On October 11, Luoyang received the report of the Northern Expedition of Shu Han for the first time.

On the 22nd, Sima Yong, who had hurriedly completed all preparations, led 30,000 Chinese troops to set out from Luoyang.

This side of Longxi.

On the 25th, Hu Fen sent Wen Hu to lead 10,000 troops to Jieting, and he himself led 30,000 Longxi troops south. On the same day, Shangtai City was broken, and Zhang Yi of Shu Han Fang led 30,000 people to also begin to advance towards the street pavilion.

And Jiang Wei's main force, while leaving 3,000 soldiers and 2,000 people to stay in Shangqi to keep this new stronghold of the Northern Expedition, also habitually transferred prisoners and civilians to the rear. After that, the whole army took the initiative to go north, hoping to find Hu Fen's main force and defeat it in one fell swoop.

"Report ~~~ General Zhenxi, his subordinate is Jin Cao in Shangtai City, and he specially came to report to the general, Shangti, lost!"

"Huh?! The walls of Shangtai City are deep, why did they lose it so quickly? ”

"General, Jiang Wei has used countless manpower...... And there is a thing in Shu thieves that is powder at the beginning, and once it gets wet, it becomes extremely hard. Therefore, the Jing River can be quickly blocked and flooded with water......"

"Hey!" After the extremely unwilling monster screamed, Hu Fen thought for a while: "Quickly pass on Xuansi, Ciqian, and Shiyuan to come!" ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, that's how the war is going now. Shangtai is lost, and it is meaningless for us to go to Shangtai again. Where will we 30,000 people go next, can you teach me? ”

The Jin State's response to Shu Han's Northern Expedition this time was really much worse than Cao Wei's before.

There are many reasons for the current situation, such as the loss of the Qishan camp, which led to the loss of the country's forward strongholds and alarm towers. The strategic deception of Shu Han's success in advance and the attacks of the northern ethnic minorities became more and more intense, which seriously involved the energy of the Yongliang army. But the most important point is that the national strength of Shu Han has increased significantly.

In the past, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, Cao Wei often needed to use the strength of the whole country to deal with it (the first and fifth). And Jiang Wei's nine Northern Expeditions have always been dealt with by the Yongliang Corps alone. And this time, the 110,000 people of the Yongliang Corps were passive everywhere in front of the 120,000 Northern Expeditionary Army of Shu Han, and they were deflated again and again. Without the addition of the Luoyang Chinese Army, the Yongliang Corps would not be able to reverse the passivity of the strategy at all.

Now there are not many choices in front of Hu Fen, just two.

The first option: recall Wenhu's troops, 40,000 people in a group, and then transport the grain from Jicheng. The whole army withdrew west to Jincheng (Lanzhou). While lengthening the logistics line of Shu Han, it also preserves the vital force of its own side.

The advantage of this is that the 40,000 people on this side have always maintained the military presence of the Jin Empire in Liangzhou. The big families in Liangzhou and the ethnic minorities in this land will not quickly fall to Shu Han. At the same time, these 40,000 people are like a thorn in the back for Jiang Wei, which will contain Jiang Wei, and he will never be able to drive the main force to Guanzhong to support Guan Yi.

But the downside of this is that the kiosk is lost. The troops of Luoyang and Chang'an supporting Longxi could not enter for a short time. This side will become a lone army in Longxi or Liangzhou, and if you don't pay attention to it, the whole army will be wiped out.

So there was a second option: the whole army went north to Jieting. Defend the key entrance of the five counties of Longxi. Waiting for reinforcements from the imperial court.

The advantage of this is obvious: the entrance to Longxi is in hand. As long as the reinforcements of the imperial court arrive in time. With the disparity in national strength between the Han and Jin dynasties, Jiang Wei's 80,000 people could not resist the overwhelming Luoyang Chinese army after all. Therefore, even if the five counties of Longxi are temporarily lost, it is nothing more than the loss of tens of thousands of people. The land here can be reclaimed after all. The heads of the families and ethnic minorities here are not stupid. As long as the street pavilion is not lost, it is completely possible to make a false mistake to Shu Han, but they will not quickly make their position clear and stand on Shu Han's side.

But there is also a significant downside to this: your own force will be fixed by the strategic point of the Street Pavilion. Complete loss of mobility. It is clear that he will be surrounded by Jiang Wei's army in the street pavilion, if the reinforcements from the imperial court do not arrive in time, the whole army will be wiped out if he is not careful.

