Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1418 Death Realm
Yang Xiu said, "The so-called counter-espionage strategy has two purposes: one is to counterattack as the main purpose, and the other is to use spies as the main purpose."

"If Hannan is a united front, it would be difficult to take action, but from what I have seen from the diplomatic corps, it has many internal and external troubles."

"The most serious problem Hannan faces is a lack of direction."

"Their most important goal is to restore the Han Dynasty, but in fact, most of the roads have been blocked by Jin and Wei. No matter what they do now, their chances of success are slim."

"In fact, if there were no pressure from the State of Jin, the best thing they could do would be to restore the status of the Duke of Shanyang as the Son of Heaven. Who in the world could compare to this in terms of legitimacy?"

"Although the new king is still young, he obviously has his own ideas and will not accept this. Xu Shu is loyal to Lord Xuande, so he will naturally not give up Hannan."

"The conflict is not intense now. In a few years, the situation in the world will change again. I am afraid that chaos will break out in Hannan sooner or later."

Yuan Xi also had to admit that Yang Xiu had an extremely accurate grasp of people's hearts. He said, "In that case, I still have to pass on what I want to say to Liu Chan through the envoys."

"If he doesn't want to, I won't force him. When he grows up, he will naturally understand some things."

Yang Xiu said slowly: "One of the breakthrough points may be Cai Mao."

"The extent of Cai Mao's psychological instability depends on the war between Hannan and Wei in the Jingzhou area."

"The intensity of the battle in Jingzhou will depend on how Prime Minister Zhuge attacks Chang'an."

"The situation in the whole world is very complex."

Yuan Xi looked towards the direction of Chang'an and thought that judging by the time, Zhuge Liang had probably already joined forces with Zhao Yun and fought to the outskirts of Chang'an and started fighting with the Wei army defending Chang'an.

With a loud bang, the tent began to shake.

In the camp at the outer gate of Chang'an, Yu Jin jumped up immediately after hearing the sound and ordered the panicked soldiers to calm down and find a place to hide.

As the Cao Wei general with the most experience in fighting the Jin army, he naturally knew that this was the Jin army's specialty, a dawn raid.

At this time, the Cao army soldiers had rested for most of the night and were in the deepest sleep. If they were awakened from their drowsy sleep and thrown into battle, not only would their combat effectiveness be greatly reduced, but their subsequent state would also be extremely bad.

After several days of this, the Wei army was completely suppressed by the Jin army in terms of both morale and combat effectiveness. Although Yu Jin knew this, he had no better response strategy and could only let the soldiers take turns to rest.

Moreover, he could not retreat. By now, Wei Ting's fleeing convoy should have passed Hanzhong, but had not yet reached Chengdu. There were many variables in between. If Chang'an was lost at this time, I am afraid that none of Yu Jin's family members who were taken away would have a good ending.

So Yu Jin could only fight here with his soldiers, and he knew that he could not return to Hanzhong. His only fate would be to be destroyed along with Chang'an.

In the same situation as him was Cao Hong in Chang'an City.

He suffered several major defeats over the years, and his reputation was almost ruined. But if it was when Cao Cao was alive, this would not be a big deal. There was no one in Cao's camp who was victorious in every battle, including Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun. Who had not been defeated?

However, after Cao Pi came to power, the situation became increasingly difficult. He was extremely hostile to the Cao clan. The Xiahou clan was slightly better, but Cao Ren and Cao Hong had sided with Cao Zhi, so they were the first to be excluded.

The last time Cao Hong was ambushed by Zhuge Liang, he lost the outskirts of Xu Du and fled back, becoming the scapegoat for the loss of Xu Du. Although he argued that it was due to the collapse of Sima Yi's direction, Cao Pi still ruthlessly put the blame on Cao Hong.

Although Sima Yi was also dismissed from his post, he was soon reinstated. In comparison, Cao Hong's experience was much more tortuous. He stayed in prison for more than half a year, and even his home was demolished. Several of his children were displaced and almost starved to death on the streets. In the end, they were temporarily adopted by Xiahou Dun.

As the investigation into Cao Hong's crimes became more and more serious, Cao Pi even had the idea of ​​executing Cao Hong. People in the court kept trying to persuade him, and finally Madam Bian stepped in and allowed Cao Hong to make meritorious service after being released from prison, and this merit was to defend Chang'an.

After Cao Hong learned about this, his heart sank to the bottom. He knew what was waiting for him, but he could neither argue nor do anything.

Because his family was taken away, just like Cao Wei’s military farming to deal with the families of soldiers. As a member of the Cao Wei clan, Cao Hong had no choice but to die in Chang'an. Could he at least surrender to the Jin State?
So he had to take over the military power silently and watched Wei Ting's troops leave Chang'an and disappear in the direction of Yizhou.

Cao Hong still can't understand why Cao Pi left him no chance of survival. There were many people supporting Cao Zhi, could you have killed them all?
It can’t be because I didn’t lend him money, right?
Now Cao Hong and Yu Jin, one inside and one outside, with the small number of Wei troops with extremely low morale, were guarding Chang'an in vain, waiting for the day when the Jin army would march forward and the Wei army would be completely unable to resist.

And the Wei army, from the middle-level generals to the soldiers, were not fools who wanted to be buried with the Wei State. They had already made up their minds. Although it was impossible for them to surrender to the enemy, it was impossible for them to risk their lives, so they began to work without putting in any effort.

