Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 119 Poisoned Bait Within Reach

Not long after seeing off the Wei envoy, the vanguard generals Wei Yan, Wu Ban, and Chen Shi received a message from the Prime Minister informing them that they would be fighting Sima Yi in a decisive battle under the walls of Chang'an in three days. So they returned from the eastern camp of Fengshui to the western camp.

Wei Yan charged ahead, brandishing his sword and armor, and entered the tent. He didn't even bow to the Prime Minister, who was writing at his desk, and spoke directly to him:

"Prime Minister, that old coward Sima has been hiding in the shadows for so long. His sudden challenge is undoubtedly a delaying tactic!"

"It's possible that reinforcements are on their way from Luoyang!"
"Or perhaps Tian Yu and Qian Zhao from the Bingzhou direction have already freed up their forces!"

"If our Great Han does not seize Chang'an within these three days, and the Wei invaders from Bingzhou send their light cavalry to cut off our supply lines along the Jing River, then our army will be put on the defensive!"

Half a month ago, the Great Han had already received news from the Xianbei spies. Qian Zhao sent proclamations to various counties in Bingzhou to spread the news, preparing to lead nearly 10,000 light cavalry to directly attack the Xianbei royal court, Shengle.

Upon receiving the news, the Xianbei tribes, led by Kebineng, were greatly alarmed, fearing an attack on their rear. They lifted the siege of Tianyu and Mayi and headed to Pingcheng in Yanmen, which is Datong in Shanxi, to intercept Qianzhao.

The emperor even analyzed that the Xianbei would inevitably be defeated by Tian Yu and his two generals, and warned the prime minister to be wary of reinforcements from Bingzhou.

Perhaps by the time the Han Dynasty received the news, the Xianbei tribes led by Kebineng had already decided the outcome of their battle against Tian Yu and Qian Zhao.

If the light cavalry of Bingzhou were freed, the threat to the Han Dynasty's grain supply routes would be enormous.

General Zhao, who had crossed south from Xiliu Camp and arrived at the tent half an hour earlier than Wei Yan, asked Wei Yan:

"Wen Chang, do you think our Great Han should quickly conquer Chang'an?"

Wei Yan was an impatient man, and upon hearing General Zhao's words, he didn't hesitate:
"good!
"Sima Yi has not yet captured the camp, which is obviously because there is too much food and supplies in the camp, making it inconvenient to transport, and he is unwilling to abandon it. That's why he told us that the decisive battle will take place under the walls of Chang'an in three days!"

"The morale of the Wei invaders in Chang'an is now extremely low, and their defenses are weak. Let alone three days, even two days would be enough for our army to take Chang'an!"

Based on the prisoners' accounts and the analysis of the captured military documents, it was confirmed that the number of soldiers in Chang'an, including all the laborers and convicts, plus a small number of civilians, was at most a little over 30,000.

There were fewer than 20,000 pure combat soldiers, and fewer than 6,000 iron-armored warriors; the rest wore either leather armor or no armor at all.

This large city had a circumference of over thirty li and twelve city gates. Although a small fortress was built under each city gate, it was obvious that with such a small force, it was impossible to defend every place.

If the troops were evenly distributed, each small fortress would probably only have three or four hundred soldiers, but the Wei army obviously did not distribute them that way.

The small village west of Chang'an, directly facing the threat of the Han army, had a garrison of about two thousand men. The villages further north and south of the city had about five hundred men each, while the three villages east of the city had only one or two hundred men temporarily stationed there.

Once one of the small villages is captured, a direct assault on the city walls can be launched, allowing one of the city gates to be opened. Then, the ensuing street fighting will begin.

Once the Han soldiers storm into the city, the outcome of the street battle will be virtually certain.

General Zhao stood up from his seat and walked to Wei Yan: "Wen Chang, the Prime Minister said earlier that the problem now is not whether our Han Dynasty can conquer Chang'an, but whether Chang'an can be held for a long time after it is conquered, and whether there will be enough food to realize His Majesty's policy of garrisoning and cultivating land in Guanzhong."

"Wen Changgang also said that Sima Yi's agreement to fight a decisive battle under the walls of Chang'an in three days is not simply a delaying tactic, but rather a way for Sima Yi to buy time."

"But I believe that Sima Yi's strategy was not a delaying tactic, but rather had another purpose."

