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

Chapter 773 First, clip the wings of the Wei army

Zhang Fei has been in a bad mood lately because after taking over Sui County, he originally wanted to take Zhangling in one fell swoop and open up the Sui-Zhang Corridor, but unfortunately he failed.

Before he arrived in Sui County, Xu Huang, who had been unable to capture the county after a long siege and learned of Wen Ping and Tian Yu's defeat, decisively retreated to Zhangling to build city defenses. At the same time, he sent troops into Dahong Mountain and Tongbai Mountain to block all possible passages and eliminate any possibility of infiltrating behind Zhangling, thus thwarting Zhang Fei's plan.

Zhang Fei was naturally unwilling to be trapped, so he decisively sent troops into the mountains to try to retake the fortresses on both sides of the corridor and open up the road to Zhangling. However, Xu Huang's defense was too tight, and he lost the initiative. He could not take it in a short time. After all, he was facing his old rival Xu Huang, not the ordinary Xiao Karami.

Just when Zhang Fei was at his wit's end, Jiang Wei arrived.

Zhang Fei was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately ordered Zhang Bao to go out of the city to welcome them. He also ordered Zhang Bao to prepare campsites and provisions for Jiang Wei's army outside the city.

Three days later, Jiang Wei arrived safely. After settling the army, he followed Zhang Bao into the county town. He went to the county government office and bowed to Zhang Fei, who was waiting in the main hall, saying, "This humble general Jiang Wei greets the Third General. This humble general has come to report to the Third General on the orders of the Prime Minister and the Marquis of Shence."

"Get up!" Zhang Fei laughed. "I didn't expect that just a few months after the Battle of Jiangxia ended, Your Majesty would gather troops to fight the Wei army. This is wonderful! As long as we win this battle, we will definitely be able to recover Luoyang in one fell swoop."

Zhang Fei also felt a strong sense of urgency regarding the Northern Expedition, not because he was afraid of losing, but because he was afraid he wouldn't live to see it.

He's sixty this year, and the yellow earth is practically up to his neck. Who knows how many more years he has left to live? If he doesn't live to see Liu Bei return to the old capital, then his decades of conquest will have been a complete failure.

Now things are much better. Liu Bei has launched his northern expedition, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should be able to move into Luoyang by the end of next year at the latest.

Jiang Wei bowed and said, "This is necessary. General, please give the order on how to fight next!"

Zhang Fei countered, "What were the Prime Minister and Marquis Shence's instructions before you came?"

Jiang Wei replied, "Naturally, I will obey the command of the Third General, harass the Wei army in the Dahong Mountains, and help the Third General capture Zhangling County and open up the Sui-Zhang Corridor. The specifics of how to do this will require the General's orders."

Zhang Fei beckoned him to his side, grabbed his shoulder, and led him to the table. Looking at the map of Dahong Mountain and Tongbai Mountain hanging on the wall, he said, "Currently, Xu Huang has built a total of seventy-two camps in Dahong Mountain, south of Zhangling County, blocking all the passable roads in Dahong Mountain. Whether we want to go around Dahong Mountain or prevent the Wei army from coming out of Dahong Mountain to harass us, we must completely destroy these seventy-two camps."

"The same goes for Tongbai Mountain. The mountain range near Zhangling is completely blocked by the thirty-six camps built by Xu Huang, and the army simply cannot get through. As for the bandits recruited by Li Kuan, they have all been arranged by Shen Yi to protect the safety of Jiangxia's north side, and cannot be transferred for the time being, so we can only rely on ourselves."

"Our current task is to recapture the Wei army camps at Dahong Mountain and Tongbai Mountain. Removing these hundred-plus nails is equivalent to cutting off the two wings of Zhangling. It will be much easier to take Zhangling after that."

If Zhangling is likened to a bird, then the Wei army camps in Dahong Mountain and Tongbai Mountain are the bird's two wings. What threat does a bird without wings pose?

Jiang Wei immediately patted his chest and assured him, "General, rest assured, our Wudang Flying Army is best at crossing mountains and valleys. You can leave these camps to me."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Rest for two days first, then we'll take action. Give me a list of what you need, and I'll send someone to prepare it right away."

