Sima Yi didn't hesitate, he was really thinking seriously about how to defeat the enemy.
After receiving Xin Pi's first recall letter, Sima Yi began to seriously calculate the situation in Luoyang after he got up.
Sima Yi was actually not unprepared for Sima Division's loss of Pubanjin. He did not expect Sima Division to be able to withstand the fierce attack of Shu thieves with 5,000 men.
But the problem is, no matter how prepared Sima Yi was, he never thought that Sima Division would be defeated by ten thousand Shu thieves in one day.
Sima Yi had inner expectations that Sima Division would fall at Pubanjin. This was because he was delaying the Hedong area long enough to establish a second line of defense, or he was attacked by the Shu thieves with more than ten times the superior force. He had no choice but to retreat on his own initiative. Go to Hedong to continue commanding operations.
No matter what, it cannot be a retreat.
This was the first thing Sima Yi didn't expect. In one day, let alone Luoyang, even the wealthy families in Hedong could not respond immediately.
The second thing that was beyond Sima Yi's expectation was that the Shu thieves did not follow the trend to attack Hedong. Instead, they went down the Yellow River and attacked Hongnong directly.
This was somewhat beyond Sima Yi's expectation.
In Sima Yi's view, if he wanted to completely occupy the Sili area, he must first cut off the Wei army's wings near Luoyang, and the most important of them was to capture the two counties of Hedong and Hanoi.
These two places are important transportation thoroughfares directly connecting the Hebei region. When the Eighteenth Route Princes were fighting against Dong, Emperor Taizu Wu proposed a strategy of attacking Dong Zhuo in Luoyang and occupying Mengjin in Hanoi.
Although the situation is different now, the importance of the geographical location of Hedong and Hanoi counties is still self-evident.
Why just leave Hedong alone and not attack Hanoi, but attack Hongnong? !
Then Sima Yi encountered the third thing that was beyond his expectation - the entire Hongnong County turned against him, and everything west of Hangu Pass fell.
Seeing this, Sima Yi had the idea to withdraw his troops and return to protect Luoyang.
In particular, the entire county of Hongnong defected. Not only did the Shu thieves have a springboard and foothold to enter Henan, but at this time, even the problems of logistical supplies and expansion of troops were solved.
With the few troops he has left in Luoyang, he may not be able to stop the Shu bandits from marching to Luoyang.
Even speaking, if Xinpi, who is based in Luoyang, reacts slower and fails to send reinforcements to Hangu Pass in time, the Shu thieves can break through Hangu Pass, and then push north along the direction of Gucheng to capture Mengjin, Henan, Hanoi, and Hedong. The connection between the two counties will also be severed.
No wonder the Shu thieves did not march to the east of Henan and Hanoi at all, and they are here according to their plan. As long as they enter Hangu Pass through Hongnong County, they can not only greatly shorten the route to attack Luoyang, but also occupy Mengjin and cut off the enemy. Hedong and Hanoi sent reinforcements to Luoyang.
Even if the Shu thieves had enough troops and bypassed Luoyang to attack Hulao Pass, Luoyang would be completely isolated.
Therefore, when Sima Yi received Xin Pi's first recall letter, he actually thought more than Xin Pi and looked further ahead. He wanted to withdraw his troops at that time.
But why did Sima Yi still want to ask Xinpi to defend Luoyang for ten days under such circumstances? !
On the one hand, it was because Sima Yi did not know how far the Shu army in Hongnong County had progressed at this time and whether they had broken through Hangu Pass, so his bottom line was to ask Xinpi to hold on to Luoyang for at least ten days.
After all, we can't wait for him to return to the army, only to find that there is no place for him to hold on. Luoyang must be left for him, Sima Yi, right? !
On the other hand, the withdrawal of troops also requires skills, and it is not just a matter of withdrawal.
Not to mention anything else, just the more than 50,000 Shu thieves outside the city, can they allow you to leave Luyang so easily? !
Sima Yi dared to bet that as long as he withdrew his troops from the front, the Shu thieves would surely follow, and the pursuit along the way would definitely be inevitable.
As Luyang is far away from Luoyang, the withdrawal of troops along the way, if not careful, will turn from a proactive withdrawal to a panicked retreat. Even if the troops can successfully withdraw to Luoyang, there will be little morale left.
Therefore, we must find a way to prevent the Shu thieves from having the courage to continue to pursue them, and at the same time, to allow our soldiers to retreat with high morale.
Winning a moderately successful battle is what Sima Yi needs most now.
And coincidentally, after defending the city passively and passively for more than half a month, the morale of the army slowly began to decline. More than 40,000 people retreated into the city and were beaten, and many officers and soldiers refused to accept and were beaten. It's not necessarily a bad thing to vent your emotions in the field.
