From being full of confidence at the beginning to when the battle entered a stalemate, Liu Bei's mood changed day by day.

One night in late December, Liu Bei couldn't sleep for a long time with a sad face. When he went out to relieve himself, he passed by Fazheng's tent and found that there was still a faint light of fire inside.

Chen Dao caught a glimpse of Liu Bei's solemn expression and guessed that Liu Bei was going to discuss military affairs with Fazheng.

Liu Bei stretched out his hand to lift the curtain, and Chen Dao dismissed nearby patrols and stood outside the tent on guard.

"Xiaozhi, haven't you rested yet?" Liu Bei asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, haven't you slept yet?" Fazheng walked up to him with bare feet.

Fazheng invited Liu Bei to sit on the couch and put the quilt on his legs to keep warm. There was a small table on the couch with a map of Guanzhong spread on it.

"It's not easy to storm Chencang. I don't know if we can break the city before Cao Pi wakes up. If the price is too high, it won't make much sense to capture this place." Liu Bei frowned.

Fazheng nodded and said: "It is a risky move to go straight from Qinchuan to the north. Since it is now a desperate move, we must take this city. As long as we can stand firm, Longyou and Guanzhong are within our grasp. Although our losses are not small, Zhang He

The defense is not easy, so we must not be discouraged. The current food and grass can last for two or three months."

Liu Bei nodded and replied: "Since Bei is approaching the Wei River, he naturally has not thought about giving up. Now Yide and Shiyuan have occupied Shanggui and blocked Cao Zhen's army on the west road. Now our purpose has been completely exposed. Anding, Chang'an, Luoyang, etc.

If the local garrison comes to rescue Chencang, then it is really difficult to get off the tiger..."

A few days ago, Xia Houmao sent tens of thousands of troops to help, but they were ambushed and killed by two veteran generals, Huang Zhong and Yan Yan, and were defeated by the Weishui River. This completely explained what it meant to encircle a point for reinforcements.

Fa Zheng adopted the strategy of encirclement, three deficiencies and one battle, leaving Zhang He with a way to the north of Chencang. The docks and ships on the Weishui River were not damaged, and he intended to let the defenders in the city cross the river and escape.

The fleet at the Weishui pier was small and could not support the evacuation of all the defenders. Zhang He would rather stay in the city than go out.

Fa Zheng comforted and said: "The situation of the battle in Huainan and Jingzhou is unknown. Cao Pi has not sent reinforcements into Guanzhong for a long time. It is very likely that Sun Quan and General Guan will get in the way. We must seize the time to break the city and divert water to flood the city several times. Although the external effect is not good,

Obviously, but it should have broken the will of many defenders. Next, in addition to attacking the city with all my strength, I plan to use the method I used to attack Luo City, using arrows and rumors to see if I can help break the city."

"I really miss Song Chen under Ziyu. If Ziyu was the commander of the Northern Expedition, he might have sent people to sneak into Chencang a year or two ago..." Liu Bei shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Fazheng nodded in agreement: "General Lan is good at planning in advance, so he can do it without being noticed. It's a pity that he has to farm in Jiaozhou to keep an eye on Soochow, otherwise he would have made great military achievements."

"One Ziyu is not enough..." Liu Bei sighed and suddenly asked: "It has been more than a month since Wei Wenchang and Deng Shizai crossed the Ziwu Mountains, right? Why is there no news yet? This is far from the planned twenty days.

Too far..."

"It's winter at this time, and the trails in the mountains may be difficult to walk. Let's give them more time. Even if we can't capture Chang'an in the end, leading our troops westward can help us capture Chencang. I hope they can make a difference...

"Fazheng said comfortingly.

Liu Bei's expression suddenly became firm and he said solemnly: "They will do something, I have a strong feeling..."

The Ziwu Ridge is winding and winding, with hundreds of miles of uninhabited mountain roads. It is often accompanied by wind and snow in winter, and the roar of wild beasts in the mountains makes it very difficult to travel through it.

Wei Yan led his army just a few days after setting off, when they encountered a rare heavy snowfall. The valley was filled with snow overnight, and the army could not even find the direction to move forward. Fortunately, the accompanying Yamen General Wang Ping had rich experience in mountain warfare, and his

Jiren Buqu was good at climbing mountains and wading in rivers, and led the army to slowly explore the way forward.

