Chapter 217 Sneak attack, sneak attack, another sneak attack!

After that, Zhuge Liang launched several more Northern Expeditions, either forced or on his own initiative. He tried the Qishan, Chencang Road, Xiegu and other routes. In the end, he found that none of these routes was as convenient as launching an offensive from Liangzhou.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang moved to Liangzhou to prepare for the Eastern Expedition; while Ma Di happily came to Xixian County and commanded 50,000 infantry to gnaw on this hard nut in Guanzhong.

Since Zhao Yun, the leader of the 50,000 Qiang cavalry, still stayed in Liangzhou to take charge of the overall situation, the impact of the change of commander before the battle was minimized.

Otherwise, Zhuge Liang's operation was too contrary to military common sense, and it was questionable whether the 50,000 Qiang cavalry could move according to the order.

When fighting an opponent like Sima Yi, it would be very dangerous to expose any weakness.

Considering that Zhuge Liang's strength lies in military management rather than ingenious plotting, Ma Di took the initiative to invite Ying to come to Xixian County to attack Guanzhong and respond to the Longyou battlefield.

Before he arrived in Xi County, Ma Di spread the news that he planned to leave Ziwu Valley to attack Chang'an.

When the news reached Chang'an, Cao Shuang, who was sitting here, was shocked.

After experiencing many wars against Shu, Cao Shuang had realized that he was extremely lacking in military skills and was no match for Ma Su, who was as cunning as a fox.

So when Cao Rui called him back, he left the Longyou front line and returned to Chang'an in the rear area.

But Ma Su, like his old enemy, also followed him.

Cao Shuang had no choice but to send the information to Luoyang, the capital.

Cao Rui quickly arrived in Chang'an and took charge of the overall situation.

When the emperor and his ministers met, the first thing they did was to analyze the nook and corner from which Ma Su would emerge.

Since Ma Su had played the "crying wolf" trick before, the monarch and his ministers were now under great pressure.

Last time, Ma Di also threatened that "50,000 soldiers and horses would come out of Ziwu Valley to attack Chang'an", which made the whole Wei state feel like they were facing a formidable enemy. As a result, 30,000 Wei soldiers lay in ambush in the deep mountains and old forests of Ziwu Valley for more than a month, without even a hair being seen.

When they arrived, Ma Su led more than a thousand men and horses out of Chencang Road in a swagger, and wiped out Chencang's deputy general Wang Shuang and a thousand pursuing soldiers. After that, he did not attack the city and left in a swagger.

It was not until the end of the war that Cao Wei suddenly realized that Ma Di had played an "empty city strategy" just to cope with Sun Quan and reduce the pressure on Soochow from the Wei army's attack.

From the beginning to the end, the 50,000-strong army in Ziwu Valley was a cover, and the Xi County Shu army's attack on Tianshui was also a cover-up. Ma Di only sent a thousand troops in total, and they hung around under Chencang City for a month.

This result silenced all the monarchs and ministers of Wei State.

Throughout the history of ancient and modern wars, they have never seen such a general who ignored military common sense and walked around the city and penetrated deep into the enemy's hinterland, but was able to escape unscathed.

That's not how wars are fought.

Bai Qi, the God of War, and Han Xin, the Immortal of Soldiers, have never used soldiers like this.

Based on this, the monarchs and ministers of the Wei State unanimously believed that Ma Su was even more difficult to deal with than Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was massive, but it rarely caused Wei State any losses.

Not so with Ma Su.

If Ma Su chooses to attack a certain area of ​​Wei State, he will not give up until he achieves his goal.

The first sneak attack on Chencang and the sneak attack on Liangzhou some time ago were bloody lessons.

In his first sneak attack on Chencang, Ma Di only took half a day to defeat Chencang. In his first sneak attack on the three eastern counties of Liangzhou, Ma Di only took nine days, without even giving the Wei army a chance to reinforce.

Now that Liangzhou has fallen, the good situation has suddenly reversed.

Longyou cannot be lost again.

If Longyou is lost, the foundation created by the ancestors of the Wei State will be in danger...Cao Rui stood in front of Weiyang Palace slightly depressed, feeling extremely worried.

Things were uneventful after that. Although Ma Di threatened to march troops from Ziwu Valley, according to the intelligence sent back by the scouts, tens of thousands of Shu troops gathered near Weixian County, not Lecheng in eastern Hanzhong.

