Zhuge Qian was very anxious, feeling that a great achievement was getting further and further away from him. Although Xia Houmao was incompetent, he was not an idiot after all. He could not stay in the house and wait like this.
Zhuge Qian occupied the city gate at night, and he was not so unaware. In addition, Wei Yan entered the city with great fanfare. There were more than 10,000 Han soldiers outside the city, who were heading towards the city gate with torches under the leadership of Wu Ban. .
This news cannot be hidden for long.
In fact, when Zhuge Qian seized the city gate at night, Xia Houmao did not know about it and was still sleeping soundly in his mansion.
Although military orders were issued to lead the army to retreat early the next morning, those who had to prepare did not include Xia Houmao. Xia Houmao would still sleep well when he needed to sleep.
But Mr. Xia Houmao still had some confidants and some personal guards who were loyal to him.
When Zhuge Qian seized the city gate overnight and welcomed Wei Yan into the city, Xiahou Mao had already been awakened by his close personal guards.
When he heard that Zhuge Qian, an old boy, had betrayed him, Xia Houmao was shocked and angry. He greeted Zhuge Qian's eighteenth generation of ancestors in a very unethical manner. By the way, Cao Zhen, who recommended Zhuge Qian to guard Chencang together, also scolded him. .
Until this moment, Xia Houmao had not realized that everything was the result of his own incompetence.
But the close guards couldn't just watch Xia Houmao continue to scold him. If he didn't make a decision now, the situation was really over.
At this time, Xia Houmao actually had two choices.
One is to quickly go to the military camp in the city, organize the soldiers to counterattack, retake the city gate, and continue to defend Chencang.
After all, the combined forces of Zhuge Qian and Wei Yan were not many, only more than 500 people. As for the garrison in the city, there were at least 4,000 people who could be mobilized immediately. It was not impossible to recapture the city gate.
The other thing is to run quickly, otherwise it will be too late.
Xia Houmao obviously did not have the courage and courage to launch a counterattack when the enemy had already controlled the city gate and the army might enter the city at any time, so Xia Houmao only considered it for less than a second and immediately chose the second option. practice.
However, Xia Houmao still had a sense of shame. He knew that if he ran back to Chang'an alone to meet Cao Zhen, it would be embarrassing. He had to find a way and some reason.
Therefore, Xia Houmao thought for a while and finally decided to go to the military camp first.
It was not that he wanted to organize soldiers to fight back. Xia Houmao's plan was to bring as many soldiers as possible to escape with him.
First of all, it is still very dangerous to run back to Chang'an. If you are pursued by the Shu army, there are soldiers and generals around you who can more or less resist it.
Secondly, if you take some soldiers back and meet Cao Zhen, you can also put all the responsibility for the fall of Chencang on Zhuge Qian.
It was Zhuge Qian who had foreign connections and betrayed him, Xiahou Mao, which led to the fall of Chencang. It was not easy for him, Xiahou Mao, to lead so many soldiers to "fight hard and escape".
Running back alone can be considered as escaping from the battle, but if you go back with so many soldiers, no matter who asks, Xia Houmao can confidently say, "It is not a crime of war to be with me when the time is not with me."
So, when Wei Yan gave Xiahou Mao a chance to escape because he could not fully trust Zhuge Qian, Xiahou Mao was also thinking about the crime of scapegoating himself, and was currently retreating in the army.
Therefore, when Wu Ban led the Han soldiers and entered the city through the front gate with torches, Xiahou Mao had just organized nearly 3,000 Wei soldiers, and then hurriedly retreated through the back door.
Zhuge Qian had been paying attention to Xiahou Mao's movements. When he heard that Xiahou Mao did not flee directly from the battle, but went to Cao Jun's camp in the city to organize soldiers, he was a little surprised - could the prince consort of the Wei Dynasty still have such courage? Launched a counterattack? !
But immediately, Zhuge Qian gave up the idea.
If this man had the guts, he shouldn't have issued a military order for the entire army to evacuate Chencang tomorrow.
After a moment of thinking, Zhuge Qian immediately made a bold and correct prediction based on his understanding of Xia Houmao - Xia Houmao was going to retreat with his soldiers.
There is still a chance, there is still a chance to capture Xia Houmao in a battle! ! !
At this time, Zhuge Qian couldn't bear it anymore and once again offered advice to Wei Yan - it was still too late to pursue Xiahou Mao.
If Xia Houmao ran away alone with a dozen guards, it would be almost impossible to catch up, but if he brought an army, it would be another matter.
No matter how fast he marched with his army, it couldn't be compared to a dozen people galloping away on horseback. Xia Houmao couldn't go very far with his army.
But this time, as Wu Ban led his army into the city and began to take control of Chencang's defenses, Wei Yan finally felt relieved and began to seriously consider whether Zhuge Qian's suggestion was feasible.
By this time, Wei Yan no longer doubted whether this was a plan jointly set up by Zhuge Qian and Xia Houmao to lure the enemy deeper.
No one's strategy was at the expense of strategically important places. Xia Houmao chose to lead his troops to retreat at this time, which was also a taboo for military strategists. There was no such use of troops.
Because Wei Yan's response to Zhuge Qian went very smoothly. Although it took some time for Wu Ban to lead the troops into the city, there were almost no obstacles in the process. The total time before and after was less than half an hour. The sky is not completely bright yet. .
