Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 86 Military Order

"If it weren't for Chang'an, I would have chased Guo Huai all the way to Liangzhou!"

The next day, Wei Yan led his army back to Ji County, Tianshui. The prime minister and a group of important civil and military officials were holding a military meeting in the official temple.

After Guo Huai retreated across the Wei River, Wei Yan did not choose to return directly, but led an army of 5,000 to pursue the victory.

It was not until hundreds of Liangzhou cavalry arrived from Nan'an to support Guo Huai that he was forced to retreat.

"Wenchang, you've arrived just in time. Anguo and Hunyi have already captured Xiliu and Gaoling.

"Your Majesty has sent a letter to ask the Prime Minister whether it is possible to seize Chang'an from the Wei invaders in one fell swoop." The good old man Fei Yi said to Wei Yan with a smile.

"We are discussing whether to keep you, the Governor of Liangzhou, to continue the attack on Lianglong."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan's face became more surprised. He walked to the center of the hall and looked at the map hanging on the screen.

He quickly found these two places on the map, then gestured with his hands, frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty sent a letter the day before yesterday, saying that tens of thousands of Wei invaders have not yet retreated from Meiwu.

"If you receive another letter today, will the guys from Guan and Zhao take over Xiliu and Gaoling?
"What about those tens of thousands of Wei invaders? Were they also wiped out by those two guys?"

If this is true, the contributions made by Guan Xing and Zhao Tong, who have very little experience, are too great.

Thinking about the fact that his Ziwu Valley plan was rejected by the Prime Minister, Wei Yan couldn't help but feel a little unfair.

Fei Yi shook his head, a look of slight regret on his face: "That's not the case."

Wei Yan felt relieved after hearing this, and then looked at the map again and said:

"Although Xiliu and Gaoling form a pincer attack, they are still fifty or sixty miles apart. We need to station another army between the two places to be invincible. The Prime Minister should send a letter to Your Majesty."

The Prime Minister nodded slowly:

"Your Majesty's letter states that General Zhao has already dispatched Deyan (Zong Yu) and Bo Miao (Deng Zhi) with 20,000 troops to reinforce us. They will indeed establish another camp at Jimen, between the two places."

Wei Yan paused again, but then felt relieved after thinking about it. With the cautious Zhao Yun in charge of Guanzhong, there would definitely not be such negligence.

The Prime Minister continued to speak sternly to Wei Yan:
"Wenchang, the two counties of Longxi and Jincheng have not yet been pacified. The Longxi county seat, previously occupied by You Chu, was at Xiangwu, but is now occupied by Xu Miao.

"The reason Guo Huai and You Chu abandoned Tianshui was naturally because Zhang He's death had caused great disarray in the army.

"But it was also because Ji County was difficult to defend with a small army and insufficient food and fodder to sustain it for long, and most of the powerful local tyrants in Tianshui had already surrendered to the Han.

"Now Guo Huai and You Chu have retreated to Xiangwu. Xiangwu previously successfully kept the Han Dynasty out of the city with You Chu's support, and the people are determined to hold on.

"Moreover, Zhang He previously ordered Xu Miao to recruit Liangzhou troops and food from Xiangwu. Xiangwu is well-equipped with troops and food. Although the city is small, it is strong and may not be captured in a short time.

"The Wei invaders are now gathering their forces in Chang'an, still trying to make a last-ditch effort. I intend to lead 30,000 troops to help Your Majesty capture Chang'an.

"The food route to Chang'an is long. I don't want the Jieting incident to happen again. I need a great general to guard the counties to the right of Long and control the key roads.

"After much thought, it seems that only you, Wenchang, the Governor of Liangzhou, are qualified for this position."

Guarding Longyou?

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan immediately became anxious:
"Prime Minister, I, Wei Yan, am no more than Zhou Bo and Guan Ying. How can I be used to guard the rear and coordinate the deployment?
"You have the ability of Xiao He. In my opinion, it would be better for me to lead 30,000 troops to join Your Majesty in Guanzhong and capture Chang'an.

"You will personally take charge of Tianshui, coordinate and dispatch the troops from the rear, transport the grain and fodder, and win over the hearts of the people in Longyou. This will ensure that nothing goes wrong!"

Although the Prime Minister returned victorious from the Southern Expedition and had accumulated considerable military prestige, Wei Yan still felt that the Prime Minister's ability to command the three armies was inferior to his, and his ability to coordinate and mobilize troops and win over the people was far inferior to the Prime Minister's.

More importantly, how could he be absent from the tremendous feat of reclaiming Chang'an and returning it to its former capital?!
As soon as Wei Yan said this, all the generals in the government temple fell silent.

The civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition were not a united force. The Prime Minister acted as a glue and coordinated the troops, and everyone was willing to obey his orders.

