The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 196 Guo Huai Sees Through Liu Bei's Intentions

Humans are a kind of perverse creature. They don't feel anything when they get beaten up all the time, but they feel uneasy when they suddenly don't get beaten up one day.

Fei Yao is in this state now. For days, the big-eared bandits have been attacking the city every day, and they are so punctual that they are even more punctual than when they are on duty at the government office.

But today, Fei Yao had been awake for half an hour and still hadn't seen Liu Bei's attacking army, which made him a little impatient. Standing on the city wall, looking at the empty fields, he wondered, "Why hasn't that damned big-eared thief come to attack the city yet? Did he oversleep?"

The lieutenant rolled his eyes. What, you're actually looking forward to it?

Fei Yao stared into the distance and pondered, "Something is definitely amiss. Send scouts to investigate Wuzhang Plains, and also send someone to inform General Guo Huai to keep an eye on the Shu army's movements."

Guo Huai is currently stationed in a forest 20 miles northeast of Mei County. This distance ensures that he can arrive at Mei County immediately if it is attacked by the Shu army.

Upon receiving Fei Yao's message, Guo Huai led his troops to the city walls at breakneck speed. He entered the city and approached Fei Yao, asking, "Old Fei, what's the situation?"

Fei Yao gave a brief explanation, saying, "I'm a little uneasy because the Big-Eared Thief has disappeared without a trace."

Guo Huai frowned and said, "They won't be withdrawing to Hanzhong, will they? The plan of the big-eared traitor to feign an attack on Chang'an to attract our main force has failed, so withdrawing the troops makes sense."

Fei Yao pondered, "Theoretically, that's how it is, but my right eyelid is twitching badly, and I feel like something's not right. Do you think Big Ears might be plotting something?"

After hearing his words, Guo Huai was also unsure, and said, "Now that all the cities are holding firm and not playing mind games with the big-eared thief, what bad tricks could he possibly be plotting? Surely he wouldn't turn around and attack Chencang, and then go to Longxi through the narrow pass of Chencang, would he?"

Chencang Pass is too narrow to be suitable for a large army to pass through. Moreover, if the Shu army really attacks Chencang, it would be equivalent to abandoning the exit of Baoxie Pass, which is the Shu army's retreat route. Even if Liu Bei is stupid, he would not cut off his own retreat route, right?

Fei Yao also thought it was a bit far-fetched for the Shu army to attack Chencang, and sighed, "Let's wait for the scouts to return before we talk about it."

The scout returned and bowed before the two men, saying, "General, I sneaked into the Shu army camp and found it full of scarecrows. The Shu army had already disappeared. I then walked south along the Baoxie Road for nearly ten miles and found no messy footprints or traces of a large army passing through. It is clear that the Shu army did not retreat back to Hanzhong."

"This subordinate turned north again and found many large trees that had been cut down in the woods near the Shu army camp. The cuts were fresh, obviously cut within the last two days. Moreover, only the cuts were found, not the trunks."

"I then went to the north bank of the Wei River and found a newly built raft in the nearby grass, thus concluding that the Shu army used the raft to cross the river."

"I continued searching on the north bank and found many footprints and wheel tracks on the road leading to Chencang. It is highly likely that the Shu army went to Chencang, but we have not yet found any trace of them."

Upon hearing this, Fei Yao kicked the wall and cursed, "Damn that big-eared thief, he really went to attack Chencang! Has he gone mad? Boji (Guo Huai's courtesy name), what do we do now? Should we immediately send reinforcements to Chencang?"

Chencang is a fortified city, and with Hao Zhao leading 5,000 troops, it is impossible for the big-eared bandit to take it in a short time, so there is still time.

Guo Huai shook his head and said, "No, if the Shu army really crossed the river secretly, they would definitely hide their tracks. How could they be so easily discovered by scouts with their wheel tracks and footprints? There's something fishy going on here."

Fei Yao asked in surprise, "You mean the Shu army didn't go to Chencang, but went somewhere else?"

"Give me the map." Guo Huai took the map, unfolded it, stared at it for a long time, then punched the wall and cursed, "The big-eared thief's target is not Chencang, but Dazhen Pass in Qian County."

Upon hearing this, Fei Yao's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise, "How is this possible? Qian County is located in the heart of Guanzhong."

