Chapter 16: Cao Zhen's thoughts

When Sima Zhao was fighting in the death squad, Xiahou Ba, who had gone through a lot of hardships, finally fled to Cao Zhen's residence in Hanoi County.

Cao Zhen, the word Zidan, he is Cao Cao's nephew. Another theory says that he was the son of Qin Shao, whose father died to save Cao Cao, so he was adopted by Cao Cao and changed his surname to Cao. He grew up with Cao Pi since he was a child, once shot a tiger with arrows, and won Cao Cao's attention, so this official position is like an arrow upward, he has been the governor of the tiger and leopard ride, the backbone general, the Shu Protector, the general of Zhenxi, the general of the army, straight to the general, and the lonely minister. Now he is a first-class minister in Cao Wei, and his position is still above Chen Qun, Sima Yi, and Cao Xiu. Cao Zhen's real skills are not bad, and he is by no means as incompetent and competitive as he said in the romance. He is both civil and military, and has a good command of the army, although he is not as amazing as Sima Yi, he is also a rare tiger general in the Three Kingdoms period.

He was based in Hanoi to compete with Zhang Fei, although Zhang Fei was known as the world's tiger general, brave and invincible, and Zhang Baoguan Xingpang would be such a group of little tigers, but he could not repel him, and the two armies could only hold each other, which shows his ability.

Cao Zhen has always treated Xiahou Ba as a brother, the Cao family and the Xiahou family are originally the same family, not to mention that after Xiahou Yuan's death, Cao Cao protected the Xiahou Ba brothers as a key protection object, and the entire Cao family took special care of the Xiahou brothers. After Xiahou Ba went to the north with Sima Yi and was captured, Cao Zhen was in pain for a long time, and he only hated Sima Yi in his heart, why use Xiahou Ba as bait, he can't beat the Han Lord, you have few people and horses, you can retreat to Yanmen, not to mention that it is a thousand miles of raids and sieges for reinforcements, and killing Kebi can be regarded as a great achievement. But Xiahouba's capture made him hate Sima Yi secretly in his heart for a long time. But you can't help but admit that Sima Yi does have the ability, and the battle of Northern Xinjiang brought Xianbei to a halt. went to Great Wei with a big heart disease, and it also greatly consumed Ji Han's strength, so that the northern border of Great Wei was stable in Yanmen County, so hatred was hateful, but he couldn't deal with Sima Yi, plus His Majesty also used Sima Yi very heavily and asked him to guard Luoyang, so this dissatisfaction can only be pressed. Meet or hahaha.

He had arranged for people to redeem Xiahouba several times, but Ji Han was not at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the economy almost collapsed after a major war, and he had to rely on selling prisoners of war to live. After several contacts, Ji Han disagreed. Cao Zhen was also sad for a while, thinking that he would never see this brother again. At this time, when he heard that Xiahou Ba had returned, he was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Please come in." ”

Cao Zhen looked at the man who was helped into the tent in surprise. Rubbing his eyes, he almost couldn't believe that this was the mighty Xiahou Ba. Xiahou Ba who came in was simply not humanoid, his clothes were torn, his body was injured in many places, and his legs were swollen. His hands and feet were frostbitten, his lips and ears were blue and chapped and oozing blood, and he was tortured miserably by more than half a month of inhuman life. He did not dare to walk in the daytime. I didn't dare to take the road, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep well, I was terrified, and my heartstrings were almost broken. If it were an ordinary person, I am afraid that it would have collapsed long ago. Although Xiahou Ba is not outstanding in strategy, as a descendant of a military family, he has strong nerves. His persistent endurance and indomitable will are all out of the ordinary, which is the main reason why he was able to come back.

"General! Sima Yi has surrendered to the enemy! Xiahou Ba's words almost scared Cao Zhen into a fight.

