Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 720 Abandoning Hebei
At the beginning of May, Quan Cong opened the Juye Lake and diverted water into the Heshui River; Gao Xiang led more than 10,000 troops to attack Qiao County and march north from the Bian River.

Pang Tong led an expedition to the north from Shouchun, entered from the Ying River, and divided his troops with Zhuge Ke to capture the cities in Rushang.

Wen Pin led his troops south to Nanyang, headed towards Wuguan, and attacked Chang'an from the Wuguan Road to help Lu Xun.

Cao Rui ordered the capital to be moved to Yecheng, and all the officials in the court and the concubines in the harem crossed the river and went to Yecheng first.

In mid-May, Huo Jun took a boat from the Si River, passed the He River, and turned to the Ji River.

Man Chong, following Cao Rui's order, abandoned Runan County and led the army to retreat to Luoyang, where he served as the garrison commander.

Sima Yi gave up Yingchuan County and ordered Yingchuan Governor Changsun Yang to guard Xuchang for two months before he could surrender to the Han Dynasty.

In late May, Zhuge Liang sent Ma Su as the vanguard to attack Xuchang. After failing to capture Xuchang, he surrendered to the counties of Yingchuan. In order to win the hearts of the people, Ma Su took the initiative to register the soldiers who were stationed in the fields as civilians, and the people were all happy.

Zhao Yun went north from Luyang and surrendered the cities of Fu, Liang, Yang, Zhu, etc. He pacified the people in the countryside and pardoned the harsh policies.

In early June, Zhuge Liang led his army to besiege Xuchang and divided his troops to march southeast to support the northern expedition led by Pang Tong and Zhuge Ke.

During this period, Ma Su won Zhuge Liang's praise for pardoning the soldiers who were stationed in the fields. In order to promote Ma Su, Zhuge Liang appointed Ma Su as the governor of Yingchuan to govern the affairs of Yingchuan County.

Gao Xiang conquered Qiao County and besieged Chengfu for five days. He broke the city and killed the defending general Yin Su. Quan Cong attacked Jiyin County and besieged Dingtao for ten days. He broke the city and killed the defending general Zhao Yu and a thousand people below him, using it as a deterrent.

Huo Du crossed the Yellow River from Cangting and plundered the counties of Dongjun.

The four armies of Huo, Ge, Pang and Gao launched a northern expedition at the same time. The counties and prefectures in Henan were unable to resist, and emergency letters poured into Luoyang, asking Cao Rui for help.

Mid-June, Luoyang.

All the nobles and concubines of Wei State moved to Yecheng. However, Cao Rui still had some backbone. He refused the advice of his subordinates and insisted on leaving Luoyang City for the last time.

Because Cao Rui stayed in Luoyang, Sima Yi ordered tens of thousands of soldiers under his command to cross the river first, and he himself served Cao Rui.

Taking into account the urgent military situation coming from various places, Cao Rui decided to hold a military parade outside the city in order to boost morale.

On that day, Cao Rui, accompanied by Sima Yi and Man Chong, reviewed the troops in Yanshi.

Cao Rui rode on horseback to review the military formation from morning until afternoon. Looking at the neatly-organized Wei soldiers, Cao Rui's mood couldn't help but improve.

So Cao Rui took out the few money and food he had and gave them to the soldiers. The morale of the Wei soldiers was high, and they seemed willing to live and die with Luoyang.

At dusk, Cao Rui, accompanied by Sima Yi, Man Chong and other generals, climbed up Hulao Pass with extremely complicated feelings.

"You all have been exhausted from reviewing the troops in the capital with me, and now you are following me to climb Hulao Pass. It is really exhausting!"

Cao Rui's weakened figure was hidden under his cloak, he was leaning on a long sword in his hand, and he spoke to his left and right.

"Compared with your majesty's hard work on military and national affairs, our hard work is nothing!" said Wu Zhi.

Cao Rui climbed up the ladder and said, "Bo Ning, I transferred you from Runan to Luoyang. Do you know why?"

Man Chong thought for a while and said, "The king's chariots died for the country, and the elite troops were burned. There is no army west of Sishui. Now we can only gather troops and defend the capital, and rely on Hebei to resist Huo Jun."

"It would be great if Berning could understand the pros and cons of this!"

Cao Rui walked to the tower and said, "You are now the governor of Yuzhou, the governor of Luoyang, and the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of the four provinces of Henan. The defense of the capital and the garrison of Henan all depend on you. I hope you will work hard and don't let me down."

Man Chong looked serious and said, "I will do my best to live up to your majesty's trust."

Cao Rui stopped behind the wall and asked, "Now that you are guarding Luoyang, what advice do you have?"

Man Chong replied: "Your Majesty, the enemy is coming from the east and south. I want to guard the Hulao, Guancheng, Dagu, Xuanyuan and other passes and do my best to keep the enemy out of Luoyang."

"I'm afraid it won't be easy!" Cao Rui shook his head and said, "You only have 30,000 men under your command. If you divide your troops and station them in various places, I'm afraid it will be difficult to hold out for long."

