After nagging Zhang Fei repeatedly, Zhang Xi finally led 10,000 soldiers to set off. After three days of rapid march, they arrived at Jieting.
At this point, Wang Ping, who was accompanying him, didn't quite understand that General Zhang was so eager. What on earth was he rushing for? !
In this regard, Zhang Xi's explanation was that by arriving at the street pavilion earlier, he could arrange defense matters earlier. In fact, in the final analysis, he was still worried that Zhang He would arrive too quickly and not give himself enough time to react.
But I couldn’t say it directly because it was too unbelievable.
Within the Liu Bei Group, there is now a conclusion as to whether the Wei army will have reinforcements to assist Longyou, and they will definitely come.
But where are the reinforcements? Most people judge that it is most likely that Cao Hong from Baoxie Pass will divide his troops to rescue Longyou. As for Cao Pi who is still in Luoyang, everyone does not think that he has the ability to relieve the enemy from afar. fire.
After all, the distance from Luoyang to Jieting is too far. The reinforcements set out from Luoyang. By the time they arrive at Jieting, the entire Liangzhou war may be over, and the Duanlong battle has been completed long ago.
But Zhang Xi knew that this was absolutely possible, and Zhang He really did it in history.
After Zhuge Liang learned that Zhang He had left Chang'an and led his troops to rescue Longyou, he quickly sent Ma Di to guard the street pavilion. However, only two days after Ma Di arrived at the street pavilion, Zhang He's forward cavalry had already arrived at the street pavilion very quickly. .
Just look at the distance on the map. How much is the difference between the distance from Chang'an to Jieting and the distance from Shanggui to Jieting? You will know how fast Zhang He came this time.
Zhang Xi didn't dare to be as careless as Ma Daha, and prepared his defenses slowly. Zhang Xi always felt as if Zhang He would appear at any time, fearing that there was not enough time.
So as soon as he arrived at Jieting, the first thing Zhang Xi did was to find a suitable place for his village.
Then Zhang Xi was surprised to find that there was actually a city in the street pavilion? !
Yes, there is a city in the street pavilion. In the middle of the avenue, there is a small earth city that can probably accommodate a thousand people to guard it.
But even though it is said to be a city, this city is really dilapidated. There are not even a few residents left in it. At first glance, you can tell that it is an old city that has been abandoned for a long time.
After Zhang Xi entered the city, he specifically inquired with the local people and learned that this Jieting City was built in the Pre-Han Dynasty. It has been gradually abandoned in the past hundred years. Even the people living in the city are some who temporarily closed the mountains due to heavy snow. The business travelers who settled here were not local permanent residents.
Moreover, this Jieting City is a traditional northwest earth city, which requires year-round maintenance to ensure a strong city defense.
The old city of Jieting obviously does not have such maintenance conditions. Due to years of disrepair, the earth walls have already suffered extensive cracks, and some of the earth walls have even collapsed. The city gates only need a little use. It creaked when pushed hard, and it felt like it could collapse at any moment.
Obviously, although this old city of Jieting stands in the right place, it is too small to put down too many soldiers for garrison, and it is in disrepair. It is really not the best defensive choice.
It can be defended for a while, but it is not the best place to hold on.
However, just in case of emergency, Zhang Xi still left a general and a thousand soldiers here to try to repair the city with local materials. In the end, if there was no other way, having a city guard was better than not having a city guard.
Continue to move forward, observe the terrain, and choose a suitable location for the village.
Looking at it, Zhang Xi suddenly understood why this kid Ma Di chose to camp in the mountain.
The place Jieting is a bit far from what Zhang Xi originally thought.
The street pavilion in Zhang Xi's imagination has mountains on both sides and a small path in the middle. The passage is so narrow that the army cannot move away at all. It can only invest a small number of soldiers at one time and slowly pass through. In this way, they can go down to the stronghold and rely on the terrain advantages to hold on. Directly blocking the Wei army's path forward.
But in fact, there are mountains on both sides of the street pavilion, but the middle is not a trail at all, but an avenue, an avenue as wide as five or six hundred meters. There is a river beside the road, not a small river, but a 20-meter-wide avenue. meters above the river.
This avenue is enough for the cavalry to launch a charge, not to mention the army to fight.
In other words, if you choose to take charge of the camp, you will actually have to fight hard with Cao Wei's soldiers and use your lives to delay time. What Zhang He brought was cavalry, while Zhang Xi's men were all infantry.
I believe that Ma Su also chose to go up the mountain after discovering this situation. Let Zhang He's cavalry go over, and I will be responsible for cutting off your grain supply line. I don't believe how long you can last with the grain in your hands.
However, Ma Di did not expect that Zhang He would arrive so quickly, and it was his first time to lead an army. He behaved awkwardly, and his command was in a mess. In the end, he did not even look at a water source, allowing Zhang He to easily take it away. Within three or four days, the entire army's morale Everything was in chaos, which eventually led to the loss of Jieting and the failure of the Northern Expedition.
