News that Feng Yong led his army to Xiaoguan spread quickly, shocking Anding County.

In particular, Xiahou Ba, the guard of Yuezhi City, after learning the news, on the one hand, he sent a large number of sentinels to the direction of Xiaoguan, and at the same time, he sent a messenger to Linjing in Anding County.

For a time, various sentinels and messengers were on the road.

Some of his subordinates didn't understand why the general felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy just after hearing that the Shu captives had increased their troops at Xiao Pass, so he asked:

"Since the general arrived in Guanzhong, he has always been forward in every battle. He has never been left behind. Even if the sword is thrown at him, he will not change his attitude. How come he has such a thief's ambition this time?"

"Thief Feng is cunning and sinister, so I have to be careful."

As the defender of Yuezhi City, if anyone else had said these words, he would be suspected of being cowardly before fighting.

But if it was Xiahou Ba who led the army to attack Yuezhi City at night, took the lead and captured Yuezhi City, the weight would be extraordinary.

Compared with the new generation of maps used by the Han Dynasty, the map in front of Xiahou Ba can be said to be very crude.

The city gates, mountains, rivers, and various official roads are only roughly marked on it.

Even so, we can also see the approximate locations of Xiaoguan, Wushi City, Yuezhi City, and Linjing County, the county seat of Anding County.

Connecting these four places forms an irregular quadrilateral, with Xiaoguan and Linjing at opposite corners.

When sending troops from Xiaoguan, you can attack Wushi City on the left and Yuezhi City on the right.

In the same way, Linjing, where most of the troops of Anding County are stationed, can also support Wuzhi City on the right and Yuezhi City on the left.

Xiahou Ba stared at the map and explained:

"Among all the evil deeds of the Shu captives, the most evil is the Ge thieves. The only ones below the Ge thieves who can cause harm to the Wei border are Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Feng Yong and others."

"Both Zhao Yun and Wei Yan were veterans of Liu Bei's reign and had experienced battles for many years. During the Battle of Hanzhong, Emperor Wu hurriedly withdrew from Hanzhong because Zhao Yun raided his supplies."

"Wei Yan guarded Hanzhong when the Shu captives were in danger. He can be regarded as a good general."

Having said this, Xiahou Ba tapped the location of Xiao Pass on the map with his finger.

"Only Feng Yong became an official in Shu after Liu Bei's death. In less than ten years, he became famous all over the world and was in a high position at a young age."

"Now he can actually guard one side like Zhao Yun, which shows his ability."

Thinking of this person who defeated Long Pass, blocked Zhang He, cared for the Qiang and Hu, and defeated Longxi and Jincheng counties, Xiahou Ba couldn't help but increase his tone and repeated the previous words:

"Feng Thief is not only extremely cunning, but he is also said to be extremely vicious and has a habit of cutting off people's escape routes. However, the men under his command are among the best soldiers in Shu."

"General Zhang can be regarded as a good general in our Wei Dynasty, but he was defeated...well, I can't help but think of this person. It shows that he is indeed unique in leading troops."

"Look, everyone," Xiahou Ba stretched out his hands, lighting Xiao Guan with one hand and lighting Chang'an with the other.

"Da Sima threatened to lead an army to attack Hanzhong from the south, so Feng thief led his army from Xiaoguan in the north. It was obvious that he wanted to contain the Guanzhong army so that Da Sima could not attack Shu with all his strength.

When all the generals heard Xiahou Ba's explanation, they were all stunned.

Da Sima came from the southernmost part of Guanzhong to attack Shu, and this Feng thief came from the northernmost part of Guanzhong. The distance between the two ends was the farthest. Feng thief's move was really insidious.

"The Shu captives took advantage of Wei's unpreparedness and attacked Longyou, greatly increasing the pressure on Guanzhong. If Qixian, Chencang, Xicheng and other places are the gateways to Guanzhong, then Anding County is the northern barrier of Guanzhong."

When Shu captives send troops from Xiaoguan, they can go in three directions.

The first one is to walk back to the middle road to the south and reach Qian County.

The second one is to go southeast and reach Wushi County.

The third one is to go east and reach Yuezhi City.

Of course, the most strategically important thing is to go back to the middle road to the south and capture Qixian County.

Once Qian County is defeated, the gate from Longyou into Guanzhong will be completely opened.

At that time, the Shu captives can advance to attack and retreat to defend, and the Wei initiative in Guanzhong will be completely lost.

This is true not only in Qian County, but also in Chencang and Xicheng.

Therefore, after the fall of Longguan, these places became heavily guarded by the Wei Dynasty.

"I believe that Feng thief dare not go south to attack Qian County." Xiahou Ba said confidently, "If Feng thief wants to defeat Qian County, he must first defeat tens of thousands of elite soldiers around Qian County before he can reach the city of Qian County."

"By then, not only will reinforcements arrive from Chang'an, but we can also send troops from Anding County to intimidate its flanks."

"Unless the Shu captives send a large army from Longguan to cooperate, Feng thief will be defeated even if he escapes in the end."

In the past two years and more, both the Han and Wei sides have basically had a rough idea of ​​how many troops Longyou, Hanzhong and Guanzhong have.

In Xiahou Ba's view, the Shu captives wanted to cooperate with two parties to encircle Qian County. Even if all the Shu captives in Longyou were dispatched, the troops would still be barely available.

