At the end of July, the Shu Han's detailed operations in Jingzhou finally received accurate news. Cao Wei's hussar general Sima Yi had led the main force eastward along the Han River, and Wu's auxiliary general Lu Xun was also moving eastward. There seemed to be a war in the east.
This news was almost a month behind Wei Ba's news.
In fact, this is normal. The agents can only inquire about information from the outside. They can only react after seeing the enemy's specific actions. Wei Ba's source of information is closer to the decision-making level, and there is no one from the outside.
When he acted, he obtained the secret directly from the top.
This is only from a nerve center spy located in an important town. If it is a spy located at the decision-making level in Luoyang, he will be able to get the news far before Cao Wei makes his plan, and can advance more time.
Being able to grasp the other party's movements one or two months in advance is undoubtedly a huge advantage.
This is the difference between high-level spies and ordinary spies.
The message Wei Ba sent to Zhuge Liang gave Zhuge Liang time to prepare. At the end of July, just as Hanzhong was about to begin its autumn harvest, Zhuge Liang decided to send troops. According to the previous plan, he appointed Wu Yi to lead 20,000 people to stay in Hanzhong, and at the same time
Responsible for the autumn harvest work and returning grain to the warehouse. If the front line needs it, he must transport the grain to the front line as soon as possible.
Zhao Yun, the general of Zhendong, was appointed as the partial general, General Yangwu, and the central supervisory army Deng Zhi as his deputy. He led 10,000 people out of Baoxie Road and pointed directly at Yi County, thinking that there were suspicious soldiers. After more than two months of emergency repairs, he was captured by Cao Cao that year.
The burned-out Baoxie Road has been repaired and is now passable.
Ma Su was appointed as the vanguard general with 30,000 men, and Zhuge Liang led an army of 50,000 people, totaling 80,000 troops, out of Yangping Pass and headed straight for Longyou.
In view of the fact that Wei Yan and his son who proposed the Ziwu Valley plan were either demoted or killed, no one now dares to question Zhuge Liang's plan and can only bow and obey orders. Compared to the meeting a few months ago, this time it seemed calmer and more organized.
, even somewhat calmly, all the generals including Wu Yi and Zhao Yun just accepted the order calmly without expressing any objection.
Zhuge Liang was very satisfied.
Before the army set off, Zhuge Liang sent someone to call Wei Yan, who was "exiled" in Nanzheng, to Mianyang. In the eyes of outsiders, this was Zhuge Liang's attempt to appease or intimidate Wei Yan before he left the army, and there was no surprise. But Wei Yan didn't think so.
He knew that his chance had finally come.
Zhuge Liang ordered Wei Yan to lead an army of ten thousand people to Chang'an via Ziwu Valley. His task was to capture Tongguan and hold on to Tongguan, preventing Cao Wei's reinforcements from entering Guanzhong. As for the existing defenders in Guanzhong, he
Zhuge Liang had enough confidence to deal with them with the main force of 80,000 to 20,000, four times the force advantage. He had only one request for Wei Yan, which was to hold Tongguan until the main force arrived.
Wei Yan nodded repeatedly and finally asked a question: "How long does it take for the Prime Minister to arrive?"
Zhuge Liang had a plan and smiled slightly: "Under normal circumstances, I can arrive within a month. Even if there are some accidents, it will not take more than two months."
Wei Yan was overjoyed, patted his chest and said: "Prime Minister, don't worry, within two months, not a single soldier from Cao Wei will enter Guanzhong."
Zhuge Liang nodded and smiled.
After everything was arranged, the army immediately embarked on the journey. The mighty 80,000-strong army left Mianyang and rushed to Longyou.
Due to the great purge some time ago, the activities of the surviving Cao Wei Xizuo in Hanzhong were greatly restricted. It was not until Zhuge Liang left Mianyang for seven or eight days that the Xizuosu learned this fact from various signs, and they spread the news one after another.
Returning to Guanzhong and Wancheng, I don't know how many lives must be sacrificed to send this news back.
…
At the same moment, Xiahou Mao was still immersed in entanglement and joy.
The reason for the confusion is that with the restoration of Baoxie Road, the Northern Expedition of the Shu Han army is getting closer and closer, and more and more signs indicate that the Shu Han army is likely to send troops from Baoxie Road, not Longyou as Wei Ba said.
But Xia Houmao was not sure, because Wei Ba had definitely said that Bao Xiedao was a suspect, and the general in charge might be Zhao Yun, because Zhao Yun's name was famous enough. In fact, the person Zhuge Liang trusted the most was Ma Di, and Ma Di
is the real forward, and their actual goal is Longyou.
Xia Houmao was not sure. He had discussed it many times with his generals. Unfortunately, most of them did not believe Wei Ba. They thought Wei Ba was a surrendered general. Even if he was not talking nonsense and deliberately confusing the public, who could guarantee it?
Will Zhuge Liang still follow the previous plan? So what he said is not credible. He should station heavy troops in Yi County and wait for work, instead of rushing all the way to Longyou.
Xia Houmao couldn't decide, and Xia Houhui, as smart as he was, wasn't sure. Xia Houmao asked Wei Ba, but Wei Ba couldn't be sure either. He just said, I'm really not sure whether Zhuge Liang will carry out the original plan, I just based it on his
Analyzing the character, I'm not sure what the outcome will be.
