Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Cao Cao turned around and looked at the man.

The one who spoke out to dissuade him was the counsellor Yan Pu.

"Your Majesty, although I did not participate in the battle of Jieting, I know that the Han army has 30,000 soldiers, and I only have 7,000 soldiers left at Jieting."

"General Wenlie only gave Wang Zijun two thousand soldiers."

"According to my impression of Nanping Mountain, although the top of the mountain is dangerous, the foot of the mountain is flat and has no strategic location to defend."

"I think that even if it were Han Xin who was reborn, let alone Wang Zijun, it would be impossible for him to stop the attack of the Han army that is ten times larger with only two thousand soldiers."

“Therefore, I believe that although Prince Jun failed to defend the water source, he must have fought to the death with all his might.”

"As for him coming here to break out, I don't think it's because he's afraid of death, but he just wants to report to Your Majesty and ask for help."

After Yan Pu spoke endlessly to defend Wang Ping, he bowed and said:

"Therefore, I believe that although Prince Jun is guilty, his crime does not warrant the death penalty!"

"Your Majesty is wise and capable. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and pardon his death penalty!"

The murderous intent on Cao Cao's face faded a lot because of his words.

It’s not that Yan Pu’s defense was very convincing.

It was Yan Pu who had no choice but to take it into consideration.

Yizhou is not a monolithic entity.

At that time, Yizhou was occupied for a long time by Zhang Lu in the north and Liu Yan and his son in the south. Naturally, the people of Yizhou were divided into two factions.

The Northern Faction was composed mostly of Zhang Lu’s former subordinates who surrendered, mostly from Hanzhong, and was also known as the Hanzhong Faction.

The Southern School was mainly composed of Liu Zhang's former subordinates and people from the southern counties of Yizhou, and was also known as the Shu School.

Yan Pu was an important official of Zhang Lu, and also a member of a prominent family in Hanzhong. Naturally, Yan Pu was a representative of the prominent families in Hanzhong.

If Cao Cao wants to rely on Yizhou as a backing, he must not only rely on the Shu faction represented by Zhang Song, but also on the Hanzhong faction represented by Yan Pu.

Yan Pu stood up to plead for Wang Ping, so we have to give him this face.

Why did he plead for Wang Ping?
Wang Ping is an old subordinate of Zhang Lu and also from the Hanzhong faction. They are all from the same hometown and eat from the same pot.

What's more, Wang Ping is one of the few people in the Hanzhong faction who has great military talent and holds military power.

Could Yan Pu allow such a backbone to be blamed by Zhang Song of the Shu faction and be manipulated by Cao Cao?

Of course not.

So Yan Pu risked angering Cao Cao and stood up to plead for Wang Ping.

"Your Majesty, Yan——"

When Zhang Song saw Cao Cao hesitating, he became anxious on the spot.

However, Cao Cao raised his hand and interrupted Zhang Song's attempt to fan the flames.

Zhang Song had no choice but to shut up.

Cao Cao's emotions seemed to have regained some calmness and rationality due to Yan Pu's advice.

After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, he took a deep breath and waved his hand:

"Forget it, I will spare his life because of your plea for him, Yan Qing!"

"Issue an imperial decree to demote Wang Ping by two ranks and punish him with thirty strokes of the cane!"

Cao Cao decided to give face to Yan Pu and the Hanzhong faction.

Yan Pu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Ping's face was still full of resentment, and there was a sense of grievance in his eyes.

Cao Cao did not kill him, but still found him guilty and wanted to humiliate him by beating him with a stick.

In the Battle of Jieting, I did nothing wrong, so why should I take the blame and be punished?
"Prince Jun, your Majesty has shown mercy beyond the law. Why don't you thank him?"

Seeing that Wang Ping didn't say anything, Yan Pu hurriedly reminded him and even winked at him.

Although Wang Ping felt aggrieved, he was not stupid. He could only kowtow silently and thank Cao Cao for not killing him.

"Pass the order down, the entire army will immediately march north and follow me to recapture Jieting!"

"I will kill that bastard Ma Su to avenge my nephew!"

Cao Cao pointed his whip to the north, his murderous intent rising again.

