Farmer of Shu Han

In July of the eighth year of Jianxing, Cao Rui issued three secret edicts from Luoyang to the three places in spite of the objections of the officials in the court.

The first letter was sent to Hefei, and then through a secret channel in Hefei, it was delivered to Ben and Wu's Yinbo.

The second letter was sent to Sima Yi, the big hussar general guarding Yuzhou and Jingzhou.

The secret edict asked Sima Yi to lead the army from Shangyong up against the Han River, and meet with General Cao Zhen in Hanzhong.

After reading the secret edict, Sima Yi let out a long sigh: "Your Majesty has great power and strategy, but in terms of military strategy, it is slightly insufficient."

Back then, Liu Bei sent his fake sons Liu Feng and Meng Da to take Shangyong down the river from Hanzhong, in order to attack Xiangyang from north to south with Guan Yu from Nanjun, and take the whole Jingzhou into his hands.

If Guan Yu can wait another half a year, let Liu Bei gain a firm foothold in Hanzhong first, and then advance both north and south, or Soochow did not back its alliance with Shu.

So the situation in the world today may be different.

And two years ago, Meng Da wanted to take over Shangyong and rebelled. Sima Yi led his army to travel 1,200 miles in eight days, raided Shangyong, and besieged the city for sixteen days. Only then did Meng Da be beheaded.

How could Sima Yi fail to notice the waterway between Shangyong and Hanzhong if he could become the Hussar General of the Wei State?

This waterway is extremely dangerous, and it is a road with no human habitation at all.

What's more, it's okay to go down the river, and it's barely passable.

But if you want to go against the current, it will be very difficult, not to mention there are many dangerous places.

It is said that the Shu people also built a dock and a beacon tower at the entrance of the Han River in Hanzhong, and soldiers patrolled and guarded them day and night.

If you really want to follow the secret edict, lead the army up against the current, and return after a big defeat. At least there will be a return, and it is a big deal if you go and never return.

Now there are only two paths before Sima Yi.

One is not to obey the edict, but to persuade the emperor to take back his order by talking about the difficulty of conquering Shu.

Just not to mention that before he was dispatched to lead the army, he went to Liu Ye and asked him about his evaluation of Cao Rui.

Even Sima Yi himself is a wily man.

How can he not think of the reason why Cao Rui is so anxious to conquer Shu?

Coupled with the case of the flamboyant cronies, Sima Yi, as the representative of the aristocratic family in the Land of Three Rivers, had to be even more cautious.

How could he go against Cao Rui's wishes at this juncture?

The other way is to lead the army westward according to the meaning of the imperial edict.

Sima Yi thought for a long time, and then he gave orders slowly, and began to make people build boats.

Cao Rui's third secret edict was sent to Chang'an Cao Zhen.

Cao Zhen was overjoyed when he learned that the emperor agreed to the proposal to attack Shu, and immediately summoned all the generals to discuss the matter of sending troops.

At that time, Xiahou Ba guarded Yueshi City, Qin Lang guarded Qian County, Du Xi guarded Mei City, and Cao Zhen was in Chang'an. His subordinates included Guo Huai, governor of Yongzhou, Xian Yufu, general of Fuguo, Fei Yao, general of later generations, and Dai Ling, guard of Zhengshu.

All of them can be regarded as heroes of the moment.

There are also two special characters here.

One is Wang Chong and the other is Guo Mo.

Wang Chong was originally the general of Yamen under Li Yan, but he was jealous of Li Yan and surrendered to Wei in fear. At the same time, he brought Quyuanli's blueprint to Cao Wei.

Fortunately, in the past few years, Cao Rui has been constantly struggling and compromising with the aristocratic family, so Qu Yuanli has not been vigorously promoted like the big man.

But Cao Wei has a department directly controlled by the government, and that is Guantun.

Although since the beginning of Huang, the official villages in the interior have been continuously embezzled by aristocratic families and local wealthy families, and have been severely damaged.

But in the border areas, the official villages were still under the direct control of the imperial court because they had to provide military rations.

Before the battle of Longyou, the food in Guanzhong was emptied by a certain turtle in advance, making it difficult for Cao Rui's tens of thousands of troops to move forward.

There was no way to launch a timely counterattack against Longyou.

But fortunately, with the Quyuanli brought out by the soil turtle, Cao Wei's official settlement quickly provided enough food for tens of thousands of Wei troops in Guanzhong in just two years.

