Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 618 Rain
When the armies of Chu and Wei were confronting each other at Guandu, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang were also making intensive preparations... to retreat!
After all, we already know that Liu Bei is not dead, and Chang'an is not really that easy to capture. If we don't retreat now, are we really going to be eaten alive?
"Wugong County has most likely been blocked. If we want to retreat back to Chencang, it's like finding our way in the maze drawn by Sima Yi. If we're not careful, there's a danger of the entire army being wiped out. Our best plan now... is to advance rather than retreat!" Zhuge Liang said to Guan Yu in front of the sand table.
Knowing that Liu Bei was not dead, Guan Yu was more willing to listen to Zhuge Liang's words, especially since he had just suffered two defeats in Pingling and now had retreated to Maoling. Guan Yu relied on and trusted Zhuge Liang's judgment even more.
"Advance? No matter how unexpected we are, it's impossible to capture Chang'an, right?" Guan Yu frowned.
Zhuge Liang rolled his eyes at the side - So, second brother, you also knew that we couldn't break in?
"We definitely can't get into Chang'an, the key point is here..." Zhuge Liang pointed to Xinfeng, and then pointed to Ziwu Valley not far south of Chang'an!
As long as they could capture Xinfeng and retreat into Ziwu Valley, with the support of the Chu army in Hanzhong, Sima Yi would not dare to pursue further.
At this time, Liu Bei and Liu Ji were in Chencang. Normally speaking, if Guan Yu wanted to retreat, he would retreat to Chencang, especially since the main force of the Chu army led by Fa Zheng had already entered the eastern part of Chencang from Baoxiade. In theory, as long as the military power was not cut off, the Chu army would guarantee the retreat of Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu.
However, the previous defeat in Pingling made Zhuge Liang realize that Sima Yi wanted to tighten his belt!
At the same time, in Chang'an City, Zhang Yan asked Sima Yi, who was sitting at the main seat leisurely, drinking tea and looking at the map of Guanzhong, with some nervousness: "The Chu army has entered Guanzhong from Baoxiadao! Because of the loss of Wugong before, we almost gave up a natural barrier to Chu. If the Chu army continues to enter now..."
"Don't worry, my lord. Most of the Chu army's energy is now focused on Guandong and Guandu! It is impossible for them to devote too much attention to Guanzhong." Sima Yi did not seem worried.
"Are we really going to give Guanzhong to Wei? And those Qi troops..." Zhang Yan was still a little unwilling.
“Well, if Liu Bei can be captured alive, I won’t have to rush to persuade my lord to surrender to Wei. If we can really integrate the forces that support the Han Dynasty by then, it will be a different situation. But now... the only way for Wei to gather strength in the north is to have hope of fighting against Chu.” Sima Yi had half a sentence left to say: And the hope is only 15%.
One percent is because Wei's current development model can suck the blood of the Xianbei in the north, while Chu... only has some deserted islands overseas! The other half is that "Xichuan" is still there, which is like planting a nail in Chu's back!
If the confrontation could last for several years or even longer, allowing Wei to take advantage of the Xianbei's blood-sucking advantage and then capture Hanzhong, then there would be a 30% chance.
Of course, this only shows that Sima Yi understood Wei and Guanzhong, but did not understand Chu!
Let’s say we have 15% now, what if we delay it for a few years?
I'm afraid that the Chu State has taken out all the spiritually guided missiles...
Failure to capture Liu Bei alive was indeed a bit of a "hurt" for Sima Yi. Otherwise, the best expectation would be to establish a new emperor while detaining Liu Bei and nibbling away at the Guandong and Central Plains...
That is why Sima Yi kept track of the time and notified Wei on time. His idea was that if there was hope, they could hold on a little longer so that they would have more money to "reduce" the cost in the future.
"As for those Qi troops... they can't escape." Sima Yi said as he looked at the location of Ziwu Valley on the map.
"Didn't you say before that Zhuge Liang was your rival? Do you really want to make friends with him?" Zhang Yan looked at Sima Yi who was full of confidence and became puzzled.
"Zhuge Liang was indeed a strong opponent before, but now... even his morale has weakened. How can he be a 'rival'?" Sima Yi pursed his lips confidently.
That’s right, after Zhuge Liang’s “ideal” was completely shattered, his abilities were indeed reduced by 30%.
For others, Zhuge Liang's 30% discount is also luxurious, but for Sima Yi, the 30% discount has already revealed a gap!
"My lord, please go and reorganize the military affairs later. I will rely on you more in the final battle in Ziwu Valley." Sima Yi gave his lord sincere advice.
In the next half month, everything happened just as Sima Yi had expected.
Because the Qi army's retreat was cut off and the transportation of baggage was difficult, they were eager to withdraw to Chencang. However, in fact, they "secretly crossed Chencang" and did not return to Chencang (Chencang: whether they would come or not)!
They pretended to reduce the number of troops and increase the number of stoves, but in fact... they were really reducing the number of troops. Just to make it look like they were reducing the number of troops and increasing the number of stoves, they actually crossed the Laoshui River overnight and headed straight for the Ziwu Valley.
Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi were like two peerless swordsmen, fighting with their armies as swords.
However, Zhuge Liang's sword didn't follow his hand at first - before that, Guan Yu didn't listen to Zhuge Liang's advice at all and could only persuade him.
After that, the sword was finally fixed, but Zhuge Liang's heart had a flaw again...
Even against most first-rate counselors, Zhuge Liang’s weaknesses cannot be considered weaknesses, but now his opponent is Sima Yi!
Half a month after the small defeat in Pingling, the two men fought back and forth, and finally Zhuge Liang "got his wish" and broke into Ziwu Valley.
In fact, after entering Ziwu Valley, Zhuge Liang had already realized something was wrong - he always felt that Sima Yi was not trying his best to stop him.
Could it be that he had really been fooled so thoroughly and completely fell into his own plan of "deliberately being discovered, pretending to reduce troops and increase stoves"?
I always feel that Sima Yi is not so easily fooled...
However, it was too late to retreat now, and they could only bite the bullet and head south along the Ziwu Valley, trying to join up with the Chu army in Hanzhong.
Unfortunately, Fa Zheng's main goal was to "enter Guanzhong safely" and "ensure that Liu Bei and his son in Chencang were safe." As for preserving Guan Yu's Qi army, priority should be placed at the back, so Fa Zheng chose to advance from Baoxiade, which was closer to Chencang, and gave up Ziwu Valley, otherwise they would have already met up by now.
Before they could finally join forces, they were ambushed by the Zheng army led by Sima Yi's subordinates... no! Sima Yi's lord Zhang Yan.
Taking advantage of the cool weather in Guanzhong in early spring, when the grass and trees were not green, a fire was set in Ziwu Valley...
Sima Yi was still a little "sad" in the city of Chang'an - before , when everyone was "supporting the Han Dynasty", he and Zhuge Liang were considered to be ministers in the same dynasty, but they were in Guanzhong and Guandong respectively, and had never really been "in the same palace".
Among the various princes who assisted the Han Dynasty, the only one Sima Yi cared about was Zhuge Liang. As for the so-called heavenly generals and godly generals... Sima Yi did not take them seriously.
"Unfortunately, you have to leave early." Sima Yi sat down by the window and poured a cup of tea outside.
But at this moment, along with the tea falling to the ground, small raindrops also fell to the ground!
And within two minutes it started to rain heavily!
Sima Yi: ...
