Chapter 422: Divide the troops for the Northern Expedition
Under Xiahou Ba's series of operations, the Han army successfully captured Xiaoguan.
Xiaoguan, as the northern gateway to Guanzhong, was captured by the Han army, and the surrounding counties quickly fell into disrepair. The entire Xinping County, including the old Anding County, surrendered to the Han army in just over ten days, and the threat from the Han army's flanks was wiped out.
It is worth mentioning that five days after Ma Su captured Xiaoguan, reinforcements from Cao Wei appeared in the direction of Bingzhou. Wang Jing, the governor of Bingzhou, united with Hu soldiers from Shangjun, and tens of thousands of troops came to aid Xiaoguan.
Unfortunately, Xiaoguan had already fallen, and the gate into Guanzhong was completely blocked. Wang Jing was forced to lead his troops to retreat north.
Ma Di saw this scene completely, and after calculating it based on the time, he couldn't help but feel scared secretly.
"We really have to thank General Xiahou. If he defends Xiaoguan, he may not be able to capture it before the puppet Wei reinforcements arrive." Ma Di said with lingering fear. Once the Bingzhou reinforcements entered Xiaoguan, even if he climbed there first, he might not be able to capture it. get along with.
By then, if Xiao Guan continues to resist and continues to fight, the battle in Weibei will inevitably reach a stalemate. Once Cao Wei and Guandong are allowed to recover, this Northern Expedition is likely to end without any problem.
For this, Ma Su thanked Xiahou Ba in his heart.
However, when exploring the composition of the soldiers and horses in the direction of Bingzhou, Ma Di still looked serious.
There are 20,000 Cao Wei's regular troops and more than 10,000 Hu troops. The total strength is upwards of 30,000. With so many troops mobilized and unable to enter Xiaoguan, it is very likely that they will destroy Beidi County and Shuofang County of Shu Han.
Although that area is not the core area of interest of the Shu Han, it has also been the business scope of the Northland Military Town in recent years. If it was destroyed by the Wei army in this way, it would be a big loss to the Shu Han.
"Cao Wei's Bingzhou Army failed to enter Xiaoguan and is now heading north. Looking at this direction, it is very likely that it is heading towards Shuofang in the north... The puppet Wei intends to fight us on all fronts." Ma Su frowned. He frowned, thought for a while and said,
"General! Let me go to Beidi County to meet them for a while!"
Upon hearing Ma Su's words, Jiang Wei and Deng Fan all became energetic. But because of his stuttering, Deng Fan was overtaken by Jiang Wei again.
"I have been traveling in the north for nearly two years, and I have become familiar with the geography and people of Shuofang in the north. The general only needs to give a certain five thousand elite soldiers, and a certain person can go to the northern county to recruit soldiers on the spot, ensuring that the Han Dynasty does not lose an inch in the northern border. territory!"
In the past two years, Shu Han's military town system in the northern border has basically taken shape. There are four military towns under Shuofang County in the North, with a population of more than 200,000.
Moreover, as a "Tuntian Master" who was extremely good at knocking bones and sucking out marrow, Deng Fan also implemented a blood tax system in the North. A large number of Hu people directly became the reserve army of the Shu Han, and they were exempted from taxes by performing military service for the Han.
Therefore, as long as Jiang Wei goes to Beidi County, he can recruit tens of thousands of troops on the spot. Although it is not popular for foreign campaigns, it is enough to defend the territory.
Seeing Jiang Wei's invitation to fight, Ma Di pondered for a while, and finally nodded and said,
"In this case, the war in the North will be left to Boyue. As for the defense of Xiaoguan, I will let Zhang Ni take over and let him fight alongside you."
"The remaining generals will follow me back to the south. We must hurry up and start the Eastern Expedition. After all, even the Wei army in Bingzhou has moved, and the Kwantung armies of the puppet Wei are probably on their way!"
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As Ma Su quickly captured Xiao Pass, the last threat stuck on the flank of the Han army was successfully removed.
Ma Su then assigned five thousand troops to Jiang Wei and sent him north to guard Shuofang in the north. At the same time, he left some troops with Zhang Yi to guard Xiao Pass. After completing these deployments, Ma Di took the remaining troops back to Chiyang to rest for a few days, and then quickly returned to Chongquan to join the main force of the Han army.
At this time, all the Guanzhong territory in Weibei was basically controlled by the Han army. The Han army in the Eastern Expedition approached Jin City, less than a hundred miles away from Tongguan.
But when Ma Su came to the Chongquan front line, he received good news and bad news from Zhang He.
The good news is that although Chen Tai's injury has improved, he is still seriously ill in bed. Because Chen Tai was unable to command and deploy, the entire Feng Yi County defense was weak.
The bad news is that tens of thousands of reinforcements from the Wei army are about to arrive, and their vanguard has already arrived at Tongguan. Moreover, its commander is Cao Wei's guard Xin Pi, and there is a high probability that he will ask the lord to rush to support Chang'an.
"If we attack Linjin now, we will be able to break through this place in less than ten days. But if the main force crosses the Fen River and enters Feng Yi County, we will not be able to prevent the Wei army's reinforcements from entering Guanzhong." Zhang He spoke concisely and to the point, and quickly showed Ma Su on the map It depicts a series of battlefield situations.
Chen Tai's troops directly in front had less than 10,000 troops, and their morale was low due to their new defeat on the battlefield.
On the other side of the Wei River is Tongguan, from where the main force of tens of thousands of Wei troops will enter Guanzhong.
If the Han army attacks Linjin first, then the Wei army's reinforcements can smoothly march westward from Weinan to help Chang'an. By that time, Zhuge Liang will face greater military pressure.
But if Ma Su leads his troops to cross Weinan and gives priority to Tongguan to block the Kwantung reinforcements, then what if Chen Tai's injury improves...
"It's a multiple-choice question again, which is very unfriendly to me." Ma Su looked at the map and shook his head helplessly.
He has done multiple-choice questions countless times in the past few years, and every time he is faced with a dilemma.
Most of the time when faced with this choice, he would usually say,
I want them all!
"The Kwantung Wei army in the direction of Tongguan must be blocked, and the front line near Jin must also be attacked!" Ma Di shook his head slightly, then said with a solemn look on his face.
"Do you mean to divide the troops? It's not impossible, it's just easy..." Zhang He raised his eyebrows and spoke subconsciously, but was interrupted by Ma Su before he could finish.
"This time the army will not be divided. Just continue to attack Linjin from the front!" Ma Su waved his hand and calmly marked it on the map.
"As for the tens of thousands of Kwantung Wei troops in Weinan, I will personally lead more than a thousand elite troops to intercept them!"
"How much?" Zhang He's voice suddenly became several decibels louder, and his face turned dark for a moment.
"General Chariot and Cavalry, this is no child's play! As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, you can't keep taking such risks!"
There are at least 30,000 Wei troops in Tongguan. Even if the terrain of Weinan is dangerous and there are mountain roads everywhere, it cannot be stopped by a mere 1,000 men.
Ten thousand people are probably enough.
Obviously, Ma Su was planning to commit suicide again, and Zhang He, who had been a veteran for decades, was speechless.
"I'm serious! I only need a thousand elite soldiers, and I don't even need cavalry." Ma Su waved his hand, his eyes were extremely serious, and he said unhurriedly.
"As for the Guandong reinforcements, a thousand men are enough! If you are worried, you can divide the troops into three thousand men to meet me in Weibei."