Yes, what are you so anxious about? !
After listening to Wu Yi's opinion, Wei Yan also asked himself in his heart what was wrong and why he was so anxious to use troops.
But then, Wei Yan thought of a possibility, a possibility that he must leave the city immediately and act according to his plan.
It's just that maybe Wei Yan also thinks this is somewhat unreliable. He doesn't have any evidence to support it, it's just a pure guess.
This made Wei Yan a little afraid to say it openly.
Really, Wei Yan really didn't want people to think that he had been seriously influenced by a certain country bumpkin, and he had become hesitant and timid in his actions.
But if the possibility I thought was true, then this group of Wei troops, who were clearly blocked between Mei County and the Weishui River, might really be able to retreat calmly.
Even if all of the more than 30,000 people cannot be withdrawn to Chang'an, more than half can be withdrawn.
In this way, even if Meixian is defended, the Northern Expedition troops will be able to approach Sanfu. It will still be very difficult to attack Chang'an later.
The Wei army still has the strength to fight.
After thinking about it, Wei Yan decided to tell Wu Yi about this possibility. Although it would be a bit embarrassing, he couldn't miss an important event.
"What if Cao Zhen has ordered people to arrange ships in advance to sail up the Wei River from Chang'an and come to meet him?!"
This is what Wei Yan is worried about.
About half a month has passed since the capture of Mei County.
Cao Zhen is not the kind of person who has no plans. After learning that Mei County has been lost, he will not fail to realize what kind of situation this is for the Guo Huai Army, and he will not fail to deal with it.
Guo Huai was clearly attacking Mei County two days ago, but today he left without hesitation at all. Moreover, the march was orderly and did not look like he was forced to flee in a hurry. If Guo Huai If he doesn't have enough confidence, why would he do this? !
If there is really no way out and Guo Huai does not want to surrender, then what he should do is not to make a desperate attempt to storm Mei County before the main force of the Han army arrives? !
These abnormal performances made Wei Yan sincerely suspect that Guo Huai should have thought of a way out early.
As Wei Yan could think of, the Wei army's only retreat should be the Weishui River.
During the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty, they had been taking mountain roads. The land of Yongliang was newly occupied, and it was too late to stabilize the place. There was no time to develop naval combat power, and there was no possibility of moving down the Wei River from Shanggui. In the Northern Expedition army , no navy troops were arranged.
However, Chang'an relied on the Wei River for a large part of its transportation capacity. Cao Zhen had the conditions to use the Wei River water transportation to evacuate the Wei army trapped between Mei County and the Wei River.
If Cao Zhen had thought of using waterways to withdraw his troops the moment he learned that Mei County had been lost, he would also have notified Chang'an to collect enough ships. In ten days, Chang'an would be able to build a fleet capable of evacuating 20,000 to 30,000 people. Team out.
But once that time comes, the Han army will have nothing to do.
Based on the above possibilities, Wei Yan still insisted on his own battle plan, asking Wu Yi to lead his troops out of the city, take a detour to catch up with the Wei army's front army, wait until he launched an attack on the Wei army's center, then choose an opportunity to attack the Wei army's front army, and strive to defeat Guo Huai's worst enemy , Guo Huai had to be forced to temporarily suspend his army for confrontation, and they could not be allowed to join Cao Zhen's troops so easily.
As for Wu Yi, he did not raise any objections this time.
First, when Wei Yan said this, he conveyed it in the form of a military order, leaving no room for Wu Yi to object.
In terms of official positions, Wu Yi is the Central Protector, while Wei Yan is the general of Zhenbei. It is difficult to say who is higher and who is lower, because there is no direct reporting relationship between them. But in terms of the actual situation on the battlefield, since Wu Yi is here If he supports Wei Yan, then according to the unspoken rules of the battlefield, Wu Yi is obliged to obey Wei Yan's command.
Besides, it’s not like Wu Yi didn’t know that Wei Yan had a bad temper. He had said so. He would definitely not give him any room to object. Even if Wu Yi didn’t send troops, Wei Yan would probably divide his troops and act according to the plan. .
The second reason was because Wu Yi had the rare feeling that what Wei Yan said this time really made sense.
Cao Zhen was not a fool, and Guo Huai was a famous general. He dared to retreat towards the Wei River even though he knew that there was an interception in front of him and a pursuer in the rear. It was obvious that he was well prepared.
Don't you really have arranged for the ship to be picked up a long time ago, and are you planning to abandon Mei County and withdraw your troops to defend Sanfu? !
If this is really the case, Wu Yi did not accept Wei Yan's plan, causing the Wei army to withdraw safely from the third auxiliary, then Wu Yi was delaying the military aircraft.
Therefore, Wu Yi finally did not hold any objections and expressed his attitude of obeying orders.
On the one hand, according to Wei Yan's arrangement, the attack tasks Wu Yi needs to undertake are obviously much easier. The one who really takes risks and fights is Wei Yan, and Wu Yi has nothing to say.
On the other hand, since Wei Yan used military orders to arrange this matter, it itself shows Wei Yan's attitude of taking responsibility. If something happens or something goes wrong in the future, the blame will be on Wei Yan, and it has nothing to do with Wu Yi.
