Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 88: Learning from past mistakes, repeating the same mistakes?
The eighth day of April.

Sima Yi led three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry out of Yaoguan, crossed Bailuyuan, and headed north along the Ba River.

Chen Gui, the Sima of the General of Cavalry's Office, Zhou Tai, the military officer, and miscellaneous generals Zhou Dang, Wei Ping and others led an army of 30,000 in the rear.

After leaving Bailuyuan, you will arrive at Baqiao. Sima Yi did not choose to go west to Chang'an.

Instead, he headed north to Ba Ling, south of Gao Ling, and then to Xiu Liu, looking north across the Wei River at the Han army camp.

Two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry roamed around Chang'an and drove out all the Qiang Cavalry and Tiger Cavalry who were unscrupulously spying on the enemy in Chang'an.

Today is the eighth day since the Han army occupied Xiuliu and Jimen and set up camp.

For eight days, Cao's army did not dare to leave the city to harass. The Han army built two fairly strong camps and brought in enough food to last a month.

At the same time, the Wei army in Chang'an City was not idle for eight days.

Six thousand men left Chang'an, built a bridge across the Fengshui River west of the city, and dug trenches and built fortifications.

A large camp was built on the Fengshui River, facing the Han army's Xiuli Camp from the north and south across the Wei River.

As a result, if the Han army in Xiliu wanted to cross the Wei River to the south and advance to Chang'an, they would first face the risk of being attacked halfway across the river.

"Do you know who is in charge of the Xiuli Camp?" Sima Yi looked at Guanqiu Jian and asked.

Guanqiu Jian replied without hesitation: "Reported to Sima Gong, it is Wang Ping, the general of Shu."

"Wang Ping?" Sima Yi clearly hadn't heard of this man's name. "Have you found out anything about him?"

"This man is a Qiang from Baxi. More than ten years ago, he followed the King of the Seven Surnames to Luoyang and surrendered. Taizu appointed him as a colonel.

"In the Battle of Hanzhong, he rebelled and surrendered to Liu Bei. Last month, the Right General defeated Ma Su in the Battle of Jieting. The Shu invaders were scattered, but he alone, beating the drum and holding his own, held his own, with one battalion intact.

"When the Right General besieged Chencang earlier, it was this man who broke through the narrow passage along the Wei River and lifted the siege."

Sima Yi nodded slightly, praising Guanqiu Jian: "Zhonggong has done well."

The so-called knowing oneself and the enemy will never end in a hundred battles.

The two armies were only separated by the Wei River. Apart from military secrets, which were difficult to purchase, many well-known daily news could be bought with money and other things.

Just like when he bought information in Shangyong, he learned that Meng Da's nephew Deng Xian was a coward who was greedy for life and afraid of death. Later, he used military threats and bribes to force Deng Xian and Li Fu to open the city and surrender.

But not all generals can think of arranging suitable spies and spending a lot of money to know themselves and the enemy.

The fact that Guanqiu Jian, who was famous in Luoyang for his erudition, talent and proficiency in poetry and prose, was able to do this is enough to show that he possessed a certain level of military proficiency.

"Have the Shu invaders ever tried to cross the river to attack?" Sima Yi asked again.

"No, on the day the Shu invaders arrived at Xiliu, I led my army to set up camp here."

Sima Yi nodded again.

He was able to react quickly and successfully set up camp and defend himself at Fengshui River, so he was not a mediocre general.

If Fengshui was occupied by the Shu army, he would have to eliminate the Fengshui camp first if he wanted to implement his next plan.

Seeing the worry and confusion on Guanqiu Jian's face, Sima Yi said soothingly:
"When you retreated to Chang'an, your morale was greatly reduced, but the Shu invaders did not seize Fengshui and set up camp immediately, but instead set up camp at Xiliu.

"It seems that they are marching steadily and cautiously, holding on and waiting for help, but in fact they are hesitant and losing all opportunities.

"Now that our army has arrived, the Shu invaders are powerless. Zhonggong, don't worry."

Guanqiu Jian didn't know whether he should nod.

What the General of Cavalry said seems to make some sense.

But in fact, the Shu army did not come to seize the Fengshui camp, obviously because they believed that it would be difficult to withstand the attack of the reinforcements of the General of Cavalry after crossing the river.

