Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 535 529. Guanzhong Decision
"General, it seems we have fallen into a trap. A few days ago, some soldiers who escaped from Liang Province said that the Han army had occupied Tianshui County in less than a month. Anding County also followed suit. The other western counties have also lost contact with Chang'an."

In Chang'an, the seat of the Guanzhong Governor, Zhang He came to report urgent military intelligence to Cao Zhen.

"What? Liangzhou fell into enemy hands? Do you know who led the Shu army?"

Cao Zhen sat up straight immediately. He was originally wondering why the Han army, with its fighting power, had been confronting Guo Huai and Wang Shuang in Ji Valley for so long without making any moves, and there was no movement in the other valleys either. Cao Zhen simply thought that the Han army had difficulty moving forward because of the valleys.

As for the suspicion, the one in Jigu was Zhang Fei. If Cao Zhen said that Zhang Fei was leading only a small force, he would not believe it. Unfortunately, that was the fact.

"Yes, General, it is said that Zhuge Liang personally led the troops and took the Qishan Road to Liangzhou."

Zhang He looked at the report in his hand and handed it to Cao Zhen. It recorded most of the information known to the Wei army in Liangzhou.

"Zhuge, you are really cunning. Junyi, reorganize the troops. We must recapture Liangzhou. At the very least, we must cut off the connection between the Han army and Anding County."

Cao Zhen stood up, looked at the map behind him, and thought about how to advance.

"General, I think we can attack here."

Zhang He pointed to a place marked on the map, which was Jieting.

"Jieting... Great, great, if we capture this place, Tianshui County will be unimpeded, and the connection between the Han army and Anding County will also be cut off. It really kills two birds with one stone."

Cao Zhen still had great trust in Zhang He's vision. After all, Zhang He had made great military achievements since he surrendered to Cao Wei in the Battle of Guandu. Now that Cao Wei's old generals were dying out, Zhang He was one of the few surviving generals.

"Just follow Junyi's instructions and mobilize the troops immediately..."

"Report! General, someone from Luoyang came and said he has important intelligence to report!"

Just as Cao Zhen, Zhang He and other generals were preparing to discuss the attack on Jieting and cut off the Han army's front and rear connections in Tianshui County, they suddenly heard a report outside the door, and then a scout with a panicked look on his face rushed into the hall.

"Why are you so alarmed?"

Cao Zhen frowned and looked at the person who came. He was usually strict in disciplining his troops, and such rash behavior made him instinctively dislike him.

"I... I came from Luoyang, and I was ordered by His Majesty to report the current situation to the general. The Han army broke through Wancheng a few days ago, and all of our great Wei generals were killed in the battle. Wancheng was lost!"

"Varied……?!"

Cao Zhen was horrified. If Wancheng was lost, Chang'an would no longer be considered a rear base. At that time, Wancheng would be able to threaten Chang'an's rear base via the Wugu Pass Road.

Of course, it would be fine if it was just a threat to Chang'an, Cao Zhen naturally knew the importance of Wancheng to Luoyang and even the entire Central Plains. Now that Wancheng has fallen, Wei is in a passive position.

"Why did Wancheng fall? How many soldiers are left? Where are the people?"

Cao Zhen no longer cared about the attack on Jieting that had just been discussed, and immediately turned his attention to Wancheng.

"Yes, General, before... Wancheng fell just like that, only one in ten of our army survived, and Commander Man Chong also died for his country..."

The visitor did not dare to hide anything and told Cao Zhen all the information he knew about the previous battle of Wancheng. "Alas, Cao Yan has ruined the country! It is well known that the Han army is strong in bows and crossbows. How dare he use the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry as the vanguard? If I use the troops, I will..."

Cao Zhen was here to talk about it afterwards, and severely scolded Cao Yan and Man Chong. But everyone knew that this was Cao Zhen venting his anger at hearing the bad news, so everyone was silent.

"General, now we have to decide what to do. The capital may need reinforcements. According to what this person said, now that my 110,000 troops have been buried in Wancheng, I am afraid that Your Majesty will not have enough manpower to resist the Han army. If Luoyang is lost, I am afraid that we in Guanzhong will not be able to resist the Han army's attack from both sides.

However, if our army gives up attacking Tianshui, I am afraid that the Han army in Liangzhou will take the opportunity to attack Chang'an. Please, General, decide what we should do. "

Seeing that Cao Zhen was tired of scolding, Zhang He quickly found a gap to advise Cao Zhen, and finally interrupted the angry Cao Zhen.

"What Junyi said is not without reason, but regarding the matter of sending troops..."

Cao Zhen couldn't help but hesitate, but the scout just sent from Luoyang seemed to remember something at this time.

"General, His Majesty has ordered that if you are having trouble deciding, you can ask the military supervisor Sima Yi for advice."

"Sima Yi?"

Cao Zhen frowned. As a member of the Cao family who had been entrusted with important tasks by both Cao Cao and Cao Pi, he naturally knew why Sima Yi was not well-received. Cao Pi had even given him a secret letter, which basically asked Cao Zhen to keep a close eye on Sima Yi, not to give him any real power, and not to let him have contact with other people.

So after Sima Yi came to Chang'an, Cao Zhen directly sent him to look after the warehouse. In this way, he seldom communicated with others and had no chance to get involved in any military or national affairs.

Now that Cao Li has come to power and asked him to use Sima Yi, how could Cao Zhen not find it strange?
"In that case, you go down first. Someone, go and call Sima, the military supervisor."

Cao Zhen pondered for a moment, thinking that all the generals were looking at each other in bewilderment and no one had a good plan, he decided to give it a try and asked Sima Yi to see if he had any plan.

"Greetings to the General and all the generals."

After a while, Sima Yi came in, looking like a hermit who didn't care about the world. Compared with his life and his own nine clans, what was a mere warehouse guarding? Sima Yi was also happy to fade out of the world's sight for a while.

However, Sima Yi was the type who was far away from home but still worried about his lord. Even if he was guarding the warehouse, he had nothing to do but to get the latest news. He had long known about the Han army's advance and siege of Wancheng. Now, seeing Cao Zhen and the others' ugly expressions as if their family members had died, he knew that something must be wrong.

"General, could it be that the results from Wancheng have already come out, and if Wancheng is lost, the Central Plains will be in danger?"

Although Sima Yi's tone was questioning, there was already a certainty in his words.

"That's right. Here is the battle report. Please take a closer look. Since your majesty said that you can give us advice and suggestions, what do you think of the current situation?"

Cao Zhen pushed the letter from Luoyang aside, and Sima Yi took two steps forward to pick up the battle report from Cao Zhen's desk, and read it without paying attention to anyone else. The other generals did not urge him, and waited in silence for Sima Yi's next words.

Sima Yi carefully read the contents of the intelligence, then looked at the map of Guanzhong hanging behind Cao Zhen, closed his eyes and thought carefully.

After a while, Sima Yi opened his eyes and said firmly:

"General, I think we should first defeat one of the Han armies."

(End of this chapter)