Guanzhong provided a small part of the grain in the northwest. However, the grain output in Guanzhong had been declining for years and the land annexation was serious. It was no longer enough to supply the military. Therefore, most of the grain was provided by Sichuan. Now that Hanzhong was occupied, the grain route in Sichuan was cut off. If Li Wen did not attack, he would starve to death sooner or later.
There were two best routes for Li Wen to enter the army. One was to take the Lianyun Plank Road from Baoji to the south to attack Hanzhong. This road was rebuilt in the 25th year of Hongwu. The northern section was connected to the Chencang Ancient Road. It was relatively well repaired and was relatively convenient for large troops to enter. Therefore, this route was a must.
The other route should be the Qishan Road. It was very close to Guyuan to send troops to Tianshui. There was a waterway here, which was good for transporting grain and troops. It was also an option. The Shu Road was difficult to travel.
It was difficult for 100,000 troops to travel on the same road at the same time. It was very likely that the troops would be divided into two or three routes. Li Wen might also worry that Liu Gu and Ma Wei would repeat Zhuge Liang's strategy of leaving Qishan. They would take the initiative to attack Tianshui. They would cross the Qinling Mountains and cross the Wei River to enter the Guanzhong Plain.
Therefore, Li Wen would definitely send his troops to Baoji and Tianshui. Through the Wei River, he would connect the troops in Xi 'an, Baoji, and Tianshui into a line to form a stable line of defense. He would first achieve a stable situation and then prepare to attack.
Based on the current situation in Hanzhong, Li Wen only needed to do this.
As long as Xi 'an, Tianshui, and Baoji were firmly suppressed by Li Wen's troops, Liu Gu and Ma Wei's route of advance would be blocked under the threat of superior troops. If they attacked directly, they would not have the advantage no matter what.
On the contrary, if Li Wen attacked, he would have the initiative and could completely divide his troops to attack Hanzhong.
The difficulty of the Shu Road had not been improved until now. The road in front of Liu Gu and Ma Wei was no different from the situation Zhuge Liang faced.
The only difference was the situation. The general trend of the world was in the hands of Xiao Ruxun, and the grain route of Sichuan was also in the hands of Xiao Ruxun. Li Wen was now more anxious than Liu Gu and Ma Wei because he did not have much food to squander, while Liu Gu and Ma Wei had a lot of food.
Li Wen had to attack. Otherwise, there would be no way for him to survive. Moreover, he didn't have any reinforcements. This was the most advantageous for Liu Gu and Ma Wei. Liu Gu and Ma Wei didn't need to take the initiative to attack to achieve their goals.
The more they thought about it, the more they changed their minds.
"Why don't we just bide our time? Let's not take the initiative to attack first. In any case, Li Wen will definitely attack us for food. He has an advantage in military strength, so there's no need for him to be afraid of us. He will definitely attack us. Let's just stay in Hanzhong and wait for him to tire himself out. We'll eat him in Hanzhong! "
Liu Gu scratched his head and raised this opinion.
Ma Wei looked at Liu Gu.
"That's not a bad idea. It's too difficult for us to take the initiative to attack. In the Qinling Mountains, it's always easier to defend than to attack!"
"That's right!"
Liu Gu nodded. "The grain route has been cut off by us. The imperial court can't transport food over. The Grand Canal has also been cut off by us. If Li Wen is clear-headed, he will definitely mobilize the troops from the four towns to fight to the death with us. We'll just bide our time and wait for him to tire himself out!"
Ma Wei looked at the map and said, "If that's the case, we have to defend Hanzhong to prevent Li Wen from taking it away. That wouldn't be good. The combat power of the four towns is incomparable to the Sichuan garrison. We can't underestimate them."
Liu Gu also nodded.
"But there's one thing."
Ma Wei smiled. "The four towns are used to deal with the Northern Barbarians. They're good at fighting on the plains and fighting with cavalry. However, they're not so good at facing the difficult mountain roads of the Qinling Mountains and Sichuan. For this area, my Zhennan Army and your Sichuan Army are very good at it. This is our advantage."
