Sima Yi lay on the desk, looking at the map and thinking silently.
The news that Shu Han general Li Yan led an army of 30,000 people out of Tongguan had just been sent to his desk.
Now that the war has been going on, Sima Yi, Xiahou Ba, and the emperor of Luoyang all know that Luoyang cannot be defended in the end. If the Shu Han had not agreed to make the entire Jizhou a fiefdom of the Wei State, I am afraid that the Wei State would have become like the Wu State.
Wang Sunquan also surrendered to the Shu Han. The difference between the two sides now is whether to use a state or a county as the fiefdom of the Wei State, excluding Luoyang. The reason why the Wei State still occupies Luoyang is just to gain some negotiating capital.
Defending Jizhou was what Wei wanted to do most. In this case, General Sima Yi's purpose of guarding Bingzhou was also to guard the upper reaches of Jizhou, not to protect Luoyang.
Luoyang, in the eyes of Cao Weijun and his ministers, was already worthless and could be abandoned at any time.
Sima Yi stationed in Jinyang and Hao Zhao guarded Huguan for this purpose. Guarding Huguan means protecting the southern part of Jizhou, and guarding Jinyang prevents the Shu Han army from marching to the north of Bingzhou and threatening Youzhou. With
At the same time, he defended Jinyang and could threaten the Shu Han army's retreat from attacking Luoyang. From Jinyang south to Puban and Tongguan, the road is flat, only six to seven hundred miles away, and the cavalry can reach it in four or five days, while the infantry is slightly longer.
If you work harder, you can complete the marching mission in half a month.
In comparison, the journey eastward from Tongguan, passing through Hangu Pass, to Luoyang is much longer and more difficult. If the danger in Jinyang is not eliminated first and rashly sends troops to Luoyang, the future will be worrying. Dong Zhuo originally
He entered Luoyang because of the activities of the White Wave Army in the east of the river. It threatened his retreat. When Niu Fu and Jia Xu failed to clear them out, Dong Zhuo could only burn Luoyang and retreat to Chang'an.
Therefore, the Wei army stationed in Jinyang is more threatening and has more initiative than stationed in the west of Luoyang.
Li Yan led his army out of the border, and where he wanted to go naturally became a matter of concern to Sima Yi. If Li Yan went to Luoyang, it would be simple. Luoyang city is not that easy to attack. Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun failed to siege Luoyang. I believe that
Li Yan will not repeat the same mistakes easily, especially when the two armies that can support him are in the hands of Zhuge Liang's group.
So what would Li Yan do?
"Father, don't think about what Li Ping did. The truth will be revealed soon. We just have to wait for the news." Sima Zhao turned his wheelchair and looked away from the green mountains in the distance: "We still have to wait for the news."
Think about how you will deal with Jiang Wei's army if it comes one after another."
Sima Yi stroked his beard and nodded. This was a headache for him. He now only has more than 3,000 cavalry, and it is already very difficult to deal with Li Yan. If Jiang Wei leads 10,000 fine cavalry to help, he will not have any
Odds of winning.
If Bingzhou is occupied by the Shu Han army, then they will have no confidence in negotiating. Not only will Luoyang be unable to defend it, but Jizhou will also be in great danger. Although Bingzhou and Jizhou have communications with each other, attacking Jizhou from Bingzhou.
It is much easier than conquering and annexing the state from Jizhou.
Bingzhou can be said to be the outer wall of Jizhou. Once Bingzhou is lost, Jizhou will lose its cover. If you want to gain a foothold in Jizhou, you must control Bingzhou. This is what Emperor Guangwu did back then, and what Yuan Shao did later on.
of.
Sima Yi was negotiating with Zhuge Liang, but neither side was sincere and was just telling stories. At this moment, neither side is willing to back down, and the right to speak must be determined by the outcome on the battlefield.
Sima Yi understood this truth, so he wanted to defend Bingzhou.
"How many possibilities do you think Li Ping has?" Sima Yi raised his head, leaned on the case, and looked at Sima Zhao's expressionless face with a smile.
Sima Zhao was silent for a moment: "Three options: attack Jinyang, attack Shangdang, and attack Luoyang."
“What is the best policy?”
Sima Zhao laughed: "There is no best, only the worst."
Sima Yi's eyes flashed and he listened quietly.
"Li Ping and Zhuge Liang are obviously not of the same mind. He cannot expect Zhuge Liang to protect his retreat. In this case, it seems that attacking Jinyang is safe. Unfortunately, it is only safe, and he has no advantage at all. So, it cannot be
If you call it the best, you can only call it the least bad."
Sima Yi nodded.
"It seems good to attack Luoyang. It will be helpful to join up with his cronies Meng Da. But even with Meng Da's troops, I'm afraid it won't be enough to break through Luoyang City. At best, it can only maintain a stalemate.
The danger of being cut off is certainly not a good thing."
"As for attacking the party, we can't join up with Meng Da, and there is the danger of being blocked. It will cause two harms without any benefit, which is naturally the worst."
"Then which one do you think Li Ping will choose?"
Sima Zhao frowned: "If it were me, I would attack Jinyang first. As for which one Li Ping will choose, I think Luoyang is more likely to be chosen." He raised his eyelids and looked at Sima Yi: "In my father's opinion?
"
Sima Yi smiled: "Huguan."
"Huguan?" Sima Zhao laughed and said, "Li Ping wouldn't choose the worst option, right?"
"For Li Ping, choosing Huguan is not the worst option." Master Sima walked in quickly and said with a smile: "Whether it is Jinyang or Luoyang, he can't conquer it anyway, so why not choose the most difficult one?"
