On the top of Chang'an City, Cao Wei Anxi General Xia Houmao held up the female wall and looked at the hundreds of Han cavalry galloping down the city, showing off their power. He wondered whether he should send troops out of the city to destroy this Han army.
Just over half a month ago, these hundreds of Han cavalry suddenly came out of Ziwu Valley and headed straight for Chang'an. They also distributed the Northern Expedition edict issued by the Shu Han Emperor along the way, and threatened that they were just the vanguard and that Zhuge Liang would soon lead 200,000 troops to capture Chang'an.
When the news came out, Chang'an and even several surrounding counties were shocked three times a day. Officials, officials and people were all panic-stricken, and they all closed their doors and did not dare to go out.
Xiahou Mao was in great chaos and at a loss. There were only nearly ten thousand defenders in the city, so they could not resist the large number of Han troops. So he sent an envoy to Luoyang to report the emergency and closed the city gate tightly as a defense strategy. Although he was afraid that the main force of the Han army would attack, he had not yet developed the intention to abandon the city and escape.
Even before, when Wu Que and Yue Zhao led the Han cavalry to the city of Chang'an for the first time with banners raised, Xia Houmao sent an army out of the city to fight. However, as soon as the Han army saw the Wei army coming out, they immediately fled. Xia Houmao did not dare to pursue them, so he immediately withdrew his troops and returned to the city.
However, later the Han army came to Chang'an City and called for war. The morale of the people in the city plummeted. At the suggestion of the officials, Xiahou Mao ordered his troops to go out of the city to fight.
Unexpectedly, the Han army did not engage in battle and quickly fled back to Zikou. The Wei army was afraid that a large number of Han troops would be ambushed in the valley and did not dare to enter the valley to pursue them.
After several such exchanges, the people's morale in Chang'an City fluctuated and morale dropped sharply. Xia Houmao was preparing to bravely mobilize a large number of troops into the valley to annihilate the Han army. Unexpectedly, a shocking news came, which made him dare not act rashly and no longer send troops. When leaving the city, just hold on.
It turned out that there was an urgent report from Yicheng. Just eight days ago, tens of thousands of Han troops suddenly rushed out from Baoxie Road, stationed troops in Jigu, and entered Yicheng. The county magistrate of Xicheng closed the city gate and could not get out, and at the same time sent an envoy to Chang'an to report the emergency.
In this way, Xia Houmao and other Chang'an officials finally understood the real plan of the Han army. It turned out that they were attacking in the east and in the west. There were suspicious soldiers all the way to Ziwu Valley, but the main force of the Han army appeared on the other side of Xicheng.
So Xiahou Mao immediately sent an envoy to Luoyang to report, hoping that the imperial court would send reinforcements as soon as possible.
In the main hall of Wei Palace in Luoyang, Emperor Cao Rui frowned and looked at His Highness's civil and military ministers without saying a word. In the past half month, his mood has been very bad, with constant ups and downs. In fact, not only him, but also the officials were frightened several times and had trouble sleeping and eating.
First, Sima Yi from Wancheng sent an envoy to report that Mengda from Xincheng had joined forces with Zhuge Liang to rebel. In order to speed up the army, Sima Yi had led his troops to kill them first.
Although some ministers pointed out that Sima Yi had violated the rules, Cao Rui did not convict him. Instead, he publicly praised Sima Yi's decisiveness.
When Sima Yi went to suppress Meng Da, Cao Rui and the officials were temporarily relieved. Unexpectedly, one wave after another broke out. Xiahou Mao suddenly sent someone to report. The vanguard of the Shu army suddenly came out from Ziwu Valley. Zhuge Liang was about to lead the main force of the Shu army to capture Chang'an and asked the court to send troops for reinforcements immediately.
Cao Rui and his ministers naturally sneered at the statement that the Shu army had 200,000 infantry and cavalry. In the past few months, it has been found that the Shu army in Hanzhong only had 60,000 to 70,000 troops at most. But even so, it was not something that Xiahou Mao could handle. .
The current garrison in Chang'an is only 10,000 people. Even if all the garrison from Guanzhong counties are transferred to Chang'an, it will not exceed 30,000. The strength of the Shu army is almost twice that of the garrison in Guanzhong. Zhuge Liang is very resourceful and has never Xia Houmao, who was on the battlefield, was no match at all.
Cao Rui and his ministers originally planned to choose another general to replace Xiahou Mao, but the military reports in the past few days said that Xiahou Mao had defeated the vanguard of the Shu army many times and Chang'an City was safe and sound. In this case, Cao Rui could not replace Xia Houmao, who was playing brilliantly, and had to wait for the subsequent development of the situation.
