"Brother has worked hard all the way west, but why did the imperial court only send such a small number of soldiers?"

On the second day of November, Sima Yong dragged his sick body into Chang'an City. Sima Wang said impassionedly in public outside the city gate that with the support of the elite Chinese army of the imperial court, Xishu Xiaokou was definitely not worth mentioning. But after the two Simas entered the mansion of the general of Zhengxi, Sima Wang ignored Sima Yong's breath and expressed his dissatisfaction irritably.

"Ahem, ahem, what do you mean by Brother Xian, there are fewer 30,000 soldiers?"

"Of course it's less! Brother! Sima Wang was very depressed and walked back and forth in the lobby a few times, and then came to Sima Yong and whispered: "Xishu has always taken the route of elite soldiers, and the strong combat power of individual soldiers is one thing, and the field command ability of its commander has always been above our side. In the past, when the Wei State was still there, only Cao Zidan (Cao Zhen) could win more with less against Western Shu in the field. Deng Shizai and Zhang Junyi can be on a par with the Shu thieves with the same number of troops. In addition, it is our second uncle, who can only hold on when he has twice as many troops as the other party. ”

Looking at Sima Yong, who had fallen into stupidity, Sima Wang also felt that what he said just now was a bit excessive: their second uncle is Sima Yi! This is now posthumously honored as Emperor Gaozu Xuan of the Great Jin Dynasty. Was that a statement too sincere?

But it's not good to be honest. My eldest brother is almost seventy years old, and he doesn't seem to know very well what Xishu is.

"Brother, the strength of Xishu this time has been proven. The whole army alone has 120,000 soldiers! This is the unprecedented gathering of combat power since Liu Bei stole the emperor's name! If we do not concentrate more than 200,000 troops, we will not be able to win in a field battle. Don't talk about Jiang Wei, who is old in battle, let's talk about Guan Zifeng. The younger brother met with him some time ago, and the stirrups on both sides didn't talk about him, it was just a trick, and it was very convenient for us to imitate. But that spearman formation is really the elite of the pre-Qin legacy, and our elite is not its opponent at all. The younger brother has also tried to train his own pikemen formation these days, but it has not had much effect. The younger brother, the 40,000 or 50,000 Guan Zhong soldiers, can only take a defensive position against Shangguan Zifeng. Even if you add the 30,000 people of my brother, it is estimated that it will be difficult to conquer Yi County. ”

(Guan Yi: Where are modern pikemen so easy to train?) It took me almost three months just to get my soldiers to tell the difference between left and right. In addition to strict training, this ideology, logistics and treatment are also a university question! ）

"Ahem, uh...... Virtuous brother, according to Da Sima's suggestion, these 30,000 people are going directly to Qinchuan and entering the Xiefang Street Pavilion in Longxi. ”

"This is the second thing that the younger brother wants to say to his brother, and now Guan Zifeng is in Yixian. The transport line of the Wei River has been broken. If my brother wants to go to Qinchuan, he can only take all the land routes. The time consumed in this is more than double that of usual. Well, even if my brother leaves today, it will probably take more than twenty days. ”

"Huh?! But in the past, Zhang Junyi sent troops from Luoyang to Jieting, and it was only ten days before and after! ”

You also know that it is Zhang He! Your name is Sima Yong! With your body, if you march as quickly as Zhang He, it will be over in less than three days.

Looking at Sima Wang, who didn't speak, Sima Yong was already very flustered: he knew that he was not in good health and asked the court to change the commander. Twenty days? Even if Sima Yong doesn't know much about soldiers, he still knows. Twenty days later, it's hard to say if Hu Fen's army is gone, but the street pavilion must be gone! With Jiang Wei's current strength, it is not Sima Yong's 30,000 people who can gnaw it! When the time comes, the street pavilion will not be able to take it down, and the five counties of Liangzhou and Longxi will be lost, and he Sima Yong can't afford this responsibility.

"Brother Xian, how is this good?" After thinking of this, Sima Yong's tears were about to fall.

"Hey, brother, the younger brother has heartfelt words, and I ask the brother not to spread it after listening to it."

"This matter is easy. Although the virtuous brother came out to the uncle's house, we are brothers after all. Virtuous brother, please speak clearly! ”

"Brother, some time ago, Hu Fen reported that Jiang Wei's army surrounded Shangqi and built a dam on the Jinghe River to prepare for a water attack...... Counting the days, in the opinion of the younger brother, now Hu Fen reported that the messenger who fell in Shangqi should already be on the way. If Shangqi is lost, in the case that the reinforcements on this side fail to arrive in time, Hu Fen has only three ways out, either to be trapped in Jicheng, or to go west to Jincheng, or to go to Shoujie Pavilion. ”

"Well, what does that virtuous brother think Hu Fen will do?"

