In the center of the Han army, Zhao Hui was sitting on a wooden chair, listening to the subordinates sent by Li Yan to report to him the movements of the Shu army.
"...The Shu army passed through Fengzhou three days ago and is expected to arrive at Sanguan in two days. It claims to be one hundred thousand, but according to estimates from our army's outpost in Fengzhou, its actual strength is only between two and three thousand. "
"Yes." Zhao Hui folded the letter and put it back on the table, then asked, "Has anyone found out who the leader of the Shu army is this time?"
"Reporting to the Taiwei, the person leading the troops on the opposite side is An Siqian, the military envoy of the Shannan West Road of the Shu Kingdom. This man was only promoted as the military envoy by the Lord of Shu last year. He was previously a close minister of the Lord of Shu. I have never heard of him being beaten. It’s not a battle, so we don’t know much about it.”
Zhao Hui nodded and waved away his staff.
An Siqian sounded like an enemy general with little battle experience, but Zhao Hui did not despise him because of this. His demeanor was very calm - after all, he was nearly sixty years old.
It seems that as people get older, they are always used to recalling the past. Trivial scenes emerged in Zhao Hui's mind. He remembered that he had joined the army during the reign of Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty. He had participated in nearly a hundred battles during the Liang-Jin conflict forty years ago, and later fought under countless generals. There are countless battles.
After so many years of fighting on the battlefield, Zhao Hui has seen many battle-hardened and famous generals die on the battlefield due to their pride and underestimation of the enemy. He has also seen many powerful vassal commanders die with one careless move. During the transformation, I deeply understood a truth: Don't underestimate any enemy, and don't let go of any possible threat.
This principle was followed by him as an iron rule, not only in war, but also in life.
The numbers of the Shu army were not what Zhao Hui expected. What was unexpected was that the Shu army came too quickly. At present, Fengxiang Mansion cannot be captured for a while, and Li Yancong is stationed in Baoji with only 2,000 men. It will be difficult to resist Shu's tens of thousands of troops - as long as An Siqian is not a fool.
Should we divide our forces and go to Baoji? Or simply abandon Fengxiang Mansion and retreat to Xianyang? While weighing, Zhao Hui showed some hesitation on his face and frowned slightly. Then he even stood up from the chair and paced back and forth in the tent.
He first gave up the idea of retreating. If Fengxiang is abandoned, it will be equivalent to handing over the gateway to Guanzhong to Shu. When the rebels from the three places join forces with the Shu army to attack together, the scattered troops and horses of Fangzhen in addition to the imperial army may not be able to resist at all. In addition, there was another reason in his heart that was more important than just considering the war itself, and that was that he still remembered the Liu family's kindness to him.
Before the founding of this dynasty, Zhao Hui was still the commander of the Shaanzhou Military Central District. It was not until he killed the Liao general and offered Shaanzhou to the late emperor Liu Zhiyuan that he became the military envoy. Now that Liu Chengyou succeeded to the throne, he was even awarded the title of Taiwei, so he can He said that all his favors and honors were due to the emperor of the Liu family. Because of this, he must do his best to repay the favor in this counterinsurgency.
How to fight next?
At this moment, Zhao Yanjin suddenly opened the curtain and hurried to Zhao Hui, whispering to him.
Zhao Hui was surprised at first when he heard the news, then thought for a while and suddenly had an idea.
…
The Han army gained full victory in the battle of Nanshan. Except for a few of the two thousand soldiers and horses that the rebels left the city and were captured by the Han army, most of the rest were slaughtered by the Han army. The valley was filled with rebel corpses, and blood flowed from the valley road to the At the mountain pass, the stench of corpses can still occasionally drift into the military camp on the wind several days later.
After the war, Zhao Hui ordered his sergeants to set up a high pole outside the city, and strung the heads of several rebel generals in a string and hung them on the pole, like a string of human-head lanterns.
The only fly in the ointment is that Wang Jingchong did not personally lead the troops, otherwise Fengxiang Mansion might have changed hands directly. Even so, the rebels in the city were hit again, and the Han army had accumulated enough advantages after these three victories.
While Guo Xin was waiting in the camp to see Zhao Hui continue to perform, Zhao Hui's Xingyuan suddenly sent someone to tell him to follow him to the camp gate to receive the order.
Naturally, it would not be an ordinary order that Zhao Hui could be asked to pick up in person. Guo Xin did not dare to delay. He soon saw Zhao Hui leading a large number of generals outside the east gate to greet him. Guo Xin joined them, and soon he looked away. A group of cavalry appeared there.
The cavalry were all knights of the Forbidden Army, escorting a young civil servant in the middle to dismount in front of the gate.
Zhao Hui took the lead to greet him, and Guo Xin learned from the conversation between the two that the civil servant was Lang Wangpu, the secretary of the imperial court, and he was also on assignment in the west camp.
Then everyone welcomed Wang Pu to the central military tent to hear the edict. Wang Pu respectfully held the edict wrapped in yellow silk with both hands. He walked among the warriors without fear. His majestic posture made Guo Xin thought of Wang Jun, but Wang Puke was much younger than Wang Jun.
