Although he didn't understand what Sima Yi said, Cao Rui naturally believed that Sima Yi must have his own idea.
For Sima Yi, Cao Rui still wants to use him, but at the same time he is also very afraid.
But now, he must rely on Sima Yi.
"Ai Qing!" Cao Rui said calmly: "Now that the Wei Dynasty is in danger, I ask Ai Qing to help me."
Sima Yi saluted and said: "This matter is not difficult.
Zhuge is determined to contain our army. As long as our army postpones its attack on Wu, the Han army will retreat soon!"
"Is this true?"
Cao Rui couldn't believe it and asked: "Hongnong is the gateway to Luoyang. Now that the Han army has captured it, how can it be easily surrendered?"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Sima Yi said: "I want Zhuge Liang to take the initiative to withdraw Hongnong's troops.
Naturally, it is impossible to achieve...but..." He paused and then said: "But if our army gathers a large army and intends to attack Hongnong,
Now that Liu Chan is far away in the Western Regions, Zhuge Liang naturally does not dare to hold on to the city."
"Oh???" Cao Rui seemed to think there was some truth.
Liu Chan went to the Western Regions and took away 200,000 infantry and cavalry. Although the Han Dynasty had added a lot of new troops due to the re-population in recent years, Liu Chan not only took away 200,000 infantry and cavalry, but also took away the Han Dynasty's large number of soldiers. Some generals.
At this time, the war between Han and Wei broke out.
Zhuge Liang, do you dare?
......
Five days later.
Hongnong Prefecture.
"Report!"
A small colonel quickly rushed into the prefect's mansion. As soon as he entered the house, he hurriedly said: "General, the Wei army is coming."
"Wei Jun?" Wu Yi was stunned.
"How many people are here?"
"Countless." said the principal.
"Got it!" Wu Yi nodded. After the principal left, he turned to look at Xiahou Ba and asked, "General Xiahou, what do you think of this matter?"
Xiahou Ba surrendered to the Han Dynasty for the first time. He has been following Wu Yi these days and is now the deputy general of Hongnong County.
After hearing this, he thought for a moment,
Said: "It must be Sima Yi who is here."
"Sima Yi?" Wu Yi was stunned for a moment.
"Yes!" Xiahou Ba nodded: "Sima Yi gave advice to the Emperor of Wei earlier.
Now that the main force of the Han army is marching westward, Prime Minister Zhuge is cautious and will not dare to send troops easily. This is a great opportunity to regain compound fertilizer."
"This time the old general quickly captured Hongnong;" Xiahou said domineeringly: "Hongnong is the gateway to Luoyang, so the emperor of the Wei Dynasty must be nervous. Now that the Wei Dynasty can conquer those who are good at fighting, Sima has one ear."
Wu Yi also nodded, he recognized Xiahou Ba's words.
The importance of Hongnong to Cao Wei is probably understood by ordinary people. Once Hongnong is captured by the Han army, Luoyang will be under the attack of the Han army.
"Then..." Wu Yi asked again: "If Sima Yi comes to attack, what will our army do?"
"This -" Xiahou Ba hesitated. At present, Hongnong's Han army, plus the surrendered troops, totaled less than 30,000 people.
Although the city of Hongnong is high and the walls are deep, it is by no means a place to be defended for a long time.
If Sima Yi comes to attack, Xiahou Ba is really worried.
"Can't our army stop Sima Yi?" Wu Yi asked.
"That's not necessarily true..." Xiahou Ba said, smiling: "If the Prime Minister can send more reinforcements in time, Hongnong may be able to be defended."
Wu Yi fell into silence.
Because he knew very well that at this time, the Han Dynasty still had reinforcements to send,
The 35,000 people he took away this time were all the soldiers and horses that the Han Dynasty could mobilize now.
Also, the emperor is now marching to the west.
The Han Dynasty was not ready for a large-scale battle with Cao Wei.
March 2, the fourth year of the Han Dynasty (AD 243).
Chang'an.
Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Prime Minister!" Yang Yi said anxiously: "Sima Yi besieged Hongnong, and General Wu may not be able to withstand it."
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly, but did not speak.
Yang Yi said again: "If Cao Wei takes advantage of the situation and uses troops to attack my Han Dynasty..."