"If I lead the army, it will definitely be the ...... of the Golden City of Xiben"

"So the street pavilion must fall?"

"Exactly. Therefore, if my brother's army of 30,000 goes at this time......"

"Then I'm the one who took it on behalf of Hu Fen?"

"Exactly. So the younger brother's advice is that the elder brother should not go too quickly. It just so happened that the Wei River shipping had been cut off, and my brother had every reason to walk slowly at this time. The younger brother believes that within a month, the news of the loss of the street pavilion will inevitably come. When the time comes, it will naturally be Hu Fen's responsibility. ”

"Well, Brother Xian has a point. But Brother Xian, you have to make one thing clear, the imperial court has now begun to mobilize 50,000 Chinese troops again, and this time the leading general is Shi Zhongrong, who is striking iron. He will depart from Luoyang in five or six days at most. It will arrive in Chang'an in less than half a month at the latest. ”

"It doesn't hurt that his troops will catch up with his brother in at least twenty-five or six days. The younger brother firmly believes that within a month, the street pavilion will be lost. ”

"Huh~~ Brother Xian, this is picking out the foolish brother. But Longxi and Liangzhou were lost. ”

"Hmph, this is the second meaning that the younger brother wants to say to the elder brother. Brother, in recent years, the rain in the northwest has become less and less, and the intention of various alien races to move inward has become stronger and stronger. If the country abandons Liangzhou and Longxi at this time, just feeding the hundreds of thousands of people of all ethnic groups in this place will be enough to drag down the weak national strength of Xishu! Not to mention that Guan Zifeng has sold all kinds of spirits in recent years, and the grain storage of various alien races in the northwest has reached the limit. If there is another catastrophe next year, a large rebellion in the northwest will break out. At that time, I watched how Guan Zifeng ended! ”

“…… I see. Although the foolish brother has paid less attention to the government and politics because of his father's relationship over the years. But I also know that in the past five or six years, this Liangzhou has been relieved by the imperial court every year, plus the loss on the way to transit, and the accumulated grain spent over the years has been tens of millions of stones in Liangzhou and Longxi alone...... But why didn't the virtuous brother suggest that the imperial court give up Liangzhou earlier? ”

"Hey, brother, our nephew emperor thinks highly of himself. Single-mindedly trying to prove that he's better than a child as soon as possible. Even Xiling's chicken ribs dare to rob ...... For this reason, the collective rebellion of Cao Wei's old generals was born, which caused the three counties of Shangyong to be eroded. If I write to the court to ask the court to give up Liangzhou, what will he do to me? ”

It can be said that Sima Wang's idea of giving up Liangzhou is not a precedent set by him.

At the time of the founding of the Han Empire, Liangzhou did not belong to the territory of the Han Empire. It was only accepted after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty defeated the Xiongnu. For 400 years, on the one hand, due to the climate and geography, this place is not suitable for large-scale farming, which has led to the Han population in this place has never been absolutely dominant. Nomads always have enough power here.

Due to the above characteristics, the output of this place is relatively small. In other words, the central government does not make much money from the taxes paid here. When the Han Empire was strong, Liangzhou was the passage between the interior of the Han Empire and the Western Regions. Liangzhou is more valuable.

By the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, the state's power was weakened, and its control over the Western Regions was almost none, and various rebellions in Liangzhou broke out one after another. At that time, many ministers in the Eastern Han Dynasty said: Why don't we just ask for this broken place, let them fend for themselves. If it weren't for the Liangzhou Sanming Elite led by Duan Cheng, he was brilliant and turned the tide. It is impossible to say that before the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Uprising, Liangzhou had already broken away from the territory of the central government of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Therefore, the voice of abandoning Liangzhou has always had a market in the government of the Central Plains Dynasty. Moreover, the abandonment of the existing territory happened in the early years when Cao Rong was in power: didn't the two counties of Wudu and Yinping be lost to Xishu for decades? I didn't see any excitement from the courtiers.

So Sima Wang's meaning is very clear: In this current battle situation, Longxi is difficult to save! Since this is the case, then take this opportunity to throw Longxi and Liangzhou out. This year, the drought has been better than the next, and the movement of the alien race is becoming more and more dangerous. Over the years, the Jin Kingdom has put more and more money into it, and even such a big country feels overwhelmed. Can Xishu's small body bear it? Then there will be a mess, and then we will go and get it back.

It should be said that there is some truth to this strategy. At least Guan Yi didn't want the Jin to adopt this strategy: in this way, the Jin could defend the Guanzhong region wholeheartedly. It's quite uncomfortable for him to chew on.

But at present, Sima Wang has at least moved Sima Yong. So, next, Hu Fen is about to tragedy.