Chapter 976 Crossing the water

   Finding Zhuge Liang's flaws is temporarily unnecessary.

   After all, according to Sima Yi's thinking, the two sides are still in the stage of exhausting patience.

  Of course, Feng Zei has appeared now.

  If Zhuge Liang had agreed with Feng Thief before dispatching troops, then the other side would probably enter the next stage: a small-scale probing attack.

  But for Sima Yi, this was all within his expectations.

  As long as you stick to the camp and don't give the opposite side the opportunity to cross the water on a large scale, then everything is under control.

   Moreover, Zhuge Liang could not cross the water on a large scale without full certainty.

   Still the same sentence, Feng thief has already appeared in the north.

  That means that there is no pressure on Longshan, so the 50,000 Chinese troops stationed in Jian County can come from Chencang at any time.

  If Zhuge Liang really dared to cross the martial arts water eastward on a large scale, Qin Lang coming from the direction of Chen Cang could threaten his rear at any time.

  Zhuge Liang himself is not afraid of the ups and downs, so why is Sima Yi afraid?

   Not to mention that there will be a martial arts water between the head and the tail of the Shu captives.

   Isn't this a half-way attack plus double-sided attack?

  Sima Yi didn't believe that Zhuge Liang would take such a risk.

  So, now it depends on who has enough concentration, who can break the situation from other places first, so as to put pressure on the frontal battlefield, and whoever can take advantage.

  Received Sima Yi's guidance, Deng Ai suddenly realized, and quickly clasped his fists and said:

   "Da Sima, Ai Yuan please go to Si County!"

  Having been farming in Guanzhong for a few years, plus he likes to observe mountains and rivers on weekdays and imagine attack and defense, Deng Ai is already familiar with the terrain of Guanzhong.

  Since Da Sima has said it, it is not easy to find Zhuge Liang's flaws at this time.

  Then the rest are either Feng Zei or Deng Zhi.

   Feng Zei's words... probably don't even think about it.

  The north of Bridge Mountain is flat land.

  There may be people in the world who can defeat the cavalry led by Feng Thief on flat ground.

   But Deng Ai knew that he was definitely not included.

   Not for now, at least.

  So the last direction left is only Deng Zhi.

  Si Mayi was very satisfied and nodded:

   "Although General Qin has won the trust of His Majesty, he is low-key and never makes things difficult for others. Wherever you go, he should treat me a little bit less and will not look down on you."

  Deng Ai said gratefully:

   "Thank you, Da Sima."

   "Tomorrow I will send a grain transportation team to Yi County to deliver grain, and then you will be the grain **** officer."

   "No."

  Compared with Sima Yi who was able to respond immediately after learning about Feng Yong, the reaction of the Han army seemed a bit slow.

   After all, it is indeed as Deng Ai said, the soldiers are divided into three groups, and they cannot communicate with each other. Naturally, the three groups can only fight on their own.

  For the army of the prime minister, there is not enough information, so they can only follow the plan before the expedition, step by step, and fight steadily.

   This is a safe approach.

  As Sima Yi believed, with the formal establishment of the tripartite force, the armies of various countries are also moving towards regularization.

  The confrontation between two armies is no longer a matter of rushing forward and drawing a knife.

  Even if you want to rush, people may not give you a chance, but it is very likely to give your opponent a chance.

  The commander-in-chief needs to consider the country's war potential, logistical support, support of the people, the timing of the battle, etc., not just the confrontation between the two armies.

   This is the so-called temple calculation.

   It is only what the commander has to consider, not what the general has to consider.

  For example, Wei Yan.

  Watching the Wei Guo grain transportation team on the north bank swaggering past, their arrogant appearance didn't seem to take the Han army on the opposite side into their eyes at all, Wei Yan couldn't wait to draw his bow and arrow and shoot the leader off his horse.

   It's just that the Wei River is too wide, not to mention bows and arrows, even heavy crossbows in the army, I'm afraid they can barely reach the shore.

   Not to mention being able to shoot the Wei army far away from the shore.

