Chapter 293 Jiang Wei’s gear of fate; where Zhuge Liang is inferior to Liu Bei!

Canopy.

【The Ziwu Valley plan that was not executed. 】

【It has always aroused the imagination of many people. 】

[So is the success rate of this plan high? ]

【Let’s take a look at the map. 】

【It can be verified through historical data that the southern end of Ziwu Valley is in Anyang, which is Shiquan County, Ankang City, Shaanxi Province. 】

[When Wei Yan proposed this plan, this place was actually occupied by the State of Wei.]

[Even though this area was occupied by the Han army for a time. ]

[But we should also note that Anyang is only 80 kilometers away from the seat of Weixing County of Cao Wei.]

【If we launch a surprise attack on Chang'an from here. 】

[It is very likely that the Wei garrison in Weixing County will notice this.]

[It is even possible to send troops directly to cut off Anyang! ]

[In this way, Wei Yan's Northern Expedition Army will be in an irretrievable situation]

[If the safety of Weixing County cannot be guaranteed.]

[The risk of the Ziwu Valley plan is indeed too high. ]

[Although during the Northern Expedition, Shu Han once instigated Meng Da, who was guarding Shangyong, to rebel. ]

【But he was suppressed by Sima Yi at lightning speed. 】

[From that time on, the State of Wei has been strengthening its defenses in Weixing County. ]

[It can be said that in order to not alert the Wei garrison, the Northern Expedition started from Ziwu Valley. ]

[It is almost impossible.]

[From the starting point of Ziwu Valley, it is extremely dangerous. ]

[Not to mention the many uncertainties that will be faced even if they succeed in getting out of Ziwu Valley.]

[For example, what if Xiahou Mao did not abandon the city and flee, but instead held on to Chang'an? ]

[For example, if Wei Yan was unable to obtain sufficient military rations in the vicinity of Chang'an, how would he get supplies? ]

[For another example, the window of opportunity left for Shu Han is only about twenty days at most.]

[During these twenty days, they were unable to capture Tongguan, which resulted in the Shu Han side having no defenses when the Cao Wei army came to support them. What should they do?]

[There are too many factors that are beyond our control! ]

[So in Zhuge Liang's view, Wei Yan's plan was too risky and had a low chance of success.]

[It would be better to follow the original plan and take the main path. ]

【Take Longyou! 】

[In the initial Longzhong Plan, Zhuge Liang's plan was for a troop to march north from Jingzhou to contain the main force of Cao Wei in the Guandong region.]

[Another army set out from Yizhou and headed straight for Chang'an.]

【But now, due to the loss of Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang's route of the Northern Expedition from Yizhou has also been adjusted. 】

[No longer going straight to Chang'an.]

【Instead, they targeted the area where Wei's rule was weak, namely the Longyou area. 】

[No longer pursuing a one-shot battle. ]

[It is more stable and more reliable, gaining strategic advantages bit by bit. ]

[In the spring of 228 AD, a -strong army of Shu Han set out from Hanzhong and marched north in two groups! ]

[One group, led by Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi, marched through Baoxia Valley with great fanfare as a decoy, threatening to attack Mei County in Guanzhong and threaten Chang'an.]

[The other one is the real main force. ]

[Led by Zhuge Liang himself, they went through Yangping Pass and out of Qishan, with the goal of seizing Longyou. ]

[The road from Hanzhong to the north to Guanzhong is generally difficult to travel. ]

[Compared to other routes, the Qishan Road that Zhuge Liang chose to take was a smooth road, suitable for large-scale marches and convenient for logistical supplies.]

[The journey was very smooth, and Zhuge Liang's army left Qishan and reached Qishan Fort. ]

[After leaving Qishan, facing the three counties of Tianshui, Nangan and Anding in the Longyou area, Cao Wei's ruling power was originally weak. ]

[The local tyrants saw the army led by Zhuge Liang, carrying the Han flag, in good order and with great momentum.]

【They surrendered one after another. 】

[Without any effort, Zhuge Liang took over the three counties in the northwest. ]

[For a moment, the entire Guanzhong region was shaken. ]

[If the Shu Han army could stabilize the situation in these three counties and occupy Guangwei County at this time, they would be able to completely occupy the Longyou Highlands. ]

【Relying on Longshan for defense. 】

[This would create a terrain advantage for the main force of the Wei State that would come to support them later.]