Wei Yan and General Zhao locked eyes. Upon hearing this, Wei Yan paused for a moment, then avoided the general's gaze and lowered his head in deep thought.

He could see that Sima Yi did not truly want to fight the Han Dynasty, but he couldn't figure out what Sima Yi was up to if he wasn't using delaying tactics.
"Please teach me, General Zhen Dong." Wei Yan pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. He stopped thinking about it and looked at Zhao Yun directly to ask.

Zhao Yun stroked his white beard and said:
"Firstly, it forced our Han Dynasty to send cavalry to protect the Jing River grain route."

"Sima Yi is still holding back his troops because his food supplies can last for more than ten days. However, if the Jing River supply route is cut off, our army's food supplies will not last for ten days."

"If we do not send cavalry to the Jing River, Sima Yi will not easily engage in a decisive battle with our Han Dynasty."

"Therefore, no matter what, our Han Dynasty should transfer the cavalry away, and the supply lines must not be lost."

Wei Yan frowned and asked, "Didn't the Qiang and Di tribes of Baima Di Yang Qianwan, Lueyang Di Lü Jian, Linwei Di Fu Jian, and Yinping Di Lei Ding send more than four thousand cavalry to protect our Han's grain supply routes?"

Previously, Jiang Wei had volunteered to be an envoy to the Qiang and Di tribes in Longyou. He persuaded them to submit to the cause before Guo Huai could send his own envoy. The Qiang and Di tribes also showed their sincerity and sent cavalry to accompany him on the expedition.

This was considered a military secret of the Han Dynasty, and it was also the source of the Han Dynasty's confidence in transporting grain from the Jing River.

Not many people know about this, and the Wei army is unlikely to find out about it for the time being.

If it weren't for the need to keep the secret and use these Qiang and Di cavalry as a last resort, the Han Dynasty's grain would have been transported to Xiliu long ago.

Before Zhao Yun could answer, Wei Yan suddenly realized:
"Does General Zhen Dong mean to turn the tables on them?"
"Hide the Qiang and Xiongnu cavalry here in Xiliu Camp, so that Sima Yi will mistakenly believe that our Han Dynasty has no cavalry left in Chang'an."

"Wait until the decisive battle, then use it as a surprise attack? After Sima Yi?"

Zhao Yun shook his head: "No, the Qiang cavalry and the Xiongnu cavalry are not good at battlefield combat. Our Han Dynasty cannot place its hopes of victory on them."

Wei Yan paused for a moment, then nodded.

Regardless of their skill in battlefield combat, the fighting ability of the Qiang cavalry and the Xiongnu cavalry was indeed mediocre.

Only about a quarter of the riders were truly skilled in archery, that is, only five or six hundred so-called elites. The majority of the other cavalrymen simply stopped their horses to shoot.

Horse archery still requires a lot of training. The Qiang people were originally semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral. After the Southern Xiongnu were exiled to places like Hedong, they also degenerated into a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral state.

Without dedicated training, it's difficult to truly master the skill of mounted archery.

After a moment, Wei Yan asked again: "So General Zhen Dong means that if the Wei bandits from Bingzhou come, they may number six or seven thousand or even more. The four thousand cavalry from Longyou are not enough to protect the grain, and we need to send Qiang and Xiongnu cavalry back to protect the grain route?"

Zhao Yun shook his head directly: "No, if our Han Dynasty sends all the Qiang and Xiongnu cavalry to protect the grain, then the Wei invaders' Bingzhou light cavalry will no longer cut off our supply lines, but will instead serve as a surprise force to assist Sima Yi in the decisive battle against our Han Dynasty."

This is true.

Wei Yan nodded thoughtfully at first, then suddenly realized: "In that case, if we really send the cavalry to the Jing River, Sima Yi will probably not cower and avoid battle?!"

Zhao Yun replied solemnly, "That's right, but our Han Dynasty has chariot formations to repel the enemy. Although the Wei invaders have several thousand elite cavalry, they are not a cause for concern."

Previously, the Han Dynasty did not have cavalry. In order to deal with the Wei cavalry, it built war chariots such as the Wugang Chariot and the Pianxiang Chariot, ordered the chariot battalion to practice chariot formations, and also built repeating crossbows, all in order to counter the Wei cavalry.

