The house leaked and it rained all night, which refers to Sima Yi's current state.
In front of Xin Pi, Sima Yi naturally couldn't directly say that Cao Rui was a foolish king. It didn't matter whether he was loyal or not, this was a matter of decency.
The emperors of these days did not have a deep degree of centralization of power. It was common for ministers to comment on the behavior of their lord in private, but in public, everyone still had to show respect to their lord.
After all, the master is the master, and the ministers are still ministers. Unless you want to usurp the throne, even a powerful minister cannot be openly disrespectful to the master.
But now Sima Yi's life is really difficult, and he is really not sure that he can survive a month.
Xin Pi actually felt the same way about this, but the problem was that he didn't have much else to do except sigh.
Sima Yi ordered the two brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao to abandon Mengjin Ferry, but these two brothers were really unreliable.
It's not that the two Sima brothers will not listen to their father's orders, but the problem is that their opponents don't give it in vain.
After receiving Sima Yi's order, Master Sima immediately discussed with his brother how to arrange a breakout.
In fact, at this time, Meng Jindu temporarily entered a state of truce.
Sima Division had nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses, while his opponents Wei Yan, Zhang Fei and others had 25,000 soldiers and horses, of which about 15,000 were elite Northern troops, and the remaining 10,000 were temporary subordinates. The new soldiers recruited by Hongnong County did not have much combat effectiveness.
Facing such an enemy, just as Sima Yi thought, as long as they don't waste time, it is still possible to break out.
However, opponents are not easy to mess with, especially the evil god with a black face and white beard, who has almost become a legend in Mengjindu. Finding a way to avoid the pursuit of this evil god and retreat safely is what Sima Shi needs to do most now. matter.
To this end, Sima Division formulated a retreat plan.
First of all, he planned to arrange for the Hedong soldiers to leave Mengjin Ferry and take the initiative to challenge the Shu thieves. However, they were defeated three times in a row, which made them arrogant.
Then, for the fourth time, all the remaining 8,000 Hedong soldiers were sent to attack the Shu bandits' camp head-on to attract the attention of the Shu bandits. The two brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao led their troops to break out from the east of Mengjindu and make a large circle. , strive to withdraw to Luoyang from the east gate of Luoyang.
Sima Division did not dare to retreat directly from the north gate of Luoyang. After all, in that direction, as long as the Shu thieves general with a normal mind would definitely pursue him in the direction of the north gate of Luoyang after discovering that he and others had retreated.
Therefore, Sima Division did not hesitate to abandon the 8,000 Hedong soldiers and retreat in a large circle from the east gate of Luoyang, in order to evacuate the remaining 12,000 Luoyang County soldiers into Luoyang as safely as possible.
It can be said that Master Sima thought of everything he could think of.
However, when the retreat plan actually started to be implemented, just after leaving Mengjin Ferry and walking less than twenty miles east, the 12,000 Luoyang County soldiers led by Sima Division and Sima Zhao were intercepted by Shu thieves. .
The first general was the evil god with a black face and white beard.
In fact, Sima Division's retreat plan did deceive Zhang Fei and Wei Yan. They really thought that the Wei army at Meng Jindu had lost the ability to take the initiative to attack due to consecutive defeats.
If Sima Shi's opponents were only these two people, then he could really achieve his goal and lead 12,000 people to rescue Luoyang.
But the problem is, there is also Mr. Feng Chu among Zhang Fei's army.
Pang Tong felt that something was wrong. It was too easy for his opponent to lose.
Yes, the Wei thieves at Mengjindu had been suppressed by the Han army in the previous battle and could only stay within the ferry. But with the reinforcements of 10,000 people, the Wei army at Mengjindu had stabilized their position. Otherwise, they Others will not pause the attack.
Therefore, losing three battles in a row is somewhat strange.
In addition, the recent military reports from Zhuge Liang show that Zhuge Liang defeated Sima Yi's Luoyang defenders in Liang County and is now marching towards Luoyang. Pang Tong only needs to imagine the current situation in Luoyang City in his mind. I know what Sima Yi is most worried about now.
From this, Pang Tong came to the conclusion that the Wei army at Mengjindu was creating suspicion in the old camp and wanted to withdraw from Luoyang.
Thinking along this line of thinking, Pang Tong once again concluded that the defenders of Mengjindu were unlikely to break through directly to the north gate of Luoyang, and should choose to withdraw through the east gate.
This is actually not difficult to guess.
The main force of the Han army is now stationed southwest of Mengjin Ferry. If the Wei army breaks through to the west or south, it will directly confront the main force of the Han army. The strength of both sides is equal. If we really have to fight in the field, even if the Wei army can break out, the losses will be small. Not too small.
This is not in line with the fundamental purpose of rescuing Luoyang.
Therefore, Pang Tong believed that the Wei army's three provocations were just a bluff, creating the illusion of a breakthrough from the southwest, while the real breakthrough direction should be to the east.
When Meng Jindu sent out troops again, Pang Tong immediately asked Zhang Fei and Wei Yan to lead the troops to the east to intercept the Wei army. As for the Wei army in front, it was just a group of rabble, and there was no general to command it. Relying on the newly recruited soldiers Ten thousand soldiers from Hongnong County can be temporarily contained.
