Chapter 862 The winter of the ninth year of Jianxing

  Because of Wei's retreat on the western front, the heavy pressure was like a dark cloud in winter, pressing on the heads of Wei's monarchs and ministers, making people a little breathless.

  The reason why Cao Rui agreed with Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou, was because of Huairou Ke Bineng.

  At the same time, Tian Yu, the captain of Hu Karasuma who advocated being tough on Xianbei, was transferred away. In fact, it was related to the huge military pressure in the west.

  Following another defeat in the Battle of Xiaoguan, except for the New Fifth Army affiliated to the central government still stationed in Luoyang as a strategic reserve.

  Cao Rui had to transfer the country's most elite soldiers to Guanzhong to guard against Shu.

  Because in his opinion, Shu State is already the biggest threat to Wei State.

  The last barrier in Guanzhong must not be lost.

  So he delegated a lot of power to Sima Yi, someone gave someone, and someone gave something.

  The only requirement is not to allow the Kingdom of Shu to advance an inch.

  Because if we lose the last barrier of Guanzhong, the essence of Wei, we will have to face the threat of Shu.

  So Cao Rui not only sent the most elite soldiers to Guanzhong, but also made Sima Yi the chief Sima, becoming the nominal supreme commander of the Wei army.

  Shu State held back Wei State's too many troops in Guanzhong, and under the ups and downs, whether it was facing Soochow's east line or the center line, they all entered strategic defense.

  In Liangzhou in October, it has started to snow.

  However, Jianghuai in October has just entered winter.

  The winter in Shouchun City is cloudy and cold.

  Man Chong, the governor of Yangzhou, sat in front of the desk, beside which there was a firepit.

   Man Chong is warming the wine in the firepit comfortably, and after the wine is warmed, he will raise his glass and drink for himself.

  The Wei State, which is based on aristocratic families, has only been officially established for more than ten years, but the speed of its corruption and degeneration is very alarming.

  The aristocratic family and the wealthy family not only accommodated a large number of field guests, but also concealed the population.

   Even blatantly colluded with local officials and devoured the farmland left over from the Cao Cao period.

   Not to mention running rampant in the local area and bullying the people.

  As a cruel official, Man Chong was one of the earliest veterans to follow Cao Cao.

  In this era of arrogance and right-handedness, Man Chong acts with an iron fist and emphasizes strict laws, which is a blessing to the common people.

  So after the Battle of Shiting, Man Chong was transferred from the governor of Yuzhou to Yangzhou, acting as the governor of Yangzhou's military.

  The people in Runan County, the prefecture of Yuzhou, learned that supporting the old and the young, being reluctant to give up, and running along the road cannot be prohibited.

   The guards were so frightened that they hurriedly reported to the imperial court, wanting to behead the leader as a warning.

  Man Chong's actions may win Cao Cao's favor.

  But Wei Guo is based on aristocratic families and nobles after all, so he will inevitably offend certain interest groups.

  For example, Wang Ling, Wang Yun's nephew, performed well in the Battle of Shiting and was appointed Governor of Yangzhou.

  But he is almost incompatible with the full favor of the military governor of Yangzhou.

  Of course, the main generals of the Yangzhou armies are at odds. That is a long-standing tradition. This is probably the way of balance for Wei.

   There were hurried footsteps outside the door, and an aide walked in quickly with an angry face:

   "General, Wang Ling's henchmen are slandering the general again, and now Shouchun is full of rumors..."

  Man Chong heard the words, without changing his face, raised his glass and drank it down, and then said lightly:

   "The child's success, it's just a moment of madness. This time, what are they talking about me again?"

  As a cool official, he has always had very few friends around him, unlike others who have many relatives and friends, and drinking alone is a common occurrence.

   "They all said that the general was old and weak, his words and deeds were absurd, and he drank and made mistakes, so he was unfit to be the governor of Yangzhou."

  The staff said unhappily, "General, because of his family background, Wang Ling doesn't take the general seriously, and slanders the general a lot. It's really abhorrent."

   "The general rank is higher than Wang Ling, the merit is higher than Wang Ling, and the authority is higher than Wang Ling, but why do you tolerate him so much?"

   Man Chong heard the words and nodded in agreement with what the staff said:

   "Yes, since I am higher than Wang Ling, how can his slanderous words hurt me at all?"

   As he spoke, he stroked his gray beard.

  Although he has been a cruel official all his life, Man Chong also knows that many people don't like him, but he still wants to spend his old age peacefully.

  Therefore, it is not advisable to go too far with others now.

