12dz Chapter 522 Cao Cao's army approaches Yangping Pass! Fa Zheng is waiting for the enemy to tire
Chapter 522 Cao Cao's army approaches Yangping Pass! Fa Zheng is waiting for the enemy to tire
Returning to Hanzhong
Upon learning that Zhou Yu and Cao Ren were locked in a stalemate in Nan Commandery and that Sun Quan had occupied Hefei, Liu Bei and Fa Zheng finally ordered an attack on Nanzheng City.
However, there were still more than 10,000 garrison troops remaining in Nanzheng City at this time, and given the city's strong defenses, it could not be taken down in a short period of time.
Fa Zheng suggested besieging the city and attacking reinforcements.
He believed that although the main force of Cao Cao's army had retreated, Cao Cao clearly did not want to give up Hanzhong.
When besieging Nanzheng, Cao Cao's army will definitely come to support them.
The facts were as Fa Zheng had predicted.
Several Cao army units of varying sizes arrived at Nanzheng from different directions to provide relief.
However, due to Fa Zheng's strategy of besieging the city and attacking reinforcements, and because Cao Cao's main force had already withdrawn, Cao Cao's rescue plans all failed.
Seeing that no more reinforcements were coming, Liu Bei and Fa Zheng discussed the matter and decided to focus on attacking Nanzheng and consolidating the victory in Hanzhong.
But... at some point, a large, gleaming banner with the character "Hao" appeared on the city wall of Nanzheng.
After a series of battles with Guo Jing and Zhang Lu, Liu Bei's total military strength was reduced to more than 70,000 men.
Hao Zhao, however, had 10,000 troops defending the city.
The 1-7 deficit in the city defense battle was an unprecedentedly wonderful start for Hao Zhao!
then.
For nearly a week afterward, Liu Bei's army suffered greatly at the foot of the city walls of Nanzheng.
I thought Zhang Lu, who combined military and civilian power, was troublesome enough.
Unexpectedly, Hao Zhao, who is harder than a rock in a latrine, is the real annoyance!
……
Liu Bei's Camp
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, covered in dust and dirt, arrived together to report to Liu Bei on the casualties suffered during the day's siege.
Upon learning that Hao Zhao had once again produced some aged elixir that had been prepared for who knows how long, Liu Bei was so angry that he felt an urge to disregard all pride and unleash a torrent of curses!
We reject aged gravy and reheated pre-made aged gravy; we only welcome fresh gravy, starting with Liu Bei!
However, the expressions on Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's faces at this moment were quite subtle.
Clearly, in addition to the battle losses just reported, the two had some confidential information that they needed to discuss with Liu Bei privately.
Guan Yu said with a strange expression:
"Brother, for some reason, Ma Dai fainted the moment he saw the golden juice appear."
"Ma Chao, standing to the side, was so anxious that he scratched his head and wished he could shave all his hair off."
"Ok?"
"There's really such a thing?"
A pang of pity rose in Liu Bei's heart.
I've heard that Ma Chao and Ma Dai were once baptized with Hao Zhao's golden juice.
Now that they've all moved to Hanzhong and changed battlefields, they still manage to encounter someone like Hao Zhao, a sixth brother they can neither defeat nor vent their anger with.
Ma Chao and Ma Dai were furious, which was quite understandable.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei discussed the siege for a while and then planned to have a meal together.
The three brothers have an unusually good appetite, which may be attributed to their years of constant travel.
This resulted in the three of them maintaining a fairly good appetite even when they encountered the golden juice.
But at that moment, Fa Zheng suddenly rushed in from outside, cupped his hands to Liu Bei, and said:
"My lord, Kongming has sent an urgent report that Cao Cao's army, numbering in the tens of thousands, has appeared in Wudu and Yinping, heading straight for Yangping Pass!"
"What!?"
The three brothers, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, were suddenly startled.
According to a broad geographical division, Yangping Pass is also located within the territory of Hanzhong.
However, it is located in the northwest of Hanzhong, and in fact borders Shu Commandery, Wudu Commandery, and Yinping Commandery.
Therefore, rather than saying that Yangping Pass was a pass protecting Hanzhong, it is more accurate to say that it was an important gateway to Shu, just as important as Jiange Pass, except that Jiange Pass is located southwest of Hanzhong.
When Zhong Hui attacked Shu, he did pay attention to Yangping Pass.
