At the mouth of the valley, Xiahou Ba, who was still dozens of steps away, saw Le Wei approaching, and hurriedly greeted him from a distance with clasped fists: "Thank you, General Le, for your life-saving grace. If I hadn't rushed to the rescue in time, I would have died in Shu."

Killed by a thief?"

"General Xiahou is too polite. They are all brothers. No matter what kind of life-saving grace you have, this is what Le Mou should do.

Alas, it's a pity that our troops are still late. If we had arrived earlier, instead of leaving the Shu thieves behind and surrounding them in the valley, even the brothers in the Pioneer Battalion would have suffered less losses," Le Wei said.

Today was originally the day he and Xiahou Ba agreed to meet up at Qu Valley. Unexpectedly, during the march, he suddenly received news that the Han army had invaded the valley. He could not resist it and was severely defeated. He was almost in danger of being annihilated.

After being frightened, Le Wei hurriedly left 2,000 men to escort the baggage and followed him. He led 3,000 troops lightly and galloped towards Qu Valley, and finally scared off the Han army before Xiahou Ba's remaining army was annihilated.

Hearing this, Xiahou Ba felt a mixture of regret and blame. He blamed himself for the late arrival of the friendly troops. He shamefully blamed himself: "My lord, we have arrived quickly enough. Our troops are filled with endless gratitude from top to bottom. How can we blame them?"

Wait for justice?

The defeat in this battle is all the fault of Ba alone. Ba was careless and inattentive, so that the sneak attack failed and was taken advantage of by thieves. It can be said that it is a loss of troops and humiliation for the country, and has affected the three armies. Ba himself should immediately write a letter of apology to the chief commander."

"General Zhongquan, don't blame yourself too much. It's not the time to talk about writing a petition to apologize. The top priority now is to treat the wounded, collect the defeated soldiers, and count the losses. In addition, we also need to send more scouts to Xingshiwei to investigate the Shu army.

Although they have retreated, there is no guarantee that they will not come back again?" Le Wei comforted him.

Xiahou Ba nodded slowly: "General Le is absolutely right. You really cannot be discouraged at this time. Come on, let's go to the big tent to talk."

Different from the sluggish atmosphere on the Wei army's side, within the Xingshi area more than ten miles away, the Han army was all beaming with joy and cheering. This battle achieved a lot, which was a good start for Ji Han's defensive counterattack.

.

Deng Zhi ordered the killing of pigs and sheep to reward the three armies, and at the same time sent people to rush the news of the victory to the Chinese army camp in Chenggu.

After a night of rest, the Wei army in Qu Valley finally regained some morale, and the defeated soldiers who had fled to the surrounding mountains and forests also returned to the valley one after another.

On the third day, Xiahou Ba collected more than a thousand defeated soldiers, and his troops recovered from more than a thousand to about three thousand. From almost the whole army was destroyed to more than half, Xiahou Ba was barely able to survive with many scars.

My mind feels better.

Le Wei quickly walked into the tent, bowed his hands and said eagerly: "General Zhongquan, the spies just reported that the three thousand reinforcements sent by Akasakawei have arrived at Xingshiwei. Now Deng Zhi's troops have increased to seven or eight thousand.

People, it will be even more difficult for our army to defeat the rising trend."

After the defeat the night before yesterday, the two Wei armies of Xiahouba and Lehui had only more than 8,000 troops left in total, which was almost the same strength as the Han army surrounded by Xingshi. However, with this small number of troops, it was difficult to break through a dangerous and well-fortified place.

of.

Xiahou Ba also understood this truth. Even though he was unwilling to do so, he had no choice but to face the situation. At this moment, he could only sigh and said: "Alas, it is difficult to defeat the rising trend with the current strength of our hands. For now,

The only plan is to retreat first, avoid the enemy's edge, and send envoys to Da Sima for help."

"Yes, reinforcements from the Shu thieves are coming in a steady stream. It will be dangerous for us to stay here any longer. It doesn't matter if we retreat a certain distance. The soldiers will eventually find a safe place to rest." Le Wei nodded slowly.

That afternoon, Xiahou Ba and Le Wei led eight thousand Wei troops to withdraw from Qu Valley and camped in a hidden valley more than 20 miles away from Xingshiwei.

The Han army scouts found out the news and reported it to Deng Zhi on flying horse. After discussing with the generals, Deng Zhi decided to stand still and wait and see what happens. Although the Wei army was outside spying on the camp, the whole army still prioritized the safety of the generals.

Important tasks.

"Crack!"

