Zhuge Liang sat quietly in the back tent, his eyes slightly closed, and his expression was peaceful. His hair was scattered over his shoulders, dull, and unhealthy gray like his face. Ni Long, the guard, carefully combed his hair, and the comb was wrapped in a ball of hair. He quietly tucked his hair into his sleeve and continued to comb it. Recently, the prime minister's hair has thinned a lot, and it is no longer as thick and black as before, just like autumn leaves, when the wind blows, it keeps falling.

After Ni Long finished combing, pulled a bun, inserted a hairpin, and put on a crown, Zuihou put on the prime minister's crown, and then put on the official uniform, Zhuge Liang, who was originally a little thin and tired, suddenly became majestic and inviolable.

"Prime Minister, do you want to wipe some more ......"

"No need." Zhuge Liang shook his head: "You go out first, I want to be quiet." ”

Ni Long answered, put the rouge box in his hand aside, straightened his clothes, held the knife, and withdrew from the big tent. He did not go far, but stood at the door of the tent, standing as tall as a spear.

Zhuge Liang sat quietly, motionless, like a stone statue, only his eyelids that squirmed from time to time revealed a little restlessness and anxiety.

Cao Zhi stopped at Wuzhangyuan, the thousand-mile march came to an abrupt halt, and Zhang He confronted Jiang Wei at the foot of Liupan Mountain, but he did not attack for a long time, as if he did not think about Cao Zhi's safety at all.

Everything seems so weird.

When things go wrong, there must be demons.

Zhuge Liang didn't dare to have any negligence, and at the same time, facing the general Zhang He and the sudden rise of Cao Zhi, his pressure was undoubted. But he didn't hold a tactical exercise, because he knew it well. In such a situation, if everyone's opinion is adopted, it will only complicate the situation. It must be admitted that the vast majority of people are not wise people, and in this case, they instinctively feel fear and then be intimidated by fear.

Even cronies like Yang Yi have no confidence, so what else can they talk about?

Zhuge Liang can only think alone and bear this pressure alone.

I don't know how long it took, but there was a rush of footsteps outside. The footsteps paused at the tent door, and then entered the tent. In that moment. Zhuge Liang opened his eyes. He smiled calmly.

Yang Yi, who walked in, just saw the moment the smile bloomed on Zhuge Liang's face, he stood at the door of the tent, stunned for a moment, and suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wei Gong. What is Ma Dai's injury? ”

"I've woken up. No worries about life. It's just that speaking may be affected in the future. Yang Yi licked her chapped lips, and glanced at Zhuge Liang unnaturally: "This defeat hit him hard. ”

Zhuge Liang did not speak. Ma Dai has fought many defeats in his life. has experienced countless setbacks, but at that time he was still young, there was Ma Chao above him, the pressure he was under was far from so great, now he is over half a hundred years old, and directly bears the heavy responsibility of the Ma family's rejuvenation, this fiasco hit him can be imagined.

"It's okay, I'll see him later." Zhuge Liang said lightly: "I am also responsible for this defeat." Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on him. ”

Yang Yi looked at Zhuge Liang puzzled, trying to analyze the true meaning of Zhuge Liang.

"It's me who expects too much from him, so he ties his hands and feet and doesn't dare to let go." Zhuge Liang narrowed his eyes: "To deal with outlaws like Cao Zhi and Xiahouba, if there is no overwhelming advantage to rely on, then you must give it a go in order to defeat the enemy, and hesitation is a big taboo." ”

Yang Yi was stunned for a moment, and nodded sympathetically. Although there is a gap in the strength of the two sides, there is absolutely no disparity to this extent, with Ma Dai's ability, even if he loses, he should not be defeated so badly, and hesitation in the battle is a fatal mistake. In the mouths of the routs who returned to the camp one after another, Yang Yi heard a lot of complaints, the meaning was similar to what Zhuge Liang said, but he couldn't say it as calmly as Zhuge Liang. After all, to admit this is to admit that the responsibility lies with Zhuge Liang himself, not Ma Dai.

"The more this time, the more we can't mess up." Zhuge Liang stood up and took a picture at Tong Jian: "Weigong, how long can our food last?" ”

"Barely enough to make it through August."

"That's not enough, immediately send a message to Li Yan and ask him to transport grain and grass to Guanzhong." Zhuge Liang put down the bronze jian, and his eyes were extremely bright. "Because of the heavy snowfall last year, Jihua, who quickly took Longyou, had to change. Cao Zhi broke into the pass, and we have to add a lot of prisoners, and the food consumption will definitely exceed expectations, and if we don't prepare in advance, we will definitely be overstretched at that time. ”

Yang Yi looked at Zhuge Liang in surprise, wondering if Zhuge Liang was delirious. Cao Zhi is about to be killed, Guanzhong is facing the possibility of collapse, he is still thinking about Longyou Jihua, and also thinking about the increase in consumption brought by the captivity?

Yang Yi was about to remind Zhuge Liang, and after thinking about it, this wouldn't be the prime minister's plan, right? If he follows this jihua, Li Yan must use Chengdu's grain reserves. If Li Yan refuses, then the prime minister can take advantage of the situation to withdraw and put the responsibility for the loss of Guanzhong on Li Yan?

"Order Wang Ping and Zhao Guang to be careful of the Wei army in Longyou." Zhuge Liang said unhurriedly: "Since Cao Zhidu has come all the way to kill, there is no reason for the Wei army in Longyou to stay still. ”

Yang Yi was still guessing Zhuge Liang's true intentions, and he didn't pay attention for a while, Zhuge Liang didn't hear his response, he glanced back at him, and when he saw him distracted, he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy: "Wei Gong, what are you thinking?" ”

Yang Yi was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Prime Minister, do you really want to use Chengdu's grain reserves?" In case ......"