Wei Yan, the former emperor's trusted and favored general, looked down upon everyone except the prime minister as his lackeys.

If Wei Yan were really allowed to lead his troops to Guanzhong, who would be able to bear it?
If he really insists on doing what he wants, who can stop him?
Without the Prime Minister's care and support, judging from Wei Yan's usual words and deeds, it is only a matter of time before he does something extraordinary and offends His Majesty when he arrives in Guanzhong.

The Prime Minister stroked his beard and thought, saying:
"In that case, Wen Chang, please come with me into Guanzhong."

Then he looked at Wu Yi:

"Ziyuan, I intend to leave you and Bogong (Zhang Yi) to lead 14,000 troops to guard the counties and important roads of Tianshui. What do you think?

"And then Wen Wei (Fei Yi) will coordinate the transportation of grain and fodder."

Wu Yi glanced at the Prime Minister, then at Wei Yan, his expression hesitant and indecisive.

He is the governor of Guanzhong. Now Chang'an is the only one left in Guanzhong. But in the battle of Chang'an, the old capital, he, the governor of Guanzhong, will be absent?

On the other hand, Wei Yan was also frustrated because he failed to become a general. With the prime minister putting pressure on him, it was very difficult for him to have any outstanding performance in Chang'an.

Of course, no one could match him in leading troops to kill bandits, but even if they won, the greatest credit still belonged to the commander, and he was at best a lackey.

The emperor had led the army in person, gained all the prestige, and achieved the astonishing feat of recovering Guanzhong and returning it to the old capital, but he could only take some scraps. How could this recognized first-class general of the Han Dynasty be willing to accept this?

Just when Wei Yan was unwilling and Wu Yi was hesitating, Ma Dai and Jiang Wei stood up at the same time.

When Jiang Wei saw Ma Dai stand up and about to speak, he stepped back and sat down again.

Ma Dai bowed and said resolutely: "Prime Minister, Dai asks to stay in Tianshui!"

Hearing Ma Dai's words, the Prime Minister's face was slightly happy, and he felt relieved in his heart that the Han Dynasty still had generals who were loyal to the country and not greedy for credit.

Ma Dai continued:
"Prime Minister, once Guo Huai and You Chu arrive in Xiangwu, the pseudo-Liangzhou Governor Xu Miao will definitely return to Liangzhou to serve as Guo Huai's backup.

"Xu Miao built water conservancy projects in Liang Province, opened up a lot of farmland, and treated the Qiang, Hu and other tribes with both kindness and power, winning their hearts.

"Dai is a little worried that he might lure the Qiang and Hu people from Liang Province and gather thousands of light cavalry to rob our grain route.

"There are many hills and meadows to the west of Tianshui. If several thousand light cavalry take the mountain roads instead of the flat roads, they will become a serious threat to the Han Dynasty.

"The Qiang and Hu people of Liang Province are all skilled in using spears and are good at charging into enemy lines. Our Han soldiers may not be able to cope with them in such a hurry."

Having said this, Ma Dai paused, took a deep breath, and then continued:

"Fortunately, when Wei Hou (Ma Chao) was alive, his reputation spread among the Qiang and Hu peoples of Lianglong, and he gained the trust and support of many Qiang and Hu chieftains.

"Dai often accompanied Marquis Wei and recognized many Qiang and Hu chieftains, such as Zhi Wudai and Bai Huwen. He knew that the Qiang and Hu people longed for the Han Dynasty and was willing to go and persuade them.

"Furthermore, the land west of Chang'an is now entirely ours. If the Qiang and Hu people of Liang Province knew this, they would definitely not join the false Wei in rebellion!"

Regardless of whether the Qiang and Hu people of Liangzhou really yearn for the Han Dynasty, at least they will not do anything that does not benefit them.

If Xu Miao wanted to use Qiang and Hu cavalry to harass the Han Dynasty's grain route, he could only act as a messenger.

Either they would force the Qiang and Hu people to join the rebellion after they had offended the Han Dynasty, or they would use despicable means such as taking their families as hostages to force them to rebel.

The Prime Minister stroked his beard, smiled, and nodded repeatedly:
"Bo Zhan knows both himself and the enemy, is thoughtful, and is devoted to his country and public service. He is truly worthy of being a tiger descendant of the Han general family!
"I had always been worried that Xu Miao would force the Qiang and Hu people of Liang Province to rebel and harm our food supply. I was about to send an envoy to persuade him when Bo Zhan volunteered.

"It seems that our Han Dynasty has been cultivating scholars for four hundred years. The number of loyal and dedicated ministers who serve the king and serve the country with all their heart is still as great as ever!"

