It is said that Xia Houxuan went to visit Sima Yi that day and was surrounded by more than a dozen dead soldiers. It was difficult to escape. It happened that Sima Yi suddenly became poisonous. Several dead soldiers rushed to check the situation. Xia Houxuan took the opportunity to climb over the courtyard wall and escape. .
When Sima Yi and Xia Houxuan had a long talk, the dead soldiers were far apart and did not hear many confidential things. When Sima Yi died, the dead soldiers did not choose to report the matter to Master Sima to avoid causing trouble and implicating themselves.
After all, several dead soldiers had been brutally killed by Master Sima because of their incompetence in doing things, and several of them failed to successfully detain Xia Houxuan according to the old master's order. It happened that the only insider, the old master Sima Yi, had passed away, so he was worried about the responsible death. The soldiers then chose to do more than to do less, and chose to remain silent.
Because of this, Master Sima did not have any hostility or fear towards Xia Houxuan for the time being.
The old man Sima Yi, who had been involved in the military and political power of the Wei Dynasty for decades, finally passed away.
However, this does not mean that the Sima family will return power to the Cao family.
Except for the loyal members of the Sima family, all the civil and military officials above the temple were afraid of being killed by the Sima family's butcher knife, so when Fu Gu, Zhong Yu, Xun Yi, Lu Yu and other Sima's confidants proposed to confer the title of Sima After the division was appointed as the general of the Fu army, and he was given the suggestion to seize his love and serve as an official without having to resign and live in mourning, no one in the whole court dared to raise objections!
In this way, General Wei Sima Shi, who had already established a solid foundation in the court, was officially canonized as the General of the Fu Army. He inherited his father's title of Marquis of Wuyang, concurrently held the power of Lu Shangshu, and continued to lead the government.
"Since Yi Yin died, Yi Zhi will be the heir." Some members of the Sima family flattered the new lord in this way to show the legitimacy of Sima Shi's succession to Sima Yi's position as auxiliary minister.
Not long after, in the first month of the New Year, Sima Shi was once again officially promoted to a first-class general, ranking above the three princes. He was granted the title of Shizhong to take charge of Shizhong Temple, and was given the power of Chijie and Commander-in-Chief to oversee the Chinese and foreign military affairs. As before.
At this time, Sima Shi seemed to have become the number one person in the Wei Dynasty. Hundreds of people responded to his call in the court, and thousands of troops bowed their heads at the point of the long sword. Emperor Cao Fang once again became his puppet.
——————————
General Wuyanghou Mansion.
The head of the family, Master Sima, was sitting in the shogunate seat with his eyes closed, listening to what a young staff member in his twenties was saying.
Those staff members were none other than Zhongshu Shilang Zhonghui and Zhong Shiji, who had gradually grown into Sima Shi's confidants.
"General, the current power in the court includes Zhuge Dan, Guanqiu Jian, Wang Chang, Chen Tai, and Hu Zun, who are in charge of the four directions; Wang Ji, Zhou Tai, Deng Ai, Shi Bao and other Dianzhou pastoral commanders; and more Lu Yu, Li Feng and other celebrities elected talents, Fu Gu, Yu Song and other talented people participated in the planning; Xia Houxuan, Wang Su, Chen Ben, Meng Kang, Zhao Feng, Zhang Ji and other talented people participated in the court discussions. It can be said that the whole world poured in. The government and the public are in awe! This is all due to the general’s ability to know people well and take charge of them!”
At this time, Zhong saw that the look on Master Sima's face was extremely happy, so he took another step forward and said to Master Sima:
"General, Cao Shuang, the former general, tried his best to reform the system. Although it was not successful, it was quite effective in the local area. Various policies were quite unfavorable to our family. General, now that you are the chief minister, why don't you go Completely eliminate the remnants of reorganization and repression in these places?"
