As Jiang Wei expected, the main force of the Shu army took advantage of the gap between Zhao Yun's detachment to attract Cao Zhen and began to march into Yongzhou. Nan'an, Anding and the two counties surrendered instantly, and the Shu army garrison Qishan prepared to march to Tianshui after a short rest.

In the spring of the sixth year of Jianxing, in the Qishan camp, in the big tent of the Chinese army, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, presided over the military meeting.

From that old face, it is difficult to remind people of the high-spirited scholar who was boating on Xuanwu Lake eight years ago. Zhuge Liang knelt in front of the wooden case and said: "Originally, we were going to discuss the battle to collect Longxi, but General Zhao Yun's letter brought very interesting news. A Wei general named Jiang Wei infiltrated Hanzhong and caused a lot of trouble for his army. What's even more remarkable is that he was able to snatch the sword from Zilong's hand. Zilong praised this person for his wisdom and bravery, and he is really a rare talent. ”

General Wu Ban stepped forward and said: Regarding Jiang Wei, the last general has done a little investigation. Jiang Weizi Boyo, now 26 years old, is from Jicheng, Tianshui. Orphaned at a young age, his father Jiang Jian was killed in the battle with the Qiang people, and Jiang Wei has been dependent on his mother since then. The local people evaluated him as Tianshui Qilin'er, this person is wise and brave, brave and strategic, and has a small reputation in the Yongliang area. ”

Zhuge nodded and smiled: "If this person can be used by my Han, it will be a blessing for my Han."

Seeing the prime minister's face full of spring breeze, he seemed to attach great importance to Jiang Wei. Ma Tan was jealous in his heart, so he said: "Prime Minister, Tianshui is just a remote town, so you don't need to spend too much effort here." At present, the most important issue should be that the thief army should pay attention to our actual move forward and occupy the counties of Longxi as soon as possible. (Just a letter?) Why does the prime minister attach so much importance to an outsider? Isn't my contribution over the years less than that of an outsider? ）

Zhuge Liang shook his head with a smile and said, "Although Youchang is reasonable, if you consider recruiting Jiang Wei, the value of Tianshui is completely different. Seeing that the prime minister valued a young man so much, the generals already knew it in their hearts, and faintly reached a consensus in their hearts: if the prime minister really succeeded in recruiting him, Jiang Wei would definitely be another celebrity.

Wei Yan on the side also felt that the prime minister was making a big fuss, and couldn't help but scold: It's a pity that the prime minister attaches so much importance to an outsider, but he ignores me. Aren't house flowers more fragrant than wildflowers? Yang Yi saw Wei Yan's unhappy face, and her heart was very happy: Wei Yan is definitely complaining again, if I were in power, I would have hung your head on the flag.

Zhuge Liang has always believed that seeing is believing and hearing is false, since the occupation of Longxi is the trend of the times, you might as well try Jiang Wei's military strategy, and said: "Okay! Now we will start to make a decision, and you will be sure to carry it out. This time, Lianghui personally presided over the capture of Tianshui, and the only purpose was to capture Jiang Wei. Although our army is outnumbered, the number of cavalry is still slightly insufficient compared to the Tianshui defenders. Therefore, Wu Ban and Wang Ping each led 10,000 infantry troops to surround Jicheng. Wei Yan led 5,000 light cavalry to ambush on the north bank of the Jialing River, and Jiang Wei was now following Taishou Ma Zun to inspect the place, and the troops he brought were definitely very few. Jiang Wei is a kind and filial person, and when he heard that his mother was in the hands of the enemy, he would lead the army to cross the pontoon bridge, so you took advantage of the time when he crossed the river. ”

Wei Yan nodded, and said, "Then who is the vanguard of our army?" We must test the strength of Ma Zun's troops. Zhuge Liang smiled faintly: "The thirteenth battalion served as the vanguard in this operation, and there was no commander. When the generals heard this, they looked at each other. The reason why the prime minister did not have a chief general was because the thirteenth battalion, which was secretly known as the "often defeated army", did not have a main general at all.

Soon, 30,000 Shu troops were personally commanded by Zhuge Liang to penetrate the hinterland of Tianshui along the Jialing River, and within three days, the troops were under the city of Jicheng. The strange thing is that the Shu army did not rush to attack the city, but surrounded the city, as if waiting for something.

Not long after Zhuge Liang's army besieged Jicheng, Ma Zuncai received a secret letter from the defenders in the city: "I didn't expect things to turn out like this...... Zhuge Liang led tens of thousands of troops to attack, and has now surrounded Jicheng. There are reported to be no less than 30,000, and our defenders alone can only last three days. ”

Jiang Wei deliberately pretended to be arrogant and said: "In fact, I have already explained to Taishou that Zhao Yun's troops out of Keigu are just suspicious soldiers, and the real main force is coming from this side." ”

Yin Xian also said: "Now we should focus on retreating from the enemy, instead of blaming each other." (Boyo speaks too directly, which will incur too much resentment)

Sycophant Liang Xu hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, let's figure out a way." Ma Zun was helpless, so he had to ask softly: "Boyo, will you come out?" ”

Jiang Wei hugged his fists and said, "Let's make a plan now." First of all, please ask Master Yin to go to Shanghan for help, Guo Tingshi is patrolling around there, and he should be able to contact him smoothly. Tai Jie led most of the troops at hand to confront Zhuge Liang, although our army was inferior in numbers, but the enemy was not familiar with the local terrain of Tianshui, and did not dare to act rashly in a short time. In the next take the opportunity to lead 2,000 elite cavalry from the flank into the city, as long as the city of Ji is consolidated, Taishou can lead the army into the city, and then as long as the reinforcements arrive can be relieved. ”

