As Pang Tong expected, Sima Yi stuck to Wancheng. The purpose is to help Cao Zhen buy time.

Cao Zhen faced Sun Quan along the Huaishui River, if he had no distractions and no external interference, Cao Zhen's chances of winning would be greater. The most elite tiger and leopard cavalry of Wei and the second generation of Qingzhou soldiers are in the hands of Cao Zhen, these two troops have a cavalry and an infantry, and they are the most elite 6 combat troops in Wei. These two 6th war troops had an innate advantage when facing Jiangdong soldiers.

Similarly, when it comes to commanding skills, Cao Zhen is also smarter than Sun Quan. Approaching Cao Zhen is a professional soldier who has led troops to fight for many years, while Sun Quan is only a half-son at best, Sun Quan is the king of a country, and he is far stronger in internal affairs than he is in leading troops to fight.

In terms of the same generals, the second-generation military generals of the Wei State, such as Zhang Hu, Chen Tai, Le Qi and others, are also concentrated under Cao Zhen, these generals from military families have been nurtured since childhood, and they are no strangers to leading troops to fight.

If it was only against Sun Quan, Cao Zhen would be sure to repel Sun Quan, but if Runan Yingchuan was captured by 6 Xun, 6 Xun could attack Cao Zhen with Sun Quan on both sides, and Cao Zhen would face a great crisis. It's good if you can hold on. If it can't be held, I'm afraid that Cao's army will retreat to the Yellow River all of a sudden, and Qingzhou and Yanzhou will have to fall into the hands of Sun Quan at that time.

Therefore, Sima Yi decided to take a risk and personally defend Wancheng, resist the two-sided attacks of the Wu army in the south and the Han army in the west, and buy time for Cao Zhen, as long as Cao Zhen can repel Sun Quan and keep the Central Plains, even if he loses Nanyang and Luoyang, he will not hurt the vitality of Wei. With the Central Plains in hand, the comprehensive strength of Wei is still the strongest.

Yecheng.

"Slap ......" Cao Ei slammed the candlestick to the ground, and then Cao Ei kicked the table with a hard kick, with anger in his eyes.

Wuguan, one of the four stops of Qin, plus Zhang He, the first general of the Wei State, guarded Wuguan for only one day!

Recalling the situation of the Battle of Wuguan, Cao Rong had a feeling that he was entrusted to a non-human, but he didn't expect Zhang He to be so unbearable, which was too disappointing for Cao Rong.

Cao Rong already vaguely understood why Cao Pi wanted to reuse Cao Zhen and Sima Yi instead of Zhang He, it turned out that this Zhang He was really useless.

Xu Shu walked in quietly, and when he saw that the house had been leaked into a mess by Cao Rong, he shook his head slightly.

Cao Rong turned around, and now Xu Shu came over, Cao Rong hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Sir." You're finally here, and Wuguan is lost. ”

Xu Shu nodded, took out a copy of the fold from his arms, and then said, "Your Majesty, Taiwei Sima Yi sent someone to send a copy of the fold in the starry night. ”

"Take it!" Cao Rong turned it out, opened it to take a look, and then threw it to the ground.

"Sima Yi, he actually gave up Xiangfan directly!" A hint of fierceness flashed in Cao Ei's eyes.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Captain Sima has done it very correctly." Xu Shu interjected from the side.

Hearing Xu Shu say this, Cao Rong finally suppressed some anger slightly, and then asked, "Sir, how can you say this?" ”

"Captain Sima is forced to do this because he wants to keep the Central Plains." Xu Shu said, bowed down to pick up the fold, and then said: "Your Majesty, now that Wuguan is lost, if the Han army marches eastward and attacks Wancheng, Wancheng will definitely not be protected, and Wancheng will be lost." Xiangyang Fancheng became a lone army, so Sima Taiwei gave up Xiangyang and Fancheng and returned to Wancheng to set up defenses. ”

"And the minister thinks that Sima Yi's move is also a dangerous move, if the Han army goes out of the Wuguan Pass, the Wu army goes north, and the two roads of people and horses wave their troops to attack Wancheng at the same time, Wancheng may be difficult to resist for long. Sima Yi's move also put himself in danger, the purpose was to buy time for General Cao Zhen to defeat Sun Quan as soon as possible and end the battle. ”

"According to what Mr. said, this Nanyang is bound to be unsafe?" Cao Rong asked.

"Your Majesty, not only Nanyang, but also Luoyang, may not be guaranteed."