Yang Yi is very worried.
Early this morning, Wu Yi sent a message saying that Cao Wei's general Sima Yi personally led an army of 100,000 to attack Hongnong. Wu Yi was leading his army to resist desperately, but the Wei army's offensive was fierce. Wu Yi was worried that the war would be protracted and the Han army would be outnumbered and unable to resist the Wei army.<
/p>
If the Wei army defeated Hongnong, would Sima Yi take the opportunity to attack Guanzhong?
Just when Yang Yi was frowning, Zhuge Liang said: "Send people to Daijun quickly to inform Wei Yan and order him to attack Youzhou."
"???" Yang Yi was suddenly shocked.
At this time, you still want Wei Yan to send troops to attack Youzhou?
"Order Ma Dai to leave Huguan and attack Wei County!"
"Prime Minister!" Yang Yi's eyes widened.
What kind of confusion is the Prime Minister making? This means he wants to attack Wei in a big way.
But, does the big man really have the confidence now?
"There is no need to panic, Mr. Wei -" Zhuge Liang said calmly: "Sima Yi must have thought that I was being cautious and did not dare to start a war with Cao Wei without authorization when the emperor was marching westward."
"Prime Minister, then..." Yang Yi was a little suspicious.
"The main force of our army is in the Western Region, so naturally we cannot break out a full-scale war with Cao Wei..." Zhuge Liang said calmly: "But we can scare Sima Yi."
"Tell Liao Hua and Chen Dao to send 10,000 people each to support Hongnong."
"No!" Yang Yi responded, and then left the Prime Minister's Mansion.
...
One month later.
The entire Central Plains was panicked.
Luoyang was even more shaken by both the government and the public.
Because this month, the Wei Dynasty was full of wars. First, Shanggu fell half a month ago and was captured by Han general Wei Yan in a surprise attack. After Wei Yan captured Shanggu, he led his army south to besiege Yuyang without stopping.
On the other side, Ma Dai led 30,000 troops out of Huguan to attack Wei County.
In addition, 20,000 Han troops from Hedong and Tongguan rushed to the aid of Hongnong, which blocked the general Sima Yi in Hongnong.
"Your Majesty!"
"Move the capital!"
"It will be too late if we don't move the capital."
Cui Lin couldn't bear it anymore. After the fall of Hongnong, he proposed to move the capital to Xudu, but the emperor was dissuaded because General Sima Yi returned to Beijing.
Cao Rui was also panicked.
I originally thought that Zhuge Liang would not dare to break out a full-scale war with the Wei Dynasty because Liu Chan was far away in the Western Regions, but now it seems that this Zhuge Liang is not cautious at all, but is as bold as a tiger.
Outside Hongnong City.
Wei Jun's tent.
Sima Yi also had a frown on his face. The various battle reports that kept coming in made him miserable. Is Zhuge Liang going to launch a war to destroy Wei?
"Edict from the Emperor!"
Just when Sima Yi was feeling worried, a sudden singing and shouting outside the tent woke him up from his meditation. When she looked up, a eunuch walked in from outside.
"General!" said the eunuch, "Your Majesty has a decree to ask the army to return to Beijing quickly to discuss the matter of moving the capital."
"Move the capital?" Sima Yi paused.
It happens day by day. Today we have to move the capital, and tomorrow we have to move the capital.
Sima Yi was really speechless.
What is this Cao family like?
Do you always want to move the capital?
Sima Yi was very worried, but the emperor's edict had been issued, so he naturally did not dare to delay. The attack on Hongnong could only be temporarily stopped, and he rushed back to Luoyang overnight.
April 16.
Luoyang Imperial Palace.
Imperial Study Room.
There are three people in the room, the emperor Cao Rui, the great Sima Cao Shuang, and the great general Sima Yi.
Cao Rui glanced at the two of them, and then said coldly: "Two dear friends, let's talk about whether we should move the capital now or fight the Han army decisively."
Cao Rui is really worried. Shanggu has been lost, Yuyang and Wei counties are besieged, and Hongnong cannot be attacked for a long time. If the Han army is allowed to be so wantonly, the Wei Dynasty will really be doomed.
Nowadays, most of the civil and military officials in the imperial court support moving the capital.