When Cao Pi died, Cao Zhen, Chen Qun, Cao Xiu and Sima Yi were appointed as the ministers and prime ministers. At that time, Cao Pi once said that there were three people who were separated from Cao Zhen, Chen Qun, and Cao Xiu. Not credible. But Sima Yi was the only one missing. Does this mean that although Cao Pi reuses Sima Yi. But you don't fully trust him?

Everyone knows that Cao Zhen and Sima Yi have a heart. Before the two were in Weinan, they competed with each other and looked down on each other. Although Sima Yi was treacherous and forbearing, Cao Zhen just didn't like him. Although he has a certain ability, whether it is the first martial emperor Cao Cao or the late Taiwei Jia Xu, they all have a very bad opinion of him, thinking that he looks at the wolf and is not a human minister. As a result, Cao Zhen also felt that Sima Yi was not like a good person, and solidified this impression.

Cao Zhen once had a theory that he felt that except for the Cao family and the Xiahou family, the rest of the ministers could not be convinced and could not be reused. When Cao Cao died that day, there was a discussion that the generals of the Cao family should be relied on and the military power of the generals with different surnames should be reduced, which caused a small amount of panic, which included Cao Zhen's "credit". Cao Zhen has never understood why Sima Yi can be reinstated after being seized of military power, and he is actually designated as a minister of Tuogu. However, Cao Zhen can become a general, naturally not an impulsive and blind person, he knows the importance of this matter, Sima Yi is resourceful, Sima clan's power is huge, and now the Great Wei is in a turbulent and dangerous time, if he really surrenders to the enemy, then the Great Wei is in danger - but, what reason does Sima Yi have to surrender to the enemy?

He listened to Xiahouba's words, looked left and right, and saw that there were no outsiders, so he spoke: "Zhongquan (Xiahouba's words), are you confused?" Sima Yi is a lonely minister, how can you talk nonsense, if you want to help the Great Wei State, you can't do it? ”

Cao Zhen's tone is very stern, which doesn't mean that he doesn't believe Xiahouba, he just asks Xiahouba to be careful when he speaks, to be measured, to have a show, and to say everything clearly. But as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xiahou Ba's eyes roll and he fainted. Cao Zhen was anxious and distressed, and the medical officer was conditioning and blocking the news, just afraid of a military mutiny. His Majesty is still young, his prestige is insufficient, and the hundred officials are still waiting. Ji Han is like the sky, the offensive is fierce, first take Chang'an, then go down to Hedong, and now take away Luoyang, half of the Great Wei has been lost, and countless elite soldiers will die in battle. If Sima Yi rebels at this time, it will really be the death of the Great Wei.

However, for now, he has to wait for Xiahou Ba to wake up. Xiahou Ba didn't actually have any illness, he was just too weak, hungry and tired, injured and sick, and thought that Cao Zhen didn't want to believe him, so he fell into a coma in anger. He was dizzy for more than three hours before he woke up, fed some minced meat, and recovered his spirit slightly. People reported to Cao Zhen, and Cao Zhen came to see him. Xiahou Ba's spirit calmed down a little, and shouted, "General." ”

Cao Zhen waved his hand to let the people go down, but invited Huan Fan, a minister of heart revenge, who was a native of Peiguo (now Huaibei City). There is literary talent. At the end of Jian'an, he entered the Prime Minister's Mansion and co-wrote "Huang Lan" with Wang Xiang and others. At present, he is serving as a general under Cao Zhen, and he is known as a think tank.

Cao Zhen nodded and said to Xiahou: "Are you better?" Weren't you captured by Ji Han? How did you get back? ”

Xiahou Ba sighed: "It's hard to say. The general, Mr. Huan, was transferred from the general's command to Sima Yi's command at the end of the day, and he never understood what was going on. But I think. In any case, Sima Yi was appointed as the governor of the capital, in charge of the army, and I naturally worked hard to fight, not to live up to His Majesty's trust, and not to lose face to the general. He looked at Cao Zhen and saw that Cao Zhen was listening attentively, his face was calm. Obviously, his words won the heart of the general, so he continued, "But where did I think that Sima Yi insisted on going his own way, did not follow people's words, played tricks, and manipulated tens of thousands of generals of my Great Wei at will. I was about to cross the Yellow River, but he ordered his troops to retreat. Before the battle was fought, he fled far away, and gave up several counties to Ji Han in vain, I have been in the army for decades, and I have never fought such a battle. He's the manager. Let's just let it go, and it's okay to return to the state, after all, our strength has not been lost, but. But he had to fight back. Speaking of which, it was also great that he defeated Kebineng with one blow, but he turned to attack Liu Chan. In the hands of others, the task that was simply impossible to accomplish was so easy in his hands. ”

