When Cao Zhen led his troops to Wancheng, the Han army outside the city immediately suspended their attack and assumed a defensive posture.
On the one hand, it is indeed necessary to guard against Cao Zhen taking the initiative to attack. On the other hand, it is necessary to discuss what to do next.
At this time, the military morale in the Jingzhou military camp was indeed not very good.
The attack was unable to last for a long time, and its own casualties were not small. The strong attack for half a month resulted in 7,000 or 8,000 casualties, which was bound to be a blow to the morale of the army.
Furthermore, Guan Yu's injuries have worsened, and now his waking hours are getting shorter and shorter. Even Du Du cannot control this.
When the two reasons were combined, even Xu Shu, Deng Ai, Wang Ji and others knew that impetuosity was a taboo in the military, but in the end they couldn't help it.
Now that Cao Zhen's reinforcements arrived, he immediately suppressed the atmosphere to the extreme.
"How about temporarily withdrawing the troops and returning to Xiangyang to prepare for the future?!"
This suggestion was made by Wang Ji.
For a wise man like Wang Ji to say something like this shows what the mentality of the top brass of the Jingzhou Army is today.
If you want to put things aside, Xu Shu doesn't need to speak. Deng Ai, Guan Ping and others can spray you back. Now that they have entered Wancheng, they can open up the Central Plains portal, retreat now? !
Are you afraid that you are out of your mind? !
But now, no one really thinks what Wang Ji said is wrong.
If no reinforcements arrived in Wancheng, Xu Shu and others would still have the heart to continue fighting.
Although his own losses were great, Sima Yi's losses were not small either. If he continued to endure like this, I really don't know who would be unable to endure it first in the end.
But now there are reinforcements in Wancheng, and Xu Shu and others cannot possibly know that three-quarters of the reinforcements brought by Cao Zhen are new soldiers, who have not even been properly trained.
Seeing that Wancheng has now returned to a size of more than 30,000 people, which is even more powerful than when the war first started, and the commander-in-chief Sima Yi is such a dead tortoise who can't get enough of anything, this Wancheng is really not good. You may not be able to survive even if you fight and consume a lot of energy.
In addition, the leader of the first army, Guan Yu, was seriously injured and was not suitable to continue fighting now. It was natural for him to want to retreat.
After all, among the people present, no one was Wei Yan, who felt that he could take over the military power after Zhuge Liang's death and continue to work. No matter whether he had a high official position such as Wang Ji or Xu Shu, or a close relationship such as Guan Ping or Deng Ai, he did not think he was capable. After Guan Yu was seriously injured, he continued to lead the battle.
So, everyone has the option of withdrawing their troops, but Wang Ji was the first to take the initiative to say it.
However, the matter of withdrawing troops is not a trivial matter after all. Even how and when to withdraw troops must be carefully considered.
"Although Bo Yu's words are reasonable, we should not rush into things now." Xu Shu took the initiative and said.
The first thing to figure out is what the outcome of the Battle of Guanzhong will be after Cao Zhen arrives here.
As the governor of Yongliang, Cao Zhen was supposed to preside over the Battle of Guanzhong in Guanzhong, but he suddenly appeared here. The Battle of Guanzhong was definitely over.
If His Majesty wins the Battle of Guanzhong and Cao Zhen is defeated and retreats into the Pass, then Wancheng will have to continue fighting to cooperate with the Battle of Wuguan that Your Majesty may launch.
If His Majesty fails to win the Battle of Guanzhong in the end, and Cao Zhen comes to aid Wancheng after repelling His Majesty's Northern Expeditionary Army, then he must retreat immediately to prevent being surrounded by Wei thieves.
Especially in Shangyong and other places, the troops were almost exhausted. The five thousand soldiers in Meng Da's hands could not stop the Wei army in Guanzhong from attacking Shangyong from Fufeng on the right.
It's actually not difficult to figure out these things. You don't even need to wait for His Majesty's edict - you can just challenge Wancheng City tomorrow.
If the Wei army really dares to lead the army into battle, it means that the Wei army has sufficient confidence, so it must retreat and withdraw to the front line of Xiangyang to deploy defenses.
And if the Wei army still can't avoid the battle, it means that the Wei army lacks confidence and must retreat in defeat. Sima Yi, that old turtle, is still holding on.
In that case, it is better to station the troops where they are and quickly send someone to Chang'an to inquire about His Majesty's next battle plan.
Secondly, if you want to retreat, you can't just retreat. You also need to arrange the order of retreat so that the Wei army cannot take advantage of the situation and pursue it.
Although Xu Shu predicted that Sima Yi was unlikely to have the courage, he still had to be careful.
Finally, and most importantly, where did that Fan A die? ! Or is it that the Jiangdong rats knew that the general was seriously injured and had treacherous intentions and did not let Fan A come to treat the general? !
But no matter what, there is no answer to this last question for a while, so let’s figure out the current situation first.
The next day, Deng Ai personally led an army of ten thousand people to the gates of Wancheng to invite a battle.
At this time, on the tower, Sima Yi and Cao Zhen were also discussing countermeasures.
"Sichuan thieves are certainly hateful, but our army currently lacks combat power. We must defend our position first and not attack easily."
