Due to the successive defeats of Wei on the Western Front, the heavy pressure was like a dark cloud in winter, pressing on the heads of the monarchs and ministers of Wei, making people a little breathless.

At the beginning, the reason why Cao Rui agreed to the suggestion of Youzhou Thorn Shi Wang Xiong was that Huairou Ke was better than his ability.

At the same time, the transfer of Captain Tian Yu, who advocated being tough on Xianbei, was actually related to the tremendous military pressure in the western region.

With another major defeat in the Battle of Xiaoguan, except for the New Fifth Army under the central government, it was still stationed in Luoyang as a strategic reserve.

Cao Rui had to transfer the most elite soldiers in the country to Guanzhong to guard against Shu.

Because in his opinion, Shu is already the biggest threat to Wei.

Guanzhong, the last barrier, must not be lost.

Therefore, he has a lot of power over Sima Yi, some people give people, and there are things to give things.

The only requirement is not to let Shu gain another inch.

Because if the last barrier of Guanzhong is lost, the essence of Wei will face the threat of Shu.

Therefore, Cao Rui not only sent the most elite soldiers to Guanzhong, but also made Sima Yi the great Sima, becoming the nominal supreme commander of the Wei army.

Shu held back too many Wei troops in Guanzhong, and under the rise and fall, whether it was facing the eastern or central front of Eastern Wu, they all entered strategic defense.

In Liangzhou in October, snow has already begun.

However, the Jianghuai in October has just entered winter.

The winter day in Shouchun City is cloudy and cold.

The governor of Yangzhou sat in front of the case, and there was a fire pond on the side of the case.

Full of pets is happily warming wine with the fire pit, and when the warm wine is finished, then raise a glass to drink and enjoy themselves.

Although the Wei State, which is based on the family, has only been officially founded for more than ten years, the speed of its corruption and degeneration is very amazing.

The family and the wealthy family not only sheltered a large number of field guests, but also concealed the population.

even blatantly colluded with local officials to swallow the tuntian left behind from Cao Cao's period.

Not to mention being tyrannical and bullying the people in the local area.

As a cool official, Man Chong was one of the first ministers to follow Cao Cao.

In this era of rampant arrogance, it is not a blessing for the common people to act with an iron fist and emphasize strict laws.

Therefore, after the Battle of Shiting, Man Chong was transferred to Yangzhou from Yuzhou Thorn History, and supervised the military of Yangzhou on behalf of the capital.

The people of Runan County, Yuzhou County, learned that it was not forbidden to help the old and the young, to be reluctant to give up, and to run along the road.

Frightened, the guards hurriedly reported to the court, and wanted to behead the leader to warn him.

What he does may be favored by Cao Cao.

But after all, Wei is based on the family and Haoyou, so he will inevitably offend some interest groups.

For example, Wang Yun's nephew, Wang Ling, performed well in the Battle of Shiting and was appointed as the assassin of Yangzhou.

But he is almost incompatible with the military favor of the governor Yangzhou.

Of course, the main generals of the Yangzhou armies were not in harmony, which was a long-standing tradition, and this was probably the way of balance of the Wei State.

Hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and a staff member walked in quickly with an angry face:

"General, that Wang Ling's henchmen are slandering the general again, and now Shouchun is full of rumors......"

When the pet heard this, his face did not change, he raised his glass and drank it all, and then said lightly:

"The child's ambition is just rampant for a while. This time, what are they talking about me? ”

As a cool official, he has always had very few friends around him, unlike others who have many relatives and friends, and it is common to drink alone.

"They all said that the general was old and weak, his words and deeds were ridiculous, and he drank and misbehaved, and he was unworthy of the post of governor of Yangzhou."

The staff members were not angry, "General, that king is extremely hateful because he relies on his family background, does not take the general in his eyes, and slanders the general." ”

"The general's position is higher than Wang Ling's, his merit is higher than Wang Ling's, and his power is higher than Wang Ling's, but why do you tolerate him so much?"

Hearing this, he nodded in approval of what the staff said:

"Yes, since I am higher than Wang Ling, how can his slanderous words hurt me in the slightest?"

As he spoke, he stroked his graying beard.

Although he has been a cool official all his life, he also knows that many people are not used to him, but he still wants to spend his old age in peace.

Therefore, it is not advisable to have too much evil with others now.

"General, I'm afraid, those words reach His Majesty's ears, and it will be detrimental to the general."

"Your Majesty is the Lord of Divine Wisdom, how can you easily believe rumors?"

