The Han army's camp, which had its back against the water, looked a little embarrassed. The wooden fences and observation towers on the outside showed signs of being damaged by stones. Occasionally, in some unobserved corners, there were still a few arrows nailed into the wooden boards.
arrow.
It has been nearly two months since the Wei army came to the battle. Many of the stone-throwing thunderbolt chariots were damaged due to frequent firing. The projectile arrows that covered the soldiers who came to destroy the antlers also covered the entire perimeter of the camp several times, but they never touched the camp.
Door.
It wasn't that the Wei army was incapable of attacking, but that Wang Chang and Hu Zhi had no intention of forcing their soldiers to fight to the death.
They attack every once in a while, and every time they destroy a few layers of antlers, they call for gold and retreat.
Even the defending Han army couldn't stand it anymore.
With such a childish tactics, the Wei army was not as efficient at destroying the antlers as they were at repairing them!
But it made Zheng Pu feel like he had no idea how to write every time he wrote a military report and sent it to the prime minister.
Without him, the camp's food reserves would be dwindling every day.
The Wei army's delaying tactics brought the war to a stalemate, and also brought him to the situation he was least willing to face - judging from the situation, it was impossible for Sima Yi to launch a decisive battle against Guanzhong before he ran out of food.
After the prime minister in Xicheng learned about it, he made some slight adjustments to the deployment.
He had already written a letter to Fei Yi, who was in charge of Ji County in Longyou, and asked him to send someone to transfer some grain before the autumn harvest.
Not much is needed.
It is enough to allow Zheng Pu and the soldiers under Guan Xingbu to persist until the autumn grain harvest in Dongsan County.
In desperation, the Prime Minister had no choice but to use the grain reserves in Fuguan!
The various ministries involved in the war in the three eastern counties had previously relied on supplies from Shu, Badi and Hanzhong counties.
Because the farmland in Longyou and Guanzhong needs to be left to Wei Yan, Wu Ban, Jiang Wei and other tribes.
After all, even if Sima Yi launched a decisive battle as the Han army wished, and Wei Yan and other troops defeated it as they wished, sufficient food and fodder would still be needed after the war to ensure that the Han army could have a strong foundation to conquer the counties and counties in the central and eastern parts of Guanzhong.
All the ferries and passes were captured, and Guanzhong was completely occupied.
Avoid the story of the Battle of Guandu in the past.
After Cao Cao of Wei Wu defeated Yuan's army, he was unable to sweep Hebei in one go, causing the war to drag on for many years.
The Han army cannot repeat the same mistakes.
Moreover, the weakened national strength has no foundation for repeating the same mistakes.
But now~
The Prime Minister can only choose the lesser of two evils.
Moreover, in the letter sent to Zheng Pu, the Prime Minister also asked vaguely, if troops were to be dispatched from Guanzhong to the three eastern counties, which unit would be dispatched so that it would not affect the overall situation.
In other words, the Prime Minister is already considering increasing the leverage to lure the enemy.
Thinking about it, there is nothing wrong with that.
Sima Yi's inability to retreat must be because he was worried, or he had a vague understanding of the Han army's plan.
However, looking at Wei Cao Rui's actions of personally taking control of Wancheng and the fact that Luoyang's Chinese army was still in Guanzhong, the Prime Minister could also infer that they actually had the intention to launch a decisive battle in Guanzhong.
The reason why you are still so late is simply because the temptation is not big enough!
In any case, based on the strategic significance of Guanzhong, both the Han Dynasty and the Wei State were eager to pursue it.
Therefore, in order to allow the Wei army to fight a decisive battle as soon as possible, the prime minister wanted to reduce the number of troops in Guanzhong so that Sima Yi could give it a go with more peace of mind.
Of course, this approach is not without its disadvantages.
Chang'an was the old capital of the Han Dynasty and an important town guarding Yongliang against the Wei Dynasty.
It has always been heavily guarded by troops. Its walls are seven feet high and thick. There are enough supplies and supplies in the city, so it can be said to be indestructible. [Note 1]
If we use the conventional method of besieging the city and attacking it, we may not be able to break it within a year or two.