Man Chong then added: "I have made preparations. If the siege is difficult to defend, I will lead my troops to retreat to Luoyang City. Relying on the strategic location of Luoyang, I will do my best to deal with the enemy and buy time for Your Majesty."

Cao Rui nodded and said, "First, we will defend the siege, and then Luoyang. With the help of Luoyang's strong city, we can at least fight the enemy for half a year."

After a pause, Cao Rui said earnestly, "Bo Ning, see if you can hold out for a year and hold back the armies of Huo Jun and Zhuge Liang. When the Xianbei lead their troops south and join forces with the troops in Hebei, I can send 100,000 troops to the south, and the situation may be reversed by then."

Man Chong's expression remained serious as he said, "I will do my best to live up to your majesty's trust."

Seeing that Man Chong had not mentioned the word death from beginning to end, Cao Rui said in a heavy tone: "Just do your best and make sure to defend Luoyang."

Cao Rui was well aware of the danger of Man Chong staying in Luoyang, and Man Chong himself was also aware of it. Now that Man Chong did not mention the words of dying for the country, Cao Rui did not dare to say much, and could only hope that Man Chong could really do his best to defend Luoyang City.

Cao Rui looked towards the east, as if remembering something, and asked, "Has Prince Yongqiu (Cao Zhi) crossed the river to the north?"

"Not yet!"

Wu Zhi said: "The King of Yongqiu refused to leave Yongqiu on the grounds that the princes were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms."

Cao Rui was immediately annoyed and said, "Order him to be renamed the King of Handan and let him cross the river with me."

"His Majesty!"

Wu Zhi hesitated for a moment, and finally told the truth: "Your Majesty, the reason why King Yongqiu is unwilling to leave the country is not because of the fiefdom, but because he thinks that instead of fleeing north to Hebei and dying, it is better to surrender to the Han Dynasty to avoid the suffering of traveling."

In order to make Cao Rui believe his statement, Wu Zhi handed the scarf to Cao Rui.

Cao Rui spread out the scarf and saw Cao Zhi saying on it that the rise of Han and the decline of Wei were unstoppable. Even if he fled to Hebei, he would most likely be captured by the Southern Han. It would be better to surrender as soon as possible. Cao Zhi also emphasized in the letter that the monarch should guard the country's borders and the capital. Now that the country has been lost, he cannot abandon the country and run away.

Seeing that Cao Zhi seemed to be secretly mocking him in the letter, Cao Rui was angry and sad.

It is indeed as Cao Zhi said, the monarch is the head of the country, how can he abandon the capital and flee?
Now, in order to survive and for that faint hope, he gave up Luoyang City and moved the capital to Ye City.

Now that the capital has been moved to Yecheng, I wonder if he will ever come back. If he does, I wonder what his identity will be!

Throwing the towel into the fire, Cao Rui suddenly felt melancholy and said, "As the Son of Heaven, I have the duty to defend the capital, so I should have defended the capital with my soldiers. But due to the situation and for the sake of the country, I have to leave Luoyang. I have to leave the capital built by Emperor Wu and the place where the former emperor's mausoleum is located."

"In the past, Wang Lang lived in Handan and claimed the throne. Emperor Taizu was in Xindu at the time. He was afraid of Wang Lang's power and wanted to abandon the throne and flee to Guanzhong. However, Pi Zhu advised him against it by citing the actions of the people in Handan. Emperor Taizu then changed his mind, worked hard to strengthen the country, defeated Wang Lang, and then went to Hebei to establish his foundation."

Cao Rui's tone became a little excited, and he said: "But I am not as good as Emperor Taizu. Now I have no choice but to abandon Hebei and rebuild the Wei family's foundation. However, no matter what, if Luoyang falls, the Wei family's business will no longer exist!"

As he spoke, Cao Rui's eyes turned red, and he said, "Do you think I am afraid of being captured by the enemy, or that I am afraid of death?"

"I am afraid that if I leave today and return to Luoyang City, I will be imprisoned, and I will not be able to face the two emperors, and my soul will not be able to return to the underworld."

The emotions that Cao Rui had suppressed for so long burst out all at once under the current stimulation.

The Wei Kingdom he inherited was basically the mess left by Cao Pi, with the Xianbei in the north causing rebellions and the Han Dynasty in the south launching northern expeditions year after year. He had no elite soldiers or generals, no surplus food in the treasury, and the people were divided.

What else could he do besides appointing ministers to be entrusted with the care of Cao Pi's son?
Even though Sun Quan and Liu Ye, whom he trusted, betrayed him, he could only swallow his anger!

He was determined to revive Cao Wei, but Cao Wei was irreversibly weakened under his leadership until it was on the verge of destruction.

Seeing Cao Rui suddenly become excited and even confused in his speech, Man Chong, Sima Yi, Wu Zhi and others fell silent, not knowing how to answer.

Perhaps Cao Rui realized that he had lost his composure, so he turned around, wiped his eyes, straightened his back, and went down the ladder from the other side.

The figure is so lonely and helpless!

Sima Yi and Man Chong looked at each other. They both understood that the current empire was as fragile as Cao Rui's emotions. Once there was any sudden change, Cao Wei would not be able to bear it!
(End of this chapter)