Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 536. Sima Debate
"Oh? Tell me in detail."

Seeing that Sima Yi really had some tricks up his sleeve, Cao Zhen immediately asked about the specific contents of Sima Yi's plan with great interest.

"Yes, General. The Han army is now besieging Sili and Guanzhong from both ends. If our army attacks the Han army in Liangzhou, Luoyang will be in danger; if our army returns to support Luoyang, Chang'an will also be in danger of falling."

Sima Yi first explained the current situation of the Guanzhong army, and all the generals nodded. They were in this situation where they were stuck in two directions.

"In this case, as long as one of the Han troops retreats, our army can concentrate all its efforts on dealing with the other Han army. If the Han army's encirclement is broken, it will be able to relieve a lot of worries for our Great Wei."

"Don't keep us in suspense. Sima Zhongda, tell me, which Han army should we defeat first?"

Cao Zhen interrupted Sima Yi's narration and anxiously asked Sima Yi about his detailed plan.

"Yes, General. In my opinion, our Guanzhong army should first defeat the Han army in Liangzhou."

Sima Yi pointed to Liangzhou on the Guanzhong map behind Cao Zhen and made a decisive statement.

"Tell me why."

Cao Zhen did not comment, his face was calm and expressionless, no one could tell whether he was happy or sad. However, Cao Zhen's cunning was enough to fool the rough people below him, Sima Yi could see Cao Zhen's true thoughts at a glance. Since Cao Zhen asked, he must have basically agreed in his heart.

"General, as far as I know, the Han army in Liangzhou is the Sichuan army that set out from Hanzhou, and the Han army that captured Wancheng and threatened Luoyang was the Han army in Jingzhou, is that right?"

Sima Yi explained the strengths of the Han armies on both sides, and Cao Zhen nodded.

"Zhongda, what you said is correct, but aren't they all Han troops? Whether it's the Sichuan army or the Jingzhou army, they are all Wei troops just like our Guanzhong and Nanyang."

Cao Zhen nodded, but still didn't understand where Sima Yi's confidence came from.

"The general doesn't know something. As the old saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger.' In my spare time, I have inquired from many sources and learned about the situation of the Han army. The general is the governor of Guanzhong, the general is the governor of Huainan, and Lord Man Chong is in charge of Nanyang. Although it seems that there are three regions, in fact, both the general and the general are under the orders of His Majesty in Luoyang and are under unified dispatch.

On the other hand, the situation on the Han side was completely different. Liu Bei's son Liu Chan succeeded to the throne of the pseudo-emperor and established his capital in Chengdu. However, it was well known that the roads in Sichuan were difficult to travel and that communication with Jingzhou was not smooth.

Even when Guan Yu was defeated, it took half a month for Sichuan to know the news, which shows that the news was out of date. And I heard that before Liu Bei died, in order to avoid repeating Guan Yu's mistakes, he gave the current Grand Commander of Jingzhou Feng Xi considerable power, not only the fake authority, but also the troops of Jing, Yang and Jiaozhou were all under his command.

Now that the Pseudo-Han is invading the north, the Grand Commander Feng Xi is leading the troops in Jingzhou. On the other hand, in Sichuan, it is said that the leader of the troops this time is the Pseudo-Han Prime Minister, Zhuge Kongming.

Sima Yi was very familiar with the current situation of the Han Dynasty, which shows how much effort he had put into it in private.

"Zhongda, according to what you said, are you saying that the soldiers in Sichuan are different from those in Jing, Yang, and Jiaozhou?"

Cao Zhen seemed to understand what Sima Yi meant, and asked while touching his chin. "That's right, General. According to what I have learned, the Grand Commander Feng Xi is unpredictable. He is cunning and cunning, and he often uses some unheard-of tactics, combined with the weapons he made, which makes it hard to defend against. This time, the Grand Commander Man is probably defeated by him.

On the contrary, I know this Sleeping Dragon Zhuge Kongming well. He is a calm person who likes to use upright strategies and open plots, and he is also prudent in employing troops.

Therefore, now there is Zhuge Kongming to the west of Chang'an and Feng Xiuyuan to the southeast. There is no need to say more about what to choose. "

Cao Zhen nodded, as if he understood, but he still didn't understand the cause and effect relationship. Zhuge Liang was calm and steady, and Feng Xi was good at using strange strategies, so shouldn't we beat Feng Xi? Why should we beat Zhuge Liang?

"Mr. Sima, if what you said is true, Zhuge Liang is a calm person, then he must have made preparations for the deployment of troops long ago, and he was even preparing for us to attack Liangzhou. Why did you advise us to attack Liangzhou first?"

Fortunately, Zhang He thought about it and felt that something was wrong, so he asked the same question as Cao Zhen. Zhang He had been immersed in the officialdom of Cao Wei for decades, and knew that Sima Yi was also a loyal minister of Cao Pi. Even if he was down and out now, he would still soar to the sky in the future, so he was still polite to Sima Yi at this moment.

"General Zhang, being steady doesn't mean he's difficult to deal with. On the contrary, it means he has a way to be dealt with. Now that Liang Province has been newly secured, and the Han army has just gained Tianshui and Anding counties, given Zhuge Kongming's temperament, he will definitely reorganize Liang Province and appease the locals, and will not attack Guanzhong so quickly.

On the contrary, I am too dull to understand the thoughts of Feng Xi of Jingzhou. I don't know whether he wants to attack, use a strategy, or rest. Compared with an opponent who cannot be understood, an opponent who acts according to the rules is easier to deal with.

In addition, as far as I know, the weapons of the Jingzhou army are sharp, and they are good at using powerful crossbows and the so-called "thunder objects", which are the true forms of the palm thunder and fairy magic that are rumored in our Great Wei. The annihilation of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is probably related to this.

On the contrary, the Sichuan Army’s equipment is still at a mediocre stage. Although they are already using the same crossbows as the Jingzhou Army, there is not much intelligence to indicate that the Sichuan Army has also begun to use the same tactics and equipment as the Jingzhou Army. "

These two points are also the basis for Sima Yi's current advice. First of all, he can understand Zhuge Liang's behavior. Now, playing with Zhuge Liang is like playing chess on a chessboard. Zhuge Liang may occasionally be able to calculate a few more steps than him, but at least they are still playing Go. To put it bluntly, if they lose, they know how to lose.

It was different when playing against Feng Xi. It was like when you put down a piece, the opponent put down a general; when you put down another piece, the opponent directly threw out two kings. Even Sima Yi would have a headache in this situation.

For example, in the Battle of Xiangfan that year, Sima Yi estimated that Feng Xi would at most defend the city of Fancheng with the Wei army. As a result, Feng Xi caused a huge explosion in Fancheng and turned the situation around. Sima Yi thought that even if he was at the scene, he would never have imagined such a method.

There are not many troops in Guanzhong area now. If Sima Yi goes all in to attack Feng Xi, Feng Xi will be very happy and will then use weapons and methods that he cannot understand to wipe out the Guanzhong army.

Wouldn't it be better to fight Zhuge Liang? Sima Yi could tell which was more important.

"In this case, how should we attack the Han army in Liangzhou?"

After listening to Sima Yi's impassioned speech, Cao Zhen was now somewhat convinced by him, so he asked about the first step of the plan.

"We should attack here and split the Han army in Liang Province into two."

Sima Yi pointed to the map and saw Jieting, which was the place that Zhang He and Cao Zhen had discussed before.

(End of this chapter)