In June of the 23rd year of Jian'an, a scout discovered Maming Pavilion Road while crossing Zoumaling in the northwest. It seemed that Yangping Pass could be bypassed along Maming Pavilion Road.
Just when Liu Bei was selecting elite soldiers to seize the Maming Pavilion Road, Wu Yi, who had gone to fight in Wudu County, came to the camp in embarrassment.
This partial army had been away from Shu for half a year without any news. Seeing that Wu Yi was alone, Liu Bei was surprised and asked a barrage of questions: "Why is Ziyuan here? What is the current situation in Wudu County? How are Yide and Meng Qi?" "
Wu Yi knelt down on one knee and clasped his fists to plead guilty: "Originally we followed General Yide to attack Hechi and Xiabian, but Cao Hong's reinforcements in Guanzhong were strong and he used tiger and leopard cavalry to raid the supplies, so we had to retreat to defend Xiabenzhi City. Later, General Yide divided his troops. He went to rob the camp and seize food. Not long after he left, Cao Hong launched a large-scale attack. The strength of the troops was huge, so he was defeated..."
"It seems that Cao Cao transferred reinforcements from Guanzhong. No wonder Xiahou Yuan's defense is still so solid." Pang Tong nodded in affirmation.
"Even if Wudu was regained by Cao Cao's thieves, where are Yide and Meng Qi now?" Liu Bei ignored the enemy in front of him and anxiously asked about the situation of Zhang Fei and Ma Chao.
Wu Yi shook his head: "After I was defeated, I wanted to join General Yide, but Cao Jun's tiger and leopard cavalry were too powerful. In the end, I had no choice but to escape into the Di tribe in the west. Fortunately, my general Lei Tong fought to the death to protect me and escaped. I have come out of the mountains. As for the situation of General Yide and General Ma, I really don’t know..."
Liu Bei was stunned for a long time without saying anything. Pang Tong continued to ask Wu Yi about Zhang Fei's marching route.
Fazheng comforted him and said, "Lord, please relax. Although there is no news about the two of them now, there may not be any danger. I remember that my lord was separated from General Guan and General Zhang in Xiaopei, and he also lived alone for several months... .”
"At this time and that time, Xiaopei is surrounded by plain villages. It is not difficult to hide and find stutterers. But Wudu is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. Even if Yide has a strong ability to survive, where can he find it? Food supplies?" Liu Bei shook his head worriedly.
Fazheng and Pang Tong carefully studied the terrain of Wudu. The mountainous terrain meant that the population was not concentrated. Cao's army would definitely guard the larger towns. It was not easy to replenish the army's rations for ten thousand people.
"As the saying goes, you rely on mountains to eat and water to eat. Although there are not as many households in the mountains as in the plains, there are many wild animals and dense plants. General Yide will definitely return to Yizhou safely." Fa Zheng continued to comfort.
Liu Bei frowned and said to himself: "We have been fighting fiercely at Yangping Pass for the past few days, but there is no news at all from Xia Houyuan..."
"There is no news but it is a good thing. It means that the two generals are still safe." Fazheng agreed.
After Pang Tong asked Wu Yi, he came over and said with a serious face: "According to the information provided by General Wu, General Yide should have a way to retreat back to Yizhou. It may be that he was delayed because the road in the mountains was difficult to walk, and he was afraid of Yide. I don’t want to withdraw if I have other ideas..."
"What other ideas can third brother have?" Liu Bei was puzzled.
Pang Tong smiled slightly and said: "I think the three generals are quite capable of making plans now. General Ma is also called the 'Shenwei Tian General' by the Qiang and Hu people. They may use the Qiang and Di people to continue to contain them. The momentum of my lord's attack on Yangping Pass is not small, but So far I haven’t seen Cao Jun from Wudu coming to rescue..."
Fazheng nodded in affirmation: "What Shiyuan said is true. We might as well capture Yangping Pass first. When Chencang Road is passed, there will naturally be news about Wudu."
Liu Bei nodded solemnly: "I will immediately send soldiers to seize the Maming Pavilion Road, but I must also be prepared. It would be great if I could capture a few prisoners of Cao's army."
"How can ordinary prisoners know about Wudu? The senior generals of Xiahou Yuan's army may know a thing or two, but General Huang Lao and General Wei performed bravely in front of the pass. They probably have no chance to lure the enemy generals out of the pass to fight." Fazheng shook his head. .
