Sima Yi eventually escaped back.
He never dreamed that countless pieces of news had come before, proving that Zhuge Liang was dead.
But he never believed it!
He waited until the Shu army withdrew before he was truly sure that Zhuge Liang was dead, but he didn't expect that he was still deceived!
However, an old fox like him would escape alive even if his entire army was wiped out.
Even though Wei Yan fought with all his might and attempted to kill the enemy general, his several thousand elite soldiers were still unable to hold back the more than 20,000 Wei troops.
Being able to resist the reinforcements of the Wei army was already the limit. He still wanted to take the enemy's head in the midst of thousands of troops? Unless he was Lu Fengxian reborn.
Therefore, Wei Yan could only watch Tian Gong fleeing in front of him, his eyes reddened: "Sima old thief, don't go, don't go!"
No matter how affectionately Wei Yan called out to him, Sima Yi did not even turn back, but ran very fast, not wanting to stay here for a moment.
"Damn it! Chase! Keep chasing!" Wei Yan roared.
The officer at the side shouted: "General, don't chase the desperate enemy, don't chase the desperate enemy!"
Another officer shouted, "General, the Prime Minister has ordered that if the pursuit fails and Sima Yi cannot be captured, then we can no longer pursue him!"
Although Wei Yan was in a frenzy, he still had some brains. If he continued to chase the Wei army to the river, Sima Yi would raise his arms and shout, "There is no way to retreat! Why don't you fight hard!"
Then these thousands of people would probably be wiped out in an instant.
Wei Yan realized that he had missed a great opportunity and sighed for a moment.
The officer at the side hurriedly comforted him: "General, we have already done a great job by successfully preventing the Wei army from coming back to help! Why do we have to do this?"
"The Heavenly Power is right before our eyes. If we can capture the old thief Sima alive , it will surely shock the pseudo-dynasty. Isn't this worth a pity?" Wei Yan wiped the blood off his face and said viciously: "Forget it, forget it. I'll just spare his life and catch him next time!"
at the same time.
The main force of the Shu army won a great victory in this battle, beheading countless people and capturing even more. Part of the army fled back with Sima Yi, while part of the army scattered and escaped.
After all, when it was called a siege, it just meant dividing the troops into several groups and encircling the enemy at key routes. It didn't mean that 80,000 people would form a big circle to surround the enemy.
Therefore, many Wei soldiers were in panic and either ran up the mountain or rolled down the mountain. These people had no way to chase them and could only let them leave.
Sima Yi fled at the sight of the enemy and all the way to Mazhong Hill, but he was still frightened. He knew that the game was over and there was no way he could hold on to this hill with so few people.
"Send the message back, we need support!" Sima Yi said quietly.
After all this journey of escape, he seemed to have aged a lot and looked particularly haggard at the moment. Even after so many years of keeping fit, he could not stand up to his current miserable state.
This is also why Sima Yi was so afraid of Zhuge Liang. This guy was too scary and could easily shorten his life!
at the same time.
In the capital of Shu Han.
As the news of Zhuge Liang's death spread, the whole government and the country were filled with grief.
Liu Adou was even more panicked. The prime minister who used to be in charge of everything actually... died like this?
He slumped to the ground, still unable to believe the news, and felt a little distraught for a moment.
"Your Majesty, please accept my condolences." Minister Jiang Wan hurriedly helped Liu Chan up. "The Prime Minister is dead. The dead cannot be resurrected. We should consider our future plans."
"Wow, my father-in-law, my father-in-law, why are you just..." Liu Chan was overwhelmed with grief and tears could not stop falling. The whole court was filled with grief and everyone lowered their heads. The atmosphere was extremely depressing.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister's will is: After my death, the person who can be in charge of important matters is Jiang Gongyan. Your Majesty, please respect the Prime Minister's will..." Amidst the grief, someone suddenly spoke.
As soon as this was said, someone asked back: "What do you mean? The Prime Minister just died, and you can't wait to seize power?"
"No, national affairs are no joke. Your Majesty needs someone to assist you. This is the Prime Minister's last will. How can this be called seizing power?" the man immediately asked back.
When Zhuge Liang died, in order to continue to safeguard the interests of the Jingzhou Group, his successor was Jiang Wan from the Jingzhou area.
In Shu Han, there are a total of three major interest groups.
