Just as the battle was fierce at Pujin Pass, Hanzhong in the southwest finally ushered in the Wei army.

Hanzhong, originally the front line of the Northern Expedition of the Shu Han Dynasty to Cao Wei, is also the gateway and throat of Shuzhong, with the reputation of Guanzhong in the north, Bashu in the south, Daxiang and Deng in the east, and Qin and Long in the west. In the past, Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, went out of Hanzhong and seized the world, and Liu Bei, Emperor Zhaolie, competed with Cao Cao Hanzhong, and won the first big victory over Cao Wei in his life, and then became the king of Hanzhong. Hanzhong is surrounded by mountain ranges, can be attacked and retreated, can be defended, once was operated as the number one important town of Shu Han, Wei Yan, Zhuge Liang have built a lot of cities and strongholds around Hanzhong, making Hanzhong impregnable. However, as Shu Han occupied Guanzhong and Luoyang, and the army line was pushed forward, the strategic value of Hanzhong was not as important as before. However, as a passage into Sichuan, and there was Shangyong County of Wei in the west, Zhuge Liang still sent Nengchen generals to garrison.

Hanzhong Governor's Mansion

Hanzhong Acting Governor and Taishou Lu Yi, General Liang Xu, Zhongchang Liang Qian, Taizhong Doctor Yin Xian, Right Protector General Liu Min, Left Protector Commander Ding Xian, Later Protector Army Commander Zhonglang General Guan Yan and others are gathering together to listen to the scout's report, when they learned that the Wei army Shangyong Taishou Shenyi's 20,000 troops are advancing by land and water, and the vanguard has arrived at the Qinling Mountains not far from Hanzhong, and can enter the Hanzhong Plain after crossing the mountain, everyone can't help but be shocked, how fast!

Shen Yi is a powerful and powerful family, originally belonging to Cao Cao. Shangyong County is located in the southeast of Hanzhong, which connects Xiangyang in the east and Hanzhong in the west, and is a strategic place connecting Jingzhou and Yizhou. After the first emperor Liu Bei won the battle of Hanzhong, he sent Liu Feng and Meng Da to lead troops to capture Shangyong, and Shen Yi and his brother Shen Tan surrendered to Shu Han. At that time, Liu Bei's Hanzhong, Shangyong, and Jingzhou were connected, echoing each other, and the momentum reached its peak, and then he became the king of Hanzhong. It's a pity that Guan Yu's army was defeated in Jingzhou, and the two brothers Meng Da and Shen Yi and Shen Tan surrendered to Wei, and Liu Feng was defeated and returned to Chengdu, and Shangyong has been occupied by Cao Wei since then. Later, Shangyong Taishou surrendered to Meng Da and wanted to respond to Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition and plotted to rebel, but was informed by Shen Yi that Sima Yi galloped thousands of miles on the eighth day and attacked and beheaded Meng Da, and Shen Yi succeeded him as Shangyong Taishou.

There are two roads from Shangyong to the west to Hanzhong, the land route needs to cross the Qinling Mountains, and the waterway goes straight up along the Han River. Shen Yi is worthy of being a strong party, knowing that the Shu army is insufficient, he chooses to advance by land and water, and let him take care of one and lose the other, which can be described as cunning.

Lu Yi, the acting governor of Hanzhong and the Taishou of Hanzhong, hurriedly said: "The prime minister ordered us to stick to the external dangers, and now the enemy army is strong, and our army is insufficient, how should we arrange it?" ”

Lu Yi, whose name is Jiyang, is an important minister appreciated by Zhuge Liang. Lu Yi is capable, decisive, efficient, and sympathetic. In the past, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang sent troops year after year, requisitioned soldiers from various counties, money and grain, and many places could not be delivered in full in time, Lu Yi summoned 5,000 soldiers for training and supervision, and handed over these people to Zhuge Liang one by one, which made Zhuge Liang quite appreciative, and then let Lu Yi transfer to Hanzhong Taishou, responsible for the food supply of the Northern Expedition army. And Lu Yi lived up to the trust, brilliantly completed the important task entrusted by Zhuge Liang, and became a strong supporter of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition. Lü Yi was strong in civil affairs and was not good at military affairs, so Zhuge Liang appointed him as the temporary acting governor of Hanzhong and sent a group of partial generals to assist him.