"Uncle, the little nephew means that it is better for our army to retreat to Jincheng. It must be known that of the 40,000 people in our army, 20,000 are cavalry. The remaining 20,000 people were all able to ride horses. And the number of war horses in this army is also sufficient. The mobility of our army is not comparable to that of the Shu thieves. Moreover, no matter how much grain and grass the Shu thieves have, they also need to cross the Qinling Mountains to arrive. Therefore, as long as our army maintains mobility, it hangs the Shu thieves from a distance on the periphery. The 80,000 army of Shu thieves can only waste grain and grass in Longxi, and cannot support Guanzhong. Even if the street pavilion is lost, the army of the imperial court will not be able to enter Longxi for a while and a half, but the way of the Shu thief in Guanzhong will inevitably be surrounded and suppressed by the heavy troops of the imperial court. I heard that the chief of the Shu thief is Guan Zifeng, that is the big Sima of the Shu thief, if the military situation is really urgent, how dare the Shu thief in Longxi not save it? At that time, it will be time for our army to counterattack! I can't say, this time the 120,000 army of Shu thieves can't go back! At that time, my uncle will be able to accomplish the great achievement of destroying Shu! ”

"The young general is so bold! General Zhenxi, Wen Yang also agrees with the opinion of the major general! As long as our army can maintain mobility, it is not afraid of losing more territory! After all, the national strength of Shu is far inferior to mine, and our army is nothing more than a difficult moment. It's going to be a big win after all! ”

"Hmm~~~" As a military general, Hu Fen's choice is of course inclined to the first one. But at the same time, as a bureaucrat, he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

"Xuan Si, what is your opinion?"

"Well, Xuanwei, I thought about it for a moment just now. If we retreat to Jincheng, then whether it is Jieting or Longxi, will we all lose it? ”

"Yes!"

"Well, with the power of Xuanwei and the two generals, it is impossible for Jiang Wei to annihilate us completely. But the street pavilion was lost, and it would definitely be much more difficult for the imperial army to enter Longxi. After a long time, it is really difficult to say whether the families of Longxi and Liangzhou will have an attitude. You need to know that over the years, the salt road in Xishu has been just that, and the bottle of incense and burning knives have caused how many families to covet? With this war, the monopoly on King Yiyang's side must be gone. If the Shu thief took out the sales rights of these two kinds of wine to hook up with the family? ”

Hearing this, Hu Fen shuddered unnaturally: There is no doubt that the families of Longxi and Liangzhou must be going to kneel and lick Guan Yi immediately. And the Anding Hu family is not only no longer a salt mine, but also inevitably declines because they can't share the wine industry.

"Xuan Si is very thoughtful. Anything else? ”

"Well, there's more. Ladies and gentlemen, if we retreat to Jincheng, we will be wiped out in the battle against Jiang Wei. If we survive, and the imperial court wastes all its strength to open up the street pavilion and recover Longxi......"

As soon as Wang Shen said this, not only Hu Fen, but even Wen Yang all began to tremble: If it was really the kind of situation that Wang Shen said, it happened. The Central Committee of the Jin Kingdom must be held accountable after the war. According to the Sima family's unreasonable love for their relatives. Hu Fen and Hu Yuan's two uncles and nephews are estimated to be demoted. This one who came out to be the scapegoat of the three tribes, shouldn't it be Wen Yang? If one Wenyang is not enough, shouldn't it be Wang Shen?

Therefore, Wang Shen's idea has long been decided: even if he loses his mobility, he must go to the street guarding pavilion. Otherwise, there will be annihilation!

And in order to successfully wrap Hu Fen in, Wang Shen had to say so much.

Of course, a lot of words have been said, and the effect is still good. At least at this time, the opinions of the four people have been unified: go back to Jicheng immediately, pack up the grain and grass, and then enter the street pavilion north!

……

On the other side, fifteen miles north of Shangtai City.

"General Che Cavalry, why did you order the whole army to reduce your speed? Shouldn't our army rush to the street pavilion at this time and hold on to the spot? ”

Looking at Ma Guo with an eager face, Zhang Yi smiled slightly: "Change it, you are the brains of Da Sima." Why didn't you see such a simple situation? ”

"Xiaguan ......"

"Hehehe, change it, you say, today's situation. What did the Great General hope for the most? What are you most afraid of? ”

"The most hopeful, the most fearful...... Well, of course, the general wants Hu to be stupid and concentrate all his forces in one point. What he was most afraid of was that Hu Fen heard that after Shangqi fell, he led the main force to flee away and avoid a fight. In this way, our army has always been like a thorn in the back, and at the same time, it cannot completely settle Longxi, and at the same time, it cannot enter Guanzhong to support Da Sima. ”

"So, with Hu Fen's ability, I must have seen the importance of the street pavilion. So as long as the street pavilion is not lost, he will go to the street pavilion. If we take the kiosk down before he arrives......"

"I see. Why did the general still have to go out of Jicheng? ”

"Hey, it's a big loss today. Changing it, the matter of Ling Zun, is a great regret of my Han for decades. But today, the national strength of our Han Dynasty is far greater than in the past, and this Northern Expedition is very likely to succeed. So, it's better to keep a normal heart. ”

"The lower official is ashamed, and the lower official is out of shape. He also asked the general to continue to give advice. ”

"I don't dare to give advice. Well, it's actually quite simple. First, of course, the general wants to make a posture that he thinks that Hu Fen is going to lead the army to retreat west, and he is desperate to block Hu Fen's westward retreat route. In order to further drive Hu Fen to the street pavilion. This second, hey, it's been almost forty years since the general left home. Instead, at this time, the street pavilion is in sight, and your mood is very excited. And what about the generals? It's not calm! ”