Shen Chen sent Ma Chao and Zhao Yunbing to divide into two routes, from Fukou and Jingcheng out of Taihang Mountain, and take Zhao and Wei County.

At this time, there were still 50,000 soldiers and horses in Wei County.

Cao Rong's sudden death made the city full of wind and rain, and the people and families were all frightened.

Especially the big families, they were personally panicked, worried about whether Cao Wei's death at this time would cause Cao Wei to collapse.

But fortunately, Cao Zhi ascended the throne, as an adult clan of the Cao family, and he was still the second son of Cao Cao, Cao Zhi still had some prestige.

After he came to power, he immediately summoned the representatives of the major families in the imperial court, moved them with affection, understood them with reason, and barely managed to maintain the hearts of the people who were almost on the verge of collapse.

In fact, if it was a normal change of feudal dynasties, Cao Wei would have been gone long ago at this time, and the families in various places would not have provided such great support to Cao Wei.

Just like the Jiangnan gentry in the late Ming Dynasty, there were very few Jiangnan gentry who supported the Ming Dynasty, and there were countless Jiangnan gentry who shaved their hair and led the party in the Qing Dynasty.

In the final analysis, it is still the change of ordinary feudal dynasties, and the upper power generally does not shake the interests of the landlord class, so that the old dynasty can be quickly cleaned up and the effect of quickly seizing the country.

However, the policy of the Southern Han Dynasty was really terrifying, and even the founding emperors of the Western and Eastern Han dynasties did not have the courage to do so, and directly confiscated the population and land of the landlord class.

And what's even more terrifying is that they still succeeded.

The many rebellions of the southern family ended in failure, and Liu Bei's group won the support of a large number of low-level people and ethnic minorities in the south, and the more they fought, the more troops and land they fought, which made them panic.

If this continues, the entire family of the world will lose the population and land foundation on which they depend.

Therefore, it is not that the northern clans are loyal to Cao Wei, but that the southern Han of TM does not give them a way to live, but whenever the southern Han Dynasty changes its policy and allows them to keep hidden households and fields, they don't need Shen Chen, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and them to do it, and the northern scholars will lift Cao Wei.

It's just that land reform is the basic national policy of the southern Han Dynasty, and it is also the beginning of Shen Chen's plan to show his strength in the future, so the national policy cannot be changed, and the families in the north can only follow Cao Wei to the dark.

In August of the first year of Han Jianxing, Cao Wei concentrated all the forces that could be concentrated at present to carry out an all-out defensive war against the Hebei region, and everyone on both sides knew that this was the last battle.

Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen's troops were united, plus Wu Yi's troops in the rear arrived, and the total strength was about 230,000.

The commander-in-chief of the Han army was Zhuge Liang, the deputy commander Shen Chen, and below were Zhang Fei, Wu Yi, Lu Chang, Wen Ping, Wu Ban, Gao Xiang, Dong Ju, Feng Xi, Zhang Nan, Zhang Ren and other generals, each leading thousands to tens of thousands of troops, which spread throughout Hanoi County.

Hanoi County was a long and narrow terrain in the Han Dynasty, because the Yellow River did not go southeast as in later generations, but flowed northeast in the south of Wuzhi County in Jiaozuo City, Henan Province, passing south of Xinxiang City, and Yuanyang County, Yanjin County, Fengqiu County, and Changyuan City to the north of the Yellow River in the later generations were all south of the Yellow River in the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, Hanoi County in the Han Dynasty was actually the area from Jiyuan City in Henan Province to Jiaozuo City to Xinxiang City to Weihui City and finally to Hebi City in later generations, and Huaxian County and Jun County, which were relatively close to Hebi City, were all south of the Yellow River at that time.

This is why Sima Yi will retreat to the area of Dangyin and Chaoge.

Because the west of this area is mountains, in the Han Dynasty called Black Mountain and Lugut Mountain, later generations for Henan Qi County Yunmeng Mountain Scenic Area, east and due south direction are the Yellow River, only southwest from Ji County, that is, the direction of Weihui City in the later generations to the north to capture Hebei.

From the point of view of the terrain, it is a more favorable direction for defense, when Cao Cao attacked Hebei, he crossed the river from the Yanjin area, Yuan Tan Yuan Shang and others blocked Cao Cao in this direction, which was broken by Cao Cao.

At this moment, the Han army spread out in Hanoi and quickly occupied many county towns southwest of Hanoi, and then the main force gathered in the Ji County area and began to continue to march north.

Now the entire Henan region has been occupied by the Han army, a large number of Han troops have been stationed in Yanzhou, and the entire Luoyang, Yuzhou, Xuzhou and other areas in the rear have been assigned many officials to take the imperial examination and begin to maintain local order.

At the same time, the grain and grass in the rear also began to be continuously transported to the north, so as to ensure that the army on the front line had enough food to launch an offensive and decisive battle against Cao Wei.

