Three Kingdoms: I, Ma Su, just want to die

Chapter 649 Sima Shi’s decision
"In its heyday, the Wei Dynasty had nearly a million soldiers stationed in the field... but now there are only three walnuts and two sons left?"

Cao Shuang's face looked a little ugly, and the hand holding the battle report began to tremble.

Now the situation in Cao Wei has deteriorated to a certain extent. No matter how stupid Cao Shuang is, he can see that Cao Wei is no longer able to resist the Shu army.

With this small force, even if the Shu army did not come, the Wei army would be unable to maintain its garrison in various places. If Ma Su leads his army northward again, Cao Shuang is sure that this small amount of troops will not be enough to fill the gap between Ma Su's teeth.

And in addition to external pressure, what flustered Cao Shuang the most was internal.

Above the court, the attitude of the representatives of the local wealthy families in Hebei was deteriorating at a speed visible to the naked eye. This means that the big families in Hebei no longer trust them that much, and they have begun to consider withdrawing their investment.

Although the noble families from the Central Plains who came with them were still willing to support the court, they were all extremely panicked. Even Xia Houxuan came back from the front line to persuade him to make plans early.

That was Xia Houxuan, and his clan had lost confidence.

As for General Qin Lang... there is no need to mention him.

Judging from the current situation, Cao Shuang found that the situation was almost to the point of being besieged on all sides. If Sima Division, who is still in Qingzhou, leads the Liaodong Army and surrenders to Xishu, Cao Shuang may really go crazy.

Therefore, after Cao Shuang figured out the key to everything, he responded quickly. An imperial edict was quickly drawn up, and Sima Yi was named Taifu in the name of Cao Fang, with the posthumous title Wenzhen, in order to appease Master Sima.

At the same time, he also urged Sima Division to abandon Qingzhou as soon as possible and withdraw to Hebei to defend it. Even Cao Shuang was ready to send someone to assassinate Sima Shi and quickly seize military power.

Don't worry about whether you can defeat Xi Shu if you regain the military power. Let's get it back first!
However, it seems that none of the back-ups prepared by Cao Shuang were used. After Sima Division buried Sima Yi in Jinan, he stationed for two months and then led his troops back north instead of going south to surrender to Xi Shu.

This made Cao Shuang relieved. At least the Sima family didn't seem to have any intention of divestment at this time.

After relaxing, Cao Shuang quickly awarded the reward and ordered Sima Shi to take over Sima Yi's position and become the Taiwei. Guanqiu Jian was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Yang Hu was promoted to General of Zhenxi, in order to appease the morale of the army.

Master Sima did not react at all, but honestly led his people back to Yecheng.

After Master Sima returned to Yecheng, he immediately went straight to Sima Mansion.

"Brother!" Sima Zhao, who was wearing sackcloth and mourning, burst into tears when he saw Master Sima coming back. The two brothers almost hugged each other and cried, their grief difficult to conceal.

No matter how hypocritical they are to the outside world, the relationship between brothers is still sincere.

"Brother! Did my father have any instructions before he died?"

The two mourned for a while, and then Sima Zhao asked with tears in his eyes. Seeing Sima Zhao's somewhat hopeful eyes, Master Sima couldn't help but feel a little wandering.

"Before his death, my father... asked me to take good care of you and also take good care of the Sima family."

"Furthermore, my father also said that he wants me to stay in Yecheng, but he needs to send you to Chang'an..."

"I won't go! I would rather die than work with Ma Su!" Sima Zhao suddenly frowned and stood up suddenly.

"How can I bear the revenge of killing my father? Ma Su and I are irreconcilable!"

"Brother Zhao! You are still so willful!" Master Sima shook his head gently and smiled bitterly.

"But if you don't want to go, don't go. After all, I don't want to go either. Uncle Fu's family is there, which gives our Sima family a way out."

"As for us, we can only be worthy of our father if we fight to the death with Ma Su!"

Speaking of this, Master Sima's eyes flashed with a hint of loneliness.

Although Sima Zhao may believe these words, Master Sima cannot deceive him. After all, Master Sima did not take the initiative to bring troops back against Sima Yi's will. The final fact is...his Sima Master failed to defect and came back helplessly.

After burying Sima Yi, he had already written to Xishu to surrender in accordance with Sima Yi's will during the two months he had been in Jinan. If nothing unexpected happens, Master Sima should already be in Luoyang by this time.

But Master Sima waited for two months, only to hear a word from Ma Di.

"Get lost! If you Sima Yi and his whole family dare to come, they will all be killed!"

Ma Di didn't want to let these senior Cao Wei officials off so easily. They have been sucking blood in the Central Plains for many years, and they have already caused the five chaos in the original history.

If he simply let them go, Ma Su wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Moreover, Ji Han is currently in a huge tailwind, and domination of the world is a foregone conclusion. In this case, it would be easier for Ma Su to grab directly than to accept conditional surrender.

It was precisely because Ma Su refused Sima Division's surrender that he finally had no choice but to lead his troops back north.

Ma Su's refusal not only disrupted Sima Yi's deployment, but also completely blocked Sima Division's last hope. Now the only thing left in front of Master Sima is to protect Cao Wei...

Isn't this a different kind of living with the country...

However, Master Sima's mentality was pretty good and he had already accepted the facts before returning to Yecheng. After crying bitterly with Sima Zhao, Master Sima had already adjusted.

"Brother Zhao, are there any big events while I'm away in Yecheng?" Commander Sima took a breath and looked at Sima Zhao and asked.

"Well...it's nothing serious, it's just that the court is really in chaos." Sima Zhao was silent for a moment, shook his head and said.

"According to the speculation of my staff, it won't be long before the big families in Hebei in the imperial court may break away from the imperial court. If we don't appease and intimidate them, I'm afraid we won't be able to survive the Western Shu's northern advance."

"It seems that things are already very critical..." Master Sima narrowed his eyes and felt a sudden increase in pressure.

"As for Cao Shuang...it is said that he plans to send people south to plead for reconciliation with Xi Shu. Although I don't know what his intention is, he will probably sacrifice a lot." Sima Zhao thought for a while and added.

"But there is no need to worry about this. My staff said that Xishu will most likely not agree."

"Haha... If you let this loser continue to be in power, it will be a matter of time before the Wei Dynasty is destroyed." A gleam flashed in Sima Shi's eyes, as if he was thinking about something important.

Soon, he figured out something, then looked at Sima Zhao and gave serious instructions.

"Brother Zhao, I will go back to Nanpi immediately to handle an important matter. Please be more careful in Yecheng."

"You must wait for me to come back!"

After saying that, Master Sima turned around and left without giving Sima Zhao a chance to speak.

"Brother! Brother!!" Sima Zhao shouted repeatedly, but received no response at all.

"Ming Gong, there's no need to shout, Zheng Xi... the Taiwei should be back soon."

At this time, a relatively childish voice came from behind and called Sima Zhao.

"Oh? May I ask what Mr. Zhong Hui thinks?"

(End of this chapter)