The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the night is deep.
Amidst the continuous snores of the soldiers, the insects chirped happily, making the fortress feel even more secluded at night.
On top of the brightly lit city, Zheng Pu and Zhang Bao stood side by side, holding on to the crenellations of the city wall and looking at the river woven like countless silver threads under the moonlight, silent.
As for Zhuge Qiao, the two of them would talk about their family affairs, but they had already stopped because they were tired.
However, he didn't know that Zheng and Zhang were not in the mood to talk about family matters.
The reason is that after Zheng Pu heard what Zhang Bao said about the sudden decrease in the number of messengers, he found the Qiang cavalry who had escorted the skeleton back. He rushed to find Jiang Wei early tomorrow morning and asked him to bring the broker Shi Puli who was accompanying the army as a guide and the selected Bai Bai.
The remaining elite cavalry were sent back.
This move made Zhang Bao a little surprised.
In his eyes, it was not unusual for the number of envoys from powerful people in Hexi to decrease.
A few days ago, he received letters from various powerful people, and he also knew that they were a group of guys with different personalities.
Except for Lu Shuihu, who was oppressed by the rebel Wei, the letters written by everyone else were full of high-profile words, without a clear-cut declaration of allegiance to the Han, and none of them were willing to serve as pawns or internal agents for the Han's attack on Hexi.
In other words, they sent people here just to spy on the big man's attitude.
There was no need for them to express their stance prematurely before Wei Ping's troops lingering in Jincheng County were defeated.
Now there are fewer envoys, just because Jiang Wei has led his army into the Wuting Nishui River Valley for more than ten days, letting them know that a new round of fierce battle between Han and Wei is about to begin, so they gave up the unnecessary spying.
After all, if the Han army wins, how the Han governs Hexi will be put on the table, and there is no need to pry again.
And if the Han army returned in defeat, then there would be no need for them to make excuses with the Han army.
But Zhang Bao also felt a little uneasy in his heart.
He knew Zheng Pu too well.
This brother-in-law rarely makes mistakes, and he has a very keen sense of war planning and guessing the enemy's intentions.
And he could roughly guess the reason why Zheng Pu asked Jiang Wei to send more than a hundred cavalry back - Zheng Pu guessed something, but he couldn't be sure, so he wanted to use the broker Ship Puli's understanding of Hexi to
Just let the hundreds of cavalrymen explore the truth.
But, where is the danger around the Fortress of Jianyin?
The troops of the Wei Dynasty in Liangzhou were all huddled in Jincheng County. With only 20,000 soldiers with shaky morale, it was difficult to boost morale in defending the city. How could they dare to go out with ulterior motives?
The main force of Wei Wei in Guanzhong returned in defeat at the beginning of the year. It was also the replacement of old and new commanders, and it was impossible to send troops.
As for the governors of the Hexi Corridor appointed by the counter-wei, they were divided and had very selfish motives. Even if Yang Fu, who had outstanding prestige, was able to bring them together, they could not be allowed to organize a coalition to build momentum for the counter-wei.
"Did Zijin realize that Ni Wei had an ulterior motive with his actions?"
Confused, Zhang Bao could not help but ask in a low voice.
"Um?"
Zheng Pu, who woke up from his deep silence, was slightly stunned.
When he saw the worry hidden in Zhang Bao's eyes with a tired face, he couldn't help but smile, "Brother Wen Rong is worrying too much. If I discover anything, I should recruit Jiang Boyue's troops back as soon as possible.
Well, brother, I also know that the prime minister sent me to the city fortress, and my other duty is to protect the general in front of him in his attack on the grain road in Jincheng County. If I don't send scouts to Yuwei County to explore, I will always feel uneasy."
Just out of duty, should we send scouts to Yuwei County, which is hundreds of miles away and has been abandoned for many years?
In terms of geographical location, even if the prefects of Wei's Hexi counties attack the grain road, they should go down the river valley along the Wuting River. It is impossible to stay close and hide their troops in Yuwei County, right?
Zhang Bao raised his eyebrows slightly, somewhat dissatisfied with this answer.
But he himself couldn't find anything strange, so he simply gave up.
Anyway, with the arrival of Zheng Pu, he was temporarily relieved of his duties as the fortress commander. He could just obey orders and wait and see what happens. There was no need to worry too much.
And just in time, take this opportunity to relax your mind.
He had been guarding this fortress for more than a year, which was related to the Han Dynasty's recapture of Liangzhou. Every day he was walking on thin ice with fear, which made his hair turn white.
"Hey, that's up to you."
Zhang Bao, who was no longer entangled, raised his head and yawned, turned around and headed towards the city, "I have been quite tired recently, so I will go and rest. Zijin has been working hard all the way, so don't worry too much."
"Okay, brother, do it yourself."
Watching Zhang Bao's back disappear, Zheng Pu turned to look at the wilderness covered with bright moonlight and pondered.
He didn't deliberately hide anything from Zhang Bao, but he couldn't explain the reason.
Ever since he knew that the Wei State used Sima Yi to control Yongliang's troops, he felt a little wary, even suspicious.