Their goal now is to try their best to preserve their lives in the battle, wait for the day when their own side collapses completely, and then find an opportunity to surrender to the Jin army.

As for the family members who were taken away, they could no longer take care of them. If the families of high-ranking generals could still be protected, then according to the morality of the Wei State, the families of these low-level soldiers would probably have been distributed to others. In this case, why should they risk their lives?
Driven by this mentality, Wei soldiers often escaped. Even though Yu Jin sent a large number of military supervisors, the deserters still kept coming. So Yu Jin simply disrupted the organization every few days and asked a dozen soldiers to monitor each other, which slightly stopped the deserters. However, the Wei army was obviously not very powerful in this state. As the Jin army advanced step by step, the Wei army could only defend the important mountain pass near Chang'an. However, under the attack of the Jin army's siege equipment, it was only a matter of time before they were completely lost.

At this time, Yu Jin was ordering his men to reinforce the fortress. A troop of Jin soldiers had already come over. When they saw the flag, they rode over and said, "Congratulations, General Yu, on your reinstatement."

Yu Jin's face was burning with anger. He saw that the man looked like Zhang Xiu. He could not help but stand up with his shield raised and said, "Same here. At least I have not changed my master, unlike General Zhang who changed three masters like Lu Bu."

Zhang Xiu sneered, "Do you think you can anger me? I wholeheartedly surrendered to Cao Wei, and how did Cao Wei treat me?"

"First they wanted to seize my generals and soldiers, then they forced my aunt to marry them. After I was captured, they imprisoned my son, and finally caused him to die in prison. Have I ever done anything to let Cao Wei down?"

"General Yu is deeply trusted by Cao's camp. He refused to give up even after being captured. He immediately went into battle and fought bravely when he returned. He is truly loyal."

"But given General Yu's situation, I'm afraid Wei State doesn't want to let you go back, right?"

After hearing this, Yu Jin snorted coldly and said, "Stop talking nonsense! It is not your turn, Zhang Xiu, to tell me what to do!"

"I heard that your aunt is on Guan Yu's side. In the future, General Zhang will be able to play with both sides and have the best of both worlds."

Although Zhang Xiu knew that Yu Jin did it on purpose, he couldn't help but get angry. He roared, took out the longbow from behind, and shot at Yu Jin in the face.

Yu Jin raised his shield to block, the arrow head embedded in the shield, the tail of the arrow made a buzzing sound, and then there were two more bang sounds. Zhang Xiu fired three arrows in a row, trying to hit Yu Jin from the edge of the shield, but they were all blocked.

After shooting, Zhang Xiu felt his arm twitching slightly. His finger was injured by Ma Chao last time, and his strength was greatly affected. Moreover, the Jin army was now fighting a positional war, and the role of cavalry in attacking strongholds was gradually weakened, so Zhang Xiu had not made any meritorious service for a long time.

Thinking that Yizhou was almost entirely mountainous and there was almost no place for cavalry to use their skills, Zhang Xiu could not help but feel anxious, and immediately waved his hand, ready to lead his men to attack the camp.

However, at this time, drums were sounded in the Jin army formation, ordering the cavalry to retreat. Zhang Xiu had no choice but to turn his horse around and lead his men back to the central army.

Yu Jin put down his shield and became even more worried. Cavalry were not good at attacking camps, but they were good at chasing. If he couldn't win now and wanted to leave, Zhang Xiu was watching him covetously, and it would be difficult for him to retreat.

Zhang Xiu returned to the central army and met Zhuge Liang, who was in charge. He asked, "Why did the Prime Minister ask me to withdraw before the battle?"

Zhuge Liang said, "Don't worry, General. The mountain passes near Chang'an are not good. If the cavalry attacks directly, the losses will be great. I'm afraid that by the time we get to Chang'an, there won't be many left."

Zhang Xiu said, "Xiu doesn't care. The hundreds of people under my command are all my personal soldiers who have followed me for many years. They are not afraid of death!"

Zhuge Liang advised: "General, this army can be used for a greater purpose."

"I guess that when we march into Chang'an, Cao Hong will definitely lead his cavalry out of the city to attack our camp. How about I leave him to you, General?"

"Before that, General, you should conserve your energy and provide support from the flanks."

After hearing this, Zhang Xiu took the order and went to conduct guerrilla warfare on the flank.

Zhang He, who was standing by, said, "The Prime Minister is in a very good mood today."

He had followed Zhuge Liang in fighting in the past two years and knew that Zhuge Liang was very strict in military discipline. As the commander-in-chief, there was actually no need for him to explain so much to Zhang Xiu.

Zhuge Liang said calmly: "His family members were killed by Cao Wei, so it is natural for him to be eager for revenge. As long as it does not violate military discipline, Liang can understand."

In fact, Zhuge Liang still had some hidden secrets that he did not tell. When he led his troops all the way here this time, he also marched southward and occupied most of Nanyang County in Jingzhou. The reason for this was that the gateway to Nanyang was extremely important, and it would be more reassuring to hold it in his own hands than in the hands of Hannan Kingdom.

What touched Zhuge Liang was that he met his two sisters who had been separated from him for many years in Nanyang.

After the Wei army withdrew from Nanyang, Jingzhou was occupied by Hannan and Jin. Zhuge Liang learned the whereabouts of his two sisters at the same time, and the Kuai and Huang families in Jingzhou also sent their two daughters to meet Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang had previously learned that his two sisters were widows. When the three siblings met, they were all filled with sorrow and extreme sadness.

(End of this chapter)