gnovel Chapter 118 Divine Jiang Wei
Chapter 118 Divine Jiang Wei
Chapter 118 Divine Jiang Wei
The fighting continued until nightfall.
There was no possibility of fighting with torches lit. Both sides voluntarily gave up.
Jiang Wei, Lu Qubing, and other Han generals hastily took their wounded comrades away from the battlefield.
Deng Ai did not order a pursuit.
"General, why not order a pursuit? As long as we keep Jiang Wei at bay, we can kill him," an officer couldn't help but ask. He had participated in the battle, and his blood hadn't completely cooled; his mind was filled with images of Jiang Wei and the heads of the Han generals.
Those weren't human heads, they were clearly gold.
Deng Ai turned his head, glanced at the man indifferently, and said, "Do you intend to pursue Jiang Wei, the great general of Shu, in the darkness?"
Deng Ai's gaze was like a bucket of cold water, calming down the officer and the restless officers around him.
They remembered that the terrain here was complex and mountainous, and that Jiang Wei's defeat was not a rout, but rather a systematic withdrawal from the battlefield.
If they pursue, they will likely never return.
"I misspoke," the officer quickly bowed and apologized.
Deng Ai nodded, a smile appearing on his face, and said, "On the contrary, General Zhuge Xu is guarding the Yinping Bridge ahead."
It's a pity we didn't kill Jiang Wei this time, but he'll reach Yinping Bridge sooner or later. If we join forces, Jiang Wei will surely die at Yinping Bridge.
"Yes!" The Wei soldiers' hearts skipped a beat, and they responded loudly. Yes, Jiang Wei was doomed. Of course, if they were attacked from both sides by Zhuge Xu, the number of people vying for Jiang Wei's head would double.
Their battle achievements were also reduced by half.
It was only the officers who made this foolish suggestion; none of the prefects or generals under Deng Ai's command had such an idea. Defeating Jiang Wei during the day was already an almost impossible task, let alone at night.
Deng Ai ordered a general to advance and guard the valley entrance, in case Jiang Wei suddenly launched a counterattack and annihilated their entire army.
Immediately, Deng Ai ordered his troops to begin clearing the battlefield. Because Jiang Wei was in a hurry to leave, he left behind many corpses of elite Han soldiers.
These fine armors were life-saving items for the soldiers. Deng Ai could not afford to give them up.
Deng Ai abandoned the heavy and light troops to give chase after them after learning of the encounter ahead.
After the Wei army had cleared the battlefield, Deng Ai's rear guard, which was transporting supplies, and the laborers arrived. Deng Ai himself camped in the valley, while ordering his generals to camp in nearby river valleys or on hilltops.
I'm getting ready to rest for the night.
on the other hand.
Jiang Wei led the Han soldiers on an emergency march to break away from Deng Ai's Wei army, while simultaneously deploying scouts and sentries in the rear to investigate whether Deng Ai was pursuing them.
And they laid an ambush.
Once Deng Ai comes to pursue, a barrage of arrows will be unleashed.
After learning that Deng Ai had not pursued them, Jiang Wei gathered his troops and slowly advanced to a valley to set up camp.
The weather in the Northwest is extremely cold, and the wind is even more biting at night.
Jiang Wei's army set up camp temporarily, and there wasn't even enough wood on the outskirts, so they used only vehicles arranged as defensive fortifications.
The soldiers set up their tents in the camp with the skill of nomadic herders on the grasslands.
Many soldiers braved the cold to go up the mountain to cut down trees, not for building camps, but for firewood.
It was too cold at night, and they didn't have many supplies. Without wood for warmth, even the strongest man could get sick.
During such a forced march, getting sick was tantamount to dying.
Under such circumstances, the meals were also very simple.
Inside Jiang Wei's central command tent, firewood was burning, and because it was damp, it emitted thick smoke.
Jiang Wei and the officials of the shogunate coughed from time to time.
A large iron pot hung from the fire, containing a stew of dried food, pickled vegetables, and dried meat.
After the soup was cooked until tender, three officials of lower rank served it to everyone.
