Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 474
On March [-]th, Leishou Mountain Han army camp.

Shen Chen was sitting in the tent, looking at the latest official documents, his face was neither happy nor sad.

Seeing his expressionless face, Deng Ai and Jiang Wei asked curiously, "Master, what's the matter?"

Because now is not the time for military discussions, there are only three people in the tent, so in private, the two of them don't call Shen Chen's position, but Shijun.

Shen Chen put down the official document in his hand and said, "The Prime Minister plans to launch the Northern Expedition in May, and the General is also preparing for the offensive. When Hefei is built and the food and supplies are transported to the front line, they will be able to march in August."

"That's a good thing."

Jiang Wei said with a smile: "Three-way Northern Expedition, Cao Wei must be too busy to take care of himself. When the master takes Hedong, Cao Wei will have to resist the attack from the south, and we can take advantage of the trend to capture Bingzhou."

It has been a year and a half since the Northern Expedition at the end of Liu Bei's period, when Shen Chen took Chang'an first and occupied the three auxiliary lands of You Fufeng, Zuo Fengyi, and Jing Zhaoyin.

After that, Shen Chen, through preferential policies and government subsidies, attracted a large number of refugees to the deserted Guanzhong area for reclamation, thus solving the food and grass problem to a certain extent, and was fully prepared to take the lead in starting the war again this year.

According to the agreement, Shen Chen's side will fight first. If Cao Wei's troops in the south can be attracted to Guanzhong, it would be best if Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu's Cao Wei defense line is weaker.If Cao Wei didn't send people to help, then when Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu are ready in the middle or second half of this year, the war will start.

Now Shen Chen's offensive on the western front is going smoothly. Yesterday, Pang De sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that he had successfully breached Pi's County, and carried out an anti-ambush when Zhu Ling was retreating, and killed Zhu Ling. After resting for two days, he obeyed Shen Chen's arrangement and sailed south by boat.

As long as the plan of encirclement on three sides is completed and Cao Zhen is defeated, the Cao army on the western front will be under great pressure.

At that time, the entire Cao Wei court will face the danger of Shen Chen's soldiers pointing directly at Bingzhou, and even directly attacking Hanoi County through Wangwu Mountain, threatening Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei.

So it's obviously better for them to watch the situation.

However, Shen Chen was not too happy, but said: "Recently, we reported our detailed work in Cao Wei, and Cao Rui sent about ten thousand cavalry to Hedong for help."

"More than ten thousand cavalry?"

Jiang Wei and Deng Ai looked at each other. It seemed that there were not many cavalry, but the strength of both sides in Hedong was about the same. Although Pang De defeated Zhu Ling, the overall strength of Cao Wei was similar to them.

Therefore, when the two sides fell into a stalemate and confrontation, more than ten thousand cavalry might play a decisive role. No wonder Shi Jun's face was not much happy because the prime minister was preparing for the Northern Expedition.

Deng Ai then said: "Master, why don't you let General Ma go back to Hedong from Huayin first, and after defeating the enemy's cavalry, return to Huayin to prepare to cross the river and attack."

Shen Chen shook his head and said: "Ma Dai has other tasks in Huayin, so don't move lightly."

Ma Dai's role was not only to cross the Yellow River to attack Cao Zhen's rear, but also to guard Huayin to prevent Cao Wei's troops in Tongguan from mobilizing to harass Chang'an.

Shen Chen actually stayed in Chang'an with thousands of people, but Cao Wei couldn't defend Chang'an with 5 people at the beginning. It is obviously impossible to defend the huge Chang'an City with this manpower. Besides, Cao Wei is really smart not to attack Chang'an City, but attack the people.

As long as the people around Chang'an are killed or driven away, Shen Chen will not be able to get food locally, which will cause a major blow to his expedition, so Ma Dai's mission is still very critical.

Deng Aisi thought: "Then what should I do?"

