Yin Mo's journey there and back took less than an hour, and he returned to the camp of Wu Yi on the southern bank of Wei River.
Wu Yi had already personally led five thousand men, forming a line outside the camp gate, preparing to cross the river via a floating bridge slightly east of the one that Ma Su and Wei Yan had passed over two days ago, and then set up camp to the east of Shanggu City.
Seeing Yin Mo riding back alone, Wu Yi, surprised, urged his horse to meet him.
Wu Yi saw Yin Mo sitting on the horse with a stern donkey-like face and couldn't help but laugh, "Yin physician, Yin physician? What's the matter?"
Yin Mo shook his head and continued to walk towards the camp with his head down.
Wu Yi, helpless, only had to turn his horse forward, personally grabbed Yin Mo's reins with his hand, and asked with a smile, "Yin physician! You'd better say something. How was the persuasion of Guo Huan and persuasion?"
Yin Mo's face turned gradually red, unable to speak before Guo Huan, but facing Wu Yi, an old friend, Yin Mo pointed upwards towards Shanggu City and shouted loudly, "Guo Huan is unreasonable! He has insulted the Emperor and Prime Minister! He is not human!"
"Alright, alright," Wu Yi said with a smile as he comforted Yin Mo. This interesting scene was not seen in Chengdu: "Go rest in the camp. I'll lead my troops across the river and help you regain face in front of Guo Huan!"
After saying that, Wu Yi waved to Yin Mo and led his troops to cross the river towards the northeast. According to Wu Yi's orders, the Western army led by Liao Hu also wanted to forcefully cross the Wei River at once!
The Shu troops crossed the river on both sides at the same time. When Guo Huan, who was in the west of the city, wanted to lead three thousand foreign troops westward to resist the Shu troops who crossed the river, Lu Pan in Shanggu City sent people to inform Guo Huan about Wu Yi's crossing of the river on the east side.
For a moment, Guo Huan was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Struggling in place for a long time, Guo Huan gazed at the Wei River in the distance, which had a thin layer of ice, and bit his teeth, ordering the entire army to dismantle their camp and return to Shanggu City.
Bluffing, in the face of simultaneous attacks by the Shu troops from the east and west, like a bubble that was easily burst.
Although disheartened for a moment, Guo Huan still had confidence in his heart. With the city of Shanggu behind him, he was sure that he could hold back the Shu army and wait for the arrival of General Zuo's relief troops!
After the Western army led by Liao Hu crossed the Wei River, they began to advance towards Shanggu City. Finally, they set up camp five miles west of the city along the Wei River, and the Eastern army led by Wu Yi was also in a similar situation.
With these two camps in the north of the city as a support, the narrow Wei River could no longer be a barrier for the Shu troops, and the city of Shanggu was not far from being surrounded.
In the afternoon, General Zhu Gai in the city of Chen Cang received the battle report sent from Lu Pan in Shanggu three days earlier.
In the hall, Zhu Gai, who was holding the document, praised himself for a long time before turning to look at Deng Yi standing by.
"Shizai, what do you think about what Jiazhen thought? How did he guess it right?"
"Representative Right General, my subordinate believes that Jiazhen's words are correct. If there is trouble in the Central Plains, the Central Army will definitely defend against enemy attacks. However, if the large army in Longyou approaches and they receive a few days later, it will be like day and night."
Deng Yi did not stammer for once. In fact, since the emperor entrusted him with an important task, he had gained confidence and his long-standing stutter had gradually improved.
Power is the best balm for the soul.
Zhu Gai nodded and said, "I received the military report from Jiazhen on December 2nd morning in Chang'an."
"The same afternoon, Jiazhen led 15,000 infantry troops to set out first. If we calculate at a speed of sixty miles per day, he should have reached the vicinity of Mian County now."
"If they march along the Longshan Road, there are still about seven hundred miles from Mian County to Shanggu. It will take another eleven and twelve days to reach there."
Deng Yi spoke with a hint of virtuous words and sentences now, "Jiazhen commands the large army to aid the western army, Right General Zhu Gai, from Chang'an, arrived in Chencang two days ago to sit in the capital and command. They are both national treasures."
"Ha ha ha," Zhu Gai laughed heartily, "Shizai, Shizai, how did I just realize that you are so eloquent?"
Deng Ai gave a shy smile and added, "If we calculate it, the messenger has been in Luoyang for more than two days. The Central Army should have set out towards the Central Plains by now."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Gai stood up and sighed deeply, "As mentioned in Guo Huai's letter, the Shu forces have more than 50,000 soldiers approaching. It seems that Guo Huai cannot withstand them in Shanggu, and General Zuo will not be able to stop the enemy on the Longshan Road!"
"Guo Huai's troops are less than five thousand, and General Zuo's troops are only one thousand. How can we wait for Jiazhen's reinforcements to arrive? When Jiazhen arrives, it may be said that the cavalry of the Central Army have already arrived!"
At this moment, Deng Ai, skilled in agricultural development and grain supplies, but only roughly knowledgeable about military affairs, asked, "According to your judgment, General Zhu, what will the outcome of this battle be like?"
"Alas," Zhu Gai sighed, "According to the way the Shu forces are deploying, it seems that the four counties of Longyou, Guangwei, Nan'an, and Longxi in the western region will have to be abandoned!"
"Are the Shu forces so powerful?" Deng Ai asked in slight surprise. For a long time, Wei had called Wu and Shu rebellious internally. From the point of view of propaganda, Wei had the widest territory and the largest military strength, and for Deng Ai, a lower-level officer who was not well-versed in military affairs, "the strength of Wei" was like a truth.
But throughout the ages, what was called "truth" seemed to have no connection with the actual truth.
Zhu Gai shook his head, "It's not that the Shu forces are powerful, but that Wei has fewer troops in the western region."
