Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 299 Countermeasures
Wei Emperor Cao Rui Taihe four years, June.

On the long and narrow Xiaoguan Road, the Wei army turned against the current along the Wushui River, and the generals of the Wei army marched slowly with low morale and exhaustion on the road.

Cao Zhen stationed his horse on the slope, looking at the dejected soldiers on the road.He held the whip tightly in his hand, feeling angrily in his heart.

Thinking of the vows made during the expedition and the emperor's earnest entrustment, a sense of shame welled up in my heart.

Zhao Yan, who was silent by the side, saw it clearly. As he had experienced the Chibi War, he had personally seen Cao Cao miss the opportunity to dominate the world.At that time, the sergeant was infected with the disease, and his combat effectiveness dropped sharply. In addition, Zhou Yu set a fire in Wulin, losing nearly [-] soldiers and horses, and fled back to the Central Plains in a hurry.

Although more than half of the soldiers and horses were lost in the battle of Gaoping City this time, the most important thing is to adjust their mentality and make new arrangements for Xishu as soon as possible. After all, there are still tens of thousands of Zhang Yun in Liangzhou.

Zhao Yan coughed lightly and said, "Da Sima, I don't know how to deal with the enemy next?"

Before he finished speaking, he saw Cao Zhen swaying on his horse, and suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, which wet his armor, fell to the ground and raised dust.

Zhao Yan's eyes widened, and he called out, "Come here, call the doctor."

"Big Sima!"

The generals of the nearby Wei army couldn't help but dismounted and helped Cao Zhen up.

……

I don't know how long it took before Cao Zhen woke up from his lethargy, his lips were chapped, his eyes were slightly opened, and he said in a low voice, "Come here, bring water."

"Big Sima!"

The personal guard stepped forward and handed Cao Zhen a bowl of water.

Cao Zhen took a few sips of water, moistened his lips, no longer dry mouth, handed the bowl to the guard, and leaned back on the pillow.

Taking a long breath, Cao Zhen rubbed his temples and asked, "Where is the army stationed now?"

"Chaona County (today's west of Pengyang County)." Qin Wei replied.

Cao Zhen closed his eyes and nodded, and said, "Call all the generals in the army to come in, I want to ask questions."

"promise!"

After a while, Zhao Yan took the lead, followed by the generals who had been waiting for a long time.

Cao Zhen leaned on the pillow, and when he saw everyone entering, he said, "I'm really in a coma, so I'm going to thank you all."

Zhao Yan took a step forward, walked to the side of the couch, and said with relief: "Da Sima, this is our duty. Now that the Shu thieves are still there, I hope the general will cheer up and take care of his health. Besides, the battle of Gaoping was not the fault of Da Sima alone. However, it was the Marquis of Wuwei who used his troops improperly, causing the heavy cavalry to be completely destroyed, so Fang let the Xishu heavy cavalry take advantage of the opportunity to attack General Guo's troops, turning the tide of battle."

Cao Zhen smiled wryly, knowing that Zhao Yan was comforting himself, he didn't get too involved in this topic, but asked: "How is our army damaged in this battle?"

Zhao Yan hesitated a little, and replied: "The [-] army lost more than [-] troops. Among them, the Guohuai Department of the left army was almost completely wiped out. When the right army retreated, the Shu soldiers followed and chased, and suffered a lot of losses. Back, there are a large number of crossbowmen in the formation, and the loss is not much. Only the heavy cavalry is almost completely lost."

Hearing this, Cao Zhen sighed. The left and right armies of the Wei army were the Luoyang central army and the auxiliary army. But I never thought about it...

Last year, 30,000 people were lost in the conquest of Shu, which was shared by the soldiers of Hedong, Yongzhou, Luoyang, and Jingzhou.However, if they were assigned to each theater, they would lose thousands of soldiers, which was still acceptable, and it just made Wei feel a little bit pained.

But now it is different. More than [-] people were lost in the battle of Gaoping City, most of them came from the Luoyang Central Army.

The point is that most of these soldiers in the Chinese army are still elites drawn from various states and counties, and they lost more than [-] people. It is difficult for Cao Wei to recover after a few years.

Cao Zhen restrained his mind and asked, "How is the morale of the soldiers now?"

