Five hundred and ninetieth chapters clean up Cao Cao
"Yan Liang has pacified Nanzhong and has now led his army back to Chengdu." Liu Ye repeated in a solemn tone.
Only at this time did Cao Cao dare to be sure that his ears had heard correctly and that the incredible news was indeed true.
However, how did Yan Liang accomplish this almost impossible thing?
Liu Zhang was wiped out in less than half a year, and now within a few months, Meng Huo was also wiped out, eliminating the danger of separatism in Nanzhong in one fell swoop.
Cao Cao asked himself, he could do these things, but he had no confidence in completing them in half a year.
Yan Liang did it.
"This thief has grown to such an extent. It's really unbelievable, unbelievable..."
Cao Cao sighed and fell into silence.
Not long after, Guo Jia, Xun You and other counselors arrived one after another after hearing the news. The word "surprise" was written on the face of every wise man.
Even as smart as Guo Jia, he never expected that Yan Liang would be able to sweep through Shu with such thunderous momentum and return to his army to go north so quickly.
"This Yan Liang is really amazing."
At this time, Guo Jia couldn't help but sigh sincerely. That sigh was full of respect for Yan Liang, his opponent.
There were a lot of discussions in the lobby, and the minds of all the civil and military officials were cast into a shadow.
Many people even felt a little afraid.
"Prime Minister, our army has repeatedly attacked Jiameng and has been exhausted. Now Yan Liang is returning to the north with the intention of wiping out Meng Huo. His strength is really difficult to compete with. In the opinion of my subordinates, it is better to withdraw the troops and horses first.
Return to Hanzhong, sit back and observe the situation before making a decision."
Among the advisers, someone finally persuaded them to retreat. The person who made the suggestion was none other than Yang Fu.
During Cao Cao's war to pacify the Xiliang princes, Yang Fu, who was born in Longyou, secretly acted as Cao Cao's internal adviser and made great contributions to Cao Cao. Now he has been promoted to be the counselor of Cao Cao's hegemony.
As soon as this statement came out, many people immediately expressed their agreement.
Most of these people who agree with me think that by defeating Zhang Lu and taking Hanzhong, a lot has been gained. Since Yan Liang has returned to his army, it will be difficult to take Yizhou again. Instead of fighting with Yan Liang's main force, how can we just get it right?
Retract. Take the initiative to withdraw troops to preserve strength.
For a time, the majority of Cao Ying officials advocated withdrawing troops.
Cao Cao's expression also changed. He seemed to be shaken and wanted to withdraw his troops, but he was unwilling to do so.
"What you all said is wrong. Our army must not withdraw at this time!" Guo Jia suddenly shouted loudly amid the shouts of retreating.
Everyone's eyes turned to Guo Jia, the naysayer, to see what arguments he could make.
Guo Jia looked directly at Cao Cao, cupped his hands and said: "Prime Minister, Hanzhong and Shuzhong are connected as one. Once Yan Liang has conquered Shuzhong, he will surely send his troops north to capture Hanzhong."
After a pause, Guo Jia continued: "At that time, if our army had few troops left, it would not be enough to defend Hanzhong. If we had more troops, food and grass would have to be transported from Guanzhong across the Qinling Mountains, which would be far more difficult than traveling from Shuzhong to Hanzhong.
Transporting food, this way, our army will be in a passive position. Instead of sitting back and waiting to be beaten, why not take advantage of the fact that there is enough food and grass and the morale of the soldiers is not exhausted, and use all our strength to seize Shuzhong in one fell swoop."
Guo Jia's eloquent words made everyone wake up from a dream, and they began to realize the subtlety of the current situation.
Cao Cao, who was originally thinking of retreating, suddenly woke up at this moment, his wavering expression disappeared, and was replaced by a gradually rising determination.
After pondering for a long time, Cao Cao stood up and said in a deep voice: "What Feng Xiao said is true. The Yan thief defrauded Shuzhong and will definitely covet Hanzhong. I will personally send the army southward and vow to drive out this thief in one fell swoop."
Yizhou!”
Cao Cao, who had made up his mind, decided to leave no room for error and immediately set off from Nanzheng to lead his army south to Jiameng Pass.
At the same time, Cao Cao issued an urgent order, and Xiahou and others who stayed in Guanzhong sent more troops to Hanzhong.
…
The news of Cao Cao's departure from Nanzheng was quickly detected, and a few days later, this information was delivered to Yan Liang's desk.
"It seems that our Prime Minister Cao is planning to risk his life with Gu." Yan Liang threw the information on the case and said with a sarcastic smile.
In the lobby of the military mansion, the crowd suddenly became angry.
"My lord, we haven't even settled the accounts with Cao Cao when he invaded Nanyang a few years ago. Now he comes to attack me in Shuzhong for no reason. He is really bullying us. What are we waiting for? We immediately mobilize all our troops and go north to fight with Cao Cao.
Let the thieves fight to the death!"
The indignant Gan Ning could not forget the hatred of Nanyang that year, and he was the first to stand up and call for war generously.
At this time, the veteran Huang Zhong also came out and said angrily: "Cao Cao took advantage of our army to calm down in the south and attacked south. Now my lord has returned to Chengdu with his troops. Instead of retreating, Cao Cao dared to attack in person. It's really shameful."
I don't take my lord seriously, I am old and incapable of talent, I am willing to be my lord's vanguard, and I will defeat Cao's army for my lord."
The two fierce generals from Jingxiang and Xiang were both eager to fight.
Then, Li Yan also stood up, cupped his hands and said: "Hanzhong is the throat of Yizhou. If Cao's thieves occupy Hanzhong, they can pose a threat to Shuzhong at any time. The general thought, why don't my lord take advantage of the high morale of the soldiers to raise his troops?"
