Guo Huai's life has not been easy recently.
Ever since September, when he received the order from Cao Hong of Chang'an and learned that Liu Bei had pledged to fight for the Northern Expedition in Hanzhong, Guo Huai had been in a very nervous state.
At that time, Guo Huai and Cao Hong had similar judgments.
Neither of them believed that Liu Bei would attack Liangzhou from the farthest Qishan Road. The most likely places to send troops should be Chencang Road or Baoxie Road.
The reason is simple. The Qishan Road detours too far, so the march will be slower. In November, it will start to snow in the entire Liangzhou, which is not conducive to marching operations at all.
Therefore, Guo Huai, who was in Liangzhou, first led his troops to Pingxiang County in Tianshui County in the north of Yongzhou designated by Cao Wei. Here he called on the Qiang and Hu soldiers and Ma Yi followers to send troops. After the assembly was completed, he planned to march eastward to join Cao Hong in Chang'an. Let's fight together with Liu Bei's army.
Later, Guo Huai received a battle report from Cao Hong, saying that Liu Bei's yellow umbrella cover and Liu Bei's personal guard white soldiers were found at the entrance of Baoxie Road. This further strengthened Guo Huai's judgment that Liu Bei's main force was coming out of Baoxie Road. Directly attack Guanzhong.
Therefore, until early October, Guo Huai was still making preparations to march eastward to join Cao Hong.
But in mid-October, Guo Huai met Gao Gang, who was running back from Qishan Fort. Gao Gang told Guo Huai that the Shu army came out of Qishan Road, defeated Qishan Fort, and was now heading towards Tianshui County. .
Guo Huai was shocked and quickly asked for details.
If the main force of the Shu army came from Qishan Road, it meant that both myself and Cao Hong, the governor of Yongliang, had made a mistake. The goal of the Shu army was not Guanzhong Chang'an, but Liangzhou.
This is an error in strategic judgment, and at this time, it is very fatal.
Therefore, Guo Huai quickly summoned Gao Gang and tried to get specific information about the Shu army on Qishan Road from Gao Gang.
Originally, Gao Gang was right. He told Guo Huai that the Shu army on the Qishan Road was the main force of Liu Bei's Northern Expedition, numbering tens of thousands.
But this is not because Gao Gang is so foresight, nor is it because Gao Gang has opened his eyes. It is purely because Gao Gang is shirking responsibility.
Although Qishan Fort was lost due to an unprepared night attack, the main reason was Gao Gang's own command error, which led to a few hundred Shu troops to break through the camp guarded by 2,000 Wei troops.
Gao Gang also felt embarrassed when he said this kind of thing, and he was even more likely to be held accountable.
Therefore, in order to reduce his own guilt, Gao Gang exaggerated the number of Shu troops, claiming that the tens of thousands of Shu troops who attacked Qishan Fort were the main force of this Northern Expedition.
This is indeed a fair statement, but the problem is that if it were a brainless fool, he might have believed it, but he was facing Guo Huai.
As a famous general in Cao Wei, Guo Huai relied not only on his martial prowess, but more importantly on his good brains.
Since you Gao Gang said that the Shu army relied on night attacks to conquer Qishan Fort, how did you know the specific number of Shu army? !
It was pitch dark and the fighting lasted less than one night. How did you, Gao Gang, figure out that the Shu army numbered tens of thousands? !
Besides, it’s not like Guo Huai has never been to Qishan Fort. The camp is on the mountain. If there were really tens of thousands of enemy troops, they would have surrounded you on the mountain to a tight end. How could you, Gao Gang, run away? from? !
Guo Huai soon noticed Gao Gang's lies, and after repeated questioning, Gao Gang finally told the truth.
Then Guo Huai became very angry.
What the hell, you have two thousand people defending a camp, but it was easily breached by a few hundred people? !
Well, even that is not too abominable. The most abominable thing is that you, a bastard, dare to lie about military information in order to reduce your guilt? !
Do you still have people like this to celebrate the New Year? !
Just cut it down to show military discipline.
After killing Gao Gang, Guo Huai calmed down a little and began to seriously think about the information Gao Gang brought back.
