Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

Ma Chao put his gun on his bridle, looked at Fei Yao and said with a smile, "Since you know my name, why don't you dismount and accept surrender?"

Fei Yao didn't respond to Ma Chao's words, but yelled at Liang Qian obliquely in front of him, "Liang Qian, you are deeply favored by the country, how can you be a thief?"

Liang Qian snorted coldly: "Cao Pi's treacherous traitor usurps the Han and stands on his own. He is the thief of my Yan Han. The King of Hanzhong is the head of the imperial family. Sooner or later he will reshape the artifact and enter the Central Plains. General Fei might as well surrender here. Maybe I can ask for the merits of following the dragon."

"The traitor has a clever tongue, and he lures me into the trap every day, so he is not afraid of harming the Liang family in Tianshui?" Fei Yao continued to fight.

The moment he saw Ma Chao, Fei Yao knew that it would be difficult to fly today, so he could only try his best to explain his interests to Liang Qian, hoping that Liang Qian would "repent" for the sake of his people, and maybe there was still hope of escape, because Fei Yao dared not surrender.

During the period of Cao Cao, the Wei State implemented the "staggered service system" in the military, that is, the soldiers and their families would not be in the same area. If the soldiers on the front line defected, the family members in the rear would be implicated soon, especially in the border areas.

Fei Yao and his soldiers are mostly from the Central Plains and Hebei. They would rather be captured than surrender to the enemy and harm their families.

There are many Hu tribes such as Qiang and Di in Liangzhou, and governance is far more difficult than the Central Plains, where the ethnic groups are more pure. So far, the Wei State has not fully controlled it, and has not had time to move the families of Liangzhou officials to the Central Plains. Therefore, Liang Qian Fei Yao didn't have so many scruples about surrendering.

Liang Qian laughed: "How did Cao Zhen know that I, Liang Qian, surrendered? It was clear that General Fei was defeated by General Zhang and led his troops back. I was just forced to surrender..."

"You... are such a vicious trick..." Fei Yao became more and more afraid as he thought about it, he turned his horse's head while speaking, and urged the guards to follow to the city gate to break through.

Fei Yao had just run two or three feet away when a young general blocked his way immediately with a horizontal spear, and when he took a closer look, it turned out to be Tianshui Qilin'er.

"Fei Yao, don't struggle, get off the horse and get restrained." Jiang Wei stopped his gun.

"Jiang Wei, so you're not dead..." Fei Yao saw the other party's eyes widen, and heard the sound of horseshoes behind him, and instantly understood the rumor from last year.

Zhang Fei came to Liangzhou to avenge Ma Chao?Was Jiang Wei kidnapped and given to Ma Chao to kill his enemies?It's all nonsense, and everything is Zhang Fei's conspiracy.

"It's useless to talk too much, and anyone who stands in my way will die." Ma Chao rode alone, his silver spear piercing Fei Yao's armor continuously.

Fei Yao raised his sword to block Ma Chao, but because of the short length of the saber, he had no time to get close, and Ma Chao bounced him to the shoulder with the back of the gun.

"Aye..." The moment Fei Yao felt pain in his shoulder, he suddenly felt a tightness in his lower back, and was directly pulled off his horse by Ma Chao.

Fei Yao fell heavily to the ground, and was about to struggle but found a cold glow on his neck, and saw Ma Chao sitting on the horse condescendingly, "Tie me up."

Ma Chao captured the chief general Fei Yao inside the city of Shanggu, and Pang Tong ordered Zhang Fei to set up an ambush outside the city of Shanggu, and suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Wei army brought by Fei Yao.

The Wei soldiers outside the city were in a state where their journey was over and the dragons had no leader. Facing the sudden battle, they could only deal with it hastily, but Zhang Fei came prepared.

The Wei army collapsed like a sheep in a pack of wolves, and then rushed to the west like a tide. Zhang Fei led his troops to chase them for twenty miles, and finally beheaded more than [-] troops and retreated back to Shangbi.

When those defeated soldiers fled, they vaguely heard that the chief general Fei Yao had rebelled and Shanggui had fallen, so they were ambushed, and everything seemed so reasonable.

