Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1259 Taking the bait
After hearing Yuan Xi's words, Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "My lord, you are very accurate in observing the stars. I observed the celestial phenomena at night and found that Cao Pi is indeed not a man with a long life."

"In this case, we can put the Wei Kingdom's affairs aside. The most important thing right now is how to destroy this group of Xianbei cavalry."

Yuan Xi thought to himself what a ghost. He knew that in later generations, none of Madam Bian’s four sons lived to be forty. Could Zhuge Liang really have predicted this from the celestial phenomena?
He couldn't help but cough. "So, Advisor, how do you think we can make the Xianbei people fall into our trap?"

Zhuge Liang said leisurely: "If we do this, they will most likely take that path."

On the same day, Marquis Juluo received a message from a messenger from the Jin army, saying that the King of Jin was angry about the Xianbei's entry into the pass and looting, and wanted to exterminate the Xianbei people. However, the Jin State did not want to start a war and commit more killings, so it ordered the Xianbei to quickly return north to the outside of the pass, and return north via the junction of Yanshan and Yinshan Mountains in Dai County, and then they would be forgiven for their past.

After receiving the letter, Juluo Hou consulted with Suonu, who said, "The route taken by the Jin army is definitely a fraud."

"Dai County is close to Bingzhou, and is the gathering place of the Southern Xiongnu, who have a feud with the Xianbei. Xionghu is trying to trick us into going there and killing us!"

Zhu Luohou said, "I think so too. The Jin army is only capable of defending the city now. It is impossible for them to destroy us in the wild. So if they want to destroy us, they can only trick us into stepping into the encirclement and then mobilize reinforcements from all sides to attack us."

Suonu said quickly: "If that's the case, then we must not be fooled by them!"

"Should we go directly south and enter Jizhou now?"

Zhu Luohou sighed, "In the battle with the Yijing defenders a few days ago, how confident were you that you could break through? How many people were left in the end?"

Suonu was speechless for a moment. Juluo Hou had already made a plan. He suddenly ordered his troops to march south, abandoning the elderly, children, women and children and traveling light. This was to deceive the defenders of the cities along the way in Youzhou and break into Jizhou as quickly as possible. However, they had calculated two things but missed out.

First, their actions had long been guessed by Yuan Xi. Before the Xianbei took action, Zhuge Liang had already rushed to Yijing, a city that must be passed between the two states, to deploy defenses.

Second, the terrain of the Jizhou border was not as flat as the Xianbei people had imagined. Instead, it was densely packed with trenches and traps that were difficult for cavalry to avoid!

These were the trenches dug by the two sides during the year or so of contention between Jin and Wei. Because the battle was protracted, there were often hundreds of trenches densely packed along the passage of dozens of miles.

As the Wei army retreated, this trench was not completely filled up by the Jin army, but instead connected some necessary checkpoints. What remained were trenches and fortifications ranging from half a person's height to a person's height, stretching across the road.

These trenches are often crisscrossed. Even if a war horse jumps over one trench, it will be trapped by the subsequent trenches of varying widths and unable to move. Soon it will become a sitting duck for the Jin army archers who appear in various places in the trenches.

Strictly speaking, this miscalculation was not Kobinen's fault, because before Zhuluo Hou sent out his troops, Kobinen asked him not to harass Youzhou unless it was absolutely necessary before occupying Youzhou, so as not to expose his intentions.

Kobineng was a man of strong military ability. He had previously carefully studied the defenses of Youzhou and discovered that Yuan Xi had built a dense network of water around the city, which was obviously aimed at the cavalry outside the Great Wall. If Youzhou was attacked in spring and summer when there was abundant water, the cavalry would be greatly restricted and would be suppressed by the infantry deployed in advance.

So after careful consideration, Kirby decisively chose to send his troops at the turn of late autumn and early winter. Firstly, it was to take the enemy by surprise, and secondly, most of the canals and rivers had begun to freeze at that time, so the cavalry could pass freely on them and maximize the advantage of mobility.

At this time, the damage caused by the severe cold to the horses was secondary. Anyway, many of the Xianbei cavalry's war horses were not carefully selected, so if they died, they died. If they occupied Youzhou, what good horses would they have?
Therefore, before Kobe sent out his troops, he had actually given it full consideration. He did not focus on Jizhou at the beginning, and due to limited intelligence, he was not clear about the details of the battle between the Jin and Wei armies. Although he had heard that it was trench warfare, who would have thought that the two countries had dug through almost the entire Jizhou border?
When Juluo Hou was blocked from attacking Jicheng in Youzhou, he was forced to move south to Jizhou. However, due to the lack of intelligence, the Xianbei cavalry were blocked by the Jin army and trenches after they arrived near Yijing, and they had to stop there.

It was unlucky for them as they encountered Zhuge Liang, who had been working hard in recent years to gather craftsmen and research various new mechanisms and equipment.

These mechanical devices are limited by materials and craftsmanship, and their power is actually limited. Their upper limit is far from the level of the first industrial revolution more than a thousand years later.

But the only variable was the emergence of a simple steam engine to provide power. After being equipped with the steam engine's linkage device, many mechanisms were able to exert a power far beyond the current era.

Just like the repeating crossbow that Zhuge Liang originally envisioned, it was nothing more than installing a ring-shaped mechanism on the repeating crossbow. By pulling the mechanism, just like a revolver, the purpose of continuous stringing and firing could be achieved. This was the Zhuge Crossbow of later generations. Originally, no matter how fast it fired, it was still limited by the speed of the crossbowman himself.

