Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 500 I Killed Xia Houshang?

On June 27, Shen Chen collected all the remnants and returned to Luoyang.

At this time, Pang De also crossed the river and joined his army.

Including the reinforcements from Gan Ning and Zhou Tai, he has about 3 people in his hands, which is still relatively sufficient.

Although it is still small compared with Sima Yi's 12 people in the south, and not as good as Wuqiu Jian, there are many things that can be done.

The main reason is that there are 15 people on Zhuge Liang's side, and Sima Yi is fighting 15 people head-on, and he has to prevent more than 3 people from sneaking behind him. It is really difficult for him.

So the more than 3 people in Shen Chen's hands can be said to be a decisive force, walking sideways in Henan, the hinterland of Cao Wei.

Going north, he can go to Hanoi County and join Zhao Yun's 4 people to deal with Guan Qiujian together.

To the south, he can unite Zhuge Liang's 15 troops to attack Sima Yi from the north and the south at the same time.

So after arriving in Luoyang, Shen Chen held a meeting in Luoyang to discuss with many generals what to do next.

He has been to the Luoyang Palace, and Cao Wei has repaired it pretty well, but it is obviously impossible for him to occupy the palace, so he convened a discussion in the original Cao Wei Sangong Mansion.

Below, Pound, Gan Ning, Deng Ai, Jiang Wei, Zhou Tai and other generals sat on the left and right, while Shen Chen took the lead, looking down at the people below.

The Sangong's mansion is right next to the imperial palace, and it is magnificently built.The architectural style of the rich and powerful houses in the Han Dynasty likes to be so large. The room is large and the windows are small, which easily makes the lighting in the house not very good.

That's why we can often see that when the nobles of the Han Dynasty were discussing affairs in the buildings of the Han Dynasty in TV dramas of later generations, candles were lit on both sides to make the room brightly lit during the day.

Right now, there are tortoise and crane Yannian lanterns burning on both sides, and the room is brightly lit. Shen Chen looks at everyone's faces with beaming smiles.

Jiang Wei reported to Shen Chen before that although Cao Rui used Hu Zun to block the arrow, he did not escape back to the cabin by himself, but was dragged back by his personal guards desperately.

This shows that he is also very likely to be hit by an arrow. If he is injured and dies, it will deal a great blow to Cao Wei. Maybe within this year, he may go north in one fell swoop, eliminate Cao Wei, and the big man will once again rule the world. .

"Cao Rui's life and death are unknown now. My staff in Yecheng haven't passed on his news yet, but everyone, don't be too happy. If Cao Rui is not dead, there is still a hard battle to fight."

Shen Chen saw that everyone was in high spirits, so he reminded him aloud: "At any time, don't hold the best result for the enemy, but hold the worst result. Now [-]% of the matter has been done, and Cao Wei's winning rate is less than [-]% , we must continue to work hard, don't celebrate in advance."

Opening champagne at halftime is not a good thing, everyone must dispel this idea.

"Yes."

Everyone responded.

Then Shen Chen continued: "Now that I have occupied Luoyang, what do you think about going north or south?"

"Of course it's going south."

Gan Ning is also in his 60s now, and he is old and strong. He was the first to say: "As long as Sima Yi is destroyed first, then Cao Wei will not have many troops at all. Go north in one fell swoop and wipe out the entire north. It will be just around the corner."

"Yes."

Pang De also yelled: "Sima Yi is gone, we can join forces with the generals to destroy Xia Houyuan, so that Cao Wei will no longer have any troops to use. This is a great opportunity."

"Sima Yi now has more than [-] people in his hands. This is already the last force of Cao Wei. If he is destroyed, Cao Wei will be defeated!"

"Yes, it is the right way to go south and unite with the prime minister."

"Great Governor, let's go south."

The rest of the generals also agreed one after another. After all, Cao Wei's total army strength is already very poor, and Sima Yi's main force is the last elite of Cao Wei.

On the western front, Guanqiujian has [-] recruits, and he is a family soldier.

There are also about [-] recruits in Yecheng who are still training, and most of them are soldiers from aristocratic families.

As far as Sima Yi's situation on the southern front is better, half of the 12 people are the elite left by Cao Cao and Cao Pi, and the remaining half are new troops recruited in recent years.

On Xiahouyuan's side, there are about 6 remaining soldiers on the Eastern Cao Wei Line. Zang Ba's tribe originally stationed in Xuzhou, Luqian's tribe in Henan, and Cao Xiu's remnant army who escaped from Jiangdong, although a little integration should have combat effectiveness, but His morale was almost destroyed by Guan Yu.

So in summary, the total strength of Cao Wei is now even less than 30.This is because of the mobilization of Youzhou border troops and the addition of a large number of aristocratic families, so that there are so few people, otherwise they will all be defeated.

And at least one-third of them are new troops recruited by Cao Rui from various aristocratic families by using the nine-rank Zhongzheng system.

Although the soldiers and horses of the aristocratic family may not be so bad as the rabble.

For example, Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was supported by the powerful families of Nanyang and Hebei; later, Li Yuan, Li Shimin and his sons of the Tang Dynasty also relied on the help of the Guanlong family group.

