Chapter 969 The Nightmare Comes Again

  After the first battle of Xiaoguan, Wei State was forced to completely abandon Anding County to the west of Longshan Mountain and to the east of Longshan Mountain.

  Then surround Yimei City (corresponding to the inclined road)-Chencang (corresponding to Chencang Road)-Qian County (corresponding to Longguan)-Jingshui River Valley in Xinping County (corresponding to Anding County) to build defensive fortifications.

  As for Feng Thief's small actions in the north of Beidi County and the hometown of Jiuyuan County over the years, Sima Yi is naturally well aware.

  So on the one hand, in addition to reversing the practice of shrinking Beidi County since the Later Han Dynasty, he actively eliminated some pro-Han tribes close to Beidi County.

  At the same time, the first cordon was set up on the Qin Inner Great Wall, that is, the Jushui area in the north of the original Beidi County (Note: It is not the Jushui in Hanzhong, but located in the northern Shaanxi Plateau in later generations).

  Beidi County is high in the north and low in the south. If the Shu captives want to raid Guanzhong from the original place of Jiuyuan, there is a barrier that cannot be bypassed.

   This is the Qiaoshan mountain range (that is, Ziwuling in later generations).

  Qiaoshan mountain range is a collective name for a large range of mountains. The altitude of the mountains is not too high, but the terrain is more complicated.

   Even in later generations, it is also a well-preserved natural vegetation area on the Loess Plateau, and it is an important ecological forest in the central part of the Loess Plateau.

  The Qiaoshan mountain range starts from the source of Jushui in the north, and ends in Fuping County, the county seat of Beidi County, in the south.

  Qin Zhidao winds on the ridges of various mountains in the Qiaoshan Mountains in a zigzag shape.

  The army walked on Qin Zhidao, overlooking everything at the foot of the mountain.

  Before the former Han Dynasty regained the Hetao area, it relied on this mountain range to prevent the Huns from going south and entering the hinterland of Guanzhong.

   It can be said that it is the last barrier in Guanzhong to stop the enemy from committing crimes from the south.

  Since the later Han Dynasty, Beidi County has been shrinking, and the final territory also ends at this mountain range.

  The area north of Qiaoshan can be lost, but Qiaoshan must not be lost.

  So Sima Yi naturally knew the importance of Qiaoshan. Not only did he have people dig trenches and build barriers on the Qin Zhidao to stop the cavalry.

  At the same time, they also set up camps at various dangerous mountain passes in Qiaoshan, intending to step by step to stop the enemy.

  Because the mountains in the south of Qiaoshan end in Fuping County, the county seat of Beidi County, there are many rivers of different sizes converging from the mountains and flowing through Fuping County.

  The dense river network, as long as it is used properly, can also delay the advance of the cavalry. This is Sima Yi's third line of defense.

   It can be said that Sima Yi's emphasis on Beidi County's defense exceeded anyone's imagination.

  He would never leave the opponent with the slightest chance of getting out of Beidi County's surprise pass.

  No way, the ghost riders under Feng Guiwang's command are too terrifying. If they are allowed to cross the Qiaoshan Mountains and enter the Guanzhong Plain, then no one can say that they can stop the charge of the ghost riders.

  If the Han army wanted to learn from Huo Piaoyao, come around from the desert and go south along the Qin Zhidao, they would have to attack the camps he arranged on each hilltop of Qiaoshan one by one.

  The problem is... the enemies coming from Jiuyuan must be cavalry.

  How many casualties will the cavalry have to pay to capture these densely packed camps, or are they arranged in the dangerous mountain camps?

  Feng Yong naturally did not know these specific arrangements of Sima Yi.

  So he didn't know that after leading the army out of the fort this time, after making a big circle, it was very likely that at some point in the future, he would bump headfirst into the hardest turtle shell.

  While he was having a great time leading the sheep and sheep in the desert, the Wei Guoxios in Hanzhong and Longyou were already running like flying, shuttling through the deep mountains and old forests of Qinling and Longshan.

  They walked on the mountain trails that only woodcutters knew, and wanted to pass the news of the Han army's dispatch to Guanzhong as quickly as possible.

   But it was Meicheng who brought the news first.

  Although the people of Shu used the excuse of business travel for a long time, they blocked all the roads in Hanzhong two years ago.