"Send detailed work?"
Liu Bei made a whimsical suggestion, but he thought it was impossible. Yangping Pass guarded the front of the army, and now not even a mouse could slip in.
Fazheng continued to explain: "It is not impossible to send detailed work, as long as you can go around Langzhong and take the Micang Mountain Trail, but the trail is too steep. It is said that travelers who want to stop overnight on the way must tie their waists with vines and tie them to a tree. Otherwise, you will fall into a deep ditch and be shattered to pieces..."
"You can choose the able men in the camp..." Liu Bei ignited hope again.
Fazheng shook his head and smiled bitterly: "It is difficult to climb over the Micang Mountains and retrieve the news in Hanzhong. It cannot be done unless a person is astute and skilled..."
Liu Bei frowned and typed at the table. He suddenly thought of Pound through Ma Chao, and then he had an idea and said loudly: "Song Chen under Ziyu once went to Hanzhong to rescue Ling Ming, and he has been doing business in northern cities all year round to gather information. This person may be able to Take on this important responsibility?”
Fazheng frowned and nodded: "It's true that Colonel Song is smart and smart, but the mountains are high and the roads are far away, and the sky is vast. Where are we going to find him?"
Pang Tong advised: "My lord can send someone to Jiaozhou. Ziyu must know where Song Xiaowei is. If he is so cautious, he must have a backup candidate, and he will definitely be able to relieve my lord's worries."
"What Shi Yuan said is absolutely true. I almost forgot about Lan Ziyu."
Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately called the front commander Fei Gongju and asked him to go to Jiaozhou to meet Lantian immediately.
Fei Shi left the camp and rushed to Jiaozhou. He held Liu Bei's general and ordered him to change horses and ships on the way. Officials along the way must cooperate fully.
Affected by the disappearance of Zhang Fei and Ma Chao, Liu Bei rejected the invitations of Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan and others to fight when selecting soldiers.
Liu Bei used Jingzhou's second-line generals Zhang Nan, Fu Wei, Xiang Chong and others to sneak attack Mamingge Road. Unfortunately, they encountered strong resistance from the famous general Zhang He on the way.
Although Xia Houyuan could not hold out at Yangping Pass, he was always paying attention to the news about Liu Bei's army. When he learned that Yizhou soldiers were going to climb Zouma Ridge, he immediately sent Zhang He to garrison at Guangshi Pass north of Mamingge Road.
The road to Maming Pavilion was narrow and difficult to navigate, and the two sides could not arrange their positions to counterattack. Liu Bei deployed more troops than Zhang He, but they were still unable to break through Zhang He's defense line.
The two sides were at odds on Mamingge Road for dozens of days without a winner. Liu Bei's army's transportation of grain to Mamingge Road became a burden. Pang Tong and Fa Zheng felt that this strategy was flawed after analyzing the terrain on the spot.
The two of them descended the mountain from Zoumaling and returned to camp. Pang Tong solemnly suggested to Liu Bei: "It is very difficult to transport supplies to the Maming Pavilion Road. Even if we capture this important road, we still have to climb the mountain to bypass Yangping Pass. Once Xiahou Yuan sends heavy troops to cut it off, we will We can’t pay attention to both the beginning and the end of the meeting, we still need to find a safe way.”
Liu Bei frowned and asked: "The two military advisors are so solemn, must they have come up with a good plan?"
Fa Zheng pointed at the sand table and said: "Since the Maming Pavilion Road on the left has to climb two mountains, it is better to cross the Mianshui River south to find a trail on Micang Mountain and choose a dangerous place to camp behind Yangping Pass to avoid Yangping Pass. Entering the hinterland of Hanzhong.”
"Micang Mountain? Isn't it particularly difficult to walk?" Liu Bei was surprised.
Fazheng said solemnly: "No matter how difficult it is to walk, we must open a road through the mountains, otherwise we will have nothing to do with Yangping Pass."
"Then Ma Ming Pavilion Road..." Liu Bei hesitated.
Fa Zhan was as heavy as water: "They can't withdraw for the time being. My lord will have to increase his troops if necessary. Otherwise, Xia Houyuan will see through the plot and we will fall short again."
Liu Bei nodded in affirmation, "Founding in the east and attacking in the west?"
