Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 698 A little plan
November, 227 AD, the third year of Jianxing.

Zhao Yun, following Zhuge Liang's order, led his troops to cross Xiong'er Mountain, and unexpectedly crossed the Yi River, striking Yique Pass. Luoyang was shaken, and Cao Rui sent Xu Chu and Qin Lang to lead troops to occupy it, and ordered Sima Yi to divide his troops to plunder Luhun.

Ke Bineng led tens of thousands of Hu cavalry from Dai, Shanggu and Yanmen into the pass, penetrated Taiyuan, Changshan and Zhongshan counties, plundered the countryside, and extorted money and food, causing unrest in Hebei. Cao Rui ordered Cao Hong to abandon the plan to rescue Linzi and temporarily return to Hebei to stabilize the counties in Hebei.

In December, after the defeat at Laokou, Sima Yi retreated to the east bank of the Yu River and confronted Zhuge Liang across the river.

Inside the big tent, Sima Yi was leaning on the couch, reading a book, looking quite relaxed.

"Qing Qi was almost occupied by the enemy, Sun Quan lost his troops and fled, the situation in the Central Plains is critical, why isn't father worried?" Sima Shi asked, holding the chicken soup.

Sima Yi still focused on the book and said, "My father was ordered by the emperor to lead the war in Jingwan, not Qingqi. Now the counties of Qingqi are in turmoil, and my father is in Nanyang. What can I do if I am in a hurry? What can I do if I am not in a hurry? Can I change the situation in Qingqi?"

"But~"

Sima Shi hesitated for a moment and asked, "There is news from the Luoyang court that your Majesty is dissatisfied with your father for holding a large army but failing to defeat Zhuge Liang, which has led to a tense situation in the Jing-Wan war!"

Hearing this, Sima Yi put down the book, sneered and said: "If Your Majesty had a candidate to defeat the bandits, Your Majesty would have replaced him as the father long ago. The reason why you didn't replace him as the father now is because there is no one available!"

Sima Yi then said bluntly: "Zhuge Liang is cautious in his use of troops, and his troops are elite, so we cannot compete with him."

After the defeat at Laokou, Sima Yi truly recognized Zhuge Liang's military level and realized the elite level of the Han army.

With a clear understanding in his mind, Sima Yi felt that it was difficult to defeat Zhuge Liang, so he kept using a confrontation strategy to force Zhuge Liang to retreat. After all, in Sima Yi's view, it was better to hold on without fighting than to be demoted after a defeat.

As for Cao Rui's dissatisfaction, Sima Yi didn't bother to explain so much. As he said, if there was someone who could defeat Zhuge Liang, Cao Rui would have replaced him long ago. The reason why he didn't replace him now was because no one could replace Sima Yi.

Of course, Sima Yi essentially still hopes to defeat Zhuge Liang, and his confrontation with Zhuge Liang now hopes to find Zhuge Liang's flaws.

Sima Shi put the chicken soup on the table and asked worriedly, "Father, looking at the current situation, what do you think the situation will be like in the future?"

Sima Yi frowned and said, "The key to the current situation in the Central Plains lies in whether we can repel Huo Jun. If we can repel Huo Jun, then our country will be in trouble!"

"Can Wang Yanzhou's talents defeat Huo Jun?" Sima Shi asked.

Sima Yi pondered for a moment and said, "Wang Ling is a man of both civil and military talents, and has a noble character. With his talent, he should be well aware of the gains and losses of the current situation. Whether we can defeat the enemy now depends on how Wang Ling arranges his troops and camps!"

Then, Sima Yi sighed and said, “I am afraid that Huo Jun will send out a surprise attack and attack him to lure Wang Ling into battle.”

Sima Yi was able to use the strategy of defending to defeat Zhuge Liang, so he naturally knew the disadvantages of defending, that is, once attacked, the enemy would have to come to the rescue, so even if he wanted to defend, he had to fight.

Huo Jun obviously understood this principle based on his military proficiency. Sima Yi was worried that Huo Jun would seize the opportunity and force Wang Ling to lead his troops into battle.

Sima Shi cleared the table for Sima Yi and said, "There is ginseng in the chicken soup. Father, you can drink more soup."

"Ok!"

