Cao Zhen took the military report and glanced at it for a moment before passing it on to Sima Yi.
After Sima Yi looked at it, he passed it on to Zhang He, Yang Fu, Chen Jiao, and others in turn.
"Did everyone see it?" Cao Rui looked at the ministers in the tent, "It should be recorded as a merit for Lu Sun and Xiahou Xian!"
Sima Yi spoke up, "Your Majesty, Lu and Xiahou are two generals who suddenly appeared on the enemy's side, about to undermine the back of Shu Han's army. They truly demonstrate great loyalty and bravery."
"But the current situation requires us to dispatch them to quickly attack Baishui Pass."
Cao Rui calmly nodded: "Baishui Pass, I know of this place. In my past discussions with Huang Quan, Marquis Huang Gongheng, about the war when Liu Bei entered Shu, I have heard this name many times."
"At that time, Chen Wei was by the side, but both the Generalissimo and the Master of the Palace were not there."
Cao Rui pointed to Chen Jiao: "Chen, come and tell the Generalissimo and the Master of the Palace!"
"Your command." Though Chen Jiao knew that the emperor had once again addressed him as the Minister of Rites, he did not attempt to correct it and instead rose directly, went to the front of the map, and began to speak.
"Please take a look here, Your Excellency General, Master of the Palace, Zhang General, and Yang Governor." Chen Jiao pointed to the location of Baishui Pass on the map.
With the attention of the audience gathered after, Chen Jiao slowly said: "Baishui Pass is also called Guantou."
"According to what Governor Huang said, during the time when Liu Zhang surrendered, Baishui Pass in the north of Yizhou and Yong'an in the east were both conquered by Liu Bei."
"When Fan Zheng and Fan Xiazhizhi wrote to persuade Liu Zhang to surrender, they said, 'Fuyu and Guantou are actually the gate of good fortune and misfortune for Yizhou.'"
Chen Jiao continued pointing at the location of Baishui Pass with his hand: "At that time, Liu Zhang invited Liu Bei to occupy Jiangmeng. He did so in order to assist Baishui Pass and this 'door of fortune and disaster for Yizhou' in the rear, in order to repel Zeng Lu's invasion from the north."
"If Zhuge Liang and the Shu army knew that Baishui Pass was facing the enemy, they would certainly go all out to provide support from behind."
Cao Zhen already knew the importance of Baishui Pass and asked, "How long did Liu Bei take to attack Baishui Pass?"
Chen Jiao shook his head: "Liu Bei did not attack Baishui Pass. Instead, he sent someone to lure Yang Hui and Gao Pei, the generals of the White Water military, to Jiangmeng, killed them, seized their troops, and captured Baishui Pass without shedding a drop of blood."
Cao Zhen said, "In that case, there is no precedent to rely on, is there?"
"Yes," Chen Jiao answered: "But please look, there is Jiamei Pass to the south of Baishui Pass, and Jiamei Pass is followed by Yangtai Pass."
"Emperor Liu Shu of Shu Han still reigns. The three passes are all steep and non-trivial to conquer in a short time. North of Baishui Pass is Yang'an Pass, north of Yang'an Pass is Wuxing, and north of Wuxing is Chiting."
"The Shu army will definitely send troops to the south for reinforcement."
"Ha ha ha." Cao Zhen laughed several times: "Ji Bì, we have known each other for over twenty years. Today, I never expected that it would be you who would come to explain military strategy for me!"
"It seems that the emperor has appointed you to accompany the army twice, and your military strategy is also growing year by year!"
Chen Jiao bowed slightly: "General Cao, you jest. I am not talking about military strategy; I am just sharing an old story with General Cao."
Cao Rui saw the situation and slightly raised his hand: "This is military strategy! How could someone who has served as the governor of Qinzhou not understand military matters?"
Slowly standing up, Cao Rui moved to the front of the map, taking Chen Jiao's place: "Baishui Pass is a perilous location, north of which is Yang'an Pass and south of which is Jiamei Pass."