At this time, Master Sima slowly opened his eyes, looked at Zhong Hui approvingly, and said word by word:
"What Shi Ji said is very true, 'If you don't know what you don't know, obey the emperor's rules.' This is the beauty of poets. We should naturally abide by the ancestral codes of our dynasty since the three ancestors of our dynasty: Emperor Wu, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Ming. Cao Shuang , He Yan and others' reckless reforms have caused unrest in the world and divided the hearts of the noble people. This must be changed. Shi Ji, you go to Lantai and give me an order: The old ancestral system that Cao Shuang destroyed and abandoned is now restored! "
Master Sima's meaning was very clear. Zhong Hui did not dare to delay. He smiled and bowed to the ground:
"I obey, let's do it now!"
"Shi Ji, wait!"
Just when Zhong Hui was about to exit the house, Master Sima suddenly remembered something:
"I heard that Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty had recently passed away. Sun Hong, the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, had a disagreement with Zhuge Ke, the Tuogu minister, and was killed by Zhuge Ke. The people of the Eastern Wu Dynasty were unstable. If he raised his troops to attack Wu at this time, it would be unreasonable. Any chance of winning?!"
Zhong Hui was shocked when he heard Master Sima's question. With his sensitive political sense, he immediately understood Master Sima's intention. At this moment, Sima Shi had just inherited the power from his father, and people inside and outside were not necessarily convinced. Therefore, if he took the opportunity to make a great contribution at this time, there would be no problem even if he was declared king like Emperor Wu Cao Cao did.
However, thinking about it on the other hand, if like Cao Shuang's southern expedition, Sima Shi was defeated at the border just after he became a general, this would probably make the already unstable hearts of the ruling and opposition parties more complicated.
Zhong Hui thought for a moment, and he understood that Master Sima was determined to win at this moment. If he tried to dissuade him, he would definitely ruin the general's interest, and he might suffer disaster. If he didn't blindly agree with his brain, he would be in trouble if his troops failed. If you escape the blame, you will definitely become a scapegoat.
Zhong Hui did not dare to express his opinion rashly, so he came up with a clever idea:
"General, this matter is of great importance. When you come to the meeting with the DPRK, the general might as well ask the opinions of the important ministers in the DPRK. In addition, you can also write a letter to ask the opinions of the generals of the two expeditions and two towns who guard the southeast. Wouldn't it be useful to draw on the opinions of all the experts at that time? Can you come up with a more complete solution?"
The two expeditions and two towns mentioned by Zhong Hui are exactly what Cao Wei has arranged on the southeast front: Wang Chang, the general of the southern expedition stationed in Jingzhou, Guan Qiujian, the general of Zhennan stationed in Yuzhou, Zhuge Dan, the general of Zhendong stationed in Yangzhou, and Zhuge Dan, the general of Zhendong stationed in Yangzhou. Hu Zun, the general who conquered the east of Xuzhou, was the four general.
After hearing this, Master Sima nodded with satisfaction:
"Shi Ji's words are very reasonable. I will write a letter personally to ask the opinions of the generals in the southeast."
Zhong met with Master Sima and accepted his opinion, then bowed again and exited the room.
Soon, all the reforms vigorously promoted by Cao Shuang, Xia Houxuan and others a few years ago returned to their original state. The talented people who had been decentralized to counties to practice and directly govern the people once again became high-ranking county officials, large and small, Zhongzheng. The electoral power that had been stripped from the hands of officials was once again returned to their hands, and the aristocratic families finally had complete control over the court and the local area.
——————————————————————
Inside Shiqian Hall.
The emperor in his weak years looked at the sunset outside the window and couldn't help but feel sad.
"Your Majesty, Uncle Zhang Guo and Li Zhongshu have arrived outside the palace to await orders."
After hearing this, Cao Fang's eyes flashed with joy, but this joy was fleeting. Cao Fang, who was worried that the Sima gangsters in the palace would see through her thoughts, immediately regained her calm expression.
After he adjusted his mood, he said in a deep voice:
"Xuan!"
"only!"
After hearing the order, the chamberlain immediately left the palace to summon him.
"Your Majesty, Dr. Zhang Ji, Guanglu, and Li Feng, the Secretary of the Central Committee, are here to pay homage to Your Majesty!"
Not long after, Li Feng and Zhang Ji entered the hall. They knelt down respectfully and waited for the emperor's orders.
