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

Chapter 190 Each Has Its Own Ways of Responding
In fact, Wenxiu overestimated the speed of Miwei's advance.

Although it was as early as when he went south to meet Lu Xun.

He had already ordered Wu Ban and Chen Shi's navy to travel north to Anlu via the four waterways of the Yangtze, Xia, Han and Yun rivers to transport troops and supplies.

And Deng Zhi was notified to repair the roads in Anlu in advance.

None of the three parties have slackened their efforts and are actively preparing for the competition.

But when Mi Wei arrived in Anlu...

The road on the east bank of the Yun River has only been repaired for about twenty or thirty li.

The journey from Anlu to Wuyang Pass, the southernmost of the three passes of Yiyang, is nearly two hundred li.

The time it takes to repair these two hundred miles of road is enough for Wen Ping's troops to make two round trips.

The reason for this is that frequent rainfall after the start of summer has caused a lot of water accumulation in the Jianghan River basin, making it difficult to make roads smooth.

In fact, the reason why Wu Banchen was able to cross four rivers to provide support was precisely because he benefited from the rainy season.

It can only be said that there are both advantages and disadvantages.

From this perspective, Wen Ping's decision to go south before the rainy season was, in order to coordinate with the Huainan battlefield.

But it was perhaps not an instinctive reaction from a veteran of Jingzhou.

Fortunately, Miwei is no longer the clueless newbie he used to be on the battlefield.

Since advancing on Wuyang Pass in the short term is no longer realistic.

Then, we should adapt to the local conditions and use this swampy area to delay the Wei cavalry and prevent them from supporting the three passes.

The specific measure was to select suitable terrain between the Yunshui River and the eastern foot of the Tongbai Mountain to build a passageway and establish military camps to block the north-south passage.

Although a road still needs to be built, it only needs to be extended by another twenty or thirty li on the original foundation of Dengzhi.

There is definitely enough time.

If Wenpin does not come, then we can continue our cultivation northward from here, passing through the Three Passes in the north.

If Wen Pin arrives, we will wait in comfort and then engage him in battle.

After a round of mobilization, troops gathered outside Anlu City.

Among them, there were 3,000 infantrymen and 600 cavalrymen, plus 5,000 county and auxiliary troops.

These were all soldiers that Liao Hua had previously conscripted in Nanjun as part of an emergency.

With the remnants of Deng Zhi's forces gathered in Anlu City, the total number of troops has exceeded ten thousand.

As for warhorses, oxen, donkeys, carts, boats, bows and arrows, provisions, and so on, they are all in place and sufficient to supply the more than 10,000 troops for a month.

It can be said that Miwei has made the most thorough preparations in the shortest possible time.

His earlier statement to Lu Xun, "I shall be the master," was not mere boasting.

Instead, they made the decision only after carefully calculating the troop strength and resources.

In short, by mid-May, after a round of plum rains, the Han army had finally completed the necessary fortification preparations on time.

Now we'll see how Wenping takes action.

However, the course of war is never determined by individual will.

Shortly after Mi Wei divided his troops to guard various camps along the defensive line, news suddenly arrived from the northeast, upstream of the Yun River.

It is said that the Xiangchong tribe suffered from floods, resulting in significant losses of troops and soldiers, and they may be unable to continue their attack on the city.

Considering that Sui County is right behind Mi Wei's forces.

This means that once Mi Wei engages in battle with Wen Ping's troops, he may be threatened by the Wei army in Sui County from behind.

Because Sui County remains a thorn in their side, the Wei army in the direction of Yiyang Three Passes has no immediate worries about its flanks and may even be able to cross the pass and harass the south.

In an instant, the already solid defense line suddenly became unstable.

There were originally two main roads north of Anlu.

First, continue northward along the Yun River, passing through Sui County and entering the Nanyang Basin.

This road is located northwest of Anlu.

One option is to head northeast to Yiyang Sanguan, pass through the gap between Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountain, and enter the upper reaches of the Huai River.

This road is located northeast of Anlu.

In addition, it faces due south towards Xiakou, making it three sides in total.

It's truly a situation of being attacked from three sides.

After careful consideration, Mi Wei quickly made a decision:

"Have Xiang Chong abandon Caiyang and Anchang, and ignore Pinglin north of Suixian. Concentrate all forces in Suixian and besiege this city to the death!"

Jiang Wei, who had already been promoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, looked at the map and hesitated:

"If Cai Yang and An Chang are abandoned on the eastern flank of the Great General, who will cover the Northern Expeditionary Army?"

