In 229 AD, Zhuge Liang returned to Hanzhong after the end of the Third Northern Expedition, and in the winter of that year, he moved his camp to the plain under the South Mountain, focusing on the construction of the two cities of "Han and Le" as the basic basis for the defense of the entire Hanzhong.
There were three lines of defense for the Shu Han
Wei Yan had previously formulated the wrongly defended "Zhuwei" as the first line of defense; the two cities of Han and Le built by Zhuge Liang as support bases for the second line of defense were the support bases for the "Zhuwei"; and the establishment of a pass on the Main Road of The Sword Pavilion south of Hanzhong was the third line of defense.
Before Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, the defensive pattern of northern Shu Han was fully formed, solid enough to resist the attack of Cao Wei's army.
In 230 AD, Cao Zhen's three-way army was defeated by the Shu Han army relying on the two cities of Han and Le, losing a large number of heavy and soldiers.
In this "self-defense counterattack," Zhuge Liang sent Wei Yan and Wu Yi to enter Qiangzhong with a partial division, winning more with less, and defeating Guo Huai and Fei Yao, which was the "Battle of Yangxi."
Prior to this campaign, Li Yan was ordered to send 20,000 reinforcements from Jiangzhou to Hanzhong, after which he was appointed by Zhuge Liang as the protector of Zhongdu and remained in Hanzhong to be responsible for the management of the Xiangfu. If Zhuge Liang went on a campaign, Li Yan would act as a minister in Hanzhong.
Of course, during the war, the most important thing for Li Yan, the "acting minister," was to transport grain and grass to Zhuge Liang, who was fighting in the front.
Li Yan in the film and television drama Li Yan is the second person in the Shu Han Dynasty, with outstanding ability, so that this kind of heavy minister sits in the rear, which shows that Zhuge Liang attaches great importance to the Northern Expedition, and also meets his prudent and steady military guidelines, but Zhuge Liang did not expect that it was this appointment that brought him unforeseen consequences, which is a later word.
From 230 AD to the spring of 231 AD, cao wei had a severe drought in many places, and there was no rain for half a year, and grain production decreased, and guanzhong and Yongliang were the most serious disasters. (Since the winter of October to this month (March) no rain, "Three Kingdoms Zhiming Emperor Chronicle")
The first confrontation between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi
In February 231, Zhuge Liang judged that Cao Wei's army was in difficulty in food and once again went out on the Northern Expedition. Prior to the third Northern Expedition to capture Wudu, the role of Yin Ping was also reflected, and shu Han opened up land links with the ethnic minorities in the north, and contacted Xianbei Kebi to raise troops to capture Shicheng in response to the Shu army.
Zhuge Liang was not idle in Hanzhong for two years, he hoarded a large amount of grain and grass, and also invented the "wooden cow", a means of transport, which was first used in the Fourth Northern Expedition, which reduced the difficulty of transporting military grain to a certain extent.
At this time, Cao Zhen fell ill and died, and Sima Yi parachuted into the Western Theater as commander. This was also the first head-on confrontation between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, a pair of old enemies.
The strength of Zhuge Liang's Fourth Northern Expedition is quite controversial (the 40,000 troops with a high degree of recognition is accepted here); Zhuge Liang's troop strength is less than That of Sima Yi, and there is basically no controversy.
This was also the only time in Zhuge Liang's five Northern Expeditions that his strength was less than that of Cao Wei's defensive corps.
Zhuge Liang went out of Qishan again and surrounded Qishan Fort. Drawing the lesson of the Second Northern Expedition to attack Chen Cangbuke, Zhuge Liang besieged but did not attack, and built halo city northeast of Qishan Fort as a base camp for the Wei army.
Sima Yi reacted quickly and immediately led a large army to Longxi.
Zhang Gao, remembering the past of Zhao Yun's partial division to take Guo County, suggested dividing troops to defend Yong and Guo, but Sima Yi refused, leaving Fei Yao and Dai Ling to assist Guo Huai in defending Shangyi with 4,000 elite troops, protecting the grain route, and personally leading all the main forces to the city of Halo to confront Zhuge Liang.
Sima Yi was also an outstanding military figure in the Three Kingdoms, and it was accurately judged that Zhuge Liang did not send a partial division, and there was no need to worry about the rear of Yong and Huan, and he learned the lesson of cao zhen's three roads and shu was broken by each one last year, and joined forces.
Rescue troops such as firefighting, But Sima Yi is not eager to rescue Qishan Fort, Zhuge Liang's tactics are "encircling points to fight for help", if you rush to break the siege, it is bound to hit Zhuge Liang's "tips and tricks", he climbed the mountain opposite the city of Halo, confronted Zhuge Liang, but resolutely did not engage the Shu Han army.
Zhang Gao believed that the Shu Han army had come from afar, and the strength of the troops was also smaller than that of the Wei army, and the grain route was very fragile. Zhuge Liang's army should be contained with a large army, and the surprise soldiers should cut off the grain road and crush Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition in one fell swoop. He was again rejected by Sima Yi.
Sima Yi's campaign vision was:
Qishan Fort was very dangerous, and Zhuge Liang lacked the ability to attack the fortified stronghold, and in fact could not conquer it. Zhuge Liang's purpose was to mobilize the Wei army and annihilate them in the field battle, whether it was to rescue Qishan Fort or cut off the grain road, it was bound to be Zhuge Liang's plan to lure the snake out of the hole. Zhuge Liang's supply line was very long, and it was difficult to transport grain. Although the supply of the Wei army was not easy, the situation was still better than that of the Shu army. And since Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, in order to cope with the logistical pressure of Longyou, Cao Wei has been rampaging near Shangyi. As long as they held out and did not fight, the Shu Han army, which had greater logistical pressure, was bound to retreat.