"Two beloved ladies, please get up quickly!"
Cao Fang hurriedly stepped forward to help Li Feng, Li Anguo, who was as famous as Taichang Xia Houxuan, and his father-in-law Zhang Ji.
Seeing that the two people he wanted to see had arrived, Cao Fang winked and dismissed the people on the left and right. After confirming that there were no other people on the left and right, he released his emotions in front of the two of them. He was so sad that he burst into tears instantly. stand up.
"I thought about how heroic my ancestors and fathers were back then, but I never thought that today I would be someone else's fish to be slaughtered..."
"His Majesty……"
Li Feng and Zhang Ji couldn't help feeling a little sad after hearing what Cao Fang said. Seeing the emperor crying, the two of them felt even more sad and angry for a moment. They knelt down on the ground again and expressed their stance:
"I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty and the Cao family, and I will die without regrets!"
Li Feng, known as "Jade Mountain", is now highly valued and trusted by Master Sima due to his far-reaching reputation.
Not long ago, the position of Zhongshu Ling, the chief of Zhongshu Province, was vacant. Sima Shi appointed Li Feng without hesitation. It is obvious that he wanted to win over Li Feng. But because of the status of his son Li Tao's consort, he still devoted himself to the emperor.
Zhang Ji, the Guanglu doctor, was originally a local county guard. Because of his identity as the emperor's father-in-law, Sima Shi was suspicious of him, so he was dismissed from his post as county guard. Now he is living at home without any real power. Naturally, Zhang Ji has long hated Sima Shi very much. .
After hearing the two people's oaths, Cao Fang couldn't help but feel warm in his heart. He carefully observed the environment around the hall again, then frowned and said:
"But now that Sima is powerful, how can we get rid of this national traitor?!"
"Your Majesty."
Li Feng's eyes were bright and full of hope:
"My younger brother, Li Yi, is currently the governor of Yanzhou and has a large number of troops. At this time, I am highly valued by Sima Shi and is in charge of the Central Secretary and Secretary of the DPRK. We can just give in to him first and figure it out slowly!"
Since the death of Linghuyu, the former governor of Yanzhou and Wang Ling's nephew, Huang Hua from Jiuquan took over Yanzhou. Because of his informant work, Huang Hua was able to become a Marquis of Jue Township and was granted the title of General-in-Chief, but he was not able to enjoy the title. Nian's blessing also died of illness and passed away suddenly.
Li Feng was favored by Sima Shi, and his younger brother Li Yi naturally followed suit and became the governor of Yanzhou.
"good."
Uncle Zhang Ji also said:
"Taichang Xia Hou Taichu is famous all over the world and has the Wei family in mind. If we can join forces with him, as long as we meet a suitable opportunity, why worry about your majesty's great achievements?"
After hearing these inspiring words from the two of them, Cao Fang's hope burned instantly like dry wood when it encountered a blazing fire.
——————————
Half a month later, the four generals from the two expeditions and two towns replied to Sima Division respectively. After Sima Division understood the opinions of the border generals, he held a large court meeting in the name of the emperor, hoping to specifically discuss the matter of conquering Wu.
After the morning court meeting, in the Tai Chi Hall, after all the ministers called to pay homage, Cao Fang, who looked like a wood carving and clay sculpture, remained silent as in every court meeting in the past, quietly waiting for General Sima Shi to speak.
As expected, within a moment, Master Sima spoke:
"You must have read the newspapers of the past two days. Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty was newly mourned. Zhuge Ke, the auxiliary minister of Wu, killed Sun Hong, the secretary of the Central Committee. He also blatantly built the Dongxing embankment that Sun Quan had abandoned long ago and wasted money and money in an attempt to By raising the water levels of Chaohu Lake and Ruxu River, my intention to lead the navy to attack Shouchun, Yangzhou, is very obvious. If the Wei Dynasty sits idly by and ignores it, I am afraid that it will damage the country's prestige. Therefore, I want to take a preemptive strike and attack Wu. , I wonder if you guys have any opinions?"
Master Sima's voice was low and gloomy, like the roar of a hungry tiger. Few civil and military ministers in the court dared to speak to him at this moment.
