Xingshiwei is built on Xingshi Mountain, close to the mouth of the Tangshui River. Like Huanghuangwei, it is a dangerous location that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. After several years of operation, it has surrounded grain depots, arsenals, water wells, etc.

The facilities for living and combat operations are complete and sufficient to hold on for a long time.

That night, Deng Zhi, the general of the Northern Expedition, studied "The Art of War" in his study after dinner. Although he was a Confucian scholar, he was always keen on military affairs. In addition, following Zhuge Liang in the past few years, Zhao Yun made two northern expeditions to Cao Wei and accumulated a lot of experience.

With profound battle experience, he has grown into a general with both civil and military capabilities.

In view of this, Zhuge Liang felt relieved and handed over the important task of guarding Xingshiwei to Deng Zhi. Xingshiwei was one of the core defensive cores of Hanzhong's first line of defense, and it could not be taken on unless a talented and wise general.

Of course, this was also due to the strong recommendation of Zhao Yun, his superior. After the spring of this year, Zhao Yun felt that his energy was lacking and his health was not as good as before, so he handed over the daily affairs of the Right Army to Deng Zhi and Wu Ban.

The deputy general handles it.

This time, the right army was ordered to guard Xingshi and Jin was surrounded. Zhao Yun handed over the main force of the right army to Deng Zhi, and Wu Ban and Wu Ban were given full command. Zhao Yun himself took the remaining 1,000 cavalry to follow Zhuge Liang's central army.

This deployment has some meaning of training the next right army general.

"General, we have an urgent military situation."

Just when Deng Zhi was looking at it, the voice of the captain on duty, Xu Yuan, suddenly sounded outside the door.

Deng Zhi immediately stood up, opened the door, and asked eagerly: "What happened?"

"Just now a nearby mountain man came to report that he saw a large number of Wei troops in a valley more than ten miles away."

Deng Zhi was startled: "What, the Wei army is rushing to surround me! Is this serious?"

"What the mountain people said about having noses and eyes should be correct. I have also sent scouts to the valley to investigate. I believe it will be confirmed soon."

Deng Zhi nodded and continued to ask: "How many troops are there in the Wei army? Who is the general who leads the army?"

"The mountain people said that there were at least several thousand Wei troops in the valley. As for the generals who led the troops, it is unknown. The mountain people could not read a few words and could not identify the flags of the Wei army generals." Xu Yuan replied.

Deng Zhi said: "Thousands of Wei troops came under our noses without us noticing. It seems that the soldiers have been slacking off these days. Fortunately, they were discovered by the mountain people, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."

"What the general said is absolutely true. This matter must be taken as a warning. However, our attention is focused on the Ziwu Road. In addition, the heavy rain has been falling non-stop these days, and the activities of reconnaissance cavalry and sentry posts have been restricted. Only then did we

It was a bit careless.”

Deng Zhi hummed softly, waved his hand and said: "Okay, let's not talk about this now. You will immediately call the generals and colonels to the lobby for discussion. In addition, once the news is confirmed, reward the mountain people heavily."

"promise."

More than an hour later, the scouts brought back precise information. There were no fewer than five or six thousand Wei troops in the valley, and the leading general was none other than Xiahou Ba, the vanguard general of the Wei army in the middle.

In the lobby, Deng Zhi said to the generals with a serious face: "It seems that this is a conspiracy carefully designed by the Wei thieves. Xiahouba personally led his troops to sneak here under the cover of heavy rain, just to launch a sneak attack on our Xingshiwei. Well,

Open the exit into Hanzhong from the Tangluo Road."

"What the general said is true. Even though we had anticipated that the Wei army might penetrate diagonally from Ziwu Road to Tangluo Road, after so many days, everyone's vigilance has dropped. The Wei army's attack in the rain is indeed a little bit...

Unexpectedly, I have to say that Wei Jun's move was very clever." said the general Xia Houlin.

This Xia Houlin is the eldest son of Xia Houlan, Zhao Yun's friend from the same hometown. He is eight feet tall and has outstanding martial arts. He is only in his early thirties this year and has already achieved the rank of general.

