The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 506 War begins

Dazhong.

Jiang Wei personally led the army from Dazhong and headed towards Lintao.

That’s right, the destination is still Lintao.

At this moment, Jiang Wei was observing the cavalry scouts in the distance.

These cavalrymen were all wearing Hu people's clothes and were galloping back and forth in the distance.

These were all Qiang people in the territory of Shu. Near Dazhong, there was a Qiangdao, or Qiang County, in Shu. Jiang Wei recruited more than a thousand cavalrymen from here.

Jiang Wei recruited these people just to deal with the Qiang people in Yongliang.

In fact, Jiang Wei also has a certain appeal in Liangzhou, mainly because Jiang Wei's family is also one of the aristocratic families in Liangzhou, the Jicheng Jiang family, which is very famous.

Many officials in Liangzhou are related to Jiang Wei.

What’s strange is that the Qiang people are very fond of celebrities.

Jiang Wei specially brought the Qiang people with him this time. He needed these Qiang people to contact the tribes in Yongliang as soon as possible and get their help.

The general Hu Ji who followed him into the war was promoted from General Zhenxi to General Huoqi at this time.

But in front of the general, his official title was still not enough.

There is a reason why Jiang Wei was promoted frequently even after being defeated in battle.

The main reason is that official positions are limited, and if he doesn't get promoted, others can't get promoted either.

For example, if Jiang Wei was a general of the guards, would those who followed him to fight dare to be promoted to the ranks of the three great generals?

Xiahou Ba became the General of Chariots and Cavalry by virtue of his status as a relative of the emperor.

Therefore, Jiang Wei had to continue to be promoted so that those under his command who were not as good as him could continue to be promoted.

Hu Ji is an old man.

He was from Jingzhou and was Zhuge Liang's chief clerk. He had a very close relationship with Zhuge Liang.

He was an upright person who dared to speak the truth, so he was loved by Zhuge Liang, who valued him very much and promoted him many times.

Later, he followed Zhuge Liang in impeaching Li Yan.

After Jiang Wei was promoted to General, he also rose from the position of General Zhenxi to General of the Cavalry.

He was also an important member of the Hanzhong defense line, and he also held the imperial seal. Jiang Wei did not dare to say that he could suppress him.

His outspoken character had once endeared him to Zhuge Liang, but now it was giving Jiang Wei a headache.

When Hu Ji appeared beside Jiang Wei with a serious face, Jiang Wei knew that trouble was coming.

Hu Ji is one of the few people who is not afraid of Jiang Wei.

He jumped off his horse and walked quickly to Jiang Wei surrounded by several armored soldiers.

"General!!"

"General Hu."

Jiang Wei still acted very friendly. Although he was a general, he did not dare to be too rude in front of this general who held the imperial seal.

Jiang Wei is like Hu Zun, and Hu Ji is like Shi Bao, one is the nominal supreme commander, and the other holds the emperor's sceptre.

Hu Ji raised his head and immediately questioned, "General, Hanzhong is seriously under-manned. If we send such a large army to Liang Province now, it will cause disaster."

Jiang Wei said confidently, "General Hu, please don't worry."

"Since I dared to send troops, it means I have considered these things."

"There's civil unrest in Yong and Liang right now. I grew up in Liang Province, and I'm very familiar with the Qiang people's rebellion. This isn't something that can be quelled in the short term."

"The Wei people are very cruel and persecute the people, causing chaos in Liang Province. We absolutely cannot miss this opportunity!"

A smile appeared on Jiang Wei's face again, with anticipation in his eyes.

Seeing Jiang Wei's appearance, Hu Ji's face became more serious.

Jiang Wei's current behavior is like a drowning man who has grabbed a straw. No matter what, he will hold on tightly and is unwilling to let go.

Hu Ji sighed and reminded him, "I know that you are from Jicheng, but, General, the situation today is different from the past. If we become stalemated with the bandits, then Wang Ji..."

Jiang Wei finally came back to his senses, and the expectation on his face disappeared without a trace.

"Don't worry. Wang Ji won't be able to capture Yong'an anytime soon. It's precisely because Wang Ji has his troops stationed in Yong'an that we need to achieve some results. As long as we win here, Wang Ji will surely retreat without a fight."

Seeing Hu Ji's reluctance, Jiang Wei had no choice but to tell him his strategic plan.

"I know that Cao's bandits are powerful. This time, I will use mostly light cavalry. After we go to Yongliang, we can send more people to contact the Qiang tribe and get in touch with them. There are more than 100,000 Qiang people in Yongliang, and countless other miscellaneous Hu people. If we can recruit them to our ranks..."

Jiang Wei became more and more excited as he spoke.

"With such a force, we can even stir up the entire Liang Province. Once Liang Province starts to revolt, it will only take a day for Yong Province to be conquered."

Jiang Wei expressed his thoughts enthusiastically.

Hu Ji couldn't help but think about it.

Speaking of which, Jiang Wei really didn't bring too many people this time. The combined army of Jiang Wei and Hu Ji had no more than 30,000 people.

Of course, it would not be appropriate to withdraw more troops, as Hanzhong would be left vacant.

