There is a saying that Xia Houmao is really nothing to worry about. This person can't even manage a family. How much ability can he be expected to manage an army? !
Some things can really be seen as small.
But although Xia Houmao is stupid, it doesn't mean that Chen Cangdao doesn't have some capable people.
Historically, when Zhuge Liang made his second attack on Chencang Road, he didn't think Chencang Road was that difficult to defeat. However, he was blocked by an unknown Hao Zhao at Chencang Road for several months, and finally had to retreat after running out of food.
Yes, now Hao Zhao is one of his own, and he is still holding on to Shanggui City. But if Wang Zhao or Li Zhao shows up again, this is not impossible, right? !
Although it is true that Xiahou Mao's surname is Xiahou, at this time, Xiahou Mao was not the governor who later controlled Yongliang for several years. He was just a newcomer on the battlefield. Who knows if Cao Zhen left any helpers for Xiahou Mao? !
There is no need to ask whether Xiahou Mao is a fool, but if Cao Zhen leaves a person with the qualifications of a famous general to assist Xiahou Mao, given the steepness of Chencang Road and the strength of Chencang Pass, it will not be easy to break through that place quickly.
Well, we must thoroughly understand the situation of the guards at Chencang Pass.
Next.
"Brother Shiyuan wants to go around and cut off contact with Cao's army. I don't know where to start the strategy?!"
Zhang Xi asked Pang Tong this.
Right, since we want to cut off the connection between Cao Jun on the Weishui River and Chang'an, and also be able to block Cao Jun's counterattack on the Weishui River, we must have a suitable cutting point. We can't fight with Cao Jun in the field, right? !
Of course Pang Tong had thought about this, so he clicked on the map and said, "Mei County!"
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang looked at each other and saw the surprise and worry in each other's eyes.
There was no need for Zhang Xi to speak this time. Zhuge Liang directly retorted, "Brother Shiyuan, no! Mei County is the barrier of Chang'an and the place where Cao's army gathers grain on the Weishui River. How can we be unprepared?! If we attack Mei County, it will be difficult to get off." , Cao’s army on the Weishui River counterattacks again, wouldn’t the raiding army be like a fish caught in a net, and An Neng can catch everything?!”
I really don’t blame Zhuge Liang for saying that. In fact, Mei County has always been one of the most important defensive nodes in Guanzhong.
It is true that Mei County is on the east bank of the Wei River, but opposite Mei County is Wuzhangyuan, and the place directly opposite Wuzhangyuan is the Baoxie Road crossing.
Moreover, Mei County is relatively close to Longshan Road, Baoxie Road, and Chencang Road. If Guanzhong wants to keep the enemy at bay, Mei County is the best place to store grain, and it can supply the three places in time. Such an important place , how could there be no defense.
Cao Zhen is not a fool. He cannot fail to understand such a simple truth. And even if Cao Zhen is stupid, Zhang He and Guo Huai, two famous generals, cannot make such a heartless mistake, not even arranging anyone to protect the grain and grass hoarding point.
Even Yuan Shao sent a Wuchao Dionysus Chun Yuqiong to guard the food station. Cao Zhen, Zhang He, and Guo Huai combined could not be inferior to Yuan Shao, right? !
It is not too difficult to make a sneak attack on Chencang Road and find out what is true and false in Chencang Road, but if you want people to make a surprise attack on Mei County, you should go to bed early.
It was impossible for Zhang Xi to speak for Pang Tong now. After all, the success rate of a raid on Mei County was too low.
Of course, once a sneak attack on Mei County is successful, Cao's army's three-way retreat on the Weishui River will be completely cut off, and they can easily capture Wuzhangyuan, Sanguan and other places, and then peek into Wugong County and threaten Chang'an. But Mei County is really not that easy to fight.
Although Pang Tong repeatedly emphasized that "attacking someone unprepared may not necessarily lead to success", Zhang Xi, Zhuge Liang, and Huang Quan all shook their heads in opposition and insisted on advancing slowly according to the original plan.
Whether it is to attack Wuzhangyuan from Baoxie Road or to attack Sanguan from Longshan Road, it is much easier than to attack Mei County from Chencang Road.
Pang Tong believed that "it may not be possible", but Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang were both of the same virtue, and the first thing they thought of was "what to do if it is not possible".
That would not only be a waste of money and food, it would also disrupt the entire Northern Expedition process.
The vote was three to two, and Zhuge Liang suggested that Pang Tong choose a new strategic offensive route.
Pang Tong was also speechless. He really wanted to talk to Liu Bei in person. This plan was a bit risky, but if it succeeded, the benefits would be huge.
But after all, Pang Tong is not a person who has his own way, and to be honest, it took a lot of effort for Pang Tong to convince Fazheng about this strategic concept. This is because both of them like to use strange tricks. Fazheng can barely understand Pang Tong and choose If Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi disagree, even if this plan is put in front of Liu Bei, it will not be implemented.
Pang Tong was very dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do.
The Northern Expedition was a big event after all, and Pang Tong actually knew that Liu Bei was determined to do it this time, and now was not a good time for the Northern Expedition.
Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang's attitude of seeking stability is understandable to Pang Tong. After all, the timing this time is not very good. Even if they cannot succeed in one battle, at least they cannot lose too much.
Pang Tong had no choice but to temporarily give up his strange plan and instead study conventional offensive strategies.
The conventional offensive strategy is nothing more than leaving Longshan Road or Baoxie Road.
Now that Liu Bei's army occupies Longshan Road, he can mobilize troops and troops from Yongzhou and Liangzhou to march westward. At the same time, he can also station grain in Yongzhou. Although the grain supply line is a bit far away, at least it is within his own territory, which is relatively safe.
