Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3063 Maybe it’s the same obsession for thousands of years

After careful consideration, Sima Yi decided to pretend again before retreating.

 Perhaps one of the joys of life is to show off.

 Ever since Sima Yi arrived in Hedong, it was just to trap a big one right now. If there were no big prey, it would be better to have more small prey.

In the past few days, Sima Yi had his people build some "simple" camps on Zhi Guanxing.

This kind of camp is really very simple. In some places, there is even only a frame. Some weeds were burned and some wooden frames were nailed on.

Although so simple, Sima Yi gave these camps a resounding name, called Tiangang Beidou Village, and nailed a wooden sign in front of these camps, or peeled off the bark of a tree and wrote the village name on it. , they are all named after Tianquan and other Big Dipper stars. Looking at the names alone, they are indeed majestic.

Who can imagine that in such a mountainous area, Tiangang's name is involved?

Guo Mian and Li Er completed their fraud attempt well.

At first Xia Houyuan was a little worried about encountering an ambush on the mountain road, but when he encountered Guo Yao, Li Er and others taking turns to "ambush", Xia Houyuan became furious because he thought that Guo Yao and Li Er were not the same. It's really an ambush, but a deliberate delay, a delaying tactic!

Xia Houyuan discovered that because he was worried about being ambushed, he should have arrived at Zhiguan early, but he was delayed for an extra day and a half on the road!

 What kind of **** ambush? !

 Shu Zi!

As a result, Xia Houyuan became more and more bold, even reducing the number of scouts to explore the road, and instead directly sent his troops to Zhiguan!

Sima Yi didn't even say a word about the scene, and immediately abandoned the pass and fled, burning utensils and blocking the road at the pass.

Facing the raging fire, Xia Houyuan naturally couldn't catch up. He was angry and funny at the same time. He was angry that he was delayed for a day or two even though he met such a commander who was not familiar with the art of war. But he was laughing because even though he was delayed, he couldn't organize any defense. That's not it. Abandoned the customs and fled?

There were raging flames at the pass. Xia Houyuan first sent people to climb the pass wall and conduct inspection inside the pass. After confirming that there was no danger in the pass, he sent people to find a way to put out the fire. But for this kind of burning material that has been poured with kerosene, most of the time the best way to put out a fire is to isolate it and wait for it to burn out...

The fire is raging, which is like Xia Houyuan's ambition being gradually ignited.

After the flames at the pass were extinguished, Xia Houyuan led people into Zhiguan before the temperature of the pass had completely dropped. Moreover, he did not rest in the intact houses, but would rather stay in those that had been burned by the flames. Once again, we camped in a pitch-black place against half a broken wall.

Since learning that there is gunpowder in Guanzhong, Cao Cao and others have also studied and taken precautions about this matter, and then came up with a general solution, which is to set fire to it.

 Once the place has been burned, the danger of gunpowder is basically eliminated.

Although Xia Houyuan couldn't explain it or why it happened, since Cao Cao had specifically asked it, choosing a safer place to camp was naturally a choice. There is even some residual warmth left in these burned areas, and there are no insects bothering them. Apart from being stained with some black charcoal color, there are no other problems.

 Sure enough, after a good night's sleep, nothing happened.

 The next morning, Xia Houyuan led his troops to attack again.

Although Xiahou Yuan was deceived by false information and looked down upon Sima Yi, after all, Xiahou Yuan only had 800 cavalry, and the number of follow-up infantry was only 3,000. His main purpose was not to attack quickly, but to attack first. He wanted to see what he could do on the east side of Hedong before making next plans, so after capturing Zhiguan, Xiahou Yuan used Zhiguan as a stronghold and began to clear out the military strongholds around Zhiguan.

When Cao Jun’s scouts reported back to the military strongholds around Zhiguan, Xiahou Yuan couldn’t help but be shocked.

Tiangang Beidou?

So...a dick?

As a result, Xia Houyuan came to the military camp in person and took a look, laughing so much that he almost fell off his horse!

These military strongholds are all empty shells!

This Sima Yi is just a scholar who only knows how to show off!

Xia Houyuan suddenly felt much lighter...

 In fact, since entering Zhiguan, he has felt a little uneasy in his heart.

