A fight cannot be avoided. There is no such thing as a fight-free card in these days. In other words, there is no such thing as a fight-free card in history.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there were some war-free rules, which were battlefield morals that both sides had to abide by. However, there were no weird battlefield rules like if I didn’t want to fight, I would put up a war-free card, and if I wanted to fight, I would take off the war-free card. Nor did they exist. Such physical objects as free battle cards.
This thing is the same as military orders. They all come from, for example, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", such as "The Complete Biography of Yue Yue", etc. They are just the conjectures of a group of literati who have no experience in war.
There are only two outcomes for the two sides to fight.
Agree, or not.
It doesn't matter if you agree to it. The two sides just set up their positions and have a fight.
It's okay not to agree, but it is equivalent to admitting that you are not an opponent, which will seriously damage the morale and morale of the military. On the cold weapon battlefield, which requires extremely high morale and morale of the military, not agreeing to a fight is basically equivalent to a defeat, which is an unimaginable consequence.
Unless they have enough confidence and thick skin, most people will not refuse a fight.
For example, in history, the old fox Sima faced the challenge of Prime Minister Zhuge and stayed behind closed doors. If he wanted to deal with the influence, he had to use an excuse to ask the emperor. Then Cao Rui issued an edict not to go to war. In this way, Sima Yi could say that it was the emperor who did not allow it, and it was not him who was timid. , Only in this way can the impact on military morale and morale be reduced to the greatest extent.
Even so, the old thief Sima was ridiculed by his own people as "fearing Shu as much as a tiger". Although in fact, after the Battle of Lucheng, he was indeed a little afraid to face the prime minister in a decisive battle.
All in all, if you don't have a special reason for asking for a fight, you must agree.
Therefore, even if Zhang Xi was thinking about withdrawing his troops and returning to Chongquan, when Cao Zhen's letter of challenge came down, he couldn't just leave. He had to fight a battle first and then consider whether to withdraw.
Another reason is that Cao Zhen did nothing after arriving in Dali County, which caused Zhang Xi and Wei Yan all kinds of uneasiness and worry. Now that Cao Zhen has taken the initiative to make a fight, this is a reaction, and it just so happens that through this fight War, find out what Cao Zhen’s true intentions are.
Therefore, due to emotions and reasons, I naturally have to agree to this fight.
The two sides agreed to fight, and early the next morning, both sides naturally led troops outside Dali County, with all their main forces.
As for Zhang Xi, he still followed the front arrow array that Zhang Xi was most familiar with and used most easily.
The arrow is naturally Wei Yan, the left wing is Xiang Chong, the right wing is Zhang Yi, and Zhang Xi is in charge of the central army.
Regarding Cao Wei, Cao Zhen also fought in a forward formation, with Wang Chang as the arrowhead, Dai Ling on the left, Han De on the right, and Cao Zhen was in charge of the center.
After the two sides set up their positions, they looked at each other for a while. The coaches on both sides were anxious in their hearts. Today's battle is probably not going to be easy.
Zhang Xi glanced over and found that the strength of Cao's army was really around 40,000 to 45,000. He was indeed superior in strength, and it was not a false strategy, but there were actually so many troops.
When Cao Zhen looked over at a glance, he found that the armor-wearing rate and ordnance possession rate of the Shu thieves' soldiers seemed to be much higher than in the last battle of Guanzhong.
Where did the Shu thieves get so much iron weapons, leather, money and food, and dare to arm their soldiers like this? !
In the last battle of Guanzhong, Cao Zhen had more than 40,000 Wei Central Imperial Guards in his hands and they all fought like that. Now Cao Zhen doesn't have many Central Imperial Guards in his hands.
The Forbidden Army must undergo rigorous training and go through many battles to cultivate it. It is not that easy to raise. Today, the remaining Central Forbidden Army, after two northwest wars, only has about 20,000 people. , half of which is in Cao Zhen's hands, and the other half is in Luoyang to protect the emperor's safety.
The remaining so-called Central Forbidden Army are basically new recruits who have just been recruited and trained in Yecheng for less than two years and are of no use.
Anyway, the more Cao Zhen looked at it, the more determined he was that he could not confront Zhang Xi head-on with Fengyi on the left. He had to hold off Zhang Xi's army first and wait until Guo Huai of Fufeng on the right was completely successful. Then he would cooperate with Guo Huai to surround and annihilate this group of Shu thieves.
And today's protagonist is not Cao Zhen.
After watching the formation, according to the general process, it was time for the two leaders to answer questions in front of the formation.
Well, although it is very cliché, it is nothing more than harsh words from both sides, but the process must go on.
Zhang Xi and Cao Zhen rode out of the formation and came to the open space in front of the two armies' formations, ready to complete the process.
It's just that this time it's a little different.
According to the rules, this interview must be a one-on-one meeting between the commanders of both sides. Except for a soldier holding a military cap, no one else is allowed to be with him. Otherwise, he will be suspected of breaking the rules and assassinating the enemy commander.
But this time, Zhang Xi rode alone, and Cao Zhen, with an old man and a docile mare, slowly came to the formation together.
This time Zhang Xi was a little dissatisfied.
There are no so-called martial arts masters these days. Zhang Xi is really not afraid of an old man who can't find a single black hair on his head at a glance. But you, Cao, really break the rules, okay? !
Zhang Xi immediately gave Cao Zhen a dissatisfied look.
Cao Zhen saw it, but he subconsciously turned his head, coughed, and pretended he hadn't seen it. It wasn't his request. It was the old man who insisted on saying that he had a way to hold Zhang Xi back.
