On the top of Chang'an City, Cao Wei Anxi General Xia Houmao clung to the female wall and looked at the hundreds of Han cavalry galloping down the city, showing off their power. He didn't know whether he should send troops out of the city to destroy this Han army.

Just over half a month ago, these hundreds of Han cavalry suddenly rushed out of Ziwu Valley and headed straight for Chang'an. Along the way, they distributed the Northern Expedition edict issued by the Emperor of Shu Han, and threatened that they were just the vanguard and that Zhuge Liang would soon lead the cavalry.

Two hundred thousand came to take Chang'an.

When the news came out, Chang'an and even several surrounding counties were shocked three times a day. Officials, officials and people were all panic-stricken. They closed their doors and locked their doors, afraid to go out.

Xiahou Mao was in great chaos and was at a loss. There were only nearly ten thousand defenders in the city, so how could they resist the large number of Han troops? So he sent an envoy to Luoyang to report the emergency, and at the same time closed the city gate tightly as a defense strategy. Although he was afraid in his heart

The main force of the Han army came to attack, but they had not yet thought of abandoning the city and escaping.

Even before, when Wu Que and Yue Zhao led the Han cavalry to the city of Chang'an for the first time with banners raised, Xiahou Mao sent an army out of the city to fight. However, as soon as the Han army saw the Wei army coming out, they immediately fled, and Xiahou Mao did not dare

He pursued them deeply and then withdrew his troops and returned to the city.

However, later the Han army came to Chang'an City and called for war. The morale of the people in the city plummeted. At the suggestion of the officials, Xiahou Mao ordered his troops to go out of the city to fight.

Unexpectedly, the Han army did not engage in battle and quickly fled back to Zikou. The Wei army was afraid that a large number of Han troops would be ambushed in the valley and did not dare to enter the valley to pursue them.

After several such exchanges, the people's morale in Chang'an City fluctuated and morale dropped sharply. Xiahou Mao was preparing to bravely mobilize a large number of troops into the valley to annihilate the Han army. Unexpectedly, a shocking news came, which made him dare not act rashly and no longer send troops.

When leaving the city, just stick to it.

It turned out that an urgent report came from Yicheng. Just eight days ago, tens of thousands of Han troops suddenly rushed out from Baoxie Road, stationed troops in Jigu, and advanced towards Yicheng. While the county magistrate of Yicheng closed the city gate and held on, he sent an envoy to Chang'an to report

urgent.

As a result, Xia Houmao and other Chang'an officials finally understood the real plan of the Han army. It turned out that they were attacking in the east and in the west. There were suspicions along the Ziwu Valley, but the main force of the Han army appeared on the other side of Xicheng.

So Xiahou Mao immediately sent an envoy to Luoyang to report, hoping that the imperial court would send reinforcements as soon as possible.

In the main hall of Wei Palace in Luoyang, Emperor Cao Rui frowned and looked at His Highness's civil and military ministers without saying a word. In the past half month, his mood was very bad, with constant ups and downs. In fact, it was not only him, but also the ministers who had been there several times.

Frightened and restless.

First, Sima Yi from Wancheng sent an envoy to report that Mengda from Xincheng had joined forces with Zhuge Liang to rebel. In order to speed up the army, Sima Yi had led his troops to kill them first.

Although some ministers pointed out that Sima Yi had violated the rules, Cao Rui did not convict him. Instead, he publicly praised Sima Yi's decisiveness.

When Sima Yi went to suppress Meng Da, Cao Rui and his ministers temporarily felt relieved. Unexpectedly, one wave after another happened. Xiahou Mao suddenly sent someone to report. The vanguard of the Shu army suddenly came out from Ziwu Valley. Zhuge Liang was about to lead the main force of the Shu army.

Come to capture Chang'an and ask the court to send troops for reinforcements immediately.

Cao Rui and his ministers naturally sneered at the statement that the Shu army had 200,000 infantry and cavalry. In the past few months, it has been found that the Shu army in Hanzhong only had 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers at most. But even so, it was not something that Xiahou Mao could handle.

.

The current garrison in Chang'an is only 10,000 people. Even if all the garrison from Guanzhong counties are transferred to Chang'an, it will not exceed 30,000. The strength of the Shu army is almost twice that of the garrison in Guanzhong. Zhuge Liang is very resourceful and has never Xia Houmao, who was facing the battle, was no match at all.

Cao Rui originally planned to choose another general to replace Xiahou Mao, but the military reports in the past few days said that Xiahou Mao had defeated the vanguard of the Shu army many times, and Chang'an City was safe and sound. In this case, Cao Rui could not replace Xiahou Mao, who had fought so brilliantly. He was replaced and had to wait for the subsequent development of the situation.