This kind of lack of practicality comes from the illustrious achievements of the previous Hussar, from the elite and bravery shown by the previous Husband and Horse, and from his previous failure experience. That's why Xia Houyuan was defeated by Guo Mian in the very beginning. He and Li Er blocked his hands and feet in a superficial way, but now after laughing wildly, he finally settled down in his heart.

 It turns out that people who are just bragging and gesticulating must occupy a high position and have a reputation that is louder than anyone else. As a result, their subordinates are actually sparse and their reputation is not worthy of their reputation. They are not only found in Shandong, but also in Hedong!

 A guy like this is not afraid even if there are tens of thousands of soldiers!

It turns out that under the hussars, only those soldiers and horses commanded by Fei Qian can be considered elite, what about the rest...

 Souga, Xia Houyuan felt that he understood.

Xia Houyuan captured all seven villages in Guanxing, Zhi in one day!

 The momentum is overwhelming!

No, it is sharper than breaking bamboo, because bamboo will still be "broken" no matter what, and Sima Yi took the initiative to break it when he saw Xia Houyuan's men and horses...

　　　Seeing that most of the military strongholds were empty, the soldiers of Cao's army began to gradually relax their hands and feet.

 The scouts no longer observed many places in detail, and even started skipping them in order to rush for time.

At first, Cao Jun was a little worried, but later he became more and more courageous!

The same was true for Xia Houyuan. Not only did he speed up his march and send a small team towards Jiguan, but he also blatantly fired a letter of persuasion to surrender towards Jiguan.

Of course, the letter is still the same as before, saying that the Hussars have overstepped their bounds and committed the crime of disobedience and disrespect, so they were punished by the emperor's order. Now they are coming with a large army, vowing to trample you to dust. If someone knows something, they will be captured as soon as possible and returned. If you can save your life, if you stubbornly resist your orders, after the city is defeated, it is inevitable that everyone will be destroyed. Don't say that you are not predicting this.

 Sima Yi received the letter and sneered again and again. Originally, Sima Yi was thinking about whether to write a frank, literary reply letter, angrily or something, so that he could be more like a dull nerd, but after thinking about it, I'm afraid it would be too much. Most nerds have encountered problems. Most of the time it’s just because you’re at a loss, so why bother writing an article?

Therefore, Sima Yi simply did not reply to the letter. He only ordered the flags to be lowered at the top of the city and pretended that there were only a few garrison troops. At night, he lit many bonfires on the city walls to make the soldiers noisy...

Xia Houyuan has never encountered such an opponent. He is quiet during the day and noisy at night? Is this a night owl becoming the commander-in-chief? After thinking about it for a day, he was furious again because he realized that he seemed to have fallen into a trap again!

However, it was obviously not a wise move to attack Jiguan with two to three thousand troops, and one-third of them were cavalry. Therefore, Xiahou Yuan hurriedly sent people to send a message to Cao Cao, requesting that more troops be sent. The soldiers came and looked for a way to bypass Jiguan.

It was such a coincidence that among the private servants of the big families in Hedong whom Xia Houyuan had captured before, some knew that there was a mountain road that could bypass Jiguan. In order not to be driven away and become cannon fodder for the attack on Jiguan, these people showed it without hesitation. Out of self-worth...

Xia Houyuan almost didn't even think about it. After a little review of the prisoners' confessions, he decided to bypass the pass and go straight to Hedong!

 Early the next morning, smoke rose from the Cao army's camp outside Jiguan.

Sima Yi stood on Jiguan and looked at it, then smiled, "Cao Jun must have found a detour around the mountain..."

Guo Mian asked: "How did the general know?" 』

Sima Yi Zheng'er Bajing's position was Minister of Dali Temple, but this position did not allow him to command troops, so after arriving in Hedong, he was given the title of General Pi, which was a temporary addition and was attached to Pingyang. Although General Pi is not a popular person, he can still be regarded as a general, just like the account manager of future generations.

Hearing Guo Mian's question, Sima Yi smiled and said, "Don't you hear that this court's food will be destroyed?" If you want to attack quickly, you should eat less. The smoke is so dense that it covers the main meal. Is there any reason to fight with a full stomach? It must have been just a feint attack, hiding the rest of the soldiers from exploring the mountain road..."