"There are only two possibilities at the moment."
"The first possibility is that Lu Sun and Xiahou Xian have not captured Baishui Pass, but instead stationed their troops outside of the pass."
"The second possibility is that Lu Sun and Xiahou Xian are able to capture Baishui Pass, and then it comes down to whether they will head south or north."
"I believe that Baishui Pass is a strategic location that cannot be taken easily in just a few days. However, even if Lu Xun fails to capture Baishui Pass, Zhuge Liang cannot afford to risk his rear being attacked without sending aid troops!"
"After all, Lu Sun has nearly 20,000 troops there. Zhuge Liang can't afford to take the risk!"
Sima Yi whispered, "It depends on the timing!"
"Yes, we'll have to wait and see," Cao Rui pointed to Sima Yi with his finger: "Tell us, Sima."
Sima Yi rose from his seat, with his hands tied behind him and a serious expression on his face, and said, "Today is March 28th. It is approximately 350 li from Wujie to the Chiting camp. It took Lu Sun four days to send the message here."
"As mentioned in Lu Sun's letter, the Di people of Changchang rebelled twice, and the Qiang people in Taizhong were in chaos for a long time. Collecting grain and fodder also took some time. And because of heavy rain in Wujie, it was delayed for several days."
"Lu and Xiahou, who came from Wujie south on the 24th, are only about 200 li from Yinping Bridge. With their mounted troops, they should have reached Yinping Bridge by now. Perhaps they have already gone to Baishui Pass!"
"There are no Shu troops in Wujie, and the local Qiang people do not seem to be inclined to inform the Shu troops either. Lu Sun has said in his letter that because of the delay, he will not attack Yinping but will directly advance to Baishui."
"The distance from the bridge to Baishui Pass is less than a hundred li. It's likely that by the next day or the day after, Lu Sun will reach Baishui Pass!"
Cao Zhen added, "Your Majesty, I believe that it's risky for Lu Xun to hope that no one will inform the Shu forces in Wujie and Yinping Bridge."
"But if I were in Zhuge Liang's position, I wouldn't order a rapid return of the troops just because of some Qiang people's reports. The credibility of such Qiang people is not enough."
Cao Rui nodded, "In that case, only when Lu Sun personally reaches below Baishui Pass can Zhuge Liang make a decisive decision and confirm this matter, right?"
"I agree with that," Cao Zhen said. "Commanding a huge army is not a trivial matter. How can we be so easily disrupted by some rumors? Zhuge Liang would not act like this."
Sima Yi bowed and said, "I agree."
Zhang He spoke up, "I second that."
"Very well, let's assume that Lu Xun arrives at Baishui Pass on the thirtyrd day," Cao Rui looked at the officials in the tent: "How long does Zhuge Liang need to receive the news?"
The map of Shu was familiar to everyone in the tent. Sima Yi spoke without hesitation, almost instantly giving out the distances: "It's 150 li from Baishui Pass to Yang'an Pass, 100 li from Yang'an Pass to Wuxing, and another 80 li from Wuxing to Chiting!"
"That's a total of 330 li. For the Shu army to convey the message, it would take two or three days!"
Cao Rui turned his back to the group and said, "After Zhuge Liang receives the military situation, he will definitely make a decision. I should also add fuel to the fire!"
……
On the afternoon of the 28th, the Wei army received military intelligence from Lu Sun at their camp west of Chiting.
From the 29th to the 30th, both sides continued to engage in a cat-and-mouse game of attack and defense, without using their full forces.
In fact, this was the norm in large-scale warfare.
The confrontation between two armies in battle is a long-term, dynamic process.
Political, military, logistics, and even weather are all taken into account by the commander-in-chief. After all, the lives of soldiers are precious. Who would want to waste them on the battlefield?
You attack and I attack, or vice versa. This is often how the battle ebbs and flows.