?Hao Zhao guarded Ji County for more than half a year, leaving Zhuge Liang with nothing to do; later he guarded Huguan, and Jiang Wei returned with a broken sword. If Li Yan stayed under Huguan City for several months but failed to capture Huguan, who could?
What did you say about him?"
"Isn't he afraid of being intercepted from behind?"
"It would be unreasonable if Zhuge Liang didn't even protect his retreat." Sima Shi smiled and said, "I think that whether Li Ping is willing or not, Jiang Wei's army may come, and what he is waiting for may be
It's us."
Sima Zhao was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Li Yan is the bait, and we are the fish?"
"Well." Master Sima turned to look at Sima Yi: "Father, should we eat Li Ping's men before Jiang Wei comes? He has a lot of horse armor. If we can seize these horse armor, even if
Now that Jiang Wei is here, we have some advantages."
Sima Yi looked at Master Sima, then at Sima Zhao, and said calmly: "Sir, what do you think?"
Sima Zhao nodded in shame: "What my brother said is true."
Sima Yi smiled slightly: "Then let's see how we can defeat Li Ping and get those horse armors."
…
Chang'an.
Zhuge Liang's voice was hoarse, but his tone was as calm as ever: "Your Majesty, the general sent troops out of Hedong and did not attack Jinyang or Luoyang, but he wanted to attack Huguan. I am puzzled by this. In this way, there will be no reinforcements and no reinforcements.
I am worried about my future, and I am deeply afraid of the general."
Emperor Liu Chan spent a lot of effort to hold back the yawn that rushed to his mouth. He endured it so hard that his nose was sour and his eyes were a little moist.
"Father, what's the remedy?" Liu Chan raised his sleeves, covered his mouth, and secretly opened his mouth: "How about letting the Northern Army station in Tongguan and Puban to succeed the general?"
Zhuge Liang was stunned for a moment, then he raised his hands and said: "There is something admissible in what your Majesty said, which shows that military affairs have made progress these days, which is gratifying and congratulatory."
Liu Chan was startled, and then he laughed awkwardly: "Father, I just... said it casually, just said it casually."
Zhuge Liang said: "Even if it is not careful consideration, it is still a good thing. Naturally, you should be more careful when using troops, but sometimes it also depends on your intuition. Intuition does not come out of thin air, but is the result of accumulated thinking in daily life, and then you can have a magical stroke."
Liu Chan blinked, not knowing whether Zhuge Liang really thought this plan was feasible, or whether he said it deliberately to teach him, so he could only pretend to be stupid, pretending to be attentive, and wait for Zhuge Liang to say more.
"However, the Northern Army has just been formed and has not yet formed a battle. If it is sent to the battlefield in a hurry, it will inevitably lead to mistakes. The sage said that fighting without teaching is called punishment, which is not what a wise master should do."
Liu Chan curled his lips secretly, knowing that you would say something like this. He said habitually: "Please give me some advice."
"I think we can mobilize Jiang Wei's troops to march eastward and garrison Pu Ban, and then refuse after becoming a general."
Liu Chan had no choice but to turn his attention to the Hussars General Wu Yi and the Northern Army's Middle Marquis Ma Cheng. Although Ma Cheng was only the Northern Army's Middle Marquis, he now controlled the Northern Army. After General Li Yan went to war, he was the only
A figure second only to the hussar general Wu Yi. He would attend every important military meeting, although he rarely spoke.
Wu Yi and Ma Cheng were both promoted by Zhuge Liang. There was no reason to oppose Zhuge Liang, so they immediately agreed in unison.
Liu Chan waved his hand: "Then as the prime minister said, let Jiang Wei be stationed in Pu Ban." He paused and then said: "Should we inform the general?"
"That's natural." Zhuge Liang said calmly. After Li Yan left Tongguan, he reported the change of combat objectives to the emperor. Apparently he was sure that he would not allow his entire army to be wiped out, and he would definitely arrange for someone to guard his retreat.
.Zhuge Liang had already had such a plan, and now he got his wish and transferred Jiang Wei to Guanzhong. It seemed that he was forced by Li Yan to change the battle plan, but in fact everything was going according to his own plan.
Since reaching an agreement with Wei Ba, the biggest obstacle has been removed, and Zhuge Liang feels that everything is starting to go smoothly, even more smoothly than he imagined. Wei Ba's easy capture of Liaodong is one of them, and Lu Xun's wise request for medical leave is also one of them. That's all.
First, he must also speed up the pace and take control of Chang'an as soon as possible.
With the emperor's permission, Zhuge Liang easily persuaded Li Feng, who was staying at the General's Mansion, and then issued an order in the name of the General's Mansion, asking Jiang Wei to enter Guanzhong as quickly as possible to defend Puban. Jiang Wei had already
After being fully prepared, upon receiving the order, he immediately led 3,000 bodyguards and rode day and night to Chang'an. After arriving in Chang'an, he immediately went to see Zhuge Liang.
"Prime Minister, is everything okay?"
Zhuge Liang nodded: "Bo Yue, be careful. The soldiers under Li Ping's command are all soldiers of our Han Dynasty, so we can't lose too much. Especially the cavalry. If those horse armors fall into the hands of the Wei army, it will be a blessing to the Han Dynasty."
"The Prime Minister really has a plan." Jiang Wei bowed and said, "Prime Minister, please rest assured that Wei will be ready for the day and work hard to make progress. As long as the general does not deliberately endanger the enemy, Wei will definitely arrive in time."