Liang Qian asked coldly, "Why do you want to go back and garrison Jicheng?" It shouldn't be because of Ling Tang's relationship there. ”

Thinking that his mother was in danger, Jiang Wei's heart couldn't help jumping: "Jicheng is the administrative center of Tianshui County, and it has mastered the main transportation routes, so it can be attacked and defended, and it will be very troublesome if it falls." Ma Zun smiled: "I also believe that Boyo has no selfish intentions, so let's make a plan like this." (hum...... At this time, no one can believe it, if Jiang Wei fails, I will also suffer, and I have to make another plan. ）

Jiang Wei saw a hint of coldness flashing in Ma Zun's eyes, and he had already guessed the escape plan of this straw bag Taishou. He was both excited and a little sad in his heart, after all, he had lived in Wei for eight years, and in his opinion, Ma Zun was not a special case, but a typical example of the low-level officials of the entire Wei State. The court organized by these rice worms, even if the emperor is holy, what is the use?

What made him excited was that he could finally go head-to-head with Zhuge Liang. The Shu army lacked a large cavalry force like the Wei army, and as long as the cavalry mobility was used, it would be overwhelmed. With the mobility of the cavalry enough to do such tactics as attacking the east and attacking the west, it is not a problem to resist the Shu army for a while and a half.

It's just that the combat power of the Shu army is not yet known, and Guan Yu's partial army can make Wu Wei very tricky, but I heard that the elite of the Shu army in the battle of Yiling is exhausted, and it seems that only the actual battle can be seen. Ma Zun's escape is inevitable, and he can only rely on the two thousand elite horsemen in his hand to fight alone, and the outcome is still unknown.

After Jiang Wei counted the troops under his command, he said goodbye to Ma Zun and his party, led 2,000 cavalry day and night, and arrived at the south bank of the Jialing River late the next night. He ordered the soldiers to open their baggage and set up camp on the spot. With thirty carefully selected good hands, he quietly poked into a forest in the distance. Jiang Wei naturally had his reasons for doing this, since the Shu people were not familiar with the terrain of Tianshui, they would act according to their intuition. They must not be able to stand the scorching sunshine in the Yongliang area, not to mention the severe drought in the northwest this year, and the water source is exhausted. Therefore, the vanguard of the enemy army will definitely be stationed in the woods to escape the heat.

To Jiang Wei's surprise, until he climbed to the top of the mountain a mile away from the woods, he found no trace of the Shu army scouts. If he hadn't seen a few black-armored soldiers yawning outside the woods, he would have thought that the Shu army had been stationed elsewhere. He found that the Shu army had set up a post within a hundred steps, and the defense was extremely lax, and the hanging heart was put down.

Due to the dense forest, it was difficult for Jiang Wei to judge the number of Shu troops from the number of tents. Seeing this, a junior colonel suggested: "I wish to lead half of the brothers to touch and solve these posts." Jiang Wei shook his head and smiled: "Is this necessary?" What happens to a force that can yawn in the middle of the night? You take a few brothers back and tell everyone to have a good rest, and you will come to the rendezvous in the middle of the night. He randomly ordered ten more subordinates to divide them into two posts to take turns to rest, and he took the remaining subordinates to quickly pull out the Shu army posts outside the woods one by one.

Although Tianshui Taishou Ma Zun is a straw bag, it does not mean that the soldiers of Tianshui County are also soft eggs. As soon as the first moon had disappeared, two thousand horsemen were lined up five miles away from the woods and ready to go, and they proved with their actions what it means to be a soldier. Jiang Wei stood on the dirt slope and looked at the soldiers below who were in high spirits, and said: "We are soldiers, what is the duty of a soldier?" ”

"Defend the family and defend the country, and fight bravely to kill the enemy."

Jiang Wei smiled: "Don't be so high-sounding, although Jiang Wei and I are a civil official, it is more than enough to kill a few Shudi mountain monkeys." I killed the enemy in order to increase the rank of official and knight, so that I could drink wine in a big bowl in the future, eat meat in a large piece, and marry seventeen or eighteen little wives. Jiang Wei's arrogant and proud tone was like a bowl of spirits, stimulating the nerves of every soldier. He continued: "Now I ask again, what is the vocation of a soldier? ”

The little school was instructed by Jiang Wei in advance and led the crowd: "Add officials to the knighthood, and slightly seal the marquis." ”

Jiang Wei put on a ghost mask, and the steel knife in his hand pointed to the front and hummed: "The dense forest ahead is the stronghold of the Shu army, brothers and I will grab people's heads and kill!" Jiang Wei turned the horse's head, the war horse under his crotch screamed sadly, and galloped towards the woods. The two thousand elite horsemen behind him all roared with a tiger roar, their eyes were split, and the boiling blood stirred their hearts.

The charcoal-covered fire flew into the forest, and in an instant, sparks flew out, and the whole forest was suddenly ablaze. The sound of burning was mixed with a mournful cry. With an overwhelming roar, the two thousand elite horsemen split into two and formed a crane wing formation, intending to wipe out the Shu army.

Jiang Wei wore a grimace mask, showing the hideous posture of the Wei army's iron horse. Jiang Wei overcame obstacles all the way, and everywhere he went, the Shu army threw away their armor and fled in embarrassment. Just when he thought that this Shu army was vulnerable, he suddenly heard a loud shout, and saw a general of the Shu army wearing a black robe not far away, going upstream, holding a giant mountain opening axe and slashing all the way.

Jiang Wei's eyelids jumped, and he couldn't help but say hello in his heart.