"Supreme, the minister has a word, and please ask the Supreme Mingjian." Lu Xun owed his body, and said in a calm tone: "Cao Xiu, as the great Sima of Cao Wei, followed Cao Cao to raise troops, and rode tigers and leopards, and has been fighting with my Great Wu many times, although there is no big victory, but it cannot be said that he is incompetent. ”

Sun Quan's eyes flashed and he nodded. Cao Xiu, as the commander of Cao Wei's southeastern side, was indeed a fierce opponent. In the first year of Huanglong, he had just defeated Liu Bei, who was attacking in a big way, and Cao Pi ordered Cao Xiu to lead Zhang Liao and more than 20 other generals to break Lu Fan in Dongpu because he refused to send protons. The year before last, he broke through the trial of Anhui City, causing the Anhui City that had just been started to lose again. He has supervised Yangzhou's military for many years, although there are no major achievements, but there is nothing that can be done about him in Soochow. Such a person, saying that he is only burdened by the Cao clan is not entirely in line with the truth.

Cao Xiu knew that he was in ambush, but he refused to retreat, and he relied on it. This time he led an army of 100,000 to come, the soldiers were full of food, although the main force was surrounded, but on both sides behind him, there were Jia Kui and Sima Yi two reinforcements, the total strength is not weaker than ours, plus they have the advantage of iron cavalry, if the battle is fought, even if our army has the power of the supreme pro-conquest, victory is not a problem, but the loss is bound to be not small. Even if Jianghuai is defeated, how can it be defended? ”

Sun Quan sighed softly, he already knew that he was reckless. Lu Xun said these truths, he was not unclear, but he was attracted by the temptation of Jianghuai, and forgot for a while that although Jianghuai was beautiful, it was not something he could swallow, and now he could barely swallow it, and sooner or later he would have to spit it out. Is it really as Zhu Huan said, occupy Shouchun and threaten Xu Luo, Cao Rui's little boy still doesn't fight with him?

"Moreover, before our army set out, Zhuge Liang had been in Hanzhong for more than a year. The purpose of his visit to Hanzhong was obvious, that is, he wanted to go north to the Central Plains. Plotting in the middle of the game. Lu Xun's voice was raised, he didn't look at Zhu Huan from beginning to end, he only had Sun Quan in his eyes. Contact our army. Plotting against Meng Da, didn't he just want us to contain Cao Wei's main force, so that he could take advantage of the weakness? ”

Sun Quan's blue eyes narrowed, and his expression became more solemn. Zhuge Liang's thoughts. He was clear, so he didn't do what he agreed to and didn't move. originally thought that Zhuge Liang would not be able to hold back. launched an attack at the beginning of the year to let Cao Wei's main force move west, and he designed Zhou Yi to lure Cao Xiu. Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang was motionless in Hanzhong, which made him ready to shoot and had to send it, so he could only reluctantly make bait.

If it is not bad as expected, Zhuge Liang must have started the Northern Expedition by now. Cao Wei's main forces are all in the southeast, and the northwest theater is no more than 350,000 horses.

Once Zhuge Liang took the pass, the pressure on Cao Wei certainly increased. It's not necessarily a good thing for Soochow. Yes, Wu Shu is an ally now, but allies are always temporary, and we will eventually have a time to fight the world. I paid a heavy price, at most I occupied Jianghuai, and the biggest possibility was that Jianghuai couldn't occupy it, but it was just to create a good opportunity for Zhuge Liang to take Guanzhong lightly.

Is it worth it?

If you want to completely annihilate Cao Xiu at the moment, not only is it very difficult, but in the long run, it will not be good for my Wu State, it is better to hit Cao Xiu at the smallest cost, and withdraw after getting the benefits I deserve, so that Cao Wei can free up his hands to deal with Shu Han, instead of bearing the pressure of Cao Wei independently. When Cao Wei and Shu Han are defeated, I will make a comeback and reap the benefits of the fisherman.

If you want to minimize losses and maximize gains, you must attack Cao Xiu before Jia Kui and Sima Yi arrive, and inflict heavy damage on him, rather than annihilating him completely. Surround the three and let the enemy have a way to retreat, so that they will not be forced to fight to the death, and only then can they reduce their own casualties.