This was what Cao Zhen said to Sima Yi. Cao Zhen was also afraid that when Sima Yi saw the reinforcements, he would give up the best option of holding on and go out of the city to confront the Shu thieves head-on.
As for Sima Yi, he pondered for a long time, looking at Deng Ai outside the city, and then thinking about the current situation. The old turtle was wondering whether he should take a risk.
The Shu thieves outside the city must have known that Cao Zhen led his troops to Wancheng, so the reaction of the Shu thieves was very important.
Did the Shu thieves already know the outcome of the Battle of Guanzhong? !
If the Shu thieves already know the outcome of the Battle of Guanzhong, they will definitely not withdraw their troops easily. This challenge is just a plan to divide the troops. They do not want to waste time on the attack and defense of Wancheng, but want to use field battles to eliminate their own effective forces.
But if the Shu thieves don't know the outcome of the Battle of Guanzhong, this challenge is just to test the strength of the Wancheng defenders. If they don't go out to fight, it will be seen that although the defenders have many troops but insufficient combat power, it will be a bit troublesome. .
It would be better to risk a battle to scare the Shu thieves and make them misjudge. It is impossible to deceive the Shu thieves.
After all, Sima Yi is not the coward like Zhang Xi. He really takes risks when it comes to using troops. Although he is often seen through by some dead fish head and makes him disgraced, isn't it that Sima Yi has not yet faced Zhuge Liang?
Therefore, Sima Yi deliberately wanted to take this risk.
Even Sima Yi had thought about it. He had to fight in person this time and could not let Cao Zhen fight. If Cao Zhen won and came to help, how could he still be the commander of Wancheng and obey his own command? !
If Cao Zhen really wants to go to war, the flaw may be discovered by the wise men in the Shu bandit army.
Therefore, Sima Yi decided to go down to the tower and organize his army to fight.
But suddenly, Sima Yi thought of something. Did Cao really come to rescue Wancheng after recruiting new soldiers? !
"Excuse me, Commander, how long does it take to recruit new soldiers?!" Sima Yi suddenly asked Cao Zhen.
Cao Zhen didn't understand why Sima Yi suddenly asked this question, but he still answered honestly, "About half a month."
As soon as he said this, Sima Yi suddenly stopped thinking about taking the initiative to fight.
The Battle of Guanzhong has been lost, and it is only a matter of time before the entire territory of Youfufeng is lost.
Once the Shu thieves occupy Youfufeng, it will only take more than ten days to travel from Youfufeng to Shangyong, and then from Shangyong to Wancheng.
It only took half a month for Cao Zhen to recruit troops. At this time, he went to bet that the Shu thieves in Jingzhou had not received the battle report from Chang'an. He was somewhat mentally retarded.
The risk is too great, so it’s better to stick to it.
"The governor's words are true. The situation is critical now. We don't need to entangle with the Shu thieves. Pass on my general's order that all armies strictly guard the city and do not let up." Sima Yi said.
It would be reasonable to say that Sima Yi knew how to be a good man. On the one hand, he emphasized his authority as the commander-in-chief, and at the same time, he did not forget to praise Cao Zhen and attributed this decision to Cao Zhen's advice.
Anyway, Cao Zhen felt that this Sima Yi was not only clear in thinking and well-versed in military strategy, but also honest and a person worth befriending.
But Sima Yi continued to hold on, which suddenly made Xu Shu feel a little confident. Of course, he was more happy.
Although, the reaction of the Wancheng defenders cannot rule out the possibility that Sima Yi took the initiative to show weakness and attracted the Han army to continue to stay and confront under Wancheng.
But considering that Cao Zhen has entered Wancheng, it is still uncertain whether Sima Yi has such a big say. Xu Shu is more willing to believe that this is a reaction of the lack of confidence of the Wancheng defenders.
The reaction of the Wancheng defenders probably means that His Majesty has won the Battle of Guanzhong, and has even regained Chang'an, the old capital of the Han Dynasty.
This is a very symbolic and good thing for all Ji Han's ministers.
In this case, there is nothing more to say, let’s continue the confrontation.
While trying to lure the Wancheng defenders out of the city and weaken the defenders' effectiveness as much as possible, Xu Shu quickly sent an envoy to Hanzhong to inquire about the outcome of the Battle of Guanzhong.
But less than two days after Xu Shu's envoy was sent out, Liu Bei's military envoy from the direction of Chang'an had already arrived.
First, Liu Bei sent an envoy to tell Guan Yu that the Battle of Guanzhong had been won and Chang'an, the old capital of the Han Dynasty, had been recovered. Liu Bei was now sitting in the capital of Chang'an.
Secondly, Liu Bei has no plans to march into Wuguan for the time being, so he specially sent someone to inform Guan Yu that if Wancheng can be conquered, he will attack it. If he cannot, he can temporarily return to Xiangyang and make plans again.
After receiving these two pieces of information from Liu Bei's personal envoy, Xu Shu immediately made his own decision.
On one side, he ordered the enemy to be encircled. Wang Ji retreated first, one returned to Shangyong and the other to Jiangling. He led the Xiangyang headquarters to cut off the rear.
On the other side, a group of envoys were sent to Chang'an again to congratulate the emperor on regaining the old capital and also told Liu Bei that Guan Yu was seriously injured.
It's really not okay not to talk about this.
(End of chapter)
