Ever since Guan Yu invaded Nanyang at the end of last year, the surrounding areas of Luoyang have been in a state of tension. New battle reports were delivered to the palace every day. Cao Pi felt a little numb when reading the reports.
Guan Yu followed the strategy from two years ago and contacted thieves in various counties in Henan in advance, agreeing to work together to overthrow the puppet emperor Cao Pi, and promised to ask the King of Hanzhong to recruit him after the success.
Not long after the bandits in Henan responded to Guan Yu, Cao Cao personally led his troops south to Jingzhou to fight. Some of the bandits were suppressed and wiped out on the spot by Cao's army, while others hid in the mountains and waited for opportunities.
Cao Cao needed to stabilize quickly at that time, because his main opponent was Guan Yu, and he was ready to repel Guan Yu and then liquidate the bandits.
It's a pity that in the end, God's calculations were not as good as those of man. After the war with Guan Yu, Cao Cao was directly "liquidated" by God. Following the death of Henan Yin and General Xiahou Dun, Cao Pi succeeded to the throne and usurped the Han Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor. Major incidents occurred one after another, and the bandits in Henan were gradually forgotten.
In order to "coordinate" Sun Quan, Guan Yu launched an all-out war against Wei, and the Henan bandits immediately raised their flags to respond. As a result, nearly 200,000 troops were stationed around Luoyang, but they were unable to suppress the Jingzhou Army.
As Huang Quan and Liu Feng led troops out of Shangyong to attack Nanxiang under the banner of Liu Bei, Wu Ban took the 20,000 soldiers recruited from Jingnan to the north according to Lan Tian's order, but the two generals Zhang Liao and Xu Huang actually blocked them. Unable to stop, Cao Pi had no choice but to send Cao Xiu, the general who conquered the south, to lead the most elite tiger and leopard cavalry south to supervise the battle.
After Cao Xiu joined the battlefields of Nanyang and Nanxiang, the war in the two places gradually developed in a good direction. Guan Yu suddenly curbed his previous sharpness and even gave up several newly occupied counties.
After the victory in the Huainan battlefield and the improvement of the Jingzhou battlefield, Cao Pi's tense nerves finally relaxed during the Chinese New Year. He handed over all government affairs to the Shangshutai and planned to take a good rest for more than ten days, but his good mood was finally broken by Xia Houmao.
Seeing Xia Houmao's innocent face, Cao Pi understood that Xia Houmao was a bit mediocre and could not be used under Cao Zhen's care, so he could only stay in the court temporarily and do his job.
After resting for the New Year, a big change occurred on the battlefield on the Western Front, which threatened the area around Luoyang from the west. Cao Pi had no choice but to abandon the newly admitted showgirls and urgently issued an edict to Chen Qun, Hua Xin, Zhong Yao, Wang Lang, and Xia Houshang. A close and important minister entered the palace to discuss the military situation.
Xiahou Mao was like a repeater. In front of everyone, he repeated all the important events in Yongliang that he knew, and specifically emphasized how Wei Yan's magic soldiers descended from the sky, how he and Yang Qiu fought hard to save them, and finally gave up in order to protect the people in the city from harm. He also used Yang Qiu's rhetoric and suggested sending troops from Luoyang to attack Cao Zhen from both sides to trap Liu Bei in the pass.
"Let's talk about it, everyone. It was said a few days ago that Liu Bei was in Nanxiang. It was only a few days after the New Year, but he actually occupied Guanzhong so quickly. A hundred thousand soldiers appeared in Chang'an for no reason. Zhang Fei and Zi Dan (Cao Zhen) faced off in Tianshui. Not counting Guan Yu's Jingzhou Corps, Yizhou can gather so many people? I simply don't believe it." Cao Pi frowned.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Zhong Yao, the oldest Tingwei who had inconvenient legs and legs, sat at the table and took the lead in speaking, "Your Majesty, according to what the consort just said, Liu Bei in Jingzhou must not be true, otherwise he would use the troops to invade Guanzhong." Attacking Nanxiang and Nanyang will not be like this."
"Yes, yes, Tingwei's analysis is reasonable." Xia Houmao quickly agreed.
When Cao Pi saw this, he glared at him. Xia Houmao was so shocked that he quickly lowered his head and shut up. His former playmate now had the majesty of a king, and he thought to himself, had he been rude just now?