But the problem is that they all raised their troops during the period of melee among the princes, and everyone started at the same level. The elite troops of the Western Han and Sui dynasties had long since disappeared, and their opponents were equally matched, so the soldiers and horses of the aristocratic families could be of great use.

But now that the great Han Dingding is in the south, the soldiers under his command are all elite soldiers who have been killed from the dead. Not to mention rich experience in life and death, the key is well-trained. Tian Nu Tu attached.

Therefore, in this case, even on paper, the total number of troops dispatched by the southern great Han is only 30, which is similar to that of Cao Wei, but in terms of combat effectiveness and army quality, the two sides are worlds apart.

Now the only army that still has a little fighting power is Sima Yi's army. If Sima Yi is wiped out, then Cao Wei will have no chance of turning over.

Therefore, under such circumstances, everyone's calls for Nanxia and Zhuge Liang to jointly attack Sima Yi are very high.

Only Shen Chen, Deng Ai and Jiang Wei did not speak.

Seeing that Shen Chen hadn't settled down for a long time, Zhou Tai asked, "Governor, can't we go to the south?"

"No, I'm just considering the pros and cons of attacking the South or the North."

Shen Chen shook his head.

"Then is it better to hit the south or the north?"

Zhoutai asked again.

Shen Chen thought for a while, saw the other two disciples under his sect, and said with a smile: "Shi Zai, Bo Yue, what do you think?"

These two may not have thought as deeply as Shen Chen, but they didn't speak because they saw that Shen Chen hadn't spoken.

Deng Ai thought for a while and said: "The general thinks it is really good to fight the south, but since the governor did not immediately respond, it shows that the governor has his own considerations."

Jiang Wei also said: "Actually, the general thinks that perhaps it is better to attack the north."

"Oh?"

Shen Chen became interested, looked at Jiang Wei and smiled, "Bo Yue, tell me."

Jiang Wei thought for a while and said, "Sima Yi's camp in Henan is as solid as gold, and the prime minister has been fighting for so long but he hasn't entered. In the north, we have already controlled Taihang Xing, and we can cooperate with General Zhao to destroy Wuqiu Jian at any time. Yu Sima Yi, Bingzhou is better."

"Ah."

Shen Chen nodded slightly, then looked around everyone and said, "Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of beating Sima Yi and Guanqiu Jian first. Sima Yi is currently the only main force of Cao Wei. If he can be destroyed, Cao Wei can easily be defeated."

"good."

"Exactly."

"Indeed."

Everyone nodded, which was also the consensus of everyone.

"This is the only advantage of attacking Sima Yi, so let me talk about the disadvantages."

Shen Chen continued: "One disadvantage, as Bo Yue said, Sima Yi is the main force, and he should not be underestimated. The camp is like a tortoise's shell, hard and difficult to chew, and it is not so easy to break down."

"The second disadvantage is that even if it can be defeated, it will take a long time to destroy Sima Yi. Once the fight lasts for a year or two, Cao Rui is likely to train a new army in the rear."

"The third shortcoming is that we have few troops after all. If my prediction is not bad, Sima Yi will probably choose to retreat. Because he should be very clear about his current situation, but he doesn't know how long it will take for him to leave. If he goes north, We may not be able to stop him, if he retreats to Hanoi County, we may not even be able to get rid of Guanqiu Jian."

He detailed the pros and cons of everything.

Sima Yi's military ability is unquestionable, and his performance in history has also proved this. When fighting Liaodong and Mengda, it became a blitzkrieg, and when fighting Zhuge Liang, he became a tortoise shell.

Now his opponent is Zhuge Shenchen who is stronger than Zhuge Liang in history, and it is inevitable to guard against death.

Even if Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen were fully armed, they would not be so easy to capture.

So this tortoise shell is still relatively difficult to chew.

As Shen Chen himself said, going south to attack Sima Yi must be a protracted process.This process lasted too long, and Cao Rui might train a new army in the rear.

In addition, Shen Chen felt that Sima Yi might retreat. If he retreated to Hanoi County, things would be difficult.

"As expected of the governor, he has everything covered."

"The words of the governor are very reasonable."

"Or go north."

When the generals heard Shen Chen's words, they changed the subject and began to approve of Beishang's remarks.

Shen Chen waved his hand helplessly, and said, "Let's first listen to the advantages and disadvantages of going north to fight Wuqiu Jian. The advantage of going north is that Guanqiu Jian has fewer soldiers, and most of them are new troops. The combat effectiveness will not be too high, and it will be easier to eliminate him. And after winning Bingzhou, It can immediately threaten Hebei, and it can also destroy Cao Wei."

"The disadvantages are that the Huns are uncontrollable. They still want to surrender to us. However, according to insiders, the Cao army has controlled the family members of the Huns' high-ranking officials, so there is still a possibility of rebellion."

"Secondly, if Sima Yi is smart, he will definitely choose to withdraw his troops. If the north does not quickly wipe out Wuqiu Jian, we may face the risk of being flanked."

