Lu Pan replied, "How should I explain to the Grand Marshal?"
Guo Huai remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "Tell the Left General that on December 4th in the afternoon, there were more than 30,000 Southern Army soldiers on the south bank of the Wei River at Shuozhou City. It is estimated that there are more than 50,000 Southern Army soldiers in total!"
「There will be about 20,000 Shu troops. They will go north through Longshan Pass to block the aid troops of the Wei Dynasty. Please, the Left General, and the court to early prevention.」
After finishing his explanation, Guo Huai confirmed with Lu Pan again, "The Left General is in Chencang, isn't there a detachment of 2,000 cavalry and 11,150 infantry soldiers from outside?"
Lu Pan replied, "That's the correct number, Your Lordship."
"If the Left General learns of this news, he will dispatch troops to aid us at dawn of the second day, right? That would be December 1st?" Guo Huai asked again.
Lu Pan answered, "According to the Left General's usual speed of marching, he should dispatch troops at dawn the second day."
Guo Huai nodded, twirling his beard without speaking.
At this moment, Guo Huai, the Administrator of the Unified State of Gao and Yang, was estimating in his mind when the envoy sent from Shuozhou would meet up with Zhang He's reinforcements.
This is essentially just an arithmetic problem for elementary school students in later times.
We now know that the total length of Longshan Pass from Chencang to Shuozhou City is over 600 miles. The messenger's speed is one night and a day, 120 miles, and Zhang He's speed is unknown. Please calculate when the messenger will meet up with Zhang He.
Guo Huai opened his mouth and asked, "General Lu, do you estimate that the Left General will send cavalry first or both infantry and cavalry at the same time?"
Lu Pan also guessed that Guo Huai was calculating the time, based on his many years of experience under Zhang He, and gave an accurate answer: "The Left General will definitely lead the cavalry to set out first, while sending the infantry later."
"Cavalry at full speed can travel 120 miles in one day, and infantry at full speed can travel 70 miles in one day."
Guo Huai's heart thought for a moment, and then he became unfocused.
Six hundred miles, Zhang He leading the cavalry at full speed would take no more than five days. If they start on December 1st, wouldn't they reach Shuozhou by the evening or early the next day?
If the Southern Army on the south bank of the Wei River advances to Longshan Pass tomorrow, Zhang He's cavalry will definitely meet the Southern Army face to face.
If the Southern Army does not move tomorrow, what use would Zhang He's 2,000 cavalry be when they arrive at Shuozhou? Would they sit idle in the city with him?
Guo Huai straightened up with a serious expression and said to Lu Pan, "General Lu, please wait a moment. I will write to the Left General myself!"
Lu Pan was curious and asked, "What does Your Lordship want to write to the Grand Marshal?"
Guo Huai dipped his brush in ink and wrote quickly on the bamboo slips, saying to Lu Pan at the same time, "Inform the Left General of the military situation here. I have already sent a message to Hao Zhao. Also, tell the cavalry of the Left General not to come to Shuozhou!"
"Have the Left General set up camp and defend at Luoyang or at some dangerous place along the way to block the path of the Southern Army heading north!"
At this moment, Ma Zun in the hall shouted, "Guo Gong, Guo Gong! Why not have the Left General come to Shuozhou?"
"The Southern Army outside Shuozhou City is so large, even an additional 2,000 cavalry would be good. What's the point of defending at Luoyang, a remote and desolate place?"
Guo Huai paid no attention to Ma Zun's words and carefully finished writing what he had to say on the bamboo slips. He then took the bamboo slips personally to the hearth in the hall and carefully dried them out.
After confirming that the ink had dried, Guo Huai personally sealed the letter and handed it to Lu Pan's hand. "Find someone you trust quickly, bring more horses, and don't delay on the road!"
Lu Pan bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Your Lordship."
After Lu Pan left, there were only Guo Huai and Ma Zun left in the hall.
