The increasingly fierce fire in the Fortress of Anyin tore through the night sky and illuminated the Quwu Mountains behind it.
However, the troops of Wei Ping and Zheng Pu, who were both camped on the east side of Hanpingchuan, more than thirty miles away from Eanyin Pagoda, could not detect this change with the naked eye.
Fortunately for Wei Ping, Xu Zhi's military governor sent people to ask for help.
The reason why Zheng Pu learned the news not even half a minute slower than Wei Ping was because of his previous arrangements.
Initially, after he led his army to camp here, he discussed with Guan Xing and Zhang Bao many times how to deal with Jiang Wei's attack.
Many troops are frequently sent out to pretend to attack and harass, etc., all of which are based on the collective efforts of everyone and their own insights.
But as for the time when Jiang Wei attacked Gu Yinsai, the three of them saw the same thing: at night.
After all, if Jiang Wei launched an attack in daylight, he would not be able to hide his whereabouts, turning a surprise attack into a fatal blow.
Therefore, for more than two months, Zhang Bao's two hundred armored cavalry were regarded as light cavalry, and together with Liang Yuanbi's hundreds of tribesmen, they worked in shifts day and night to monitor the movements of the Yinsai.
When the cries of killing were heard in the fortress and the fire broke out, the surveillance rangers quickly drove their horses back to report.
The message was delivered earlier than Wei Jun.
Moreover, the army can be organized very quickly.
Thanks to the fact that troops were sent out every day to confuse and rebel against the Wei Dynasty, the Han soldiers did not take off their armor, their horses did not rest their saddles, and all the soldiers were prepared for danger.
Especially the two tribes of Zhoutai and Liuyin, who sent out troops in consecutive days, developed a tacit understanding between the generals and the soldiers. When Zheng Pu got the news, they had already started to form formations as soon as Zheng Pu got the news.
The only thing that delayed a little bit of time was Zhang Bao's armored cavalry and Liu Lin's heavy infantry.
The heavy armor they wore was made of fine materials and expensive. It was hung on stands and carefully maintained during non-war times.
However, as the decisive battle force when approaching battle, they have never acted as the vanguard, and a slower pace will not delay the dispatch of troops.
Another reason is that the Wuhan Iron and Steel carts and baggage carts in the military camp did not interfere with the gathering of soldiers.
During the day, Zheng Pu had already asked his soldiers to pack all the baggage. According to the plan, the Han army would prepare food at the fourth watch tomorrow and return to Longyou at the fifth watch.
Jiang Wei was on time, and the last day for Zheng Pu to withdraw came.
In other words, Zheng Pu could not believe that his plan would kill Jiang Wei, so he waited for a few days in Hanpingchuan, hoping for a miracle to happen.
It's not overdue, and Jiang Wei goes deep alone
This imminent inference destroyed everyone's luck and had to accept the facts.
On the fifth day after he was overdue, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang in Anding County began to withdraw his troops.
When the deadline was eight days overdue, Wei Yan, the former general stationed in Zuli County, not only sent people to inform him that no more grain and fodder would be brought in, but also stopped repairing the city, garrisoning the walls and other defenses.
After all, if the Han army could not capture the Anyin Fortress, the strategic significance of Zuli County as an isolated city would also disappear.
Continuing to occupy it will only cause greater losses to the Han army.
For example, if Cao Zhen's army rebels against the Wei Dynasty and leaves the Wushui River Valley, it will inevitably trap Zuli County without attacking it, and encircle it for reinforcements. This will put the Han Dynasty into a dilemma: it is useless to save it, and if it is not saved, it will lose the heart of the soldiers.
In this case, it is better to give up first and guard all the troops on Longyou.
This was used to lengthen the supply line for counterattacks from Wei and increase the complaints of the common people in China being conscripted into corvee service.
Therefore, I have to say that Jiang Wei is really lucky.
Twelve days later, there are still friendly troops waiting to respond. The main reason is Zheng Pu's unwillingness.
Zheng Pu is also very lucky.
Jiang Wei's refusal to give up allowed him to eliminate the confusion in his heart.