  But as the most likely Xiegu Road for the Shu captives in Hanzhong—the other road is Chencang Road—the sentry sent by Meicheng on the Xiegu Road has never been broken.

  You sent out to detect that there seemed to be an abnormality in the depths of the Xiegu Road, and combined with the sudden closure of the Longshan Pass to prevent business travel, Sima Yi guessed what might happen.

  After the secret agent in the Kingdom of Shu sent the first piece of information to Chang'an, Sima Yi confirmed the authenticity of the piece of information on the spot.

   "Pass my order, let Meicheng send more sentries, and be sure to find out the movements of the Shu captives!"

  Sima Yi snapped, pressed the silk with the urgent military situation on the case, and said sharply.

   "Here!"

   "Come here, send an order to Jian County and Chen Cang, let them step up their precautions, and strictly guard against mistakes!"

   "Here!"

   After finishing the order, Sima Yi suddenly exhaled a long breath, relaxed all over his body, and with a strange light in his eyes, he murmured:

"finally come!"

  Everyone knows that the Shu captives, who have occupied a great deal of land, will invade Guanzhong sooner or later.

   Years of preparation, waiting for today.

  If this battle is defeated, Wei will completely lose the chance to unify the world.

   On the contrary, if the Shu captives can be defeated in this battle, Longyou can recover.

  With Longyou in hand, Liangzhou will have no worries.

   Just as Sima Yi regained his spirit and was about to issue the third military order, suddenly there was a dull and extremely loud noise from a distance.

   This loud noise sounded like Lei Feilei, and there was a collision of similar metal objects.

  When Sima Yi heard this voice, his heart skipped a beat. He seemed to have thought of something, and hurried to the door, looking in the direction of the voice.

   But the sky was clear and the sun was high, but there was no sign of thunder.

  Sima Yi's face was slightly clouded, because the loud noise was from the direction of Tongguan.

   "Go, send someone out of the city to see what happened."

  He turned his head and commanded the guards who followed him closely.

   "Here."

  Back in the mansion, Sima Yi was alone in a room, with a hesitant look on his face, as if he was thinking about something.

  Although it has almost been confirmed that the Shu captives will invade on a large scale, starting from Ziwu Valley in the south of Chang'an to Qiaoshan in the north, it is still unknown where the main attack direction of the Shu captive army will be.

  So he did not rush to dispatch troops.

   Because there is no use in rushing.

   Only by knowing in which direction Ge and Feng appeared, can the Guanzhong army be mobilized in a targeted manner.

  Nine times out of ten, Ge Zei will come out of Xiegu. After all, there are several roads in Hanzhong, and this is the best way to go.

   Even Chen Cangdao is not a good choice.

  Because the deep valley below the Dasan Pass is very steep, there are cliffs facing each other on both sides, like a line of sky.

  Unless the sneak attack is successful, only a few thousand defenders are enough to make it difficult for tens of thousands of troops to move.

  Even though it is rumored that the Shu captives have sharp weapons to attack the city, it is not so easy to attack in front of the narrow pass.

  So Ge thief's actions are easy to guess, but Feng thief...

  When Sima Yi thought of this thief, he suddenly felt a little irritable.

  If it is said that Ge Zei likes a teacher who is upright and upright, and uses power to overwhelm others, then Feng Zei is a person who is erratic, full of tricks, and unpredictable.

   But this thief is very good at running around, so people have to be careful.

  Longguan?

  Xiao Guan?

  Stable?

   Or... Beidi County?

   While Sima Yi was thinking about it, anxiously waiting for more information from the spy and sentry, a sergeant came to report in a hurry outside:

   "Da Sima, it's not good, the people are short of manpower, and the Chenglu plate was only transported for thirty miles before it fell into the ditch and broke!"

  Sima Yi's head buzzed, and he lost his voice: "What?"

  It turned out that the loud noise ahead was caused by the breaking of Sui Lupan?

  Sima Yi's face changed drastically, and he suddenly slapped his thigh: "The Shu captives are here to commit crimes, I actually forgot about it!"

  A while ago, he went to Luoyang to argue with reason, and only then did he let His Majesty know that transporting the Jinren and Chenglu plate at the same time would excessively consume the power of the people in Guanzhong, which is not conducive to strengthening the defense of Guanzhong.

  Therefore, this year you can carry the Chenglu Pan first, and next year you can carry the Jinren.

   Although the dew plate is much larger than the Jinren, it can be disassembled.

