Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1444 Shock
The news that the Wei army captured Fangling and Cao Zhen was killed in the battle soon reached Sima Yi in Hanzhong.

At this time, Sima Yi was building a city in Hanzhong to block the Jin army that was about to approach. When he got the news, he felt both happy and worried.

The good news is that if the Wei army recaptures Fangling, it will be able to move northward to Nanyang, threaten the Qiao-Han Pass, cut off Chang'an's logistical supplies, and thus reduce the threat of the Jin army threatening Hanzhong.

Of course, these are all ideal situations. After Cao Zhen and tens of thousands of soldiers were killed in the battle, only Xiahou Shang and more than 10,000 Wei troops were left. Sima Yi was not optimistic about how much threat the Wei army could pose to the powerful Jin army.

What Sima Yi was worried about was that the Jin army was very close. If Cao Zhen and Xiahou Shang's offensive was thwarted, they could withdraw to block the Jin army together. But now Xiahou Shang would definitely have to defend Fangling. This meant that for a considerable period of time, he would have to face the Jin army's offensive alone in Hanzhong.

This tremendous pressure made Sima Yi feel a little breathless. In fact, since he took office, if we exclude a few key battles with the Jin army, Sima Yi's performance can be said to be far superior to his peers and unmatched.

But in several crucial battles, it was Sima Yi who failed first. From the fall of Xu Du due to the sneak attack by the Jin army to the collapse of the Jingzhou defense line in the siege of Chang'an, Sima Yi bore an unshirkable responsibility. If it were someone else, he might have been imprisoned and never employed again.

Fortunately, Cao Pi also knew that Sima Yi's defeat could not be reversed by his own efforts. The main reason was that Jin State used most of its strength to target Sima Yi. Under such circumstances, Sima Yi had already done his best. If it had been someone else, the situation would have been even worse.

Moreover, Sima Yi was the most capable person in the Cao Wei court, so the heavy responsibility of guarding Hanzhong, the gateway to Yizhou, now had to fall on Sima Yi.

But what Sima Yi was worried about was that if he was defeated again this time, the Wei State would have no way to retreat. The officials in the Cao Wei court would be in collective despair and might impeach him as a scapegoat. Then his situation would be dangerous!

Moreover, in Sima Yi's view, the gap in power between the two countries has become so large that it cannot be bridged. Hanzhong cannot be defended and will fall sooner or later. He must not just defend it like this. He must find an excuse to leave Hanzhong and pass the blame to others. This is the only way to protect himself!

Sima Yi thought about it again and again, and then wrote a memorial, saying that the Jin army would arrive in Hanzhong in a month, and even if they did not launch an offensive before winter, they would launch an all-out attack in the spring of the following year.

With Wei's current strength, if it goes to war with Jin and Hannan at the same time, its logistics and manpower will not be able to sustain it. Therefore, we implore the Wei court to negotiate a ceasefire with one of the parties as soon as possible.

It was half a month later when this memorial and the battle report of Cao Zhen's death were sent to Chengdu.

At that time, Cao Pi suffered from headaches and toothaches, and was tortured day and night, and his temper became much worse.

After he got the news, while he was heartbroken about Cao Zhen's death in battle, he also felt relieved. This meant that Cao Xun would have to wholeheartedly acknowledge him as his father in the future, and the Cao family would be much more stable. Cao Pi even wondered if Cao Zhen had died in battle on purpose for the sake of his son's future?

But it is meaningless to think about these things now. Cao Pi strongly agrees with what Sima Yi said in the letter. Wei State no longer has the strength to go to war with Jin State at the same time. What needs to be done now is to find a way to stop the war and seek peace in order to restore its vitality.

Because Wei's previous plan against Hannan had failed, the strategy to promote peace talks did not work, but instead exposed an important spy planted next to Liu Chan, which made Cao Pi very disappointed. So this time he did not consult with the ministers, but went directly to the court and raised this issue in the court.

As expected, the Wei ministers had huge disagreements over which side to join the ceasefire with, and their argument was so fierce that no result was reached for most of the day.

This was because a considerable number of ministers supported a ceasefire with the State of Jin and took the opportunity to launch a full-scale attack on the State of Hannan.

The reason for this is that the situation today is different from the past. The strength of Jin has become so strong that many Wei officials have lost their courage. A considerable number of them are officials from Yizhou. They believe that if they confront Jin head-on, Wei will be dragged down sooner or later. In this case, it is better to bow to Jin in exchange for a chance to breathe.

Of course, the price to pay for making Jin temporarily stop its attack would be high, so some ministers suggested that they could pledge loyalty to Jin, or cede land in exchange for peace. Some even suggested that Hanzhong should be handed over directly to Jin.

This naturally angered another faction, which was mostly composed of old ministers of Cao Wei, who had deep conflicts and entanglements with the State of Jin. They believed that the only way out was to unite with Hannan to deal with the State of Jin. Otherwise, if only one of Wei and Hannan remained, how could they deal with the powerful State of Jin?
Both factions had their own reasons and neither could convince the other. There were also some more pessimistic officials who believed that no matter which path was chosen, the Wei Kingdom would eventually be doomed. These people muddied the waters even further during the debate. The quarrels of hundreds of ministers reached Cao Pi's ears, making him even more confused.

