Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 520 Luring Hu into the Pass
In April, Liu Bei sent troops into Wuguan in order to attack the east and attack the west. While Cao Zhen was leading his troops to defend Lu Xun, Liu Bei marched thousands of miles straight, fought four battles and won four victories, defeated Wuguan, captured Shangluo, went down to Lantian, and reached Bashang.

Because Cao Zhang led two thousand cavalry to Chang'an and attacked Liu Feng in Bashui, which slightly slowed down the Southern Han offensive.

The two armies fought fiercely in Bailuyuan for two days. Sima Yi led 8,000 infantry to reinforce Chang'an. Although he defended Liu Bei with a small number of soldiers, fortunately, Bailuyuan faced deep ditches on both sides, and only the south side could be climbed to fight. Moreover, the Han army gradually ran out of energy after running long distances and fighting continuously, and was finally put off by Sima Yi and Cao Zhang.

In May, the two armies fought fiercely for several days. Just as the Wei army was becoming increasingly strenuous, Zhang He, who galloped from Nanyang, led 20,000 elite troops to Chang'an to assist Cao Zhen and Sima Yi.

Cao Zhen obtained Ma Chao's letter, successfully blocked Lu Xun at Luokou, and received reinforcements of 5,000 soldiers and horses. Changing from the previous situation of seclusion without fighting, Cao Zhen divided his troops to try to enter the Qinling Mountains and plunder Lu Xun's grain road.

Lu Xun divided his troops to defend him, and got into a dispute with Cao Zhen among the small groups.

Sima Yi was reinforced by Zhang He's 15,000 men. Although his troops were slightly less than Liu Bei's, he relied on Bailuyuan's geographical advantages and a steady stream of arrows, grain and grass to engage the Han army in an offensive and defensive battle.

Immediately afterwards, Cao Hong arrived in Guanzhong with 30,000 troops, and Liu Bei mobilized 10,000 troops from Jianghan to Bashang. The two sides once again gathered their troops to confront each other at Bashang.

The Han army was blocked due to the dangerous terrain and was not allowed to enter Guanzhong. The Wei army could not defeat the Liu and Lu armies, so they fell into a stalemate.

Under such a situation, Liu Bei placed his hope of breaking the situation on Longyou Ma Chao, while Cao Wei hoped that Ma Chao could be used for himself.

Of course, the defeat was a defeat, but it did not mean that Huo Jun could really conquer Xiapi City. With Cao Wei's national power, he could also mobilize troops from the three states of You, Bing, and Ji to go south. But what made Cao Wei Junchen helpless was that the coach actually had a conflict with the general. The two armies parted ways, with one going to defend Pengcheng and the other retreating to Shouchun.

He also said that the Wei envoy Yang Fuyan said, "The late emperor was very kind to me. I wanted to send troops, but the troops from Hexi were behind me, so I did not dare to leave lightly."

Chen Qun held the wat board and exclaimed to the left and right, "Since Huo Jun moved to Zhenjiang and Huaihe, every battle has been less than a battle. It's terrible!"

The Hexi soldiers Ma Chao mentioned were recruited by Zhang Ji, the governor of Liangzhou. Ma Chao's strong occupation of Longyou caused Zhang Ji's strong uneasiness. In order to ensure the safety of Liangzhou, he used his prestige to recruit Xianbei and Qiang Hu people, totaling 20,000 to 30,000 horses.

In order to prevent Huo Jun from sending troops to Huaibei. A few years before Cao Cao was alive, he personally appointed Xiahou Dun as commander. He used his extraordinary prestige to protect the Huaibei states, built city walls, repaired armor and reclaimed wasteland, which was able to somewhat restrain Huo Jun from sending troops to Huaibei.

Gathering the forces of the four armies might be able to rescue Xiapi, but the four armies were located east and west of Surabaya and were more than enough to defend the city, but not enough to send troops to rescue Xiapi. Moreover, Cao and Jia are at odds with each other. How can they put aside their past grudges?
"It is possible to adjust the troops of Hebei provinces to move southward"

Cao Pi coughed a few times, attracted everyone's attention, and asked: "Today Huaibei is defeated, Zang and Lu's armies retreat to Tancheng, from Jiayuzhou to Pengcheng, and Cao marches east to return to Shouchun. The four armies are separated and the strength of the troops is very different. How can this general retreat the thieves? ?”

Everyone looked at each other with hesitation. According to the distribution of soldiers and horses in Huaibei, Cao Wei still has soldiers and horses available. However, due to Huo Jun's victory, the armies in Huaibei were scattered.

Luoyang, Wei Xing Palace.

"Cough cough!"

Since Huo Jun was born, he has become a shadow on the Wei people. Even Cao Cao did not dare to defeat Huo Jun.

