The Three Kingdoms become stronger when they get treasures

Chapter 459
Zhang Wu carried out large-scale personnel transfers and organizational reforms in Xiangyang. Xu Shu and Fa Zheng made several moves with Sima Yi on the western front to test Cao Jun's firepower in Wudu County.

I have to say that Sima Yi did have two skills. With Xu Shu dispatching Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Pang De, Zhang Ren, Li Yan and so many fierce generals, he was able to deal with it with ease and give full play to the advantages of cavalry combat .

Although Wudu County is located in the Qinling Mountains, there is a basin near Xiabian City, which can produce food and is conducive to cavalry operations.

Although Wudu is very close to Yizhou in a straight line, it is blocked by the Minshan Mountains and can only be diverted to Hanzhong, so the transportation of grain and grass is not convenient.If the Chu army dispatches more troops, the pressure on food and grass will be great, and the road from Hanzhong to Wudu will be easily attacked by cavalry, which is too dangerous if the cavalry is not dominant.

If fewer troops were dispatched, it would not pose a threat to Wudu, and Sima Yi could completely rely on the [-] cavalry in the city to carry out a defensive counterattack.

Xu Shu looked at Xiabian City, and said to Fazheng beside him, "I have heard that Sima Yi is resourceful, and it is really difficult to deal with it. If Cao Cao had left Sima Yi in Hanzhong, I am afraid that Hanzhong would still be in Cao Cao's hands. Sima Bada, sure enough. It's a well-deserved reputation!"

Xu Shu is from Yingchuan, Yuzhou, and now belongs to Yuzhou City, Henan Province. Sima Yi is from Hanoi County, and now belongs to Jiaozuo City, Henan Province, so these two people can be regarded as fellow villagers.It's just that Xu Shu came from a poor family, unlike Sima Yi who came from a top-notch family and didn't worry about becoming an official. Even Cao Cao asked Sima Yi to be an official, and Sima Yi always found excuses to refuse.

Sima Yi was much younger than Xu Shu. When Sima Yi was ten years old, Xu Shu had already wandered around the rivers and lakes, killing people and fleeing, so Sima Yi had also heard about Xu Shu.It's just that Sima Yi didn't expect that the humble bachelor who fled to the rivers and lakes has now become a top military strategist in the world, commanding more than [-] soldiers to attack the city.

Fa Zheng was about the same age as Sima Yi and came from a well-known family. His father had been a high-ranking official in the central government, but he died early and did not pave the way for Fa Zheng. He also knew the Sima family in Hanoi very well and knew that the Sima family was full of talented people. They are the top wealthy families in the world.

When Guo Jia and Xun You died one after another, Jia Xu was old, and Cheng Yu was deposed, the young Sima Yi had become Cao Cao's main adviser.

Fazheng said: "Manpower is sometimes poor, and it is difficult for an individual to stop the general trend. Once Hanzhong is lost, Wudu will be in a passive position. Even if Sima Yi is resourceful, he will be unable to recover. As long as our cavalry is formed, we can surround him with troops. Go down and capture Wudu."

This is the strategy for capturing Wudu. As long as there are enough cavalry to ensure the safety of the food roads, the western army will dispatch the main force to besiege Xiabian City. Cao Jun in Biancheng was trapped to death.

Now the cavalry of the Chu army is not enough to fight the Cao army head-on. After all, it is not enough for the cavalry to be able to ride a horse. It also needs a certain period of training and actual combat experience, and suitable soldiers are also a problem.Although those Qiang and Hu people were skilled in riding, they were unreliable, and the combat effectiveness of the Hu people in this era was far worse than that of the Han people.

Sima Yi took many measures to prevent the Chu army from getting horses, but he couldn't bear Zhang Wu's willingness to spend money. There is no shortage of people who dare to take risks and betray for money.During the Ming Dynasty, in order to make money, Shanxi merchants were willing to take risks to trade with the Manchus, and transported many banned strategic materials to the Manchus.

The successive defeats in the Battle of Hanzhong and the Battle of Huainan turned Cao's army from active to passive. This general trend cannot be easily reversed. This treasure land in Hanzhong has too much influence on the western battle situation. Whoever gets it will have the upper hand.Facing Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, which is only one state in Yizhou, Sima Yi can only choose to defend himself to protect himself. Now Zhang Wu is all in the south of the Yangtze River.

