Three Kingdoms: I, Ma Su, Only Seek Death

Zhuge Liang basically made his next strategy clear with this move. First, the main force from Shuzhong went east to attack Nanyang and captured Wancheng, a strong city in the north of Nanyang, so as to cut off the support channel from the south of Guanzhong.

Then the troops of the Shu Han Dynasty marched eastward and used all their wealth to smash Guanzhong.

The main reason for doing this is to make the subsequent crusade against Guanzhong easier.

Nanyang and Guanzhong are basically the two lines of defense to the west of Cao Wei. No matter where these two places are lost, it is actually impossible for Cao Wei to accept them.

Therefore, no matter where they attack first, it is actually almost the same, and they will encounter Cao Wei's full counterattack.

However, there is no waterway along the Nanyang Basin, but the entrance is just in Kunyang in the northeast. If Cao Wei fully supports Nanyang, the response will be slower than fully supporting Guanzhong, but the Han army can quickly mobilize its army into Nanyang through the Wudang gap.

The most important thing is that the Han army left Nanyang and the main force's northern expedition to Wancheng could strategically facilitate the subsequent Guanzhong War.

It can be seen from the map that Guanzhong is basically surrounded on three sides at this time, and there is basically no danger to defend from the east of Chencang. After Sima Yi took charge of Chang'an, he used the Wei River and the Yellow River as barriers to build a new line of defense in Guanzhong.

This arrangement basically gave away the land north of the Wei River. In this way, it would be difficult for support from the Bingzhou direction to go south into Guanzhong. Sima Yi could only accept support from Guandong through Tongguan and Wuguan.

At this time, when the Han army marches eastward to Guanzhong, there is a high probability that it will not have to face Guanzhong, but the joint defense of Guanzhong, Luoyang, Nanyang, and even the entire Huainan four theaters. Although the Han army's offensive momentum has been fierce in recent years, Zhuge Liang is still too proud to even look at the situation.

Therefore, at this time, it would be a very good choice to open up the second battlefield in Nanyang and let Ma Di, the most capable warrior in the family, lead the Northern Expedition. As long as Ma Su can successfully leave Nanxiang County and capture Wancheng to cut off the Wuguan road, Guanzhong will basically become isolated and helpless.

By then, not only would the reinforcements from Huainan in Yuzhou be unable to enter Guanzhong through Wuguan, but even the soldiers and horses in Luoyang would not dare to move much in order to guard against the Han army in Nanyang. The whole Guanzhong basically becomes the meat in the Shuhan pot, which makes it much easier to eat.

However, Zhuge Liang's decision made Ma Su a little confused and even a little nervous.

He has always focused on partial divisions, and the maximum number of troops under his command is more than 10,000. This time, the prime minister directly asked him to lead the Northern Expedition alone, and even gave him 50,000 troops in one breath, saying that he could ask for more if it was not enough.

This basically means that Ma Di has even surpassed most of the veterans, and even Wei Yan is ranked behind. After all, Wei Yan had been coveting this opportunity for several years and couldn't wait for the opportunity to lead the northern expedition alone.

Now this opportunity clicked, and the Prime Minister threw it in Ma Su's face, almost knocking him unconscious.

Isn't this progress a little too fast? I'm not ready yet...

As if seeing Ma Su's nervousness, Zhuge Liang just smiled, patted Ma Su on the shoulder and said,

"You have been leading troops in wars for five years, and you have learned everything you need to learn. After all, you need to be on your own, so why not start from this time."

"I am over fifty, and I still want to go back to Nanyang to work in farming when I have the opportunity in the future. Then you will be the one to take the lead! So don't be confused, take a few days off and go to Hanzhong to prepare. Don't let me down this time. !”

Zhuge Liang's words were like a shot in the arm, making Ma Di quickly come back to his senses. This time Ma Su looked serious again and bowed respectfully to the Prime Minister.

"Prime Minister, I believe in my hunch. Not only will you have the opportunity to return to Nanyang to cultivate Longmu in the future, but you will also be able to visit your hometown of Langya!"

