Dai Ling stood up and clasped his fists and said, "General, retreat. It's still too late to retreat back to Guanzhong. If we delay, the whole army may be in danger of being annihilated."
"Yes, if we don't leave the army, we will starve to death." Cheng Shun also agreed.
Pan Yu hesitated and said: "General, can you send another army to Fanxukou to join forces with General He to attack the Shu army? If we can successfully defeat the Shu army and open up the food route, our army will not have to retreat to Guanzhong."
"Humph, what General Pan said is easy. Four to five thousand Shu troops are guarding the mountains and below. They are connected together and occupy the advantageous location. If you want to attack by force, you must send at least twice the number of troops. And even so, it is unknown when they can capture it. Count, if we can't defeat them within a few days, we won't still have to starve to death.
What's more, once we divide our troops and move forward, there will not be many troops here in the camp. The Shu army is likely to take the opportunity to attack our camp. By then, our army will not survive even if we wait for the food to arrive. "Qiu Yan objected with a sneer.
Pan Yu was speechless after hearing this, and was speechless: "This..."
The situation is now very clear, and most of the generals agree with the withdrawal. After a while, Zhang He finally made up his mind and said: "Okay, you don't need to say anything anymore. I have made up my mind. The army will return to Guanzhong and replenish its strength before fighting the Shu army to the death."
"The general is wise." All the generals said in unison.
Zhang He laughed at himself: "Wise? I am short-sighted and my army was defeated. I have no shame in going back to see Your Majesty. Now I only hope to save all 20,000 soldiers and bring them all back to Guanzhong. You will completely betray His Majesty’s trust.”
When all the generals heard this, they all knew that the guilt of returning this time was not small, so they all bowed their heads and remained silent. It was Dai Ling who spoke up and said: "General, since the withdrawal has been decided, I would like to ask the general for instructions on how to withdraw.
The Shu army is not far away. Once discovered, a large army will be sent to chase them. If they still go to Fanxu Road, there will be Shu army blocking them in front, and the army will be attacked from two sides. Therefore, which way to return to Guanzhong is the top priority for the withdrawal. We hope the general will decide on a good strategy. "
"Well, that makes sense." Zhang He pondered for a while and then stood up and went to the map on the right side of the tent. He pointed at the Longshan roads on the map and said, "The Longshan roads from north to south are Wating Road and Jitou Road. , Fanxu Road, Longdi Road, and the Central Road connects to Longdi Road, Fanxu Road and Jitou Road from south to north.
At present, the closest roads to our army are Fanxu Road and Longdi Road. As for Wating and Jitou Road, they are too far to the north and the nearby Anding County has surrendered Shu bandits. Therefore, our army only has Fanxu and Longdi roads. There are two ways to go.
The Longdi Road has become increasingly deserted since the Later Han Dynasty, and many roads are blocked and cut off. Therefore, our army had to withdraw from the Fanxu Road to Guanzhong.
Although Fanxukou has been occupied by the Shu army, it is better to withdraw sooner rather than later, faster than slowly. Therefore, I want the entire army to move eastward, quickly defeat the enemy at Fanxukou, open the passage, and then retreat to Guanzhong. "
"We will obey the general's order." After hearing Zhang He's clear analysis, the generals had no objections and stood up to obey the order.
Zhang He said: "I order all the troops to have a good meal tonight, and our troops will quietly retreat in the early morning of tomorrow."
"Where is Pan Yu?"
Pan Yu bowed and responded: "The general will be here."
"At the end of Hai hour tonight, you will lead three thousand cavalry to set off first. After meeting with He Yu, they will immediately attack the enemy at Fanxukou. Three hours later, I will follow with my own army."
"promise."
Zhang He added: "When Zhuge Liang discovers that our army has withdrawn, he will definitely send troops to pursue and kill us. Therefore, our army must leave people behind to block the attack. I wonder which general is willing to lead his troops to block the rear?"
To stay in Duanhou would almost be to die. Everyone was silent for a moment. Just when Zhang He was about to order his general, Qiu Yan said, "I would like to stay."
"Okay, General Qiu is indeed a loyal and brave man of the Wei Dynasty. Please accept my respect." Zhang He said gratefully.
Others were also grateful to Qiu Yan for his selflessness and bowed down together with Zhang He: "General Qiu, please accept our bows."
Qiu Yan's eyes blurred with tears. He was both moved by everyone's thanks and sad because he was about to die generously. He choked and said: "Everyone, please get up quickly. How can Yan be so virtuous and capable?"
"Shijun, you only have to hold on for the army for two days, and you can evacuate after two days."
Zhang He called Qiu Yan's cousin affectionately. After all, he couldn't bear it. He didn't want his subordinate who had been with him for many years to die, so he implicitly stated that he could evacuate as long as he could hold off the enemy for two days. Of course, it was Qiu Yan's choice to retreat, including the plan of abandoning the army and escaping alone.
Qiu Yan obviously understood what Zhang He meant and said with tears of gratitude: "Thank you, General!"