Sima Yi held the spoon and asked, "Have you contacted Xiahou Hui by letter?"

"We keep in touch occasionally!" Sima Shi replied.

"Your father originally wanted to marry you off earlier, but Boren passed away unexpectedly, so we had to postpone the marriage."

Sima Yi drank the chicken soup and said, "If we can defeat the Han army this time, I will marry Ziyuan."

"Getting married is a small matter, but repelling the enemy is a big matter!" said Sima Shi.

When Sima Yi was about to say something, Sima Zhao came in in a panic and said, "Father, this is bad!"

"Why are you so flustered?" Sima Yi asked with a frown.

Sima Zhao presented the letter and said, "Father, Your Majesty sent an envoy to ask for troops, saying that Zhao Yun led his troops out of the Yi River and was about to attack Yique Pass. Now Luoyang City is closed, and Your Majesty has sent generals Xu Chu and Qin Lang to occupy it."

Sima Yi's face changed, he opened the letter and read it, and couldn't help cursing: "Zhuge country bumpkin, how could you be so cunning!"

"What's wrong with father?" Sima Shi asked.

Sima Yi handed the letter to his son and said in a deep voice: "Zhuge Liang sent Zhao Yun out of Xiong'er Mountain as a surprise force, and the troops reached Yique Pass. Luoyang was shaken at that time, and the ministers advised Your Majesty to move, but Your Majesty refused. Your Majesty sent out the generals and ordered our army to divide its troops to attack Zhao Yun's retreat route."

After pacing for a few steps, Sima Yi called his attendants and said, "Please come forward, General. No one but you can be responsible for rescuing the emperor."

"promise!"

After a while, Zhang He came over in armor and tiger steps, bowed and asked, "General Huqi called He, what's the important matter?"

Sima Yi asked Sima Shi to deliver the letter to Zhang He, saying, "Junyi, now Zhao Yun is leading his troops to attack Yique Pass, and your Majesty has ordered our army to divide its forces to rescue you. I have thought about it and I think that Junyi is the only one who can take on this task."

Zhang He read the letter carefully and frowned, saying, "Zhao Yun crossed Xiong'er Mountain as a surprise attack, so his troops should not be many. Your Majesty is defending Yique Pass, which is enough to repel the enemy. Why did you send our troops to rescue you?" Sima Yi said with a serious face, "Luoyang is an important place in the capital. If the enemy army penetrates deep into the capital and cannot be defeated, it will make the world laugh at us. Moreover, Zhao Yun's troops are under the command of Zhuge Liang. Our army's defense is wrong at the moment. You and I are both at fault!"

Pacing back and forth, Sima Yi emphasized, "Even if Your Majesty can defeat Zhao Yun, you must still rescue me."

In fact, Zhang He's assessment of the situation was correct. Zhao Yun had traveled nearly a thousand miles over mountains and across rivers, and his troops must not be numerous. There was no need to send troops to rescue him, and Zhao Yun could be dealt with at the moment.

However, Zhang He forgot that from a political perspective, allowing the enemy army to penetrate deep into the capital and failing to destroy it undoubtedly revealed the military weakness of Cao Wei.

Of course, when the ministers learned that the capital was in danger and His Majesty sent an envoy, they knew that sending troops to rescue him was inevitable.

Zhang He came to his senses and asked, "Now I am leading my troops to rescue the emperor. I wonder which route we are going to take?"

Sima Yi said without hesitation: "Go to Luyang, cross the mountains, and go to the upper reaches of the Yi River. Join forces with the troops in the capital to attack Zhao Yun and destroy him."

Since Zhuge Liang had a road to the Yi River, Sima Yi naturally also had a small path to the upper reaches of the Yi River.

It was obviously unnecessary to go around in a big circle to Luoyang to meet up with Xu Chu. Instead, it would be better to take a shortcut and go directly to Zhao Yun's tail.

"Can!"

Zhang He did not dare to waste time, and immediately drew his sword and went out of the tent, gathering 10,000 soldiers and horses to rescue the emperor. However, this was noticed by the Han army scouts, who quickly reported the news to Zhuge Liang on the west bank.

In the Han camp, Zhuge Liang fanned himself and looked at the map, exchanging opinions with his advisers from time to time.

