Actually, Qin Lang was wrong about one thing.
In fact, Zhang Xi knew the actual deployment of troops in Yecheng.
An unknown senior craftsman named "Liu" has been in contact with Zhuge Liang during this period, and the secret letter between Zhang Xi and Zhuge Liang has never been broken.
Therefore, not only Zhang Xi knew that Yecheng was now empty, but Zhuge Liang also knew about this situation.
In fact, both of them had considered the possibility of using partial divisions to contain the Wen County defenders, allowing Zhang Xi to lead the Qiang and Hu cavalry to clear the way, with 20,000 infantry as backup, to drive straight in and sneak attack Yecheng.
But after much deliberation, the two finally gave up on this approach.
The reason is also very simple. It is too risky to use troops in this way.
Historically, Deng Ai was able to successfully sneak into Yinping and destroy the country in one battle. In addition to Deng Ai's own ability, the most important factor was that his opponent was Liu Chan.
But Cao Rui is not Liu Chan. In fact, the two of them are not monarchs of the same level.
Cao Rui is a wise man who is courageous and accomplished. At least compared to Liu Chan, he is indeed much wiser.
Yes, Cao Rui in history believed that the Shu thieves were no longer a threat after the death of Zhuge Liang. Indeed, he indulged himself to a certain extent, but at most he could only continue playing music and dancing. This kind of indulgence, with the foundation of the Wei Dynasty, was not at all Nothing.
But Liu Chan was different. Not only did he continue to play music and dance, he couldn't even control the thoughts of his subjects.
You must know that at this time, Jihan only had one state, and the foundation of the country was still the inheritance of the two Han Dynasties.
Failure to act, not to make the Northern Expedition, is the original sin.
Prime Minister Zhuge, who was able to micro-manage to the extreme and work hard to boost the country's power, is no longer here. Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, Dong Yun, Chen Zhi and others who were able to maintain the situation have all passed away. At this time, you are still playing music. If you continue to dance, that's not asking for death.
Liu Chan is indeed not a foolish king, but he is a mediocre king, and in troubled times, being a mediocre king is a sin.
Of course, I am not saying this to disparage Liu Chan. Zhang Xi's idea is actually very simple - even if he leads his troops north to attack Yecheng, Zhang Xi does not think that a lord like Cao Rui will be so sick that he will rush to the doctor to save his last hope. If you give it to a guy who has never been on the battlefield, he will choose to give up and surrender after the enemy forces attack the city.
Apart from anything else, Man Chong is still in Yecheng. If this old guy really wants to risk his life, he is not easy to mess with.
This is Zhang Xi's concern, and Zhuge Liang, of course, does not know about "smuggling to Yinping", but it does not prevent him from thinking through rational analysis that this kind of operation is not feasible.
After all, Cao Rui is also a wise king, and he can be regarded as knowing people well. Such a person is sitting in Yecheng, and he is like a backbone.
As for Yecheng, Cao Wei has been running it for thirty years. Not only is it deeply rooted, it is at least flourishing. It seems empty, but if Cao Rui personally comes forward, the Yecheng aristocratic families will not be able to raise ten or twenty thousand. Private soldiers came out to defend the city for Cao Wei.
Based on the city defense of Yecheng, if there are 10,000 or 20,000 people defending the city, it is enough to hold on until Sima Yi withdraws his troops to rescue him.
On the contrary, the army that went for a sneak attack could not capture Yecheng if it advanced. If it retreated, it would be blocked by the Wei army in Hanoi County. It was purely looking for death.
This is the real reason why Zhuge Liang is unwilling to implement this strategy that seems to have great benefits but is actually very risky.
Compared with this kind of adventurous behavior, Zhuge Liang prefers to take a step-by-step, down-to-earth approach, first capturing Yanzhou, then Hedong, and then heading north in one fell swoop, attacking Hebei with all his country's strength, and overthrowing Cao Wei.
Once Cao Wei is destroyed, the remaining Soochow will be much easier to handle. A isolated regime will never live long.
Even if there is no need for troops, just as time goes by, the gap in national power between the two countries will become wider and wider. In the end, plowing the court and clearing the holes will be nothing more than a simple effort.
This is Zhuge Liang's plan to revive the royal line of the Han Dynasty.
Of course, this discussion is only limited to Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi. The communication between them is also the top secret information of the Han Dynasty. At least Meng Da, Zhang Yi, Liu Yin and others on the front line do not actually know that Yecheng is now empty. .