The reason why Cao Rui was able to find the confidence to investigate the "flashy cronies" and beat the family from the side despite two consecutive defeats was precisely because of this.

Therefore, Feng Tubie cheated Cao Rui once subjectively, but helped Cao Rui again objectively.

I don't know if this is the butterfly effect of history, or the powerful inertia of history.

But no matter what the reason was, the drawings brought by Wang Chong really helped Cao Rui.

So Cao Rui found a reason to seal him off as Marquis of Guan Nei, and gave him a miscellaneous title of General.

As for Guo Mo, he also went to Cao Wei from Shu.

What he brought over was the news that Meng Da wanted to rebel.

It was precisely because of his advance notice that Sima Yi gained valuable reaction time.

Meng Da, a real slave with three surnames, was finally beheaded when he returned to Han or voted for Wu again, and was about to adopt a fourth surname.

In addition, Cao Wei has a rule for those who come to surrender, that is, those who descend from Shu in the future, let them guard the border of Wei and Shu, and those who descend from Wu in the future, let them guard the border between Wei and Wu.

Meng Da and Han Zong are all like this.

So it was most normal for Wang Chong and Guo Mo to be here when Wei State was preparing to attack Shu.

Wang Chong was in a hurry. When he heard that the general wanted to lead an army to conquer Shu, he was very anxious and was about to speak.

Unexpectedly, he was secretly kicked.

He subconsciously turned his head away, but Guo Mo beside him lowered his eyes and said nothing, as if he hadn't kicked that kick just now.

Only the slight roll of the eyeballs and a glance to this side showed his attitude.

Wang Chong and Guo Mo are both descendants, they are always squeezed out by others intentionally or unintentionally on weekdays, and they naturally get closer because of the same illness.

At this time Wang Chong got Guo Mo's hint, although he didn't understand, but he knew that Guo Mo was always wise, so he swallowed back what he wanted to say.

After coming out of the General's Mansion, Wang Chong took an opportunity to find Guo Mo quietly.

"The road to Shu is difficult to walk. From Guanzhong to Hanzhong, there are four roads. Ziwu Valley and Tangluo Road are the most important. Others don't know it, but you and I know it."

"Now that the general wants to lead the army to Ziwu Valley, why didn't Mr. Fang let me remind the general?"

Guo Mo knew that Wang Chong would come over. Hearing his question, he sighed, pointed at Wang Chong, and pointed at himself:

"Others can mention it, but you and I can't."

When Wang Chong heard what Guo Mo said, he was startled and his heart skipped a beat. At the same time, he realized something, and his face showed worry.

"Just now in the General's Mansion, the name is Military Discussion, but in fact it's just passing on His Majesty's edict."

Guo Mo said in a low voice, "If you mention the difficulty of entering Shu, in the eyes of others, it means that you intend to prevent the invasion of Shu."

When Guo Mo said this, he hesitated to speak, and finally gritted his teeth:

"At that time, I'm afraid I will be suspected, and I will be suspected of harboring my homeland."

Wang Chong's face turned pale.

At the same time, he cupped his hands at Guo Mo with some fear: "If it's not the king, I'm afraid that someone is already under suspicion."

Guo Mo shook his head and smiled wryly: "Helping you is also helping me."

The relationship between the two was close on weekdays, and they both came from Shu, if Wang Chong was suspected, Guo Mo would have a hard time.

Wang Chong's expression darkened: "If the general really wants to lead an army to conquer Shu, then you and I must be the vanguard."

Guo Mo nodded, "Great Wei already had this rule, besides, you and I are familiar with Shu, so it's natural to be sent as a forward."

The two looked at each other, both sighing a little.

It's just that they are all under the eaves of others, and they are inferior to others. In such a situation, what can they do?

Sitting opposite each other for a long time, they couldn't come up with any good solution. In the end, Guo Mo could only comfort him:

"Let's take one step at a time. It's impossible to say. After the general entered Ziwu Valley, he might change his mind when he saw that the road was difficult."

Wang Chong sighed: "That's the only way."

Just as Wang Chong left, Guo Mo went out again and came to the General's Mansion again.

Cao Zhen seemed to have known that Guo Mo would return, and asked his servants to lead him directly into the inner hall.

"how?"

Cao Zhen sat on it and asked.

"Back to the general, then Wang Chong really intends to dissuade the general from attacking Shu."

Guo Mo bowed his hands and saluted, saying respectfully.