[Faced with the Shu Han army occupying the high ground, it will be difficult for the main force of the Wei Kingdom to achieve victory. ]

【Defending against Wei's counterattack will not be a problem.】

[Then Zhuge Liang could let go and quickly take Longxi and Liangzhou, and even open up the Hexi Corridor. ]

[In this way, Shu Han will be able to obtain the warhorse resources of Liangzhou, which will greatly enhance the field combat capability of the Shu Han army.]

[And occupying the trade route of the Silk Road can also make Shu Han even richer. ]

[The key is that it can be seen from the terrain. ]

[Once Shu Han could occupy the entire Longyou and even Liangzhou regions, it would have the geographical advantage of being high above the Guanzhong Plain with Chang'an as its core.]

[It is difficult for Cao Wei to threaten Shu Han, which occupies high ground and has the advantages of mountains and rivers. ]

[And Shu Han could easily attack Guanzhong from the high ground in Longyou area. ]

[If this continues, even if Cao Wei's national strength is several times that of Shu Han, it will be difficult to resist. ]

Outside the sky.

Qin Dynasty.

Ying Zheng himself put himself on the side of Cao Wei.

This is partly because Ying Zheng had no good feelings towards the Han Dynasty that replaced his Qin Dynasty.

On the other hand, after all, the capital of the Qin Empire was located in the Guanzhong region.

Just now, when I saw the announcement on the sky curtain about Wei Yan’s Ziwu Valley strategy.

Ying Zheng still remained dismissive and did not feel any danger.

But see now.

We saw Zhuge Liang leading a large army, marching towards the Longyou area in an upright and mighty manner.

As soon as they arrived, they occupied three counties.

Plus the follow-up ideas given by Tianmu.

If Shu Han could completely occupy the Longyou area and open up Liangzhou.

When I saw this.

Ying Zheng also had to say:

"This Zhuge Liang of Shu Han is indeed very experienced."

"There aren't too many tricks, just because it's a small country."

"A small country attacked a big country and occupied three counties in an instant."

"Now the strategic advantage of the Guanzhong region has suddenly changed from leaning towards Wei to being equal to that of Wei and Shu Han."

"If Shu Han can completely occupy Longyou in the future."

"Then the strategic advantage of the Guanzhong region will go to Shu Han."

"By that time, maybe Wei will really give up the Guanzhong region?"

"Then Shu Han will become the second Qin Dynasty."

……

But in the late Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei looked at the situation map given by the sky curtain together.

There was a look of joy in his eyes.

Although we know that we have only temporarily captured three counties including Tianshui, and that the Northern Expedition should have failed.

However, we saw the Northern Expedition led by Zhuge Liang in later generations.

With almost no difficulty or fighting, they captured three counties in an instant.

Make the situation very good.

There seems to be a chance to recapture the old capital Chang'an.

This had to make Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei.

They all felt somewhat delighted.

Zhuge Liang pointed to the map on the sky screen and said:

"From the perspective of population and economy, Tianshui and other three counties, and even the entire Longyou area, are not very rich."

"For Cao Wei, in order to manage these cities well, it may even invest more money."

“It will increase economic pressure.”

“But that’s the economics.”

"If we take over the Longyou area, the strategic significance will be huge."

"Once we take over the Longyou area, we can threaten the Guanzhong Plain at any time!"

"Find the right opportunity and recapture Chang'an in one go!"

"Even if we cannot directly recapture Chang'an in the short term, we can still use long-term harassment operations to continuously deplete Cao Wei's national strength."

"Let them retreat to a few important cities near Chang'an."

"And the entire vast Guanzhong Plain area will belong to our Han Dynasty."

Liu Bei also nodded and said with satisfaction:

"Indeed, as long as we can take over the Longyou region, the opportunity to rebuild the Han Dynasty will soon come."

……

And at this moment in Jiangdong.

Sun Quan saw the contents of the sky curtain.

There was some embarrassment and some surprise.

But overall stay calm.

At the beginning, when Sun Quan saw that he had captured Jingzhou, he was likely to betray his ally Liu Bei.

I felt a little embarrassed and worried about meeting Liu Bei next time, and I felt a little short of breath.

But at the same time, Sun Quan did not think there was anything strange about stabbing Liu Bei in the back.

Because of Jingzhou.

This is a place that you must take.

In order to capture Jingzhou.

I will do whatever it takes.

Although his current relationship with Liu Bei's forces is pretty good.

But seizing Jingzhou by force was also part of his own strategic plan.

You can formally declare war.

You can even fight without declaring war!

After seeing the content about Jingzhou, Sun Quan saw Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition.

In one fell swoop, they seized three entire counties from the powerful Cao Wei.

And there is a trend that it will sweep across the entire Guanzhong region.