In his heart, he never thought that his plan would send the most outstanding generals of the younger generation of the Han Dynasty and more than 10,000 soldiers to a point of no return!
In these years of military warfare, he has gone very smoothly.
Every time I devise a plan, I almost leave no stone unturned, and all of them make great achievements.
It also made him more and more bold, and he became more and more eccentric, and he became greedy for success in one battle, similar to Wei Yan's "do it or die" extreme!
And don’t know it!
I have completely forgotten why a soldier is a bad person and should be careful about it, and why a good fighter has no great achievements!
During the period when Jiang Wei was overdue, he forced himself to remain calm and swore to Guan Xing and Zhang Bao to emphasize various reasons why Jiang Wei would not fail.
But when he was alone in private, he couldn't help but fall into self-doubt.
After nearly ten years of military service, he felt at a loss for the first time, felt uneasy, and had a thorough self-examination.
Although this plan was approved by the Prime Minister, Jiang Wei generously accepted the order.
Even if he failed, many generals would not accuse him of poor planning, nor would they face the situation in the past when Li Yan was demoted after burying more than ten thousand elites.
But this has nothing to do with official career, but with one’s own heart.
If the surprise attack fails, it will inevitably alert the enemy.
No matter how stupid Ni Wei is, he will understand the strategic intentions of the Han Dynasty and then make up for it.
In the future, if the Han Dynasty wanted to attack Liangzhou again, they could only hope to break through the dangerous passes such as Siwang Gorge or Sangyuan Gorge and pile up the corpses of soldiers as high as the city walls.
Moreover, a thousand-mile embankment collapsed in an ant nest.
Li Yan has already been defeated. If Jiang Wei's entire army is wiped out again, how long will the Han Dynasty have to lie dormant to recover?
With the war history of Ni Wei and Cao Zhen's general strategy, will the Han be allowed time to slowly recover?
The answer must be no.
Perhaps, once Jiang Wei fails, in the days to come, Wei Wei will use its strong national power to drag the Han into the quagmire of war at all costs, so that the Han will become poor and weak in the continuous flames of war!
Finally, under the pressure of powerful foreign aggression, internal troubles ushered in!
Nowadays, the unity of all forces in Bashu is based on the hope that the Han Dynasty can conquer the Central Plains!
Once this hope is shattered, people's hearts will disperse.
The vast majority of people will miss the secluded peace of Bashu, and then lose the spirit of the Northern Expedition; the vast majority of powerful families will yearn to reverse the nine-rank official system of the Wei Dynasty, and then people will have different ideas and follow the rules.
Fortunately, things took a turn for the better.
When the night patrol came to report the news, even Zheng Pu, who had experienced life and death in an instant, almost couldn't help but want to raise his arms and roar to vent his emotions.
Immediately, beat the drums and gather the troops.
Liang Yuanbi's hundreds of light cavalry were sent in advance and immediately rushed to the Fortress of Yin.
The mission is not to support Jiang Wei, but to make noise in front of the Yin Fortress to let Jiang Wei's soldiers, who are mainly Qiang and Hu tribesmen, know that they are not fighting alone! Even though they have been overdue for many days, the big man still has not abandoned them.
, there will still be soldiers and horses to meet them!
Zhou Tai and Liu Yin, who formed the army very quickly, were appointed by him as the vanguard and immediately led the army to Ni Wei's camp.
They do not need to capture Ni Wei's camp, they only need to delay the time, block Wei Ping's reinforcements from going to rescue Ji Yin Sai, and allow the main force of the Han army to arrive.
However, the balance of victory and defeat in this battle is no longer within the scope of the war.
But outside Hanpingchuan, it is time for the two armies to send troops!
Zheng Pu did not need to discuss this with Guan Xing and others before he could make a conclusion - after Jiang Wei led his army to attack for hundreds of miles, he was still able to successfully enter the Fortress, which was enough to conclude that the Fortress must change hands.
As far as the Han army is concerned, as long as they can hold back Wei Ping's troops and prevent him from rushing to the aid of Guanyin Sai, they will be sure to win this battle.
After all, even if the two sides were fighting equally, Zheng Pu could still send people to find Wei Yan to divide his troops for reinforcements!
