Deng Ai, who roughly estimated that Hu Zun would drive troops to coordinate the battle, also mobilized 8,000 infantry and cavalry in early July and slowly advanced towards Yuwei County.
"Gentlemen, the governor of Yongliang has sent General Pingxi to attack the Shu army! We will bravely use our lives to attack the Shu army from the front and back with General Pingxi. We will defeat the Shu army. We can honor our wife and children! We can also return to Guanzhong to be with our wife and children.
!”
This is how he explained it when faced with the doubts of the generals and his advice to fight at the right location.
But this statement does not convince everyone.
Without him, they were advancing into Yuwei County. There was the Wanyin Fortress dividing the west and east of the river. How could Pingxi General Hu Zun come to attack the Shu army?
But Deng Ai remained silent on this.
He claimed that this was a military secret and he could not reveal it.
Let me argue again: "I am going together with you. If there is no chance of victory, wouldn't I be setting myself up for death?"
This time the generals believed it, and soon they had no choice but to believe it.
As soon as Gein's army left the camp, Deng Ai sent his personal guards to burn the camp, the pontoon bridge and the garrison!
"If you advance, you will live; if you leave, you will die. Just give it a try!"
Deng Ai said so, he personally took charge of the flag and took his troops as the vanguard, vowing not to return until he died.
But what he didn't know was that when the pontoon was burned down, anger flashed across the eyes of everyone in the Conscripted Zahu Tribe and the Thousand Southern Huns Rangers.
They are not soldiers who have joined the army of Wei State, nor do they have the obligation to fight to the death for Wei State!
Among them, the Southern Xiongnu Rangers were better off, because they could return to Shuofang County through the gap between Mingsha Mountain and Helan Mountain.
But the Zahu tribe couldn't stand this.
Liu Bao, who is busy attacking the weak and ignorant, has already extended his influence to Lingwu Valley and Lian County in Helan Mountain!
If they also returned from the Helan Mountain gap, Liu Bao would definitely blackmail them for their cattle and sheep on the pretext of trespassing on his tribe's pasture, or send troops to invade their pasture.
They were just fulfilling their vassal duties and cheering for Wei, but Deng Ai actually cut off their return?
It's tolerable, but what can't be tolerated!
Therefore, whether they were marching on the road or settling in camp at night, they who originally belonged to different tribes gradually began to become familiar and intimate.
In other words, if the Wei army has the advantage in a fierce battle, they will not make any changes, but if it is disadvantageous...
Ah!
Of course, burning cauldrons and sinking ships can certainly encourage soldiers to die.
Such as the more than a thousand elite cavalry from Guanzhong and the more than 4,000 infantry who followed Deng Ai from Guanzhong to the Helan Mountains to farm.
The former are elites raised with great kindness by the Wei State, and have no fear of fighting in the face of battle; while the latter are soldiers who belong to the "World Military System" of the Wei State. Their family life and death depend on the Wei State, and they will also be forced out at the slightest thought of the Wei State.
courage.
Furthermore, Deng Ai's approach of not advancing aggressively was consistent with his strategy of waiting for Hu Zun to come and attack from a flank.
The Wuhan Iron and Steel chariots and baggage carts advanced slowly in formation. Even when Ni Shu sent a group of two to three hundred Xiliang cavalry to harass them, they were not allowed to meet the enemy. From this point of view, he should not have killed them.
Intended to be used as a battlefield consumable.
Perhaps, this time we can really defeat the Shu army and return to Guanzhong with the reward to reunite with our family!
With this thought, the morale of the Wei army was very high.
"Deng Ai must die!"
When Jiang Wei learned that Deng Ai was driving his troops out, he laughed heartily and said this.
Afterwards, he gathered all the Xiliang cavalry, broke their arrows and swore an oath, saying: "We will avenge Qu Wushan's humiliation before the snow, and resurrect the Northern General's revenge. I will not stop fighting until Deng Ai is killed!"
Liu Lin was left with 500 heavy infantry to guard the camp.
