Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1427 Pulling
"General, there is something going on in the northwest!"

"Huh? What's going on?"

Zhang Bao left a part of his force to guard Sanhu Ferry for surveillance, while he led the main force to retreat eastward to Yecheng Ferry to be on the safe side.

At the same time, send out scouts as much as possible to find out the surrounding situation as clearly as possible.

On the third day after being ambushed by Guo Huai, the scouts from Sanhu Tsu sent an urgent message:
"A large number of scouts have appeared near Qiliangjin, and traces of bandit troops have appeared in the north. The number is unknown."

When Zhang Bao heard this, he was immediately startled:
"Probe again and report again!"

If there really was a large group of troops coming from the north of Liangqijin, it was most likely the army led by Sima Yi.

At least it was an army sent by Sima Yi.

Although he might have escaped the encirclement set by Sima Yi, Zhang Bao was not very happy except for being grateful.

I started from Juyongguan, and except for a stop in Zhuojun, I didn't waste any time on the rest of the journey.

Unexpectedly, Sima Yi set an ambush for him.

All I can say is that Sima Yi's reaction was too quick, so quick that it was beyond my expectations.

Thinking about how he used to look down on this opponent, Zhang Bao couldn't help but feel ashamed of his arrogance and ignorance.

At this time, Zhang Bao could neither advance nor retreat.

Failed to seize the ferry crossing of Qiliangjin, no matter whether the enemy was the army sent by Sima Yi or the army led by Sima Yi himself, he could only guard the ferry crossing of Yechengjin and watch the enemy helplessly.

Can't do anything at all.

Especially on the second day, the scout brought back a more important message:
The commander of the northern army is most likely Sima Yi.

When Zhang Bao heard this, his heart sank instantly!
At this point, he finally felt that something was wrong.

"Where's my brother-in-law? Where's my brother-in-law? Where's my good brother-in-law who led the main force of the Han army? Where did he go?"

Looking to the northwest, Zhang Bao's eyes were filled with anxiety that he could not suppress:
"How many troops are there? Have you found out?"

The advantage of the Han army scouts was reflected at this time.

Although Zhang Bao was cautious because he had just suffered a loss, even if he was in a dilemma, he was not completely in the dark because of the scouts' investigation.

"There are tens of thousands of them, and most of them are cavalry."

"Are the flags in disarray? Is the formation out of order?"

"No. The flags are like a forest, and the formation is neat."

In other words, this army was not defeated, nor did it seem like it was being chased by anyone.

The last bit of hope in his heart completely disappeared, and Zhang Bao couldn't help but curse: "Cao!"

How could Sima Yi get rid of the far-sighted King Feng so easily?
Such a large encirclement failed due to his underestimation of the enemy and incompetence, and he was unable to close the last hole.

This made Zhang Bao, who was standing by the Zhang River, extremely regretful.
-
The autumn wind was blowing gently, and Qiliangjin on the north bank of the Zhang River was shrouded in mist.

Sima Yi's boot soles stepped over the beach, and the tip of his boots kicked away the broken spear half-buried in the mud - the cracks on the spear shaft were as jagged as canine teeth, and a piece of dark red flesh was stuck to the remaining hemp rope, which seemed to be the remains of the Han army's leather raft.

There were strange curved pieces of iron scattered in the cracks between the gravel on the riverbank. Sima Yi bent over to pick them up, and stroked their jagged edges with his fingertips - these were the remains of the Han army's new type of hook inlay.

The scene of the ambush three days ago suddenly became clear: the moment the Wei army's heavy halberds split the shield formation, this barbed iron weapon would hook the halberd shaft and cooperate with the rolling and rushing swordsman to strangle him.

He squinted his eyes and looked at the reed marsh not far downstream. The tattered "Han" flag was entangled in the reed roots, floating up and down, unable to float downstream.

The damaged corner of the flag revealed dark patterns woven with gold thread, which was obviously a recognition flag of a senior general. It was obviously abandoned by the Han army when Guo Huai ambushed Zhang Bao.

"Boji fought this battle with great risk in order to win."

Sima Yi's voice was hoarse like a rusty knife scraping bones, and his spine was slightly hunched under the armor, but he still maintained the majesty of the Wei State's Grand Tutor.

Guo Huai stepped forward with his sword in hand, his temples beneath his iron helmet already stained with white:
"If the Grand Tutor had not sent a message at night, how could I have predicted that Zhang Bao would attack Liangjin? It's just a pity... In the end, the thief escaped back to the north bank."

If Zhang Bao could be kept, the Han army would be leaderless and he might have a chance to defeat it.

Hearing the reluctance and regret in Guo Huai's words, Sima Yi smiled and shook his head:
"Boji has done a great job. If you hadn't scared off the thief in this battle..."

Sima Yi turned around and pointed at the army crossing the river, "I'm afraid that this time, I may not be able to retreat to the south bank so easily!"

As he spoke, he gazed towards the south. In the distance, there seemed to be some vaguely visible cavalry. Needless to say, they must be scouts of the Han army coming to investigate.

The river wind suddenly blew up, and the fishy and salty water vapor filled Sima Yi's robe sleeves.