This is Lu Xun's intention to use troops.

Sun Quan can understand, but he can't say it directly, although this suggestion was put forward by Zhu Huan, it was approved by him, and Zhu Huan would say it again in front of Lu Xun. If he vetoes Zhu Huan in person now, with Zhu Huan's temper, he will definitely be very angry, and then there will be estrangement.

"What does that mean?" Sun Quan asked lightly.

Lu Xun was helpless, Sun Quan refused to be a villain, so he had to be the villain. This time he led the troops to send troops, the Wu army totaled more than 100,000 people, except for the 20,000 forbidden troops under Sun Quan's personal control, and the remaining 90,000 people, he and Zhu Huan and Quan Cong each received 30,000.

"The minister thinks that General Fenwu's courage is commendable, but in the long run, this plan is not appropriate."

As Lu Xun expected, Zhu Huan was furious, stood up, didn't even say hello, and walked away.

Sun Quan laughed helplessly: "Bo Yan, he is just a rough man, don't mind too much." He paused for a moment and added, "I agree with your suggestion, so let's do what you think." ”

"Whoa." Lu Xun bowed down with a bitter mouth.

After obtaining Sun Quan's consent, Lu Xun immediately issued an order ordering the troops to advance rapidly and besiege Cao Xiu before Jia Kui and Sima Yi arrived. The Wu army waited for work, and the strength was twice that of Cao Xiu, coupled with Sun Quan's personal conquest, which greatly boosted morale and high morale, and the vanguard quickly defeated Cao Xiu's main force. Cao Xiu saw that the situation was not good, and he fought and retreated, until he retreated to the vicinity of the stone pavilion. That night, the frightened Wei army bombed the camp, and Lu Xun immediately seized the opportunity to supervise the onslaught and defeat Cao Xiu again.

Cao Xiu was hit hard, his ambition was in vain, and he had no intention of fighting, so he could only lead the remnants of the army to retreat. In the case of a great situation, Zhu Huan once again suggested sending troops to cut off Cao Xiu's back road and annihilate Cao Xiu. Sun Quan saw that Cao Xiu had no strength to fight back, and he was also moved, and without informing Lu Xun, he ordered Zhu Huan to lead the army to Cao Xiu's back and set up an ambush.

Knowing that Zhu Huan had left the position and was missing, Lu Xun knew something was wrong. He also pretended not to know, but quietly slowed down the speed of the pursuit. Cao Xiu saw that Wu Jun was slowing down, and he also slowed down, and when he arrived at the shore, he knew that Wu Jun's sudden deceleration was purposeful, and his back road had been cut off by Wu Jun.

With no way out, Cao Xiu instead settled down, he arranged for someone to break Zhu Huan's blockade, and sent someone to notify Jia Kui for reinforcements. Jia Kui came faster than he hoped, and he personally went into battle and stormed Zhu Huan's position. The Wei army, which wanted to escape by way, went crazy, and Zhu Huan paid a heavy price, but he still failed to block the Wei army's attack, and could only watch Jia Kui take Cao Xiu out of the encirclement of the Wu army.

When Zhu Huan was fighting hard, Lu Xun was cleaning the battlefield in a trailer. Cao Xiu only cared about fleeing for his life, and the discarded baggage was piled up, and there were more than 10,000 vehicles of all kinds alone. It can be said that it is very rewarding. Hearing that Zhu Huan was broken by Jia Kui and fell into the encirclement of the Wei army, Lu Xun once again ordered a pursuit, and chased him to Jiashi in one go. Defeated Cao Xiu again and rescued Zhu Huan.

The grizzled Zhu Huan looked at Lu Xun, who was as calm as water, and hated itchy. was angry but had nowhere to vent, so he had to step forward to thank Lu Xun for saving his life. Lu Xun said two words lukewarmly, and the words were very polite, but the meaning was very clear. You see, I said no, you have to go, it's no wonder that anyone else.

