Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 595 589. Conspirator

Pingyin County, in the north of Luoyang, is the county closest to the Yellow River in Henan Province.

"Mr. Sima, what should we do now?"

An old man and a young man, both dressed in cloth and looking like ordinary people, found a secluded corner in a restaurant in Pingyin County and talked in a low voice.

"Don't be afraid, sir. I have asked Shi'er and Zhao'er to get the news."

The old man took a sip from the wine glass, not drinking too much, and just ate the food on the table casually. The young man, on the other hand, was a little restless, just drinking without moving his chopsticks, obviously without any appetite.

While the two were chatting, two young men, also dressed in plain white clothes and looking like ordinary people, walked into the restaurant, glanced at the people sitting in the restaurant, and then walked to the table of the old and the young and sat down.

"Father, Young Master, Luoyang City has fallen. It is said that that person and those few others have died for their country."

The older youth spoke like a riddle, but everyone else knew what he meant. The young man drank the full glass in his hand in one gulp, and then sighed.

Even though they had fought to the death before, it was a fight between brothers, and the other party did not kill him, but just drove him to a remote place where he could not see or feel at peace. Now that he heard the news that the other party had died, he was still very upset.

Needless to say, these four people have a strange combination, namely Sima Yi, his father and his sons, and Cao Rui.

When Cao Rui was trapped in Chang'an because of the Northern Expedition of the Han army, he was at his most disheartened. At that time, he had just lost to Cao Li in the political struggle in Luoyang, and was driven out of Luoyang by Cao Li like a wild dog, and went to Liangzhou in disgrace.

However, while he was staying in Chang'an, he was visited by an unexpected person, who was Sima Yi, who had been trying hard to hide his presence.

Sima Yi expressed his regret for Cao Rui's current misery, and at the same time, in a bewitching tone, asked Cao Rui whether he wanted to return to the throne.

Cao Rui naturally thought about it. He also knew Sima Yi. Although his father Cao Pi had said more than once that Sima Yi could be used but not reused, Cao Rui had nothing now. What could he be afraid of for the supreme position?
Sima Yi slowly expressed his thoughts only after he and Cao Rui swore an oath of blood.

In Sima Yi's opinion, it would be difficult for Wei to resist the Han army's offensive this time. Especially since the Han army had easily defeated Man Chong in Wancheng, even Luoyang might not be able to hold out for too long.

Therefore, Sima Yi's plan was very simple. He would take advantage of the fact that Wei was preoccupied with its own affairs and let Cao Rui cross the river to the north. He would use Youzhou, Jizhou and Bingzhou as his base and contact those ethnic minorities for external aid. At the very least, he could be like Yuan Shao in the past.

Cao Rui was not very optimistic about this. Although he was Cao Pi's legitimate son, he did not have the confidence to convince the officials of the three states.

"Why do you say that, Your Highness? The General Wu Zhi who is in charge of the military power of Youzhou and Bingzhou is a close confidant of the late emperor and also my good friend. As long as Your Highness says a word, Youzhou and Bingzhou will definitely obey your orders."

Sima Yi had been prepared for this, and Cao Rui could not help but feel relieved by Sima Yi's words. "Then Mr. Sima, what should we do now? You were placed here by the late emperor, and you cannot move freely."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I have my own way to get out. After General Cao Zhen leads his army out of the city, just go to Hongnong County and wait for me there."

Sima Yi just smiled mysteriously and did not tell anyone about his plan. Cao Rui could only listen to Sima Yi's plan and wait for things to develop.

After a few days, Cao Zhen really did as Sima Yi said and led the army straight out of the city, but instead of returning to Luoyang for support, he headed straight west.

Cao Rui took advantage of the city being empty and headed straight out of the city towards Hongnong. Normally, Cao Rui would have been held accountable for his behavior, but now that the Han army was approaching Luoyang, who would have the time to care about Cao Rui? No one cared about Cao Rui's departure, and no one stopped him.

When Cao Rui arrived in Hongnong County, he settled down and waited for Sima Yi to join him while looking for news everywhere. Soon he learned that the Han army had captured Wancheng and was heading straight for Luoyang, which made Cao Rui a little worried about Sima Yi's arrangements, after all, he didn't know where Sima Yi himself was.

As a result, after Cao Rui was frightened for a few days, he actually met Sima Yi. However, he only met him briefly and asked him to wait until Cao Zhen's army left and then come to see him in two days. If there was any obstruction, he could just use his status to pressure him.

Cao Rui didn't understand, but he still followed Sima Yi's arrangements obediently. As a result, he heard that Sima Yi was seriously ill and Cao Zhen went to visit him in person.

Cao Rui recalled the story of "Tian's Usurping of Qi" that he had heard in Luoyang before, and suddenly realized that Sima Yi was probably faking illness.

As expected, Cao Zhen had no time to care about Sima Yi because the situation in Luoyang was in full swing. He left him with less than a hundred soldiers as guards and led the army away.

Cao Rui followed Sima Yi's instructions and went to Sima Yi's residence to visit him two days later. The ordinary soldiers dared not stop him and could only let him go in. As Cao Rui expected, Sima Yi was not sick at all. He even threw off the quilt and jumped off the bed when Cao Rui came in.

With Cao Rui, Cao Pi's eldest son, Sima Yi easily regained these soldiers and then prepared to go to Pingyin County under their escort.

Sima Shi and Sima Zhao in Luoyang had received Sima Yi's family letter early on, asking them to go to Pingyin if there was any change in Luoyang. At that time, the Han army had already reached Yique Pass, and the two brothers decided to flee Luoyang overnight and head north.

After the two sides had traveled for a long time, they finally met in Pingyin County. The soldiers had been disbanded by the two men when they were in the Hangu area, because they wanted to cross the river quietly, and these people were too conspicuous to act.

In the end, Sima Yi, his son and Cao Rui took Cao Rui's loyal guards and sneaked into Pingyin County. The first thing they did was to find out the current situation of Wei. What they wanted to do must be done after Luoyang fell and Wei was in name only.

Otherwise, wouldn't it mean that Cao Rui, Sima Yi and Wu Zhi joined forces to rebel in Hebei?

Fortunately, Sima Shi and his brothers have brought back good news. Not long ago, Luoyang was captured by the Han army, and Cao Li and his brothers were all killed. General Cao Zhen and other generals were killed or wounded. It was a power vacuum period in Cao Wei, and it was also a great opportunity for conspirators like Sima Yi to act.

(End of this chapter)