"Master, it's safe to send letters to the north, but we need to pay attention to the deployment of heavy troops to guard against thieves in the south!"
"Lan Shi is talking about Luoyang?"
"Exactly." Fu Gu reminded, "The gate to the west of Luoyang has been lost. Western thieves can attack the city at any time, so we must be on guard!"
"How can I not know?" Sima Yi was confident, "It's just that in my opinion, the thieves broke through Hangu Pass, but they stopped moving forward in Shaanxi. They don't want to take Luoyang, so they are really worried."
When Fu Gu heard this, he was slightly startled:
"You are stupid, why did the master say this?"
Sima Yi showed a somewhat enigmatic smile, pointed to the guide, and said two words: "Wu Kou."
"Wu Kou?"
"Exactly." Sima Yi stood up, with a deep look in his eyes, and said with his hands behind his back, "In the past, the Western bandits and the Wu bandits swore to attack the Wei Dynasty together. There was an agreement that the east of Hangu Pass belongs to the Wu bandits."
Having said this, a rather complicated look appeared on Sima Yi's face:
"At that time, the Wei Dynasty was at its peak, with eight out of ten in the world, and Shu and Wu were just bandits in a barbaric borderland."
"In the eyes of the world, the so-called oath of the two thieves is just a clown, just making people laugh. Who would have expected... Alas!"
Who could have expected that in just ten years, the world would be overturned and the situation would change.
But Sima Yi soon sneered again:
"However, although the rampage of the Western bandits was unexpected, the Wu Kou were expected."
"At that time, the Wei Dynasty was strong and the bandits were weak, so the two thieves had to join forces to fight against the Wei Dynasty."
"Now that the Western bandits are powerful, they have taken all the land in the west and are able to fight against the Wei Dynasty. They no longer need the help of Wu Kou."
"But the Wu invaders are still blocked at the gate of Hefei City. It's just like two thieves dividing the spoils, one thief gets all the benefits, and the other thief only gets a tiny bit of benefit."
Sima Yi looked at Fu Gu and asked, "Lan Shi, do you think Sun Quan is willing to do this?"
Fu Gu's eyes lit up: "What does Grand Tutor mean, is the alliance between the Western thieves and the Wu bandits broken again?"
"Hmph!" Sima Yi smiled solemnly, "The Wu bandits are short-sighted, and they are people who forget their loyalty when they see profit. Otherwise, how could the incident in Jingzhou have happened?"
Sima Yi also participated in the plan to lure Sun Quan to defect from the alliance and attack Jingzhou.
Therefore, he naturally has a deep grasp of Wu people's psychology.
The reason why the Wu invaders are short-sighted is that in hindsight, the Wu people's attack on Jingzhou did more harm than good.
Although it ensured the safety of the upper reaches of Jiangdong, it also almost put itself in a certain death situation.
If Emperor Wen had listened to his advice and taken the opportunity to attack the Wu invaders from the north when Shu and Wu were fighting, Sun Quan would have been imprisoned long ago.
Once the Wu Kingdom is destroyed, can the Shu Kingdom survive alone?
If the Kingdom of Shu does not exist, how can it cause today's troubles?
"So in my opinion, the foundation of the alliance between the two thieves no longer exists, just like how Sun Quan did not want Liu Bei to become powerful and betrayed the alliance to attack Guan Yu in the past!"
Sima Yi looked at Fu Gu with a glint in his eyes, "In the past, Sun Quan broke his promise and attacked Jingzhou, and Lu Xun defeated Liu Bei in Yiling. This can be said to be a great hatred and humiliation for the Western thieves."
"Once the Western bandits become too powerful to be controlled, not only is this not what Sun Quan wants to see, he will even be frightened, lest the Western bandits overturn the old accounts of Jingzhou and settle the old enmity of Yiling."
"At this time, Sun Quan's unwillingness to let the Western bandits gain power is even more serious than when Guan Yu attacked Xiangfan. Therefore, in my opinion, the alliance of thieves and bandits has reached a critical stage."
Sima Yi stretched out his left hand, pressed his index finger with his thumb, and exposed a little of his fingertip, "Now, it only takes a little provocation between them, and they will have their own suspicions."
As he spoke, he exhaled a long breath:
"As long as we can delay the thieves' change, Dawei will probably still have a chance..."
I don't know if it was an illusion, but when Fu Gu heard this last sentence, he felt that there was a hint of helplessness and sigh in Taifu's tone.
But Fu Gu had no time to think about this, but when he saw his expression change, he took a step forward, lowered his voice subconsciously, and said urgently:
"Master, this Luoyang is not just a little provocative!"
"Lan Shi, don't worry!" Sima Yi pressed his hand down, "Just listen to me."
Fu Gu had no choice but to suppress his anxious mood and listen to Sima Yi's next words.
"Lan Shi, once Hangu Pass and Shaanxi are lost, there will be no danger to defend west of Luoyang. The thieves can march straight in at any time and attack the city."