As soon as Xia Houxuan heard Sima Shi's words, he immediately understood Sima Shi's intention to go one step further and try to gain the title of prince by opening up frontiers and destroying the country. Not only that, Xia Houxuan had also seen the movements of Soochow in the past few days. Di Bao had long heard that he did not agree with the attack on Wu. This was not because he was afraid that Sima Shi's prestige would increase after his victory. On the contrary, he could see at a glance that this battle would be difficult to win.
Zhuge Ke was the nephew of his good friend Zhuge Dan. He had heard Zhuge Dan talk about his deeds and knew that this person was quite famous. Xia Houxuan also carefully analyzed Zhuge Ke's various methods since he came to power, and further concluded that this person was not a mediocre person. Moreover, Sun Hong, the secretary of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, has been killed, and Zhuge Ke has taken over the power. At this moment, the situation of the Eastern Wu Dynasty has tended to be temporarily stable. Not only was Zhuge Ke himself good at using troops, but there were generals Ding Feng, Lu Zhi and others in Soochow at this time, it was not that there was no one in the court. Therefore, Xiahou Xuan concluded that if he rashly attacked Wu this time, the Wei Dynasty would definitely not gain anything.
But Xia Houxuan did not take the lead. He wanted to fully understand the opinions of the DPRK before deciding whether or how to speak.
At this moment, Fu Lanshi, the Minister of the Fifth Army, who was Sima Shi's right-hand man with Zhong Huitong and was known as an excellent planner, came out.
When Xia Houxuan saw that he was an old friend and enemy, he felt a lot more at ease. He knew that Fu Gu had always had a long-term vision, and he would definitely not rashly support Sima Shi in this proposal to conquer Wu.
"General Qi, I have also heard about Zhuge Ke's construction of the Dongxing Dam. I heard that Zhuge Ke has built the Dongxing Dam connecting Qibao Mountain to the west, Ruxu Mountain to the east, and across the Ruxu River. He also walked along both sides of the embankment. Two cities were built, and the generals were all guarded in the west city, while the captain was left to guard the east city. There were soldiers and horses stationed in each of the two cities. Zhuge Ke had already returned to Jianye, saved up money, grain, soldiers and horses. This time Dongwu had already If we are prepared, even if our army takes the initiative to attack, we may not be able to take advantage of a preemptive strike. And for a major attack, the general should seek the opinions of the generals in the court and the public, and ask the general to think twice!"
Master Sima had long been determined to win this southern expedition. How could he give up easily? After listening to Fu Gu's words, Master Sima smiled and immediately replied to Fu Gu:
"Lan Shi, I have already prepared for this matter. I have received replies from the four generals. The four generals have different opinions. Lan Shi might as well take a look at their opinions first!"
After that, Master Sima took out the sorted silk book he had prepared in his arms. After Fu Gu took the silk book, he thought for a long time and then spoke again:
"Reporting to the general, the generals have different plans. Some want to sail directly across the river, travel across the river, and fight Wu in the south; some want to advance in four directions and attack his important city fortress; some want to Raise a large army to camp on the front line, watch the enemy's movements and wait for opportunities. From my perspective, this is a common tactic of thieves, and it may not be possible to defeat the Wu people!"
When Master Sima heard this, he frowned and asked:
"Lan Shi said that the strategies of Wang Wenshu, Guanqiu Jian, and Hu Zun are all routine, so do you have any clever plans?"
Fu Gu stroked his long beard, waved his sleeves and said:
"The Wu thieves have been bandits on the border for sixty years. Over the years, their monarchs and ministers have protected each other, sharing good and bad times. Although they have lost their leader, their country is in danger, and their soldiers are bound to win. If Zhuge Ke had made preparations in advance, arrayed his warships at the dangerous pass of Tianjin, and put strict security on all the cities and towns to defend them according to the danger, then the plan of the generals to rampage across the river would definitely not be effective!"