Whether it can truly counter cavalry remains to be seen without actual combat experience.

However, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of the Wei army was no longer the same as the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry under Cao Cao's command.

Since the Wei Kingdom did not believe that the Han Dynasty could cause any more trouble, and since Shu and Jiangnan were not suitable places for cavalry to perform their duties, the Wei army paid relatively less attention to cavalry training.

The newly appointed Tiger and Leopard Cavalry also lacked the fighting spirit of the previous generation.

After all, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of yesteryear was mainly composed of chivalrous men from the Huai and Si regions under the command of the brothers Cao Ren and Cao Chun, while the current Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is mostly composed of Hu people.

The Hu people who have submitted to the Central Plains only seek wealth and status in war, and they lack the courage and bravery of the Huai and Si cavalry of yesteryear. The cavalry tactics that Youyan was most adept at have basically disappeared. Nowadays, only the elite of the elite can use cavalry tactics, but it is difficult to achieve a large scale, just like Wei Yan only has a few dozen personal cavalrymen.

The only thing worth mentioning is the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's mounted archery skills, which should still be considered among the best in the world at that time. However, these Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had never dealt with a chariot formation before, not to mention that the Han Dynasty now had more than 6,000 repeating crossbows and captured horn crossbows, enough to make enemy cavalry wary.

Before setting off, the emperor had a long talk with his two pillar ministers, the prime minister and Zhao Yun, and even mentioned a seemingly feasible battle formation called the Crescent Moon Formation, which is a tactic of using crossbows to defeat cavalry by surrounding a river with their backs to the water.

However, the Wei army's offensive desire is low now, so this formation is set up for defense and counterattack, and it is probably useless.

Just as all the generals in the tent were deep in thought, General Zhao spoke up again.

"Sima Yi came to challenge him to a duel, but he actually had two plans."

"One is, as I just mentioned, to force us to move our cavalry."

"And another one is to lure us into taking Chang'an."

"Are you trying to lure us into attacking Chang'an?" Wei Yan, along with Chen Shi and Wu Ban who had come with him, exchanged bewildered glances.

The Prime Minister then stood up, nodded, and slowly spoke:

"Niu Jin of Baling and Wang Chang of Xinfeng should already be on their way to Chang'an."

"The garrison in Chang'an has received Sima Yi's orders that if they are defeated, they should preserve their strength and abandon the city and flee eastward."

"If we attack Chang'an in the next two days, Sima Yi will bring his army directly to join forces with the Wei army in the east to encircle and annihilate us."

"My army has to defend five locations: Xiliu, Jimen, Gaoling, and the two camps east and west of Fengshui. In addition, we will send troops to guard Chang'an. This will take away more than 20,000 troops, but the number of troops fighting in the field will probably be less than 30,000."

"At that time, our soldiers will be exhausted and our forces will be scattered. On the contrary, Sima Yi will be able to concentrate his superior forces and defeat our army one by one."

"Although Chang'an is within our grasp, it can be said to be a poisoned bait thrown to us by Sima Yi."

"It is not difficult to gain something in the short term, but the price may be the defeat of the army and the loss of all previous achievements."

Wei Yan pursed his lips and pondered for a moment, then resolutely asked, "What if we don't send troops to garrison Chang'an after we capture it?!"

"If he can use this as bait to lure me, why can't I use it as bait to lure him into attacking?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi, Wu Ban, Meng Yan, and the other generals felt that what Wei Yan said made some sense, and they exchanged glances.

Wu Ban, a man of humble origins, asked, "Prime Minister, taking Chang'an is indeed not difficult. Once Chang'an falls, the morale of our Han army will surely be greatly boosted! I believe the General of the North's words are not unreasonable!"

Without a second thought, the Prime Minister shook his head.
"Chang'an is easy to take, but that is only relative. If you really want to take it, you will still have to pay a considerable price."

"The loss of soldiers and the exhaustion of the army are things that must be considered."

"Furthermore, once we quickly capture Chang'an, the tension that has been building up in the hearts of our Han soldiers will probably be completely relieved."

"An arrogant army is easily defeated, while a desperate army is easily victorious; this is the ancient Chinese wisdom on warfare."

"Our army has just won a victory, and its morale is still high. With Chang'an ahead, this spirit will not falter."