Go north and take Hanzhong in one go."
Li Yan was worthy of being a general with both civil and military skills. His focus was not only on repelling Cao Cao's attack, but also on the far-reaching consideration of capturing Hanzhong and occupying Yizhou.
"Military advisor, what do you think?" Yan Liang turned his attention to Pang Tong.
Pang Tong stroked his beard and said with a smile: "My lord, raise your troops and go north, fight Cao Cao decisively, and then seize Hanzhong. This is all necessary. However, Tong believes that your lord does not need to rush to march immediately."
"What does the military advisor mean by this?" Yan Liang became interested.
"Cao's army has been in a state of rest and recuperation for several months since Zhang Lu was pacified. Even the armies attacking south mostly stationed their troops under the city walls and did not consume much physical strength."
"Our army has been fighting for several months now. Although the morale of our army is high, the physical strength of the soldiers is extremely exhausted. We all think that the lord can slightly increase the number of troops to the north to ensure that the defense line can be defended, and Cao Cao can be held back.
After my main soldiers have rested and reorganized, my lord will take advantage of Cao Cao's division's old city and advance his troops northward, and he will surely defeat Cao Cao's thieves in one fell swoop."
Pang Tong's eloquent words made Yan Liang calm down a lot. After thinking about it carefully, what Pang Tong said was indeed reasonable.
After all, Cao Cao only fought against Zhang Lu's army, while he fought against Liu Zhang, Ma Chao, and Meng Huo successively. Not to mention the soldiers, even Yan Liang himself felt that his energy was quite consumed.
After returning to Chengdu today, it is obviously not a wise thing to rush into a decisive battle with Cao Cao.
Pang Tong's plan, the rest of Fa Zheng, Zhang Song and several other counselors also agreed.
After weighing the situation, Yan Liang decided not to send troops northward for the time being, and only sent Li Yan to lead 10,000 troops northward to strengthen the defense on the northern line.
While resting his soldiers and preparing for a decisive battle with Cao Cao, Yan Liang did not forget that he had another thing to do.
This incident was the punishment for Meng Huo.
…
Three days later, Yan Liang summoned Zhu Rong.
Not long after, footsteps sounded, and Zhu Rong slowly walked into the hall.
At this time, Zhu Rong had already taken the initiative to change into Han Chinese clothes. Her plump figure and charming face exuded a mature charm. Although she was a mother, she was still charming.
"I wonder why Grand Sima summoned me here?" Zhu Rong became much less self-reliant and respected Yan Liang quite a lot.
It seems that it was the terrifying burning of the Tengjia Army in Jiuqu Valley that shattered Zhu Rong's self-confidence and created a deep fear for Yan Liang in his heart.
"I want to take you to meet someone, so come with me." Yan Liang strode away with a sneer on his face.
Meet someone...
Zhu Rong was suspicious and could only follow Yan Liang.
After leaving the military mansion, he rode his horse straight to the prison in the south of the city.
The person imprisoned in that prison was none other than Meng Huo.
"I wonder who Da Sima wants to take me to see?" Zhu Rong, who didn't know the inside story, asked suspiciously.
"Why, don't you want to see your husband?" Yan Liang asked with a sneer.
Zhu Rong's plump figure was shocked, and an ominous premonition rose from the bottom of her heart. Although she couldn't wait to know Meng Huo's life or death, she had a bad feeling at this time.
Feeling uneasy, Zhu Rong followed Yan Liang into the gloomy prison.
After entering the prison and reaching the deepest part of the cell, Meng Huo was locked behind the iron door.
Yan Liang asked Zhu Rong to open the iron door and strode in, but did not ask Zhu Rong to enter and made her silent.
In the dark and damp cell, Meng Huo, who was in ragged clothes and looked exhausted, was huddled in a corner of the cell.
Hearing the cell door open, Meng Huo trembled instinctively. When he raised his head and saw that the person entering was Yan Liang, his expression changed even more.
Without thinking too much, Meng Huo quickly got up from the ground, bowed and said: "Sinner Meng Huo, pay your respects to Grand Sima."
At this time, Meng Huo was extremely humble, and he did not have the arrogance he had when he proclaimed himself King of Dayue.
Yan Liang looked down at this humble man and asked coldly: "Meng Huo, since you call yourself a sinner, do you know what crime you have committed?"
"A villain should not be deceived by Liu Zhang and establish himself as a false king, let alone lead an army against the Great Sima. A small crime deserves death. I beg the Great Sima to forgive me."
Meng Huo begged for mercy with great humiliation, and Zhu Rong heard clearly from across the wall.
Those humble words and timid tone were like sharp blades, piercing Zhu Rong's heart deeply.
The original Meng Huo, in Zhu Rong's heart, was an image of a heroic figure with great martial prowess and extraordinary courage. Now, with these few words, all the heroic images of Meng Huo in the past were destroyed in an instant.
Zhu Rong bit Che tightly, his eyes flashing with hatred and anger.
On the other side of the cell, Meng Huo, who didn't know his wife was listening, still continued to beg Yan Liang for mercy regardless of his dignity.
Tired of hearing his pleading, Yan Liang said coldly: "Your wife Zhu Rong, your daughter Hua Wan, and you Meng Huo are all Gu's prisoners now. According to your crimes, Gu should behead your entire family.
What can you give in exchange for sparing your life?"
Faced with Yan Liang's question, Meng Huo rolled his eyes a few times and said hurriedly: "If the great Sima is willing to spare this villain's life, the villain is willing to dedicate his wife and daughter to the great Sima."
