Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 58 What's the difference between a life without progress and a salted fish?
Inside Konghan Valley, Jiang Wei's troops had marched for a day and a night, penetrating twenty or thirty li into the valley. At dusk, scouts reported that Zhuge Xu had led approximately thirty thousand Wei troops north from Yinping Bridge, preparing to intercept them in Konghan Valley.

With the main army gone, the defenses are inevitably weak. At this moment, there are only five hundred soldiers stationed in the city tower at Yinping Bridge!

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Wei finally smiled, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

Zhuge Xu was no match for him; although he bore the surname Zhuge, he had not inherited even a fraction of the Prime Minister's wisdom.

Jiang Wei couldn't help but mentally criticize Zhuge Xu.

"Pass on my order: return to Yinping!"

Jiang Wei gave the order to Xiang Chong.

ha?
The soldier was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

"General, our return will surely not escape the notice of Zhuge Xu's scouts. Zhuge Xu will then lead his troops back to Yinping. If we retreat, Zhuge Xu will also retreat, wouldn't that mean we'd have to face off again?"

When we arrived at Yinping Bridge, we were exhausted, while the Wei army was resting and catching their breath inside the city tower at Yinping Bridge. By then, Deng Ai's pursuing troops would arrive again. How could we resist them?

Zhuge Xu left later than us, so he will surely arrive before us when he returns! General, please reconsider!

Xiang Chong raised his hand to block Jiang Wei's path, preventing him from leaving, his voice and expression both stern and forceful.

We have to be in a hurry, otherwise, one wrong move could lead to total annihilation!

"Since they started later, we need to hurry up!"

Jiang Wei shouted, drew his sword, and pushed Xiang Chong's arm away.

"Speed ​​up the march! First come, first served! Last served, last served! Abandon the baggage train and get the soldiers running!"

Jiang Wei took the lead, charging ahead and already accelerating. He completely ignored Xiang Chong, who was still in a daze.

Da da da! Da da da! Da da da!
The footsteps quickened, and shadows flickered in the setting sun as they headed south. The sun gradually sank behind the mountains, turning the verdant forests red, and the sky gradually darkened.

Several hours later, news of the return of Jiang Wei's elite Shu army was discovered by Wei scouts, who hurriedly sent it to Zhuge Xu.

The generals in the army were frantic with worry, but Zhuge Xu said: "Jiang Wei is a cunning strategist. If we travel through the night, we might be ambushed. Being ambushed in this valley at night would be fatal, if not fatal. It would be better to rest for the night and continue our journey at dawn tomorrow."

At this critical juncture, Zhuge Xu was still dawdling like an old man who had just gotten up, which immediately made the generals uneasy.

A deputy general asked Zhuge Xu: "If Jiang Wei arrives at Yinping Bridge first, there are only 500 weak Wei soldiers there, who cannot hold the position at all. What if Jiang Wei runs away in the end?"
Zhuge Xu said: Jiang Wei won't arrive first because we set off later and traveled less than the Shu army.

Even if we only need to rest for one night, we'll definitely be the ones to go back first. You haven't mastered the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art; you need to catch up on your studies.

Zhuge Xu remained calm and composed.

Since their commander had spoken, the others didn't say anything more. The Wei army had no choice but to rest for the night in the mountain valleys, and then slowly resume their march the next morning.

As a result, the army got separated on the way and had to stop to reorganize. Some soldiers suffered from heatstroke and needed to rest. It took two days for Zhuge Xu to finally return to Yinping Bridge.

When they arrived in Yinping, they found the city gates wide open, the barricades had long been moved aside, and the city was filled with corpses.

Some people might believe it if you said that elephants from Yunnan had wreaked havoc here.

Given the current situation, it's obvious whether Jiang Wei was even here. The Shu army, eager to cross the Yinping Bridge, must have already slipped away and disappeared without a trace.

Zhuge Xu managed to keep a straight face, but the other generals weren't as optimistic. They all looked like they had lost their parents and felt that a great disaster was about to befall them!

Just a few hours after Zhuge Xu led his troops back to Yinping Bridge, Deng Ai arrived with his pursuers. Seeing the mess, the Northwest Army commander seemed to understand something.

