Master Sima's ability is still pretty good. What he lacks now is just the experience of being on his own.
Therefore, Master Sima would not blindly believe that his father was the invincible God of War. As the leader of a battle, he must be mentally prepared for the failure of his father's sneak attack on Luoyang.
This is not because he does not trust his father, but the way a good commander should think. He must be mentally prepared for as many changes as possible on the battlefield in advance.
Once his father's sneak attack on Luoyang failed, then Sima Division could not continue to maintain a feint attack posture at Mengjindu. He must make changes and coordinate his father's next military action.
It's just that although Master Sima was mentally prepared in this way, his lack of experience in battle has caused him to be a little hesitant now.
Wang Chang has been coming for reinforcements for more than 20 days, and at this point he has not retreated yet. There is a high probability that his father's plan to sneak attack Luoyang is not going smoothly.
However, Master Sima did not dare to make a judgment easily and concluded that his father had failed in the sneak attack.
If his father just encountered some delays on the road, or if Luoyang was lost too quickly, Zhuge Liang would not have time to notify Wang Chang to withdraw his troops and he would rush to attack and occupy Mengjin Ferry, which would most likely have the effect of alerting the enemy.
So, Master Sima is really in trouble.
From here, we can actually see that in this counterattack against Luoyang, the Wei army had a big drawback that they were unable to communicate quickly and effectively with each other.
This is also one of the reasons why Sima Yi has always opposed rashly launching a counterattack on Luoyang without adequate preparations.
If Sima Yi wanted to adjust his strategic deployment, he would not be able to notify Sima Division and Qin Lang in Hedong in a short time, because there is Luoyang between the two sides, which is the territory of Shu thieves.
In order to ensure the confidentiality of military operations, it was necessary to cross the Yellow River from Dongjun and then take a detour to Hanoi County to deliver military orders. However, this was too inefficient and the speed of transmitting military orders was too slow.
And if we have to rely on Hedong to adapt to the situation, the current situation will result.
Sima Yi believed that Sima Shi, Xia Houba and others all had the ability to respond independently, but the problem was, when they would be able to react and make up their minds to change their strategy, this was beyond Sima Yi's control.
The current Sima Master was a little undecided. For this reason, he had to find his partner Xiahou Ba to discuss it seriously.
There is a saying that the partnership between Xiahou Ba and Sima Shi is relatively harmonious.
Xiahou Ba is not as ambitious as Cao Shuang, and his ability is much stronger than Cao Shuang, and his personality is gentler, so whether he is partnered with Sima Yi or Sima Shi, he is still compatible.
But Xiahou Ba and Sima Shi also had the same problem, that is, they were very inexperienced in battle.
When Xiahou Ba partners with Sima Yi, Sima Yi usually makes the decision first, and then explains the reasons for doing so to Xiahou Ba and seeks Xiahou Ba's consent. In this case, Xiahou Ba only needs to make a judgment based on the actual situation, and Sima Yi It just depends on whether this works or not.
But now, Xiahou Ba is partnering with Master Sima. What he has to decide is not a simple question of "can it do it?", but a question of how to do it together with Master Sima.
This responsibility is much greater than when partnering with Sima Yi.
Partnering with Sima Yi, even if Xiahou Ba agreed with Sima Yi's decision, if something went wrong, Sima Yi would bear the greatest responsibility. But now, Xiahou Ba has to bear half of the responsibility, and the pressure is still great.
It's not that Xiahou Ba doesn't have this responsibility, but the life and death of 80,000 Wei troops.
If Master Sima made a wrong decision, the worst possible outcome would be death.
But the life and death of these 80,000 Wei troops is related to the foundation of the Wei Dynasty. The life and death of the 80,000 Wei troops in the current Wei Dynasty is already a traumatic loss.
As a clan general of the Wei Dynasty, Xiahou Ba may not care about his own life or death, but whether the Wei Dynasty's foundation can be continued is what he needs to consider most.
Therefore, facing Master Sima's inquiry, Xiahou Ba thought carefully for a while and finally chose a more conservative approach.
"General Zhengxi has always been good at fighting and resourceful. This advance strategy has given us a feint attack. It would be better for us not to go against the general's strategy."
This is the choice Xiahou Ba made.
On the one hand, Xiahou Ba also believed in Sima Yi's ability and thought that since it was him who made the decision, it was best not to destroy it easily. What if, as Sima Shi feared, he was alerted? !
On the other hand, if the feint attack is still maintained, no matter whether Sima Yi's sneak attack on Luoyang succeeds or fails, the loss on Meng Jindu's side will not be too great.
If Sima Yi succeeds in his sneak attack on Luoyang, he will definitely send his troops to attack Mengjin Ferry. At that time, the Shu thieves on the front will definitely be disturbed. At that time, it will not be too late for Xiahou Ba and Sima Division to lead their troops to attack again.
And if Sima Yi fails to attack Luoyang, it is still unknown whether he will attack Luoyang by force or withdraw his troops and defend it. A hasty attack without the assistance of friendly forces is likely to cause unnecessary losses.
A more conservative choice would not be harmful to the Wei Dynasty, the soldiers, or even the future of Sima Shi and Xiahou Ba.
