforeseen circumstances.
Wang Mi died in battle, and his hope became the moon in the water.
However, there is another kind of happiness, which is that there is no end to the road.
Guo Huai received advice from Xia Houru when he was in office, so he privately took several of his troops to visit Lai Kewu's tribe.
Few people knew about that visit; no one knew what agreement was reached.
The common people in Zhiyang County, Jincheng, only knew that after the new Zhenxi General took charge of Liangzhou, they began to sort out some injustices.
For example, in the past, relying on the power of the king's secretariat, Ke Wu, who was domineering and domineering, was dealt with.
General Guo thought that he was not doing evil and disturbing the peace of the county, so he confiscated 200 cattle and more than 7,000 sheep. He also had to recruit a thousand Qingzhuang people to bring their own food and build fortifications for the Wei army for free for a month!
What's even more annoying is that Ke Wu didn't dare to disobey.
Because Guo Huai directly led his headquarters to guard Zhiyang County, led eight thousand soldiers with strong armor to the habitat of the Kewu tribe, and very gently asked Kewu to "obey the law."
It is now the fifth month of summer.
Ke Wu could not stand the humiliation and bullying, so he frequently sent his cronies to climb over the mountains and sneak across the river to Xiping County. He claimed that he was willing to lead his people to become vassals of the Han Dynasty, but he asked the Han army to come and capture Jincheng County as soon as possible.
He also gave the Han army the garrison locations of Jincheng County generals Hao Zhao, Jia Xu, Pang Hui and Guo Huai, the number of troops and horses, as well as the ordnance and baggage of each city, the storage points of grain and fodder, etc., all of which were given to the Han army in detail.
However, Li Yan did not send troops immediately.
He only calmed down the envoy and asked him to go back and tell Ke Wu and be patient for now. After the Han conquered Jincheng County, he would definitely go to the court in person to ask Emperor Liu Chan to make Ke Wu the King of Fuyi.
It's not that Li Yan discovered Ke Wu's fake surrender.
The Qiang tribe in the Huangzhong Valley are no strangers to Ke Wu, and naturally they also know Ke Wu's current situation.
Moreover, the military information obtained by the Han army through careful investigation was almost exactly the same as what Ke Wu said.
However, adhering to the common sense of "soldiers must be cautious", Li Yan would not easily believe Ke Wu's sincerity and use troops.
In particular, he and the prime minister had already discussed the strategy of attacking Jincheng County through letters.
Instead, they asked Zheng Pu and Guan Xing to march into Zuli County, Wuwei County, and pin down the rebel general Fei Yao with more than 10,000 troops. Then he and Wei Yan would attack from the east and west at the same time, creating opportunities for Ma Dai.
Yes, Ma Dai's headquarters, which has been staying in Xihai, is the key to capturing Jincheng County.
The leader of the Xiongnu tribe, Zhiwu Dai and Bai Huwen, who had been defeated by Guo Huai and Hao Zhao in the past, came to rely on the Han.
In other words, they suffered heavy losses and had no choice but to come over and seek asylum from the big man.
Otherwise, they will be gradually cannibalized and swallowed up by the neighboring Xihai Shao as a species of Qiang.
And the big man did not hesitate to lend a helping hand to protect and support them.
For the Han people, they also do not want to see the Shaodang Qiang rise too quickly and become too big to lose.
The West Sea beyond the Riyue Mountain in the west, as well as the middle and upper reaches of the Datong River, could only be nomadic and could not be farmed, and the Han people who mainly focused on farming could not occupy it.
In this case, it is better to support and govern the tribes of Wudai and Baihuwen and treat them as constraints on the cultivation of Qiang in Shaodang.
Two wolves are easier to deal with than one strong male wolf.
Don’t forget to differentiate when you tie the knot~~
The usual method used by the Central Plains dynasty is common sense.
Naturally, the kindness of the great man's protection was not given in vain.
