Seeing this, Xiahou Ba stepped forward and asked, "Dare to ask the governor, why did you stop?" ”

Cao Zhen couldn't help but look around, and muttered: "The army can drive straight into the middle of the march, but the closer it is to the enemy army, the more cautious it must be, and vow to be foolproof. You must remember this point. ”

Xiahou Ba hurriedly clenched his fists in response.

Cao Zhen bowed his head slowly, and said: "Listening to what that Qiang Muba said, this Wudu and Yinping chaos is because the people of Shu sent troops. But I waited all the way, and I didn't see half of the Shu soldiers along the way, which shows that there are quite doubts in Muba's words......"

After a pause, he turned sideways and asked, "Zhongquan, this governor also asks you, do you know why when the army passed through Xiabi City a few days ago, why did this governor order not to hide his whereabouts, but deliberately stopped his troops under Xiabian City?" ”

Xiahou Ba thought for a while, and in connection with what he just said, he immediately replied: "The last general guesses that if the Shu thieves occupy the Wudu, it is impossible not to garrison the army in such an important place as Xiabian. And the Metropolitan Governor's move is to create a situation of pressure on the army, and force the Shu army to show its true face! ”

Cao Zhen laughed when he heard this, patted Xiahou Ba's shoulder, and praised: "The son can be taught." But you only know one thing, you don't know the other. ”

He lowered his voice suddenly, and continued in a voice that only two people could hear:

"Of course, the Shu thief is a big problem for the King of Wei, but now that there are rebellions in Liangzhou, and the Hao clan and the Hu people openly resist the orders of the imperial court, how many ill-intentioned people are waiting to see Zihuan's jokes? It must be known that once the situation in Liangzhou erodes, the wealthy families in Liaodong, Youhe, Jianghuai, and even Qingxu will also be out of the control of the imperial court one after another, and then it will be the reincarnation of the first king, and it will be difficult to suppress. Liu Bei and Sun Quan are the world's masters, if they take the opportunity to make trouble, our Great Wei will definitely fall into a place of no return...... Therefore, our top priority is to kill chickens and monkeys, redefine Liangzhou, fight for a breather for King Wei, and reorganize the dynasty! As for the Shu Kingdom...... It is important to know that the outside must be at home first, and this is not the time to fight with it. ”

Xiahou Ba pondered for a moment, and still asked: "Why did the governor come here with such fanfare?" ”

Cao Zhen straightened his back and said proudly: "This governor is here, first, to warn the Qiang people in Wudu with actions, although my Great Wei has withdrawn the soldiers and horses, the iron cavalry of the Western Army is still there!" The iron cavalry starts from Tianshui, and can run to the next debate in one day and one night. It's better to say that these Qiang people are more peaceful, and if they really dare to collude with the Shu people, the governor doesn't mind slaughtering a few more batches. ”

After a pause, he said: "As far as this governor knows, Liu Bei sent troops to Jingzhou at the beginning of this year, spent a lot of money and food in vain, abandoned the city and abandoned the land, and also damaged the general Guan Yu and the mastermind Fa Zheng, and at this time there may not be any spare strength to attack the northwest." But since the strong side has sent an envoy for help, the governor has to pay attention to it. ”

Xiahou Ba's face was even more suspicious: "It's just that I didn't see a single soldier of the Shu thieves along the way." Even if the Qiang people were arrested and tortured, they only said that the Qiang people of the Wolf had formed an alliance in the name of Ma Chao and were ready to fight against the Baima people...... It's strange and strange that the confession is so different from what was said in the strong letter......"

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly asked: "Could it be that the strong end learned that the Wolf and Qiang people had united against him, so they tried to use the people of Shu to invite our army to help him?" ”

Cao Zhen shook his head and said, "Not necessarily." First, the Qiang people may not be strong opponents, and they dare not ask for help from our army without authorization. Secondly, Mu Ba made it very clear that the originally weak Jiubu Qiang people had the help of the Shu people, which was able to defeat the Qiang king Yaden and form a joint force. Therefore, for the Shu people to send troops to Wudu and Yinping, the governor is convinced. The only thing that needs to be observed is whether the people of Shu came here with all their might, or whether they just wanted to take advantage of our army's expedition to Liangzhou to fish in the troubled waters of Wudu and make some gains. ”

"How about an all-out strategy, and what about fishing in troubled waters?"