Only when commanders believe there is a chance of victory, or when they are under political and military pressure, or when they encounter a critical opportunity, will they send large forces to advance without regard for casualties.
For example, when the Wei forces were at Luyang, Chanao ordered his troops to charge the camp without regard for casualties, resulting in a ratio of nearly 5:1 or 10:1 in terms of losses. This was truly rare.
On the 2nd of the fourth month, Wei forces launched another massive assault.
Within a single day, the well-rested Wei army advanced from west to east. General Zhang He, as the General of the Western March, personally took command on the front lines.
Zhang He organized the Wei army's foot soldiers into teams of 500 people each, preparing a total of twenty teams for today's offensive.
The Qingni Water River valley is narrow and winding. The width of the river valley is often less than 70, 80 taels, and at most does not exceed 200 taels. The infantry of 500 people per team has sufficient density for an attack.
At such a narrow width, the daily defense for the Shu army would indeed be easy. But when Zhang He attacked without hesitation and pressed forward urgently, how could the Shu army's front camp withstand such an impact?
Since dawn, Zhang He ordered the first team of soldiers to attack. At the same time, the thundering chariots behind him kept throwing rocks at the Shu army's front camp.
A fortress is essentially a temporary battlefield defense position established within the valley.
In front of the Shu army's fortress walls, ditches and thorn fences filled the entire cross-section of the valley. Yet Zhang He ordered his soldiers to attack fiercely, gradually creating paths in the ditches, pulling apart or burning the thorn fences with fire.
Huang Xie served as the commander-in-chief of the front line of the Shu army, commanding three fortresses. Each fortress was defended by about a thousand soldiers.
By mid-morning, when the sun was not yet at its highest, Zhang He had only rotated four teams when Huang Xie could no longer withstand the attack and retreated to the second fortress behind him.
It was not until Huang Xie reached the second fortress, which was fifty li away, that he notified Zhuge Liang of what had happened.
It was not that Huang Xie deliberately withheld the situation. Rather, the attack by Wei forces today was truly different from usual! In the past, even when Wei forces attacked, it could be a seesaw battle. If today's attack by Wei forces was only slightly more fierce, should they immediately request aid?
How could this be a laughingstock! After all, it was just one fortress. There were many more behind it! Even the fortresses directly under Huang Xie's command numbered six.
In the middle of the Qingni Water River valley, the Shu army was camped along the river's course, one general after another, forming a continuous line to resist the enemy.
Behind Huang Xie was Wei Yan, Wei Yan behind was Wu Ban, and Wu Ban behind was Zhuge Liang's main force at Qingni Water Pass.
Wei Yan was indeed well-versed in military strategy. He sent scouts to relay the military situation to the rear, while personally mustering his troops and leading his most elite 1,000 troops to aid.
The valley was narrow, and bringing more troops would be of no use. In Wei Yan's opinion, 1,000 men were enough.
But when Wei Yan arrived, within half an hour, Huang Xie had already lost the second fortress. Huang Xie was leading the soldiers defending the first two forts and retreating towards the third.
Wei Yan, directly using his title of "General in Charge of Northwestern Command," pushed aside the military officer responsible for the third fortress and placed his elite troops in front.
After crossing the fortress, Huang Xie led his men directly to Wei Yan's presence.
"Huang General, why did you lose two fortresses in just one morning?" Wei Yan asked in a sharp tone: "Losing the first one is understandable, but why did you only hold out for half an hour for the second?"
Huang Xie panted heavily: "Thank you for the rescue, General Wei! It's not that I'm cowardly, but the first fortress lost half of its soldiers. When the second fortress was slightly unstable, the soldiers who had retreated from the first fortress shouted from behind the camp, asking for another retreat."
Wei Yan looked coldly at Huang Xie: "I will personally guard this position for you! Go and execute the officers, strategists, and centurions from the first fortress on the spot! Otherwise, I will definitely impeach you!"
"I understand, thank you, General Wei." Huang Xie bowed and turned to leave. (This chapter is completed.)
