When Cao Liang received the news from Du Yu, he had just left Anyi and was on his way back to Jinyang.

With Sima Yi's death, the world's pattern will surely be reshuffled, and Hedong County will not experience war for the time being. Therefore, after Cao Liang had arranged the defense of Hedong County, he immediately went north and handed over Hedong County to Zhang Tong to manage it.

The Battle of Bingzhou is a turning point in the Bingzhou army's shift from strategic defense to strategic offensive, and it will be time to sound the horn of attack on the Sima family. Although after Sima Yi's death, the Sima family's power suffered a major blow and was still there for decades of hard work. Even if Sima's ability is slightly inferior to Sima Yi, with such a rich legacy, Sima's brothers can enjoy the fruits, and those capable ministers and generals who are loyal to Sima Yi will continue to be loyal to Sima Shi.

Although they were defeated in Bingzhou and were extremely miserable, the Sima family was damaged, but the Sima family's foundation was not lost. They still controlled the Luoyang court, continued to occupy most of the prefectures and counties of the Wei State, and controlled huge manpower and material resources. If they used time to restore their vitality, the Sima family would still be a very powerful and terrible enemy.

Therefore, Cao Liang did not dare to slack off at all. Even if the whole Bingzhou was full of joy after the victory, Cao Liang was not floating. He had an extremely clear understanding that this victory was just a .asxs., which was a step towards the final victory. Before reaching that supreme position, any step was insignificant. If there was no next step, then this step would have no meaning of existence.

Competing for the Central Plains and fighting for dominance in the world, this journey of thousands of miles has just begun. The next road is also a long way to go, and no mistakes are allowed.

Taking advantage of Sima Yi's death, Sima Shi's new power declined, it was Cao Liang's opportunity to take action. Although the land of Bingzhou is full of mountains and rivers, it also has great flaws, that is, the scarcity of population and resources. Although Cao Liang has used all his solutions and improved the economic strength of Bingzhou, the population shortcoming cannot be solved in a short period of time.

Population is the basis of everything. Without people, there is no army, and without people, there is no tax. The sparse population of Bingzhou will always be a bottleneck restricting Cao Liang's development. Just like Zhuge Liang, who is a peerless talent, no one in the world can surpass his civil and military achievements, but he is trapped in the poverty of Shu Kingdom, and he can only do things mediocre throughout his life.

Therefore, if Cao Liang wants to develop, he cannot limit his attention to Bingzhou. Taking advantage of this great victory, he must take the steps of expansion and lead the war to the areas controlled by the Sima family.

Any war is a battle of strength growth and decline. If one is determined and confined, one can only end up with oneself and end up with oneself.

Bingzhou is a strategic location, heading north and west, and is the gathering place for the Hu people. Cao Liang's enemies are not only the Sima family, but also the Hu people like the Xiongnu Xianbei. Although they have been expelled from Bingzhou, these Hu people will not give up their ambition to attack Bingzhou. As long as there is an appropriate opportunity, they will still make a comeback. Therefore, the defense of these Hu people should not be taken lightly.

In the southwest of Bingzhou, it is Yongzhou, which is also a strategic location for Cao Wei. It is an important defense line to defend against the attack of Shu Kingdom. Here, the Sima family also gathers heavy troops. Guo Huai, who has rich experience in leading troops, is the hardest hard bone to crack.

To the south of Bingzhou is Sizhou where Luoyang is located. As the capital, its defense is naturally top priority. Almost all the core forces of the Sima family are deployed in Sizhou. If Cao Liang wanted to choose a breakthrough, he would definitely not choose a place like Sizhou. This is the place to stay for the final decisive battle in the future.

The only breakthrough that really left Cao Liang was Jizhou in the east and Youzhou in the northeast.

Jizhou is the largest state in Hebei. It has fertile land and a large population. Yecheng is also the capital of Cao Wei. For a long time, it has been regarded as the rear base by Cao Wei. Even if Luoyang is lost, Yecheng can continue to maintain the overall situation. Therefore, Jizhou is fundamental to the Cao Wei regime.

If Cao Liang could take over Jizhou in one go, and connect Bingzhou and Jizhou into one, his strength would undoubtedly increase greatly and he would also achieve a situation of equal division of the world with the Sima family.

But is Jizhou really that easy to win? Cao Liang doesn't think so. The first person to rule Jizhou was General Zhenbei and the governor of Jizhou. Although this person is not a famous general, his ability is also quite outstanding, otherwise he would not have been overwhelmed by Huan.

After Lu Zhao retreated from Weize Pass, he did not immediately pull the troops back to the hinterland of Jizhou, but instead stationed in dangerous places such as Jingxing Pass. If the Bingzhou army wanted to go from Jin to Hebei, it would have to take down dangerous passes like Jingxing Pass. Such a battle would undoubtedly be very tragic.

Of course, there is another way to attack Jizhou, which is to march from Youzhou. Youzhou is in the north of Jizhou, Youzhou has always been a barrier to prevent foreign invasions. Youzhou has the danger of Yanshan, which can prevent Hu people's cavalry from moving south, and is an important foundation for protecting the Hebei Plain.

Cao Liang knew the history of ancient China well. During the Five Dynasties, Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to the Khitan. From then on, there was no peace in the Central Plains. The iron hooves of the barbarians roared and the Han people's country was shattered.

Without Youzhou, the Jizhou Plain would be useless. Therefore, if you want to take Jizhou, you must first take Youzhou. Although Youzhou seems to be in a remote place, it is one of the most important springboards for Cao Liang to advance to the Central Plains. Therefore, Cao Liang first chose Youzhou for the breakthrough point for his expedition.

The power that controls Youzhou is different from other states. The general of the Youzhou governor, Du Liao, is not the power of the Sima family. In fact, the relationship between Yuqiu Jian and Sima Yi is not harmonious. Sima Yi is also deliberately trying to get rid of Yuqiu Jian, but because the military affairs in Bingzhou in Huainan and Bingzhou were more urgent, Sima Yi could not take action.

Since Qiu Jian and Sima are unable to pee in the same pot, they obviously give themselves a chance to take advantage of it. The difficulty of capturing Youzhou will naturally be much smaller than that of attacking other places.

On the way back to Jinyang, Cao Liang was thinking about the good plans to break Youzhou. Suddenly, Du Yu's letter arrived urgently. Cao Liang took it and looked at it, saying to everyone: "The major events in Youzhou can be settled!"
Chapter completed!