The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 164 How do you know?
Cao Mao knew very well that Sima Shi was going to take action against Guanqiu Jian.

But he didn't expect Sima Shi to be so quick.

Cao Mao originally thought that Sima Shi would probably wait until January to issue the order and end the war within half a year.

Although Cao Mao had made a lot of preparations, he was still a little nervous in his heart.

Guanqiu Jian is a good fighter, but can he win against Sima Shi’s full-scale siege?

What he had to face at this moment were five armies, Sima Shi, Deng Ai, Zhuge Dan, Wang Ji, Hu Zun, and Wang Chang, who was responsible for supporting the various armies and encircling the rear.

There is no need to say much about the disadvantage in military strength, the most important disadvantage is the disadvantage in food.

The elite troops from Huainan under Guanqiu Jian's command had low morale because their families were in the north, but there was a solution. They could recruit soldiers from the local area to supplement their combat effectiveness.

But how to solve this food problem? No matter how powerful Guanqiu Jian was, he couldn't make food out of thin air.

Moreover, people like Deng Ai, Wang Ji, and Hu Zun are by no means easy to deal with.

It is not easy to break through the defense line of Deng Ai and others in a short period of time!

If the battle continues for a long time, Guanqiu Jian's entire army will collapse.

Of course, Sima Shi’s mood was not much better than his own, and he also had many concerns.

Guanqiu Jian’s fame as a general was not boasted about, but earned through real battles.

According to the records of the classic history book of the peninsula, "Records of the Three Kingdoms", powerful dynasties including Goguryeo and Buyeo, as well as the eight Austronesian countries including Mahan and Jinhan, faced the provocation of Guanqiu Jian and fought hard, defeated the enemy with fewer troops, assassinated famous generals, and defeated the pursuing troops, causing Guanqiu Jian and others to suffer heavy losses and could only massacre the royal city to vent their anger, and then returned empty-handed.

Of course, these historical materials are not recorded in our history books, probably because ancient Chinese historiography was not developed enough to record such valuable real information.

"The Records of the Three Kingdoms" actually records another incident. The King of Goguryeo was arrogant and tyrannical. He repeatedly provoked the State of Wei and sent people to plunder. His minister Pei Zhede came to persuade the king to stop, believing that this would lead to bad consequences. He begged in vain and died of starvation.

The locals admired him very much. When Guanqiu Jian learned about this, he was deeply moved. After conquering Wandu City, Guanqiu Jian ordered that no harm be done to the family of Pei Zhe Delai, released his widow and children, and sent people to protect his tombstone.

How could Sima Shi dare to underestimate such a famous general?

Moreover, the generals from all over the country were not absolutely loyal to the Sima family. Sima Shi not only had to guard against Guanqiu Jian, but also had to guard against the other generals. In addition to the generals within the country, there were also the Wu and Shu countries outside.

Given Jiang Wei's character, as soon as he learned that there was internal fighting in Wei, he would definitely send troops to the north!

In the case of the Wu State, the newly appointed prime minister and general also needed a victory to stabilize his position. Huainan was adjacent to the Wu State, so they would certainly intervene.

All in all, this situation is not good for either side.

Sima Yan obviously didn't expect these things, and he even looked a little happy.

"I've heard that the General Zhendong is a world-renowned general. He defeated Zhuge Ke's army of 200,000 at Hefei and sent them fleeing in panic. He also beheaded tens of thousands of people. No one can match him!"

"If he were to become the Grand Marshal, would we still have to worry about those rats from Shu and Wu?!"

Looking at Sima Yan's appearance, Cao Mao touched his chin and said, "Actually, you are right. The court does not have to worry too much about Wu and Shu now. After all, Guanqiu Jian is the number one enemy."

Yang Hu lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.

He was a very smart man. Not long after arriving at the palace, he had already seen many things clearly.

He must also be able to see the current complex situation clearly.

Sure enough, Yang Hu quickly stood up and resigned in the name of inspecting the imperial guards.

Cao Mao did not stop him anymore, as he had a lot of things to do now.

"Anshi, have you had any contact with the officers of the Central Army these days?"

Cao Mao asked curiously.

"Of course I have. They came to me on their own initiative and even held a banquet with them. I wanted to invite you, but they didn't dare."

Cao Mao asked, "So what do you think of these people?"

Sima Yan suddenly fell silent.

He said with some hesitation: "Actually, they are all very good people. They respect me very much, treat me to wine, and talk humorously. But..."

"But what?"

"But I don't think they're fit to be officers. They know nothing about military matters. When I asked them about military matters, they just told me not to bother and to leave it to my deputies."

"They also think that what my uncle did was excessive and that Sima Ban and others are innocent."

“And they can’t put on armor.”

Cao Mao glanced at Sima Yan and then sighed, "Anshi has made great progress."

"These people are appointed officers not because they truly have the ability to lead troops, but simply because of their good family backgrounds and their reputations. They spend their days drinking and talking big, but they have no talent. Are they worthy of being officers?"

This was clearly good news, but Cao Mao did not feel happy.