Zhiwudai and Baihuwen must also show their value - they were the vanguard of the Han Dynasty, leading the Han army from the mountain path to the Wuting River Basin diagonally, so that the geographical advantage of Jincheng County was wiped out.
After all, the last thing the Han army could afford was the lives of its soldiers.
As for Jincheng County, whether it is Siwang Gorge or Yuzhong Sangyuan Gorge, they are all dangerous passes that must be built with countless lives before they can be conquered.
Such a strategy is most suitable for the national conditions of the Han Dynasty.
No matter how bad Li Yan was, he would never send troops to attack Siwang Gorge in advance just because of a mere Qiang leader.
However, he soon decided to send troops.
Ke Wu gave reasons why he couldn't refuse.
The first is sincerity.
Ke Wu sent his eldest son, the future heir of the tribe, as an envoy to Xiping County and stayed in the Han army as a hostage.
He is indeed the eldest son.
Other Qiang leaders in the Huangshui Valley have confirmed this.
On the other hand, he has lived in Zhiyang County for generations and knows a small trail that can lead to Jincheng County without passing through Siwang Gorge and directly reach the Wuting Nishui River Valley.
Li Yan asked more than a dozen of his personal guards to follow Ke Wu's tribe to visit this small road.
Very secretive indeed.
It is a trail that cannot be walked by cattle or horses.
The widest part can accommodate four or five people walking side by side, while the narrowest part can only accommodate one person; and in the middle, there is a small puddle about ten steps wide that needs to be waded through.
What is gratifying is that the exit of the trail is in the pasture where the Kowu tribe lives.
It is still forty or fifty miles away from the Wei army garrison in Zhiyang County!
Such a distance, even if the Wei army knew about it, would be enough for the Han army to cross the path and prepare for battle.
Of course, if Ke Wu was ordered by Guo Huai, who was against the Wei Dynasty, to pretend to surrender and deliberately lured the Han army to go deep and destroy them in one fell swoop, then that would be considered a different matter.
But Li Yan felt that Ke Wu was not deceitful.
Ke Wu only had three sons, so the eldest son was sent to the Han army as a hostage. Isn't such sincerity enough?
Tiger poison does not yet eat seeds.
How many Qiang and Hu leaders took the initiative to send the heirs of their tribe to death during the conflict between Han and Wei?
To them, Dahan and Niwei were both Han people.
Not the same as them.
Furthermore, it is reasonable for Ke Wu to come to rely on the big man.
Wang Mi, the general of the Wei army whom he relied on previously, has died in battle!
In the past, he had done evil and bullied others. Not only was he held accountable by the Wei State, but other Qiang and Hu tribes would not miss the opportunity to add insult to injury and beat up the drowned dog, tearing off a few pieces of flesh from his body.
This is the survival rule of Xiliang.
Everyone knows it well and everyone is ready to act when the time comes.
In other words, he has no other way out except relying on the big man.
In particular, Kowu's willingness to act as an internal correspondent was not unconditional.
In the details of the negotiations between the two parties, his greedy and profit-seeking temperament was fully revealed.
It was so whimsical that after the Han Dynasty captured Jincheng County, he would give him the entire Zhiyang County as his territory! And he would never be able to levy military supplies such as horses, cattle, and sheep.
His request was naturally rejected.
The two sides went back and forth on this issue for nearly a month. In the end, Li Yan became furious and asked Ke Wu to return and continue to serve as a vassal against the Wei Dynasty. The Han Dynasty did not accept him anymore, so Fang negotiated a post-war distribution agreement.
This move convinced Li Yan of Ke Wu's sincerity.
According to common sense, if he was ordered by Ni Wei to pretend to surrender, he should try his best to encourage the Han army to penetrate deep into the enemy's territory!
How can one insist on bargaining based on one's own selfish interests?
Is it impossible not to be afraid of the Han army?
And for Li Yan, he urgently needs a big victory to prove his general strategy.
The previous attack on the Shenlang Qiang tribe did not demonstrate his ability.