Both sides were masters, and if this continued, the Northern Expedition of shu Han could only return in vain.
Sima Yi designed a watertight campaign idea, but Zhuge Liang saw that he had a loophole: Sima Yi concentrated almost all his troops on the front line of Halo City, and the important supply base in the rear was undermanned, and there was a serious top-heavy battlefield situation.
Of course, this flaw is actually not a flaw, Zhuge Liang is cautious in using troops, "the strain will be strategic, not his strength", good at the right soldiers but not good at surprise, it will not go deep into the rear of Cao Wei to attack Shanghao.
Although Shangyi has few soldiers, the city wall is very strong, the Shu army cannot be attacked in a short period of time, Sima Yi's army can rush to the rescue within a few days, the blunt soldiers are under the fortified city, and they are attacked inside and outside, the Shu Han army will face a very unfavorable situation, Zhuge Liang is good at using troops, and will not make such a dangerous move.
Zhuge Liang let Sima Yi's calculations fail, and he used a small number of troops to tie Sima Yi's army to The City of Halo, personally leading a large army to attack Shangyi, which was the first time that Zhuge Liang had won a surprising victory on the battlefield.
His target was not Shangyi, but Tuntian, and after he cut a large amount of green wheat near Shangyi, the remaining wheat fields were also destroyed.
The Shangyi defenders Fei Yao and Dai Ling, who lacked troops, did not dare to stop it at all, and watched Zhuge Liang cut the wheat, and when Sima Yi knew that the situation was not good, he led his army to rescue him, and Zhuge Liang had already set up a position and was waiting for him east of Shangyi.
By the way, the Shangyi defender Guo Huai took the initiative to attack despite the lack of troops, and with the tight time constraints, the Shu army failed to destroy all the green wheat and protect a very small part of the Tuntian.
What is even more unexpected is that just such a little tun tian has later become the winner and loser of the battlefield.
Zhuge Liang finally confronted Sima Yi's army on the battlefield, but the scheming Sima Yi was afraid of being annihilated, and he held on to avoid engagement. Zhuge Liang, who had unsuccessfully sought to annihilate Sima Yi's army, had no choice but to lead his army back to Halo City.
When he met King Xuan in the east of Shangyi, he was in danger, and the army was not allowed to make friends, and Liang led him back. - "Han Jin Spring and Autumn"
Sima Yi followed Zhuge Liang back to the front line of Halo City, and the situation once again returned to the dull battlefield confrontation, but Sima Yi still insisted on not fighting, and the time dragged until May.
Without annihilating or severely damaging Sima Yi's army, Zhuge Liang would not be able to capture Longyou, but Sima Yi's "turtle does not show its head" tactic was also very helpless. In order to lure Sima Yi out of the decisive battle, Zhuge Liang issued a surprising order: withdraw from Qishan Fort!
Qishan Fort was located in the rear of the Shu army, that is to say, Zhuge Liang cut off the grain route and the rear road.
Of course, on the surface, it can also be understood that Zhuge Liang's troops are insufficient, and he can only shrink the front and fall into internal and external difficulties.
The Generals of the Wei Army were excited and asked for battle, but Sima Yi was determined to shrink his head to the turtle, which greatly displeased the generals. With the superior strength of the Wei army, the superior troops (cavalry) could only hold out without fighting, and the radical ones even made it clear that "the public fears Shu like a tiger, and the world laughs!"
At this time, the airborne commander Sima Yi's prestige was not yet fully established, and he could only agree to the request of the generals and launch an attack on Zhuge Liang, with Zhang Gao leading the army to attack the southern siege, and personally leading the main force to attack Zhuge Liang's main camp.
The enemy is finally out! Zhuge Liang ordered Wang Ping to hold the southern siege with a small number of troops, with Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, and Wu Ban as the main generals, and concentrated the main force to meet Sima Yi.
As a result of this battle, two very different records emerged.
One is the record in the Book of Jin that Zhuge Liang's soldiers fled in defeat and suffered heavy losses.
Liangtun Halo City, according to the north and south of the two mountains, cut off the water for the heavy siege. The emperor attacked and pulled out its siege, and Liang (army) retreated at night. Pursue, break, and capture thousands. - Book of Jin
This record, which mainstream scholars basically recognize as unreliable and unreasonable, is too many. For example, as we all know, Zhang Gao was killed in this battle. Zhuge Liang, who had fled, was actually able to ambush and shoot Zhang Guo in the wooden doorway north of Halo City, which was unbelievable.
Here, Xiaobian adopts another record, that is, the "Spring and Autumn of the Han Dynasty", that Zhuge Liang won a great victory.
Liang made Wei Yan, Gao Xiang, and Wu Ban refuse, and the great break was obtained, and he was awarded the first 3,000 grades of armor, 5,000 collars of Xuan armor, and 3,100 crossbows, and King Xuan also defended the camp. - "Han Jin Spring and Autumn"
Only to kill three thousand first-level, can it be called a big victory?
Note that this is the "armor head", which is the head of the soldier wearing armor. In the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei was not yet generous enough for every soldier to wear armor, and only a few elite soldiers or squad leaders could wear full armor and arm them to the teeth. Coupled with the captured Xuan armor and horned crossbows, It is speculated that Sima Yi's losses in this battle were at least more than 10,000 people.
The Shu Han army, which was inferior in terms of strength and rank, could actually achieve such a record in regular warfare, which was also quite rare in ancient military history. This is most likely due to Zhuge Liang's military creation---- the Eight Arrays.
How does the Eight Formations achieve a step-by-step ride? Please see the next "Eight Arrays Conjecture"
finish.
This article is the original "professional shovel", first published in the public account "Three Kingdoms Story", please indicate when reprinting, violators will be investigated.