Deng Ai led his generals and several prefects from the northwestern border counties into the city tower at Yinping Bridge, where he saw Zhuge Xu and his men coming out to greet him.

Upon meeting, Deng Ai, with his white beard, looked at Zhuge Xu and demanded sharply, "Where is Jiang Wei?"

Where did Jiang Wei go?
Zhuge Xu found it difficult to answer Deng Ai's question; even asking it would be awkward.

Zhuge Xu could only sigh helplessly, "Jiang Wei is cunning. Seeing that our army had occupied Yinping Bridge, he led his troops north through the Konghan Valley Pass. So I also led my troops north, intending to block him. Unexpectedly, Jiang Wei turned back halfway, and in the end I..."

Zhuge Xu's face was filled with remorse, and he looked as if he wanted to find a pillar to smash his head against and die. In reality, however, he was completely unmoved.

Upon hearing this, Deng Ai sized up Zhuge Xu with the look of someone mentally challenged in a fortified pass. The generals around Deng Ai exchanged bewildered glances, unable to believe that their commander could be such a fool.

"Why don't you hold Yinping Bridge to the death? Jiang Wei is at his last gasp; how can he possibly cross this pass?"

Deng Ai asked, looking displeased, on the verge of exploding.

Zhuge Xu sighed and said, "He suddenly led his troops north to the Konghan Valley Road. I was afraid he would run away by bypassing the Yinping Bridge, so I went to block him in the valley."

Deng Ai then asked, "The Konghan Valley Road is so narrow, how could they possibly have taken a detour from here?"

"Why can't we take a detour? Jiang Wei did take a detour, and tens of thousands of my soldiers witnessed it."

Zhuge Xu countered with a question.

"Couldn't you have pursued them if you had taken a detour? Do you think Jiang Wei, exhausted and with his horses worn out, could outrun you?" Deng Ai asked again, clenching his fists tightly, his temper already flaring.

It looks like he's about to pounce on Zhuge Xu and beat him up to vent his anger!
"Weren't you always chasing after her? Did you succeed?"

Zhuge Xu retorted, directly stabbing into Deng Ai's lungs.

Upon hearing this, Deng Ai immediately fell silent; he didn't want to argue with that idiot.

The two men were not under each other's command and were talking at cross purposes, so they parted on bad terms. The two armies set up camp separately at Yinping Bridge, without coordinating military affairs, each managing their own affairs in a clear and distinct manner.

Clearly, Deng Ai would not let Zhuge Xu go; he would definitely report to Sima Zhao that Jiang Wei was deliberately let go by Zhuge Xu. And Zhuge Xu, feeling guilty, would certainly write to Sima Zhao to report the military situation, explain the advantages and disadvantages, and defend himself.

It's hard to say who will win in this wrangling, but it's a certainty that Jiang Wei has already fled.

What to do with Jiang Wei and his elite Shu army was a major problem for Deng Ai and his men. Both Zhuge Xu and Deng Ai, upon returning to camp, pondered how to proceed with the next battle.

Just as Zhuge Xu was being tricked by Jiang Wei, reinforcements from Shu arrived.

On his way to Yang'an Pass, Jiang Wei encountered Liao Hua and his several thousand soldiers, who had been sent by Liu Shan to reinforce Yinping. After learning that the Yinping Bridge had fallen and that Wei's troops from Longyou were marching south to Yinping, Liao Hua did not hesitate to join forces with Jiang Wei and march together to Yang'an Pass.

Soon, Shu scouts reported that Yang'an Pass had fallen, and Wei scouts could be seen everywhere. Upon learning this, Jiang Wei was helpless.

The loss of Yang'an Pass meant the loss of Hanzhong. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Jiang Wei, after discussing with generals such as Liao Hua, had no choice but to lead the elite Shu army to Baishui Pass, the closest pass to them.

Considering the rugged mountain roads, limited food supplies in the passes, and the weakness of the Shu Kingdom.

Jiang Wei believed that if they defended the pass from here, and supplies could not be sent from the rear, the Shu army guarding the pass would starve to death without Zhong Hui even having to lift a finger.

Moreover, Baishui Pass is a small city and cannot accommodate a large army. The defense here should adopt the method of "dividing troops to defend, blocking at each level, and ambushing on multiple fronts". The Shu army has just suffered a defeat and lost Hanzhong. With morale fluctuating, it is difficult to guarantee that "adventurous people" will not appear once the troops are divided.