Sima Yi was not discouraged. Although Zhang Wu was strong now, the future was still full of variables. No one dared to draw conclusions until the last moment. Maybe a battle would change the situation between both sides.Back then, Yuan Shao was powerful and had the potential to dominate the north, but as a result, the battle of Guandu began to lead to extinction.

On the whole, the north occupied by Cao Cao is still stronger than the south occupied by Zhang Wu. After all, the north is the main area of ​​China at this time, and it is stronger than the south in terms of population and cultivated area.

What Sima Yi is most concerned about now is not when Xu Shu will attack aggressively. If Wudu really can't hold it, he can retreat to Guanzhong, and he doesn't have to die here. What he cares most now is whether his good friend Cao Pi can Be the son of the world.

Sima Yi has served as Cao Cao's personal secretary for a long time, so he naturally knows how his boss is in good health. Cao Cao's headache is not going to get better, and it is getting worse. Maybe Cao Cao will belch in two years, so the matter of establishing a son is imminent up.

If Cao Pi can win, then Sima Yi's future will be guaranteed, and maybe he will have the opportunity to be the commander-in-chief of the army like Xu Shu in the future, commanding the army to fight on the battlefield.

At this time, Cao Cao is also facing a dilemma. Who should he choose?
Originally, according to the previous performance of the two candidates, Cao Cao was inclined towards Cao Pi, but recently Cao Zhi's performance is completely different from before. Get things done.

With Cao Zhi's talent, if he can settle down and concentrate on doing things, he must be no worse than Cao Pi, because he was brought up by Cao Cao's side to train him since he was a child, and he has gone out with Cao Cao many times. He is truly capable of both civil and military skills.

These sons of Cao Cao are actually good at martial arts. Cao Pi began to practice riding and shooting at the age of five. His swordsmanship teacher was Shi A, a disciple of the sword master Wang Yue.Needless to say, Cao Zhang's martial arts are superb, and he led the army to conquer Wuhuan, Xianbei and other alien races.Cao Zhi gave the impression that he was a bohemian literati, but he was actually both civil and military. Although Cao Zhi's personal martial arts were not as good as Cao Pi and Cao Zhang, his ability to lead troops in battle was also very outstanding. Otherwise, after Guan Yu flooded the Seventh Army, Cao Cao would not let Cao Zhi Lead the troops to rescue Cao Ren.

Now that Cao Zhi suddenly changed his old style, Cao Cao began to have difficulties while being happy. He still likes Cao Zhi a little more, but after all, Cao Pi is the eldest son.

However, when Cao Cao learned that Cao Zhi began to change since he was invited to Xiangyang, and that Cao Zhi often received letters from Xiangyang, Cao Cao became a little unhappy. You old man, you don’t listen to my advice, but you listen to outsiders’ advice?
So Cao Cao went to seek Jia Xu's opinion, and Cao Cao asked, "If you want to raise an heir, who should you raise?"

When Jia Xu heard this, it was hard to answer. If he answered badly, he might not live to the day when he died, because he was not an old minister of Cao Cao.

It is said that without the battle of Wancheng, Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang, would not have died, and there would be no suspense about the establishment of the son, because Cao Ang had always been trained as an heir.

Jia Xu supported Cao Pi in his heart, but he couldn't say it clearly, because if he said it, he was standing in line. With Cao Cao's suspicion, he might find an excuse to kill himself after a while.

So Jia Xu pretended not to hear, and did not answer for a long time.

Cao Cao became upset and asked, "Old Jia, why don't you speak?"

Jia Xu then replied: "I'm sorry, I was thinking about something just now, and my mind was distracted!"

Cao Cao was a little surprised, why were you absent-minded when the leader was talking to you, so he asked, "What are you thinking?"

Jia Xu said, "I'm thinking about Yuan Shao and Liu Biao and his son!"

Cao Cao laughed out loud after hearing this. This is to remind me to learn the lesson of Yuan Shao and Liu Biao, who abolished the elders and established the younger ones, and finally led to their demise, so they ordered Cao Pi to be the heir of the prince of Wei.

(End of this chapter)