"What? Luoyang will also be unprotected? No way! This is absolutely not a no-go! How can Luoyang lose it! Cao Rong shouted.

In Cao Ei's heart, Luoyang is a national capital-level city after all, which is of great significance, and if even Luoyang is lost, Cao Ei will not be able to accept it in his heart.

"Your Majesty, this is also a helpless move. If Nanyang is lost, the Han army can bypass Tongguan and go straight to Luoyang. According to our current strength, it is not enough to defend Xiangcheng and Luoyang at the same time. Xiangcheng is the gateway between Yingchuan and Runan, Taizu once relied on Xiangcheng to resist Wancheng Zhang Xiu, if Xiangcheng is lost, the enemy can directly take Runan and Yingchuan. In comparison, the loss of Luoyang is only the loss of half of the division. After all, the Sili area north of the Yellow River is still in my hands, and after weighing the pros and cons, the minister feels that Sima Taiwei Bao Yingchuan did the right thing to abandon Luoyang. Xu Shu said.

Cao Rong nodded, and suddenly remembered that Sima Yi had mentioned in the recital that the Youzhou Corps in the north could be transferred back to the Central Plains to resist the Han army.

Since Cao Cao unified the north, he has always stationed more than 100,000 troops in the northern Youhe two states. These hundreds of thousands of horses were mainly on guard against the Xianbei, Karasuma and Goguryeo tribes in the north. Neither Cao Cao nor Cao Pi has ever mobilized these hundreds of thousands of Youzhou troops, even if Cao Cao was defeated in the Battle of Chibi that day, or Cao Pi lost Yongzhou, he has never mobilized the men and horses of Youzhou.

Of course, the vast majority of these hundreds of thousands of people are still Tuntian soldiers, but if these people are mobilized to Luoyang, they can resist the attack of the Han army. Even if only 20,000 or 30,000 people were mobilized, it would be enough to deal with the Han army.

"Your Majesty, by no means! The alien races in the north have always had different hearts, what if they learned that our army had been dropped back and attacked the two states? Xu Shu hurriedly stopped.

"Sir, now Xianbei has already suffered a great injury, and Goguryeo has been beaten to the northeast by Gongsun Kang. Only Karasuma will threaten Youzhou, and I should have no problem mobilizing some people to return to Luoyang! ”

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the 'King of the Northeast' that the minister said? The people of the north are extremely resistant to bitter cold, and the Gongsun family brought 100,000 armor, when the father and son of Gongsun resisted Karasuma in the north, invaded Goguryeo in the east, and occupied the royal capital of Goguryeo, it can be seen that the 100,000 horses of the Gongsun family are by no means ordinary. If the Gongsun family really has a rebellion, and my Youzhou army is transferred away. Youzhou is in danger! When Taizu and the first emperor were there, no matter how dangerous the war situation in the Central Plains was, they never mobilized the Youzhou army, and many of the ingredients were to guard against the Gongsun family. ”

Xu Shu paused when he said this, and then said: "Your Majesty, there is another point that the minister has to say, the Youzhou Corps today is no longer the Youzhou Corps of the past. When Taizu was there, he had an expedition to Karasuma, and at that time, Yan Rou and Tian Yu under Taizu were famous for a while, and Taizu was a fierce general like a cloud, which made Karasuma frightened and everyone was afraid. Later, Cao Zhang, the king of the city, guarded Youzhou, and also defeated the Karasuma clan several times, and at that time, my Youzhou Corps still had the strength to fight. But now so many years have passed, Yan Rou is dead, Tian Yu is just a dying old man, and most of the Youzhou iron cavalry back then are also old and unbearable to fight. I'm afraid it's only thirty or forty thousand people, if Your Majesty really transfers these thirty or forty thousand people, with the old and weak troops, Youzhou has no strength to defend at all! ”

Cao Rong took a slight breath of cold air, what Xu Shu said was reasonable, the Youzhou army back then was a powerful northland, invincible, but now it has been twelve years since Cao Cao conquered Karasuma or Jian'an, almost twenty years have passed since now, and the elite of Youzhou back then has long ceased to exist.

"Do you really give Luoyang to them? I am not reconciled! A hint of fierceness flashed in Cao Rong's eyes.

"Your Majesty, Luoyang is just a city. Compared with the Central Plains, which is more important? Compared to the whole country, what about it? Xu Shu's expression became unprecedentedly serious. Said loudly.

Cao Ei was slightly stunned, Xu Shu looked like this, and it was the first time Cao Ei had seen him.

