Volume 5: Overlord of the Sea Chapter 605 Sima Yi’s Bargain
In the ninth year of the Chuli period, Wei Yan led his troops, under the command of Fa Zheng, and marched out of Ziwu Valley!
In order to avoid a sneak attack from Longyou - although Liu Bei's situation is unclear and Guan Yu should have no intention of fighting, it is hard to say about Ma Chao... Therefore, Zhao Yun still stayed in Hanzhong.
Wei Yan was very excited and wanted to lead the troops into battle, but Zhao Yun made three rules with him and asked him to obey Fa Zheng's command.
It is not so easy to pass through Ziwu Valley. Even if the journey is safe, even an elite army with light equipment will take six or seven days to pass through...
In history, when Cao Zhen was attacking Shu, he had the crazy idea of taking the Ziwu Valley. However, after a rainstorm, he lingered in the valley for more than a month. In the end, he didn't even get close to the Shu army. He ran out of ammunition and food and had to retreat in a hurry.
Both the Chu and Han armies have many scouts here, and the terrain is not suitable for a surprise attack. It cannot be passed in a day or two, so there is actually not much effect of a surprise attack.
Moreover, it is not even the end of the first month of the lunar year yet, and Fa Zheng is feeling a little nervous - if there is a late spring cold snap or a heavy snowstorm, he will be doomed this time!
Even though they had responded carefully, once they encountered bad weather, the Chu army could only "retreat in an orderly manner."
However, there was not much rainfall in Chang'an and Hanzhong in winter, and finally on the fourth day of the first lunar month, the Chu army fought against a small group of Han troops.
However, the Han army now had no will to fight. Not only did they not encounter much resistance, but many of them were captured by Fa Zheng. They continued to advance, and on the sixth day, they discovered that there was already a Zheng army camp in front of them!
Although the road was rough and the artillery was still being transported, the Chu army still had the advantage of Qi bombs and crossbows.
After learning that the Chu army was advancing, Sima Yi specially arranged Xu Huang to lead 10,000 troops to try to block the Ziwukou Pass...
The narrow terrain greatly limited the advantages of the Chu army, especially the rugged topography, which made the transportation of artillery, a powerful weapon for attacking strongholds, extremely slow.
Although the Chu army had the upper hand in many battles, it was unable to convert the advantage into a decisive victory!
Of course, if the situation drags on, Fa Zheng is confident that he can force his way out of Ziwukou in half a month.
However, just two days after the battle, Zhong Yao arrived at the Chu army as an envoy...
Fa Zheng naturally treated Zhong Yao with courtesy and invited him into the camp first. Fa Zheng himself was from Fufeng, Guanzhong. Zhong Yao was more than 20 years older than him and had served as an official in the "court" in his early years. When Dong Zhuo forced the emperor to move west to Chang'an, Zhong Yao was also in the court. Naturally, Fa Zheng recognized Zhong Yao.
"Mr. Zhong, who are you going to be the envoy for this time?" Although Fa Zheng did not deliberately neglect him, he did not make so many pretentious remarks in the camp. He did not even prepare tea and asked directly as soon as they met.
Zhong Yao was a court official, but he was also Cao Cao's "spokesperson". At the same time, he was cooperating with Duke Zheng this time. It was hard to say who his envoy was!
"It's been a long time since we last met. You are still as righteous and quick-witted as ever." Zhong Yao, who was already in his fifties, smiled at Fa Zheng, who was not very polite.
Fa Zheng said nothing, still staring at Zhong Yao in front of him.
To say that Fa Zheng was a "righteous and brave" person obviously did not really mean that he valued righteousness over his own life, but rather that he was not very tactful in his dealings - this was something Fa Zheng himself still had in his mind.
This is indeed the case, but Fa Zheng's lack of tact is completely different from the hatred of Wei Yan in history and the hatred of Ni Heng now. It can only be said that Fa Zheng is not so omnipotent and is far from being flawed.
Seeing that Fa Zheng did not respond, Zhong Yao did not feel embarrassed and continued: "It does not matter whose envoy I am. If the King of Chu is interested, I can be the King of Chu's envoy and return to Chang'an later... But why did the State of Chu send troops this time?"
