Turn the time back a month and a half.
Just when Zhou Yu and Zhang Xi were having an "artillery battle" with each other using bed crossbows in Jiangling, the war in Luoyang City also ushered in new changes.
After Zhuge Liang took the initiative to shrink the defense line, Sima Yi finally completed the plan to surround Luoyang and led his troops to the gates of Luoyang City.
At this time, Sima Yi had 60,000 troops under his command. He immediately assigned 20,000 troops to Jia Kui and asked Jia Kui to lead his troops to the south gate of Luoyang to cut off the connection from Nanyang to Luoyang. He himself led 40,000 troops to lay siege. Luoyang East Gate.
At the same time, the two brothers Sima Division and Sima Zhao also led 20,000 Hanoi County soldiers to complete the crossing of the river, occupied Mengjin Ferry, and headed towards the north gate of Luoyang.
Cao Zhen is still fighting Wang Chang in Hongnong County, but there has been some progress. After Wang Chang took the initiative to abandon Mianchi and retreat to Xin'an, Cao Zhen led 25,000 soldiers to occupy Mianchi.
It seemed that the entire city of Luoyang was about to be surrounded by a hundred thousand Wei army.
But Zhuge Liang was not panic at all.
First of all, he still has 40,000 troops and horses, so he can still defend Luoyang with a certain degree of confidence.
Secondly, according to the news from Guanzhong, Wu Yi and Liu Yin have completed all preparations for sending troops to help and can send troops immediately.
Especially the soldiers from Guanzhong County under Liu Yin's command, they are the closest and will come to Luoyang for support in no more than twenty days.
Zhuge Liang immediately ordered Liu Yin's troops to follow Fengyi from the left, pass through Tongguan, and quickly support Wang Chang in Hongnong County.
Although the Bingzhou Army led by Cao Zhen now reached Xin'an, they also had a fatal problem - Shaanxi County was too close to Tongguan.
The logistics supplies of Cao Zhen's army were transported through the route of Hedong County - Shaanxi County - Xin'an. In order to break through Hedong County as soon as possible and surround Luoyang from the west, Cao Zhen had to concentrate his forces to defeat Wang Chang. Therefore, Cao Zhen was in Shaanxian County There were less than 2,000 defensive troops left.
Once the troops from Guanzhong County enter Hongnong County from Tongguan and attack Shaanxian County, Cao Zhen's logistical supplies may be cut off.
At that time, Cao Zhen is in a dilemma. Not only may he fall into a situation of running out of food, but he may even encounter front and rear attacks from the Guanzhong Army and the Hongnong garrison.
The threat of soldiers and horses along the way has been completely eliminated.
As for the 80,000 Wei troops besieging the city, Zhuge Liang had 40,000 soldiers in his hands. If he could not hold on, with the strength of Luoyang City, it would not be a problem to hold on for three or four months.
At the beginning, Sima Yi only had 20,000 men. Under the siege of 60,000 Han troops, he held Luoyang for nearly three months. There was no reason that Zhuge Liang couldn't hold it.
Therefore, the person who is eager to attack now becomes Sima Yi, and the person who wants to lure the enemy to divide his troops and fight also becomes Sima Yi. Completely contrary to history, now Zhuge Liang has the confidence to stay in Luoyang City and hold on. .
One comment after another forced Sima Yi to give Zhuge Liang women's clothes.
At first, Sima Yi could not think of a feasible way to induce Zhuge Liang to divide his troops and fight, so naturally there was no way to consume the Han army's strength in field battles.
Eighty thousand people besieged Luoyang City, which was defended by 40,000 people. How long will the fight last? !
Secondly, in the last war, Sima Yi accepted Zhuge Liang's invitation to fight in Luyang City, but retreated without a fight. His reputation has been greatly affected. No matter what happens this time, he has to find a way to get this reputation back.
There are two ways to regain this reputation.
One is to lead troops to attack Luoyang and defeat Zhuge Liang head-on. Then no one will say that they were afraid of Zhuge Liang, so they responded to the challenge and then retreated without a fight.
The other is to ruin Zhuge Liang's reputation as well and turn Zhuge Liang into a coward who dare not challenge, so that no one can criticize anyone.
Obviously, the first way is too difficult, but the second way is actually promising.
Sima Yi also urgently needs Zhuge Liang to take the initiative to send troops, so it is feasible to stimulate Zhuge Liang by provoking generals or making a battle.
Zhuge Liang didn't agree, and Sima Yi had nothing to lose, but he agreed, which played into Sima Yi's plan. The two sides fought in the field, and Sima Yi had the advantage of troops, and he believed that he would not lose to Zhuge Liang. Of course, it would be better to agree and then regret it, so that everyone's reputation would be ruined. .
For this reason, Sima Yi wrote a letter of invitation to Zhuge Liang, inviting Zhuge Liang to take the initiative to go out of the city to fight, and not to be like a tortoise huddled in Luoyang City.
When Zhuge Liang received this letter, he actually thought it was quite funny. The old turtle said that others are turtles. Is there such a funny thing in the world? !
What did Sima Yi do when he occupied Luoyang? Do you need me to help you recall it? !
Zhuge Liang wanted to directly reject Sima Yi's invitation to fight, but there were several factors that made Zhuge Liang weigh the pros and cons.
To be honest, from a military perspective, Zhuge Liang should have simply refused Sima Yi's invitation to fight. After all, it would not be beneficial to defending the city.
However, from a political perspective, Zhuge Liang had to hesitate.
Since the Han Dynasty reoccupied Luoyang, Zhuge Liang's governance here has not been going smoothly.
There were a total of five counties in the Sili area, but the Han Dynasty actually controlled only two counties: Henan County and Hongnong County.
