Mi Han

Chapter 545

The news of Zhang Fei's retreat soon reached Sima Yi.

At first Sima Yi didn't believe that Zhang Fei really retreated.

Because he has been besieged by Zhang Fei in recent days, he doesn't know the news that Jia Kui's reinforcements have arrived.

Under such circumstances, Sima Yi believed that Zhang Fei's retreat was suspicious.

He felt that based on Zhang Fei's previous performance, this might be Zhang Fei's new trick to lure the enemy.

So Sima Yi didn't act rashly at first.

It has always been difficult for an old tortoise to leave the tortoise shell that can save his life.

It's just that within a few days, Sima Yi's hanging heart gradually let go.

It turned out that after Jia Kui heard the news of Zhang Fei's retreat, he approached Wancheng step by step with reinforcements, and came outside Sima Yi's camp.

When he saw Jia Kui appearing in front of him, especially after seeing the tens of thousands of reinforcements behind Jia Kui, Sima Yi was filled with the feeling of survival after the catastrophe.

Who knows how he spent all this time?

Every day is spent under the great pressure of life and death.

Maybe Jia Kui didn't experience Sima Yi's fears during these days.

But after entering the Wei Army camp and seeing the current situation of Sergeant Sima Yi, even the well-informed Jia Kui couldn't help but sighed deeply.

Outside the Wei army's camp, broken arrows were intertwined with the broken limbs and arms of the Wei army, and they were densely scattered in front of the entire camp.

In the Wei Army camp, Jia Kui saw that most of the Wei Army soldiers were wounded, and their mental state was also very depressed.

A gloomy and dilapidated atmosphere permeated the entire Wei army camp.

Obviously, if he came half a month later, it was hard to say whether Sima Yi would be able to hold the Wei army camp.

What caused this scene was not only Zhang Fei's behavior of leading the Han army to attack, but also an order given by Sima Yi before.

In order to speed up his return to Wancheng, Sima Yi left behind a lot of baggage in the army.

As a result, Wei Jun's food and grass were not very sufficient.

The enemy's offensive was fierce, and our own food and grass were not sufficient. Under internal and external difficulties, it was strange that Sima Yi's sergeants were not depressed.

After knowing this, Jia Kui generously distributed the food, grass and herbs that he accompanied with the army to Sima Yi's sergeants.

Jia Kui's move stabilized the morale of Sergeant Sima Yi to a large extent.

With Jia Kui's support, Sima Yi quickly reorganized the army, and then took Jia Kui to Wancheng.

After entering the city of Wan, which is strong and thick, Sima Yi's hanging heart was completely let go.

It's just that Jia Kui's next words made Sima Yi's heart rise again.

"Zhongda.

Although Wancheng is not lost at present, it is a fact that Jiyang has fallen to the enemy. How should you explain this to the prince?

In addition, the loss of Jiyang means that the enemy army can drive straight into Wancheng without hindrance. Faced with this severe situation, how should you deal with it? "

Jia Kui asked these two most important questions at the moment with a serious expression.

But these two questions are the last thing Sima Yi wants to hear at the moment.

It is gratifying that he escaped from birth, but the loss of Jiyang is also a fact.

Given the importance of Jiyang in Nanyang County, the loss of Jiyang is bound to cause quite a stir in Luoyang and Nanyang County.

This turmoil is harmful to him, Sima Yi.

Sima Yi frowned immediately after hearing Jia Kui's question.

But when Jia Kui saw that Sima Yi didn't answer him immediately, he then urged him.

It's not that Jia Kui can't see Sima Yi's gloomy expression, but Jia Kui cares more about the safety of Wancheng than Sima Yi's personal feelings.

If Sima Yi couldn't give him a satisfactory answer to his two questions, Jia Kui would immediately write a letter to Cao Rui, asking Cao Rui to transfer Sima Yi away from Wancheng.

Jia Kui didn't mind letting himself sit in Wancheng himself.

Just after Jia Kui urged again, Sima Yi finally answered: "The minister will write to the imperial court to truthfully tell the ins and outs of Jiyang's loss."

"Although the loss of Jiyang has exposed Wancheng to the enemy's soldiers at all times, it does not mean that Wancheng is defenseless.

Wancheng is a strong city in the world, and there are countless food, grass and military equipment in the city. As long as I fortify the walls and clear the fields, and refuse to go out of the city to fight the enemy, it will not be so easy for Zhang Fei to capture Wancheng. "

"Don't worry, Mr. Jia, Yi will live and die with Wancheng!"

After listening to Sima Yi's answer, Jia Kui nodded with satisfaction.

Sima Yi's attitude and strategy have been recognized by Jia Kui.

This made Jia Kui make a decision.

Jia Kui said to Sima Yi: "The ministers will write a letter to the prince, for Zhong Da's good words."

