My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 558 Zhang Fei: Cao thief! If you want to see my brother, you have to get past me first

After Cao Cao and Guo Jia agreed on the subsequent troop advancement plan, everything went according to plan.

Just two days later, Xu Huang, Le Jin and Guo Jia advanced to the blocking camp guarded by Zhang Fei and Wu Yi, seventy miles northwest of Yangping Pass.

In other words, Xu Huang and Le Jin only then advanced to the farthest place Pang De had reached before his death in battle.

However, this time Cao's army was much more cautious than the last time. Not only had the thorn in the back of Hechi County been completely removed, but even the mountainous area on the south side of the valley where Danyang soldiers and Bandun barbarians might be ambushed was also cleared and searched as much as possible.

It was obviously impossible for Wei Yan and Wang Ping to lurk in the mountains for a long time, waiting to suddenly rush out and ambush Cao's army. So strictly speaking, the threat of Cao's army being attacked from the flank was temporarily eliminated.

Wang Ping was able to do this before because his mountain soldiers still carried food with them. After he withdrew from Hechi County, he was able to stay in the mountains without a supply base for more than half a month.

Now that half a month has passed, Wei Yan and Wang Ping also have to cross mountains and ridges to withdraw to the rear for supplies. It is almost impossible to come back and cause trouble the same way. Unless they start a completely new business and take a different route.

The main force of Cao's army was able to advance to the position of confronting Zhang Fei without any worries.

After Zhang Fei came into contact with Cao's army, he would naturally report the enemy's latest deployment and movements back to the rear without reservation, ensuring that his elder brother and military advisor could grasp the dynamics of the front line in real time.

……

"How could Cao Cao be so easily deceived? Wen Chang escaped from Hechi County unscathed, yet Xu Huang turned a defeat into a victory and rewarded them so generously?"

One day later, in the Yang'an Pass stronghold, Liu Bei looked at the latest military situation on the front line sent back by his third brother and was quite surprised.

Long before Zhang Fei's military intelligence was delivered, Wei Yan had already crossed the mountain and retreated to Yang'an Pass a day in advance. Wang Ping also met Wei Yan halfway and retreated together.

At that time, Liu Bei also went out of the camp to greet them in person, and poured wine to Wei Yan and Wang Ping to welcome them and comfort them, thanking them for their arduous efforts in harassing and cutting off the enemy's lines during this period.

Therefore, Liu Bei knew very well that the losses of Wei Yan and Wang Ping's troops were very small. However, the news from Zhang Fei today showed that Cao's army had rewarded Xu Huang and Le Jin heavily for the Battle of Hechi, and had increased their importance, allowing them to bring more troops to attack Zhang Fei's camp.

The contrast between the two certainly surprised Liu Bei: How could Cao Cao, his old rival who had always been shrewd, be so easily fooled by his subordinates and deceive his superiors and subordinates? He couldn't even see that Cao Cao was taking credit for something?

Fortunately, Liu Bei's confusion was quickly resolved by Pang Tong who was standing by.

Pang Tong has not had many opportunities to show his talents recently. He has always felt that it is a waste of talent for both him and Kong Ming to stay with their lord to plan the war. In fact, one of them is enough.

When Kong Ming also focused his main energy on military strategy planning, Pang Tong could only help his lord act as a "commentator" and analyze and review the situation.

At this moment, of course, he wanted to seize the opportunity to explain, and hurriedly showed off: "My lord, don't worry too much. How could Cao thieves be so easily deceived? He must have seen that Xu Huang and others concealed their defeat and turned it into a victory. He only pretended to go with the flow in order to stabilize the army and boost morale.

But we can also see from this that the enemy's original morale must have been hit rock bottom because of Pang De's death. That's why Cao Cao had to do everything he could to encourage them, which is a good thing for our army."

"So that's how it is. That makes sense. I was wondering why Cao Cao suddenly became so foolish and easy to deceive." Liu Bei nodded with satisfaction and asked, "Shi Yuan said this is a good thing for our army, but what tricks did you think of to deal with and counter Cao Cao's false encouragement?"

Pang Tong immediately said in high spirits: "This is easy. For example, Cao Cao rewarded Xu Huang heavily, so he must have publicized that he had severely damaged Wei's troops and annihilated a large number of enemies in Hechi.