Shen Chen pondered: "Actually, I'm not worried about the tens of thousands of cavalry in this area. As long as they don't fight head-on in the wild, the role of these cavalry is not as great as imagined."

"Is the master here?"

Jiang Wei didn't understand, since he wasn't worried about Cao Wei's reinforcements, what was he worried about.

Shen Chen said: "I'm here to report the details of my internal work in Cao Wei. A few days ago, Cao Rui issued an imperial edict, asking all the big families to donate to buy ranks. The middle rank can be promoted to the high rank, and the low rank can be promoted to the middle rank. There are countless Cao Wei families. , I am afraid that they will break their heads for these places?"

"Benefit price?"

Deng Ai couldn't help but said, "What's the difference between this and buying an official?"

"It's a fig leaf."

Shen Chen said: "During the time of Emperor Huan and Lingdi, the market was open in the palace, and officials could directly buy officials to promote their ranks. Cao Wei bought and sold the ranks of aristocratic families. Although it was only for promotion and not for selling official positions, children from middle-rank and low-rank aristocratic families could not be in the position. Now there is an upward channel for a high position, and there will inevitably be a large number of people rushing to donate money and efforts for Cao Wei."

This was what Shen Chen was most worried about.

Cao Wei is not like the southern Han Dynasty. The registered population and the number of land properties directly controlled by the imperial court are relatively small. Most of the population and land are controlled by the family and become hidden households and hidden properties.

In fact, Cao Wei's Tuntian system itself is no different from the hidden property of hidden households. The Cao family opened manors and turned the Tuntian people into their own tenants, and then used the income generated by these tenants to recruit soldiers and fight to expand the territory. At the same time, the emperor Liu Xie In the name of the government, he controlled the central government and eventually reached the top step by step.

So in a sense, the Cao family is the family with the most land and the largest population, but now the tenants under him are living too hard, and they are clamoring for rebellion, so they are forced to start looking for food, grass, materials and population from other families. That's all.

The problem is that in the past, Cao Wei could conquer the world by squeezing his tenants, thus holding most of the power in his own hands.It's not enough now, Cao Wei obviously wants to open up power, let more aristocratic families join in this carnival of power, and have a higher degree of unity with the aristocratic family.

This is definitely not a good thing for Cao Wei's politics, just like the aristocratic families in the Jin Dynasty almost all rode on the head of the imperial power, because the imperial power was controlled by the aristocratic family, which caused the collapse of the imperial power and the aristocratic family's power.

But for Cao Wei's military, it will be greatly enhanced.

With the population and food supplements of the aristocratic families, the problem of Cao Wei's shortage of soldiers and horses will be solved. It will be quite difficult to succeed in the Northern Expedition and unify the world.

Hearing this, Deng Ai also realized the key point of what Shen Chen said, and frowned and said, "Cao Wei is trying to mobilize the enthusiasm of the landlord class to oppose us."

He has followed Shen Chen for so many years, and he has learned political theory very well.

Shen Chen nodded: "The big man can have the current situation because we helped the Guizhou head class defeat the landlord class and win the support of the people. The aristocratic families in the north controlled a large number of people and land through the manor economy, and only a very small number supported Cao Wei. rule, which means their war potential is still great."

"Then what should we do now?"

Jiang Wei asked.

Shen Chen thought for a moment, looked around and said: "Although Cao Wei did this, it is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst. The hidden household population of the aristocratic family does not mean that they really support the aristocratic family. If we can find a good direction, maybe we can start from Their internal disintegration of the enemy."

"Internal disintegration?"

Deng Ai was puzzled and said, "I'm afraid it's not easy. Shijun wants to spread the thought of "On Humanity", but the common people at the bottom can't reach it at all. How can they be disintegrated?"

Shen Chen said with a smile: "The way to disintegrate is very simple. Even if Cao Wei recruited these family servants as soldiers and horses, their combat effectiveness is far inferior to Cao Wei's elite. When fighting, they aim at these people to attack, and they are easily defeated and suffer many casualties. Naturally, they don't want to continue to work hard, and if they fight in the future, even if Cao Wei has millions of troops, they will be nothing more than chickens and wags."

