Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 482 476. Death
Two years passed quickly, during which time neither Ji Han nor Wei made any moves. Ji Han was busy digesting Jiangdong, Jiaozhou, Yizhou, Wodao and other places, while Wei was licking its previous wounds and stabilizing the changes in Hebei, Liaodong and other places.

Both sides tacitly agreed not to engage in large-scale battles. Of course, small-scale frictions were still very frequent, especially on the Yangtze River and in the Huainan area, where battles involving dozens or hundreds of people occurred from time to time.

In April, a piece of news came back to Jiangling from Luoyang. Ma Su hurried to find Feng Xi with the intelligence, ready to report the good news.

Ma Su stayed on the island of Wa for several months. Following Feng Xi's instructions, he cleaned up the people on the island of Wa again. When Ma Su returned to the Central Plains, the island of Wa had already begun to develop according to the Han army's plan, and Chengdu also sent officials to the island of Wa. After Ma Su assisted the other party in understanding the local situation, his mission was accomplished, and he returned smoothly to the Central Plains.

Now, as a military officer in Feng Xi's Zhengdong General's Office, Ma Su usually consulted and analyzed these military and political intelligence with Xu Shu and others. Even so, Feng Xi often saw through their conclusions after a long time of analysis, which made Ma Su realize that he still had a lot to learn.

"Grand Commander, there is urgent news from Luoyang!"

Ma Su rushed into the Grand Commander's Mansion. Feng Xi was still sitting on the old chair in the courtyard, swaying, squinting his eyes, looking relaxed and contented. The three-year-old Feng Zhen next to him had already started practicing his spear skills with a wooden spear.

"Youchang, you are so impatient, it seems to be a big deal. Let me think about it, I guess Xiahou Shang is dead."

Feng Xi looked at the noisy Ma Su, thought for a moment, and then spoke his own conclusion. Unexpectedly, when Ma Su heard Feng Xi's words, he looked as if he had seen a ghost, paused, and choked on the words in his mouth.

"The Grand Commander already knows?"

Ma Su thought that Feng Xi had his own channels to know about it in advance, otherwise it would be too terrifying.

"Oh, what's so difficult about this? Last year, Xiahou Shang returned to Luoyang for recuperation due to illness. Considering his physical condition, I estimated that he would not live long. Now you said there was urgent news in Luoyang, I guess it couldn't be that Cao Pi had lost his mind and attacked us. The news that can be called urgent news must be the news of Xiahou Shang's death."

Feng Xi was lying on the recliner with a confident look on his face, which made Ma Su admire him even more.

"Grand Commander, your analysis is completely correct. An urgent report came from Luoyang saying that Xiahou Shang, Wei's General of the Southern Expedition, Governor of Jingzhou, and Marquis of Changling Township, died a few days ago."

Ma Su didn't know what to say, so he could only hand the report to Feng Xi. Feng Xi took it, glanced at it, and put it down. Xiahou Shang in the original timeline died during this period, and the cause had nothing to do with him.

A few years ago, Xiahou Shang married a concubine. In this era, it was common for men to have three wives and four concubines. But although Xiahou Shang had some military talents, he was a very affectionate man.

Xiahou Shang treated the concubine very well, which was nothing wrong, but the problem was that Xiahou Shang treated her even better than his own wife, and even neglected his wife a little, which caused trouble.

Xiahou Shang was a relative of Cao's noble rank, so his wife was naturally no ordinary person either, she was the daughter of Cao. Faced with Xiahou Shang's behavior of favoring concubines and neglecting his wife, she was naturally very uncomfortable and would tell her family about her grievances every now and then.

After a while, Cao Pi knew about this. Cao Pi was already a little angry because of the previous defeat. Now that he heard that his sister was still being bullied at home, he naturally would not tolerate it, but warned Xiahou Shang. Unfortunately, Xiahou Shang didn't know what was going on. He just said good things, but his actual behavior didn't change at all.

Finally, Cao, who could no longer bear it, had to complain to Cao Pi again. This time, Cao Pi's response was also very decisive. He ordered people to find Xiahou Shang and hang the concubine in front of him.

Xiahou Shang probably really loved this concubine, and he missed her so much because of her death that he became seriously ill. He even dragged his sick body to visit her in the cemetery outside the city every now and then, and would stay there for the whole morning.

When the news was passed back to Cao Pi, he was speechless. It was obvious that Xiahou Shang really loved this concubine, but Xiahou Shang held an important position and was responsible for the defense of Jingzhou, so Cao Pi had no choice but to pay attention to him.

Finally, Cao Pi issued an imperial decree, ordering Xiahou Shang to return to Luoyang to recuperate. Firstly, there must be more famous doctors in Luoyang than in Wancheng, and a multi-party consultation might be able to cure him. Secondly, it was to keep Xiahou Shang away from things related to the concubine, so that he would not be reminded of her and his condition would be aggravated.

Unfortunately, heart disease is difficult to cure. After Xiahou Shang was ordered to return to Luoyang, he became even more depressed and his symptoms worsened. After the New Year, he couldn't even get out of bed. Finally, his body couldn't bear it anymore and he died in April.

Feng Xi had no opinion on this, he could only say that he respected Xiahou Shang's choice. And in some sense, this was also a good thing for him.

Xiahou Shang's personal ability is not mentioned first, his identity is more important. First of all, he is the general of the Southern Expedition, and his status is the most honorable in the whole Nanyang. Moreover, Cao Ren also transferred his power to Xiahou Shang before his death, so Xiahou Shang is definitely the one who has the final say in the Nanyang area.

Even senior officials like Man Chong and Jia Kui had to listen to Xiahou Shang obediently when they were under him. But now that Xiahou Shang has passed away, there is no leader left.

The relatives of Cao Wei are now in a period of transition, with only a few capable people. Cao Zhen went to Guanzhong, and Cao Xiu is defending Huainan, so there are not many people left.

But Nanyang is not an insignificant place. It is the gateway to defend against the Northern Expedition of the Jingzhou Army. If the Han Army marches north, Nanyang will inevitably be the first to bear the brunt.

However, with the death of Xiahou Shang, the leadership of Nanyang became a big problem. Cao Pi was reluctant to use capable generals from other families, and the ability of Cao Wei's relatives was also a problem and could not convince the public.

For example, Xiahou Ba is a good candidate, but unfortunately he has no achievements. Even if Cao Pi really airdropped him to Nanyang to be the military commander, he would probably not be able to take on important tasks.

Finally, Cao Pi thought about it and had no choice but to let Man Chong temporarily take over the military affairs in Nanyang to defend against the Han army. At the same time, he ordered Xiahou Ba to be his deputy general to assist Man Chong.

In this way, Xiahou Ba will not only play the supervisory role, but also accumulate more experience, qualifications and reputation. When the time is right, it will be a natural thing for him to take over as the top leader of Nanyang.

(End of this chapter)