Perhaps, in the eyes of the world today, Sima Yi used troops swiftly, fiercely, decisively, and as powerful as thunder, such as capturing Meng Da within a short period of time, running thousands of miles to attack Liaodong, etc.
But in Zheng Pu's heart, Sima Yi was the kind of hunter who was very tolerant and disguised.
A hunter who paralyzes his prey until he feels it is safe, and then delivers a fatal blow by surprise.
Therefore, Zheng Pu did not believe that someone like Sima Yi would be trapped by the objective conditions of the turbulent morale of the main army in Guanzhong and sit back and watch the Han Dynasty regain Liangzhou without hindrance.
He must do something!
This was Zheng Pu's conclusion and the reason for his uneasiness.
When he was on the way, he deduced countless possibilities in his mind, but he could not deduce how Sima Yi would act.
There was no way to give Zhang Bao a clear explanation.
You can't say that you asked the scouts to explore Yuwei County because you were afraid of Sima Yi, right?
As a commander-in-chief, how could An Neng seize the opportunity and undermine his own morale?
That's all, there's no point in thinking too much.
Let the scouts be more vigilant, expand the scope of the warning, and remain unchanged in response to changes.
Zheng Pu, who had temporarily put aside his thoughts, suddenly felt that he was surrounded by the fatigue of days of marching and trudging, and his whole body was weak.
However, just when he turned around and wanted to go down to the top of the city to rest, he found a person standing quietly beside him for a long time.
It is general Yan Yu who is on duty tonight.
Seeing that Zheng Pu turned around, he bowed respectfully and said, "If you disturb Zheng Hujun, I have a favor to ask."
Well.
You and I have barely met each other, so why should we ask each other in private?
Involuntarily, Zheng Pu was a little stunned.
Without calling him to get up, Zheng Pu quietly stroked his beard for a moment before asking, "What Wen Ping is asking for is for the thief Ke Wu?"
Ke Wu was the leader of the Qiang people who followed Guo Huai's orders to surrender to Li Yan and killed more than 10,000 elite men of the Han Dynasty.
Yan Yu's father, Yan Yan, died in this battle.
"Yes."
Yan Yu straightened up and said with a sad expression on his face, "Yu Shaogu, I relied on my father's support to understand the truth of the world. However, without waiting for my reward, my father lost his life at the hands of his thief son Ke Wu! If Yu didn't kill this beast, how could he have done it?"
Just live in this world!"
After saying this, before Zheng Pu could say anything, he added, "I know the laws of the army. You cannot seek personal gain and misdirect the overall situation, nor do you ask the army to send me to follow the former general to attack Jincheng County. A few days ago, Dang
General Kou returned with military intelligence and claimed that the traitor Ke Wu had moved his entire family to Xiutuze, Wuwei County. Therefore, what I am asking for is that if my Han army moves to the west of Hexi, please have mercy on me, as my father died in the army.
, change my responsibility of guarding the city fortress, and stop slaughtering Ze Ze after the conquest!"
Only after Jincheng County was captured, the Han Dynasty would march westward.
By then, Zheng Pu's duty of protecting the rear grain road will have been completed, and he will definitely march to the Hexi Corridor with Wei Yan.
If you want to bring Yan Yubu with you, it's just a matter of writing a letter.
"Wen Ping is determined to fight against thieves. Do I have any reason not to allow it?"
Zheng Pu nodded lightly and continued to walk down the city, "However, there are many thieves in the Kewu tribe and the tribe is strong. If Wen Ping wants to avenge his hatred, he needs to train his soldiers more."
Behind him, Yan Yu bowed again and said, "No! Thank you Hujun for your success!"
Walking slowly, as he passed the snoring military tent, Zheng Pu entered his tent and slept in his clothes.
Just when he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly woke up.
He suddenly remembered the strange place where Ke Wu moved to Xiutuze.
With the support of Ni Wei, Ke Wu's tribe has grown to more than 30,000 people, with nearly 8,000 sword and spear wielders. Their strength is comparable to that of a prefect of a county. Just when the Han Dynasty was about to attack the city, Ni Wei actually tolerated him.
Why not leave Jincheng County instead of leaving it to guard with Wei Ping?
It would be unreasonable to say that he moved privately to avoid swordsmen.
After he falsely surrendered and killed more than ten thousand elite men of the Han Dynasty, Ke Wu must have been very clear that he had become the enemy that the Han Dynasty wanted to kill quickly. It made sense to move first to avoid the front of the army.
However, since they were avoiding the war, why did they choose to move so close to Wuwei Xiutuze, which was at the forefront of the Han army?
Wouldn't it be better to move to Juyanze in the Juyan vassal state of Zhangye (Wei Xihai County), or to Shulehe Mingze in Dunhuang County?
Moreover, the governors or nobles in the Hexi Corridor have no close relationship with Ke Wu. How can they allow Ke Wu to come with his entire family to seize pasture land?
Perhaps, this matter is related to the recent sharp decrease in the number of powerful envoys in Hexi Province, and it should also be one of the plans of the counter-wei Dynasty in response to the Han troops coming out of Jincheng County.
I just don’t know whether this matter was planned by Yang Fu, the governor of Wei Liangzhou, or was planned by Sima Yi who was far away in Guanzhong.
