Farmer of Shu Han

But it is said that Huang Chong took 1,500 people with dry food, walked the mountain path, crossed the remaining veins of the Qinling Mountains, arrived at Xunshui, and then went south along the Xunshui River Valley, and finally reached the confluence of Xunshui and Hanshui. place.

Xunkou was really as he had imagined, there was no defense at all, only a hundred or so Wei soldiers were patrolling the mouth of the river, and when they saw the Han army coming, they scattered without any resistance.

Huang Chong's confidence was greatly increased, so he ordered the soldiers to take a rest at Xunkou. At the same time, he sent sentries to Mulansai to inquire first.

He held back a lot of energy during this trip, just wanting to make military exploits.

It seems that today is the day to make contributions.

The sentry came back soon, and Huang Chong was shocked by the news: Mulan had a clear banner, and it seemed that there were many Wei soldiers guarding it.

"I came here quickly over the mountain with a load of dry food. How did Cao thief know that I wanted to seize this pass?" Huang Chong seemed to have been splashed with cold water, and he didn't want to believe it at all. "Could it be a false flag?"

After so much hard work, how could it be possible to retreat easily when they heard of the enemy's situation? Huang Chong ordered the camp to be pulled out immediately, and led the army to the Mulan Fortress.

At that moment, he could only sigh, "Thief Cao is capable."

With my own strength, I have no other way to capture such a pass except by surprise. Now that the fort is on guard, it seems that this trip is doomed to be futile.

Before retreating, he reluctantly sent someone to ask who was shutting down.

"A certain is a subordinate of Wei Hussar General Sima Gong, and so is Hu Zun."

General Wei replied loudly, "Sima Gong knew that this place was dangerous, so he sent someone here early. You little thief, how can you escape Sima Gong's eyes?"

Although he was mentally prepared, Huang Chong was still shocked when he heard this. He thought to himself that Sima Yi was really powerful, and he could have guessed that he would attack Guan early.

Although extremely unwilling, he still had to retreat to avoid being surrounded.

Li Yi at the other end was also unable to take down Anqiao, and when he got the news of Huang Chong's return, he went to join him.

After hearing the situation of Huang Chong Mulan Sai and his party, Li Yi pondered for a moment, then said carefully, "I'm afraid Yizhi was deceived by that Hu Zun."

Huang Chong was taken aback, and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"If I were Sima Yi, I would have predicted that someone would attack the pass and set up an ambush. How could you come back safely?"

After hearing this, Huang Chong suddenly felt that it made sense, but he was still puzzled and said, "How can you explain that Mulansai is heavily guarded?"

"This is beyond my knowledge. In my opinion, this should be Sima Yi just in case, rather than expecting someone to come. After all, from Weixing to Shangyong, the pass is the only way to pass. There is no harm in being prepared."

When Li Yi said this, he sighed in admiration, "This Sima Yi is meticulous in his actions, and he is indeed a capable person."

Huang Chong nodded. At this time, he had to be convinced even if he was not convinced, so he put away his heart of underestimating the heroes of the world.

The news that the Han soldiers had appeared in Mulansai soon spread to Sima Yi's army, and all the generals in the army admired the general who had predicted the enemy first.

Sima Yi's face was indifferent, with Zhizhu in his hands, "A bandit's small skill, the elegance of being able to climb the hall? Now Wu Kou is blocked in Fangling, Shu captives are blocked in Anqiao, Mulansai, Shangyong Mengda, no more reinforcements Well, the city will be destroyed without a doubt, and the generals must step up their efforts to attack the city without slacking off."

"promise!"

After everyone left, Master Sima asked curiously, "How did your lord know that the Shu thieves would attack Mulan Fortress?"

After everyone left, Sima Yi had a look of joy on his face, "I sent troops to Mulansai just in case, not only to guard against Shu thieves, but also to guard against Shen Yi."

"My lord is worried about Shen Yi?"

