It was already the end of October, and on a very cold morning, the entire Sanguanguan City turned into a very hard ice city. The cold breath filled the air, not only chilling the bodies of the people inside, but also Infecting the hearts of many Shu soldiers in Guancheng.
An Siqian was covered in thick fur and kept frowning. Sitting below him were a group of generals, including military generals from the Shu Kingdom's imperial army and generals from local soldiers gathered from nearby states. However, they were mostly in the same state, that is, they neither spoke nor laughed out loud, but just He lowered his head as if thinking, or stroked his beard to show a melancholy expression, so even though the whole room was full of people, it was quiet.
Everyone present had learned that Shen Gui was completely annihilated by the Han army at the Wei River. An Siqian called the generals to come to the meeting early in the morning, but he did not say a word until the last person arrived. He only said His stern expression left the generals to guess. The generals also had their own thoughts, everyone fell into silence, and the atmosphere was extremely cold.
An Siqian didn't speak because he was waiting. He summoned the generals to discuss matters, and in his heart he wanted to discuss the withdrawal of troops. Although An Siqian is nominally the commander-in-chief of the Shu army, in fact, the various troops are not under his control at all. It is okay to use troops in a controlled manner on a daily basis. However, if he wants to change the course and change the established military strategy of deploying troops out of the border, he cannot decide it alone. Yes.
Therefore, if you want to withdraw the troops, it is best to withdraw the troops in unison with the generals today, so that you can have something to say when you return to Beijing to face the Holy Spirit in the future.
However, An Siqian was silent for a long time. None of the generals present dared to raise the issue of withdrawing troops first, and he couldn't help but feel very irritated. Can these birdmen really not see clearly what the situation is like now?
It was known to everyone that Emperor Meng Chang was determined to send troops northward, but in An Siqian's view, how could the Han army be so easy to deal with? Zhao Hui, the commander-in-chief of the Han army, had won three out of three battles in Fengxiang. Shen Gui, the most capable fighter on his side, went to the mountain to ambush him. Although he won, he won first and then lost. Even Shen Gui himself died on the bank of the Wei River. .
Not to mention that this series of defeats had already made people in the army unstable, and the grain and winter clothes shipped from the rear alone could not guarantee the supply of the army. It is now the end of October, and in a few days there will be heavy snowfall in Guanzhong. Our troops have been in Shu for a long time, and many soldiers cannot stand the severe cold in the north. Now they are faced with a shortage of food and clothing. As long as the Han army holds on to the city If you want a stronghold, what can you do to defeat the Han army?
An Siqian knew that there were many people present who wanted to retreat, but no one dared to make the first comment. Because Emperor Meng Chang considered himself the leader of the Han family and always wanted to go north to conquer the Central Plains, who dared to propose it at this moment? When the teacher returns to the capital, isn't it just a slap in the face of the Holy Master?
An Siqian thought for a moment and decided to start the topic with an opening statement: "The former army was defeated, and all two thousand men were killed by the Han army. Although Shen Gui said that he lost his army in defeat, it cannot be said that he was incompetent. It was because he underestimated his enemy Meng Lang. But now it seems that the strength of the Han army in Baoji Village cannot be underestimated."
An Siqian paused briefly, leaving time for everyone to think, and then raised the topic: "Our army has been defeated repeatedly, how should we advance and retreat now? This matter is of great importance, and I can't make the decision, so I invite you to come. , just to discuss this matter."
The Shu generals exchanged glances with each other. Gao Yanchou, the Forbidden Army general who was second only to An Siqian in the army, quickly said: "Although Shengui was defeated, our army's vitality was not harmed. How can a mere village in Baoji resist our army?" Coming to attack? Now is the time to leave the pass and force the stronghold. When Baoji is conquered, the siege of Fengxiang will be broken and the situation in the pass will be convenient for our army."
Gao Yanchou's words immediately triggered a heated discussion among the people. Those who supported leaving the country and those who proposed withdrawing the troops had different opinions. Everyone was arguing. A young and impatient general shouted:
"The turtle son, he was defeated in the first round, and now he is defeated again. Before the army came out of the pass, he suffered two defeats! He was afraid of Zhao Hui before he even saw the Han army!"