Yizhou Group, Dongzhou Group and Jingzhou Group.
The representatives of the three major political forces in the later period were Qiao Zhou, Li Yan and Zhuge Liang.
Before the establishment of Shu Han, the original cake of this area belonged entirely to the Yizhou Group.
Liu Yan and his son Liu Zhang came to Shudu, and the cake was divided into two parts, Yizhou and Dongzhou.
After Liu Bei entered Shu, the cake was divided into three parts. The Jingzhou Group took the most, the Dongzhou Group was constantly squeezed, and the Yizhou Group fell to the bottom of the power.
The three forces were confronting each other. After that, the defeat of Shu Han in the Battle of Yiling weakened the three forces. Liu Bei died, and the last backbone of the three major interest groups was broken.
The so-called Northern Expedition was to not forget the wishes of the previous lord and to cultivate cohesion.
Second, it can also divert social conflicts and make everyone look outward instead of inwardly.
When Zhuge Liang died, the situation that had been barely maintained collapsed in an instant. When a whale dies, all things come to life. Everyone wanted to get more benefits after Zhuge Liang's death.
The Jingzhou faction was the natural choice. They wanted to maintain the previous situation of the Jingzhou faction being the only dominant force, so they recommended Jiang Wan, who had received the prime minister's will.
Listening to the constant quarrels among the court officials, Liu Chan raised his head and said somewhat unhappily: "We will discuss this matter later. Let's handle the prime minister's funeral first!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the noise of quarreling suddenly decreased, and everyone began to discuss how to hold the Prime Minister's funeral.
Before his death, Zhuge Liang instructed Liu Chan about his burial arrangements, stating that his funeral must be simple and that four people must carry his coffin, walking all the way south, and wait until the rope breaks by itself before he could be buried at the point where the rope broke.
Just as everyone was discussing, a messenger suddenly delivered the latest news from the front line: "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report! The Prime Minister defeated the Wei army at Wuzhangyuan, beheaded nearly 10,000 people, captured nearly 60,000 people, and won a great victory!!!"
When these words came out, Liu Adou was stunned for a moment. He asked stupidly: "Prime Minister? Which Prime Minister?"
Hearing this, the military messenger was also confused. He raised his head and asked in a daze: "Your Majesty, does our Han Dynasty have a second prime minister?"
"Of course we in the Han Dynasty don't have a second prime minister, but the problem is, wasn't the prime minister on his deathbed? There was even news before that the prime minister had passed away. How could we defeat the Wei army now? And win a great victory?!" Liu Adou asked hurriedly.
At this moment, the ministers in the court were completely unable to understand and looked at the military messenger in confusion. What did this mean?
The Prime Minister defeated the Wei army at Wuzhangyuan?
The Prime Minister is already dead, are you preparing to withdraw your troops?
At this time, someone shouted, "We've heard about the Prime Minister's death before, what's this news? What are you talking about?!"
The messenger was stunned for a moment, and quickly said: "This is the prime minister's plan to fake his death in order to deceive Sima Yi. This man is cunning and suspicious by nature. If he can't deceive everyone, then he can't deceive Sima Yi at all."
"The Prime Minister said that the show had to be a complete one, so the news that he had died spread. Sima Yi really fell into the trap and rushed to chase him. The Prime Minister predicted all of this, surrounded and killed him, and won a great victory!"
After these words came out, many ministers in the court looked at each other in bewilderment. No one expected that the news that had been spread before was actually false news! You know, even Liu Chan was deceived, with a lot of tears and snot, and now he actually told me that this was a trick to fake his death?
This really fooled everyone!
Above, Liu Chan was stunned for a moment after hearing the news, and then his eyes showed joy: "Good, good, good, great, the Prime Minister is not dead, this is a trick of faking his death, even I was fooled, let alone that old thief Sima?"
“It’s worth celebrating, it’s worth celebrating!”
"The Prime Minister is truly mighty as he has defeated the Wei army!"
"In the five northern expeditions, this is the biggest gain we have made!"
"If this news spreads to Wu and Wei, the whole world will be shocked! Let the great Han Dynasty be proud of its power!"
at the same time.
On Wuzhang Plain, Su Che looked through the previous military intelligence and cursed speechlessly: "What a bunch of rats from Dongwu!"
