SFS Chapter 197 If you can't catch up at one step, you'll fall behind at every step.
Chapter 197 If you can't catch up at one step, you'll fall behind at every step.
Mei County is only a hundred li from Yong County. After crossing the river, Zhang Fei did not dare to delay. He left the main army to Huang Quan and personally led five thousand elite soldiers with light equipment to Yong County as quickly as possible.
The reason they were fighting so hard was because they were afraid of being intercepted by Guo Huai. They were closer to Yong County than Guo Huai, and they had set off several hours earlier. Theoretically, it was impossible for Guo Huai to get ahead of them, but Guo Huai was leading cavalry, and four hooves were definitely faster than two legs.
Therefore, Zhang Fei's immediate priority is to reach Yong County before Guo Huai, and then set up defenses in the Yong County area to intercept Guo Huai, thus buying time for Wei Yan to capture Dazhen Pass.
As it turned out, leaving early had its advantages. Zhang Fei traveled for a full six hours and arrived at the city of Yong County smoothly at dusk. Upon arrival, he found that Guo Huai had not yet arrived, so he immediately launched an attack on the city of Yong County.
Yongxian was a small county located in the heart of Guanzhong. The city walls were less than three meters high, and there was neither a barbican nor any garrison inside. Zhang Fei had his soldiers carry tree trunks and easily break open the city gate, thus entering the county smoothly.
After entering the city, he did not rest, but ordered his general Fan Jiang to lead a thousand troops to garrison the county town, while he himself led the rest of the army out of the city to ambush Guo Huai on the road from Yong County to Yujun.
As for his other subordinate, Zhang Da, he was transferred to Zhuge Liang's side and went to Longxi with Zhang Bao.
Zhang Fei, busy finding a place to ambush and prepare to intercept Guo Huai, was unaware that Huang Quan had already clashed with Guo Huai.
Huang Quan led tens of thousands of troops, escorting supplies, and slowly advanced. However, Huang Quan was not one to rush. While traveling, he sent out a large number of scouts to gather information about the Wei army. Around 1 p.m., he discovered the Wei army's movements from the scouts. He then immediately set up camp on the spot and used the supply wagons as obstacles to block Guo Huai.
When Guo Huai arrived and saw Huang Quan's position, his heart sank. He had no time to waste with Huang Quan and had no choice but to take a detour to Yong County. This detour bought Zhang Fei time to reach Yong County.
After confirming that Guo Huai had gone far away, Huang Quan continued his journey at a snail's pace.
Guo Huai's presence here clearly indicates that he has seen through their purpose in attacking Dazhen Pass. In that case, Guo Huai will no longer keep an eye on him, but will rush to Dazhen Pass as quickly as possible.
In other words, he no longer needs to worry about Guo Huai's harassment for a short period of time and can travel with peace of mind. So why dawdle?
As for whether Guo Huai will arrive at Dazhen Pass before Wei Yan, that depends on Zhang Fei. As long as Zhang Fei can hold off Guo Huai for a day on the road to Qian County, victory will be theirs.
It is important to know that Liu Bei attached great importance to this attack. Before leaving, he held a meeting with his generals for several hours, taking into account all the possible variables.
As Huang Quan had predicted, around noon the next day, Zhang Fei successfully blocked Guo Huai on the road to Yujun. Guo Huai knew that continuing to take a detour would prevent him from reaching Dazhen Pass in time, so he had no choice but to charge at Zhang Fei.
Zhang Fei had already set up his formation and had gotten plenty of rest, so he was not easily defeated by Guo Huai. Guo Huai tried several times but failed to break through Zhang Fei's defenses, so he had no choice but to retreat and continue taking a detour.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei was a ruthless man. He divided his thousands of troops into three teams and established three lines of defense. The one that had just blocked Guo Huai was only the first line of defense. Guo Huai had finally managed to get around Zhang Fei, but then he ran into the second and third lines of defense.
While Guo Huai was taking a detour, Zhang Fei was not idle. He led the first line of defense that was blocking Guo Huai to retreat quickly. He took a straight line while Guo Huai took a semi-circle. Together with the other two lines of defense, they bought enough time for Zhang Fei to establish a fourth line of defense.
Guo Huai finally broke through two or three lines of defense, only to run into Zhang Fei again.
Seeing Zhang Fei standing at the front line, waving and taunting him, Guo Huai's heart sank to the bottom.
