It's always like this in the north. It seems like spring has just passed and it has become a scorching summer, as if there is no transition in between.
It's the dog days of summer.
The blazing sun seemed to burn everything. Farmers hoeing weeds in the countryside hold shovels and are sweating profusely. This year is a good year, with plenty of sunshine and abundant rain. The farmers' hearts are as hot as the shovels in their hands. Extremely hot. Inspired by this mood of looking forward to a good harvest, no matter how hard or tiring the work is, it no longer seems painful.
Outside the city, under the palace, there is the main camp of the Imperial Guard.
A forbidden army of more than 4,000 people was divided into four formations and was training vigorously under the scorching sun.
Although the soldiers' standard collars, sleeves, and armor were already scorched by the sun, no one seemed willing to stop, and they were still waving the flags and spears and halberds in their hands hard in the school grounds.
To be precise, it was their commander, General Cao Xi, who was unwilling to stop.
At this moment, Cao Xi was facing the sun and glanced at the still lively Tunqi Lieutenant Sima Jun in the distance and the still energetic Tunqi battalion under his command. He raised his water bag and took a big gulp of water before continuing to command his soldiers. Training hard.
Wang Cheng, Niu Sheng, Han Qianwei, who were newly promoted to the position of Army Sima of the Zhonglian Camp, and Su Mu, who was arranged by Xia Houxuan to serve as Army Sima of the Tunqi Camp, were all complaining at this moment.
"General." Army Commander Wang Cheng, whose armor was soaked with sweat, came to Cao Xi's side and said, "Let the brothers rest for a while. It's so hot in this weather!"
"...Okay." Cao Xi, who has always been tolerant and gentle, pondered for a moment, handed the flag in his hand to Wang Cheng and said: "Send the order to all camps to enjoy the cool weather and drink water nearby!"
"Wei!" Wang Cheng took the order flag and shouted loudly: "The general has an order, all battalions should go to the nearest place to enjoy the cool air and drink water!"
In the distance, the troops commanded by Wang Cheng, Niu Sheng, and Han Qianwei, as well as the thousand-man team commanded by Cao Xi personally, after hearing the general's order, immediately cheered, exited the school grounds in order, and ran to their respective villages to rest.
In the distance, Sima Jun, who was just a young man but already had the air of a general, looked at the members of the fourth battalion under Cao Xi's command who had dispersed, and also called over his recently promoted Army Sima.
"Su Mu!" Sima Jun wiped the sweat on his forehead and ordered, "Tell the brothers to rest too."
"Yes, general." Su Mu said, taking the command flag and going to summons.
Su Mu has long been accustomed to the competition between the two groups that started at unknown times. However, deep in his heart, although he understands the task assigned to him by Xia Houxuan and the wolfish ambitions of the Sima family, for his boss, Sima Jun, this He really liked the brave young general.
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This year is already the second year of the reign of Emperor Cao Fang of Wei, and it is May in the summer.
Before the scorching summer was over, the DPRK received two urgent military reports.
One was a message from Xia Houru, the commander-in-chief of Jingyu’s military forces:
Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu, sent three armies to invade. The puppet cavalry general Zhu Ran of Eastern Wu and his deputy Sun Lun led an army of 30,000 to surround Xiangyang Fancheng. The puppet general Zhuge Ke of Weibei led an army of 30,000 to attack Lu'an. The puppet general Zhuge Jin personally led an elite army of 50,000 to attack Peizhong!
Another urgent report was jointly submitted by Wang Ling, the commander-in-chief of Yangzhou's military affairs, and Sun Li, the governor of Yangzhou:
Quan Cong, the puppet guard general of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, invaded Huainan, diverted irrigation water from Shaopei to flood the city, burned the city's mansions, and robbed thousands of people!
The entire Wei court, from Emperor Cao Fang to General Cao Shuang and Grand Tutor Sima Yi, down to the ministers and officials, all felt the pressure doubled in the face of the massive invasion by Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty.
In fact, the important ministers and advisers in the court had long expected this situation to happen. After all, the Ming Emperor died not long ago and the new ruler came to the throne. It was a troubled time for the country. According to the habits of bandits from Wu and Shu, it was normal to invade the border, but all No one expected that Soochow's actions would be so secretive, rapid, and powerful.
Before that, most of the intelligence coming from the school affairs assigned by the imperial court in Soochow was untrue. It seems that the notorious Soochow official Lu Yi was not only good at catching winds and shadows, but his espionage work was indeed extraordinary.
After the court discussion, Taifu Sima Yi took the initiative to ask Ying to take command and requested to go to war. Emperor Cao Fang and General Cao Shuang discussed together and unanimously agreed to Sima Yi's request.
The young emperor was smart, studious, and well-versed in the history of the country. He knew that Sima Yi had defeated Meng Da with great speed, Wuzhangyuan resisted Zhuge Kongming, and Liaodong had defeated Gongsun. Naturally, he understood that this old master's ability was indeed extraordinary; and the general Cao Shuang also had his own With his plan, Sima Yi braved the sweltering heat of his sixtieth year and went to the battlefield in person. If there were any shortcomings, he would clean up the mess by then. Not only would he be missing a big stumbling block, but he could also borrow some help. It suppresses the arrogance of the Sima family and establishes its own majesty. If Sima Yi rushes to aid Jingzhou or Yangzhou successfully, then the credit belongs to Xia Houru and Wang Ling in their own camp.
In this way, the imperial court ordered Xia Houru, the governor of Jingyu, who was surrounded by enemies on three sides, to hold on with all his strength and wait for an opportunity to retreat from the enemy. At the same time, the imperial court sent Taifu Sima Yi to personally lead an army of 30,000 to rush to Jingzhou for rescue.