Lecheng is located at the southern exit of Ziwu Valley.

If you want to advance from Ziwu Valley, you must pass through this city, then pass through hundreds of miles of gorges, and reach Guanzhong alive before you have a chance to attack Chang'an.

After comprehensive intelligence analysis, Cao Rui believed that Ma Di would send troops from Chencang Road, so he re-activated Guo Huai and made him a regular servant of the scattered cavalry, leading troops to garrison at the northern end of Ziwu Valley. At the same time, he recalled Hao Zhao to station in Chencang, and also transferred Wang Ling, the governor of Yuzhou, to Marquis Gaorou of Yanshou Pavilion came to help.

Wang Ling is the nephew of Situ Wang Yun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, now 60 years old; Gao Rou is the younger brother of Yuan Shao's nephew Gao Gan, now 58 years old.

Both of them were important ministers of Cao Wei with high military qualities.

As soon as the two arrived in Chang'an, they quarreled because of their different opinions.

Gao Rou said to Cao Rui: "Zhuge Liang led tens of thousands of elite troops to confront Sima Yi in Longxi. The enemy's troops had just captured Liangzhou, and their morale was high. Such a victorious army was unstoppable, and General Sima's soldiers had to work hard first. This was a futile move, but the plague was raging later. Morale was low, and the military power was sluggish. The west of Longshan was now in danger of being breached.

"On the northern border, Kebineng's Xianbei tribe is ready to move, so we must keep an eye on it; to the south, Sun Quan's troops are gathering on the river, with an unknown purpose; in Hanzhong, Ma Di's troops are not real, and we, the Wei Dynasty, are faced with the dilemma of fighting on several fronts. "

"The ancients once said: 'The viper stings the hand, and the strong man unwraps its wrist.' "Sun Tzu" also said: "The soldiers fail to attack, and the ground fails to defend." It talks about small losses but great gains. The truth. Now Longxi is more dangerous than vipers, and the land of Didao is difficult to defend, and Zhuge Liang's soldiers and horses are sharp and should be avoided. It is better to cut the danger to protect yourself, abandon Longyou, shrink the army to Guanzhong, and concentrate the advantages The best strategy is to use our troops and Ma Su to decisively defeat each other in the plains, and then plan to advance to recapture Longliang."

Wang Ling believed that this plan was inappropriate and argued with reason: "The affairs of Longyou are free to be handled by General Sima and we have no worries. Just saying that Ma Su came to attack Chang'an means that he is a light force going deep into a dangerous place. No matter which way is true, No matter which road is empty, the original intention is to compete with our army in the plains and wilderness in order to achieve a quick victory."

"In this way, I will rely on high walls, deep ditches, and dangerous passes to trap them in the ancient Qinling Road and dampen the spirit of the Shu army. If they do not guard this danger, let Ma Su cross the road and take advantage of the victory to advance eastward and occupy Chencang. , martial arts, Beiyuan, get enough food, then recruit troops and recruit people, and then fight for Chang'an in the east and cut off Longyou in the west. Isn't this just inviting the wolf into the house? Bringing disaster upon yourself?!"

"..."

The two of them held their own opinions and couldn't argue.

Cao Rui was upset by what he heard, so he had to adjourn the meeting temporarily and sent someone to copy the conversation between the two on brocade silk and send it to Longyou to ask Sima Yi about his plan.

Sima Yi replied: "If the Shu army is blocked in the ancient Qinling Road, over time, it will lose all its energy and its troops will be exhausted. At that time, the offensive and defensive positions will change, so there is no need to worry about being unable to destroy the Shu army."

"The Book of War says: 'If a general wants to attack a city, he should use siege engines as a supplement. This weapon cannot be made until March.' These weapons cannot be hastily made and carried by the Shu army who entered Chang'an with light troops. of."

"Now that Ma Su wants to go deep alone, the transportation of grain and grass will inevitably be difficult. This is a great opportunity for our army to stand firm and wait for changes. As long as our army occupies the commanding heights and favorable terrain, and blocks the key passes that the enemy must pass through, the Shu army will definitely defeat them without a fight. retreat."

"Since ancient times, when the war is fierce and dangerous, it is more important to make decisive decisions. We must not tolerate or indulge in the enemy's aggressors, but we must also establish the determination to not give in to the soldiers. How can the second prince say the words 'abandon the defense' or 'slit the wrists'" Come?"