Once defeated, the Shu army's high morale would begin to wane, while the Wei army's low morale would recover.

"Sima Gong, I'm afraid the Right General has been beheaded in Longyou. Envoy Guo may not be able to hold Tianshui.

"Once Tianshui is lost, Zhuge Liang will surely lead his army down to Long. If he gathers a large force at Gaoling and forces his way south across the Wei River, our Chang'an will lose its entire food supply route and will be unable to sustain it for two months.

"The morale of our Chang'an garrison is already low and we are of no use. Once the food supply is cut off, I'm afraid the situation will get even worse.

“By then, the Chang’an defenders might hinder Sima Gong Jingyu’s army.

"So... should we recapture Gaoling before Zhuge Liang arrives to help?
"Wang Yanglie has already ordered people to build siege equipment in Baling."

The Jingyu army had just won a quick victory over Meng Da, and their morale was high. If they could recapture Gaoling in one fell swoop, then the Wei Dynasty could advance steadily.

Smoke from cooking fires has already risen from Xiuliying.

Sima Yi watched quietly.

We can tell something from the regularity and density of the smoke distribution.

"Zhong Gong's concerns are indeed justified. The morale of the defeated soldiers in Guanzhong does need to be boosted, but to seize Gaoling is exactly what the Shu invaders want."

Guanqiu Jian was confused and didn't understand why.

Sima Yi stroked his beard and said solemnly:
"The Shu invaders in Guanzhong number no more than 30,000 or 40,000 men, but they are divided into five areas: Gaoling, Jimen, Xiliu, Huaili, and Wuzhangyuan.

"The Art of War says, 'Defend the front, and the rear will be weak; defend the left, and the right will be weak; if you defend everything, you will be weak everywhere.

"The Shu invaders are few in number, and dividing the troops is a big taboo in military strategy.

"The reason they dared to do so was simply because they thought Gaoling was a place that the Great Wei must save, and they wanted to lure us into attacking it, while they had fortified their camps and high fortifications, hoping to wear out the Great Wei army.

"Attacking them is exactly what they are planning.

"This is why Wang Yi was defeated and fled to Kunyang.

“The ancients said, ‘Even if the enemy has high fortifications, if they are forced to fight, we should attack the very places they must defend.

"If the Shu invaders are here in large numbers, their lair will be empty.

"If I were to march directly towards Wuzhangyuan, the people would be filled with fear and would seek battle. I would surely defeat them."

Guanqiu Jian was immediately startled: "Sima Gong wants to use another risky plan?!"

The lesson of Zhang He was right before his eyes, and Guanqiu Jian was so scared by Sima Yi that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Sima Yi shook his head, disagreeing:

"The Shu invaders number no more than thirty or forty thousand men, and all they rely on is Zhuge Liang's reinforcements.

"The distance from Tianshui to Chang'an is over 800 miles.

"Even if Zhuge Liang's army marched down to Long immediately, it would still take at least half a month to arrive.

"Besides, I'm exhausted from the journey, so how could it be dangerous?"

...

...

On the ninth day of the fourth month, Sima Yi's infantry arrived at Ba Ling, facing the Han army at Gao Ling across the river.

Ever since Sima Yi appeared near Chang'an with two or three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the two hundred-mile road from Xiuliu to Wuzhangyuan became uneasy.

After clearing the area around Chang'an, Sima Yi directly ordered the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to cross the Wei River to the north, and even passed through the 20-mile open space between the Han army's Xiuli Camp and Jimen Camp.

The Han army retreated and defended their camp.

Two or three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry entered as if they were in an empty land.

Fortunately, they did not dare to advance too deep. After showing off their military power and seeking a fight but failing, they retreated back to Chang'an.

The Qiang and Xiong cavalry had already received strict orders to retreat and defend.

Liu Bao's son Liu Cong led more than a thousand Xiongnu cavalry to station at Jimen Camp.

Two thousand Qiang cavalry, led by Yang Tiao and his son Yang Su, and six thousand infantry and crossbowmen led by General Yangwu Deng Zhi, escorted 20,000 dan of grain and grass eastward.

It's very inefficient, but it has to be done this way.