As soon as these words came out, many people in the court nodded and started whispering. Fu Gu ignored Master Sima's frown and continued to admonish:
"Today, the border guards in the southeastern part of our Wei Dynasty are far away from the Wu thieves. Moreover, since the southeastern school officials spied on the enemy's situation many years ago, the Wu thieves have always paid attention to the confidentiality of military information. Our spies in the Wei Dynasty have been ineffective and have no hearing. . The army has no eyes and ears, so it is difficult to fully prepare the enemy's situation. If our army mobilizes the masses to face huge dangers at this time, trying to achieve success by chance, fighting first and seeking victory later, it is not a long-term strategy to fully protect the three armies!
In his opinion, among all the generals' plans, Zhennan General Wu Qiu Zhonggong's strategy of advancing into the three armies and conducting large-scale farming was the safest.
Your Majesty and the general can order Zhuge Zhendong to stay in Yangzhou, and order Wang Zhengnan, Hu Zhengdong and others to choose dangerous places, and to raise troops with Guanqiu Zhonggong at the same time to farm in Wu land and seize its fertile land. This is an advantage;
Our army only plunders the food and population within its territory, and does not take the initiative to invade its territory. This can avoid the danger of attacking fortresses and causing difficulties. These two benefits are;
Taking advantage of the opportunity to recruit people and disperse them from Soochow, these are the three benefits;
Taking the opportunity to set up traps all over the place to make it difficult for spies to move forward, these are the four benefits;
If the Wu thieves dare not attack rashly, they will retreat to defend the city and stand ready. Their anti-espionage network will also be unsustainable. Our military school spies can take the opportunity to spy on all parties. These are the five benefits;
Our army sits in the fields and accumulates grain, and the Central Plains does not have to waste the efforts of transporting grain and grass from far away. These are the six benefits;
If there is another change in the enemy's country, our army can advance quickly and take advantage of the opportunity to attack it. These are the seven benefits;
All these seven urgent military tasks, if our army does not take action first, the Wu thieves will definitely take action first. If the general makes a decision early, then these seven benefits will definitely belong to our Wei Dynasty. The general must not ignore it! "
After hearing Fu Gu's plan, Xia Houxuan felt a hint of approval in his heart for this old friend who had already broken up with him.
However, Master Sima was now bent on establishing achievements on the battlefield, establishing prestige, and entering a high position early. He was so greedy for profit that he even failed to listen to the advice of his own adviser, Fu Gu. He smiled and took out the last silk letter in his arms and showed it to the civil and military officials of the DPRK:
"My opinion is different from Lan Shi's. I think the plan of Zhendong General Zhuge Dansheng to attack the east and the west is the most brilliant!"
Everyone looked around and took a closer look at Zhuge Dan's plan:
'He sent Wang Wenshu to force Jiangling and Guanqiu Zhonggong to go to Wuchang to detain Dongwu's reinforcements in the upper reaches. Then he simply selected elite soldiers and tiger generals to attack the two cities of Dongxing and Dadi with thunderous force. When the reinforcements from the upper reaches arrived, our army We have already won a great victory and have gone straight to build the capital of Wu! "
The civil and military officials in the court didn't know whether they really believed that Zhuge Dan's plan was very clever, or they were afraid of General Sima's ambition to gain power. At this moment, they all nodded and agreed to attack Wu.
Xiahou Xuan saw that even Fu Gu could not persuade Master Sima, so he said nothing more.
Not long after, in the middle of winter, in December, General Sima Shi, who attempted to defeat Wu in one fell swoop and established an unparalleled honor, took his younger brother Sima Zhao, General Andong, as the commander-in-chief. He led the army of Jingzhou troops to attack Jiangling under the command of General Wang Chang, who conquered the south. , Zhennan General Guanqiu Jian led Yuzhou soldiers and horses to attack Wuchang, and used it as a suspicious force to contain the reinforcements of Dongwu. General Sima Zhao then led General Hu Zun and Zhendong General Zhuge Dan to lead 70,000 infantry and cavalry from Yangzhou and Xuzhou to attack Dongxing. In order to destroy the Dongwu Embankment, he went straight down to the east of the Yangtze River along the Ruxu River and attacked Jianye, the capital of Dongwu!