Jiang Shu is a living example.

Therefore, Jiang Wei had no choice but to lead all the Shu troops south to Hanshou. After weighing the pros and cons, he retreated from Hanshou to Jiange!
Jiange is the last pass leading into Shu from the east; beyond that lies the Chengdu Plain. For Jiang Wei, delivering supplies from Chengdu to Jiange safely and efficiently was no problem at all.

Although this battle line was the last line of defense for the Shu Kingdom, it was also the most solid and reliable one.

Jiang Wei was determined to stop Zhong Hui's main force of more than 100,000 Wei troops here and not let a single soldier pass through Jiange!

Soon, Zhang Yi and Dong Jue, who had come from the south to reinforce Yang'an Pass on Liu Shan's orders, also arrived at Jiange with their troops. The main force of the Shu army was concentrated, and the strength of the army became stronger.

Defeating Zhong Hui might be difficult, but defending Jian Ge would be a piece of cake.

Jiange is strategically located, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Its natural fortifications, coupled with its relatively close proximity to Chengdu, have attracted elite troops to gather here.

Therefore, Jiang Wei made up his mind to block the main force of the Wei army here and teach Zhong Hui a lesson.

The movements of the Shu army could not be kept from Zhong Hui, who sent out scouts every day to investigate military intelligence!
Upon learning that Baishuiguan had been deserted overnight, Zhong Hui was overjoyed and sent troops to occupy it.

Jiang Wei then abandoned Hanshou and continued to retreat, and Zhong Hui followed suit, leading his troops to occupy Hanshou. Finally, the two armies faced off at Jiange, fighting with great coordination.

It's unclear what Zhong Hui was thinking. Perhaps he admired Jiang Wei's character and abilities, or it might just be a psychological tactic. He actually wrote Jiang Wei a passionate letter urging him to surrender.

The letter of persuasion reads as follows: "Your Excellency, sir, possess both literary and military talents, and your strategic brilliance surpasses all others. Your achievements are renowned throughout Ba and Han, and your fame resounds throughout China. You are admired by all, near and far. Whenever I think back to the past, we shared the same court and were both influenced by the teachings of the Great Wei (Jiang Wei once served as an officer in the Wei army). The friendship between Wu Jizha and Zheng Zichan can be used as a metaphor for our relationship."

The letter was written very bluntly, making no attempt to express his admiration for Jiang Wei and hoping that Jiang Wei would surrender and serve as a minister in the same court as Zhong Hui.

However, Zhong Hui's enthusiasm was met with indifference. After the letter was sent to Jiange, Jiang Wei read it but did not reply, as if it had sunk into the sea.

Even outsiders could see that Jiang Wei didn't seem to think much of Zhong Hui.

……

Deng Ai had been paying close attention to the changes at the front.

To be fair, Deng Ai was a very capable general, and he also realized that Zhong Hui had no chance of breaking through Jian Ge!

The only way to break through Jian Ge is to wait for Jiang Wei to surrender; there is absolutely no other way.

Therefore, the only way to enter Shu is through a surprise attack.

Late at night, Deng Ai was still looking at a map when a path somewhere between "walkable" and "inaccessible" caught his attention.

Jiang Wei abandoned Baishui Pass, which was a three-way intersection connecting Yinping Bridge, Yang'an Pass, and Jiange. Clearly, if Baishui Pass were still in Jiang Wei's hands, the Shu army could theoretically have counterattacked Yinping.

In terms of strength, Jiang Wei's Shu army was certainly capable of fighting here.

From Yinping, there are many routes that can bypass Jiange and lead directly to Fucheng. Now that Baishui Pass has been captured, the Wei army can take the back roads without fear of Jiang Wei taking Yinping Bridge.

So, as long as we can get through this path, then... we've won!
Deng Ai's heart was instantly filled with excitement; he had seen the flaw in the Shu army's defensive perimeter!
And the timing of sending troops!
“I am already over sixty years old this year, and my days are numbered. If I don’t give it my all now, I will live a life of poverty and fail my ancestors.”

Deng Ai sat at the table in his military tent and sighed deeply. He had made an important decision in his heart.

(End of this chapter)