Jiang Wei shook his head and said, "Not for now. The Marquis of Shence has prepared everything he needs. He never lets his soldiers fight battles they can't win."

Marquis Guan Xing of the Shence Army is no longer a frontline general but a rear commander. The main responsibility of a commander is to formulate strategies and ensure logistics. Since Guan Xing is a time traveler, the soldiers' food, clothing and other necessities are very well prepared.

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Then it's alright. Go and prepare. Let me know if you need anything."

Jiang Wei pointed to the map and said, "I don't have a map showing the distribution of Wei army camps in the Dahong Mountains. Could you send me this one?"

He hadn't yet explored the terrain of Dahong Mountain and knew nothing about the situation inside. But Zhang Fei was different. He had been confronting Xu Huang for several months and had already figured out the surrounding terrain. After asking the local hunters, he drew the map on the wall. This map not only showed the location of the Wei army camps, but also clearly marked the distribution of troops in each camp. It was exactly what Jiang Wei needed right now.

Zhang Fei waved his hand, ripped off the map, and tossed it to Jiang Wei, laughing, "Here you go."

Jiang Wei left happily with the map in hand, and Zhang Bao followed him. Young people are restless and can't stay in the city, so he decided to go into the mountains with Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei returned to the camp and ordered the army to rest and recuperate. However, he changed into Wei army uniforms and, along with Zhang Bao, E Huan, and a dozen others, personally acted as scouts, preparing to conduct an on-site investigation in the mountains.

Their encampment was some distance from the foot of the mountain, so they didn't arrive at the foot until evening. Led by Zhang Bao, they walked into the mountains and disappeared into the wilderness.

Now all the passable roads in the mountains have been occupied by the Wei army. If they want to get through, they can only climb up dangerous places such as cliffs and precipices where the Wei army is not stationed. But this is no problem for the Wudang Flying Army.

The most dangerous mountains in the Great Han Dynasty are in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. The Wudang Flying Army has lived there since childhood. Climbing mountains and crossing ridges is a skill that people from Jiangnan can learn to swim and people from the grasslands can learn to ride horses. It is a skill that they have been practicing since they were wearing open-crotch pants. Some people can even climb cliffs without any tools, just by using their hands.

Compared to the steep cliffs of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, Dahong Mountain was much flatter. Jiang Wei, Zhang Bao and E Huan easily climbed to the top of the mountain and hid in the grass to look at the Wei army camp in the distance.

Looking down from their vantage point, they could see three camps with Wei army flags flying in the distance. The closest one looked to have two or three hundred men, and it was surrounded by antler-shaped fences, making it heavily fortified and impregnable. Even if they sent ten times the number of troops to attack from the front, they might not be able to take it.

Zhang Bao pointed to the nearest Wei army camp and said, "This is only the surface defense. In front of the fence, there are many trenches about ten feet wide. Although they are not deep, they are filled with bamboo spikes. Normally, wooden planks are laid on them for the Wei army to pass through. Once attacked, the Wei army will immediately remove the planks and expose them. Our men cannot jump over the trenches that are only ten feet wide. They can only jump into the trenches and be pierced like hedgehogs."

Jiang Wei laughed and said, "So, a frontal attack is not feasible, and we can only attack from the mountaintops on both sides, right? Are there Wei troops defending the mountaintops?"

Zhang Bao smiled wryly and said, "There are two sentries on guard, and the Wei army has built a rope ladder between the camp and the top of the mountain to ensure that if the top of the mountain is attacked, they can go up to provide support immediately, thus avoiding being attacked by our army from the top of the mountain."

Jiang Wei, scratching his teeth, said, "That damned old thief Xu Huang is so cautious. It seems we won't be easy to fight him. Let's go and explore other places."

After saying this, he followed Zhang Bao down the mountain along the rope to another place. Zhang Bao had been wandering in the mountains for several months and had a very clear understanding of the Wei army's deployment, so he did not disturb the Wei army sentries along the way.

Jiang Wei wandered in the mountains for most of the night, only returning to camp at dawn. He summoned his generals, spread out a map, and said, "This battle is extremely difficult, but it is precisely because it is difficult that we have a chance to prove ourselves. If it were easy, would our Wudang Flying Army even be needed? So tell me, how do we fight?"