Cao Shuang, Xia Houhe, and Cao Yu entered the palace together and met with the Queen Mother Guo of Cao Wei. They tried to obtain the Queen Mother Guo's consent to abandon Yecheng and temporarily retreat to Youzhou.
This matter was quickly approved by the Guo family, and he personally issued an edict to prepare for the relocation of the capital.
In fact, it's not easy for Guo. She really doesn't have much choice.
Cao Shuang has made the various consequences very clear. There is no army to defend Yecheng, or he will wait for the Shu thieves to attack Yecheng, the Wei Dynasty will be destroyed, and the Cao family will become prisoners and be slaughtered. Or choose to flee to Youzhou to preserve your strength for the future. Or, you can accept the Shu thieves' offer to surrender, save your life, and enjoy your wealth in peace.
As Cao Rui's queen, Guo may not be very capable, but since Cao Fang is young, she, the queen mother, must shoulder her responsibilities.
She repeatedly asked Cao Shuang if there was any way to repel the Shu thieves without leaving Yecheng. After receiving a negative reply from Cao Shuang, Empress Dowager Guo had no choice but to issue an edict and forcibly move the capital.
Guo took the blame for this.
After all, compared to losing her country and her family and being captured without help, Guo, as the empress dowager of Cao Wei, still wanted to gain another chance for the foundation of the Wei Dynasty.
With the Queen Mother's decree, Cao Shuang also temporarily suppressed the idea of surrender. After all, these days, if you can control your destiny in your own hands, no one will be willing to surrender easily and be slaughtered. When it really doesn't work anymore , it is actually too late to choose to surrender.
Anyway, Cao Shuang is now well prepared.
After receiving the Queen Mother's decree, Cao Shuang immediately ordered a summons to his second brother Cao Xun who was in Wei County, asking him to prepare to pick him up, and then lead his troops to protect the emperor and go north to Youzhou.
As for the officials of Yecheng, Cao Shuang also gave these people three days to pack up and pay tribute as soon as possible, and then set off with the army and leave Yecheng.
In fact, Cao Shuang knew very well that for this group of officials living in Yecheng, it was impossible for them to pack up all their belongings even if they were given thirty days, let alone three days.
Even more, once the Queen Mother issued this edict, after all the officials heard about it, it is hard to say whether some people with hidden agendas would have thoughts that they shouldn't have.
Therefore, three days is just a time for Cao Shuang to appease these aristocratic families, giving them a buffer period so that they will not change immediately.
At the same time, Cao Shuang also hoped to use these officials, courtiers, and even aristocratic families to prevent them from evacuating in time and become cannon fodder to block the pursuit of the Shu thieves.
In fact, after receiving the Queen Mother's decree, Cao Shuang immediately sent his own soldiers into the palace to protect the Queen Mother Guo and the Emperor Cao Fang and set off for Wei County.
After going up to invite Yizhi, in the afternoon Guo and Cao Fang had already left Yecheng in a chariot under the protection of Cao Shuang's personal guards.
Although it was a bit hasty and failed to bring too much gold and silver, with Cao Shuang's personal soldiers taking care of it, there should not be too much danger along the way.
As long as we can reach the danger safely and meet up with Cao Xun, we will have everything we need.
In this regard, Mrs. Guo did not raise too many objections. After all, she also knew that the current situation was like this, and by decree, the situation in Yecheng could get out of control at any time. It was better to leave early than late.
As for Cao Xun and Sima Yi in Wei County, it can be said that their current moods are very different.
Cao Xun had nothing to say, he just followed orders.
The main reason is that Sima Yi is really a lawsuit on his head now.
Sima Yi had already made his own plan, preparing to hold his troops in Wei County and control the military power. When Cao Shuang defeated the Wei Dynasty, he would choose an opportunity to surrender to the Shu Han while building his character as a "loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty". ,
It was a good plan, but Jiang Ji was transferred to Yecheng by Sima Yi. The military power of Wei County was completely in the hands of Sima and his son, and the plan was half successful.
But when Cao Xun got it, Sima Yi didn't take it seriously at all.
Although Cao Xun said that he came to take over the military power of Wei County on Cao Shuang's order, what he produced was Cao Shuang's general's military order, not the emperor's edict.
Moreover, even if it is an edict from the emperor, don't forget that Sima Yi is also an independent and important minister. Although he has never used this relationship, it does not mean that he cannot use it.
Cao Xun wanted to deprive Sima Yi of his military power with the help of the general's military order, but there was no way.
Sima Yi just made a simple excuse, saying that he wanted to personally report to the emperor to show his strength, so he held Cao Xun back.
As for Cao Xun, he was really worthy of Huan Fan's evaluation of the three brothers.
