Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 129 Water Ghost
Now that Sima Yi's army in Chang'an had moved, the Han army had no choice but to move as well.

Otherwise, if Sima Yi's army were to launch a decisive battle with superior forces as soon as it arrived in Xinfeng, the Han army in Chang'an, which was more than 60 miles away from Xinfeng, would not be able to provide timely support to the Prime Minister.

If this happens, the Prime Minister will face the danger of being attacked from both sides with an absolutely inferior military force.

A strategic decisive battle in which both sides mobilize 100,000 troops and form a grand formation to confront each other can often be decided in half a day.

Therefore, the Han army in Chang'an needed to move, but could not act rashly.

We must maintain a relatively safe distance from Sima Yi's army.

We must keep a close watch, but not get too close. In short, we cannot give Sima Yi the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

This is the safest approach.

As for the idea of ​​attacking the rear of the Wei army when their march was long and their ranks were stretched out;
Or, a strategy could be to send a small elite force to follow behind at night, cutting off the Wei army from the middle and throwing them into chaos.

Indeed, quite a few officers and colonels raised this issue.

It also received the approval of many officers and soldiers.

But in the end, they were all rejected by the emperor.

The reason is very simple.

Sima Yi was slow on the first step, and slowed on every step, putting him in a completely passive and vulnerable position.

Now, with the entire army mobilized, they have abandoned Chang'an and headed for Xinfeng, clearly determined to fight a desperate battle with their backs to the wall.

If we win, we can gradually nibble away at and recover Guanzhong.

Even if they are defeated, they can probably fight their way out and return to Tongguan to defend the last line of defense in Guandong.

Since Sima Yi was forced by the Han Dynasty to fight a desperate battle with his back to the wall, he was the one who sought to achieve victory through unconventional means.

Surprise attacks are often a last resort when the weak are outnumbered and the strong are outnumbered. Since the Han Dynasty has the advantage, the right thing to do is to seek victory through stability.

How to achieve victory through stability?

There was nothing more to it than joining forces with the Prime Minister to fight Sima Yi in a decisive battle with a grand formation.

In conclusion, since we have the advantage, we shouldn't gamble the outcome of the decisive battle on a small battle that could ruin the overall situation. Once the overall situation is ruined, it will be too late to regret it.

The emperor's analysis and decision were well-reasoned and logical, ultimately convincing all the generals.

What can be done if one does not believe? When the emperor takes the initiative to speak and make decisions regarding military actions, it means that the emperor takes the initiative to bear all the advantages and disadvantages arising from the decisions.

This seems like a very easy and natural thing.

But in fact, the emperor's every word and action was related to the outcome of the decisive battle, the fate of tens of thousands of soldiers, and the fate of the Han Dynasty.

Speaking out and making decisions at this moment requires a certain amount of courage and involves bearing the corresponding risks.

Therefore, for the emperor, a better approach would be to wait for suggestions from generals such as Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi before making a decision.

Even if the war goes badly, it can ensure that the emperor's prestige does not decline, which is what is known as shifting the blame.

The Emperor himself offered his opinions and decisions without waiting for generals like Zhao Yun and Deng Zhi to provide advice, making his intentions all too clear.

In the next decisive battle, the emperor will solidify his military prestige through a series of decisions and a major military victory.

As for whether it was General Zhao who devised the strategy and supported the emperor to consolidate military prestige, that was not something the generals and officers present should speculate on.

Half an hour later, the vanguard of Sima Yi's army had reached the Ba River, and the rearguard was already five or six miles away from Chang'an.

The emperor immediately made a decision, ordering the three generals with the titles of General Zhao Yun, General Deng Zhi, and General Wang Ping to prepare for the withdrawal of troops.

Night falls.

Two thousand soldiers were left to guard each of the three camps north of Chang'an.

The other 14,000 Han soldiers, along with more than 10,000 civilians, pushed carts of straw supplies away from the various villages.

Instead of directly following the Wei army to the Ba River, they went north across the Xianyang Bridge, crossed the Wei River, and then headed east along the Wei River.

