The morning light was dim, the sky was dim, a fierce battle had ended long ago, the hustle and bustle had returned to tranquility, and the Han troops were silently cleaning the battlefield.
The more than 4,000 Wei troops left behind by Cao Zhen and Guo Huai performed extremely tragically in the fight last night. Although they knew that they had been abandoned by their commanders, they were grateful for Cao Zhen and Guo Huai's many years of kindness and treatment, but they also tried their best to resist the Han. The army's siege bought enough time for Cao Zhen and others to escape.
Although the Han army finally almost annihilated them, they also paid a considerable price and had no energy left to pursue southward. Zhuge Liang had no choice but to order the entire army to rest where they were, and pinned his only hope of catching up with Cao Zhen and others on Yang Qing.
"Prime Minister." Yang Yi came to Zhuge Liang and said with cupped hands.
Zhuge Liang was leading Zhao Yun, Guan Xing, Jiang Wei and other generals to inspect the battlefield. Seeing him coming, he quickly turned around and asked, "How is it? How are our army's casualties?"
"Back to Prime Minister, our army suffered more than 3,000 casualties in the battle last night," Yang Yi said.
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly, sighed softly, looked up to the south and remained silent. After a while, he asked again: "What was the result of the battle?"
"The formation killed more than 5,000 people including Wei general Wang Shuang, captured more than 2,000 people, and seized countless horses, armor, golden drums and other military equipment." Yang Yi replied happily.
After hearing this, a smile gradually appeared on Zhuge Liang's face, and he nodded and said, "Okay, it can be considered a great victory."
"Yeah, it's a pity that Cao Zhen got away." Zhao Yun also said with a smile.
Guan Xing said: "My brother is leading the army to pursue him. With him taking action, good news should come back." He had always admired Yang Qing, and he was very confident that Yang Qing would lead the army to hunt down Cao Zhen.
However, Jiang Wei was not as optimistic as Guan Xing. He frowned slightly and said, "It's hard to say. Yang Shijun only brought two thousand cavalry. Even if he catches up, he may not be able to hold back all Cao Zhen's army. At least Cao Zhen himself can fight with the cavalry." Escape first under the escort."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "I hope Mingzhi can send back good news. But even if we fail to keep Cao Zhen this time, it is harmless. We will have many opportunities to capture this thief in the future."
After a pause, he asked Yang Yi again: "By the way, Wei Gong, how is the situation in Anling?"
"Cao Zhen's remaining soldiers in the city opened the door and surrendered without any resistance. Zong Deyan had already led his troops into the city to calm the people. Several prominent people in the city were well aware of the current affairs and took the initiative to send a batch of food, grass and labor. Zong Deyan We are currently appeasing them."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Well, Deyan did a good job. Last night's battle was considered a complete victory. You quickly arranged for people to kill pigs and sheep and reward the three armies."
"No." Yang Yi said with cupped hands and went to make arrangements.
At noon, the smell of meat was everywhere. All the troops had a big meal and celebrated their victory. For a while, thunderous cheers resounded throughout the sky.
At the end of the afternoon, news finally came back from Yang Qing. He led the army to pursue but failed. As expected, Cao Zhen led the cavalry one step ahead and had already fled without knowing where to go.
In desperation, Yang Qing had no choice but to bite the infantry that fell behind, hoping to severely injure it and gain something, so that the night's pursuit was not in vain.
He was about to catch up with the Wei infantry near Weicheng, but Qin Ji suddenly shot out of the diagonal stab and blocked him.
It turned out that Guo Huai actually had a hand and let Qin Ji lead 3,000 soldiers and horses to stay in Weicheng. With his new force coming out to support him, Guo Huai successfully led the infantry into Weicheng.
Yang Qing could only look at the city and sigh. After killing hundreds of Wei soldiers who had no time to escape into the city, he sent a general to report back to Zhuge Liang and ask for instructions on the next move.
Zhuge Liang and others also felt slightly regretful after learning about this. It was a pity that Cao Zhen, Guo Huai, Fei Yao and others were not left behind in this battle. I don't know when the next chance to capture them will be. Fortunately, Only half of the more than 10,000 Wei troops escaped, and the Han army had already made a huge profit in this battle.
"Report to the Prime Minister. General Huang Xi has received news that Cao Zhen has fled back to Chang'an. He led his troops to suddenly attack in the middle of the road, intercepted and killed hundreds of people."
Just as Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, Guan Xing and others were discussing the next deployment, news came from Huang Xi who was evacuating from Chang'an. After hearing this, Zhuge Liang nodded and waved his hand.