After finishing dealing with the main force of the Wei army that was about to break out, it was too late to come back and deal with this rabble.
In this way, the withdrawal plan of the two brothers Sima Division and Sima Zhao was aborted just twenty miles away from Mengjin Ferry.
It's not like the two brothers didn't think about it. After discovering their intention, they rushed forward and forcibly broke through the enemy's interception.
But the problem is that Wei Yan brought 15,000 elite Northern troops, while what Sima Division had in his hands were 12,000 Luoyang County soldiers. Not to mention the small number of troops, their combat effectiveness was not as good as the opponent's.
In addition, Zhang Fei, a black-faced evil spirit, poked into the battlefield. Before the fight started, the morale of his own soldiers was weakened by three points. How can we fight like this?
In desperation, Sima Division could only order the entire army to withdraw to Mengjin Ferry again, and then think of other ways to break out.
And when Sima Division led the troops to retreat to Mengjin Ferry, something happened that made Sima Division dumbfounded. The eight thousand Hedong soldiers who fought head-on actually broke through the interception of Shu thieves in front of them.
They actually rushed out! ! !
What the hell is this? !
Those who should have broken through did not break through, and those who had been abandoned in advance broke through the siege. The depressed one of Master Sima.
Also depressed was Pang Tong. Pang Tong also didn't expect that even though ten thousand people intercepted eight thousand people, they could still be rushed out.
So shameful.
The most terrible thing is that the most critical reason for the failure of the interception was Pang Tong's misjudgment of the situation.
Pang Tong not only underestimated the determination of the enemy soldiers to break out and survive, but also overestimated the combat effectiveness of his newly recruited Hongnong soldiers.
According to Pang Tong's understanding, the soldiers in his hands were indeed newly recruited soldiers from Hongnong, and their combat effectiveness was low. However, the Hedong soldiers of the Wei army fighting on the opposite side were actually similar in nature to the Hongnong soldiers, and they had also been recently recruited.
There shouldn't be much difference in combat power between the two sides, and our own troops still have the advantage, and the other side didn't send a general to preside over the breakout. In theory, our side shouldn't lose.
Based on this consideration, Pang Tong only left some generals in the army to take charge of the command. He himself followed Zhang Fei and Wei Yan to intercept the main force of the Wei army.
After all, in Pang Tong's view, the battlefield over there is the most important. If something changes, he can respond in time, adjust his strategy, and provide reference for Zhang Fei and Wei Yan.
As for the frontal battlefield, Pang Tong believed that he only needed to hold back the Hedong soldiers who were also weak in combat effectiveness, and the problem would not be too big.
However, Pang Tong forgot one thing. Cao Wei's Hedong soldiers also experienced several battles, and their number was reduced from 15,000 to 8,000 Hedong soldiers.
Soldiers who can survive so many battles are not said to be elite, but at least they are not on the same level as recruits who have never been on the battlefield.
These eight thousand soldiers were indeed inferior to the well-trained and experienced Northern Han army, but compared with the temporarily recruited Hongnong soldiers, their combat effectiveness was much stronger.
Never go head-to-head with a group of soldiers who are eager to escape, even if they are just a ragtag group. Don't chase the enemy when you are poor, that's the truth.
Neither side had outstanding generals to command them, and they had no tactical arrangements at all. From the beginning, the two sides fell into a chaotic battle.
After entering the chaos, the Hedong soldiers with relatively rich combat experience gained the upper hand.
Although it was impossible to break through the encirclement as a whole, it was common for small groups of troops to break out of the encirclement from time to time.
When Wei Yan, Zhang Fei, Pang Tong and others led their troops to return to the main battlefield for reinforcements, under the melee, there were less than 2,000 Hedong soldiers left on the battlefield.
Including lying on the ground unable to move.
In other words, a breakout allowed six thousand Hedong soldiers to escape.
Sima Division is so depressed. If he had known to break through to the southwest, he might have been able to lead a large force to rescue Luoyang now.
Pang Tong was also depressed. If he had known this would be the result, he should have left Wei Yan to command the interception. If it was not possible, he would not have let so many Wei troops escape.
However, things are already like this, and there is no practical significance in getting entangled. It is better to be optimistic about the more than 10,000 Wei troops who have withdrawn from Mengjin Ferry. We must not let these people escape again.
As for the Hedong soldiers who ran out, except for some who were defeated, most of them still remembered their mission, which was to go to Luoyang to support them. In fact, these Hedong soldiers had no choice but to go to Luoyang. The west was completely controlled by the Han, so they fled to the west. , they just fell into a trap. Only by going to Luoyang in the south, they still had a chance of survival.
In this way, due to a combination of circumstances, Sima Yi received support from 5,000 Hedong soldiers in Luoyang one after another. However, the Luoyang County soldiers he had placed high hopes on were once again blocked by Wei Yan and others at Mengjin Ferry. , can't come out at all.
Sima Yi received support, but there was no difference between the presence and absence of the support of the five thousand Hedong soldiers.
Even though the garrison strength in Sima Yi's hands has now risen to 14,000, in terms of combat effectiveness, the 5,000 Hedong soldiers really can't help much.
Now, Sima Yi can only pray that Soochow can work harder. Zhou Gongjin, a famous general in the world, can't even defeat Jiangling County, right? !
(End of chapter)
