After Zhang He's condition improved a little, he began to inspect the barracks of various troops in the city in the evening. In addition to the basic operations such as visiting the wounded and boosting morale, Zhang He also planned to send troops to set up a camp one mile east of the city early tomorrow morning to look after Lueyang City. After all, Lueyang was just a small county town in the remote and desolate Yongliang area, and it was indeed a bit crowded to station 10,000 soldiers there. At this time, Wei Yan, who was sent by Ma Su to the northeast of Lueyang to guard the Longshan Road, felt quite proud. This was because Wei Yan had won the first victory since the Eastern Route Army was dispatched. Although Wei Yan was not a man who liked to show off, it was inevitable that he would feel a little proud after winning his first victory. The 1,500 soldiers from Anding County were too scattered and were all guarding against the Huns in the north. When they gathered and rushed to Shanggui, they ran into Wei Yan who was blocking the Longshan Road. The mere 1,500 county soldiers were too weak compared to Wei Yan's Hanzhong border troops. They had no advantage in terms of eliteness or numbers. In addition, the commander of Anding County, Hu Zun, was taken to Shanggui by Guo Huai, so the 1,500 county soldiers could only be led south by the prefect Huang Li, where they encountered the Shu army, which had just lost a battle and was eager to make merit. Almost at the same time when Zhang He took the medicine in the afternoon, Huang Lihuang, the prefect of Wei who was a two thousand stone official, also met with the end of his entire army being annihilated. Deng Zhi of Shu Han was beheaded by Zhang He. Ma Su followed suit and beheaded Huang Li, who was sent by Wei Yan, and sent someone to send him to the outside of Lueyang City.
That night, when Zhang He saw Huang Li's head, although he was a little surprised, he was not too upset. The 1,500 soldiers from Anding County were completely unplanned. When Guo Huai was rushing south from Linjing, he casually pointed out that Huang Li should lead the army to the south for assistance, and then he forgot about it. Later, when Zhang He, Guo Huai and Guanzhong sent messengers to convey messages, they almost never thought of sending a report to Anding County. It can be said that Huang Li's death was a pure accident. But the battlefield is like this, who can survive and who will be killed is not subject to anyone's prediction. Zhang He also just sighed softly: "Huang Taishou died in the service of the king. He was a loyal and brave minister of the Great Wei. It is a pity." "Chen Ping, send someone to the camp opposite tomorrow to ask them to send back the body of Governor Huang. If they are unwilling, tell them to redeem it with gold." Chen Ping frowned and asked, "Commander-in-chief, Deng Zhi's body has not been found yet. How can the Shu army be willing to send Huang Taishou's body back?" Zhang He shook his head, thinking that this military officer was stupid again, and immediately rebuked him, "I have my reasons for letting you go. After all, you are a governor with a salary of 2,000 stones. If I don't pretend, how can I deal with other governors in the future? If the Shu army is unwilling to give, it is the Shu army's fault, not mine!" "As you command." Chen Ping replied awkwardly, "I will send someone there early tomorrow morning." …… At this time in Ji County, Prime Minister Zhuge, who had moved his camp there a long time ago, was planning military affairs with everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion. According to the theory of Ma Su and Ma Youchang, Zhuge Liang's favorite students, attacking the city is inferior to attacking the heart, and military warfare is inferior to psychological warfare. Ma Su was not just talking nonsense; his "famous saying" actually had considerable practical significance for this Northern Expedition. The Shu army came from afar and penetrated deep into enemy territory, precisely to take advantage of the moment when the Wei emperor and his ministers were all off guard and the number of troops in the Longyou counties was very small, and try their best to capture as many cities and territories as possible, hoping to digest them all before the main force of the Wei army arrived to support. It is indeed difficult to attack a city these days. Qishan Fort is still being guarded by Zheng Si behind him, and Shanggui City is still in the hands of Guo Huai. There is no hope of it being captured in a short period of time. Most of the territory that Shu Han had acquired in Longyou at this time was actually obtained through intimidation, inducement, forced surrender, and persuasion by the Shu army. This was the case in Xi County, Ji County, and the entire Nan'an County. For Zhuge Liang, the best way to capture the most cities in the shortest time is definitely not to use force to attack. At this time in the Ji County government office, Zhuge Liang and his officials were discussing how to take over Xiangwu County in Longxi County.
