After Zhang He defeated Jiang Wei, he did not immediately go south to attack Wangxian, but retreated to Gaoping, and looked at Gaoping, that is, Xiaoguan.

Xiaoguan has 10,000 Shu Han troops led by Chen Shi.

When Zhang He attacked Jiang Wei, Chen Shi remained silent and did not go out to support. It's not that he doesn't want to go out to support, Zhuge Liang asked him to guard Xiao Pass, so let him guard this fortress. But Zhang He watched him with 10,000 cavalry, so that he didn't dare to move.

Now Zhang He has broken Jiang Wei and led a large army to surround Xiao Guantuan. Zhang He had no intention of attacking the city, but his intention to trap Chen Shi was obvious, and at the same time, he also had the intention of luring Zhuge Liang to take the initiative to rescue. Although Xiao Guan has saved a lot of grain, he has been surrounded by Zhang He for more than half a year, and no matter how much grain he has stored, he is almost exhausted. There is a cloud in the art of war, and the city without help is not defended. If Zhuge Liang couldn't ask for help in time, Xiao Guan and more than 10,000 people in the city would inevitably fall into the hands of Zhang He.

In Zhuge Liang's jihua, Jiang Wei blocked Zhang He's way forward, and Zhang He fought for consumption, and when Zhang He was in a dilemma, Chen Shi came out of Xiao Pass, blocked Zhang He's retreat, and trapped him in this river valley. As a result, Cao Zhi entered the Guanzhong and sent Xiahouba to Jiang Wei's rear at the cost of more than 10,000 lives.

Of course, for Zhang He, the main reason for doing this is that Cao Zhi's lesson is too profound. If he lets Xiao Guan enter Guanzhong behind him, he is likely to repeat Cao Zhi's mistakes.

……

When Zhuge Liang received the news of Chen's request for help, Jiang Wei was kneeling in front of him.

More than ten days on the run. made Jiang Wei a different person, he looked haggard and his clothes were ragged, but his face was clean, his hair was neatly groomed, and although his clothes were torn, they were just as clean. What made Zhuge Liang feel most strange was that his eyes were clear. He calmly recounted the defeat and analyzed his mistakes, in a clear and calm manner, almost indifferent. It's like talking about a person and thing that has nothing to do with him.

Zhuge Liang hesitated for a long time: "You go and rest." Waiting for processing. ”

Jiang Wei stood up, retreated to the door of the tent, glanced at Zhuge Liang who was rubbing his eyebrows, and suddenly burst into tears. "I see that the prime minister is well. Wei's wish has been fulfilled. How to dispose of it. Please judge the prime minister on the basis of justice, Mo Yinwei has messed up the law and given people a handle. ”

Zhuge Liang's eyes narrowed. There was a long silence. "I'm in my own hands, you go."

Jiang Wei said goodbye, turned around and left. Zhuge Liang sighed and turned to Yang Yi: "Wei Gong, what do you think?" ”

Yang Yi was very embarrassed. He knew very well that Zhuge Liang didn't want to kill Jiang Wei, but Jiang Wei threw away 20,000 horses and horses cleanly, and only returned with more than 100 remnants. Even if he didn't run away, the responsibility was very great, and not killing was not enough to calm the anger of the public. Just like when he had to kill Ma Yan, if he didn't kill Jiang Wei, this responsibility could only be borne by Zhuge Liang himself, and the responsibility on Zhuge Liang's shoulders was heavy enough.

"Prime Minister, if you don't deal with it, I'm afraid that others will disagree."

"Put yourself in his shoes, if I was in that position, I wouldn't have done better than him." Zhuge Liang sighed lightly: "It's a pity to kill it." If it hadn't been...... Alas! ”

Yang Yi understood, when it came to this, if he didn't understand what Zhuge Liang meant, then he should die.

"Prime Minister, what to do next, if you don't send troops, Chen Shi will inevitably be defeated, but if you send troops, our military rations will ......"

"Chen Shi should be able to hold on for a while. As soon as the food arrived, we rushed to Xiaoguan to rescue Chen Shi and fight a decisive battle with Zhang He. Zhuge Liang waved his hand, "Let Li Yan come to Hanzhong, and let Wu Yi lead the army to Guanzhong to support." Without waiting for Yang Yi to object, Zhuge Liang said: "Tell Bixia that this matter is related to the success or failure of Guanzhong and the turning point of the revival of the Han Dynasty." ”

"Whoa." Yang Yi understood.

……

"Smack!" Wei Ba threw the newspaper he had just received on the case, and said with a depressed face: "What does Li Yan want to do, dragging people into the water is not such a drag method, the intention is too obvious, and there is no beauty at all as a strategy." ”

"What's wrong?" Xiahou Hui walked over and naturally reached out to take the newspaper on the case, Wei Ba frowned, and reached out to hold it. Xiahou Hui was stunned for a moment, and retracted his hand in a daze. Although Wei Ba's documents are all classified by her, she knows that there are some things that only Wei Ba can handle, and no one else can touch them, including her. She thought she had accidentally crossed the line, and she couldn't help but be a little embarrassed.

"This ......" Wei Ba pressed on the newspaper: "Before you read it, you must be mentally prepared." ”

Xiahou Hui was stunned for a moment, his face turned pale, and his eyes were a little flustered. She wrung her fingers and was silent for a moment: "King Chen...... Killed in battle? ”

"Hmm." Wei Ba nodded: "However, his death is worth it." ”

Xiahou Hui turned around, turned his back to Wei Ba, raised his sleeve and wiped the corners of his eyes. Wei Ba sighed softly, pulled Xiahou Hui over, hugged her in his arms, and patted her back gently: "If you want to cry, cry out, cry out, it may feel better." ”

Xiahou Hui slowly relaxed his body and snuggled into Wei Ba's arms, tears welling up in his eyes. Wei Ba stroked her back and said with a silent wry smile: "He is seeking benevolence, but he has harmed the prime minister a lot, and even I have suffered, and now I am so sad, it is really a gentleman like the wind, and a villain is like grass." He blew such a strong wind and was at ease, but he didn't know how many bright and dark currents he had set off. ”

Wei Ba's words were not unconscious.