   "General, I'm afraid that if those words reach His Majesty's ears, it will be detrimental to the General."

   "Your Majesty is the master of sages, how can you easily believe rumors?"

   Seeing his general's disapproval, the staff couldn't help feeling angry and anxious, but there was nothing they could do.

   At this moment, there was another rush of footsteps, and the guards came to report:

   "General, the governor Wang sent someone to send a letter."

  Man Chong heard the words, and involuntarily exchanged glances with his staff, feeling a little surprised.

  The so-called assassin Wang is naturally Wang Ling.

  What does he mean by sending someone to send a letter at this time?

   "Submit it."

   "No."

  After reading the letter, he gave a sneer full of affection:

   "Wu general Sun Bu sent a secret envoy to send a letter of surrender, intending to betray Wu and return to Wei..."

   As he spoke, a mocking look appeared on his face, "This Sun Wu rat, besides false surrender or false surrender, don't they know anything else?"

  How long has it been since the previous Fan Zhou bream feigned surrender?

   Now want to do it again?

  He thought for a while, and then he was grinded, and then he wrote a letter himself, and wrote back a letter to Wu General Sun Bu on behalf of Wang Ling:

  Know the evil and know the right, if you want to avoid disasters, follow the rules, get rid of violence and return to the way, which is very good. Now I want to send troops to meet them, but if the number of soldiers is too small, it will not be enough to defend, and if there are too many, people will hear about it. You can make a secret plan first, and then discuss it when the matter comes.

  Wang Ling learned that he was very dissatisfied:

   "There was Jin Zong before, and Han Zong later, all of them came back with sincerity, why do you only know Zhou Bream?"

  So on the surface, he asked Man Chong to allow him to lead the army to meet him, and at the same time sent a secret envoy to Luoyang with his memorial overnight.

  The memorial says that Man Chong is old, weak-willed, stubborn, absurd, and often makes mistakes by drinking. Please send someone else to supervise the military forces in Yangzhou.

  After Cao Rui read it, he felt something in his heart.

  Since Sun Quan usurped himself as emperor, he has planned to go north every year.

  The plan to attack Xiyang the year before last, and Hefei last year, were detected in advance, so they failed.

   Now Guanzhong is under great pressure. If something happens in Yangzhou, Jianghuai will be corrupted.

  He hesitated for a long time, unable to make a decision, so he called his confidants to inquire.

  Give advice to Guo Mou in the matter:

   "Being favored as the prefect of Runan and the governor of Yuzhou for more than 20 years, he has many meritorious deeds; and the town of Huainan, Wu people are afraid of him."

   "The statement in the table is full of words that favor the old and decrepit, and the words are absurd. It may not be the Wu people's plan to divide people."

   "If you easily believe what is said in the table, then Yangzhou will be peeped by the people of Wu. If you don't want to temporarily call your favor back to the court, ask Yangzhou about it to find out."

   Cao Rui heard it and was very happy, so he followed his words.

  Luoyang dispatched envoys as quickly as possible to Shouchun, summoned all the favors to return to the court, and said that His Majesty had something to inquire about.

   Man Chong had no choice but to go to Luoyang.

  Wang Ling was overjoyed when he learned about it, and sent someone to Liufu Changshi, requesting to send troops to meet Sun Bu.

  Unexpectedly, Shi Liu, the head of the prefecture, rejected Wang Ling's request.

  It turned out that before Man Chong's departure yesterday, he specifically confessed to Liufu Chief Shi: If Wang Ling wants to lead the army to meet the surrendered general, he must not send a single soldier.

  When Wang Ling found out about this, he was extremely annoyed, but he had no choice but to send his own general to lead 700 troops from his headquarters.

  Sun Quan asked Sun Bu to surrender in order to try to capture Hefei.

   I didn't expect to prepare for such a long time. It's fine if you don't get fooled. Even Wang Ling only sent less than a thousand people.

   It's just an arrow on the string, so I have to send it.

   Seeing that there was no way to hide it any longer, Sun Bu had to set up an ambush at night for a sneak attack.

   Most of the 700 people in the Wei army were killed or injured, and only the superintendent led a few people to escape.

   When the news came back to Shouchun, Wang Ling lost face.

  Although less than a dozen of the 700 people sent by Wang Ling escaped back, it sounded the alarm for Shouchun and put Yangzhou on alert.

  Sun Quan learned that he had to suspend the plan to go north for the third consecutive year.

  At this time, Man Chong had just rushed back to Luoyang to meet Cao Rui.

  Cao Rui looked at Man Chong below, and saw that although he had a gray beard, his voice was like a bell, and he could still feel the strength in his gestures.

