Lu Pan responded: "How should I explain this to the governor?" Guo Huai was silent for a long time, and then slowly said: "Tell General Zuo that outside Shanggui City on the afternoon of December 4th, there were 30,000 Shu troops on the south bank of the Wei River. The total number of Shu troops is expected to be more than 50,000!" "It is estimated that there will be about 20,000 Shu troops heading north via Longshan Road to block the Wei reinforcements. I ask General Zuo and the court to take precautions as soon as possible." After the discussion, Guo Huai confirmed with Lu Pan again: "General Zuo is in Chencang. He has 2,000 cavalry and 11,500 infantry, right?" Lu Pan replied, "That's the number of troops. Your Excellency is not mistaken." "If General Zuo learns of this news, he will send troops to help early the next morning. That means he will send troops on December 1st?" Guo Huai asked again. Lu Pan replied: "Based on General Zuo's habit of marching quickly, he should be dispatched early the next morning." Guo Huai nodded, stroked his beard and said nothing. At this time, Guo Huai, the governor of Yongzhou, was estimating in his mind when the envoys sent from Shanggui would meet Zhang He's reinforcements. This is actually just an arithmetic problem for elementary school students in later generations.
It is now known that the Longshan Road from Chencang to Shanggui City is more than 600 miles long. The messenger's speed is known to be 120 miles a day and night, and Zhang He's speed is unknown. Please tell me when the messenger can meet Zhang He. Guo Huai asked, "General Lu, do you think General Zuo will send out the cavalry first? Or will he send out both the infantry and the cavalry?" Lu Pan also guessed that Guo Huai was calculating the time. Based on his many years of experience under Zhang He, he gave Guo Huai an accurate answer: "General Zuo will definitely lead the cavalry first, and let the infantry go later." "The cavalry can march 120 miles a day at a rapid pace. The infantry can march 70 miles a day at a rapid pace." Guo Huai thought for a moment and then became absent-minded. Six hundred li, Zhang He led the cavalry to march in just five days. If they set out on December 1, wouldn't they arrive at Shanggui that evening or the next morning? If the Shu army on the south bank of the Wei River marches towards Longshan Road tomorrow, Zhang He's cavalry will surely run into the Shu army head-on. If the Shu army does not move tomorrow, what use will it be for Zhang He to lead 2,000 cavalrymen to Shanggui? Will they just sit in the city with him? Guo Huai stood up solemnly and said to Lu Pan seriously: "General Lu, please wait a moment. I will write a letter to General Zuo myself!" Lu Pan asked curiously, "What does the envoy want to write to the governor?" Guo Huai dipped his pen in ink and wrote quickly on the bamboo slips. As he wrote, he said to Lu Pan, "Inform General Zuo of the military situation here and tell him that I have sent a letter to Hao Zhao. Also, tell General Zuo's cavalry not to come to Shanggui!" "Let General Zuo set up camp in Lueyang or some dangerous place along the way to block the Shu army's way north!" At this time, Ma Zun in the hall shouted: "Mr. Guo, Mr. Guo! Why don't you let General Zuo come to Shanggui?" "There are so many Shu troops outside Shanggui City, even two thousand more cavalry would be good. What's so good about defending a remote place like Lueyang?" Guo Huai completely ignored Ma Zun's words. He carefully wrote down what he wanted to say on the bamboo slips. Then he personally took the bamboo slips to the stove in the hall and baked them carefully. After making sure the ink was dry, Guo Huai sealed the letter himself and handed it to Lu Pan: "Go quickly with your trusted people, prepare more horses, and don't delay on the road!" Lu Pan bowed and said, "Don't worry, sir." After Lu Pan left, only Guo Huai and Ma Zun were left in the hall. Guo Huai stared coldly at the panicked Ma Zun: "Ma Taishou, are you so afraid of death? I spared you from escaping from Ji County to Shanggui. Now that you are in Shanggui, you still wantonly discuss military strategy?" "General Zuo is entrusted with the responsibility of protecting Yongliang. How can he just sit and wait in Shanggui City? Organize the troops and respond outside. We still have a chance of survival!"