Liu Gu thought that it made sense and laughed.
"Hahaha, you're right. We'll just bide our time and wait for them to tire themselves out. However …"
Liu Gu pointed to the other two roads on the map. "Will they attack us through the Luogu Road or the Meridian Road?"
Ma Wei looked at Liu Gu and asked, "Do you know the consequences of taking the Meridian Road or the Luogu Road?"
Liu Gu shook his head.
"Never heard of it."
"In the fourth year of Wei's Taihe, Cao Zhen took command of the army and decided to attack Zhuge Liang from the Meridian Road. In the end, there was a heavy rain. Wei Yan said it would take him ten days to complete the journey, but he only covered half of it in a month. His army's morale was low and he suffered heavy losses before the battle even started. In the end, he had no choice but to retreat.
In the second month of the tenth year of Jin's Yonghe, Huan Wen went on a northern expedition. He ordered Sima Xun to attack Qin from the Meridian Road. In the end, Prime Minister Ma Xiong of Qin led seven thousand cavalry to defeat Sima Xun at the Meridian Road and forced him to retreat. "
Ma Wei told Liu Gu about the two battles. "Who doesn't know of the Meridian Road? The road is difficult to traverse and transportation is difficult. It is especially difficult for a large group of people to travel south. If we want to open up the situation at the Meridian Road, we need a small group of lightly armed troops. But what threat does this pose to us?
As for the Luogu Road, don't even think about it. The most difficult part of Li Bai's Shu Road is the Luogu Road. It is more difficult than ascending to the heavens. Li Bai said that it is like the flight of the yellow crane. Apes and monkeys want to cross their sorrows and climb it. A large group can't even think about passing through it. Cao Zhen's son, Cao Shuang, fell on the Luogu Road.
The only big threat to us is probably the Baoxie Road. The exit of the Baoxie Road is the closest to Hanzhong. It is also a major trading post for entering Shu. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been renovated many times. But as long as we firmly defend Baocheng, it will not be a problem. "
"You know so much? You have even read books? "
Liu Gu was illiterate and was very curious about Ma Wei's knowledge.
"This is the commander-in-chief's request. The 30,000 old soldiers of the Zhennan Army are all literate. The least of them can read and write more than 500 words. All of us high-ranking generals have been taught by Mr. Yuan Huang to read history books, especially some classic examples of battles. We have to memorize them by heart. This is the foundation!"
Ma Wei immediately felt the suppression of knowledge on Liu Gu. He immediately understood how a scholar would feel when faced with an illiterate general.
Awesome!
Liu Gu awkwardly scratched his head. Out of respect for knowledge, he hesitantly asked Ma Wei, "Then, brother, how do you think we should defend Hanzhong? Can we defend Hanzhong and eat up all of them in Hanzhong? "
Ma Wei stared at the map for a long time.
"Back then, Shu Han used two sets of tactics to defend Hanzhong. One was Wei Yan and Zhuge Liang's tactics, and the other was Jiang Wei's tactics."
Liu Gu hurriedly said, "Then we will use Zhuge Liang and Wei Yan's tactics. I know this. Jiang Wei lost Hanzhong in the end and Shu Han was destroyed. So let's use Zhuge Liang and Wei Yan's tactics! How do we fight? "
"We'll see! Back then, Wang Ping divided his forces to defend Yangping Pass and Xingshi Mountain, as well as the two cities of Han and Le. He blocked the invaders outside of Hanzhong and prevented them from entering Hanzhong. We will use our expertise in fighting in the mountains to offset their advantage in numbers. When their old soldiers are exhausted and their rations are low, they will be finished. "
Ma Wei's face was full of confidence.
"We can't learn from Jiang Wei. If we really let them in, the area around Hanzhong is a vast expanse of flat land. If we fight on flat land, we don't have many people. We don't know if we will eat them up or if we will make them into dumplings. After such a long journey, they will definitely be short on rations.
As long as we defend for a month, they will definitely run out of rations. When that time comes, we will have the final say. I don't intend to let them go! Alright, old bro, we can start repairing those military bases that were almost deserted back then! "
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