In the conquest between Shu Han and Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period, Jiang Wei was undoubtedly the pillar of Shu Han. As Zhuge Liang's confidant, Jiang Wei inherited the ambition of the prime minister, and he unswervingly tried to make a comeback and revive the Han dynasty. However, in the process of Jiang Wei taking charge of military power and making many northern expeditions to Wei, was he only met with stubborn resistance from Cao Wei's side, as recorded in the history books? Or is there another more tricky opponent who has caused unimaginable trouble for Jiang Wei and Shu Han? This article will unravel this mystery for you, and let's explore the source of Jiang Wei's resistance to the Northern Expedition.
Jiang Wei's preparations before the Northern Expedition
In the middle of summer, the vegetation is lush and vibrant. Jiang Wei was dressed in a dark blue robe and held a heavy military book, pacing anxiously in the mansion in Xihuali, Chengdu. Since Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's heroic sacrifice, he has been planning the grand plan of re-attacking the Central Plains and reviving the Han dynasty.
After several years of patient waiting and careful consideration, Jiang Wei finally made a decision - the main direction of the Northern Expedition would be to lock on the Hehuang Valley located west of Longyou. This fertile and rich area not only has a vast farming area, but also has the benefits of the West Sea, and is rich in fishing and salt resources. It was an important place in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and controlling it was equivalent to firmly grasping the choke point of attacking Longshu.
In order to ensure the smooth operation of the war, Jiang Wei first set out to form an alliance with the local Qiang people to seek backup. He sent his confidant Liao Hua to Chengzhong Mountain, where he built military facilities and pacified the scattered Qiang people, calling on them to join the anti-Wei cause. At the same time, he also successively gathered a group of Qiang warriors with unique skills.
With his excellent strategy, Jiang Wei gradually subjugated the Qiang people in the Hehuang area and made full preparations for his Northern Expedition. When everything was ready, he looked around with a firm gaze, and waved his hand to the cronies around him in high spirits and said: "The fall of Shu Han, we will not swear to swear!" Today's heroes are brave and defeated, and next year we will join hands to determine Jing Heng! Sweeping away the wild sand that blocks the way, it will eventually revive the ancestral rivers and mountains! ＂
Guo Huai's birth checks and balances
Naturally, the Wei army would not be indifferent to Jiang Wei's actions. When Xiahou Xuan, the general of the military expedition of Yongliang and Liangzhou, learned the news, he immediately ordered the Wei army to divide into two routes: Guo Huai, the assassin of Yongzhou, led the army to quell the Qiang rebellion, and the right general Xiahou Ba blocked the reinforcements that Shu Han might send in Longxi.
Guo Huai has experienced a hundred battles and is a veteran of the fortified position for a long time. He led the Yongzhou army from Shangqi and eliminated a group of rebellious Qiang people along the way. After a few days of marching, the army entered Didao. Most of his generals thought that they should first capture Caohan and seize this important town, and then wipe out the remnants. But Guo Huai pondered for a moment and made another decision categorically.
Although Guo Huai is old, his military wisdom still exists, and he has not declined at all. He knew very well that Jiang Wei was an unpredictable person, and he would definitely have another earth-shattering tactical arrangement. Sure enough, soon the Shu Han army was killed from the western front, and Jiang Wei personally commanded the troops to deal with the Qiang people. Guo Huai hurriedly mobilized a large army, descended from the Tao River, and rushed to Lintao upstream, trying to join forces with Xiahou Ba and cooperate to resist the onslaught of the Shu army.
The two sides encountered on the front line of Koji Mountain, which immediately provoked a bloody storm. Although Jiang Wei lacked troops, he repeatedly disrupted the Wei army by virtue of the advantages of the high ground. Just when the situation was stalemate, Guo Huai suddenly appeared and swooped down on the right arm of the Shu army from the flank. In the face of this unexpected attack, Jiang Wei had to scrap all the defense lines and personally lead the elite back to the division to block it.
The two sides were in a stalemate in Koji Mountain for several days, and Wei Shuyong would fight each other, and they were in disarray. However, Jiang Wei's troops were lonely after all, and Guo Huai was calm and calm with his troops, so he was finally forced to withdraw his troops and retreated to Shuzhong.
In this battle, Guo Huai used superb military command to resolve Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition conspiracy and avoid the expansion and escalation of the war. Not only that, but he relied on his extraordinary strategy to find the right time to quickly encircle and suppress the rebellious Zhuqiang and eliminate the last allied forces of Shu Han in Liangzhou.
After this battle, Guo Huai's prestige was greatly enhanced, and he was rewarded by the imperial court, and the official worshiped the former general, and still supervised the military affairs of Yongliang. After that, he deployed troops to relocate foreign people, comprehensively eliminated the hidden dangers in the Liangzhou area, and won precious peace time for the country.
An unexpected third force
Soon, an unexpected third force was drawn into the maelstrom of this war. This is the Xiongnu tribe in the Hehuang Valley.
Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, these Khans have lived in the valleys in the Hehuang area, and have lived in peace with the Qiang people for generations. However, with the war between the Shu and Wei sides in this place, their living environment was suddenly seriously threatened.
At first, the Huns did not take the initiative to get involved in the war, but the ruthless fighting between Shu and Wei soon spread to their homeland. Jiang Wei went north to deal with the Qiang people, which also annoyed these Khan tribes. Some young and vigorous Xiongnu warriors joined the war group one after another, combining with the Qiang people to fight against the Shu army. On the other hand, the advance of the Wei army in the Hehuang Valley was also obstructed and harassed by the Huns.