   "Northern Expedition, what is this Northern Expedition, it's clearly a joke!"

   Wei Yan said angrily, "If you fight and don't fight, it's a waste of money and food. When can we defeat the Wei thief?"

  After speaking, he threw the long bow in his hand on the ground, let his personal guard lead the horse, turned on his back, and galloped towards Wuzhangyuan.

   Entering the barracks, Wei Yan dismounted from his horse and strode to the commander's tent.

  As the number one general in the army under the prime minister's command, no one would stop him along the way.

   "General Wei."

   "I want to see the prime minister."

   "General, the prime minister has gone to Wugongshui to check on the enemy's situation."

   I don’t plan to cross the water to attack the bandits, but I watch the enemy’s situation every day, so how can I see the bandits Wei dead?

  Hearing this, Wei Yan felt a little impatient, muttered something, then turned and walked towards Wu Gongshui.

  Summer is coming, and there seems to be more rain.

  It rained only two days ago, Zhuge Liang was sitting in a wheelchair, looking at the swollen river water, thoughtful.

   "Come here, shoot an arrow to the opposite bank with a crossbow."

   "No."

   Soon a sergeant came up with a heavy crossbow, squatted down, pulled the string, and shot the arrow. The movements were very standard.

   "Dare to ask the prime minister, which direction do you want to shoot?"

  Zhuge Liang squinted his eyes, then picked up the binoculars to look at it, and then pointed to a prominent big rock on the opposite bank:

   "See that rock? Just shoot at that location."

   "No."

  The sergeant took aim and pulled the trigger.

   "Peng!"

  The improved heavy crossbow has a very long range. If the lethality is not counted, the furthest one can reach nearly two hundred steps.

  The surface of the martial arts water did not exceed a hundred paces.

  To be honest, when he met Sima Yi for the first time, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty might not have thought of making people give him a surprise.

  It's a pity that that guy is very vigilant, not only standing far away, but also has his own guards holding a big stick beside him.

  Even when the two sides shouted, it was the sergeant who ran close to spread the message.

   It seems that he has long known how powerful the big man is.

  The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty was sitting in a four-wheel chair, looking at the water in thought, when someone yelled:

   "Prime Minister!"

   Zhuge Liang, whose thoughts were interrupted, followed the source of the sound, and it turned out that it was Wei Yan who had just rushed over.

   "Oh, it's the text chief!"

  Zhuge Liang took out a small piece of brocade cloth from his arms, carefully wiped the lens of the telescope, and asked casually:

   "Is Wenchang busy?"

   "Prime Minister, I just saw that the Wei thief escorted a batch of grain to the west." Wei Yan's face was a little unsightly, "My army has come from afar, and the food consumed is far more than that of the Wei thief."

   "Even if the prime minister intends to farm in Wuzhangyuan, how can it compare to the land behind the Wei thief? If things go on like this, I'm afraid we won't be able to exhaust the Wei thief! We..."

   Wei Yan held back his breath, and was about to say everything, but the prime minister suddenly interrupted him:

   "The Wei thief escorted a batch of grain to the west?"

  Zhuge Liang's attention seemed to be attracted by Wei Yan's first words, as if he didn't hear what he said later, "Just now?"

  Wei Yan froze for a moment, then subconsciously nodded: "Exactly."

  Zhuge Liang was a little puzzled:

   "For so long, the grain and grass of the Wei thieves in the west have basically been transported from Chang'an. How could they go from the north bank this time?"

  Of course, even if you start from Chang'an, it is most convenient to walk along the Wei River on weekdays.

   But now Wuzhangyuan on the south bank has its own army?

  The grain and grass for tens of thousands of horses is not a small amount.

  Who would expose the food transport team to the enemy's eyes?

  So naturally it is safer to go to the north of Beiyuan.

  Wei Yan became impatient again.

   "Prime Minister, what I want to say is that the Wei thief not only has more soldiers than me, but also has more food than me, and it is easy to transport. If we keep fighting with him, we will be the ones who can't afford it in the end!"

