Anyone who knows a little bit about the causes and consequences of what Liu Fang meant will understand.
That is to ask Cao Rui to abandon Yanzhou, retreat to the south bank of the Yellow River, and strive to protect the control area north of the Yellow River, including Hedong County and Hanoi County.
The purpose is to preserve strength and not make unnecessary sacrifices.
This was how Jia Xu persuaded Cao Pi to abandon Guanzhong.
But really, if Liu Fang wasn't Cao Rui's confidant, Cao Rui would have doubted what the purpose of Liu Fang's suggestion was.
Guanzhong and Yanzhou cannot be compared.
The original abandonment of Guanzhong was not only to preserve the existing combat power of the Wei Dynasty, but also because the core control areas of the Wei Dynasty were the Central Plains and Hebei. Guanzhong could not be lost, but it had no impact on the overall strength of the Wei Dynasty. Influence.
But abandoning Yanzhou is not that simple.
Once he abandons Yanzhou, it means that Cao Wei has completely given up in the Central Plains area south of the Yellow River.
What do you want the Central Plains families to think? !
Especially the aristocratic families in Yanzhou and Xuzhou, they still have the nerve to remain loyal to the Wei after the Wei retreats.
What do you want the Hebei aristocratic families to think? !
Especially the aristocratic families in Jizhou. If the Wei Dynasty can abandon Yanzhou today, will it mean that when the Shu thieves cross the Yellow River, the Wei Dynasty will abandon Jizhou and retreat to Qingzhou and Youzhou? !
Moreover, the political impact caused by abandoning Yanzhou is not small. Without the Central Plains region, the Wei Dynasty has no right to call itself the Zhengshuo of the world. !
It's just a separatist regime.
At that time, not only the Hedong aristocratic families, but even the Hebei aristocratic families may not be willing to continue to stand firmly on the side of Wei.
As the Secretary of the Central Committee, Liu Fang is in charge of the national government affairs. Can't he see such a simple truth? !
But Liu Fang still had his own explanation.
And since he has already said half of what he said and the person who deserves to be offended has already been offended, it is better to tell him his reasons to save even Cao Rui from having any doubts about him in the future. Then he really has nothing to do with it. saved.
Therefore, Liu Fang still insisted on finishing his reasons.
First, the Wei army is currently in short supply.
Sending Bi Gui southward is indeed not feasible in a short period of time, and sending the Wei Imperial Army southward may not necessarily turn the tide of the war immediately.
The current imperial army of the Wei Dynasty is not the elite of the imperial army during Emperor Wen's time. They have been lost in the battles over the years.
Today's Wei Imperial Army has only 30,000 troops, and most of them are newly recruited. Their combat effectiveness can only be said to be slightly stronger than ordinary county soldiers.
But if according to Sima Yi's idea, reinforcements were to be dispatched to reinforce Jia Kui and guard Dongjun, their opponent, according to intelligence, should be the Shu thieves forbidden army led by the famous general Wei Yan.
The combat power of both sides is not on the same level.
It's good to be able to defend Dongjun, but if it still can't be stopped, Jizhou won't have any reserve troops.
Therefore, Liu Fang did not think that it was a good idea to send the imperial army to fight.
Second, half of Yanzhou has been lost. Although Sima Yi is still defending the remaining half, even Sima Yi himself does not dare to guarantee whether he can hold it.
In this case, it would be better to abandon the defense of Yanzhou, reduce the number of troops, and rely on the natural dangers of the Yellow River to concentrate on the defense of Hanoi County and Jizhou.
It is better to take the initiative to withdraw the troops and preserve the effective strength than to have the main force of the army suffocated to death in Yanzhou after the Shu thieves occupied Suanzao and Yanjin.
Third, take the initiative to withdraw from Yanzhou and give up the Central Plains area, creating a military vacuum. Liu Fang believes that Lu Xun in Huainan and Zhuge Jin in Xuzhou will not watch the Shu thieves occupy most of the Central Plains and ignore them.
Apart from anything else, Zhuge Jin of Langya and Zhuge Dan of Xiapi will definitely send troops to seize Taishan County and Shanyang County in Yanzhou, and Lu Xun in Shouchun will not miss this good opportunity and will definitely take the opportunity to go north. , invade Chen State, Qiao County, and may even send troops to Yingchuan. At that time, Shu thieves and Soochow will inevitably fall into disputes.
The Wei Dynasty can completely take advantage of this opportunity to gather its troops again, deploy its defense lines, and sit on the mountain to watch the fight between tigers and tigers.
After the Soochow and Shu thieves fought over territory in the Central Plains, it was not impossible for the Wei Dynasty to choose an opportunity to return to the Central Plains.
