Chapter 260 Total War
Ma Su looked back at the size of the Wei army and realized something was wrong.
The Wei army did not have 4,000 men at all, only 2,000 infantry and cavalry. Because Ma Su was targeting Sima Division, he didn't even notice that Wei's army was outnumbered.
Now when I look at it again, I understand that I have been tricked by Master Sima.
Master Sima had long been prepared to be chased and beaten by Ma Su. He separated his troops early and retreated northward from both directions, using himself as bait to cover the evacuation of the other two thousand troops.
With the retreat route cut off and the great devil Ma Di still ahead, Sima Shi decisively chose to sacrifice two thousand cavalry to save the remaining troops.
Obviously, although Ma Su valued Master Sima, he was still careless and was tricked by this young man.
When he discovered this situation, Ma Su couldn't help but feel a pain in his balls.
This Sima Master... is really just like Sima Yi himself, he is an old Yinbi.
Ma Su, who did not accept it, led his troops to pursue him all the way. After all, he was the only one who took advantage of others, and it was rare for him to be plotted by others.
However, Master Sima was well prepared. He passed by Zhiyang and did not enter the city at all, but continued northward. Ma Di pursued him all the way to the border of Wuwei, but in the end he failed to catch up with Sima Shi.
So after losing two thousand people, Sima Shi successfully led the remaining troops to retreat.
"Master Sima! What a despicable and shameless thing!" Ma Su was very dissatisfied and angrily raised his middle finger in the direction where Master Sima was fleeing.
Fortunately, this battle was very fruitful. Sima Zhao and Sima Division contributed nearly 3,000 cavalry prisoners to Ma Di. At this rate, Ma Su will be able to gather 10,000 cavalry before long.
How comfortable would it be to have ten thousand cavalry charging with you? Ma Su had never felt it, but he still wanted to take a look.
But just when Ma Su started to figure out how to build his own fortune next, suddenly his own bodyguard followed him and reported to him.
"General, the Prime Minister sent a messenger to deliver a message to you."
"Message?" Ma Su felt an ominous premonition in his heart as soon as he heard it.
"What are you talking about?"
"The Prime Minister said that he congratulated General Fuguo on getting rich."
Ma Su: "..."
"What a sin!!"
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After Sima Division abandoned Jincheng and led his troops to retreat north, the Shu army quickly captured the entire county of Jincheng. All the surrounding counties and cities looked at the wind and surrendered, and no one dared to resist anymore.
Zhuge Liang led his army into Jincheng and reconvened all the generals to discuss important matters again.
"Now the scouts have detected that the Wei army in Wuwei is relocating a large number of people and destroying roads. From the south of Cangsong, roads and farmland have been basically destroyed." Zhuge Liang frowned and released the latest intelligence to a group of generals.
"Not only did the Wei army in Jincheng give up, but even the front line of Wuwei began to fortify its walls and clear the country. This is not a normal signal..."
"Hmm... Is Sima Yi crazy? Doesn't he want Jincheng anymore?" Ma Di was the first to express his anger. He was very unhappy with Sima Yi's actions.
Youchu was killed by Ma Di in anger because he forced the people's food, let alone Sima Yi, who was as strong as Sima Yi.
Ma Su despises things that involve fighting and tormenting the people the most.
"What on earth does Sima Yi want to do? Such a wanton destruction of his own territory. Even if he can win this battle, how can he repair these holes?" Compared to Ma Di, Yang Yi raised her own questions .
Liangzhou is geographically remote and arid with little rainfall. Most places are not suitable for farming. If Jincheng County and Wuwei County are defeated, even if the Wei army in Liangzhou wins the war, they may not be able to stay in Liangzhou.
It is precisely because of this that what Sima Yi did seemed so strange.
"Or...Sima Yi didn't even think about defending Liangzhou?"
Wu Yi's words made all the generals and civil servants in the army tremble, and they suddenly woke up from a dream.
"That's it! Sima Yi didn't want to defend Liangzhou at all! His purpose was just to defeat our army and completely collapse Liangzhou, so as to hinder the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition!"
If Liangzhou is crippled, refugees are everywhere, and the infrastructure is completely destroyed, Shu Han will have to mobilize a large amount of force to restore production. In this way, they will be unable to continue the Northern Expedition in a short period of time, and it is very likely that the Wei army will be allowed to recuperate and then push back.
Especially now that Cao Zhen is seriously ill, there is a high probability that Cao Wei's next governor of Guanzhong will be Sima Yi. With this iron bastard's urinary temperament, if he is given a few years to guard Guanzhong, I am afraid that the Han army will not be able to break into Guanzhong within ten years.
"It's basically certain that Sima Yi had this idea." Zhuge Liang nodded, then spread out the map and said calmly.
"I have received information just now that Ximian Shaodang Shenlang and Erqiang sent troops to respond to the puppet Wei. They combined tens of thousands of troops and marched out of Xiping."
"Chen Tai from Guanzhong has led 20,000 troops. They have entered Liangzhou from Qiang and Hu territory and are now engaged in battle with General Wenchang."
"Moreover, a large number of Qiang and Hu troops in the north are moving south, and they seem to have the intention of going south..."
Zhuge Liang told a series of information one by one, and the more he talked about it, the more serious the generals' expressions became.
Sima Yi basically attracted all the forces in the northwest that he could win over, and almost all of them went to the battlefield in this battle.
Although 60,000 Shu troops have captured Jincheng, it seems that the situation has not improved.
There are Qiang troops to the west, Wei reinforcements to the east, and Liangzhou Wei troops and Qiang Hu cavalry led by Sima Yi himself to the north. At this moment, the Shu army is surrounded by enemies in the east, west, north and west, and it is already very difficult to move northward.
But the Shu army has already reached here, and they certainly cannot withdraw just like that. And once the Shu army stops, Liangzhou may be crippled by Sima Yi.
The Shu Han had immediate needs for Liangzhou. The trade routes and horse farms here were what the Shu Han regime needed most.
"Prime Minister! Give the order! Even if there is a serious crisis, we big men will not frown!" Ma Di stood up and said calmly.
"He has invited five thousand cavalry as the vanguard, guaranteeing..."
"Sit down first. You are not responsible for the vanguard's affairs." Zhuge Liang said calmly without saying anything, waving his feather fan.
"Wu Yi!"
"exist!"
"I order you to lead five thousand troops as the vanguard, and the light troops will advance to Wuwei first!"
"Wei!" Wu Yi accepted the order happily.
"Wang Ping!"
"The general is here!"
"I order you to lead five thousand troops to defend Yuzhong, and not allow a single barbarian horse to enter Liangzhou!"
"Yes!" Wang Ping nodded and accepted the order.
"Wei Yan led 10,000 troops to guard Zuli, responsible for resisting the invasion of the Wei army in Guanzhong."
Finally, Zhuge Liang assigned Ma Su a task.
"Ma Su, I will give you 7,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. You will lead the army into Xiping County and be responsible for defeating the Xiqiang soldiers and horses on the flank of our army!"
"Don't worry, Prime Minister! I'm the best at fighting the Qiang people."
"That's good." Zhuge Liang nodded and made the final decision.
"The soldiers and horses from all walks of life were divided to defend it. I led 30,000 Han troops north to Wuwei. I fought head-on with the Wei army in Liangzhou and tried to complete my victory in one battle and defeat the northwest Wei army!"