Liu Bei's three generals, Zhang Xi, Zhang Fei, and Chen Dao, finally reunited at the foot of the mountain road on the west side of Wuzhangyuan, and prepared to attack the camp at the entrance of the mountain road together.
Zhang Xi and the other three are not Xue Ze. These three are all generals. They know that in this situation, the three armies must not fight independently. A temporary commander must be selected to lead the nearly 30,000-strong army. , so as to form a joint force.
This is actually not difficult. The three of them are old acquaintances and there is no need to be modest or polite to each other.
After a little discussion, Zhang Xi and Chen Dao jointly recommended Zhang Fei as the commander-in-chief to command this battle.
Regardless of his official position, military experience, and military prestige, Zhang Fei is the most suitable candidate.
Zhang Fei did not intend to act arbitrarily. He also carefully listened to Zhang Xi and Chen Dao's opinions on how to attack.
In other words, the most important thing is Zhang Xi's opinion.
Both Zhang Fei and Chen Dao recognized Zhang Xi's strategy, and they knew that this kid had many clever ideas. It would be right to ask this kid for his opinions.
As for Zhang Xi, he also began to seriously examine the current situation.
This Northern Expedition has been going very smoothly since the troops were dispatched, even beyond Zhang Xi's imagination.
The first line of defense set up by Cao Jun under Wuzhangyuan, the Xiying line of defense has been conquered 7788 times, leaving only three camps at the mountain pass on the west side of Wuzhangyuan and one Cao Jun camp in the center of the mountain road that have not been breached.
So far in the war, Cao's army has been defeated in consecutive battles, and the morale of the army has been very low. At this time, there is no need to use any strategy to easily capture the remaining three camps of Cao's camp in the Western District.
But the key to the problem is not the remaining three camps of Cao Ying in the west area, but how to quickly seize the mountain road and attack Wuzhangyuan.
If the Wuzhangyuan high ground can be captured, the Han will take the strategic initiative in the next battle, and the situation can be said to be very favorable to the Han.
To occupy the high ground of Wuzhangyuan, the first thing that must be solved is the Cao Army camp in the middle of the mountain road.
In fact, it was not difficult to fight. After all, the morale of Cao's army was low and the army had no fighting spirit. But the flag of the original guard of Wu Zhang appeared in the central camp on the mountain road, which caused some changes.
The general's presence on the front line will more or less boost the morale of the army, and as long as the general's brain is not really flooded, then he should know what he is going to do now.
Zhang Xi pondered for a long time and gestured back and forth on the map for a while before finally speaking.
"Third General, General Chen, our army is victorious. It is not difficult to seize Cao Jun's camp at the foot of the mountain. However, this mountain road camp may be a bit troublesome!"
When Zhang Xi said this, Zhang Fei and Chen Dao also nodded slightly.
Zhang Fei and Chen Dao could also see this strategic situation. The real key point was not here at all.
Zhang Xi also knew this, so he went on to say, "Since your Majesty led the troops out of Baoxie Road, the army has been stationed for ten days, and we have ten to twenty days to attack the bandit army's western camp. Chang'an will definitely respond. Cao Zhen is not a mediocre commander, Guo Huai and Zhang He are both wise and brave generals. On the 20th, it will be enough for the three of them to respond. Cao's army is expected to be reinforced. Now we are not far from Wuzhangyuan."
Zhang Fei thought for a moment and looked at Chen Dao.
Chen Dao also thought about it slightly, nodded, and said, "In my opinion, Cao Jun's reinforcements will definitely arrive in three days or five days."
When Zhang Fei heard about this time, he nodded slightly. It was about the same time as he had planned for Cao Jun to come for reinforcements.
Combined with what Zhang Xi said before, Zhang Fei was not stupid and immediately understood Zhang Xi's intention.
Taking down the Western Camp is not a problem. The problem is how to break through the central camp on the mountain road within three to five days. At the same time, we have to attack Wuzhangyuan and seize control of Wuzhangyuan.
In terms of time, there is not enough time.
Therefore, Zhang Fei had to look at Zhang Xi and asked, "Does Yuan Chang have a good strategy to defeat the enemy?!"
Zhang Xi frowned slightly and said, "There are strategies to attack the mountain camp, but if we can't decide in one battle, it will be difficult for us to attack Wuzhangyuan within three to five days."
Chen Dao didn't quite understand and asked, "What does Yuan Chang mean by this?!"
Then Zhang Xi began to explain.
In the current situation, it is no longer a problem to break through Cao Jun's Western Camp defense line. Zhang Xi also has a way to break through and occupy the mountain road on the west side of Wuzhangyuan.
But the problem is, if they can't attack Wuzhangyuan as soon as possible while breaking through the mountain camp, or if Cao's army on Wuzhangyuan continues to defend, Zhang Xi and others will have to find a way to break through the camp on Wuzhangyuan Mountain. In three to five days, there is no way. not enough.
Therefore, what Zhang Xi wants is to break through the mountain camp and see if he can capture or kill the original commander of Wuzhang, Xue Ze, who is stationed here, and then use his troops to cover him up. Only in this way can he be sure to seize Wuzhangyuan in one battle.
There is a risk here. If Xue Ze is allowed to escape back to Dazhai on Wuzhangyuan Mountain and continue to hold on, Zhang Xi and others will not gain much except for obtaining a mountain passage on the west side of Wuzhangyuan.
But killing a general and seizing the flag before the battle already involves a lot of luck, not to mention that if the local general is still holding on in the camp and wants to run away, it's hard for you to stop him.
Zhang Xi thought about it over and over, but could never think of a good way. She discussed it with Zhang Fei and Chen Dao for a while, but they didn't have any better ideas.
