Zhang Fei left five thousand soldiers and horses with Deng Ai to cut off his rear.
The crowd of five thousand said it was not too much, but it was too little.
Under normal circumstances, it is enough to cover the retreat of the army.
In the past few months, the Han army had been surrounding the Wei army in Wancheng and attacking them. This led many generals in the Han army to believe that Sima Yi would not lead his army to pursue them when they retreated.
After all, in terms of morale and military strength, the Wei army did not have an advantage.
But Deng Ai did not take it lightly.
After Zhang Fei led his army several miles away from Wancheng, Deng Aicai led his army from the camp and slowly retreated to cover Zhang Fei's army.
Zhang Fei not only left 5,000 Han troops with Deng Ai, but also left two powerful generals to assist Deng Ai.
These two heroes are Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong.
As the second generation of the Han Dynasty who gradually became famous, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong were proud in their hearts.
Their fathers were all feared by the people of the world, so from the day they joined the army, they wanted to make a name for themselves so as not to disgrace the reputation of their fathers.
It's just that Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong are both good at martial arts, but not good at strategy.
This leaves the two of them with very few opportunities to make meritorious deeds.
With Zhang Fei in Jingzhou, I think there is no Wei general who dares to challenge the Jingzhou army to fight without fear of death.
There are not many opportunities for meritorious service, which means that Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong's current positions are not high - both of them are only Zhonglang generals.
But what about Deng Ai?
Before the Northern Expedition, Deng Ai had become Zhonglang General due to his achievements in the Southern Expedition.
Before being sent to Jingzhou by Mi Yang, Mi Yang was worried that Deng Ai was too young to convince the public, so he specially promoted Deng Ai to "General Xingzhechong".
According to what Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong knew, Zhang Fei recently deliberately removed the line on Deng Ai's head.
Of course, there are countless people in the Han army who have higher positions than Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong, but the important thing is that they are all much older than Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong!
More importantly, Deng Ai was just a direct subordinate of Mi Yang.
So much has changed in the past few years.
In terms of background, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong were no worse than Mi Yang. In their early years, they and Mi Yang were collectively known as the "Four Friends of the Prince" by people in Chengdu.
But a few years later, Mi Yang left them behind and became a general with less than one person and more than ten thousand people. Even his subordinate Deng Ai had a higher position than them.
How could Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong not be disgusted by such a huge contrast.
We are all young people, and it is normal to be competitive.
Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong could not hide their thoughts from Deng Ai.
It's not that Deng Ai's emotional intelligence suddenly became higher, it's mainly that Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong have been looking at him with inquiring eyes in the past few days.
Anyone who has been stared at like this can guess some reasons.
Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong were exploring whether their abilities were inferior to Deng Ai's, or whether they had joined the wrong army?
Fortunately, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong were very strict in their upbringing. Although they were puzzled and dissatisfied, they did not turn their emotions into dissatisfaction with Deng Ai.
In the past few days, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong have been very obedient to Deng Ai's orders.
Originally, if there were no accidents, the relationship between the three of them should have developed in such a dull way, but there are always some smart people in the world who like to act like monsters.
When Deng Ai led his army to retreat to a plain ten miles away from Wancheng, a group of fine cavalry from the Wei army suddenly arrived and attacked the Han army led by him.
When he left Wancheng, Deng Ai had sent out scouts in the rear, which made him well prepared.
Coupled with Mi Yang's repeated attacks, it is difficult for the current Wei army to have a large number of cavalry.
So in the end Deng Ai successfully commanded the Han army to repel the Wei army's attack.
After repelling the Wei army's attack, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong came to Deng Ai and suggested:
"As expected by the general of chariots and cavalry, the bandit army planned to attack our army.
Now that the bandit army's attack has been repelled by our army, our army can join up with the generals of cavalry as soon as possible. "
The task given by Zhang Fei to Deng Ai was: if Sima Yi sends troops to pursue him, then repel the Wei army's attack.
From this aspect, Deng Ai's task is completed.
In addition, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong knew that Zhang Fei would rush back to Chang'an before New Year's Day.
In other words, there is less than a month left for Zhang Fei to arrange the defense of Jingzhou.
In this case, if they can immediately join Zhang Fei and rush back to Jingzhou as soon as possible, they will undoubtedly save a lot of time.
Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong's suggestions sounded quite reasonable.
But Deng Ai shook his head and rejected their suggestions.
Deng Ai's refusal puzzled Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong.
Could it be that Deng Ai was worried that Sima Yi would launch another attack on them?
But this is not very likely.
The art of war throughout the ages has always disapproved of the pursuit of retreating enemy troops.