Sima Shi said something unexpectedly, remembering that the adults scolded Shen Yi when he learned about Meng Da Fan, he immediately asked, "Could it be that Shen Yi also has objections?"

"The Shen family has been in the three counties of Shangyong for a long time, and they are deeply rooted. They have long regarded the three counties as their own territory." A sneer appeared on Sima Yi's face. Will you trust such people?"

"What's more, I want to take local wealthy families like the Shen family to relieve His Majesty's worries about me."

Having said that, Sima Yi smiled darkly.

Master Sima was confused when he heard this, "Isn't His Majesty loving and trusting His Excellency now? How can you say he is worried?"

"Our Majesty is not a simple person. If it weren't for the establishment of a queen, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to see his intentions."

Sima Yi chuckled, "Hedong Yu was originally the wife and a distinguished family. His Majesty did not make her the heir, but the Mao family who came from a humble background. Do you really think that he just dotes on concubines? No, he just learned from the late emperor." It's just wise."

Seeing that his son was still puzzled, Sima Yi was not harsh on him, he understood everything.

At this time, Da Lang is just a weaker champion, and the power game between the court and China is not because he can see clearly at present, and he brought him by his side just to let him gain insight.

So Sima Yi explained to Master Sima in detail, "Empress Zhen was a prominent family in Hebei back then. The first emperor abolished her and replaced her with Empress Guo because he was worried that the powerful family in Hebei would become too powerful."

"Why? Because Hebei is the former land of the Yuan family. Yecheng was originally the old capital of the Great Wei Dynasty, but before his death, the late emperor visited all directions, but he didn't enter Yecheng. Why do you think? It's just to suppress the big family in Hebei. prestige ear."

"Two of the four auxiliary ministers in the court today are royal clan members. Chen Changwen and I represent the Hanoi family and the Yingchuan family respectively. This is the balance set by the late emperor for His Majesty today."

"If the Yu clan of Hedong is established as the queen again, then the family will become too powerful, which is not what His Majesty would like to see, so they imitate the previous emperor and appoint the Mao clan who has no foundation as the queen."

Speaking of this, Sima Yi looked at his son, and then pointed to himself, "The Sima family and the Yu family are both aristocratic families, and they have the same spirit, and the Yu family has been abolished. Although the Sima family will not be implicated for the time being, we must be careful." For the top."

"So this time, I will not only put an end to the chaos of Shangyong as soon as possible, but also use the Shen family to let His Majesty know that I am loyal. Not only will I not associate with the local wealthy families, but if they make mistakes , I will not show affection, understand?"

After hearing this, Sima Shi suddenly realized, did not expect that the battle for the title of empress, which is two thousand miles away, would affect this place?

Sima Yi nodded in satisfaction when he saw his eldest brother showing deep thought.

Above the court, one must not be careless, the higher the position, the more powerful one is, the more careful one must be.

Back then, Emperor Wu ordered him to go forward, and then suddenly turned his head, saying that he was looking behind and not moving, which was the appearance of a wolf.

Fortunately, I had a good relationship with the first emperor. After hearing about this, I deliberately worked hard as an official and forgot to go to bed at night. I had to do even small things such as mowing grass and herding horses by myself, which dispelled Emperor Wu's doubts.

Now that His Majesty has Emperor Liwu, if he dares to bully his youth into contempt, he will definitely suffer.

"Okay, you are still young, such things are beyond your imagination now. The most urgent task is how to break through Shangyong City as soon as possible."

Sima Yi interrupted Master Sima's train of thought.

Master Sima nodded, thought for a while, and suddenly smiled, "My child has a method, which can destroy the hearts of the people in the city."

"Let's try to say it."

"Then Meng Da dared to defend the city, but he relied on the dangerous situation of Shangyong City, and Wu and Shu as external support. Now that Wu and Shu's reinforcements have been blocked, as long as this news spreads to the city, it will surely shake the morale of the army. If we try to persuade him to surrender again, Meng Da may no longer have the will to hold on."