"It's such a pleasure, I've been waiting for this battle for a long time..." Zhang Fei returned to Shangyu, happily sharing his victory with everyone.

"What should we do next?" Ma Chao asked Pang Tong for advice.

Pang Tong had to answer: "Naturally use Shangbi as a stronghold to prevent Cao Zhen's troops from advancing eastward, so that the king has no scruples to attack Chencang."

"It's very boring to defend the city. Didn't the military adviser say that this would tie hands and feet? I thought it would be better to keep the old way and continue to trick the Liangzhou defenders into Shangyu, and we'll lay an ambush around here..." Zhang Fei showed his understanding when he suggested tooth.

Pang Tong shook his head straight: "At this time, at that time, the main force of the king has arrived at Chen Cang, and our true intentions have been exposed. Cao Zhen should have received Zhang Yun's request for help, so we don't have to play tricks with Cao Zhen anymore, we just need to hold on to Shangyu and the Weishui Road. Just stop Cao Zhen from going to reinforce him."

"Since the next battle is to defend the city, don't we need so many soldiers here? Why don't the army division and Meng Qi stay in Shanggu to command, and I will take 1 people to Chencang to support?" Zhang Fei couldn't relax.

"Cao Zhen has 2 people, and the city of Shangyu is not as strong as Chen Cang. If Cao Zhen attacks at any cost, [-] people may not be able to withstand it. Yide is better to stay. It's very useful..." Pang Tong waved his hand in denial.

Zhang Fei spread his hands, "I can't help it, my elder brother gave me strict orders before the war, and if there is any disagreement, I will listen to the military adviser..."

Ma Chao said comfortingly: "Zhang Yun will not be able to hold out in Chencang. The three generals went there to attack the city. The fight may not be very happy. If they stay in Shanggui, there may be a big battle."

"Just based on Meng Qi's words, when we enter Ji County in the future, I will help you find a few more enemies..." Zhang Fei found that Jiang Wei and Liang Qian's eyes were wrong, so he immediately added: "Both of you You are a good citizen, don't worry about Meng Qi's indiscriminate killing..."

"Uh... General Zhang, the military advisor, Shangyu County is located on the east side of Qishan Road, if you divide your troops to defend, it is easy to be broken individually. If you gather all the soldiers and horses around the county, Qishan Liangdao will fall into the hands of Cao Zhen..." Jiang Wei showed a worried look.

"Bo Yue is right, military commander, do you have a way to get the best of both worlds?" Zhang Fei asked anxiously.

Pang Tong shook his head and replied: "There is a huge disparity between us and Cao Zhen in terms of military strength. We can only choose one of Qishan Road and Shangyu. I have just sent people to Qishan and ordered the follow-up grain team to divert to Dasanguan. We can share the same grain road with the king. "

"Then Cao Zhenruo put all his eggs in one basket and led the army from Qishan Road to Wudu, what should we do? The soldiers and horses in Yizhou have been spared, who will defend this army?" Jiang Wei asked.

Pang Tong stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The people in Wudu were moved to ten rooms and nine empties by Cao Cao. If Cao Zhen dared to bring [-] soldiers into Qishan Road, he would lose all food and grass supplies. That would be an act of death. Then Chen Cang said, that is just the end of the battle..."

"Uh... I'm just hypothesizing. If you put aside the facts, can Cao really bring these 10 people into Shu?" Jiang Wei put forward a hypothesis.

"It's absolutely impossible. If Cao Zhen is desperate to change his family, I estimate that Longyou will be defeated. He may still be crying in front of Yangping Pass. Even if he is lucky enough to break through Yangping Pass, how many survivors will he have left? From Jinniu Dao There is a sword pavilion blocking the way to the south, if they enter Hanzhong to recuperate, they will probably be wiped out by Mianyang farmers..." Zhang Fei shook his head and laughed.