Seeing his general's disapproving appearance, the staff couldn't help but be angry and anxious, but they were helpless.

At this moment, another rush of footsteps came, and the guards came to report:

"General Yu, Wang Tingshi sent someone to deliver a letter."

When Manzhong heard this, he couldn't help but glance at his staff, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

The so-called Wang Thorn is naturally Wang Ling.

What did he mean by sending a letter at this time?

"Bring it in."

"No."

After reading the letter, he sneered with a pamper:

"Wu sent a secret envoy from Sun Bu to send a letter of surrender, wanting to rebel against Wu and return to Wei......"

As he spoke, a mocking look appeared on his face, "This Sun Wu rat generation, except for the deception or deception, will there be nothing else?" ”

How long has it been since Zhou Yi's deception last time?

Want to do it again now?

After a little thought, he let people grind, and then wrote a letter in person to reply to Wu General Sun Bu on behalf of Wang Ling:

Knowing evil and knowing righteousness, if you want to avoid trouble, you will be obedient, and go to the violent return to the Tao, which is very good. Now I want to send troops to meet each other, but if there are few soldiers, it will not be enough to defend each other, and if there are too many things, it will be heard. You can plan with all your heart first, and then discuss when the matter comes.

Wang Ling learned that he was very dissatisfied:

"There is Jin Zong in the front, and Han Zong in the back, all of them are sincere returnees, how can they only know Zhou Yiye?"

So on the surface, he asked Man Chong to allow himself to lead the army to meet him, and on the other hand, he sent a secret envoy to Luoyang overnight with his own music.

The recital is full of favor for the old and weak, stubborn in keeping to the success, absurd in speech, and often drunk and misbehaved, and asked the court to send another person to supervise the military of Yangzhou.

After Cao Rui finished reading, he felt something.

Since Sun Quan usurped the throne, there have been plans to go north every year.

The year before last, they wanted to attack Xiyang, and last year they wanted to attack Hefei, but they were discovered in advance, so they failed to succeed.

Now the pressure in Guanzhong is very great, if there is something in Yangzhou, then Jianghuai will be eroded.

He hesitated for a long time and couldn't make a decision, so he summoned his confidants to inquire.

Guo Mou suggested in the matter:

"He has been favored for more than 20 years in Runan Taishou and Yuzhou, and has made many meritorious contributions; and the town of Huainan, Wu people are worried. ”

"The words in the table are full of words and words that the city is old and old, and the words and deeds are ridiculous, which may not be the Wu people's rumors and discord."

If it is easy to believe what is said, then Yangzhou will be seen by the Wu people. Why don't you temporarily summon the pet back to the court and ask Yangzhou to find out. ”

When Cao Rui heard it, he was happy, so he followed his words.

Luoyang sent an envoy to Shouchun as quickly as possible, summoning the full favor to return to the court, only saying that His Majesty had something to inquire about.

Full of favors and helplessness, he had to go to Luoyang.

When Wang Ling learned about it, he was overjoyed, and sent people to stay in the palace to ask for troops to be sent to meet Sun Bu.

How do you know that the governor of Liufu Shi rejected Wang Ling's request.

It turned out that before the full favor left yesterday, he specially told the governor of the palace: if Wang Ling wants to lead the army to receive the general, he must not send a single soldier.

When Wang Ling learned about this, he was extremely angry, but he had no choice but to send his own overseer and lead 700 soldiers and horses from his headquarters.

Sun Quan asked Sun Bu to surrender in order to try to capture Hefei.

I didn't expect that after preparing for so long, I couldn't be fooled, and even Wang Ling only sent less than a thousand people here.

It's just that the arrow is on the bow and has to be sent.

Sun Bu saw that he couldn't hide it anymore, so he had to set up an ambush and sneak attack at night.

Most of the 700 Wei troops were killed and wounded, and only a few people fled under the leadership of the general.

When the news came back to Shouchun, Wang Ling lost face.

Although less than a dozen of the 700 people sent by Wang Ling fled back, it sounded the alarm for Shouchun and put Yangzhou on alert.

Sun Quan learned that he had to postpone his plan to go north for the third year in a row.

At this time, the full favor had just rushed back to Luoyang to meet Cao Rui.

Cao Rui looked at the full pet below, and saw that although he had a gray beard, his voice was like a bell, and he could still feel the strength in his gestures.

When talking about Yangzhou, the remarks are clear and organized, how can there be a trace of old age and decrepitness?