Sima Yi, who received Jia Kui's promise, was immediately overjoyed.

Jia Kui's prestige among the ruling and opposition parties is unmatched by ordinary people.

It can be said that as long as Jia Kui can live a few more years, with his reputation, he will definitely become one of the three princes in the future.

Having such a person speak well for him, presumably it can alleviate a lot of the guilt on him.

Although he couldn't escape punishment, Cao Rui would also give him a chance to commit crimes and make meritorious deeds.

Sima Yi immediately thanked Jia Kui.

Faced with Sima Yi's thanks, Jia Kui didn't care much.

He was willing to put in a good word for Sima Yi, not because he wanted to cultivate his own interpersonal relationships, but purely because of Wei.

It is true that the loss of Jiyang represents Sima Yi's dereliction of duty.

But after learning about Zhang Fei's overall plan, even Jia Kui was secretly dumbfounded.

If he was in Sima Yi's position, he would not do better than Sima Yi.

The loss of Jiyang does not prove Sima Yi's incompetence, it can only be said that Zhang Fei is really a ghost.

On the contrary, if it weren't for Sima Yi, Zhang Fei might have captured Wancheng in one fell swoop in this battle.

Because it was Sima Yi who made a keen judgment and wrote a letter to ask for help, in the end Dawei did not lose the important town of Wancheng.

It was for this reason that Jia Kui was willing to save Sima Yi.

After all, it cannot be said that the Wei Dynasty has no generals at present, but the territory of the Wei Dynasty is too vast and the generals are too scattered.

If Cao Rui hastily withdrew Sima Yi, the new guard might not do as well as Sima Yi.

At least Sima Yi can clearly see that "strengthening the walls and clearing the country, not fighting the enemy" is the best strategy to deal with the enemy.

After accepting Sima Yi's thanks, Jia Kui did not stay longer.

He is the governor of Yuzhou, and Sun Quan's frequent actions recently made it impossible for him to leave Yuzhou for a long time.

So after paying respects to Sima Yi, Jia Kui led his army and left Wancheng that day.

Following Jia Kui's departure, Sima Yi and Jia Kui's two memorials arrived in Luoyang soon after.

Cao Rui stood on the west wall of Luoyang City, looking towards the west.

Cao Rui was not looking at Chang'an, he was watching an elite Wei army gradually go away.

The Wei army was commanded by Zhang He and gathered the elite troops from Guanzhong and Huainan to rescue Longyou.

The distance between Wancheng and Luoyang is not far. Zhang Yun set out from Wancheng before and arrived in Luoyang City in a short time.

Zhang Yun wanted to head towards the street pavilion immediately after meeting Cao Rui.

But his idea was blocked by Cao Rui.

It's not that Cao Rui changed his mind temporarily and wanted to appoint others as generals.

He wanted to add another important bargaining chip to Zhang He's remarks.

This bargaining chip is the elite that Cao Xiu asked Man Chong to bring from Huainan.

After all, it has been predicted that Jieting is likely to be occupied by the Han army in advance, which means that after Zhang Yun arrives at Jieting, there will be a tough battle.

If you want to fight a tough battle, what can the cavalry alone do?

Zhang He delayed his departure until today, in order to wait for the arrival of Huainan's elite soldiers.

Before Zhang Yun set off, Cao Rui had talked to Zhang Yun in private no less than three times.

Cao Rui is a lord who likes to control everything. Although he often heard about Zhang Yun's reputation when he was young, being famous is nothing like meeting him.

Cao Rui wanted to listen carefully to the strategy in Zhang He's mind before he set off on the expedition.

And Zhang Yun did not disappoint Cao Rui.

After several in-depth discussions, Cao Rui understood that Zhang He was indeed a rare general.

Even though Zhang He was beaten by Zhang Fei and "climbed the mountain and fled", winning or losing is a common matter in military affairs. Didn't Zhang Fei also lose to Cao Xiu before?

Just because he recognized Zhang Yun's talent and his own preparations were sufficient, Cao Rui was very confident in Zhang Yun's expedition this time.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to the city gate to see Zhang He off.

After being unable to even see Zhang He's rear army, Cao Rui walked down from the city gate with some unfinished content.

Before walking down the gate of the city, Cao Rui was still feeling in his heart—it was still Emperor Wu who had profound knowledge, and all those left for Da Wei were momentary heroes.

It's just that before Cao Rui returned to the palace, two urgent reports from Wancheng made Cao Rui feel bad.

Cao Rui looked at the two memorials in his hand, and there was coldness in his eyes.

Two memorials, one from Sima Yi and one from Jia Kui.

After reading the contents of the two memorials, Cao Rui's hard-won good mood disappeared in an instant.

Cao Rui learned the art of war from Jia Xu several years ago.