The junior officers Guan Xing, Zhao Tong, and Wei Xing, who were stationed at Gaoling, had already set up a fortified camp at the delta formed by the confluence of the Jing and Wei rivers half a month ago, which could accommodate 20,000 troops.

When the Prime Minister's army crossed the Ba River, Zong Yu led his troops to garrison there to provide cover for the Prime Minister's crossing of the Wei River.

Before the troops were withdrawn, several captains made some rather radical suggestions.

They believed that the vanguard's provisions were sufficient for more than ten days, while the decisive battle would take place within two or three days. They suggested abandoning the three stockades north of Chang'an and sending all 20,000 regular soldiers to the front lines to participate in the decisive battle.

As for the possibility that Sima Yi would delay the attack, the Han Dynasty still had three fortified cities: Xiliu, Jimen, and Gaoling. Even if there were a small number of Wei troops in Chang'an, they would not dare to run north of the Wei River to cut off the supply lines.

This is about taking a small, perhaps non-existent, risk to build up more troops for the decisive battle to come.

The emperor rejected it again.

The army marched eastward in a mighty procession.

Two hours later.

It was the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), late at night.

At this time of day, even the dogs are asleep.

Sima Yi, however, was still awake in Chang'an.

According to his plan, he might have three opportunities today to defeat the Han army.

The first opportunity was that the Wei army that had left Chang'an stretched for almost twenty miles. If Zhao Yun took this opportunity to organize troops to intercept them, then the 15,000 elite troops left in Chang'an could all be sent out and, together with the troops outside, could surround and kill all the Han troops that came out to intercept them. The Han troops still in the camp could also be defeated by besieging the point and attacking the reinforcements.

The second opportunity was that if the Han army marched directly east along the canal, he could also lead the garrison in Chang'an to cut off their rear, and then join forces with Wang Chang and Niu Jin in Baling, as well as Zhou Tai and Sun Li, who led their troops away from Chang'an, to surround and kill the Han army.

But now, neither of the first two opportunities has come true.

That leaves only the third opportunity.

"Order the soldiers to don their armor and prepare for battle," Sima Yi commanded.

The 15,000-strong Jingyu army had rested for more than a day and should now be full of energy and ready for battle.

Sima Chengui summoned several personal guards to relay Sima Yi's military orders, and then returned to Sima Yi's side.

Guanqiu Jian gazed at the three Han army camps north of Chang'an, and after a moment asked with concern:

"General of the Flying Cavalry, could it be that the Shu bandits haven't left yet, and are deliberately luring us into an ambush? What if we fall into an ambush?"

Sima Yi remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking:
"Even if there is an ambush, so what?"
"We have already tested them before, and the Shu bandits in these three strongholds number at most 20,000."

"And the number of troops that went east along the Wei River at night was nearly 30,000. Even if they disguised themselves like us, they must have lost at least half of their fighting soldiers, just like us."
"This group of men only entered the camp at the junction of the Jing and Wei rivers half an hour ago."

"If the attack is launched now, there is absolutely no way to get back in time."

Even if I manage to get back, I'll have very little strength left.

"Tonight I ask for nothing more than to wipe out the troops left behind in the two southern camps of the Shu bandits, and to dampen their morale."

Upon hearing this, Guanqiu Jian looked at the three camps of the Shu army, whose outlines could be vaguely seen in the night, and felt that what Sima Yi said did make some sense.

Although the Chang'an garrison suffered a defeat in the previous night's battle, they also forced the Shu army to expose factors such as troop deployment, unit composition, defensive weaknesses, and support speed through so-called fire reconnaissance. According to the judgments of generals Zhou Tai, Zhou Dang, and Wei Ping, who were in command on the spot, the Shu army had no more than four or five thousand elite troops.

Of the 15,000 Jing and Yu soldiers that Sima Yi left in Chang'an, about 6,000 could be considered elite trained troops.

Just as Guanqiu Jian was weighing the pros and cons, Sima Yi suddenly said:
"Actually, there is another possibility: the tens of thousands of Shu bandits marching in and occupying that camp at the junction of the Jing and Wei rivers was a smokescreen to lure me into attacking."