   It is still difficult to carry it.

  Thirty thousand people, paving roads and building bridges, trying their best to move, flat land, no more than ten miles a day, rough land, three or four miles a day is also common.

  So for more than a month, it was demolished and moved again, and then the Chenglupan was moved out of Chang'an City for about 30 miles.

   I didn't expect that when I knew that the Shu captives were coming, the Chenglu plate fell into the ditch and broke, and the sound could be heard for dozens of miles.

  Sima Yi's face suddenly darkened.

  He just said "I actually forgot about this", of course he was not telling the truth.

  He was originally waiting, and when the situation was truly clarified tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, he would have a reason to report to His Majesty and stop moving the dew tray.

  The civilian men who had already assembled happened to be incorporated into the army to deliver food and grass to the army.

   It's just an omen right now... Doesn't seem very good?

  Sima Yi's eyelids twitched a few times, but he didn't dare to delay any longer, and quickly ordered:

   "Come here, prepare your pen and ink!"

  On the same day, after Sima Yi's memorial was sent out of Chang'an City by Kuai Ma, the main generals of Wei Guoguan Zhongjun Guo Huai, Xian Yufu, Du Xi, Niu Jin, Fei Yao, Dai Ling, Deng Ai and others.

   were summoned, or urgent orders began to be sent to them...

   Soon, the second batch of information was delivered to Sima Yi.

   The first one detected by the Wei army was not the Hanzhong army that was under surveillance, but the Longyou army that was closest to Anding County.

  Deng Zhi and Ma Dai led the army as soon as they left Xiaoguan and entered Anding. Xianyufu who was guarding the Jingshui River Valley in Xinping County immediately became alert and sent a message to Chang'an almost at the same time.

   "This partiality is true, it's nothing to worry about, the general of Fuguo is enough to deal with it."

  Sima Yi looked at the military information sent by Xian Yufu, but his brows were still furrowed.

  What he wants most is the news of Ge thief and Feng thief. These two thieves are really a serious problem for Wei's confidantes.

   "Feng Zeitang will not come from Anding. The ghost cavalry under this thief's men can only be used in flat places, but they can't exert their power in the Jingshui River Valley."

  Sima Yi's eyes fell on the map, which was very crude compared to the maps used by the big man in the army.

  However, the positions of Longguan, Xiaoguan and Qiaoshan can still be roughly marked.

   "Feng thief, where are you coming from?"

  Si Mayi's eyes flickered and he muttered to himself.

  Cross Longguan and dive into Si County, as long as you capture Si County, you can drive straight in.

  Similarly, if you go south from Xiaoguan along Huizhong Road, you can also go straight to Si County.

  In the battle of Xiaoguan, Feng thief attacked the city like walking in the courtyard. Cao Zidan miscalculated the speed of the thief's attack, so he made a wrong step.

  Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the possibility of Feng's bandit attacking Si County is the greatest.

   It's just that Feng thief is too cunning!

  So Sima Yi's eyes fell on Qiaoshan in Beidi County...

  As time passed day by day, the war clouds in Guanzhong continued to accumulate.

   Between Chang'an and Luoyang, the number of messengers suddenly increased.

  Sometimes it can reach more than ten rides a day.

   "Report! Da Sima, General Xiaoqi (Qin Lang) has led the army through Tongguan, and the forward will arrive in Chang'an in three days!"

   "Excellent! General Qin arrived in Guanzhong before the Shu captives, and this battle is more confident!"

  Sima Yi laughed at the generals.

  Everyone laughed in agreement.

  Guo Huai and Deng Ai smiled, but there was worry in their eyes.

  General Xiaoqi led the Chinese army from Luoyang to Chang'an faster than the Shu captives, which is a matter of course.

  Da Sima is using it to encourage the army at this time, I am afraid that he is also a little uneasy.

  But no matter what, Qin Lang led the arrival of Luoyang's 50,000 elite Chinese army, which finally gave Guanzhong a shot in the arm.

  Sima Yi personally went out of the city to meet Qin Lang, which shows that he attaches great importance to this army.

   "General Qin, it has now been found out that Ge Bandit, a fake prime minister of Shu, personally led an army from Xiegu. It is rumored that there are 100,000 people, but in my opinion, he is no more than 50,000 to 60,000 ears."

