But Xindu's defeat undoubtedly poured a basin of cold water on the head of the aspiring Sima Shi, and his heart was instantly cold.

The promised plan to cooperate with the inside and outside went bankrupt before it could be implemented. Next, Sima Shi had to change his previous plan and re-plan the battle in Jizhou.

To be honest, Sima Shi was not fully prepared for the loss of Xindu. All his previous deployments were formulated around Xindu. Now that Xindu suddenly lost, it would be strange if he did not disrupt the deployment.

Although he was extremely angry in his heart, Sima Shi still patiently listened to the details of the letter. After years of precipitation, Sima Shi's temperament has changed tremendously, and his emotions are not reflected in his expression. Even though he is already in the air of anger, he is still calm on the surface.

Sima Yi repeatedly warned him during his lifetime that those who accomplish great things must have extraordinary courage and mind, the prime minister can hold a boat in his stomach, and the general can run a horse on his forehead. Even if he is in a difficult situation, he must remain calm in the face of danger.

It is said that Sima Shi, who is already in his forties, is indeed much more mature than before, especially after Sima Yi's death, Sima Shi became the first person in the Cao Wei Dynasty, and his nature naturally changed a lot.

Water attack? Cao Liang's method of breaking Xindu was actually water. Although water attack and fire attack were emerging one after another in war, it was not the mainstream of war. Whether it was water attack or fire attack, it was necessary to seize an appropriate opportunity. It must be under the conditions of both the right time and the right place to implement it.

Xindu City is located in the Hebei Plain with a low terrain, and it may indeed be affected by floods. However, the Zhang River north of Xindu and the Qing River south of Xindu are actually not big rivers in terms of water volume. If you dig the embankment of the Zhang River Qing River, you may not be able to flood Xindu.

But a heavy snow last winter made this year's Peach Blossom Flood come fiercely. What's worse is that the sudden rainstorm fell in Xindu, causing the water level of the Qinghe River, which was already high, to soar, which did have certain conditions for water attacks.

But this opportunity is completely fleeting. If ordinary people did not think of the method of water attack, and when the heavy rain came and realized that they could use the water attack strategy, they might have fallen, which would not pose a threat to Xindu City.

But Cao Liang seized this opportunity keenly and dug the Zhang River and Qing River at the same time, allowing the flooding flood to flood Xindu City.

Water and fire are ruthless. In the face of this huge power of nature, any resistance is futile, so Lu Zhao's failure is inevitable. However, rather than saying that he was defeated by Hongshui, it is better to say that he was defeated by Cao Liang's calculations. He was able to use the flood so cleverly to conquer the city, which made Sima Shi's understanding of Cao Liang rise to another level.

This is definitely a terrible opponent. Sima Shi and Cao Liang have been in contact for more than ten years, and almost every time they are defeated. Sima Shi was defeated repeatedly by Cao Liang, and he hated him extremely, wishing he could tear Cao Liang into pieces to vent his hatred.

But now Sima Shi’s failure in treating failure is more calm. Hatred can only blind people and suffer greater failures, but calmness can give people more opportunities to think and make the most correct judgments and decisions.

According to Sima Shi's plan, the 170,000 troops were directly attacking Xindu, so the Bingzhou army would definitely not retreat easily, nor would they sit back and wait for death. The most likely strategy they would use would be to siege the city and fight aid. While besieging Xindu, they would concentrate their main force to fight against Sima Shi's reinforcements on the periphery.

Such a battle was exactly what Sima's army thought. After the current Sima cavalry equipped with high bridge saddles and double-sided stirrups, their combat effectiveness was infinitely close to that of Bingzhou cavalry. In addition, the number of Sima cavalry was advantageous, and the Sima army was not afraid of Bingzhou army when fighting head-on.

In addition to the cavalry, the Sima army also had 100,000 infantry, plus the 70,000 defenders in Xindu, who cooperated inside and outside, would definitely be able to fight a beautiful turnaround.

But now with the fall of Xindu, Sima Shi's plan to cooperate with the outside world has completely gone bankrupt. According to Tanma, the Xindu area has become a water town. Although the water level has subsided, it will take a long time before it can truly restore its original appearance. During this period, Xindu area will be a swamp and cannot carry out large-scale combat.

So after arriving in Yecheng, Sima Shi urgently ordered the army to stop advancing, camp on the spot, and wait for the next order.

Zhong Hui said to Sima Shi with shame and guilt: "General, Xin has been lost, and he has an unshirkable responsibility for his humble position. Please punish him."

As the governor of Hebei, Zhong Hui was responsible for the defense of the entire Jizhou, and the entire Jizhou defense system was established by him. Although the specific defense matters of Xindu were under the supervision of Lu Zhao, Zhong Hui had no reason to stay out of the matter. So when he saw Sima Shi, Zhong Hui first apologized for the crime and took the initiative to assume his responsibility. At the same time, he asked Sima Shi to punish him.

In fact, many people accused Zhong Hui of being the governor of Hebei, Zhong Hui was in charge of Yecheng, holding heavy troops, but he turned a blind eye to Xindu and did not send one army or another to rescue, which eventually led to Xindu's loss.

But for Zhong Hui, it was hard to say. Although he held 200,000 heavy troops in his hand, which seemed aggressive on the surface, the real content was soaked in water. Among the 200,000 troops, the one with a little combat power was the 200,000 old troops separated from Lu Zhao, and the remaining 180,000 troops were all newly recruited troops in the past two years. The combat power was weak and he did not have the ability to fight field. Going to rescue Xindu was completely to die.

It’s not that Zhong Hui has not been focusing on the training of the new army in the past two years, but the key is that the quality of the new army’s troops is already very poor. Can we choose a general among the short guys?

At that time, 300,000 soldiers were recruited in Jizhou, almost all the young and strong people in Jizhou were included. Except for those with disabilities and illnesses, the other young and strong men were forced to recruit into the army, both good and bad. How can they take into account quality while only seeking quantity?

Zhong Hui quickly realized his mistake. Such a mob does not have much combat power, but it is Sima's idea that everyone is a soldier. How could Zhong Hui easily deny it? He can only do it with a tough bullet.

After two years of practice, he could barely take on the city defense mission. As for field battles, Zhong Hui did not have any hope at all, so he developed a defensive strategy to fight on his own in the north and south lines.
Chapter completed!