"Several thousand Shu bandits from Jimen and Gaoling may have entered the Xiliu Camp north of the Wei River under cover of night, or the Shiqiao Camp which runs north and south across the Wei River."

Guanqiu Jian was taken aback. After a moment of thought, his expression turned slightly astonished: "General of the Flying Cavalry, you could foresee that the Shu bandits might be lying in ambush, yet you still wanted to go? Is this like knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet still heading towards the tiger's den?"

After speaking, he couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions. Even though it was the eve of the decisive battle, Sima Yi and the commander of the Shu army were still outwitting each other.

Everyone knows the final battle won't take place in Chang'an, yet none of them have actually left Chang'an.

This decision carries considerable risk for both Wei and Shu.

For the Shu army, what if the Great Wei did not leave troops in Chang'an? If they left a large army there, and the Great Wei launched a decisive battle with overwhelming force, the Shu bandits would inevitably lack sufficient troops for the decisive battle.

What if the Great Wei were to lose?
Sima Yi said:

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

"As mentioned before, even if the Shu bandits had ambushes, they could only be ambushed in the Xiliu Camp and Shiqiao Camp on the north bank of the Wei River."

"It is an indisputable fact that the two battalions in the northwest and northeast corners of Chang'an City are sparsely populated."

"If I can just block the way for the Shu bandits to come to their aid, I will surely be able to capture two camps."

"If we capture two camps, the camp at the Wei River Stone Bridge will be without any support from either side, so we may not be unable to defeat it."

"Once we break through their defenses, we can then march westward and the Shu bandits will surely return to reinforce us. We can then surround the stronghold and attack their reinforcements."

"Why?" Guanqiu Jian asked, puzzled.

"After crossing the Wei River to the west lies Xiliu Camp, a place with deep moats and high walls that would be extremely difficult to conquer in a short time. How could it possibly attract the help of the Shu bandits?"

Sima Yi never revealed his true plans to outsiders until the very last moment.

If it were Sima Yi who had just entered Guanzhong and already possessed military prestige and achievements, this move could be understood as a way to keep things secret and thus reveal his defeat.

But now Sima Yi is forced to take a desperate gamble, and this kind of riddle-solving approach is easy to make people feel annoyed.

Sima Yi said in a deep voice: "According to the information obtained by our spies, the false emperor's banner is currently in Xiliu, and the several thousand Hu cavalry who came east with the false emperor are all there. It is likely that the false emperor is sitting there and commanding the troops."

Guanqiu Jian was startled: "Is this true? Why didn't the General of Chariots and Cavalry say so sooner?!"

Guanqiu Jian could not help but be alarmed.

He immediately recalled the Shu army's sudden dispatch of over a thousand cavalry to clear the area near Chang'an the day before.

I found it strange at the time, and now that I think about it, it was probably paving the way for a false emperor!
Guanqiu Jian spoke in a daze:

"I never expected the false emperor to be so bold as to leave Wuzhangyuan and come to the front line in person. Does he think the overall situation is settled and he wants to reap the rewards of the war?"

"No wonder the three stockades north of Chang'an are still standing. Besides protecting the grain supply route, they are probably also guarding Xiliu, where the false emperor is located?"

Sima Yi remained silent.

Two quarters of an hour passed.

In the afternoon, Zhou Tai, Sun Li, and Wang Guan, the three generals who left Chang'an, returned to Chang'an with 6,000 elite troops under the moonlight and took over the defense of Chang'an, serving as Sima Yi's rearguard.

General Zhou Dang left from the southwest gate of Chang'an and led two thousand armored soldiers straight to the Feng River in the west.

This cut off the Han army's possibility of crossing the Wei River southward from Xiliu to provide support to the east.

Sima Yi then personally led 15,000 troops from Jing and Yu in Chang'an, along with 3,000 troops temporarily under the command of Guanqiu Jian, out of the city and stealthily made their way to the Han army camp under the moonlight.

The Han army's three camps were arranged in a "品" (pin) shape. When Sima Yi probed the enemy last time, he attacked Wang Ping's camp in the lower left corner.