  When discussing the matter of Yangzhou, the speech is clear and well-organized. How can there be a trace of old age?

  So I finally came to a conclusion in my heart.

   Now calmly said:

   "In the battle of Xiaoguan, people panicked. What I worry about is that people in Yangzhou are fluctuating. Now that I have heard the words of the king, my heart is at ease."

   "Military forces in Yangzhou, please take care of yourself."

   Man Chong has lived through three dynasties, how can he not know about the affairs of the dynasties?

  He knew that in the past, the clan of the Cao family was the commander in chief, but now that the clan's talents are withered, as a foreign surname, he has the opportunity to supervise the military forces in Yangzhou.

  Recalling that he was suddenly and inexplicably recalled to the capital, it may not be without reason.

   Immediately asked:

   "Your Majesty, I am old and my strength has weakened. I am afraid that I will not be able to take on the important task of supervising Yangzhou's military affairs. If I miss the important affairs of the country, I will die."

   "Therefore, please Your Majesty can choose another talented person, the veteran's health, I'm afraid it will be difficult to take on the battle again, begging to stay in the capital to enjoy his dying years."

   Cao Rui heard the words and said decisively:

   "No! The general is the minister of the humerus left by Emperor Wu. Now that the country is in danger, how can the general sit in the capital and ignore the border bandits?"

   Man Chong wanted to say more, but Cao Rui forcibly changed the subject:

   "Shu captives are rampant and have repeatedly violated the border. Now Da Sima is stationing troops in Guanzhong. Shangzuo wants to farm in Guanzhong for a long-term plan."

   "Runan, Yuzhou is the place where Emperor Wu used to farm. You have been the governor of Yuzhou for a long time, so you should know about farming."

   "I want to move 10,000 soldiers and civilians who are familiar with farming to Guanzhong. How can you teach me?"

  Cao Cao's early farmlands, a considerable part of which has been severely damaged.

  Yuzhou, on the other hand, is still relatively well preserved because Man Chong has served as governor for more than 20 years and can strictly enforce the law.

  Man Chong had no choice but to follow Cao Rui's topic:

   "Returning to Your Majesty, farming fields to prepare for famine, and enough food for the army to prevent bandits, is the national policy left by Emperor Wu."

   "Now Da Sima wants to farm in Guanzhong, which is a long-term way to maintain a stalemate with the Shu captives, and it is a good strategy."

   "However, it is now winter and it is not suitable to relocate. Your Majesty can move the officials to Guanzhong first to make plans."

   "Just wait for the spring of the next year before moving the army and civilians to garrison the fields. This will neither delay the garrison of the Guanzhong nor cause turmoil among the people."

  Cao Rui nodded when he heard it, and agreed with Man Chong: "That's a very good statement."

   Then he thought for a while and said:

   "The prefect of Runan has been in office for less than two years now, and he may not be as familiar with the officials in the village as you. After you go down, you might as well draw up a list to avoid omissions."

   Man Chong quickly responded.

   After staying, he not only carefully drew up a list, but also wrote a memorial, expressing his intention to stay in the capital again.

  At this moment, the urgent report of the defeat of Wang Ling, the governor of Yangzhou, reached Luoyang.

  Cao Rui made Man Chong more determined to guard Yangzhou.

  He personally wrote a handwritten edict, which was given to Man Chong:

  In the past, Lian was quite strong, and horses were used to support the saddle. Today, the king is not old but he claims to be old. How can he be against Lian and Ma? Its Si'an border benefits this China.

   Man Chong saw that His Majesty did not hesitate to use Lian Po and Ma Yuan to persuade him, so he did not dare to resign at the moment. Coupled with the urgent report from Yangzhou, he had to rush back to Yangzhou.

  After this incident, Manchong finally established authority in Yangzhou.

  Cao Rui's temper was very impatient. After he got the list of officials in the village, he combined it with the list submitted by Runan prefect Tian Yu.

   Then let people pick out officials from the list and set off for Guanzhong.

  After the group of field officials arrived in Chang'an, a thin layer of snow had covered the entire Guanzhong.

  In the freezing season, not to mention the officials who came from Runan to farm the fields, even the soldiers in Guanzhong who were guarding against the Shu captives huddled in a certain place to warm up when they had nothing to do.

  Before taking over Guanzhong, Sima Yi had told Cao Rui that now he can only stick to Guanzhong and stop distracting Liangzhou.

  But when the news of the fall of the entire Liangzhou territory came, it still made his heart tremble a few times.

  He was all over his body, as if he was standing in the field of Guanzhong at this time in single clothes, feeling chilly.

