In the first month of spring, Zheng Pu's troops, which had been idle for a long time, finally began to march toward Linjing County.
The infantry is the 3,000 Xuanwu Army led by Zhang Ni, the 3,000 barbarians led by Jufu, and the 500 death camp of Liu Lin. The cavalry is naturally the 3,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry. In addition, there are already
In the north of Quaigu and Yinpan counties, Liu Yin and Wang Ping's troops were camped along the Jingshui River Valley, with a strength of more than 15,000.
This kind of strength is not small for a partial division.
But for Xue Ti and Hu Zun of Wei State, they felt that Zheng Pu would not be able to attack the city and seize the territory.
Without him, Zheng Pu dispersed his troops.
Cavalry and heavy infantry are difficult to attack, and Scar Pu only has 6,000 infantry from Jufu and Zhang Yi. How can he attack Linjing City, which is guarded by Wei Pingxi General Hu Zun with more than 10,000 soldiers?
Yes, there are now more than ten thousand soldiers gathered in Linjing City.
Due to Zheng Pu's move last year to drive the people into the city with Xiliang cavalry, Hu Zun made up for it and once again strengthened the walls and cleared the country.
Instead, they moved all the common people from the counties in the east of Longdong into Guanzhong, destroyed all the small towns north of the Jing River except Linjing City, and gathered all the troops in Linjing City.
This is a helpless move.
Except for Linjing, the county seat in Longdong, the walls of other county towns were less than two feet high. They had no worries about being invaded and plundered by the Qiang and Hu tribes or horse thieves, but it was difficult to defend against the Han army's attack.
Rather than spreading out your troops to perform useless tasks, it is better to gather your troops to defend one place.
As for the migration of Li common people~~
Since Wei Wu and Cao Cao Yin, Wei State has been very efficient in migrating Li Shu people.
In other words, Linjing City now has enough garrison troops, and the food and supplies can last for two years. As long as Hu Zun does not go out of the city to fight in the field, how can Scar Pu, who has a small number of troops and scattered deployment, break the city?
Both Hu Zun and Xue Ti were puzzled by this abnormal behavior.
But he didn't feel at ease. On the contrary, he was worried.
Because of Scar Pu's reputation for being good at strategizing, they felt that he would not do anything useless.
Even if you know it's impossible, you still do it, so you have to rely on something!
They all had this thought in their minds, and they felt a little uneasy because they could not understand the Han army's plans.
Hu Zun is better.
His situation was determined. He had to defend the city and was absolutely not allowed to leave the city to fight in the field. Therefore, even if he could not understand its meaning, he could still "remain unchanged in response to all changes" and wait for time to give an answer.
However, Xue Ti's troops, who had stationed troops in Qixian County, could not deal with it calmly.
In any case, his troops not only guarded the Jingshui River Valley in Qixian County, but also had the responsibility to go north to support Hu Zun's troops.
In fact, he had some vague suspicions about the abnormality of the Han army.
He felt that Zheng Pu's move was to use his sword to approach Jing City and target his troops. The purpose was to occupy the entire Jingshui River Valley and invade the central pass.
Because even the Han armies in the three areas of Yangcheng above Guanlong Road had no intention of attacking the fortress, now that Scar Pu came, he would not be beaten to death under Linjing City. The only opportunity for Hu Zun to leave the city to fight in the field was
The meaning of his guarding Linjing City is no longer there - if Qixian County is in danger or falls, Ni Shu can ignore the Linjing City Chief and drive into Guanzhong.
But such inference will bring new doubts.
He also relied on the city to defend Qixian County. What would make Scar Pu think he could capture Qixian County or lure him out of the city to fight fiercely?
Xue Ti, who had spent his life as a soldier, could not understand it.
He also began to lament the lack of talents and good generals in the Wei Kingdom today.
At the age of only twenty-two, he was promoted to the prefect of Mount Tai by Cao Cao of Wei Wu. He was not an idiot without military strategy, but he was not a general who could lead troops and horses in battle. For example, since Wei Wu began to let him participate
In military affairs to this day, the duties and powers are all "supervision and protection", assisting the frontline generals in settling the rear and comforting the soldiers, or participating in the military affairs of the governors in various places.