Cao Zhen stroked his beard and said: "If the Shu people come to attack with all their might, the governor will have to write to the court and ask the king of Wei to prepare for a big war with Shu; But if they were just fishing in troubled waters, the governor would pretend to be out of sight, and send troops to Liangzhou first, and once the country was pacified, he would free up his hands to compete with them. ”

In fact, in Xiahou Ba's heart, he hoped that the people of Shu would come with all his might, so that he could take the opportunity to help Xiahou Yuan avenge his hatred. But he is also a person who knows the severity, and after hearing this, he held back his anger and said:

"So the key to this matter is to rush to Baishui as soon as possible and see the reality of the strong opponent."

Cao Zhen saw his expression in his eyes, patted him on the shoulder again as comfort, and said with a smile:

"Not bad! Our priority is to 'see', not 'fight'. I just need to get the answer I want on this trip, and as for the Baishui side, if I can fight, I will fight, and if I can't, I should retreat quickly. ”

Xiahou Ba frowned and said, "If you can't fight, then what about the strong end?" ”

Cao Zhen laughed and said: "Qiangduan is just a watchdog raised by Da Wei in Yinping, and it is enough to replace it when he dies." Zhongquan, there are dogs in this world who sacrifice their lives to save their dogs, but there are owners who sacrifice their lives to save dogs? ”

Xiahou Ba suddenly realized, bowed down and hugged his fists and said: "Ba has been taught!" The Governor meant that this trip was still focused on preserving the strength of our army, and the closer we got to the enemy, the more cautious we should be. ”

Cao Zhen smiled: "That's exactly the truth. ”

While the two were talking, a horse came from the front of him at a rapid reverse gallop, ran in front of the two, turned over and dismounted, bowed and said:

"Governor Cao, General Xiahou, after crossing this valley is the Baishui Bridge. Why did the army stop instead of speeding forward? ”

The person who came was the Qiang Muba who was leading the way in front.

Before Cao Zhen could speak, Xiahou Bace immediately stepped forward and said: "The road ahead is unknown, and the army is not allowed to pass in a hurry. For the sake of safety, please stop here for a while, and lead a hundred forward sentinels to open the way for the army! ”

Seeing that he understood his mind so quickly, Cao Zhen was very relieved, and laughed loudly: "Zhongquan's words are reasonable. The Governor will send three hundred guards to escort you to the front to visit one or two, remember what the Governor just said to you, but if you find something, report it quickly! ”

"Yes!"

Tiger and leopard riding is divided into two parts: tiger riding and leopard riding.

The tiger cavalry soldiers are equipped with strong horses and iron armor, and are responsible for charging into battle and fighting to the death; The leopard cavalry soldiers were mostly equipped with heavy leather cuirasses and refined ring-headed knives, which were used to run thousands of miles and outflank them.

Among the tiger and leopard rides, the tiger riders can be called the elite of the elite, and the number is very small. Although Cao Zhen brought 5,000 tigers and leopards to ride this time, the number of tiger riders who can really fight and resist is only a thousand.

He was concerned about Xiahouba's safety, and allocated three hundred tiger horses for him to drive in one go, which can be regarded as extremely generous.

At the sound of an order, the three hundred tiger horsemen quickly assembled in place.

But seeing that most of the three hundred knights were wearing Mingguang armor - this was a treasure armor that only the rank of a general or above was qualified to wear, and it was one of the strongest armors of this era, and the cost was extremely high; A small number of them were dressed in two-gear armor, and the armor was inlaid with bits of iron.

Each of them had a spear, a sword, and a shield. The knives and guns are forged by the hundred refining techniques, and the round shield is made of old wood and covered with a layer of iron, which can be described as both offensive and defensive.

The horses under the crotches of the riders are tall and strong, and the horses are all more than seven feet, which is impressively larger than the ordinary war horses around them; The horse was matched with a saddle, and a leather rope hung from one side of the saddle, and the lower end was tied with a thick knot near the horse's belly - it turned out to be a one-sided stirrup.

Standing in front of such a cavalry that showed crushing strength, Mu Ba couldn't resist a little, and secretly regretted it: "I knew that Wei had such an army, and even if I was killed at that time, I didn't dare to start a rebellion......

He secretly swallowed his saliva, and said proudly in his heart: "No matter how strong Ma Chao and Jiang Wei are, can they be stronger than five thousand such cavalry?" Haha, your end is near! ”

Just as he was thinking wildly, Xiahou Ba had put down the iron hoop used to protect his face on his hood, he stretched out his horsewhip and pointed ahead, shouting: "Brothers of the tiger and leopard riders, follow me to attack!" ”