Until September, the Han army has arrived in the area of Chaoge, the rear army of the Han army is still in Ji County, the main force of the Chinese army is in the south of Lugu Mountain, almost the area of Andu Township in Weihui City, Henan Province in the later generations, and the 60,000 troops led by Zhang Fei have reached the south of Chaoge.

Ma Chao of Bingzhou went out of Jingcheng to Xiangguo, which was the Xingtai City of later generations, and the Wei army of Xiangguo guarded the city and did not dare to go out of the city to fight to the death with the Han army. And Zhao Yunbu came out of Taihang Mountain from Fukou and was attacking Sheguo.

On the eastern front, Xiahou Yuan retreated from Runan to Xuzhou, and then withdrew from Xuzhou to Qingzhou, when Guan Yu had already gone north to occupy Xuzhou, Xiahou Yuan knew that he would definitely not be able to hold Shandong, so he withdrew to the north of the Yellow River, crossed the river from Gaotang County in the Plains State, and went to Qinghe State, wanting to defend the southeast of Wei County.

Guan Yu sent people to recover Qingzhou, and he led the main force, with Lu Xun as the staff officer and the general Wei Yan as the vanguard, crossed the Yellow River from Baima County in Yanzhou, to Leping and Liaocheng north of the Yellow River in Baima County, and began to attack the Yuancheng, Wei County, and Fanyang areas defended by Xiahou Yuan.

For a while, in the second half of the first year of Jianxing, during the period from late autumn to early winter, the power of the entire Cao Wei began to shrink significantly, and almost all the troops began to huddle in the surrounding areas of Yecheng.

And in October, Liu Chan went to Luoyang to supervise the battle at the suggestion of Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others. Although the capital was not immediately moved from Xiangyang to Luoyang, the recovery of the Han and Han capitals had given great spiritual encouragement to the people of the Han in the south.

On October 8, in the early winter, the temperature in Hebei dropped very much, a few days ago it could be maintained at more than 20 degrees, and at the end of September, it dived all the way, and now it can have more than 10 degrees during the day, and the temperature is very low at night.

Located in Wei County, Wei County, probably in the area of Daming County, Hebei Province in later generations, at this moment in Wei County, Xiahou Yuan looked at the east at the head of the city.

He is a few years younger than Cao Cao, and now he is in his sixties, but his face is as old as if he is in his eighties, his temples are gray, his hair is gray and black, and his eyes are deep but with a hint of sadness, as if he is thinking about something.

As the hinterland of Cao Wei and the base camp of population and land, the wilderness of Hebei in early winter should not be desolate, and hundreds of people inhabit inside and outside the county seats, as well as in the township pavilions.

In the Han Dynasty, corn and wheat were planted alternately in Hebei Province, and millet was planted in May and June, harvested in October, and then wheat was planted in November, and harvested in April and May of the following year, which is the source of wheat often said in ancient books of the Han Dynasty.

But at this moment, there is a quiet and lonely area outside Wei County, the villages are dilapidated, the farmland is uncultivated, and only occasionally you can see old people and women who cannot fight in the countryside, barely cultivating some fields and vegetable fields to make a living.

Cao Wei has fought too many wars in recent years, and the losses of young and middle-aged people are very large, even the hinterland has been depleted. Now even the big families are short of labor, let alone the common people.

"Father."

Behind Xiahou Yuan, a tall young man slowly walked in, this person had sword eyebrows and starry eyes, a handsome face, and a bit of grace and nobility.

"Juvenile rights."

Hearing the young man's words, Xiahou Yuan turned his head, glanced at him, and sighed slightly: "Guan Yu is approaching. ”

This young man's name is Xiahou Rong, and he is one of the famous prodigies of the Three Kingdoms.

During the last battle of Ziyun Mountain, Xiahou Rong happened to follow Cao Pi back to Luoyang, but he was not in the army, because Xiahou Yuan was ambushed by Zhuge Liang when he retreated, which made him very regretful.

Later, Xiahou Yuan was reactivated by Cao Rong, and he always followed his father, wanting to help his father as a military staff officer.

It's a pity that when he came, because of several wars, Cao Wei had suffered serious losses and losses, and the river was already in decline, even if Han Xin came back to life, he was powerless.

Xiahou Rong walked to Xiahou Yuan's side, looked to the east, and saw that on the horizon in the distance, countless figures could be faintly seen, densely packed like a black torrent, slowly appearing at the end of their field of vision.

There are villages and fields outside Wei County, and there are some people who live, but at the front of the army, some scout cavalry scattered into the village, shouting: "The army of Xuande Gongren and righteousness is treacherous in the north, the people do not pay food, do not conscript, and the army does not commit any crimes in the autumn, please don't panic." ”

Before the army arrived, the scouts who were exploring the way in front had already poured into the village pavilions and villages outside the city, and the people were originally hiding at home in panic, and some people had even fled in advance, but under such propaganda, the local people began to stop fleeing.

In the final analysis, Liu Bei himself is very famous in the north, he can venture everywhere, and finally establish a foundation in the troubled times, relying on his well-known popularity and high personal charm.