In the third year of Jiahe, Quan and Shu launched a major attack! ——This was a joint military action by Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan.
At that time, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu, was proficient in military skills, and Sun Quan said that Emperor Ming of Wei could not travel far - Zhuge Liang attracted firepower so that Sun Quan could go to Jianghuai to steal chickens.
The emperor sent troops to help King Sima Xuan resist Liang, and he led the navy to the east - Wei chose to let Sima Yi deal with Zhuge Liang, while Emperor Cao Rui dealt with Sun Quan.
Before reaching Shouchun, Quan retreated - Before Cao Rui arrived, Sun Quan fled.
It was true that the prime minister had been in poor health before this, but the reason he fell seriously ill was when he received the news of the defeat of the Eastern Wu army. The mental blow accelerated his physical collapse.
Previously, in the battle situation in Guanzhong, Zhuge Liang was gradually gaining the upper hand against Sima Yi.
If the Eastern Wu could hold out a little longer and wait until Sima Yi was defeated, the Wei Kingdom would be in a difficult situation.
But now, Sun Quan didn't even have the courage to confront Wei. He ran away before Cao Rui led the army in person.
If Sun Quan could contain Cao Rui, then Su Che at this moment might be able to march straight into Chang'an!
Perhaps Sun Quan knew this and didn't want Shu Han to benefit, so he just slipped away!
"Forget it, forget it. In this case, we can only collect the spoils." Su Che narrowed his eyes and looked at the map beside him.
The reason why Sima Yi did not dare to fight a field battle with the Shu army was, on the one hand, because he was afraid of Zhuge Liang, and on the other hand, because he had no need to do so.
Once defeated, it would be difficult to take care of Chang'an, Yongliang and the grain-producing areas. He only needed to fortify his city and use national strength to consume the Shu army!
In Sima Yi's view, this is a battle of national strength! It's not about being a turtle!
However, with the success of this battle, these grain-producing areas were all in Su Che's pocket.
This is the autumn harvest season, a good time to collect.
So Su Che had no worries about feeding these 60,000 prisoners.
There is no food, no food, the enemy gives us crops!
At that moment, Su Che gave an order to bypass the Mazhong Heights and harvest grain from the production areas in the direction of Chang'an and Yongliang, and then continue to station troops in Wuzhangyuan. He would not continue to attack, but would just stay here and threaten the important city of Chang'an at all times.
Sima Yi had previously stationed troops here, and the grain he grew now belonged to the Shu army.
In order to keep the important city of Chang'an, the State of Wei would have to continue to send large troops there, continuously consuming national strength.
When all the grain in the production areas in the direction of Chang'an and Yongliang was harvested by the Shu army, it became even more of a disaster for the Wei State.
As all matters were settled, Su Che summoned all the generals in the military camp at Wuzhangyuan. Yang Yi, Fei Yi, Wei Yan, and Jiang Wei were at the front, and the other officers were at the back.
They didn't know that the Prime Minister Zhuge had been replaced.
Su Che looked at the few people and said slowly: "The Wei army has been defeated and will definitely retreat to the rear and defend Chang'an. What we need to do now is to station troops here... Do you have any objections?"
When Wei Yan heard this, he immediately became angry.
When he first proposed the Ziwu Valley strategy, the prime minister did not allow it. When he wanted to lead the army alone, the prime minister also did not allow it. Naturally, he was unhappy being suppressed like this.
Wei Yan didn't want to rebel. He just wanted to achieve great things and have his own tactical ideas.
Hearing the prime minister's words, Wei Yan said quickly: "The Wei army has been defeated. This is our best chance to pursue the victory. Why not continue the attack? Regardless of whether we can take Chang'an or not, at least take Mei County first!"
Su Che glanced at Wei Yan and said calmly, "Take Mei County? Then what? Wait to continue fighting to the death with the Wei army? The Wu army has already retreated. If we continue to attack, the Wei army will definitely turn its main force over."
"This Northern Expedition has been a great success. Why should we rush into it again? It's unnecessary."
"If we wait until the main force of the Wei army arrives and we continue to attack, we will only lose."
"We have won a great victory at this moment, and we will wait until the next Northern Expedition."
In a word, the gap in national strength is too big. Even if a great victory is achieved in a short period of time, it is simply impossible to swallow an elephant and conquer the Central Plains in one go!
