Zhang He was on his way, marching in a hurry.
The situation in Guanzhong was corrupt. Zhang He actually saw it with his eyes and was anxious in his heart.
But Zhang He had no choice but to watch everything happening in front of him. He had to guard You Fufeng and couldn't leave at all.
The position of You Fufeng is very important. He is not only one of Chang'an's barriers, but more importantly, he not only faces the Shu army's Shangyong area, but can also connect with Nanyang Wancheng. Once Zhang Liao's side is in danger, You Fufeng can also send troops to support Zhang Liao in Nanyang.
Youfufeng is such an important position.
During the last Northern Expedition of the Shu army, they tore a hole through Youfufeng and entered Guanzhong from Right Fufeng. They directly met the Shu army's attacking troops at the entrance of Baoxie Road. As a result, Baoxie Road was lost and the Wei army's retreat on Longshan Road was cut off. , had to abandon Longshan Road and withdraw troops, resulting in the fall of Longshan Road.
After suffering a loss, Cao Zhen no longer dared to slack off in You Fufeng's defense, and directly arranged veteran Zhang He to guard it. No matter how tight the war in Guanzhong was, he did not mobilize any of Zhang He's soldiers.
But now, with the fall of Chencangdao and Meixian, and the situation in Guanzhong is about to deteriorate, Cao Zhen can't think too much. He can only order Zhang He to lead his troops westward to Wugong County, and leave the defense of Youfufeng to The original guard Wang Jing was in charge.
As for Wang Jing, he is actually quite capable, and his political ability is pretty good, but in military terms, he is somewhat uninteresting.
It's not that Wang Jing doesn't understand military affairs. In fact, he does know a little bit.
If you encounter someone like Kou Feng who can only attack with three axes, after getting used to Kou Feng's attacking rhythm, he can still be of some use. At least guarding a place will not be a problem.
In the last Northern Expedition, Wang Jing relied on this to block Kou Feng's intrusion on You Fufeng, and waited for the reinforcements led by Xu Huang.
But when encountering someone like Meng Da who relies on his mind to fight and is good at taking things by surprise, Wang Jing's military ability is a bit lacking.
Half of Wang Jing's military strategy came from his own practical experience in leading troops, and half came from the stories of others. He himself had never even read a military book.
But this is not Wang Jing's fault. After all, Wang Jing came from an ordinary civilian background, not even a poor family.
If Wang Jing had not had a good friend named Cui Lin, a descendant of the Cui family in Qinghe, and Cui Lin was responsible for recommending him to the court, he would not have even had the opportunity to become an official, let alone become the guard general of You Fufeng.
Therefore, Wang Jing's military ability is really not too strong.
Wang Jing also knows this. The greatest advantage of people from civilian backgrounds is that they have a clear understanding of themselves.
When Zhang He was about to lead his troops to Wugong County, Wang Jing expressed certain concerns about this.
Wang Jing knew very well how capable he was, so he was really overestimating himself by letting him stay in the local area and face the Shu troops in Shangyong and Nanyang.
More importantly, Zhang He sent troops to support Wugong County this time, intending to take away most of the soldiers originally stationed in Youfufeng, leaving Wang Jing with less than 5,000 soldiers.
There is a huge Youfufeng, with five thousand soldiers. But even a shadow can't be seen when it is spread out.
Therefore, Wang Jing felt that Governor Cao and General Zhang completely gave up the defense of You Fufeng in exchange for alleviating the unfavorable situation along the Weishui River.
If the mediocre Meng Da and Kou Feng were to do what they did during the last Northern Expedition, and the coalition forces entered Youfufeng, what would they use to defend themselves, and what would Chang'an use to defend themselves? !
Wang Jing expressed his opinions to Zhang He tactfully. After all, Zhang He's status was there. Wang Jing was not qualified to question Zhang He directly.
Zhang He did not dislike Wang Jing for being nosy.
After getting along with each other for more than a year, Zhang He understood Wang Jing's abilities and personality very well, so Zhang He seriously explained Wang Jing's worries.
After all, you have to make people feel at ease when they risk staying and holding on. Otherwise, if Wang Jing is afraid that he will not be able to hold on and surrenders to Shu, Zhang He will have no place to cry.
Zhang He could only seriously explain to Wang Jing why he dared to take so many soldiers to Wugong County at this time.
First, it is naturally because the Shu army occupied Mei County. Now the war along the Weishui River has been eroded. If I want to threaten the flanks and rear of the Shu army, I will bring fewer troops and it will not work at all.
Second, the Shangyong Kou Feng and Meng Da that Wang Jing was worried about were actually unlikely to launch an invasion of You Fufeng at this point in time.
According to the detailed report sent by Zhang He to Shangyong, Kou Feng has now led Shen Dan and more than 10,000 Shangyong soldiers south along the Han River to support Guan Yu who is fighting in Nanyang.
Today, Shangyong only has more than 10,000 soldiers under Meng Da's command. He needs to defend the entire Dongsan County. He simply cannot spare enough troops to attack You Fufeng.
And even if it comes, Wang Jing doesn’t need to be afraid.
The five thousand defenders were scattered all over Youfufeng, and indeed not even a shadow could be seen. However, if they just concentrated their forces, held on to a few important city passes, and blocked the enemy's advance into Chang'an, they could still do it.
Besides, Meng Da is an egoist in character and will not do things that are not good for him. In addition, he does not have many troops at hand. Even if he marches to Youfufeng, he will only send thousands of people at most. Intrusion, we will never dare to go deep into the Youfufeng area.