"Moreover, even if Ma Su leads his troops across the Qinling Mountains, his troops will definitely have no weapons and equipment. If they have no weapons and equipment, what should they fear?"

After Sima Yi's insights were spread back to Chang'an, Cao Rui strengthened his determination to "defend the enemy in the Qinling Mountains".

North of Weixian County, in the middle of Chencang Road.

Ma Su was slowly marching towards Chencang City with his three major generals Huang Xi, Li Sheng, Zhang Xiu, and 30,000 soldiers and horses.

Stopping and going every day, I only cover twenty or thirty miles.

Not only that, since he left the Weixian area, Ma Su suddenly became a little strange. First he gave up his horse to ride in the carriage, and then became taciturn. He rarely issued a military order throughout the day.

The three generals were all very puzzled and were riding their horses at the front of the army, whispering to each other.

Li Sheng frowned, lowered his voice and said to Huang and Zhang: "Old Li, Old Zhang, have you noticed that something is wrong with the general recently?"

Huang Xi nodded: "There is something wrong indeed. In the past, the general was impatient and moved very quickly no matter what he did. This time in the attack on Chencang, the marching speed was so slow, which is rare!"

Li Sheng waved his hands repeatedly and looked at Zhang Xiu. "Old Zhang, you have been with the general for the longest time. Can you tell me, are you satisfied with the general?"

Zhang Xiu hesitated for a moment and said uncertainly: "I didn't notice anything else, but I just felt that the general had a special scent... It was very much like a woman's scent!"

"..." Li Sheng and Huang Xi looked at each other, confused.

This guy's viewing angle is a bit strange.

Zhang Xiu continued: "Do you think the general looks like a woman?"

As soon as these words came out, both Li Sheng and Huang Xi were startled. They quickly looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the nearby soldiers were all lowering their heads and hurrying on their way.

In this extremely patriarchal era, calling someone "like a woman" is ten times worse than calling someone "a jerk".

Li Sheng glanced at Zhang Xiu: "Your guess is very reasonable. Don't make such guesses next time."

Huang Xi agreed: "Yes, if the general hears this, he will beat you to pieces and then demote you to an ordinary soldier."

Zhang Xiu nodded in fear and quickly stopped talking.

The army continued to meander along Chencang Road.

…

Hanzhong, forty miles east of Lecheng, at the south exit of Ziwu Valley. Under the leadership of Wang Ping, five thousand Shu soldiers held high the banners of "horse", "king", "han" and so on, and swaggered into the mountain road. At a speed of 100 miles, he advanced slowly towards Chang'an.

At the same time, 40 miles west of Lecheng, the south exit of Xiegu Road.

In the sky, a black eagle and a huge eagle soared and circled.

On the ground, five thousand useless flying troops dressed as hunters submerged themselves neatly into the canyons and mountain roads.

Ma Su, who was wearing an ordinary military uniform, rode a strong black horse, tied the great wizard who was pretending to be an ordinary soldier behind his back, and followed the team at the back, feeling very satisfied.

He was not on Chencang Road, nor on Ziwu Road, but on Baoxie Road (Xiegu).

There are many roads in Hanzhong that can be used to attack Chang'an. From west to east, they are the old Chencang Road, Baoxie Road, Tangluo Road, and Ziwu Road.

All four roads can go directly to Guanzhong area.

There is no doubt that Ma Su's target this time is Wuzhangyuan in the northern section of Xiegou. All his plans to attack Chang'an this time are based on Wuzhangyuan.

He came up with this plan when he left Liangzhou and returned to Xi County via the Qiang region.

Considering that the last time he used "Fake to Be True" was the last time, Qiyana pretended to be him. Although she succeeded, Qiyana's appearance had many flaws due to various reasons.

This time Ma Su learned his lesson and quietly brought Axiu and the great wizard with him.

The main function of bringing the Great Wizard is to communicate with the eagle and obtain information. The secondary function is to decompress.

As for bringing Axiu along, it was purely because he wanted to "confuse the real with the fake" and implement the clever trick of "converting the real into the imaginary, and the imaginary into the real".

Anyway, Ma Su's ultimate goal is to hide from his opponents, not from his three major generals. Therefore, the pretender must have a very high force value to be able to confuse the fake with the real one.

It just so happens that Axiu has such strength.
To be continued...