The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 155 The Big Picture and the Small Strategies

Chapter 155 The Big Picture and the Small Strategies
The emperor and his ministers encouraged each other briefly.

Sun Quan asked:

"If we launch a northern expedition, Ziyu, who do you think should be the Grand Commander?"

Zhuge Jin had already prepared a plan:
"When Lü Ziming was alive, he admired Lu Boyan (Lu Xun) the most, followed by Zhu Yifeng (Zhu Ran). Your Majesty can appoint one of them as the principal and the other as the deputy."

“Zhu Yifeng is indeed a valiant general, and he enjoys my deep trust.” Sun Quan nodded slightly.

"But Lu Boyan, he was defeated twice by a mere child... Does he still have any ambition? Is he still of any use?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jin rarely showed such excitement:

"Your Majesty, it is not shameful for a general to be defeated by Mi Shishan!"

"Lu Boyan did not lose his ambition because of this!"

He then recounted Mi Wei's achievements over the years.

Aside from the obvious omission of the battle for Jingzhou, the story recounts everything: Jiangxia's fortification construction, the northern struggle for Xiangfan, the clever retreat of Xu Huang, the opening of the road at Shangyong, the debates at the imperial court, the emergency relief in the south, and even his recent performance in Longyou.

It is clear that the Zhuge brothers frequently exchanged letters.

Both were simply loyal subjects and deeply trusted by their respective rulers.

Zhuge Jin concluded by counting to the end:
“As early as last year at the foot of Baqiu Mountain, I predicted to my two sons that the future of the western neighbor would depend on Mi Wei.”

"In just two years, he has already shown himself to be a man of great talent, and even my younger brother wishes to ask him to tutor my heir... Your Majesty!"

"Lu Boyan was able to preserve the army under the rule of a ruthless and shrewd ruler. Although he was defeated, he was still honorable, which is enough to prove that he can be entrusted with important matters!"

Sun Quan remained silent for a long time after hearing this.

Finally, he sighed, "Why did such a national hero fall into the hands of Liu Bei?"

"Very well. Let's do as Ziyu says and appoint Zhu Yifeng as Grand Commander and Lu Boyan as his deputy."

This was exactly the opposite of the principal and deputy positions that Zhuge Jin had envisioned.

But since Lu Xun had been brought along, he said no more.

……

Meng Da miscalculated again!

The group turned north to the Qian River, and marched through the night, passing through Yumi but not entering.

But we were still a step too late.

When they arrived at the seat of Qian County, the city gates were already closed.

Even the common people in the countryside have disappeared.

They had clearly received word and were on high alert.

Mi Wei did not blame Meng Da for this.

Firstly, in war, victory and defeat are unpredictable, and there is never a strategy that is 100% successful.

Secondly, Guanzhong was one of the core areas under Cao Wei's rule, and its military organization and mobilization capabilities were far superior to those of Longyou.

Isn't this the reason why Miwei doesn't follow the usual path?
Moreover, Qian County is merely closing its gates and holding out; it has no intention of sending troops to stop them.

They had just received a tip from downstream and had no time to prepare.

Meng Da's prediction was roughly accurate.

Therefore, Mi Wei made a decisive move and, taking advantage of the fact that the garrison of Qian County was temporarily unable to launch an attack, harvested the unripe wheat and alfalfa along the way.

Then he decisively led his troops westward and plunged back into the vast Longshan Mountains.

After several days of stealthy travel, they finally arrived at a ravine near Jieting.

This place was said to be the old county seat of Lueyang County in later generations, and was also known as Jiequanting.

But Miwei searched through several mountain valleys without finding any abandoned fortifications.

I don't know if it's a misrepresentation from later generations, or if it's from the wrong era.

But it doesn’t matter.

As previously expected.

This place is too barren.

So much so that the Wei army didn't bother setting up a large number of outposts and passes here.

Only a few scattered fortresses lie among the mountains, but the Miwei easily bypasses them all.

However, due to its extreme barrenness and sparse population, food for people and horses became the biggest problem.

Secondly, it was difficult to obtain information from the south and west.

Mi Wei couldn't think of a good solution for the time being, so he summoned his generals to discuss the matter.

Wang Ping suggested following the approach taken last winter and heading south to Weibin to wage "guerrilla warfare".

While obtaining food, they can intercept Wei army's post horses and ships.