  The prime minister did not answer Wei Yan's words, but looked to the other side, and said to himself:

   "If something is abnormal, there must be a reason. I think it is very likely that the grain and grass team did not start from Chang'an, but was sent by Sima Yi on the other side."

  The attitude of the prime minister made Wei Yan feel as if he had punched nothing, and he had no focus at all. He also looked to the other side and said sullenly:

"so what?"

   "It means that things have changed, and Sima Yi took action." Zhuge Liang narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "I'm afraid that is not the real grain and grass team, but the reinforcements sent by Sima Yi to Qian County."

  Wei Yan finally showed a surprised expression: "Reinforcements? Over there in Longyou, does the Prime Minister have other arrangements?"

   It shouldn't be, the whole big man has only so many troops, where does Longyou get the extra troops?

  Zhuge Liang shook his head: "If Si County is in a hurry, why would Sima Yi cover it up like this? Maybe he wants to take the initiative to attack from Si County..."

   Having said that, Zhuge Liang turned his gaze to the northeast, "It seems that Sima Yi already knows where Feng Mingwen is."

   Calculating the time, it is almost here.

   "Prime Minister, what shall we do?"

  Wei Yan said anxiously:

   "Longyou seems to be unable to hide it. Do you want me to lead the troops west to attack Chencang? Let the Wei thieves in Si County not dare to move lightly."

   "Divide the troops to attack the city. At least you have to bring 20,000 to 30,000 people to go there. How can I divide so many troops for you?" Zhuge Liang shook his head again, "It's better to cross the water directly to test."

   "Crossing water?"

   "Yes, cross the martial arts water." After Zhuge Liang finished speaking, he ordered, "Where is Meng Yan?"

  Meng Yan, who was guarding the prime minister, stood up quickly:

   "The end is here!"

   "I will divide you into five thousand tiger infantry. Prepare your equipment today, and get the military order tomorrow, and cross the water immediately!"

   "No!"

  The tiger infantry army is an elite army carefully prepared by the prime minister over the years. Except for Jiang Wei who is qualified to lead 5,000 people alone, the rest are all led by the prime minister.

  Now let Meng Yan lead the tiger infantry to cross the water first, it can be seen that the prime minister has really moved this time.

  Wei Yan couldn't care about it anymore, and directly interjected:

   "Prime Minister, why don't you let me be the vanguard?"

  Zhuge Liang said indifferently:

   "If you want to cross the water successfully, you must have elite tiger soldiers. Meng Yan is the supervisor of the tiger. He led the tiger troops to cross the water, which is justified."

   "You are not a member of the Tiger Army, how do you know the key points of the Tiger Army?"

  Wei Yan was dumbfounded.

  Zhuge Liang glanced at Wei Yan, saw that he was angry, and said something more:

   "If Meng Yan can successfully cross the water, you will be the second group to lead the crossing."

   Wei Yan got a promise, and then he calmed down a little.

  Zhuge Liang sighed in his heart:

  I didn't let Wei Yan cross the water first, because I knew that he was too hot-tempered and eager to do meritorious service. After crossing the water, he might not be willing to dig camp and stand firm in the face of Wei's thieves.

   On the contrary, it is Meng Yan. Although his bravery is not as good as Wei Yan, he is superior in that he can completely follow my orders.

  It was just dawn on the second day, and the noisy west bank quickly attracted the attention of Wei Jun's spies.

   "Da Sima, there is movement from the Shu captives!"

  Sima Yi got the report, and hurriedly took people out to have a look, and he saw the Shu captives on the opposite bank carrying bamboo rafts into the water.

   "No, the Shu captives are trying to cross the martial arts water by force!" Sima Yi was startled, and quickly ordered, "Send the order, and immediately organize the army!"

  Since he went to Wuzhangyuan, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty has been letting the army cut bamboo and wood, just for crossing the water.

  However, the raft was three to four feet long and nearly two feet wide, being continuously pushed into the water, and then tied to death by thick hemp ropes.

   At the same time, there is a sound of "boom, bang, bang, bang". This is to increase the stability, and a sergeant nailed it between the two rafts with a special iron rod.