Chapter 796 Pang Shiyuan turned against customers

Jiang Wei was shocked when he heard that. He had been in Mianyang Tuntian District for a long time. Deng Ai’s tens of thousands of villagers could pick up knives even if they threw away their hoes. It is true that they would not be easily manipulated by outsiders. Yizhou’s strategy is so deep. It is so big that even if the end of the road is in a corner, it can maintain a political power in the middle of Shu.

At this time, Jiang Wei thought of Liu Zhang. If he hadn't invited Liu Bei to join Sichuan, maybe someone else would be competing with Cao Wei and Sun Wu now?

Looking at Pang Tong and Ma Chao next to him, Jiang Wei completely dispelled this idea. Liu Zhang didn't have any great talents, and now he has lived in Lingling under the rule of Lantian for ten years. The world, maybe the end will be similar to Tao Qian, Liu Biao and others.

Seeing Jiang Wei bowing his head in deep thought, Liang Qian cupped his fists and offered advice, saying, "My elder brother lives in Tianshui Gongcao now. If all the generals intend to attack Ji County, I would like to find a way to contact him and make an internal response."

"General Liang is not in a hurry, there is a place where you can be useful, it is good for us to guard Shangyu at this time, and we can take it slowly in the future in Longyou, you and Boyue should also hide now, and contact relatives in Ji County rashly, maybe Instead, let the family suffer from it..." Pang Tong stopped in time.

"Uh... The general's thinking is simple, and the military adviser should think it over..." Liang Qian clasped his fists in thanks.

Jiang Xie was the last Tianshui Gongcao, and he is inextricably related to the current Gongcao Liang Xu. Jiang Wei was taken care of by Liang's family when he was a child. Shangyu was easily captured because of Jiang Wei's persuasion. The attack was all Pang Tong's plan to confuse Cao Zhen.

The terrain of Shangbi is similar to that of Chencang, with the Weishui River in the north and the Qinling Mountains in the south, but the city is not as strong as Chencang.

Pang Tong adopted an active defense, which was completely different from Zhang Yun's passive defense. In addition to arranging city defenses in Shangyu City, he also let Zhang Fei set up camp on the south side of Shangyu on the side of the mountain, so that the county town and the field camp formed a corner.

Cao Zhen was shocked when he learned that Fei Yao had "surrendered to the enemy" and that Shangyu had fallen. He gathered the troops near Ji County and marched to Shangyu.

After scouting and reconnaissance, it was discovered that it was a combination of Zhang Fei and Pang Tong, and Cao Zhenxin's heart suddenly became cold.

Zhang Fei is the representative of the enemy, and Pang Tong is Liu Bei's mastermind. Cao Zhen has no confidence in front of them, and instantly lost confidence in supporting Chen Cang.

During the confrontation at Shangyu, Cao Zhen launched several offensives tentatively. Due to the narrow terrain of the Weishui Channel, although Cao Zhen's force was more than twice that of Zhang Fei, he still did not exert his advantage.

With Zhang Fei's back on Shangyu County, he was the main opponent. In addition, the Wei River grain road was cut off by Liu Bei's army, and the Wei army became a lone army standing in the field. Being an away game, only the generals of the Wei army know the uncomfortable feeling in their hearts.

Yin Shang, the head of Tianshui, saw that the two families were at loggerheads, so he came out to suggest: "General, Zhang Fei's troops are in Shangyu now, and he has given up Qishan Road. Why don't we divide up Qishan? Take this opportunity to destroy Zhang Fei's Qishan camp, and intercept and kill the other side by the way." The food team will make it difficult for Zhang Fei to leave Qishan in the future."

"Splitting Qishan to destroy Zhang Fei's empty camp? What's the point of doing this? Liu Bei is attacking Chencang with all his strength at this time, and they can use the Wei River to transport grain. Where is there a grain on Qishan?" Cao Zhen shook his head and smiled wryly.

"But we are at a stalemate with Zhang Fei here, and it is difficult to break through the Shangbei defense line in a hurry. If we continue to stand like this for a long time, it will only waste money and food. If we don't find other ways to break the situation, we may fall into Pang Tong's trap..." Yin Shang meant Don't sit still, it's better to find something to do than waste here.

