The Wei State was pressing forward step by step, and the main force of Shu Han had withdrawn south to Fucheng, and there were only a few thousand defenders left in Hanzhong. Faced with the pressure of 60,000 troops, the Shu generals were uneasy. Once upon a time, the Shu army was eager to fight a decisive battle with the Wei army but couldn't. Now that he is wandering, he sees the Wei army approaching. The generals suggested one after another that they should stick to the second city of Hanle and wait for the Wei army to go deep and then converge with the rear to rescue the troops. But there is a brave general, bravely stepped forward, and urged the vanguard troops to resist the Wei army. And so, an amazing confrontation began...
The lone army resisted the Wei division
Cao Shuang, the third emperor of Wei Wu, personally led 60,000 iron horsemen to the south to attack Shu, known as the "million male division". At that time, the prime minister of Shu Han was deceased, and there were only a few thousand defenders left in Hanzhong. The Cao army is surging, like raging waves, and the Shu generals are afraid of the ownerless, and many lords and councils stick to Hanle and wait for backup.
Unexpectedly, Liu Min, the left protector, stood up against it, and his courage was commendable. Liu Min said: "The Wei army is mighty, if it reaches Hanle, it will be difficult to defend." Today, the elite is sent to guard the dangerous situation, although our army is outnumbered, we can avoid its edge, take advantage of its gradual fatigue and delay time, and wait for the rescue of Fucheng to come, we can have a bloody storm with it. ＂
The generals were suspicious, and finally because of Liu Min's outstanding reputation, Fang Yun followed his plan. Liu Min personally waved thousands of warriors and rushed to Xingshi in the starry night. The preparations have been completed, and the people have been ordered to plant thousands of flags in the surrounding mountains and trees, and the suspicious field has been placed.
The Wei army marched, but saw that the flags were fluttering all over the mountains, and the Shu army stretched for hundreds of miles, and the momentum was terrifying. Cao Wei's generals Deng Yang and Li Shengwang were suspicious, and they were afraid that the Shu army would have ambushes. I don't know that Liu Min only has thousands of soldiers, but he is just bluffing to blindfold his eyes. Shu Han has been writing from ancient times: "The victory is in my hands, stop the intelligence of an inch!" "Honestly.
Liu Min's subordinates carefully arranged the formation, combined with the terrain, and guarded it in groups. Although the Wei army attacked fiercely for several days, they were unable to break through the defenders' positions. At this time, it was midsummer, the sun was like fire, the Wei army had been marching for a long time, the grain and grass were exhausted, and the Shu army resisted stubbornly, with more than half of the casualties.
Liu Min was suspicious
Cao Shuang commanded the Wei army to attack Xingshi, but was finally blocked by logistical difficulties. At that time, Liu Min's garrison was only a few thousand men, and its combat strength was far inferior to that of the Wei army. However, the dwarves worked hard and alone, and they made the Wei army invincible.
Liu Min arranged the formation, and ordered the archers to plant thousands of flags in the trees on the mountain, endlessly. He also taught craftsmen to make a large number of wooden people and wooden horses, which were placed among the trees. Flags are unfurled, occasional breezes are blowing, wooden people and Trojan horses are shaking, and cool soldiers are arrayed. As a result, the mountains are surrounded by heavy surrounds, and the afterglow of the sunset is dazzling and dazzling.
Liu Minnai divided his troops into three routes and lay down on the east and west mountains to lure the enemy. There were also surprise troops in the middle of the road, but they retreated quickly. Seeing this, the Wei army said that the main force of Shu Han was all here. I don't know if it's Liu Min's trick to use soldiers.
Cao's army could not attack the city, so he wanted to take a detour to get the way. Deng Yang said to Cao Shuang: "Tonight, we will divide into two roads, attack from the east and west, and we will be able to capture the Shu army." He then ordered Li Sheng to lead his army to break through from the west mountain, and Deng Yang led his soldiers to outflank him from the east.
By dusk, Li Shengjun had rushed into the mountain road, and suddenly saw a lot of shadows in the woods, which were endless. There was a thunderstorm, and more than 10,000 wooden soldiers poured out of the woods and grasses, sending bows and arrows at the Wei army. Li Sheng was shocked and retreated in embarrassment. Deng Yang was also hit hard, and the retreat was almost cut off.
Liu Min is outnumbered, and the odds are right! The Wei army was completely annihilated several times. Deng Yang and the others had to return to the old plan, and finally ordered the whole army to return.
Xiahou Xuan was obedient and internally controlled
Although Cao Shuang was defeated in the Battle of Xingshi, his army was not yet completely annihilated. The battle of the southern expedition was personally commanded by Cao Shuang, bringing together the elite divisions of the world. However, Xiahou Xuan, who controlled the power behind the scenes, secretly disturbed the morale of the army, making Cao Shuang commander-in-chief.
Xiahou Xuan was in the rear, and he should have fully assisted in the front-line operations. But he has always been suspicious of the powerful, and he is arrogant and arrogant as the head of the dynasty. Guo Huai was originally a assassin of Yongzhou, and he had been in charge for many years, and he had repeatedly petitioned for promotion to the post of governor, but he was opposed by Xiahou Xuan and gave up.
At the beginning of this battle, Guo Huai was taken by surprise and was preempted by Xiahou Xuan's side door and took away the post of governor. Guo Huai held a grudge and often ignored it in battle, lest Xiahou Xuan take the opportunity to attack the power. Although the Yongzhou Army was the main force of Cao Wei, its combat effectiveness was greatly reduced due to Guo Huai's ineffectiveness.