Cao Zhi was like a stone, thrown into Guanzhong, smashed a few splashes, and then slowly sank to the bottom, and the situation in Guanzhong returned to calm, looking no different from before. However, those who are really familiar with the inside story know that Cao Zhi's stone has already pried the balance of the situation in Guanzhong, and the death of him and 15,000 Wei troops is not only not dispensable, but also significant and far-reaching.

In addition to Ma Tan's loss of more than 4,000 people in Hongmen, because of Cao Zhi's hard work, Zhuge Liang also lost nearly 30,000 main forces, including 4,000 cavalry that had just been formed. This not only cut off Zhuge Liang's attempt to form cavalry to compete with the Wei army, but also made Zhuge Liang's strategy of seizing Longyou far away. As for the doubts about Zhuge Liang's employment brought about by the failure of Ma Dai and Jiang Wei, although the impact is far-reaching, after all, it is the internal government affairs of Shu Han, which is not so obvious on the surface.

The losses of Wei were not small, Cao Zhi and Zhang He lost more than 25,000 people successively, plus Xiahou Ru ambushed in Longguan, Cao Zhen was raided by Wei Yan, and the total number of troops lost was also more than 30,000 people, which was comparable to Shu Han. Both sides were wounded, but the extent of the damage was not a concept at all. Emperor Cao Rui of Wei had already ordered the assembly of the county troops in Hedong and Bingzhou, and transferred some of the men and horses guarding Hebei to Guanzhong, so that the troops could be replenished in a very short period of time and continue to maintain pressure on Guanzhong. When the autumn harvest is over, a large number of troops will be requisitioned and will go to the battlefield with the grain.

But Shu Han couldn't do this.

Zhuge Liang's military report arrived in Chengdu and was questioned by the hussar general Li Yan. Li Yan said that the losses were so great that Shu Han no longer had the strength to continue to implement the Longyou strategy, and in the current situation, it was somewhat reluctant to hold Guanzhong. Even if you can recruit soldiers, where will you get so much food? At least before the autumn harvest, there is no food to transport, no soldiers to adjust. If you want to alleviate the situation in Guanzhong, it is better for Meng Da to lead the troops out of Xiangyang to contain the main force of the Wei army, and if you can let Sun Quan send troops to Jianghuai, it will be better.

As the only hussar general in Shu Han who can compete with the prime minister, although Li Yan did not say anything to death, he has undoubtedly determined the nature of the matter. To continue this war, the strength controlled by Zhuge Liang alone could no longer be achieved, and it was necessary to mobilize the troops of Hanzhong and even the troops left behind in Chengdu, and at the same time a large amount of food was needed. Whether it is soldiers or food, these are now controlled by Li Yan's hands, Li Yan does not nod, Zhuge Liang does not say that the soldiers are out of Longyou, and even holding Guanzhong is a problem.

What made Zhuge Liang even more embarrassed was that he had no way to retreat, and if Guanzhong was lost, his loss would be even greater. Guanzhong is lost, someone must take responsibility, the two directly responsible persons Ma Tan and Jiang Wei are his henchmen, no matter how he deals with it, he will cut off his own arm. Even if Ma Jian currently has some differences with him, they are still one after all on the major issues of right and wrong.

In this contest with Li Yan, Zhuge Liang did not have any advantages at all, and all this was because of Cao Zhi. He not only dealt Zhuge Liang a heavy blow on the battlefield, but also destroyed the internal situation that Zhuge Liang had painstakingly created.

Zhuge Liang was counting on increasing his strength by taking all of Longyou, and Jihua, who had mobilized Li Yan from the Jiangzhou base area, was facing the possibility of total bankruptcy, but Li Yan had the upper hand. If he can't turn defeat into victory, then he will not only have to bear the responsibility for this defeat, but it will be difficult to lead the Northern Expedition in the future, I don't know that the conclusion of the soldiers will follow him for a lifetime, and no one will even mention his record in defeating Cao Zhi in Wangxian.

If he loses his military power, then his Prime Minister's Mansion will no longer be Cao Cao's overlord's mansion, but just a vain ornament, just like Gu Yong's Prime Minister's Mansion in Eastern Wu, or even inferior. Once he loses power, Jing Xiang is likely to abandon him and support Li Yan instead.

It's nothing short of a disaster.

Zhuge Liang was obviously aware of this possibility, so he insisted on continuing the battle, asking Li Yan to increase his troops and transport grain, and for this reason emphasized the importance of Zhou Guanzhong and Longyou to Shu Han. If Li Yan simply refused, then he could still put the blame on Li Yan's head.

Li Yan is naturally not a fool, he didn't say it to death, he just wrote the battle report in Guanzhong into a newspaper and distributed it to all states and counties, the implication is very clear, you look at it, if you continue to support the prime minister, then you will wait to be knocked out of the bones, if you don't want to do this, show your attitude and stand with me.

If the states and counties can't bear the pressure and are unwilling to bear the burden of the war anymore, and seconded Li Yan and opposes Zhuge Liang, then Li Yan will have the support of public opinion and will no longer fight alone.

The newspaper in Wei Ba's hand was the stone that Li Yan threw out to ask for directions, so Wei Ba was very unhappy

(To be continued......)

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