The Shu army appeared on Qishan Road. This must be true, otherwise Gao Gang would not have gone all the way to Pingxiang County to receive such a knife. This was a joke on his own head.
But it's really hard to say whether it is the main force of the Shu army.
Guo Huai's brain is much better than Cao Hong's.
If the Shu army did not appear on Qishan Road, then Guo Huai might have recognized the current situation and believed that the main force of Liu Bei's army was at the Baoxie Road entrance. He should quickly gather his troops and go east to join Cao Hong.
But the Shu army suddenly appeared on Qishan Road, which is a bit intriguing.
It's hard to say whether this is the main force of the Shu army. After all, there are possibilities of the main force and the partial division.
If it is a partial division, the purpose of taking such a long detour out of Qishan Road should be to attract your own attention, prevent yourself from advancing eastward to support Governor Cao Hong, and reduce the pressure on the main force of Liu Bei's army on Baoxie Road.
But if it is the main force, it means that the entire Cao Wei from top to bottom has made a mistake in judging the strategic intentions of the Shu army. Their goal is not Guanzhong, but Liangzhou.
Gao Gang's defeat was too confusing and he did not provide much effective information to Guo Huai. There is only one thing that is certain. The Shu army taking the Qishan Road is not the kind of suspicious troops with no combat effectiveness.
It is impossible for a suspected force to defeat Qishan Fort overnight with hundreds of people. Guo Huai is very clear about the value of this New Year's Eve battle.
Therefore, Guo Huai judged that even if the Shu army coming out of Qishan Road was still not the main force, at least its combat effectiveness was definitely not weak, and it must be an elite force.
If we follow this line of thinking, it is impossible for the Shu army to send an elite unit to serve as suspects.
Then the purpose of the Shu army is definitely not to scare themselves with a bluff at the Qishan Pass. They will definitely continue to attack and try to contain their Liangzhou Army in a head-to-head manner.
As the Shu army broke through the Qishan Road, the first one to attack must be Xixian.
After Guo Huai made a little judgment, he immediately wrote a letter to Ma Zun, the newly appointed governor of Tianshui County, asking him to send county troops to strictly defend Xi County and try to determine the size and movement of the Shu army.
However, before Guo Huai's letter could be sent out, he met Ma Zun who had fled from Xi County to Pingxiang County.
Guo Huai was puzzled at the time, what was this guy doing here if he didn't do a good job in defense in Tianshui County? !
As a result, Ma Zun told Guo Huai that the Shu army came out from Qishan Road and rushed to Tianshui County. He did not have enough troops in West County and all the famous families in Tianshui County rebelled, so he had to come to Guo Huai.
At that time, Guo Huai was angry again.
It had only been a few days since Gao Gang arrived at his side. How could the Shu army break out of Qishan Road and attack Xi County so quickly? !
Does this Shu army have wings? !
After careful questioning, Guo Huai found out that Ma Zun did not see the Shu army arriving, but rushed to Pingxiang County without stopping after receiving a detailed report from the front.
As for the so-called Tianshui family's rebellion, it is just Ma Zun's own conjecture, without any evidence at all.
Guo Huai was so angry. What evil had he done, working with these bastards? !
One guarded the Qishan Fort for only half a night before being defeated and fled. The other one was even better. He didn't even see the Shu army and ran away. By the way, he also falsely accused the Tianshui family of rebellion? !
Are you sure this is not an undercover agent placed by the Shu army in Cao Wei? !
Guo Huai was very angry, but there was nothing Guo Huai could do about Ma Zun.
Gao Gang was just a lower-middle-class officer, so he would kill him without any worries.
But Ma Zun was the prefect of Tianshui County appointed by Cao Pi and the chief of a county. This was not something Guo Huai could kill if he wanted.
Not only could he not be killed, Guo Huai also had to comfort the escaped prefect in a sweet voice, asking him to quickly return to Ji County to arrange defense and buy himself some time to assemble his troops for the battle.
If Xi County is lost, it will be lost, but Ji County must not be lost.
But Ma Zun didn't listen at all.