He had been listening for several hours and had already eaten two boxes of candied cakes. After hearing the last part, he could no longer bear it and snorted coldly, "You are all so mediocre. You disappoint me!"

As soon as he spoke, everyone in the hall fell silent. Cao Pi spoke again, "There is no point in arguing about this now!"

"I already understand that with the strength of Wei, it is impossible to continue fighting like this. And are you guys thinking too highly of yourself? Do you think that if Wei negotiates, the other party will definitely agree?"

"Can you guarantee that?"

All the officials in the hall bowed their heads and kept silent. Cao Pi said, "So I have decided to send envoys to both countries for peace talks!"

"We will form an alliance with whichever side agrees. It would be best if both sides can stop the war. Otherwise, Wei may not be able to hold out for three years!"

After hearing this, all the officials breathed a sigh of relief. Cao Pi's idea was actually the most feasible one. The State of Wei really needed a year or so to recuperate.

Someone said, "If neither side agrees..." Everyone's heart tightened. This was very possible. If the other side was determined to join forces to destroy the State of Wei first, what should they do?
Cao Pi pointed at a man and said, "Gong Heng, tell me what you think."

He was referring to Huang Quan, who was born in Brazil and was originally a member of Liu Zhang's old army. Now he was the General of Chariots and Cavalry. When he saw Cao Pi asking questions, Huang Quan stepped out and said, "I think if we act like this, we should first open up to the Nanman and find a way to retreat."

Someone asked, "Where can we go further south?"

Huang Quan said in a deep voice: "If we can't defend Yizhou, we can only go to Ailao Jiaozhi, or even further away."

When everyone heard this, their faces changed and they cursed in their hearts. The further south they went, the more mountains and rivers there were. Not only were there barbarians, but there were also poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts. It was an uncivilized and malaria-ridden place for thousands of years. Chengdu was a prosperous place that had been run for thousands of years, but now it was going to be reduced to the point of being a savage place?
If we leave, you people from Yizhou will stay and surrender, right?
At that moment, some people objected, and Cao Pi pointed at one of them and said, "Xiaozhi, you speak."

He was referring to Fa Zheng, who was also an old subordinate of Liu Zhang. Like Huang Quan, he was an appointed official of the Yizhou faction. Fa Zheng stepped forward and said, "I think we should negotiate peace with Jin to buy a breathing space. Next, we must conquer Hannan and occupy Jiangdong in any case, so that we can compete with Jin."

"Jin will attack Wei sooner or later. We should buy as much time as possible. Wei cannot expect them to show mercy. As for Hannan, it will definitely not stand on Wei's side. Only by taking it can we reduce the variables."

"I think that even if we give up Yizhou in exchange for the destruction of Hannan, it is worth it."

Cao Pi asked, "What will happen to the Wei Kingdom?"

Fa Zheng said, "If Jiaozhi is not far enough, then go to Annan or Siam."

After hearing this, everyone was even more speechless. Where had they gone?
But the situation in Wei State is indeed very bad now. They also know in their hearts that Jin State is determined to unify the world, so how can they let Wei State go? Peace talks are nothing more than wishful thinking and a slim chance that they can only strive for.

Cao Pi sneered in his heart. He knew what the officials from Yizhou were thinking. It was a nice idea to let Wei give up Yizhou on its own so that the war would not affect the Yizhou gentry!

He suddenly changed the subject, "I heard that some people have been thinking about retreating recently."

The officials were shocked, and then they heard Cao Pi say: "Actually, I can understand this. After all, people go to higher places and water flows to lower places. This is common sense."

"But what I cannot tolerate is that you take the salary from Wei State, but you still sell out the territory and lives of Wei soldiers, thinking that this is the basis for your advancement. Such a person's character is really despised by me."

"Zhang Song, don't you think so?"

Everyone subconsciously turned around and cast their eyes on Zhang Song, the deputy driver.

Zhang Song was a native of Shu County and was now the deputy governor of Yizhou. He did not expect Cao Pi to suddenly ask him about this. Seeing everyone looking at him, he said in panic, "Your Majesty, I did not do these things."

Cao Pi sneered and said, "I didn't ask you personally, why are you so anxious to explain?"

"Have you ever done anything wrong?"

"Someone, take down Zhang Song!"

Immediately, court guards came up and tied up Zhang Song. Zhang Song cried out that he was innocent, but Cao Pi waved his hand and Chen Qun stepped forward and took out the evidence of Zhang Song's treason collected by the Imperial Household Department and began to read it.

After hearing this, all the officials changed color. Zhang Song had actually been secretly communicating with the Kingdom of Hannan and betraying Xiahou Dun's military intelligence along the way, causing him to suffer repeated setbacks along the way.

Cao Pi sneered and said, "Zhang Song, what else do you have to say?"

"Someone, drag him out and behead him!"

Soon, a soldier brought up Zhang Song's head on a plate. All the officials were terrified, and some of them had trembling legs and could not even stand steadily.

Cao Pi saw that his goal had been achieved, so he stood up and said, "You all have seen it. If you stand on the side of Wei, I will treat you as a national hero. If you betray Wei, I will let you die in front of Wei!"

"No matter where Wei is heading, Yizhou will live and die with it. Don't even think about staying out of it!"

(End of this chapter)