flstandardbreds Chapter 189 Guan Ping Encounters Cao Zhen on the Way
Chapter 189 Guan Ping Encounters Cao Zhen on the Way
On the Wei army's side.
Cao Zhen led 5,000 elite cavalry as the vanguard, and after several days of frantic running, they finally broke through Jieting and headed towards Ji County.
Just as they were about to reach the city of Ji, a sudden downpour soaked the exhausted cavalrymen to the bone.
Fortunately, they were less than twenty li away from Ji County, and the roads along the way were not as rugged as the Qishan Road, so Cao Zhen did not stop and continued on his way, successfully arriving in Ji City before dark.
Xu Yong, the prefectural magistrate of Tianshui who was left to guard Jicheng, along with Liang Xu, the chief clerk, and Yin Shang, the registrar, had already greeted Cao Zhen outside the city and invited him into the city for a banquet.
Cao Zhen had no appetite for food. As soon as he sat down, he asked impatiently, "Where is Magistrate Ma? Have you heard any news about the Shu army lately?"
Xu Yong replied, "Reporting to the general, Prefect Ma received General Zhang He's order and dispatched troops from the prefecture to support Lucheng. They have been gone for two days. We have not yet received any news from the Shu army. They are probably still on their way, since the Qishan Road is difficult to travel."
Cao Zhen then asked, "How many men did Prefect Ma take with him to Lucheng?"
Xu Yong answered truthfully.
Upon hearing this, Cao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There are still two or three thousand soldiers guarding Lucheng. With the addition of Prefect Ma's troops, we should be able to hold Lucheng for ten or fifteen days without any problem."
Lucheng was well-defended, with a large garrison. In addition, the Shu army had just left Qishan Road and was exhausted. By all accounts, the advantage was in our hands.
Moreover, Ma Zun doesn't need to hold out in Lucheng for too long. As long as he holds out for ten days, Zhang He will arrive and lead the main force of the Wei army to press forward, which will surely force the Shu army back to Qishan Road.
Thinking this, Cao Zhen felt relieved and picked up his chopsticks to start eating. However, Xiahou Ba asked, "General, what should we do next? Should we head to Lucheng to provide support, or stay in Jicheng and wait for General Zhang?"
Cao Zhen held his chopsticks and pondered for a long time before saying, "Our forces are too small. We may not be able to defeat the main force of the Shu army. To be on the safe side, let's wait for General Zhang."
Xiahou Ba said worriedly, "But General, although Lucheng currently has seven or eight thousand troops, it should be able to defend for ten or fifteen days without any problem. However, Zhuge Liang is cunning and treacherous. If he were to use a scheme and we fail to provide timely assistance, I fear Lucheng may fall."
Cao Wei generals had suffered too many losses at the hands of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang over the years, and most of them had developed a fear of Liu Bei, making them somewhat insecure in front of the Shu army.
Cao Zhen said, "That's why we need to be even more careful. We've been traveling for five or six days straight, and both the men and horses are at their limits. If we go to support Lucheng in this condition, the men will probably be exhausted by the time we get there. What's the difference between that and sending them to their deaths?"
"Moreover, the torrential rain has made the roads muddy and unsuitable for marching. We can only hope that the rain will slow down the Shu army's march, relieve some of the pressure on Prefect Ma Zun and General Han De in defending the city, and buy us some time to march."
"We are exhausted and have no ability to rescue Lucheng. We can only rely on the garrison inside the city to hold out. If Lucheng really falls, we must ensure that Jicheng is not lost. Jicheng must not fall into the hands of the Shu army, understand?"
Xiahou Ba nodded emphatically and said, "Understood."
After a hearty meal and discussions, Cao Zhen ordered his army to rest and recuperate in the city.
When it was daylight and the roads were still muddy and impassable, he completely abandoned the idea of supporting Lucheng, ordered the takeover of Jicheng's defenses, and sent out a large number of scouts to gather information about the Shu army.
While this approach might seem like a sign of fear of battle, it also saved him from a fatal crisis.
After resting in the city for three days, the soldiers had fully recovered, and the roads had dried and were passable. After some thought, Cao Zhen decided to support Lucheng. He ordered Xiahou Ba to lead 3,000 troops to stay in Jicheng, while he personally led 2,000 elite cavalry out of the city gate to rush to Lucheng.