If, as Jiang Wei said, they could really win over many Qiang and Hu tribes, it would be a huge boost to Shu's national strength. Moreover, they could use their influence in Liang Province to stir up even greater unrest. Hu Ji seemed to be persuaded by Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei and Hu Ji sent troops from two different places respectively. Jiang Wei's goal was to go straight to Lintao, where he would get in touch with many Qiang and Hu people, recruit them to his side, and form an anti-Cao bandit circle in this area.

Hu Ji's mission was different. He was to send troops from Dazhong to the northeast to intercept Cao's army coming from Shanggui, creating a greater opportunity for Jiang Wei to absorb enough Hu troops.

The two men had clear division of labor and soon led their troops away.

Jiang Wei led a main force of more than 20,000 troops and marched towards Lintao in a mighty manner.

This was where Jiang Wei suffered a great loss last time, and he wanted to get back at them this time.

Every time Cao Wei fought with Jiang Wei, they would adopt a very disgusting tactic, proactively giving up some checkpoints, compressing their forces into important cities, and then forming mobile troops outside, constantly consuming Jiang Wei's food and supplies, dragging down Jiang Wei's logistics, and preventing Jiang Wei from gaining any advantage.

This time was no exception. When Jiang Wei's army left the border, Cao Cao once again took the initiative to abandon the checkpoint and began to entangle the army.

But Jiang Wei wasn't angry this time. He happily began to march straight ahead. He wanted to rush to Lintao as quickly as possible, use the Hu army to capture the city, and open the gate to Liangzhou!

Things went much more smoothly than Jiang Wei had expected. He did not encounter any decent resistance along the way and even met some Qiang people who had been beaten back.

These people were defeated, some with only hundreds or even dozens of people.

However, Jiang Wei met them very solemnly and told them that he came to help them and would join them in attacking Cao Cao and so on.

The news of Jiang Wei's arrival quickly spread throughout Liangzhou.

Jiang Wei ordered the Qiang people who followed him to divide into small groups and quickly head to various places in Liang Province. He informed the Qiang and Hu tribes that he was going to Lintao and asked them to join him in attacking Cao Cao together.

He increased the speed again, and the army continued to approach Lintao.

At this time, Sima Wang also led his troops to set up defenses around Lintao in advance, preparing to fight with Jiang Wei.

"General Zhenxi, why don't you let me go and fight?!"

Pang Hui was standing in front of Deng Ai at this moment, looking very aggrieved.

Facing Jiang Wei's attack, Deng Ai adopted a very negative attitude and even refused to allow his generals to go to reinforce.

This caused dissatisfaction among the people.

But Deng Ai was not in a hurry at all. He looked at the map in front of him, his eyes fixed on Dazhong and Wujie.

He seemed to be waiting for something, tapping his fingers lightly on the wooden table.

Only Pang Hui was very impatient.

At this moment, a soldier rushed in.

"General! Lord Chen is here!!"

Deng Ai then raised his head and said, "Please come in."

Soon, Chen Qian hurried into the tent surrounded by a group of soldiers.

The two sides paid their respects to each other, and Deng Ai ordered Pang Hui to report military intelligence.

Chen Qian's purpose for coming this time was very simple. He came to fight Jiang Wei.

Deng Ai was not good at speaking, so Pang Hui informed him of the current situation.

Chen Qian didn't waste any words and lowered his head to look at the map.

"In other words, Jiang Wei is already in Liang Province, while Hu Ji is blocking reinforcements in the middle. Their rear is empty."

Deng Ai nodded.

Chen Qian looked at the map for a moment and then he laughed.

He understood Deng Ai's strategy.

"General Deng, lead the army to attack Dazhong, and then have Governor Zhuge attack Wujie. If we can capture these two places, Jiang Wei will be trapped in Liang Province. Then, I will lead the central army to attack Jiang Wei and annihilate him in Liang Province!"

“When will the troops be dispatched?!”

Chen Qian was worthy of being Cao Mao's Minister of War. Without any hesitation, he came up with a feasible strategy at a glance.

But Deng Ai shook his head.

"Chen, Chen, Minister Chen is wrong."

"Zhuge Xu and I attacked Dazhong and Wujie, but you are not going to Liangzhou to attack Jiang Wei."

"Oh?"

"You, you want to attack Hanzhong."

"At this moment, Han, Han, Hanzhong has very few troops. Although Yangping Pass is strong, there are no more than 6,000 soldiers. Without Jiang Wei and others stationed there, they cannot withstand the fierce attack of the central army."

The corner of Chen Qian's eyes trembled.

When they set out, he had the same idea as Cao Mao, both thinking that Deng Ai wanted to beat Jiang Wei up, so they led the central army hurriedly forward.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized that Deng Ai not only wanted to beat Jiang Wei, his goal was to take Hanzhong.

Even if Jiang Wei was trapped in Liang Province, he could even attack all the way to Chengdu, and there would be no general along the way who could form an effective defense.

If they reach Jiange, Wang Ji will launch an attack without hesitation.

Then it's not just a matter of taking Hanzhong, it's about destroying the Kingdom of Shu! !
Chen Qian took a deep breath, slowly raised his head and looked at Deng Ai in front of him.

He really couldn't believe that this general who looked like an old farmer could have such ambitions.
(End of this chapter)