Xiang Lang bowed and said, "Prime Minister, yesterday, early in the morning of the 12th, General Zhenwei Yuan Chen and Guanghan Governor Zhang Yi had already blocked the passages on both the north and south sides of Xiangwu City." "The envoy sent to Xiangwu to persuade him to surrender said that Longxi Governor You Chu was unwilling to surrender, but...he used sweet words to persuade General Yuan to give up the siege of Xiangwu." "Is this true?" Zhuge Liang raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at everyone and asked, "What did Longxi Governor You Chu say?" Xiang Lang said softly, "Yesterday morning, You Chu did not allow the envoy to enter the city. Instead, he stood on the city wall and spoke to the envoy, saying that if the imperial army could block the Longdao Road and prevent the Guanzhong reinforcements from entering Longyou, then within a month, there would be no need for him, the governor, to surrender, and Xiangwu City would surely fall without a fight." "If the imperial army cannot cut off the Longdao, I'm afraid it will just be a waste of effort in Longxi." As soon as Xiang Lang finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall became even colder. Just three days ago, the news of the death of General Yangwu Deng Zhi reached Ji County, which really shocked Zhuge Liang and made everyone in the prime minister's residence feel sad. Although it is inevitable for generals to die on the battlefield, dying on the battlefield is a psychological preparation before going to the expedition. However, Deng Zhi and Deng Bomiao, who were so optimistic and highly expected by Zhuge Liang, were easily wiped out by Wei general Zhang He when they were the vanguard, which really weakened the morale of everyone in Ji County and the prime minister's residence. But when he learned that Ma Su, Zhao Yun, and Wei Yan had blocked the Longshan Road and besieged Zhang He's 10,000 troops in the small city of Lueyang, Zhuge Liang's worries were somewhat alleviated. The failure of persuading the surrender in Xiangwu City, the capital of Longxi County, further increased the worries of some people. Morale is not an absolute quantifiable indicator. If morale is high before the battle, any setback will test morale. You Chu, the governor of Longxi, was a sincere man with a clear mind and a clear vision, and his words were equally sincere. For Shu Han, the key to this northern expedition to Longyou was to completely control Longyou and then Liangzhou. After Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, the strategy of "taking over Jingzhou and then taking over the world" in Zhuge Liang's "The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital" was revised to "taking over Liangzhou and Yizhou". There are two obvious ways to completely control Longyou. The first method was for the Shu Han army to attack Shanggui first and successfully cut off Long. After defeating the Wei army advancing westward in a field battle, they would then slowly digest Longyou and Liangzhou. If this strategy is followed, the margin of error of the Shu Han Northern Expedition Army will be much lower. The counties in Longyou are likely to react, strengthen their morale and then put up a heavy resistance, consuming all of Shu Han's food and logistics, and at the same time making the rear unstable. The second method is the strategy that Zhuge Liang is currently adopting. First, they would advance quickly and use various methods to occupy as many cities as possible, then send troops to block the Long Road to give the army time to digest Longyou calmly. Then, they would use Longyou as a base to hold off the Wei army that came all the way from Guanzhong, and then win the battle. However, according to this assumption, the Shu army currently only occupies Tianshui and Nangan counties. The attempt to persuade Longxi County to surrender failed and the situation is still in a stalemate. Zhuge Liang sighed with emotion and said, "What You Chu said is true. The overall situation in Longyou still depends on how long it will take for the Wei army's reinforcements to arrive." "Juda, send a message to Yuan Chen and Zhang Yi, and tell them to be on the lookout for reinforcements from Jincheng County in Liangzhou to the west." Zhuge Liang said calmly, "Where is Gao Xiang now?" Military officer Yang Yi bowed and said, "Prime Minister, three days ago General Gao Xiang assigned a thousand cavalrymen to Ji County and then set out for Lintao to support the Ming Qiang Tangyi who sent troops from Fuhan, the Qiang Dangxun who sent troops from Dazhong, and the Di Yang Qianwan who sent troops from Dangchang." "Tang Ji's tribe has about 10,000 cavalrymen, and Dang Xun and Yang Qianwan have 10,000 cavalrymen combined. Together with the Qiang people from Xinxing and Zhangxian, the total number of Qiang reinforcements could reach more than 30,000." Zhuge Liang nodded slightly and said: "The Qiang people can only be persuaded with benefits, not taught with the kingly way. When these Qiang people come, let Zhang Yi return to the army, and let Yuan Chen's 5,000 soldiers lead Tang Yi's troops to surround Xiangwu and block the Wei army in Liangzhou." "Bring all the remaining Qiang tribes to the vicinity of Shanggui, and join the royal army in terrorizing Shanggui." Yang Yi cupped his hands and responded, "I will obey the Prime Minister's order. I will pass the message to Gao Xiang right away." "Prime Minister, Wu Yi has sent a message from Shanggui, reporting military intelligence from Guangwei County." If it was good news or victory, Yang Yi would have said it immediately given his personality. But now he had laid the groundwork, so it must not be good news. Zhuge Liang said calmly, "Tell me! How is Guangwei County doing?"
Yang Yi replied, "Wu Yi said that he sent a detachment of 5,000 people to Linwei City, the capital of Guangwei County, and after informing Tianshui and Longxi that all the counties had surrendered, he was still rejected by Zhao Ling, the governor of Guangwei." "Zhao Ling is different from You Chu. He simply closed the city and defended it, and did not communicate with the envoys sent by Wu Yi at all. Wu Yi had no choice but to withdraw his troops as Shanggui was not yet settled and it was not appropriate to divide the troops for a long time." Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "Linwei is different from other places. To the east of Linwei is the Weishui River. In other words, if Zhao Ling cannot defend the city, he can just flee eastwards out of the city without any risk of life." "Tell Wu Yi that there is no need to send troops to Linwei. Let him quickly surround Shanggui City and build siege equipment. We must quickly capture Shanggui City." "Yes, sir!" Yang Yi answered simply. If the Wei court knew the mentality of Zhuge Liang and his officials in the Ji County government office, it would surely be furious. In the more than half a month since Zhuge Liang arrived at Qishan, two of the four counties in Longyou, Guangwei, Tianshui, Nangan and Longxi, surrendered almost without a fight. The Guangwei County in the east plays no strategic role, and the Longxi County in the west now only has Xiangwu left. The slight worry that the Shu Han people had at this moment was nothing more than the sense of disappointment caused by the fact that the war situation was still far from the ideal state. I didn't get to take full advantage and actually felt like I was at a loss. Objectively speaking, in this situation, Wei is the most difficult party! (End of this chapter)