"I see."

The two of them suddenly realized, and they both took it for granted.

The people recruited by the aristocratic family must be their own tenants as soldiers. These people's fighting ability is far inferior to Cao Jun who has been trained for many years. Working hard for Cao Wei may cause internal rebellion at that time, which is their opportunity to break Cao Wei.

"Ah."

Shen Chen nodded, stood up from the table and said: "Let Cao Wei blow the wind and rain, I will stand still. Now Cao Zhen is blocked by me in Leishou Mountain, and Xu Huang is besieged in the city. Even if Cao Wei sends reinforcements to come , can't save the situation, just wait, when the opponent can't hold on, it's time for us to counterattack."

"only!"

Both Deng Ai and Jiang Wei bowed their hands in salute.

Now for them, the cards have been played, and they will sit firmly on the Diaoyutai, and it depends on how Cao Wei will take over.

.

.

The first year of Han Jianxing and the first year of Wei Taihe have reached a critical moment for Cao Wei and Liu Han.

On March [-]th, Sun Li rode on horseback and looked into the distance.

He has now arrived at Leishou Mountain. The mountains on the right side of the front overlap, and the Yellow River is rolling on the left. On the vast plain in the middle, the original forest has almost been cut down and turned into a grassland.

There are more than ten camps stretching on the grassland, the camps are more than ten li long from east to west, and the black flags of Cao Wei cover the sky and block out the sun, like a black cloud across the west side of Leishou Mountain.

Sun Li's [-] cavalry appeared behind Cao Wei's rear, and were soon spotted by Cao's army. After the exchanges between the two sides, the gate of Cao's camp opened, and Sun Li himself approached. Cao Zhen rode out surrounded by his own guards, puzzled. looking at him.

"Sun Li."

Cao Zhen wondered, "Didn't I tell you to go to the Pi family to help Zhu Ling?"

Shen Chen attacked Puban on February [-]th, and Cao Rui got the news on February [-]th, and then sent Sun Li as reinforcements.

At that time, Sun Li arrived at Tongguan, where Cao Zhen was located, on February 23. Cao Zhen knew that Pi's family, where Zhu Ling was, was being bombarded by Pound's catapults at that time, and was in danger of breaking the city, so he sent him to cross. The Yellow River, from Zhongtiao Mountain, went to Pi's support.

The straight-line distance between Tongguan and Pishi County is actually relatively short, only more than 120 kilometers.But that is the route by plane. If you really want to go, you have to go around Zhongtiao Mountain, about 300 kilometers, and the journey is extremely long.

So Sun Li traveled long distances again, from Tongguan to Zhongtiao Mountain, and detoured Anyi County to Pi's for support, but unexpectedly he came back suddenly.

Sun Li smiled wryly and said to Cao Zhen: "Governor, the general encountered Zhu Ling's rout on the way, and only then did he know that Pang De had broken through Pi's county town a few days ago, and Zhu Ling was killed by him."

"what?"

Cao Zhen turned pale in shock and said, "Pi's family has been destroyed, and Zhu Ling is dead?"

"Yes."

Sun Li nodded.

Cao Zhen frowned, reined in his horse and said, "Go back to the camp and start the military discussion."

"only."

Sun Li followed him into the camp.

Soon Cao Zhen called the generals to discuss matters, and more than ten senior generals in the camp gathered together.

Cao Zhen looked around and said: "Everyone, Zhu Ling didn't wait for reinforcements, Pi's city has been destroyed, and Xu Huang is the only one in Hedong County who is still holding on to Puban."

"Pee's broken?"

"It's no wonder that Shen Chen wanted to block us at Leishou Mountain. After Pi's family is broken, Pang De will definitely reinforce Pu Ban, and Xu Huang probably won't be able to hold on for long."