Then, before the decisive battle, we can just let Wei Xiaowei lead the Danyang soldiers who have broken through the siege to scold the enemy and expose Cao Cao’s lies with our own experience.”

Liu Bei thought about this and asked, "Does Shi Yuan have any way to prove that those Danyang soldiers escaped from Hechi County?"

Pang Tong was stunned, and could only seek truth from facts: "This is indeed impossible to prove..."

Liu Bei didn't take it seriously: "It's okay, you just came up with this plan on the spur of the moment, so it's normal that it's not perfect."

Pang Tong couldn't help feeling a little ashamed.

Liu Bei has been hanging out with Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong for a long time now. Although he still can't make his own plans, his evaluation ability has been greatly enhanced after listening to more reports.

He is not able to come up with a plan on his own. But when Party B gives him a plan and asks him to judge whether it is good or bad, he can immediately tell whether it is good or bad.

This little episode was thus resolved and did not cause any further disturbance.

Liu Bei stopped worrying about these minor disputes and turned to Zhuge Liang on the other side, smiling and asking about the grand strategy for the decisive battle:

"Kong Ming, in your opinion, Cao Cao has arrived in person. How should we proceed with this decisive battle? Shi Yuan has done his best, and you should also come up with some new strategies. Should I go north immediately to meet up with my third brother and fight Cao Cao face to face?"

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and said slowly, "My lord, why don't you go to the front line in person? If you show up too early, it will easily alert Cao's army and make them realize that our army is planning a counterattack.

Only if you don't show up for the time being, and only let Yide and Xingba show up, will the Cao army firmly believe that we still want to advance step by step and hold on for a while - so, you should wait until we are really willing to fight Cao thieves in the field, and then show up. "

Liu Bei organized his thoughts, nodded, and agreed with this judgment.

At the same time, he also remembered that Zhuge Liang had analyzed that we could take advantage of Cao Cao's concern for Xiahou Yuan and the lack of information between the two sides to force Cao Cao to worry and panic, and divide his troops to go to Hanzhong Basin to support Xiahou Yuan. At that time, it was a good opportunity for our army to seize the opportunity of the enemy's dispersed forces and fight a decisive battle in the field.

But the idea that was originally set was just a general principle.

What is the specific time to attack?

The Chencang Road is so long and narrow that even if Cao Cao's central and rear troops were mobilized, it would be difficult for Liu Bei's army to penetrate too far behind enemy lines to clearly detect the current situation.

Liu Bei realized this problem and could not help asking: "Teacher once taught me to counterattack when Cao's army was divided, and now he taught me to wait until the decisive battle to show my face - but how can we know when Cao's army is at its weakest?

Do we really expect to rely on the Bantun Barbarian scouts to infiltrate hundreds of miles of mountainous areas, scout all the way to Chencang and Sanguan, and find out all the enemy deployments along the way?"

Zhuge Liang also realized that the strategy he had mentioned before was a bit too general and idealistic, but he still insisted on seeking truth from facts on this issue:

"My lord, warfare is a game of deception. How can we know everything about the enemy before we fight? We can only do our best to scout and react flexibly, and we can't make general decisions in advance. Let Yide hold out for a while and wait and see the enemy's attack movements before we can make a judgment. If you are worried, you can send one of me or Shiyuan to Yide's camp to observe closely, and maybe we can see some clues of the battle."

Liu Bei thought about it and felt that he could not do without Zhuge Liang, so he wanted to keep Zhuge Liang at Yang'an Pass. But he was afraid that such a decision would make Pang Tong feel neglected and send him to a more difficult place on the front line.

While Liu Bei was hesitating, Pang Tong, who was eager to make a contribution, stepped forward and said, "My lord, let me handle this matter! As long as Cao's army dares to attack, I can see how much strength they still have.

If you judge that Cao's army is already dying and is splitting up to take a detour, I will send a pigeon to report back, and you can then press forward with the rear army, join forces with Yide and Xingba, and take advantage of Cao's splitting up to launch a counterattack!"

Liu Bei stood up silently and patted Pang Tong's hand: "Be careful this time. Don't forget, during the Battle of Dianjiang, when we attacked Xiahou Yuan's first camp, you climbed up to observe the enemy's deployment and were targeted by Cao's crossbowmen. If it weren't for the steel-filled breastplate, you would have been seriously injured! If you are so reckless again, I won't dare let you go."

