Such a large-scale military mobilization of Sima's army naturally could not hide the suspicion of the Bingzhou army. The news quickly spread to Jinyang, and all the generals of the Bingzhou army were boosted.

Here comes! Finally!

This is a long-awaited battle. Well, that's right, the Bingzhou army has indeed been waiting for this battle for a long time. Of course, it can only be waiting, not expectation, and no one wants the war to be imposed on them.

But war is never tempted by human will. Whether you want it or not, war will come. So for all the people of the Bingzhou Army, sooner or later, they would rather war come earlier and faster. After all, no one wants to bear the torment of waiting.

Facing the news that Sima's army was about to invade, Cao Liang showed unusual peace. Indeed, Cao Liang, who had experienced countless wars, had already developed the habit of being calm in chaos. What's more, everything was in Cao Liang's calculations, and he was surprised!

Since Sima Yi expanded his cavalry, Cao Liang estimated that it would take him at least a year to launch the general attack. Now it was just right, no more or less, and it was just one year. It seemed that Sima Yi was also attacking at this time. Compared to Cao Liang, Sima Yi was even more impatient.

Sima Yi crossed the Hebei River and advanced north, and his troops arrived in Hanoi. It seemed that he was still planning to attack Shangdang County first, take down Shangdang, and then plot to attack Jinyang like the last time.

But at this moment, only Wang Jun's Changshui Camp was stationed in Shangdang. With the strength of one battalion alone, he could not stop Sima Yi's 170,000 troops. Therefore, Pei Xiu, Fu Xuan, Lu Zhi and other advisers were a little panicked and came to see Cao Liang, suggesting that Cao Liang quickly dispatch troops to Shangdang to strengthen defense to ensure that Shangdang is safe.

Cao Liang smiled faintly and said to Huan Fan: "What do you think of Mr. Yuanze?"

Huan Fan didn't even raise his eyelids and said slowly: "Didn't the lord have made arrangements early? Why don't you say more?"

Cao Liang said: "Maybe Sima Yi has changed his mind again, so we have to be careful."

Huan Fan snorted lightly and said, "Sima Yi is a treacherous and slim player. He is best at playing this kind of striking attacks from Hanoi. If he really intends to attack Shangdang from Hanoi, why do he need to make such a big fanfare and make a big noise, looking like he is afraid that we don't know."

Pei Xiu heard this and said in confusion: "Military Huan believes that Sima Yi's main attack was not Shangdang?"

Huan Fan smiled and said, "You have to ask the lord about this, the lord has a plan for it."

Pei Xiu turned his head and looked at Cao Liang, as if he was a little puzzled. Huan Fan said that Cao Liang had a plan long ago, so wouldn't that mean that Cao Liang had known Sima Yi's attack direction long ago, but how could this be possible? Sima Yi has always been unpredictable to use wars, so how could Cao Liang have imagined it?

Although Cao Liang was not the worm in Sima Yi's belly, the way of using troops on the battlefield was traceable. Shangdang was mountainous and the terrain was complex, which was not conducive to large-scale operations of the cavalry. This time, Sima Yi gathered an unprecedented number of cavalry. It was obvious that he wanted to make a big fuss in the cavalry and use the advantage of the number of cavalry to crush the Bingzhou army.

But if the cavalry really became the main attacking force, Shangdang would seem to be less suitable for military use. The last time Sima Yi marched to Shangdang, he did not achieve ideal results. Instead, he was restrained everywhere and the situation was quite passive. In this second attack, Sima Yi would definitely not be willing to repeat the same mistakes, so Cao Liang discussed with Huan Fan in advance, believing that Sima Yi would very likely change the offensive target and no longer listed Shangdang as his first choice.

For large-scale cavalry combat, the ideal battlefield is the plains, so a flat horse can just give full play to the characteristics of cavalry galloping.

And compared to Shangdang, Hedong seems to be more suitable.

The terrain of Bingzhou is mainly mountainous, with Taihang Mountain to the east and Luliang Mountain to the west. However, between these two mountains, a river runs through the north and south, and alluvializes a long and narrow plain in the south. This river is the Fen River.

Hedong County is located in the lower reaches of the Fen River, while Jinyang is located in the middle reaches of the Fen River. Except for some areas with dangerous terrain, most areas are mainly plains. Such terrain is undoubtedly the most suitable for cavalry combat.

Therefore, Cao Liang and Huan Fan both believed that Sima Yi would probably choose to march from Hedong County and take straight to Jinyang during this attack.

Moreover, from a strategic perspective, the distance from Pingyang to Jinyang controlled by Sima Jun is much closer than the distance from Henoi to Jinyang. If Sima Yi’s goal is to take down Jinyang dialect, then advancing from Hedong is undoubtedly the most appropriate.

Especially last year, Sima Yi sent troops to frequently use troops in Yanbei and Weizeguan, which further revealed Sima Yi's attempt to attack the east and west, which made Cao Liang even more careless.

In response to the possibility of Sima Yi advancing from Hedong, Cao Liang also made adjustments to the military force. There were Youzhou troops attacking in Yanbei, so Cao Liang arranged for Du Yu to lead the Shooting Camp to block the attack. Weize Pass was attacked by the Jizhou army, so Cao Liang arranged for Qian Hong's left guard camp to defend. Given the importance of Weize Pass, and Lu Zhao kept harassing like a mad dog, so Cao Liang sent Liu Jing to lead the Right Guard camp to assist in the defense of Leping to ensure that Weize Pass is foolproof.

The Changshui Camp has been stationed in Shangdang to prevent the Sima army from launching a sneak attack on Shangdang from Hanoi.

By doing this, four of the six infantry battalions of the Bingzhou Army were responsible for defense tasks on the north and southeastern sides. Now the remaining maneuverability is only three cavalry battalions and Yang Hu's infantry battalions, and Ma Long's first climb to the camp.

Such a military configuration is really uncommon, and even a little worried. If the Sima army really went north from Hedong County, it would be hard to say whether it could stop a more than 100,000 troops based on the 50,000 people deployed in the Jinzhong area.

Cao Liang has always been a firm attitude towards this speculation, otherwise he would not have arranged only the Changshui Camp in Shangdang to guard it, especially the three cavalry battalions, which were basically all deployed around Jinyang. At first, it may have been considering the need to equip new horse harnesses, but later, their garrison locations have never changed. Obviously, Cao Liang firmly believed that Sima Yi would definitely come from Hedong County.

However, according to the current situation, the situation seems not to be very optimistic. Sima Yi's army crossed the Yellow River and almost all gathered in Hanoi County, and there was no sign of transfer to Hedong County. Whether this was Sima Yi's real offensive target or the old doubts still needs to be considered again.
Chapter completed!