When Zhao Hui's name was mentioned, the room seemed to fall into silence again.
Last year, the Shu army was unable to defeat even Wang Jingchong when it came out. Now the leader of the army in Fengxiang is Zhao Hui, who can defeat Wang Jingchong three times. Many people here were defeated by Wang Jingchong last year, and this year they will face a more ruthless person than Wang Jingchong. It would be a lie to say that they are honest. It's just that everyone present is the one who leads the troops in the war after all. Who can admit that he is incompetent in commanding the troops and is timid before fighting?
Then someone broke the silence: "If you say so, we will fight but not fight, and retreat but not retreat. Are we going to do it as claws?"
"We followed the order and returned without success. We are sorry for the official's kindness!"
"That's right! We have been blessed by the Holy Spirit, and it's time to repay the favor! Never mind Zhao Hui and Li Hui, kill the generals and turn them all into ashes!"
"How can we violate the edict of the Holy One?" Seeing that the idea of continuing to send troops suddenly gained the upper hand, An Siqian didn't care much. He raised his hand to stop everyone's discussion and said in a deep voice carefully, "It's just that our army is born in Guanzhong. If you are sparse and don’t know the military situation well, once the army moves north, what is the strategy to win? You should think carefully!"
This was a specific question. As expected, even Gao Yanchang frowned and looked like he was thinking hard.
An Siqian was very satisfied with the effectiveness of his little strategy, and continued to take advantage of the situation: "What's more, the key now is not whether our army dares to fight, but food and clothing! And the cold winter is approaching, so I'm afraid it's not a good time to use troops. .”
"What the commander-in-chief said is true! It is better for our army to go back to Fengzhou to lie dormant for the time being. After repairs, we can go out and fight again next spring. By then, the Han army will be exhausted after months of expedition. Isn't it a good opportunity to defeat the enemy?" Several close generals also agreed. Many people present were undecided. At this time, An Siqian's tendency to retreat was already obvious, and they all agreed.
It was at this time that An Siqian was waiting. Someone was willing to come up with a specific withdrawal plan. The generals were in agreement, and they had something to say when they returned to Chengdu to face the officials.
So An Siqian immediately ignored the gazes of Gao Yanchan and a few others, and ordered the army to retreat and garrison Fengzhou.
…
When everyone in Baoji Village heard the news that the Shu army had retreated, they didn't believe it at first. It wasn't until the scouts went to inquire again and again and confirmed that the Shu army had withdrawn from Sanguan and returned to Fengzhou that Guo Xin and others had to believe that the Shu army had really retreated.
Winter has come just at this time, the Wei River has frozen, the mountains, rivers and land have turned into a vast expanse of white. The distant mountains are also covered with snow. Looking around, everything is covered with snow in the sky and snow on the ground. It became blurry.
On days like this, Guo Xin never goes out unless necessary. Every day, he just gathered around the stove in the house with Zhao Yanjin and others to keep warm. Naturally, there is nothing military to discuss at the moment. It is a biting cold winter outside, but inside the room is a fire heated up by the soldiers, which makes the commanders gathered around the fire more familiar and more familiar. Closer.
The rare peaceful days in the army lasted for a month. On the winter solstice, the eighteenth day of the winter lunar month, Guo Xin suddenly received a military order. The military order did not come from Fengxiang or Tokyo, but directly from the Han army's Hezhong camp. The content of the military order was to reward him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army of the Fengguo Left Wing, and to ask him to go to Hezhong Mansion immediately to obey orders. There, the commander-in-chief of the Guanzhong armies was recruited, and his father Guo Wei was waiting for him.
Guo Xin quickly packed his bags, and after bidding farewell to Zhao Yanjin and others, he only took Guo Pu and a few cavalry soldiers to follow him, and then rode his horse towards the snow-capped sky and earth in the east, which seemed to have no end.
