Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 450

At dusk, the north wind was bitter, and Sima Yi led three thousand cavalrymen, galloping on the Weibei Plain, with a forceful momentum.

Fine snowflakes fluttered in the sky, and as soon as they touched Sima Yi's naked skin, they melted into ice water.Sima Yi led the way, and saw the defeated Wei army wandering on the plain not far away.

Sima Yi's face was slightly cold, he raised his whip and whipped his horse's buttocks, speeded up, and led more than a hundred cavalry soldiers to the direction of the rout.

Sima Yi received the news of the defeat of the army at noon, and led the army to set off near dusk, intending to gather the defeated army of Xia Houru, thinking that it should be reconciled.

Seeing Sima Yi's cavalry rushing over, the Wei army fled to the northern hills in panic.Sima Yi directly led the cavalry to copy in front of them, forcing everyone to stop.

"Royal!"

Sima Yi reined in the reins, held up his whip, and yelled at the rout soldiers, "Stop to my governor, and kill anyone who escapes."

Hearing the news, the defeated Wei army stood there tremblingly, not daring to move.

The horse under his crotch was walking around restlessly. Sima Yi sat on the horse's back, pulled the rein and tried to control the horse, and said in a cold voice: "Since you are a soldier of the Great Wei, you know the military rules and regulations. Those who run away will be killed without mercy." .”

The leader of the defeated army took courage and said wrongly: "General, our army was flooded by the flood. The Shu army took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill. The slow-running brothers were all captured by the Shu army."

Sima Yi looked at the defeated army in front of him, suppressed his anger, and said in a cold voice, "Which department do you belong to?"

"Under the command of General Zhongba...Jiawu, Corporal Chief, Zhang Liao." The defeated Corps Chief replied.

Sima Yi looked to the west. He, who was always good at forbearance, finally couldn't restrain his anger, and cursed loudly: "Xia Houru's [-] army was wiped out after only three days of fighting. It's [-] pigs. The Shu army can't finish their arrests for three days and three nights. Wine bags and rice bags, a bunch of waste."

"General, the army was defeated like a mountain. The Shu army flooded our army, and all the brothers on the west bank were gone. We on the east bank faced the encirclement of the Shu army's cavalry, and we couldn't stop it at all. The Shu army is too powerful." complained.

"Where are Xiahouru, Zhao Yan, and Xiahouba?" Sima Yi asked loudly.

"The generals should all be behind, and I don't know the specific situation." The corporal pointed to the west and said timidly.

Sima Yi snorted coldly, pointed at the defeated army, and said, "Send someone to take them back to the camp to rest and gather the rest of the defeated army and merge them into the whole army."

"promise!"

Master Sima rode up to Sima Yi's side and asked, "Why didn't father punish these defeated soldiers with military law and strict military discipline?"

Sima Yi glanced at Master Sima, sighed, and said, "If you really want to be serious about military law, Zhao Yan, Xiahouru, Xiahouba, etc., are you going to deal with them like this?"

When Master Sima heard this, he remained silent.These are important officials of the imperial court, who are either honorable or expensive, how can they be dealt with like this.

After speaking, Sima Yi continued to gather the defeated troops westward, looking for Zhao Yan and others.

……

On the north bank of the Weishui River, Xia Houba, Zhao Yan and others walked on the plain, followed by 8000 people's defeated army, all of them unarmored, downcast, listless, like bereaved dogs.

Xiahouba's army blocked the support of the Shu army in Weinan, but unexpectedly the Shu army attacked from front to back, and the river upstream washed away the boat bridge.Xiahouba was unable to cross the river in time, and his army was defeated. Only 5000 people successfully crossed the Weishui River.

In addition, the large army camp on the east side of Qianshui was captured by Deng Ai, and the people did not dare to go there, so they had to stay in Yongcheng for one night, and the troops gathered another 3000 to [-] people. The Wei army was defeated.Before dawn, Zhao Yan and Xia Houba rushed east to Sima Yi's army, hungry for fear of encountering the pursuing Han army.