"The seizure of Longyou is related to the success or failure of the revival of the Han Dynasty, and of course we should go all out. As for the problem of grain, Wei Ba was in Tuntian, south of the Yangtze River, and after the autumn harvest, the grain crisis could be alleviated. It's a bit risky, but it's worth the effort. ”

Yang Yi suddenly realized, and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

While the two were talking, Hu Ji walked in quickly, led behind him by a scout covered in blood. As soon as he entered, the big tent was filled with the smell of blood, and the cruelty of the fight came to his face.

The scout knelt down in front of Zhuge Liang, handed over Ma Yan's handwritten letter with both hands, and fell to the ground before he could speak.

Zhuge Liang took the letter, and said while checking it: "Wei Gong, quickly send him to the baggage camp so that he can be taken care of." ”

"Whoa." Yang Yi answered, turned around and arranged for someone to send this scout to the baggage camp. When he came back, Zhuge Liang had already finished reading Ma Yan's letter, and his eyes flashed twice. "Let Youchang go back to Chang'an, and with the defeat of Hongmen, depose his Feng Yi Taishou, and Cheng An will temporarily take it. Let them immediately requisition the Heavenly Master Daoist and guard Chang'an. Let Wei Wenchang stay and defend Yiwu, whether it is to defend or attack, don't ask me again, let him control it himself. ”

Yang Yi and Hu Ji looked at each other and showed surprise in unison. Cheng An is a member of the Cheng family with the fourth surname in Hanzhong, in the past, Wei Yan was too punctual in Hanzhong, he was the master bookkeeper, and the relationship between Wei Yan and his son was of course close, and he was appointed as Feng Yi's Taishou, which was tantamount to giving in to the Hanzhong people. Let Ma Yan return to Chang'an, leave Wei Yan to guard Yiwu, and give him the autonomy to use troops, how can Wei Yan not forcibly suppress Cheng An, Zhao Su and other Hanzhong people? If these people contribute and recruit the Heavenly Master Daoists, then Chang'an can immediately increase 20,000 troops and defend the vicinity of Chang'an.

But this Feng Yi Taishou was not taken out of the prime minister's hand, but dug out of Ma Yan's mouth, and the prime minister did not lose anything.

These two personnel transfers can be described as very clever, and they can't help but admire them.

"Let Liao Hua retreat to Chencang, and be sure to hold Chencang." Zhuge Liang's eyes were even sharper, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Since Cao Zhi wants to die, then I will fulfill him." Weidu, you go to Jiang Wei's camp and tell him what I mean. Before I kill Cao Zhi, no matter what the price is, Zhang He is not allowed to enter the pass with a single soldier. ”

Hu Ji bowed down to receive the order.

……

Xiahouba strode into the big tent, and was just about to speak, Cao Zhi, who was sitting on the desk and contemplating, glanced at him, and the red light on Xiahouba's face suddenly disappeared without a trace. He arched his hand and said curtly, "Your Highness." ”

"The battle is good, but when you are proud, no matter how great the credit is, it is not worth mentioning." Cao Zhi snorted, and there was no joy on his face. He waved his hand and motioned for Xiahou Ba to take a seat. "Zhongquan, do you think that by defeating Ma Dai, we will have a chance to survive?"

Xiahou Ba licked his lips embarrassedly, picked up the water cup and drank water, he took a sip of water, but he didn't put down the water cup until the heat on his face dissipated, and then he faked a cough. "Your Highness, I know it's wrong."

"Knowing that mistakes can be corrected, and good is great." Cao Zhi exhaled slowly, and his face softened a little. "I know, you've always wanted to prove yourself and prove that your father wasn't a white general, but you should know that that's not what Emperor Wu really meant."

Xiahou Ba was silent.

His father Xiahou Yuan made great contributions to Cao Wei's stabilization of Longyou, but it was a pity that Dingjun Mountain was defeated in the first battle, lost Hanzhong, and gave away the lives of both father and son. The most unacceptable thing for Xiahouba was that Cao Cao gave this hero a comment of "General Baidi", although this was caused by a political compromise, but it was also unacceptable to him. The reason why Xiahou Ba is working so hard is that he wants to prove himself and prove that his father Xiahou Yuan is not a general in vain.

The unexpected defeat of Ma Dai in this battle did make him very happy in his heart, and he couldn't help but feel a little more high-spirited between his words, and it was only in front of Cao Zhi that he was faced with a basin of cold water by Cao Zhi that he realized how big the danger was in front of him.

"We have fifteen days of food." Cao Zhi said slowly: "If we can't defeat Zhuge Liang within fifteen days and lure Zhang He into the pass, then we will collapse without a fight." ”

Xiahou Ba shrugged his brows, and after a while, he slowly relaxed again.

"Ma Yan and Wei Yan retreated into Yiwu, and I failed to trap their Jihua." Cao Zhi sighed regretfully: "If only I had made a move earlier and stopped them." The difference is a millimeter, and the loss is a thousand miles. With these 5,000 people, it would be impossible to take Hewu. The only way now is to storm Chencang, seize Chencang's grain, lure Zhuge Liang's main force to come to the decisive battle, and create opportunities for Zhang He. ”

Zhang He...... Can you seize this opportunity in time? Separated by six or seven hundred miles, and separated by two lines of defense of the Shu army, it is very inconvenient for us to get in touch. ”

"It's up to providence." Cao Zhiyun said lightly

(To be continued......)