So I finally came to a conclusion in my heart.

said quietly at the moment:

"In the first battle of Xiaoguan, the people were panicked, and what I was worried about was the floating of the hearts of the people in Yangzhou. Now I have to hear the words of the king, and my heart is safe. ”

"The military of Yangzhou, please worry about it a lot."

Full of favor for three dynasties, how can you not know about this dynasty?

He knew that in the past, the army was all commanded by the Cao family's clansmen, but now the clansmen's talents have withered, and as a foreign surname, he has the opportunity to supervise the military of Yangzhou.

Thinking of his sudden and inexplicable recall to the capital, it may not be without reason.

Immediately hurriedly requested:

"Your Majesty, the minister is old, his strength has declined, and he is the military governor of Yangzhou, but I am afraid that he will not be able to bear the heavy responsibility, in case of misleading national affairs, the minister will die."

"Therefore, please also ask Your Majesty to choose another meritorious, the old minister's body, I am afraid that it will be difficult to take on the matter of conquest again, and beg to stay in the capital to enjoy the old age."

When Cao Rui heard this, he said categorically:

"No! The general is the minister of the humerus left by Emperor Wu, and now that the country is in danger, how can the general sit in the capital and ignore the frontier officials? ”

Full of favors and want to say it again, Cao Rui forcibly changed the topic:

"Shu is rampant, repeatedly violating the border, now the great Sima Tun soldiers in Guanzhong, Shangjuan wants to be in Guanzhong Tuntian, in order to do a long-term plan."

"Runan, Yuzhou, is the land of Tuntian that Emperor Wu has, and Jun has long served as the assassin of Yuzhou, and he knows about Tuntian."

"I want to move 10,000 soldiers and civilians who are familiar with Tuntian to Guanzhong, why should you teach me?"

A considerable part of the tuntian left by Cao Cao in his early years has now been severely damaged.

However, Yuzhou, because it has been full of favor and has been able to strictly enforce the law, can still be preserved relatively well.

Full of favors and helplessness, he had to follow Cao Rui's topic and say:

"Back to Your Majesty, Tuntian to prepare for famine, and enough food in the army to prevent thieves, is the national policy left by Emperor Wu."

"Today, Da Sima wants to be in Guanzhong Tuntian, which is a long-term way to hold on to Shu Yu, and it is a good strategy."

"However, now that it is winter, it is not appropriate to move, Your Majesty can first move the officials of Tuntian to Guanzhong to make plans."

"Just wait for the spring of next year, and then move the military and civilians to Tuntian. In this way, it will not delay the Guanzhong Tuntian, and will not cause turmoil among the people. ”

When Cao Rui heard this, he nodded, and agreed with Manzhong's statement: "This is a great good." ”

Then after a moment's thought, he said:

"Now that Runan Taishou has been in office for less than two years, he may not be as familiar with the officials of Tuntian as you are. After you go down, you may wish to draw up a list to avoid omissions. ”

Full of pets hurriedly responded.

After staying, he not only carefully drew up a list, but also wrote a letter to express his intention to stay in the capital.

At this moment, the urgent news of the defeat of Wang Ling, the assassin of Yangzhou, reached Luoyang.

Cao Rui made the intention of guarding Yangzhou stronger.

He personally hand-wrote an edict and asked people to give it to Manzhong:

In the past, Lian was quite strong in eating, and the horse was in the saddle, and now the king is not old and claims to be old, why is it contrary to Lian and Ma? Its Si'an border benefits China.

Seeing that His Majesty did not hesitate to use Lian Po and Ma Yuan to persuade him, he did not dare to resign at the moment, coupled with the urgent report from Yangzhou, he had to hurry back to Yangzhou.

After this incident, Manpet finally established his authority in Yangzhou.

Cao Rui's temperament was very anxious, and after he got the list of Tuntian officials, he merged it with the list submitted by Runan Taishoutian Yu.

Then let the officials be selected according to the list and set off for Guanzhong.

By the time these Tuntian officials arrived in Chang'an, a thin layer of snow had covered the entire Guanzhong.

In the cold season, not to mention the Tuntian officials who came from Runan, even the Guanzhong soldiers who guarded against Shu were huddled in a certain place to roast the fire.

Before Sima Yi took over Guanzhong, although he had told Cao Rui, now he can only stick to Guanzhong and no longer be distracted from Liangzhou.

But when the news of the fall of the whole territory of Liangzhou came, it still made his heart tremble a little.

