Li Yan put down the letter, put his forehead on his hand, and kneaded his sore eyebrows with his fingers. (Literature Museum)
Wei Ba's suggestion made his heart skip a beat.
Li Yan himself knew very well that the Battle of Xiangyang was more of an excuse than a battle for merit, an excuse not to allow Zhuge Liang to make meritorious deeds. With the twenty or thirty thousand men under Meng Da and others, it was impossible to conquer Xiangyang. It's possible, let alone shake Wancheng. If he can contain some of the Wei army and turn Guanzhong, the main battlefield, into a bystander, his goal will be achieved.
This is why he did not lead the army himself, but left the opportunity to Meng Da.
But Wei Ba's suggestion gave him another choice.
If he personally sends troops to Xiangyang, he can bring another 20,000 people from Chengdu and Yong'an. Including the garrison in Xincheng, there will be nearly 50,000 people. Wei Ba will assist from the side, not too many, send 10,000 people, plus With sufficient food and grass, it is entirely possible for him to conquer Xiangyang, march straight to Wancheng, turn the imaginary into reality, and fight a real battle.
This is undoubtedly a greater impact than Meng Da's sending troops.
"Is Wei Ba sincere?" Li Yan asked again.
"I think it's true." Hu Zhong replied patiently. "Wei Ba is very unfavorable about the Battle of Xiangyang. He thinks that Meng Da and others are very risky to send troops. In order to allow Zhao Tong to go deep into Nanjun to provide backup for the army. , he made very big concessions to Sun Quan, even transferring the technology of the Thunderbolt Chariot and the Ballista Chariot. Even so, I don’t think his war prospects are promising, so it is reasonable to make this suggestion. Ruo Piao If the cavalry general goes out in person, he can mobilize Wei Ba's support, increase the number of troops, provide more food and pay, and greatly increase the chance of victory."
Li Yan's eyes flickered. He knew what Hu Zhong said. Otherwise, he wouldn't be moved. But he was also worried that Wei Ba had ulterior motives for doing this. He returned to Chengdu with great difficulty. If the foundation is not stable, he will leave again. , what should I do if Zhuge Liang suddenly comes back?
"Yinjun, what do you think?"
Yinfan smiled and said: "The plan is indeed a good one. The Zhennan general has become famous as a young man and is so popular. If he joins the war, his undefeated record will be added to the victory of Xiangyang. Last time he teamed up with Lu Xun, he almost conquered Xiangyang. This time, by joining forces with General Hussar, Xiangyang will be captured."
Li Yan's eyebrows trembled, and he heard other meanings from it. The last time Wei Ba attacked Xiangyang, the Prime Minister's Mansion joined the army, but he became the biggest contributor to the battle of Xiangyang. Now Wei Ba is already a distinguished general in Zhennan. Isn't that right? Want to steal all his limelight?
And the Xiangyang siege mentioned by Yinfan made him even more wary. In order to conquer Xiangyang City, Lu Xun was tricked by Wei Ba, and Soochow suffered heavy losses. If Wei Ba tricked him again this time, wouldn't he As unlucky as Lu Xun? If so, Wei Ba had bad intentions in making this suggestion, maybe he was instigated by someone else.
However, without Wei Ba's help, Li Yan really had no confidence in winning.
The temptation was great, and the risks were also great. Li Yan was very entangled. After discussing with Yinfan and Hu Zhong for a long time, he decided to start preparations first. At the same time, he sent people to write to His Majesty, requesting to personally lead the troops to the expedition, and at the same time sent someone to notify Meng. Da. Ask him to step up his efforts to spy on the Wei army's movements in Nanyang to see how many troops the Wei army has. If the Wei army is not strong enough, it has a high chance of success without Wei Ba, so it is undoubtedly the best choice.
Just when Li Yan was struggling with whether to go out in person, Zhuge Liang's military report arrived again. Chen Shi was surrounded by Zhang He at Xiao Pass. If he did not ask for help in time, Xiao Pass was in danger of falling. Chen Shi's 10,000 elite troops were also in danger.
The whole army may be wiped out due to lack of food. I hope Li Yan can allocate food and grass as soon as possible to ensure that Guanzhong is safe.
Li Yan didn't hesitate much and immediately agreed to Zhuge Liang's request. He himself also knew the importance of Guanzhong very well. Once Guanzhong was lost, even if Zhuge Liang shouldered this responsibility, he would not be able to forgive himself.
Of course, Li Yan was very measured. The food and grass he allocated was only enough for Zhuge Liang to relieve the siege of Xiaoguan. If he wanted to take the opportunity to leave Longyou, it would definitely not be enough. He also wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang. Now General Zhennan
Wei Ba proposed a new strategy, which I think makes sense, and I specially asked the Prime Minister to discuss it.
In order to show that he attached great importance to this matter, Li Yan sent Hu Zhong, who joined the army, to go to Guanzhong in person to discuss with Zhuge Liang in person.
…
In Xinye, Sima Yi stood on a soil slope, looking at the gradually yellowing crops in the field, frowning slightly. The autumn harvest will be in more than a month, and the autumn harvest means there is food, and having food means that the war is about to begin.
Resurgence. Guanzhong has been in a stalemate for almost a year. Because of Cao Zhi's desperate attack, the situation in Guanzhong is now favorable to Cao Wei. Zhang He surrounded Xiaoguan and waited for Zhuge Liang to come to the rescue. With Zhuge Liang's current strength, both sides may still have a chance.
It was a brutal fight, and the result of the fight would make the Shu Han's troops in Guanzhong even weaker and even less able to cope with the next Wei attack.