After a long day of travel, the group finally enjoyed their first hot meal.
However, it doesn't taste good.
But Jiang Wei and the others were used to it; there was no such thing as fine clothes and delicacies during wartime, only simple meals.
Jiang Wei swallowed large mouthfuls, eating three large bowls before stopping.
The same applies to officials.
Lai Zhong put down his chopsticks and said to Jiang Wei, "General, it's such a pity today."
"Yes, Yang Xin was on the verge of defeat. But Deng Ai arrived just in time."
"If we could kill these three prefects and defeat their ten or twenty thousand soldiers, things would be much easier. What a pity."
"Why."
The officials were all filled with regret and lamented their loss. What a pity!
Jiang Wei had regained his vigor and looked calm. He smiled and said, "With Deng Ai here, and these people being proud and fierce generals..."
It would be great if we could defeat them, but it's also understandable if we can't. There's no need for regret; the key is how we get across the Yinping Bridge.
At the Yinping Bridgehead!!! Lai Zhong and the others immediately tensed up, their expressions turning grave. Jiang Wei had successfully diverted their attention to the most dangerous and crucial link.
Zhuge Xu, the governor of Yongzhou, stationed tens of thousands of elite troops at the Yinping Bridge, awaiting their arrival.
Before him was the Governor of Yongzhou of Cao Wei, and after him was the General Who Conquers the West of Cao Wei.
There are wolves in front and tigers behind.
And they are the piece of meat in the middle.
Jiang Wei was a good general; he presented both the problem and the solution. He smiled and said, "Gentlemen, there's no need to worry. I already have a way to get rid of Zhuge Xu. The mere governor of Yongzhou cannot stop me."
He stood tall and proud, his voice booming, exuding a fierce aura, much like Zhuge Xu, the governor of Yongzhou, but a plaything in his hands, to be manipulated at will.
This was the second time he had said that; he had a way.
He was Jiang Wei, the great general of the Han Dynasty, who led his generals on a northern expedition for many years, fighting a back-and-forth battle against the powerful Cao Wei state.
He was brave and resourceful, and his prestige was unparalleled.
Although Jiang Wei didn't specify the method, Lai Zhong and the others had complete faith in him. Upon hearing this, they all perked up and bowed, saying, "Yes."
"Alright. In order to get rid of Deng Ai, we must reduce our sleep time. You should all go and get some rest." Jiang Wei nodded with a smile, then said in a deep voice.
"Yes." The crowd responded again, stood up in unison, and walked out of the tent one by one.
After they left, Jiang Wei's work had only just begun. He first sent people to each army to count the number of casualties and to see if any generals were injured.
The result sank Jiang Wei's heart; in the daytime battle, as many as three or four thousand people were killed or went missing.
The number of injured is countless.
Those who died in battle alone accounted for one-tenth of his total forces. The Han Dynasty was weak, and these were all battle-hardened soldiers.
Not to mention the armor, weapons, and other items they abandoned. Although Jiang Wei felt that the Wei army would suffer greater casualties than they did.
But the State of Wei was strong and recovered quickly.
The only thing that comforted Jiang Wei was that although some of the generals had been wounded by arrows, they were all minor injuries and not serious problems.
No one died in battle.
That's good enough.
If a general dies in battle, his troops are rendered ineffective.
After tallying the casualties, Jiang Wei personally arranged for nighttime defenses and personally got up three times, donning armor and leading his personal guards to patrol the camp.
Despite his advanced age, he remained steadfast and tireless.
The next morning.
Before dawn, the Han army set off from their camp and headed along the main road toward Yinping Bridge.
The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and the stars still shine.
After several days of trekking through mountains and rivers, Jiang Wei's Han army finally arrived near Yinping Bridge.
This is the last and most difficult hurdle for Jiang Wei on his way back to Hanzhong.
Zhuge Xu, the governor of Yongzhou, had been waiting for a long time.
Deng Ai led his troops to advance slower than Jiang Wei, but they were not far behind.
If Deng Ai arrives, it will be a pincer attack.