Chapter 580 Sima Yi conquers Liaodong
The Han army forcibly crossed the Yellow River and finally defeated the tens of thousands of Wei troops led by Guan Qiujian. The Han army immediately took control of the Heqiao Ferry and officially blocked the Yaohan Ancient Road.
Most of the tens of thousands of Wei troops left by Guanqiu Jian on the front line had not been successfully withdrawn at this moment. After Guan Qiujian was repelled, they were completely blocked by the Han army at the Baier Qin Pass.
What Guanqiu Jian was most worried about happened. Not only did he return in defeat, but he also did not withdraw from the rest of the army. After withdrawing to Luoyang, an inventory was carried out, and only less than 40,000 of the 100,000 troops returned.
More than half of the part was completely left in Kansai and completely disappeared from the battle sequence of Cao Wei.
The only good news is that Ma Su's losses are actually not small.
In the Battle of Heqiao, Ma Di successfully reached the south bank of Luoyang. But after all, Buqu's combat power is not good enough. He suffered huge losses in the process and no longer has the ability to move forward.
What stood in front of him was Beimang Mountain, the last line of defense in Yinbei, Luoyang. Jiang Ji deployed a large number of troops here, waiting for Ma Di early.
Therefore, after Ma Di took control of the river bridge, he did not continue to move forward. Instead, they sent troops to Heyin to block Hangu. At the same time, they began to recruit manpower from Hanoi County to build fortifications on both sides of the ferry.
Ma Di planned to use Bingzhou and Hanoi County as advance bases to prepare for going south next year. Therefore, the Heqiao Ferry is extremely important and cannot be recaptured by the Wei army under any circumstances.
Therefore, building a city on site to protect the ferry is the best choice at the moment.
Thus, with both sides exercising as much restraint as possible, the war in Hebei finally came to an end.
Ma Su arranged the main force on the line from Shangdang to Hanoi, and focused on repairing the pontoon bridge and the city. Jiang Ji rushed to train his troops and reserve grain to prepare for the subsequent war.
Cao Rui, who was in Yecheng, couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Ma Di sent his troops to Luoyang.
"Thank God, that bastard Ma Di has no intention of entering Hebei..." Cao Rui shook his head gently and said to himself with relief.
God knows how much pressure he has experienced in this month. A series of complicated situations can shorten his life by thirty years. Until now, he still suffers from recurring headaches intermittently, which is extremely affecting his spirit.
Fortunately, at least there is no need to think of ways to deal with Ma Su's petition. Although this puts a lot of pressure on Luoyang Yin, it is still better than the fall of Hebei.
"Your Majesty, the Lieutenant asks to see you!" At this time, a close minister came in and reported to Cao Rui.
"Captain Sima? What is he here for?" Cao Rui frowned when he heard that Sima Yi did not consolidate the defense on the front line, but returned to Yecheng.
"He said he had something important to report to His Majesty..." the minister said cautiously.
"Really?" Cao Rui didn't comment on this, just waved his hand gently.
"In that case, let him come in, and I will also listen to his views on the current situation."
Soon, Sima Yi came in under the guidance of his close ministers. After three years of nursing care, the old artist finally regained some of his appearance and looked relatively healthy.
"Your Majesty!" Sima Yi bowed his hands and saluted, showing the utmost courtesy.
"Ai Qing, sit down." Cao Rui nodded, looked at Sima Yi and said softly.
It seems that the Taiwei has emerged from the shadow of the Guanzhong War and should be able to continue fighting. This is good news, at least it means that Cao Wei's reserve of generals can still hold on.
"Now the Western Shu bandits are no longer satisfied with Guanzhong and have begun to invade Guandong. As a Taiwei, Ai Qing, what do you think of the current situation?"
After some negotiations, Cao Rui began to ask about business matters. Facing this minister Tuogu, he asked tactfully.
Sima Fu and his son surrendered to Ji Han before. Although it seemed that they had no choice but to do so, Cao Rui was actually clear in his heart. He now hopes to get Sima Yi's statement on what the old artist's attitude is.
"Xishu is stubborn and a treasonous traitor. I will fight to the death for your majesty. I will live as a Wei man and die as a Wei ghost!" Sima Yi immediately replied with a firm attitude, but the specifics were somewhat true. Cao Rui did not clear.
"But at the moment, Western Shu is powerful, and Ma Su is good at fighting, so frontal combat may be disadvantageous. So I think that now we should implement the strategy of defending in the west and attacking in the east, to expand our advantages as much as possible and freeze Western Shu."
"Guide from the west and advance from the east?" Cao Rui narrowed his eyes and flickered.
"Yes, it is not appropriate to launch a counterattack against Xishu at the moment." Sima Yi nodded and reported to Cao Rui.
"Xishu has a strong will to fight in these years, but its core is just Ma Su and Zhuge Liang, masters and disciples. They are now very young. As long as they die, Xishu's offensive momentum will not be so strong."
"And Guanxi is broken. Even if it takes three years to recuperate, it is impossible to compare with Guandong. Without Ma Su and Zhuge Liang, Xishu cannot be our opponent."
"So now, according to my advice, we should take defense in the west."
These words showed Sima Yi's strategy, which was to continue to defeat the old man as usual. Try your best to hold on until Zhuge Liang and Ma Di die of illness, and everything will be fine by then.
Cao Rui also agreed with this, but he still raised questions,
"Then the Eastern Expedition is..."
"Liaodong!" Sima Yi replied without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, Gongsun Yuan of Liaodong has now become rebellious and has a rivalry with Western Shu. This is bad news for us in the Wei Dynasty. After all, Youzhou will be the rear of our army in the future, and we must not lose anything here."
"So I believe that we should try our best to quell this hidden danger before Western Shu launches a full-scale eastern expedition. It is best to fight quickly, so that we can not only eliminate the hidden danger, but also win a victory to inspire the hearts of the people in the country, and we can also take advantage of the expedition. Liaodong’s opportunity to train troops will kill three birds with one stone!”
"That's right, I'm sure, let's leave this matter to Aiqing." Cao Rui nodded and said directly.
He knew very well what Sima Yi meant when he said this. He just wanted to go to Liaodong to quell the rebellion himself. Cao Rui didn't care about these little Jiujiu, or he couldn't be serious about it, so he could only simply authorize it to Sima Yi directly.
"Aiqing, go with the troops you trained in Nanpi. Da Wei will fully support you."
"No need, Your Majesty, I only need 20,000 people to pacify Liaodong." Sima Yi said at this time.
"In that case, Aiqing, just go ahead and do it. I can rest assured that you can do the work." Although he was surprised by Sima Yi's sudden change of character, Cao Rui nodded calmly and approved.
"Don't let me down. You are the only one I can trust now."
What Cao Rui said was true. He was almost overwhelmed by the mess in the court. On the contrary, although Sima Yi, an old artist, had scandals, he was the one who gave him the most peace of mind.
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty!" Sima Yi bowed his hands and bowed again.
But where Cao Rui couldn't see him, a gleam flashed in Sima Yi's eyes.
This old artist is about to start laying out the layout on the chessboard again...