Hearing this, Li Er couldn't help being shocked: "This... if Cao Jun really goes around, how should he deal with it?" Do you want to ambush and intercept in the mountains? 』

> To block it, how to block it? How many people should be sent? I have sent out soldiers. Did I fall into Cao Jun's plan to mobilize troops again? When the time comes, Cao Jun storms Jiguan..."

Li Er suddenly felt a big headache and started thinking hard. Sima Yi smiled and had no intention of stopping the two people from talking to each other.

The mountain pass between Wangwu Mountain and Zhongtiao Mountain is not blocked directly by a very dangerous terrain like Tongguan or Qinhan Valley. Instead, it has multiple mountain roads, and Zhiguanxing is just one of the more difficult ones. It's the best way to go. It would be a bad idea to send troops everywhere to block it.

 As for the best policy...

Sima Yi looked up.

The amount of smoke in Cao Ying's kitchen can certainly be seen clearly from the wall.

There is a lot of smoke, which means that the whole battalion is cooking, which means that most of the soldiers will not join the battle. This is contrary to Xia Houyuan's attitude of rushing to Jiguan. If Xia Houyuan has not found any other way, then it should be a small amount of cooking smoke to provide the attacking soldiers with some simple food, as long as they are not hungry, and it is impossible to make them full, so as to prevent these soldiers from making mistakes during the attack. Enteritis.

Jiguan, like Zhiguan, was mostly destroyed after repeated wars in Heluo, Hedong. After Fei Qian obtained the land east of Hedong, his main focus was on water conservancy related to Pingyang and agriculture. Even though he sent some civilians to work on the city walls, most of them were in the cities in Hedong. For checkpoints like Zhiguanxing, he also There was no time to repair it. Nowadays, in Jiguan, you can still see several half-repaired residual trees, supporting half a cloth tent, which looks simple and dilapidated.

If Xia Houyuan had not found a way around it and was eager to break through the barrier, then seeing Jiguan like this, he would naturally want to attack directly in one go, and now he is showing his current appearance...

Of course, Sima Yi needed to confirm the specific situation again, so he decided to watch the battle on the city wall.

Generally, siege troops will set up camp two or three miles away from the city wall. If they are too close, they will inevitably be confused when they go out to form, and then the opponent will seize the opportunity to counterattack, or the bows and arrows of the defenders will fall. Within the range, Bai suffered a lot of losses. In many cases, siege warfare is divided into two parts. One is to push forward to the city, destroy the fortifications related to defending the city, build an advancing shield, and station a certain number of soldiers, and then the subsequent siege or siege. .

Because the military strongholds built by Sima Yi were scattered throughout Zhiguan, Xia Houyuan couldn't help but choose the locations of these military strongholds to camp, and the closest military stronghold to Jiguan was just one mile away from Jiguan. At this place, you can reach the bottom of Jiguan just by raising your feet. Of course this has its advantages, but if Sima Yi fights back, he can reach Xiahou Yuan's camp with just one charge.

Not long after, I heard noises and smoke rising from Cao's army, and I saw a group of people coming towards Jiguan.

 Guo Mian persuaded Sima Yi to let Sima Yi go down to the city wall first to avoid the attack temporarily, but Sima Yi refused, "The formation is not in line, how can he hurt someone?" As a general in the army, how can he avoid danger and seek peace at all times? 』

Guo Ming stopped persuading him.

Sima Yi smiled slightly, and then glanced at Li Er.

Li Er scratched his head a little, not sure why Sima Yi gave him such a smile.

Although the war is still going on, Sima Yi feels that Guo Yao will climb higher than Li Er because Guo Yao is more careful in some aspects and understands some "processes", like persuading Sima Yi to go to the city. In fact, It is a "process".

 Subordinates need "process" to show they care about their superiors, and superiors also need "process" to show their bravery. If it weren't for Guo Mian's "unnecessary move", would it be possible that Sima Yi would have to fight with himself or the air, and use random words to show that no one should be persuaded and no one should be stopped...

 At this moment, Cao Jun is also following a "process".