On the other hand, Xiahou Xuan frequently delayed logistics and transportation. At that time, Shu Han controlled the land of Bashu, the terrain was dangerous and obstructive, and it was not easy to maintain the logistics line. Xiahou Xuan ignored the actual situation and blindly emphasized speed, resulting in a large amount of grain and grass materials being unable to reach the front line in time.
What's more, Xiahou Xuan actually incited the people of Qianghu to obstruct the Wei army. At that time, most of the people in charge of the transshipment task were Qianghu people, and Xiahou Xuan instigated them to complain to the army and disrupt the transportation order. There were worries in front of the enemy and behind the rear, and Cao's army was almost completely paralyzed.
In the end, Sima Yi came to the rescue from afar and warned Xiahou Xuan that this way was impassable. Xiahou Xuan gave up and ordered the whole army to retreat. After returning to the division, the imperial court investigated the matter, and Xiahou Xuan excused himself to shirk his responsibility, but instead praised Guo Huai's cautious style, which made the dispute between the ministers more and more intense.
Wang Pingchi came to the aid of a strange situation
Liu Min relied on thousands of soldiers alone, and after several days of hard fighting, it was difficult to attack for a long time. Unexpectedly, Pingyang Taishou Wang Pingchi went to reinforcements, and the combat pattern changed abruptly.
At that time, Wang Ping had already received the order of Yuan Chen, the general of the Shu Han Dynasty, and led the people of Yangxian County to wait for his life. Knowing that Liu Min was alone and was besieged by the Wei army, Wang Ping did not wait for the orders of others, so he waved his army and galloped.
In the Wei army camp, Cao Shuang was shocked when he heard that Wang Ping was rushing to help. There are not many soldiers and horses in Shu Han, but they are all elite veterans, and the Wei army has already suffered more than half of the casualties. After thinking about it again and again, Cao Shuang asked Deng Yang and Guo Huai to continue to play the forward, and he personally led the army to divide the two wings to cover the retreat.
Wang Ping's army marched to Chisaka Pass, and the nearby villagers were all wiped out by the Yunshu army, intimidating Wang Ping's division to return to defense. However, Wang Ping expected that the Shu army would fight to the death, and would never listen to the rumors, so he led more than 100 cavalry to fight against the battle.
The road was bumpy, and when I arrived at Xingshi, I saw banners all over the place, and soldiers stood in a forest. The Wei army was majesticly armored and was gathering troops. The two sides are locked in a standoff, and it is on the verge of breaking out.
Suddenly, Wang Ping took the lead in shouting, the banners of the Shu army danced together, and everyone raised their arms and shouted. Then he fought bravely and took the Wei army camp. This blow was really ruthless, and the Wei army couldn't help but be in chaos. At this moment, Liu Min rushed out again, and attacked Wang Ping back and forth, cutting Wei Junsheng in half.
Cao Shuang saw that the general trend had gone, so he urgently ordered Deng Yang and other generals to stick to their positions to consolidate the back road, and he personally led the horse to gallop out. However, it was too late, Liu Min and Wang Ping surrounded on both sides, and the Wei army suffered heavy casualties and fled in a hurry. In the first battle, Wang Ping rushed to the aid in time and saved the crisis, which can be called the greatest hero of Shu Han.
Cao Shuang's retirement price fell
In the battle of Xingshi, a small army of Shu Han repelled 60,000 heroic divisions of the Wei army with exquisite defense and heroic killing. Cao Shuang retired from the army and returned to a bad reputation, losing almost all his prestige as a famous general of a generation.
Cao Shuang originally marched south in the name of "Million Heroes", and kept saying that he wanted to take Shu in one fell swoop. However, after the setback of the boom, his conceit and arrogance were gone. Chen Qun, the supervisor who accompanied the army, said bluntly: "Your Majesty's arrogant soldiers are coming to the city, and they can't overcome the battle, and they have no merits, and this is not a general's business!" Cao Shuang was reprimanded, ashamed.
On the way back to the division, Cao Shuang personally supervised the escort and was cautious. Sentry reports along the way: "There are many thieves in the mountains, waiting for the passes." Cao Shuang was shocked when he heard this, for fear of encountering a striker, so he changed multiple routes. When they arrived at Jiangling Pass, they were heavily guarded by the Shu army. Cao Shuang retreated, and did not dare to attack, so he had to take a detour.
After a big circle in this way, Wei Jun reluctantly returned to Chang'an. The food and grass along the road were exhausted, the horses were maimed and the marching battles no longer existed. This "million-strong division" has long existed in name only.
fled in embarrassment all the way, consuming all Cao Shuang's prestige. When the important ministers of the court advised one after another, they reprimanded them greatly. Sima Yi even directly reprimanded Cao Shuang for being "unplanned and strategic" and wanted to "punish him by law". In the end, Cao Shuang could only punish himself for "fluke incompetence".
end
After this battle, Cao Shuang gradually lost power. Public opinion in the government and opposition blamed it on arrogance, extravagance, and mediocrity. Especially the first battle of Xingshi, which completely ruined Cao Shuang's reputation as a military strategist. It can be seen that a seemingly small battle has made a generation of famous generals almost infamous. History is often like this, and there is only a thin line between heroes and sinners.