Zhang Yi and his party came directly from Lucheng to Shanggui. They did not go to Tianshui County to govern Hebei City first. Therefore, Zhang Yi only stayed in Shanggui for two days before bidding farewell to Yang Qing and others and heading to Hebei. The city took office.
Of course, only Lei Xiong and Wu An accompanied Zhang Yi to Jicheng this time. As for Feng Chong and E Huan, Yang Qing stayed in Shanggui. He had appointed them as captains of the state military school and recruited them as governors of the governor's office. Sima on the left and Sima on the right assisted Liu Yin in leading the state soldiers.
The reason why Lei Xiong and Wu An were not left behind was because Zhang Yi really needed some trusted men around him. He has made an agreement with Yang Qing that Lei Xiong will be the new Tianshui County Zhonglang General. From now on, the Tianshui County soldiers will be led by Lei Xiong.
Wu An still served as Zhang Ni's subordinate supervisor, responsible for guarding the safety of Tianshui County Sheriff's Mansion and Zhang Ni himself.
Of course, Zhang Ni and Liu Yin had also agreed that as long as he established a foothold in Jicheng and found another suitable candidate, Wu An would be released to Liu Yin to develop in the army.
"I asked you to stay and take your leave."
Outside the gate of the west city of Shanggui, Yang Qing came to see Zhang Ni and others off in person. Zhang Ni did not dare to trouble Yang Qing to see them off, so he bowed and said goodbye.
Yang Qing nodded and said: "Forget it, Jicheng and Shanggui are not far apart anyway, so I will send him here. If something happens, you can send someone to inform us, or come over to discuss it."
"Yes, I understand."
Zhang Ni said yes and said goodbye to Yang Xi, Liu Yin, Zhou Xing and others one by one. After a while, dozens of riders galloped towards the west and disappeared at the end in the blink of an eye.
Luoyang, in the main hall of the Wei Palace, Cao Rui on the throne was in a rare good mood today. The reason was that Cao Xiu, the Grand Sima in charge of Yangzhou, brought him good news. Zhou Li, the governor of Poyang in Soochow, actually intended to surrender the county to him. This was a big deal. What a surprise.
Since the end of last year, Cao Wei has suffered successive defeats on the Western Front, losing troops and cities. A large country in the Central Plains that occupies several states was defeated by the small country of Xishu in a remote state. Even Cao Rui, the emperor, personally conquered and conquered the country. Sitting in Chang'an failed to save the defeat, and the faces of Wei's monarchs and ministers were severely beaten.
Now, not only Cao Rui was holding a breath in his heart, but also the ministers in the court also wanted to mobilize their troops to avenge their previous humiliation. However, due to the situation on the Western Front, they could not resume the war for the time being.
But now it's better. The Western Front can't attack for a while, but the Eastern Front now has a rare fighter opportunity.
Since we can't regain the situation with Shu Han for the time being, it would be good to attack Soochow first. This is almost the common thought of everyone in Wei State.
Therefore, when Cao Rui informed everyone that Cao Xiu had requested to send troops to meet Zhou Li, most of the courtiers in the palace agreed to send troops.
Even Chen Qun, Hua Xin, Liu Ye and other important ministers did not object immediately. They also believed that the Wei Dynasty, which had suffered consecutive defeats, had to win a big victory to appease the people's morale and deter the traitors from all directions. Otherwise, it would not be long before the founding of the country. Cao Wei's legitimacy will most likely be questioned by the world.
"My lords, do you still have any objections to what Grand Sima has requested?" Cao Rui asked for the last time.
None of the ministers reacted after hearing this. Cao Rui made a decision in his mind upon seeing this, and was about to issue an edict when he suddenly heard someone come out of the class and say: "Your Majesty, I think it is not appropriate to make a decision so quickly. There is something fishy about the surrender of Zhou Li. What happened?" The army must be cautious when moving south, so I thought it would be better to let Da Sima investigate for a while, and it would not be too late to issue an edict after the situation becomes clear."
Cao Rui looked for the voice and found it was Shangshu Jiang Ji. This Duke had served as an official in Yangzhou for many years. He was familiar with the geographical figures on the Eastern Front and had rich experience in fighting against Wu.
In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Sun Quan, who had been besieging Hefei for many days, was able to scare off Sun Quan with just one letter, so he was highly relied upon by Cao Cao and Cao Pi. After Cao Rui succeeded to the throne, he also treated Jiang Ji with courtesy and granted him the title of Marquis of Guannei last year.
Seeing that it was this famous minister who had served in Yangzhou for many years who objected, Cao Rui couldn't help but become serious and asked calmly: "I wonder why Jiang Aiqing said that there is something fishy about Zhou Li's surrender?"
"Your Majesty, I can't tell you. I just feel that this matter is weird. Although taking Poyang is extremely beneficial to our Wei Dynasty, the army must cross the Yangtze River and go south. It may be a bit dangerous to go so deep into the hinterland of Soochow. ! I think this matter needs to be done with great caution." Jiang Ji said with his hands in hand.
