Chapter 707: Early Northern Expedition
"So, the pseudo-Wei side really plans to move the capital?"
Ma Su was originally in Yangzhou, attacking the local big families. As a result, he was suddenly transferred back to Shouchun by Zhuge Liang. He received this news just after arriving in Shouchun and before he got off his horse.
"Report to the envoy, according to the report of our spies in Hebei, it should be like this." Liu Yin nodded and answered seriously.
"According to the report, the pseudo-Wei is likely to voluntarily abandon the entire Jizhou after the autumn harvest this year. Its main force will slowly retreat all the way to Liaodong."
With the current combat power and size of the Han army, Cao Wei has no possibility of resistance at all. So taking advantage of the fact that Ji Han has not sent troops yet, fleeing to Liaodong is their best choice.
After all, for Ji Han, Cao Wei's military strength is no big deal. What is really important is Jizhou and parts of Youzhou to unify the territory.
If Cao Wei escapes to Liaodong and still retains a large amount of military power for a short time. The Han army is likely to give up the pursuit because of the long road and harsh environment. If the small court of Cao Wei is lucky, it may be able to survive in Liaodong for a while.
"What does the prime minister mean... let them go? Or annihilate them completely?" Ma Su scratched his head, pondered for a while and decided to test the prime minister's tone first.
According to his understanding of Zhuge Liang, he should be eager for this. In this way, Cao Wei will voluntarily give up Hebei, and the Han army can recover the lost territory without bloodshed. Isn't it a good thing?
However, Ma Su miscalculated this time, and Liu Yin replied immediately.
"The prime minister specifically instructed on this point. He said that there were originally two positions around your majesty. Although there is only one left now, but... he still wants to see with his own eyes that the position is no longer vacant."
"Okay, this means that no one will be spared." Ma Su was a little surprised. When did the prime minister become radical?
But soon, Ma Su thought of himself again and suddenly laughed.
I don't know when it started, I became less radical than I imagined. Relatively speaking, he began to feel that the people around him seemed a little radical.
In the end, everyone will change...
"Okay, since the Prime Minister wants to see the person sitting next to His Majesty, I will go to Hebei to capture them." Ma Su smiled, then waved his hand generously.
"Pass my order, order the soldiers of Yan, Yu, Qing, and Xu to gather in Xingyang! At the same time, send a message to Baima Jin, order Zhang Yi to clear the ferry as soon as possible to prepare for the army's northern expedition."
"Everything must be completed before the autumn harvest, and a quick battle!"
"Yes!" Liu Yin replied immediately, but soon hesitated again.
"But envoy, such a huge momentum... What if the pseudo-Wei is alarmed and runs away in advance?"
"If they have this idea, they won't wait until now." Ma Su seemed very disdainful.
It has been delayed until now, isn't it just to wait until the autumn harvest in Hebei to make a final profit. In this case, luck will dominate their minds.
Therefore, Ma Su was sure that before the main force of the Han army arrived at Baimajin, the court of Cao Wei had been watching. Even if Sima Shi wanted to leave early, the nobles in Yecheng would not be happy.
It was just human nature.
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Under Ma Su's deployment, the Guandong armies, which had just rested for a short time, started moving again. A large number of troops and food began to gather in Xingyang, and the atmosphere became tense again.
Zhang Yi in Baimajin also received a transfer order and immediately began to mobilize troops to the ferry. After many years, the whole of Hebei felt the threat of the Han army again.
And this time, Ji Han's threat to Hebei was like a siege against Dongwu, an all-round encirclement and suppression. In the direction of Bingzhou, the veteran general Wang Ping led his troops eastward and began to threaten Hebei from Jingxing, while north of Changshan, Ji Han's Xiongnu vassal army and Xianbei troops began to threaten the northern border.
In this situation, anyone with a keen sense of smell could sense that the Han army was going to march north ahead of schedule. Sima Shi even sent an urgent letter, ordering Sima Zhao to move the capital ahead of schedule and return to Yijing as soon as possible.
As for himself, he gave Xiahou Ba to Yang Hu, and personally led his troops to block the Baima Ferry.
At this time, the pressure Sima Shi faced was not too great. Because of the Yellow River flood, the infrastructure north of the Ji River in Qingzhou was severely damaged, and the army could not pass at all.
So he only needed to block the ferry in the direction of Yanzhou. Although Hebei has been restless, the remaining troops can still delay the ferry for a few days.
However, as Ma Su expected, the transfer order sent back to Yecheng by Sima Shi was unexpectedly opposed by Yecheng. Even if Sima Zhao threatened with force, many officials were still unwilling.
This really made Sima Zhao angry enough. Even he could see that the Han army's northern expedition was just around the corner, and these people still had illusions.
Is this reasonable?
"If they were not useful, I would have chopped them all off!" Sima Zhao was so angry that he smashed everything on the table and cursed in the mansion.
He had always found it difficult to control his emotions, and he became extremely irritable when he encountered something that made him angry.
However, just when Sima Zhao was sulking, Zhong Hui, who had been following him, suddenly spoke up,
"Why don't you do it, sir? What use are they?"
"How could I do that? Of course..." Sima Zhao answered subconsciously, but he got stuck halfway through.
He really couldn't think of what use these officials were.
For Cao Wei's current court, their existence has almost no meaning. And as they were about to reach their Sima family's iron ticket warehouse, Liaodong, the support of these aristocratic families seemed even more worthless.
If that's the case, why do you still want to pamper them?
It was only then that Sima Zhao suddenly realized that the importance of officials was not that strong now.
Except for the current emperor, everything seems to be useless...
"So, Ming Gong, we no longer need to continue to give them shame. Since they don't agree, why don't we just force them to force them?" Zhong Hui said seductively,
"It would be better to build a big pit outside the city and order the warriors to hold the positions on the left and right. Then invite all the officials to come to discuss the matter. As long as those who disagree can be killed in the pit with sticks..."
Sima Zhao was a little moved by what Zhong Hui said, but after thinking for a while, he still shook his head.
"Forget it, this is too dangerous. Although these aristocratic families are useless, pushing them to the opposite side will still cause chaos. We don't have time to deal with the chaos now, so we should seek stability."
Sima Zhao unexpectedly grew his brain, so Zhong Hui had no choice but to give up. However, he was not discouraged, but calmly took out a roll of bamboo slips.
"Ming Gong, someone recently found out something trivial in Yecheng Palace."