In July of the eighth year of Jianxing, Cao Rui, despite the opposition of all the officials in the court, sent three secret edicts from Luoyang to three places.
The first letter was sent to Hefei, and then through a secret channel in Hefei, it was delivered to Yinfan, who was thrown into Wu.
The second letter was sent to Sima Yi, the great hussar general who guarded Yuzhou and Jingzhou.
The secret edict ordered Sima Yi to lead his army up the Han River from Shangyong and meet the general Cao Zhen in Hanzhong.
After Sima Yi read the secret edict, he sighed: "Your Majesty is very resourceful, but his military strategy is slightly lacking."
At that time, Liu Bei sent his pretenders Liu Feng and Meng Da down the river from Hanzhong to seize Shangyong, in order to attack Xiangyang from north to south with Guan Yu of Nanjun, and capture the entire Jingzhou in their hands.
If Guan Yu could wait another half a year, first let Liu Bei establish a foothold in Han Dynasty, and then advance from the north to the south, or Soochow would not betray its alliance with Shu.
So the current situation in the world cannot be said to be completely different.
Two years ago, Meng Da wanted to take Shangyong and rebelled. Sima Yi led his army to march 800 miles in eight days, raided Shangyong, and besieged the city for sixteen days before beheading Meng Da.
How could Sima Yi not notice the waterway between Shangyong and Hanzhong if he could become the hussar general of Wei?
This waterway is extremely dangerous and is a road with no human habitation at all.
What's more important is that it's okay to go down the river and it's barely passable.
But if you want to go upstream, it will be very difficult, not to mention there are many dangerous places.
I heard that the Shu people also built a fortress and a beacon tower at the entrance of the Han River in Hanzhong, and soldiers patrolled and guarded them day and night.
If we really follow what the secret edict says, lead a large army upstream, and if we return with a great defeat, we will still have a way to return. It is a big deal if we go without ever returning.
Now there are only two paths before Sima Yi.
One is not to obey the imperial edict, but to persuade the emperor to withdraw his order by convincing him of the difficulties of conquering Shu.
Not to mention that before he was sent to lead the army, he went to Liu Ye specifically to ask for his evaluation of Cao Rui.
Even Sima Yi himself was a wily and calculating person.
How could one not think of the reason why Cao Rui was so anxious to conquer Shu?
Coupled with the flashy crony case, Sima Yi, as the representative of the Three Rivers Land family, became even more cautious.
How could he go against Cao Rui's wishes at this juncture?
So this other way is to lead the army westward according to the meaning of the edict.
Sima Yi thought for a long time, and then slowly gave the order to start building ships.
Cao Rui's third secret edict was delivered to Cao Zhen of Chang'an.
When Cao Zhen learned that the emperor had agreed to the proposal to conquer Shu, he was overjoyed and immediately summoned his generals to discuss sending troops.
At that time, Xiahou Ba guarded Yuezhi City, Qin Lang guarded Qian County, Du Xi guarded Yicheng, Cao Zhen was in charge of Chang'an, and his subordinates included Guo Huai, the governor of Yongzhou, Xian Yufu, the general of the auxiliary state, Fei Yao, the rear general, and Dai Ling, the protector of the Shu expedition.
All of them can be regarded as momentary heroes.
There are two special people present here.
One is named Wang Chong and the other is named Guo Mo.
Wang Chong was originally Li Yan's Yamen general, but later he was jealous of Li Yan and surrendered to Wei in fear. At the same time, he also brought the blueprint of Qu Yuanli to Cao Wei.
Fortunately, Cao Rui has been constantly fighting and compromising with the aristocratic family in the past few years, so Quyuanli has not been promoted as strongly as Dahan.
But Cao Wei had a department directly controlled by the government, which was the official villages.
Although since the early Huang Dynasty, the official villages in the interior have been continuously occupied by aristocratic families and local wealthy families, and have been severely damaged.
However, in the border areas, the official villages were still under the direct control of the imperial court because they had to provide military supplies.
Before the Battle of Longyou, the food in Guanzhong was emptied out in advance by a certain country rogue, making it difficult for Cao Rui's army of hundreds of thousands to move forward.
There was simply no way to launch a timely counterattack against Longyou.
Fortunately, thanks to the Quyuan plow brought by the locals, Cao Wei's official settlement quickly provided enough food for the hundreds of thousands of Wei troops in Guanzhong in just two years.
This is why Cao Rui was able to find the confidence to investigate the "flashy crony case" and hit the family from the side despite two consecutive defeats.