Instead, the attack route towards Yangping Pass was entirely under Deng Ai's command.
Deng Ai, the sixth brother, found that Yangping Pass was difficult to attack, so he used the Yinping Trail, which was not far from Yangping Pass, to sneak into Shu.
now.
Upon hearing the news that Cao Cao's army numbered in the vicinity of Yangping Pass, Fa Zheng immediately realized that something was amiss.
As intelligent as he was, it was hard for him not to doubt the authenticity of the intelligence from Jiangdong.
Did Sun Quan really break through Hefei?
The more Fazheng thought about it, the more he felt that this was a false intelligence deliberately released by Cao Cao's army!
What was Cao Cao's real objective?
Should we change direction and attack Shu directly?
If that's the case, no matter how strong Yangping Pass is, it will be caught in a fierce battle against Cao Cao's premeditated large-scale attack!
Having gathered his thoughts, Fa Zheng clasped his hands in a fist salute to Liu Bei and said:
"Lord!"
"I suggest that our main force immediately return to reinforce Yangping Pass."
"Su Yu, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, and others are all ruthless and vicious."
"Since Cao's army dared to change the battlefield on its own initiative, it must have already grasped the key to Yangping Pass."
"Our army cannot put the safety of Yangping Pass in danger!"
Fa Zheng spoke these words almost through gritted teeth, uttering each word slowly and deliberately.
At this moment, Fazheng dared not take any risks.
He deeply felt the difference between a large family and a small business.
Liu Bei was panting heavily.
Despite having a great opportunity, they have unknowingly been led by the nose by Cao Cao's army!
But no matter how angry Liu Bei was, he could only sulk in silence, without any solution.
finally.
Liu Bei left only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with 20,000 troops to garrison Dingjun Mountain and Tiandang Mountain, and did not even attack Nanzheng City.
The remaining 50,000-plus main force, under Liu Bei's personal leadership, rushed towards Yangping Pass to provide reinforcements.
……
near Yangping Pass
Guo Jia secretly led Cao Cao's gold-digging team to the entrance of Yinping Trail.
Seeing that the Yinping Path was filled with the guards that Zhuge Liang had arranged in advance, Guo Jia retreated.
"Tsk, Zhuge Liang is indeed meticulous in his work, very much like Wenruo!"
"Speaking of which, shouldn't Wenruo also need a successor?"
"Otherwise, if he kicks the bucket one day, and there's no one to fill in for him right away, that would be terrifying!"
Guo Jia thought to himself.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Zhuge Liang and Xun Yu had many similarities.
You can't find many super nuclear-powered oxen and horses like these in the world!
After returning to Cao Cao's main camp, Guo Jia informed Cao Cao and Su Yu of the news about the Yinping Trail.
After listening, Su Yu said:
"It was reasonable for Liu Bei to leave Zhuge Liang in Chengdu to oversee everything and arrange everything in an orderly manner."
"It doesn't matter if the Yinping Trail is blocked, since we never really planned to sneak into Sichuan through the Yinping Trail anyway."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and said:
"Based on my understanding of Liu Bei, I know he will be in a great hurry to lead his troops to support Yangping Pass."
"He dared not gamble, nor could he afford the risk of losing Yangping Pass."
"All departments are prepared to rest and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out."
"Especially Hansheng, who insisted on killing a few enemy generals to add to the excitement."
When Huang Zhong was mentioned, Cao Cao felt something was off.
For some reason, Huang Zhong was unusually excited after arriving at the Hanzhong battlefield.
It gives the impression that they want to use the Hanzhong battlefield as a springboard to make a name for themselves!
Su Yu smiled slightly.
Huang Zhong was also anxious. The other generals in Cao Cao's camp were alright, but Huang Zhong was already quite old.
In future western expeditions, veteran generals like Huang Zhong will certainly not be able to fight as frequently as the younger generals in Cao Cao's camp.
After all, Cao Cao's camp had a well-established retirement security system, with automatic retirement upon reaching the age of sixty.
This is both to give younger generals more opportunities to earn merit and to allow veteran generals to enjoy their later years, spending time with their grandchildren, instead of being stuck in their seventies or eighties alongside younger generals, constantly vying for the top spot! (Military generals only)
Xun Yu and the assembled talents of the Minister of Personnel: "???"
……