"Your Majesty, you must know that this country is not easy to come by! If it weren't for the unexpected early death of the first emperor, would Your Majesty feel that this country is still Your Majesty's country? At that time, maybe Cao Zhang, the king of Rencheng, was His Majesty's destination. Your Majesty must know that Luoyang and Xiangcheng can only defend one of them. If His Majesty is reluctant to Luoyang, Xiangcheng will inevitably be broken, at that time, 6 Xun went straight into Yingchuan Runan, and Sun Quan attacked the general Cao Zhen, what we lost was not just a Luoyang, but the entire Yuzhou, the entire Qingzhou, the entire Xuzhou, plus the entire Yanzhou! If Yanzhou is lost, does Your Majesty think that Luoyang can still be alone? Can this country still be held? ”

Cao Rong looked at Xu Shu a little confused. In Cao Rong's impression, Xu Shu has always been respectful to himself, and he is polite on weekdays, but he didn't expect to dare to talk to himself like this now.

Cao Rong looked at Xu Shu's serious expression, and suddenly understood that Xu Shu was saying such things to himself in order to wake himself up. Cao Rong's country is indeed not easy to come by, as Xu Shu said, if Cao Pi died a few years later, when Cao Pi's other sons grow up, this throne will not necessarily fall on his head. Compared with the entire country, this Luoyang City is indeed nothing.

Cao Ei sighed slightly, recalling Xu Shu's words, the more Cao Ei felt that Xu Shu was loyal and well-intentioned, if it was someone else, he would definitely not dare to talk to himself like Xu Shu just now. The so-called loyalty is contrary to the ear, it seems that Xu Shu is really a loyal minister.

Cao Rong bowed to Xu Shu and fell to the ground, and then said, "Thank you, Mr. for your advice, I have been taught!" ”

……

Going out of the hall and being blown by the wind outside, Xu Shu suddenly felt that his entire back was soaked with sweat.

The last few words with Cao Ei, many of them are considered to be rebellious, for example, this country is not Cao Ei's, or Cao Ei is compared with Cao Zhang, who was killed by Cao Pi, which can be regarded as a great rebellious crime. Xu Shu said this, more ingredients are also gambling, if Cao Ei is unhappy and kills Xu Shu directly, Xu Shu is helpless.

But fortunately, Xu Shu was right. After all, Cao Ei is still very young, and Cao Ei is usually very literate, but he has little experience in governing the country, Xu Shu's words made Cao Ei feel that Xu Shu is a great loyal minister, and Xu Shu can be regarded as preventing Cao Ei from transferring the soldiers and horses of Youzhou to Si Li.

……

The Han army and the Wu army attacked in a big way, and the news that Wuguan had been captured by the Han army soon spread throughout Yecheng.

A mansion in the south of the city is Gongsun Huang's residence, but in addition to Gongsun Huang, there are several spies from Liaodong, disguised as Gongsun Huang's attendants, lurking in Yecheng.

As the news spread, these spies also began to act, and they wanted to bring the news back to Liaodong as quickly as possible.

……

Huaibei.

Cao Zhen held Sima Yi's letter in his hand, but his brows furrowed into a Sichuan character.

Sima Yi had already stated in his letter that he hoped that Cao Zhen would defeat Sun Quan as soon as possible, and Sima Yi would use Wancheng to drag down the Wu and Han armies as much as possible. After Cao Zhen defeated Sun Quan, he immediately divided his troops to the west, and cooperated with Sima Yi to defend Xiangcheng and prevent 6 Xun from advancing eastward, and this crisis was solved.

Cao Zhen naturally saw that Sima Yi's move was tantamount to giving up Nanyang, and at the same time, Nanyang was lost, which meant that Luoyang would also be unsafe. However, there is the Yellow River in the north of Sili, and it should not be captured so quickly. With a Nanyang and a Luoyang, it is worth resolving today's dilemma.

All counties in Hebei have posted the imperial list for conscription, but after many years of war, the people are Si'an, and it is difficult to achieve much effect with a royal list of conscription. But in the whole of Hebei, it is still very easy to raise 20,000 or 30,000 new soldiers. Coupled with Qingzhou, Yanzhou and Xuzhou, as long as Wei is given half a year, at least fifty or sixty thousand horses can be raised. Although these 50,000 or 60,000 horses can't attack, it is more than enough to defend the side.