If this deadlock was really so easy to break, Zhuge Liang would not have lost all hope and fallen into utter despair.
Even though they have gained a short-term victory, this small failure is nothing compared to the Wei State, which occupies the Central Plains and holds the world in its hands.
They can afford to lose!
But it was different for Shu Han. If these 80,000 troops were defeated, Shu Han would be completely destroyed.
My family’s financial resources are too limited. I can’t afford to gamble, and I can’t gamble.
The defeat of Sima Yi at this moment was purely a pleasant surprise. It proved to Wei that Shu Han had the ability to attack.
With five northern expeditions and continuous attacks year after year, the entire Wei State was shrouded in the shadow of war for a long time. It is recorded in history that "the soldiers in Yongliang never took off their armor, and the soldiers in Zhongyuan never put down their saddles."
The fifth Northern Expedition was a complete victory, which was undoubtedly a further blow to the State of Wei.
Su Che could understand Wei Yan's desire to achieve great things at this moment.
Wei Yan wanted to say something, but Su Che raised his hand and squinted his eyes and said, "I probably already know what you want to say, but we just won a great victory, captured countless food and fodder, and 60,000 surrendered soldiers. These are all unstable factors. How do you want to attack? Are you crazy, or do you think I'm crazy?"
Hearing this, Wei Yan had to lower his head. He had no way to refute this. Unless he killed all the 60,000 surrendered soldiers, they would all be unstable factors. Should he attack Wei with these 60,000 surrendered soldiers?
What’s the difference between this and seeking death?
Even Wei Yan, who was bent on attacking, had to admit that it was indeed not easy to continue the attack at the moment.
"If you don't have a brain, just listen to the prime minister more." Yang Yi said sarcastically at the side.
"Who do you think you are? How dare you say such things?!" When Wei Yan heard this, he immediately became furious and cursed directly.
The conflict between the two has been going on for a long time. The reason for the conflict is not deep hatred such as the revenge for their father's murder and the hatred for their wife's seizure, but purely incompatibility of personality. In the original history, when Zhuge Liang died, they directly had a civil war.
Yang Yi would often talk back to Wei Yan, and Wei Yan would scold Yang Yi every time, and even gesture with a knife to kill Yang Yi.
At this moment, Su Che was watching the quarrel between the two and suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. Wei Yan was a fierce general and he could achieve certain achievements in every expedition, while Yang Yi was in charge of dispatching food and grass and managing logistics in the army, and everything was done in an orderly manner.
One is responsible for external affairs and the other is responsible for internal affairs, but these two people like to quarrel. Faced with this situation, Zhuge Liang can only play the role of peacemaker, as no one wants to give up.
Su Che held his chin up, watching the two quarreling, and suddenly said: "When Lin Xiangru made great contributions, Lian Po was very dissatisfied. He said to others: 'I have been through life and death, and have made many military achievements, but Lin Xiangru has been promoted above me just by his eloquence. If I meet him, I must humiliate him in person.'"
"Lin Xiangru heard about this and gave in everywhere. He even pretended to be sick at home on the days when he went to court to avoid any quarrel with Lian Po."
"One day, Lin Xiangru went out and saw Lian Po's carriage coming towards him from a distance. He ordered his servants to turn the carriage around to avoid Lian Po."
"Everyone around him said he was too timid. Lin Xiangru smiled and asked everyone: Who do you think is more powerful, General Lian or the King of Qin?"
"Everyone said in unison: Of course the King of Qin is the best."
"Lin Xiangru said: I dare to scold the King of Qin in public in Qin State, so why would I be afraid of General Lian? But I thought that the powerful Qin State did not dare to invade Zhao because of the two of us. If the two of us fight, the enemy will take advantage of the opportunity. I cannot forget the safety of the country!"
"When Lian Po heard these words, he felt ashamed, so he went to Lin Xiangru's house with his back bare and carrying a thorn stick to plead guilty."
"Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, if our Han Dynasty wants to recover the Central Plains, we need a Lian Po and a Lin Xiangru. What's the point of you two quarreling all the time?"
Logically speaking, after these words, both of them should feel ashamed and admit their mistakes to each other.
Who knew that after hearing this, the two looked at each other with disdain and sneered:
"Is he worthy of being Lin Xiangru?"
