amaotonovel Chapter 193 Wei Yan's Mad Plan
Chapter 193 Wei Yan's Mad Plan
The terrain where the Han army was located was terrible. There was no direct way to get to Longxi, so they had to take a detour, and the detour was even worse, as it was all mountain roads.
The mountain roads are difficult to travel, and the fatigue is secondary; the main problem is that it's a huge waste of time. By the time they retreat back to Hanzhong and then head to Longxi, it will probably be too late.
But there's nothing we can do about it; that's just how the terrain is in Hanzhong.
Therefore, when they heard Liu Bei ask if there was a way to save time, the generals couldn't help but complain in their hearts.
Don't you know your family's situation? How dare you ask such a question?
Liu Bei knew he had asked a pointless question, and touched his nose, preparing to turn away to hide his embarrassment. But Zhang Fei suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said with delight, "Perhaps there really is."
Liu Bei stopped abruptly halfway through his turn, then quickly looked back at Zhang Fei, his eyes filled with hope.
The others also looked at Zhang Fei with curiosity, but wisely refrained from asking any questions and waited for Zhang Fei to continue.
Zhang Fei walked to the map and pointed to the location of the Han army, saying, "Our goal is to create the illusion of attacking Chang'an and draw the main force of the Wei army to our side. So far, this goal has not been achieved, but it has not been completely failed either."
"Because Zhang Ji still believes that our target is Chang'an, and that Chang'an is the focus of our defense. But what if we abandon Chang'an and turn around to attack Chencang?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, and they all went to the map to examine it carefully. Liu Bei even drew a line between Mei County and Chencang, and said, "Does Third Brother mean that we should attack Chencang to the west, and then go to Shanggui along the narrow pass of Chencang to meet up with the strategist?"
Chang'an is northeast of Wuzhangyuan, while Chencang is due west of Wuzhangyuan. If the target is suddenly changed, it can indeed catch the Wei army off guard and even capture Chencang in one fell swoop.
Huang Quan frowned and said, "The idea is good, but Chencang is also a fortified city, and it is guarded by Hao Zhao's five thousand troops. It may not be possible to take it in a short time. Even if we are lucky enough to take it, the narrow road of Chencang is not suitable for a large army to pass through. Isn't it risky to take this road?"
The Chencang Narrow Pass is a river channel carved out by the Wei River. It might be passable when the river is frozen in winter, but it is really not suitable for large armies to travel through in summer.
Zhang Fei said, "Just because it's not suitable for a large army to pass through doesn't mean it's impossible to pass through. It will only take a little more time, but even if it takes a little more time, it's still faster than retreating to Hanzhong and then marching out of Qishan, right?"
"We don't need to fight Chencang, we can just go around it. If Hao Zhao dares to come out of the city to block us, we'll deal with him. If he stays in the city and doesn't dare to come out, we'll ignore him. But if we do that, we have to be careful of Guo Huai."
"If Guo Huai finds out we went to Chencang, he will definitely lead his army to chase us. Why don't we ambush him on the way? To be honest, I've wanted to teach this Guo guy a lesson for a long time."
Guo Huai has been treating the Han army like dogs these days, driving Liu Bei to the brink of collapse, not to mention the hot-tempered Zhang Fei.
Liu Bei stroked his beard and said, "We can give it a try. We can attack Guo Huai first and then go to Chencang. Siege warfare is difficult, but I fear no one in the wilderness. If we can lure Guo Huai here and ambush him, perhaps this game will be won. What do you all think?"
Huang Quan, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, and the others all agreed, but Wei Yan frowned and pondered.
Liu Bei noticed his hesitation and asked, "Wenchang, is there something you want to say?"
Wei Yan stared at the map and said, "Since it's all an adventure anyway, why go along the Chencang Narrow Pass to Shanggui instead of heading north to Qianxian, taking Dazhen Pass, and then taking the Longshan Road straight to Jieting to attack Zhang He's rear?"
Boom boom boom...
These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's minds and leaving all the generals, including Liu Bei, stunned and dumbfounded.