Sima Yi sighed deeply, "If you want to defend Luoyang, the only hope is to defeat the thieves before they besiege the city. If you want to defend the city, it is absolutely impossible."
The city of Luoyang is too big. If you want to defend the city, you will need too many troops.
But if you really want the army to stay in the city, the people will have to eat the horses, and the food, grass, drinking water, firewood, etc. will be a huge burden.
Moreover, if the city is too big, it is easy for the commander to focus on one thing and not the other, making it difficult for the various battalions to respond to each other.
If any corner is breached and rescue fails, the defense is bound to fall.
Not to mention that the opponent also has powerful siege weapons such as stone cannons.
But if you can't defend according to the city, you can only set up many forts and forts outside the city like you did in Chang'an, and fortify them layer by layer.
But if this happens, he will have to fight a wild battle with the Western thieves.
Sima Taifu, who had fought against the Western thieves many times, every time he thought of the thieves' cunning and fierceness, his psychological shadow was almost as big as that of Luoyang City...
"The thieves are extremely sharp. It's hard to fight with them in the wild without any confidence!"
If you don't dare to fight in the field and you can't defend the city, won't it be even more difficult?
After listening to Taifu's explanation, Fu Gu knew that what he said was true, and he couldn't help but let out a low sigh:
"What can I do?"
Sima Yi cheered up and said:
"Therefore, in my opinion, Luoyang is difficult to defend. To defend it forcefully would do more harm than good. It would be better to use it as a bait to sow discord between thieves and bandits."
Even the Taifu felt that the thieves were too powerful to control, and Fu Gu's mood became a little depressed:
"But I don't know what Taifu plans to do?"
Sima Yi was silent for a moment, then smiled helplessly and said:
"do nothing."
Fu Gu was startled: "Do nothing?"
"Yes, do nothing. Since you can't do anything, you might as well do nothing."
Sima Yi seemed to have thought about this problem a long time ago and just replied calmly.
Fu Gu was surprised when he heard Sima Yi's words, and then felt sad.
Although what Taifu said is a bit hard to accept, it is a cruel fact.
Sima Yi looked at Fu Gu and asked:
"What does Lan Shi think Sun Quan will think of Luoyang? In other words, what actions will he take?"
Fu Gu thought for a moment and replied:
"Luoyang is under the attack of the Western bandits, but it is far away from the Wu invaders. No matter how unwilling Sun Quan is, he may not be able to stop the Western bandits from continuing to the east."
Sima Yi intercepted and said:
"No matter how difficult it is to stop him, he will still have to stop it. I believe that Sun Quan will never be willing to just watch the Western bandits take Luoyang."
Fu Gu nodded and agreed: "Yes, so according to Gu, Sun Quan will either use the alliance between thieves and bandits as an excuse to persuade the Western thieves not to continue to advance eastward and capture Luoyang."
"If persuasion fails, then we can only take a step back and let the Western thieves temporarily take Luoyang and return it later."
"Borrowing Jingzhou?"
"That's right, it's like borrowing a Jingzhou story."
"Hahaha!" Sima Yi laughed, "What Lan Shi said is exactly what I think!"
After smiling, the wrinkles on Sima Yi's face relaxed, and the previous melancholy expression was swept away:
"It would be best if Sun Quan could prevent the Western thieves from attacking Luoyang. In this way, Luoyang will be safe."
It's not that he looked down on Sun Quan, but in Sima Yi's eyes, it would be impossible for the Wu invaders to attack Luoyang from the southeast on their own in this life.
But Sima Yi shook his head again, "Just thinking about it, I'm afraid this is just wishful thinking on our part."
"I'm just borrowing Luoyang..." Sima Yi paused and smiled coldly, "Luoyang is really going to fall into the hands of the Western thieves, how can it be justified to give it to the Wu Kou?"
The Western thieves shouted loudly the slogan "Restore the Han Dynasty and return it to the old capital". This old capital was not only Chang'an, the old capital of the former Han Dynasty, but also Luoyang, the old capital of the later Han Dynasty.
Unless the Western thieves don't admit that the Later Han Dynasty is also a Han Dynasty.
Regardless of whether it is Liu Chan or Feng Yong, whoever dares to mention giving the old capital Luoyang to the Wu invaders is tantamount to annihilating themselves from the world.
Therefore, as long as the Western thieves really captured Luoyang, they would never be able to send them out again.
Sima Yi understood this, and Sun Quan must have understood it too.
"Wonderful!" Fu Gu came to his senses after hearing Sima Yi's analysis. "It is impossible for the Western thieves not to take Luoyang, but as long as they take it, in Sun Quan's eyes, this move is tantamount to breaking the covenant."
"Even if Sun Quan is forced by the situation, he will not do anything on the surface, but in reality, it is impossible to say what he is thinking in his heart!"
"That's right, as long as there is a grudge between thieves and bandits, if there is a chance, I believe that Sun Quan would not mind repeating the old incident in Jingzhou and breaking his promise to attack the Western bandits."