When Cao Rui heard this, he felt that what he said was reasonable, but he thought of the bright prospect of taking possession of Poyang County, and immediately hesitated: "This..."
At this time, Taiwei Hua Xin, who had not spoken for a long time, stood up and retorted to Jiang Ji: "What Jiang Shangshu said is wrong. Since he can't explain the reason, how can he conclude that there is something fishy about the surrender of Zhou Yi.
Moreover, Grand Sima has been investigating this matter for a long time, and all the military secrets revealed by Zhou Li in the letter have been verified, which shows that this person has abandoned the secret and turned to the light. If the Wei Dynasty does not accept it, wouldn’t it mean that we have lost the heart of being a distant person?
As for going deep into the hinterland of Soochow, it is also appropriate. How can you catch the tiger's cubs if you don't know how to enter the tiger's den?
If you want to achieve results, how can you not dare to take any risks? Once the Wei Dynasty regains Poyang County, the hinterland of Soochow will be in my hands. Even if Wu cannot be destroyed in one fell swoop in this battle, it is expected that Sun Quan and others will not be able to hold on for long. "
After saying that, he turned around and said to Cao Rui: "Your Majesty, once Soochow is destroyed, how can Western Shu last? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we, the Wei Dynasty, must not miss. The only person Soochow relies on to fight against the superior country is the naval ear." , its land battle is no match for Wang Shi.
If we have Poyang County, a stronghold in the south of the Yangtze River, our elite Wei troops can continuously cross the Yangtze River and go south. At that time, our Wei Dynasty can easily choose to take Jiangdong from the east or attack Jingzhou from the west. This is the foundation of unparalleled achievements. I hope your majesty will examine it. Of. "
Cao Rui nodded slightly and was about to speak when he saw the minister ordered Chen Jiao to go out and say: "Your Majesty, what Taiwei Hua said is right. As the saying goes, if God does not take what he wants, he will be blamed. Since Zhou Li is determined to surrender, I will go to court." We should accept it with all our strength, and we should not unreasonably doubt the sincerity of the Soochow scholars.
In addition, in recent years, many officials from the Eastern Wu Dynasty have surrendered to our dynasty, but not too few. Han Zong in the past two years is a ready example, which shows that Sun Quan has not been popular in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time. According to the letter from Zhou Li copied by Da Sima, this It is reasonable for people to surrender. "
Seeing another important minister speaking out in support of sending troops, Cao Rui finally made up his mind and said loudly: "I have made up my mind. I agree to Da Sima's request to send troops south to meet Zhou Li."
"I obey the order." The ministers bowed and responded.
Although Jiang Ji still held objections, seeing that most people supported sending troops, and he himself had no strong reasons, he had no choice but to sigh softly and follow the crowd to accept the order.
Now that the decision has been made to send troops, it is time to discuss the strategy for advancing troops. At this moment, if there is anyone in the Wei court who is proficient in military strategy, he should be the first to recommend Liu Ye.
Liu Ye seemed to realize that he had to do his part, so he was the first to go out and say: "Your Majesty, although Da Sima has more than 100,000 soldiers and horses, it is difficult to support Yangzhou all the way. And with the army all the way, it will be easier for Sun Quan to deal with it." . Therefore, I thought that we should send three armies southward and press against Soochow with thunderous force.
If the war situation is favorable, we will take advantage of the situation to destroy Wu in one fell swoop. If the war situation is favorable, we will look for opportunities to defeat the Wu army. If the war situation is small, we will support Zhou Li and capture the counties. If the war situation is unfavorable, our army will be in an invincible position. "
"Three armies, which three are they?" Cao Rui asked enthusiastically.
Liu Ye said: "Your Majesty can order General Sima Yi to lead troops to Jiangling, Yuzhou Governor Jia Kui to lead troops to Dongguan, and Grand Sima Cao Xiu to lead an army to attack Wancheng.
In this way, the three armies in the east, middle and west are supporting each other and advancing at the same time, which will inevitably make the Wu army unable to look at each other. With Zhou Li as an internal support, Sun Quan and Lu Xun will be unable to resist even if they have Lu Wang's talents, and they will definitely be defeated. "
"Good." Cao Rui became more and more excited as he listened. He couldn't help but stand up and asked, "This is a wonderful plan. What do you think?"
The ministers had no other good ideas, so they bowed and responded: "I second my suggestion."
"Okay, in that case, we can draft an edict according to what Liu Shizhong said, and order the Grand Sima Cao Xiu, the Hussar General Sima Yi, and the Yuzhou Governor Jia Kui to gather troops and wait for an opportunity to go south."
As Cao Rui's edict was issued, the Wei troops from Jingzhou, Yuzhou, and Yangzhou began to gather at Wancheng, Xiyang, and Hefei.
Such a large-scale troop mobilization could not have been concealed from Soochow's detailed operations. There had been reports of Pegasus being sent to Wuchang. When Sun Quan and Lu Xun learned about it, they knew that the plan of false surrender had been completed, and they also began to mobilize troops and generals to prepare for the next move. stage plan.
As a result, soldiers from all over the country gathered, and another war was about to begin.
