Xu Shu received Deng Ai's message, and without any carelessness, he immediately sent Zhang Yi to lead troops to tentatively attack Yongqiu County.
There were not many troops, no more than 10,000, and the intensity of the attack was not high. They only carried out a reconnaissance attack. The purpose was to observe the number and morale of the defenders and judge the movements of the Wei army.
Of course, it would be better if we could confirm whether Sima Yi was still in the city.
As a result, Zhang Ni was suppressed by very fierce bows and arrows from the defenders, and the attack was temporarily blocked. Compared with the previous few days, the Wei army's fighting will did not change significantly.
As for Sima Yi, Zhang Yi saw with his own eyes Sima Yi himself appearing on the Yongqiu city wall, standing under his banner, and personally commanding the battle.
This result somewhat surprised Xu Shu.
One theory is that because Xu Shu knew Deng Ai's abilities very well, he initially approved of Deng Ai's judgment. At least judging from Deng Ai's description in the military newspaper, it is indeed possible that the Wei thief was Playing a bluff but actually retreating.
It's just that once Sima Yi really abandons Yongqiu, it will have an immeasurable impact on the entire Yanzhou war situation and must be treated with caution.
Therefore, Xu Shu sent Zhang Yi to launch a tentative attack on Yongqiu.
But now, facts have proven that not only the morale of the Wei army defenders has not changed, but Sima Yi is also still in Yongqiu City, and this is the confrontation Zhang Yi has witnessed with his own eyes. After such a long siege, Zhang Yi, as one of the frontline generals, has no reason to do so. He misjudged the enemy coach Sima Yi.
The appearance of Sima Yi also made Xu Shu start to wonder whether the Wei thieves really wanted to retreat, or if they had other plans.
If it is true as Deng Ai said, the Wei thieves are going to withdraw. Let’s not talk about the strategic purpose of the Wei army in doing so. At least as the commander-in-chief, it is unlikely that Sima Yi will stay and break up the rear, right? !
How can there be any reason for the coach to cut off the back when withdrawing his troops? !
Aren't you afraid that the coach will encounter something unexpected and cause the entire army to collapse? !
If there was another agenda, what exactly was Wei Thief's plan? !
Relying on 60,000 people to counterattack the 120,000 infantry and cavalry coalition? !
Being caught off guard for a moment, Sima Yi still had the possibility of succeeding in a sneak attack, but now Xu Shu has ordered to be more vigilant and on all fronts. If the Wei thieves counterattack next time, Sima Yi will not be able to succeed so easily.
Of course, the success and failure should be put aside for now. These two possibilities actually represent the two completely opposite ways of coping with the Wei thief.
To retreat, or to stay.
The Wei army adopts different combat methods, so Xu Shu must also prepare in advance. But now, Xu Shu cannot judge what the Wei army will do.
There are two possibilities.
Finally, after some thought, Xu Shu finally decided to stand still for the time being.
In addition to the smoke effect caused by Sima Yi's appearance on Yongqiu Tower, Xu Shu's biggest reason for choosing to stand still was that Xu Shu did not consider clearly what benefits Sima Yi would gain from retreating.
Sima Yi's duty is to guard Yanzhou. If he withdraws again, there will really be no place left in Yanzhou.
If the southern part of Yanzhou was lost because Xu Shu quickly broke through Yingchuan County, which caught Sima Yi a little unprepared, coupled with the advance of Wei Yan from Dongjun in the north, Sima Yi was exhausted from dealing with both sides and was unable to do anything. Now Sima Yi left Chen Liu What is the reason for withdrawing troops? !
Once Chen Liu withdrew, Jiyin County and Shanyang County would definitely not be able to defend it. In this case, Sima Yi would have no choice but to withdraw to Dongjun and Taishan County.
But over in Dongjun, there were still the Han Forbidden Army under Wei Yan fighting, and over in Taishan County, although it was a holy land of culture and education, it didn't have much strategic value.
What do you think this Sima Yi is trying to do? !
Guarding Yanzhou, guarding, guarding, Yanzhou lost one third, he gave up one third, and finally only one third was left in hand. After Sima Yi's battle was like this, could Cao Rui spare him lightly? !
This is also Xu Shu's biggest confusion now. At the same time, it is also the reason why he cannot make up his mind and prepare for the pursuit. Xu Shu really can't see the benefit of Sima Yi's choice to retreat.
But fortunately, Xu Shu is not the kind of person who insists on having his own way and has to think hard when he can't figure it out. If you can't figure it out yourself, why don't you find a few more people to discuss it together, just in case you can get some inspiration.
Therefore, Xu Shu sent someone overnight to summon Deng Ai and Guanqiu Jian to take charge of the camp and discuss countermeasures.