Xiahoulan originally belonged to Cao Cao's tent. In the seventh year of Jian'an, he followed Xiahoudun and went south to Jingzhou to attack Liu Bei. In the battle of Bowangpo, Xiahoudun's army was defeated by Liu Bei's army. During the fight, Xiahoulan was captured by Zhao Yun.

Because they were from the same hometown, they had known each other since they were young, so Zhao Yun successfully persuaded Xiahoulan to surrender, and Liu Bei appointed him as military commander and in charge of the laws in the army. After Liu Bei became emperor, Xiahoulan was named a court captain for his merit, ranking among the nine ministers.

one.

Because of such a relationship, Xia Houlin was transferred by Zhao Yun to serve in the Right Army after the Northern Expeditionary Army was formed.

Zhao Yun is loyal and upright by nature, and is certainly not a person who bends the law for personal gain. Transferring Xia Houlin to his subordinates is just to give his nephew an opportunity to make contributions to the front line. Xia Houlin's current high position as a partial general is all the result of his own battles on the battlefield.

He didn't get much care from Zhao Yun.

Lieutenant Zhu Peng, who was sitting at the head of Xiahou Lin, took over the conversation and said with emotion: "Fortunately, the whereabouts of the Wei army were discovered by the nearby mountain people, otherwise the situation would have been siege and danger. This is really a stroke of luck!"

Others had the same idea after hearing this, and they all echoed the words, saying that they would greatly reward the mountain man who reported the news. Without this person, Xingshiwei would probably be attacked by the Wei army, and once Xingshiwei was attacked,

After breaking through, there was a gap in the first line of defense of the Han army. Deng Zhi and others who were responsible for such a big crime must be severely punished.

"Okay, I have thanked everyone for my benefactor. Our top priority now is to discuss how to deal with the Wei army's attack." Deng Zhi shouted to stop everyone's discussion.

Zhu Peng clasped his fists and said: "General, now that we are on guard, Xiahou Ba can't even think about breaking through the Xingshi siege. On the one hand, we strengthen the defense, and on the other hand, we ask for help from Akasaka siege and Chenggu. A two-pronged approach will definitely be able to stop the Wei army."

"Captain Zhu is right, the Wei army only has a few thousand men, so what do we have to fear? Just wait for them to attack."

"Xingshi's siege is fortified and the fortress is strong. Xiahou Ba has lost the opportunity, so don't even think about winning again."

"We can first use the fortifications to deplete the enemy's energy, then hold them back with all our strength, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop when reinforcements arrive."

...

The chance of a sneak attack by the Wei army has gone. Everyone is not afraid of thousands of Wei troops coming to attack. You and I will each offer a defensive strategy.

However, Deng Zhi, who was sitting in the chair, seemed not to be very satisfied with everyone's suggestions. He turned to Xia Houlin, who had not yet spoken, and asked: "Zimao, you have always been wise and strategic, what do you think?"

"General, I think that holding on is a sure-fire strategy, but this still gives the initiative on the battlefield to the Wei army. Now Xiahou Ba thinks that his whereabouts have not been revealed, and there is hope for a sneak attack. This is the time when defenses are at their most relaxed. We might as well take the initiative."

Attack and attack the Wei army in turn. Once defeated, not only will you not have to sit and defend the camp, but it will also be a great achievement." Xia Houlin replied with his hand.

Deng Zhi laughed and said, "Haha, Zi Mao's words won my heart. It is better to defend than to attack. The Wei army does not have much more troops than us, so there is nothing to be afraid of if our army takes the initiative to attack!"

When other people heard this, they agreed that the initiative was now in their own hands, and it was time to defeat the Wei army. If they did not seize it, this opportunity would be wasted, so they all agreed.

The strategy was decided, and Deng Zhi immediately ordered: "Where is Xu Yuan?"

"The humble duty is here."

"I order you to lead a thousand troops to stay behind and build momentum. No matter how the battle is on the front line, you are not allowed to attack without authorization. In addition, you immediately arrange for manpower to request reinforcements from General Gao Xiang of Akasaka Siege."

"promise."

Xu Yuan responded: "I will obey the general's order."

"The rest of the generals gathered their troops and horses and followed him to attack the Wei army overnight."

Everyone accepted the order in unison: "No."
Chapter completed!