  For the Han army stationed on the west bank, when the sun just rose, the sun was just dazzling, which was not good for the battle.

   Only when the sun rose higher, the larger rafts were pushed into the water. On each raft stood two hundred tiger infantry soldiers with bows and spears.

  Big poles were erected in front to guard against the arrows of the Wei thieves—the Han army began to cross the water.

   Sure enough, just as the raft crossed the center of the river, the crossbow arrows of the Wei thief came with the sound of piercing the air.

  The tiger infantry soldiers on the raft all huddled behind the big pole, trying not to expose their bodies.

  In this case, there is no other way but to be beaten passively.

   Getting closer and closer, the archers of the Wei Army began to throw.

"Prepare!"

   "Wow!"

  The soldiers on the raft began to draw bows and arrows.

"shoot!"

   "Puff!"

   entered the range of the archer, and finally could counterattack.

  If it is said that among the Three Kingdoms, Wei is good at cavalry, then the Han is best at bows and crossbows. As for Wu, it is naturally boats.

  Of course, with Liangzhou and the opening of the human figure hanger, the big man has made up for the shortcomings of the cavalry.

  But Wei Jun was not so lucky, there was no way to catch up with the big man on the crossbow.

  The archers of the Wei Army started to shoot arrows, which meant that the Wei Army had also entered the bow and arrow attack range of the Tiger Army on the bamboo raft.

  Although the arrows shot by the Han army on the raft were a bit sparse, they were not unable to fight back as before.

  Facing the arrow feathers falling from the sky, the big scorpion erected in front is not very useful.

   Soon, screams sounded one after another.

  No matter how big the bamboo raft is, it cannot be compared with the boat. In order to reduce the weight, except for the team leader who wears iron armor, the rest of the soldiers are basically leather armor.

  The tiger soldiers on the bamboo raft were constantly shot with arrows in their necks, shoulders, backs, and even heads.

  The blood of the soldiers who overturned on the raft seeped down the gaps in the raft, staining the water surface red.

   And more, they couldn't stand upright and fell directly into the water.

  The wounded soldier couldn't even struggle a few times, and after a few bubbles bubbled up, he didn't come up again.

  There are only wisps of red, slowly spreading...

   This is just the beginning.

  The first raft finally rushed to the shore, and the Wei army who had been prepared for a long time shouted in unison, and their spears were firmly pressed against the big pole in front of them.

   "Wow!"

  The Han army was caught off guard, and the big boat fell backwards, crushing the soldiers on the raft.

  Only less than a hundred soldiers left on the raft could still stand, and the team leader roared angrily:

"kill!"

   took the lead and rushed forward.

  At the same time, not far from the bamboo raft crossing, the upstream end of the already connected raft bridge was pushed into the water, and with the help of the current, it began to automatically and slowly move towards the opposite bank.

  The downstream end was firmly fixed to the stake.

   "Ka Ka Ka..."

  The raft bridge made a tooth-piercing sound, and finally got stuck on the east bank with a "crash".

  Meng Yan, who couldn't wait for a long time, jumped up, led the soldiers of the tiger infantry, stepped on the raft bridge, and went straight to the opposite bank.

  A Wei army wanted to rush over to encircle, and then only heard another burst of "puffy" crossbow arrows, and the strong crossbowmen on the west bank shot out a torrential rain of crossbow bolts.

   Within fifty steps of the east bank, it became a dead zone, and no one dared to approach it.

  Wait for the tiger infantry running across the raft bridge to reach the opposite bank, almost all the soldiers who arrived on the shore by raft boat were killed in battle.

   "Da Sima!"

"Not in a hurry!"

   Sima Yi, who saw this scene from a distance, had a calm face.

   A small number of Han troops rushed across the shore, this is nothing.

  He didn't expect Wu Gongshui to completely block Zhuge Liang from the other side.

   Only when Zhuge Liang sent a large number of men and horses to start crossing the water, is it really time to strike halfway.

