"There is a saying in the art of war: the first is to attack the enemy with the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and then the second is to attack the city."
Jiang Tuo began to talk about the truth, and then pointed out: "So, attacking the city is not a wise move. To use troops, we must first observe the enemy's situation, so we must observe the situation between the enemy and ourselves."
Lu Qing and Geng Bin stared at each other. They didn't understand. There was nothing to observe in such a pass.
Lu Qing seriously suggested: "Otherwise, we launch a surprise attack at night. Now the Wei army doesn't know about us. As long as we can attack the city wall quickly, the possibility of Wei army's defeat is very high."
Jiang Tuo frowned, shook his head and said no.
Jiang Tuo's march this time was very dangerous. Because now in the Yongliang area, Zhang He led his troops to fight against the Shu army led by Zhuge Liang. The two armies were fighting and all their attention was focused on it.
However, Jiang Tuo bypassed the steep mountains and ambush near Sanguan. As long as he could break through Sanguan in one fell swoop, it would be equivalent to strangling the throats of Yongliang and Chang'an, and the Yongliang area could be successfully captured.
Therefore, there is no room for error in capturing Sanguan.
"It's a pity that we brought too few people, otherwise we would have been sure to win Sanguan."
“It’s not about having too many soldiers, it’s about having the best.”
In the next three days, Jiang Tuo and others set up camp about twenty miles south of Sanguan. Jiang Tuo then ordered his soldiers to patrol the area day and night to avoid being discovered by others.
Jiang Tuo himself rushed to the vicinity of Sanguan every morning and lay down on a hillside in the south of the city, hiding his figure and carefully exploring the situation in the city from a high position.
Lu Qing and Geng Bin looked puzzled. They followed Jiang Tuo out early in the morning and returned late every day, observing the movements of Sanguan.
However, due to the war, Sanguan was sparsely populated, with few people coming and going. Occasionally, one or two messengers passed by in a hurry.
The two of them didn't know what Jiang Tuo was looking at, and they didn't tell him if they asked him. I stayed like this quietly for five or six days. At noon that day, a spy came to report that a group of Wei cavalry came quickly from the west of Sanguan!
Jiang Tuo was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "Capture all these people and put the entire army on alert and prepare for battle!"
The two of them didn't understand Jiang Tuo's intention at all, and Geng Bin asked in a low voice: "What do you think, sir? Why do you want to capture this cavalry? What if you alert the enemy?"
Lu Qing frowned and analyzed in a low voice: "I have been following the king for the longest time. In my opinion, the king is the most impatient. He probably thinks that it is difficult to break through the pass, so he plans to attack this cavalry to vent his anger!"
"What are you two muttering about?" Jiang Tuo turned around and asked.
"Oh, let's say it's your honor!"
"Haha, you also think I'm wise, don't you?" Jiang Tuo pointed proudly: "In the past few days, I see that there are not many people nearby, and the soldiers who have dispersed from the customs are not allowed to go out. This means that the Prime Minister has already fought with Zhang He. The Wei army in Yongliang has been put under martial law!"
"Under such circumstances, it is too difficult to conquer Sanguan!"
"The Prime Minister has always been smart in using troops. In order to ensure that he can defeat the Prime Minister, Zhang He will inevitably draw nearby troops and concentrate a large number of troops to attack the Shu army!"
"So I judged that there must be messengers carrying Zhang He's tiger talisman to disperse the pass and recruit troops. So these days, I have been waiting for the messengers to come. As long as I catch the messengers and pretend to be them, I can Deceive the city gate to open and attack Sanguan!"
Jiang Tuo pointed to Sanguan below.
Lu Qing suddenly understood and praised loudly: "Your Excellency, you use your troops like a god!"
Geng Bin was eager to try, and volunteered: "I will pretend to be a Wei army, and I will definitely be able to deceive the city gate!"
Jiang Tuo shook his head and said firmly: "I will do this myself, Lu Qing, you come with me. As for Geng Bin, you stay here. When the signal is given to you, you will lead the army to kill!"
Lu Qing was shocked and tried to dissuade him: "Sir, if the Wei army sees through you, you will be in danger in the city. Otherwise, you should stay here and sit in control while Geng Bin and I go."
"What are you afraid of?"
Jiang Tuo grasped the hilt of the sword at his waist and said coldly: "Don't worry, nothing will happen to this matter!"
Zhao Erniu first led fifty elite soldiers and successfully ambushed the cavalry messenger of dozens of people. After they cleaned the battlefield and disposed of the bodies, they quickly came to report the news.
They brought the arrows representing Zhang He's deployment of troops and generals.
In other words, after the scattered pass defenders rejoined the army in accordance with Zhang He's order, they handed back the command arrows to show that they had completed their mission. This was called "handover of orders" in the ancient army.
Soon, Jiang Tuo and others put on the military uniforms of the Wei army, then rode horses and ran towards Sanguan from the official road to the west.
Afterwards, Lu Qing followed Jiang Tuo and arrived in front of the west city gate in a high-spirited manner.
