Just when the scientific examination was over, bad news came from Xiliang.
The Shadow Guards had not yet been fully arranged by Ma Teng and Han Sui, and the mountains were blocked by heavy snow, so the news came relatively slowly. It was already five days later when Zhang Xiu got the news.
Looking at the secret letter in his hand, he fell into deep thought.
The result he most hopes to see is that Ma Teng dies in battle, so that he can legitimately accept Ma Chao, and also have the title of capturing Xiliang.
If he hides this news now, he will lead his army to deal with Han Sui after Ma Teng dies in battle. With Ma Chao and others without Ma Teng, he could naturally take Ma Chao and others into his account, but paper could not stop the fire. If Ma Chao found out about it in the future, he would probably resent himself. The most important thing is that it is not easy to march in the heavy snow and the mountains are closed, and there is not much food and grass, so we dare not move lightly.
After the beginning of spring, Cao Cao will definitely not let him go, but the grain and grass in his hands can last until the summer harvest. If he mobilizes troops, there will inevitably be a difficult situation of grain and grass shortage.
what to do?
Zhang Xiu touched the bridge of his tall nose, thought carefully in his mind, and finally ordered someone to call Liu Ye and Jia Xu.
After the two of them learned about the incident in Xiliang, they were also shocked.
The surge in grain prices in Longxi and other places affected a wide range of people. Many Hanzhong grain merchants secretly went to Longxi to sell grain. But Guanzhong itself had no food to eat, so naturally there was no food to sell, so it was not greatly affected.
Jia Xu twirled his beard and pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully: "Cheng Yu played a trick on Ma Teng and bought up all the grain and grass in Longxi and other places, leaving Ma Teng's army with no grain to buy, forcing Ma Teng to fight Han Sui."
Liu Ye nodded: "Now Ma Chao, son of Ma Teng, is in our army. If he learns about this, he may ask the lord to send troops for revenge. But our army is short of food and grass and cannot support a large-scale cavalry dispatch."
Zhang Xiu said helplessly, "I am worried about this matter. Is there any way to solve it?"
The two of them were silent in thought.
This problem is not easy to solve. It is wrong to move or not to move.
Shaking the secret message in his hand, Zhang Xiu thought about it carefully and said to his servants: "Go and ask the cavalry camp to come."
Jia Xu asked: "Master, is he going to send troops?"
Zhang Xiu smiled bitterly, "Since it is unavoidable, then send out troops and fight to support the war. How can I sit back and ignore Meng Qi's father when he is in trouble?"
Liu Ye and Jia Xu nodded.
This is also a good opportunity to win people's hearts.
Chang'an is hundreds of kilometers away from Longxi, and the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, so it will take at least twenty days to get there. Ma Teng's food and grass could not last so long, so Ma Chao went here to avenge Ma Teng at most.
Not long after, Ma Chao came in.
I have been busy with the imperial examinations these days. As the invigilator, Ma Chao has been very tired these days.
"Xuanhou!" Ma Chao bowed and clasped his fists.
"Well!" Zhang Xiu handed him the secret message in his hand, "There are changes in Xiliang, please take a look."
After reading the secret letter, Ma Chao's expression changed drastically and he almost stumbled down. Then he gritted his teeth and roared: "Ah! Old Han Sui, you and I are at odds with each other!"
Then he knelt down in front of Zhang Xiu: "Xuanhou, Chao invites troops to return to Xiliang to rescue my brother Aweng. I hope Xuanhou will do it!"
Zhang Xiu helped him up and said seriously: "Does Meng Qi know how our army's food and grass are doing?"
Ma Chao shook his head.
Zhang Xiu said: "Our army no longer has much food and grass, and we dare not send out large-scale troops and horses for combat. Moreover, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow. Most of the mountains from Guanzhong to Xiliang are difficult to travel. Even if we go, it will be too late. ”
Ma Chao said firmly: "The father is in trouble, how can the son not save him because the road is far away? I hope Xuanhou will help him!"
Zhang Xiu nodded. "Since you have made up your mind, I can't stop you. You can lead your troops there. Remember, because there is insufficient food and grass in the army, you can only fight to support the war. Looting Han Sui's food road is the key to this battle."