"Is he worthy of being Lian Po?"
Su Che: “…”
He finally understood why it was not easy for Zhuge Liang to be a peacemaker. Not everyone is magnanimous enough to put aside personal grudges for the sake of the country.
Su Che frowned and said impatiently: "Okay, okay, shut up!"
After these words came out, the two of them lowered their heads. Su Che glanced at Wei Yan and said, "I understand your desire to make achievements, but there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. The next time we go out to fight, I will let you lead the army!"
As soon as these words came out, Wei Yan was overjoyed. He said ecstatically: "Thank you, Prime Minister!"
For a long time, Wei Yan was suppressed by Zhuge Liang and could only serve as a vanguard. He had no chance to command an army and make outstanding contributions.
Historical records show that whenever Yan followed Liang, he would always ask for 10,000 soldiers and meet Liang at Tongguan by a different route, just like Han Xin did. Liang stopped him and refused. Yan often called Liang a coward and lamented that his talents were not fully utilized.
Translated: During the Northern Expedition, every time Wei Yan followed Zhuge Liang, he wanted Prime Minister Zhuge to send 10,000 troops to him, so that he could lead his troops to attack the enemy from the side roads and catch them off guard, just like Han Xin led his troops to build a plank road in the open and secretly cross Chencang, and finally meet Zhuge Liang at Tongguan. However, Zhuge Liang refused every time. Wei Yan thought that Prime Minister Zhuge was timid and afraid of things, and also lamented that his talents could not be displayed.
The actual situation is that Zhuge Liang understood that with Wei Yan's reckless character, once he got too carried away, it would be easy for something bad to happen.
For example, the Ziwu Valley strategy was purely about taking people out to deliver the troops. It was certainly impossible for Zhuge Liang to command an army with such a reckless man.
And now, Su Che actually agreed to Wei Yan's previous wish. At this moment, all of Wei Yan's resentment suddenly disappeared, and he was ecstatic.
After hearing this, the other people all looked a little weird, but since this was the Prime Minister's order, they didn't say anything.
After dealing with Wei Yan's matter, Su Che continued to order: "Divide several tens of thousands of troops, some to transport food and prisoners back, and some to continue to station troops here and wait for the next attack."
"The next time we attack... we'll have to change our target."
When these words were spoken, everyone was stunned and didn't react for a moment. What did it mean to change the target?
Should we change the direction of attack or change the opponent?
Jiang Wei asked curiously: "Prime Minister, I don't understand what you mean..."
"What's so unclear about this?" Su Che smiled and said calmly, "This time we joined forces with Dongwu to attack Wei, but they ran away very quickly. How can we join forces again with such rats?"
"In that case, we will unite with Wei to attack Wu and take over Wu's land!!"
Hearing this, all the generals were shocked. They raised their heads and said in astonishment: "Attacking Wu?"
All along, Wu has been one of Shu Han's allies, while Wei has been the target of constant attacks. This has almost become Shu Han's basic national policy. But now, they are actually going to change this basic national policy and turn around to attack their allies?
This incident was so sudden and absurd that no one could understand it.
Jiang Wei said in astonishment: "Prime Minister, we have just defeated the Wei army and hurt them. How can they let go of such a deep hatred and join forces with us to attack Wu?"
Even Wei Yan, who was known for his recklessness, panicked at this moment. He said quickly: "Prime Minister, we cannot attack Wu. Not to mention whether we can succeed, once Wu is destroyed, we will not be able to survive for long!"
The reason is very simple. During the Three Kingdoms period, the world was divided into three parts.
But in fact, Cao Wei occupied two-thirds of the world, and it was also the Central Plains, a prosperous city in the north, with a strong economy, a large population, and a strong national strength.
The south is mostly a wild and desolate place.
The Wu Kingdom had been dealing with the Shanyue for a long time, and the Shu Han also had to spend a lot of effort to deal with the Nanman.
Throughout history, the North has always been the one to suppress the South, and few people have been able to successfully launch a northern expedition.
Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition was successful. On the one hand, the South had developed almost completely, and on the other hand, the Yuan Dynasty had become completely corrupt.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei was internally stable and possessed all the rich land in the world. For such a terrifying existence to unify the world was only a matter of time.
