Differently from the tense confrontations between Wei and Shu in December last year, more than half of January was spent in a standoff.
As Xu Chuchu and Cao Hong's troops successively arrived in Longyou, the Wei army was finally complete with 50,000 soldiers. Zhuge Liang's army stationed leisurely around Xixian and awaited the Wei army to attack.
Besides some small-scale confrontations of a thousand men or so between Gaiguan and Xixian, there were no other major battles.
The Wei Yan who laid an ambush on the Mumen Road had almost turned his camp into a permanent settlement, yet he still hadn't waited for the Wei army to launch an attack.
On the morning of the twenty-third day of January, Wei Yan led several bodyguards and hurried south to Xixian, where the large camp of the Shu Han was located, personally seeking Zhuge Liang.
Wei Yan, as the General of Northern Passage and the head of the Chancellor's office, naturally had free access to enter the Xixian county, but he was stopped in front of the county government.
"Why did Wei General come to Xixian? Shouldn't you be in Huluogu Valley now?" As Yang Yi, who was walking out of the big gate, accidentally bumped into Wei Yan, who was walking into the county office, and reached out to stop him.
Wei Yan had been stationed at Hulu Valley in vain for nearly a month, and not only had most of the Wei army not come, but he was also not involved in any northern raids.
A standoff between two armies is a common occurrence, but now it is neither war nor peace, and Wei Yan leads his troops to camp here every day. How can this possibly be effective?
Ten days ago, Wei Yan submitted a petition to Zhuge Liang for battle, and was temporarily pacified by Zhuge Liang's personal reply.
Four days ago, Wei Yan again requested to lead an attack to the north. The document he received at his camp in Hulu Valley was not a letter from Zhuge Liang, but a missive from Yang Yi persuading him to stay and defend.
If Zhuge Liang himself said so, Wei Yan might have endured it for another day or two.
But Yang Yi wrote a letter to Wei Yan, advising him not to make moves, and there was a slight reproach of Wei Yan's disregard for the whole situation in his words. How could Wei Yan feel good?
Moreover, Yang Yi even personally blocked the way in front of Wei Yan!
Wei Yan was certainly not a dull person, and he also had the dignity of a governor and a general in command. But Yang Yi, as a parameter, even blocked Wei Yan at the door of the Chancellor!
If this were to be spread around, people might think that I was going to be demoted! To do such a thing in the heart of the northern campaign army is clearly an affront to Wei Yan.
This has gone beyond the scope of business, and Wei Yan naturally has no reason to be polite to Yang Yi.
Wei Yan was wearing armor and only reached out his right hand to hold the arm of Yang Yi, who was extending his hand straight, calmly pressing down with force. Yang Yi's half body was pressed down by Wei Yan.
"Wei Wenchang! Why are you being so disrespectful in front of the Chancellor's residence!" Yang Yi quickly stepped back half a step, dodging Wei Yan's large hand, then feigned massaging his arm and raised his voice a few degrees, gnashing his teeth and accusing Wei Yan.
"Yang Yi, was it me who was disrespectful or you?" Wei Yan remained calm, but the corners of his eyes couldn't help but show a faint look of contempt.
"I am the military advisor of the Chancellor. How dare you, a parameter, come and teach me? What is your intention of blocking my way and preventing me from entering? How can you make yourself look powerful here?"
Yang Yi knew he was in the wrong, but with people already gathered around inside, he couldn't just let his face down: "As a general leading troops, you did not stay at Hulu Valley as per military strategy but instead came running all the way to Xixian. How do you explain this?"
"Explanation? I, Wei Yan, do not need to explain myself to you." Wei Yan clicked his tongue, looking up at Yang Yi with a glance: "I have important military affairs to report to the Chancellor, and it has nothing to do with you."
Yang Yi also spoke up with no sign of weakness: "Important military affairs? Like the military strategy when Wei's troops pierced your camp in the east of Lueyin City?"
"It's because your troops couldn't hold their ground that Lueyang, a key position of the Great Han, was lost! Today, the army has to retreat to Xixian and can't advance any further, all because of you Wei Wenchang! You are the traitor to the country!"
The battle of Lueyang happened one month ago. Long before Liuli City, Zhuge Liang had already clearly assigned the responsibility for it. Ma Gu was guilty of making an impulsive decision, while the other generals fought bravely and had no guilt.
Regardless of the circumstances, Wei Yan, along with Zhaoyun and Wu Ban and others who are generals in command, regard the defeat as a source of shame. Although Zhuge Liang does not mind punishing them for it, losing is losing, and there's no use finding excuses. They have often felt humiliated in the past month.
Feeling ashamed is his own business, but today, with Yang Yi publicly unveiling that layer of shame, it became too much for Wei Yan to bear.
"What impudence!"
Wei Yan raised his eyebrow, drew out half of his sword from his waist, and coldly stared at Yang Yi, saying: "You are a rabble ruffian who can only bark like a dog in the courtyard. What benefit can you bring to the country?"
"Yang Yi, do you dare lead troops to the battlefield and die for the Great Han? If you don't dare, don't dare to make idle remarks about loyal ministers here!"
Yang Yi saw Wei Yan drawing out half of his sword, and his anger increased even more inside. Although this was the county hall in Xixian, it was only a temporary place for the chancellor's residence, and it was not appropriate for him to act like this here.
The Chancellor is still in the hall!
That's what it means to be fearless with someone to rely on.
"Saying I lead a rabble? It's you who misunderstood the army!" Yang Yi shook his head and sneered: "You can be a loyal minister but not an able one! Can you say that the camp on the east of Lueyang was not lost by you?"
"Still want to lead troops to the north to disturb? The Chancellor pointed out ten days ago that you misunderstood it, but you are still not aware. I advise you not to listen, but you still insist on doing so. Are you really satisfied with losing another eight thousand men?"
