Hanoi County, Chaoge.
Xia Houxuan received Cao Shuang's military order, requiring him to immediately lead 10,000 troops to Zhi County to support Qin Lang's retreat to Yewang County, and to assist in defense on the spot.
Really, if Xia Houxuan and Cao Shuang didn't have the same political stance, Xia Houxuan would really doubt whether Cao Shuang wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife and let himself die.
Starting from the current strategic situation, it is also a good strategic choice to let yourself lead troops to meet Qin Lang, coordinate with Wen County, give up the western part of Hanoi County, and re-deploy defenses in the east to defend Yecheng.
The only problem is that Xia Houxuan only has 10,000 soldiers.
How much confidence did Cao Shuang have in himself when he asked 10,000 soldiers to run to Zhi County hundreds of miles away to meet Qin Lang who was surrounded by nearly 150,000 Shu bandits? How much confidence did Cao Shuang have in himself, thinking that he could complete such a task of one against ten? !
It's not impossible to go to the rescue, at least send some reinforcements to yourself, right? !
As a result, Cao Shuang just held back the more than 10,000 imperial guards in Yecheng and only sent out his own 10,000 troops. Wasn't this sure that he was going to die himself? !
Xiahou Xuan really didn't want to go, but the military orders were overwhelming and he had to go.
Furthermore, judging from the situation, Xia Houxuan also had a reason to go.
Today, the largest army in Hanoi County is really the one led by Qin Lang. Together with the second batch of reinforcements from Bingzhou, Qin Lang has nearly 70,000 troops in his hands.
If this army is surrounded and annihilated by Shu thieves, then with only 10,000 soldiers in Xiahou Xuan's hands and more than 20,000 soldiers in Xiahou Ba's hands, it is impossible to face the attack of more than 100,000 Shu thieves.
Therefore, even if he had no choice but to do so, Xia Houxuan must immediately send troops to help as many Qin Lang legions as possible to withdraw from the encirclement.
For this reason, Xia Houxuan had to take orders to go on the expedition.
However, before going on the expedition, Xia Houxuan still made a precautionary plan. He sent a fast horse to notify Xiahou Ba of Wen County, hoping that Xiahou Ba could mobilize some troops and horses, not too many, about three to five thousand people. Let Lehui lead him and return to guard Chaoge.
If the response fails, or if the Shu thieves have other soldiers and horses sneak attack, it can at least ensure that Chaoge can hold on for a while, leaving an escape route for himself and Xiahou Ba.
Xia Houba, who received Xia Houxuan's notice, thought carefully about it for a while, and finally gritted his teeth and gave Le Wei 3,000 men to return to defend Chaoge.
There is no way, Xiahou Ba is very tight now. After the failure of the last active attack, Xiahou Ba lost nearly ten thousand people, and now he is besieged by Pang Tong. Although he has more than enough defense, he is really not aggressive enough.
At most, only 3,000 people can be sent back to defend Chaoge. If there are more, Xiahou Ba is a little worried about Wen County's defense.
As for Qin Lang in Zhe County, the pressure on Qin Lang now can be said to be the greatest.
With Bi Gui's entire army annihilated, Qin Lang was forced to defend on the spot in Zhi County. However, in Zhi County, city defense facilities, ordnance reserves, and food and grass supplies were insufficient.
If Qin Lang was not forced by the situation and could not retreat immediately, he would not choose to defend on the spot in this place.
Trapped by the situation at the beginning, Qin Lang had to take the initiative to build a defense line in Zhi County, using 50,000 people to block the 120,000 Northern Expedition Army led by Zhuge Liang. The strength gap was more than twice that of the two commanders, so Qin Lang actually defended it. It's very hard.
However, after more than ten days of offensive and defensive battles, Qin Lang's more than 50,000 men were reduced sharply to only about 40,000, with more than 10,000 casualties.
But fortunately, just when Qin Lang felt that he might not be able to hold on, Man Chong, who stayed behind as the wild king, personally led his troops to Zhi County to help out after receiving the second batch of 20,000 reinforcements sent by Bingzhou.
Among the 20,000 people, there were 10,000. It was the Bingzhou cavalry with the help of these 10,000 cavalry, and Man Chong's strategy was finally released, which helped Qin Lang temporarily stabilize the defensive situation in Zhi County.
At this time, Qin Lang feels that the situation has been temporarily stabilized, and the Shu thieves' attack has also entered a period of intermission. He should be able to look for opportunities to retreat to Yewang, and rely on Qin Lang's early defenses built in Yewang to continue there. Block the attack of Shu thieves and wait for change.
However, Man Chong insisted on the suggestion and asked Qin Lang to continue to hold on in Zhi County.
The reason for full favor is simple.
The Wei army had just experienced a major defeat, losing about 30,000 troops. It was difficult to stabilize the situation and appease the morale of the army. If they retreat now, it will inevitably lead to another fluctuation in morale.
Therefore, we should continue to hold on for a while. Even if we have to retreat, we have to wait until reinforcements from the court arrive to support the retreat of the army.
Otherwise, it is still inevitable that during the retreat, the entire army will collapse due to various factors such as the lack of morale and the pursuit of Shu thieves.
After careful consideration, Qin Lang decided to adopt Man Chong's suggestion.
On the one hand, of course Qin Lang thinks Man Chong is right.
On the other hand, Qin Lang now feels that maybe the ability of this veteran of three dynasties is actually beyond his imagination.