Zhu Huan was so angry that he exploded his lungs. He knew that he was being yin by Lu Xun, and he couldn't wait to scold him, but the situation was pressing, who let himself really be defeated, and Sun Quan couldn't help him speak. He could only swallow his broken teeth in his stomach.

At this point, the war in the southeast ended with a complete victory for the Wu army.

……

Luoyang Imperial Palace, Taiji Palace.

Cao Rui, the Son of Heaven, stood in the threshold with his hands behind his back, looking at the sky in the distance. Sun Zi, the regular attendant of the loose cavalry, stood cautiously behind him, holding a copy of Cao's truce report that he had just received.

Sun Zi was very nervous, although Cao Rui was not very angry, but after serving by Cao Rui's side for many years, he knew Cao Rui's temperament too well.

The calmer it is, the more angry it is, the more disappointed and frustrated.

Disappointment and frustration come from two people: one is Xiahou Mao and the other is Cao Xiu. Both of these people are members of the Cao clan, but they both failed to live up to Cao Rui's hopes. Xiahou Mao swore that he could hold Guanzhong, so he let Cao Zhen recuperate in Luoyang and handed over the supreme command of the Western Theater to Xiahou Mao. He didn't expect Xiahou Mao to be able to defeat Zhuge Liang, who came to attack, he only hoped that he could hold Longyou, at least Guanzhong, stick to it, and wait for reinforcements, so as to give him time to solve the war in the southeast.

Later, Xiahou Mao said that because of the arrival of Wei Ba, the son of Wei Yan, he already knew Zhuge Liang's military arrangements and made preparations. It was precisely out of this confidence that Cao Rui agreed to Cao Xiu's Jihua, intending to recapture the Lujiang River in one fell swoop, drive the Dongwu people out of the Jianghuai area, and confront each other across the river.

If all this can be realized, it will not only be able to obtain the Jianghuai land and achieve a favorable situation in the southeast theater, but also allow Cao Xiu and Xiahou Mao to make meritorious contributions. Cao Xiu is okay, he is already the top general of the Southeast Theater, but Xiahou Mao is not, he has no military exploits, he has always done a bad job as the governor of Guanzhong, in the eyes of many ministers, this is cronyism, not the performance of meritocracy, which is quite complaining. If Xiahou Mao can hold Guanzhong and Longyou for a few months, and wait until the main force of the forbidden army is withdrawn from the southeast theater, he will have merit, not only will the governor of Guanzhong be at ease, but he can continue to be promoted in the future.

For Cao Rui, letting Xiahou Mao make meritorious contributions can not only get rid of the complaints of cronyism, but also re-establish the strength of the Xiahou clan in the army, and balance the existing several powerful ministers, especially the minister Sima Yi, which is a good thing to kill multiple birds with one stone.

Like his grandfather Cao Cao, Cao Rui has always been wary of Sima Yi. At the beginning of the year, Sima Yi was defeated in Fangling, and the reason why he refused to remove Sima Yi from his post as a hussar general was not because he didn't want to, but because he felt that the time was not right. When Cao Xiu and even Xiahou Mao can defeat Zhuge Liang, can Sima Yi not write and resign? It is better for him to resign voluntarily than to be removed because of his defeat.

However, now he has encountered the biggest crisis, when the main force of the forbidden army was transferred to the southeast, Zhuge Liang suddenly sent troops to Longyou, which was not only more than a month earlier than he expected to send troops after the autumn, but also in a different direction from what Xiahou Mao said, not Guanzhong, but Longyou. Just when he thought the situation wasn't particularly bad, worse news came. Wei Yan's troops came out of the Meridian Valley and sent troops to occupy Tongguan, cutting off Luoyang from Guanzhong.

Since then, there has been no news of Guanzhong, and the west of Tongguan seems to have suddenly disappeared from the territory of Great Wei.

This is more shocking to Cao Rui than the loss of Chang'an and the battle of the Shu Han army to lead Tongguan.

Meridian Valley, didn't everyone say that Meridian Valley couldn't march?

——————

Continue to ask for a monthly pass, if ...... Haha, you know. (To be continued.) )