Guan Yu's confidence came from the Huainan battlefield.
During the period of rest and truce in Jingzhou, the situation in Huainan became increasingly tense. From spring to autumn, Lu Xun frequently feigned attacks on Hefei to help Gan Ning successfully capture Lujiang.
Lan Yuan relied on the excellent intelligence capabilities of the reconnaissance battalion to control Xiahou Shang's troop mobilization in real time, and accurately and timely communicated it to the frontline battlefield.
Xiahou Shang had other ambitions and originally wanted to send heavy troops to rescue Lujiang, but he was worried that Lu Xun's troops would cut off the rescue effort and result in a small number of ineffective rescues.
Gan Ning fought in various places for half a year, purged the Wei army in Lujiang County, and became a veritable prefect of Lujiang.
As a reserve force, the trapped army had been conducting daily combat training at Ruxuwu before Xiahou Shang's main force came out. In addition to sending Chu Qing's reconnaissance battalion to collect intelligence, most of the time Ding Feng and Luo Tong went out to perform tasks.
The trapped army led by Lan Yuan could not fight on the water. Before the war, they borrowed two generals, Ding Feng and Luo Tong, from Lu Xun. The two usually communicated with each other by waterways. Occasionally, they would take a detour and land on warships to surprise the rear of the Lujiang reinforcements. By harassing the Wei army's food supply routes and other methods, it put substantial pressure on the Wei army who was rescuing Lujiang.
After Xiahou Shang arrived in Huainan, he was tortured by Gan Ning, Lu Xun, and Lan Yuan in turns. He was under high mental stress every day. The huge pressure kept him awake all night.
In summer, the rivers swelled, and the low-lying areas around Chao Lake were submerged. Lu Xun's warships had a wider range of activities, and the Wei army was in a more difficult situation in the south. During the half-year period of passive rescue, the Wei army suffered a total of nearly 20,000 casualties.
Seeing that the situation in Lujiang was over, Jiang Ji proposed to cut off his tail to survive, giving up Lujiang completely and sticking to Hefei.
After hearing this, Xiahou Shang was convinced, so he transferred Xiahou Ru to station in Hefei to defend Lu Xun. He led the main force of Huainan to station in Xincheng to the west of Hefei. He wrote to Jia Kui, the governor of Yuzhou, asking him to lead the Yuzhou garrison south to Shouchun. He also sent the three Wei troops to the south. All the soldiers and horses fought against the three Han armies.
In addition, Xiahou Shang sent Jiang Ji back to Luoyang to report the worsening situation in Huainan to Cao Pi, hoping that the court would increase its support for Huainan.
When Jiang Ji returned to Luoyang, the news of Zhang Liao's death came back. Cao Pi was in a state of sadness. Comparing the situation in Nanyang and Huainan, it seemed that the situation in Nanyang was not far behind. Jiang Ji had no chance to speak when he met the saint several times. Instead, he was beaten by Sima. Zhao persisted in asking about Sima Yi's past, and the main content of the inquiry was around Cao Cao's death.
Jiang Ji and Sima Yi had a close personal relationship. Seeing that the boy was still investigating the cause of his father's death, he felt that the other man was already an official and still remembered his family feud, so he was moved and told what he knew.
Sima Zhao had no way of finding out, but he remembered something Yu Xiu said, and then he had a firm direction.
People in this world have nothing to gain, and the black hand who destroyed the entire Sima family is definitely the ultimate winner. However, the Sima family collapsed, and the vacated rights and wealth were usurped. These people are being secretly liquidated by Sima Zhao.
Wei suffered successive military defeats, domestic interest groups were panicking, rumors and evidence of collaboration with the enemy and treason continued, and Cao Pi also failed to take back the authorization given to Sima Zhao.
In addition to appropriators of power and wealth, Sima Zhao also listed the Cao family as suspects. Cao Cao once said in his early years that Sima Yi "watches the wolf as the eagle looks at the wolf". If it weren't for Cao Pi's efforts to protect him at the time, Sima Yi would probably not have survived Cao Cao.