Qin Lang always believed that Man Chong was just a cool official who was proficient in Xing Ming and a sharp knife in the hands of the imperial power. Maybe he was okay in terms of political strategy, but in terms of military strategy, Man Chong did not make many achievements.
You can't blame Qin Lang for thinking so. The main reason is that in recent years, Man Chong has really not had the opportunity to display his talents in military strategy.
As Cao Wei's territory continued to shrink, the internal undercurrents became more and more obvious. Cao Rui used Man Chong more in the way of a cruel official.
Coupled with the fact that Cao Rui adopted the "criminal money" system as if to commit suicide, if there is no more qualified cruel officials to suppress the situation, the political situation within the Wei Dynasty will inevitably be completely out of control.
Therefore, Man Chong was still working as an offending and cruel official all these years. Man Chong, who was too busy with these things, had no chance to participate in military strategy.
In addition, Man Chong's historical record is really bad. When he led the army, it was basically when Cao Wei was defeated. Whether he lost Xiangfan or lost Guanzhong, Man Chong's performance in the two most critical battles was It can’t be said to be very good, and Cao Pi will have to take the blame later, offending aristocratic families everywhere. In addition, the full favor of this time and space has not obtained the Sun Shiwan experience pack, and cannot gain military exploits and reputation, so he has always been underestimated. .
This time Cao Shuang put Man Chong in Hanoi, mainly because he valued the prestige of Man Chong, a veteran of three dynasties. Cao Shuang, who asked him to appease aristocratic families from all over Hedong, actually didn't expect Man Chong to be very capable. He could just be a symbol of the court.
Therefore, although Man Chong was given the official position of guarding the army, in actual military operations, Man Chong's status was far inferior to that of Qin Lang and Xiahou Ba.
The last time Qin Lang and Xiahou Ba communicated with each other and prepared for a reactionary counterattack, Man Chong was by Qin Lang's side at the time and once warned Qin Lang, saying that with Zhuge Liang's ability, such a simple offensive tactic might not be effective.
But, at that time, Qin Lang, on the one hand, did not pay much attention to Man Chong's opinions. Compared with Man Chong, a cruel official who was "not good at military strategy", Qin Lang was more willing to listen to the opinions of Bi Gui from Jiuzhen.
On the other hand, Qin Lang also hopes to thwart the Shu bandit's attack on Hanoi County as soon as possible. Otherwise, if it continues like this, Yecheng will encounter threats sooner or later.
Therefore, Qin Lang finally decided to cooperate with Xiahou Ba in sending troops. As a result, Bi Gui died in the battle due to greed for merit, and he was trapped in Zhi County and could not move.
At this time, Man Chong finally showed his talent in military strategy. Not only did he lead the troops to rescue in time, but he also suggested that Qin Lang change his defensive method and rely on the advantage of the cavalry in his hands to change all-round defense to attack instead of defense. They forced back several attacks by Shu thieves and stabilized the defense of Zhi County.
At this time, Qin Lang realized that Man Chong's military strategy skills were not low at all.
Man Chong, who gradually showed his ability, finally gained Qin Lang's trust. Therefore, when Qin Lang wanted to retreat, Man Chong's advice once again dispelled Qin Lang's idea of retreat, and prepared to continue to hold on to Zhi County and wait. Imperial reinforcements arrived.
And Qin Lang's defense like this really put the middle army led by Zhuge Liang in a bit of trouble for a while. The siege battle was not that easy to fight.
But, now that the Han army has the upper hand and all breakthroughs are going smoothly, Zhuge Liang still has some patience.
Continue to lead the troops to besiege Zhi County. Anyway, as long as the situation changes, Zhuge Liang does not believe that Qin Lang can be so calm! ! !
In fact, Qin Lang was not that calm, especially after he learned that the Shu thieves from Hedong County marched eastward and captured Gaodu County in Shangdang County in a battle, he couldn't sit still.
If they go south along Gaodu County, the Shu thieves in Hedong County can march into Yewang by themselves. But once the Shu thieves occupy Yewang, Qinlang in Zhi County will not only fall into the dilemma of running out of food, but also face Heyang , the Shu thieves from Yewang and two counties attacked from the front and back.
This battle must be lost.
Therefore, after Qin Lang learned that the Shu thieves had occupied Gaodu, he immediately wanted to arrange a withdrawal, but Man Chong tried hard to dissuade Qin Lang.
Of course, Man Chong knew the consequences of the Shu bandits occupying Gaodu County, but Man Chong felt that the Shu bandits might not choose to go south and enter Hanoi County. Compared with going south, going north to attack Huguan is probably the strategy to maximize the advantage of the Shu bandits. choose.
To say the least, even if the Shu thieves really chose to go south, Man Chong left 3,000 soldiers to guard Yewang County when he left Yewang County, and the Shu thieves' force to move eastward would not exceed 20,000. People. With the military defense facilities set up by Qin Lang near Yewang County in the early days, coupled with the defense of 3,000 soldiers, it was not so easy for Shu thieves to break through.
Therefore, Man Chong's advice to Qin Lang is to continue to hold on to Zhi County, and at the same time, immediately report to the court, so that the court can pay attention to the defense of Huguan on the one hand, and on the other hand, quickly send reinforcements to respond. This is the most suitable time for Qin Lang to withdraw. .
After weighing it again and again, Qin Lang finally decided to follow Man Chong's advice and continue to stick to Zhi County.
(End of chapter)