Hao Zhao in the crowd opened his mouth, cupped his hands and said, "I would like to report to Grand Sima, although our army is defeated and our soldiers are in a slump, but our soldiers are elite. In a few days, we will be able to regain our strength and the morale of the army will still be useful."

Cao Zhen nodded, and said with relief: "It's good for soldiers to fight fearlessly. In the next few days, you all need to go deep into the army to appease the hearts of soldiers."

"promise!"

After finishing speaking, Cao Zhen glanced at the crowd, frowned and said, "Where is Boji (Guo Huai)? Didn't it be said earlier that he had already escaped from the encirclement, so why is he nowhere to be seen?"

After saying this, everyone was silent, only Zhao Yan replied: "I want to report to Da Sima that Bo Ji broke out of the encirclement because of an arrow in his chest.

Cao Zhen's complexion changed, and he asked, "Huh? How is the injury? Does it hurt a vital point?"

Zhao Yan hesitated for a while, and said: "Bo Ji's injuries are too serious and he was left in Xiao Guan for treatment, but the doctor said earlier that the arrow hits the heart, and it may be more dangerous than good."

Hearing this, Cao Zhen looked a little depressed, waved his hands, and said, "Heal with all your strength, Boji is a great talent, and the war against Shu cannot be separated from him."

After a pause, he asked, "Who is currently guarding Xiaoguan?"

"It's General Wang Sheng." Hao Zhao replied.

Cao Zhen frowned slightly, and said: "Wang Sheng can't take on this important task. We need to select another talented person to guard Xiaoguan to prevent Xishu from seizing the pass. I wonder if Bodao (Hao Zhao) is willing to take on this important task?"

Hao Zhao took a step forward, clasped his hands and said, "Promise! I am willing to serve Da Sima so that Zhuge Liang cannot go south."

"It's really reassuring to have Bodao's words!" Cao Zhen said.

Chief Shi Du Xi clasped his hands and asked, "Grand Sima, Governor Yang and General You are still fighting fiercely in Liangzhou. Western Shu can't go to Liangzhou in a hurry. I don't know what Da Sima plans to do?"

After Du Xi had finished speaking, Zhao Yan added: "A few days ago, Your Majesty ordered Shangshu Youfu to shoot Wei Zhen, and led the Chinese army to attack Hanzhong with [-] troops, forcing Zhuge Liang to return to the division for rescue. Now the guard has gathered in Guanzhong. Soldiers, prepare to go south on Chencang Road, attack Wuwei and cut off the grain road."

Faced with so much information, Cao Zhen couldn't help but fall into deep thought.Just as Cao Zhen was thinking about the battle, he suddenly felt dizzy. Cao Zhen supported his head with his hands, trying to ease the dizziness.

After a while, the dizziness disappeared. Cao Zhen strengthened his spirit and ordered: "Bo Dao will guard Xiaoguan. When our army has repaired and the morale of the army has stabilized, then I will lead the army northward to fight Zhuge."

"At the same time, I ordered the spies to investigate the news of Liangzhou, and to pass the news of our army to General You and the Second Department of Governor Yang, so that the two can move according to the time, and can withdraw to Dunhuang County and other places at any time, and give up several counties in the east of Liangzhou. Shu army, wait for the situation to change."

"As for the guards shooting [-] troops, let them march as soon as possible, and must let Zhuge Liang divide his troops to rescue, but be careful in ambush."

"promise!"

"If General You is unwilling to withdraw to several counties in the west of Liangzhou, tell him. Governor Yang is a loyal and patriotic man, Governor Yin of Dunhuang, and Governor Zhao of Jiuquan are his friends. There are few troops in Western Shu. If you want to capture several counties in the east of Liangzhou It is necessary to divide the troops in the county, Liangzhou is far away in the west, and it is inconvenient to transport food. At that time, the right general will have more room to mediate with the Shu army, and wait for our army to enter Liangzhou to join them."

The geographical situation in the Northwest emerged in Cao Zhen's mind, and he arranged the troops properly.

"Then send an order to Governor Yang, telling him to be careful of the gentry in several counties in the east of Liangzhou. If Jincheng County can't keep it, he can follow the right general into the western frontier and echo the countries of the Western Regions."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)