But now that he is old, he has to lead a single army to fight against the enemy.
Can An not feel sad that Wei has no successor?
With this thought, he also began to be inclined to Qian Hong's frequent requests for orders a few days ago.
After the general, Qian Hong, who has a fatherly style and is fierce and resolute, knew that Zheng Pu was driving his troops to watch Linjing County, so he asked several times to lead his headquarters of three thousand Wuhuan cavalry to rush to Linjing City in advance.
, use the power of horns to support Hu Zun's troops.
There is nothing wrong with such considerations.
Why don’t you defend the lonely city~
Although there are more than 10,000 soldiers in Linjing City, half of them are county soldiers or field soldiers. When the anti-Shu troops approach the city, having Hongdu's soldiers support them outside can prevent them from feeling demoralized due to the lack of reinforcements.
However, Xue Ti was worried that after Qian Hong passed by, he would encourage Scar Pu to "encircle and rescue" in disguise.
He might concentrate his forces to defeat the Wuhuan cavalry first.
In other words, the Han army advancing with infantry and cavalry was accompanied by 3,000 Xiliang iron cavalry. Xue Ti did not think that Qian Hong had the ability to deal with Hu Zun's troops in front of Scar Pu.
Maybe after Qian Hong rushed there, it would make it even more difficult for Hu Zun to defend.
Let me ask, if he was defeated by Scar Pu, and the Han army took the prisoners under Linjing City and claimed that the Wei reinforcements had been destroyed, how could Hu Zun encourage the morale of the soldiers in the city to fight to the death in the face of the facts?
What really moved Xue Ti was when Emperor Cao Rui sent Luoyang's Chinese army into Guanzhong!
In the Battle of Shouchun last year, Cao Rui only let 3,000 tiger and leopard cavalry and more than 10,000 Luoyang Chinese troops sneak into Shouchun City and lie dormant. The remaining 30,000 troops who were not engaged in military affairs have been recharging their strength. Therefore, this year,
After the beginning of spring, some of the 30,000 troops were selected and sent to Guanzhong. There were no tired veterans who had to rest and recuperate.
Cao Rui asked Qin Lang to be the governor and led 2,000 tiger and leopard cavalry and more than 20,000 Luoyang Central Army to Beiyuan where Sima Yi was stationed.
Subsequently, more than 5,000 soldiers were selected from Yanzhou, Hedong and Hanoi counties. They were led by the newly appointed prefect Zuo Fengyi and the governor of Jiaxi Zhonglang General Chen Bensuo. They guarded the heavy supplies of food and grain and entered Zuo Fengyi behind.
Chen Ben, whose courtesy name was Xiuyuan, was the son of Situ Chen Jiao.
He has served as the governor of many places before and has achieved political achievements in all places. He has the ability to lead the army and can make his subordinates fulfill their duties.
Since the Li Shu and Qiang Hu tribes in Longdong counties were moved to Zuofengyi for resettlement, dozens of incidents such as thefts, robberies, and fights that disturbed public order have occurred within a few months.
Although it is not enough to disrupt the farming activities behind the army, we still need to be vigilant to guard against the slightest mistake.
Therefore, Chen Ben, who had just finished mourning for Chen Jiao, was transferred to Zuo Fengyi by Cao Rui, hoping that with his leadership and talent, he could give the Yongliang army a stable rear area and supervise the rationing of grain, fodder, and supplies in the rear area.
As soon as Chen Benfu took office, he wrote a letter to Xue Ti.
Claiming that Sima Yi, the governor of Yongliang, had sufficient troops and horses to defend the north and Chang'an, he asked him to leave the five thousand soldiers accompanying him in Zuo Fengyi, and the defense deployment would be determined by himself. But Zuo Fengyi, who was in the rear, originally had
The county soldiers maintained public order, and he did not need so many soldiers, so he asked Xue Ti if he needed reinforcements.