But Cao Rui didn't want to move the capital, because he also knew that moving the capital was a big deal for an empire. If Wei really moved the capital at this time, it would make Zhuge Liang feel that Wei was afraid, and maybe the Han army really Then attack the Wei Dynasty in an all-out way.
Cao Shuang took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, don't panic. We, the Wei Dynasty, still have more than 300,000 soldiers. Even if Western Shu attacks all-out, what should we, the Wei Dynasty, have to fear?"
Cao Rui also had the idea of a decisive battle with the Han Dynasty.
Currently, Cao Wei has a decent number of soldiers. As Cao Shuang said, Cao Wei currently has more than 300,000 soldiers, of which 100,000 are currently attacking Hongnong. The remaining 200,000 are 60,000 garrisoned in Jingzhou and 50,000 garrisoned in Yangzhou. , 50,000 troops were stationed in Jizhou, 20,000 troops were stationed in Luoyang, and 20,000 Xuzhou troops were stationed outside Hefei.
"Your Majesty, no!"
Sima Yi retorted: "It is not appropriate for the Wei Dynasty to start an all-out war with Western Shu at this time."
As soon as Sima Yi finished speaking, Cao Shuang asked: "What does that general have to say? It's not that we, the Wei Dynasty, are going to start an all-out war with Xi Shu, but that Zhuge Liang is going to start an all-out war with us, the Wei Dynasty. Shanggu has been lost, and Hongnong is also Lost it, now Ma Dai is attacking Wei County, and Wei Yan is attacking Yuyang."
Cao Shuang has always disliked Sima Yi, but now the emperor appoints him as a general.
Seeing the two people arguing, Cao Rui remained silent.
Sima Yi said: "If there is an all-out war with Western Shu at this time, our Wei Dynasty will face war with Western Shu and Soochow at the same time... Can we still fight?"
Sima Yi could see clearly that the Wei Dynasty was now weak. If he wanted to change the situation, he could only go south instead of west. Xi Shu could not move lightly now.
However, Western Shu is now attacking the Wei Dynasty from several directions. Cao Rui asked: "If we don't start a full-scale war with Western Shu, what strategy should we use to retreat the Shu army?"
This is the crux of the matter.
"Peace talks!" Sima Yi said affirmatively.
"Let's talk again!" Cao Shuang said angrily: "Now that our army is weak, how can we negotiate with Xi Shu?"
"Hahaha!" Sima Yi said with a smile: "Don't worry, Great Sima. Yi is sure that Zhuge Liang will not dare to go into full-scale war with me, Great Wei."
"Nonsense!" Cao Shuang retorted: "Zhuge Liang did not dare to start a full-scale war, so Wei Yan outside Yuyang City, Ma Dai outside Weijun City, and Wu Yi in Hongnong City were not Han army ears?"
Cao Rui also looked at Sima Yi.
Sima Yi said calmly: "This is Zhuge Liang's flaw."
"Oh???" Cao Rui asked in confusion: "What's the flaw?"
"The main forces of Western Shu are all in the Western Region;" Sima Yi said: "This time our army attacks Hongnong, Zhuge Liang naturally cannot retreat easily, but if he does not retreat, our army will definitely fight against Hongnong."
"If Hongnong is defeated, it will affect the morale of the Shu army."
"Now Zhuge Liang just wants to use a strong stance to force Wei to negotiate peace."
"???"
Both Cao Rui and Cao Shuang were a little puzzled, saying that now that the Han army had the upper hand, they could continue to fight the war with the Wei Dynasty, so there was no need for peace talks.
But Sima Yi said again: "Because once we, the Wei Dynasty, raise an army to defeat the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang will be unable to stop it."
"How to say?" Cao Rui asked.
"Your Majesty!" Sima Yi asked back: "The Shu army now has more than 500,000 soldiers. Subtracting the main force of 200,000, there are only more than 300,000 left. The military strength is comparable to that of the Wei Dynasty."
"Yeah!" Cao Rui nodded slightly.
As the emperor of the Wei Dynasty, he was naturally very concerned about the affairs of the Han Dynasty. Of course he also knew the current strength of the Han army.
Sima Yi added: "But the Western Shu territory starts from Jiaozhou in the south and reaches Daijun in the north. The battle line stretches for thousands of miles. How can these more than 300,000 people break out into a full-scale war with the Wei Dynasty?"