Sun Quan was also shocked by the fighting power of the army led by Zhuge Liang.

"Could it be that Zhuge Liang's ability to command troops has been underestimated?"

"Zhuge Liang was just a scholar."

"It's impossible that you can fight better than me, Sun Quan, right?"

……

At this time in Yecheng, Cao Cao saw on the sky the great success of Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition.

He couldn't help but frown.

"First there was Liu Bei, then there was Zhuge Liang."

"This group of people really got into a fight with me."

"This wave of Zhuge Liang is so aggressive that it is difficult to deal with."

"Don't look at the three counties of Tianshui, they are all poor places."

"It may not be of much use in Da Wei's own hands."

"But if it falls into the hands of the enemy."

"That would be a huge threat to the Guanzhong region."

"And what if a regime under the banner of restoring the Han Dynasty took over Chang'an, the old capital of the Han Dynasty."

"The political impact is too great. The entire Henan region might even rebel!"

"Speaking of Zhuge Liang, there are only about 10 people in one state at most."

"Where does he get the confidence to dare to march north to attack our Wei?"

"How can Zhuge Liang, with his 10 men, dare to say that he can defeat Wei's 20 men in a field battle?"

"Who was in charge of the military affairs of our Wei at that time?"

"It's impossible for a small country in Yizhou to be so arrogant in the territory of Wei when Liu Bei is dead, right?"

……

The sky continues.

[At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, the situation is very good. 】

【But there are some hidden dangers. 】

【First is Qishan Fort. 】

【This strong fortress has never been conquered. 】

[The location of Qishan Fort is on the key grain and grass transportation route of the Shu Han army. ]

[So Zhuge Liang was forced to leave a large number of troops next to Qishan Fort to monitor and defend the garrison of Qishan Fort and protect his own grain route.]

【The second is that Guo Huai, the governor of Yongzhou at the time, and Ma Zun, the governor of Tianshui, happened to be inspecting the Luomen area.】

【After receiving the news of Zhuge Liang's attack. 】

[They immediately went to Shanggui in Tianshui County to organize defense.]

[Ma Zun was very cautious and worried about being betrayed. He also suspected that his subordinate Jiang Wei had already betrayed him.]

[So Ma Zun did not dare to return to Ji County, the seat of Tianshui, at the first moment.]

【Instead, he followed Guo Huai to Shanggui. 】

[But in fact, Jiang Wei, who had not rebelled, took his troops with him after receiving the news.]

[He went to Shanggui to meet up with his superior Ma Zun.]

[As a result, Ma Zun closed the city gates and refused to let Jiang Wei enter the city.]

[There was no other choice, so Jiang Wei had to lead his men back to Ji County.]

【At this time, Ji County had actually already surrendered to Zhuge Liang. 】

[It can only be said that the governor Ma Zun was well aware of Cao Wei's rule in Tianshui.]

[Ji County also closed its gates. ]

[Being bullied by both sides, Jiang Wei had no choice but to go to Xi County and surrender to Zhuge Liang.]

【And from then on, the gears of fate began to turn. 】

[The third point is that Cao Wei's Longxi governor did not follow suit and surrender even though several other counties around him had already surrendered to Shu Han.]

[Instead, he pretended to be willing to surrender, but asked for more time, and then surrendered after a symbolic resistance, so as not to implicate his family.]

[This delaying tactic stabilized the aristocratic families who were ready to surrender to Shu Han.]

[At the same time, it also avoided the strong attack of the Shu Han army and bought precious time for reinforcement. ]

【The resistance in Qishanbao, Shanggui, and Longxi prevented the Shu Han army from taking the city.】

[The Han army was unable to completely occupy the entire Longxi area in the first place.]

[This bought time for Cao Wei's military deployment.]

[On the Cao Wei side, Emperor Cao Rui heard the news. ]

[Decided to go to Chang'an in person to take charge. 】

[General Cao Zhen led an army of 50,000 to intercept Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi.]

【Zhang He led an army of 50,000 to rescue Longxi County.】

【Zhuge Liang knew that Cao Wei's reinforcements were coming, so he sent Ma Su to lead his troops to Jieting to stop Cao Wei's reinforcements. 】

[Jieting, located in today's Tianshui City, was an important transportation route for Cao Wei's advance. ]

【According to Zhuge Liang’s idea. 】

[Ma Su was dispatched to Jieting to guard the city in advance. With the city at his disposal, it would not be a problem for him to hold out for a while.]

[This allowed the Shu Han army to clear the entire Longxi area and build defensive fortifications during this period, thus buying critical time.]

……

Outside the sky.