"If we come to Shanggui, everyone from General Zuo to you and me will be close to death!" As he spoke, all the pressure and anger that Guo Huai had accumulated over the past few days burst out. His eyes were wide open and he stepped forward to grab Ma Zun's collar, almost lifting him up from the seat. "If you are really afraid of death, this governor will not wait for the court to punish you. I will send you out of the city to fight tomorrow and let you be loyal to the court!" Ma Zun was sweating like a sieve, trembling like a sieve, not daring to breathe, and begged for mercy again and again: "Mr. Guo, I really don't understand military strategy. I was rude just now. Please forgive me." "I won't say it again..." Guo Huai loosened his grip and pushed Ma Zun, who fell to the ground with his hands on the ground, gasping for breath, his eyes full of fear. However, the Shu Han army outside the city looked much more relaxed than Guo Huai and others in Shanggui City. In fact, when two countries or two armies are at war, whichever side wins the last time will definitely have some psychological advantage in the next battle. This was the situation of the Shu Han army at that time. The last time the Wei army and the Shu army engaged in a large-scale battle was the Battle of Hanzhong between Liu Bei and Cao Cao, which lasted from the 22nd year of Jian'an to the 24th year of Jian'an. In July of the 23rd year of Jian'an, Liu Bei personally led his army to Yangping Pass in Hanzhong to confront Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He. In the first month of the 24th year of Jian'an, Huang Zhong, a general under Liu Bei, killed Xiahou Yuan, who had been in charge of the Guanxi troops for several years, in a battle. In March, Cao Cao personally went to Yangping Pass in Hanzhong. In May, Cao Cao returned without success and withdrew his army to the north. In June, Liu Bei conquered the entire Hanzhong and Shangyong. In August, Guan Yu flooded the Seven Armies and Yu Jin surrendered. Under the two-front war between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, the two fronts of Jingzhou and Yongliang collapsed at the same time. As for the later defeat of Guan Yu and the loss of Liu Bei's army... that was all due to the betrayal of the alliance by the Eastern Wu. What does it have to do with Cao Wei? The 24th year of Jian'an was only eight years ago. With such a victory as a foundation, the psychological advantage and high morale of the Shu Han army are now at a high point. On the south bank of the Wei River, six miles southeast of Shanggui City, in the Shu Han military camp, the front commander Ma Su was discussing military situation with the three generals Zhao Yun, Deng Zhi, and Wang Ping. Among the total force of 30,000 troops of the Eastern Army, Zhao Yun's troops were the largest, reaching 11,000. Deng Zhi's troops were 4,000, and Wang Ping's troops were 4,000. The commander of the front troop, Ma Su, followed Wang Ping's army and directed the troops according to Zhuge Liang's military orders and strategies. If we talk about it seriously, Zhuge Liang seems to be playing a word game here. In the twenty years since the Battle of Chibi, apart from Wei Yan, the "Governor of Hanzhong" who guarded Hanzhong, the position of "Governor" only existed during the Battle of Yiling. Huang Quan was in charge of the troops in northern Jiangsu, with Feng Xi as the chief commander and Zhang Nan as the vanguard commander. At that time, generals such as Huang Quan, Feng Xi, and Zhang Nan all had their own troops, and then led other generals to independently carry out combat missions in a region. This time, Ma Su's "front-line commander" did not have his own headquarters, but followed Wang Ping's army to urge the troops to act according to Zhuge Liang's strategy. In other words, Ma Su was said to be supervising the generals, but in fact he was just protecting them. To understand it better, he was just a large-scale military supervisor. But 'supervising the generals' sounds like a more important responsibility than 'protecting the generals', so the credit gained will naturally be greater. But it's just a trick. At this time, Ma Su was discussing tomorrow's march with Zhao Yun and others. Ma Su asked, "Tomorrow we will send out troops. General Deng's troops will be the vanguard, General Zhao's troops will follow behind, and General Wang's troops will follow. Do you have any objections?" Zhao Yun said at this time: "Youchang, why don't we leave some troops tomorrow and surround Shanggui City for another day or two?" "Liao Hua's Central Army only had 5,000 men outside Shanggui City. The Central Army's slow march was also due to giving way to our Eastern Army."
"Why not leave 10,000 people behind and send them out a day later, so that it won't be too late to leave after Wu Yi reaches Shanggui?" "If we leave tomorrow, the Wei army in Shanggui City will take advantage of Liao Hua's unstable foothold and launch a surprise attack, which will delay the advance of the subsequent armies!" It is obvious that Zhao Yun's words were made out of great public interest. Marching is a systematic project. The roads are so wide, the supply transportation is so fast, and the Shu army's eastern and central routes have a total of 60,000 troops. Of course there is a beginning and an end. The Eastern Army was marching ahead, which meant they had to travel a long distance and had a heavy task. Zhao Yun naturally appreciated this and wanted to help the Central Army. Ma Su sighed softly, and the sigh was clearly audible to everyone in the tent. Ma Su then asked, "What do General Deng and General Wang think?" Deng Zhi thought for a moment, looked at Zhao Yun, and then said, "General Zhao's words make sense. It seems that we should take care of them. We don't know how many troops are stationed in Shanggui City. What if we march tomorrow and the Wei army attacks Liao Hua's army again? Wouldn't that be troublesome?" Ma Su glanced at Wang Ping again. Wang Ping did not speak. This burly man with a round face and beard did not seem to have changed his expression much. "General Zhao," Ma Su said earnestly, "The reason why the Prime Minister ordered the Eastern Army to march first is to seize the Longshan Road in time and prevent the majority of the Wei army from coming to support us." "At this moment, one day is extremely precious to us. How can we stay in Shanggui for another day?" "Even if Liao Hua is really defeated, he is defeated. Wu Yi, who is following behind the Central Army, will take care of Liao Hua!" "According to the Prime Minister's order, we should not stop for a moment tomorrow!" Ma Su was nearly forty years old at this time. He had served as an official in Jingzhou and Yizhou for many years and was often in the center of government. In the past, when Zhuge Liang issued orders to the generals, he often asked Ma Su to announce them on his behalf, so Ma Su's words gradually became more powerful. Not to mention that Ma Su was speaking with certainty at this moment and brought up Zhuge Liang's words, so Zhao Yun was unable to refute them. Zhao Yun was unwilling to say more about this matter, and nodded in response: "Then the whole army will set out tomorrow!" "However, the Longshan Road is narrow, so I'm afraid it won't be as easy to travel as it was a few days ago." "General Zhao is right." Ma Su turned his head to look at Deng Zhi and said, "General Deng's troops, can they start a forced march tomorrow? According to the Prime Minister's military law, the army is required to march 40 miles a day." "General Deng's troops are few in number, so how about serving as the vanguard of the main army? We can travel about 60 miles a day, so we can cover the distance that the main army would take three days in two days, and seize Lueyang as soon as possible." Deng Zhi replied in a deep voice: "We will follow the order of General Ma. Tomorrow we will march sixty miles." "Try to seize Lueyang for the army first." (End of this chapter)