mesbooks Chapter 201 An Honest Man Uses Underhanded Tactics
Chapter 201 An Honest Man Uses Underhanded Tactics
Guo Huai arrived in Yong County two days ago. He originally planned to ambush Huang Quan on the way, but when he arrived, Huang Quan had already entered the city and was staying there, leaving him completely at a loss.
You must know that Huang Quan has tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, and with the city walls protecting him, he has a great advantage in terrain. He only has four thousand cavalrymen. How can he fight?
Although the city wall of Yongxian was only three meters high, it was still a city wall, and warhorses simply couldn't get through it.
Guo Huai had no choice but to rest on the spot. At the same time, he ordered Fei Yao of Mei County and Hao Zhao of Chencang to each dispatch 4,000 troops to come and help as quickly as possible.
At the same time, a messenger was sent to Chang'an to request Zhang Ji, the governor of Yongzhou, to dispatch troops to Qian County to intercept the Shu army. Meanwhile, Zhang Ji continued to harass the Shu army and slow down their march, buying time for Zhang Ji. He hoped that Zhang Ji could reach Qian County before Zhang Fei and intercept the main force of the Shu army, so that the Shu army would not be able to enter Dazhen Pass and would naturally not pose a threat to Jieting.
Previously, he was desperately rushing to Dazhen Pass, while Zhang Fei set up numerous checkpoints to intercept him and prevent him from reaching Dazhen Pass. Now, it's the other way around; Zhang Fei is going all out to reach Dazhen Pass, while he's trying every possible way to stop Zhang Fei from going. It has to be said that the changes on the battlefield are really damn fast; the shift in offense and defense can happen in an instant.
Although Zhang Fei didn't know Guo Huai's plans, he could guess the general idea, so when he saw Huang Quan, he didn't dare to be negligent and directly asked when they could leave.
They must get to Dazhen Pass as soon as possible; otherwise, the longer they delay, the more Wei troops will arrive, which will be more disadvantageous for them.
Huang Quan also knew the seriousness of the matter and said, "In the past two days, I have robbed all the wealthy households in the city, plundered tens of thousands of bushels of grain and nearly a thousand mules and horses, and they are all ready to leave at any time, but I think we can't leave today."
"The scouts reported that Guo Huai is hiding in the woods to the northeast. As soon as we make a move, he will stick to us like a leech. With him there, our marching speed will be slow. Fei Yao and Hao Zhao's reinforcements, on the other hand, have no worries and can run at full speed. They should be able to catch up with us in two days at most."
"If Guo Huai's reinforcements join forces with Fei Yao and Hao Zhao, their strength will be almost equal to ours. At that point, it will be impossible to defeat them quickly. Once we get into a stalemate, and the reinforcements from Chang'an arrive in Qian County and block us inside the pass, we will probably be wiped out."
Zhang Fei was not worried but pleased, saying, "You must have an idea, so just tell me what to do."
Huang Quan said, "Before I entered Yong County, I hid two thousand elite soldiers at the foot of Qishan Mountain in the southeast. All my personal guards were there. Guo Huai has been watching me closely and has not yet noticed the presence of that elite force. After dark, we will split into two groups. I will take the troops and supplies out of the city to continue our journey, while you will secretly leave the city to Qishan to meet up with those two thousand elite soldiers. We will arrive at Guo Huai's camp in the middle of the night and give him a good beating."
"Don't worry about not finding Guo Huai's location. My scouts have been keeping an eye on him. And if I move, he will definitely move, and if I stop, he will naturally stop too. Around 1 AM, I will be stationed in Qianyang Town, about 20 miles away. I will spend the night in Qianyang Town and let Guo Huai rest. You will set off again at 3 AM and try to reach Qianyang Town by 5 AM to launch a surprise attack on Guo Huai. We don't need to annihilate all of Guo Huai's cavalry, just scatter them and make him stop following us like a leech."
Huang Quan is now the carrot that lures the donkey forward. Wherever he goes, Guo Huai will follow. If Guo Huai is to use this characteristic as a starting point to scheme against him, Guo Huai may not be able to withstand it.
Zhang Fei excitedly slapped his thigh and said, "Gongheng, I knew you were just an honest-looking kid, but you're full of bad intentions."
