Three days later, a low-key army appeared on the treacherous roads of Meridian Valley.

Of the total number of soldiers and horses of about 15,000, only 10,000 were armed, and the remaining 5,000 were unarmed, each carrying a sack of grain.

In the army of more than 10,000 people, there are also 2,000 excellent war horses, which were specially sent by the king of Hanzhong from Nanzheng to the three eastern counties to be distributed to Wei Yan's department half a month ago.

These war horses were donated by Ma Dai from Liangzhou, and they were all first-class horses in Xiliang, but at this moment, these good horses could not give full play to their advantages of fast footage, and could only be reduced to a means of transportation with heavy loads like the five thousand people.

There was no way, this valley road was too difficult and dangerous, so difficult that the soldiers did not dare to ride horses at all, for fear that this beast would be frightened a little and rush directly into the deep valley on the side of the road. Therefore, even the cavalry could only dismount and lead the horses cautiously.

Although the soldiers were very careful, there was still a terrible cry from near to far, from high to low in the long line, which must be some unlucky bastard, who fell into the deep valley when he was slightly distracted.

In the first few days, after witnessing such a thrilling and terrible situation, many people would involuntarily stop and sigh with horror, but now, they seem to have become accustomed to it, and when someone falls down again, they just sigh a little and continue to move forward without looking back, because they know that only by getting out of this hellish valley road can they see the hope of life.

At this moment, Wei Yan was walking in the middle of the team, and he looked up at the end of the valley road from time to time, and gradually felt a little more ashamed in his heart.

I thought that my plan was a strange plan, but I didn't expect that Zhongzheng was right, I had never personally surveyed this Meridian Valley, but I didn't think that this valley road was even more difficult than climbing to the sky, if I had known, I might not have offered this plan. ’

Another scream interrupted Wei Yan's thoughts, he subconsciously glanced back, only to see that in the hollow valley behind the side, a man and a horse were still struggling in the air, and a few seconds later, a dull sound was heard.

Wei Yan's heart couldn't help but shudder, and a trace of hallucination appeared in his mind, he imagined that he was the poor soldier, falling like this, screaming and struggling in despair and helplessness, what it would be like to know that there was only a short moment left in his life.

He took a deep breath and said silently, "Write down the name of that brother, and go back to reward his family." ”

The lieutenant general beside him responded to the call, holding a thick booklet in his hand, and when he opened it, there were almost more than a hundred names in it.

War is so cruel, all Wei Yan can do is give these soldiers a hope, even if they die, let them die with hope.

Looking up at the endless Pangu Road, Wei Yan silently prayed in his heart: "I hope that God will open his eyes, and it will not rain for thousands of miles, and this battle will bless me Wei Yan's success!" ’

………… In Gojogahara, the battle continues.

"Sir, this is a letter from General Wei to you." Ah Shan was covered in dust, and before he had time to drink a sip of water, he hurried to the big tent of the Chinese army and handed over this reply letter to Fang Shao.

When I opened it, the letter was only a few words more than Fang Shao's letter.

If you don't succeed, you will become benevolent. ’

The handwriting was not beautiful, but it was strong and powerful, diffusing a rough force, Fang Shao knew that it was indeed Wei Yan's handwriting.

Fang Shao closed the letter, and an inexplicable surge surged in his heart, not only for Wei Yan's tragic and heroic letter, which was quite a bit of 'the strong man will never return', but also for the surging feeling of being in this exciting world.

Fang Shao pinched his fingers and roughly calculated: "So, when you left, Wei Yan's men and horses had already entered the Meridian Valley, that is to say, if it went well, he would be able to walk out in three days at most." ”

"I guess so." Ahsan replied.

"Okay, you've worked hard, hurry up and rest."

Just after comforting Ah Shan, the veteran Huang Zhong strode in again, his face was full of indignation, and as soon as he entered, he complained: "Zhongzheng, if it goes on like this, I'm afraid it won't be able to hold on, it's only been less than half a month, and we have lost nearly seven thousand brothers, seven thousand, their corpses can be stacked to rebuild a Beiyuan City." ”

Fang Shao said lightly with relief: "Don't be anxious, old general, wait a little longer, Wen Chang's surprise attack will be almost successful, and it will last for another five days at most, and Xiahou Yuan will undoubtedly retreat." ”

As soon as the words fell, the soldiers sent the latest reconnaissance information of the scouts, Huang Zhong took a look, and his brows couldn't help frowning: "The enemy general Lu Zhao led more than 5,000 soldiers and horses from Chang'an, and he has crossed Weishui in the south and is coming to Wuzhang Plain. ”

Wuzhang Yuan east of Wugong water, north of Weishui, in fact, is located in the triangle of two water systems, Wugong water is a tributary of the Qinling Mountains, to the north into Weishui, this water is very shallow, soldiers and horses can cross even barefoot, it can be said that Wugong water is not a very reliable line of defense.