Ma Dai's heart began to beat faster after being praised by the Prime Minister. His blood rushed to his veins and his face flushed red as he said, "Dai will definitely fulfill his mission!"

Seeing that Ma Dai was not greedy for the credit of Chang'an, but instead volunteered to take risks among the Qiang and Hu people, and the prime minister said that the people of the Han Dynasty who were loyal and diligent to the king were still as strong as before, Wu Yi, who was hesitating whether to stay in Tianshui, began to waver.

At this moment, the Prime Minister looked at Jiang Wei again and raised his head to signal: "Bo Yue, did you have anything to say just now?" Jiang Wei stood up and bowed:
"Prime Minister, I think the same as General Ma."

Hearing this, the Prime Minister smiled and nodded:

"Bo Yue is willing, but since Bo Zhan has volunteered and has a long-standing friendship with the Qiang and Hu chieftains, let Bo Zhan go."

Jiang Wei then said:
"Prime Minister, the Jiang family is a well-known surname in Tianshui, and Wei has been familiar with the customs of the Qiang and Di people since he was young. Among the 400 private soldiers he recruited in Tianshui, many were Qiang and Di.

"General Ma has volunteered to persuade the Qiang and Hu people of Liangzhou not to rebel against the pseudo-Wei. Wei, on the other hand, is willing to go and recruit the Qiang and Di people of Tianshui to serve as a wing of the Han Dynasty."

The Prime Minister's smile faded slightly. "Tianshui Qiang and Di, Bo Yue, do you mean the Baima Qiang from Wudu?"

Before his northern expedition, he also sent envoys to establish contact with the Baima Qiang.

However, because Guo Huai, the governor of Yongzhou, had preconceived ideas and had established deep connections with the Baima Qiang, he ultimately failed.

The same is true in Liangzhou.

Only Yang Tiao, the King of Anding Qiang, kept in constant correspondence with him, showing a strong desire to return to Han, and finally he really responded to the Northern Expedition with the entire county.

This shows that the person has been planning in secret, which is really rare.

Jiang Wei nodded:

"The Prime Minister made a wise decision, but the Baima Qiang do not consider themselves Qiang. Instead, they claim that their ethnic group is the Qiang from the Di land. They are Di, not Qiang.

"The Han people don't understand the distinction between the Qiang and Di peoples in this area, so they call Yang Qianwan the Qiang King, but in fact he is the Di King."

Many people in the audience were confused and fainted.

Jiang Wei continued:
"Di King Yang Qianwan commanded over 7,000 Di people. Ten years ago, Cao Cao forcibly relocated him to the Tianshui area. In recent years, he was lured by Guo Huai.

"Now that Guo Huai has been defeated, Wei believes he can go and persuade him to surrender. Perhaps he can also persuade three or four thousand cavalry to surrender to the Han Dynasty, or at least prevent them from joining the pseudo-Wei in rebellion."

Now the Qiang and Di people in Longyou have become the target of both the Han and Wei dynasties.

Since becoming the governor of Yongzhou, Guo Huai has used both kindness and force to treat the Qiang and Hu people, and has done many things to appease them. He has established a deep friendship with the Qiang and Di people of Yongzhou, and the Qiang and Di leaders of Yongzhou, both big and small, call him "God".

If you don't go and seduce him quickly, it's hard to say whether he will act emotionally or not.

If they come out to harass the grain route, the Han Dynasty will send the Guanzhong cavalry to Long to deal with them. In this way, it will be possible to completely restrain the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

The Prime Minister nodded to Jiang Wei and said, "In that case, I will follow Bo Yue's request."

Then he looked at Ma Dai and said, "I will write a letter to Your Majesty later, and give Bozhan and Boyue the two of you as Han envoys to go to Lianglong and persuade the Qiang and Hu people."

"Dai/Wei will definitely live up to the mission!" The two men immediately responded with fists, shouting in unison.

The Prime Minister smiled heartily: "Now that Tianshui has been recaptured, Longyou is safe. If we can persuade the Qiang and Di tribes to return to Han, and our Han Dynasty gains several thousand more elite cavalry, what will the pseudo-Wei have to fear even if they have the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry?"

If the Han Dynasty could obtain the Qiang, Di and Hu cavalry of Lianglong, it would have the capital to compete with the Wuhuan, Xianbei and Hu cavalry of Youbing of Wei.

On the other side, seeing Ma Dai and Jiang Wei being so loyal to the country, Wu Yi, the uncle of the Han Dynasty, could no longer bear it. He suddenly stood up and clasped his fists towards the Prime Minister:

"Prime Minister, please go to Chang'an with peace of mind!

"I ask you to stay in Tianshui, and I dare to issue a military order!

"We must ensure that the food supply is not lost and the army is free from danger of starvation!"