Don't send more than a hundred horses into the desert, tie branches to the horses' tails and pretend to have thousands of horses lying in wait.
Thousands of cavalry were divided into groups of more than 200 people to form five groups to invade Deng Ai's march from a long distance.
For example, he would break out of the formation, use bows and arrows to disrupt his formation and intimidate the soldiers, attack the overnight scouts at night, or make noise in the camp, etc. He also gave detailed instructions before departure, claiming that if Deng Ai came out with Guanzhong's elite cavalry to drive them away, he would not engage in battle.
, when the enemy advances, we retreat, when the enemy is stationed, we harass, and we only need to make it unbearable to be disturbed.
He himself took two hundred armored cavalry and the rest of the Xiliang cavalry and stationed them in the camp in the woods on the gentle slope of Quwu Mountain.
The camp that was originally meant to confuse people actually had two thousand soldiers.
This kind of arrangement was not intended to attack the Wei army's rear troops.
Instead, he forced Deng Ai to divide his troops.
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu says, "Therefore, if I am invisible and I am invisible, I will be dedicated to one and the enemy will be divided into ten. If I am dedicated to one, the enemy will be divided into ten. If I attack one of them with ten, I will be numerous and the enemy will be few.
If I attack the weak, I will make an appointment with the fighter."
Deng Ai had many troops and Han troops were few.
If they directly engage in a fierce battle, even if the Han army wins, it will definitely suffer a lot of losses.
Moreover, Zheng Pu had discussed with Jiang Wei before leaving, and concluded that Deng Ai's battle would be overwhelming, and his vigor would be high! Therefore, he should follow the military strategy of "Do not attack the dignified Chen without inviting the flag of righteousness."
First seize the energy, and then accumulate small victories to achieve great success.
In fact, Deng Ai also knew this.
But when he drove his troops close to the Han army camp in the woods on the gentle slope of Quwu Mountain, he still had to divide his troops.
If he did not leave troops and horses here, he would be trapped by the Han army and be attacked from both sides.
It is even more undesirable to attack the camp here with the entire army.
Because the officers and men under his command all knew that Scar Pu's great banner and the provisions of the Han army were in Yuwei County, they would also question him at the expense of the weak, and they would also face the danger of being attacked from both front and rear.
The two camps of the Han army were already in the shape of horns.
Finally, based on the terrain analysis, the camp here is on a gently sloping hillside, which is definitely more difficult to attack than the camp in the valley of the mountain in Yuwei County.
Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.
The morale boosted by burning down the cauldron cannot last long.
If he was unable to capture the Han army camp here for a long time, the morale of the soldiers would inevitably weaken, and he would not be able to create an opportunity for Hu Zunyin to attack the Manyin fortress.
In other words, from the moment he sent out troops, he had no chance to continue fighting or testing.
Yes, he only has one chance.
On the verge of battle, there is a decisive battle.
Therefore, he left two thousand infantry to camp at the foot of the gentle slope as a containment, and with three hundred Guanzhong elite cavalry as supporting troops, he continued to lead the army towards Yuwei County.
Mid-July, to.
Before the camp was settled, scouts came to report that there was an ambush in the northern desert, so they sent the Zahu tribe thirty miles north to be on guard.
After the camp was completed, he personally led the elite cavalry from Guanzhong to inspect the Han army's camp.
Seeing the granaries rising and falling, he immediately sighed, "This must be filled with yellow sand!"
Without him, these granaries were too close to the outskirts of the camp. All he had to do was let the Southern Huns rangers shoot fire arrows to set them on fire.
But he still let the Southern Xiongnu Rangers do this.
Regardless of whether it is yellow sand or grain, as long as it is ignited, it can boost the morale of the soldiers.
In fact, this was also the case. When smoke billowed from the Han army camp, all the Wei soldiers burst into cheers.
Only he was silent.
Because he didn't hear the neighing of the war horses.
According to common sense, if the fire is so strong, the war horse will neigh no matter how much the rider comforts it.