jdhmnovel Chapter 222 Jiang Wei Meets Zhang Fei
Chapter 222 Jiang Wei Meets Zhang Fei
In a battle between masters, there are no fancy tricks, only the test of patience and perseverance. Whoever persists to the end wins, and whoever gives up and reveals a weakness will be fatally struck by the opponent.
Zhuge Liang understood this point, and in order to buy time for Zhao Yun to rush to Jieting to meet Zhang Fei, he naturally wouldn't rush into a decisive battle with the Wei army.
Therefore, for Zhuge Liang, the most important thing at the moment was not to rush to the Wei army and force them into Baliwan, but to ensure that the army could pass through the bottom of Xianhe Valley without being ambushed by the Wei army.
To ensure the safety of the army, Zhuge Liang only traveled ten miles during the entire day. He stopped as soon as the sun set and ordered the army to dig trenches and build fortifications. While eating and resting, they also had to guard against a night attack by the Wei army.
There was no other way; the Han army excelled in mountain warfare and felt insecure on the plains. Before reaching Baliwan, Zhuge Liang would be on high alert, not giving the Wei army any chance to launch a sneak attack.
Don’t seek merit but seek no fault.
However, this was the approach taken in the Xianhe Valley. Once they passed through the flat Xianhe Valley and entered the Baliwan Mountain area, Zhuge Liang would let Zhang He and Sima Yi know the true strength of the Han army.
The Han army set up camp in the middle of the Xianhe Valley in front of the Wei army scouts, and left men to guard it at night.
Sima Yi personally led his troops to the vicinity of the Han army camp to scout, but after observing for a long time, he could not find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack and had to give up.
Neither side took any action that night, and both camps were unusually quiet.
The valley floor was deathly silent, but the battle cries from Wang Ping's defense of Dawanchuan were deafening.
Let's go back to morning.
After seeing Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei off, Wang Ping rushed to Lizigou and Xinjia Laocha to scout the terrain. After covering the area within a ten-mile radius, Wang Ping decided to abandon Zhao Yun's plan to defend Dawanchuan, Lizigou and Xinjia Laocha simultaneously, and instead concentrate his forces to defend Dawanchuan.
Zhao Yun's plan was to block all three roads leading to Jieting, ensuring that no Wei soldiers would escape, but Wang Ping believed it was completely unnecessary; holding Dawanchuan would suffice.
The reason is simple: while defending all three routes at the same time can completely block the Wei army, it is also easy to provoke fierce resistance from the Wei army. If we have no way to go, why are we not fighting for our lives?
Moreover, defending three locations simultaneously can easily disperse the defending forces, leading to a situation where all the defenders want to hold their positions but fail to hold any of them.
Abandoning the other two points and focusing solely on defending Dawanchuan would be different. Firstly, this would allow all forces to be concentrated, preventing the Wei army from making a rapid breakthrough.
Secondly, with itself anchored at Dawanchuan, the Wei army dared not easily take the other two routes. This is the same principle as the enemy facing a fortified city, who dared not bypass it and could only fight to the death. If you dare to bypass me, don't blame me for rushing out of the city to stab you in the back at a critical moment.
Finally, military strategy dictates that when besieging an enemy, one must leave an opening. If there are two other paths to survival, the Wei army is unlikely to fight him to the death at Dawanchuan.
With this in mind, Wang Ping led his army to cut down trees and dig trenches, turning the less than 300-meter-wide defense line of Dawanchuan into an impregnable fortress. At the same time, he also deployed troops on the mountains on both sides to prevent the Wei army from launching a surprise attack.
Moreover, Wang Ping remembered what Zhuge Liang had said about Zhang He potentially mobilizing the Wei army at Jieting to attack him. So he deployed the defenses he had set up in front of him behind him as well, essentially building a makeshift city between the two mountains to surround himself. In this way, even if he faced a pincer attack from the main Wei army and the Wei army at Jieting, he was confident that he could hold out for three to five days.
His efforts proved worthwhile. The construction was completed around 5 PM. Just as Wang Ping was about to order a rest, a scout rushed over and said, "General, a Wei army is heading towards us from the direction of Ji City. They are a densely packed force, probably over ten thousand strong, and they are carrying banners with the character 'Zhang' on them. It's possible that it is Zhang He himself."
Wang Ping's face darkened, and he said in a cold tone, "Zhang He actually came in person. He really thinks highly of me, Wang. What a pity, it would have been better if it were Xu Huang."