  In the past few months, he traveled all over the entire army, talked with soldiers who participated in the Battle of Xiaoguan, and tried his best to restore every detail of the Battle of Anding.

  Especially in the battle of Xiaoguan, what happened, Feng thief was able to beat 100,000 with 20,000?

   It's just that the more detailed the understanding, the colder Sima Yi's heart became.

  A cavalry force that has never been seen before, a catapult that sounds like a thunderbolt, a ballista that shoots a spear...

   Coupled with extremely elite soldiers.

   This is what Sima Yi couldn't understand.

  How did the Shu people do it?

  How did they raise such an army?

   Back then, tigers and leopards defeated Yuan Shao in Hebei and Ma Chao in Northwest China, making them the number one cavalry army in the world.

  Why did it disappear in the era of Emperor Wen?

  One is because it is too expensive to raise such cavalry troops.

  War horses are valuable, they not only need to eat grass, but also eat food.

   The cost of raising a good war horse is almost equivalent to the money and food needed by five families.

  As for the second thing, it was because Wei had completely pacified the north at that time, but Wu and Shu in the south were mostly blocked by mountains and dangerous, and the cavalry could not exert their combat power.

  In this case, ordinary elite cavalry is enough, so it doesn’t make much sense to keep tiger and leopard cavalry.

   I just didn't expect that the Shu people not only won Longyou, but even formed an armored cavalry army in just over three years.

  But no matter how rich the land of Shu is, how could it be able to support such consumption?

  With the national power of the Great Wei, raising tigers, leopards and cavalry is still difficult.

  Shu is only a mere state, how can they afford these elite cavalry?

  The more Sima Yi thought about it, the more he felt a little worried about the unknown.

   Feeling depressed, he boarded Chang'an City, wanting to calm down.

   Unexpectedly, he had just climbed up to the top of the city, but found that someone had already arrived at the top of the city.

  In the vast white snow, this person wandered back and forth, sometimes squatting down, and scratching something on the ground with his fingers.

  At the same time, it can be seen that his mouth is constantly opening and closing, as if he is muttering to himself, and suddenly he looks up to the north, not knowing what he is doing.

  The guards around him were about to chase away people, but Sima Yi stretched out his hand to stop him, and walked forward slowly. When he saw the painting on the ground clearly, his pupils shrank slightly.

  In order to see more clearly, he couldn't help but want to get closer.

  The sound of footsteps finally woke up the man who was squatting there and paddling on the snow in fascination.

  He turned around abruptly, not sure if he was frightened, but he stammered and asked:

   "You...you are...who...who?"

   "Bold! Dare to be rude to Da Sima?"

   The guard shouted loudly.

  The young man's expression changed drastically, and he raised his foot and wanted to step back to salute.

  Unexpectedly, Sima Yi quickly stretched out his hand to stop him:

   "Wait a minute, don't step on the paintings on the ground."

   It's just that the young man's feet can no longer be retracted. Once he steps down, there will be an extra footprint on the drawn picture.

  The young man looked at his feet hastily, and he didn't know whether to step or not to step on the other foot.

   "What is the thing you drew just now?"

  Sima Yi motioned him not to be too polite, and pointed to the ground.

  Young Cong's complexion suddenly changed.

   But when he saw the guard who had already pressed his hand on the handle of the knife, he had to bite the bullet and answer:

   "Hui... Hui... Da... Da... Da Sima, Xia... Xiaguan's painting... Yes, it is the terrain of Chang'an."

  He didn't dare to hide anything, the map on the ground hadn't been wiped off, how could he not see it with Da Sima's eyesight?

  Sima Yi nodded and asked again:

   "What are you drawing this for?"

   "I, I want to try finger-painting...barracks..."

   Having said that, he pointed to the north again, "The Shu captives are in stability, and sooner... sooner or later... they will wait for the opportunity... to go down the Jing River."

   "So... so I thought... what to do, what to do, so, so I just randomly... scribbled on the ground."

  Sima Yi listened to the other person's words and realized in his heart that this person must be stuttering.

  Although he was in a high position, Sima Yi listened to him patiently, and then asked with great interest:

"what's your name?"

   "Deng Ai, the next official, named Shi Zai."

   "Deng Shizai?" Sima Yi nodded, "Which camp do you belong to?"

   "Go back, go back to Da Sima, down, the next official is... just came from Runan, farming."

   "Okay, okay!" Sima Yi nodded frequently, showing approval, and said kindly, "It's cold here, you come back home with me, I have something to ask you."

  (end of this chapter)