As soon as Yang Yi finished speaking, a guard came in holding a sealed wooden box. Yang Yi took it and Zhuge Liang quickly opened the wooden box, took out the letter inside and read it.
"Alas, we are still a step late." After reading, Zhuge Liang sighed regretfully.
Yang Yi, Liao Hua and others all looked at Zhuge Liang in confusion, thinking that the Prime Minister's words might be bad news.
Zhuge Liang did not play riddles and said directly: "Wu Yi came to report. By the time he led his army to Shanggui, Guo Huai had returned to Shanggui four days ago. Now Guo Huai had gathered 3,000 Wei troops in Shanggui City and recruited several more Thousands of people are strong and ready to defend the city."
Previously, Zhuge Liang ordered 20,000 troops to attack Tianshui, and divided the labor between Wei Yan and Wu Yi. Wei Yan led 10,000 troops to attack Jicheng, while Wu Yi led the remaining 10,000 troops to capture Shanggui.
"Prime Minister, it seems that Guo Huai rushed back to Shanggui immediately after getting the news. It is more than three hundred miles from Luomen to Shanggui, and it is four to five hundred miles from Lucheng to Shanggui. Guo Huai and his party were riding on horseback. It is only reasonable for those who have captured horses to arrive at Shanggui before the army." Yang Yi said.
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "It must be too late on the journey. I originally hoped that Guo Huai would not go to Shanggui. I didn't expect that this person would be so decisive. He ignored Jicheng and went straight to Shanggui. He is really a wise man." A wise man."
"Prime Minister, what should General Wu and the others do next?" Liao Hua asked.
Shanggui is an important town in Longxi and has many defenders. Therefore, Zhuge Liang had previously ordered that if Shanggui was undefended or there were unscrupulous generals in the city to defend it, Wu Yi could take advantage of the situation to attack the city.
But now Guo Huai rushed back to Shanggui and was ready to defend the city. It was difficult to break the city easily.
So Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and then replied: "Send an order to Wu Yi to set up camp on the spot. He will only besiege but not attack. Keep an eye on Guo Huai until I lead the army to defeat this thief."
"Promise." Liao Hua quickly drafted the military order. After Zhuge Liang saw the seal, the ordering troops immediately sent it out.
Unexpectedly, not long after the messenger left, another urgent report came, and it was from Wei Yan.
"Haha, Zhang Wen did a good job. Although I didn't get Shanggui, I still own Jicheng." Zhuge Liang laughed after reading the emergency report.
Yang Yi asked: "Prime Minister, was Jicheng captured by our army?"
"See for yourself." Zhuge Liang handed the urgent report to Yang Yi.
Yang Yi took it and read it quickly, finally understanding why the prime minister was so happy. It turned out that two days ago, Wei Yan led his army to attack the city of Jixian County. The officials and people in the city immediately opened the city and surrendered without any resistance. Wei Yan took the city of Jixian without even using a sword or a shot.
In addition, Wei Yan also said in the letter that the officials and people of Jicheng showed their sincerity and unanimously recommended Jiang Wei and Shangguan Zixiu, two outstanding figures in Tianshui, to bring the household registration albums of the entire Tianshui county to visit the prime minister.
"Wei Yan is so lucky. He got a great achievement for nothing. It's really annoying!"
Yang Yi slandered in his heart and said: "Prime Minister, it is very gratifying to be able to recover Jicheng without any blood. It seems that the people of Longyou are thinking of the Han Dynasty. As soon as Wang Shi arrived, the people responded one after another, which shows that the destiny still belongs to the Han Dynasty. "
Zhuge Liang smiled and nodded after hearing this, and Yang Yi continued: "Prime Minister, is the Jiang Wei mentioned above the same Jiang Wei Mingzhi mentioned before?"
"I think it's the same person." Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Haha, why bother guessing here? Just call the person in and ask."
Soon, Jiang Wei and Shangguan Zixiu were invited into the lobby. The two of them held the household registration album and bowed before saying, "See you, Prime Minister."
"You two don't have to be polite, please get up."
The two raised their heads, and everyone in the hall looked over and saw that they were both young men in their twenties. The one on the left had a face like a crown jade and an elegant temperament. He was Shangguan Zixiu, the number one scribe in Tianshui, and the one on the right was tall and heroic. The extraordinary person is Jiang Wei, the son of Tianshui Qilin.
Talking about why Jiang Wei is here, it turns out that Jiang Wei, Liang Xu and others were refused to leave the city and had to live temporarily in the countryside. A few days later, Wei Yan's army arrived at the foot of Ji County. The officials in the city saw the Han army's spears and halberds, filled with murderous intent. Don't dare to fight with it.
Seeing that both the governor Guo Huai and the prefect Ma Zun had abandoned the city of Hebei and had no intention of resisting, the officials and people in the city invited Jiang Wei, Liang Xu, Yin Shang and other prominent figures in Tianshui back to recommend them to lead the city to surrender. Later, they sent troops to surrender. Jiang Wei and Shangguan Zixiu came to see Zhuge Liang as envoys.
Zhuge Liang received the household registration album and saw that Jiang Wei and Shangguan Zixiu had extraordinary conversation. He was very happy. He immediately invited them to sit down and talk, and asked in detail about Tianshui's civil affairs, military affairs, customs, etc.
