Sometimes, really, you really can't imagine the tenacity of life.
Normally, Feng Xi was stabbed several times and fell to the ground by the Wei army's swords. He lay on the battlefield for more than an hour. Even if he didn't die on the spot, he would have died of excessive blood loss by now. But Feng Xi He managed to hold on.
Apart from fate and miracles, Zhang Xi could not think of any reasonable explanation.
But even so, it does not mean that Feng Xi is alive. At this time, Feng Xi is probably about to enter a state of shock due to excessive blood loss. Even if the military doctor arrived in time and performed some first aid, there is no specific answer. He couldn't be rescued, and the military doctors couldn't guarantee it.
You can only do your best.
There was nothing Zhang Xi could do about this. After all, Zhang Xi did not study medicine in his previous life. Some so-called modern medical knowledge was of no use in the battlefield, so he could only leave everything to military doctors.
Fortunately, the military doctor came from a famous family. If he could not be saved, there would be no one within a radius of at least five hundred miles who could save Feng Xi.
Although Zhang Xi is anxious, Feng Xi is not the only one responsible for him now.
Zhang He retreated. Needless to say, he would definitely return to Wugong County.
With the failure of Zhang He's original plan to attack Wuzhang, what kind of actions Zhang He will make next and how Zhang Xi should respond need to be decided in time.
For this reason, Zhang Xi directly took Liu Yin and discussed it on the spot.
Liu Yin suggested, "Now that Zhang He has retreated, he will inevitably retreat to defend the martial arts. The general can quickly lead his troops back to the division to defeat Zhang He before he can return to the military martial arts. In this way, Zhang He has no way to retreat, and his army's morale will be dispersed. It can be defeated in one battle." Capture him."
This is indeed the truth, but...
"Before coming here, I ordered General Gao to lead the troops to attack Wugong County. If we can attack, Wugong County is now in our hands. If not, even if I return to attack, it will be difficult to conquer within a day or two."
Siege of a city has been a troublesome matter since ancient times.
Gao Xiang does have a military advantage. He still has more than 7,000 soldiers under his command, and the Wugong County defenders can hold back no less than 1,500 people. However, this comparison of forces is still not enough for Gao Xiang to break through in three days. Wugong County.
It's not that Gao Xiang can't conquer Wugong County. It's impossible to conquer Wugong County within three days and give Gao Xiang enough time. For example, a month. It's not difficult for Gao Xiang to break through a city guarded by only a thousand people.
But for three days, this time is basically just a try to see if they can put enough pressure on the Wugong County defenders to force the Wugong County defenders and noble families to surrender.
And this was Zhang Xi's real purpose in letting Gao Xiang lead his troops to attack Wugong County.
Throughout history, whenever a city was conquered within a few days, it was usually because someone could not withstand the pressure and surrendered.
As long as the general of Wugong County can control the situation in the city and has the determination to hold on, it will not be a problem for Wugong County to survive for half a month or even a month.
Therefore, if the garrison in Wugong County is willing to surrender, then the door will have been opened to welcome Gao Xiang's army into the city at this time, and there is nothing he can do if he goes back.
If the defenders of Wugong County are still holding on, even if they go back and join forces with Gao Xiang to attack, it is impossible to completely defeat Wugong County in a day or two.
It would only take Zhang He a day or two at most to retreat from here and return to Wugong County. Even if Zhang Xi continued to march all the way back to Wugong County, it would take at least a day. Zhang He would only leave Zhang Xi a day to attack by force at most.
Zhang Xi is really not sure that he can use this day's time difference to break into Wugong County.
Besides, Zhang Xi felt that there was really no need for him to attack Wugong County in such a hurry.
"Zhang He is a man who knows how to advance and retreat with troops. If he can win, his troops will advance as fast and fierce as a tiger. If he cannot win, he will retreat without hesitation!" Zhang Xi thought for a moment and said to Liu Yin, "Now Zhang He has no chance to sneak attack on Wuzhangyuan. However, the defense in Youfufeng is empty. After retreating to Wugong County this time, if my prediction is correct, Zhang He will not hold on in Wugong, but will lead his troops back to Youfufeng in an effort to defend Chang'an."
This is Zhang Xi's judgment of the current situation. He believes that it is impossible for Zhang He to hold on in Wugong County.
Therefore, if Gao Xiang cannot force the Wugong County defenders to surrender in these three days of strong attacks, Zhang Xi will not launch another attack after returning.
There is no need for the soldiers to fight so hard. Zhang Xi can just wait for Zhang He to withdraw from Wugong County and then lead his troops to occupy it.
As for occupying Wugong County, Zhang Xi's plan is to temporarily suspend his troops to rest and wait for the development of the war situation in Mei County before making a decision.
But Liu Yin was a little worried about this.
"If this is the case, if we cross the river and march eastward, the Heretic Society will be in peace." Liu Yin cautiously raised his concerns.
In fact, what Liu Yin said was that when he set out from Wuzhangyuan, Zhang Xi received the military order: first occupy Wugong County, and then choose an opportunity to cross the river eastward and attack Chang'an.
If Zhang Xi simply occupied Wugong County and waited for the outcome of the Battle of Mei County, if he missed the best opportunity to attack Chang'an and was blamed in the future, then Zhang Xi would not be able to get away with the crime of delaying the war opportunity.