This guy actually didn't take strong measures and directly deprive Sima Yi of his military power. He was actually afraid that he would push Sima Yi into a panic and force a mutiny, which would endanger his own life, so he compromised with Sima Yi.
In Cao Xun's view, even if Sima Yi goes to the court again, the final decision-maker will still be his eldest brother Cao Shuang. No matter what Sima Yi says makes sense, it will not change the outcome. Then let Sima Yi go to the court, it is just a waste of a few days. It’s just time.
In fact, Cao Xun could also take advantage of this period to familiarize himself with the defense situation in Wei County and win over some middle-level generals in the army to pave the way for him to take control of the military in the future.
Therefore, Cao Xun did not reply to Cao Shuang at all, nor did he express what difficulties he encountered in recruiting Sima Yi's military power in Wei County. This led Cao Shuang to believe that even if Cao Xun did not completely seize Sima Yi's military power, he at least controlled part of it. troops.
This is the reason why Cao Shuang dared to take the emperor to Wei County.
But Sima Yi really didn't want Cao Fang to come to Wei County.
If the Emperor is in Yecheng, if Yecheng is lost and the Wei Kingdom is conquered, the responsibility must lie with Cao Shuang, the assistant general. He is in Wei County, so he can completely abdicate the responsibility.
Next, Sima Yi took advantage of the situation and created the character of "Loyal Minister of Wei" for himself, which became much more reasonable.
But if the emperor were in Wei County, the situation would be completely different.
First of all, the first thing is that when the emperor arrives in Wei County, the military power in Wei County will definitely not belong to him, Sima Yi.
Without these soldiers as capital, how could Sima Yi seek the greatest benefit for himself? !
Secondly, when the emperor arrives at Wei County, if he cannot defend Wei County in the end, then in addition to Cao Shuang, the person who puts the emperor in danger will be Sima Yi. How else can Sima Yi play the role of a "loyal minister"? !
Is it really possible to fight to the death in Yecheng and escort the emperor to retreat to Youzhou? !
Sima Yi just wanted to get the maximum benefit, he didn't want to be buried with Cao Wei.
Therefore, when Sima Yi received the order from the Queen Mother and learned that the Emperor and the Queen Mother were coming to Wei County under the escort of Cao Shuang's personal soldiers, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
As soon as the emperor arrives in Wei County, I'm afraid all Sima Yi's plans will come to nothing.
In fact, Sima Yi would be dragged into the water by Cao Shuang and had to choose to defend Wei County, otherwise his "loyal minister" character would completely collapse.
After thinking about it, Sima Yi realized that he probably only had two options left.
One is to continue to hold military power, not to be a loyal minister, but to be a powerful minister.
After the emperor and the queen mother arrived in Wei County, they controlled Cao Xun, held the emperor and the queen mother hostage, and headed north one step faster than Cao Shuang, retreating to Youzhou.
The method of coercing the emperor to command the princes is not exclusive to your old Cao family. When Cao Cao dared to do it, his descendants would naturally follow suit.
If you just do this, the good impression Sima Yi has accumulated for most of his life as a "veteran of three dynasties" will be completely shattered. When he arrives in Youzhou, it depends on whether Tian Yu, the governor of Youzhou, is willing to accept him. Otherwise, I am afraid that he The end will not be too good either.
The second one is much simpler. The emperor and queen mother who controlled Cao Wei asked Shu Han Zhang Xi to surrender.
Doing this is even more shameless, and once you do it, it will definitely be accompanied by the reputation of the seller seeking glory. But at least you have enough chips on hand, and once you sell, you will definitely get a "good price."
But the price is that his reputation will be completely ruined, he will not make any achievements in this life, and he may even affect his two sons.
If the Sima family wants to rise again, I'm afraid it will take a few more generations.
Therefore, Sima Yi really didn't like this kind of change, letting his good plans change in vain.
But, now that things are like this, Sima Yi did not choose the second path. The price paid was too high, and the first path still had room for maneuver.
Therefore, while Sima Yi seized the time to control the military power, he also began to send people to monitor Cao Xun's every move. As long as the emperor Luanjia arrived in Wei County, he would immediately control Cao Xun and lead the emperor northward.
Just waiting and waiting, Sima Yi finally received some news that he didn't know whether it was good or bad.
Zhongshu ordered Sun Zi and Liu Fang, Zuo Guanglu's doctor, each led five hundred private soldiers, hijacked the emperor and the queen mother's carriage, and drove away to Chaoge.
Sima Yi was a little dumbfounded. Why couldn't even he understand the changes in the current situation? !
What happened to Sun Zi and Liu Fang? ! Where did it come from? ! Why are you so stupid to lead the emperor into Chaoge's wolf den? !
(End of chapter)