Sima Yi listened and nodded in satisfaction, "Shangyong City is surrounded by water on three sides. If there is outside support, it will naturally be a dangerous place. Now that the foreign aid is cut off, it will become a deadly place, and it is impossible to even rush out. I don't like it." Meng Da is such a villain, the matter of persuading him to surrender is not necessarily to persuade him to surrender."

"My lord means..."

"Command all the troops to find an opportunity to send news to other guards in the city. If they are willing to help open the city gate, not only will they not be punished for the crime of rebellion, but they will be rewarded!"

Sima Yi said coldly.

"The child understands!"

Shangyong City was originally under-prepared because of Sima Yi's rapid arrival, but now that there is news that Wu Shu can't respond, the hearts of the people in the city are suddenly floating.

In January of the sixth year of Jianxing, sixteen days after Sima Yi attacked Shangyong City with eight routes, Meng Da's nephew Deng Xian and his trusted general Li Fu finally had a mental breakdown and secretly opened the city gate to surrender. Wei Jun took the opportunity to rush in.

Meng Da was caught off guard and had nowhere to escape. After being captured, he beheaded in public. Sima Yi ordered his head to be passed on to Luoyang.

At the same time, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, claimed that he was going to take the city of Mei through Xiegu, and at the same time sent Zhao Yun as the commander-in-chief to lead the suspected army to set off.

Then, using the artificial stone road built last year, Wei Yan led the front army and quietly stationed in Ju County at night.

The Wei army guards guarding various roads in Hanzhong learned of the road Zhao Yun was taking, and immediately sent the news to Luoyang on horseback.

Since Liu Bei's death, the land of Shu has been silent. Cao Rui heard that Zhuge Liang was in Hanzhong, and he was just patrolling the border for him. He talked about martial arts and trained troops just to prevent himself from attacking Hanzhong. .

Not only the Wei Emperor Cao Rui, but also the Cao Wei government and the people from top to bottom all despise the land of Shu.

I never thought that villager Zhuge was so bold, he secretly assembled a large army and sent troops from Hanzhong to attack.

When the news reached Luoyang, the government and the public were shocked.

General Cao Zhen rushed to Chang'an overnight to preside over the overall situation, quickly assembled the troops in Guanzhong, and headed for Meicheng.

Fortunately, Meng Da's head was passed to the capital at this time. Cao Rui immediately passed the head to the streets of Luoyang, publicized it to reassure people, and then burned it in Luoyang's well-connected places.

Now that the Mengda Rebellion was over, Cao Rui ordered Zhang Yun, who was stationed in Jingzhou, to rush back to Luoyang at night.

Hussar General Sima Yi wanted to appease the people in Xincheng, so Cao Rui asked him to take charge of Jingzhou's defense affairs.

Zhuge Liang in Hanzhong heard that Cao Zhen in Guanzhong had been fooled, so he notified the former army Wei Yan to go up Long, and at the same time he personally led the main force to follow, and rushed towards Qishan, the throat of Hanzhong to Longyou.

Wei Yande ordered that as soon as he left Ju County, he sent a team to Liao Hua, let him enter Wudu Yinping, wiped out the scattered Wei army nearby, and used it to protect the flanks of the grain road, while he himself led the army directly to the north.

After Zhuge Liang led his army to Juxian County, he ordered Zhao Guang, the defender of Juxian County, to belong to Feng Yong, and at the same time used Juxian County as a grain base to attack Longyou.

When the flag of the Han Dynasty appeared under Qishan City, Wei Bing in Qishan City thought he was delusional, and panicked all of a sudden.

In the early years, because of the Qianghu rebellion, the Ma Chao rebellion, and the impact of the Hanzhong War, the counties of Longyou were already seriously injured and their population dropped sharply.

In the past two years, there have been more and more business travelers in Longyou and Hanzhong, giving them an illusion of peace. Who would have thought that Ji Han would attack with a large army?

"Enemy attack, enemy attack! Close the city gate, close the city gate!"