Therefore, Feng Tibi subjectively deceived Cao Rui once, but objectively, he helped Cao Rui again.
I don’t know if this is the butterfly effect of history or the strong inertia of history.
But no matter what the reason was, the blueprints Wang Chong brought over really helped Cao Rui.
So Cao Rui found a reason for him to be granted the title of Marquis within the Pass and was given the title of General with some miscellaneous title.
As for Guo Mo, he also defected to Cao Wei from Shu.
What he brought over was the news that Meng Da wanted to rebel.
It was precisely because of his advance notice that Sima Yi got valuable reaction time.
Meng Da, a real slave with the third surname, was finally beheaded when he returned to the Han or surrendered to Wu again and was preparing to adopt a fourth surname.
In addition, Cao Wei had a rule for those who came to surrender, that is, those who surrendered from Shu were asked to guard the borders of Wei and Shu, and those who surrendered from Wu were asked to guard the borders of Wei and Wu.
Meng Da and Han Zong were all like this.
Therefore, when Wei was preparing to attack Shu, it was most normal for Wang Chong and Guo Mo to be here.
Wang Chong was impatient. When he heard that the general wanted to personally lead the army to attack Shu, he felt very anxious and was about to speak.
Unexpectedly, he was kicked secretly.
He turned his head subconsciously, but Guo Mo beside him lowered his eyes and said nothing, as if the kick just now was not his.
Only a slight turn of his eyes and a glance here showed his attitude.
Wang Chong and Guo Mo were both descendants, and they were always ostracized by others intentionally or unintentionally. They naturally grew closer due to their sympathy for each other.
At this time, Wang Chong got Guo Mo's hint. Although he was not sure, he knew that Guo Mo had always been wise, so he swallowed back what he wanted to say.
After coming out of the General's Mansion, Wang Chong looked for an opportunity and quietly found Guo Mo.
"The road to Shu is difficult to walk. There are four roads from Guanzhong to Hanzhong, the Ziwu Valley and the Tangluo Road are the most difficult. Others don't know it, but you and I both know it."
"Now that the general wants to personally lead the army to Ziwu Valley, why didn't Mr. Cai just let me remind the general?"
Guo Mo had known that Wang Chong would come over. When he heard his question, he sighed, pointed at Wang Chong, and then pointed at himself:
"Others can mention it, but you and I can't."
When Wang Chong heard what Guo Mo said, he was immediately surprised, his heart skipped a beat, and at the same time he had some understanding, and a look of worry appeared on his face. "Just now we were in the General's Mansion, it was called a military meeting, but in fact it was just a rumor.
It’s just an edict from His Majesty.”
Guo Mo whispered, "If you mention the difficulty of entering Shu, in the eyes of others, you are deliberately trying to prevent the expedition to Shu."
When Guo Mo said this, he hesitated to speak, and finally gritted his teeth:
"At that time, I'm afraid I will be suspected and suspected of harboring my motherland."
Wang Chong's face turned pale.
At the same time, he raised his hands to Guo Mo with some fear: "If it weren't for you, I'm afraid that someone would already be under suspicion."
Guo Mo shook his head and smiled bitterly: "By helping you, I am also helping myself."
The two of them have a close relationship, and they are both from Shu. If Wang Chong is suspected, Guo Mo will have a hard time.
Wang Chong's expression darkened: "If the general really wants to lead a large army to attack Shu, then you and I will definitely be the vanguard."
Guo Mo nodded, "The Wei Dynasty already has this rule. Besides, you and I are familiar with Shu, so it is natural for us to be sent as the vanguard."
The two of them looked at each other and sighed.
It's just that they are all under the same roof and are inferior to others. In this situation, what can be done?
We sat there for a long time, but couldn't come up with any good ideas. In the end, Guo Mo could only comfort him:
"Let's take it one step at a time. I don't know. After the general entered Ziwu Valley, he saw that the road was difficult and he might change his mind."
Wang Chong sighed: "That's the only way."
As soon as Wang Chong left, Guo Mo went out again and came to the General's Mansion again.
Cao Zhen seemed to have known for a long time that Guo Mo would return and asked his servants to lead him directly into the inner hall.
"how?"
Cao Zhen sat on top and asked.
"Back to the general, Wang Chong indeed wants to dissuade the general from attacking Shu."
Guo Mo bowed his hands and said respectfully.