But with the steam engine, everything was different. The iron arrows were specially made, made entirely of steel, extremely short and sharp. Hundreds of them were placed on a disc, driven by steam, and fired in turn with a bowstring made of multiple steel wires. Except for the fact that they did not use gunpowder, they already had the prototype of the later machine guns.

With more than a dozen such crossbows placed in front of the formation, only a single burst of fire would kill hundreds of Xianbei cavalrymen within the range. Zhu Luohou and Suonu were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses, and could no longer cross Yijing and move south.

Now the two men knew that it was impossible to force their way through, and the only option now was to retreat temporarily and make other plans.

Zhu Luohou said with a gloomy face: "Send a letter to the Jin army, saying that we are willing to cease fire this time."

"After walking fifty miles north, we will not go west, but go from Yuyang to Liaoxi and meet up with Louban at Bailang Mountain!"

"If they have enough food, we can wait for two months until spring comes. If they don't have enough food, we can take Lou Ban with us and attack the border counties of Youzhou together. I don't believe that these border residents don't have food at home!"

After hearing this, Suonu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I will do it right away!"

The Xianbei went north that day. Their movements were under the surveillance of Yuan Xi's spies. When Yuan Xi learned that Ju Luohou had led his men to the northeast, he said to Zhuge Liang, "As the military advisor expected, they are heading to Bailang Mountain." Zhuge Liang said, "According to the distance, they can arrive in about ten days at the earliest. If Lou Ban cannot see the situation clearly, he will join forces with the Xianbei and plunder Liaodong and Liaoxi, causing disasters to hundreds of thousands of border residents."

Yuan Xi said, "That's right. If they take the border residents hostage, it will become a serious problem, so we must not let them go."

"Anyway, they were the first to break their promise and not follow our route, so it doesn't count as a violation of the agreement if we strike first."

"This is also a good opportunity to lure out all the fish and catch them all in one net. The military advisor's strategy is very clever. There are many tribes in Youzhou who have ulterior motives. Now is the time to test their intentions and qualities."

"Especially the Gongsun family. They are close to the Wuhuan and will bear the brunt of the attack. It depends on what choice they make."

Zhuge Liang said: "If they are not stupid, they will not follow the Wuhuan to rebel. After all, Youzhou is occupied by the Hu people. As a Han family, what good end can they have?"

"If you are so short-sighted, you are courting death."

"Goguryeo might take the opportunity to join forces with Xianbei to cause trouble, so we have to be on guard."

Yuan Xi said: "The key to suppressing Goguryeo depends on how Guo Rang uses the surrendered Three Han."

"The surrendered Three Han and Goguryeo also have a grudge. If used well, Goguryeo can be suppressed."

He turned to Zhuge Liang and said sternly, "In this kind of battlefield, where multiple fronts are being fought simultaneously, I am far inferior to the military advisor, and even you, Master, are not as good as me."

"So I will entrust the battle of White Wolf Mountain to the military advisor."

"Generals Zilong, Wenyuan and others are all under the command of the military advisor."

Zhuge Liang heard this and said immediately: "I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

He thought for a moment and said, "What about Yijing?"

Yuan Xi said: "Military Advisor, please lead the troops to set off first. I will stay here for the time being."

"On the one hand, I provide logistics for the military advisor, and on the other hand, I am good at defending the city, and I can also prevent the Xianbei from making a comeback and prevent the defeated soldiers from passing through."

"If the Wei army counterattacks in Yecheng, I can also rush to Yecheng in time."

Zhuge Liang thought that this was indeed the best option. In his opinion, the possibility of the Wei army's counterattack was low, and Yuan Xi's health was not suitable for long-distance travel. He immediately bowed and said, "Then I will organize the troops and set out tomorrow. My lord, please take care. If you feel that you are short of manpower, you can transfer people from Qingxu or even Jianghuai. After all, the Central Plains will still be the center of the war in the next few years."

Yuan Xi laughed and said, "Does the military advisor look down on the Wu Kingdom so much?"

"I heard that your brother Zhuge Jin was appointed as a general in Wu?"

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "Brother Liang is talented, but he is still far behind Boyan Zijing."

"Jianghuai now has the right time, place and people. Liang really can't think of how Wu could turn the tables."

Yuan Xi smiled and handed the seal to Zhuge Liang. "Military Advisor, I think the same as you. I wish you a successful siege of the city and pacification of the border areas this time!"

Zhuge Liang immediately took over the seal and was about to go out to recruit troops, but Yuan Xi stopped him and said, "The weather is very cold, military advisor, you must take care of yourself and don't force yourself."

Zhuge Liang heard this and bowed, "Thank you for your concern, my lord. I am still young and my body can handle it. Please don't worry."

Yuan Xi looked at the direction where Zhuge Liang went out and thought to himself, I hope so. Zhuge Liang in later generations was just too tired. If this battle was not decided by him, he would not want to do this.

Moreover, due to the hard fighting in the cold winter, the number of casualties of the Jin army would certainly increase significantly, but if they missed this opportunity, it would be difficult to burst these poisonous sores in the future.

The next morning, tens of thousands of Jin troops set out from Yijing with food and supplies, with Zhuge Liang as the commander-in-chief, Yang Xiu as the adjutant, Zhang Liao as the vanguard, and Zhao Yun as the general in the center, and headed towards Bailang Mountain.

At that time, everyone did not know how many chain reactions this war would trigger.

(End of this chapter)