"According to the scouts, General Zilong's troops have entered the Yishui River and captured Luhun and Xincheng counties. They are now heading for Yique." Zhuge Liang said with a smile, "I wonder how Cao Rui and the other officials in Luoyang would react when they heard that General Zilong had fled the Yishui River?"

Ma Su laughed and said, "The troops have reached Yique, and Luoyang is in turmoil. If Cao Rui is timid, he may have moved his troops to another city."

Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled, saying, "Cao Rui is not a mediocre leader. If what I expected is correct, Cao Rui will be stationed in Luoyang and command the troops to fight."

Ma Liang stared at the map and said worriedly, "Prime Minister, General Wei is marching along the Yi River. His army is deep in the river, so it is easy to advance but difficult to retreat. If they are attacked by the enemy, they will be defeated and the whole army will be wiped out."

Zhuge Liang paced and chanted, saying, "Although General Wei is not a famous general, he is experienced in using troops and is careful in deploying troops. I have instructed that if there is any disadvantage, the general should retreat quickly and not linger in the battle."

"Prime Minister, General Wei is downstream. If the Wei army takes a detour to rob him, it will be easy to cut off General Wei's way back. I hope the Prime Minister will send troops to support him as soon as possible!" Wen Pin said.

Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled, then asked, "Where do you think the enemy will march from?"

Wen Pin frowned and looked at the map of the capital, pointing and saying: "If Sima Yi sent troops, he would probably go to Luyang and take a small road to the upper reaches of the Yi River. If it is the troops from Guanzhong, they will most likely go south from Yiyang and go to the upper reaches of the Yi River."

"Zhongye and Liang think alike."

Zhuge Liang nodded in agreement and said, "General Zhao's attack on Luoyang has caused unrest in the capital. Sima Yi is very close to Luoyang, so he will most likely send troops to rescue it."

Listening to Zhuge Liang's words, Wen Pin seemed to understand something and asked in surprise, "The Prime Minister sent General Zhao to attack Luoyang, but did he want Sima Yi to send troops to rescue him?"

"Of course!"

Zhuge Liang paced back and forth, smiling, and said, "Si Ma Yi is holding his ground without fighting, so it is difficult for our army to defeat him. Now, in order to carry out the Northern Expedition, we need to take risky measures. We can only attack the place where he must rescue, so as to force Sima Yi to divide his troops!"

"The Prime Minister wants to use General Zhao as bait and then send troops to attack the reinforcements sent by Sima Yi?" Wen Pin asked.

"Ok!"

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly and said, "Luyang is adjacent to the Yi River and is separated from it by the Huoyang Mountains. If what I have predicted is correct, the reinforcements sent by Sima Yi will go to Luyang and cross the mountains to intercept General Zhao's retreat route."

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang pointed his feather fan at Luyang and said with a smile, "A few days ago, I ordered Yifeng to lead his troops to Dongwu Pavilion at the foot of Funiu Mountain. If the Wei army makes any unusual moves and intends to send troops back to support, Yifeng can cross Funiu Mountain and seize the steep terrain to wait for the Wei army."

Listening to Zhuge Liang's plan, Wen Pin could not help but admire him and said, "The Prime Minister is very good at using troops, which is beyond my reach. I think the reason why the Prime Minister ordered General Zhao to leave Luoyang is nothing more than a strategy of shaking the mountain to scare Cao Rui and relieve the worries of the Grand Marshal."

Wen Pin shook his head and laughed, saying, "I didn't expect the Prime Minister to come up with a plan to attack Zhao from Wei, and lure Sima Yi to divide his forces to attack him."

"Just a little trick!"

Zhuge Liang sipped his tea and smiled faintly, "Sima Yi is a calm and steady man who doesn't use extraordinary tactics. How can we lure him into sending out his troops?"

Letting Zhao Yun send out a surprise attack to scare the enemy, which only shook the capital, was not enough to satisfy Zhuge Liang's appetite. His target was naturally Sima Yi.

Zhuge Liang hoped to push the battle line to Yingchuan instead of continuing to fight with Sima Yi in Nanyang. Once the battle line was pushed to Yingchuan, Zhuge Liang would be able to better assist Huo Jun.

"Prime Minister, Wei general Zhang He is gathering his troops to march!" the attendant reported.

"good!"

(End of this chapter)