He was also a vengeful person, and even after all these years, he still harbored resentment towards Xu Huang for shifting the blame onto him, and dreamed of having a real showdown with Xu Huang on the battlefield.
The subordinate asked timidly, "General, what do we do now?"
Wang Ping quickly shook his head to calm himself down and loudly ordered, "Everyone, return to your positions as previously arranged. Don't even think about sleeping tonight."
Upon receiving the order, the Han soldiers immediately picked up their weapons and returned to their posts, awaiting the arrival of the Wei army.
They had been building their camp all day and had been waiting for this moment, so they could take this opportunity to test its sturdiness.
At the same time, Zhang He led his troops to Dawanchuan and, upon hearing the scouts' report, rushed forward to investigate. Seeing that the Shu army had already built camps and was ready for battle, his restless heart sank.
The Shu army's defenses are so tight; this battle will not be easy.
No matter how difficult it is, we have to fight. If we don't clear out this obstacle in front of us, tens of thousands of Wei soldiers may really perish at Baliwan.
Zhang He briefly observed the surrounding terrain and immediately organized his troops to attack Wang Ping's camp. Wang Ping, not to be outdone, decisively counterattacked. Arrows from both sides rose into the air almost simultaneously, whistling through the air as they hurtled towards each other. For a moment, arrows rained down.
After the arrows passed, Zhang He personally led his army to charge towards the camp. He had no time for maneuvering or probing, and went all out from the start.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun, guided by Jiang Wei, traversed mountains and valleys, successfully arriving near Jieting at the end of Hai hour (9-11 PM).
Then Zhao Yun found a place to hide, while Jiang Wei led two White Feather Soldiers across the Qinling Mountains to Longshan Road to contact Zhang Fei.
Although the mountain path was difficult to traverse, Jiang Wei was familiar with the terrain. He climbed the mountain for nearly two hours, and just as he was about to enter the Longshan Road, more than a dozen soldiers suddenly sprang out of the grass on the hillside and surrounded them. One of them shouted impatiently, "Captain, we've caught a few Wei spies!"
This was no different from announcing himself. Jiang Wei was overjoyed and said, "We are not spies, but messengers sent by Military Advisor Zhuge, carrying the latest orders from the King and the Military Advisor. Please take us to see the Third General immediately."
Since Jiang Wei had said so, the Han army patrolmen were naturally not foolish enough to execute them on the spot. After confiscating their weapons, they led them straight to Zhang Fei's camp on the Longshan Road.
Zhang Fei was already asleep when he heard Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang issue new orders. He jumped up as if he had come back from the dead, rushed out of the command tent at top speed, and shouted, "Where is he?"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw a group of soldiers walking towards him. Guessing that the messenger was inside, he quickly shouted, "Tell Huang Zhizhong to come over here quickly!"
When Jiang Wei was brought to the commander's tent, he recognized Zhang Fei's identity from the size of the tent and Zhang Fei's face. He bowed and said, "This humble general Jiang Wei greets the Third General."
Zhang Fei stared at Jiang Wei for a moment and asked, "You say you are the King's messenger, how can you prove it?"
Jiang Wei clasped his hands in a bow and stepped aside, pushing the two White Feather Soldiers in front of Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei leaned closer and immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Ding Qi and Song Bao, it's you two!"
The White Feather Army only numbered eight or nine hundred. Qu Chang was considered a high-ranking general in the White Feather Army. How could Zhang Fei not recognize him?
The two men bowed and said, "This humble general greets the Third General. May the Third General come into the tent to speak?"
Zhang Fei then realized what was happening and quickly led the two of them and Jiang Wei into the tent, ordering his personal guards to stand guard outside and prevent anyone from approaching.
Before he could even stand properly after entering the tent, Zhang Fei impatiently asked, "Tell me quickly, what does the King want me to do?"
The two men remained silent and stepped back, giving Jiang Wei the opportunity to speak. They were just high-ranking soldiers, not skilled enough to handle such a technically demanding task as communication.
Jiang Wei bowed and said, "Reporting to the Third General, we came here with General Zhao Yun. General Zhao Yun is waiting for an opportunity to act at Jieting. As long as the Third General continues to attack the city, General Zhao Yun can launch an attack from behind the Wei army and help the Third General take Jieting in one fell swoop."
Zhang Fei's eyes widened suddenly, and he asked incredulously, "What? Zilong has actually arrived at Jieting, and he's leading the White Feather Army?"