Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 459 The Wei army will surely launch a fierce attack, because they are about to retreat.
The Battle of Jieting.

Prime Minister Zhuge, seated in a plain carriage (four-wheeled wheelchair), calmly observed the battlefield.

Looking from the forest road.

Prime Minister Zhuge wore a long robe with red trim and white wavy patterns. He had long hair and a black beard, and looked as ethereal as a celestial being.

His expression was gentle, but his gaze was so sharp that it seemed he could see right through people's thoughts.

Behind Prime Minister Zhuge, nearly a hundred burly men in bright armor, carrying large banners, stood solemnly and in perfect military formation.

From this perspective, it seems as if he has everything under control.

The Shu army also held the advantage on the battlefield.

In reality, Lin Dao clearly saw that the Shu army's advantage was fragile.

The advantage was gained by relying on strong armor and superior weaponry.

But no matter how good the weapons and armor are, they still depend on people to use them.

The Shu army's fighting spirit and morale are currently low, and it's uncertain how long this temporary advantage will last.

Once you start to lose your composure, it's all over.

"Prime Minister."

Careful observation of the forest paths on the battlefield revealed signs that the Shu army was beginning to falter.

He simply said, "That's enough."

Prime Minister Zhuge sighed and turned to nod to the Shu army behind him.

"Wave the flag!"

Hundreds of Shu army flag bearers began to wave their flags together.

In the era of cold weapons, messages were transmitted on the chaotic and complex battlefields either by sound or by conspicuous flags.

The larger the battlefield, the more voices and flags are needed.

Hundreds of bright, identical flags were waved.

Large numbers of figures emerged from the mountains near the battlefield.

They waved flags and ran back and forth, shouting and yelling.

The hillsides on both sides of the valley were densely packed with figures.

Undoubtedly, this scene put immense psychological pressure on the Wei army.

After all, if you look up, you can see many enemy troops on both sides of the hillside.

Zhang He's heart tightened.

He did not panic, but carefully observed the hillsides on both sides.

Although the scale and movement were impressive, that was all that mattered.

"It must be a feint."

With this assessment, Zhang He did not relax; instead, he frowned even more.

He was not afraid of other people's feints, but Zhuge Liang's feints were always a mix of truth and falsehood.

It might look like a feint, but what if it's an elite force that suddenly charges down at the crucial moment?
After a moment's thought, Zhang He finally gritted his teeth and gave the order.

"Sound the retreat!"

Given the unclear situation, it's best to retreat for now and wait for a better opportunity.

The next time we fight, we will definitely send troops up the mountain to clear out the hidden danger.

Although he was unwilling, the advantage he gained from defeating two generals on the battlefield had been squandered.

That's okay, we can play again after we've rested.

The Wei army, as expected of an elite force, held its ground and slowly withdrew from the battlefield.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Prime Minister Zhuge did not pursue them.

After retreating several miles, Zhang He set up camp.

"General~"

Wei soldiers presented Zhang He with captured Shu armor.

Zhang He stood up and went to the blood-stained armor.

After fiddling with it for a while, he took out his sword and swung it directly.

Amidst the clanging of metal, the blades chipped with tiny gashes, but the armor only suffered a single scratch.

Zhang He gasped in shock at the sight.

Zhang He had sensed something was wrong when he fought Zhang Xiu and Li Sheng one-on-one before.

The Shu army's armor was too sturdy, and there were too many soldiers wearing it.

"Does the Shu Kingdom actually possess such national strength?"

"How could they build so many iron armors?"

Zhang He raised his hand to rub his forehead, lost in worry.

"This battle will not be easy."

In the days that followed, Zhang He launched a series of offensives.

However, Prime Minister Zhuge refused to engage in a decisive battle with him.

Instead, they used the numerous horse traps and trenches, as well as the camps of all sizes, to continuously delay Zhang He's offensive.

Then~
The news that Wei's supply lines had been cut off came like a thunderclap.

Upon hearing the news, Zhang He was also greatly alarmed.

He had served Prime Minister Cao for a long time, and Prime Minister Cao was most skilled at cutting off people's supply lines.

Therefore, Zhang He strictly guarded the grain routes and dispatched a large number of troops to escort the grain convoys.

Even so, his supply lines were still cut off, leaving him completely helpless.

"The Shu army moved back and forth on the mountain as if walking on flat ground."

"They pushed trees and rocks to block the road, making it difficult for grain carts to pass."

"We went up the mountain to fight them, but we couldn't beat them or catch up with them."

"Wanting to remove obstacles, but constantly being harassed by them, it is difficult to achieve anything."

Upon hearing the grain official's report, Zhang He breathed a sigh of relief.

How much food and rations does the army have left?

The grain officer hurriedly reported, "General, there is enough for ten days."

"Ten days?" Zhang He looked at the military map. "Are we trapped in the mountains?"

"Zhuge brat, do you want to devour my tribe? What a huge appetite you have!"

Ten days' worth of provisions should be enough for Zhang He's troops to return along the same route and withdraw from Longshan.

The problem is, he came to save the counties of Longyou.

If they were to leave now, all the counties in Longyou, and even the counties in Liangzhou further west, would fall into the hands of the Shu Kingdom.

Even if he escapes back, the emperor will not let him off easily.

Furthermore, once the troops retreat, Zhuge Liang will inevitably pursue them.

The situation at that time was hard to predict.

After some thought, Zhang He gritted his teeth.

"Starting tomorrow, the entire army will launch a full-scale attack!"

This is a life-or-death struggle, regardless of casualties.