Under this kind of training, Cao Rui naturally knew how important Jiyang was to Wancheng.

That is the barrier of Wancheng!

And what about Wancheng?

Since the former Han Dynasty, China has always had the tradition of establishing five capitals.

During the more than [-] years of the Han Dynasty, Wancheng has always been one of the five capitals because of its economic and humanistic advantages.

Although after the establishment of Cao Wei, Wancheng was removed from the ranks of the five capitals and Qiaocheng was replaced.

But how can the influence of more than four hundred years be so easily eliminated?

In the hearts of the world, Wancheng has never withdrawn from the ranks of the five capitals of China.

In other words, Sima Yi lost Jiyang, which guarded the capital, in one battle.

It is self-evident how serious the political and military implications of this incident are.

The most ridiculous thing is that Zhang Yun only came to Luoyang for half a month.

And Sima Yi lost Jiyang within half a month after Zhang Yun left Wancheng.

How could this not make Cao Rui angry?

According to Sima Yi's speed of losing cities, no matter how many important cities Wei had, they would all be thrown away before he stood up.

To be honest, if it weren't for Jia Kui's kind remarks, Cao Rui would have issued an edict to dismiss Sima Yi.

Compared to his grandfather, are all the people promoted by his father like this?

However, after reading Jia Kui's memorabilia and knowing that Sima Yi's opponent is Zhang Fei, Cao Rui's anger gradually subsided.

After all, Sima Yi had committed dereliction of duty in this battle, but he was not extremely stupid.

Moreover, after Zhang Fei captured Jiyang, he would definitely besiege Wancheng with heavy troops.

In such a critical situation, it is indeed not a wise thing to change generals.

In the end, Cao Rui only made two dispositions to this battle.

"Pass down the edict: Cut off Sima Yi's title of General Annan, and demote him to General Huwan."

In Cao Wei, General Annan is also considered a heavy-ranking general, but his authority is relatively small.

But no matter how small, General Annan can still govern the entire war in Jingzhou in name.

But General Huwan is not.

As the name suggests, General Huwan can only be in charge of the military around Wancheng, as for other places, he has nothing to do with it.

Cao Rui's demotion directly fell to Sima Yi's main artery.

After finishing the edict, Cao Rui hesitated for a while and then said: "Abolish the counties and counties in Jingzhou, change Nanyang County to Wei'an County, and incorporate it into Yuzhou."

If Cao Rui's first edict was normal, then his second edict surprised Sun Zi and Liu Fang, and they looked at each other in blank dismay.

Once this edict is promulgated, it is undoubtedly announcing to the world that the Great Wei will no longer have control over Jingzhou.

Cao Wei, who claimed to rule the nine states in the world, thus became the eight states.

If the face-saving Cao Pi knew about this, he would definitely not agree.

After seeing Sun Zi and Liu Fang's hesitant expressions, Cao Rui said decisively: "There is no need to hesitate, just do as Gu said."

In Cao Rui's view, it is inevitable to abolish Jing and enter Henan.

After the Battle of Xiangfan, Cao Wei's territory north of the Han River shrank greatly, and even Nanyang County was divided into two.

This situation means that Cao Wei has no strategic depth in Wancheng area at all.

This reason is also another internal reason that caused Sima Yi to lose Jiyang.

Because of the lack of strategic depth, General Annan Sima Yi could only be led by the nose by Zhang Fei in order not to lose Jiyang.

After losing Jiyang, Cao Wei's control near Wancheng will be further weakened.

Given the current situation, Sima Yi is lucky to be able to control the counties around Wancheng from surrendering to the Han army.

So if he doesn't incorporate the area around Wancheng into Yuzhou's political region, Wancheng will probably become an isolated city in the next battle.

Although Wancheng is very close to Yuzhou, no matter how powerful Jia Kui is, it is impossible for him to support Wancheng indefinitely across the state-Jia Kui's rapid retreat from Wancheng has proved this point.

Therefore, the current existence of Jingzhou, apart from not embarrassing Cao Wei too much in terms of face, will instead become a huge strategic shortcoming of Wei Jun.

That being the case, does Jingzhou still have meaning?

Not to seek false fame, but to gain real benefits, this is the life creed that Professor Cao Cao gave to Cao Rui.

Cao Cao also relied on this life creed back then to develop and grow step by step.

As Cao Cao's most valued heir, Cao Rui naturally knew what decision he should make at what time.

Seeing Cao Rui's decisive attitude, Sun Zi and Liu Fang no longer hesitated, and soon wrote the imperial edict and asked the servants to send it to Shangshutai.

At the same time that the edicts were sent to Wancheng and Yuzhou respectively, on the land of Longyou thousands of miles away, a well-equipped Han army also came to the street pavilion.

One chapter today, two chapters tomorrow.