But after leaving Longshan Road, there was still Guanzhong Xiongguan and Sanguan blocking the way. According to intelligence, the Cao general who stood guard at Sanguan was named Sun Li.
Sun Li was recruited by Cao Cao when he was pacifying Youzhou. He served as a local official in various places, mainly in charge of local government affairs. The only opportunity to lead troops was to serve as a cavalry captain, and his opponents were only local bandits.
This time Cao Zhen became the governor of Yongliang, and he also brought some of his own team over. This Sun Li was the person Cao Zhen brought over. As soon as he came up, he asked Sun Li to lead troops to garrison Sanguan and strengthen surveillance of Longshan Road.
According to intelligence analysis, Sun Li was actually a civil servant. Although Sanguan was a male pass, a person with a civil servant background and little battle experience came to guard him. At least in the eyes of the world, he was no different from Xiahou Mao who guarded Chencang. What a difference.
As for Baoxie Road, because Chen Dao stood firm at the entrance of Baoxie Road and repelled Guo Huai's attack, Liu Bei's group could actually choose to use Baoxie Road.
It's just that the Baoxie Road is steep and difficult to navigate, and the transportation of grain and grass is inconvenient. If this place is used as the main attack direction of the army, the transportation of grain and grass will be a big problem.
Furthermore, although Guo Huai himself returned to Chang'an, Cao Huai's troops at Baoxie Road did not all retreat. They just retreated to Wuzhangyuan under the command of Guo Huai's deputy general Dai Ling to continue to defend. If necessary, Guo Huai would also be there at any time. You can garrison Wuzhangyuan from Chang'an and command the entire army.
Therefore, there are reasons to take both paths, but both paths actually have their own difficulties.
The advantage of going out of Longshan Road is that it is safe. The defenders of Sanguan do not have much battle experience. The disadvantage is that the supply line is too long. Sanguan is a powerful pass after all, and it is not easy to fight.
The advantage of leaving the Baoxian Road is that you can bypass Sanguan and enter the pass directly. The disadvantage is that it is inconvenient to transport food. At the same time, the opponent opposite is the famous general Guo Huai.
There are both good and bad, but as long as you determine the importance of the route and use some tactics to mislead the soldiers, whether it is to capture Sanguan or occupy Wuzhangyuan, it is actually not impossible. It is better than Pang Tong who has to go to Damei County after defeating Chencang Road. The plan is more feasible.
The five people got together and discussed for several days. Until Liu Ba and Jian Yong arrived in Hanzhong, they still did not come to a conclusion.
Liu Ba and Jian Yong came to Hanzhong also for the Northern Expedition.
One is to preside over the economic war in the Guanzhong region, and the other is the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. The Northern Expedition requires the coordination of the Ministry of Industry in too many places.
Therefore, the two men had to come to Hanzhong in advance to make preliminary preparations for the Northern Expedition.
Although Jian Yong is only a nominal minister of the Ministry of Industry, he is in control of the seal of the Ministry of Industry, and this kind of thing cannot be easily handed over to others, so even if Jian Yong just comes to Hanzhong to be a seal tool, Then he has to come too.
But Liu Ba's matter is more complicated and important.
Although there is no precedent for economic warfare, there are not many historical records in using currency to carry out economic warfare. Liu Ba would not be at ease if he did not come to Hanzhong to keep an eye on it.
Liu Ba and Huang Quan have almost done the preliminary work. In the Guanzhong area, the five-baht coins issued by Cao Wei and the five-baht coins in Shuzhong have been competing with each other to capture market share.
Ordinary people don't care whose five-baht money is used. There is no year number on the five-baht money these days. As long as it is five-baht money and the share is sufficient, the people will recognize it.
But for the aristocratic families and the businessmen controlled by the aristocratic families, there is still a big difference in whose five baht money they have.
Among other things, under Liu Ba's auspices, the Sichuan brocade, salt, paper and other items "smuggled" to Guanzhong only accepted the five-baht money from Shuzhong, not the five-baht money from Cao Wei.
This means that if the Guanzhong family wants to obtain Shu brocade and other items, they must hoard a portion of Shuzhong five baht money.
And there is a saying, the five baht coins in Shu are such good things.
There are no other benefits, but the weight is sufficient, which is more substantial than Cao Wei's five baht.
There is a saying that after Cao Pi became emperor, he actually wanted to restore the folk economy and stabilize people's livelihood. Therefore, Cao Pi also ordered a batch of five-baht coins to be minted and put into the people, trying to re-establish the credibility of the five-baht coins.
However, after decades of chaos, coupled with the wanton plundering of warlords in various places, the gap in the folk five-baht coins could not be plugged by Cao Pi ordering a batch of five-baht coins to be cast.
In addition, there were Dong Zhuo, Guo Si and others who distributed small coins and iron coins indiscriminately, and used bad coins to drive out good coins. The trust of the people in the five-baht coins was basically in jeopardy.
Bartering has basically resumed among the common people, and there are still some five-baht transactions between aristocratic families.
As for the five-baht coins minted in Shuzhong, because there is no shortage of copper, the weight is really sufficient. Cao Pi was not willing to mint such a full amount of five-baht coins, which led to the Guanzhong family's acceptance of Shuzhong's five-baht coins. high.
If it weren't for the hostile relationship between the two countries, maybe the five-baht coins in Shu would have been widely circulated in the Wei Dynasty.
Liu Ba's side requires that all transactions be charged only five baht in Shuzhong, but Cao Wei's side does not have this rule.
Everyone uses five-baht coins, and there is no identification mark on the surface of the copper coins. Even because the five-baht coins in Shuzhong have a higher copper content and are more exquisitely minted, the five-baht coins in Shuzhong are more popular among Cao Wei.
At least in Guanzhong, this is indeed the case.
(End of chapter)