After a conversation, Zhuge Liang was very sure of the talents of the two men and thought to himself: "Ming Zhi said it right before. This Jiang Boyue is loyal and diligent in current affairs. He thinks carefully and considers everything. Yong Nan and Jichang are not as good as him. Only Ming Zhi is slightly better. He is a sergeant from Liangzhou."
Zhuge Liang was very happy to have both the city and the talented people. He immediately ordered a banquet to be held for Jiang Wei and Shangguan Zixiu, and asked them to stay in Lucheng for a while, and then go to Jibei with him in two days. city.
Anding County is located to the north of Guangwei County and east of Longshan, and controls six counties: Linjing, Pengyang, Jingyang, Jingyin, Yinmi, and Wuzhi. The county government is in Linjing. At this time, the news that tens of thousands of Han troops had invaded Longyou had already spread throughout Anding County, and people in the counties were in a panic.
Wuzhi County is on the east side of Longshan Mountain, adjacent to Guangwei County. Guanxing's army captured the three cities of Guangwei, and the front can be said to be directed at Wuzhi. Under such a critical situation, the Wuzhi County Magistrate still planned to fulfill his duties. While closing the city gates and strictly prohibiting entry and exit, he recruited young men to help defend the city.
However, the Han army's offensive was fierce and overwhelming. Not only did the people have no fighting spirit, but even the sergeants often fled. Therefore, the Cao Wei County Magistrate's measures were not very effective.
The reason why the people of Wuzhi did not have much resistance was not only due to the strength of the Han army, but also the contribution of the Youwei lurking in the city. They secretly spread the idea that Ji Han was the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty and came to relieve the people and eliminate the tyrannical rule of the pseudo-Wei Dynasty, instigating public opinion, uniting righteousness, and preparing for opportunities to take action.
From the 16th year of Jian'an to the 18th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao, Ma Chao, and Yang Qiu fought against each other and repeatedly fought in Anding. Since then, the people of Anding have experienced the brutality of the Wei army and have never had a good impression of Cao Wei.
Therefore, when Deng Yan, the left deputy captain of the Youwei Mansion, came to Anding and saw that the local Youwei had gathered a considerable force, he immediately decided to take action in response to the Northern Expedition.
"Captain Deng, this is brother Yang Tiaoyang." Inside the secret room. Qu Wei Banheng, the person in charge of Youwei Mansion in Wuzhi County, pointed at the burly man beside him and said.
Deng Yan raised his head and took a look at Yang Tiao. He saw that this man was about thirty years old, nine feet tall, powerful, and carrying a big man. He secretly called him "good" in his heart.
"I have met Captain Deng." Yang Tiao saluted with his hands in hand.
Deng Yan said with a smile: "Brother Yang, there is no need to be polite. Let's sit down and talk." After the three of them sat down, he added: "I have heard that Brother Yang has always been eager for justice and dedicated to fighting injustice. He is a chivalrous man who is stable and first-rate. Sir, seeing him today is so comforting for the rest of his life."
"Captain Deng has given me the award. I just can't bear to see the powerful government oppressing the good." Yang Tiaoqian said.
Deng Yan nodded and said: "The puppet Wei is as harsh as a tiger and as powerful as a leopard, and the people have been suffering for a long time. Now my Han army is going north to conquer the rebels, just to save the people from the fire and implement benevolent government."
"Prime Minister Zhuge loves the people like his own son, is strict in science and education, and does not punish any evil and does not show good deeds. He is known in the north. Now the Han Dynasty is going north to regain Yongliang. Although he is not talented, he is willing to do the hard work of dogs and horses." Yang Tiao He said with his fists clasped.
Deng Yan praised: "Brother Yang really understands righteousness, Deng Mou admires it." Then he asked Ban Heng: "Are you all ready?"
"Don't worry, Lieutenant. We have people from the county temple and the garrison to support us. More than a hundred rangers under Brother Yang have been ambushing around the county temple. We are waiting for the captain's order and we will take action immediately."
Deng Yan nodded and said: "Okay. Brothers Ban Heng and Yang, after nightfall, I will wait..."
That night, under the personal command of Deng Yan, the left deputy captain of the Youwei Mansion, the Youwei in Wuzhi City, together with Yang Tiao and more than a hundred righteous men, suddenly rose up in arms, attacked the county temple in one fell swoop, and captured a group of Wei soldiers under the Wuzhi County Magistrate. officials, and then forced them to rebel against Wei and return to the Han Dynasty, and successfully planted the Han flag on the head of Wuzhi City.
Later, Deng Yan ordered Ban Heng to be temporarily appointed as the county magistrate of Wuzhi County, and Yang Tiao was temporarily appointed as the county captain. They were in charge of the civil and military affairs of the county, gathered volunteers, and strictly guarded the city. As for himself, after his success, he went to Linjing and other counties and continued to contact the guards and righteous men in various counties to carry out activities.
Soon after, with the exception of two counties, Linjing and Jingyin, where the uprising failed, the remaining three counties in Anding all revolted and returned to the Han Dynasty. As a result, four of the six counties in Anding County belonged to Ji Han. When the news came out, the Han army became more powerful, and the officials and people of Yongliang were even more shocked.