All the plans of the Wei army seemed to be based on the strategies proposed by Zhuge Dan, but in fact Sima Shi made one very obvious adjustment to Zhuge Dan's plan.
Zhuge Dan's original intention was to have Wang Chang and Guanqiu Jian in the upper reaches of the river disguise themselves as a massive main force, try to suppress the main reinforcements of Soochow, and then select a small number of elites to quietly attack Dongxing Embankment, so as to achieve the effect of unpreparedness and surprise.
However, Sima Shi openly asked Sima Zhao, Hu Zun, and Zhuge Dan to lead the main force of 70,000 Wei troops to attack the east road with great fanfare, which undoubtedly destroyed the effect of Zhuge Dan's original plan.
The news that the Wei army, with a total of three armies, was marching towards important towns up and down the river in Soochow, soon reached the Soochow court.
After the 51-year-old Chief Minister Zhuge Ke, who had been known as a child prodigy since he was a child, received the news, he immediately prepared money, food, troops and horses, planning to quickly assist Dongxing Embankment.
Zhuge Ke assembled the army extremely quickly, and it took almost only one day to arrange everything.
At Ruxu Ferry, more than 300 miles west of Yecheng, the capital of Wu, there is a man riding a horse with a sword hanging from his waist. He is wearing a green velvet rope jacket and a multi-petal iron helmet. He has a sparse beard and eyebrows, a tall and slightly fat figure. The general is inspiring tens of thousands of soldiers under his command who are ready to go and have high morale.
The general's expression was stern and resolute, his eyes were shining, and he looked very majestic. From the respectful reactions of several generals and hundreds of generals under his command, we could tell that this was a high-ranking person who was not easy to mess with.
This person was none other than the nephew of Zhuge Liang, the former prime minister of Western Shu, the clan nephew of Zhuge Dan, the governor of Yangzhou in the Wei Dynasty, and the chief Tuogu minister of Eastern Wu - Taifu Zhuge Ke.
Zhuge Ke worked hard all the way to reach his current status. Although he has been famous for a long time, like Wei's general Sima Shi, he has just served as an official in power and is in urgent need of a big victory to enhance his prestige.
Originally, he planned to start the Northern Expedition after spring, but unexpectedly, Sima Shi could not bear his temper and chose to start the war in the middle of winter.
"Soldiers, there are only 2,000 soldiers led by General Liulue and General Quanduan at the east and west passes of Dongxing Di. At this time, Wei's 70,000 main army must be about to invade Dongxing Di. The soldiers who are left guarding the two passes are all My good son of Soochow, my good brothers, at this moment they are planning to defend our Wei Kingdom with all their lives, can we just sit back and ignore it?!"
"No, no!!"
The entire Soochow army was successfully aroused by Zhuge Ke. With tears in their eyes, they vigorously waved their swords, spears and halberds and responded to their commander's questions in the loudest voices.
Zhuge Ke pulled out the 'White Rainbow' sword that the late Emperor Sun Quan had given him when he was dying, and roared loudly:
"Kill Cao Ni and protect my Jiangdong!"
Zhuge Ke's right general Lu Ju, former general Tang Zi, Zhennan general Zhu Yi, champion general Ding Feng, and Tunqi Xiaowei Liuzan. The five generals were also high-spirited at this moment. They drew their swords and led their soldiers to follow the commander Zhuge. Ke swore:
"Kill Cao Ni and protect my Jiangdong! Protect my Jiangdong!"
The right general Lu Ju and the Zhennan general Zhu Yi have always made outstanding contributions. They are veteran generals of Soochow who have experienced hundreds of battles. This time they are determined to achieve unparalleled achievements on the battlefield.
Former general Tang Zi was originally the guard general of Licheng County in Cao Wei. He separatized Licheng and rebelled against the Wei Dynasty many years ago. After being wiped out by Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi under the pretense of attacking Wu, he fled across the ocean to Soochow. This time he was also eager to prove his merits by performing meritorious service. Own.
The son of Liu Zan, the captain of the Cavalry School, Liu Lue, was stationed on Dongxing Embankment at the moment. He was in a dangerous situation. He was eager to save his son and was naturally eager to go north to make contributions.
