Knowing that Shen Chen was there in person, Sima Yi knew that it was bad.

They were originally scheduled for Sima Yi to block Zhuge Liang on the southern front, Xiahou Yuan to intercept Guan Yu on the eastern front, and then to use the Huns to rebel and deal a heavy blow to Shen Chen.

But he didn't expect that Shen Chen was not in Bingzhou at all, but appeared in Henan, which also made Sima Yi realize that something was wrong.

In the eyes of the Han army, merging states is the top priority, and taking Luoyang directly is obviously the next choice.

Because under normal circumstances, Luoyang can't be beaten.

Luoyang has 20,000 defenders, but there was a sudden accident, Hu Chuquan fled, Cao Rong in order to prevent Hu Chuquan from sending the news of the Huns' rebellion to the Han army, so he temporarily dispatched troops to search and arrest.

At that time, there were thousands of people guarding Jiguan, and Luoyang was also guarded by thousands of people, according to Cao Wei's estimates, the army of Yubandao's feint was at most a few thousand.

Therefore, in Cao Wei's view, the Han army relied on the Huns' plan to stab Cao Jun in the back, and the two ways of feint to attack Luoyang, and the main force directly took and merged the state, which was the best choice.

Things developed as Cao Wei expected.

As the closest passage to Luoyang, Keiguan Road was attacked first.

Subsequently, the main force of the Han army marched into Qinshui, intending to unite with the Huns.

But now the situation is different.

Because Shen Chen is in Henan!

If he is there, it means that Henan's attack is not a feint, and the attack of Bingzhou has become secondary.

This shows that Shen Chen changed his style of play, and did not choose to go to Merge with the Huns, but took advantage of Cao Wei's focus on Merging the states to raid Luoyang!

So why did he change his style of play, instead of choosing to attack and merge the state as the best choice, but choosing to attack Luoyang?

There are only two possibilities!

It was Shen Chen who actually knew that the Huns planned to rebel again.

In other words, he did not trust the Huns from the beginning, and planned to use the Huns as a cover to make a noise attack on the west.

Either way, it means that the center of gravity of the Han army has been adjusted, and it is no longer a merger, but Henan.

If Cao Rong hadn't mobilized Luoyang's soldiers and horses to search for him because of Hu Chuquan's escape, then even if Shen Chen mobilized a large army to besiege Luoyang, he should have been able to hold out for at least a few days, maybe he could wait for his reinforcements to arrive.

However, Cao Rong searched and arrested Huchuquan, which led to the lack of troops in Luoyang, and it was quickly occupied by Shen Chen.

Then the current situation has become a steamer, layer upon layer, the southernmost is Zhuge Liang's army, then Sima Yi, then Shen Chen in Henan, and finally Wuqiu Jian in Bingzhou.

It seems that everyone is sandwiched by each other, but don't forget that Wuqiu Jian has the main force of the Han army on the Western Front to contain it, so Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang may be able to flank Sima Yi.

What's more important is that after losing Luoyang, Sima Yi became very uncomfortable, and his abdomen and back were affected by the enemy.

After he understood this, he hurriedly consulted with the soldiers and told them about the situation he was facing.

"That's how it is now."

Sima Yi looked around and said: "Shen Chen suddenly appeared in Henan, and our defenders in Luoyang couldn't hold on, and were defeated by them, then we will face the attack of Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen, and the army is in danger." ”

"So what are we going to do?"

Guo Huai actually knew what the result was, but he still pretended to be stupid and asked Sima Yi what they should do.

Sima Yi asked, "What do you think, what should we do?" ”

"Amount"

"The last general thinks that it is better to ask Your Majesty first."

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty's life and death are unknown now, not to mention that we have time to go north to contact the imperial court again? ”

"It's better to fight to the death with the Han army."

"The opponent's army of more than 200,000 people, and the north and south are attacking, the back road is cut off, where is the grain and grass? For a few months, we're all going to starve to death. ”

"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, you tell me what to do."

"This"

There was a mess of porridge below, and everyone's faces were anxious and worried, but the constantly flashing eyes betrayed everyone's thoughts.

Now the situation of Cao Rong is unknown, and the most important thing is that they lost Luoyang, the back road was cut off, and the army in Henan became very dangerous.

The best policy is naturally to retreat to Hebei with the main force, relying on the population and land of Hebei, and barely be able to divide one side, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that Cao Wei is already a broken ship, and the rivers are declining, and if he continues to stay on this ship, there is a danger that the ship will be destroyed and people will die.

So everyone has their own thoughts.

It's just that at this juncture, no one dares to say anything, not even the withdrawal of troops. Because as soon as they withdraw, it means that Cao Wei will give up the entire Henan region, and if Cao Wei does not die in the future, he will be blamed, I am afraid.