In the administration of Wei State, Tianshui County was under the jurisdiction of Yongzhou Governor, and Guo Huai, the Liangzhou Governor, actually only had the right to advise Ma Zun, the prefect of Tianshui County, and had no jurisdiction.
So Ma Zun didn't go to Ji County and stayed in Pingxiang County. Guo Huai really couldn't argue with Ma Zun. Ma Zun didn't leave Tianshui County. After all, Pingxiang County is the current county seat of Tianshui County. You still You really can't accuse Ma Zun of going AWOL.
But Ma Zun refused to go to Ji County. After the Shu army captured Xi County, the next target would definitely be Ji County. The strategic location of Ji County was too important to be missed.
Guo Huai could not just watch Ji County be captured by the Shu army, so he had to do everything possible to mobilize troops to reinforce Ji County.
But Guo Huai also has Guo Huai's difficulties.
Don't look at the fact that Guo Huai now claims to have more than 50,000 soldiers, but in fact, the soldiers that Guo Huai can really control are only 17,000 or 8,000.
Liangzhou is bitterly cold, and the place has little output all year round. The aristocratic families in Liangzhou have always been despised by the Central Plains. Naturally, their attitude towards themselves, the governor of Liangzhou appointed by Cao Wei, is not much better.
Therefore, Guo Huai's life in Liangzhou was not easy. After many negotiations, Guo Huai reluctantly gained the support of the Liangzhou family, recruited more than 10,000 people in Liangzhou, and established a firm foothold in Liangzhou.
Then, Guo Huai relied on such a small number of people to establish a great reputation in Liangzhou, and some Qiang and Hu people respected him as "gods".
I have to say that Guo Huai's ability is really strong.
This time he sent troops to support Cao Hong. Guo Huai mobilized all the troops from Liangzhou and at the same time recruited Qiang and Hu Yi followers from the surrounding Qiang and Hu. This way he could barely gather more than 50,000 people, but not all of them reached Pingxiang County. And even if they all arrive, these barbarians may not be able to completely obey Guo Huai's orders.
Therefore, the actual troops that Guo Huai can mobilize are only 17,000 or 8,000 men, and most of them are cavalry.
At present, Guo Huai does not know the specific military situation of the Shu army, nor does he know the current defense situation of Xi County and Hebei County. If he rashly sends troops to rescue Hebei County, his own troops will be reduced. In this way, his own strength will be reduced. It would be difficult to suppress those Qiang and Hu Yiyi who are only interested in profit.
This group of barbarians has no sense of propriety, justice or shame. Once they do not have enough troops to deter them, it is possible for this group of people to become passive and sabotage, or to rebel.
It's not that Guo Huai doesn't want to save Ji County, but under the current situation, if he wants to rescue Ji County, he must wait until all the Qiang and Hu soldiers arrive and then lead the army southward. There is no way to let his direct Liangzhou soldiers go to the rescue now.
This matter takes time.
But now, Guo Huai feels that he does not have this time, and no one will buy him this time.
At this time, Zhao Ang, the governor of Yizhou, who was in Ji County, wrote a letter to Guo Huai.
First, Zhao Ang accused Ma Zun of fleeing without fighting, and at the same time informed Guo Huai of the loss of Xixian County.
Secondly, Zhao Ang told Guo Huai that he had taken control of the defense of Ji County and led more than 5,000 troops to guard Ji County. However, Zhao Ang also told Guo Huai that the Shu army on the opposite side was false.
Guo Huai finally felt at ease.
Zhao Ang is definitely more trustworthy than other Tianshui County officials. After all, Zhao Ang has always been firmly on the side of the court.
In addition, Zhao Ang claimed that the Shu army only had more than 10,000 troops, which somewhat reassured Guo Huai.
With this number of people, it can basically be determined that they are not the main force of the Shu army, and they are just partial troops along the way.
Zhao Ang has 5,000 soldiers and the defense of Ji County. Facing more than 10,000 Shu troops, as long as he holds on for seven or eight days, he will be able to organize the Qiang and Hu troops and go to support no matter what.
Fortunately, there is another Zhao Ang in Tianshui County who is diligent in the king's affairs.
(End of chapter)