On the other hand, Yangzhou, where Wang Ling and Sun Li were located, had sufficient troops, and Wang Ling, Sun Li, Zhuge Dan and others were all talented people who were proficient in military warfare. The only opponent was Quan Cong, so the imperial court did not send reinforcements to Yangzhou. Instead, the generals ordered Wang Ling, the governor of Yangzhou, and Sun Li, the governor of Yangzhou, to take charge of the generals and resist the attack of Dongwu Guard General Quan Cong on their own.
―――
People in the capital city have long been accustomed to running to the busiest tea shop outside Qingming Gate during these scorching days, drinking two pots of hot tea, and talking about various recent events. Anecdotes, news from both the government and the public.
This has also become a unique scenery in this prosperous imperial capital.
"Hey, have you heard?" A tea patron dressed as a scholar in the teahouse shook his right hand in a smart way and drank tea from the tea cup in his left hand. He did not forget to talk: "Soochow has sent troops again. , it is said that they seem to be coming to invade our Jingzhou and Yangzhou of the Wei Dynasty."
"I've heard about it a long time ago." Another tea guest who looked like a member of an official family was slowly raising his glass. While sipping the tea elegantly, he replied unhurriedly: "This time Soochow sent a general. Zhu Ran and Sun Lun are said to have surrounded Fancheng and are facing off against Xiahou Junlin, the governor of Jingnan; not only that, it is said that Sun Quan's son-in-law Quan Cong is also leading a large-scale invasion of Huainan this time."
"Is it the Quan Zihuang who was beaten to pieces by our Changping Marquis Cao Wenlie?"
Hearing someone laughing at this famous Soochow general and son-in-law of the Lord of Wu, who was defeated one after another by Cao Xiu, the military god of this dynasty, the teahouse suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hey, having said that, Quan Cong and Quan Zihuang are also famous generals in Soochow after all, so they should not be underestimated!"
"This is reasonable, but I heard that the imperial court has sent Sima Taifu to personally lead troops to reinforce. I think it won't let the Wu people be arrogant for too long."
"Speaking of the most famous talents in Soochow in the past two years, they are not people named Zhu or Sun. Have you heard of Zhuge Jin? It is said that Zhuge Ziyu has a son named Zhuge Ke, who is rumored to be smart. His intelligence is no less than that of his uncle Zhuge Kongming, and his military strategy is beyond anyone's reach. This time, I heard that he is also one of the Northern Convicts!"
"Hey, no matter how arrogant that Dongwu bandit is, can he be the opponent of our Sima Taifu?"
"That's true."
Indeed, now in the entire city of Luoyang, Sima Zhongda's name is already known to almost everyone. After all, in today's Wei Dynasty, apart from Sima Yi, there is no other famous general who can single-handedly defeat Shu in the west, capture Gongsun in the north, and defend Wuyue in the south.
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Xiahou Junlin, the governor of Jingnan, was the younger brother of the late Xiahou Shang, the late Marquis of Changling. When Cao Zhang, the mighty king of Rencheng, was still the Marquis of Yanling, he served as Cao Zhang's knight and Sima, following Cao Zhang on expeditions, and later served as He held the important position of guarding the Shu army. He was stationed in Guanxi and had resisted Western Shu for several years. He could be regarded as a veteran general with qualifications and military merit.
In the court, he not only had an uncle-nephew relationship with Xia Houxuan, the Central Protector, but also had a close relationship with General Cao Shuang. Not only that, Zhang Ji, Zhang Derong, the grandfather of His Majesty's concubine Zhang, also fought side by side with Xia Houru to put down the rebellion of Su Heng in Jiuquan; not only that, Zhang Ji's son, the father of Concubine Zhang, the prefect of Dongguan and the Marquis of Xixiang Zhang Ji is now very close to Xia Houru, so the emperor also has great trust in Xia Houru.
Although Xia Houru is a decent veteran, he is not a talented and talented leader after all, so he never had the power to command one side in the early years. It was not until many years ago that Sima Yi, Marquis of Wuyang, was transferred to the Yongliang War Zone by the imperial court in order to resist Zhuge Liang's northern invasion of Western Shu. Xia Houru became the governor of Jingyu and the military and political leader of the Jingxiang generation.
Since he took office, he has not encountered any major incidents. For many years, Jingnan's front line has been relatively stable. This is both a good thing and a bad thing for Xia Houru. The good thing is that this way, he, the governor of Jingxiang, can sit comfortably. The bad thing is that there is no battle to fight. Xia Houru always feels that his talents are not reflected. He was confident that his military ability was no worse than that of his brother Xiahou Shang.
Now Wu general Zhu Ran besieged Fancheng, which became his first test after taking office.
While Xia Houru was excited, he was also a little nervous. After all, the people he faced this time were all famous generals from Soochow, especially Zhu Ran, who once relied on five thousand defenders to fully resist the late Sima Cao Zidan. For months, especially an opponent that cannot be underestimated.
The general order given to him by Grand Tutor Sima Yi this time was to immediately lead Jingzhou troops to personally rescue Fancheng. However, Xia Houru believed that his troops were insufficient and should not attack rashly. Therefore, after analysis, he made a decision, that is, not to do so for the time being. Attack immediately, but instead use propaganda and set up followers, six or seven miles away from the army led by Zhu Ran, wandering back and forth to temporarily contain the Wu army, waiting for Taifu Sima Yi's army to arrive in Jingzhou, and then march together to repel the enemy.
This plan was indeed the safest and safest, but what Xia Houru didn't know was that it was precisely because of his conservative intentions that the Sima family took advantage of him.