As for Wei Ping, where can we get reinforcements?
There is no hope for the Hexi Corridor.
As for Cao Zhen, who is stationed in Anding County, it is too far away from here. By the time he gets the news and comes, the war will be over long ago.
Wei Ping, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, also knows this well.
His only chance to reverse the situation was to enter the Fortress before the arrival of the Han army, wipe out Jiang Wei's tribe, and then rely on the fortress to defend it.
Therefore, after learning that Xu Zhibu Qu had sent an envoy to ask for help, he did not waste a moment beating drums to gather troops.
However, it's a pity.
A slight mistake can lead to a mistake of a thousand miles.
Like the garrison soldiers at Ganyinsai, his subordinates had been nesting in the camp these days, sitting bored and watching the Han army's futile efforts.
How can the soldiers who have been slacking off for a long time quickly organize their troops into formation when they are confident?
When the generals at all levels finally scolded the sleepy soldiers and marched out of the army tents to form formations, Wei Ping was helpless to find that the Han army who had set up camp ten miles away had already arrived in front of his own camp and was waiting in formation with loud drums and loud sounds.
He also finally knew the true intention of the Northern General Scar Pu who had rebelled against Shu and stationed his troops in Hanpingchuan.
At first, he thought that the purpose of this attack against Shu was to capture Anding County; and Scar Pu led the army here just to prevent the troops from the four counties in Hexi from disturbing Longyou.
It turned out that the purpose of Ni Shu was actually the most unlikely to be broken.
Just where did the soldiers and horses who went against Shu to attack Yanyinsai come from?
Could it be that there are powerful people in the four counties of Hexi or the Qiang and Hu tribes have rebelled?
But with the governor Yang Fu and the general Jia Xu leading the troops to guard Wuwei Guzang, how could the rebellious Haoyou or Qianghu tribes come here to kill without saying a word!?
Wei Ping was full of confusion, but he didn't dwell too much on it.
In this situation, there is no need for an answer.
His only thought was to break through the Han army's obstruction and rescue Jianyinsai.
In other words, it is self-rescue.
If the soldiers and horses under his command could not enter the Fortress of Ear, they would be isolated and helpless and be killed by the Han army that followed.
Ni Shu has captured Zuli County, and it is not far from there to Hanpingchuan.
It's time, the fourth watch of the night.
Wei Ping came out in full force and personally beat drums to supervise the battle.
Zheng Pu also led the rear army to arrive, and the two sides started a field battle outside the Wei military camp.
In real field battles, neither side has the support of weapons and steel chariots, and there is no time to set up strong crossbow formations or strong bow formations to suppress them; there are no obstacles such as trenches, iron caltrops, and antlers; all troops are suddenly gathered in battle, and they only rely on bravery and morale to fight.
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The Han army, with more than 7,000 troops, faced the Wei army with 8,000 infantry and cavalry, and refused to give an inch.
The Wei army does not care about casualties. They advance without retreating. Anyone who violates the rules will be killed!
On one side were the elite troops that the Wei State relied on to guard the Hexi Corridor, and on the other side were the tiger and wolf warriors that the Han relied on to conquer the Central Plains. They collided fiercely.
For a time, the two sides were fighting inextricably and were evenly matched.
However, after fighting for two quarters of an hour, both sides refused to give an inch, and both sides actually lost more than five to six hundred soldiers. The scene was extremely tragic.
The corpses of dead soldiers slowly piled up on the battlefield, forming an obstacle to each other's attacks.
But the war drums on both sides were still roaring like thunder, and the sound was urging the whole world to tremble.
Corpses kept piling up, the soldiers beating the drums changed one after another, and the war was still in full swing.
"kill!"
"kill!"
It's the fifth watch and dawn is gradually dawning.
The light blue sky is inlaid with a few remaining stars, and the earth is hazy, like a silver-gray veil.
From the direction of Manyin City Fortress, a flag slowly floated from the ground, heading towards the place where the two armies were fighting.
Wei Ping and Zheng Pu both looked away in unison.
After a while, Wei Ping closed his eyes and raised his head.
He could tell that the flag was embroidered with the Chinese character for Douda.