"Zheng Hou Zhang Yan is a cruel man. He was bewitched by Sima Yi and murdered the Han emperor and plundered the people of Chang'an. How can our Great Chu sit idly by?" Fa Zheng sneered.
Why did the State of Chu send troops?
Nonsense, Chang'an was in chaos, why didn't Chu send troops? Does it still need a reason to attack the capital of the Han Dynasty?
Since Zhong Yao asked such a stupid question, Fa Zheng could only give a "stupid" answer.
Seeing that Fa Zheng was so "pragmatic", Zhong Yao did not seem angry. He just smiled slightly and then said something equally pragmatic.
"Oh? If I were the King of Chu, I should be more concerned about Xichuan now, right? This is a letter to Xu Jing, the governor of Shu County. If Chu is interested, it can use this to persuade Xu Jing to rebel." Zhong Yao said as he took out his bargaining chip, or bait!
Indeed, for the Chu State, which has already occupied Hanzhong, from a purely strategic perspective, Xichuan should be the first target.
Otherwise, while holding Hanzhong, one still has to be wary of Xichuan, and Hanzhong's geographical advantage cannot be fully utilized.
On the contrary, if Xichuan can be taken, Hanzhong and Bashu will also belong to Chu. Not only will half of the world be under Chu's control, but Hanzhong, Xiangfan and Huainan will all be in Chu, which is like capturing a dragon!
Even...even if we leave the Qi army in Longyou alone and fight to the death with the Zheng army in Guanzhong, it would be a great opportunity to recapture Qingxu and Longyou.
Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng opened the letter which was not sealed in the first place.
Most of the letters contained ordinary greetings and words of winning over. One could not tell anything from the letter alone. However, Fa Zheng did not think that the Marquis of Zheng... or Sima Yi, was so naive as to use such an "empty city plan"!
Shu County is the core of Xichuan. Both Chengdu and Guanghan are located in Shu County.
Of course, it is also because of this that Xu Jing is far from having the final say in Shu County. On the contrary, because of the existence of the Shu Marquisate, his power is more limited than that of an ordinary prefect.
However, it is undeniable that with Xu Jing's assistance, Shu County would be easier to attack. Even considering Deng Ai's progress in Nanzhong, it is entirely possible to try to enter Shu this year!
but……
"Hua Xin, the Grand Secretary of the Great Chu, is detained by the Marquis of Zheng in Chang'an. The Chu army will not withdraw its troops until they see Grand Secretary Hua!" Fa Zheng simply revealed some of it.
Zhong Yao frowned when he heard this and said, "Lord Hua left without saying goodbye before Marquis Zheng entered the city that day. Maybe... he was delayed on the way? I will look for him later."
Fa Zheng was not worried that Sima Yi would dare to deliberately detain Hua Xin at this time. After all... from a practical point of view, Hua Xin was not of much use to the State of Chu.
On the contrary, if anyone touches Hua Xin at this time, they will have to face retaliation from the State of Chu that is countless times the actual losses!
Liu Xie might act on impulse, but Sima Yi had no reason to do so.
As for Liu Bei?
Fa Zheng doesn't know anything about Liu Bei now...
At the same time, in Chang'an City, the news of Liu Xie's death was officially announced!
The "main culprit" was naturally Dong Cheng, who had slandered and misled Liu Xie many times. After Liu Xie's death, his entire family was executed along with Zhang Yan, the Marquis of Zheng, who was the righteous messenger who upheld justice and rescued the Marquis of Qi.
Liu Xie did not abdicate, so naturally he did not get to be named "Xian". At Sima Yi's suggestion, the Marquis of Zheng drafted a posthumous title for him called "Xiao Ai". At the same time, in Chang'an, he enthroned the son of Empress Fu as the emperor...
In history, both of Empress Fu's sons were killed by Cao Cao. However, due to the White Rabbit Effect, the Han Emperor had already moved east before Cao Cao took action, so naturally the princes were also saved.
Although Concubine Dong and her son were not executed, they were demoted to commoners and placed under house arrest.
After hearing the news, Liu Bei did not sleep all night, and had a heart-to-heart talk with Hua Xin the next day...
Later in the afternoon, Hua Xin came to the palace leisurely and handed in his resignation openly - as if the person who disappeared a few days ago was not him, and he just woke up from a hangover today!