After thinking about this, Wu Yi immediately led his troops and took a detour to pursue the retreating forward of the Wei army.
But Wei Yan did not act immediately.
Although Wu Yi led fewer troops and marched faster than the Wei army, it would take some time to catch up with the Wei army's forward troops.
Wei Yan must ensure that Wu Yi is in place before launching an attack on the central army of the Wei army. There are no telephones or telegraph machines these days. This type of cooperative operations can only rely on the general's own psychological calculation. If the cooperation is not good, there will be no chance of success. It may end in failure.
Therefore, Wei Yan tried his best to give Wu Yi more time to move, and he set off half a day later than Wu Yi. He took the 7,000 soldiers in Mei County who could still go out to fight in Mei County to pursue the Wei army. He also took away Wang Shuang and Zhuge Qian. The two men surrendered, leaving Wu Ban and less than 500 old, weak and disabled soldiers to guard the city.
Soon, Wei Yan saw the rear wing of the Wei army thirty miles away from the bank of the Weishui River.
As for Wen Qin, he also learned through scouts that there were Shu troops chasing him from behind.
Wen Qin knew what his responsibilities were, so without any hesitation, he immediately led his five thousand men to set up a formation on the road, preparing to intercept Wei Yan's troops.
But Wen Qin was dumbfounded again.
When Wen Qin saw Wei Yan's troops, Wei Yan didn't even look at him. He directly bypassed Wen Qin's troops where they met five miles away and continued to pursue.
Wen Qin was wondering at that time. What was the Shu army going to do? !
Guo Huai made detailed arrangements for the retreat. Wen Qin's five thousand soldiers were to try their best to intercept the Shu army chasing from the rear. No matter how many Shu troops there were, Wen Qin had to do his best to stop it. Create time for the main army and Governor Cao Zhen to converge.
But why don't all of these Shu troops follow the routine? !
Generally speaking, the purpose of the pursuing army is not to bite the rear flank of our army, try to defeat it in one fell swoop, and then quickly catch up with the main force that is eager to retreat. It is better to fight while the main force is unprepared.
Why did you all choose to bypass me? !
The previous Shu army of 3,000 men still had an understanding. It was heading for Mei County. It was okay if they didn't fight me. But if you Wei Yan didn't fight me and chose to go around, you really weren't afraid of me. If we follow him and outflank him, will it cut off your retreat? !
Or are you sure that under the threat of Guan Qiujian's two thousand cavalry and with the few men you have, we can completely defeat our army? !
Doesn't this underestimate General Guo Huai's military ability? !
Although he was retreating, General Guo Huai was not unprepared. The marching team was very compact. Once encountering an enemy attack, he could immediately turn his troops into a long snake formation to defend against the enemy. Although the defensive power is not as good as the square formation and the round formation. It's that strong, but it's not something you can break through with a few thousand people.
So Wen Qin really didn't understand why Wei Yan did this, bypassing himself and completely exposing his retreat to himself. What was the purpose of using troops like this? !
Could it be said that this was Wei Yan's deliberate plan to lure the enemy? !
Perhaps the main force of the Shu army was not far away from him, and Wei Yan did this to lure him to pursue him, cut off his retreat, mobilize his protection against the rear wing of the army, and create opportunities for the main force of the Shu army to attack the rear wing of the army. condition? !
If this is the case, it can explain the reason for Wei Yan's strange use of troops.
To be on the safe side, Wen Qin did not interfere with Wei Yan's move around him, but immediately sent a large number of scouts in the direction behind him, requiring the scouts to detect a distance of twenty miles before reporting back.
Wen Qin must first find out whether the main force of the Shu army has really arrived behind him.
As for Wei Yan's army, Wen Qin sent his troops to find Guanqiu Jian and ask him to prepare in advance. On the other hand, he also quickly informed Guo Huai so that Guo Huai could be prepared.
At this time, Wei Yan finally let go of his worries.
Actually, Wei Yan was really taking a risk. He was betting that the intercepting troops behind the Wei army would not dare to leave their posts without permission or pursue him. If Wen Qin really chose to pursue him, then Wei Yan really had no choice but to Turn around and fight Wenqin's troops, trying to defeat Wenqin's troops before advancing.
If Wen Qin had been left hanging at a distance and he found himself attacking the Wei army's center, Wen Qin would have definitely come from behind to cover him up.
But if he fought with Wen Qin, Wei Yan was really not sure that he could defeat him in one battle, or that he could get rid of Wen Qin's entanglement.
This will delay his opportunity to cooperate with Wu Yi to attack the Wei army.
Fortunately, Wen Qin hesitated and did not catch up immediately, which gave Wei Yan some time.
As long as Wei Yan can take advantage of this time difference to launch an attack on Wei Jun in time, mobilize Wei Jun's defensive focus, and create opportunities for Wu Yi to attack forward Guo Huai's headquarters, even if he himself will be deeply surrounded, Wei Yan feels it is worth it.
If a real man doesn't even have the consciousness to die in battle and be wrapped in horse leather, why go to the battlefield? ! !
(End of chapter)