The cool steam caused Sima Yi to cough violently, forcing him to cover his mouth with one hand, but blood oozed out from between his fingers:
"Ahem... We were lucky enough to force back the Southern Army's cavalry. If it was the Hedong Winged Tiger that came..."

At this point, his skinny fingers suddenly clenched Guo Huai's arm armor, and his eyes flashed with a fierce look of surviving a disaster:

"The little thief of the Guan family is as fast as the wind and fire in his military operations. In the past, when the thief Feng attacked Bingzhou and took a detour to Hedong, he used this thief as the vanguard!"

"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it..."

I didn't expect that today, they would succeed again.

Sima Yi released the hand that was covering his mouth and suddenly laughed nervously, with the fingers hidden in his sleeves digging deeply into his palms.

As he laughed, tears actually flowed from Sima Yi's cloudy eyes.

In front of him, the horses were neighing and the army was racing against time to cross the river. It was extremely noisy, but Sima Yi felt as lonely as the snow.

The ropes of the floating bridge kept rising and falling in the whirlpool of the Zhang River, just like how he had fought against the Han army many times over the years, but had to retreat again and again...

Now I am over 70 years old. Looking back on the second half of my life, not only did I achieve nothing but wasted my time, I also lost my son. Now I am about to lose my foundation in Hebei.

What's the fun of life?!
In a trance, his body swayed and he seemed to be about to fall into the water.

At this moment, a horn suddenly sounded from the north bank.

But hundreds of Han cavalrymen were seen passing over the horizon like red meteors. Even though they were separated by the Zhang River, the cold light of the long spears in the hands of the Han army could still be seen - Zhang Bao's reaction came faster than expected.

Sima Yi's pupils suddenly shrank and he staggered back half a step, until he saw clearly that it was just a bluff, and then he stood firm with the help of his personal guards.

It seems that the enemy is just cavalry sent by Zhang Bao to harass.

"Master..." Guo Huai hesitated to speak.

He clearly saw that Master Sima's hand hidden in his sleeve was twitching slightly.

Sima Yi, however, had regained his composure and brushed off the grass debris that stained his brocade robe:
"Immediately send a message to the entire army to raise more flags and spread out camps, so that the other side will think that all of our ten armies are here."

He pointed to the southwest direction of Yecheng, sneered and coughed up blood, "Let that little thief from the Zhang family call the Hedong Winged Tiger here, and the food and grass in Yecheng should have been destroyed long ago..."

As for Zhang Bao's harassment, Sima Yi no longer had the energy to deal with it.

This time, we were able to safely cross back to the south bank, not only because we managed to survive in danger, but also because of great luck.

As for those who are unlucky, they are not qualified to retreat south with him.

As dusk deepened, Sima Yi sat alone in the central military tent. The candlelight on the desk cast his shadow on the "Map of Hebei Mountains and Rivers", and Sima Yi laughed like an owl in the night:
"Guan Suo, Guan Suo, you sent this reckless man Zhang Bao here. It is truly God's help to me!"

Guo Huai's ambush actually mobilized all the elite troops near Yecheng.

If Zhang Bao ignored the casualties and forced his way across the Yecheng Ferry to attack Yecheng, it might not be impossible to capture Yecheng, which seemed to be heavily guarded but was actually just a bluff.

If they crossed the river from Sanhu Ferry instead of going through Qiliang Ferry, Guo Huai would have no choice but to give up the ambush and defend Sanhu Ferry.

By then, Zhang Bao can use the advantage of cavalry to engage in a lot of attacks, and Liangjin will be in his hands.

So Sima Yi’s plan this time was actually a gamble.

Because for the Han army, no matter who can capture Qiliangjin, they can cut off the retreat of the Jingxing army, which is a great achievement.

He bet that Zhang Bao would not be able to resist the temptation of such a great achievement.

Sima Yi didn't believe that every opponent he met would be like Mr. Feng, who would rather fish in the east of the river than cross the river to the west and cut off his retreat.

So he won the bet.

After ambushing Zhang Bao, the feints at Sanhu Ferry and Yecheng Ferry were also intended to take advantage of the enemy's cautious mentality after being defeated, continue to confuse the enemy and buy time for themselves.

As expected, Zhang Bao was fooled again.

Finally, he led the army, marching day and night, to Qiliangjin, crossing the river and retreating south.

Although he was defeated repeatedly by the Han army, the success of this ingenious plan finally allowed Sima Yi to regain some confidence.

Just when he was feeling proud of himself, he suddenly heard a horse neighing outside the tent.

Sima Yi jumped up as if he had been electrocuted, and his sword fell to the ground with a clang.

Then he remembered that he had safely crossed back to the south bank of the Zhang River and was not being chased by any Han cavalry. He slumped down on the couch, his three layers of inner clothing soaked with cold sweat.

"I am getting old after all..."

He stroked the broken halberd on the desk. This was a weapon abandoned by the defeated Southern Army that he had picked up from the riverbank during the day.

Thinking of the red-armored figure seen in the daytime, if it was really Guan Suo himself, the Han army flags would probably have been raised on both sides of the Zhang River by now.