Especially Deng Ai, Xu Shu now wants to hear what Deng Ai, who was the first to judge that the Wei army was going to withdraw, thought.
There is no need to discuss the issue of Wei Jun continuing to stay in Chenliu County. We can just continue to fight as we should.
What needs to be discussed now is, from a strategic perspective, where is the necessity for Sima Yi to withdraw his troops? !
Don't tell me, Deng Ai has also seriously considered this issue.
Although Deng Ai also found it difficult to understand, Deng Ai still managed to find some reasonable explanations.
"The Wei thieves have few soldiers, which is not conducive to long-term persistence. In addition, Wei's expedition to the west led troops to ravage the east county. The Wei thieves' retreat was critical. Sima Yi had to retreat to Bao'er."
This is a relatively reasonable explanation that Deng Ai can think of - Sima Yi may not be able to hold on in Chenliu, and Wei Yan also opened up the situation in Dongjun. In order to preserve his strength, Sima Yi chose to withdraw his troops.
But this idea really can only be an idea.
The element of subjective conjecture here is somewhat high.
First of all, judging from the last counterattack launched by Sima Yi, although the Wei thieves have been adopting a defensive attitude in Yongqiu, they are not without the strength to fight. It is really unreasonable to say that Sima Yi cannot hold on in Yongqiu. convince.
Secondly, no one knows the specific situation of Wei Yan's battle in Dongjun.
Wei Yan himself was fighting alone and cut off contact with all directions. Xu Shu could only judge the effectiveness of Wei Yan's attack through some changes in the battle situation.
For example, Jia Kui in Jiyin County gave up the defense of the surrounding counties and concentrated his troops to garrison Dingtao. It can be basically judged that Wei Yan did a good job in Dong County, so Jia Kui did not dare to divide his troops and go north to counterattack, and could only be trapped. Dingtao protects himself.
But in more cases, Xu Shu couldn't judge.
Therefore, it is uncertain whether Wei Yan has threatened Sima Yi's retreat at this time, or whether Sima Yi will take advantage of this lack of information to design for himself and pretend that Wei Yan has threatened his retreat.
Therefore, regarding Deng Ai's judgment, Xu Shu can only say that this is a direction that can be considered and speculated, but there is no reasonable evidence to support it.
Guanqiu Jian also proposed another reason for Sima Yi to retreat.
"In the Wei-Wu alliance, Sima Yi has chosen to retreat this time, or is he trying to lure us deep into Yanzhou, and then order Soochow to attack our army, then attack them from both sides?!"
Hmm. Not to mention, this possibility is indeed possible. At least Xu Shu and Deng Ai still looked solemn when they heard it at first.
Sima Yi had the courage to devise such a strategy, and once the Han army penetrated deep into the hinterland of Yanzhou, Lu Xun, who was staying in Pei State, suddenly led his troops northward, and Zhuge Dan, who was stationed on the border of Xiapi, led his troops westward to form an encirclement network. Even if it is formed.
But, if you think about it carefully, this possibility is even lower than Deng Ai's conjecture.
Deng Ai's guess is that he still relies on the results of his family's actions. With Wei Yan's ability, it is not impossible for him to stir up a huge change in Dongjun.
But Guan Qiujian's conjecture, which was to place his hopes on the cooperation between Wei and Wu, was a joke.
In these days, who doesn't know Soochow's behavior? With Sima Yi's military style, how could he be willing to leave the risks to himself and pin the hope of defeating the enemy on Soochow's army? !
This possibility is too low. Unless Sima Yi is at the end of his rope, he will not place his hope on the capricious Soochow.
However, this does not mean that Guan Qiujian’s argument is useless. This is also a train of thought.
At least Xu Shu began to think, is it possible that Sima Yi deliberately withdrew from the three counties in central Yanzhou, on the one hand to attract the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty to continue deepening, and on the other hand, to use several counties in the east of Yanzhou to drag the Soochow army into the battlefield? !
As for Soochow's problem of not taking enough advantage, if Sima Yi really abandons Shanyang County and Jiyin County, Zhuge Dan in Xiapi may not be able to sit still.
And if Hu Zun is allowed to lead his troops north to occupy Jiyin County, it is not impossible for Lu Xun to make further advances into Liang Kingdom.
As long as there is a slight mishandling, Sima Yi may really directly involve Soochow's army in the Yanzhou War.
At that time, even if Han and Wu do not fight directly, Xu Shu will have to divide his troops to defend other places just like when he first entered Yanzhou. In this way, the troops used to besiege Sima Yi will be further divided.
If this is done, it is not impossible to repeat the situation of the Three Kingdoms in Yanzhou.
And this is also the most likely way for Sima Yi to defend Yanzhou.
(End of chapter)