Pang Tong hastily assured: "I am still frightened by the danger I experienced that time, how could I commit the same mistake again?"

After receiving Liu Bei's order, Pang Tong took hundreds of cavalry guards and rode north from Yang'an Pass to the camp of Zhang Fei and Wu Yi that day.

Zhang Fei heard that Pang Tong was coming, and he also warmly entertained him and asked about his purpose. Knowing that Pang Tong was here to help him check for loopholes and observe the enemy's situation, Zhang Fei naturally cooperated with him: "Military advisor, rest assured, Xu Huang will definitely attack early tomorrow morning, and I will fight him at that time. Military advisor, just hide in the back and watch."

Pang Tong also gave Zhang Fei some instructions, asking him to do this and that so that he could more easily test the strength of Cao's army.

……

Silent all night.

The next morning, Cao's army launched an attack on Zhang Fei and Wu Yi's camp.

On the Cao army side, Xu Huang and Le Jin personally went into battle, and did not arrange for anyone to scold the enemy, but just sounded drums and horns.

Groups of soldiers carrying rafts, door panels, ladders and trench bridges lined up to attack the enemy, and countless archers, under the cover of rattan shields, approached the enemy and shot arrows to provide cover.

Although Xu Huang's attack was not weak, Zhang Fei's troops had the advantage of equipment and could rely on rammed earth walls and trenches, and with their tenacious resistance, they managed to withstand Xu Huang's offensive for most of the day.

Both sides suffered casualties, and Cao's army suffered significantly more casualties. Xu Huang saw that this was not going to work, so he had to quietly withdraw his troops.

However, just because Xu Huang and the others didn't want to talk too much didn't mean that Zhang Fei, who was usually not good at speaking, was willing to let them go.

Anyway, Zhang Fei was hiding in the camp, so he fought very easily throughout the day and could talk nonsense as long as he wanted when he was free.

Seeing Xu Huang retreating, Zhang Fei, following Pang Tong's instructions, led the crowd in shouting, "Xu Huang! If Cao Cao wants to see my brother, let him lead the troops to attack the camp."

If it were just you trash, I, Zhang Yide, would be enough to deal with you. You don't even have the qualifications to see my elder brother! Don't even think about saving Xiahou Yuan! In a few days, it will be Xiahou Yuan's death anniversary!"

After Zhang Fei finished cursing, his cursing troops would of course follow suit. The Cao army soldiers who were retreating were also very angry at this humiliation.

However, it was also thanks to Zhang Fei's insults.

Another night passed, and on the morning of the third day, when Cao's army came to organize an attack on the camp again, Zhang Fei finally saw the scene he hoped to see.

"The big banner on the opposite side is so majestic, far surpassing the three dukes' ceremonial guards. Could it be that Cao Cao has finally arrived?"

When Zhang Fei was observing the enemy situation with a telescope on the watchtower of the camp, he quickly noticed a particularly imposing position on the opposite side and quickly pointed it to Pang Tong.

Pang Tong looked in the direction Zhang Fei pointed, and a sense of eagerness rose in his heart: "It is Cao Cao indeed. It seems that the main force of Cao's army has already pressed here, but there are too many people to deploy along the Chencang Valley Road, so they can only move forward bit by bit. Yesterday, the general insulted Xu Huang and humiliated Cao's army. Today, Cao Cao finally showed up in person. It's a pity that he is too far away, and the crossbow can't kill him."

Zhang Fei was not interested in these analyses, and simply asked: "Then how should we fight today? Continue to fight to the death?"

Pang Tong: "No, no, no, Cao Cao has come in person, so we should give him some face. If we continue to fight like this, although we can afford it, our casualties will not be too small, which is not worth it.

According to the tactical deployment that Ziyu and Kongming are good at, change to flexible defense. After all, the solidity of this camp is far less than that of Yang'an Pass, and it is not meant to be defended for a long time. With only rammed earth and trenches, and without even sharp stakes and antlers, how much geographical advantage can it have?