Wu Yi's face flushed as he spoke, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"My only regret is... I won't be able to witness the moment when His Majesty returns to the old capital!"

Everyone at the table was moved for a moment, and Wei Yan felt secretly relieved. If Wu Yiruo was unwilling to stay, he would still be worried when he arrived in Guanzhong. Although he would not lose Longyou, once the food route was lost, it would be a hassle to clear it.

...

Longxi.

Xiangwu.

"Envoy Guo, Lord You, what's going on? Why did you abandon Tianshui before the Shu invaders could even attack?!"

The Governor of Liang Province, the envoy with special powers, and the commander of the Protector of the Qiang, Xu Miao, were extremely angry when they saw the embarrassed Guo Huai and You Chu.

He was a true loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty. In his early years, he served as a military strategist beside Emperor Taizu Wu, and had served as the prefect of Longxi and Nangan counties.

Although he was the governor of Liangzhou at the moment, he still had considerable prestige in Xiangwu, the capital of Longxi County.

In addition, he was ordered to be the "envoy with special powers", which meant that he exercised local military and political power on behalf of the emperor. Seeing the special powers was like seeing the emperor in person. Guo Huai was not qualified to challenge him.

"Envoy Xu, the Right General was killed by the Shu invaders. Of the 40,000-plus troops who followed him down to Long, 30,000 surrendered to the invaders. Over a dozen lieutenants and dozens of military officers surrendered, including Lu Pan."

Guo Huai was neither humble nor arrogant, nor did he show any frustration at the loss of troops and city. That emotion had passed.

Xu Miao's originally angry expression suddenly froze, and caught off guard, he showed the fear that a normal human being should have.

It took a long time for him to calm down, but finally turned into anger: "If Tianshui is abandoned, the Shu invaders will surely lead a large army into Guanzhong to fight for Chang'an. If Chang'an is lost, you and I will both be blamed. Even if I die, I will not be able to face Your Majesty!"

Guo Huai sighed inwardly:
"Envoy Xu, you are aware that the Qishan defenders were ambushed by the Shu invaders on their way back to Tianshui, losing more than half of their troops and their morale is already low.

"Yesterday, the Shu invaders were arrayed outside the city walls. Seeing their morale was low, I wanted to boost it. I said it must be because the Right General led his troops up Long to rescue them that the Shu invaders would choose to scale the city walls and seek a quick victory. Thus, their morale began to rise.

"Unexpectedly, not long after he finished speaking, the Right General's head was brought to the city. The Shu invaders rode on horses and claimed that the Right General was dead. After shaking the morale of the army, they threw him back into the city."

Xu Miao was stunned and speechless after hearing this. His anger disappeared as well.

In this situation, Guo Huai was considered calm for being able to think of breaking out of Tianshui as quickly as possible.

A military mutiny could occur if food was cut off for a few days, not to mention that the route of return was cut off and there was no reinforcement. Moreover, the powerful people in Tianshui had rebelled before.

"How many cavalrymen does General Xu have?" Guo Huai asked directly without further delay.

"There are a thousand cavalrymen now." Xu Miao said.

"There are also thousands of cavalrymen running around Liang Province, collecting food and fodder, and guarding the grain routes."

Two thousand cavalrymen are not a small number.

In order for horses to run, they need to eat fine feed. Of the grain and grass transported from Liangzhou to Xiangwu, six out of ten were lost, which could not support too many cavalry expeditions.

Guo Huai pondered and said, "Envoy Xu just said that once the Shu invaders take Tianshui, they will march straight to seize Chang'an.

"The Shu invaders' grain route to Longyou is over 500 miles long. They must have a constant supply of food and supplies along the way, but they don't have many men and horses to protect them.

"The only plan now is to gather several thousand more cavalry and divide the troops into several routes. Once the Shu invaders enter Guanzhong, we can attack their granaries and food routes one by one, force them back to Longyou, and make them exhausted.

"If so, the pressure on Chang'an will be reduced by half. With Sima Gong's ability, Chang'an will be safe and sound, and the Shu invaders will fail at the last moment."

Xu Miao understood and nodded, "Envoy Guo, Lord You, you two hold Xiangwu. I will return to Liangzhou to gather food and fodder, and speak to the chieftains to see if we can summon another 3,000 to 5,000 cavalry."

"I should be back when the Shu invaders have most of their troops in Chang'an. By then, I can rely on the enemy for food, and perhaps there's still a chance to save Chang'an for Wei."

Guo Huai also nodded. "I have sent my brother Guo Pei to talk to the chieftain of the Qiang and Di tribes in Tianshui, to see if we can lure them into a fight before the Shu invaders can react and borrow some cavalry to assist them."

(End of this chapter)