Ma Chao was overjoyed: "Don't worry, Marquis Xuan! I will definitely cut off Han Sui's head in this battle and offer it to Marquis Xuan."
Zhang Xiu hummed, "Get ready quickly and leave Xiaoguan. Let's go!"
Ma Chao stood up and left.
After Ma Chao left, Jia Xu pondered for a moment and said thoughtfully: "My lord, now that Cheng Yu is helping Han Sui defeat Ma Teng, it is inevitable that Han Sui will unify Xiliang and prepare to attack Guanzhong with all his strength in the coming spring. Why don't we come Are you going to do the opposite and take this opportunity to gather all the food and grass to send troops to Xiliang, directly cut off his retreat, rob his food and grass, and seriously injure Han Sui's vitality?"
Zhang Xiu looked at Jia Xu in surprise.
Liu Ye was equally surprised.
This is a risky move. If it fails, it means that the food and grass in Guanzhong will be directly cut off. There is no need to wait until next summer's harvest, and people in Guanzhong may starve to death. But equally, huge risks can bring huge benefits. If the attack is successful, not only will Han Sui's food and grass be obtained, but his vitality will also be severely damaged, and he will no longer pose a threat to Guanzhong in the short term.
This is a risky move.
Zhang Xiu had to think carefully. They could not afford the consequences of a failed attack. But after Han Sui unified Xiliang, he would definitely take action in the spring. At that time, he would have to face the east-west attack from Cao Cao and Han Sui, which was also a dilemma.
Liu Ye exclaimed: "Wen He's plan is really a peril! It is extremely dangerous, but if it succeeds, the gain will be great."
Zhang Xiu nodded: "All members of the Senate will study the feasibility of this plan and plan the best march plan in detail. Cheng Yu on the opposite side is an old fox, so we must deal with it carefully."
"Here!"
The two of them clasped their fists and bowed.
This matter must be carefully planned to ensure victory in this battle, otherwise Guanzhong and Nanyang will be put in danger.
With the outline of how to solve the matter, Zhang Xiu pinched the corners of his eyes and asked, "Have the exam results come out?"
In order to ensure the rigor of the examination, the examination room is constructed as a single-family building. At the same time, in order to prevent anyone from making cheat sheets, all candidates were asked to change into examination clothes before entering the examination room.
Jia Xu said: "There are more than 60,000 civil and military candidates. After layers of screening, there are now 30 fixed papers for the liberal arts. The top three, second place, and third overall have not yet been selected. There are also 30 candidates for the martial arts, including The person with the most outstanding martial arts skills is Wang Shuang, who passed with almost full marks, and the second is Huo Jun. But in terms of military strategy, the results have not been released yet and are still being discussed."
Zhang Xiu was surprised: "More than 60,000 people?"
Liu Ye nodded and smiled: "There are only more than 50,000 students in Nanyang Academy, and the others are powerful children from all over the Han Dynasty. I'm afraid they want to give it a try."
"Um!"
Zhang Xiu nodded: "What we want is this effect. Only in this way can our army recruit talents from all over the world. After the construction of Chang'an Academy is successful, an announcement will be made that anyone in the world who wants to learn can come here to learn." .”
"Here!" Liu Ye and Jia Xu nodded and smiled.
If students from all over the world enter Chang'an Academy one after another, there will definitely be a lot of talents under that embroidered tent.
"Okay, you go prepare now, um... select the top three in liberal arts and the top three in martial arts to participate in this operation. Only by combining theory and practice can everyone's potential be unleashed," Zhang Xiu said.
"Here!"
The two men clasped fists and exited.
Touching his temples, Zhang Xiu sighed. Still not very sure about sending troops to Xiliang now.
In the evening, the maid from the inner courtyard came out and said that it was Mr. Zou who invited me.
He was a little scared when he thought of his beautiful aunt. It is said that women are like tigers in their thirties, and Zou is at most twenty-seven or eighty-year-old this year. She must be lonely during the long night, but he can't help her solve her problems. Now he has ordered someone to come, and he doesn't know what's going on.
After thinking about it, he got up and went.