Ding Xian, the general of Zhonglang in the left guard, suggested: "Our troops are not enough to stop the Wei army, so we should shrink our forces and abandon the Qinling Mountains, stick to the fortresses around Hanzhong, Han and Le, and fight each other's corners, and rescue each other to defend Hanzhong." Ding Xian, the lieutenant general of the Hou Protector Army, also nodded in agreement.

Ding Xian and Guan Yan, both of whom were generals of the Northern Expedition under Zhuge Liang for many years, as soon as the remarks came out, Lu Yi, Liang Xu, Liang Qian, Yin Xian and other civil officials all seconded and agreed.

"I can't see it!" Liu Min, the general of the right protector army, who had been staring at the map and was silent just now, suddenly spoke.

Liu Min is the cousin of Sima Jiang Wan, an important minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, and the weak crown is well-known with Jiang Wan, and he is a virtuous talent of the Jing Chu generation. Zhuge Liang went on the Northern Expedition, Jiang Wan stayed in the court, and Liu Min followed Zhuge Liang to serve in the front-line army, and was appointed as the general of the right protection army, and was the highest official among the generals in Hanzhong.

Liu Min raised his head and said firmly: "The prime minister and the governor have always been clever, and they have always guarded the periphery of Hanzhong's real troops, keeping the enemy from the outside, so that the enemy cannot enter. ”

It turned out that Hanzhong had implemented the policy of "wrong defense of the sieges" since the period of Wei Yan's defense, that is, to leave heavy troops to resist in the various sieges of Hanzhong and resist the enemy outside Hanzhong. Hanzhong formed a complete defense system with the periphery of the Qinling Mountains as the first line, the surrounding fortress Hancheng Lecheng as the second line, and the Hanzhong city as the third line.

"The Qinling Mountains are steep, the Wei army's march and grain and grass transportation are extremely inconvenient, our army only needs to hold on, block the Wei army in several ravines in the Qinling Mountains, and the Wei army's food will be shaken and the army will retreat without a fight. On the contrary, if we take the initiative to abandon the Qinling Mountains and let the Wei army enter the plains, the men and women of Hanzhong are spread in the wilderness, and the agricultural valleys are perched, the Wei army will definitely be plundered on a large scale, and once the grain and grass of the Wei army soldiers are replenished, our army will be in a big way! Liu Min continued solemnly.

Ding Xian and Guan Yu were quite unhappy when they heard this, although the Qinling Mountains were dangerous, but the Shu army led the troops to pull out the mountains and wade into danger, and there was no convenience for camps, so it was indispensable to sleep in the open. In addition, there is a shortage of soldiers and horses, the camp is unstable, and it is not easy to retreat if defeated, which is far less safe and comfortable than the two cities of Hanle, which are strong in the city.

The two then said: "The Qinling Mountain Road is steep, it can't accommodate a large group of people, and the village on the mountain is not strong, our army is already small, how can we resist the tens of thousands of troops of Wei?" Besides, the Wei State advanced by land and water, if the naval army raided Hanzhong, it would be difficult for our army to withdraw and rescue on the Qinling Mountain for a while. It is better to retreat to the two cities of Hanle and fight each other. ”

"This matter is not difficult, there is no room for our army on the mountain, and the Wei army is the same. The mountain road is narrow, it is difficult for the Wei army to concentrate the advantage of troops, our army condescendingly guards the crossing, occupies a favorable position, and is familiar with the terrain, why not break the enemy? As for advancing by land and water, the westward advance of the Wei army along the Han River is a countercurrent, the Han River is turbulent, the Wei ships must move slowly, our army only needs to be at the water's edge of the dangerous place, Chen soldiers are arrayed, chain the river, the Wei army must not cross! ”

Good strategy! Good insight! Liu Min is not a big Sima Jiang Wan's cousin, so he has only known people. Lu Yi secretly admired in his heart.

Ding Xian and Guan Yu still wanted to speak out against it, but Lu Yi preemptively said: "General Liu's plan is very clever, it can be seen that he has won the art of war." According to the general's wishes, General Liu, General Ding, and General Guan were each asked to lead 1,000 troops and horses to guard the crossing of the Qinling Mountain Range, and not to let the Wei army cross the mountain. The two brothers, Liang Xu and Liang Qian, led 2,000 troops to fortify the Han River and hinder the Wei ships. I will bring 5,000 soldiers and Yin Xian to support me at any time! ”

Ding Xian and Guan Yu also spoke out in support of the acting governor Lu Yi, and Liu Min had the highest military rank and was the cousin of Da Sima, so it would be useless to argue any longer. Although they were unhappy, the two of them still took it, so everyone retreated and prepared to go.