Chapter 38 Sima Yi’s poisonous plan
King Cao Cao of Wei suddenly withdrew, frightening all the ministers of Cao and Wei present.
To show their loyalty, they all got up from their seats and all wanted to come to visit Cao Cao.
But Cao Cao, who was sitting on the throne after vomiting blood, glanced at them lightly.
After Cao Cao glanced at him, all the loyal actions of nearly a hundred Cao Wei officials came to an abrupt end.
"I haven't died yet, why are you so worried?"
Cao Cao had never seen any big storms in his life, although just now when he realized that the two cities of Xiangfan were about to be lost,
The excitement and physical discomfort caused him to vomit a mouthful of blood.
But after spitting out the blood of depression that was pressing on his heart, Cao Cao's mind instantly became clear.
He knew that the more critical the moment, the less he could panic.
After regaining his composure, Cao Cao stopped the restless officials with just one look.
Then he signaled Dong Zhao to pass Xu Huang's memorial to the other important ministers in the tent for viewing.
Those who can be relied upon as important ministers by Cao Cao are naturally those who are astute.
When these intelligent ministers of Cao and Wei saw Xu Huang's memorial and contacted Cao Cao's violent reaction just now, they
They soon understood the stakes.
After Cao Cao saw the important ministers in the tent, their faces showed clear expressions of understanding.
After calming down his breath, he said in a heavy tone,
"I guess this must be Yunchang's plan to lure the enemy. Although Gongming has generals and strategies, he will not be able to defeat the enemy if Yunchang lures the enemy.
If Gongming is defeated, where will our army go next? Do you have any good strategies to offer?"
After Cao Cao finished speaking these words, he glanced around at the hundreds of courtiers present with a pair of fearful tiger eyes.
But after he glanced around, he saw that no one in the entire large tent came out to offer advice.
This scene made the old Cao Cao feel sad.
Thirty years have passed,
Unexpectedly, today, he who used to boast that he had a lot of talents under his command would one day feel the sadness of the lack of talents in the army.
At this time, Cao Cao regretted his decision to kill Xun Yu a few years ago. If Wen Ruoru had been there, Gongda would not have died of depression in the end.
With these two uncles and nephews here, why worry about having no one to make suggestions for them?
Just when Cao Cao was feeling sad, in the quiet tent, someone finally came out to give advice.
This man had a majestic appearance and eyes like eagles. He was none other than Sima Yi and Sima Zhongda, who were the prime ministers at that time.
After Sima Yi left work, he bowed deeply to Cao Cao and said:
"Don't worry, Your Highness, even if General Gongming is defeated and even the entire army is annihilated, the two cities of Xiangfan will not be captured by Guan Yu."
Hearing what Sima Yi said, Cao Cao's eyes lit up.
Sima Yi grasped the focus of Cao Cao's concern as soon as he spoke.
Does Cao Cao really care about the life and death of Xu Huang's army?
This is not the case.
Cao Cao occupies all the most sacred land in the world and has strong national power. The life and death of tens of thousands of soldiers will not make Cao Cao feel much heartache.
What Cao Cao was most worried about was that after Guan Yu defeated Xu Huang, he would take advantage of the opportunity to seize the second city of Xiangfan.
However, Sima Yi now believed that even if Guan Yu defeated Xu Huang, he would not capture the two cities of Xiangfan. This judgment made Cao Cao interested.
"What does Zhongda mean? Please elaborate."
Cao Cao motioned for Sima Yi to continue.
Sima Yi did not hesitate, he expressed his analysis one by one,
"After Guan Yu defeated General Gongming, he did not take the two cities of Xiangfan, not because he was unable to do so, but because he was unwilling to do so."
"It can be seen from General Gongming's memorial that Guan Yu already knew about Sun Quan's alliance with His Highness.
In this case, Guan Yu is worried that Jingzhou will suffer losses, and I guess he already has the intention of withdrawing his troops."
"Guan Yu and Liu Bei, although they are called monarchs and ministers, are actually brothers."