Wait to retreat.
"Prime Minister, since Cao Zhen has led his remnant army to escape back to Chang'an, our army should immediately press forward, advance into Chang'an, and restore the old capital in one fell swoop." Zhao Yun said, clasping his fists.
Guan Xing said: "Now that almost all the cities near Chang'an have fallen into my hands, Chang'an can be regarded as an isolated city. Cao Zhen currently has less than 10,000 troops. This is a great opportunity for our army to conquer Chang'an.
Prime Minister, Xing agrees with General Zhao's suggestion that our army should arrive in Chang'an quickly and not give Cao Zhen a chance to breathe. "
The situation was excellent, and the generals were naturally very excited. They all agreed with Zhao Yun and Guan Xing's opinions and threatened to regain Chang'an in one fell swoop.
Everyone talked freely about the bright prospects after regaining Chang'an, and the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became heated. Just when everyone was talking incessantly, Yang Yi suddenly stood up and poured cold water on everyone: "It's just that our army doesn't have much food and grass. I'm afraid. We can no longer support the army to besiege Chang'an."
"Yeah, why did you forget about food and grass?"
"Judging from the current stock of food and grass in the army, it is indeed impossible to sustain another war."
"Let Hanzhong transfer another batch of grain and grass. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We can't give up lightly."
"It's too late. Water from afar cannot quench our thirst. We will starve to death by the time Hanzhong's grain and grass are delivered. Besides, the war has lasted for nearly three months, and Hanzhong's grain reserves may have been exhausted."
...
Thinking of wasting this great opportunity to recapture Chang'an due to running out of food and grass, everyone was unwilling to do so and kept sighing. However, food and grass are actually the lifeblood of the army. Even if the generals are willing to fight again, they cannot let the sergeants go hungry. Fighting with the Wei army will not help.
"Prime Minister, Wei thinks that since our army is going to retreat to Hanzhong due to running out of food, it will all be retreating south. Why not go to Chang'an and attack it for three days? If the Wei army cannot resist it, won't we make a profit?
After three days, if Chang'an has not been breached, it will be too late for us to retreat to Hanzhong. "Just when everyone was discussing the withdrawal of troops, Jiang Wei suddenly said.
After hearing this, Zhao Yun and others felt that this move was very appropriate. Judging from the current food and grass situation, the attack for three days could still be sustained. Even if the attack failed, it would be harmless and would have no impact on the withdrawal, so they expressed their opinions to Zhuge Liang. This plan works.
Zhuge Liang knew that if the generals did not attack Chang'an, they would be unwilling to do so. The three-day period was indeed suitable. However, he thought that the overall situation of the battle would not be good and he made this decision rashly. While hesitating, he suddenly heard Yang Qing's envoy outside the tent. ask to see.
"For the record, Prime Minister, Guo Huai and Qin Ji led their troops to evacuate from Weicheng about an hour ago and went to Chang'an. Yang Shijun has led his army to Weicheng and suggested to the Prime Minister to lead the army south and attack Chang'an.
My envoy said that the army was short of food and fodder, and it would be most appropriate to attack Chang'an within three days. It would be best to capture it, but it would not be a big deal if it could not be captured. The army could retreat to Hanzhong. "
Zhuge Liang said: "I understand, you go down and rest."
"yes."
After the envoy left, Zhuge Liang smiled and said to everyone: "Haha, it seems that Mingzhi and Bo Yue have thought of getting together. Anyway, since you are determined to give it a try, we will only allow three days for the army to arrive in Chang'an early tomorrow morning."
"I will obey the Prime Minister's military order." Everyone responded excitedly.
Early on the next morning, Zhuge Liang asked a partial general and a thousand troops to stay in Anling to meet Zhang Ni on the south bank of the Wei River. He and Zhao Yun, Guan Xing, Jiang Wei and others led more than 20,000 Han troops to go south to Weicheng and Yang Qing. Reunited, the army arrived at Chang'an City the next day.
At this time, Huang Xi also brought back 3,000 soldiers and horses, and the three forces joined forces, with a strength of nearly 30,000.
Zhuge Liang immediately divided his troops into three groups, letting Yang Qing and Guan Xing lead 8,000 troops to attack the north gate of Chang'an, Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei led 8,000 troops to attack the west gate of Chang'an, and he, Yang Yi, Zong Yu and others led 10,000 troops. Attack the south gate and leave only the east gate unattacked to weaken the enemy's fighting spirit.
The three armies did not hesitate at all. After a short rest, they launched a fierce attack on Chang'an City.