The most effective way to attack the city is to wipe out all the counties and counties in Guanzhong, leaving Chang'an without any help from inside or outside, and then besiege it until the food supply is exhausted or internal chaos breaks out, and it will collapse without attack.
Now the Prime Minister plans to allocate part of Guanzhong's troops and supplies, which will make it difficult for Wei Yan and other troops to defeat the enemy in one battle; even if they defeat the enemy in one battle, it will be limited by the strength of the troops and it will be difficult to sweep Guanzhong, and the trend will depend on the message;
Let the long-cherished wish of the great man return to the old capital come true later.
Yes, I am afraid that the Prime Minister will not be able to wait until the day when he returns to the old capital.
Although the weather has improved in the summer, his health has still not improved and he does not dare to place too much hope on whether he can survive the coming winter and spring.
But faced with the realization of his personal dream and the contribution to the country, he still made a choice.
If you can't see it, you can't see it.
As long as Sima Yi of the rebellious Wei can be induced to send troops for a decisive battle, and as long as Wei Yan and other troops can be created an opportunity to defeat the main force of the rebellious Wei, the return of the Han Dynasty to the old capital will be the general trend!
At most, he can wait under the Nine Netherworld for the memorial message of good news.
Aren't the late emperors, Guan Hou, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Wu Yi and other people who died young also waiting for this day to come under the Nine Netherworld?
He can wait too
With such thoughts in mind, the Prime Minister wrote a letter to discuss with Zheng Pu which troops and horses in Guanzhong should be dispatched.
When Zheng Pu read the letter, he could roughly guess the Prime Minister's regret.
He found it difficult to accept this.
Although he had been an official for many years, he had already regarded the revival of the Han Dynasty as his life's struggle, both emotionally and intellectually, but he did not forget the original intention that prompted him to embark on an official career.
Do your best to fight for the revival of the Han Dynasty; do your best to allow the prime minister to fulfill his long-cherished wish to return to the old capital.
However, reality is often cruel.
Faced with the current situation that Sima Yi had not sent troops against the Wei Dynasty, he had no better way for a while.
At least, there is no better way to increase the temptation chips like the Prime Minister did.
He could only use the dragging technique.
In the reply letter, he claimed that mobilizing the troops and horses garrisoned in Guanzhong to come to the three eastern counties should not be done until the last step.
There are two reasons.
First, there is no need to rush.
Since the Prime Minister has asked Fei Yi of Longyou to start the transfer of grain and fodder, the Han army can at least sustain the stalemate in the three eastern counties until winter turns to spring this year; during this period, the Han army may not be able to wait for the turn of events.
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On the other hand, this move may cause unpredictable dangers.
The Han Dynasty currently has nearly 90,000 troops in Guanzhong. It is not a huge disparity in strength against Wei's army of about 110,000 in Guanzhong.
But if you think about it carefully, you will find that the Han army does not actually have an advantage.
For example, the garrison points of the Han army's various units were somewhat scattered, and it was difficult to quickly gather together to fight while passively waiting for the decisive battle.
There is also the issue of the combat effectiveness of the soldiers.
Indeed, the various tribes in Yongliang and Wei State had been beaten to the point of demoralization by the Han.
But now Wei's army in Guanzhong consists of nearly 50,000 infantry and cavalry in Luoyang's central army; it is the foundation that Wei relies on to put down rebellions from all directions and consolidate Cao Wei's empire!
Having defeated Gongsun of Liaodong, defeated Xianbei and repeatedly defeated Jiangdong, there is no such thing as low morale.
Moreover, the weapons are excellent, and almost everyone is equipped with armor.
Although the Han army is elite, and Wei Yan and others are also brave, they may not be able to defeat them in one battle after their troops are mobilized.
[Note 1: "Book of the Later Han: Biography of Dong Zhuo" also built a dock at Xi, seven feet high and thick, named "Long Live Dock"; "Book of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Dong Zhuo" built a dock at the height of Chang'an City, and accumulated valleys for thirty years.