"Before our army attacked Hefei, Zhuge Liang sent troops to Hongnong. His purpose was naturally to contain our army, make it difficult for the Wei Dynasty to take care of the north and south, and keep Hefei in the hands of Soochow." Sima Yi paused and then said: "If we, the Wei Dynasty, use the excuse of abandoning Hefei to re-establish an alliance with Soochow, and then fully confront the Shu army, what can Zhuge Liang do to stop us?"
"It is absolutely impossible to give up Hefei;" Cao Shuang said angrily: "Once Hefei is no longer in the hands of the Wei Dynasty, the Soochow navy can go north at any time;" Then he said to Cao Rui: "Your Majesty, this plan is absolutely impossible."
Of course, Cao Rui also knew the importance of Hefei, otherwise he wouldn't have tried every means to regain Hefei.
But Sima Yi said: "Hefei is certainly important, but if it is compared with the threat from Xishu, which one is more serious, your Majesty does not need to elaborate on it."
Cao Rui was stunned for a moment, what Sima Yi said seemed to make sense.
"Your Majesty!" Sima Yi continued: "Now that we, the Wei Dynasty, are resisting the enemy on both sides, how can we be invincible?" He sighed, shook his head and said, "Our army attacked Hefei, but the Han army disturbed my retreat. To resist the Han army, the Wu army will gather and march northward... Alas..."
"In the past, Wei was strong and Han and Wu were weak. Even if Han and Wu allied forces, we, the Wei Dynasty, would not be afraid. But now, if Han and Wu are allowed to ally, we, the Wei Dynasty, will surely perish."
Cao Rui nodded inexplicably, as Sima Yi's words seemed to remind him.
The Wei Dynasty has always regarded itself as a powerful country.
They felt that both Han and Wu were weak countries. Even though Western Shu occupied Yiyongliang and merged four states, many people in the Wei Dynasty still felt that the Wei Dynasty was the strongest country among the three kingdoms because the Wei Dynasty occupied the richest prefectures and counties in the world. .
It’s just that this is just self-deception.
"General!" Cao Rui suddenly said: "If I love you, what strategy should I, the Wei Dynasty, use to resolve the current crisis?"
"Return to Your Majesty!" Sima Yi said: "We can only unite Wu to fight against Han."
"Now that Xishu is strong, it is a serious threat to both Wei and Soochow. If the development of Xishu is not curbed in time..." Sima Yi sighed again before saying: "Give Liu Chan a few more In the year, even if we, the Wei Dynasty, unite with Soochow, we may not be able to stop the Han army. By that time, Liu Chan will definitely launch a unification war."
"Yes!" Cao Rui nodded in agreement.
After all, he also stayed in Chang'an for half a year. He met Liu Chan several times during that half year, so he naturally got to know Liu Chan.
Liu Adou has ambitions for the world.
......
One month later.
Chang'an.
Weiyang Palace.
He Yan, the servant of Cao Wei, bowed to the Han Crown Prince Liu Chen and said: "The foreign minister He Yan pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Then he bowed to the Prime Minister Zhuge Liang.
"Your envoy is exempt from the courtesy!" Liu Chen raised his hand slightly.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
This is etiquette. Now that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is marching westward, as the envoy of Cao Wei, he naturally has to pay a visit to the prince of the Han Dynasty.
After the ceremony, He Yan raised his hands to Liu Chen and said, "Your Highness, Han and Wei are originally friendly countries, but now innocent soldiers from your country have invaded our territory of Wei. I wonder what your Highness is planning?"
These words seemed to be spoken to the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty, but in fact they were said to Zhuge Liang, because Zhuge Liang is now the talker of the Han Dynasty.
Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "He Shizhong, why do you say that I, a big man, committed an innocent crime?"
"You, Cao Wei, are allowed to raise an army of 100,000 to attack Hongnong," Zhuge Liang said coldly, "but are we not allowed to attack your Cao Wei city?"
"Hahaha!" He Yan said with a smile: "Prime Minister, Hongnong County belongs to the Great Weizhou County. Your country took advantage of the Wei Dynasty's southern expedition to take advantage of it. Why did the Prime Minister say that the Great Wei Dynasty invaded Hanzhou County?"