Because the pace of the march was too slow while walking along the roadside, Wei Yan discussed with Deng Ai to divide the troops. He brought ten thousand troops and portable rations and marched behind Wang Ping's troops. He could go on a normal road.

On normal roads, if you are unsure, use ropes and other tools to get through dangerous areas by climbing and other methods.

Deng Ai's villagers were carrying grain carts and could not climb up and down the mountain like ordinary people. They could only move forward through the snow on the mountain road. If they made a mistake and made a mistake, both the people and the cart might fall into the deep valley.

.

Due to his friendship with Lantian, Ma Dai stayed with Deng Ai to help manage the food transportation for the villagers. A few hours ago, the army disappeared. Ma Dai immediately went to Deng Ai and suggested: "Shi Zai, the future is uncertain now, General Wei

If you want to go alone, do you want your 20,000-person grain transport team to follow?"

"Crossing the Ziwu Mountains is a strange plan. If it succeeds, it will definitely go down in history. We can't back down when we see difficulties. Moreover, General Wei only has 10,000 soldiers. It is almost impossible to capture Chang'an. My 20,000 villagers will be of great help."

Here we are." Deng Ai's eyes were firm.

"It's not that Ma Dai is greedy for life, but it's because of the snow blocking the road. We haven't gone far into the mountains and it's too late to retreat to Nanzheng. If we go forward for a while, it will be troublesome to eat up all the food we carry.

That's 20,000 young men." Ma Dai had no right to speak among the villagers, so he could only persuade him earnestly.

Seeing that Deng Ai was hesitant to speak, Ma Dai continued his analysis: "Our way is just a surprise force. Even if we successfully get out of Ziwu Ridge, it will be very difficult to capture Chang'an. To capture Guanzhong, we must rely on the main force of the king's group, and the rest of Shi Zai's army

No matter how important the role of the villagers is, General Wei doesn't seem to pay attention to it, so why should we take risks?"

"We must get out of Ziwu Ridge. Regardless of whether General Wei takes it seriously or not, my 20,000 villagers are useful. It's not that I am stubborn. It is a national matter that must be done with all our strength. How can we achieve great things if we are timid? I will not be able to go in the future.

See you sir." Deng Ai said firmly.

"The current situation..." Ma Dai hesitated.

Deng Ai confidently answered: "Among the 20,000 villagers, there are a small number of older people. They were all common people in Guanzhong. They fled to Ziwuling when they came to Hanzhong..."

"So Shi Zai prepared a guide? Why didn't you explain it to General Wei?" Ma Dai was overjoyed.

Deng Ai shook his head and replied: "General Wei has General Wang to help him, how can he think of me and the villagers? Mr. once said that it is easy to add icing on the cake, but it is difficult to provide help when the time is right. General Wang is indeed an expert in mountain warfare, so there is no need for me to add icing on the cake..."

"Shizai is a disciple of Mr. Xuan Owl. Normally, General Wei will not treat you lightly. Why is it that you have been working in Hanzhong for two years and he still doesn't know about the rift in your chest?" Ma Dai was surprised.

Deng Ai replied with a smile: "Sir, he taught me to behave in a low-key manner and to pay attention to accumulation and accumulation in everything. Both Zitong and Mianshui are farming, so it is normal for General Wei not to know my skills..."

Ma Dai pointed at Deng Ai and laughed, "When we get out of Ziwu Ridge, General Wei will probably be surprised. I admire Mr. Xuan Owl endlessly..."

Deng Ai then asked the villagers who were familiar with the route to lead the way. He combined the astronomy and geography he had learned over the years to slowly walk through the mountains with the villagers and food, and finally walked out of Ziwu Ridge in mid-December.

At this time, Wei Yan was stationed at the foot of a hillside ten miles away. They had run out of food when they got here, and were thinking of attacking several nearby villages for supplies. But that would easily reveal their whereabouts, and they would not be able to achieve the purpose of a surprise attack on Chang'an, and neither could the soldiers. Fighting against Chang'an when hungry.

Just when he was in a dilemma, Wang Ping came over with excitement and reported: "General Wei, General Deng has taken away the villagers and food, and they have left Ziwuling. We don't have to go hungry."
Chapter completed!