Maybe Meng Da has guessed something. After all, Meng Da still has strategic vision and he can figure it out to some extent. Now the troops around Ye City have been mobilized almost, but no matter how bold Meng Da is, he will never guess that Ye The city is now empty. Therefore, from Mengda's perspective, he can see the possibility of a sneak attack on Yecheng, but Mengda is also very aware of this risk.
Meng Da wanted to make contributions and benefit his descendants, but he was not the kind of person who would risk his life in exchange for merit. Being able to work hard in the official career of Taihang was already the result of Meng Da's change in mentality over the years.
As for a sneak attack on Yecheng, the risk is many times higher than blocking people on the official road in Taihang. It is a complete escape from death.
Therefore, the war in Hedong County once again fell into a stalemate as Zhang Xi took the initiative to retreat to Mengjin Ferry, and Qin Lang's rat-defying weapon.
At the same time, the war situation in Yanzhou finally changed.
The first place of change lies in the southern border of Chenliu.
After gradually stabilizing the situation in the southeastern part of Yanzhou, Xu Shu finally led his troops northward and approached Yongqiu County where Sima Yi was located.
At this time, Sima Yi had passed this gap period and readjusted his defense line.
Sima Yi now had a total of 60,000 soldiers at hand. Facing the 120,000 infantry and cavalry coalition forces on the opposite side, he simply assumed a defensive posture.
Yongqiu County is within the territory of Chenliu and can be considered a large county. But in the final analysis, this place is just a county and it is impossible to accommodate 60,000 people in the city.
And from a defensive perspective, shrinking all the soldiers into the city and defending it is the last option. When defending, you must defend both internally and externally, and respond to each other. This is truly effective defense.
Therefore, Sima Yi distributed the soldiers under his command.
He led 20,000 soldiers to defend Yongqiu City, and then assigned 30,000 troops to Chen Tai, asking him to set up a camp group 20 miles west of Yongqiu City to coordinate the defense of Yongqiu City.
Sima Yi gave the remaining 10,000 people to Cao Shuang and asked him to set up a camp at the rear northwest of Yongqiu City as a supporting force.
In normal battles, Cao Shuang does not need to send troops, but if he encounters a strong attack by Shu thieves somewhere and is in danger of being breached, Cao Shuang will immediately lead troops to rescue and stabilize the defense line.
A simple triangular depth defense system was thus established.
Next, it depends on how Xu Shu responds.
As for Xu Shu, after leading an army of 120,000 troops to advance to 30 miles outside Yongqiu City, he immediately set up camp. At the same time, he sent Deng Ai as the front with 10,000 troops to tentatively attack Yongqiu and find out what was happening in Yongqiu. defense system.
Xu Shu was not careless. He knew that with Sima Yi's ability, he would definitely take advantage of his efforts to stabilize the southeastern border to rebuild the defense line, so he decided to let Deng Ai conduct a tentative attack.
The reason why Deng Ai was chosen was because Deng Ai was calm enough and had outstanding strategies. When he went on a tentative attack, he should be able to figure out many strategic arrangements that ordinary generals couldn't see.
Deng Ai lived up to his expectations and brought Xu Shu the information he needed.
Not only the strength and direction of Chen Tai's camp, but also Cao Shuang's camp at the back, Deng Ai calculated the difference in strength and the scouts' investigation, and he was able to estimate it.
To a certain extent, Zhuge Liang's statement is true. Even though Xu Shu had no experience in commanding an army, it still did not prevent him from leading the main force in the Northern Expedition.
Xu Shu only needs to make good use of Deng Ai, Kou Feng, Guan Ping, Hu Zun and others.
Based on the information sent back by Deng Ai, Xu Shu immediately responded.
First, they divided 30,000 troops and asked Kou Feng to lead them to join Deng Ai's troops. The two men also departed twenty miles away from the main camp and set up another camp.
The purpose of both of them is to besiege Chen Tai's camp. It would be better if they can break through the camp. If not, just contain the strength of the camp and prevent him from having the opportunity to return to Yongqiu to aid.
Secondly, Pang De was ordered to lead the cavalry around the back and march northwest of Yongqiu to find the supporting camp set up by the Wei thieves in the rear. Again, he did not seek to defeat the enemy, but only to contain it.
Third, send military envoys to inform Hu Zun in Liang State so that he does not have to worry about Lu Xun on the flanks, and lead troops to the junction of Liang State and Jiyin County to contain Jia Kui who lives in Dingtao.
Xu Shu wanted to use this method to cut off all the minions sent by Sima Yi to assist the defense, and then he would personally lead 60,000 troops, with Guan Ping as the vanguard, to attack Yongqiu City.
Xu Shu is going to have a decisive battle with Sima Yi in Yongqiu City in a "king meets king" way! ! !
(End of chapter)