In this world, who can I ask to reason with?
After He Yan finished speaking, he felt very helpless.
Whether it is Hongnong, Hefei, or Shanggu, these are all prefectures and counties of the Wei Dynasty. However, Hongnong and Shanggu are now captured by the Han Dynasty, and Hefei is captured by Soochow.
It was obviously the Han Dynasty and the Eastern Wu who raised troops to invade the country, but now, it seems that all the mistakes were caused by the Wei itself.
Alas, a weak country has no diplomacy.
You see, as soon as He Yan finished speaking, Zhuge Liang scolded him in a deep voice: "He Yan, why do you say that you have no father and no king? Your ancestors were all officials of the Han Dynasty. It can be seen that all the states and counties in the world are owned by the Han Dynasty. How can the Han Dynasty take advantage of it? Say?"
"Prime Minister!" He Yan was about to cry. This time he was ordered to go on a mission to Chang'an. He knew that this mission would not be easy to handle even before he set off.
However, he still has to come.
Why?
Because the current emperor of the Wei Dynasty, Cao Rui, did not like him and felt that he was vain and unreliable, and he was never reused. If the great Sima Cao Shuang had not recommended him as a minister this time, he would still have to waste his time in Luoyang.
"It is an established fact that Han, Wei and Wu divide the world into three parts." He Yan saluted Zhuge Liang and said, "Although your country has inherited Zuo, the great Han state, it is actually no longer the great Han Dynasty it used to be."
Naturally, Zhuge Liang didn't like hearing He Yan's words. He said in a deep voice: "How come He Shizhong is talking nonsense? We, the Han Dynasty, have been a country for 400 years. It was passed down to Emperor Xian. Later, the Cao family conspired to usurp the Han Dynasty. After my late Emperor Zhongshan, Prince Jing, returned to the Han Dynasty. How can the great Han Dynasty change from the great Han Dynasty it once was?"
As soon as Zhuge Liang finished speaking, He Yan was speechless. What people said in his heart was that Zhuge was eloquent, and it was true.
Of course, Zhuge Liang was right.
The Wei Dynasty originally usurped the power of the Han Dynasty, and now the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, is known to the world as the queen of Zhongshan Prince Jing. It is justifiable for him to inherit the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty.
What's more, now the Han Dynasty is strong and Cao Wei is weak.
He Yan immediately apologized and said with a smile: "Prime Minister! I came to Chang'an for this banquet, not to argue with the Prime Minister, but for the peaceful coexistence of Han and Wei."
"Oh???" Zhuge Liang smiled when he heard this and said: "I wonder how your country plans to live in peace with my big Han?"
"Prime Minister!" He Yan said: "Han and Wei have already formed an alliance. I, the Wei Dynasty, have adhered to the alliance and have never taken the initiative to attack the Han Dynasty. However, your country has raised troops wantonly. If your country continues to force you, I, the Wei Dynasty, will fight with all our strength in order to protect ourselves. ;" He paused and then said: "If this is true, even if we, the Wei Dynasty, are defeated in the end and the country is destroyed, the Han Dynasty will definitely suffer a heavy blow."
"We, the Wei Dynasty, currently have more than 300,000 soldiers and armors. Although your country has about 500,000 soldiers and armors, it still has 200,000 main troops. Now it is thousands of miles away from the emperor of your country in the Western Regions;" He Yan looked towards Zhuge Liang asked: "May I ask, Prime Minister Zhuge, if the troops in your country are enough to annex our great Wei?"
"If the Prime Minister still insists on going his own way and invades the city of Wei Dynasty arbitrarily;" He Yan sighed, and then said affirmatively: "Even if our monarchs and ministers of Wei Dynasty do not want to go to war, in order to protect themselves, they will have to raise an army that will overwhelm the country and fight against your country. Fight to the death."
He Yan knew that in the debate, he was definitely not Zhuge Liang's opponent.
Rather than having a useless debate, it's better to show your cards directly.
This is the current situation.
If the big man wants to continue fighting, Wei has no choice. He can't just surrender and let the big man bully him. If he really wants to continue fighting like this.
Prime Minister Zhuge, can you guarantee that you, the great Han, can defeat the great Wei?
......
......
This chapter has been completed!