This time, Zhang Song and Guo Jia's faces changed at the same time, and they were shocked. The Han army had 30,000 soldiers and horses, and they had captured Jieting City for support.

We only have 50,000 troops. Our military advantage is not that great, and our morale is low. How can we possibly recapture Jieting?
Cao Cao was blinded by anger and acted on impulse.

Zhang Song knew that Cao Cao's behavior was irrational, and just when he was about to persuade him, he swallowed the words back.

He chose to remain silent so as not to anger Cao Cao and bring disaster upon himself.

After all, the instigation just now had directed Cao Cao's anger towards Wang Ping, the scapegoat.

"Your Majesty, it is unwise to attack Jieting again at this time!"

Zhang Song remained silent, but Guo Jia could not sit idly by and let Cao Cao act on his impulse.

He stepped forward to stop Cao Cao, bowed and advised:
"The Han army has already taken control of Jieting City and can defend it calmly. Our army only has 50,000 troops, so it is impossible for us to recapture Jieting."

"If we fail to capture the city after a long siege, soldiers will be killed and wounded in vain, and money and food will be wasted. What should we do when Liu Bei pacifies Guanzhong and leads the main Han army to attack?"

Cao Cao couldn't listen to him, his eyes widened:
"If you don't have enough troops, pass on my order to send more troops to Jieting!"

"If I recapture Jieting, the Longshan defense line will be useless. How can I resist Liu Bei's army if it attacks me in the future?"

Guo Jia was speechless.

Obviously, Cao Cao did not act on impulse, but had no choice but to do so.

Recapture Jieting, re-close Longshan, and there is still hope of holding Longxi.

Watching Jieting fall and waiting for Liu Bei to lead the main force to attack was a dead end.

Instead of waiting to die, why not give it a try?
Cao Cao drew his sword and shouted:
"Jieting is related to the survival of Longxi and even Liangzhou. I will recapture it at all costs!"

"Whoever dares to shake the morale of the army will be executed without mercy!"

Guo Jia shuddered and dared not say another word. He could only sigh inwardly.

Fifty thousand Qin troops immediately left Lueyang and headed north, heading straight for Jieting.

...

Guanzhong, Chang'an.

"The governors of Xinping, Fufeng, and Beidi have submitted their petitions to return to Han."

"The four counties in the southern part of Anding County also announced their rebellion against Qin and their return to Han."

"All the counties in Guanzhong have nominally submitted to the Han Dynasty. Our troops are heading to each county in different routes to complete the actual occupation."

"At this rate, I estimate that in less than three months, we will be able to complete control of the Guanzhong counties and appease the people's hearts."

Inside the Golden Palace, Fa Zheng read out the petitions of surrender sent to Chang'an from various counties.

Liu Bei looked through the reports one by one, nodded slightly and a satisfied smile on his face.

"Report—victory from Jieting!"

"Zhang He and Ma Su's victory report from their 800-li expedition!"

"Our army has captured Nanping Mountain and wiped out 5,000 Qin troops. Ma Su personally beheaded the enemy leader Cao Xiu!"

"Jieting has been taken over by the Han Dynasty!"

"Currently, Cao Cao is leading his army to attempt to retake Jieting, while Zhang He and Ma Su are leading their troops to hold the position without fighting!"

There was an uproar in the hall.

Liu Bei and his ministers were all greatly encouraged and all looked happy.

"Bring us the victory report!"

Liu Bei took the victory report presented by the Imperial Guards and couldn't wait to open it and take a closer look.

In the victory report, General Zhang He went south to Lueyang to stop Cao Cao. Ma Su discovered Cao Xiu's secret water source and sent troops to seize it, cutting off his water source...

The entire Battle of Jieting, up to the execution of Cao Xiu, is written in great detail.

"The Prime Minister is truly a god!"

Liu Bei clapped his hands in admiration and looked at Xiao Fang in amazement:

"As the Prime Minister expected, Cao Xiu really has another hidden source of water, so he dared to move his troops to Nanping Mountain without fear!"

"The battle of Jieting was all within the Prime Minister's expectations!" (End of this chapter)