After learning what had happened, Ma Liangge knew that Ma Chao would not send troops, so he could only bring thousands of Qiang horses with him and return disappointed. Yang Fu received the news that Ma Chao was neutral and returned home satisfied.

Now the news of Xu Huai's defeat has spread from Huaibei to Luoyang. After blowing the pigeon whistle, Cao Xiu was defeated inexplicably, which shocked the civil and military officials in the palace.

Ma Liang and Yang Fu paid homage to Ma Chao one after another, and they did not hesitate to offer Wang Jue as a condition. Unexpectedly, Ma Chao accepted the canonization of both parties and was willing to pay tribute to the Han and Wei vassals.

Sun Quan frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the war in Henan is in crisis now. It is better to mobilize the soldiers and horses from Hebei to go south!"

In July, Yang Fu took the high road and conveyed the news to Luoyang first; Ma Liang took Hanzhong and then reached Lantian.

"Huo Jun defeated our army, marched to Xiapi, and resumed the water strategy. How can we control it now?" Wei Zhen sighed.

Ma Liang, the envoy of the Han Dynasty, said that he would work hard to defeat the thieves, and Gu should go with his majesty. However, at the beginning of the march to the right of Long, the Qiang people repeated the attack. Hexi soldiers were in the north and could not leave Long and go eastward, so they sent a thousand horses as tribute.

Cao Pi looked at the memorials of Cao Xiu and Jia Kui impeaching each other, with a very sad look on his face.

Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun died one after another, and now Cao Xiu was defeated with troops. The Xuhuai battlefield, which had finally stabilized, had another change, and Huaidong was in danger of being penetrated.

Now that Hexi forces have intervened, Ma Chao did not dare to send troops to help Liu Bei even though he wanted to, for fear that if he sent troops, the foundation he had finally saved would be lost.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's inappropriate to mobilize troops from Hebei!"

Sun Zi hesitated a little and said: "Now Beidi is strong and often intrudes on the frontier fortress. If we send troops from Hebei to go south, I'm afraid Kebi will see the opportunity and annex other tribes."

Cao Cao's death had an impact not only within Cao Wei, but also beyond the Great Wall. Those Hu people who were afraid of Cao Cao's reputation in the early years gradually became restless, and Ke Bineng was a representative figure among them.

Cao Zhang's attack on Wuhuan in Daijun not only defeated Wuhuan, but also forced Kebineng's forces out of the Central Plains and turned to surrender and pay tribute to Cao Cao. For example, when Cao Cao founded the country, Ke Bi was able to seek favors and bent his knees to send 3,000 Han households back to Shanggu County.

After Cao Cao's death, Ke Bineng gradually became bolder. He joined forces with Su Li, Bu Dugen and other Xianbei tribe leaders, and swore an oath by killing his horse not to sell his war horse to Cao Wei.

Seeing that Xianbei's power was growing, Cao Pi sent Qian Zhao, Tian Yu, Xie Jun and other senior ministers to border counties to prevent the unification of the Xianbei tribes. At present, Cao Wei is dispatching troops from Hebei to go south, and Ke Bineng may take the opportunity to launch a war to unify Xianbei.

Sun Quan held the wat tablet in his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the barbarians are suffering from skin diseases; the water thieves are suffering from heart and soul problems. Now we will temporarily transfer the troops from Hebei to go south, and then they will return home. No harm will be done to the outside world. Ke will be better than Neng. It is difficult to cause disaster." "In the past, when Tian Yin and Su Bo rebelled, Ke Bi could send out three thousand cavalry to attack them. Now he can go back to the old thing and send five thousand Hu cavalry southward, and then send out troops from all the counties in Hebei. It can keep soldiers in Hebei, and it can also make the weak Ke stronger."

"Your Majesty, this strategy should be a sign of weakness!"

Wei Zhen retorted: "Hebei has a well-established household registration. Recruiting troops and horses is enough to defeat the enemy. Why recruit Xianbei cavalry to follow him? Kebi Neng has great ambitions, but now he is recruiting him because of the defeat. He must be disloyal. This policy should be used Proceed with caution."

"If you can get rid of the water thieves, Kebi can be defeated overnight!"

Sun Quan disagreed and said: "Su Li, Bu Dugen and others are all leaders of Xianbei. How can they wait for Kebi to annex them without sending troops to fight?"

"What Zhongmou said is not unreasonable. If Zhengqi weakens his strength, Kebi Neng will do nothing!"

Cao Pi nodded slightly and said, "I am now ordering King Kebi Neng to send 5,000 servants and dispatch 25,000 soldiers from Hebei counties to go south. They are led by Zhenwei General Wu Zhi."