Just when everyone was hungry, they heard the sound of horseshoes in the distance, and when they looked up, they saw a cavalry galloping from the horizon, and the "Sima" was impressively written on the tooth flag of the vanguard, which shocked everyone. Feeling grateful, he quickened his pace and moved forward.

The two teams were getting closer and closer, Zhao Yan saw Sima Yi from afar, and couldn't help but burst into tears, deeply moved.

Facing these people, Sima Yi showed no anger at all. Instead, he dismounted from his horse, walked a few steps quickly, and came to the crowd, his eyes flushed, and said: "Yi is late, you generals have suffered."

Everyone was ashamed, Zhao Yan wiped his tears with his sleeves, and said sadly: "Yan didn't investigate Huang Quan's strategy to lure the enemy into deep, and caused the entire army to be wiped out. I am ashamed of your majesty and the governor!"

Xia Houba turned his head and sighed, daring to meet Sima Yi without shame.

Sima Yi squeezed out a smile, and said comfortingly: "The army defeated Chencang, and someone is the governor of Guanzhong. It is hard to absolve yourself of the blame. How can you blame the generals? Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. Although [-] troops have been lost today, the main force of the army is still there. Now, the outcome of Guanzhong is still unknown. Next, we need the help of all the generals."

Faced with Sima Yi's friendly attitude, everyone couldn't help but feel grateful to him, and each saluted and apologized.

After talking coldly for a while, Zhao Yan looked at the west side, with a worried expression on his face, and said, "Dare to ask the general, how should our army defend against the enemy?"

Hearing this, Sima Yi sighed, and said: "The army retreated to Xiaohuaili, Weibei firmly defended the two counties of Meiyang and Wugong along Jishui (now Qishui River), Weinan took Luogu River and Manshui River as danger, and defended Shu army."

Zhao Yan hesitated for a while, and said: "Our army is small, I am afraid it will be difficult to stop the power of the Shu army to bring victory."

Sima Yi held his long sword in his hand, walked slowly, and analyzed: "After our army retreats to Xiaohuaili, we can give up six counties including Yongcheng, Qianxian, and Meiguo. The Shu army will definitely attack the six counties in order to gain a foothold in Guanzhong. In order to respond to Longyou. And our army can take the opportunity to repair the camp, prepare the army for battle, and use it to control the Shu army, waiting for His Majesty to send a large army to rescue."

After a pause, Sima Yi looked at the fine snowflakes in the sky, and said: "After the Shu army has captured the six counties and gained a firm foothold, Guanzhong will also enter winter. At that time, there will be heavy snowfall and severe cold, making it difficult for the army to move. Why do we fight? Wait. Let's fight after winter!"

Sima Yi's move basically traded space for time, giving up most of the land in Fufeng County to the Shu army, in exchange for the time for the Wei army to rest and repair the defense line.As long as it lasts until winter, the two armies cease fighting, and the Luoyang Central Army comes to help, everything will get better again.

"That's the only way to go!" Zhao Yan sighed, and said, "Someone has burned down the grain, grass and many supplies hoarded by the army in Yongcheng, which may delay the advance of the Shu army."

Yongcheng is the place where Sima Yi's army was stationed when he was stationed in Guanzhong.There is an iron officer in Yongcheng, and part of the Guanzhong army's weapons are cast here; to the south is the Chengguo Canal irrigation area, where Sima Yi's army is stationed.There is a large amount of food, grass and supplies in the city.

However, after fighting for so long, Sima Yi was worried that Yongcheng would not be safe, so he had already transferred the grain, materials, and equipment to Huaili, and only kept the grain and grass in the city to rescue the Chencang army.Now that the grain and grass in Yongcheng have been burned, it is acceptable to give it to the Shu army.

"That's the only way." Sima Yi replied with a heavy heart.

(End of this chapter)