Since the Battle of Lueyang, both Wei and Shu seemed to be racing against time.
Zhang He led 10,000 men alone and confronted Zhao Yun's troops outside Xiali City, 40 miles north of Shanggui. The mountain roads were difficult to fight, and it was even more difficult for the attacking party.
The progress on the eastern route was not smooth, and General Cao Zhen, who led 15,000 cavalry on the western route, also encountered the Shu army defending the city when he marched south to Xinyang City.
Xinyang City is located on the bank of the Wei River, halfway between Ji County in the west and Shanggui in the east. It is one of the only two important places in Tianshui County to the north.
Early in the morning of the 23rd, Cao Zhen led his army westward from Lueyang. After defeating Zhang Yi's army of the Shu army and capturing Xianqin occupied by the Shu army, he arrived outside the city of Xinyang at noon on the 26th.
As the general of Wei, Cao Zhen had already used Fei Yao's troops as his own personal soldiers during the expedition to Longyou. In an open area across the Wei River from Xinyang City, Cao Zhen had sent people to summon all the generals to his side.
"Greetings, General. Do you have any military assignments for your subordinates?" Wen Qin, who was closest to Fei Yao's unit, arrived here first. He dismounted and saluted before asking.
"Yes, there is military duty, but let's wait until all the generals arrive here before making the assignment." Cao Zhen replied calmly.
"Yes!" Wen Qin clasped his fists, then stood quietly in front of Cao Zhen's horse, as humble as an ordinary guard.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, Generals Sun Li, Dian Man and Cheng Xi also arrived here.
Cao Zhen saw everyone had arrived, pointed across the river to Xinyang City west of the Wei River, and said, "Today is the 26th, and I have been leading the army for three and a half days. Zhuge Liang is closer to Shanggui and has a shorter journey. The current situation of the four counties in Longyou must be very different from before the battle of Lueyang."
"Look at this Xinyang City." Cao Zhen looked westward: "Xinyang City is located in the Wei River Valley and controls the main transportation route. If we go west to Ji County, Nan'an County, and Longxi County, we must find a way to capture Xinyang City."
"If you want to go east from here, towards Shanggui Guohuai, this road is still unobstructed at the moment."
Cao Zhen coughed lightly and said, "Now the choice is whether to go west or east. What do you think about this?"
Wen Qin asked tentatively: "General, is it true that the Shu army has occupied Xinyang City?"
Cao Zhen nodded slightly, and Fei Yao explained: "General Wen, Xinyang City has been occupied by the Shu army. From this, it can be inferred that Tianshui, except Shanggui, as well as Nan'an and Longyou counties, may have been conquered by the Shu army."
Wen Qin frowned and asked, "If the west is not easy to go, how about we go to the east to rescue Governor Guo?"
Cao Zhen looked at the other generals: "What do you say?"
Dian Man pretended to be honest and replied, "I will follow the general's orders."
Cheng Xi is also a general term.
However, Sun Li seemed to have sensed a problem: "General, if we go to Shanggui, what should we do if the Shu army comes from the west? We will inevitably be attacked from both sides."
"Well said!" Cao Zhen looked at Sun Li, "Yesterday we assigned 500 soldiers to guard the city in Xianqin. Today we are outside Xinyang City, so it seems we still need to divide the troops."
"Who is willing to guard outside Xinyang City for me and control the east-west passage?" Cao Zhen looked at the generals standing in a row in front of his horse.
The generals looked at each other, and no one spoke. As the cavalry of the central army, they came here to fight and make merit. Of course, it would be more meritorious to recapture Shanggui and attack the Shu army. Who would be willing to defend here in Xinyang?
Cao Zhen cursed with a smile, picked up his whip and pointed it at everyone: "You all want to follow me to Shanggui, right? Then I have to call out your names."
But after thinking for a few moments, Cao Zhen made a decision: "Dian Man! You only have 2,000 cavalrymen. This place is narrow, and 2,000 people are enough for defense."
"If the Shu army attacks, just send someone to inform me immediately. It's a hundred miles from here to Shanggui. If you find that the Shu army is too numerous, you can send the entire army to Shanggui to find me if necessary!"
"Don't let anything get hurt again."
Dian Man bowed and said, "I will obey the general's order! I will take good care of the general's retreat."
Cao Zhen looked at Dian Man for a few moments, then smiled and said, "The cavalry have four legs. If something really happens, they won't be afraid of being caught up by the two-legged Shu army."
"The rest of the generals." Cao Zhen looked around and said with a firm expression: "Follow me eastward to Shanggui!"
"Yes, sir!" Fei Yao, Wen Qin, Cheng Xi, Sun Li and other generals saluted together.
……
Just as Cao Zhen chose to march eastward from Xinyang, the city of Ji County, also in Tianshui County, located west of Xinyang, was in chaos.
Just half a day ago, early in the morning of the 26th.
In front of the Tianshui County Governor's Mansion, Gao Xiang, the Shu Han general who arrived here last night with a thousand cavalrymen, personally led fifty armored soldiers here.
Yin Shang, the chief clerk who had surrendered to Shu Han and was granted the title of marquis, had been handling official business in the government office in recent days. When he heard the noise outside, he hurried to the door to greet them.
"General Gao," Yin Shang glanced at the soldiers lined up behind Gao Xiang and asked cautiously, "General Gao led the soldiers to the government office. Why is that?"
"Master Yin, how are you?" Gao Xiang said with a smile on his face. "Where is the household register in the mansion? Master Yin, please take me there to have a look."
Gao Xiang wanted to obtain household registration? Why would a military commander like him obtain household registration accounts?