Guo Huai gritted his teeth and said, "Nothing is impossible. Those Shu soldiers are a bunch of lunatics. What wouldn't they dare to do?"

"You must know that Dazhen Pass is the entrance to the Longshan Road. If the Shu army takes Dazhen Pass, they can go along the Longshan Road to Jieting and strike General Zhang He from behind. Zhuge Liang has also led his army to Longxi. With the two Shu armies attacking from the front and rear, General Zhang He is in grave danger."

"Moreover, if the Shu army really enters the Longshan Road, we won't be able to catch up. The Shu army only needs to leave two or three thousand men to defend, and they can hold us off firmly."

"Although venturing deep into the heart of Guanzhong is somewhat dangerous, the temptation to annihilate General Zhang He is too great, and it is entirely worth the Shu army's desperate gamble."

The Longshan Road is a passage between the Qinling Mountains and the Longshan Mountains. Both sides of the road are towering mountains, making it impossible for large armies to pass. In other words, once the Shu army enters the Longshan Road, the Wei army can only follow behind the Shu army. It is impossible to find a way to intercept the Shu army.

Fei Yao was convinced by Guo Huai's idea and cursed, "If that big-eared scoundrel really goes to Qian County, it's tantamount to abandoning the lives of tens of thousands of Shu soldiers. That damned big-eared scoundrel is too crazy."

Guo Huai put away the map and said, "Now is not the time to talk about this. We must take action. Otherwise, if the Shu army enters the Longshan Pass and cuts off General Zhang He's retreat, we will be criminals against the court."

Their mission was to block the Shu army from entering Guanzhong, but you not only let the Shu army into Guanzhong, but also allowed them to reach Zhang He's rear. If anything happens to Zhang He as a result, they will have to bear full responsibility.

Fei Yao nodded emphatically and said, "You're right. If I'm not mistaken, the Shu army will definitely split into two groups. One group will march day and night straight to Dazhen Pass, while the other group will make a big show of things to attract our attention. Dazhen Pass only has two or three hundred garrison troops, and they are completely unprepared. It will be difficult for them to withstand a sudden attack from the Shu army, so we don't have much time left."

"Immediately send a messenger at the fastest speed of six hundred li to Qian County and Dazhen Pass, order the magistrate of Qian County to mobilize laborers to go to Dazhen Pass, and order the garrison inside the pass to guard it strictly and do everything possible to buy us three days of support. Then send a messenger to inform Magistrate Zhang to make a response as soon as possible."

"Then you lead the cavalry to Dazhen Pass at full speed. I will allocate troops to be ready to support you at any time. Remember, once you enter Dazhen Pass, guard the pass and do not come out. As long as you hold Dazhen Pass, you can trap the big-eared thief inside the pass."

Dazhen Pass was the only weakness of the Wei army and the only way out for the Shu army. As long as Dazhen Pass was held and the Shu army was not allowed to enter, the Shu army could be outlasted even if nothing else was done.

Because the Shu army doesn't have much food, they will run out of supplies as soon as they can't get into Dazhen Pass. Without food, they can only plunder. But small counties like Yongxian and Yujun can't satisfy the Shu army's appetite, and they can't conquer strong cities like Chang'an and Xianyang. So they can only wait to die.

Moreover, the Wei army couldn't possibly do nothing. As long as they held Dazhen Pass and blocked the Shu army inside, the Wei army could divert troops to slowly wear down the Shu army.

Guo Huai nodded and said, "I'll set off right away."

After saying that, he turned around and ran down the steps. Fei Yao remembered something and hurriedly chased after him, standing at the top of the steps and shouting, "Bo Ji, the Shu army will definitely be on guard against you. They might ambush you on the way. You must be careful and don't underestimate the enemy and advance rashly just because Dazhen Pass is in danger."

"Understood." Guo Huai didn't even turn his head, shouted this to Fei Yao with his back turned, and hurriedly left the city, mounted his horse, and departed.

At the same time, two teams of messengers set off on fast horses, one heading to Qian County to deliver the message and the other to Chang'an to request reinforcements.

Guo Huai quickly packed up and led his cavalry to Yong County, intending to find the Shu army first.

The current situation is too dangerous for the Wei army, and Guo Huai can no longer afford to dawdle.