As for the veteran general Ding Feng, although he has fought bravely and made many meritorious deeds over the years, he has never been good at making friends with powerful people. Until he was in his sixties, he was just a general with no rank, and he did not even earn a marquis title. Therefore, he went north to counterattack the Wei army this time. , he is actually the one with the highest fighting spirit.
At this moment, everyone from the commander-in-chief, Taifu Zhuge Ke, to the five generals to the 40,000-strong army was full of fighting spirit and high spirits. At this moment, everyone braved the east wind and came to the mouth of the Ruxushui River. They boarded Dongwu Gaoru The Huanglong battleship in the mountains moved upstream towards the Dongxing Levee in high spirits!
On the battleship, Tang Zi, who wanted to take the opportunity to please Zhuge Ke, complimented:
"Cao Ni must have been so frightened when he heard that the Grand Tutor was coming in person that he ran away overnight!"
Although Zhuge Ke is also a wise man, he has always thought highly of himself and was proud. At this time, he listened to Tang Zi's flattery and felt very happy. Zhu Yi, Lu Zhi, and Liu Zan observed Tang Zi's words and immediately followed Tang Zi. They all agreed.
The gray-bearded veteran Ding Feng never liked flattery. After listening to the childish and ridiculous compliments of several people, he shook his head and retorted:
"What you are saying is wrong. Cao Ni has given his full consent and Luo's tens of thousands of troops have come in force. He must have already discussed a long-term war strategy. How can he return without success and go away in vain? In my opinion , we are the ones who dare to fight, and after arriving at Dongxing Embankment, it will be a bloody battle, so why hope that the Wei army will escape without fighting?"
Although Ding Feng was not good at flattering horses, his words just now were very majestic, so Zhuge Ke not only did not feel dissatisfied, but also praised him very much:
"What General Ding said is true. This time we will definitely be able to defeat the Wei army and kill their arrogance! Send an order and order the oarsmen to row with all their strength. We must rush to Dongxing as soon as possible to rescue the two generals Liulue and Quanduan and the two Two thousand soldiers above the pass!"
Just as Zhuge Ke was struggling northward along the Ruxu River, 70,000 elite Wei soldiers from the Central Plains under the command of Sima Zhao, Hu Zun, and Zhuge Dan had already arrived at Dongxingdi!
Sima Zhao stationed his commander's camp on a small plain a hundred miles north of Dongxing, while Hu Zun and Zhuge Dan personally led their troops to the north slope of the Dongxing Embankment.
Looking at the steep embankment in front of him, General Hu Zun, who looked like an iron bear with a big beard, a majestic body, and armor, couldn't help but sigh:
"This Zhuge Ke is really talented. In just a few months, he built the Dongxing embankment that Sun Quan had abandoned for many years so strong and steep!"
Ever since he watched his beloved daughter being killed by a series of executions, Zhuge Dan has aged at a rate that can be seen with the naked eye. His temples are as white as frost, there are new horizontal lines on his forehead, his eyes are like cold pools, and his chin is as short as iron. It makes him very much like a white-fronted tiger with a rough heart. He looked coldly at the embankment in front of him and couldn't help but nodded:
"What General Hu said is true. You see, the east and west gates on the left and right sides of the embankment were built according to the dangers of the mountains and rivers. The open space under the two city gates is narrow and rugged. Our 70,000-strong army may not be able to survive after a while. It can definitely be used!"
Hu Zun stared at the round eyes like a bear and tiger, carefully observed the terrain in front of him, and nodded:
"That's not a bad idea. Look, we have to climb up the embankment to attack two levels, and we also have to build a pontoon to cross the Xutang Lake in front. The big ships can't pass, so it seems we have to dock them all in the north of the pond. What a damn trouble!"
When Zhuge Dan saw this, he couldn't help but sigh. He didn't expect that the Dongxing Embankment would have mountains, water, and dangerous passes built along the mountains to block the road. It seemed that he and Hu Zun had to fight for today's tough battle. Let’s take a bite of this hard nut!