Cao Zhen pinched the root of the mountain with his left hand, and gestured back and forth on the map with his right hand. He had already read the battle report from Luoyang. At this time, he finally discovered Liu Bei's purpose. There were fierce battles all over the country, and the opponent's center of gravity was actually on his own. Yongliang.

Zhang Fei and Pang Tong used [-] soldiers to contain the main force of Wei Guoyongliang. Cao Zhen was unwilling to be led by the nose by the other party. Once Liu Bei took the Chencang Fortress, the entire Guanzhong would never have peace.

With a dark face, Cao Zhen slammed his fist on the table, making a bang, which made all the generals in the tent tremble.

"Zhang Fei and Pang Tong like Ying, so let them stay here for the new year. Ma Taishou, order the generals of the battalions to purge their troops and horses immediately, and return to Ji County at dawn tomorrow." Cao Zhen made a bold decision.

Ma Zun clasped his fists and asked, "Zhang Fei... don't care?"

"Of course not." After shaking his head, Cao Zhen turned around and told Zhao Yu, "I will leave 5000 troops for you. To keep the current number of camps unchanged, remember to disperse the fire and cooking as much as possible, and use bluff to contain Zhang Fei and others. people."

"You also want to detour through Longshan Road from Jieting?" Zhao Yu seemed to have realized something.

"It's not all. Liu Bei's plan is very big this time. I'm afraid Chen Cang is not his ultimate goal." Cao Zhenxuan rolled his eyes.

"You mean Chang'an..." Ma Zun thought of Xia Houmao, and thought that the man was unreliable, and Chang'an had only 3 or [-] people, so he might have seen Liu Bei's army, so he might abandon the city and escape.

Cao Zhen replied: "It's not impossible. Xiahou Junlin (Xiahouru) is afraid that 2 people are not enough. I have to bring some over there myself."

"Chencang and Chang'an are both strong cities. It is understandable for the general to worry about the loss of Guanzhong, but if Zhang Fei takes the opportunity to attack Tianshui and Longyou, what can he do?" Whether Chencang and Chang'an are solid is not within the scope of Ma Zun's consideration. The prefect was only worried about his own comfort.

Cao Zhen said solemnly: "Prefect Ma can rest assured, Chencang and Chang'an should be fine for a while, and I will not leave Tianshui immediately, and there will be enough defenders left behind."

"The last general will be spared." Ma Zun nodded with satisfaction.

At dawn the next day, the two sides of the Wei River were quiet, and Cao Zhen quietly retreated towards Ji County at this time.

On the way, Cao Zhen sent multiple messengers, including those who went south to Wuwei to find Liangzhou Inspector Zhang Ji, some who went to Anding County to dispatch troops to go south to Chang'an, some who sent Chang'an to warn Xia Houmao, and some who rushed to Luoyang to ask Cao Pi for help... …

At this time, it is a small matter to lose face and lose ground, not to mention that Cao Zhen is facing the elite of Yizhou, and he has endured pressure beyond his own capacity.

Cao Zhen stayed in Ji County for more than ten days. It was estimated that Zhang had already led his troops to the south at this time, so he led [-] elite troops to Jieting in the northeast.

At this time, the fortified battle against Chencang had entered a fever pitch. With the assistance of a large number of siege equipment, Liu Bei's army suffered nearly 20 casualties within [-] days. Although the battle scene was extremely tragic, he still did not gnaw at the hard bone of Chencang.

Fazheng’s strategy of diverting water to irrigate the city was used twice, but the effect was not as powerful as imagined. The Weishui River in winter is in the dry season. When the water level is not so high, water diversion to irrigate the city needs a cofferdam to form a drop impact. The required manpower has doubled, and it seems that the civilian husbands Zhuge Liang dispatched for Liu Bei are no longer enough.

Chapter 797 Deng Ai really has a set

From the initial full of confidence to the stalemate in the battle, Liu Bei's mood changed day by day.

One night in late December, Liu Bei, who was full of sorrow, couldn't sleep for a long time. When he went out to relieve himself, he passed by Fazheng's tent and found that there was still a slight fire inside.