If necessary, he would dispatch three thousand soldiers to transport grain and fodder.
By the way, corvee collection and corvee collection are omitted, so that the common people in Li will feel less slanderous.
At the same time that Xue Ti received Chen's letter, Sima Yi also welcomed another increase in troops.
With the help of the Luoyang army to defend, Sima Yi was afraid of Zheng Pu, so he asked Guanqiu Jian to supervise 5,000 soldiers and Xiahou Xian, who supervised the rest of the Wuhuan Tuqi, to come to Qixian County to join forces with Xue Ti.
, working with Hu Zunbu to provide support.
As a result, the strength of the Wei army that entered Longdong was more than double that of Zheng Pu's troops.
This move cannot be said to be due to Sima Yi being too cautious.
Judging from the current situation, everyone in the Wei Kingdom knew that Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's troops were trapped in Chencang City, and Wei Yan's troops were camped along the Lianshui River Valley. They would not fight in the north until Chencang City fell.
The war between the two sides this year is only in Longdong.
The variables that determine the quality of the confrontation between the left and right sides in Guanzhong are also in Longdong.
In this way, it is good to be prepared.
But there were more troops and horses arriving, and there were disadvantages. For example, when Xue Ti and Guanqiu Jian gathered together yesterday to make plans, the generals had different opinions.
Some suggestions for generals to lead or join the army are very conservative.
It is claimed that Wei's current strategy to defeat Shu is to take a defensive stance. The soldiers and horses entering Longdong should not be able to fight fiercely against Shu without permission, so it is recommended to sit back and watch what happens.
Wait until the intention of Scar Pu, who came alone, is clear, and then make a plan.
This kind of passive response, asking for suggestions that do not seek merit but no fault, is ignored by everyone, and there is no need to discuss it.
Some people's suggestions are quite satisfactory.
If you advise, you can lead the troops to attack the camp set up by Liu Yin or Wang Ping in Ni Shu.
It doesn't matter whether it can be conquered or not, as long as a camp can be conquered until it is in danger, forcing Scar Pu to lead troops to rescue.
Because the Wei army was in a defensive position and could advance and retreat freely.
When Scar Pu led his troops, the Wei army retreated to Qixian and continued to defend; after leaving, they went to attack again. Repeatedly, they were exhausted and had no chance to attack Hu Zun's troops in Linjing. Naturally, this can also be achieved. The deployment of Yongliang's army was in compliance with Sima Yi's general order of "be sure to protect Longdong."
And there is no need to worry that after the troops leave Qixian County, they will unexpectedly encounter Scar Pu in a fierce battle in the wild.
There were six thousand Wuhuan cavalry scattered in various places on guard. It was impossible for Scar Pu to conceal the Wei army when he led his troops.
This suggestion won Xue Ti's heart.
He felt that this approach maximized the advantage of the Wei army's larger force and avoided the uncertain danger of a field battle with the Han army.
But another suggestion won more people's hearts.
Taking advantage of the scattered troops of Scar Pu, who was almost alone in the attack, he concentrated his troops to break it.
If Xue Ti's headquarters can be left to continue to guard Qixian County, the rest of the troops, under the supervision of Guanqiu Jian, will advance on foot and cavalry to Linjing County and set up camp to support each other with Hu Zun's troops.
If Scar Pu was trapped in the city and attacked, Xiahou Xian and Qian Hong would harass him with his cavalry.
If they don't attack, they will confront them and wait until their supplies are exhausted and the veterans of their division are tired and return, and then join forces with Hu Zun's troops to pursue them.
In the same way, it doesn't matter whether the pursuit leads to victory or not.
The important thing is that the Scar Pu tribe had no choice but to withdraw from Longdong. After they achieved the strategy of ensuring that the Jingshui River Valley was not occupied by Shu, they were able to go north to regain Yuezhi City, defeat the Qianghu tribe and Haoyou who were working as collaborators, and migrate back. Guanzhong will reduce hidden dangers for the future defense of Linjing County.