Guo Huai coldly looked at Ma Zun with a worried expression: "City Lord Ma, do you really fear death so much? I will not punish you for escaping from Ji County to Shuozhou. But now that you are in Shuozhou, how dare you talk nonsense about military strategy?"
"General Left bears the weight of the heavy of Moyang, how can he sit idle in the city of Shuozhou and wait for death? Prepare troops to face the enemy outside, and we may still have a chance!"
"If they come to Shuozhou, whether it be the Left General up to us, there will be no distance left from death!"
As he spoke, Guo Huai's accumulated pressure and anger from the past few days all erupted, his eyes wide open, and he grabbed hold of Ma Zun's collar, almost lifting him off the seat.
"If you truly fear death, I, the Administrator of Gao and Yang, will not wait for the court to punish you. Tomorrow I will dispatch you to fight outside the city and let you also serve the court with loyalty!"
Ma Zun's sweat was pouring down like rain, trembling like chaff, and he dared not breathe a single breath, begging for mercy repeatedly, "Sir Guo, I truly do not understand military strategy. I was out of line just now, please forgive me a bit, Sir Guo."
"I will not say any more..."
Guo Huai let go and pushed, Ma Zun fell to the seat, hands on the ground, gasping heavily, his eyes filled with terror.
In contrast to the tense atmosphere within Shuozhou City, among the Shu Han army outside the city, the mood was much more relaxed.
In fact, in a war between two countries or two armies, if one side won the last battle, they will naturally have some psychological advantage in the next battle.
This was the case with the Shu Han army at this time.
The last major confrontation between the Wei and Shu armies was during the Han Zhong Campaign, between Liu Bei and Cao Cao, which lasted from the 22nd year of the Jian'an era to the 24th year of the Jian'an era.
In the 23rd year of the Jian'an era, in July, Liu Bei personally led his army to reach the Yangping Pass in Hanzhong, facing off against Xiahou Yu and Zhang He.
In the 24th year of the Jian'an era, in January, Huang Zhong, a general under Liu Bei's command, killed Xiahou Yu, who had been in command of the west for several years.
In March, Cao Cao personally went to Yangping Pass in Hanzhong. In May, he returned without achieving any success and withdrew his troops back to the north. In June, Liu Bei captured the entire Hanzhong region and Shangyong. In August, Guan Yu flooded the seven armies, and Yu Jin surrendered. Under the dual warfare of Liu Bei and Guan Yu, the Jingzhou and Yongliang fronts collapsed simultaneously. As for later when Guan Yu met his demise and Liu Bei lost his army... that was all due to the betrayal of the Eastern Wu, which had nothing to do with the Cao Wei.
And in the 24th year of the Jian'an era, just eight years ago, such a victory laid the foundation for the psychological advantage and high fighting spirit of the entire Shu Han army. At this point, they are at a high point.
On the south bank of the Wei River, six li southeast of Shuozhou City, in the Shu Han military camp, Ma Su, a commander in charge of advance troops, was discussing military affairs with Zhou Yun, Deng Zhi, and Wang Ping.
Among the total of 30,000 soldiers in the eastern army, Zhao Yun's troops were the largest, numbering 11,000 men. Deng Zhi's troops consisted of 4,000 men, and Wang Ping's troops also had 4,000 men.
Ma Su, the commander in charge of the advance troops, was stationed with Wang Ping's army and followed the orders and strategies of Zhuge Liang.
If we were to analyze this seriously, Zhuge Liang seemed to be playing a game of wordplay here.
Since the Battle of Red Cliff twenty years ago, besides Wei Yan, the 'Hanzhong Administrator,' there has been only one instance of the 'Supervisor' position during the Battle of Yiling.
Huang Quan was in charge of the northern army, Feng Xi was the big supervisor, and Zhang Nan was the supervisor of the advance troops.
At that time, Huang Quan, Feng Xi, and Zhang Nan were all generals with their own independent troops, leading other generals in a particular area to carry out independent combat tasks.