"Five thousand soldiers and horses, in this way, the remaining soldiers in Chang'an are only three thousand at most, I didn't expect Xiahou Yuan to really spend a lot of money." Fang Shao looked a little surprised, he originally wanted to attract Xiahou Yuan to transfer troops from the direction of Chang'an, but he didn't expect to be able to transfer to such an extent.

Huang Zhong's expression became more and more solemn, "We have a total of no more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, and now we have lost 7,000, and there are less than 20,000 capable fighters, of which 7,000 are holding on to the North Plains, and more than 5,000 people have been sent out to attack the enemy who is smuggling grain and grass on the north bank. ”

Huang Zhong's worries were not unreasonable, in the case of equal numbers, in a head-on confrontation, the Han army was never the opponent of the elite infantry of the Cao army.

Of course, in the case of relying on Zhuge Fei's crossbow, it is no problem to barely hold on, but because Beiyuan is tight, Fang Shao has ordered most of the crossbow arrows stored in the general, whether it is Zhuge crossbow arrows or ordinary arrows, to be sent to Beiyuan, but he didn't expect Xiahou Yuan to suddenly come to such a change of trick. In the absence of arrows, it is really unknown whether it can withstand the five thousand elite Cao Jun infantry cavalry.

"Zhongzheng, come up with an idea, hesitate, as soon as Cao Jun crosses the martial arts water, the situation will only become more and more unfavorable for us." Huang Zhong's tone looked a little anxious.

Fang Shao stared at the map for a long time, and suddenly the corners of his mouth raised slightly, "Old general, don't worry, I have a plan, maybe I can resist for a while." ”

The next morning, the Han army was full of food and prepared for battle, and the antlers on the eastern slope were doubled, and a new trench was dug overnight. The only more than 300 crossbowmen have all been transferred to the east, but there are less than 10,000 arrows in stock, and if Cao's army rushes hard, it will not be able to withstand a few rounds, so it will have to fight the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

Fang Shao rode his horse on the hillside, looking to the east from afar, but saw a team of Cao troops, already lined up in an orderly array, slowly driving to the edge of the martial arts water, when the first morning glow reflected the eastern sky, more than 2,000 Cao troops in front of the formation, have begun to wade across the river.

The martial arts water is very shallow, it is the end of autumn, the water system of the whole country is in the season of water shortage, so the martial arts water that is more than 100 steps wide, the water depth is just below the knee, the strong Cao Jun, even in the water also maintains an orderly formation, the momentum is very high.

When Huang Zhong saw this, he rode his horse and shouted: "Zhongzheng, why don't you let me lead 3,000 soldiers and horses to kill them, and give the enemy a half-crossing to attack him." ”

Huang Zhong is indeed a fierce general, but in the way of the art of war, it is obvious that he is not as profound as Fang Shao, although he can say the truth of "attacking it halfway", but he does not carefully analyze the conditions.

On the east and west sides of the Gojo Plain are large swamps and muddy fields washed by the river, and you must be very careful during your journey, otherwise you will fall into the mud, although the deepest of these swamp pits are only waist-deep, but they are enough to destroy the army and stop the rapid advance of the cavalry. The place of Wujoyuan is also a high ground, so if there are enough arrows, it will be easy to defend and difficult to attack if the enemy army is slowly moving in the mud at a high level.

On the contrary, if the soldiers and horses kill the downhill ground, it is equivalent to plunging themselves into the unfavorable terrain of the mud, to be honest, it is better to act in the shallow martial arts water than to act in the shallow martial arts water. Attacking them halfway may also put you in a disadvantageous position.

Of course, this is under normal circumstances, and now the Shao is facing the dilemma of insufficient arrows, although the Cao army will be delayed by the mud, but they only need to rely on the big shield to effectively resist the limited arrow attacks of the Han army, and then they can calmly advance to the high ground at the speed of a "snail" and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Han army.

The enemy general Lu Zhao obviously realized this, so his five thousand soldiers and horses were all equipped with a round shield, it seems that Xiahou Yuan clearly saw through the shortcomings of the Han army's lack of arrows, and would dare to attack Wuzhangyuan from the east.

"The old general is calm and don't be impatient, I have my own clever plan to break the enemy." Fang Shao smiled and comforted Huang Zhong.

This veteran also knew that Fang Shao was plotting a ghostly change, since he was so confident, he could only temporarily suppress the anxiety in his heart, and watched the enemy calmly cross the martial arts water and set foot on the muddy land on the east side.

After a short time, the 5,000 Cao army crossed the river, still maintaining a stable formation, carefully avoiding those mud pits, and slowly advancing towards Wuzhang Plain.

Fang Shao could see the situation of the enemy army clearly on the high ground, so he said loudly: "The time has come, send a signal." ”

At the top of Wuzhangyuan, several piles of precipitated beacon fires were ignited, and several black pillars of smoke rose into the sky, clearly visible within a radius of dozens of miles.

(To be continued)