As time progressed, Wei's powerful war machine was mobilized, and Cao Rui, the Son of Heaven, personally sat in Wancheng to prevent Jiangdong from taking this opportunity to go north. The general Cao Zhen commanded 80,000 troops, Chen Bingtongguan and Pubanjin, and the hussar general Sima Yi commanded 50,000 troops, and launched an uninterrupted onslaught on Wuguan. Coupled with the 30,000 people in Wancheng and the more than 20,000 people in Longyou, the total number of troops in the Wei State alone reached 180,000, which can be said to be the largest number of troops mobilized since Cao Cao's conquest of Jingzhou.

In addition to the armies that participated in the war, the number of people transporting grain and grass for these armies also reached an astonishing number, from Jizhou and Bingzhou in the north to Qingzhou and Xuzhou in the east, there was a steady stream of grain transport teams on almost every main road.

Guanzhong and Longyou are the foundation of the country and cannot afford to be lost. Wei from the Son of Heaven to the county magistrate all understood the importance of this, so they spared no effort and went all out, as for those people who didn't understand the truth very well, or didn't care much about these truths, what opinions could they have except bow down to their orders?

However, Cao Wei, who fought the first battle, sadly found that although they mobilized Liliang who could be mobilized throughout the country, and even transferred part of the troops defending Eastern Wu and the Hu people in northern Xinjiang to Guanzhong, the attack on Guanzhong was not smooth. After the ships collected by Cao Zhen were burned, although they were salvaged and repaired under the auspices of Langzhong Ma Jun, the time schedule was greatly affected, and Cao Zhen had to concentrate on storming Tongguan before there were enough warships. Tongguan is strong, and there are 10,000 elite soldiers of Wei Yan stationed there, Cao Zhen has been attacking for days without success, so he can only look at Guan and sigh.

In Wuguan, the situation was also not optimistic, the hussar general Sima Yi attacked at any cost for several days, the battle losses reached a staggering 20,000 people, and the five phalanxes lost their combat effectiveness, but they still stopped outside Wuguan. Sima Yi sent fast horses every day to send the battle situation of the day to Wancheng. Let Cao Rui, the son of heaven, grasp the latest battle situation. He especially emphasized that it was the anti-Shu Prime Minister's Mansion who joined the army and defeated him in Fangling. and used the middle of the pass to deceive the one who turned around Xiahou Mao.

Cao Rui knew that while Sima Yi was depreciating himself, he put the main responsibility for the loss of the pass on Xiahou Mao. This is not Sima Yi's opinion alone. Rather, it is the judgment that is currently accepted. If Xiahou Mao was not still in Chang'an, but returned to Luoyang, he would not die. At the very least, he will be cut down and demoted to a concubine, otherwise he will not be able to calm the anger of the public. However, he is staying in Chang'an now, even if everyone wants to kill him, they can't hurt him a single hair.

Cao Rui sent 20,000 men to Sima Yi again to make up for his previous battle losses, and with it, a large amount of grain, grass and baggage.

Sima Yi received these horses. Immediately put them in front of everyone. With reinforcements, the morale of the Wei army was greatly boosted again, and Sima Yi ordered a large feast of soldiers in a timely manner to restore the physical strength of the soldiers who had fought hard for many days and boost their morale. to prepare for another battle.

Compared with the Wei army outside the city, the Shu Han army inside the city was pitiful.

After several days of fighting, the 5,000 defenders in the city had lost more than 3,000 people, and even if the 2,000 people brought by Wei Ba were counted, the loss rate reached an astonishing half. This was achieved when Wei Ba's improved thunderbolts and repeaters were far more powerful than the Wei army. With only the remaining three or four thousand people, it is impossible to hold the Wuguan. As the battle situation became more and more tragic, not only did the casualties of the soldiers increase, but the number of scrapped thunderbolts and ballistae also increased sharply, and the production capacity of the workshop gradually could not keep up with the pace of consumption, especially the reserves of stone bullets had been exhausted. The grinding of stone bullets is driven by water turbines, but the mining of stone is limited by manpower, and there is no original stone, and no matter how many water turbines there are no stones to grind.

After a day of hard fighting, Deng Zhi and Wei Ba stood side by side on the city wall, looking at the messy battlefield below the city and were silent. The battle of not disarming for several days made Deng Zhi extremely tired, and both legs were trembling. He glanced at the wall, and reached out to hold on to the battlements, which were sticky where his fingers touched, it was blood that soaked the wall, and the rammed earth that had soaked it was a little soft. If it was before the war, Deng Zhi wouldn't have touched it at all, but now, as long as he can give him a little strength, let alone blood, even if it is a stinky dung, he can't care about it.

In fact, there was not even enough dung juice in the city, only the disgusting stench remained, mixed with the strong smell of blood, which was really uncomfortable. If it weren't for gradually getting used to this, Wei Ba doubted that Deng Zhi would be here.

"Ziyu, why hasn't there been any news from the prime minister?" Deng Zhi asked. His voice was a little hoarse, and he fought hard for days, running and shouting at the head of the city, boosting morale, and his voice was already hoarse.

Wei Ba was silent. He didn't have the strength to complain about Zhuge Liang anymore. At the beginning, Daddy's Meridian Valley Jihua was not like this, Zhuge Liang's main force should be in Guanzhong, with the main purpose of capturing Guanzhong, in order to have enough troops to defend. Now Zhuge Liang has changed Jihua, the main force is out of Longyou, there are only 20,000 real main forces left in Guanzhong, and the rest are recruits he recruited by various methods, and the combat effectiveness is really not to be overestimated. The reason why it can still be defended now is because of the natural danger of the Yellow River, and Tongguan and Wuguan are also strong. However, with Cao Wei's national mobilization, the gap in strength between the two sides has become more and more obvious, and he is not sure whether Zuihou can hold it now.