In this case, Ma Su's 'Supervisor of the advance troops' did not have his own independent troops, but instead stayed with Wang Ping's army, ensuring that all troops followed Zhuge Liang's strategy.
In other words, although Ma Su is said to be supervising the commanders, he is actually just protecting them. To put it another way, he is a big-time military inspector.
However, 'Supervisor of the Commanders' sounds more important than 'Protector of the Commanders', and accordingly, the rewards and recognition would be greater.
It's just a bit of cleverness.
At this moment, Ma Su was discussing the plans for the next day's advance with Zhao Yun and others.
Ma Su asked, "Tomorrow we will advance, Deng Jiang's troops will be the vanguard, Zhao Yun's troops will follow in their wake, and Wang Ping's troops will be the last to advance. Do any of you have objections?"
At this moment, Zhao Yun said, "Young Ma, tomorrow we might as well leave some troops here and surround Shuozhou City East for one or two days."
"The central army's Liao Hua's troops only have 5,000 men outside of Shuozhou City. The central army is advancing slowly, also to make way for our eastern army."
"It's better to leave around 10,000 troops and wait until Wu Yi arrives in Shuozhou before advancing. That way, it won't be too late."
"If we advance tomorrow, the Wei troops inside Shuozhou City could ambush us while Liao Hua's troops are still settling in, and that would delay the advancement of all subsequent troops."
It is obvious that Zhao Yun's words are said with the utmost sincerity and public interest.
"Military deployment is a systematic project. The road is just that wide, and the supply and transportation are at that speed. The total number of our eastern and central army troops is more than six thousand."
Of course, there are some who are in front and others who are at the back.
The eastern army is marching in front, already taking into account the longer distance and heavier task. Zhao Yun is naturally grateful and also wants to take care of the central army for a while.
Ma Su sighed softly, and the sound of his sigh could be clearly heard by everyone in the tent.
Ma Su asked again, "What do Deng Jiang and Wang Ping think?"
After a moment's consideration, Deng Zhi looked at Zhao Yun, then said, "General Zhao's suggestion makes sense. It seems that we should offer some assistance. We don't know how many troops are stationed inside Shuozhou City. If our entire army advances tomorrow and Wei troops attack Liao Hua's troops, wouldn't that be a problem?"
Ma Su looked at Wang Ping again, but Wang Ping remained silent. This burly man with a round face and beard seemed to have barely changed his expression at all.
"General Zhao," Ma Su spoke earnestly, "The reason the eastern army is to go first is so as to seize the Long Mountain Pass and block most of Wei's reinforcements."
"At this moment, every hour counts for us. How can we afford to delay for a day in Shuozhou?"
"If Liao Hua really does lose, he loses. Wu Yi, who is following behind with the central army, will naturally take care of Liao Hua's aftermath!"
"According to the orders of Zhuge Liang, we should not stop for even a moment tomorrow!"
Ma Su is now nearing his forties and has served as an official in Jingzhou and Yizhou for many years, which can be said to be a frequent presence at the center of affairs.
In the past, when Zhuge Liang issued orders to the generals, he often entrusted Ma Su to announce them. As a result, Ma Su's words gradually gained authority.
More importantly, Ma Su spoke with certainty and quoted Zhuge Liang's arguments. Zhao Yun had no way to refute him.
Zhao Yun was unwilling to say more about this matter and nodded in agreement, "Then the entire army will set out tomorrow!"
"However, the Long Mountain Pass is narrow and difficult to traverse. It won't be as easy as it was a few days ago."
"General Zhao's words are correct," Ma Su glanced at Deng Zhi. "Can Deng General's troops begin their fast march tomorrow? According to the military regulations, the army should march 40 li a day as standard."
"Since General Deng's troops are fewer in number, how about making them the vanguard? They can march about 60 li a day, which would allow them to cover the distance of three days in two days, helping us to occupy Lueyang earlier."
Deng Zhi answered in a deep voice, "Then, we will follow Major Ma's orders and march 60 li tomorrow."
"Strive to secure Lueyang for our main army first."