We will defend the first trench and breastwork for an hour, and then let the enemy break through one every half an hour. We can also deploy fresh troops and reserves in the subsequent defense lines in advance and retreat in an orderly manner. In this way, we can let the soldiers with the most physical strength fight in rotation, while Cao's army will have to expand the results of the battle in one go, and may not be able to rotate and rest, so the casualties of its vanguard will be heavy. "

When fighting in a narrow canyon terrain area, because there are not many soldiers on the front line of contact, whichever side can replace the reserve troops more orderly later in the battle will gain a huge advantage in physical fitness and morale.

Zhang Fei's basic military skills were still very solid, and he was very experienced in fighting in canyon terrain, so he immediately adopted Pang Tong's opinion.

As both armies prepared themselves, Cao Cao personally ordered an attack and supervised the battle. Another day of tug-of-war began.

Because Liu Bei's army chose to fight and retreat, exchanging space for killing the enemy's manpower, the exchange ratio between the two sides became even more disparate.

By the afternoon, Cao's army had broken through five or six layers of trenches and rammed earth walls, pushing the front line forward several miles, but the price they paid was shocking.

Pang Tong hid in the watchtower the whole time, observing the enemy's movements and the deployment of reserve forces with a telescope. He felt that Cao Cao must have begun to feel distressed, and it was time to think of a way to take advantage of the situation.

……

Time soon came to night, and Pang Tong's judgment turned out to be correct.

Because at the hour of Hai that night, some Bandunman scouts sent by Zhang Fei to patrol the night captured a few prisoners and brought them back. After a brief interrogation, Zhang Fei found that there might be unexpected gains, so he sent the prisoners directly to Pang Tong for discussion.

Pang Tong, who had originally fallen asleep, also got up in a hurry, put on his clothes, and asked carefully.

"You are also from the Bandun Barbarians? Why do you work for Cao thieves?"

The captives did not dare to resist and confessed:

"We were originally under the command of Commander Wang Ping, and were captured during the battle of Hechi. We were forced into captivity by Cao's army."

"We were taken hostage when Xiahou Yuan retreated from Langzhong."

When Zhang Fei heard that some of these soldiers were once his own people who were captured and defected to the enemy, he immediately wanted to punish them, but was stopped by Pang Tong.

Pang Tong continued to ask: "What mission did Cao Cao assign to you? Why did you go around the valley in the dark and take the steep slopes on both sides of the camp? Could it be that he wanted to divide his troops to bypass the camp and attack our army from the front and back?"

The captive confessed: "We really don't know. The superiors just forced us to find a small path that bypasses the camps blocking the road and leads directly to Yangping Pass. Perhaps they want to attack us from both sides."

After hearing this, Pang Tong waved his hand and ordered his personal soldiers to take the prisoners away and give them some food. He also instructed them not to torture them or punish them.

Zhang Fei had no choice but to follow his lead, but he could not help but ask angrily, "Does Cao really want to split his troops and attack us from both sides? Isn't he afraid that the troops that go around will be attacked from both sides by Xingba and me?"

Pang Tong shook his head: "Impossible, even you, Yide, can see that this move is dangerous, how could Cao Cao not see it? If it was so easy to find a small road to march, Chencang Road would not have maintained its position as the throat of Sichuan for so many years.

Therefore, Cao Cao was indeed looking for a way, but even if he found it, it was only for the use of a small group of scouts and messengers. He just wanted to know how dangerous Xiahou Yuan was now, because our previous false illusion of "rushing to attack Yangping Pass" had already made Cao Cao completely worried and confused.

Since he wants to know so much, we will help him. By the way, Yide, do you know there is such a path behind the camp? If so, we will deliberately retreat a little further tomorrow until Cao Cao can control the entrance to the path. "

Zhang Fei was puzzled: "But if that's the case, wouldn't it be like letting Cao Cao and Xiahou Yuan get in touch? Then wouldn't Cao Cao no longer be so anxious?"

Pang Tong: "Don't worry, it won't happen. Since we are planning to deliberately reveal an alternative route to Cao Cao, it will be easier to control him than letting him find it randomly. When Cao Cao tries to contact Xiahou Yuan for the first time, we can also kill the messenger.

Although this is just a one-time deal, as long as the first batch of messengers are intercepted and killed, Cao Cao will be alert. But this one-time deal is enough, enough for us to judge the distribution of Cao's troops and when is the right time for the lord to personally seek battle. "

(End of this chapter)