After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, when he was the crown prince, the civil and military affairs he valued had their important uses. For example, Wu Zhize used the power of the generals to supervise the military affairs in Hebei.

"Your Majesty, Wu Zhenwei is more literary than martial. Now he orders all the troops in Hebei to be defeated if they encounter Huo Jun!" Liu Ye said.

Cao Pi stroked his beard and asked, "Who do you think can be used?"

Liu Ye thought for a while and recommended: "Your Majesty, I think that Tian Yu, the captain of Wuwan, or the captain of Xianbei, can be used!"

"The captain who protects Xianbei is ordered to recruit General Youzhonglang and send the troops from Hebei south. Wu Zhenwei stays on the border and recruits the Hu people outside the Great Wall."

Cao Pi said: "Order Qian Zhao and his troops to cross the Yellow River quickly and go south to recruit soldiers and horses from three states to advance together to retreat Huo Jun's troops."

"promise!"

During Cao Cao's period, Qianzhao was reused and his official career was prosperous. After Han Hao's death, he was recruited as the Central Guard Army, and later supervised the sergeants of Qing and Xuzhou counties to attack the Donglai rebels.

After Cao Pi came to power, Qianzhao was worshiped as a school captain protecting Xianbei. Although his official position was promoted, his actual rights were reduced a lot.

Now in order to deal with Huo Jun, Cao Pi will once again use Qianzhao and use it to lead the Hebei armies southward to break the siege of Xiapi. If Wu Zhi is used to lead the army south, I'm afraid it will be in vain.

"Your Majesty, what should we do with Governor Jia and Cao Zhengdong?" Chen Qun asked.

Cao Pi hesitated for a long time and said: "Jia Qing is upright. Although he did not obey the military orders and led the partial army to plunder the Huaihe River, he supported Cao's expedition to the east well. Now he rushed to Pengcheng to defend the enemy. There is nothing to blame for his mistakes. A warrior who conquers the east always puts national affairs first. "Although there are mistakes in the use of troops this time, it is appropriate to use them in times of crisis. Both of them are not at fault, and they cannot be punished for this."

Cao Pi cannot blame Cao Xiu too much because of the clan general, otherwise there will be no one in Huaibei available. Of course, not blaming Cao Xiu does not mean that Cao Pi wants to blame Jia Kui. Jia Kui was loyal to Cao's family and worked hard for the country. If he was blamed for Cao Xiu, it would make others feel cold.

One side is a clan general and the other side is a minister, neither side can punish the crime. Cao Pi had no choice but to brush the matter off lightly.

As for who is responsible for Xu Huai's defeat, we will have to wait until after this battle to find someone else to hold accountable. However, given Cao Pi's character and the fact that the war took place in Xuzhou, the most suitable person was Zang Ba, the governor of Xuzhou.

"promise!"

The monarch and his ministers had an in-depth conversation for a long time about the war in Xuhuai. It was not until they had a finalized plan that they were about to end the issue. In addition to mobilizing soldiers and horses from Hebei to go south, Cao Wei recruited people from the fields to join the army and went to Pengcheng for reinforcements. Jia Kui was also strictly ordered to wait until the troops from Hebei arrived before he could send troops to fight.

Not long after the topic was over, the attendants walked into the hall and reported: "Your Majesty, envoy Yang has sent a letter saying that Ma Chao is willing to come forward and beg for surrender, but he has scruples about sending troops and is unwilling to send troops to attack the thieves."

As soon as these words came out, the kings and ministers of Wei Ting couldn't help but rejoice. The war in Guandong was not going well, and good news finally came from Guanxi.

"color!"

Sun Quan clapped his hands with the wat board and said with a smile: "If Ma Chao is not used by Liu Bei, Guanzhong will have no worries. Judging from the current situation, the water thieves and horses will retreat soon!"

"it is good!"

The ministers rarely smiled and cheered several times.

Jia Xu looked a little lonely when he saw the princes in the court like this. The late emperor had only passed away for more than a year. I didn't expect that Wei Guo would go downhill so quickly. Even though Liu Bei is forced to retreat now, Kansai's strength will be greatly reduced due to Ma Chao's rebellion.

With the war in the east and west, it is difficult to be optimistic at the moment. Even though Jia Xu said to himself that he was resourceful, there was nothing he could do.

Cao Pi stroked his beard and smiled and said: "Although Ma Ni is not of use to our country, it is a good deed not to send troops to help Liu. Let's wait for the troops in Guanxi to repel the water thieves, and then observe the situation in Longyou to see if they can advance westward. Recover the six counties of Guanxi."

With that said, Cao Pi ordered: "Yang Fu has served as an envoy and has made great achievements. Now he will be moved to serve as a minister."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)