This is the so-called strategy for a strong man to cut off his wrists and put him to death so that he can survive.
Don't tell me, after Liu Fang said these reasons, Cao Rui was really a little tempted.
Because, at least it sounds reasonable.
However, Man Chong stood up and firmly opposed this approach.
When others use the two tigers to compete for food, they always use the interests of other forces as bait, and they never say that they use their own territory as bait.
You know, once you lose some things, you can never get them back.
For example, the human heart.
At that time, Jia Xu suggested that the late emperor abandon Guanzhong to preserve his strength because the Wei Dynasty had not been operating in Guanzhong for a few years at that time, and there were no powerful aristocratic families in Guanzhong. If they were lost, they would be lost, and it would not have any impact on the foundation of the Wei Dynasty. .
But once the Central Plains region was lost, it was the Wei Dynasty that gave it up on its own initiative, so it’s hard to say what people’s support is.
Moreover, from a practical point of view, it is hard to say what the Zhongyuan family would think about this.
Yes, the largest force among the Central Plains families is the Heluo family. Guarding Hedong and Hanoi counties can also appease the emotions of the Hedong family, but the question is, how long can it be appeased? !
If you can give up on the Yanzhou family today, how can you guarantee that you won't give up on the Hedong family next time? !
And the distance between Hedong and Luoyang is much closer than the distance from Yecheng.
Think about Yingchuan County. In the past few years, it had always stood firmly on the side of the Wei Dynasty and blocked the invasion of Shu thieves several times. However, since the Wei Dynasty counterattacked Luoyang three years ago and failed, Yingchuan County has begun to lose its support. My thoughts have changed. Now in this battle, the aristocratic families in Yingchuan County have surrendered so quickly. Even Chen Tai, a descendant of the Yingchuan family, cannot stop this trend.
The influence of abandoning Yanzhou this time is greater than the failure to counterattack Luoyang. How can we guarantee that Hedong will not become the next Yingchuan County? !
And once Hedong is lost, especially Hanoi County, if it surrenders directly like Yingchuan County, Yecheng will be directly exposed to the soldiers of Shu thieves.
Therefore, Man Chong had to stand up and speak out against Liu Fang's strategy.
This strategy looks good, but it is poison coated with honey. If you really want to take it, I am afraid that the Shu thieves will not be able to launch the sixth Northern Expedition until the day when the Wei Dynasty counterattacks back to the Central Plains.
As for Liu Fang, he did not have any argument with Man Chong.
On the one hand, it was because Man Chong's objection was actually the biggest weakness of Liu Fang's strategy. Liu Fang also knew in his heart that Man Chong was not wrong.
On the other hand, the final decision on this strategy does not lie with Liu Fang. No matter how much he talks, it is actually useless.
The right to make this decision lies in Cao Rui's hands.
As for Cao Rui, Cao Rui is really a shrewd person.
Liu Fang gave Cao Rui another way to solve the current dilemma. Although he was not perfect, and even as Man Chong said, it was poison coated with honey, but it was still a way after all.
At least it can be used to delay time and buy Wei time to regroup.
However, the current Wei Dynasty is not so depressed that it needs to use this strategy of risking death and surviving.
Furthermore, Cao Rui also had another concern - the balance of the imperial court.
The two legs that enabled the Wei Dynasty to stand on its own feet on behalf of the Han Dynasty were the Central Plains aristocratic family and the Hebei aristocratic family. Without either of them, the Wei Dynasty would not be able to go far.
If Yanzhou is abandoned so easily and officials from Central China become rootless, then the Hebei family will definitely dominate the Wei Dynasty in the future. This is tantamount to jumping forward with a lame leg. Sooner or later, there will be The day he fell.
This is what Cao Rui doesn't want to see.
Therefore, Cao Rui finally decided to combine the opinions of these people and make a decision.
First of all, he ordered people to go to Bingzhou to pass the imperial edict, and asked Bi Gui to gather troops and horses in Bingzhou as soon as possible. After appeasing the Southern Xiongnu tribe in the territory, he went south into Hedong County, wiped out the Shu bandit rangers raging there, and replaced Sima Division to lead the troops. Go east to support Yanzhou.
Secondly, he ordered Yan King Cao Yu to be the commander, and led 30,000 imperial troops southward, crossed the river to Dongjun, and obeyed Sima Yi's command and dispatch.
Third, Xiahou Ba was ordered to defend Wen County and not allow the Shu thieves to take any step towards Yecheng.
Finally, he ordered Sima Yi to stick to Yanzhou and seize the opportunity to defeat the Shu thieves and regain the lost territory.
Cao Rui wants all of these four strategies, and none of them can be missing.
(End of chapter)