But Sima Yi was not happy about this.
Although Cao Zhi died, the emperor's willingness to reuse the clan was even stronger. From Cao Zhi, he saw the power of the same bloodline, and temporarily suppressed his vigilance against the clan. If Zhang He achieved another great victory, then the children of those veteran generals would surely do the same.
If they are reused, the family's interests in the military will be further squeezed.
In addition to the clan and warriors, there were also discordant voices within the family. Wu Zhi, the Zhenwei general who guarded Hebei, wrote a letter to the emperor before his death, praising him as Sima Yi, a minister of the country, and Sikong Chen, who was also an auxiliary minister with him.
Qun was just a calm man, not a prime minister. This gave him an opportunity to re-enter the emperor's sight, but it also created a gap with Chen Qun. Under the influence of Chen Qun, the emperor accepted Wu Zhi's suggestion and
On the other hand, he gave Wu Zhi the posthumous title of "Ugly".
Wu Ying, Wu Zhi's son, could not accept this and refused to bury Wu Zhi. He wrote a letter to defend himself and asked him for help. This made Sima Yi very embarrassed. Chen Qun was clearly behind this incident, but more importantly, the emperor's
Regarding his attitude, if he wrote a letter to intercede for Wu Zhi, he would not only fall out with Chen Qun, but also cause the emperor's displeasure. But if he did not intercede for Wu Zhi, the Wu family would definitely fall out with him.
Sima Yi couldn't laugh or cry, knowing that he had been deceived by the emperor. Obviously, the emperor was very unhappy about what happened between him and Wu Zhi, and took this opportunity to embarrass him.
Because of this matter, Master Sima had a serious conflict with the Wu family in the past two days. The Wu family denounced their father and son as ungrateful. They accepted the dowry of more than 2,000 elite troops to regain their strength, but at this time they refused to do anything for her.
The father came forward to defend himself.
This gave Sima Yi a headache, and he also regretted his decision to marry Wu for Sima Shi. Wu Zhi was a scoundrel, and his daughter was also a shrew. She didn't keep her mouth shut, and sooner or later she would cause trouble.
"Father!" Master Sima galloped to the slope, turned over and dismounted, and handed over a secret report: "Chengdu Secret Report."
"Is there any news from Yinfan?" Sima Yi was surprised. He quickly opened the secret report and read it carefully twice. His eyes became serious: "Is it possible that Wei Ba will participate in the war?"
"Well, it is said that he was worried about his brother Wei Feng, so he spared no expense and made huge concessions to Sun Quan." Master Sima wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked a little ugly: "No wonder Sun Quan has not sent any news recently. I
It seems that he is probably tempted to let Wei Ba enter Nanjun."
"If Wei Ba enters Nanjun, our army will not be strong enough." Sima Yiqu flicked the secret report in his hand and muttered: "With Li Yan and Wei Ba joining forces, the total strength may reach 50,000 or even 60,000 to 70,000.
Not only is Xiangyang City in danger, but Wancheng is also in danger. If the war breaks out, it will probably be three points more dangerous than Guanzhong."
Master Sima pondered for a moment and suddenly said: "It would be great if the army led by Zhang He could be transferred here."
"How is that possible? Your Majesty has spent so much effort to recapture Guanzhong. How can he withdraw Zhang He when success is imminent?"
Sima Shi laughed and said loudly: "Father, your Majesty trusted Zhang He at first, but Zhang He failed to live up to his expectations. You see, he has been fighting for almost a year and has consumed countless grains, but he has not yet been able to enter Guanzhong. I think your Majesty is trusting Zhang He."
He is probably disappointed too, but he is too embarrassed to take back what he said. Now taking advantage of Li Yan's opportunity to send troops to Nanyang, abandoning Guanzhong, doesn't it give His Majesty a chance?"
Sima Yi lowered his head, looked at the secret report in his hand, and then looked at Master Sima: "Zi Yuan, are you too eager for revenge?"
Master Sima glanced at Sima Yi in surprise: "Father, do you think so?"
Sima Yi didn't say anything, but Sima Zhao, who had just arrived, took over: "Brother, don't you think so? Wei Ba took away your unmarried wife, forcing you to marry that shrew of the Wu family, and many times
If I defeat you, aren't you eager to take revenge?"
"You know nothing." Master Sima hit Sima Zhao angrily and funny: "A gentleman's revenge is never too late in ten years. Am I such an impatient person? The battle of Xiangyang may be my chance to defeat Wei Ba.
But I won’t mess with it.”
Sima Zhao rubbed his forehead and retorted: "You say you are not in a hurry, but in your heart you are as anxious as anything."
"I'm anxious because Wei Ba's strength has grown too fast. If we can't kill him before his wings are full, we will no longer be our opponents." Master Sima put away his smile, turned to Sima Yi, and said very seriously
: "Father, dragging Wei Ba into the battlefield will be beneficial to the country and the family. Now that the war begins, there is Li Yan above him. Through Yinfan, we can indirectly control him. When he becomes an army on his own,
What advantage do we have? Do you really think Yinfan can take root within Shuhan?"
Sima Yi's eyes tightened and he pondered for a moment: "In that case, let's get rid of the Peng brothers and sisters first. It's not safe to keep them around."
Master Sima shook his head: "Otherwise, I know that Peng Heng has changed his mind, but he is still valuable. We can use him to send some information that is difficult to tell whether it is true or false, and provide a cover for Yinfan." He sneered:
"Even if you can't deceive Wei Ba, it's still good if you can deceive Li Yan."