"Guan Yu is the most affectionate person in the world. Liu Bei entrusted him with Jingzhou to guard it. Guan Yu cares about Liu Bei's friendship and will not sit idly by and ignore Jingzhou's losses."
"Guan Yu had the intention to retreat, but instead he used a trick to lure the enemy and wanted to encircle and annihilate General Gongming's troops. This was Guan Yu's plan to retreat in order to advance."
"Guan Yu is a famous general in the world. He knows very well that General Gongming's troops are on the side of Fancheng. If he is not defeated first, his army will not be able to safely retreat to Jiangling."
"The Second City of Xiangfan, after being besieged by Guan Yu for many months, the city defenses have long been in dilapidated condition.
If Guan Yu captures these two cities, he will have few troops left to defend them.
If he retains too many troops, he will lack the strength to resist Sun Quan's army.
Guan Yu will not sacrifice a small thing for a piece of chicken ribs and disregard the safety of Jingzhou."
"Therefore, I predict that once General Gongming is defeated, Guan Yu will quickly retreat back to Jiangling to guard Jingzhou, and he will not get involved in the two cities of Xiangfan."
After hearing Sima Yi's analysis, the worried look on Cao Cao's face gradually dissipated. He took a deep look at Sima Yi and said,
Then he sighed,
"Zhongda is smart, bright and wise, and has extraordinary talent, which is beyond the reach of others."
If others heard Cao Cao praising him like this, they might feel very proud.
But Sima Yi is such a thoughtful person. He seemed to hear some fear in Cao Cao's words.
This frightened him so much that he quickly lowered his body, not daring to show any proud look on his face.
Seeing that the biggest knot in his heart was solved by Sima Yi, Cao Cao leaned forward and stared at Sima Yi with his tiger eyes and said,
"Since Zhongda can predict Yun Chang's opportunity, Zhongda should already have a plan in his mind as to what to do next."
Cao Cao spoke with certainty, as if he was stating an extremely certain fact.
Cao Cao's words made Sima Yi break into a cold sweat.
Sima Yi felt that now, he seemed to be completely seen through by Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's power as the world's hegemon was now poured into him without reservation, which made Sima Yi tremble with fear.
He didn't understand why Cao Cao was afraid of him.
But now that Cao Cao has taken the initiative to ask for advice, Sima Yi has to answer, otherwise Cao Cao will definitely think that he is hiding in secret to watch his defeat.
Sima Yi was facing the huge pressure released by Cao Cao,
Then he said slowly,
"I believe that Your Highness will never allow Guan Yu to return to Jiangling safely."
"Guan Yu has ten thousand enemies, and Jiangling is a fortified city in the world.
If Guan Yu is allowed to retreat safely to Jiangling City, this will undoubtedly be letting the tiger return to the mountain.
With Guan Yu's military strategy, as long as he returns his troops, Sun Quan's surprise attack on Jingzhou will definitely fail in the end.
After he defeated Sun Quan in the future, he would lead his army north again.
By that time, the defenses of the two cities of Xiangfan and Xiangfan are in ruins, and our army will no longer have a barrier to prevent Guan Yu's troops from advancing on the Central Plains."
"Therefore, Your Highness's most urgent task now is to send another general and lead his elite troops to rush south to Fancheng.
The wings trailing behind Guan Yu's army kept harassing them, making it impossible for them to return to Jiangling in the short term."
"In addition, Your Highness can send an envoy to urge Sun Quan to send troops quickly.
Let him take advantage of Guan Yu's army before it retreats, and seize the two cities of Gong'an and Jiangling in one fell swoop, cutting off Guan Yu's retreat."
"In this way, under attack from both inside and outside, Guan Yu will be defeated!
Your Highness’s serious worries will no longer exist.”
After Sima Yi expressed his inner suggestion, he felt very uneasy.
He believed that the strategy he was offering now was the most beneficial to Cao Cao, but he didn't know what Cao Cao would think.
After listening to Sima Yi's plan, Cao Cao remained silent for a long time.
After a long time, he sighed and said,
"With Zhongda's plan, Yun Chang will cut off the road to death."
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!