And if Zhang Xi is charged with such a big crime, then the military exploits of Liu Yin, Gao Xiang and others who followed Zhang Xi in the war during this period will most likely be directly obliterated.
So, Liu Yin tactfully reminded Zhang Xi.
Zhang Xi also knew what Liu Yin meant, but now, Zhang Xi also had his own concerns.
"Xiuren, in your opinion, what are the chances of winning with just the soldiers led by me to cross the river to attack Chang'an?!" Zhang Xi sighed and asked.
Liu Yin was asked this question and didn't know how to answer it.
As a general, Liu Yin must not say depressing words.
If you lead an army in a battle and can't even trust the combat effectiveness of the soldiers under your command, then how can you fight this battle? !
But if you think that just using these county soldiers to attack Chang'an successfully, Liu Yin also thinks it's a bit fanciful.
Therefore, Liu Yin could only answer, "Return to the general, I don't know the end."
It’s not that I really don’t know, it’s just that I can’t tell, and saying so hurts morale.
Zhang Xi naturally understood, so he did not dwell on Liu Yin's answer, but continued, "There is a saying in the art of war. Only when you know yourself and the enemy can you win a hundred battles. Now we only have ten thousand people left. Even if the whole army marches eastward and faces Chang'an, How can we win a quick victory in a fortified city in the face of thousands of Cao and Wei's imperial troops?! If we can't win quickly, we will be trapped under Chang'an City, and things will change over time."
This is the reason why Zhang Xi doesn't want to sneak attack Chang'an - there is really no guarantee that Chang'an can be captured.
Whether Zhang Xi or Liu Yin, they all know the combat prowess of their soldiers.
The combat effectiveness of the county soldiers under his command cannot be said to be bad. Compared with the general Wei army, there is really not much difference. But when encountering central elites like Cao Wei's imperial army, it will be very difficult to fight based on the combat effectiveness of the county soldiers alone.
If the battle is within the mountains, the county soldiers in Shu are more familiar with mountain warfare, but the Wei army is at a disadvantage in this regard, and the two sides can fight back and forth.
This was the case during the last Northern Expedition. The Shu army was not at a disadvantage when facing the soldiers of Yongliang, but when it faced a part of Cao Wei's imperial army commanded by Cao Ren in Shanggui, it was a little unable to fight.
This was achieved when the main force of the Han Dynasty was gathered together.
If Meng Da had not suddenly taken advantage of the empty opportunity in the right Fufeng to go north to join Zhao Yun, the Baijie soldiers led by Chen Dao had left Baoxiekou and were in danger of cutting off the Wei army's retreat on Longshan Road. The Northern Expedition would not have accomplished the goal of cutting off Longshan. So easy.
But now, if Zhang Xi wants to cross the river east to attack Chang'an, he will have to fight on the Guanzhong Plain. This is the strength of the Wei army, not the Han army.
What's more, this battle in Wugong County also made Zhang Xi realize the true combat power of Cao Wei's imperial army.
Fighting 20,000 against 10,000, he clearly had a sufficient strength advantage, but Zhang Xi struggled every time he fought. Now the battle losses exceeded one-third, and he could only barely hold Zhang He back in Wugong County.
Although from a strategic point of view, Zhang Xi successfully prevented Zhang He's plan to attack Wuzhangyuan, from a tactical point of view, Zhang He's battle casualties were actually far lower than Zhang Xi's.
If I have to say it, this is just a tie.
Therefore, Zhang Xi really didn't think that when he led 10,000 soldiers across the river to attack Chang'an, even if there were only 5,000 Cao Wei imperial guards stationed in Chang'an, he would be able to defeat it in a single battle.
If the purpose is only to attract Cao Zhen to return reinforcements and cut off the foreign aid of Guo Huai's regiment in Mei County, then Zhang Xi's capture of Wugong County is enough to threaten Chang'an.
Based on the above considerations, Zhang Xi made his own choice.
"If your Majesty blames you in the future, I will bear the responsibility alone!"
After Zhang Xi said such words, Liu Yin felt uncomfortable saying anything else. What's more, what Zhang Xi said was indeed reasonable.
After making the decision, Zhang Xi immediately began to make arrangements.
Liu Yin's troops were supplemented with a thousand soldiers, of which 500 were stationed at Dachangji, and the remaining 500 were stationed on the small road south of Dachangji as the support force and reserve force of Dachangji.
The purpose was to prevent Zhang He, an old boy from cheating. It looked like he was retreating, but in fact he was hiding in the mountain road for one day, and then came out to sneak attack on Dachangji the next day.
Although Zhang Xi feels that this possibility is very slim, Zhang Xi's temper is such that he will not ignore the possibility no matter how small it is, and he still needs to make preparations.
Liu Yin was left to continue to garrison Dachangji for this reason.
Zhang Xi himself, with the remaining four thousand soldiers, hurried back to Wugong County to take command, adapting to the situation and preparing to occupy Wugong County after Zhang He withdrew.
As for Feng Xi temporarily staying in Dachangji to treat his injuries, after all, Feng Xi is still unconscious and taking him away directly would really cost his life.
Also staying with Feng Xi was the military doctor brought by Zhang Xi. In order to prevent Liu Yin from accidentally offending this famous military doctor, Zhang Xi also gave Liu Yin special instructions.
The military doctor who treated Feng Xi's injuries was Wei Chen, the disciple Zhang Xi had pried away from Zhang Ji for nothing when he was in Jingzhou.
(End of chapter)