Chen Dao caught a glimpse of Liu Bei's solemn expression, and guessed that Liu Bei was going to discuss the military situation with Fazheng.

Liu Bei reached out to lift the curtain, while Chen Dao dismissed the nearby patrols and stood outside the tent to guard.

"Xiao Zhi, haven't you rested yet?" Liu Bei poked his head in and asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty hasn't slept yet?" Fazheng went up to him barefoot.

Fazheng invited Liu Bei to sit on the couch, and put the quilt on his legs to keep warm. On the couch, there was a small table with a map of Guanzhong spread on it.

"It's really not easy to attack Chen Cang, and I don't know if we can break through the city before Cao Pi wakes up. If the price is too high, it won't make much sense to win here." Liu Bei frowned.

Fazheng nodded and said: "Going north to Qinchuan to take it directly is a dangerous move. Now that we have put all our eggs in one basket, we must take this city. As long as we can stand firm, Longyou and Guanzhong are all in our hands. Although our loss is not small, Zhang He It's not easy to keep, so don't be discouraged, the current grain and grass can last for two or three months."

Liu Bei nodded and replied: "Since Bei is approaching the Weishui River, naturally he has not thought of giving up. Now that Yide and Shiyuan have occupied Shangyu and blocked Cao Zhen's army on the west road, now our purpose has been completely exposed. Anding, Chang'an, Luoyang, etc. The local garrisons all came to rescue Chen Cang, that would be the real difficulty..."

A few days ago, Xia Houmao sent [-] troops to aid, but was ambushed by two veteran generals, Huang Zhong and Yan Yan, and defeated in Weishui River.

Fazheng adopted the method of encirclement, three shortages, and one battle, leaving Zhang He with a way out to the north of Chencang. The wharf and boats on the Weishui River were not damaged, and he deliberately let the defenders in the city escape across the river.

The fleet at Weishui Wharf was too small to support the evacuation of all the defenders. Zhang Yun would rather stay in the city than go out.

Fazheng comforted and said: "The situation of the battle between Huainan and Jingzhou is unknown. Cao Pi has not sent reinforcements into Guanzhong for a long time. It is very likely that Sun Quan and General Guan will hold his hands and feet. We must seize the time to break through the city. Obviously, but it should have disintegrated the will of many defenders. Next, in addition to attacking the city with all my strength, I plan to use the method I used to attack Luocheng, using arrows and rumors to see if it can help break the city."

"I really miss Song Chen under Ziyu. If Ziyu had been the commander of the Northern Expedition, he might have sent someone to sneak into Chencang a year or two ago..." Liu Bei shook his head and smiled wryly.

Fazheng nodded in agreement: "General Lan is good at planning in advance, that's why he can't be seen by anyone. It's a pity that he has to plant grain in Jiaozhou to guard against Soochow, otherwise he will make great achievements in the military."

"One Ziyu is not enough..." Liu Bei sighed, and suddenly asked: "Wei Wenchang and Deng Shizai crossed the Ziwu Ridge. It has been more than a month, right? Why is there no news yet? This is too far from the planned 20 days ..."

"It's winter at this time, and the mountain trails may be difficult to walk. Let's give them more time. Even if we can't take Chang'an in the end, leading troops westward can help us take Chencang. I hope they can do something..." Fazheng comforted him.

Liu Bei's expression suddenly became firm, and he said solemnly: "They will do something, I have a strong hunch..."

Ziwu Ridge twists and turns, hundreds of miles of uninhabited mountain roads, often accompanied by wind and snow in winter, and the roar of wild animals in the mountains, it is very difficult to pass through.

Just a few days after Wei Yan led the army to set off, it encountered a rare heavy snowfall. The valley was filled with snow overnight, and the army could not even find the way forward. Fortunately, the accompanying General Yamen Wang Ping had rich experience in mountain warfare. Jianren Buqu is very good at climbing mountains and wading through water, leading the army to slowly explore the way forward.