What Wei Ba said was reasonable and reasonable. Although Xiahou Mao was very anxious, he couldn't force it. He had to send more agents to inquire about the news at Baoxie Road and Longyou respectively.
However, Xiahou Mao was not completely confused, he was still happy.
It must be said that Xia Houmao was incompetent in fighting, but he was very creative in making money.
Wei Ba suggested that Xiahou Mao demolish the small cities that had no defensive significance and collect various materials to strengthen those useful places. As a result, Xiahou Mao acted on this basis. He ordered the demolition of the residences in Chang'an City and concentrated the reinforcement of Weiyang Palace.
He Jianzhang Palace will be the focus of the next defense.
Weiyang Palace and Jianzhang Palace are two palaces across the west wall of Chang'an City. They originally had towering palace walls. Although they have been dilapidated for more than two hundred years, it is relatively easy to repair them for defense. In addition, Weiyang Palace is built
On Longshou Mountain, the terrain is higher, and there are a large number of tall platforms in Jianzhang Palace, which is particularly beneficial for defense.
From a military perspective, there is nothing wrong with choosing these two places as key defense fortresses. However, the focus of demolishing civilian houses is not the military significance, but the economic significance.
How much wealth can ordinary people have? Most of the wealth they have is in real estate. Once the house is demolished, most people will have nothing. Even if they have some wealth, their vitality will be severely damaged. In this case, who would want to
When considering the military significance, of course, we must do everything possible to preserve our family business as much as possible.
How to preserve it? Of course, we need to plead with General Anxi and Xiahou Mao, the governor of Guanzhong. How to plead? Of course, we need to send gifts. After some preparations, except for those residences close to the north gate of Weiyang Palace that must be demolished, the rest are basically unchanged, but
However, General Xiahou has already received a lot of money and his pockets are bulging.
Of course, in addition to receiving a large amount of bribes, Xiahou Mao also received a lot of complaints, but Xiahou Mao didn't pay attention to those invisible and intangible things. He looked at the money piled up like a mountain and was overjoyed.
, I felt more and more deeply that it was right not to let Cao Zhen come to Guanzhong to take charge of the overall situation, otherwise how could all these benefits fall into the hands of Xiahou Mao, at least half of which must be given to Cao Zhen.
As the instigator, Wei Ba also received dividends. Although the proportion was insignificant, to him, it was tantamount to a huge sum of money.
Wei Ba gave all the money to Peng Xiaoyu to keep. In addition to buying her medicine to treat her illness, most of it was used to buy furniture and slaves. After Xiahou Mao made such a deal, many more children were sold in Chang'an City.
Yes, the price is very cheap.
All these matters of purchasing property were left to Peng Xiaoyu. Except for Xiahou Mao's summons, Wei Ba was basically in a state of semi-reclusion without leaving the door. He used this time to teach the five beauties how to play mahjong.
.This mahjong is indeed a game that became popular all over the world. These five little beauties became addicted to it as soon as they played it, and began to build the Great Wall day and night.
This selfless working state immediately brought about a serious consequence. The five beauties all soon developed dark circles. So Wei Ba naturally invented cucumber - still called courgette at this time - a clever method for treating dark circles.
, five little beauties, each with two cucumber slices over their eyes, have become the most distinctive sight in the mansion.
Wei Ba took advantage of the situation and said to the five beauties, "If you want to win money, you must have a good body. Therefore, don't just lie around when you have nothing to do in the future. You must exercise. You have to exercise your body, and your mind will be more flexible."
.More importantly, there will be a competition every ten days, and the top two will not only receive rewards, but will also have priority access to General Xiahou.
Therefore, every morning, the five little beauties running around the yard became the second most distinctive sight in the mansion. They were declared as punishment to the outside world, punishing them for not being diligent with their limbs, not distinguishing grains, and complaining when they did something.
This news quickly reached the ears of Xiahou Mao and his wife. Princess Qinghe first called Wei Ba in, praised him well, and encouraged Wei Ba not to be polite to these little bitches, but to discipline them more severely. Then Xiahou Mao
I also called Wei Ba and complained a lot. What do you think? Those little beauties are for pity, how can they be treated as ordinary slaves? Please understand clearly, Princess Qinghe will not stay in Chang'an forever, she will always stay in Chang'an.
I will go back to Luoyang.
Wei Ba heard Xiahou Mao's threat. He chuckled and whispered a few words into Xiahou Mao's ear. Xiahou Mao's eyes suddenly lit up: "Seriously?"
Wei Ba smiled bitterly and said: "General, my subordinates' wealth is all placed on the general. How dare you deceive me? It's just that the princess has orders, and I have to obey them. Please cooperate with me."
Xia Houmao nodded repeatedly and said seriously: "It should, it should." Then he looked at Wei Ba and laughed, and asked impatiently: "When do you think it is more convenient?"
"General, please be patient. Now that the princess is watching closely, I don't dare to take risks. Otherwise, if I am not careful, it will be a small matter for me to be punished by the princess, but it will be a big matter for those beauties to be killed." Wei Ba thought for a while and said:
"The autumn harvest is coming, and Zhuge Liang should invade soon. At that time, the general will be on the front line to direct the war. Naturally, he and the princess will have to live in two separate places. Won't the opportunity come?"
Xiahou Mao frowned and smiled. (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)