Gradually, the situation began to spiral out of control. After Guo Huai resolved the Qiang Rebellion, he planned to cross the river to sweep the river, but was cunningly pinned down by the Khan people and horses on the line of Jishi Mountain. Seeing that the situation was becoming more and more passive, Guo Huai fought hard, ordered people to fake blunt real horses from Baitu City, and suddenly turned over the river and raged. Although he once had the upper hand, it was difficult to completely balance this tricky force after all.
Faced with the intervention of the Huns, Jiang Wei also had a headache. He originally wanted to use the power of the Qiang people to occupy power in the Hehuang region, but these Khan tribes fell apart and did not completely submit to the Shu army. In order to resolve this crisis, Jiang Wei had to adopt some flexible means: on the one hand, he showed them favor and won over some people; On the other hand, he also secretly instructed the Assassins to assassinate the recalcitrant Khan leaders. After a series of delaying tactics, Jiang Wei finally gradually took control of the situation.
However, this battle, which has evolved into a three-legged pattern, has undoubtedly added great resistance to Shu Han. The various forces are intriguing with each other, you have me, I have you, and neither side can win completely. The battle situation has been uncertain, and it dragged on until later, and Jiang Wei had to make the difficult decision to temporarily withdraw his troops.
A difficult situation of fighting on two fronts
Soon, both the Shu Han and Wei armies were involved in a heavy two-front battle.
Things can be traced back to Jiang Wei's early strategic arrangement. In order to spread the war to a wider area and disperse the forces of the Wei army, Jiang Wei secretly reached an agreement with the Xiongnu, and the two sides temporarily cooperated to cover each other's attacks on the Wei army. Jiang Wei personally led the main force to attack along the western front, and cooperated with the Qiang and Hungarian coalition forces to open the road from the eastern front, forming a front and rear flanking attack.
The conspiracy went smoothly at first, and the Wei army was defeated and almost unable to gain a foothold in the Hehuang Valley. However, the war gradually improved, but it exposed the shortcomings of the Shu Han army's food. In order to maintain the battle line, Jiang Wei had to deploy a large number of troops to guard the grain and grass transportation line, resulting in a significant reduction in the main force.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Guo Huai launched a counterattack and ordered the elite division to assemble at Jishi Mountain. A fierce battle began, and the Shu Han Front was constantly impacted and almost collapsed. At this juncture, Cao Shuang even smashed Huanglong, waved his army east out of Liucheng, and went straight to the rear of Jiang Wei's army.
Jiang Wei, who was caught in internal and external troubles, was in danger, and he personally led the main force to march along the smooth road and set up a position to meet Cao Shuang. The two sides encountered on the dam, and Jiang Wei showed his skills and finally broke up Cao Shuang's army. However, the battle of Huanglong consumed a large number of Shu Han's men and horses, making the main force on the verge of exhaustion.
With Cao Shuang being repulsed, the situation on the Eastern Front eased temporarily, but the fighting on the Western Front deteriorated further. Guo Huai saw the opportunity and waved his army to storm Jiang Wei's position in the Hehuang Valley, and both sides suffered heavy losses. Finally, Guo Huai occupied the two important towns of Jiuwei and Caohan, and cut off the supply line of Jiang Weixi's line.
Faced with the crisis of cutting off food and grass, Jiang Wei had to personally lead the elite back to wander around in an attempt to break through the encirclement. But at this time, they were already powerless, and they were surrounded by Guo Huai's army layer by layer, and fell into a dilemma.
The reason for Jiang Wei's temporary retreat
Faced with such an embarrassing situation, Jiang Wei had to make a painful decision - to temporarily abandon Hehuang and withdraw his troops first to avoid its edge, in order to make a comeback.
In fact, this is already the result that Jiang Wei has no choice. Although Shu Han had the upper hand for a time and achieved some offensive results, it was ultimately difficult to completely defeat the Wei army. The impregnable joint defense of Guo Huai and Xiahou Ba, coupled with the intervention of the Xiongnu tribes, undoubtedly gave Jiang Wei a lot of obstacles to his Northern Expedition.
When the Huns, instigated by the Qiang people, gradually defected and colluded with the Wei army, Jiang Wei lost almost all foreign aid. He originally planned to use the power of Qiang and Hun to take the Hehuang region in one fell swoop, cut off the Longxi corridor, and then counterattack Shushu along the west of the river. But it backfired, and the rebellion of the Xiongnu tribe prevented him from making full use of this powerful force.
More critically, the Shu Han army was short of food and could not support a protracted war. Jiang Wei originally sent troops to be stationed in Shangqi and Longxi, intending to cut off the supply lines of the Wei army. But this only exposed the weakness of his army's own food and grass. Once the grain and grass cannot be delivered, the Shu army will fall into a situation of passive beating.
Sure enough, when Guo Huai's army uncontrollably captured Jiuwei and Caohan, Jiang Wei's position on the western front was completely surrounded. If the battle line continues to stretch, the Shu Han army will soon fall into a crisis of total collapse.
From a strategic point of view, it is really difficult for Jiang Wei to achieve a complete victory. He made a northern expedition to the Hexi Corridor, intending to advance along Longxi and cut off the Wei army's connection between Longshu and Longshu. However, the western front was cut off, the eastern front was difficult to break through, and the middle road was strictly guarded by the armies of Guo Huai and Xiahouba, and it was impossible to achieve decisive results at all.
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Weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Wei finally made a decision that made all the soldiers suffocate - temporarily withdraw the troops, recuperate first, and wait for a more favorable opportunity. So, leaving an elite guard position, he personally supervised the large army, fought his way out of the encirclement, and returned to Chengdu along the original road.