Sima Yi looked at everyone and no one said what he wanted, his brows furrowed for a while, and then he suddenly relaxed, looked around, and said softly: "What are you thinking, I know." ”

As soon as he spoke, everyone shut their mouths.

Then Sima Yi continued: "I believe everyone understands the current situation, if you don't respond, once Shen Chen loses food and grass, the whole army will be wiped out. I know that no one wants to bear the blame, and if no one comes, then I am the only one. But I want you to think clearly, if I make this decision, then everyone is in the same boat, you understand? ”

This sentence is already very straightforward.

Now Henan's army is very dangerous, Sima Yi must withdraw his troops before Shen Chen's side has carried out an operation, as soon as he withdraws his troops, not only Henan gave up, but also sold Xiahou Yuan.

Although he would definitely send someone to inform Xiahou Yuan of the situation and ask Xiahou Yuan to withdraw from Xuzhou to Qingzhou, there was no consultation or request for instructions.

To a certain extent, Cao Ei did not give him the order to withdraw his troops, then he acted on his own, and if Cao Ei wanted to stabilize people's hearts and use Sima Yi's loss of Henan as an excuse to treat him as a lamb of sin, then Sima Yi would definitely die.

That's why everyone knows that the troops must be withdrawn now, but no one dares to say it.

No one wants to die, and neither does Sima Yi.

So he had to figure it out.

Tying everyone into a boat is the best way to do it.

Everyone was silent for a while, and Guo Huai took the lead in saying: "The matter of withdrawing troops is discussed by everyone. ”

"Yes, the last general is only the governor of the horse."

"We're not against it."

Several people also immediately made a statement.

Sima Yi indifferently glanced at the other generals who didn't speak, and said coldly, "What about you? ”

Those few people shuddered, and hurriedly got up and saluted: "The last general is willing to follow the governor of the capital and go to the soup and fire, and he will not give up." ”

"Hmm."

Sima Yi nodded slightly.

Abandoning Henan without Cao Ei's order is certainly a felony.

If he didn't withdraw his troops, he would face the attack of Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang again, and the main army would be in danger of being wiped out.

He can't wait for Cao Ei's order now, he must evacuate as soon as possible.

So in order to prevent being killed by Cao Rong with an excuse in the future, he could only drag everyone into the water together and bear the responsibility together.

The most important thing is that at this time, Sima Yi already had the idea of supporting the army and respecting himself, he stared at him, and said coldly: "Withdrawing the troops and going back is also to survive, but I'm afraid that someone will disagree." ”

"Who?"

"We all felt that we had to withdraw our troops."

"Who did the Governor say?"

Everyone said.

Sima Yi slowly spit out a few words and said, "General Zhengnan!" ”

General Zhengnan?

Everyone looked at each other and looked at each other.

Everyone knows that Xiahou Shang is nominally a deputy general, but in fact he is Cao Rong's cronies' representative.

Just like in history, although Sima Yi was the main general, he almost couldn't suppress the many soldiers who asked to fight, and it wasn't until Xin Bi came that everyone died down.

The reason is that Xin Bi came with an envoy, representing the Son of Heaven Cao Ei!

It's the same now.

Sima Yi is a general of the chariot and cavalry, but he does not hold a festival in his hands, and Xiahou is still a general of Zhengnan, but Cao Rong gave him a holiday before.

That's the root of the problem.

Once Xiahou Shang did not agree to withdraw from the army, Zhijie killed Sima Yi and himself as the main general, which was all within the scope of permission.

However, no one wants to die, and withdrawing troops is the best plan.

What if Xiahou Shang is unwilling to withdraw his troops?

Jia Kui looked around and asked, "According to the opinion of the Grand Governor, what should we do?" ”

Sima Yi sneered and said, "General Zhengnan was sent by me to rush to the aid of His Majesty, but the battle was unfavorable and the whole army was annihilated, what do you think?" ”

"Shhh ~”

Everyone gasped.

But there was silence in the room, and no one spoke.

After a while, Guo Huai said: "If Your Majesty knows this news, you will also sigh at the misfortune of General Zhengnan." ”

"Yes, Shen Chen's fang is extremely vicious, first killing General Zhenxi and then General Zhengnan."

"Will this be done, in case the news leaks, won't we?"

"If you're afraid of anything, just be secretive."

"Ladies and gentlemen."

Sima Yi looked at everyone and said: "Our force is already the last strong army of the Great Wei, and the current situation is that everyone can live if they work together, and if everyone has different intentions, they will die together." ”

This statement is already very clear.

It means that they must master this army in order to continue to live, whether they go north to return to the Cao Wei court in the future, or find a way to become a prince, even if they surrender to the Han Dynasty, as long as there is an army, everything is still there.