"What can we do? Isn't the Han army going straight to Bingzhou?"

"Let's see what the governor has to say."

All the generals immediately talked about it. Hedong is connected to Bingzhou, and Bingzhou has Taihang Baxing, which can reach Hebei directly. If Shen Chen occupies Hedong County and wins Bingzhou, which has little defense now, including Hanoi County and Luoyang, it will be subject to the Han army. The threat of soldiers.

So for this embarrassing situation, it is obvious that the generals are quite disturbed.

Cao Zhen looked at the restless generals below, pondered for a moment, and said: "It is a fact that the Pi clan was destroyed, but Puban was not captured, and before our army was repelled, how dare Shen Chen go straight to Bingzhou? Everyone There is no need to be afraid."

"That's true. We are stationed in Leishou Mountain. Even if he wins Hedong County, if he wants to attack Bingzhou, he has to worry about the follow-up food road being cut off by us. Shen Chen is not so bold to go deep alone."

A general said: "The governor, I am afraid that Xu Huang will not be able to hold on for too long. Once Puban is broken, we may have to retreat."

"Ah."

Cao Zhen maintained a serious face, nodded and said: "Yes, the most urgent task now is to keep Pu Ban, and to keep Pu Ban, you must break Shen Chen."

General Dong Bi said: "But Shen Chen's camp is standing in the middle of the road, blocking our way, and the exemption card is hanging. Even if we go down to the battle, there is no movement. It is obvious that we intend to hide in the camp and not come out. How should we break it? Of?"

In fact, there are only more than 1 people on Shen Chen's side, while Cao Jun has nearly [-], and Sun Li's Ministry even has [-], occupying an absolute advantage in terms of military strength.

But the problem was that even if Shen Chen avoided the battle, they had nothing to do with him.

Cao Zhen looked around and saw Sun Li and Zhou Sheng, the cavalry commander who succeeded Xu Shang after his death. He took out the map, looked at it for a long time, and said in a deep voice, "I have a solution."

"Oh?"

All the soldiers quickly looked at Cao Zhen.

Cao Zhen said: "Everyone, the distance from Leishou Mountain to Puban is less than [-] li, probably only a day's journey, right?"

"good."

Dong Bi said: "Shen Chen is stationed here to cover the troops surrounding Puban from attacking the city."

Cao Zhen said: "The front of Shen Chen's camp is equipped with countless defensive equipment. It is not easy to attack by force, but I don't believe that his rear is also so difficult to attack. If Zhou Sheng and Sun Li's cavalry detour to Zhongtiao Mountain and attack from the rear What will happen to Shen Chen's camp?"

"This"

A general hesitated and said, "Will this be too risky? Puban is too close. If they find out in advance and immediately send reinforcements to rescue them, the cavalry who made a detour to attack will be wiped out."

Cao Zhen shook his head: "Only in this way can Shen Chen be defeated quickly, and then rush to help Pu Ban, otherwise Xu Huang will be wiped out if he continues to wait here."

"Forehead"

Everyone looked at each other. Although this strategy was risky, it did make sense.

Behind Shen Chen is his main army, so it is unlikely that even the rear battalion is so heavily guarded and fully equipped with defense equipment.

As long as they launch a fierce attack first, and the cavalry suddenly appear behind him, it is really possible to break through Shen Chen. If he kills Shen Chen, wouldn't it be a great contribution?
Thinking of this, everyone agreed.

"The governor's strategy is really good, and the general thought he could give it a try."

"That's right, there is no one who doesn't take risks in marching and fighting, so you should fight like this."

"The end will second."

"it is good."

Seeing everyone's support, Cao Zhen said: "Send scouts immediately, we must first find out Pound's movements, if he did not go to Puban, but rushed to help Leishou Mountain, then the situation will become different, you should be careful For the top."

"only!"

Everyone bowed their hands and should be.

Immediately, Cao Zhen immediately dispatched scouts to investigate Pang De's situation first.

(End of this chapter)