While the monarchs and ministers of the Wei State were hesitating, Xiahou Mao sent another urgent report, saying that Zhuge Liang's plan of attacking the east and attacking the west was successful. The main force of the Shu army was not in Chang'an, but suddenly rushed out from Baoxie Road and went straight to Xi County. After hearing this Cao Rui was shocked by the news and quickly gathered his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

Seeing that no one spoke, Cao Rui finally couldn't sit still and said: "My lords, the enemy of Chang'an is a suspected soldier. Zhuge Liang led tens of thousands of Shu troops out of Xiegu to attack Yicheng. How do you think the court should respond?" ?”

Sikong Chenqun came out and said: "Your Majesty, Zhuge Liang's plan is now clear. He first colluded with Mengda to cause rebellion in Xincheng, and Wei

Xing, in order to attract our large armies from Jingzhou and Yuzhou, and then sent suspicious soldiers out of Ziwu Valley to attack Chang'an.

Just when we thought he was going to attack Chang'an, the old capital of the Han Dynasty, he personally led the main force of the Shu army out of Xiegu to attack Yi County. This bandit attacked in three directions, combining virtual and real, which can be said to be extremely cunning.

There are only 20,000 to 30,000 troops in the Guanzhong army, and they may not be able to match the Shu army. I would also like to ask Your Majesty to send the Chinese army to help, and also order the Longyou counties to raise troops to respond. In this way, Zhuge Liang will be attacked from two sides, and our army can destroy him with one blow. "

"Chen Sikong's plan is very clever."

"Sikong is right."

"Although Zhuge Liang's attack is menacing, he still has a small army and few generals. As soon as the large army arrives, he will be defeated."

...

As soon as Chen Qun finished speaking, many people echoed his words. Cao Rui also felt that Chen Qun was right and nodded repeatedly.

"What do you think, General?" Cao Rui asked Cao Zhen again.

As the number one person in the army in the court, Cao Zhen's opinion was of vital importance. He only heard him say: "Your Majesty, what Chen Sikong said is very appropriate. I can see Zhuge Liang's plan at a glance. I think the reason why Zhuge Liang did not take Chang'an The reason why he took Yicheng was because the city of Chang'an was tall and strong, and he was not sure that he could capture it quickly.

The reason why he left Baoxie Road to attack Yicheng was because once he occupied Yicheng, Zhuge Liang could cut off the Wugong River and march to the Wei River. If he occupied the fortresses north of the Wei River, the land of Longyou and Guanzhong would be occupied. The Shu army was cut off.

In this way, Zhuge Liang can easily choose whether to lead his troops east to capture Chang'an or to lead his troops to the west to attack Longyou. It should be noted that the combined troops and horses of the counties in Longyou and Liangzhou are only 10,000 or 20,000, so Zhuge Liang has a considerable advantage."

After hearing this, Cao Rui praised: "The general is really familiar with Yongliang's military and knows the tactics of war. Without your words, I would not have known Zhuge Liang's purpose of leaving Xiegu. Now, Hussar General Sima Yi is leading his troops to Shangyong to pacify Meng. Da, this journey is safe for the time being. There are only a few suspicious soldiers in Chang'an, so there is no need to worry.

Only Zhuge Liang's Shu army has a large number of troops, and the plan is not small. If there are no famous generals to go to fight, they may not be victorious. I intend to send General Xia Houmao of Anxi to return to the court, and send another general to Xicheng to confront Fang Geliang. What do you think? "

"Your Majesty is wise." All the ministers agreed in unison.

They all know that Xia Houzheng is not a man who knows how to fight and his current performance may have reached his limit. If he continues to fight, they don't know what will happen, so it would be better to replace him as soon as possible.

Cao Rui nodded and continued: "Who do you think we should send to attack Zhuge Liang?"

Situ Wanglang came out and said: "Your Majesty, I think that such an important task must be done by the general. The general has been to Yongliang several times and is familiar with the geography of Guanzhong and Longyou, so it is most suitable for him to go."

"What do you think, General?" Cao Rui also likes Cao Zhen, but he still has to ask for his own opinion.

Cao Zhen did his duty and immediately responded: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go."

"What do you think?" Cao Rui asked again.

Cao Zhen was considered popular, and most of the ministers recommended him to resist Zhuge Liang. So Cao Rui immediately issued an order, and the general of Anxi, Xiahou Mao, was transferred back to the court. The general Cao Zhen replaced him as the governor of Yong, Liang and other states, and led 20,000 troops. The army united with the Guanzhong and Longyou armies and went to Xi County to resist the main force of the Shu army.
Chapter completed!