Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 339 General Bai Di
  Guanzhong, Chang'an.

In the lobby, Cao Cao was sitting on the couch, holding a scroll in his hand, quite entranced.

Outside the hall door, Xu Chu stood with his sword in his hand, staring at the movements around him.

"Tiger Hou!"

Sun Quan followed his troops to the door of the hall, holding a food box in his hand and saying greetings.

When Xu Chu saw that it was Sun Quan, his face relaxed slightly and he said, "What did Marquis Wu mention?"

Sun Quan raised the food box as a gesture and said with a smile: "The chef made some pastries. Quan ate them. They tasted delicious. Seeing that Wei Gong is tired from his duties, I specially asked Wei Gong to taste some. Do you want to check them?"

Xu Chu stretched out his hand towards the hall and said: "Wu Hou, please come in!"

Sun Quan looked around, took out a basket of cakes, handed it to Xu Chu, and said with a smile: "Please enjoy it, Marquis Hu!"

"This~"

Xu Chu looked hesitant, but when he saw Sun Quan leaving and smelled the aroma of the cakes, he finally decided to share the food with him.

Since Sun Quan returned to Cao Cao, Sun Quan has won Cao Cao's favor with his loyalty. Now Sun Quan has become one of the few trusted ministers who can enter the court without Xu Chu notifying him. You must know that you can enter the hall without notification. This kind of treatment is not even available to Cao Ren.

Moreover, Sun Quan can interact with Xu Chu like this, which shows that the relationship between Xu Chu and Sun Quan is very deep and unparalleled. Otherwise, with Xu Chu's character, he would never accept Sun Quan's cakes.

"Meet Mr. Wei!"

Seeing Cao Cao studying, Sun Quan took a small step forward, bowed down, brought the brocade box to the table, and said, "The chef has made new cakes, please taste them, Duke Wei."

Cao Cao put down the slip and said, "Why is Zhongmou so slack on official duties?"

Sun Quan looked respectful and said with a smile: "I am thinking about Duke Wei, how can I waste my official business?"

"Quan saw that Duke Wei had little food and was worried that Duke Wei was hungry, so he offered some cakes to Cao Cao." Sun Quan opened the food box for Cao Cao and said, "The cakes are mixed with honey and have a delicious taste. Duke Wei can taste some."

The aroma was so fragrant that Cao Cao was so excited that he took a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus-shaped pastry and put it into his mouth.

"Ok!"

Cao Cao showed a sense of enjoyment on his face and said: "The pastry is really delicious, Zhong Mou is interested!"

"It's fine if Wei Gong likes it. I don't have to ask for power!" Sun Quan said happily.

"As we get older, we are not as able to eat as we were when we were young, so we only rely on sweets to whet our appetites." Cao Cao said with emotion as he ate pastries.

Sun Quan showed a smile and said: "There is no power in the world today, but we cannot do without Duke Wei. The world knows that Han Zuo has been exhausted, and a new generation will rise. Fortunately, Duke Wei has been fighting for more than [-] years, pacifying China, and his merits are attributed to Li Shu. Duke Wei You should take good care of your body so that you can obey heaven and the people and be popular in the world!"

Sun Quan's words were vague, but they hinted that Cao Cao could consider proclaiming himself emperor next.

Cao Cao tasted the pastries and said meaningfully: "Let's see where the destiny is. If the destiny is in the north, I will eventually win the world!"

After eating a few pieces of pastry, he felt full. Cao Cao smiled and said: "How can I enjoy this delicious food alone? You can give it to all the ministers and share it."

"promise!"

The attendant came out of the hall carrying the food box, but when he went out, he bumped into Sima Yi, and the cakes in the food box were scattered all over the floor.

Sima Yi ignored the apology and hurriedly stood at the door of the hall, saying sadly: "Wei Gong, Hanzhong came to report that our army was defeated."

"what!"

Cao Cao's smiling face suddenly turned cold and said, "What's going on?"

Seeing Cao Cao's answer, Xu Chu let Sima Yi in.

Sima Yi rushed inside, fell to his knees on the ground, and said sadly: "The bandits took the small road to Hannan and seized Hanshan Mountain. General Xiahou was afraid that the Micang camp would be breached, so he ordered Zhu Lingnan to assist the Micang camp, and he led his army to fight with Huang Loyalty fights for Hanshan Mountain. Unexpectedly~"

After hesitating for a while, Sima Yi lamented: "Unexpectedly, the general of the rebel army was neither Huang Zhong nor Gan Ning, but the rebel commander Huo Jun. Seeing that the battle for the mountain was unfavorable, General Xiahou personally led his sergeants to supervise the battle. Huo Jun took the opportunity to erect a large banner and rely on his reputation. He frightened the soldiers and set up an ambush in the mountains."