It was precisely because he understood this that Zhuge Liang's strategy all along was to ally with the State of Wu, attack the State of Wei, and continuously deplete the national strength of Wei.
It’s a pity that Wu Guo, this teammate, is not very helpful at all.
Su Che was not making such a statement without any reason. He laughed and said, "Before, we were not qualified to join forces with Wei to attack Wu. But now it is different. We have just fought a great battle, which proves our strength. We are stationed here, constantly consuming Wei's national strength. This is nothing short of a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh."
"They want us to withdraw more than anyone else, so they will definitely agree to our request for alliance!"
"As for the fact that we can't stand alone if Wu is destroyed, don't worry about this problem. What's the difference between our current situation and standing alone?"
“We need to look further ahead and be strategic!”
Su Che waved his hand and said, "I have already made a conclusion on this matter. There is no need to argue anymore!"
After these words were spoken, the generals could only look at each other, not knowing what to say.
In Shu Han, Zhuge Liang was no different from a real emperor.
During the period of Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang had already begun to manage the three counties and was in charge of all affairs of the Left General's Office. When Liu Bei was away, he directly reviewed memorials and mobilized troops on Liu Bei's behalf.
After Liu Bei died, Zhuge Liang's positions were: Prime Minister, Recorder of the Secretariat, Chief Minister, Inspector of the Capital, and Governor of Yizhou.
Before this, Cao Cao's positions were Prime Minister, Recorder of the Secretariat, Chief Minister, Inspector of the Imperial Capital, and Governor of Yuzhou.
To a certain extent, if Zhuge Liang really wanted to replace him, it would not be a problem at all.
Since Su Che decided to join forces with Wei to attack Wu, they couldn't stop him.
They only realized at this moment that the prime minister had summoned them not to discuss this matter with them, but merely to inform them! !
soon.
The Shu army returned with a great victory and headed back to the capital. Su Che left Jiang Wei and Wei Yan at Wuzhangyuan and at the same time sent a signal of friendly negotiations to the Wei army. If nothing unexpected happened, the day of peace talks was just around the corner.
at the same time.
As the Shu army defeated the Wei army, the whole world was shaken and Sima Yi fell from the altar. It was obvious that he only needed to be a coward and hold on to win the war with the national strength.
It should be noted that the Shu army had to fight across thousands of miles of frontline, and even with the strongest national power, it would have been difficult for them to outlast the Wei army. For the Wei army, persistence means victory.
However, Zhuge Liang's fake death successfully deceived Sima Yi. In addition, he deployed his troops like a god and successfully let Sima Yi escape, annihilated the main force of the Wei army, and captured countless prisoners.
Faking death is not the key, and successfully deceiving Sima Yi is not the key either. The key is to mobilize troops like a god, spread a big net, and swallow Sima Yi in one bite. This is the key among the keys.
The departure of several teams and their perfect coordination depend on the precise calculations of the commander.
This ability to deploy troops and generals is extremely terrifying. Since ancient times, those who can do this are all god-like generals without exception. Han Xin can do it, and Bai Qi can do it. Zhuge Liang before him obviously could not do this.
Even Su Che was only copying and barely replicating the strategy. The risks involved were very high. Once the Wei army's resistance was stronger and Sima Yi successfully returned for support, all the efforts would be in vain.
Although it was successful.
But this was undoubtedly a very bold military action.
After the battle, people all over the world were amazed at Zhuge Liang's ability to mobilize troops so well and successfully defeat Sima Yi by using the strategy of feigning death.
Only the generals who were truly knowledgeable, after learning about the specific actions, personally deduced them. Their scalps tingled, and several armies, with exact accuracy, appeared at the key positions each time, successfully completing the siege.
As long as there is a problem in any one of the links, all efforts will be in vain and the whole thing will be lost!
This military action is really too bold!
In fact, even Sima Yi himself was very puzzled. When reviewing the war afterward, he couldn't believe that this was a decision that Zhuge Kongming could make.
Is this Zhuge Kongming’s style?
This doesn't look like it at all!
This doesn't seem like a strategy or command that Zhuge Kongming could come up with...
Sima Yi was very confident that no one knew Zhuge Liang better than him!
It was because he understood it better than anyone else that he was so confused. Others were amazed at Zhuge Liang's ability to mobilize troops, but Sima Yi felt that Zhuge Liang was like a different person!