The guards of Qishan City brandished whips and beat the soldiers, urging them to close the city gate with a burning heart.

Before Wei Yan rushed to the bottom of the city, the city gate finally closed with a bang, and at the same time the suspension bridge over the moat was pulled up.

Seeing the people's heads swaying on the city wall, Wei Yan laughed, reined in his horse and shouted, "Cao thief on the city, listen up, I am Wei Yan, a former general of the Northern Expedition Army of the Great Han Dynasty. If you are sensible, hurry up!" Quickly open the city gate and surrender, if not..."

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a sound of "咻", and an arrow shot down from the city, and finally landed softly a foot in front of him.

Although there was no shouting in the city, this arrow has already shown its attitude.

Wei Yan was furious.

It's just that now that I have just led the army, I haven't made siege equipment for a while, and this city is small, but it is extremely dangerous, and it is guarding the intersection from the north to Tianshui.

If the army wants to go to Tianshui through here, it must take this city.

At the moment, he had no choice but to cut down trees, trying to prepare for the siege before the arrival of the prime minister's army.

At this time in Longyou, it was time to prepare for spring plowing.

At Luomen in Tianshui, a group of people came along the Wei River from the west.

The leader, who looked to be in his forties, was tall and elegant, and looked at the fields on both sides of the river while walking. It was Guo Huai, governor of Yongzhou.

He only heard him say, "I have heard that in the past two years, some people deliberately abandoned the fields to raise sheep, Ma Taishou, is there such a thing?"

Ma Zun, the prefect of Tianshui County, hurried forward and said, "Returning to the governor, some people have raised sheep in the past two years, but they didn't waste the land, but drove the barbarians to enclose the land to raise sheep."

"Drive the Hu people to enclose the land?" The governor asked a little strangely, "The Hu people herd cattle and sheep, and the Han people cultivate the fields. This is right. From your tone, it is possible that there are rich families in Tianshui who also learn from the Hu people to herd cattle and sheep?"

"Return to the governor, it is true."

Guo Huai was originally from an aristocratic family, so he naturally knew that the big family valued the land, and it would be normal if the land was enclosed for farming.

Because in the past two years, a kind of plow called Quyuan plow has been spread from the land of Shu. It only uses one person and one ox, which is not only extremely convenient, but also saves labor. It is much better than the previous two-ox plow.

It is best to use it for farming.

It used to be very difficult to open up wasteland, but with this kind of plow, it is much easier to open up wasteland.

Unexpectedly, this big clan in Longyou is acting abnormally, the enclosure is not used for farming, but for herding cattle and sheep?

Guo Huai was thoughtful at the moment, "In the past two years, Hu people have been coming to me and telling me that the Han people in Longyou don't let them graze. I thought that in Guanzhong and Longyou, the Hu people kept driving cattle and sheep to graze , just to appease them."

"I didn't expect such a thing to happen. Then do you know why they don't farm, but instead herd cattle and sheep?"

Hearing this, Ma Zun's face was filled with embarrassment, he glanced at the few people following behind, and coughed, "Return to the governor, these things are all done by the local big family. How did the villain know?"

In today's world, magistrates need to establish a good relationship with the local aristocratic family in order to be able to succeed, Guo Huai didn't think about embarrassing Ma Zun.

Moreover, it is almost an open secret that Guanzhong, Longyou, and even the nobles in Liangzhou have many connections with the south.

Even the first emperor once convened a court meeting because of the inflow of too much Shu brocade, and wrote an article "Discussing Shu Brocade Book with His Officials", in order to persuade rich and noble families not to be proud of Shu brocade.

Where does Shu brocade come from? Aren't they all from Shu?

The price of Shu brocade from Wu land is more than twice as expensive, so the rich families in Guanzhong and Longyou will find a way to buy it directly from Shu land, and then transfer it to the Central Plains.

Although the imperial court hated the act of cooperating with Shu bandits, it had to accept it with a pinch of its nose—because it couldn't be stopped at all.