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

Chapter 707: Early Northern Expedition
"So, the Pseudo-Wei side really plans to move the capital?"

Ma Su was originally stationed in Yangzhou, attacking the local powerful families. Suddenly, he was transferred back to Shouchun by Zhuge Liang. He received this news just after arriving in Shouchun and before he even got off his horse.

"Sir, according to the reports from our spies in Hebei, this should be the case." Liu Yin nodded and answered seriously.

"According to the report, the Pseudo-Wei is likely to voluntarily abandon the entire Jizhou after the autumn harvest this year. Its main force will slowly retreat all the way to Liaodong."

With the current strength and size of the Han army, Cao Wei had no chance of resistance. So taking advantage of the fact that Ji Han hadn't sent out troops yet, fleeing to Liaodong was their best option.

After all, Cao Wei's military strength was no big deal to Ji Han. What was really important was to unify the territory of Jizhou and parts of Youzhou.

If Cao Wei fled to Liaodong and still had a large number of military forces for a short period of time, the Han army would probably give up the pursuit due to the long distance and harsh environment. If the small court of Cao Wei was lucky, it might be able to survive in Liaodong for a while.

"What the Prime Minister means is... let them go? Or annihilate them completely?" Ma Su scratched his head, pondered for a moment and decided to test the Prime Minister's attitude first.

According to his understanding of Zhuge Liang, he should be eager for this. In this way, Cao Wei will voluntarily give up Hebei, and the Han army can recover the lost territory without bloodshed. Isn't it a good thing?

But this time Ma Su miscalculated, Liu Yin replied immediately.

"The Prime Minister specifically instructed on this. He said that Your Majesty originally had two seats beside him. Although there is only one left now, he still wants to see with his own eyes whether that seat is no longer vacant."

"Okay, this means not to let any of them go." Ma Su was a little surprised. When did the prime minister become so radical?

But soon, Ma Su remembered himself again and suddenly laughed.

He didn't know when it started, but he became less radical than he thought. In contrast, he began to feel that the people around him seemed a little radical.

After all, everyone changes...

"Okay, since the Prime Minister wants to see with his own eyes who is sitting in the position next to Your Majesty, I will go to Hebei and bring them back." Ma Su smiled, then waved his hand generously.

"Pass on my order, order the troops from Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou to gather in Xingyang! At the same time, send a message to Baimajin, ordering Zhang Yi to clear the ferry as soon as possible to prepare for the northern expedition."

"Everything must be completed before the autumn harvest. Quick victory!"

"Yes!" Liu Yin replied immediately, but soon hesitated.

"But, sir, with such a huge momentum...what if the pseudo-Wei is alarmed and runs away early?"

"If they had this idea, they wouldn't have waited until now." Ma Su seemed very disdainful.

They have been waiting until now just to make a profit after the autumn harvest in Hebei. In this situation, luck will dominate their minds.

Therefore, Ma Su was sure that before the main force of the Han army arrived at Baimajin, the court of Cao Wei had been watching. Even if Sima Shi wanted to leave early, the nobles in Yecheng would not be happy.

It's just human nature.

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Under Ma Su's deployment, the Guandong armies, which had just rested for a short time, started moving again. A large number of troops and food began to gather in Xingyang, and the atmosphere became tense again. Zhang Yi in Baimajin also received the order and immediately began to mobilize troops to attack the ferry. After many years, the whole of Hebei once again felt the threat of the Han army.

Moreover, this time, Ji Han's threat to Hebei was like the siege against Dongwu, an all-round encirclement. In the direction of Bingzhou, veteran general Wang Ping led his troops eastward and began to threaten Hebei from Jingxing, while north of Changshan, Ji Han's Xiongnu vassal army and Xianbei troops began to threaten the northern border.

In this situation, anyone with a keen sense of smell could sense that the Han army was going to march north ahead of schedule. Sima Shi even sent an urgent letter, ordering Sima Zhao to move the capital ahead of schedule and return to Yijing as soon as possible.

As for himself, he gave Xiahou Ba to Yang Hu and personally led his troops to block the Baima Ferry.

At this time, the pressure faced by Sima Shi was not too great, because due to the Yellow River flood, the infrastructure north of the Ji River in Qingzhou was severely damaged and the army could not pass through at all.

Therefore, he only needed to block the ferry in the direction of Yanzhou. Although Hebei had been restless, the remaining troops were enough to block the ferry and delay for a few days.

However, as Ma Su had expected, the order sent by Sima Shi back to Yecheng was not surprisingly opposed by Yecheng. Even though Sima Zhao threatened with force, many officials were still not happy.

This really made Sima Zhao very angry. Even he could see that the Northern Expedition of the Han Army was imminent, but these people still had illusions.

Is this reasonable?

"If they weren't still useful, I would have wanted to chop them all to pieces!" Sima Zhao was so angry that he smashed everything on the table and cursed in the mansion with gritted teeth.

He had always had difficulty learning to control his emotions, and became extremely irritable when faced with something that made him angry.

However, just when Sima Zhao was sulking, Zhong Hui, who had been following him, suddenly spoke up.

"Why don't you take action, sir? What use are they?"

"How could I do that? Of course..." Sima Zhao answered subconsciously, but got stuck halfway through his words.

He really couldn't think of any use for these officials.

For the current court of Cao Wei, their existence is almost meaningless. Moreover, seeing that they are about to flee to Liaodong, the iron base of the Sima family, the support of these aristocratic families seems to be worthless.

If that’s the case, why should I indulge them?

It was not until this time that Sima Zhao suddenly realized that it seemed that the importance of all officials was not so strong now.

Except for the current emperor, it seems that all of them are useless...

"So, my Lord, we no longer need to give them a hard time. Since they don't agree, why don't we just use force to force them?" Zhong Hui persuaded.

"Why not set up a big pit outside the city, and order warriors to stand on both sides with their weapons. Then invite all the officials to come and discuss the matter. Anyone who disagrees can be beaten to death in the pit..."

Sima Zhao was somewhat moved by Zhong Hui's words, but after thinking for a while, he shook his head.

"Forget it. This is too dangerous. Although these noble families are useless, it will still cause chaos if they are pushed to the opposite side. We don't have time to deal with the chaos right now. Let's play it safe."

Sima Zhao unexpectedly had a good brain, so Zhong Hui had to give up. However, he was not discouraged, but took out a bamboo scroll calmly,

"Mingsir, I recently found out something in the palace of Yecheng."

(End of this chapter)