Originally, Cao Zhen planned that even if the enemy attacked in four directions, there should be no problem in defending for half a year, but he didn't expect that as soon as the war started, Wuguan would be lost, and Wei suddenly fell into passivity.

"Ahem, cough ......" A gust of wind brought by, and Cao Zhen couldn't help coughing lightly.

The weather near Huaishui has made it somewhat difficult for Cao Zhen to adapt, and Cao Zhen's health has indeed been worse than in the past recently.

A young man with clear eyebrows walked over, came to Cao Zhen, and said, "Father, the tiger and leopard are ready. ”

The young man who came was Cao Zhen's son Cao Shuang.

Cao Zhen handed Sima Yi's letter to Cao Shuang and said, "Uncle Zhao, look at it, this is a letter sent by Sima Yi. ”

Cao Shuang opened the letter, read it again, then frowned slightly, and said: "Father, this Sima Yi is too bold, he made such a decision without asking for a decree, isn't this giving up Nanyang and Luoyang?" ”

"Hey...... Confused! Cao Zhen sighed helplessly, his son Cao Shuang has been smart since he was a child, and he is familiar with the art of war, but it is a pity that this Cao Shuang is too smart in some things, but he will be smart and be mistaken by cleverness.

"Uncle Zhao, the situation in Jingzhou is far worse than you think, and the slightest mistake will lead to a catastrophe. "Sun Tzu's Art of War" once had a cloud: the city is not attacked, the land is not disputed, and the king's order is not affected! As a general, leading the troops outside, he should make a decision in case of trouble, if he obeys the king's orders in everything and returns everything, wouldn't it be a delay in the fighter? Therefore, it is not a sin to be outside the king's order. ”

"Will you be outside, will the king's order be affected?" Cao Shuang muttered and repeated Cao Zhen's words. After a long time, Cao Shuang raised his head and said, "Father, the child has been taught." ”

Although Cao Shuang explained it clearly, he still felt very uncomfortable with Sima Yi's approach. In Cao Shuang's view, Sima Yi is just a foreign minister after all, and if the power in the hands of the foreign minister is too great and he becomes a powerful minister, it will disturb the government. If you are lucky, a Huo Guang will be fine, if you are unlucky, a Wang Mang or Dong Zhuo will be born, and the country will be ruined.

In the final analysis, this country is still the country of the Cao family, and Cao Shuang still feels very awkward about such a powerful Sima Yi. Especially now that Sima Yi has given up Xiangyang without authorization, it makes Cao Shuang feel that Sima Yi has no imperial power in his eyes, and if it takes time, maybe he will sit on the emperor's head!

"Will you be outside, will you be subject to the king's order? Hum! Sima Yi, you and other foreign ministers, are just my Cao family's eagle dogs, what qualifications do you have to talk about daring to disobey the king's orders! Cao Shuang muttered to himself in his heart.

……

Tongguan.

"Shoot the arrows!"

With Guo Huai's shout, the bow and arrow shot downward like raindrops.

The Han army under the city held a shield in one hand and a sandbag in the other, and rushed to Tongguan, from time to time the Han army fell under the bow and arrow, but this did not affect the others to continue to move forward bravely.

The location of Tongguan is dangerous, the place in front of the pass is not big, many large-scale siege weapons can not be used, even the shrimp and toad cart used to fill the moat, and a few cars can not be displayed in front of Tongguan. However, after all, Tongguan has just been established not long ago, and the moat is not too deep, and the efficiency of filling the moat with sandbags on your shoulders is also very fast.

Under the city, Liao Hua held a machete in his hand, personally urging the soldiers to keep carrying sandbags, not far behind, Guan Ping stared coldly at everything in front of him, without showing the slightest expression.

However, Guan Ping is still very anxious in his heart, Wuguan has been taken, but Tongguan has not even been filled in the moat, compared to this progress, it is too far behind.

Fortunately, Guan Ping is very good at comforting himself, after all, Wuguan all the way is led by Adou himself, and the superstition point is that His Majesty is Hongfu Qitian, and Long Wei was shocked, so he won Wuguan. And if we talk about the facts, it is that His Majesty is resourceful and has used tricks to seize the military pass.

"Hey, people can't be compared with people, who made him Your Majesty!" Thinking that the emperor should be better than himself, Guan Ping was a little more comfortable.

"General, the moat has been filled, and you can already leave!" Liao Hua's voice came, interrupting Guan Ping's thoughts.

"Good! Brothers have worked hard, let everyone rest today first, and attack Tongguan tomorrow! ”