Sima Yi's Three Kingdoms Collection Collection

Chapter 262 Zhuge Liang’s Attack (1)
choose to march
These years are really weird, the clouds are disturbing all over the world, and the world is in chaos. Military disasters and man-made disasters have caused the people to live in dire straits. I didn't expect God to join in the fun to add to the chaos.On the seventh day of the first lunar month in the fifth year of Cao Weitaihe, when the spring was cold and cold, a huge comet rose from the eastern night sky, drew a dazzling bright arc, and then slid down in the western sky.

Such an obvious "vision from heaven" immediately shocked the ruling and opposition parties of Wei State.The next day, the imperial court recruited fortune tellers from all over the country to go to Beijing to explain the celestial phenomena.Almost all the warlocks gave the same statement: a comet fell from the sky, indicating that this year Wei State will be plagued by swords and soldiers, and a general will die, which is an ominous omen.

Wei Guojun and his ministers couldn't help being dubious about these two "must have" statements made by the warlocks.Today, Wei, Shu, and Wu are fighting for hegemony, fighting every day, and thousands of soldiers die every day. This is a common occurrence, and there is nothing surprising about it.If one day the sorcerers say that from today onwards, a vision will descend from the sky, and the three kingdoms will no longer fight each other, this will be the greatest miracle in the world!It's a pity that such a miracle is still far away, at least in the minds of ordinary people.What really attracted the attention of the monarch and ministers of Wei State was the phrase "the general must be killed".Judging from the sky, it seems that a high-ranking general will die, so who will he be?As a result, all the civil servants in the Wei state couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and all the generals consciously or unconsciously raised their awareness of self-protection, silently hinting to themselves in their hearts: I'm definitely not "that one"!Others will be so unlucky!There are too many generals in the state of Wei, there are hundreds of them!The odds of me being "the one" are the same as the odds of that comet falling from the sky and hitting me on the head!

However, Cao Rui, who is in the highest power center of the Wei State, is paying more attention to this matter than everyone else.According to the latest intelligence he got from the front line, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Kingdom, has been preparing his troops and training his troops since the failure of the last Northern Expedition. He is actively preparing for another attack, and it is very likely that he will launch a war this year.It seems that a great war between Wei and Shu is inevitable.The 26-year-old young emperor was deeply worried and did not want this so-called comet to be fulfilled in reality.Since he ascended the throne five years ago, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu, and Sun Quan, the lord of Wu, have all regarded him as the hero of his life and regarded him as a "little boy who can be bullied". .Fortunately, the few ministers appointed by the first emperor before his death were very effective and helped him tide over difficulties many times.Later, he listened to the suggestions of the ministers and handed over the great cause of Yu Shu to Cao Zhen, the minister of the imperial court and the famous clan general Cao Zhen, and the great cause of defending Wu to Sima Yi, another minister of the minister of Gu Ming, and let them be alone. Stabilized the situation in the middle of the country and fended off the rampant attacks of the Shu bandits and Wu bandits.However, just after a few days of quiet life, I never thought that Zhuge Liang was about to move and plan to attack again. How could Cao Rui not be worried or anxious?And how could the warlocks' prophecies about the comet's ominous appearance not frighten him?
However, God's will always seems to run counter to people's hearts.You don't want something to happen, but this thing will happen when you are caught off guard, and you can't avoid it.In March, when the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, all civil servants and scholars are looking forward to going out for an outing to enjoy the flowers and the moon in the imperial court. Invade Guanzhong in a big way!And following this half-fulfilled prophecy, the coach of the Guanzhong theater of Wei Guo, the governor of Zhengxi, and the great Sima Caozhen died of a sudden illness.Everyone suddenly realized: it turned out that this general whose life was taken away by the comet was actually Cao Zhen, the Megatron in Western Xinjiang!
From the time of the first emperor to the present, most of the blocking wars launched by Wei State against Shu in the past eight years have been led by Cao Zhen.Cao Zhen has established an outstanding position as stable as Mount Tai in the army of Wei State with his honor of taking care of his life and trusting his ministers and his honor of invincibility in a hundred battles.Now, the general star has fallen, and Wu and Shu have gone to a strong enemy, so they are very happy.Zhuge Liang, who was always well-informed, was overjoyed when he learned of this information on the way to the army. He thought that God would bless the Shu Han, and immediately became more confident.