Zhuge Liang saw in later generations the deployments he made during the Northern Expedition.

Satisfied nodded.

"Although Tianmu pointed out that there are several issues to be resolved, such as the existence of Qishan Fort."

"But in war, it's impossible for everything to go smoothly and be within your ideal range."

"We were able to capture three counties in one fell swoop without much loss, and the entire Longyou area is within the attack range of our army."

“It’s already a very favorable situation.”

"If nothing unexpected happens, we can take over the entire Longyou area in a month at most."

Zhuge Liang in Gong'an Port smiled and said to Liu Bei: "If it were me at that time."

"Seeing that the situation is so favorable, you must be smiling every day, right?"

Liu Bei said with some concern: "But Zhang He's 50,000 troops have already rushed to Longyou."

"And the Han army needs to split up to fight north, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist."

Zhuge Liang said confidently:

"Don't worry, lord."

"Cao Wei's reinforcements? Although they are coming very quickly, we only need to send a part of the main force to firmly defend Jieting."

"As long as it takes a while, the entire Longyou area can be pacified."

"The arrangement given by Tianmu does not seem to have any major flaws."

Although Zhuge Liang knew that the Northern Expedition in the future would most likely fail.

But I saw the current situation of the Northern Expedition shown on the sky curtain.

And your own response.

Zhuge Liang always felt that there was no big problem.

Did it fail for some other reason?

Or did they achieve initial success, but failed to capture Chang'an, and only ended up capturing the three northwestern counties?
In short, Zhuge Liang remained optimistic overall.

However, Liu Bei on the side showed a different attitude from Zhuge Liang.

Liu Bei frowned.

Looking at the schematic diagram on the sky curtain, his eyes were fixed on Jieting.

"Jieting is the key to the success of this Northern Expedition."

"In the entire Longyou area, Cao Wei's strength is not strong."

"As long as we hold Jieting and block the reinforcements, the entire Longyou will surely fall into the hands of our Han people."

"But for such an important location, the person sent to defend it was Ma Su?"

"Ma Su..."

Liu Bei hesitated to speak.

Zhuge Liang said with some doubt:

"Is there anything wrong with Ma Su? He is Ma Liang's younger brother. I have met him before and he is a very smart man."

“He is also very talented and knowledgeable.”

"Although he is still young, by the time we go north, he should have accumulated a lot of experience."

"It's the right age to develop his talent."

It can be seen that Zhuge Liang had contact with Ma Su.

I value him very much.

Although Ma Su was only nine years younger than Zhuge Liang.

However, Zhuge Liang had already vaguely planned to train Ma Su to be his most proud deputy.

Even later, become your successor.

Yes.

Zhuge Liang, who had only been in office for a few years, had already begun to consider cultivating the next generation of talents.

After all, Zhuge Liang also saw it.

Right now, the thief Cao in the north and his subsequent rule are very solid.

Want to defeat such a rising and stable regime.

It is definitely not something that can be achieved overnight, or in three to five years.

It will most likely take a generation.

Even the efforts of several generations.

……

Unlike Zhuge Liang, who valued Ma Su very much.

Liu Bei obviously had a different opinion
As this matter concerned military and national affairs, Liu Bei did not hide anything and said directly:

"Ma Su, I have met him several times and discussed with him his views on the general situation of the world, current politics, and military affairs."

"This person..."

"His cultural level is really good."

“But some of it is a little too bombastic.”

“He’s very smart and thoughtful.”

"If we regard him as a consultant, he can indeed come up with a lot of innovative ideas."

"But if we treat it as a general who can stand alone, then I'm afraid..."

“He’s a man who talks big.”

“Nothing, the ability to actually get things done.”

"Now I see that the sky has given him such a crucial task as defending Jieting."

"I really have a bad feeling."

Seeing Liu Bei say this, Zhuge Liang was skeptical.

"Ma Su is still inexperienced now, but by then, he should have accumulated a lot of experience, right?"

"Also, I will definitely arrange for a veteran with a steady personality to be his deputy."

"Plus, I'm here to instruct you on how to set up the formation, so there shouldn't be any problems..."

Zhuge Liang knew that with his personality, he would definitely take at least double insurance.

So logically speaking, there would be no problem with Jieting.

Although Zhuge Liang is the representative of Chinese wisdom, it does not mean that he has no shortcomings.

Here are the opinions on Ma Su.

Zhuge Liang was better than Liu Bei in his ability to judge people.

Obviously there is still a certain gap.

There is no way. The Liu family’s ability to identify and employ people, starting from Liu Bang, is really strong!

(End of this chapter)