"If Liu Bei really gathers 200,000 people in Yongliang, I think half of them should be ordinary people pretending to be the people. But even so, it will drain the entire Yizhou's resources and even squeeze Yizhou's output in the next few years. So the prince-in-law just said The analysis is also correct. As long as Liu Bei can be trapped in Guanzhong, not only his soldiers on the front line will starve to death, but also the people in the rear of Yizhou will starve to death. Liu Bei's Hanzhong Kingdom will collapse without attacking." Zhong Yao added, stroking his beard. .
Cao Pi nodded and sighed: "What Yuan Chang (Zhong Yao) said is true. It would be better if Zi Lin (Xia Houmao) defended Chang'an. I feel very uncomfortable if Liu Bei takes it away for nothing."
"There is such a disparity in the strength of the two sides, and the people in Guanzhong are tough and difficult to control. If you want to hold on to Chang'an, you have to forcefully recruit the people. Once a civil uprising is triggered, it may be worse. Xiahou's consort should do his best." Zhong Yao did not mean to tell Xiahou Mao. The good words are just because he also lost Chang'an due to a trap back then. At this time, "we are in the same boat" and can only support each other. Zhong Yao will not feel so embarrassed when mentioning the events of that year in the future.
"Well, Wei Ting is right." Regardless of Cao Pi's expression, Xiahou Mao saluted Zhong Yao with his fists clasped, saying in his heart that you are really my consort, and he will go back to visit the other party's house.
Cao Pi's face was serious, he banged the case and said sternly: "The war on the three fronts of Wei State is not peaceful now, and the situation on the western front is the most dangerous. I don't want to worry about why Guanzhong was lost. I want to know how to deal with this crisis. If Liu Bei is really here If Guanzhong has a firm foothold, it can be directly linked with Guan Yu's response. Will we have to be attacked on both sides in the future?"
Zhong Yao immediately shut up after hearing this, while Xia Houmao moved back and handed the stage to those who did not speak.
Shangshu ordered Chen Qun to bow and said: "As your Majesty said, no matter whether Liu Bei can stand firm or not, Tongguan cannot be lost. At this time, the battlefield in Jingzhou is not over yet. Even if the troops are mobilized to march westward, it will take time. The top priority is to stop Liu Bei." If we are unable to advance eastwards, I will recommend one person to serve as the governor of Tongguan to ensure that we are safe."
"Who is your minister?"
"Hao Zhao and Hao Bodao, both natives of Taiyuan, served in the army when the late Emperor pacified Hebei. Over the past decades, he was promoted to General Wu Lie due to his military exploits. I think this person can be of great use."
"Since it was recommended by Chang Wen (Chen Qun), I quickly prepared an imperial edict at the Chancellery and appointed Hao Zhao as the governor of Tongguan. I ordered him to rush to the front line day and night, and told him to only defend and not attack. My follow-up army will arrive shortly."
"only."
Tongguan is Cao Pi's bottom line, and the talents Chen Qun so solemnly recommended must be quite capable.
Cao Pi's tense nerves were slightly relieved, and he suddenly thought of the Battle of Tongguan that year. Cao Cao crossed the Yellow River twice from Pubanjin to the south, bypassed Tongguan and started the decisive battle with Ma Chao in Weinan. Wouldn't Liu Bei do the opposite?
"Chang Wen, I want to remind Hao Bodao not to let thieves sneak across the Yellow River." Cao Pi said solemnly and waved his hand gently, signaling Chen Qun to go to the Chancellor's desk to draft an edict first.
"I will take care of it immediately." Chen Qun bowed his hands and turned around to walk out of the hall.
"You guys also want to share your views on how to break the current situation? Boren (Xiahou Shang), you have been in the army for many years and are familiar with military affairs. Let me tell you about it first." Cao Pi directly started to point out generals.
Xia Houshang clasped his fists and replied: "Crisis, crisis, danger, and opportunity. The general agrees with the idea of the Prince Consort and Ting Wei. Starting with military rations can indeed collapse Liu Bei, but the prerequisite must be suppressed militarily. If His Majesty thinks that Tongguan is impregnable, let him go No matter what, General Zidan may not be able to stop him."
(End of chapter)