Fortunately, a large number of pack animals, baggage carts and grain transport ships were seized from Zhang He, so that this grain team had more soldiers than civilians and order was maintained.

The tenth day of April.

Tiger Cavalry Sima Huang Chong led fifty Tiger Cavalrymen westward from Jimen.

We changed horses three times at checkpoints along the way and finally returned to Wuzhangyuan at noon.

The emperor was in charge of the transportation of grain and fodder at the entrance of Xiegu Valley with Minister Dong.

The Xiegu plank road has been repaired, and the Xiegu granary has accumulated 80,000 dan of grain over the past month, which is currently being transported to Wuzhangyuan via the plank road. It is estimated that after all is delivered, there will be 60,000 dan left, enough to support the Han soldiers, civilians, and prisoners in Guanzhong for a month.

The captives with shaved heads replaced the laborers and became the best labor force, living a half-starved life.

They can transport food during wartime and be the best farm slaves after the war. It can be said that they have the best of both worlds, except that they can eat food.

Fortunately, the Prime Minister has accumulated wealth for the Han Dynasty for five years, so for the time being, there is no need to kill tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers like Cao Cao did.

"Your Majesty, An Guo sent an envoy to Jimen this morning to report to General Zhao.

"It is said that at dawn today, it was discovered that Sima Yi's tens of thousands of troops stationed in Ba Ling had broken camp and were heading straight towards Xinfeng.

"Perhaps they intend to cross the Wei River from Xinfeng to the north and go around to the city of Gaoling."

Liu Chan frowned slightly:

"The military strategy says to attack the enemy when they are weak, and attack the enemy when they are strong. Sima Yi can't really attack Gaoling, right?
"Besides, he probably hasn't even built any siege equipment, right?"

If an ordinary person did this, Liu Chan might believe that he really went to attack Gaoling.

But this is Sima Yi, who is best at mixing truth and falsehood.

Huang Chong said, "Your Majesty, Niu Jin, who guards Ba Ling, and Wang Chang, who guards Xinfeng Granary, may be building siege weapons."

Liu Chan nodded suddenly and forgot about it.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that Sima Yi might really attack Gaoling.

After all, with the lesson of Meng Da, Sima Yi attacked at all costs and frightened the defenders in the city within a dozen days.

"Did General Zilong say how he plans to respond?" Liu Chan asked.

Now Zhao Yun is stationed at Jimen, in the center of the army.

Wang Ping, Fu Qian and Cuan Xiong were stationed at Xiliu, on the left wing.

Zong Yu, Guan Xing and Zhao Tong were stationed in Gaoling and occupied the right army.

However, the three armies were only twenty or thirty miles apart, not the left, center, and right parts on a local battlefield.

But for a battle involving nearly 100,000 people, such a distance is nothing.

Huang Chong said, "General Zhao also said that this might be Sima Yi's strategy of deceiving the enemy. Our army should just defend the camp and wait and see what happens. We will then make our own plans once the Prime Minister's reinforcements arrive."

Liu Chan nodded after thinking about it.

According to the plan, Zhao Yun's 24,000 troops should hold the camp and switch from defense to offense after the Prime Minister's army arrives at Gaoling.

Relying on one city and two strongholds, it is no problem to hold out for half a month, and even severely consume Sima Yi's power.

Especially Gaoling, it was not an empty city when it was captured.

The Wei army already had armor, arrows, food, and battering rams and rolling logs stationed in the city.

Guan Xing seized more than 10,000 stones of grain and also transported food and supplies from Anding. According to common sense, it would be no problem for him to hold out for a month.

April eleven.

News came that tens of thousands of troops under Sima Yi's banner arrived in Xinfeng.

On the same day, the Wei army stationed at Wei Bridge in Chang'an began to cross the Wei River and set up camp on the north bank of Wei Bridge under the protection of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

The Han army did not leave the camp to harass.

On April 13, the Wei army, which had set up camp on the north bank of Wei Bridge, gained a firm foothold.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry came to report that they had discovered that the Han army coming from the direction of Wuzhangyuan was transporting grain to Xiuliying, which was on the banks of the Wei River, 20 miles away from Xiuli.

So, under the cover of a thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the 10,000 Wei troops began to form a battle array and march westward, preparing to launch the first small-scale battle.