"The ambush came out, and our soldiers fled in fear. General Xiahou's horse was blocked by antlers, and he was stabbed to death by Huang Zhong!"

"Now Hannan has been lost, and all the troops have retreated to Hanbei!"

Cao Cao staggered and muttered to himself, "Why did Miao Cai die in battle?"

"impossible!"

Cao Cao's heart was in agony, his head was buzzing, and he whispered.

"Wei Gong, General Miaocai was blocked by antlers and died under Huang Zhongshan!" Sima Yi lowered his head and emphasized again.

"Fork out!"

Cao Cao suddenly burst out and said: "How can a wonderful talent die because of antlers?"

After speaking, Cao Cao's head felt like needles pricking his head, his vision turned black, and he almost fainted.

Sun Quan, who had good hands and quick eyes, supported Cao Cao and shouted: "Wei Gong, send the doctor!"

Cao Cao held his head and calmed down, raised his palms, suppressed his sorrow, and said: "Send orders to all the ministries, I want to personally conquer Hanzhong to avenge General Xiahou!"

"promise!"

"Duke Wei!"

Sun Quan helped Cao Cao into the bed, gritted his teeth and said, "Liu Bei and Huo Jun have harmed the great cause of Duke Wei. If they are not killed, it will not be enough to redress their hatred. Quan wrote a letter back to Yecheng, selected the Jianghuai tribe in the mansion to go south, and looked for opportunities to assassinate the two thieves."

"Huo Jun is a famous general of Chu. If he dies, Liu Bei will lose his confidants and will be unable to look north to the Central Plains; Liu Bei is a traitor of the south. If he dies, Wu and Chu will be out of order and the top and bottom will lose their unity, and the world will belong to Duke Wei."

Cao Cao rubbed his head, waved his hand and said, "Liu Bei and Huo Jun have many soldiers coming and going, how can An easily assassinate them?" "Hey!"

Cao Cao couldn't help crying and said: "Miaocai is loyal, brave and trustworthy. When I was young, I committed a crime and Miaocai took the blame for me. Later, when the world was in chaos and the family had no food, Miaocai gave up his young son to raise his dead brother and daughter. Since then. Raising an army alone, his brilliant talents followed him for more than twenty years and made outstanding achievements."

"For many years, I have been advancing bravely, but I was defeated by Huo Jun many times. I worked hard to strengthen myself, so I launched a campaign to sweep away Guanyou. When my troops entered Hanzhong, I wanted to let them make achievements, but they unexpectedly suffered a disastrous defeat."

"Hey!"

Cao Cao sighed again, looking lonely.

Although Cao Cao was a ruthless man, he was not a heartless man. Xia Houyuan's death in battle caused far more psychological harm to him than Zhang Liao's death in battle.

Sun Quan also remembered the psychological trauma Huo Jun caused to him when Er Liu went to Jiangdong. Without Huo Jun, Liu Bei would not have taken away Jiangdong from him.

Isn't it happier to sit in Jiangdong and be the king of Daogu than to be a loyal minister and good future for an old thief?
  Cao and Sun were licking the wounds of their souls, and Sima Yi was also summoning all the civil and military personnel in the house to rush to the lobby to wait for orders.

At dusk, Cao Cao put away his vulnerable side, resisted the wind in his head, and met with everyone.

Cao Cao tied a linen scarf on his head, looked around at the crowd, and said in a deep voice: "This month, Xiahou Yuan led an army to attack Hannan. He sent troops to attack the west and north slopes and repaired the antlers. The sergeants failed and led a thousand men to the north slope. Fight. Yuan commanded the troops to fight, Huo Jun set up a false ambush, and Yuan was frightened and withdrew."

"The thieves rode out of the valley, and the soldiers retreated into the abyss to Lujiao. The horses could not pass through, and they were lost among the soldiers."

As he spoke, Cao Cao said with regret: "Xiahou Yuan is not capable of using troops. He is called 'General Baidi' in the army. As a commander, he must sacrifice himself. How can he go to the battlefield to supervise the battle in person?"