While the monarchs and ministers of Wei State were hesitating, Xia Houmao sent another urgent report, saying that Zhuge Liang's plan of attacking from the east to the west was successful. The main force of the Shu army was not in Chang'an, but suddenly rushed out from Baoxie Road and went straight to Xi County. After hearing the news, Cao Rui was shocked and quickly gathered his ministers to discuss countermeasures.
Seeing that no one spoke, Cao Rui finally couldn't sit still and spoke: "My lords, the enemy of Chang'an is a suspected soldier. Zhuge Liang led tens of thousands of Shu troops out of Xiegu to attack Yicheng. How do you think the court should respond?" "
Sikong Chenqun came out and said: "Your Majesty, Zhuge Liang's plan is now clear. He first colluded with Meng Da to cause rebellion in Xincheng and Wei.
Xing, in order to attract our armies from Jingzhou and Yuzhou, and then sent suspicious soldiers out of Ziwu Valley to attack Chang'an.
Just when we thought he was going to attack Chang'an, the old capital of the Han Dynasty, he personally led the main force of the Shu army out of Xiegu to attack Xi County. This thief attacks in three directions, combining falsehood and reality, which can be described as extremely cunning.
The troops in Guanzhong only have 20,000 to 30,000 troops, and they may not be able to match the Shu army. I would also like to ask Your Majesty to send the Chinese army to help, and also order the counties in Longyou to raise troops to respond. In this way, Zhuge Liang will be attacked from two sides, and our army can destroy him with one blow. "
"Chen Sikong's plan is very clever."
"Sikong is right."
"Although Zhuge Liang's attack is menacing, he still has a small army and few generals. As soon as the large army arrives, he will be defeated."
...
As soon as Chen Qun finished speaking, many people echoed his words. Cao Rui also felt that Chen Qun was right and nodded repeatedly.
"What do you think, General?" Cao Rui asked Cao Zhen again.
As the number one person in the army in the court, Cao Zhen's opinion is of vital importance. He only heard him say: "Your Majesty, what Chen Sikong said is very appropriate. I can see Zhuge Liang's plan at a glance. I think the reason why Zhuge Liang did not take Chang'an The reason for taking Yicheng was because Chang'an was a tall and strong city and he was not sure of capturing it quickly.
The reason why he left Baoxie Road to attack Yicheng was because once he occupied Yicheng, Zhuge Liang could cut off the Wugong River and march to the Wei River. If he occupied the fortresses north of the Wei River, the land of Longyou and Guanzhong would be occupied. The Shu army was cut off.
In this way, Zhuge Liang could easily choose whether to lead his troops east to capture Chang'an or to lead his troops west to attack Longyou. It should be noted that the combined troops and horses of the counties in Longyou Liangzhou only numbered 10,000 or 20,000, so Zhuge Liang had a considerable advantage. "
After hearing this, Cao Rui praised: "The general is really familiar with Yongliang's military and knows the tactics of war. Without your words, I would not have known Zhuge Liang's purpose of leaving Xiegu. Now, the hussar general Sima Yi led his troops to Shangyong to pacify Mengda. , this journey is safe for the time being. There are only a few suspicious soldiers in Chang'an, so there is no need to worry.
Only Zhuge Liang's Shu army has a large number of troops and their plans are not small. If there are no famous generals to fight, they may not be able to win. I intend to send General Xia Houmao of Anxi to return to the court, and send another general to Yicheng to confront Fang Geliang. What do you think? "
"Your Majesty is wise." All the ministers agreed in unison.
They all know that Xia Houzheng is not a man who knows how to fight and his current performance may have reached his limit. If he continues to fight, they don't know what will happen, so it would be better to replace him as soon as possible.
Cao Rui nodded and continued: "Who do you think we should send to attack Zhuge Liang?"
Situ Wanglang came out and said: "Your Majesty, I think that such an important task must be done by the general. The general has been to Yongliang several times and is familiar with the geography of Longyou in Guanzhong. It is most suitable for him to go."
"What do you think, General?" Cao Rui also likes Cao Zhen, but he still has to ask for his own opinion.
Cao Zhen did his duty and immediately responded: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go."
"What do you think?" Cao Rui asked again.
Cao Zhen was also favored by the public, and most of the ministers recommended him to resist Zhuge Liang. So Cao Rui immediately issued an order, and General Xia Houmao of Anxi was transferred back to the court. General Cao Zhen replaced him as governor of the military affairs of Yong and Liang states, and led 20,000 Chinese troops to join forces with Guanzhong and Longyou to go to Yi County to resist the main force of the Shu army.
Cao Zhen did not dare to delay, and three days later he mobilized an army of 20,000 and headed for Guanzhong.