Cao Zhen sneered, "I asked him before, when would be the best time to launch an attack on Shu? He said bluntly that the road to Shu is difficult, and it is best to wait for the situation of the Shu people to weaken."

He stared at Guo Mo, his eyes flashed coldly, "This time, how did he tell you?"

"Returning to the General, Wang Chong said, Guanzhong enters the Hanzhong four roads, the Xiegu and the old roads can barely march a large army, and the Ziwu Valley and Tangluo Road are extremely dangerous, so it is not suitable for marching."

"So when he heard that the general wanted to lead the army to the Ziwu Valley, he said it was impossible."

Guo Mo told Cao Zhen everything that Wang Chong said to him.

When Cao Zhen heard this, his face burst into anger: "He said before that the only way to attack the people of Shu is to wait for the situation to weaken. If the army does not arrive, when will the people of Shu be able to defeat themselves?"

"Now he says Ziwu Valley is not feasible. I think he has selfish intentions and doesn't want to conquer Shu!"

The year before last Zhao Yun went to the Xiegu, and later he was defeated and burned the pavilion to stop his pursuit. It is not clear whether it has been repaired now.

If it is not repaired, the army has to go back halfway, wouldn't it be a joke?

Even if it is repaired, once you leave the inclined valley, you will find Nanzheng, Zhuge Liang must have a heavy army there.

If the army is blocked and does not go out of the valley for a long time, then Sima Yi, who is going up the Han River, and the partial division who is going to the Ziwu Valley, will enter Hanzhong earlier than himself.

At that time, it would be useless to lead the army by himself, but it would be an advantage to Sima Yi.

The defeat in the battle of Longyou, although His Majesty did not pursue the responsibility for the defeat, Cao Zhen knew that he could hardly absolve himself of the blame.

But at that time, Sima Yi led the army to march 1,200 miles in eight days to kill Mengda and put down the rebellion.

Compared with the two, Cao Zhenxin felt even more uneasy.

You know, the general is above the general of hussars!

So this time, he was naturally unwilling to let Sima Yi focus on his beauty.

As for the old road that Wang Chong mentioned, it's not like Cao Zhen never walked it. How did Wei Zhen lose the battle and die? He knows it better than anyone else.

That was not the first time he followed the old path. In the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Zhen used the old path to argue with Shu general Wu Lan as a partial general.

To enter Hanzhong from the old road, one must pass through Yang'an Pass.

First, Cao Cao led the tiger generals and elite soldiers, but he could only retreat in front of such a powerful pass.

Later, Cao Zhen himself lost troops and generals in his old way.

What's more, is Zhuge Liang comparable to Zhang Lu?

So he ruled out the old way in the first place.

Seeing Cao Zhen's troubled face, Guo Mo hesitated for a moment, and then said carefully:

"General, what General Wang said actually has two points of truth. To enter the four paths of Hanzhong, it is true that the inclined valley and the old path are the best to go..."

When Cao Zhen heard what Guo Mo said, he stood up and walked in front of Guo Mo with a friendly expression on his face:

"I know you and him are from Sichuan, and it's understandable that you want to say something for your fellow countrymen."

"It's just that he doesn't approve of defeating Shu, which is enough to show that he still has Shu in his heart. You are different from him. I know your loyalty."

Back then, the elite soldiers led by Xia Houba attacked Yueshi City on a snowy night, thanks to the raw material.

Although the Shu people did not refuse to sell wool to Wei, the price was extremely expensive, and it is said that it was several times higher than selling it to Wu.

Then think of the Shu people's plan to empty out the grain in Guanzhong, which made the hundreds of thousands of troops mobilized from all over the place unable to move.

Cao Zhen couldn't help scolding in his heart: This Shu man is not only black-hearted, but also the most treacherous!

The more he thinks like this, the kinder he looks at Guo Mo.

In the two years since Guo Mo was transferred to Guanzhong, he managed to find a way to get cheap wool from the people of Shu, and supplied the Guanzhong army with a lot of things to keep out the cold.

For this alone, he is credited.

Coupled with Guo Mo's low-key behavior on weekdays, compared with Wang Chong who wanted to stop the attack on Shu, Cao Zhen hated Wang Chong even more.

A look of sincerity and fear immediately appeared on Guo Mo's face: "Thank you, General, for your trust!"

Cao Zhen nodded in satisfaction and said a few words to comfort him before letting him leave.