"At that time, won't it be a rare and good opportunity for Wei?"
Speaking of this, Sima Yi and Fu Gu looked at each other, and both of them thought of the Yiling battle again.
Alas, if Emperor Wen really knew something secretly, he might regret it!
——
Sima Yi and Fu Gu were talking about Luoyang in Yecheng, hundreds of miles away. At this time, Luoyang City was already desolate.
On the extremely wide street, there are many pedestrians.
Occasionally, one or two pedestrians would appear, looking flustered and walking in a hurry.
Several wild dogs sprang out from a row of deserted houses. They were not afraid of humans at all, and even barked at the backs of humans who were retreating.
The barking of dogs echoed in the empty streets, further highlighting the emptiness and defeat of Luoyang City.
The Han army broke through Hangu Pass and could approach the city at any time, causing Luoyang City, the capital of the Wei Dynasty, to fall into a state of extreme panic.
People are in panic, and anyone with some connections has packed up their things and run away in the past few months.
Those who are still staying in the city are either ordinary people who have nowhere to go, or special personnel who are under guard and are not allowed to leave the city at will.
For example, the three Xiahou clans.
As well as the Sima brothers who have the duty of guarding.
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts me!"
In the Taifu's Mansion, Master Sima was lying on the couch, his body twisting involuntarily. He clutched the edge of the couch tightly with one hand and covered his left eye with the other, howling and moaning in pain:
"Mom, save me, mom, mom, save me!"
Zhang Chunhua, who was beside the couch, took the hot towel handed over by the servant and wiped off the sweat on Master Sima's forehead, face, neck and other places:
"My son, come and let me see!"
Zhang Chunhua gently pulled away Master Sima's hand that was covering his eyes.
But he saw that the originally white cloth belt had turned yellow-red due to blood seepage. The cloth belt could wrap around the rotten flesh on his face, but it could not wrap around the sticky yellow pus.
Zhang Chunhua tried to wipe away the pus. Unexpectedly, as soon as he touched the red and swollen area around the wound, Master Sima shook violently like a fish out of water and dying.
"pain!"
"My son, don't move around..."
Zhang Chunhua said quickly and tried to hold down Master Sima's arm.
But at this moment, Master Sima felt the sharp pain in his eyes penetrate deep into his brain, as if lightning was exploding in his mind, and as if someone was digging his own head with a chisel.
"I can not stand it any more!"
Master Sima reached out to grab the wound on his face. At this time, he was already a little confused.
Zhang Chunhua was unprepared and was pulled unsteadily.
Master Sima lost control and ripped off the cloth bandage, revealing the rotten wound. Due to the struggle, a line of pus even flowed into his mouth, making his whole person look ferocious and terrifying.
"Come here and help hold it down, are you all dead?"
Zhang Chunhua quickly regained control of Master Sima's hand, and at the same time turned his head and shouted sternly at the servant behind him.
The servants came up quickly and helped hold down Sima Shi's arms.
Master Sima struggled hard for a few times, but his body suddenly stopped moving.
It turned out that he couldn't bear the pain and passed out.
Master Sima, who was responsible for guarding Luoyang, was seriously ill. Although the Taifu Mansion tried its best to conceal the news, how could it be completely concealed?
Although few people in the outside world know the details of his condition, anyone with a little information can basically tell that his condition is not optimistic.
Because after Sima Division withdrew from Hanoi and returned to Luoyang, he never showed up again.
Many people in Luoyang City were also ready to take action because of this.
"Taichu, Taichu!"
At Xia Houxuan's house, Xia Houwei and Xia Houmao arrived hand in hand. Before they reached the door of the study, the shouts were already heard.
Xia Houxuan, who was sitting at the desk writing, did not raise his head, and was still writing furiously, as if he had not heard the voices of the two people.
The two people who entered the house with a gust of wind stopped in their tracks when they saw Xia Houxuan's appearance.
The two knew that Xia Houxuan, as the leader of metaphysics, focused on elegance and naturalness, and remained unmoved in times of death, life, misfortune, and blessings.
Taichu's current appearance means that he is completely immersed in his own world and will not be affected by any external objects or other people at all.
Not to mention the screams of the two people, I am afraid that the thunderbolts hitting the case could not shake his mind at all.
After waiting for less than half an hour, just when their patience was about to run out, Xia Houxuan finally put down the pen in his hand.
At this time, he seemed to realize that there was someone else in the house.
Looking up to see Xia Houwei and Xia Houmao, Xia Houxuan's expression remained unchanged. He stood up, straightened his clothes, bowed his hands, and said slowly:
"Two uncles are here, but what's the matter?"
Xia Houwei and Xiahou Mao looked happy and stood up and stepped forward in unison.
"Taichu, good thing!"
"happy event!"
Xia Houxuan stretched out his hand to invite the two of them to sit down, and asked at the same time:
"I wonder where the good that my uncle mentioned comes from? Where does the joy come from?"
(End of chapter)