"The third is that although the prime minister has a large army, his army is bloated and his movement speed is relatively slow. At most, he can occupy Luoyang, Henan and other places as soon as possible, but he may not be able to quickly go north to help us. In other words, if we go north, we will not be able to compete with them The prime minister has a linkage."

After an analysis, the pros and cons of going south or going north are immediately clear and orderly.After careful consideration, everyone felt that Shen Chen's words made sense.

Shen Chen finally said: "I have explained the pros and cons of going south or going north, which one do you think is better?"

"Going south has the benefits of going south, and going north has the benefits of going north. It's hard to say."

"Actually, to sum it up, no matter whether you go south or go north, there is a possibility of eliminating Cao Wei. The main thing is to look at the disadvantages and see which one is the bigger one."

"That's true."

Everyone was talking.

Going north to destroy Guanqiujian and occupy Bingzhou, you can directly take Yecheng, the capital of Cao Wei, from Taihang Mountain.

Go south to destroy Sima Yi and occupy Henan, and you can also cross the Yellow River to destroy Cao Wei.

So no matter which of these two succeeds, it represents the overwhelming victory of the big man over Cao Wei, and he will soon dominate the world.

The difference lies in which one is better to fight and which one can win quickly.

The people discussed for a long time, some thought it was feasible to go south, and some thought it was advisable to go north, but they never discussed any rules.

Others felt that they should simply advance to Henan Yin and cut off Sima Yi's retreat.

It's just that Shen Chen doesn't plan to send troops immediately.

His 3 people are now resting in Luoyang. Although Hu Ting won a big victory in the hard battle before, he also suffered a lot of casualties.

If it weren't for this battle, he would have 4 people. After Shen Chen won Hedong, the new army recruited by the follow-up training had already been stationed in Chang'an, but he had not yet arrived in Hedong, so he had more than 7 troops at that time.

Afterwards, 5000 men were sent north to attack Jiexiu, Zhao Yun led 4 to Qinshui, Pound led 1 to attack Jiguan, and he led more than 1 to break Luoyang, so he had more than 2.

And Zhuge Liang sent Ganning [-] cavalry and Zhoutai [-] infantry as reinforcements. Although the total strength was less than [-], it was about the same.

Therefore, it can be said that the loss in the battle of Hu Ting was relatively large.

The wounded after the battle had to be resettled, the soldiers also needed a good rest, and weapons, equipment and food had to be drawn from the rear, so Shen Chen planned to wait another ten and a half months before attacking.

Now everyone has different opinions in the military discussion, and there is no result of the discussion. In the end, Shen Chen didn't come to a conclusion, but decided to see the timing first.

However, only three days later, on July [-]st, news came from the south.

"What? I killed Xia Houshang?"

Shen Chen sat on the porch of the Sangong Mansion, pointed at himself in surprise and said, "Are you sure?"

The scout replied: "Yes, Sima Yi claimed that Xia Houshang was seriously injured by the governor and died shortly after returning, so he sent someone to send a letter to Yecheng, but we intercepted it. This is a letter."

Said to deliver the letter.

Sima Yi made two preparations, writing a letter to Cao Rui while withdrawing troops, but he did not withdraw directly on the day he decided to withdraw.

Because Zhuge Liang's army of more than [-] men was staring at him, and Shen Chen was behind him, he pretended to stand still, but actually ordered the soldiers to pack up the camp, intending to find a chance to escape directly.

Now one of his letters to Cao Rui was intercepted by Shen Chen.

The content of this letter is about Xia Houshang's death.

Shen Chen opened the letter and saw that it recorded that Xia Houshang went back seriously injured and died soon after. At the same time, Sima Yi also expressed his determination to stick to Henan to buy time for Cao Rui to train the new army in the rear.

After reading the letter, Deng Ai next to him said: "It seems that Sima Yi intends to stick to Yingchuan and other places. I don't know if he is really stupid or he decides to hold on. He has an army of more than [-] and consumes countless food and grass every day. , even if there is food in reserve, surrounded by us from north to south, can it really last until Cao Rui comes to rescue?"

"Not right."

Shen Chen put down the letter in his hand, turned his head and said to the captain of the personal guard standing outside the door: "Zhou Qi, when checking the situation after the war, did anyone say that they wounded or killed Xia Houshang?"

Zhou Qi reported to him: "Governor, there is none. I remember that at that time Xia Houshang's commander-in-chief's flag was guarded by many Cao troops, and we were unable to fight in. When General Jiang's team arrived at dawn, they left directly. Yes, before we left, we failed to break through Xia Houshang's personal guards."

"eccentric."

Shen Chen frowned and said, "We didn't seriously hurt Xia Houshang, why did he die suddenly? And Sima Yi insisted that I did it? Although I don't want to let the Cao family and Xiahou's family go, but This is for no reason, and it is puzzling to give me credit."

"Could it be that he was hit by a arrow on the way back or in the chaos?"

Jiang Wei said.

"It's possible, but very unlikely."

Shen Chen pondered hard for a while, then suddenly opened his eyes wide, and shouted: "The order, the whole army is assembled, Pang De stays in Luoyang, and the rest follow me across the river from Mengjin to take Bingzhou directly!"

(End of this chapter)