Because the marching speed was too slow while exploring the road, Wei Yan discussed with Deng Ai to divide the troops. He took [-] troops and portable rations, and marched behind Wang Pingcong's trilogy. On the normal road, if you are in doubt, use ropes and other tools to cross the dangerous area by climbing and other methods.

Deng Ai's villagers carry grain carts, so they can't climb up and down the mountain like the Jian people. They can only move forward through the snow on the mountain road. If they accidentally make a mistake, they may fall into the deep valley. .

Due to Lantian's friendship, Ma Dai stayed by Deng Ai's side to help manage the grain transportation and the people. After a few hours, the former army disappeared. Ma Dai then went to Deng Ai and suggested: "Shi Zai, the future is uncertain now, General Wei. If you intend to go alone, will your 2-strong food transport team still follow?"

"Crossing the Meridian Ridge is a strange plan. If it succeeds, it will be famous in history. We can't shrink back when we see difficulties. Besides, General Wei has only [-] soldiers. It is almost impossible to take Chang'an. My [-] villagers will be of great help. Let’s go.” Deng Ai’s eyes were firm.

"It's not that Ma Dai is greedy for life and afraid of death. It's really because of the snow blocking the way. We haven't gone far into the mountains. It's still too late to return to Nanzheng. If we go forward for a while, it will be troublesome if we run out of food. That's [-] young and strong." Ma Dai had no right to speak among the villagers, so he could only persuade him earnestly.

Seeing that Deng Ai hesitated to speak, Ma Dai continued to analyze: "Our road is just a surprise soldier. Even if we successfully walk out of Ziwu Ridge, it will be very difficult to win Chang'an. The main force of the king's road is needed to conquer Guanzhong. No matter how important the role of the villagers is, General Wei doesn't seem to take them seriously, so why should we take risks?"

"We have to go out of Ziwu Ridge. Regardless of whether General Wei values ​​it or not, my [-] villagers are useful. It's not because I'm headstrong. It's really a matter of national affairs that must go all out. If we are timid, how can we achieve great things? I will have no face in the future. See you sir." Deng Ai said firmly.

"The current situation..." Ma Dai hesitated to speak.

Deng Ai replied confidently: "Among the [-] villagers, there are a small number of older people. They were all the people in Guanzhong. They fled to Hanzhong and left Ziwuling..."

"So Shi Zai prepared a guide? Why didn't you tell General Wei?" Ma Dai was overjoyed.

Deng Ai shook his head and replied: "General Wei has General Wang's help, how can he value the villagers like me? Mr. once said that the icing on the cake is easy, but it is difficult to send charcoal in the snow. General Wang is indeed a good fighter in mountain warfare, so I don't need to add icing on the cake..."

"Shi Zai is Mr. Xuan Xiao's disciple. It is said that General Wei will not treat you lightly. Why does he not know about the deep hole in your chest when you have been farming in Hanzhong for two years?" Ma Dai was very surprised.

Deng Ai replied with a smile: "Mr. taught me to be low-key, to pay attention to accumulation in everything, to farm in Zitong and Mianshui, and it is normal for General Wei not to know my skills..."

Ma Dai pointed at Deng Ai and laughed, "When we walk out of Ziwu Ridge, General Wei may be surprised. I admire Mr. Xuanxiao very much..."

Deng Ai then asked the villagers who were familiar with the route to lead the way. Combining the astronomy and geography he had learned over the years, he led the villagers and food to walk slowly in the mountains, and finally walked out of Ziwuling in mid-December.

At this time, Wei Yan was stationed at the foot of a hill ten miles away. They had run out of food when they came here, and they were thinking about attacking several nearby villages to supply supplies, but it was so easy to expose their whereabouts, and they couldn't achieve the goal of surprise attacking Chang'an, and neither could the soldiers. Hit Chang'an hungry.

Just when he was in a dilemma, Wang Ping rushed to report excitedly: "General Wei and General Deng have already walked out of Ziwu Ridge with the villagers and food, so we don't need to go hungry."

"Really? Deng Shizai really has a trick." Wei Yan jumped up excitedly.

Chapter 798 Wei Wenchang's Soldier Arrives in Chang'an