Over the next three days, the battlefield at Jieting erupted into the most brutal fighting. The Wei and Shu armies fought tooth and nail for every camp, every trench, and every hillside.

From the hillside to the valley, from the trenches to the camps, the corpses of both armies were scattered everywhere.

The Wei army was formidable in combat and had excellent teamwork.

The Shu army had an advantage in numbers, better quality weapons and armor, and was in a defensive posture.

But on the fourth day, before dawn, strange whooshing sounds echoed through the valley.

According to the scouts, a flying dragon ascended to the sky!

Before long, raindrops began to fall from the sky.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, making it completely unsuitable for combat.

"The Wei army is about to retreat."

Inside Prime Minister Zhuge's tent, Lin Dao's single sentence caused everyone to look over in astonishment.

"For the past three days, they were attacking relentlessly!" Yang Yi asked, puzzled. "And now they've retreated?"

Lin Dao replied with a smile, "At most half an hour later, the Wei army will launch its fiercest offensive."

This statement left everyone even more confused.

If they were going to retreat, why did they launch such a fierce offensive?

Lin Zihou, do you know what you're saying?
The only one who wasn't surprised was Prime Minister Zhuge.

He called out to the young Jiang Wei, "Boyue, do you know why this is?"

Jiang Wei first looked at Lin Dao, then turned to look at Prime Minister Zhuge.

Seeing the Prime Minister's confident demeanor, he suddenly understood.

'The Prime Minister must agree with Lin Zihou's view!'

In other words, the Prime Minister also believed that the Wei army would retreat and launch a fierce offensive.

Jiang Wei first determined the outcome, and then reasoned in reverse.

Finally, he spoke, saying, "It seems the Wei army knew they were about to run out of food."

"Despite days of fierce attacks, they were unable to break through our defenses and had to retreat to preserve their strength."

"As for why we launched such a fierce attack..."

He became more and more eloquent as he spoke, "It was all to mislead our army!"

"It made us think that they were going to continue fighting."

"But in reality, they ran away secretly!"

"Hahahaha~~~" Prime Minister Zhuge laughed with satisfaction, waving his feather fan as he looked at Lin Dao, "Zihou, what do you think of my disciple?"

"Very spiritual."

Lin Dao smiled and said, "Given time, I will surely be able to inherit the Prime Minister's mantle."

Prime Minister Zhuge smiled and stood up. "In that case, let's first accept Zhang He's desperate counterattack, and then the army will set off to pursue him all the way."

"We must not let Zhang He's troops leave!"

Those inside the tent had various thoughts upon witnessing this scene.

However, everyone had the same thought.

That is.

"Ma Su is out."

More than twenty miles away in the Longshan Mountains, Ma Su was having a heated debate with Wang Ping.

"With the heavy rain falling today, it's the perfect time to send troops to defeat the enemy!"

Ma Su stared coldly at Wang Ping, "As long as we destroy Cao Cao's supply convoy, Zhang He's troops will be unable to escape."

"And it was just a grain transport team."

"I don't understand why you're objecting!"

Wang Ping bowed respectfully and said, "The Prime Minister has given orders that we should only harass and cut off supply lines, and are not allowed to send troops out on our own initiative."

"This humble general is merely following the Prime Minister's military orders!"

"You!" Ma Su roared in anger. "I am under the command of the Prime Minister to lead my troops."

"I'm going to attack the grain transport team. Are you going to disobey orders?!"

Wang Ping fell silent.

The generals inside the tent also looked over, their gazes shifting constantly.

"Join the army." Wang Ping stared at Ma Su. "Are you really going to send troops?"

Ma Su nodded without hesitation.

"Yes!"

"In that case," Wang Ping said, taking a step back and reaching into a brocade pouch.

"The Prime Minister has stated beforehand that if the military advisor insists on doing something else, then open this brocade bag and act according to its instructions."

He opened the brocade pouch and took out a letter of command.

"If Ma Su undertakes other tasks, then Wang Ping will take over command of the troops."

Wang Ping was taken aback when the words on the order were read aloud.

He never expected that the Prime Minister's secret message would contain this.

"impossible!"

Ma Su was furious and stepped forward to snatch the order from his hand.

I quickly glanced through it, and it's actually true!
In an instant, Ma Su was completely distraught.

After a long while, Wang Pingfang finally spoke up to remind him, "Commander, the Prime Minister has also given you a brocade pouch."

Coming to his senses, Ma Su slapped his forehead and hurriedly took out the brocade pouch and opened it.

Inside was also a command document.

The above content is~
"Shoulder your military power and obey Wang Ping's command!"

Ma Su was completely stunned; the order slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

"Prime Minister~"

"Prime Minister, you don't believe me?!"

The immense sense of loss from not being trusted by the Prime Minister plunged Ma Su into a state of utter confusion and despair.

Seeing him like this, Wang Ping sighed and shook his head.

He put away the two orders, beckoned the captains of the Wudang Flying Army, and left the main tent with him.

They were on a hillside at the time.

Several miles away in the valley, a Cao army supply convoy was resting in the heavy rain.

Wang Ping glanced at them from afar and gave instructions to the captains.

"Ignore them; only harass them when they try to damage the rocks, trees, or other obstacles."

"Leader!"

Inside Cao Jun's grain transport team.

Within the towering piles of grain were elite Cao Cao soldiers, clad in armor and armed with weapons.

They hid quietly under the cloth bag, enduring the wind and rain, waiting for the Shu army to raid the grain carts.

This was a tactic devised by Zhang He to lure the Shu army, which was cutting off their supply lines.

However, the Shu army didn't come.
(End of this chapter)