Jingzhou had dedicated personnel in charge of internal affairs, and with the support of grain, grass and equipment from Jiaozhou and other places, Guan Yu could free up his energy to concentrate on the Northern Expedition.
Lantian added 20,000 troops to Xiangyang. After more than half a year of training, their combat effectiveness was on par with the main force in Jingzhou. Even if Zhang Liao did not die of illness, Guan Yu was ready to send troops to Wancheng again to cooperate with the Huainan battlefield to continue to suppress Wei.
In addition to writing to Lantian, Guan Yu hoped that Gan Ning and Lan Yuan could advance to Hefei. He also sent a memorial to ask Liu Bei to send troops to Tongguan. The three groups of soldiers and horses coordinated the attack, so that the Wei State could not look after each other.
Liu Bei took the report very seriously and summoned Pang Tong and Fa Zheng to the palace for discussion.
There were farms in Guanzhong, Longyou, and Jincheng, but most of the grain and grass produced were transported to the northwest front in preparation for Zhao Yun's upcoming Western Expedition.
The new city by the Yellow River has been built. Ma Chao used his influence to persuade a total of 30,000 Qiang and Hu tribes in Longyou, Jincheng and other places to successfully move to the surrounding areas of the new city and enjoy the abundant pastures.
A large number of lambs and foals are born in the autumn. With the newly built city to block the wind and snow and defend against prairie wolves, most of them will survive the cold winter. By next summer, there will be mobile rations. Zhao Yun is ready to send troops next autumn.
Since the resources are tilted to the northwest, Chang'an is not ready for a comprehensive eastward advance in terms of troops and food. However, Guan Yu's request is reasonable and reasonable, so Liu Bei seems to be in a dilemma.
"Two military advisors, Zilong is about to send troops to Hexi, and Yun Chang has asked me to send troops to suppress Tongguan. How do you choose?" Liu Bei frowned.
Fa Zheng said: "Tongguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and Hefei is also a tough one. I think the breakthrough point is in Nanyang, so your Majesty only needs to feint attack."
"Chang'an originally doesn't have many soldiers and horses. Even if we pretend to attack Tongguan, it will be easily damaged. I really don't want the soldiers to sacrifice in vain." Liu Bei shook his head gently.
"There is no need to fight. If His Majesty comes to Tongguan in person to supervise the battle, what do you think the defenders will think?" Fa Zheng smiled meaningfully.
Liu Bei was excited when he heard this, and said with great joy: "Wonderful, I can let Yide fight outside the pass every day, and Xu Huang and Zhu Ling are still not trembling? I have already marched on the expedition myself, I don't know if Cao Pi, son, dares to come?"
Fazheng waved his hand quickly, "Cao Pi will never dare to leave Luoyang. If someone in Luoyang surrenders, wouldn't he become the second Sun Quan?"
"Haha, I, Yunchang and Ziyu sent troops at the same time. Cao Pi is afraid that his days in Luoyang will be like a year." Liu Bei nodded and laughed.
Pang Tong then added: "The three generals wanted to fight in front of the pass, so Xu Huang and Zhu Ling would not dare to fight. I thought that the pressure of the imperial commander's personal expedition was not enough, so I should gather the ships in front of the pass, build a pontoon bridge, and send an army to cross the river to Pubanjin to pretend to cross the river. Only in this way can we show His Majesty’s determination to take Tongguan.”
"Good." Fazheng nodded repeatedly.
"Okay." Liu Bei slammed the table and said solemnly: "Both military advisors have great ideas. Shi Yuan will go with me to Tongguan for a visit, and Xiao Zhi will partner with General Huang to guard Chang'an."
"Wei." Pang Tong and Fazheng replied in unison.
A few days later, Liu Bei led eight thousand troops to Tongguan. On the one hand, he sent Zhang Fei and Liu Feng to take turns fighting at the foot of the pass. On the other hand, he asked Ma Chao to build a pontoon bridge on the Weishui River in the rear, and led his troops north to Pubanjin.
There were nearly 20,000 defenders in Tongguan. Facing the small number of Han troops, they did not dare to leave the pass. Xu Huang and Zhu Ling both suspected that Liu Bei was luring the enemy, and the main force should cross the river from Huayin.
When Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao in Guanzhong, it was Cao Cao who deceived others outside Tongguan and sent Xu Huang to sneak into Pubanjin to break the situation. Liu Bei copied Cao Cao's plan today, but clearly let Ma Chao go to Pubanjin. This is completely Pang Tong's way of repaying the other party with his own methods. The body's conspiracy.
Xu Huang was familiar with the terrain around Puban. After seeing Liu Bei's intention, he immediately handed over the defense of Tongguan to Zhu Ling. He personally led an army to cross the Yellow River north and prepared to set up defenses on the east bank of Pubanjin. He also told Zhu Ling that he could not leave the pass with Zhu Ling. The Han army fought.
On the second day after Ma Chao crossed the river, Pang Tong ordered people to build catapults and other siege equipment in Guanxia, making a posture of attacking directly.
Zhu Ling remembered that the Great San Pass a few years ago had been broken by Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun. He guessed that Liu Bei's main force would arrive after all the siege engines were built, and doing nothing would appear passive, so he urgently sent people to Luoyang. Ask for help.
Cao Pi was troubled by the wars in Huainan and Nanyang. As soon as he sent Jiang Ji and Cao Zhang to their respective positions, he received an urgent report from Zhu Ling of Tongguan.
Grand Sima Cao Xiu went to Nanyang, and Cao Pi had to handle the military affairs himself. After reading the report, he became furious and threw the bottles and jars around him on the floor.
Liu Bei, are you still finished? Can't you just let me rest for two days? So annoying.
Summoning the Wei ministers to discuss matters, Cao Pi looked at the bowed heads in the palace and wrinkled his head and asked, "Why don't you say a word?"
Seeing no one responded, Cao Pi raised his voice: "Are you all waiting for me, the Wei Dynasty, to lose my official position and lose my land? Or do you all have a way out?"
Based on the lessons learned by senior officials such as Zhong Yao and Du Ji, most people in the Wei court chose to speak less to avoid being caught by political opponents. Cao Pi had no idea how bad the current political situation of Wei was because he had been in the palace for a long time.
Although the collaboration case sponsored by Sima Zhao has ended, many wealthy gentry and officials around Luoyang are still mysteriously missing, causing the political ecology of Wei to continue to deteriorate.
"The war in Huainan is intensifying. Guan Yu in Jingzhou is ready to move. Nanyang is completely unsafe. I have no troops to send to Tongguan. Ziyang, you are always so wise. Please give me an idea. Although the raid on Chang'an was unsuccessful, it was just bad luck. , You can't underestimate yourself." Cao Pi had no choice but to point generals.
Liu Ye trembled when he heard this and wondered if there was something in Cao Pi's words. He walked to the center of the hall with his scepter, bowed and bowed forward with both hands, and replied seriously: "According to General Zhu's memorial, Liu Bei's attack at Tongguan should be a feint. We Our troops and horses are so tight that it is impossible for the opponent to have enough troops to attack by force. Tongguan is the most powerful pass in the world, so your Majesty does not need to pay attention to it at all."
"Ignore it at all? Then Liu Bei is building a catapult in front of the pass. Is it possible that the Han army is just playing around? Don't forget that this is how the Dashan Pass was lost. They all thought that the Han army would not attack after feigning an attack." Cao Pi teased coldly.
"Well, although Liu Bei destroyed Sun Quan and captured Yongliang, he seemed to have half of the same mountains and rivers as the Wei Dynasty. In fact, he only gained a small country and had insufficient foundation. They continued to fight regardless of the cost. Even if they were barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes, they wanted to conquer the Wei Dynasty. Let’s pull down the abyss together. If His Majesty really wants to rush to help Tongguan, he can only force it, but that will easily lead to public resentment and provoke civil unrest." Liu Ye's face was full of bitterness.
Although Liu Ye's analysis was very clear, he still failed to impress Cao Pi.
Cao Pixu looked at him and asked: "Zhu Ling asked my superior Shu for help. If Luoyang didn't say anything, would it chill the hearts of the frontline soldiers? Since Ziyang was sure that Liu Bei was feigning an attack, he came up with corresponding countermeasures. Since Jia Jia After the death of the Taiwei, in terms of strategy, I am most optimistic about you."
(End of chapter)