In the evening, Liao Hua's messenger also arrived from Fanxukou via the small road. Hearing that the Wei army's cavalry had arrived at Longkou, Zhuge Liang knew that the time for the decisive battle had come. Immediately beat the drums and gather the generals, calling everyone to the city for a military meeting.
"Everyone, just now news came from Liao Yuanjian that the Wei cavalry that went east the day before yesterday has arrived at Fanxukou and is now confronting our army in front of the mountain pass.
In this case, Zhang He probably knows by now that his food supply has been cut off. I predict that he will take action tonight or tomorrow, so we must also be prepared. "Zhuge Liang told the general situation.
Wei Yan clasped his fists and said, "Prime Minister, if this is the case, please order the army to attack together, and don't let Zhang He escape."
"Oh? Are you so sure that Zhang He will escape?" Zhuge Liang asked with a smile.
Wei Yan laughed and said: "The Prime Minister is taking an examination of a certain school, and Zhang He is also a veteran for many years. Don't you know the dangers of cutting off the food route?
The food and grass in the Wei army can last for ten days at most. If they don't retreat at this time, they really can't leave. Zhang He would not do anything unwise and continue to stay to confront our army. It is expected that he would definitely attack Liao Yuanjian and return to Guanzhong from Fanxudao. "
"Haha, what Chief Wen said is very consistent with what I want. Zhang He will definitely withdraw from Fanxudao to Guanzhong, but I just want him to withdraw right now. I won't launch a large army to attack Wei Camp now." Zhuge Liang said.
Wei Yan asked in confusion: "What does the Prime Minister mean by this?"
Zhuge Liang put away his smile, looked serious, and said seriously: "If the Wei army does not come out of the camp, our army will definitely suffer a lot of losses in the strong attack. It is better to let them retreat eastward and then pursue them halfway. This will get twice the result with half the effort." .
"I see, Yan understands." Wei Yan suddenly realized.
Zhuge Liang stood up and said loudly: "Generals, listen to the order."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the generals stood up and clasped their fists to obey the order. Zhuge Liang said to Wei Yan and Wu Yi: "Wen Chang, Ziyuan, you two will return to the camp immediately to give the soldiers a good meal, and then lead 10,000 front troops to the Wei camp. I will also send two more cavalry, Wuqi and Sanqi. At your disposal.
When they arrived at the Wei camp, they immediately ordered the sergeants to loudly announce the news that the Wei army's food route had been cut off. This would definitely cause the Wei army's morale to be in chaos. When you see the fire rising in the east, you immediately divide your troops from three sides to attack the Wei army camp. "
"No." Wei and Wu accepted the order in unison.
Zhuge Liang continued to point out the generals: "Where are Anguo and Zijun?"
"The general is here." Wang Ping of Guanxing responded.
"Anguo, Zijun, after Wen Chang and others launch the attack, you and others can quickly lead the three thousand troops of the Tiger Infantry from the path south of Nanshan to the east of Wei Camp. At this time, the Wei army will have no time to pay attention, and you and others can pass quietly.
Then he found a valley to ambush, waiting for the Wei soldiers to come, and allowed his front team to pass through, while you and others led the ambush troops to cover them up from behind. If Zhang He comes later and divides his troops, Ru will lead an army to block the rear group, and Zijun will lead an army to block the front group. The two armies need to fight to the death, and I have other ways to help. "
"No." Although Guan Xing still had doubts, he remembered that the prime minister always had clever plans, so he said nothing and accepted the order with clasped fists.
Zhuge Liang said again: "I will take the remaining 7,000 Wuqian, sudden generals, and Liannu soldiers to guard the street pavilion to guard against any surprises."
"Yes." Everyone responded.
"Mr. Wei, arrange a merit book to record the merits of all the generals."
Yang Yi quickly agreed: "No."
"The entire army of Zhang He will be annihilated today. I hope you all will fight hard. When the news of success comes back, I will ask the Emperor for credit on your behalf." Zhuge Liang encouraged with high spirits.
Everyone said: "We dare to die if we don't serve."
The plan was decided and everyone left to prepare. When he arrived at the gate of the government office, Guan Xing suddenly remembered something and asked Wang Ping who was standing aside: "General Zijun, why didn't you see Mingzhi attending the military meeting?"
Wang Ping replied: "Oh, it's like this. Early this morning, the prime minister asked the prince to lead three thousand rear troops to go back to Tianshui with General Jiang Wei and escort the grain and grass, so the others were not around. They left the city from the west gate, An Guo and you It's a camp outside the east city, so I don't know."
"Letting my brother lead the troops to escort the grain and grass, isn't it overkill?" Guan Xing asked curiously.
Wang Ping said: "I have also asked before. The Lord said that the soldiers in the rear army have been extremely hard after fighting for days. They returned to Tianshui this time to take a rest."
"Oh? So that's it." Guan Xing nodded slightly.
Wang Ping saw that although he stopped asking, he still had a look of disbelief on his face. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end he said no more and followed Guan Xing back to the military camp outside the city.