"We should maintain this momentum and fight the Wei invaders. If we fight, we will surely win."

After the Prime Minister finished speaking, all the generals in the tent fell silent in thought.

With Chang'an within sight and practically within reach, it's not easy for anyone to resist the temptation.

Veteran generals like Wei Yan, Chen Shi, and Wu Ban, as well as junior officers like Guan Xing, Fu Qian, and Feng Hu, were all tempted by it.
Moreover, at this point, no one can say for sure whether the morale of the Wei army will collapse immediately once Chang'an is captured, and whether there will be no need for a hard fight afterward?

As for what the Prime Minister said—that the tension would ease after the soldiers captured Chang'an, and that an arrogant army is easily defeated while a desperate army is easily won—that may not be true.

Morale is a mysterious thing; everyone has their own opinion.

However, in any case, the two true pillars of the Han Dynasty, the Prime Minister and General Zhao, have already set the tone for this matter, so Wei Yan, Wu Ban, and the other generals and officers below them have nothing to say.

Not yet.

The Han army left several hundred cavalrymen as scouts and sent Yang Tiao and Liu Bao's son Liu Cong with more than two thousand cavalrymen to leave the camp. They eventually crossed the stone bridge north of Chang'an and headed north of the Wei River right under the noses of the Wei army in Chang'an.

Not long afterward, Guanqiu Jian, Linghu Yu, Xiahou Mao, and other generals who were observing from the top of Chang'an City made a new discovery.

The Shu army successively sent several thousand men to level the ground on an open space five or six miles northwest of Chang'an City, and also transported timber, clearly preparing to build camps and fortifications.

As for the purpose of building camps and fortifications, it goes without saying that it was a step-by-step preparation for the final attack on Chang'an.

And this northwest corner is precisely where the Hengmen Mansion (granary) of the Great Wei Dynasty is located, which used to be one of the granaries.

Generally speaking, most of the grain and fodder in Chang'an City were stored here.

Outside the Hengmen Gate, there is a canal called Zaoshui, which serves as both a moat for the west and north sides of Chang'an and a wharf.

All the grain transported into Chang'an was unloaded at Hengmen Wharf and then moved into the mansion.

The northwest corner of the city is high and deep, and because it is a corner of the city, it can form a more three-dimensional defense compared to the front wall which only faces the enemy. It can have more troops, more reinforcements, and the reinforcements will arrive more promptly.

The Shu army chose to camp in the northwest corner as soon as they arrived, which did not seem like the best choice.

It is highly likely that they learned from prisoners or military dispatches that this place was the lifeline of Chang'an, and that once this place was captured, Chang'an would collapse directly.

"It could also be a feint attack. If our Great Wei concentrates most of its garrison in the northwest corner, the Shu bandits could take advantage of the night to launch multiple attacks, and we might not be able to respond in time," Guanqiu Jian analyzed.

The city of Chang'an was not a place that could be defended by 20,000 or 30,000 men. As the garrison, they had to prepare for everything, for if they prepared for the west, they would be weak in the east; if they prepared for the left, they would be weak in the right. They prepared for everything, and were weak in everything.

Given the ferocity displayed by the Shu army in their attack on Fengshui Camp last night, if they could concentrate their superior forces to create a breakthrough, Chang'an would fall.

"It's alright. If the Shu bandits attack the northwest, we'll head southeast; if they attack the southeast, we'll head northwest."

Xiahou Mao looked down at him with disdain, his confident tone suggesting he wasn't preparing to flee, but rather to defeat the enemy.

But no one can say anything about him.

The General of the Flying Cavalry has already relayed the military order: once the Shu invaders breach the city walls, they should abandon the city and flee, preserving their strength to the greatest extent possible.

The Shu bandits, unaware of the true situation in the city, would not dare to pursue and kill indiscriminately in the empty streets of Chang'an. At that time, Wang Chang and Niu Jin would meet them in the east, and the General of the Flying Cavalry would also send three thousand cavalry to meet them in the west.

According to the General of the Flying Cavalry, this move is called "A brave man cuts off his own arm."

First, disperse the Shu bandits' troops in Chang'an City, then use superior forces to encircle the Shu bandits from the east and west, forming a pincer attack to strike them from both sides!
(End of this chapter)