"Without further delay, General Hu, let's seize the time to dock the big ship and build a pontoon bridge! I think the garrison at the two passes does not exceed 3,000 at most. If we can seize the east and west pass before Zhuge Ke's reinforcements arrive, , then the advantage is ours!"
Hu Zun stared fiercely at the general flag with the word 'quan' on the east side of Dongguan on his left, spat, and then cursed:
"What Mr. Xiu said makes sense. Damn it, let's build the bridge quickly. Look at the flag with the word 'Quan' on Dongguan. The guard must be Quan Cong, Quan Zihuang's nephew. Quan Duan was killed that day. Quan Cong once killed many brothers under my command. After the pontoon bridge is repaired later, Quan Duan and his Dongguan will be left to me. I wonder what I will do?!"
Upon hearing this, Zhuge Dan nodded and said:
"General Hu, it's settled. You'll attack the entire east pass later, and leave the west pass on the right to me. We two brothers will have a good competition to see who can defeat his pass first!"
Hu Zun was inspired by Zhuge Dan and laughed loudly:
"Okay, okay! Today we brothers will have a good competition. We might as well set a lottery. The loser has to donate ten thousand-mile horses. What do you think?"
"no problem!!"
Zhuge Dan and Hu Zun were in great spirits and high morale at the moment, and they just did what they said. They immediately docked the battleship in Xu Tang, took out the wood and ropes prepared in advance from the battleship, and quickly built it. The pontoon.
The whole army was highly motivated, and in less than two hours they had repaired the pontoon across the water. They were gearing up, and when the soldiers brought the general order from their commander Sima Zhao to agree to the attack, the two men immediately waved their flags and ordered their respective 30,000 sergeants. On the pontoon.
As for the remaining 10,000 sergeants, they were left by the two men on the north bank of Xutang to guard the pontoon bridge in case of emergency.
After crossing Xutang, Hu Zun and Zhuge Dan respectively led 30,000 troops to set up camp on the dam plain under the east and west passes.
It was still early in the day. After the two men ordered their soldiers to rest for a while, they each encouraged their soldiers and couldn't wait to attack the east and west passes respectively.
Quan Duan and Liu Lue, who were stationed on the east and west gates respectively, were extremely nervous at this time.
Quan Duan's uncle, Qian Tanghou Quan Cong Quan Zihuang, was a famous general of Soochow and the son-in-law of the late emperor. Quan Duan, who was well educated in his family, was also proficient in the art of war since he was a child.
Liu Lue's father, Liu Zan, was also a good general in Soochow, in charge of the Imperial Army in Jianye, the capital. Liu Lue was also considered a rising star in Soochow.
But at this time, the two men each had only a thousand defenders left under their command. Facing the Wei army that was coming like a tide under the city in the distance, it was impossible to say that they were not nervous.
But fortunately, the two Guancheng cities were built between steep cliffs, close to mountains and rivers. The narrow space under the city could only accommodate more than a thousand Wei troops. In this way, the Wei army's numerical advantage could not be used at all.
After the forwards of Hu Zun and Zhuge Dan rushed under Guancheng, Quan Duan and Liulue calmed down and commanded the defenders in the city with full concentration.
I saw that the Wu army on the east and west gates smashed the rolling wooden thunder stones prepared in advance towards the Wei army who was climbing up like ants below the city!
Under the tight defense of the Wu army, the vanguard of the Wei army found it difficult to climb the tower for a while. However, Hu Zun and Zhuge Dan, who were determined to win, were not discouraged at this moment. They each had a total of 30,000 soldiers under their command. Elite divisions, even if they are exhausted, they will forcefully exhaust Quan Duan and Liu Lue to death!
On the top of the city tower, Quan Duan and Liu Lue looked at the soldiers on the left and right who were being shot down by the Wei army's siege crossbows and at the dense black waves outside the city that continued to pour in like a great tide. Their hearts were extremely nervous and anxious.
At this moment, both of them were looking forward to the arrival of Zhuge Ke's main reinforcements.
They knew very well that if Zhuge Ke's reinforcements did not arrive before dark tomorrow, it would be a sure thing that Guancheng would be smashed by the Wei army who was bound to win!