In addition, Liu Bei and Shen Chen are both kind to the people in the north.

The plague that swept the world back then was not just as simple as the death of Tai Shici by the Han in the south, the death of Lu Su in Jiangdong, and the death of Li Dian in the north.

These are just the famous historical figures who died of illness in the plague, those unknown people, Qiantou, and even the poor and powerful are countless, and even Cao Zhi wrote in the article that the number of plague deaths is tens of millions, which shows the harm caused by this plague.

Fortunately, there was a miracle doctor Zhang Zhongjing under the rule of Liu Bei Group in the south, who studied painstakingly for many years and wrote "Treatise on Typhoid Fever and Miscellaneous Diseases", plus Hua Tuo left the "Green Capsule Book" before his death, which was sent by Shen Chen to buy the jailer and strengthen the protection against the plague.

After the plague in the south gradually subsided, Shen Chen sent a large number of doctors with experience in treating the plague to the north, funded them to go to Henan, Hebei and other places to help the plague people, and left Liu Bei and Shen Chen's reputation.

Since then, the people of the north have been full of gratitude to Liu Bei and Shen Chen.

Therefore, with Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and righteousness and his kindness to the people in the north, the army of the southern Han Dynasty was almost wholeheartedly welcomed by the people wherever he went, and the realm of vitality and competition spread all over the north.

At this moment, outside Wei County, with a large amount of propaganda by the scouts sent out by Guan Yu, the originally nervous people gradually calmed down, and even had the courage to come out to watch the situation.

After the main force of the Han army arrived in the village outside, Guan Yu personally dismounted and talked with the respected elders of the Xiangting Pavilion to calm their emotions.

Xiahou Rong is young and has very good eyesight, and when he stands on the city tower, he can see some people standing on the side of the official road a few miles away, eating pot pulp.

Some Han generals dismounted and talked with them, and the atmosphere on both sides was so happy that the Han army began to build a camp near the village, preparing to attack Wei County, and the people also helped them cut down trees and build walls.

"The People Outside the City"

When Xiahou Rong saw this scene, he frowned and said, "Since you are Wei Min, you are serving the thief master?" ”

Xiahou Yuan said bitterly: "Now in the hearts of the people, I'm afraid we are thieves." ”

"A group of people who are strong will welcome whoever is on the wall."

Xiahou Rong snorted coldly.

Xiahou Yuan shook his head: "Youquan, you are wrong, whoever is strong will be flattered by whoever is on the wall is the powerful of the family, not the people." ”

"Isn't that already proven outside the city?"

Xiahou Rong pointed to the distance and said.

"You don't understand."

Xiahou Yuan looked into the distance and said softly: "My father has followed Meng De to fight in the south and the north since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and he has seen too many people on the road he has walked. Most of the people are simple, and whoever gives them a pot of water and a mouthful of food, they are grateful to him. Zhang Jiao can set off chaos by himself, isn't that what he can? After all, it was Mengde's actions that were unpopular. ”

"Father."

Xiahou Rong saw that Xiahou Yuan's face was full of hesitation, and suddenly remembered that when they were in Qingzhou before, because the army was short of food, and the imperial court did not send grain and grass, they had to loot the people's materials, killing and injuring many civilians.

Maybe who is the official and who is the thief, at that time, it was already clear at a glance.

Xiahou Yuan sighed and said: "I am worthy of Meng De, but I am ashamed of the people of the world, maybe the Great Wei has reached this situation, God wants to punish us, young power, do you think we will have a chance of winning?" ”

Xiahou Rong hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "No." ”

Although Xiahou Yuan had about 60,000 people on hand before, in fact there were only more than 40,000, because when he evacuated from Runan, Xuzhou and other places to the north, a large number of deserters had already appeared on the road.

Many low-level soldiers didn't want to continue fighting, and even if Xiahou Yuan restrained and killed many escaped soldiers, it was gradually a little difficult.

So the road barely maintained, more than 10,000 people escaped, and only about 40,000 people retreated back to Hebei.

Moreover, most of these more than 40,000 people are still Hebei soldiers, if they are not Hebei people themselves, I am afraid that when they are on the road, they will basically run out, and no one will be willing to serve such a nearly collapsed Great Wei Dynasty.

Therefore, with Xiahou Rong's intelligence, he should naturally understand that the remnants of more than 40,000 soldiers with low morale in their hands can be described as slim in the face of Guan Yuhan's army, which has more than 100,000 people and high morale.

"Do your best, let it be the fate of heaven."

Xiahou Yuan's vicissitudes of life looked into the distance and said, "If you die fighting for your father, Youquan must remember to surrender obediently and stop resisting fearlessly." Your brother has sent some letters from home, he has met your sister Juan'er, and he is well settled in the south, at least our family will not be too bad if they surrender to the past. ”

After finishing speaking, he raised his head and looked at the sky a little blankly, and in his heart, he already had the will to die.

With death to Mingzhi, it is not worthy of the friendship between the Cao family and the Xiahou family.