All the generals in the tent stood still and listened to Wang Pu read out the imperial edict in a bright and clear voice.
"I ordered Fengxiang Jiedu Envoy Zhao Hui: After observing that all the armies in Guanxi were refusing to advance, the imperial court was deeply concerned. Therefore, the privy envoy Guo Wei was appointed as a comfort envoy in front of the army in the west. All armies were under threat and restrained, and no mistakes could be made. Your Majesty is loyal and loyal to the country, and has good military skills. Now you have worked hard in the western frontier, so you should be rewarded. You have been specially promoted to the southwestern camp deployment, and you still control the troops and horses on this route. If you have any problems, you can discuss it with Guo Wei, and you will live up to the high expectations of the court."
Wang Jun was indeed right, his father Guo Wei was really coming to Guanzhong to take charge! Although he had been prepared for it, Guo Xin still didn't expect it to happen so quickly. For a moment, he felt countless pairs of eyes focusing on him, but he suddenly felt very relaxed.
He looked at Zhao Hui and saw that Zhao Hui had no unnecessary expression on his face. After singing aloud a thank you, he clasped his fists and faced the direction of Tokyo: "I am unable to fight against thieves. I am ashamed of the high expectations of the officials and the princes of the court." .Since it is the decree of the imperial court, all senior ministers must obey it, and everything must be done in accordance with the orders of Ambassador Guo."
Wang Pu immediately put on an affectionate posture: "The Taiwei's words are too strong! We don't know who the official is talking about, but it must not be the Taiwei. Before I came here to deliver the order, Duke Guo also said it to me personally, Among all the towns in Kansai that fight against thieves, Taiwei Town is the only one that is really dedicated to life. On the way here, I even heard that Taiwei won three games in a row in Fengxiang. It is truly a national city!"
After exchanging some polite words with each other, Zhao Hui dismissed the generals and arranged for Wang Pu to rest inside on the grounds that the horses were tired.
Guo Xin was about to leave, but Zhao Yanjin came out of nowhere and grabbed his sleeve. He chuckled in his ear and said, "Guo Gong's envoys are here. Where else is Guo Lang going?" After that, he pulled him away. Come to another tent next to the big tent.
Zhao Hui and Wang Pu were chatting in the tent. Zhao Yanjin led Guo Xin in. Zhao Hui introduced Wang Pu with a smile: "This is the son of Ambassador Guo."
Wang Pu turned to look at Guo Xin with great interest. Guo Xin stepped forward and saluted: "I have seen the envoy at last."
However, Wang Pu got down from his seat and saluted him: "How dare you! I am just a person working next to Ambassador Guo, and privately I can't stand the general's courtesy."
Zhao Hui laughed and said, "In that case, let's just sit down and talk."
Guo Xin and Zhao Yanjin sat down with them, and Zhao Hui continued to speak: "But I don't know what strategy Guo Gong has prepared for this time? Does he have any mission for the general?"
Wang Pudao said: "Guo Gong thinks that now the three rebels are united, and they all regard Shouzhen as the main one. If Shouzhen dies, the two towns will be destroyed. If you abandon the close and attack the far, if the enemy in front cannot be defeated and the enemy behind comes, it will be defeated. way."
Zhao Hui stroked his beard and said, "That makes sense."
Wang Pu continued: "Now Guo Gong is from Shaanzhou, Bai Wenke and Liu Ci are from Tongzhou, and Chang Si is from Tongguan. They are attacking Hezhongfu in three ways. They will be able to trap the enemy in the city in a short time. Therefore, Guo Gong means, Chang'an, Fengxiang The troops and horses in the two places are not moving for the time being, and we only need to wait until the fighting in the river calms down before making any plans."
"In this way, the three rebel towns are trapped in three isolated cities." Zhao Hui agreed at first, but then sighed: "It's just that the current situation in Fengxiang is not as good as Mr. Guo thought."
Wang Pu frowned slightly and asked, "Why did the Taiwei say this?"
Zhao Hui did not answer, but took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Wang Pu. Wang Pu only glanced at it, and his brows furrowed deeper.
Guo Xin looked strange and couldn't help but secretly guess what was written in the letter.
Wang Pu quickly put down the letter and asked with a solemn expression: "I wonder how the captain will deal with it? I can go back and report it to the envoy as soon as possible."
Zhao Hui said with a smile: "I have decided to divide the troops, so I sent Commander Guo and Xiao'er's troops to Baoji to defend. Although there are few troops and horses, it is not easy to defeat the enemy, but it is enough to guard the Shu army from entering the pass. Moreover, the Shu army has always been weak. It’s probably nothing to worry about.”
Wang Pu was still hesitant, but Guo Xin immediately understood. Zhao Hui called him here just to take this opportunity to ask Guo Wei for troops. Understanding what Zhao Hui meant, Guo Xin couldn't help but smile bitterly. In his opinion, Guo Wei never changed his decision easily. It would not be easy for Guo Wei to divide his troops to help resist the Shu army for his own sake.