"To die under the antlers of self-cultivation is the time! The destiny!"

General Bai Di is neither a fool nor an idiot.

There are often large deserts in the northwest. Grass does not grow in the desert, so it is called white land. In Baidi, there are often bandits or barbarians, who are called Baidi Hulu, or Baidi bandits.

Such thieves from the White Land are often a mob. They march and fight without any rules. They come and leave as soon as they are called.

Cao Cao called Xia Houyuan General Bai Di, which meant that Xia Houyuan was too reckless in fighting and lacked the composure of a commander. Not only did he personally repair the antlers, but he also personally led the few soldiers to supervise the battle.

Everyone was silent, with different thoughts.

Xia Houyuan's death in battle and Huo Jun's sudden attack took everyone time to digest.

After warning everyone, Cao Cao asked again: "How is the war in Hanzhong today?"

Yang Xiu stood up from the table and said: "According to the report from the messenger, the Hanbei camp collected the defeated troops, retreated thirty miles to the stronghold, and gathered the cavalry on the river bank to wait for the enemy to cross the river."

Cao Cao nodded with satisfaction and said: "This general knows the military strategy and uses retreat to advance. He can drive Huo Jun across the river!"

After a pause, Cao Cao asked: "Who is the leading general in the army? The military strategy is so exquisite!"

"Informing the Duke of Wei, the generals recommended General Zi Lian as commander. General Zi Lian humbled himself and was inferior to Huo Jun. At that time, everyone was discussing the strategy. Ma Yizhou proposed this strategy. General Zi Lian recommended Yizhou as commander. All generals thought it was feasible. Yang Xiu said.

Cao Cao stroked his beard and said with a smile: "As expected, horses are really the most powerful commander. Zi Lian does not have such a military strategy, and Zhang He does not have the official position. Only horses can command the army!"

After much deliberation, Cao Cao ordered: "Give Ma Chao a holiday and temporarily lead the army to fight until he goes to Hanzhong alone."

"Wait a minute!"

Cao Cao shouted again: "The letter commends Zi Lian, praising him for judging the situation, respecting the public first, and asking him to assist Ma Chao well!"

"No!" Yang Xiu was ordered to hand over his hand.

"Gu Yu leads the army to attack Hanzhong in person. How are the food preparations going now?" Cao Cao asked.

"Informing the Duke of Wei that the road to Shu is difficult and dangerous, the people of Longyou and Guanzhong have been dispatched to supervise the military operations in Hanzhong. Now the Duke of Wei wants to lead a large army to conquer Hanzhong. Food and grass need to be prepared from the Central Plains, and the people will have to serve as corvees from far away." Zhang He raised his hand and said.

Cao Cao ignored the difficulty of mobilizing grain and grass from far away and said: "Hanzhong, the throat of Bashu, must be seized. I will issue a decree to Ji and Yanzhou to mobilize grain and grass and recruit the people."

"promise!"

"Where is Yu Jin?"

"The end is here!"

"I will order you to be the vanguard and supervise Chencang's ten thousand people to enter Hanzhong." Cao Cao ordered.

"No!" Yu Jin responded.

"Where are Qianzhao and Han Hao?" Cao Cao pointed.

Qian and Han stepped out of the queue and responded: "The general is here!"

"I order you two to each supervise ten thousand people, and form an isolated army to conquer Hanzhong."

"promise!"

Cao Cao looked at Zhao Yan and shouted: "Where is Zhao Yan!"

"Chen is here!"

"I order you to stay in Guanzhong and supervise the food route. Don't make any mistakes."

"The minister takes orders!"

Cao Cao stood up from the couch, with a stern look in his eyes, and said: "Liu Zhang is guarding Shu, so he can be an internal response. When Badi first surrendered, people's hearts were not attached to it. Food and grass were transported thousands of miles, and ten stones of grain reached Hanzhong, and it was difficult to leave even one stone. When the troops entered, Hanzhong, this general will greatly benefit our army!"

"The Prime Minister is wise!" everyone responded in unison.

The difficulty in transporting grain and grass mentioned by Cao Cao was not only experienced by Liu Bei, but also by Cao Cao. Hanzhong is located between the Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains. The mountain roads are hundreds of miles long. This will be a logistical nightmare.

If Liu Bei has poor logistics, Hanzhong will not be able to defend it even if he wants to; if Cao Cao has problems with his food supply, it will be useless no matter how many troops he has!
  (End of this chapter)