Cao Zhen sneered, "I have asked him before, when is the best time to launch an army to attack Shu? He bluntly said that the road to Shu is difficult, and it is best to wait until the Shu people are weak before trying to attack Shu."
He stared at Guo Mo, his eyes flashing coldly, "What did he tell you this time?"
"Returning to the General, Wang Chong said that the four roads from Guanzhong to Hanzhong, Xie Valley and the Old Road can barely march a large army, but Ziwu Valley and Tangluo Road are extremely dangerous and difficult, so it is not suitable for marching."
"So when he heard that the general wanted to lead his army to Ziwu Valley, he said bluntly that he couldn't do it."
Guo Mo told Cao Zhen everything Wang Chong said to him.
After hearing this, Cao Zhen's face lit up with anger: "In the past, he said that the only way to attack the Shu people is when they are weak. If the army doesn't come, when will the Shu people defeat themselves?"
"Now he says Ziwu Valley is not feasible. I think he just has selfish motives and doesn't want to conquer Shu!"
The year before last, Zhao Yun went through Xiegu. Later, when he was defeated, he burned the pavilion road to stop his pursuit. It is not clear whether it has been repaired now.
If it is not repaired and the army reaches halfway, it will have to turn back. Wouldn't it be a joke?
Even if it is repaired, once you get out of the Xie Valley, you will reach Nanzheng, where Zhuge Liang will definitely have heavy troops.
If the army is blocked and cannot leave the valley for a long time, then Sima Yi, who is going up the Han River, and the partial troops who are walking through the Ziwu Valley, will enter Hanzhong earlier than him.
At that time, leading the army by himself was in vain, but it only gave Sima Yi an advantage.
Although His Majesty did not hold the people responsible for the defeat in the Longyou Battle, Cao Zhen knew that he could not absolve himself of the blame.
But at that time, Sima Yi led the army to march 1,200 miles on the 8th to kill Mengda and put down the rebellion.
Comparing the two, Cao Zhen felt even more uneasy.
You know, the general is higher than the hussar general!
So this time, he naturally didn't want to let Sima Yi be more beautiful than before.
As for the second old road mentioned by Wang Chong, it's not like Cao Zhen has never walked it before. How did Wei Zhen get defeated and die? He knows it better than anyone else.
That was not the first time that he had gone the old way. In the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Zhen, as a partial general, had gone the old way and fought against the Shu general Wu Lan in Xia Bian.
Entering Hanzhong from the old route, you must pass through Yang'an Pass.
First, Cao Cao led the tiger generals and elite troops, but they could only retreat in front of such a powerful pass.
Later, Cao Zhen himself lost troops and generals on the old road.
What's more, how could Zhuge Liang be compared to Zhang Lu?
So he ruled out the old theory immediately.
Seeing Cao Zhen's hesitant expression, Guo Mo hesitated for a moment and then said carefully:
"General, what General Wang said actually has two points of truth. Among the four roads in Hanzhong, it is true that Xiegu and the old road are the easiest to walk..."
When Cao Zhen heard what Guo Mo said, he stood up and walked to Guo Mo, with a look of intimacy on his face:
"I know that you and he are both from Shu. It's understandable that you want to say something for your fellow countrymen."
"Just the fact that he doesn't agree to conquer Shu is enough to show that he still cares about Shu. You are different from him. I know your loyalty."
When Xia Houba led his elite troops to attack Yuezhi City on a snowy night, it was thanks to the wool.
Although the people of Shu did not refuse to sell woolen materials to the Wei Dynasty, the price was extremely expensive. It was said that it was several times higher than when it was sold to the state of Wu.
Let’s recall that the Shu people had planned to empty out the food in Guanzhong, which made the hundreds of thousands of troops mobilized from the ground unable to move.
Cao Zhen couldn't help but cursed in his heart: This Shu man is not only evil-hearted, but also the most treacherous!
The more he thought like this, the kinder he looked at Guo Mo.
In the past two years since Guo Mo was transferred to Guanzhong, he was able to find a way to get cheap woolen materials from the Shu people and supplied the Guanzhong army with a lot of things to keep out the cold.
For this alone, he has merit.
In addition, Guo Mo usually behaved in a low-key manner. Compared with Wang Chong who wanted to stop the invasion of Shu, Cao Zhen felt more disgusted with Wang Chong.
A look of sincerity and fear immediately appeared on Guo Mo's face: "I thank the general for his trust, little man!"
Cao Zhen nodded with satisfaction, comforted him a few more words, and then let him leave.