Xia Houru's letter was not transferred to Sima Yi until three days later.
Because he was not in Anding County and facing that county, but had already rushed to Chencang City in Youfufeng to supervise the troops.
After spending more than a year planning, half a year of planning and exhaustive thinking, he finally came to the day when the strategy was achieved - Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang sent troops!
Regardless of the lack of national power and lack of food, Ni Shu finally took the first step of militarism.
Sima Yi was both pleased and awe-struck by this.
As the saying goes, "A man who travels a hundred miles is half as good as ninety." If he is as wily and calculating as he is, he will not let things slip or make mistakes when the dawn has already appeared.
In particular, even if Ni Shu sent troops, the route and strategy were different from what he imagined.
For some unknown reason, Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang actually took the Chencang Road out of Dashan Pass instead of Xiao Pass!
If we go against Shu and come out of Xiaoguan, we can rely on our condescending geographical advantage. Whether we go south to attack the Fufeng cities on the right or go north to the Wushui River Valley to cut off the Wei army's grain route in the west of Hexi, we can assess the situation and act as we please.
Moreover, since Nishu occupied Longyou, all the troops and grain were stored in Ji County, Tianshui. Sending troops from Xiaoguan can also save the tedious transportation of grain, grain and baggage.
But if you take Chencang Road out of Dasanguan, you will have many disadvantages!
First, Chencang City is a fortified city!
In the past, when Liangzhou was out of control, rebels surrounded Chencang and attacked for nearly three months without being able to extricate them.
At that time, it also led to internal strife in the kingdom of the rebel leader who called himself "General He Zhong" and was abolished by Han Sui and Ma Teng.
Another reason is the difficulty of transporting grain and fodder.
Walking along the rugged and narrow Chencang Road, it was impossible to borrow animal power, so the food and baggage had to be transported by manpower, which would greatly increase the burden on the soldiers.
Moreover, Wudu County is a land of undulating mountains and is not rich in grain.
For the Shu army to send troops from here, they still had to transfer grain and fodder from Hanzhong or Longyou, which caused countless losses.
Not to mention the distance, in the past when Cao Cao of the Wei Dynasty conquered Zhang Lu in Hanzhong, he took the Chencang Road, and he once thought of quitting the army because of the difficulty in transporting grain and fodder.
Finally, there are the limitations of the battlefield.
Chencang City is located in Ganweizhihui (Baoji), on the north bank of the Wei River.
If Nishu wanted to besiege or attack the city, they would have to build a pontoon bridge to cross the Wei River.
In the situation where the Wei army is large and the Shu army is small, a fatal flaw will be exposed - if Shu does not all cross the Wei River to fight with all their strength, Chencang will not be in danger; but if they all cross the river, they will face another
The danger of being cut off.
Relying on his superior strength, Sima Yi sent several elite troops from Xi County up the Wei River to seize San Pass!
By then, the Shu army will be faced with a dilemma and a loss of food routes.
Become a turtle in a urn!
In fact, at the beginning of preparations for the war, all the generals and commanders of the Yongliang and Wei Kingdoms declared that if Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of Shu, could not restrain himself from sending troops, he would definitely go to Xiao Guan'er!
But things are so strange.
The Prime Minister of Shu, Zhuge Liang, only had 30,000 troops under his command, yet he dared to leave the capital of Wu!
This is why Sima Yi has an awe-inspiring heart.
He did not think that Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang could not foresee such an obvious crisis.
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster.
Therefore, it can be concluded that he must have something to rely on!
However, why did the Shu army rely on evil?
After Sima Yi supervised the troops to guard Chencang, he was still puzzled by this.
In particular, the Shu army is still camped near the river (Qingjiang River) at the mouth of Chencang Road, and has not approached the Wei River, let alone intends to enter Chencang City.
Just at this time, Xia Houru's letter arrived.