If you are not sure, you must hold on. He knew very well what would happen to their father and son if they lost Guanzhong.

"It's going to be soon." Wei Ba said softly: "The Wei army has a law, and if the reinforcements do not arrive after besieging the city for 100 days, it will not offend his family if he surrenders." It is almost a hundred days, the psychological defense line of the defenders will collapse, the food reserves will be almost depleted, and the chances of the prime minister breaking the city will be greatly increased. ”

"So we're all the more persevere." Deng Zhi lowered his head: "Go all out against Wei, we don't have enough troops, and it will be difficult to defend until the prime minister arrives." ”

"No matter how difficult it is, you can't give up easily." Wei Ba turned his head and looked at Deng Zhi, although he was a little tired, he was not discouraged, on the contrary, he seemed very calm.

Deng Zhi saw it in his eyes, calmed down inexplicably, and laughed at himself: "Ziyu, I didn't expect Zuihou to ask you to comfort me." ”

Wei Ba smiled silently: "Because the general has been fighting, I have time to think." ”

Deng Zhi stroked his messy and knotted beard: "Tell me, what did you think about?" ”

"Actually, it's similar to what the general thought. The position of Guanzhong is too important, I have to Guanzhong, I can be condescending, I can take over the world, I can retreat for the retreat, and I can defend myself for the barrier of Yizhou, and advance and retreat freely. And when Cao Wei lost the pass, if he lost an arm, he could no longer be dominant in the Three Kingdoms. It is not surprising that they want to devote the whole country to recapture Guanzhong. Before, they were caught off guard, but now that they have all been mobilized, our first-mover advantage has been exhausted, and next, we will have to face the all-out counterattack of the Wei State, and the battle situation has entered the most brutal stage. ”

Deng Zhi bowed slightly, it was precisely when he thought of this that his confidence would be frustrated. He originally wanted to defend the martial arts and build a miracle feat, and he played well at the beginning, first eating the aggressive Hu Zunbu, and then defeating Sima Shi's sailor, but once Sima Yi exerted his strength, he felt great pressure. In five or six days, more than half of it was lost. Sima Yi's reinforcements came again, but he had no reinforcements. If he can hold it for a few more days, he has no bottom in his heart, but the loss of Wuguan is almost a foregone conclusion, and the difference is only sooner or later.

"However, general, don't forget, the Wei State will strike hard, and even if they succeed, they will be greatly damaged. If it doesn't work, it's even more unthinkable. The so-called wind never ends, showers never end, how long can they hold on so hard? ”

Deng Zhi frowned, and slowly flattened down, and the anxiety in his eyes faded a little.

"So, as long as we withstand this attack from theirs, the next thing is that the situation on both sides will be reversed." Wei Ba let out a long breath: "Even if we can't hold Guanzhong, at least we can buy time for the prime minister to seize Longyou." The more we keep watch, the more opportunities we have. As long as this attack of the anti-Wei is carried over, there will be a sunny sky ahead. ”

Deng Zhi laughed, and while picking the blood stains on his face with his fingers, he said, "Ziyu, what you said is reasonable. However, what I am more worried about is that Shu Wei will fight viciously, and both sides will lose, and it will be Sun Quan who will benefit. That blue-eyed boy would never let go of an opportunity. Behind his back, he is the best at it. ”

Wei Ba's eyes rolled: "General Gaojian, since this is the case, I have to remind the prime minister to pay attention." Cao Rui sat in Wancheng, but he was able to send 40,000 reinforcements to Sima Yi one after another, which shows that Sun Quan of Wuchang did not make any moves, and did not put any pressure on Cao Rui, maybe ......"

"Perhaps, he has now reached a tacit understanding with Cao Rui, tore up the alliance of Shu and Wu, and is waiting for the fisherman to benefit."

Wei Ba nodded repeatedly.

"If you advance, you will live, and if you retreat, you will die." Deng Zhi said angrily: "We must drag Sima Yi to the death and consume his troops as much as possible." I believe that Cao Rui will not be unguarded against that blue-eyed er, once the casualties are too large, he will hesitate, he will hesitate, and he will turn to watch Sun Quan who is sitting on the mountain watching the tiger fight. ”

"What does the general mean?"

"The city defense of Wuguan has already suffered heavy losses, and if we continue to defend it, our losses will be too great." Deng Zhi turned his head and said solemnly to Wei Ba: "Ziyu, according to what you said before, we will take the initiative to withdraw and retreat to Shangluo." ”

Wei Ba breathed a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that Deng Zhi refused to retreat for the sake of face, and had to stick to Wuguan. Now that Deng Zhi has agreed to retreat, he can take retreat as an advance, use Shangluo and Lantian as a stronghold, block Sima Yi nearby, stretch Sima Yi's supply line, and turn the disadvantage into an advantage.

However, if they want to withdraw, they can't be so simple, otherwise, they will be chased by Sima Yi for hundreds of miles. The Wei army had elite cavalry, and once it was pursued by cavalry, it would be a nightmare.

"General, we can withdraw, but we can't withdraw so simply." Wei Ba smiled and said, "Before leaving, we not only have to clear the wilderness, but also give Sima Yi a surprise. ”

——————

In the past two days, Lao Zhuang got up every morning to be frightened, two consecutive days, half a day only 4 monthly passes, everyone helped, there are two monthly passes, Lao Zhuang can't help but be so scared.

Wei Ba wants to surprise Sima Yi, can you also surprise me? (To be continued.) )