At the same time, the Wei army on Fengshui River, which was across the Wei River from the Han army's Xiuli Camp, began to build a pontoon bridge under the command of General Guanqiu Jian.

The Han army's grain-guarding team seemed to have one or two thousand cavalrymen and six or seven thousand infantrymen, which was considered to be a large number of people.

The Wei army took the initiative to attack, and the Han army had the home advantage. If nothing unexpected happened today, there would definitely be a small-scale battle between Han and Wei.

The result came unexpectedly.

After discovering the movements of the Wei army, the Han army turned back and sent the food to Huaili City, ten miles away.

More than 10,000 Wei troops were all stunned in front of Xiuli Camp, unable to advance or retreat.

Finally, under the command of generals Wei Ping and Zhou Dang, the Wei army decided to give it a try.

Thousands of laborers were driven by the Wei army armed with swords, spears, bows and crossbows, and rushed forward with sandbags on their backs to fill the trenches.

After sacrificing the lives of thousands of laborers and finally building up a few roads for advancement, the Wei army launched the first attack on the Xiuli camp.

But how strong could a camp that had been built for more than ten days without any disturbance be?

Since the Wei army had no determination to capture it at all costs, this temptation was doomed to be useless.

After being hit by two rounds of arrow rain and a brief struggle, the Wei army finally retreated in a hurry after nearly a hundred corpses fell in front of the Lujiao Trench, leaving behind about two hundred wounded soldiers.

The Han army, having won a small victory, still did not choose to leave the camp and pursue the Wei army, which was slightly in disarray during its retreat.

The Fengshui Weiying is separated from the Xiliu Han Village by a river.

Standing on the watchtower and gazing northward, Sima Yi looked at the Han army that was as afraid of Wei as a rat, and pondered for a long time, his expression remaining calm.

On the side, Guanqiu Jian sighed:
"Lord Sima, it seems the Shu invaders have not become complacent due to their successive victories in recent months, as you anticipated.

"In this case, there is probably no other way except to take Gaoling by force or wait for Zhuge Liang to arrive.

"Even if Sima Gong takes a risk and puts our Wei soldiers in danger again, I'm afraid the Shu bandits will not choose to leave their camp to attack us.

"After all, Wuzhangyuan is extremely dangerous. Even if there are only four or five thousand people defending it, it is not something Sima Gong can attack."

Sima Yi smiled and shook his head.

"If the Shu invaders want to hold Xiliu, Jimen, and Gaoling, they must send out their best troops, leaving Wuzhangyuan empty.

"The Xiliu garrison commander, Wang Ping, fought his way through the narrow Chencang Pass because he was eager to save his master.

"Once our army attacks Wuzhangyuan, he won't be able to remain calm like Zhao Yun and not return to rescue us.

“Furthermore, my surprise attack on Wuzhangyuan this time was completely different from Zhang He’s.

"My army has food supply, a retreat, elite troops, strong morale, and three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry that are unstoppable.

"And with me, if Zhang He hadn't been poisoned and could still command calmly, his tens of thousands of troops might not have surrendered without a fight."

Guanqiu Jian was speechless.

How could a young man like him, who had just started out, comment on Sima Gong's extraordinary military prowess?

However, Zhang He's great defeat left a huge shadow on his mind.

One day passed.

April fourteenth.

Huang Chong brought news to Liu Chan again.

Sima Yi's tens of thousands of troops set out in great fanfare in the morning, crossed the Wei River from Xinfeng to the north, and then pushed siege equipment into Gaoling.

It seemed that he had finally made up his mind to seize Gaoling before the Prime Minister's army went down to Long, so as to ensure his own food supply.

Liu Chan felt something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.

April fifteen.

Liu Chan was still asleep.

As a result, Zhao Guang suddenly woke him up.

"Your Majesty, Sima Yi's army suddenly appeared on the south bank of the Wei River, ten miles west of Huaili, and is now building a pontoon bridge waiting to cross the river!

“There are already three to four thousand Wei troops camped on the north bank!

"There are still nearly a thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry patrolling the north bank, driving away our scouts!"

ha?
Again? !
Liu Chan was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.

(End of this chapter)