In the end, it was Zhang Fei who made the decision.
"Now the war should not be delayed. We will make a decision when the opportunity arises!" Zhang Fei said to Zhang Xi, "It would be better if we could capture and kill Xue Ze, but if heaven does not help, we don't have to force it. We will seize the mountain camp first. want!"
Zhang Xi thought the same thing. The one he couldn't hold back the most now was the big man's side.
Therefore, Zhang Xi hurriedly said, "In that case, tomorrow we will immediately attack the three strongholds of Xiying. After breaking the stronghold, Cao's army will be allowed to flee in all directions. We will only search for Xiying's grain, grass and property."
When Chen Dao heard this, he was a little confused and asked. "What do you mean, Chief Yuan?! The enemy army is in retreat. If we don't take advantage of the situation and kill them, why should we plunder the enemy's food, grass and property?!"
Zhang Xi smiled slightly, and for a moment he really felt like "strategizing", and said, "Cao's army has strict military laws. Although the enemy's army was defeated, they did not dare to escape and would inevitably flee to the mountain camp. If we take advantage of the situation to cover up the attack, the enemy's defenders will The general will certainly not dare to take in these defeated troops. The defeated troops are crowded on the mountain road at this time. We can only kill you and it will be of no use to the attack. If we don’t postpone the pursuit and act like making money, the enemy defender will definitely launch an attack when he sees that no one is chasing him. The stronghold took in the defeated soldiers. At the time of the introduction, I also asked General Shuzhi to send more than a hundred elite white soldiers, dressed as Cao Jun, to blend into the defeated army."
There is no need to say more about what follows. People who are experienced in military formations all know what to do next.
The inside should be coordinated with the outside.
Indeed, Cao Jun's military discipline stipulates that if a soldier flees or surrenders, the soldier's family must remarry someone else as his wife. Cao Jun will not easily choose to flee or surrender until the moment of life and death. In this case, the defeated soldiers will definitely run to the mountain road camp and seek refuge. The leader of the mountain road.
If the pursuit goes too far, the master of the mountain road may be a cruel master and refuse to admit defeated soldiers into the stronghold in order to protect the mountain road. There is really nothing he can do.
On the contrary, if he did not pursue them, the mountain master would have enough reasons to shelter these defeated soldiers. After all, the one with the weakest military strength in Wuzhangyuan is Cao Jun, so it is always a good thing to retain one more point of combat strength.
At that time, Chen Dao sent more than a hundred white soldiers to mix in, open the gate of the camp during the melee, and cooperate with the attacking army inside and outside, and the mountain road camp was defeated.
There's just a problem here.
"What if Xue Ze was cautious and carefully screened the defeated soldiers, or ordered the defeated soldiers not to stay in the camp and drove them to the rear to rest?!" Chen Dao asked worriedly.
Regarding this, Zhang Xi still just smiled.
"Judging from the stream, Xue Ze is definitely not a wise general. Otherwise, how could we break through the Xiying defense line in less than ten days?!" Zhang Xi smiled and asked Chen Dao.
Chen Daoyi thought the same thing.
The coping methods that Xue Ze showed in the past few days are really not like what a general with strategic planning can do. There is a high probability that this person is not a strategic person.
A person who has no plans will most likely not be too careful in his actions. Therefore, Chen Dao also judged that it was unlikely that Xue Ze would come up with the idea of carefully screening the defeated soldiers.
Besides, Xue Ze is not a strategist, but Zhang Xi is, and when it comes to being cautious in using troops, Zhang Xi is a person that even Zhuge Liang would be ashamed of.
"If you want to prevent Xue Ze from screening out the defeated troops, there is nothing you can do!" Zhang Xi continued to say with a smile, "We only need to master the siege momentum, break through the three camps on the western defense line before night, and drive away the defeated soldiers after nightfall. , even if Xue Ze wants to identify the defeated soldiers, he still has to wait until dawn."
Now it's better, Zhang Xi has even closed the last loophole. Chen Dao and Zhang Fei don't have any objections.
After the strategy was formulated, all that was left was to execute it the next day.
In order to ensure time, Zhang Fei officially sent out troops on the afternoon of the next day to besiege the last three camps of the western defense line of Wuzhangyuan.
Originally, Zhang Fei and others thought that it was almost appropriate to send troops at this time. After all, Cao Jun still had three camps. Even if their morale was low, they could still hold on for a long time.
But what Zhang Fei didn't expect was that he only commanded his soldiers to attack the camps at Shandaokou twice, and the defenders in these camps chose to abandon the camps and flee.
This time, Zhang Xi was caught off guard and you guys couldn't help but hit him.
It's not dark yet, it's even just the end of the day, and there are still at least two hours before the sun goes down.
Now Cao's army is retreating, and the three camps are retreating at the same time. It would be outrageous if you don't pursue them.
When Zhang Fei saw this situation, he subconsciously looked at Zhang Xi, and Zhang Xi's mind turned quickly and he immediately made a decision.
Let Chen Dao lead a thousand white soldiers to pursue him, but don't pursue him too closely. He will come back after he reaches the foot of the mountain.
If it is convenient, take advantage of this pursuit to mix the hundreds of white soldiers who have changed into Cao Jun's clothes into Cao Jun's defeated army.
The remaining soldiers began to search for food and property from the three camps. At worst, we can search more slowly to delay the attack.
As for whether Xue Ze will take advantage of this time to take in the defeated soldiers while screening them, this is really beyond Zhang Xi's control.
This is sometimes the case. No matter how well the strategy is designed, it still depends on the actual effect after implementation. Just like this time, Zhang Xi did not expect that Cao Jun would be so unwilling to resist beating.
(End of chapter)