  The military situation is urgent. After receiving Qin Lang, Sima Yi immediately explained the situation in Guanzhong to him:

   "I heard that the puppet emperor of Shu stayed in Hanzhong for a long time. As Ge thief, he will definitely stay with some troops to defend the Liu family."

   "After all, the old man also led the army westward from Shangyong and arrived in Hanzhong. In addition, there are still several other roads in Guanzhong that entered Hanzhong, so Ge ​​thief will definitely guard against this."

  Qin Lang was sent to Si County to prevent the Shu people from crossing Longshan, and then followed Cao Zhen to participate in the Battle of Xiaoguan.

  In that scuffle, he was one of the few characters who could lead a complete battalion back from the battlefield, and Cao Zhen retreated under his escort.

  Later, Bigui, the governor of Bingzhou, forced them to rebel against the Hu people, and was defeated by Ke Bi Neng outside the Great Wall.

  Cao Rui sent Qin Lang to lead the Chinese army to Bingzhou, and finally defeated Ke Bineng, making Ke Bineng almost devastated.

  Finally, he had to follow Feng Guiwang's suggestion and move the court tent to the old place of Jiuyuan in order to get a better connection with Liangzhou.

  In recent years, the border of Bingzhou and Youzhou has been peaceful, and there are no more riots. This is the result of Qin Lang's battle.

   It can be said that Qin Lang has been regarded as an outstanding figure among the younger generation of Wei Guo over the years.

  At this time, when he heard Sima Yi's words, he frowned:

   "Da Sima, what about Feng thief? Where is this thief now?"

  Guo Huai next to him heard Qin Lang's words, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

  At this time, he really understood Qin Lang's mood.

  After all, they participated in the big defeat in Xiaoguan with Qin Lang, and the torrent of red iron armor was their lingering nightmare.

  Although several years have passed, but now that the nightmare has come back again, it is impossible to say that I am not frightened at all, so I can't be too careful.

   "Feng thief?"

  Sima Yi hesitated for a while, but finally shook his head, "I don't know where it is yet."

   "This thief is very cunning, you have to be careful."

  Qin Lang murmured, "Where does Da Sima think he will be?"

   "No matter where he is now, he will only appear in these two places in the end."

   Sima Yi pointed at Qian County and Beidi County while talking, "The army led by Ge Bandit is the main force of the Shu captives, so I plan to lead the army to Mei City in person."

   "The remaining two places need people who can persuade the crowd and are good at fighting. It is best to be familiar with the terrain..."

  Guo Huai's face changed slightly when he heard the words!

  Like a tacit understanding, Qin Lang subconsciously glanced at Guo Huai.

  As a general of Xiaoqi, Qin Lang is deeply favored by Cao Rui, but he keeps a low profile and has never heard of offending anyone.

   In the past few years, he defended the county for several years, and he participated in the war, and he has military merits.

  Guo Huai, on the other hand, has been guarding Guanzhong for a long time and is the governor of Yongzhou, so he is considered a veteran.

  Whether the two are convincing the public or familiar with the terrain, they can be said to be suitable candidates.

  The atmosphere froze for a while, and finally Qin Lang sighed inaudibly, breaking the silence:

   "I am familiar with the county, why don't you just let me guard it."

  Si Mayi was overjoyed when he saw Qin Lang take the initiative to invite Ying:

   "There will be no hindrance to General Qin going to Qin County!"

   After all, he is a celebrity around His Majesty, so Sima Yi naturally didn't want to offend easily.

  If Qin Lang is unwilling to go, he will definitely not force it.

  If other things were changed, Qin Lang would naturally not stand out.

   It's just that Qin Lang has a close relationship with Cao Rui, and their relationship is extraordinary. In this matter, he has no reason to back down due to emotion and reason.

  Guo Huai saw Qin Lang like this, how could he be ashamed not to speak?

  I saw him hastily clasped his fists and said:

   "The last general has been in Guanzhong for a long time, and he is most familiar with Guanzhong. Qiaoshan will let the last general guard it."

   "Okay, then I will send 30,000 elite soldiers to General Guo, but when the enemy comes, remember not to attack, just stick to the pass on the mountain top."

   "In this way, if there are not three times as many Shu captives, it will be difficult to cross Qiaoshan."

  After the arrangement was completed, Sima Yi personally led an army of 100,000 to Meicheng, preparing to block Zhuge Liang to death in Xiegu.

  (end of this chapter)