I seek economic hegemony in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 440 Changes in Luoyang
In the early morning of May 21st, the main camp of the Wei army was empty, and the remaining cavalry was patrolling around.

After Zhuge Liang heard the news, he thought for a moment and then said: "There are two possibilities: one is that Sima Zhongda has passed away; the other is that Zhongda deliberately attracted our troops to the main road in Hebei County to ambush us."

The main road in Hebei County is bounded by the Yellow River to the west and Wulao Mountain to the east. The entire road is long and narrow from north to south, making it the most suitable place for setting up an ambush.

Zhuge Liang naturally has his reasons to worry.

Jiang Wei asked excitedly: "Prime Minister, do you want to pursue me?"

"No need." Zhuge Liang waved his fan, "Whether Zhongda is alive or dead, it can explain two things."

"What two questions?"

"First, the situation in Luoyang is bad, otherwise the troops will not be withdrawn; second, the Wei army will definitely set up an ambush at the strategic road." Zhuge Liang said, "It is already late May. If Luoyang wants to interfere on the southeastern front again, it will dispatch troops and generals for reinforcements. The reinforcements must at least be We can barely make it to the end of July or even August. Our goal has been achieved, so there is no need to take unnecessary risks.”

"Next, leave it to Jian."

On the 21st day of May in the sixth year of Yanxi, Sima Yi, the Taifu of Cao Wei, the talker of the Sima family, and the leader of the Wei court, died of illness, ending his life.

On May 22, the main force of the Wei army withdrew to Hebei County, relying on Wulao Mountain as a northern barrier to guard the Yellow River and the main roads of the mountains.

This withdrawal of troops gave the anti-Sima faction a big political excuse.

At the same time, a military camp was set up on the north bank of Fenglingdu to increase the depth of Luoyang's defense.

At this time, no one except Gao Rou and a few senior officials knew that Sima Yi was dead.

Under Sima Yi's instructions during his lifetime, tens of thousands of elites in Tongguan established a stronghold, and Gao Rou was ordered to build a castle in the northwest of Hebei County to prevent the Han army from going south.

In the early morning of May 24th, Master Sima, who got up very early, was writing a letter at his desk.

Officials are wondering what happened. What information took all the priority at the station?
It was not until noon on May 23 that Sima Zhao, who was inspecting the troops, saw this letter.

After saying that, he continued to write.

In the early morning, the main force of the Wei army conveyed orders internally and quickly withdrew from the frontal battlefield in Hedong in the name of luring the enemy deeper.

When he left Nanyang, he handed over the affairs of Nanyang to Wang Chang instead of Chen Tai.

Even when some anti-Sima family factions in Luoyang began to openly leap, Gao Rou remained calm.

Even when Yang Dan on the side asked what happened, Master Sima just said: "It's not something important, you just informed me."

At this time, he also received a secret letter that Sima Yi died of illness.

On May 23, an urgent letter was delivered to the Nanyang front line in Jingzhou.

Gao Rou is secretly not mourning.

It is said that more than a dozen horses were killed, alarming county officials.

Sima Zhao was grieved, at least he did not show any grief. He left Nanyang that day with some of his trusted soldiers and horses.

On May 25, although Luoyang did not know that Sima Yi was dead, it had already learned that Sima Yi had withdrawn his troops to Hebei County.

Because Chen Tai may have surrendered to the Sima family, but Wang Chang is definitely a member of the Sima family.

Master Sima calmly read the letter. There was no sadness or anxiety on his face.

Starting at noon, some people from the Cao Wei clan began to speak out.

For example, King Cao Yu of Yan publicly expressed the many mistakes that had occurred in civil affairs in recent years.

For example, he clearly pointed out the consequences of the sharp rise in grain prices in Luoyang in a short period of time after Li Heng entered the Central Plains and cut off many rivers.

The Sima family held heavy troops but failed to stop Li Heng, and should bear the main responsibility for this.

It was also mentioned that during Sima's rule, banknotes were issued indiscriminately, which led to the collapse of people's livelihood in various places and the skyrocketing of food prices.

Sima holds administrative power and acts arbitrarily, and should bear the main responsibility for this.

The loss of the Xiangyang defense line and the loss of the Guanzhong defense line were also mentioned. These Sima clans must bear full responsibility.

By evening, there were some voices in Luoyang calling for Cao Shuang to be overturned.

Some people say that Cao Shuang did not commit rebellion and was completely wronged.

Not only did Cao Shuang not rebel, but he worked hard and worked hard for the Wei Dynasty.

He is truly a famous minister through the ages!
Cao Shuang was completely framed by Sima.

As soon as these voices appeared, as usual, many people who interacted with these people closed their doors and thanked them.

But this time it was different. A considerable number of people did not close their doors or break away from them. Some even joined in to explain the pros and cons of the Wei Dynasty's policies over the years.

At this time, any normal person can smell something unusual.

On May 26, some military and defense leaders even showed up to support King Yan's statement.

This big boss is Zhao Yan, who has retired.

Zhao Yan's current military rank is Hussars General and his position is Sikong.

He was from Cao Cao's era and was reused in Cao Pi's era, and his qualifications were not even much worse than Sima Yi's.

He is one of the four famous celebrities in Yingchuan of this era.

It's just that he is retiring in Luoyang because he is old.

His sudden appearance makes this political trend even more intriguing.

I don’t know the specific time, but on May 26th, news began to circulate privately in some places in Luoyang that Sima Yi died of illness on the front line.

The news was so explosive that it quickly spread among the Luoyang family officials in a short period of time.

Some people also thought of Zhao Yan's voice and inferred that Zhao Yan should have learned of Sima Yi's death in advance.

As for who revealed it to Zhao Yan, it should be a senior official on the front line.

After all, someone of Zhao Yan's level had connections in Cao Wei's senior leadership that ordinary people could not imagine.

So on May 27th, more people came forward to support King Yan's statement, and some even began to write memorials to impeach Taifu Sima Yi.

It happened that Wei Emperor Cao Mao had long been dissatisfied with Sima Yi, so he began to ventilate the censor Zhongcheng Zhuge Dan, hoping that the censor could investigate the matter.

Zhuge Dan had long been dissatisfied with the Sima family's exclusive power, so it was natural for him to do so.

A different atmosphere immediately arose in the court.

By May 28, the news of Sima Yi's death spread completely in Luoyang, even in the streets and alleys.

This news shocked countless people.

Seeing that a power coup was about to take place in Luoyang, on May 29, Sima Zhao rushed back to Luoyang overnight.

Sima Zhao came back with more than a thousand elite cavalry, and the first thing Sima Zhao did when he came back was to contact the Imperial Guards at the Luoyang Army Camp.

At this time, it was Sima Zhao's younger brother Sima Min who held an important position in the Chinese army.

The two of them mobilized five thousand soldiers in the military camp and marched quickly towards Luoyang.

By May 29, when news came that Sima Zhao had returned to Luoyang, changes began to occur in Luoyang.

Does Cao Yu, King of Yan, have any soldiers?

Have!
Although Zhao Yan is no longer in office, his prestige is extremely high, and there are people in the army who are willing to support him.

(End of this chapter)