That's right, Xia Houyuan has already walked on those nameless mountain roads, and the relatively flat Zhiguanxing has been left behind. After crossing three mountain ridges, the noise on Zhiguanxing can no longer be heard at all.

The road under my feet is becoming increasingly difficult to walk.

Although Wangwu Mountain is not as good as Taihang Mountain, there are basically no people walking on these mountain roads on weekdays. In many places, Xia Houyuan and others can only dismount and walk on foot. From time to time, gravel slides down into the valley.

As soon as Xia Houyuan raised his head, he saw towering mountains surrounding his front, back, left and right. These mountains are like sleeping giants, but I am like an ant on the giant's body, crawling slowly.

 Between the peaks and the intersection of the peaks, there is the mountain road.

 Walking into the mountains, Xia Houyuan suddenly felt regretful. He felt that he seemed to be a little impulsive and should send a forward to test the road first instead of following up on his own. Although every step of the way, there are signs left behind, but if we encounter an ambush here...

Thinking like this, Xia Houyuan suddenly heard a terrifying sound in front of him, like a huge beast, roaring in the mountains in the distance.

This sound is strange, low but spreads far.

Xia Houyuan thought he had encountered some monster, so he couldn't help but hold the knife tightly.

The guide said that this was the mountain **** turning over.

　　　　　　…

Xia Houyuan murmured in his heart and was doubtful.

The guide said that this kind of sound occurs every year, it will be heard in winter, and it will be more in spring...

However, since it was not a man-made trap or anything, Xia Houyuan and others stopped for a moment and found that there was no other abnormality. After the sound disappeared, they continued to move forward, unknowingly following the mountain road all the way. Climb.

There is no way. Except for the relatively flat passage at Zhiguanxing, the rest of the mountain roads are relatively dangerous, and each person may have different mastery of the mountain roads. There are no obvious signs or positioning systems on these mountain roads. There are only certain landmarks that the guides know, such as several large trees growing together, or a stone that looks like a human face.

Xia Houyuan was well prepared for this march. The logistical supplies he carried were all imitating those of the hussars. They included not only dry food, but also dried meat, plus thick felt blankets and oilcloths.

These are also factors that support Xia Houyuan's courage to take risks, but after actually setting foot on this road, Xia Houyuan understands why the pass is called a pass because it is easy to walk except for the road in the pass. Other than that, any other road is not easy to take!

 The initial freshness and excitement were quickly exhausted by the repetitive and tiring climbing process.

Even though the mountain peaks seem to be right in front of you, in fact it takes more than half a day to get from one peak to the next. Although the guide said that he could go out within three days, Xia Houyuan felt that the first day was already so difficult, and he couldn't even think about the next two days...

 Retreat?

After a day's trek, from morning to night, some sections were quite dangerous, but it was considered a safe journey. When they camped under the leeward cliff, Xia Houyuan looked back at the path they had taken and couldn't help but feel a little worried.

The guide said that this road can only be walked in autumn and winter, and it is impossible to walk in spring and summer.

Xia Houyuan did hesitate.

On the one hand, he didn't know whether Jiguan would be as easy to conquer as Ziguan, but Jiguan was closer to Hedong. Logically speaking, it would be easier to get support from soldiers from other places in Hedong. It may be even harder to defeat.

On the other hand, Taishi Ci’s raid on Yecheng was like a shining world record, hanging in front of all the generals. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, there was a raid on Longcheng, and now there is a raid on Yecheng. Will there be another Xiahou raid on Pingyang?

 This is his obsession.

Perhaps this is also the obsession shared by every general who desires victory for thousands of years.

 I don’t know whether it was because of excitement or concern, but Xia Houyuan couldn’t sleep well that night.

Perhaps because he didn't sleep well, Xia Houyuan felt a little pain in his head.

At first Xia Houyuan didn't pay much attention, but then he found that many Cao Jun soldiers seemed to be in bad condition. Their faces were a little blue and they were panting. They had walked less than half of the distance yesterday, but they were exhausted and their legs and feet were weak. .

"not good! Xia Houyuan suddenly remembered something, and his heart skipped a beat, "Isn't there a miasma on this mountain?" ! 』

 (End of this chapter)