Moreover, this move was intended to support the governor of Bingzhou and protect the Xiongnu lieutenant general Tian Yu.
Yes, Tian Yu supervised the troops entering Yunzhong County at the end of last year!
The prefects of Shuofang County and Wuyuan County still discovered Liu Bao's ambition of the Southern Huns.
He claimed to be expelling the traitorous Xianbei Tuoba Tribe for the Wei State, and took the food and supplies provided by the Wei State to go to war. However, he secretly collaborated with Tuoba Liwei to annex other Zahu tribes, and attempted to share the Hetao Plain with the Xianbei Tuoba Tribe!
The Hetao Plain has now been formed, with the Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei Tuoba tribe allied to fight against Wei.
Therefore, in order to avoid the Qianghu tribe and the Haoyou in the northern part of Anding County, some communist alliances united to form one force, or went north to attach themselves to the Southern Xiongnu and Xianbei Tuoba tribe, becoming a border trouble for Yongzhou of the Wei State, and took advantage of the situation to regain the Yue. For the Wei State, the branch city was a far-sighted means of being prepared for danger in times of peace.
With so many advantages combined, it is not surprising that the proposal to send troops to Linjing County was supported by everyone.
In particular, the various generals gathered in Qixian today, such as Guanqiu Jian, Xia Houxian and Qian Hong, are all in their prime, and they are most eager to make achievements on the battlefield.
The two viewpoints were at loggerheads, and the military discussions ended in vain.
However, after the deliberation was dismissed, Xue Ti privately asked Guanqiu Jian and Xia Houxian to come for reconsideration.
Although he is the general here, his main responsibility is to guard Qixian County. It is the responsibility of Guanqiu Jian and Xiahou Xian to rush to Linjing County.
He must respect their opinions, both emotionally and rationally.
In other words, Guanqiu Jian and Xia Houxian were both close to the emperor Cao Rui, and they would one day replace them as veteran ministers in power or pastoral care.
When the retinue led the two of them to arrive, Xue Ti didn't say much.
He directly handed over Chen Ben's letter to them, and then closed his eyes to rest.
The meaning is obvious.
They have different responsibilities, so they can make their own decisions on how to deal with Scar Pu's invasion, and he won't comment anymore.
The younger Xia Houxian was very happy after reading Chen's letter and took the lead in saying, "With Chen Xiuyuan sending troops to help, we have a greater chance of winning when we march to Linjing!"
He was the one who made the suggestion to rush to Linjing County now.
To his joy, Chen Ben sent 3,000 people to help, which eliminated the crisis in his proposal.
Yes, it is also dangerous for them to rush to Linjing County when the Han army has already advanced.
For example, Scar Pu, who had learned the news, came straight to intercept him. The two armies met in the wild and were forced to turn into an unexpected battle.
This is because the troops and horses they can rush to support are mainly cavalry.
With six thousand Wuhuan cavalry, the daily consumption of food and fodder by the men and horses was a very terrifying amount.
Including the baggage and missing arrows and other ordnance in the field, it would be impossible to defend the vehicle formation in a short period of time with only 5,000 infantry. Even if the vehicle formation is successfully formed, there will be too few infantry to protect the vehicle formation. This allowed the Han army to find an opening for a breakthrough.
But after Chen Ben transferred the three thousand infantry, this problem was solved.
"Guardian, in my opinion, our army should march into Linjing."
Guanqiu Jian, who had not expressed any opinions during the military meeting, finally expressed his position after reading Chen's letter, "Our army is twice as large as Scar Pu and doing nothing will probably damage the spirit of the army's sergeants and undermine the prestige of our country."
Alas, sure enough.
Hearing this, Xue Ti sighed in his heart.
He already guessed this outcome when he gave Chen Shu's letter to the two of them for review.
He nodded lightly and said, "Okay. After you and the supervisors have gone, if Scar Pu comes to attack me with his troops, there is no need to come back to rescue me."
But they had just made a decision when the military information from the scouts disrupted their plan - Scar Pu actually abandoned Linjing and led his troops into Beidi County!