It took Liu Bei a full quarter of an hour to react. He pointed to his location on the map with his index finger, then slowly moved north along the Qian River until he reached the entrance of the Longshan Road, Dazhen Pass, and said, "Go out of Dazhen Pass and follow the Longshan Road to Longxi. Isn't this the route Zhang He took?"
Huang Quan gasped, "This is an isolated advance deep into enemy territory, a cardinal sin in warfare, far too risky."
Dazhen Pass is located northwest of Chang'an, right in the heart of Guanzhong. Taking that route would require crossing almost half of the Guanzhong Plain, and the entire route was Wei territory, making it far too risky.
Wei Yan, however, said matter-of-factly, "So what? We have no intention of coming back. Even if we retreat back to Bashu after we reach Longxi, we will take the Qishan Road and will not enter Guanzhong again."
Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and the others looked at each other, their brows furrowed as they pondered the feasibility of the matter.
People often ask, "The plains are so wide, and the cities only occupy such a small area, so why do armies have to attack them desperately instead of choosing to go around them?"
The reason is simple: they will come back. You bypass the enemy city, fight your way out, and return exhausted and wounded, while the enemy troops inside the city are full of energy and suddenly attack. What do you do then?
Even if you don't plan to return to the city you bypassed, what will you do if the enemy forces inside the city come out and follow you after you leave, and then attack your rear when you are fighting the main enemy force in front?
If we disregard the two factors mentioned above, cities that cannot be conquered can be bypassed entirely.
Just like when Guan Yu was defeated at Maicheng and fled to Jianye, Guan Yu had no intention of surviving that day, so he naturally didn't care whether there were pursuers behind him.
Wei Yan continued to entice, "Your Majesty is only worried about two things. First, that the retreat route will be blocked when we return, and second, that we will be pursued by the Wei army when we march. But we have no intention of returning after we went to Longxi, so the first point can be ignored."
"As for the second point, I think there is even less to worry about. Zhang He's main force has gone to Longxi. The only force that Guanzhong can currently muster is Guo Huai's 5,000 mobile cavalry. At most, some more can be drawn from Chencang, Meixian and other cities. It is difficult to exceed 20,000 in total. In terms of troop strength, we are not at an advantage."
"If Guo Huai dares to pursue us in this situation, we will turn around and defeat him, then head straight for Chang'an. If Guo Huai does not pursue us, we will take Dazhen Pass and enter the Longshan Road."
"Once we successfully enter the Longshan Road, Guo Huai will have no chance to pursue us. The Longshan Road is narrow, and we can easily leave some troops to cover our retreat and hold off Guo Huai for ten days or so. Ten days or so is enough time for us to take Jieting and get to Zhang He's back."
"Your Majesty, think about it. The strategist will lead the army out of Qishan to fight Zhang He head-on, while we will attack from Jieting and launch a pincer attack on him. We will surely defeat Zhang He. Moreover, the strategist will block the Qishan road, and we will block Jieting. Once Zhang He is defeated, he will have nowhere to escape. At that time, we can not only annihilate Zhang He's 50,000 Wei troops, but we may even capture Zhang He himself. Such a result is definitely worth the risk, Your Majesty."
Liu Bei's eyes widened suddenly, and he took a deep breath, his whole body trembling with excitement.
Zhang Fei and Ma Chao were equally excited and said, "Your Majesty, I second that it is permissible to go."
Zhang He led 50,000 elite Wei troops. If they were annihilated in Longxi, it would be a fatal blow to Cao Cao.
Last year's Battle of Xiangfan saw Yu Jin's entire army wiped out, which nearly made Cao Cao move the capital. If Zhang He's army were to be wiped out as well, Cao Cao might just die of anger.
The key is that this plan is highly feasible and has a high probability of success.
Thinking of the scene of annihilating the Wei army and capturing Zhang He alive, Liu Bei was so excited that his whole body trembled, as if he had been injected with adrenaline. However, he suppressed the urge to agree and asked Huang Quan, "Gongheng, what do you think?"
Huang Quan saw through Liu Bei's intentions and, while inwardly cursing Wei Yan as a madman, whispered a word of advice: "It's too risky. This plan seems to have a high chance of success, but if anything goes wrong, none of us here will survive."