Sima Zhao got useful information from Jiang Ji. Before Cao Cao died of illness, he summoned Jia Xu, Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun, Cao Xiu and others to ask for help. If it was really Cao Cao's last order, one of them would eventually destroy the Sima family. Sima Zhao planned to pass Check slowly by elimination method.
Jiang Ji waited in Luoyang for a few days. Cao Pi promoted Cao Xiu to Grand Sima and ordered him to rush to Wancheng to resist Guan Yu.
When Cao Xiu was leaving the city, Jiang Ji stopped him outside the gate of Luoyang City and told Xiahou Shang about his difficulties. He hoped that Cao Xiu could provide more help. After all, Lan Yuan's trapped troops did not show up, and he was worried about the situation in Huainan. It will get worse.
Cao Xiu pondered for a moment, then called the young general Xia Houba and said: "Zhong Quan, please quickly take my general's order and lead five thousand tigers and leopards to Hefei to assist Boren (Xiahou Shang) in defeating the enemy."
"Wei." Xiahou Ba clasped his fists and beat the horse away.
"Thank you so much, Chief Sima. With the help of the powerful tiger and leopard cavalry, General Boren will be more confident." Jiang Ji handed over his hand in thanks.
Cao Xiu stroked his beard and nodded, "Zitong also wants to return to Fei early. Lu Xun, Gan Ning, and Lan Yuan used Guan Yu's tactics last year. They were able to cooperate so well without Lan Tian in charge. This shows that these people are not Boren is just waiting for me, and I need your husband to give me some advice."
"I am about to return to the palace. I will bid farewell to Your Majesty and go to Huainan. Guan Yunchang is a powerful person in China. You are under great pressure. Please take this seriously." Jiang Ji bowed to Cao Xiu and saluted.
"Go peacefully, Ziyang. As long as I am in Nanyang, I will protect our country and the country of Wei." Cao Xiu said with great enthusiasm.
Jiang Ji nodded and rode back to the city, while Cao Xiu continued to move forward with complicated emotions.
Zhang He looked back at the gate of Luoyang City and asked in a low voice: "Da Sima, I heard that in the battle with Guan Yu last year, the tiger and leopard cavalry were seriously injured. Now you only have ten thousand people left under your command. Why do you still allocate half of it to General Xiahou? The garrison in Huainan Not a lot."
Cao Xiu shook his head gently: "Jun Yi has been in Yongliang all year round. It is normal for him not to know how powerful the trapped troops are. They are no less generous than the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry..."
"Really that strong?" Zhang He looked puzzled.
"A few years ago, I followed the late emperor to the south and encountered it during the great battle in the north of Deng County. The strength was staggering. Except for the slightly inferior maneuverability, the military formation was invincible. Only the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry could fight with it. If Huainan really has If anything goes wrong, the southern warships will be able to sail into the hinterland of the Central Plains, and Luoyang will face enemies from the southeast, with disastrous consequences..." Cao Xiu replied seriously.
"Da Sima's concerns are very reasonable, but Nanyang's power has been weakened, and Guan Yu's deterrence may be stronger..."
Although Zhang He agreed with Cao Xiu's point of view, Wei State was now threatened in many places, and the snow in front of Nanyang Gate could not be swept away, so how could he care about the frost on Xiahou Shang's tiles?
"Guan Yu was seriously injured last year, and he shouldn't come back so soon. As long as he strengthens his defense and does not take the initiative to attack, relying on Wei's military superiority, it will not be a problem to defend Nanyang." Cao Xiu's eyes were very firm. He knew that the general must maintain confidence, otherwise The soldiers under his command are more likely to become discouraged.
"The general knows." Zhang He nodded in agreement on the surface, but he had his own thoughts in his heart.
Since Zhang He surrendered to Cao Cao at the Battle of Guandu, he has witnessed Wei's transformation from weak to strong, and now it is completely suppressed militarily by the Han army. He knows that the human sea tactic no longer works. In the Battle of Hanzhong, the Battle of Yongliang, and the Battle of Jingzhou Verified multiple times.
If we don't change, the Wei Dynasty will be in danger.