And even if they have to pursue, most of the generals still have the attitude of giving it a try.
If the first attack is effective, then Sima Yi may launch a second attack.
But the first attack by the Wei army could only be described as a dismal outcome.
After the defeated Wei army returned to Wancheng, they reported to Sima Yi that their army was well-defended. From common sense, Sima Yi would not launch a second attack.
It was precisely because of this inference that Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong made that suggestion to Deng Ai.
But it's obvious that Deng Ai has his own ideas.
"The two generals don't know something.
Since Ai came to Wancheng, he has watched the old thief Sima use his troops many times.
In the past few months, our army has repeatedly attacked Wancheng, but they were all repelled by the bandits. This is not only because Wancheng is a fortified city, but also because the old bandit Sima is a good defender.
Any general who is good at defense must have a calm character.
With the calmness of the old thief Sima, he will not launch an attack on our army rashly.
The thieves who came to attack our army today are neither large nor elite. Isn't that different?
According to my expectation, today's attack by the bandit army was an act of weakness by the old thief Sima.
Our military should not take it lightly. "
Deng Ai patiently explained his views to Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong.
In fact, Deng Ai's character was quite arrogant in front of ordinary generals.
There was nothing he could do about it. Deng Ai was already an adult when he joined Mi Yang.
Mi Yang can change Deng Ai's life trajectory, but he can't change Deng Ai's already stereotyped character.
Just out of respect for Mi Yang, Deng Ai, who had always been arrogant, would try his best to remain humble to those who valued Mi Yang.
After listening to Deng Ai's words, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong thought for a long time.
After thinking for a long time, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong found that they still did not quite understand Deng Ai's concerns.
This is because in previous battles, these two men never paid attention to what kind of person Sima Yi was.
Moreover, everyone has different talents in strategy. Even if they paid attention, it would be difficult for them to have as keen a judgment as Deng Ai.
However, seeing that although Deng Ai stuttered, he still explained himself word for word, Zhang Bao and Zhao Tong did not continue to persuade him.
They are Mi Yang's friends and should trust Mi Yang's vision.
The distance of tens of miles could be reached in one day for the fleeing cavalry.
That night, Sima Yi, who had been waiting so hard, received the news.
Unsurprisingly, the troops he sent to pursue the Han army suffered a disastrous defeat.
The news of the tragic defeat not only did not distress Sima Yi, but also made him smile with joy.
Sima Yi's strange behavior made Master Sima beside him confused again.
When Sima Yi sent out cavalry to pursue the Han army, Sima Division had advised Sima Yi: The Han army should retreat in an orderly manner, and it would be difficult to achieve success without sending elite troops to pursue it.
However, Sima Yi ignored this suggestion.
But when the news came that the pursuit failed, Sima Yi was not angry but happy. Why?
Master Sima immediately asked Sima Yi about his confusion.
This time Sima Yi did not ignore Sima Shi.
Sima Yi was in a good mood and said to Master Sima with a smile:
"Zhang Fei has been besieging the city for several months. His troops are trapped and his horses are exhausted. I suspect that he has already planned to retreat.
But Wancheng was right in front of him. Unless there was something important, Zhang Fei would never be able to make up his mind to withdraw his troops from Wancheng.
Since something important prompted Zhang Fei to withdraw his troops, Zhang Fei must be anxious to return to Jingzhou as soon as possible.
It's just that Zhang Fei is not an unintelligent person. He knows that a sudden withdrawal may make our army want to pursue.
Therefore, at the beginning, Zhang Fei would either personally lead his army to cut off the rear, or send elite troops to cut off the rear.
Judging from the battle report received today, my guess is correct.
As I said just now, the Han army retreated due to urgent matters.
So according to common sense, after our army's first pursuit failed, the Han army would take it lightly and retreat with all its strength.
This kind of opportunity is what I really want. "
After listening to Sima Yi's analysis, Master Sima suddenly realized.
My father is so clever!
Seeing the admiring look in Master Sima's eyes, Sima Yi didn't pay too much attention.
For Sima Yi, the more important thing at the moment is to summon the generals and pursue the Han army with all their strength.
Thinking of this, Sima Yi immediately issued a general order to summon the generals.
When returning from Wancheng to Jingzhou, there is one place that must be passed under normal circumstances.
This place is just south of Ju.
The terrain of Nanjiuju is low-lying, surrounded by mountains and forests, and rivers flowing through it. It is a natural place for garrisoning troops.
After Sima Yi led tens of thousands of Wei troops to gallop for a period of time, during a short rest period, he took out the map on his body and looked at it carefully.