This time, however, he completely disregarded the so-called being attacked from three sides and led his army to attack the Weishui Shiqiao Camp, which was located in the middle.

The straight-line distance between the north gate of Chang'an and this village is only six li.

Sima Yi's army, gloved and armored, quickly marched to the middle of the three camps. When they were only three miles from Shiqiao Camp, they were finally spotted by the Han army's night scouts.

Sima Yi acted decisively, sounding the war drums and sending his army on a rapid march.

Finally, before most of the Han army could even leave the camp and form ranks, they directly surrounded Shiqiao Village on three sides with six thousand elite armored soldiers.

Once the camp was surrounded, the defensive fortifications such as the deer antlers and trenches actually became obstacles for the Han army to leave the camp and form ranks.

Seeing that the Han army did not launch a full-scale attack on the camp at great cost, Sima Yi seemed worried that there might be an ambush in the camp and did not launch a full-scale attack.

He ordered only two thousand bows and two thousand crossbows to stand still outside the camp, waiting in comfort for the enemy to tire themselves out.

As he had predicted, the Han army led by Zhuge Liang had taken the vast majority of their bows and crossbows to the east in order to force a crossing of the Ba River and seize Xinfeng.

The garrison in these three camps did not have many bows and crossbows, but after firing a few arrows sporadically, they held their ground against the walls and did not fire any more arrows.

Sima Yi then gave the order, commanding Wei Ping, Jia Xu, and Zhang Jing to lead 9,000 troops from Jing and Yu provinces to attack the canal fortress in the lower right corner.

Then, Guanqiu Jian led 3,000 soldiers westward to prevent the Han army in the camp at the lower left corner of the character "品" from coming to their aid.

However, before Wei Ping, Jia Xu, and Zhang Jing could reach Caoquzhai in the lower right corner, the Han army left behind in the village had already abandoned the village and fled east.

That place is in the direction of Baqiao Bridge. The Han army has abandoned the bridge today, and Wang Chang and Niu Jin have regained control of the bridge.

Sima Yi soon learned that the camp only had less than two thousand Han soldiers, and immediately ordered General Zhang Jing to lead three thousand men to continue the pursuit eastward.

Then, send a fast horse to inform Wang Chang and Niu Jin in Baling City, ordering the two generals to lead 4,000 men to encircle and annihilate the entire Han army.

He then ordered Wei Ping and Jia Xu to lead 6,000 men back to join Guanqiu Jian's 3,000 men in attacking the camp in the northwest corner of Chang'an.

However, before Wei Ping, Jia Xu, and Guanqiu Jian could reach the location, a guard from Zhou Dang suddenly rushed to Sima Yi's side in a panic.

He was running breathlessly, and then, with a sob in his voice, he shouted at Sima Yi:
"General of the Flying Cavalry... Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

"My general...is dead in battle!"

"What?" Chen Gui's hair stood on end, followed by utter shock. "What?! Died in battle?!"

Sima Yi also paused abruptly, asking incredulously, "What exactly happened? Even if he was ambushed, Zhou Dang could have retreated to the east of the Feng River and defended the area across the water. How could he have died in battle?"

The guard Zhou almost burst into tears:

"General of the Cavalry..."

"My general crossed the Feng River and went to the south of the Shu bandits' Xiliu camp. He saw that a pontoon bridge had indeed been built there, so he dismantled it..."

"As soon as the bridge was demolished, several thousand Shu bandits, carrying torches, charged out from a mile or two away to the west!"
"My general said... that the number of Shu bandits was probably over ten thousand, so he hurriedly led his troops to flee eastward!"
"But who knew...who knew that several thousand water ghosts would suddenly emerge from the water and block my general on the west side of the Feng River!"

"My men were terrified and all covered their heads and fled west!"
"I watched helplessly as my general was... was..."

When Zhou Dang's personal guards mentioned this, they choked up and could not speak.

"A water ghost?" Sima Yi was astonished, then smelled a strong odor of excrement coming from Zhou Dang's personal guards.

(End of this chapter)