The enemy is now coming fiercely, who will be the commander-in-chief of Guanzhong to resist the invasion of the Shu invaders has become the most concerned issue for the monarchs and ministers of the Wei Kingdom.Now, there are two sayings circulating in the imperial court: one is to directly promote virtuous talents from the various armies in the original Guanzhong theater to be promoted to marshals;A flickering personnel struggle has already begun around the position of Grand Marshal of Guanzhong, who was vacuumed up by Da Sima Cao.And there are at least five to seven powerful people competing for this position. Among them, Sima Yi, the Hussar General who guards Wancheng and presides over the defense of Wu, and Cao Zhen's chief deputy commander, and Zhang He, the General of the Xixi Chariot, are the strongest and most prominent. of two people.Moreover, there are a large number of extremely powerful and prominent recommenders and supporters standing behind them: Zhang Yun was recommended by Cao Zhen and another Gu Ming minister, Sikong Chen Qun, before his death, and Sima Yi was also recommended by a high-ranking official. It was jointly recommended by senior ministers such as Taifu Zhongyou, Situ Wanglang, and Yushi doctor Dong Zhao.This made Cao Rui feel difficult to choose for the first time.In theory, this position is actually suitable for Zhang Yun. He has been assisting Cao Zhen in Guanzhong to deal with the Shu army for many years, and has already accumulated rich experience in fighting the enemy;From the point of view of a capable general, Zhang Xi is a veritable leader among the reserve generals against Shu.

However, the problem lies with Sima Yi.Sima Yi has been telling the court that he has been studying and dealing with the Shu Han bandits for many years. Although he is in Wancheng, he has a close relationship with him and has been paying attention to the movement of the Shu army.He has also always wanted to fight Zhuge Liang, Prime Minister of Shu, who is also known as "Confucian Commander".In addition, Sima Yi himself is also an excellent general: Three years ago, Xincheng prefect Meng Da rebelled and colluded with the Shu army to rebel, and it only took half a month in Sima Yi's hands to wipe out it in one fell swoop.This illustrious military exploit made people convinced of his military skills.But this time, as soon as Sima Yi heard the news that the Shu invaders had invaded and Cao Zhen died of illness, he arranged for the important event of defending Wu and then flew to Beijing to play Cao Rui. Guanzhong led the army to a showdown with Zhuge Liang, and issued a military order "If you don't break the Shu bandits, you will not return them."

In the face of Zhang He and Sima Yi, both outstanding generals, who should be chosen as the commander-in-chief of Guanzhong?This question gave Cao Rui a headache for a long time.In fact, in Cao Rui's mind, Zhang He gave too much and got too little.Those veterans Zhang Liao and Xu Huang who were contemporaries with him have already been enshrined as Liehou and Shiyi Qianhu. Only he is still a chariot general and Guanneihou. mean.However, the reason that affected Zhang He's promotion in his life was not that he did not meet the wise "Bole", but because of his so-called moral "flaws" criticized by the world: The rebel generals who came from the traitor Yuan Shao were taken in during the war.Moreover, one of the key reasons for his betrayal at that time was not that he was forced by Yuan Shao to defect passively, but that he voluntarily abandoned Yuan when he realized that Yuan Shao's defeat had appeared.This is the same as that Xincheng prefect Meng Da, his "betrayal" is an active speculation.This became the "original sin" that restricted Zhang He's career development.In the employment environment dominated by the traditional Confucian concept of "ruling the country by virtue", as long as you have taken the initiative to commit betrayal, you will always be a "rebel" and disloyal all your life, and you can never be completely reassuring. It will never be reused.Obviously, no matter how much meritorious service Zhang He has in the battle against the enemy, he can't change the latent deep prejudice against him, so it is not enough for him to be subordinated to his subordinates because of his ability to win every battle. No wonder.

In fact, in Cao Rui's view, he didn't take it seriously.Everything about a person in the past cannot be used to infer what he is doing today, let alone cover up his achievements today with past prejudices. The practice of "carrying out the boat and seeking the sword" and "finding faults" is not advisable.However, the reality is far from being as clear-cut as the feelings in a certain corner of his heart.Even though Cao Ruigui was the son of heaven, he kept his promises, but he didn't dare to go too far against the opinions of many veteran ministers in the court and go his own way.And he also expected that if he really broke the rules and promoted Zhang He as the coach of Guanzhong, then the spittle and cold faces of the elders and ministers in the court would immediately become an "unbearable burden" in his life.To be an emperor, there are times when you have no choice but to follow the crowd against your will!

In order to temporarily free himself from right and wrong, Cao Rui got up and left the imperial study room, and went into the harem garden to relax alone.The young Emperor Wei put down all his burdens for the time being, strolled among the blooming flowers, sniffing the fragrance mixed with the smell of earth, his spirit seemed to be much refreshed gradually.

He raised his head abruptly, and in the distance, a cornice of a majestic palace to the south came into view.His heart was suddenly suffocated, and suddenly it jumped up chug-chug!It's really bad luck, why did I see this Yong'an Palace at a glance?Cao Rui's face darkened.Seeing this, the maids who followed him knew that His Majesty's mood had deteriorated. They were afraid that they would accidentally say or do something wrong and end up in this bad situation. They were walking on eggshells, so they couldn't help but be more careful.

(End of this chapter)