Although Jiang Wei achieved great success in the last Northern Expedition and seized the territory of five counties in one breath, these territory were not captured by Jiang Wei, but the great gift Sima Lun offered when surrendered to Shu Kingdom. Jiang Wei's army captured the five counties of Longxi without bloodshed.

Despite the brilliant results of the battle, it has also been criticized by some people. After all, getting these territories is not a reflection of Jiang Wei's real combat power, and there are some elements of taking advantage of the opportunity.

If Jiang Wei could defend these territories, then the court would have less doubts. But in the end, Jiang Wei not only failed to defend these territories, but instead suffered losses of troops and generals and returned in a mess. Therefore, some people commented that Jiang Wei would only pick the fruits of the fruits. Once he encountered a strong enemy, he would be strong outside and fight the country, losing his troops and humiliating the country.

Although this is rough, it is not rough. Jiang Wei has experienced many battles, but he has not really achieved much results. The five counties of Longxi that Sima Lun gave him were unable to defend. After all, Jiang Wei's ability is not good.

But this time in the Battle of Xiangwu, Jiang Wei fought very well. This was also the Longyou County City that the Shu army once again captured by force after Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, which was enough to shut up those who questioned Jiang Wei's inability to do so.

Deng Ai also regarded Jiang Wei as the strongest opponent and had no intention of underestimating the enemy. After carefully studying the tactical plan, Deng Ai took steps and led his army to Nan'an from Ji County to confront the Shu army on the south bank of the Wei River.

This time, the Shu army ambushed the Wei army's grain transport team at Gaochengling, intercepted a large number of grain and grass, and then captured Xiangwu City, and obtained a large number of grain and grass supplies again. Therefore, in a short period of time, the shortage of grain and grass in the Shu army was significantly alleviated, and Jiang Wei no longer had to worry about the problem of grain and grass. He could do his best to fight the Wei army and expand his victory in Longxi.

After taking down Xiangwu City, Jiang Wei did not send heavy troops to defend Xiangwu, but only left some of the troops in Xiangwu City. Most of the main forces advanced to Wucheng Mountain, while Wucheng Mountain was in the territory of Nan'an County. Jiang Wei's move was quite intended to attack. The terrain in Wucheng Mountain was dangerous, which could just offset the advantages of the Wei cavalry and give full play to the strengths of the Shu army's mountain combat.

At the same time, Jiang Wei forced the people of Xiangwu to Dazhong. Obviously, Jiang Wei did not intend to defend Xiangwu, because Jiang Wei also knew the strength of the Wei army in siege. If he blindly defended Xiangwu, he would easily fall into a passive state. The complex and changeable terrain of Longxi County is more suitable for the characteristics of the Shu army.

Jiang Wei's strategic thinking is also quite clear, that is, he does not focus on gains and losses of a city and a place, so that he can leave enough room for change.

Deng Ai did not take the risk of advancing lightly, stationed troops in Nan'an and took steps to camp. The movements of both sides in Longxi, from the storm at the beginning, the thunderous advance suddenly turned into a state of stalemate, which made the generals under his command a little uncomfortable and asked Deng Ai to fight, demanding to attack Wucheng Mountain and fight to the death with the Shu army.

Deng Ai looked calm. The real master showdown is not that anyone who is quicker has a chance of winning, but that it is a combination of movement and stillness. When there is no chance, you must take steady steps and take action without leaving any flaws for your opponent. Once an opportunity arises, it will be like a goshawk fighting a rabbit, and you will hit it with one blow.

Now the Shu army has a tight formation and a complete defense layout. If the Wei army launches a strong attack, it will be more than worth the loss. Therefore, Deng Ai is not in a hurry to attack, but stabilizes the current situation and does not give the Shu army a chance to counterattack. On this basis, look for fighter opportunities. Once the opportunity appears, Deng Ai will be like an eagle fighting a rabbit and as fast as a thunder.

Although the road from Longxi to Liangzhou was cut off by the Shu army, this was not fatal, because Deng Ai had reopened the grain road from Ji County to Liangzhou and bypassed the area controlled by the Shu army. Although this road was relatively farther than the road from Longxi to Liangzhou, and there would be more losses on the road from halfway, it would not cause Liangzhou to fall into trouble.

Without this worries, Deng Ai can also concentrate on dealing with Jiang Wei and patiently fight a lasting battle.

………………………………………………………………

At this time, Cao Liang had already returned to Luoyang a month ago.

After returning to Luoyang, Cao Liang was not in a hurry to march south. As early as Guanzhong, he had issued an order to the three governors of Qingzhou, Yuzhou and Xuzhou, asking them to draw some troops and go south to reinforce Huainan.

Although the Wu army was coming in a fierce manner, Cao Liang knew their ability to attack and wanted to break through the important defense centers in Huainan, there was almost no hope. Therefore, Cao Liang was calm. Even if he really lost a few cities, it would be no big deal. Without the waterway, the Wu army's survival and combat capabilities plummeted. As long as the Wei army arrived, it would be easy to retake these cities.

For example, when Zhuge Dan raised an army to rebel against the Sima family in Huainan, he handed over Hefei New City to the Wu Kingdom. However, after Zhuge Dan was defeated, the Wu people were still unable to defend the New City and retreated to the front line of Chaohu.

Therefore, in Cao Liang's view, the Wu people's attack was more of a futile situation. However, due to the lack of a naval army that could compete with it, the Wei State could not cross the Yangtze River defense line of the Wu State. For decades, the two sides had fought against each other and fought countless tug-of-wars in Huainan, but the borders of both sides were extremely stable and had no changes for decades.

Not only the eastern line, but also the western line. The boundary between Wei and Shu was always frozen on the Qinling line. Both sides were constantly invading wars, but they were still unable to cross the line.

There is no suspense that Liangzhou has been pacified. Cao Liang has steadily occupied all the territory of Cao Wei, and he deserves his position as emperor.

But Cao Liang never thought that he would stop the conquest and eliminate the Sima family was the first step he took to the Long March. Cao Liang had a greater ambition in his heart, which was to pacify Wu and destroy Shu, unify the world, end the disputes of the Three Kingdoms era, truly make the world harmonious, the world peaceful, the world one by one, and the rivers and seas peaceful.

From the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the late Eastern Han Dynasty to the heroes' separating the Three Kingdoms, the world has been turbulent for more than seventy years, and the life span of a person's life is roughly the same. The world's general trend will be divided after a long time of unity, and long time of division will be unified. This is a trend. Since the Sima family no longer has the opportunity to take on the task of unifying the world, this task naturally fell on Cao Liang's shoulders, and he had no choice.
Chapter completed!