Huang Quan rolled his eyes and said, "Let's go into the city first. You can set off after dark. Don't worry, I've found a soldier with a similar build to you to impersonate you and raise your battle flag. I guarantee your disappearance won't arouse Guo Huai's suspicion."
Zhang Fei: “…”
Honest people are reliable; look how thoughtful they are.
The two men combined their armies and arranged them into battle formation to prevent Guo Huai from launching a surprise attack. Then they entered the city side by side to begin preparations.
Zhang Fei made no preparations; he simply ate, slept, and conserved his energy to set off at night. Huang Quan, however, directed the army to allocate provisions and began preparing for a night march.
Around 9 PM, Huang Quan abandoned Yong County and led his army out of the city with provisions to begin their journey. Zhang Fei, led by Huang Quan's personal guards, left the city through a tunnel in a wealthy household and headed towards Qishan.
Night marches are not difficult, but it is difficult to guard against enemy attacks while marching. Huang Quan ordered the soldiers playing the role of Zhang Fei to walk in front, placing the grain carts in the middle. He then ordered the spearmen, swordsmen, and crossbowmen to walk in groups of three on both sides of the grain carts. The plan was to have the crossbowmen fire first when Guo Huai attacked, with the spearmen blocking the way and the swordsmen cutting off the horses' legs, thus buying time to set up a second line of defense for the grain carts. After the grain cart defense line was ready, the front-line soldiers would retreat into the formation to fight a positional battle with Guo Huai.
Even after doing all this, Huang Quan still felt uneasy, so he sent out a large number of scouts to investigate Guo Huai's movements, instructing the scouts to send him a signal as soon as they saw any trace of Guo Huai.
Guo Huai's reinforcements haven't arrived yet, and knowing that Zhang Fei and Huang Quan have just left the city and are under tight security, the possibility of launching an attack tonight is very small. However, the necessary preparations still need to be made, just in case Guo Huai doesn't play by the rules and comes to attack in the middle of the night.
Guo Huai did not miss the news of the Shu army leaving Yong County. He quickly received the message and caught up with them, keeping a distance of five miles from the Shu army to prevent them from escaping his sight.
The two sides quickly and tacitly advanced for more than an hour. Around midnight, someone couldn't help but say to Guo Huai, "General, the Shu army knows we are right behind them, yet they still dare to swagger around. This is too arrogant and shows no respect for us. Should I lead a charge to strike and dampen their arrogance?"
Guo Huai shook his head and said, "No, the Shu army has been resting and recuperating in the county town these days. They are currently full of energy and focused. Moreover, they will definitely be on guard knowing that we are right behind them. We will not gain any advantage if we go there now."
"Let's wait. This state of high tension and constant vigilance against the enemy can't last long. At most, the Shu army will be unable to hold on for two days. In two days, Generals Fei Yao and Hao Zhao will also arrive. At that time, we will take advantage of the Shu army's fatigue to launch a surprise attack and try to burn the Shu army's supplies in one fell swoop."
If we burn the Shu army's supplies, then these 20,000 Shu soldiers will be rendered useless.
Without supplies, even if I open the road for you to pass, how far can you go?
The general gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "General, you are wise!"
Guo Huai smiled without saying a word and led his cavalry to continue advancing with the Shu army. They arrived at Qianyang Town at the end of the Chou hour (1-3 AM). To their surprise, they found that the Shu army had stopped and set up camp outside the town to rest.
Qianyang Town, though called a town, was actually just a rural market without even walls. The townspeople had fled with their families long ago upon hearing of the war, so there was no one around, making it a perfect place for the Shu army to set up camp.
The subordinate general asked in surprise, "General, it's only the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), why has the Shu army stopped moving?"
Guo Huai pondered, "They probably think we're too much of a nuisance and are plotting how to deal with us. Let's go find a place to camp, eat, drink, and rest. We'll strengthen our defenses tonight to prevent a surprise attack by the Shu army."
People need food and water to survive. If you want to keep the Shu army occupied, you need to ensure they get enough rest and maintain their strength. You can't let the Shu army wear you down.
Guo Huai set up camp five miles away, dividing his soldiers into two groups, one on night watch and the other resting, constantly guarding against a surprise attack from the Shu army on the other side.
However, his main focus of defense was the Shu army camp in Qianyang Town. Guo Huai probably never dreamed that the Shu army's sneak attack would not come from the front, but from behind.