Is this Zhuge Kongming?
This is not Zhuge Kongming at all!
At this moment, Sima Yi had a very terrifying thought, which was: Is it possible that Zhuge Liang is dead, and he has come back to life and become a different person?
This thought flashed through his mind, and Sima Yi quickly shook his head. It was impossible, absolutely impossible.
But when this thought appeared, it was like a nightmare, constantly lingering in Sima Yi's mind and could not be shaken off. If this was not the case, then what was the reason?
After that, he waited for the Shu army to send friendly signals, intending to unite with them to attack Wu, which could be used as a condition for withdrawing.
Upon hearing this news, Sima Yi's eyes widened and he said excitedly: "Impossible! Zhuge Kongming will never give up attacking us, but choose to cooperate with us to attack Wu together!"
"He is not Zhuge Kongming!"
"He is definitely not Zhuge Kongming!"
"Who the hell is he?!!"
Sima Yi quickly reported the news, saying that Zhuge Kongming might have been replaced by a different person, and this person was definitely not the same Zhuge Kongming as before!
But there is no doubt that this news was directly suppressed. Even Emperor Cao Rui believed that Sima Yi had gone insane because of this great defeat and even said such a thing...
Cao Rui first comforted Sima Yi, telling him to have a good rest and not to take this defeat to heart, and to recuperate first!
Cao Rui will not refuse the cooperation of Shu Han!
Shu's continuous northern expeditions did cause considerable trouble to Wei. If they were willing to stop the attacks and cooperate to attack Wu together, it would be a hundred benefits for Wei.
After the attack on Wu is over, even if Shu occupies some of Wu’s territory, it will not be able to become a force to be reckoned with and will be nothing at all. It can be easily destroyed in the future!
Cao Rui was not afraid of raising a tiger to cause trouble. Neither the Eastern Wu nor the Shu Kingdom could survive because they were united, which gave him a headache. If he could disintegrate their alliance and destroy one of them first, that would naturally be the best.
Shu is easy to defend but difficult to attack, while Eastern Wu relies on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River. If one is attacked, one will inevitably be attacked by the other.
Now that Shu Han had sent out friendly signals, Cao Rui naturally agreed readily.
The previous defeats, the numerous losses, and the depletion of national strength are nothing. For the sake of the overall situation, all of these can be compromised and endured.
Cao Cao was able to put aside his blood feud, accept Zhang Xiu's surrender again, and give him a high position, generous salary, and treat him with trust.
It is naturally nothing for him to give up this little hatred now.
However, if they wanted to form an alliance, Cao Rui also began to bargain, hoping that Shu Han could release the previous Wei army prisoners. If there was no sincerity at all, who would believe that their alliance was serious?
Faced with Cao Rui's conditions, Su Che naturally could not accept them all. He replied to Cao Rui: It is of course possible to return the prisoners, but this must be done after the attack on Wu. It will not be too late to return the prisoners of Wei at that time.
In addition, as a condition, the Han Dynasty and the Wei Kingdom had to resume trade, allowing the two places to enter a period of peaceful coexistence again.
Cao Rui did not expect that Zhuge Liang was so shameless. Not only did he not return the captives, but he also turned the tables and demanded that the two places continue to trade!
And he calls himself a big man...
How can you be so shameless?
A mere state of one dares to call itself the Han Dynasty!
Well, Cao Rui tolerated these things. Politics is an art of compromise. Now it is not Shu Han begging Wei to attack Wu, but sending this friendly signal.
If Wei does not agree, then Shu Han's garrison in Wuzhangyuan is no joke. They will continue to exert pressure, continue the Northern Expedition, and constantly consume Wei's national strength.
Cao Rui had no choice but to hold his nose and agree to many of Zhuge Liang's requests and restore trade between the two places. However, he still had to think carefully about whether to take action against the State of Wu.
As Shu Han and Wei were flirting with each other, Wu realized that something was wrong.
Although Sun Quan didn't know what was going on between Shu Han and Wei, the two places resumed trade just after a war. This event itself was very unusual. What kind of signal did it send?
Something is wrong. Something is very wrong!
Could it be that this fellow with thick eyebrows and big eyes from Shu Han is preparing to surrender to Wei?