"This shows that Sima Yidi is really capable?" Cao Zhen wondered how Xiahou Ba spoke for Sima Yi.

But I heard Xiahou say domineeringly: "I also think he is very skilled." As a result, he attacked the city of Emperor Ji Han, and there were only a few thousand men and horses in the city, you know, the general. Since the Yulin army is just putting on a show, not to mention that Shaling City is not high, the pool is not deep, there are not many soldiers, and the general is not brave, and he is surrounded by attacks, he actually did not attack the city continuously, but gave up. Secretly come back to fight for reinforcements. So he sent me to the valley to pretend to be a lure to the enemy. He sealed the mouth of the valley with boulders on both sides. I call the heavens undesirable, and the earth unspiritual. was regarded as an outcast by him, caught by Li Yan, and suffered humiliation. I think, for the sake of Dawei, it is worth suffering no matter how much he suffers, anyway, Li Yan was surrounded in the valley, without food or drink, and he couldn't live for a few more days - however, this winning game was suddenly broken, and the Han lord who was besieged by him actually broke out, and Sima Yi actually left me and fled! General, I didn't blame him at that time, thinking that this was a battle between the two armies, but I didn't expect him to take away my Great Wei Jiangshan and eliminate dissent! ”

Cao Zhen listened to Xiahou Badi's words, he said that it was just a one-sided resentment, and it actually seemed to have some truth on the surface, but in fact, it could be explained by the discord between the generals and the different angles, there was no strength at all, so it was said that Sima Yi surrendered to the enemy, but it was still far behind. But when he heard the sentence of excluding dissidents, he couldn't help but move in his heart, Sima Yi and his own strength are quite important, as long as he has jurisdiction over the matter, he has to have the final say, and it is precisely because of this that Cao Zhen is even more worried about him.

"How do you say that he is taking away my Great Wei Jiangshan and excluding dissidents?"

"General, in the battle of Weinan, we didn't see Sima Yi clearly, although His Majesty was defeated, and he himself did not lose anything, but His Majesty did not doubt him. After that, he did not participate in the battle of Hedong, the battle of northern Xinjiang, I was put in a trap, he fled, I did not suspect him, and the most obvious is the battle of Luoyang, does the general know that he lost Luoyang in a few days? ”

"Didn't you fight for a few months?"

"For a few months, this is a false letter he put out, I am in front of the battle, I don't know anything. Damn, in the past few months, Zhuge Liang has been besieging but not attacking, and I don't know what tacit understanding he has with Sima Yi. Until two days ago, Zhuge Liang put Sima Zhao into the city. ”

"Sima Zhao? He's alive? Isn't it a legend that he died? ”

"That's the trick of the Sima family. I was locked up with Sima Zhao, he lived well, and he descended Ji Han! Zhuge Liang sent him into the city to deliver a letter, after sending it, general, do you believe it? With your powerful containment here, pulling Ji Han's most powerful Zhang Fei's men, and your subordinate Guo Huai blocking Zhao Yun and Pang De's goblin soldiers, in Luoyang, there is only one of Zhuge Liang's men. But the result? It took less than five days for Ji Han to attack Luoyang, the world's strongest city! General, do you know Sima Yi's skills, almost all the troops, will he only defend for so many days? If Sima Yi and Ji Han did not collude, I am afraid that no one in the world can believe it! ”

"Is that true?"

"There is no half-story."