Therefore, Sima Yi decided to take the initiative to leave the city and fight against the Shu thieves.
Of course, the scale of the battle must be controlled. This is a battle to retreat, and the soldiers are not sent out to die in vain, so their vitality must not be seriously damaged.
There were only 10,000 people, and Sima Yi himself did not lead the army into the battle, but Wang Ling led the army. This could avoid the loss of military morale caused by the defeat of the coach.
Moreover, Wang Ling, this kid, didn’t always ask for a fight from himself before, okay, I’ll give you this chance this time.
Wang Ling was a little depressed, but he still cheered up and led his troops into battle.
Although the request for a battle was more or less for the sake of face, Wang Ling was not a man who was afraid of trouble. He really dared to attack if something happened. He led 10,000 soldiers out of the city and came to the Han army camp to challenge.
That's it, it's a little troublesome.
Wang Ling was guarding the south gate, and he was facing Zhuge Liang. Whenever Zhuge Liang went to the west gate to ask for a fight with Zhang Xi, Zhang Xi might directly fight.
Whether he can win or not is put aside for now, but at least he will not be like Zhuge Liang, leaving Wang Ling and his 10,000 troops outside the camp for a real day, and not paying attention at all! ! !
Zhuge Liang is such a thief. The Wei thief who has been staying behind closed doors for more than half a month actually takes the initiative to come out of the city to challenge? !
If there wasn't something fishy in this, Zhuge Liang could have devoured the cases in front of him.
With Zhuge Liang's IQ, after thinking about it for a while, he immediately guessed the possibility. Calculating the time, it should be Wen Chang and Shi Yuan who made a fuss in Hongnong County.
And judging from the current response of the Wei thieves, this momentum is probably not small, at least it threatens the safety of Luoyang in the rear.
Obviously, Sima Yi now has two possible responses - either to fight quickly, or to immediately return to the army to rescue Luoyang.
Anyway, no matter what the possibility is, it is always right to fight a battle first to boost morale. This is probably the reason why Wang Ling took the initiative to go out of the city to fight.
In this case, Zhuge Liang ordered the entire camp to be on guard and avoid the battle.
At the same time, someone was sent to send a message to Zhang Xi to prepare for the same response.
Before, you, Sima Yi, acted like a turtle and didn't fight. Now you want to fight. Sorry, it's our turn not to fight! ! !
Well, now, not only Wang Ling is depressed, but Sima Yi is also depressed these days. How can retribution come so quickly? !
But then Sima Yi thought about it and realized that this was not a bad thing.
You Shu thieves are on the offensive side, and you have chosen to stay behind closed doors. Then isn’t it normal for me, the defender, to stay behind closed doors? !
Sima Yi thought, for the past two days, he continued to ask Wang Ling to lead troops out of the city to challenge, using this as a false impression to confuse the Shu thieves. In fact, he could not just quietly withdraw his troops while the Shu thieves were staying behind closed doors. .
As long as you give yourself two or three days to withdraw your troops in advance to create a distance, it will not be that easy for the Shu thieves to catch up.
If you just do this, you will feel sorry for Wang Ling. If his ten thousand people want to withdraw, it will not be that easy.
Even if the Shu thieves find out, it is very likely that Wang Ling will fall into the siege of 60,000 Shu thieves.
So here it comes. After all, Sima Yi would not betray his teammates on the battlefield. He took the initiative to find Wang Ling and showed him the withdrawal plan.
Anyway, in this Luyang City, we are the only ones capable of leading the retreat, and one of us must leave the bluff behind.
Either you or me. Who do you think is suitable? !
Facing Sima Old Fox's question, Wang Lingxin said, do I have a choice? !
You are staying in Luoyang and are the coach of the first army. There is no reason for the coach to stay behind.
No matter how dangerous this matter is, I have to bear it in the end. If I step forward and return to Luoyang in the future, it can be regarded as a military exploit. If I refuse to do it at this time, if Sima Yi turns against me, I will be punished. There is nothing I can do to accuse him of shrinking from the battle.
So, let’s do it like this, what else can we do! ! !
Just when Wang Ling accepted his fate and continued to lead his troops out of the city to challenge the next day, the gate of the Shu bandit camp suddenly opened.
It was not that the Shu thieves went to war, but that the Shu thieves sent an envoy with a letter and handed it to Wang Ling.
In fact, it was not really given to Wang Ling, but something that Wang Ling hoped to pass on to Sima Yi.
This is a letter written by Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, to Sima Yi, the general of the Wei Dynasty who stayed in Luoyang and conquered the west.
(End of chapter)