In other words, Xia Houmao actually retreated directly with his soldiers when it was dark and the road was unclear.
This is not an organized ambush, it is just an escape, and it will have a huge impact on the morale of the army.
Chasing Xia Houmao at this time is not without the possibility of catching up and destroying him.
Wei Yan did not doubt the feasibility of Zhuge Qian's plan, but at this time, Wei Yan was wondering whether he should be in such a hurry to catch Xiahou Mao.
Wei Yan didn't quite understand the political significance of seizing Xia Houmao, but in terms of military affairs, Wei Yan actually saw it very clearly.
Chencang Road was only the first destination of this troop raid. Although it was crucial, it was not the core point of all strategies.
The real core point is in Mei County.
Once his own army begins to attack Chencang Road, no matter how stupid Xiahou Mao is, he will send a warning to Chang'an, and this warning message must pass through Mei County.
Therefore, when Wei Yan really conquered Chencang Road and was about to raid Mei County, it would be just a strong attack to compete with Cao Zhen's reinforcements.
Mei County must be on defense, but Mei County does not have many troops now. What Wei Yan has to do is to capture Mei County before the Wei army's reinforcements arrive at Mei County.
Originally this was a hard-fought battle, and Wei Yan didn't have much confidence, but now it doesn't seem so impossible.
Xia Houmao was Wei Yan's best helper in breaking through Mei County.
It is true that Xiahou Mao took away nearly 3,000 Wei troops. Once Xiahou Mao leads the army to Mei County, it can increase the defensive strength of Mei County.
But the problem is that increasing the defensive force is not the same as increasing the defensive force. Xiahou Mao brought back the defeated troops.
Three thousand defeated troops with low morale mixed with two thousand Mei County defenders whose morale was not too high, plus Xia Houmao, an incompetent person. I had an inexplicable feeling that this Mei County was much easier to fight than before.
Therefore, Wei Yan once again rejected Zhuge Qian's suggestion to pursue Xiahou Mao immediately.
However, Wei Yan didn't give any excuse this time.
Although Zhuge Qian was a new recruit, Wei Yan still didn't like to see him very much. But when Zhuge Qian made this suggestion, Wu Ban had already come to join him. Wei Yan did not give Zhuge Qian an explanation, but he needed to give Wu Ban an explanation.
"Xiahou Mao lost his family dog and led thousands of remnant troops to retreat to Mei County. The morale of the troops in Mei County will definitely be hit!" Wei Yan explained to Wu Ban, "Why don't we let these rats lead the army to retreat to Mei County, and we will chase them all the way. , In this way, Mei County can go down in one fell swoop."
Wu Ban is not the kind of general who has no brains. As a younger brother of Wu Yi, although he does not have the leadership ability and tactical acumen of Wu Yi, he is not too far behind. After Wei Yan explained it, Wu Ban understood .
Zhuge Qian, who was listening in, now also knew the reason why Wei Yan rejected his proposal.
I have to say that Wei Yan's idea is reasonable and correct, but Zhuge Qian still has something to say.
"The general's words are true, but I have one more thing to tell you." Zhuge Qian once again put forward his suggestion.
Wei Yan was actually quite impatient.
Wei Yan's temperament is somewhat similar to Guan Yu's, and he was a general promoted from the bottom by Liu Bei, so he took the word loyalty very seriously.
What kind of character is this Zhuge Qian, who surrendered to the city and then tried his best to pursue his former boss? !
Wei Yan somewhat looked down upon Zhuge Qian.
But Zhuge Qian didn't have this consciousness.
He is a surrendered general. If he can't make contributions quickly and gain a firm foothold in the Han army, wouldn't his hard work be in vain? !
Therefore, Zhuge Qian still offered a third strategy.
"Now, although Xiahou Mao was defeated, he finally retreated with three thousand troops. If he was allowed to retreat smoothly back to Mei County, it is unclear how the army's morale would be. Why didn't the general pursue him all the way, drive Xiahou Mao and others away, and make them like frightened birds? When he retreated to Mei County in panic and defeat, the army rushed out. It is impossible that he could seize the door and enter, and decide Mei County in one battle?!"
Well, Wei Yan looked down on Zhuge Qian even more.
Not for anything else, because Zhuge Qian really offered a very good strategy.
The person who can come up with such a plan should not be the kind of incompetent person. Such a person does not want to assist Xia Houmao to defend the city, but after holding on for less than a day, he directly chooses to open the city and surrender in the middle of the night. Such a person has the ability , but he has no character.
But the plan is really a good one, and it is very consistent with the current actual situation. It is so good that Wei Yan cannot accept it.
"That's what the general said. Can you trouble the general to go with a certain family to pursue Xia Houmao?!"
Wei Yan decided to adopt Zhuge Qian's suggestion, but because he was uneasy about Zhuge Qian's character, he also decided to put this person under his nose.
As for Chen Cangcheng, that is his family's escape route, and it would be more reassuring to leave it to his family to look after.
Zhuge Qian, on the other hand, had no objections to Wei Yan's appointment, and was even quite excited. This was his opportunity to make meritorious deeds in battle, and he was afraid that Wei Yan would let him stay to guard Chencang City.
If he could capture Mei County or capture Xiahou Mao in one fell swoop, wouldn't Zhuge Qian's position in the Han Dynasty be stable? ! !
(End of chapter)