The remaining three counties, Hedong County, Hanoi County and Yingchuan County, are still under the control of Cao Wei.
In fact, this kind of rule is not too stable, especially since the passage between Henan County and Nanyang County in Jingzhou is too narrow. Once Chen Tai of Yingchuan County counterattacks Xiangcheng, this passage may be cut off at any time.
This is because they do not have a direct military advantage, which leads to the wealthy families in the Sili area still having a lot of confidence in Cao Wei and thinking that it is possible for Cao Wei to return to Luoyang.
This made Zhuge Liang's infiltration and political persuasion work in the Heluo area very difficult.
Of course, there are also reasons why the Heluo family is opposed to the Han family's policies. But this is only a secondary reason, not the main reason.
After all, although the Han Dynasty's aristocratic family policies were stricter than those of Cao Wei and would affect the interests of some aristocratic families, the Han Dynasty still valued and gave preferential treatment to the aristocratic families. Zhuge Liang also knew that in this era, stability would not be possible without the support of the aristocratic families. Those who hold political power and control the place.
The Han Dynasty's restrictions on the aristocratic families will only affect some of the aristocratic families' voice and interests, but they are not intended to completely destroy the aristocratic families.
The real decisive factor is that the aristocratic family has no confidence that the Han Dynasty can defend Luoyang. Don't look back. I just bet on Ji Han. But when I turn around, you Ji Han lost Luoyang and let Cao Wei come back.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang now very much needs to prove with actual actions that it is impossible for Cao Wei to come back after losing Luoyang.
Only in this way can the wealthy families in the Heluo area gradually give up supporting Cao Wei and turn to the Han Dynasty.
The easiest way is, of course, to defend Luoyang and repel the Cao Wei Group's counterattack.
But now that the troops are insufficient, they have to retreat and defend throughout the battle. If the Han army is blocked by the Wei army in Luoyang City and beaten wildly in this battle, then even if it is difficult to defend Luoyang, the wealthy families will not be convinced.
The best thing is to defeat Wei Jun in a one-on-one duel. This is the best proof.
For this reason, Zhuge Liang was really hesitant whether to agree to Sima Yi's invitation to fight.
Although there is a clear political need, taking the initiative to attack is too risky, and it is what the enemy wants to see. With Zhuge Liang's cautious character, of course he will be quite entangled.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang had to discuss these matters with Xu Shu, Wei Yan, Zhang Fei and others. He really couldn't make such a decision alone.
With the revival of the Han Dynasty in sight, Zhuge Liang felt that the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier and heavier. The feeling of ease of using a feather fan and silk scarf, talking and laughing to defeat the enemy, appeared less and less on him.
In fact, it is not difficult to understand.
Although Liu Bei's group encountered many difficulties in the early years, it was not impossible to maneuver around, especially when Liu Bei and other veteran generals were present. Although Zhuge Liang was also very tired, at least the pressure was not so great.
But now, Ji Han gained momentum and even fought back to Luoyang, but the space for him to move around was even smaller.
The Liu Bei Group had been failing in the past, and it was okay to experience one more failure. Even at the time of Chibi, Zhuge Liang had said that if Soochow could not withstand Cao Cao's attack, the Liu Bei Group would take advantage of the chaos to occupy a territory in Soochow. The idea of slow development.
But now, Ji Han has occupied Luoyang. If Luoyang is lost again, the influence will be fatal, and it is likely to directly affect whether the Han Dynasty can be revived three times.
The late emperor had passed away, and although the emperor was an adult, he lacked experience in governing and had low prestige.
General Guan has passed away, and Zilong and the three generals are all old. Zhuge Liang, Fazheng, Pang Tong, and Zhang Xi are all over forty years old, and even Xu Shu, Huang Quan, Wei Yan, and others are already in their forties. It’s past fifty.
If the Three Rebellions of the Han Dynasty cannot be completed at this time point and handed over to the next generation, Zhuge Liang really has no confidence.
I can't help but feel that Zhuge Liang is not under much pressure.
As for Zhuge Liang's question of whether to agree to Sima Yi's invitation and take the initiative to fight, everyone's reaction was surprisingly unanimous.
Since there is such a need, let’s fight.
"I have been on the battlefield for more than thirty years, how can I still be afraid of these Wei thieves?!"
These are Wei Yan's original words, and they are also the loudest and most representative opinion.
But it's a pity that Zhuge Liang still valued the opinions of Huang Quan and Xu Shu more.
The opinions of these two people actually tend to be proactive.
With an army of 40,000 in hand and facing the opponent's army of 80,000, if you choose to huddle up and defend, it will seem timid and timid. If you continue to defend for a long time, it will be detrimental to the morale of the army.
Rather than waiting for casualties to increase and morale to drop before looking for opportunities to take the initiative, it would be better to take the initiative now while there is still sufficient combat power.
Moreover, from a political perspective, this battle is actually necessary.
Of course, using 40,000 people to fight against 80,000 people is naturally a bad idea, but if 40,000 people are used to fight against the 40,000 people from Sima Yi's headquarters outside Ximen, it is not impossible to win a battle.
If we can really defeat Sima Yi in this battle. We don't even need to defeat him, we just need to defeat Sima Yi, then the Luoyang defense battle will have been half successful.
Therefore, fighting can also be regarded as a defensive method.
With the endorsement of these two people, Zhuge Liang finally made up his mind.
As for Zhang Fei, it's not that Zhuge Liang doesn't want to listen to Zhang Fei's opinion, but Zhang Fei's current state is very subtle.
"I just listen to what the military advisor says."
This is the answer Zhang Fei gave after a burst of silly laughter. It makes people dumbfounded.
(End of chapter)