Tuk Tuk!

Mi Wei pointed heavily to the east bank of the Yu River on the map:
"If our army can defeat Wen Ping here and capture the three passes to the north, then we will be the eastern flank of the Northern Expeditionary Army!" "Otherwise, if Wen Ping marches north from Sui County, his cavalry will gallop across the plains. What use are the two small cities of Caiyang and Anchang?"

"Moreover, our army has already isolated the north and south. As long as we remain in order, Wen Ping will be unaware of the changes in the north and will be unable to provide support!"

……

"Miwei is forcing me to fight to the death."

Wen Ping looked at his mount, which was stuck in the mud, with a solemn expression.

Wenxiu lacked his adoptive father's composure; seeing his cavalry trapped in the mud, he looked on with a worried expression.
"At this time of year, I fear the rain will continue."

"My lord, why not ride a horse into the mountains and sneak back to the Three Passes?"

Wenping glanced coldly at his adopted son and remained silent.

The latter shuddered and said:
"It's not that I'm afraid of battle, but the timing and the terrain are not in my favor, and I fear that the campaign will not go well!"

"If you are worried about the pursuing troops, I am willing to lead five hundred cavalry to stay behind and block the enemy, while you return to the Three Passes!"

Wen Ping then said:
"If that's the case, I may survive, but I will have failed the court, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get any protection for my descendants in the future."

He raised his whip again, pointing northwards to two mountain peaks faintly visible on the horizon:
“Miwei has taken the lead in heading north and has chosen a place to set up a fortified camp to block the road. He has probably already figured out the strength and weakness of Yuzhou.”

“If I escape, he will have no more worries and can then easily knock on the gate and head north.”

"On the contrary, he needs to wipe out my troops before heading north... that might buy more time for the generals in Huainan."

Wenxiu could only listen to his adoptive father.

However, since they were going to continue confronting the Han army, they needed to find a dry, high place to set up camp.

Before that, we need to cross this swampy area.

"Come forward and speak."

Wenping suddenly looked at his adopted son.

Wenxiu immediately stepped forward and rode alongside him.

The deep voice of his adoptive father reached his ears:
"Do you remember how Emperor Wu of Han quickly traversed the muddy road when he passed through Huarong after his defeat at the Battle of Red Cliffs?"

Wenxiu immediately understood, but a chill ran down his spine.

……

"Let the old, weak, and wounded soldiers carry grass to fill the road, so that men and horses can trample over people to pass, and only then can the cavalry pass... This is imitating Cao Cao's old trick of fleeing from Huarong!"

Jiang Wei looked at the brief military report in his hand, and his scalp tingled.

Although it is said that a kind heart cannot command an army.

But such behavior, which treats human life as worthless, is truly despicable.

Despite their utter disdain, the two thousand Wei cavalry finally traversed the most difficult section of the road and were now almost upon them.

In the current situation, the Han army had already occupied advantageous terrain and was waiting in comfort for the enemy to tire themselves out.

To be honest, we are not afraid of the Wei army's attack.

They even wished the other party would come over as soon as possible.

However, the situation did not turn out as expected again.

After finally overcoming the most difficult part of the journey, Wen Ping surprisingly followed the example of the Han army and chose a high place to set up camp.

They seem to intend to hold out here for a long time.

Jiang Wei already knew Mi Wei's strategy, so he could naturally guess Wen Ping's intentions.

Looking at the local battlefield alone, Wen Ping's troops were exhausted and had lost support from the Qichun direction, so they were simply not in a position to hold out for long.

If this continues, their entire force will face certain death.

However, if we broaden our perspective to the entire battleground stretching over a thousand miles from Nanyang to Huainan, we can see the bigger picture.

His self-sacrifice and procrastination might actually be the closest to the correct solution.

Anyway, there's still a son in the north, isn't there?

Cao Pi wasn't a foolish ruler who didn't reward those who had rendered meritorious service, was he?

Such sacrifices are always rewarded.

For a moment, Jiang Wei felt a sense of frustration, as if he had no way to use his strength.

This is the foundation that Cao Wei built up over two generations in the heart of the Central Plains.

Even a commander of a prefecture has such a first-class sense of the overall situation?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look expectantly at his own commander.

However, Mi Wei only went out to inspect the Wei army camp himself, and then ignored Wen Ping's troops.

Instead, Jiang Wei was sent north to the three passes to try to persuade the Wei army there to surrender.

Although Jiang Wei did not believe that success was possible, he accepted the order and went because of his trust in Mi Wei.

(End of this chapter)