After hearing that Wei Yan's troops, who were aggressive with their troops, missed the opportunity to attack with half-crossed troops, and also held their ground and allowed Guo Huai's troops to rush to Yuwei County, Sima Yi immediately felt a chill running down his spine.
In other words, no matter how wise the general is, he can vaguely sense that danger is approaching.
What does Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of Shu, want?
In the governor's palace of Yongliang in Wei, Sima Yi, with a deep frown on his face, stood alone in front of the cowhide map, thinking carefully about his most likely oversights.
The map is very huge.
Not only does it cover the two prefectures of Yongliang, Longyou and Wudu, and Hanzhong County, but it also uses small silver needles decorated with red and yellow tails to distinguish the Han and Wei states, making the troop deployment of both sides clear at a glance.
After a long period of silence.
After Sima Yi's eyes traveled back and forth between Hexi and Youfufeng many times, he finally landed on Hanzhong County.
He did not feel that there was anything wrong with the deployment of troops in Yuwei County and Manyin City Fortress, or in Chencang in Guanzhong. However, there was still no movement in Hanzhong County against Shu!
It is also the place where changes are most likely to occur.
And he knew that there were 30,000 soldiers garrisoning Shuhan Zhongjun all year round. There were many Qinling valley roads connecting Hanzhong and Guanzhong, such as Baoxie Valley, Tangluo Road, Ziwu Valley and Yu Valley Road.
Could it be that the Shu army general wanted to use the Qinling Valley Road to sneak attack Guanzhong?
Sima Yi asked himself, and couldn't help but set his sights on Dongsanjun.
Because if the Shu army had this intention, the most likely way would be to go to Ziwu Valley.
Needless to say, the reason is that the exits of Baoxie Valley and Tangluo Road are both within Youfufeng. Before Wei lost Longyou and Cao Zhen died, many garrisons were built to guard them.
If the Shu army took these two valley roads, it would be almost impossible to hide it from the Wei army's scouts.
Moreover, he commanded a 60,000-strong army and was stationed in Fufeng on the right. Even if the Shu army deceived the scouts, they could not achieve a "surprise" effect that affected the battle situation.
There is no need to worry about the Valley Road whose entrance is within the counties of Wei State.
But if the Shu army takes the Ziwu Valley, wouldn't the Wei army garrisoned in the three eastern counties be able to cut off its retreat?
Thinking of this, Sima Yi, who once oversaw the military affairs of the two states of Jing and Henan and led his troops to Shangyong to capture Meng Da, his eyes suddenly brightened.
He suddenly remembered something!
More than a month ago, in the military report transferred from Luoyang, it was recorded that Wang Chang, the governor of Jingzhou, came forward to plead guilty: the Shuguan Xingbu stationed in Hanzhong County attacked the Xunkou garrison.
Defeat them in a single battle and destroy all the fortifications.
However, the imperial court stopped repairing and restoring the city on the grounds that Xunkou was too far away from Shangyong's garrison (the Lishu people in the west city had been expelled by the Han army and returned to Hanzhong, and the city had long been abandoned), and that it would be difficult to rescue when attacked again.
In other words, if the Shu army moves through Ziwu Valley, the Wei army guarding the three eastern counties may not be able to sleep!
Even if we are alert, we can't send troops in time to stop it!
"Someone is coming!"
Sima Yi shouted loudly to the soldiers on duty outside the office. Sima Yi, who was thoughtful and enlightened, was already sitting in front of the desk and writing quickly, planning to write a letter to warn Wang Chang, the governor of Jingzhou, so that he could make preparations in advance.
However, he was a step too late after all.
Before the soldiers on duty outside the house came in, a civil servant from the Governor's Mansion hurried over and reported loudly, "Captain, Jingzhao County is reporting urgently!"
These words also made Sima Yi stiffen.
The pen in his hand also quietly came down, staining the unfinished silk with a large mass of ink.
However, it is no longer useful.
Urgent news came from Jingzhao County in the rear, which also meant that the Shu soldiers had left Ziwu Valley.