Cao Zhen slammed the battle report sent by Xiahou Ba to the ground, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face: "Zhong Quan is incompetent, and the loss of his army is humiliating the country. He finally reached the vicinity of Xingshiwei, but he didn't want to be noticed by the Shu army, so all his previous efforts were wasted.

, losing troops and generals. Now that the Shu army is on guard, Zhong Quan and the others will not be able to break the siege."

"Da Sima, please calm down first. Running a long distance is a dangerous move. Any accidents are normal. Although General Zhong Quan was defeated for a while, he gathered the defeated soldiers and was happy. There are still seven or eight thousand people in General's army who dare to fight.

, as long as we continue to send more reinforcements, there is still a chance to break the momentum." Liu Ye leaned over to pick up the letter and put it on the case, and said slowly.

Cao Zhen said: "The fortifications of Xingshi Siege are strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is still possible to succeed in a sneak attack. I'm afraid it will be... difficult to attack by force."

He frowned and stared at Xingshi Mountain on the map for a while, and then said: "What's more, the opportunity has been lost. The Shu army surrounded by Akasaka can provide support at any time. It will be even more difficult to break through the siege by force."

Liu Ye also felt that the current situation was very difficult. The Han army refused to defend the dangerous position and was ready. Neither the golden siege on Ziwu Road nor the Xingshi siege on Tangluo Road was easy to conquer. Once a stalemate was formed, it would be difficult to defeat them.

Our own food supply capacity will be a huge test.

If it were normal times, with Cao Wei's family's great business, it would be easy to fight a protracted war. However, the autumn rain is continuous, and the transportation of military supplies and supplies is several times more difficult than usual. It is difficult for the Wei army to survive on the rugged and difficult terrain.

Stay in Ziwu Valley for a long time.

"Da Sima, the sneak attack on Xingshiwei is a strange move. If it succeeds, it is certainly gratifying. If it fails, it is not unacceptable. Now that the attack fails, we can only turn it into a force attack.

Da Sima Ke ordered another general to lead 5,000 troops to reinforce General Xiahou. Of course, this was not the best time to attack by force. He could have General Xiahou and the others set up camp near Xingshiwei and hold back until the main force arrived near Jinjin.

Both sides behind the siege attack together, so as to pose the greatest threat to the Shu army's defense line."

Cao Zhen nodded and said, "That's all we can do now." He immediately ordered General Liang Hong to lead 5,000 troops to Tangluo Road for reinforcements, and made it clear that both he and Le Lei were under Xiahou Ba's control.

"Da Sima, a small setback is not enough to worry about. What Ye is most worried about right now is the transportation of grain and grass. It has been raining non-stop, and the grain and grass sent from the rear to the front of the army are getting less and less every day, and the escape

There are more and more civilians, and once the supply cannot keep up with the consumption, there will be big trouble." After Cao Zhen gave the order, Liu Ye said worriedly.

Cao Zhen also knew the seriousness of this matter. However, the transportation of grain and grass was a chore that relied purely on manpower, material resources, and financial resources. There was no room for opportunism. The Wei army's grain road was currently long and difficult to travel, so he also

There is no good way to solve the problem, the only way is to urge Yan Fei and others in Chang'an to try their best to change the situation.

"As a report to the Grand Sima, General Zhang He of the rear army sent an envoy to report that the food and fodder in front of the army today is only more than 3,000 stones, which is not enough for the whole army to consume for one day.

General Zhang He said that if this continues, even if we include the previous food reserves, our army's current food and grass can only last for a month at most. If we cannot pass through the Ziwu Valley and penetrate deep into the hinterland of Hanzhong to feed the enemy, the army will be in chaos without a fight.

Therefore, General Zhang He suggested that Grand Sima issue a strict order to order the sergeants to advance in the rain and speed up, so that they can no longer squirm like a snail like now." Xie Wei suddenly broke into the tent and reported.

Cao Zhen was undecided after hearing this. After a long time, he looked at Liu Ye and asked, "What do you think, Duke Yang?"

"The only solution for now is to fight hard. Otherwise, before the Shu army comes to attack, the Dukes of Luoyang will probably send our troops back to the court."

Cao Zhen said: "Okay, let's fight." He immediately ordered the army to speed up their march and rush towards Huanghuangwei without taking shelter from the wind and rain.

However, contrary to expectations, the road in Ziwu Valley was still too difficult and dangerous. Even though the Wei army tried its best, they could only advance a few miles every day, and they were still hundreds of miles away from the southern entrance of Ziwu Valley.
Chapter completed!