  In this situation, the infantry can only fight hand-to-hand, and it is far from the time when the fine cavalry is dispatched.

   If Jingqi is dispatched now, it will have no other effect except to rush himself into the water.

  This kind of small-scale battle depends on who is more resilient and who is better organized.

  Obviously, the Han army crossing the water right now is the elite in Zhuge Liang's hands.

  In addition, the water surface of Wugong River is not wide enough, and the strong crossbow on the other side can cover the crossing. Wei Junkong has an advantage in strength, but there is no way to outflank it from both sides.

  After the success of the first raft bridge, the second one will follow...

  The third branch was washed away by the water...

  At the same time, the pontoon bridge built from the beginning is also continuously extended to the east bank...

  On the several-kilometer-long shore, the soldiers of the Han and Wei armies, like ferocious beasts provoked by blood, were constantly shouting and fighting.

  At the same time, on the Qin Zhi Road in Qiaoshan, a cavalry army of tens of thousands was walking slowly.

  The reason why he walked slowly was because Guo Huai had already destroyed the Qin Zhidao on Qiaoshan in advance.

  Every section of the road, a deep ditch that is two or three feet short and four or five feet wide is dug.

  The method is simple, but effective.

   Feng Yong had to fill up these trenches along the way before he could move on.

  PS:

  No money for the following:

  Talk about the military guiding ideology of the Three Kingdoms, Han and Wei.

  First of all, let me explain: Some of the following content is what I have seen others say on the Internet before, but now I can’t find where the original words are.

  At the same time, I added some of my personal understanding.

  Okay, the text begins.

  When we modern people talk about the Three Kingdoms, most of them only pay attention to who has a good record and how many times they have won.

   But few people notice such a thing, that is, if you look carefully, there are only about four or five people in the Three Kingdoms who are called military strategists by later generations.

  It seems that there are only two military works that have been handed down.

  One is Cao Cao and the other is Zhuge Liang.

  These two, one is the army building policy of the Wei State, and the other is the re-enactment of Ji Han's army guiding ideology after Liu Bei's prodigal family.

   And because of the different national conditions of the two countries, the two of them have different emphases.

  Before talking about their differences, let’s take a look at the two military representatives of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods.

  One is Wu Qi and the other is Sun Bin.

  Wu Qi's military thinking has an obvious feature, that is, he requires everyone to strictly abide by laws and regulations, and at the same time he attaches great importance to cultivating the combat effectiveness of grassroots soldiers.

  Wu Qi trained Wei Wuzu, who was the most elite soldier in the world at that time, the kind who beat the old Qin howling and almost raised the white flag.

  As for Sun Bin, he paid more attention to the role of generals than ordinary soldiers.

  For example, he believes that factors such as large numbers of people, abundant food, and sophisticated weapons are not enough to guarantee victory in battle.

  Generals can only guarantee victory if they master the laws of war, understand the situation of both the enemy and ourselves, and command properly.

   These two military thoughts were the two schools at that time.

   Probably the old Qin was defeated by the soldiers of Wei, and almost failed to hold the capital.

  So after Wei Guo himself repeatedly jumped to his death, Lao Qin worked hard and chose to accept Shang Yang's reform similar to Wu Qi's reform.

   Finally regained the land of Hexi that had been taken away by Wei Guo for nearly a hundred years in one fell swoop.

  Everyone is clear about what happened next. It was with this military and political system that Lao Qin laid a solid foundation for sweeping the six eastern countries.

  After the old Qin, the Han inherited the Qin system and further optimized this system. At the same time, on this basis, it absorbed the military thought of the school represented by Sun Bin, creating the military glory of the Han Dynasty.

  So you can see that the generals at that time included Huo Qubing, a genius military god, and Wei Qing, a commander who combined military talent and valued soldiers.

   There is also Cheng Bushi who is as famous as Li Guang (it is estimated that few people have heard of this general now, but he was recognized as a famous general just like Li Guang at that time.)

   Cheng does not know the leader has very distinctive characteristics. He is very rigorous. He usually trains the troops according to the strictest discipline, divides them into troops, and has a hierarchical command system with clear responsibilities.