They also knew that if they continued along this road, they would definitely not be able to break through Zhang Fei's stepped defensive tactics. The only way to avoid being blocked by Zhang Fei was to take a big detour and use the advantage of cavalry to completely shake off Zhang Fei.
But this would mean taking a longer detour, and he couldn't guarantee whether he could reach Dazhen Pass before the Shu army's surprise attack.
Moreover, Zhang Fei wouldn't be idle while I was taking the detour; he would definitely be heading to Yujun and Qianxian just like me.
What's even more infuriating is that Zhang Fei is walking in a straight line while I'm walking in a semicircle. If I continue to take a detour, I might not be able to get ahead of Zhang Fei. What should I do?
Should we abandon Zhang Fei and go back to attack Huang Quan?
Zhang Fei only had a few thousand men with him, and even with the surprise attack on Dazhen Pass, the number wouldn't exceed ten thousand. Even if they entered the Longshan Road, they might not be able to take Jieting. Since they couldn't stop all the Shu army, they could stop a portion of the garrison.
No, even if Zhang Fei had only a few hundred men, let alone several thousand, he could still kill Zhang He if he attacked from behind at a critical moment. Don't forget that Zhang Liao defeated Sun Quan's army of 100,000 with only 800 men.
This is a risk we can't take. Besides, like Dazhen Pass, the defenders of Jieting don't know that the Shu army is attacking from behind. They might not be able to withstand the sudden attack of the Shu army.
Why not send a messenger on horseback to Jieting to deliver the message?
It still won't work. The messenger also has to take the Longshan Road, and the road is blocked by Zhang Fei. If he wants to get through, he can only take a detour. If he takes a detour, he might not be able to outrun the Shu army's surprise attack. Maybe before the messenger even reaches Qian County, Dazhen Pass will already belong to the Liu family.
What should we do? What should we do? Is there really no solution?
Wait, I think I've overlooked something.
Zhang Fei's army moved very fast because they were traveling light without any baggage. In other words, Zhang Fei himself did not carry much food. Without Huang Quan's support, even if Zhang Fei entered the Longshan Road, he would not have lasted long and might have starved to death before even reaching Jieting.
In other words, as long as Huang Quan and his supplies are blocked, Zhang Fei's entry into the Longshan Road will be useless.
That's right, cut off the Shu army's food supply.
Guo Huai immediately understood and ordered a messenger to rush to Qian County to report the news, instructing the officials and wealthy households in Qian County to hide their grain and fodder to prevent it from being robbed by the Shu army.
At the same time, send a thousand troops on a long detour to bypass Zhang Fei and rush to Qian County to support Dazhen Pass as quickly as possible. Even if they can't make it in time, at least they should try. What if they do make it?
Once these thousand cavalrymen enter Dazhen Pass, it will be difficult for the Shu army's surprise attack to quickly capture the pass.
Having done all this, Guo Huai dared not delay and immediately turned to attack Huang Quan, attempting to burn the grain and supplies Huang Quan was carrying, thus cutting off the Shu army's ability to continue its march.
At the same time, he sent fast horses to Mei County and Chencang to request reinforcements, ordering Fei Yao and Hao Zhao to bring their troops over immediately and strive to annihilate Huang Quan's army as soon as possible.
Between two evils, choose the lesser. Since we can't stop Zhang Fei, we should destroy Huang Quan. As long as we destroy Huang Quan's army of tens of thousands, Zhang Fei is no threat. At worst, we can follow Zhang Fei into the Longshan Pass and join forces with the Jieting garrison to launch a pincer attack.
Although the situation is critical, it is also a rare opportunity to annihilate the Shu army in Guanzhong. If we make good use of it, we may become famous in one battle.
After all, those were Zhang Fei and Huang Quan. The fame they earned by defeating and even annihilating the two prisoners was exciting to think about.
The idea is good, but have you forgotten whether Huang Quan will give you that opportunity?
Yesterday, Huang Quan encountered Guo Huai. Knowing that Guo Huai was targeting Zhang Fei and would not attack him in the short term, he abandoned his defense and accelerated his advance. He did not rest at night and traveled all night, successfully arriving in Yong County at 1 p.m. to meet up with Fan Jiang.
When Guo Huai decided to intercept Huang Quan, Huang Quan was fast asleep in the Yong County government office!