Even if he cannot cooperate with Sima Yi in time to fight, it is just that he cannot achieve meritorious service, and he will not be held accountable.
Mixed with public and private concerns, Xiahou Ba made this decision.
Xiahou Ba's decision made Sima Shi, who was already a little hesitant, also strengthen his belief in feint attack. But this belief only lasted a few days before things changed.
Zhang Yi, the Shu bandit general who originally stood guard at the south gate of Mengjin Ferry, suddenly led his soldiers to withdraw from Mengjin Ferry and ran to the outskirts of Mengjin Ferry to join Wang Chang's troops.
Immediately afterwards, some panic began to appear in Wang Chang's army, but this state did not last long and quickly calmed down.
Wang Chang's soldiers and horses are now on the outskirts of Mengjin Ferry, camping in the direction of Mengjin Ferry, and assuming a defensive posture.
This change made both Sima Shi and Xiahou Ba a little suspicious.
First of all, both of them began to doubt whether Sima Yi had successfully attacked Luoyang. The news reached Mengjindu, which caused the morale of the Shu army in Mengjindu to be shaken.
The panic among the Shu army is the best proof of this possibility. As for it calming down quickly, it is not surprising. After all, it was Wang Chang who led the army. With the ability of this former Wei general, Sima Shi and Xiahou Ba both It is very clear that it is not difficult for him to calm the commotion in the army and stabilize the morale of the army for a while.
But neither Master Sima nor Xiahou Ba are brainless fools. Smart people tend to think more when doing things.
Why did Wang Chang suddenly evacuate Mengjindu at this time when Wang Chang had been here for more than 20 days and Zhang Yi had been holding on to Mengjindu? !
Is it really because something happened in Luoyang? !
Or, in fact, Sima Yi failed to attack Luoyang. Now that Luoyang is free, Wang Chang has reinforcements. This posture is to attract the Wei army from Mengjindu to take the initiative, so that they can set up an ambush to attack him halfway? !
The two smart people began to get together and discuss again.
As Sima Yi's son, Master Sima knew his father very well.
Sima Yi just diverted his troops to Luoyang for a sneak attack. It's hard to say if it succeeds, but if it fails, he will definitely retreat to Gong County and join the large army.
Therefore, even if his father's sneak attack on Luoyang failed, Luoyang would not be able to easily free up its hands to support Mengjindu.
Therefore, Sima Division was more inclined to believe that Sima Yi's sneak attack was successful or nearly successful. This led Zhang Yi to abandon Mengjin Ferry and join Wang Chang. The two of them either quickly retreated to Hongnong or returned to Luoyang to aid.
Sima Division judged that although Wang Chang had stabilized the morale of the army at this time, he would definitely not stay at Mengjindu for a long time and would definitely withdraw his troops within the next two days.
Therefore, Sima Division suggested that the entire army be prepared to attack and be ready to intercept Wang Chang's retreating troops at any time.
But Xiahou Ba disagrees.
First, just because Luoyang can't free up its troops, doesn't mean that other places can't free up their troops. What if the Shu thieves mobilize troops from Guanzhong? !
Although it was a little hasty in more than twenty days, based on the experience of the last offensive and defensive battle in Luoyang, it was not impossible for the Guanzhong County soldiers to pass through Tongguan and directly arrive at Mengjindu to rush for reinforcements.
Second, to take a step back, even if General Zhengxi really succeeded in the sneak attack on Luoyang, Wang Chang's current behavior is to withdraw his troops, but Wang Chang is not that easy to offend.
Wang Chang is a man of both wisdom and bravery. He repeatedly performed extraordinary feats under General Cao Zhen. He is not without the ability to counterattack when withdrawing his troops. Now that General Zhengxi has occupied Luoyang, we There is no need to act rashly, which will only increase casualties.
When the time comes, all the troops and horses from all walks of life will march forward in high spirits and gather in Luoyang. Only our side will lose troops and generals to conquer the west. Even if the general does not hold us responsible, the court will not look good.
Well, Xiahou Ba's statement is actually not very convincing. He just said this because he did not want his Wei soldiers to suffer unnecessary casualties.
This can be regarded as a kind of selfishness.
However, Master Sima was not completely devoid of political acumen. After all, Xiahou Ba was the clan general of the Wei Dynasty, and Master Sima could not ignore his opinions.
Therefore, Sima Division still hesitated a little and did not issue an order for the entire army to prepare for war for the time being.
But the next day, when the scouts in the army reported that Wang Chang's troops were breaking camp and preparing to withdraw, Sima Division still couldn't sit still.
It was obvious that Wang Chang was going to withdraw his troops. If he didn't pursue him, it would be a pity for Sima Shi no matter what he thought.
Xiahou Ba was called again, and Sima Shi suggested, "This opportunity cannot be missed. If Zhong Quan has doubts, he can lead the rear army to support him, and lead ten thousand troops to follow and pursue him. If successful, you and I will both have merit. If If it doesn’t work, Zhong Quan will take care of it, so there won’t be any mistakes.”
One attack, one response, and only 10,000 soldiers and horses. Xiahou Ba really couldn't find any reason to object for a while.
So be it! ! !
(End of chapter)