What's more, Liangzhou has not yet fallen into the hands of the Shu captives, so they still have to leave some troops to guard the west.

"What if the Shu captives go to Wushi City? After all, there is Jingshui River in Wushi City, and the road is much easier than going to Yuezhi City."

Someone raised a question.

"It's possible, but it's more likely to come to our Yuezhi City."

Xiahou Ba nodded:

"Because Wuzhi City is not only taller than Yuezhi City, but also goes down the Jingshui River, and there is a larger city behind it, Jingyang City (not Jingyang in later generations)."

"They need to break through two big cities in succession before they can enter Anding County. The Jing River originates not far from Wushi City, flows through Xinping County, and finally joins the Weishui River."

The so-called Jingshui and Weishui are distinct, which means that the Jingshui and the Weishui merge. The Jingshui is turbid and the Weishui is clear. The clear and turbid water is not muddy, forming a unique landscape. (In later generations, the situation was exactly the opposite due to environmental damage)

The meeting point of the two water flows is near Chang'an.

Even if Feng Yong defeated Wushi City, he would have to conquer Jingyang City again to truly open the door to Anding County.

"As long as the two cities hold off the Shu captives for a few days, Chang'an's reinforcements can quickly move north along the Jing River to reinforce Linjing."

Linjing is the county seat of Anding County. As long as Linjing is defended, Anding is defended.

There are not too few defenders in Anding County. If the situation is urgent in the end and they gather together to confront the Shu captives, the Shu captives may not be able to take advantage.

What's more, the Wei Dynasty has a favorable geographical location and reinforcements from Chang'an.

"But Yuezhi City is different. If Yuezhi City is lost, Linjing, the county seat of Anding County, will be directly exposed to the threat of Shu captives."

Xiahou Ba said firmly:

"So I think that the most likely way for the Shu captives is to try their best to capture Yuezhi City."

Once Yuezhi City is defeated, the Shu captives can march directly to the foot of Linjing City. No matter how high the walls and deep ponds are in Wushi County and Jingyang County ahead, it is meaningless.

After listening to Xiahou Ba's analysis, his subordinates all thought it was reasonable and couldn't help but admire him and said: "Good advice, General!"

"In the general's opinion, what will Thief Feng do?"

Xia Houba sneered: "It is said in the art of war that if you attack something, you must save it. Now Yuezhi City is the place where Anding County must save it. Feng Thief must also know this."

"Even Thief Feng may have guessed that we know this. With someone as cunning as Thief Feng, he may try some tricks, so we must be careful."

"For example, a small number of troops could be used to pretend to attack Wushi City to attract the attention of Governor Hu of Linjing, and then repeat the old trick and lead a large army to attack Yuezhi City."

Feng Yong led his army to break through Longguan two years ago. He first killed Pang Hui, son of Pang De, and then fought against the famous Wei general Zhang He. He became famous in the first battle.

Knowing that the other party was on the other side of Longshan, how could Xiahou Ba not pay more attention?

In his opinion, there are three things that are most noteworthy about Feng Yong:

First, the men under his command are elite soldiers; second, they are good at running long distances; third, they are accustomed to cutting off people's retreat.

It can be regarded as an extremely difficult opponent. It is no wonder that the Shu captives asked him to lead his troops out of Xiao Pass to contain Da Sima in the south.

"So what we have to do now is to send out more scouts to find out where the main force of Thief Feng is!"

"It would be fine if he went elsewhere. If he is as I expected, he will eventually come to Yuezhi City..."

Having said this, Xiahou Ba slammed his hand on the map, and his eyes were filled with fighting spirit:

"Then I want to see how powerful this Feng thief, who is called the leader of the younger generation by the Shu captives, is!"

When Jia Wenhe became a lieutenant, he was discussed privately by many people.

But those people basically used Jia Wenhe's virtues to push him, and no one ever dared to raise objections to his strategy.

After all, given Jia Xu's ability to calculate endless strategies, some people also admit that he has the plans of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping.

Therefore, Feng Junhou was called "Xiao Wenhe". The initial meaning was that this person was talented but not moral, and had a vicious mind.

But at the same time, it also proves from the side that in the eyes of others, Feng Junhou is a man with great strategies.

Coincidentally, in the first year of Jianxing, Jia Wenhe died, and Feng Mingwen happened to become an official.

Coupled with Feng Junhou's various actions over the years, not only did the Shu family suffer a lot.

Even many people in Cao Wei were tricked by this person.

Xia Houmao almost sold his own head when he sold grain, Zhang He was named a mountain climbing general, and the uncles and nephews of the Zhang family became collaborators for no apparent reason...

Not to mention participating in the Northern Expedition and leading the army to pacify the counties in Longyou and Liangzhou, etc., which can be regarded as a great military exploit.

Xiahou Ba regarded Feng Junhou as one of the thieves causing trouble on the Wei border, but he was not deliberately exaggerating.

So Feng Junhou stationed his troops in Xiaoguan, causing the entire Anding County to become turbulent, and then he leisurely watched the scenery in Xiaoguan.

As the north gate of Guanzhong, Xiaoguan leads to the Great Wall when you exit the pass to the north, goes west over Longshan to Longyou, and goes southeast down to Guanzhong.
To be continued...