The speed at which the Wei army collapsed was extremely exaggerated. It was not that serious at this moment, but it completely collapsed after Sima Yan founded the country. It took several years to fight against several refugee rebellions, and they were not even able to defeat them.

A group of Hu-Han allies killed and routed the "famous" generals in the court and the country, and wiped out their entire army. They could not suppress the rebellions in various places at all, and later handed over the battles to Hu mercenaries. It was unbelievable.

"Promoting talented people based on family background and reputation will lead to such a result." Sima Yan pondered for a moment and asked, "Then what should we use to promote talented people?"

“Virtue and talent are just different things that need to be emphasized in different periods of time.”

"Okay, take off your armor quickly. Even your uncle doesn't dare to break into the palace wearing armor, but you are fully armed."

Sima Yan nodded, and then couldn't help asking, "Then, Your Majesty, could you please invite Wang Taichang to the next Dongtang Banquet?"

"Then I have to go ask him. Okay, you go and do your work. I'm also going to the East Hall to wait for the teacher to come!"

Cao Mao stood up after saying this, and Sima Yan did not linger either. Before leaving, he persuaded the emperor again. It was obvious that he really hoped that Wang Xiang could participate in future Dongtang banquets to make his banquets more influential.

After seeing Sima Yan off, Cao Mao rubbed his forehead again.

Sima Shi acted too quickly.

We have to find a way to delay them. Think about it quickly, what will Liu Chan do?

"His Majesty."

At this moment, Sima Yi's cry interrupted Cao Mao's thoughts.

He raised his head and saw Sima Li's complicated eyes.

Cao Mao was very surprised.

Since Sima Yi entered the palace, Cao Mao had only talked to her once. Since then, the two had no communication at all. It was impossible for Cao Mao to have any thoughts about her, and she would not have any thoughts of getting close to Cao Mao.

The two of them lived their own lives.

Of course, the maids around Sima Li were not idle. They used Sima Li's name to win over the forces in the harem and divide the empress dowager's power in the harem. They even tried to bribe the eunuchs around Cao Mao through other means to explore Cao Mao's secret plans and ideas.

Cao Mao didn't care about it. He never leaked anything to anyone around him.

Even Mr. Xu didn't know what he was planning.

These people have not yet shown much destructive power and are still in the stage of accumulating strength. After all, the Queen Mother has been in the harem for many years. It is really a pipe dream to want to seize her harem power in the short term.

Unless both he and the empress dowager were gone, and Sima Yi became the empress dowager, completely handing over the power of the harem to the Sima family.

Cao Mao looked at Sima Yi calmly.

"What do you want?"

Sima Yi shook her head, "Nothing."

Cao Mao nodded, walked past her, and quickly disappeared at the door. Sima Yi did not speak again.

Just now, she was in the inner room and heard some conversations between Cao Mao and Yang Hu.

Neither Cao Mao nor Yang Hu wanted to avoid her. Cao Mao didn't care about Sima Shi's attitude. Since things had come to this point, he didn't say much. He just wanted to find someone to talk to. Guanqiu Jian was not dead yet, so what could you do?
Yang Hu did not avoid her. After all, he was telling the truth and was not afraid that the general would know. The general's methods were a bit cruel, but he was not a madman who liked to kill indiscriminately.

Cao Mao's words made Sima Yi feel some pity.

However, as a poor person, she did not have the energy to comfort another poor person. Besides, with her identity, who would dare to trust her?
Cao Mao walked quickly towards the East Hall.

Many things need to be done in advance.

The first thing is the reform of the Zhongzheng system. Given Wang Xiang's cautious nature, it is unlikely that he would jump out and cause trouble at this time.

I can't change his mind, but I can't say for sure about Chen Qian.

This man is even more radical than Wang Xiang.

He had to find a way to meet with Chen Qian and let him bring up this matter as soon as possible to disrupt Sima Shi's deployment and distract him so that he could not devote all his attention to dealing with Guanqiu Jian.

Then there is the issue of the royal family, and this depends on the Queen Mother.

He would go to the Queen Mother later and ask her to issue an imperial decree to find something for the general to do from the perspective of the royal family.

Cao Mao quickly walked to the East Hall, but Wang Xiang had not arrived yet.

Cao Mao asked someone to bring the book and pretended to read it, but he began to think in his heart, thinking that Jiao Bo must have received his letter, right?

It is not known whether he found Liu Lu or delivered the letter to Huainan in time.

I can only wait for Ji Kang to tell me all this at the banquet.

After reading the letter, Jiao Bo would certainly tell Ji Kang what happened outside and ask Ji Kang to pass it on to him.

If this war really can't be delayed any longer, then we have to be prepared to start a fire in the rear.

Just as Cao Mao was thinking about these things, Wang Xiang finally arrived at the East Hall.

Cao Mao hurriedly stood up and bowed to greet him.

Wang Xiang was about to speak when Cao Mao grabbed his hand and asked anxiously, "Who was chosen as the Inspector of the Imperial Guard?"

When Wang Xiang heard this, his eyes were filled with fear.

(End of this chapter)