"Isn't Guo Huaibu dangerous?" Guo Huai is Cao Zhen's descendant, and Cao Zhen can't help but worry.

"General, Lord Guo Huai Guo was left in Ji Han, there is no way to go to the sky, there is no door to enter the ground, there is no food and grass inside, there is no rescue outside, and he has already surrendered to Han."

"Huh?!" Cao Zhen felt as if he had an arm cut off, and he felt dizzy. If you say that at the beginning, Xiahou Ba still judged calmly what he said, but later, Cao Zhen really couldn't stand it. He looked at Huan Fan, and Huan Fan said: "General, Lord Xiahou is weak and extremely tired, let's go out and talk." ”

Cao Zhen nodded. The two came to the tent. Huan Fan said: "General, what do you think of this matter? ”

"Sima Yi can't stay." Only in front of Huan Fan, Cao Zhen did not hide anything.

Huan Fan knew that Cao Zhen and Sima Yi had a heart, but he was Cao Zhen's subordinate, so he was dedicated to Cao Zhen's sake.

"Yes, although Sima Yi doesn't seem to be really obedient to Ji Han at the moment, there must be one thing, he is not a single-minded Great Wei, he has his own mind, and he is systematically weakening the strength of the Great General step by step. At present, Cao Xiu is out of breath in the face of Sun Quan's army, the general is in Hanoi, but the lineage has been weakened repeatedly, Chen Qun is old, and he is concentrating on academics and legal codes, he is not good at scheming, and he is easy to be bullied. ”

"However, is there any benefit to Sima Yi doing this? If it is said that he conspired with Ji Han and wanted to submit to Ji Han, this is really hard to believe. What's more, this kind of defeat has a greater impact on him personally. ”

"My lord, Sima Yi's strength is not on the front line, but in the court."

"Court?"

"Yes, my lord, don't you think it's a little weird that Sima Yi has been reused for the third time? Why would His Majesty reuse him? Even put him out of prison, appointed him to guard the northern frontier, and appointed him as a minister of Tuogu? ”

This is also what Cao Zhen has never figured out, and this is also where Cao Zhen has always been wary of Sima Yi. He is also the minister of Tuogu, and he is the head of the minister of Tuogu, but he doesn't know the reason why Sima Yi is reused, which is really strange. Could it be that Sima Yi has nothing to help in the court?

"My lord, the villain suspects that Sima Yi is from Empress Dowager Guo." Huan Fan said.

Cao Zhen was silent. His understanding of the Empress Dowager Guo is definitely above others. On the surface, this woman does no harm. Speaking of which she was not noble, and she had no heirs, and she did not allow her brothers to control the government, she was strict with herself, and she had a very good reputation in Dawei. However, she is extremely shrewd, and Cao Pi became the emperor, and she made a lot of contributions in it. The Manchu Dynasty was civil and military, and there were not a few who supported her, Empress Zhen had a virtuous name in the harem, and her virtuous name was still above Empress Zhen. Even if Cao Rui suspected that she had something to do with the death of his biological mother, he still respectfully called her mother, kowtowed sooner or later, and did not dare to be the slightest light. The tyrannical Cao Pi was obedient to her back then, if she was Sima Yi's backstage, then I was afraid that this level above the court would not be easy. If Sima Yi is the party of Empress Dowager Guo, then all this seems to be vaguely explained, but is this matter true or false, if it is true, if you want to get rid of Sima Yi, I am afraid that even if Your Majesty agrees, you will not be able to do it.

"General, if you want to get rid of Sima Yi, you must be steady, accurate, and ruthless, and you must make Your Majesty make up your mind, and you can't be as General Xiahouba said, 'Definitely', 'Absolutely', if there is no drama, it will increase Your Majesty's suspicions, but you can't make Your Majesty's determination. And now, if you want to get rid of Sima Yi, you must use thunderous means, if you have nothing to do, you don't move, and suddenly make a move, and calm down in one fell swoop, then Dawei will not have a heart disease, and there will be no major turmoil. How to operate, let's think about it. ”