  When the troops go out to battle, they are always in a state of alert without disarming their armor or saddle their horses. His army was mainly infantry, marching slowly but solidly.

  His army set up camp very well. Once he camped, the enemy could not break through his camp.

  He never let the Huns succeed, but he had no major victories himself.

   But he has a great advantage, that is, he can continuously accumulate small victories, and then turn them into big advantages, while keeping his losses to a minimum.

  Compared to modern people who don't know about Cheng Bushi, in the Western Han Dynasty, everyone knew that Cheng Bushi was a famous general, because he had never been defeated in his life.

  This person can be said to be a typical example of a good fighter without great achievements.

   Seeing this, does it feel familiar?

  Yes, Zhuge Liang inherited this kind of military thought.

  So many people in modern times don't understand why Zhuge Liang was praised by military strategists of all ages?

  Because in many cases we did not stand on the standpoint of the ancients to understand the ancients' views on cold weapon warfare.

  Sun Tzu’s Art of War has been explained very clearly:

  The good fighters of the past, first became invincible, and waited for the enemy to be victorious. You can't win by yourself, but you can win by the enemy. Therefore, those who are good at fighting can be invincible, but cannot make the enemy certain to be victorious.

   It is not that Zhuge Liang was lifted into the ranks of the ten philosophers of the Wu Temple just because of his loyalty to the emperor, so because of political needs.

  Of course, Zhuge Liang attaches great importance to laws and the training of grassroots soldiers, which is also related to Ji Han's national conditions.

  Because the national strength is too weak, and a large number of undisciplined Hu Yi were drawn into the army, he had to do this to ensure the combat effectiveness of the army.

  After talking about Zhuge Liang, let’s talk about Cao Cao.

  Cao Cao's army building is relatively close to Sun Bin's military guiding ideology:

  Pay attention to the role of generals. A good general is one who can seize opportunities on the battlefield in time.

  Cao Cao will pay attention to the construction of a part of the army, but this is only limited to elite soldiers, not all, the representative is tiger and leopard cavalry.

  The low-level soldiers, as long as they can keep up with the average level of the times, they don't need to be fully strengthened.

  So we see in the history books how many soldiers Cao Cao recruited. In fact, most of them were meat shields, not his real elite soldiers.

   At critical moments, he often needs generals and elite soldiers to turn the tide of the war.

  The defeat of Yuan Shao in the Battle of Guandu, the beheading of Yuan Tan in the Battle of Nanpi, the defeat of Ma Chao in the Battle of Guanzhong, etc., are all such tactics.

   This requires generals to have a high level of leadership.

  And there are too few people who can compare with Cao Cao at the leading level in the same period.

  In fact, Cao Cao suffered a lot in Chibi. In addition to the failure of the right time and place, there was also the failure of tactics: the elite soldiers could not play their role, but the empty army was defeated.

  The tactics that have been used for a long time are not working well, and if I don’t react for a while, I can only "why is the prime minister laughing?"

  Cao Cao's idea of ​​building an army naturally influenced the later Wei army.

  The biggest weakness of this kind of army building thinking is that the enemy's general ability cannot be higher than that of one's own general.

  Otherwise, even if one's own military strength is superior, the possibility of defeat will be higher than others.

  This is also the reason why Zhuge Liang began to learn his lessons after suffering a loss in the first Northern Expedition in history. He trained soldiers and martial arts in Hanzhong, trained a team of elite soldiers, and then Sima Yi was afraid of Shu like a tiger:

  The soldiers are no match, and the commander is no match. Although they have the advantage of having more soldiers, they don't look too safe.

  Since that’s the case, can’t it just be over for me?

  Anyway, the state of Wei is powerful and affordable, and there are natural dangers that prevent Zhuge Liang from exerting his full strength. What are you afraid of?

  Do your best to avoid using your own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths, and at the same time use your own advantages to drag down the enemy. It has to be said that Sima Yi is also a generation of military strategists.

  (end of this chapter)