Looking at the "young man" in front of him who was thirty years old and bowed to seek advice, Zhu Gai, who knew he was favored by the emperor, was also willing to teach him now that he had nothing to do.
"Shizai, you see, the four counties of Longyou have been relatively peaceful in the past, without any rebellious incidents. Once the enemy's large army approaches and there are few troops in Longyou to resist, surrendering would almost be unavoidable."
"If one city surrenders, it will lead to two. If two counties surrender, a whole county will become unstable," Zhu Gai tried to explain earnestly: "It's like a group of travelers holding hands standing on a steep cliff edge. If one falls down, the rest will follow one by one."
With his wisdom, Deng Ai immediately understood the subtleties: "According to your words, General Zhu, when will the surrender of the city walls in Longyou stop?"
Zhu Gai said, "What I just said about the possibility of losing all four counties of Longyou was only about those four counties."
Zhu Gai said, "As I said earlier, it may be assumed that all four counties in Longyou will be lost, and that's what I meant by it." "Take the westernmost Longxi Prefecture for example. Xiangwu is four hundred li away from Yuzhong. Whether it's the Shu forces in terms of grain or troops, they can't mobilize such a large number of branch troops to the west." "West of this, Xiahao and Lu Su will certainly gather in Longxi Prefecture. It may be the prefectural capital of Xiangwu City or even further west at Shouyang City. But regardless of where they are, Xiangwu is the westernmost point where the Shu forces are attacking."
"What about the Anding Prefecture?" Deng Ai asked again.
Zhu Gai looked at Deng Ai and said, "Left General Zuo went there, shouldn't he be on the western side of the Anding Prefecture by now?"
Deng Ai pondered: "Anding Prefecture must be safe then."
Zhu Gai walked up to Deng Ai and asked, "Shizai, in your opinion, where is the most critical position in Longyou now?"
Deng Ai mentally reviewed the places along the Longshan Road and confirmed several times before saying confidently, "Luoyang!"
"General Zuo should have arrived in Luoyang by now. The Shu troops moving north through the Longshan Road should also be around Luoyang."
"If General Zuo can hold Luoyang with ten thousand men, there is still room for maneuver in the war situation of Longyou. If he can't hold it... "
Zhu Gai came close, facing Deng Ai directly and staring into his eyes.
Deng Ai, biting his teeth, forced out a few words from his mouth: "If we can't hold it, all four counties in Longyou will fall into the hands of the enemy."
"The situation of the Great Wei in the west of the pass will be worse than in the sixteenth year of the Jian'an era."
The so-called Jian'an sixteen years refers to the year when Cao Cao defeated the coalition of Ma Chao and Han Xian in the pass of the Yellow River and recovered the commandery of Yan'an, and dispatched Xiahou Yu to launch a western campaign.
Zhu Gai patted Deng Ai's shoulder hard: "Young man, you're right! Military affairs are just as swift and dramatic as the turn of day and night, every change is heart-stopping."
"Do you know what to do now?"
Deng Ai looked slightly confused as he watched Zhu Gai heading out: "What should I do, Right General?"
"Indeed, I wonder whether you are intelligent or foolish." Zhu Gai turned around and looked at Deng Ai with an unusual gaze: "Since you have obtained new military intelligence and have some guesses in mind, it's definitely the right thing to do to write a military report to send to Jiazhen and Luoyang!"
Deng Ai bowed slightly with an apologetic expression: "My mistake, General. I will go right away to draft the military report."
Zhu Gai nodded lightly, and then left to go to the military camp outside the city.
……
Almost at the same time, in the battlefield that Guo Huai, Zhu Gai, and Deng Ai all recognized—Luoyang—Zhang He was also preparing to lead five hundred riders out of the city.
The military advisor Chen Ping asked with slight confusion, "Is the commandant going to go to the southern side of the city to block the Shu troops himself? Why only bring five hundred riders?"
Zhang He raised his whip and pointed towards the city gate, "I ask you, which road will the main force of the Shu troops come through?"
Chen Ping pondered for a moment and replied, "It should be from the intersection of the road leading to Shouchuan on the southeast of Luoyang City, towards Shanggu."
Zhang He smiled and whispered softly, "Good! This place is so narrow, five hundred riders are enough!"
"However, there is one thing I need to instruct you on."
Chen Ping quickly bowed his hands and said, "Whatever the general commands."
Zhang He asked, "Do you see the mountain to the south of the city?"
Chen Ping nodded, "Reporting to the general, I have seen it."
Zhang He slowly said, "I will lead the first five hundred riders to bury themselves in a place two li to the east of the junction."
"Luoyang City is here, and now it's afternoon. The Shu troops must come towards Luoyang City."
"Just watch as I lead the cavalry out and bluff the Shu troops from the east. At that time, you should lead a thousand riders out of the city and chase the Shu troops towards the mountain to the south."
"Understood, General?"
Chen Ping was Zhang He's confidant, so after confirming that he understood, he immediately asked, "However, why do you want to drive the Shu troops there?"
Zhang He looked at Chen Ping with a slightly helpless expression and said, "Can't they block the road and the open ground, safely set up their camp?"
"There's only one mountain directly opposite the southern side of the city. Unless we drive them towards it, where else can we send them?"
Chen Ping responded repeatedly, "Understood, General. Go slowly."
After Zhang He left, Chen Ping seemed to think of something and called out the county magistrate of Luoyang County: "What's the name of that mountain to the south of the city?"
The magistrate of Luoyang County thought for a moment and replied, "Commandant Chen, that place is exactly the qiaoqing, to the south of Luoyang County. This mountain is called Duan Mountain, and locals also call it South Mountain."
Chen Ping nodded thoughtfully. (The chapter ends.)