Ma Zhong, however, believed that it was too risky to directly attack the banks of the Wei River.

It would be better to first target the nearby Wei army strongholds and establish a foothold there.

As for the specific goals.

Both Lueyangchuan and Qingshui are tributaries that flow southward into the Wei River.

Lueyang County and Qingshui County, located on the Ershui River, are both good targets.

Qingshui is closer to Jixian County, while Lueyang is farther away.

Meng Da was unfamiliar with the local geography and made no suggestions.

Ma Dai, however, gave a good suggestion:

"Lueyang County was originally called Lueyang Road, which was one of the many Di roads in Longyou, and many Di people lived in this area."

"We can have our Qiang cavalry disguise themselves as Hu merchants trading horses and exchange their injured or old warhorses for grain. We should be able to get quite a bit."

"In addition, the more than thirty intact horse armors that were previously seized from Jiang Wei were all made of the finest leather."

“Carrying it around all the time is a burden; it would be better to replace it with some salt and iron.” Mi Wei thought about it and felt that Ma Dai’s suggestion was better.

Having rushed here, his men were exhausted, and many were injured.

Avoid war if possible.

So he entrusted the matter to Ma Dai.

However, I reminded him not to sell the horse armor for the time being.

Although the leather was of high quality, it was so high that it was clearly an official product.

It's hard to hide it from someone who's paying attention.

I'm afraid that this will reveal my whereabouts.

It's not too late to exchange it before we leave.

Afterwards, Miwei found another dangerous place with a water source, set up camp and rested, but that's another story.

Several days later, Ma Dai and his party returned.

It brought enough food and provisions for the entire army to last for half a month.

They also recruited several local Di people as guides.

It is said that he had previously intended to go south to Wudu to join Liu Bei.

But before they could cross the Wei River, Guo Huai and Zhang Ji arrived.

After exchanging information with the guide, Miwei learned several important pieces of intelligence.

First, here's the news from Qishan.

After the spring plowing, Zhuge Liang ordered Zhang Yi, the prefect of Zitong, to supervise the army's provisions and troops and head north to Qishan Road to reinforce Zhao Yun.

Following Liu Bei's previous example, the two continued to recruit Di people and even Han people to move south to increase the population of Wudu.

Some even claim that Zhao Yun has recaptured Xixian and Lucheng, driving Guo Huai back to Shanggui.

Several Di guides agreed to join the army after learning about this.

However, details concerning the military aspects of the Wei army are not something that ordinary people can easily find out.

However, it is traceable that after Zhang Ji's death, Guo Huai shifted his strategic focus from Weinan to Weibei.

Firstly, at this time, a large number of military facilities such as pavilions, post stations, and beacon towers began to be built in the area west and south of Lueyang County, all the way to the Wei River.

It is said that the Wei army also erected wooden palisades between the post stations, resembling a passageway.

Three layers of cordon were set up around the perimeter.

Secondly, correspondingly, all the fortifications that Zhang Ji had originally built between the four cities west of Linwei were halted.

The former's manpower and resources were drawn from the latter.

Given that Mi Wei took a detour from the Chencang direction, it's not hard to guess Guo Huai's motives.

The grain and manpower in Guanzhong have all been transferred to defend against Zhang Fei and Wei Yan, and Longyou cannot provide support for the time being, so it can only find its own way out.

However, Guo Huai's tortoise shell was even thicker and more cunning than Zhang Ji's.

I wonder if they were frightened by Zhang Jizhi's death?
In short.

At this time, a multi-pronged north-south confrontation had formed between the Han and Wei dynasties along the Qinling Mountains in a broad sense.

In the easternmost part of Jingzhou, Guan Yu and Xiahou Shang faced off in Nanyang.

Then they headed west.

Wei Yan and Zhang He faced off at Xiegu.

Zhang Fei was confronting a Wei general at San Pass.

Zhao Yun and Guo Huai faced off in Longyou, north of Qishan.

Like magnets, the two sides are tightly attracted to the Qinling Mountains, which stretch for thousands of miles, and cannot be easily separated.

Unless Liu Bei and Ma Chao achieve a decisive victory or suffer a major defeat in Hexi.

Otherwise, the two sides are likely to remain locked in a prolonged standoff.

Thinking of this, Miwei was both amused and exasperated.