Yin Shang was on guard, but he didn't bother to ask directly, "What does General Gao want the household registration for? If you have anything to say, why don't you just tell me?" Gao Xiang looked at Yin Shang's thin and serious face, and still stepped forward and patted Yin Shang's shoulder with a smile, "This matter is not to be disclosed to Yin Zhubu, but to be done on the order of the Prime Minister."
"By the way, since Master Yin asked, I'll tell you everything." Gao Xiang's face gradually became serious.
"The Prime Minister has ordered that the military and civilians of Tianshui, Guangwei, Longxi, and Nangan counties be relocated to Wudu and Hanzhong. No delay is allowed. You must move on the same day you receive the order!"
"Since Master Yin is so loyal to the Han Dynasty, please execute the Prime Minister's order as soon as possible."
Gao Xiang pointed his right hand to the sky and said, "We must leave tonight, without delay! How about I leave ten people here to help Master Yin take away the household registration and other items from the government office?"
Yin Shang's eyes widened. Regardless of his status, he took two steps forward and grabbed Gao Xiang's arm. He said in a trembling voice, "General Gao, please tell me what the situation is like outside now? Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Doesn't the Prime Minister want the four counties in Longyou anymore?"
"Ah." Gao Xiang sighed slightly, stretched out his hand and pushed Yin Shang half a step away, and then explained: "Master Yin, you don't know that a few days ago, the imperial army fought with the Guanzhong reinforcements in Lueyang. Although they repelled the Wei army and beheaded tens of thousands of them, the imperial army also suffered heavy losses."
"Master Yin is a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, so I will tell you the truth. At present, food and grass are in short supply, and it is difficult to transport food along the Qishan Road. The Prime Minister does not want to continue to fight the Wei army in Longyou."
Yin Shang's face was flushed with anxiety, but Gao Xiang ignored him and continued, "We will temporarily move you back to Wudu and Hanzhong. When the imperial army comes again next year and takes over Longyou, we will move you back!"
Yin Shang said hurriedly: "How can this be possible? We are all native to Ji County, how can we leave our hometown?"
"General Gao, can you please talk to the Prime Minister and ask us to defend the city for the Han Dynasty?"
Gao Xiang ignored Yin Shang's questioning, waved his hand, and walked inside with the soldiers behind him.
Seeing that Gao Xiang ignored him, Yin Shang hurriedly stretched out his hand and ran to the front to block Gao Xiang.
"General Gao," Yin Shang said earnestly, "Can you please tell the Prime Minister that we, the local people of Ji County, are willing to defend the city for the Han Dynasty. Why do we need to go to Wudu or Hanzhong?"
"General Gao..."
Gao Xiang's eyes became colder and he swung his right hand and slapped Yin Shang in the face: "I just spoke to you in a very nice way. Do you really think you are such an important person? I am just a surrendered person. How dare I criticize the Prime Minister's military strategy!"
Yin Shang fell to the ground, covering his swollen left face. His body trembled and he looked at Gao Xiang in disbelief.
Gao Xiang reached out and drew his sword from his waist, pointed the tip of the sword at Yin Shang's throat, and said sternly: "Yin Shang, if you want to rebel against the court, tell me now so that I can kill you. If you don't want to rebel, then quickly execute the prime minister's military order."
"Do you understand?"
Yin Shang sat on the ground. After a few moments, he came back to his senses and said with a smile: "I am sorry for being rude. Please forgive me, General Gao."
After climbing up from the ground using his hands and feet, Yin Shang pointed to the hall and said, "The household registration is in this room. General Gao, please come with me."
"Isn't that right?" Gao Xiang's expression brightened instantly, and he stepped forward and put his arm around Yin Shang's shoulder: "Then I'll have to trouble Master Yin!"
Yin Shang accompanied Gao Xiang in the government office, and they selected the household registration, books, accounts, etc. of Tianshui County and filled two large carts.
As the sun rose higher in the morning, Gao Xiang and Yin Shang walked out of the government office together: "Master Yin has helped me so much, so I also have a few words of advice for you."
Yin Shang leaned forward and said, "Please give me your instructions, General Gao."
Gao Xiang said, "Your home is in Ji County, right? Pick out some valuable things and take them with you. The rest of the trivial and worthless things can be left here."
"Set out at 3 ., light fires and march all night long, and try to reach Luomen before tomorrow night!"
Yin Shang bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your advice, General Gao. I will do it right away. General Gao, will you go west with us?"
Gao Xiang nodded: "We are heading west, but I will lead the army to stop at Luomen. Then the rest of the imperial army will lead you south."
"Master Yin, if you can go, go as far as you can. Xiabian is good for a martial arts competition, but Mianyang and Nanzheng are better than Xiabian. Do you understand?"
"Thank you General Gao for your advice. I will keep it in mind." Yin Shang said with a smile, "The former governor Ma Zun also has some property hidden in the city. I would like to take General Gao to find it and present it all to you."
Gao Xiang looked at Yin Shang solemnly: "You don't need to tell me this. Just tell me the place, and I will send someone to get it and hand it all over to the court. I will not keep any of it."
"Yes, yes, I'm Meng Lang." Yin Shang nodded repeatedly and then said goodbye to Gao Xiang.
On the way Yin Shang rode back home, he saw Shu soldiers loading food and fodder from the people's homes onto their carts everywhere.
Yin Shang stopped a group of soldiers and asked, "Why are you taking away the people's food by force?"
The leader of the squad bowed and said, "Sir, we are only registering the people's food and transporting it in a unified manner, and then returning it all after arriving in Wudu. We will only confiscate the food from empty homes and transport it away."
Upon hearing this, Yin Shang did not say anything and just rode away on his horse.
After returning to his home, Yin Shang went straight to the side hall to look for Shangguan Qi, a county official who had been living in his home for nearly a month and was unwilling to serve Shu Han. (End of this chapter)