Clang!
Wei Yan could no longer restrain his anger, and he pulled out the entire sword blade, intending to intimidate Yang Yi.
Following the muscle movement of a general in command, Wei Yan laid the sword blade against Yang Yi's neck.
The blade of the sword was less than two inches away from Yang Yi's skin, and under the tip of the sword, Yang Yi's hair stood on end for a moment, as if he had frozen in place.
Wei Yan's drawing of the sword caused all the officials who were watching from a distance in the courtyard to be frightened, and they all shouted in alarm at once.
Although Wei Yan drew the sword out on muscle memory, when he put the blade next to Yang Yi's neck, he had already begun to feel a bit of regret.
Just as he wanted to withdraw the sword, he couldn't bear to lose face, and Yang Yi was really hateful! In the blink of an eye, Wei Yan decided to make a mountain out of a molehill and continued to hold the sword still.
"What is the matter outside?"
Fei Yi, frowning, shouted from the west side of the Cao's room as he stepped out. He had just taken a step forward with his right leg when he saw a scene in the courtyard: one man was pulling out his sword and another was extending his neck to wait for a blow.
What's going on here!?
Fei Yi dared not delay, rushed over a few steps, and reached out to try to stop Wei Yan from holding his sword arm, but because Wei Yan was so strong that it couldn't be stopped for a while.
"Liang, Liang! Don't be hasty, don't draw your sword!" Fei Yi looked at Wei Yan with sincerity, but Wei Yan looked back at Fei Yi and replied: "Yi, how do you deal with such a scoundrel in the courtyard every day?"
Seeing that Wei Yan would not listen to his advice, Fei Yi hurriedly tried to persuade Yang Yi: "General Wei, let's talk it out. How did it come to this?"
Yang Yi also did not give an inch, even extending his neck and getting closer to the sword blade: "It was he who drew his sword towards me, not me towards him! How can such a savage behave in the residence of the chancellor!"
Looking left and right, both were unwavering. Fei Yi could only sigh deeply, shaking his sleeves and saying: "Liang first sheath your sword, I will find the Chancellor to interpret for you two!"
Yang Yi's eyes gradually filled with triumph, while Wei Yan's eyelids drooped slightly, forcing him to sheath the sword back into the scabbard at his waist and stand there with his hands on his hips, facing off against Yang Yi.
Zhuge Liang was originally checking the stone count of grain allocated from various counties of Yizhou. Upon hearing Fei Yi rushing over, speaking urgently about what happened in the courtyard, he had to put down the documents and personally walk over to the courtyard.
"Wei Yan, a subordinate greets the Chancellor!" Wei Yan glanced at Zhuge Liang and bowed respectfully.
Yang Yi was taken aback and also turned around to bow.
Zhuge Liang saw that the two of them were quarreling again and for a moment, he felt difficult to deal with. He had to act as a judge and let the two of them explain what had happened.
After listening carefully to the mutual reproach between the two, Zhuge Liang sighed deeply.
His expression was filled with worry, seemingly even more than that of Wei Yan and Yang Yi.
"How dare you two behave like this? Let's discuss it in the hall!" Zhuge Liang looked at the two of them and turned to walk into the hall.
Although Wei Yan and Yang Yi didn't get along, seeing the Chancellor in such a mood, both were momentarily panicked.
They had only wanted to argue about who was right or wrong, never considering that they would cause the Chancellor to worry about them.
Zhuge Liang lightly waved his hand, and the officials in the courtyard knew it was time to go back to their work and didn't dare to come out and watch anymore.
The argument between Yang Yi and Wei Yan just now can actually be seen as a microcosm of the current northern campaign troops.
The eight army of soldiers gathered from all over Yizhou lost a quarter in the battle of Lueyang.
The original plan to capture Longyou City, which had already been incorporated into the ranks, was forced to give up against the fierce advance of Wei's central army and had to retreat back to the Western County camp.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the Shu Han Northern Campaign Army is currently in an embarrassing state of mind.
As a civil officer responsible for the operation of the army, Yang Yi's daily chores are extremely heavy. His instinctive aversion to Wei Yan's unilateral pursuit of battle, which knows little about whether it can be won or not, is due to his own fatigue.
Wei Yan, as a general, has understandable aspirations for battle.
But as Yang Yi said just now, facing combat in the open field of Lueyang, even with a defensive fortress, it could not withstand Wei's attack. If Wei Yan leads his troops to directly confront Wei's army, does he really have a greater chance of winning?
Both have their reasons, but neither can truly consider matters from the perspective of the overall situation.
Wei Yan and Yang Yi are like this, what about the other generals? Can the soldiers' morale remain stable?
The split in the military mindset to this extent is what worries Zhuge Liang the most.
The four of them slowly entered the hall. Zhuge Liang sat silently behind the desk without saying a word, and Wei Yan and Yang Yi could only stand awkwardly in the hall.
The Han army that had fought against Cao Wei's troops in earlier years were all lost by the late emperor in the Battle of Yiling, so this is the first time Zhuge Liang's Han army has fought against Wei.
Both the swift movement of cavalry and the fierce, life-risking assault of infantry caused Zhuge Liang considerable concern.
Objectively speaking, the combat power of the Northern Campaign Han army is not equal to that of Wei's central army.
This power gap lies on the one hand in the training and tactical exercises of the troops, and on the other hand in the strategies and coordination of the generals.
It's almost everywhere that there are shortcomings.
If the army returns to Han Commandery, practices and exercises in battle formations, and strengthens the soldiers, it will be more cautious to attack Longyou in the future! With only one day's distance between the two armies at Lueyang, can Wei's country have such good fortune every time? (Chapter complete)