For a moment, Zhang Xi also wanted to go up the mountain. Fighting up the mountain at least did not require a head-on confrontation with Zhang He, and it could effectively reduce the casualties of the soldiers. It cannot be said to be a bad idea.
Moreover, Zhang Xi felt that as long as the water source problem was controlled in advance, he would not make the same mistake as Madaha.
Zhang Xi decided to go up the mountain first to check out the environment.
But as soon as Zhang Xi said he wanted to go up the mountain, Wang Ping suddenly looked constipated and stopped talking.
Zhang Xi is not Ma Su, nor is he a rookie who is taking charge of the army for the first time relying on the Prime Minister's trust. Zhang Xi's official position has been achieved through hard work.
Even during the Southern Expedition, Wang Ping was still Zhang Xi's subordinate, so although Wang Ping felt it was not good for Zhang Xi's decision to go to the mountain for inspection, he didn't say anything in the end.
Zhang Xi noticed Wang Ping's appearance and said to Wang Ping with a smile, "What does Zijun think is wrong?!"
Wang Ping immediately apologized and said "I dare not" repeatedly.
Zhang Xi smiled at Wang Ping. He was good at everything, but he was a little timid, lacked self-confidence, and was too restrained.
Yes, you, Wang Ping, are indeed just General Yamen now, and you are not a Han, just a Chinese. But don’t forget, you are in charge of the Wudang Feijun, another Liu Bei’s personal guard army, outside , you represent Liu Bei's face.
And the fact that you are valued by Liu Bei as the leader of this army shows your talent. Why do you always feel that you are inferior? !
Look at Chen Dao, he is usually very quiet, but once he goes to war, who dares to underestimate him? !
At this moment, they were cooperating with Zhao Zilong to defeat Cao Hong, who clearly had the superior force, but did not dare to divide his troops to support Longyou. How much ability did this have to do? ! !
"Just say what you have to say!" Zhang Xi smiled and said to Wang Ping, "Everything about military affairs must be spoken, and military orders must be carried out and remembered."
Wang Ping then raised his hands to Zhang Xi and expressed his concerns.
Wang Ping was a bastard, and he had no education. He was a rough guy, so he didn't know how to say any frivolous words. He just asked Zhang Xi if he wanted to go up the mountain to camp.
Zhang Xi didn't express anything, but just asked, what about going up the mountain to camp, what about not going up the mountain to camp? !
Then Wang Ping began to talk nonchalantly.
First of all, the terrain of the street pavilions. Although there are mountains, they are not continuous. If you go up the mountain to camp, you will easily be trapped to death. The purpose of mutual communication cannot be achieved at all. It is completely trapped on an isolated mountain and will be defeated by the enemy one by one. .
Secondly, judging from the flow direction of mountain sewers, there should be no springs on the mountain flowing into the river. We don’t know if there are underground rivers on the mountain, and even if there are, non-locals may not be able to find them. It is estimated that it will be difficult, and water sources will become a big problem.
Third, if Zhang Xi wanted to take advantage of his commanding position to attack the enemy, Wudang Feijun could do what he ordered and prohibited, but Wang Ping doubted whether other soldiers could do it.
Therefore, with so many unfavorable conditions coming together, Wang Ping tactfully suggested to Zhang Xi that it would be better not to camp on the mountain.
Zhang Xi laughed after listening to it. Why couldn't Ma Di in history not listen to such a well-organized analysis? !
It’s better not to look at it.
Camping in the mountains may sound tempting, but in reality it is simply not feasible.
Not to mention that there is no solution to the water source problem. When we reach the mountain, we are surrounded by people like iron barrels. Our morale and morale are gone. How can we command the soldiers to charge down? !
Do you really think that anyone can do a last-ditch battle or a desperate battle? Han Xin's last-ditch battle was very technical, not just reckless!
Let's be honest, go to the stronghold, and find a way to fight the cavalry head-on.
Anyway, this is not the first day to use infantry to fight cavalry. There is still time to prepare. If you have time to wander around, it is more cost-effective to let the soldiers set up a stronghold early and then build more antlers.
After descending from the mountain, Zhang Xi immediately ordered that the 10,000 soldiers be divided into two groups. The first group of 5,000 soldiers set up the first camp ten miles in front of the ancient city of Jieting. The second batch of 5,000 people set up another camp five miles in front of the ancient city of Jieting. Counting the ancient city of Jieting, which was still under repair, there were a total of three lines of defense.
Come on, Zhang He, let's grind them one by one. Let's see whether you finish these three lines of defense first, or our lord takes Guangwei County first, leaves Longshan, and marches into Chang'an.
(End of chapter)