Just a bunch of scattered barbarians!
If it were any veteran general in the Han army to lead the attack, the results would not be worse than his.
Not to mention, the achievements of Jiang Wei, the captain of the Qiang guard, who rushed thousands of miles and made an emergency landing of the white horse Qiang in the outer world in that battle, were even more dazzling than him.
Furthermore, after listening to Ke Wu and having his tribe act as internal agents, it was much better than the strategy he and Prime Minister Zhuge Liang decided on.
After all, the leaders of the Xiongnu tribe, Zhi Wudai and Bai Huwen, had already entered the Wushui River Valley once. No matter how stupid the counter-wei Guo Huai was, he would definitely make up for it and strengthen the defense of the Wushui River Valley.
At that time, the Han army will attack in the east and attack in the west, and Ma Dai will make another detour to advance, which may not lead to success.
Moreover, when Li Yan made a decision, there was very little opposition from his generals.
Almost ignored.
Since the prime minister asked Xue Yong to be the governor of Xiping, Liao Hua became a military general on the edge of the town and no longer participated in the war and planning to attack Jincheng County.
Li Yan's long history and Yan Yan, who led General Jianyi, had no objections.
The two generals directly affiliated with Li Yan, Li Sheng and Huang Xi, strongly agreed, and repeatedly claimed, "This is God's help, this opportunity cannot be missed, the time will never come again!"
Li Sheng and Huang Xi were both Ma Su's generals.
Due to the old battle of Xiao Guandao, the two of them were defeated and their military power was taken away by the prime minister, and they were turned into garrison in Hanzhong.
Later, Li Yan led the army to Hanzhong, but he did not have many soldiers and horses under his command, so he recalled the two of them to lead the army on the grounds that "the main responsibility lies with Ma Di and not them".
The Prime Minister had no objection to this.
Ma Su has been retained, and it is not easy for the two of them to treat him harshly.
This is also the reason why the two of them agreed - to accumulate merit.
Only Jiang Wei, the bandit general and the Qiang captain, felt that following Ke Wu's plan was too dangerous.
Because the trail is secretive, it is also very difficult to pass. Once Ke Wu is deceived, the Han army that enters the Wuting Nishui River Valley will have no way to retreat.
However, Li Yan still felt that military struggle was about life.
If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch the tiger's cubs?
During the four years of the Northern Expedition, the Han army had not suffered a single defeat, so why did they not dare to take risks?
Besides, Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, Zheng Pu and other generals were all able to defeat Wei Wei, so how could Li Yan be any worse?
After writing a letter and sending it to Hanzhong and the prime minister, he used the power to make arbitrary decisions on the spot and asked General Yan Yan of Jianyi to supervise the front, and led Li Sheng and Huang Xi to follow Ke Wu's tribe into the Wuting Nishui River Valley.
He led the central army himself and followed closely to provide support.
Jiang Wei, who held opposing views, became the rear army escorting the baggage, grain, and other supplies.
He also sent a messenger to Daxia County and asked Zhenxi General Gao Xiang's troops to secretly mobilize troops. When Siwangxia was attacked from the rear, the entire army came and attacked from both inside and outside.
As for the Wei Yan tribe far away in Sangyuanxia, Yuzhong County, Li Yan did not let anyone inform them.
Because it's not needed.
If he successfully enters the Wuting Nishui River Valley and captures Siwang Gorge, Jincheng County will be in the Han's pocket.
By then, Wei Yan's troops would not need to attack the fortress, and the troops and horses guarding the Sangyuan Gorge in the reverse Wei Dynasty would take the initiative to flee.
At this point, the outcome of the war is naturally irreversible.
——
[Note 1: Ke Wu, the leader of the Qiang people in Liangzhou during the Three Kingdoms period, once raised his troops to rebel against Wei, but was defeated by Xu Miao, the governor of Liangzhou at the time and the Qiang school captain who led the protection. 】