On the contrary, if Liu Bei's main force of the Northern Expeditionary Army cannot be blocked along the Wei River, leading to the defeat of the Wei River, then it will not be Youfufeng who will be in danger, but the entire Guanzhong Sanfu area will be in danger.
Therefore, there is actually not much danger for You Fufeng at this time. As long as Wang Jing can hold on with peace of mind, there will not be any big problems.
On the contrary, it was Zhang He who had to organize the army and set off as soon as possible.
You Fufeng's troops were scattered in various places at first. Zhang He had to quickly gather these scattered troops, and at the same time he had to immediately send troops to Wugong County. The distance between You Fufeng and Wugong County is much farther than that of Wuzhangyuan. .
Wang Jing's task is actually not important. What is really important is Zhang He's journey.
Zhang He didn't know how much time Guo Huai would leave for him in Wuzhangyuan, so in this case, Zhang He had to seize all the time.
When 10,000 soldiers marched into Wugong County, the marching speed would inevitably be affected. In order to pursue speed, Zhang He decided to lead 3,000 soldiers first, and the remaining 7,000 soldiers were handed over to his deputy general Wang Chang to lead them slowly. Keep up.
Zhang He actually understood the principle that soldiers are valuable and quick.
Zhang He's idea was to lead an urgent march of 3,000 soldiers to Wugong County first, and then defend the city. Unless the Shu army dispatched more than 20,000 troops, Zhang He was confident that he could hold on to the city and wait for his reinforcements.
But Zhang He knew this truth, and Zhang Xi didn't understand it either.
What's more, Zhang Xi somehow knew that in the historical Battle of Jieting, Zhang He used the strategy of using light troops to advance quickly, catching Ma Su off guard. Coupled with Ma Su's own mistakes, Zhang He's reputation was achieved throughout his life.
Therefore, along the way, Zhang Xi also urged his soldiers to march quickly, especially for the 5,000 people led by Feng Xi in the front. Zhang Xi directly told Feng Xi that it did not matter whether the rear army could keep up or not. When he arrived, his goal was to march lightly and rush to Wugong County as soon as possible.
After all, Zhang Xi's side is naturally weaker than Zhang He's side - Wugong County is under the control of Cao Wei, and when we get there, we may have to attack the city.
According to intelligence, there are only about 500 defenders in Wugong County, and the city is not large. When faced with a siege by a large army, they will usually choose to surrender. But what if they encounter a fool? !
Once Wugong County is unwilling to surrender and Feng Xi must lead five thousand people there, even if the attack is successful, it will take at least two or three days, right? !
Sometimes, if there is a time difference of two or three days, something big might happen.
Facts also proved that Zhang Xi's worries were not false.
Feng Xi hurriedly and slowly arrived at the foot of Wugong County ahead of Zhang He. He lined up his troops and pretended to attack, and then sent people into the city to persuade them to surrender.
But what Feng Xi didn't know was that less than fifty miles to the east of him, Zhang He had already led his troops there, and one day earlier than Feng Xi, he sent a message to the magistrate and lieutenant of Wugong County to stand firm and wait for reinforcements. Order.
If Zhang He had not arrived there, or had not issued an order to Wugong County to stand firm and wait for reinforcements, then the magistrate and county lieutenant of Wugong County would really have chosen Kaicheng to surrender.
After all, there are only 500 people in the city, and a full 5,000 troops are surrounding the city outside the city. The ratio is ten to one. Wugong County is not a strong city, and it will definitely not be able to defend it.
But now, Zhang He's reinforcements are nearby, and military orders have also been sent. It is true that the city cannot be defended for a long time, but if it is defended for a day or two, there is no reason why it cannot be defended, right? !
Therefore, the magistrate of Wugong County categorically rejected Feng Xi's request to surrender and ordered the entire city to be on alert, with soldiers going up to the city wall to stand firm.
Wugong County's refusal to surrender also made Feng Xi a little angry. With such a huge difference in military strength, Wugong County was unwilling to surrender. Did he regard himself as the useless Xia Houmao? !
Feng Xi immediately ordered the entire army to build hooks and ladders, preparing to hit the wood and storm Wugong County.
The gap in strength was too big. Feng Xi really didn't need to prepare ladders or chariots. Hooks, ladders and bumpers were enough. It took less than half a day. After Feng Xi made these preparations, he started to attack the city directly.
Attacking a city always takes some preparation time, and during this time, Zhang He had already led his troops to thirty miles east of Wugong County.
Upon arriving here, Zhang He ordered the march to be suspended, and then sent out scouts to investigate the situation near Wugong County.
Zhang He is a veteran. No matter how anxious he is, he remains calm at such times and makes correct arrangements.
On Feng Xi's side, perhaps he was eager to attack the city, or perhaps he felt that the Wei army could not come so fast, so Feng Xi did not pay much attention to the arrangement of the scouts.
It's not that Feng Xi didn't prepare for the attack. This is common sense in military affairs. Feng Xi still sent out scouts. But Feng Xi's purpose was just to explore the surrounding terrain and see which places were suitable for siege troops to spread out. He did not investigate. Are there any enemy ambush around Wugong County?
Therefore, the scouts sent by Feng Xi only investigated the situation within ten miles around Wugong County. Feng Xi was not aware of the arrival of Zhang He's army thirty miles away.
However, Zhang He already knew through his scouts important information such as the current location of the Shu army's garrison, troop deployment and other important information. And most importantly, the Shu army seemed to be in a hurry to attack the city and did not notice his arrival.
Faced with such a good opportunity, if Zhang He let it go, he would not be Zhang He!
(End of chapter)