Cao Zhen led his cavalry at full speed, and after traveling less than fifty miles, he received a report from a scout that a small team of a hundred men was heading this way, and they were covered in mud and looked like defeated soldiers.
Cao Zhen's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly led his troops to charge forward. They quickly surrounded the fleeing soldiers and stared at them for a moment, looking like beggars. He then shouted, "Who is the leader? Come out and answer!"
A young man stepped forward with difficulty and, without waiting for any questions, blurted out, "Reporting to the general, we are under the command of Prefect Ma Zun. Five days ago, we followed Prefect Ma Zun to support Lucheng. We were ambushed by the Shu army at the city gate and our entire army was wiped out. Prefect Ma was also killed. We barely managed to escape back."
Cao Zhen's heart sank to the bottom, and he hurriedly asked, "On what day were you ambushed?"
The young man replied, "It was on that rainy day. It was pouring rain, and we were struggling to make our way when the Shu army suddenly attacked from the mountain..."
Cao Zhen exclaimed in surprise, "The Shu army is so fast?"
As he exclaimed in surprise, he closed his eyes and quickly thought. It had been five days since the rain started. Ma Zun was ambushed and his entire army was wiped out before he even reached Lucheng. What did that mean? It meant that the damned Shu army had captured Lucheng before the rainstorm even started.
Did the Shu army fly over? How could they be so incredibly fast?
Wait, that's not right.
If the Shu army had captured Lucheng before the downpour and then annihilated Ma Zun's reinforcements during the downpour, they should have already reached Ji County by now, right?
The fact that the Shu army was delayed in arriving indicates that Zhuge Liang attacked Ma Zun's reinforcements first, and then turned around to attack Lucheng.
It's entirely possible. Zhuge Liang has always been cunning and treacherous; it wouldn't be surprising if he resorted to underhanded tactics.
But no matter what, Lucheng has definitely fallen, there's no need to go to its aid; going there now would be suicide, not aid.
After a moment's thought, Cao Zhen made a decision and ordered, "Give them some water and food, and the rest of you turn around and follow me to Shanggui immediately."
Shanggui is located east of Ji County, forming a triangle with Lucheng in Ji County. Since Lucheng has already fallen, we should go to Shanggui to occupy the flank of the Shu army. When the Shu army is engaged in a decisive battle with Zhang He's main force, we can launch a surprise attack on Lucheng or attack the flank of the Shu army.
With that thought in mind, Cao Zhen turned and headed east.
……
It was 300 li from Lucheng to Shanggui. Guan Ping led his army through the muddy terrain for four or five days, finally arriving near Shanggui. They then found a place to rest and prepare for a night raid on the city.
Unexpectedly, after resting for less than two hours, the scout rushed back and said urgently, "General, something bad has happened! A Wei cavalry force has been spotted in the direction of Jicheng, carrying a banner with the character 'Cao' on it, and is rushing towards Shanggui. They are less than thirty li away from Shanggui. Strangely, they came from the direction of Shehu Valley."
"Give me the map." Guan Ping quickly unfolded the map and immediately saw the geographical relationship between Jicheng, Shehu Valley, and Shanggui.
Jicheng and Shanggui are on a parallel line, almost parallel in geographical terms. However, Shehu Valley is located southeast of Jicheng. This means that the Wei army did not come directly from Jicheng to Shanggui, but instead went south from Jicheng, and then turned back to Shanggui for some unknown reason halfway there.
Guan Ping pondered, "If I'm not mistaken, this cavalry force was probably on their way to support Lucheng. They learned of Lucheng's fall on the way and decided to come to Shanggui on a whim."
Zhang Bao asked, "Then what should we do? Once this cavalry enters Shanggui, it will be much more difficult for us to take the city."
Shanggui is a small county with few troops stationed in the city, so their three thousand elite soldiers could easily take it. But it's a different story when this cavalry enters the city. A city defended by thousands of enemy troops is not something their three thousand men, who don't even have siege equipment, can take.
Guan Ping made a decisive decision: "Let's fight, but it's too late to find an ambush location now. We can only treat it as an encounter battle and launch an attack when they enter the city."
"Send someone back to Lucheng to inform the strategist that the Wei army will not be going. Tell him not to wait in Lucheng and to proceed with the next step of the plan. The rest of you, follow me."