Up and down, as if standing in a single coat in the field of Guanzhong at this time, the chill was gusting.

In the past few months, he has traveled all over the army, talking with the soldiers who participated in the Battle of Xiaoguan, and trying his best to restore every detail of the First Battle of Stability.

Especially in the battle of Xiaoguan, what happened, Feng Thief was able to break 100,000 with 20,000?

It's just that the more detailed he understands, the more cold Sima Yi's heart becomes.

Ironclad cavalry that has never been seen before, stone-throwing carts that sound like thunderbolts, ballistas that fire spears......

Plus the elite soldiers.

This is also where Sima Yi is puzzled.

How did the Shu people do it?

How did they raise such an army?

At that time, the tiger and leopard rode through Yuan Shao in Hebei and defeated Ma Chao in the northwest, which can be called the first cavalry army in the world.

Why did it disappear in the era of Emperor Wen?

First, it is because it is too expensive to raise such a cavalry army.

War horses are expensive, and in addition to eating grass, they also have to eat grain.

The cost of raising a good war horse is almost equivalent to the money and food needed by five families.

As for the second, it was because at that time the Great Wei had completely pacified the north, and Wu Shu in the south was mostly blocked by mountains and rivers, and the cavalry could not exert its combat power.

In this case, an ordinary fine ride is sufficient, so there is not much point in keeping the tiger and leopard ride.

It's just that I didn't expect that the Shu people not only won Longyou, but even formed an ironclad cavalry army in just over three years.

But no matter how fertile Shu is, how can it support such consumption?

With the national strength of the Great Wei, it is still difficult to raise tigers and leopards.

Shu is just a state, how can they afford to raise these elite cavalry?

The more Sima Yi thought about it, the more he felt a little worried about the unknown.

In a depressed mood, he boarded Chang'an City to calm down.

Unexpectedly, he just climbed to the top of the city, but found that there were already people at the top of the city.

In the vast white snow, the man wandered back and forth, sometimes crouching down, scratching something on the ground with his fingers.

At the same time, he could be seen opening and closing his mouth, as if he was muttering to himself, and suddenly looked up to the north, not knowing what he was doing.

The guards around him were about to drive people away, but Sima Yi stretched out his hand to stop it, and stepped forward slowly, and when he saw the painting on the ground, his pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly.

In order to see more clearly, he couldn't help but want to get closer.

The sound of footsteps finally woke up the man who was crouching there and paddling around in the snow.

He turned around suddenly, not knowing if he was frightened, but he stammered a little and asked:

"Thou ...... Thou art ...... What...... Who? ”

"Bold! Dare to be rude to Da Sima? ”

The guard shouted.

The young man's expression changed drastically, and he raised his foot to retreat and salute.

Unexpectedly, Sima Yi hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop him:

"Wait, don't trample on the paintings on the ground."

It's just that the young man's feet can't be retracted, and as soon as he steps down, there is one more footprint in the drawn picture.

The young man looked at his feet in a hurry, and the other foot did not know whether to step or not.

"What is it that you have just drawn?"

Sima Yi motioned to him not to be polite, and pointed to the ground.

The young man's face suddenly changed.

It was only when he saw that his hand had been pressed on the hilt of the sword that he had to reply stubbornly:

"Back to ...... Return...... Big...... Big...... Da Sima, next ...... The ...... of the Xiaguan painting Yes, it's Chang'an terrain. ”

He didn't dare to hide anything, the picture on the ground had not been erased yet, with the eyes of the great Sima, how could he not see it?

Sima Yi nodded, and then asked:

"What are you painting this for?"

"I, I'm going to try to gauge fingering...... Barracks premises......"

Speaking of this, he pointed to the north again, "Shu Yu is stable, early ...... Morning and evening...... Will wait for an opportunity...... Descend the water. ”

"Therefore...... So I thought...... While...... When how to do it, it is good, so it is ...... Scribble on the ground. ”

Sima Yi listened to the other party's words and understood in his heart that this person should be stuttering.

Although he was in a high position, Sima Yi listened to him very patiently, and then asked with great interest:

"What's your name?"

"Next...... Xiaguan Deng Ai, the word Shizai. ”

"Deng Shizai?" Sima Yi nodded, "What camp do you belong to?" ”

"Return, go back to Da Sima, down, Xiaguan is ...... Just came from Runan, Tuntian. ”

"Good, good!" Sima Yi nodded frequently, showing a look of approval, and said kindly, "It's cold here, you go back to the house with me, I have something to ask you." ”