If they go back directly, Cao Rong is angry and deprives them of their army, and then kills them, then everyone will be dead. So in order to survive, you must first huddle together to keep warm.

Guo Huai said: "What do you mean? ”

A hint of gloom flashed in Sima Yi's eyes: "First, we must stand in the same boat, and when Xiahou Shang comes back, everyone here will stab him to calm everyone's hearts!" ”

Everyone was shocked, and some people wanted to say something, but when they saw Sima Yi's fierce eyes, they had to swallow back what they wanted to say.

This is Sima Yi's boss's big tent, surrounded by Sima Yi's personal guards, if he disagrees with Sima Yi at this time and doesn't want to accept the name, then I'm afraid he won't be able to get out of this tent.

"Second."

Sima Yi tapped lightly on the table and said: "The blame must all be put on Xiahou Shang, because Xiahou Shang fought unfavorably, resulting in the loss of Henan, our back road was cut off, and we had to retreat back to Hebei, and Your Majesty will not say anything if you want to come." ”

"Or the Metropolitan Governor has a vision."

Wang Ling complimented.

Sima Yi continued: "Third, if Shen Chen appears in Henan, it means that the Han army in Bingzhou will not be fooled at all. I am afraid that Wuqiu Jian is in danger, so we will cross the river and return to Hanoi County to help Wu Qiu Jian, as long as we can help him defend and annex the state, it will also be a great achievement. ”

"Wonderful, wonderful, the Metropolitan Governor is really far-sighted."

Someone else said.

Sima Yi finally said: "Fourth, I don't want to rebel against Wei or support the army to stand on my own, I just want to save my life and your life. I hope you can understand our current situation, peace is mutually beneficial, and fighting is both harmful, if you want to survive and your family can be saved, you must do what I say. Otherwise, we ourselves will die, and our people will perish. ”

When the words came out, everyone couldn't help nodding.

In fact, although Sima Yi said that everyone must stay warm in order to live, in fact, everyone has concerns. The reason is that they are not alone, but they have a family, and they have a family behind them.

Cao Wei's system is very simple, you, as a general at the front, your family and clan must stay in the capital. Not only the system of Cao Wei, but also the system of many later dynasties, once a front-line general mutinied, or disobeyed orders, his family would be killed immediately.

For example, Ma Teng had already taken refuge in Cao Cao, but after Ma Chao rebelled, Cao Cao executed Ma Chao's entire family. and among the three rebellions in Huainan, Wuqiu Jian, Wang Ling and Zhuge Dan's family members were implicated.

So although they all want to live, they are worried that their family will be executed by Cao Rong.

But fortunately, Sima Yi did not want to defect to Cao Wei, but planned to find reasons and excuses for his withdrawal.

Killing Xiahou Shang, first of all, is to unite everyone, and then to put the blame on the dead.

Then go north to help Wuqiu Jian, so that he can make meritorious contributions.

Even if Cao Rong learned that Sima Yi had given up the entire Henan, he probably pinched his nose and admitted it because he had a scapegoat, Xiahou Shang, and because he rescued Wu Qiu Jian and kept the merger of the state.

Therefore, to a certain extent, this is also the strategy of Sima Yi and everyone to protect themselves, not to defect to the southern Han, or to divide one side as a prince.

In fact, even if everyone wants to defect or plan to secede, they probably can't do it.

Cao Wei not only strictly controlled the families of the generals, but also the families of the soldiers, most of the hundreds of thousands of people in Luoyang were the families of the soldiers, and there were also a large number of families of soldiers in Yecheng.

If they did defect or secede, the soldiers would not follow them, they might scatter on their own, or they might simply kill them.

So no one wanted to surrender to the Han Dynasty, but thought about how to find an excuse to escape the great guilt brought by the abandonment of Henan.

Now, Sima Yi has found a good reason for them.

They need a scapegoat.

At this time, the guard outside said, "Report, General Zhengnan has returned." ”

Before the words fell, Xiahou Shang walked into the tent in embarrassment, bowed to Sima Yi and said, "Dadu Governor, the last general failed to repel Shen Chen, please punish Dadu Governor." ”

After he finished speaking, he originally wanted to wait for Sima Yi's relief.

After all, although he was nominally Sima Yi's subordinate and the number two person in Cao Wei's army, everyone knew that he represented the Emperor of Heaven, and Sima Yi couldn't really do anything with him.

However, he waited for a while, only to find that there was no relief as he imagined, but a dead silence.

Xiahou Shang looked around and looked at those colleagues and subordinates, but found that the eyes of each of them were full of strangeness, as if they were thinking about something, and they didn't seem to be thinking about anything.

They're thinking.

Isn't the scapegoat coming?

(End of chapter)