That's impossible. They had just won a great victory and frightened the entire Wei State. There was no reason for them to surrender to Wei.
The only explanation is that they used those captives to reach an agreement with the State of Wei?
But this is not right...
Why is that?
Suddenly, a storm was about to come.
Sun Quan has been having some bad premonitions recently. He can't even sleep well and always has nightmares, which makes him very upset.
at the same time.
When Su Che returned to the capital of Shu Han, he did two things.
A small thing, a big thing.
He first modified the spinning wheel and created a foot-operated spinning wheel that could spin three yarns. It was faster and more efficient than the hand-cranked spinning wheel with a single spindle that was used before.
This increased the efficiency of weaving Shu brocade several times.
Logically speaking, this is not a trivial matter.
But compared to the second thing, it is indeed a small matter.
He ordered the melting of 1 billion copper coins, all of which were made into 100-5-zhu coins!
A straight hundred coin is equal to one hundred coins.
The source of these copper coins was the wealth that had been continuously brought in from Wei and Wu through Zhibai coins.
According to historical records, during the Northern Expedition, the Wei State even began to barter because it had no money. It was not that they had no money, but that all the money was harvested back by Shu Han through this method of cutting leeks.
Although the State of Wei was powerful, they did not have much money in circulation. This gave people the illusion that Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was causing the State of Wei to collapse.
At this moment, Su Che raised 1 billion copper coins and made all of them into Zhibai coins, intending to reap the benefits from the Wei and Wu states.
There are actually big problems with doing this.
One billion copper coins can produce at least 500 million Zhibai Wuzhu notes.
That is 50 billion yuan!
It is impossible for it to expand so many times in an instant without causing major problems.
If Shu Han were to digest this money, its national strength would be drained in minutes.
So it had to be passed on to the states of Wu and Wei.
But the problem is, this is 50 billion. Wei and Wu will certainly not be so stupid as to let you harvest them!
Therefore, the officials of Shu Han were all shocked by the prime minister's crazy behavior.
One after another gave advice.
However, Su Che rejected them all, but he insisted on going his own way!
Since Shujin has its natural advantages, he will naturally make good use of them. Through those days of research, he found a way to break this deadlock!
Since we cannot defeat the State of Wei through war, then we don't need to resort to war!
Victory through culture! Victory through economy!
Change your approach and achieve ultimate victory!
Historically.
The deeper reason for Zhuge Liang's defeat in the first battle was his mistakes in strategic guiding ideology.
He overemphasized the means of war, took the initiative to attack, and engaged in militarism, and lacked understanding of the role of social, political, economic, and cultural factors in pacifying the world.
This deep-seated reason not only determined the failure of Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, but also determined the failure of his entire Northern Expedition!
In this case, Su Che naturally had to change his decision. Even though he defeated the Wei army, he did not continue the attack and try to gain more land.
It is impossible to keep those lands for long, so instead of taking them directly and using them as a sign of sincerity, we should join forces with Wei to attack Wu, and then reap financial benefits from both countries!
Time goes by day by day.
With the large-scale dumping of Shu brocade, the market gradually became saturated.
In short, it just isn't selling.
That’s the sales volume of Shu brocade.
Only high-ranking officials and wealthy families would buy Shu brocade. Poor people could not afford this expensive thing, so sales have always been limited.
But the 50 billion worth of Zhibai coins produced before have not been completely digested, not even one percent of them have been digested!
The Wu and Wei states are not fools. If they ask you to cut some leeks, how can they let you cut all the leeks?
In fact, this number is already amazing, accumulating 400 million dollars in a short period of time!
But the problem...
Compared to the more than 49 billion yuan, this is simply a drop in the bucket!
If these more than 40 billion coins are not passed on, the land of Shu Han will probably increase by dozens of times due to inflation, and the people will be living in poverty and full of complaints!
This situation made all the ministers in the Shu Han court worried, and they had no idea what to do.
But Su Che gave a solution -
Can’t sell anymore?
It’s easy to solve.
Price increase!
You can sell it by raising the price!
When these words were spoken, the ministers of Shu Han were dumbfounded.
Jiang Wan, Fei Yi and the others were all stunned! !
Shu brocade is widely praised for its low price and good quality.
It can’t be sold now, but if the price goes up, it can be sold?
How can you do business like this??!
Is the Prime Minister crazy?!