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The Northern Expedition was a decision Zhuge Liang made after careful consideration for a long time.

After Ma Su accepted the order and returned to Liangzhou to make preparations for heading to Hanzhong, Zhuge Liang also began to gather troops and horses in Yongzhou. Although he needed to gather food and fodder, Zhuge Liang planned to launch a feint attack in Yongzhou in order to make things smoother for Ma Di.

In these years, it was Zhuge Liang who led the people and led the Northern Expedition. But this time, who would have thought that in order for his apprentice to go smoothly, the Han Prime Minister would come out to act as a feint attack?

And although it was said to be a feint attack, the prime minister actually sent out a lot of troops. Thirty thousand Yongzhou elites together with 5,000 cavalry, and the newly established Fourth Army Town in Beidi County will also provide support.

Sima Yi has been strategically shrinking in Guanzhong for more than a year, and has basically left the peripheral areas, especially Yongzhou, alone. Zhuge Liang planned to take advantage of this opportunity to capture the Yongzhou counties east of Longshan and push the battle line to Sanfu in Guanzhong.

Naturally, Yongliang's military changes could not be hidden from Cao Wei, and a spy immediately reported it to Sima Yi.

Sima Yi suddenly became nervous after receiving the news. He did not expect that the Shu Han would start attacking Guanzhong so soon.

"How could it be so fast? This is impossible!" Sima Yi frowned as he looked at the information sent by the scouts, feeling extremely uneasy.

"Has the national power of Western Shu increased so quickly? It has only been a year since the Battle of Liangzhou. During this period, Ma Di has been fighting against the Hu people in Beidi County. Logically speaking, they should not have enough food to fight again so soon. Already?"

"How could it be so fast? Could it be that Zhuge Liang really had ghosts and gods helping him in his internal affairs?"

According to Sima Yi's calculations, Shu Han will not be able to gather enough grain until next year's autumn harvest at the earliest. By that time, his Guanzhong defense line will be almost stable, and then it will be a head-to-head contest between the main force of Cao Wei and the overwhelming troops of Shu Han.

But now things are completely beyond his expectation. It seems that Shu Han will launch troops against Guanzhong a whole year in advance.

Now it was Sima Yi's turn to be anxious. If the Shu Han army really came at this time, he might not be able to withstand it.

"By the way, where is Zhuge Liang now? Where is Ma Di now?" At this time, Sima Yi suddenly turned around, looked at the scout and asked.

"Your Majesty, Zhuge Liang is currently in Ji County and will lead the main force eastward from Longshan. Ma Su is in Liangzhou, but he seems to be going to Hanzhong soon to lead Hanzhong's troops to attack Guanzhong from the north." The scout reported honestly. road.

Longyou is not far from Guanzhong, and many of the wealthy Longyou clans still adhere to the principle of hedging their bets. It was not difficult for Cao Wei to obtain this information.

"Ma Su went to Hanzhong? Did Shu Han not plan to live in this?" Sima Yi was startled, and in just a moment he figured out Shu Han's plan.

Zhuge Liang led the main force of Yongliang out of Longshan, and the Han army in the north led the Hu soldiers south to respond. Then Ma Di went to Hanzhong to lead the elite troops from Shu out of Qinchuan. Caught between three sides, he spent all his money and all his resources to come to Guanzhong to fight with him.

At this thought, Sima Yi suddenly turned around and walked to the table, about to write a letter to Cao Rui asking for help. This is likely to be a decisive battle with the Shu Han, and there must be no carelessness.

However, when writing the letter, Sima Yi still had some doubts that he could not explain at the beginning.

Where did the Shu Han get the food and grass that would give them the confidence to fight for their lives now?

By the time of the Fourth Northern Expedition and the Eastern Expedition to Nanyang, starting from this battle, the Shu Han Dynasty would begin to fight hard against the main force of Cao Wei's Central Army and even the entire Central Plains.