Cao Zhen, who is seventy-six years old, has high prestige, and is the emperor's special envoy, can't do anything about it.
That's right, those who came to see Zhang Xi were naturally the new Situ of the Wei Dynasty, Wang Lang and Wang Jingxing.
Of course, Wang Situ in our time and space is not bold enough to think that with his sharp tongue, he can convince Zhang Xi to surrender.
After all, the balance of power today is different from that in history. Although there is no such thing as "scolding Wang Lang" in history.
This time Wang Lang took the initiative to propose a war of words with Zhang Xi before coming to the battle. It was really not for the purpose of persuading Zhang Xi to surrender.
Today's Han Dynasty, after consecutive battles and victories, has occupied the four states of Yongliang, Jingyi, and is the second most powerful force in the world after Cao Wei. The weakest force now is Soochow, which has occupied the four states of Qingxu, Yangjiao, and so on. Much more powerful than in history.
In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Wang Lang felt that he had the ability to persuade Zhuge Liang to surrender because he felt that Ji Han only had Yizhou in hand, which was basically equivalent to using one place against one country. He was not an opponent of Wei at all, as long as he was like him. Anyone who knows the current affairs will see this general trend clearly and choose to submit to the Wei Dynasty. Then Zhuge Liang has been sprayed with everything from the foundation of the founding of Cao Wei to his own character. He is too old and cannot hold it back. The blood cost him his life.
The purpose of Wang Lang's argument now is to complete Cao Zhen's strategic purpose, attract Zhang Xi's attention, and contain the main force of Zhang Xi's Yongzhou County soldiers in Zuo Fengyi.
Actually, Cao Zhen was not willing to let Wang Lang do something like this.
On the one hand, Cao Zhen is a military general after all. What he believes in more is what he does on the battlefield. Victory relies on the general's command and the soldiers fighting hard, not on the words of a scribe.
On the other hand, since it is a verbal debate, there will naturally be winners and losers.
Although you, Wang Lang, are a great scholar of Confucian classics, it is rumored that Zhang Xi is also a descendant of a famous family who is deeply influenced by the true inheritance of the Xun family in Yingchuan. If you lose later, you will not be able to defeat others. What if this affects the morale of the army? !
But Wang Lang didn't care at all.
First of all, Wang Lang is a great scholar in the world and has lived for such a long time. He certainly knows the difference between open classes and private teaching. He also has his own connections. He knows that Zhang Xi has only listened to a few public classes conducted by the Yingchuan Xun family at most. , it is impossible to be the true disciple of the Xun family in Yingchuan.
It's just that the Yingchuan Xun family didn't take a stand to refute the rumors, and Wang Lang didn't have much time to debunk the rumors.
As for the aristocratic families, most of them have complicated thoughts. The Yingchuan Xun family thinks this is not a bad thing. Does Wang Lang have to be a bad guy and slap the Xun family in the face? !
Secondly, as Wang Lang is a great scholar of Confucian classics in the world, even if he were asked to debate the Confucian classics with Xun Shuang, he would not think he would lose, let alone Zhang Xi, a student from a poor family.
Debate, in the final analysis, relies on one's own cultural accumulation. As a seventy-six-year-old man who has been immersed in the study of Confucian classics all his life, how can he be inferior to a man who is just forty years old and has twenty years of his life? Isn’t it a boy who fights on the battlefield? !
Finally, and most importantly - to say the least, losing will not affect the morale of the army.
People who can understand rhetoric must at least have some literary skills. Otherwise, how can they judge the winner or loser if they can't even understand what the two parties are saying? !
After all, the debate between the two sides was not for the soldiers present. With the literacy rate of this era, it was impossible for the soldiers on both sides to understand what the two men said. Naturally, there would be no impact on the morale of the soldiers. question.
In fact, this war of words is mainly for those generals who can understand, and even for the scholars of the world.
If Zhang Xi loses, then Zhang Xi can only prove that his point of view is correct through actual actions. He cannot give up easily, otherwise he will become the laughing stock of the world. Therefore, for the sake of his reputation, he will not retreat.
If Wang Lang loses, then Zhang Xi will not be able to retreat. You said you won but ran away. Is it because you knew that you were just cheating and won, but you actually had no confidence in your heart and did not dare to compete with the Wei Tianbing? !
In Wang Lang's view, winning or losing is beneficial to the Wei Dynasty. As long as Zhang Xi agrees to this debate, the one who will benefit must be the Wei Dynasty.
The only trouble is that if Wang Lang loses, Wang Lang's reputation will be affected to some extent, but considering his age and his attainments in Confucian classics, no one in the world will criticize him harshly for winning or losing this debate. He is a seventy-six-year-old man.
Wang Lang himself is quite open-minded about this matter.
It was through such rhetoric that Wang Lang persuaded Cao Zhen and took him to the front of the battle to meet Zhang Xi.
After meeting Zhang Xi, Wang Lang also had a kind smile. He looked at Zhang Xi for a while and then nodded slowly, seeming to express his approval of Zhang Xi.
Zhang Xi's reaction was very real - who is this old man? His smile is so obscene and strange.
Then, Zhang Xi almost blurted out the phrase "埌cao" that he had forgotten for almost twenty years, just because the old man opposite said something that was almost engraved in Zhang Xi's DNA.
"The person coming is Zhang Yuanchang."
One day's debt is paid. Because the manuscript has not been saved and is being published now, there are inevitably some typos. Please forgive me and pause.
(End of chapter)