The moonlight shone through the gap in the tent onto his wrinkled face, reflecting a twisted sense of satisfaction:

"But God will not destroy me! The Hedong Winged Tiger might be organizing the surrendered soldiers in Youzhou at this moment, how could he know that I..."

When Sima Yi's army arrived, Guo Huai had already prepared a lot of materials for the pontoon bridge.

After Sima Yi crossed the Zhang River, he ordered people to build three pontoon bridges overnight.

He had to get as many troops as possible across the Zhang River before the Hedong Winged Tigers arrived.

Nearly 50,000 infantry and cavalry crossed the Zhang River on four floating bridges over ten feet wide. In just one and a half days, most of them had reached the south bank.

Just as Sima Yi was planning when to move camp and head to Liyang, thunder suddenly rolled on the horizon on the opposite bank.

"Master, this is bad. It's the Han army."

The lookout shouted a warning.

"I know."

Sima Taifu had a calm expression, and looked unmoved.

Yesterday, hundreds of Han troops came to harass the enemy and try to delay the time it takes for the army to cross the river.

It seems that he is planning to repeat the same trick today, which is not surprising.

According to the report from Yechengjin, Zhang Bao's flag is still there, so there is no big problem.

But the red tide emerged again and rushed towards the ferry.

only……

This time the red tide is much larger than yesterday's.

It is also much larger than Sima Taifu imagined.

As the red tide approaches, you can see the leading general with red armor covered in blood, and his Zhangba Snake Spear picking up deer antlers along the way. It is none other than Zhang Bao who was ambushed a few days ago!

Sima Yi's pupils suddenly shrank, and he made a prompt decision, shouting in anger: "Destroy the floating bridge!"

"Master, there are still troops from the north who have not arrived yet..."

"It's too late! The bridge is about to break!"

Sima Taifu drew out his sword with a clang and slashed at the rope.

The rear troops on the north bank that had not yet crossed the river were being continuously swallowed and drowned by the red tide, and the rear formation completely collapsed.

In order to seize the ferry, a soldier swung his sword and slashed at his comrade, and his severed arm and flag fell into the whirlpool.

More people jumped into the rapids in panic, but were pulled back by their comrades, and either rolled with the current or sank to the bottom of the water.

A frightened warhorse rushed into the crowd, its hoof stepping on someone's arm, making a crisp sound of broken bones...

Sima Yi was retreating surrounded by his personal guards. Suddenly, a cold light flashed by and an arrow shot towards him.

Sima Yi staggered and bent over, but the arrow feather hit the shield held by his personal guards.

Looking up, I saw Zhang Bao on the other side of the river drawing his bow and shooting his arrow towards us.

Several more arrows shot through the air.

Amid the clanging sound of the arrow hitting the iron shield, Sima Yi seemed to see the raging rage in Zhang Bao's eyes.

"Reckless man! Even if you come, what can you do? The floating bridge has been broken, and the granary in Yecheng has been destroyed! What can you do to me!"

Watching the floating bridge rope that he had cut personally sink into the water like a dead snake and disappear, it seemed as if he had cut off the foundation of Hebei with his own hands.

Sima Yi shouted and cursed without caring about his manners, as if he was venting the depression he had been feeling for so many years.

Zhang Bao naturally did not hear Sima Yi's shouting and cursing. The arrow he shot for the second time sunk deeply into the mud not far in front of Sima Yi.

Seeing that the floating bridge had been broken and it was impossible to catch up with Sima Yi, Zhang Bao suddenly turned his horse's head and pointed his snake spear at the rear of the Wei army struggling in the shallows:

"Close the net!"

The Han cavalry was like a red dragon swinging its tail, driving away the remnants of the Wei army who had not had time to cross the river, and forcing them into Niujiao Bay, the most turbulent part of the river.

I want to avenge the death of more than 2,000 Southern Army soldiers a few days ago and now I want to get back some of the interest.

……

As the sun sets, the setting sun dyes the Zhang River red gold, and Zhang Bao's red helmet is covered with dried blood scabs in the twilight.

He rode his horse to the ferry, and his horse's hooves rolled over the fragments of the raft on the riverbank - those were the ferry equipment that was destroyed when Guo Huai ambushed him.

Zhang Bao's eyes were fixed on the vaguely visible watchtower of the Wei army on the opposite bank.

It was once the place where he wanted to achieve great achievements, but now it has become a brand of shame.

He suddenly turned over and dismounted, thrusting his still-bleeding Zhangba Snake Spear into the ground, knelt on one knee, drew his saber, and pried up a half-broken Liangzhou horseshoe from the mud. He held it in his hand, his knuckles turning white from exerting so much force:
"Order the entire army to double the number of scouts tonight. Whenever crossing a river, setting up camp, or marching, the terrain must be checked three times."

"Send another 100 cavalrymen to explore as far north as possible to see if they can find any news about the Grand Marshal."

Sima Yi personally led the main force of the army back to the south bank of the Zhang River, while his bastard brother-in-law, who also led a large army and was known for his foresight, was nowhere to be seen.

It's a disgrace!
(End of this chapter)