Since the Han army set off early and most of the troops led by Sima Yi were infantry, it was impossible to pursue the Han army in a short time.
Therefore, Sima Yi's idea was to rush to Nanjiuju as soon as possible and use it as a camp for his soldiers.
After the base area is established, the next offensive action will be taken based on the actual situation.
Looking at the signs on the map, Sima Yi knew that he was not far from Nanjiuju.
So Sima Yi quickly summoned Niu Jin.
Niu Jin was originally a general under Cao Ren. After Cao Ren died in battle, he was deeply loved by Sima Yi because of his bravery.
After Niu Jin arrived, Sima Yi pointed to Nanjiu Ju on the map and said to Niu Jin:
"I would like to order you to lead an army of 3,000 people. We will gather and set up camp first when most of our army arrives in the south.
I wonder if you dare to accept this appointment. "
Facing Sima Yi's inquiry, the sturdy Niu Jin immediately said angrily:
"Why don't you dare!"
Zhang Fei was about to evacuate to Yuyang, so why wouldn't he dare?
Niu Jin's heroic speech made Sima Yi happy.
Sima Yi took a command arrow and handed it to Niu Jin's hand, looking at him expectantly and saying:
"Go!"
After taking the command arrow from Sima Yi, Niu Jin immediately turned around and left.
Looking at Niu Jin's leaving figure, Sima Yi's eyes became dark.
Given the current situation, he didn't need to send Niu Jin as the vanguard.
But for his own safety, it would be best for him to send a vanguard to gather in the south first.
After Niu Jin led his army to leave, Sima Yi asked the remaining sergeants to rest first.
After almost resting, Sima Yi planned to lead his army to the south to gather.
Perhaps it was Sima Yi's confidence that night that infected Niu Jin. Niu Jin didn't think there would be any danger ahead.
Niu Jin, who was the vanguard, led his troops to run wildly, but arrived at Nanjuju within an hour.
After arriving at the outskirts of Nanjiuju, Niu Jin felt that Nanjiuju was very quiet.
This was not the first time that Niu Jin led his army to Nanjiuju, so he was not unfamiliar with the terrain around Nanjiuju.
Nanjiuju was originally a large rural village, but after Zhang Fei's Northern Expedition, all the people in Nanjiuju were moved away by Zhang Fei.
From this point of view, the tranquility of Nanjiuju is not abnormal.
After a brief pause on the periphery, Niu Jin led three thousand Wei troops into Nanjiuju without scruples.
From the topography point of view, Nanjiuju looks like a valley.
It is surrounded by mountains to the west and rivers to the east.
There are only two entrances to and from Nanjiuju, the north and south.
Just after Niu Jin led his army into Nanjiuju from the north entrance, the Han army, which had been hiding in the mountains and forests, led by Zhang Bao, immediately appeared and blocked the north exit of Nanjiuju.
News of the appearance of Han troops in the rear quickly reached Niu Jin's ears.
After hearing the news, Niu Jin couldn't help but be shocked.
Subconsciously, Niu Jin ordered the entire army to rush towards the south exit of Nanjuju as soon as possible.
But before the Wei army could reach the south exit, a Han army led by Zhao Tong had already blocked the south exit.
After both the north and south exits were blocked by the Han army, this meant that the Wei army led by Niu Jin was completely trapped in Nanjuzhong by the Han army.
And just when the three thousand Wei army faced this sudden change, Deng Ai led thousands of Han archers appeared in the eyes of the Wei army among the mountains to the west.
Looking at the many Han archers who seemed to be connected with the surrounding vegetation, the mentality of Niu Jin and the Wei soldiers was completely exploded.
Didn’t the general say that the Han army was relaxed and unprepared at the moment?
So what's going on with this scene in front of you?
Looking at the panicked Wei troops below, a smile appeared on Deng Ai's face.
It can be seen from the flags flown by the Wei army that the leader of this Wei army is Pingnan General Niu Jin.
Although he was not Sima Yi, being able to capture and kill a general was still a big achievement.
After realizing this, Deng Ai immediately waved the flag.
As the flag was waved, arrows rained down from the mountain, injuring a large number of Wei troops.
And Zhang Bao, who had been hungry and thirsty for a long time, took the lead and raised his gun to kill Niu Jin.
I heard you are very good at playing.
Sima Yi, who led his army to set off again, quickly discovered something unusual after getting closer and closer to Nanjiu Ju.
So much time has passed, and Niu Jin has not yet sent a messenger to report on the situation of the camp.
After the bad premonition in his heart came true due to the scout's report, Sima Yi couldn't help but exclaimed:
"The chariots and riders have not retreated yet!"
(End of chapter)
