The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 438: Replace Jiang Wei with this person

"General!"

"This is the head of Liu Xian!"

Wen Yang ordered the soldiers to hand the head in the box to Wang Ji.

Wang Ji took a look, but there was not much joy on his face.

"Those who stay at home are considered loyal and good. Don't expose them to the public and send them back to Luoyang."

Wang Ji gave the order and Wen Yang did not object.

Now, Wang Ji’s camp is on the left side of Jiangling City, and the army is attacking Jiangling day and night.

Wang Ji and Deng Ai have some similarities in character. Both of them don't like to wait for orders, and will send troops on their own when they think the opportunity has come.

However, their fighting styles were completely different. Deng Ai liked to make predictions and attack unexpectedly by anticipating the opponent's strategic behavior, while Wang Ji liked to fight with his troops laid out. You knew what he wanted to do, but there was no way to stop him.

Such tactics often make people more angry, as they let the other party watch how you win step by step.

When Wang Ji fought against the Wu people, he used the same method. He surrounded the city with a large army. When the enemy began to defend with all their strength, he sent troops to attack the enemy's food. The enemy could only watch helplessly.

This kind of cunning tactic is very effective when you have abundant supplies and greater strength than the enemy.

This is the situation now. Shi Ji knows very well what Wang Ji is going to do, but he is powerless to do anything about it.

Ding Feng didn't dare to turn around and give him a full-strength attack, because if he turned around, Xiakou might be lost, and they would be trapped in Jingzhou, lose contact, and sooner or later be caught in one fell swoop.

The defenders in various places also did not dare to act rashly. If they sent troops to support, they might encounter Cao Wei's field army.

With the current morale of the Wu army, encountering Cao Wei's central army in the wild would be a very terrifying thing.

Liu Xian is a good example. He collapsed at the first touch and was beheaded by Wen Yang who rushed in and chopped off his head.

But if we don't provide support, Jiangling will be in imminent danger. If Jiangling falls, the many strongholds in Jingzhou will lose their center of unity, and will be doomed if they fight on their own.

Wang Ji calculated this accurately. He asked Wen Yang to lead his army to block the land route from Jiangling to Wu State. Although Wen Yang's army was not large, it was elite. Moreover, there was a guy like Wen Yang who could be called a killing weapon. If Ding Feng led a large army, Wen Yang would be able to escape in time, and Xiakou would belong to him.

In the direction of Xiling, Wang Ji arranged Ma Long.

Wang Ji walked to the map again and said to Wen Yang, "You should patrol this area with your troops. If you encounter a large enemy force, you can retreat. If it's a small force, you can destroy it."

"As long as Ding Feng and the others dare not act rashly, your mission will be accomplished."

Wen Yang nodded and asked, "What if they come from the water?"

"If Ding Feng arrives with his warships to avoid you, then you should directly attack Xiakou, recruit Sun Chen's brother's troops, and cut off their access to Jiangdong!"

"only!!"

Wang Ji gave Wen Yang many instructions on things to pay attention to before letting him leave. After Wen Yang left, Wang Ji walked out of the tent and looked at Jiangling City in the distance.

Shouts of killing continued to echo around Jiangling City.

Shi Ji's army in Jingzhou was not large to begin with, only about 50,000 men, and 20,000 men had originally been sent to Xiakou. Now there were less than 20,000 men left in Jiangling, and the rest of the army was still stationed in other cities.

But Wang Ji's army was much larger than theirs.

Shi Ji can't hold on for many more days. All the capable generals have been killed by Sun Chen. Sooner or later, Jiangling will change hands in the next few days!

The only thing to worry about is Xiling. If Shu Kingdom sends troops, things may change.

But do they dare to send troops?

Chengdu.

"Send troops! We must send troops!!"

"If we let Cao Cao take Jingzhou, our ties with Wu will be completely severed. He will then be able to attack the Han Dynasty from many directions. This is absolutely unacceptable!"

Chen Qi stood among the ministers, his face flushed and his hands trembling with excitement.

In his eyes, the survival of the Han Dynasty depends on this moment.

Thanks to that Sun Chen, the Wu Kingdom was almost destroyed after a killing spree. Now even Jingzhou can't be defended. If it is really taken over by the thief Cao, there will be big problems.

Liu Chan sat in the upper seat with a very conflicted look on his face. He couldn't help but look at the other ministers.

The ministers in the court all frowned with solemn expressions.

"It's easy for Lord Chen to say. We should send troops, but how should we do it?!"

"Do we have enough troops to send out? Do we have enough food to send out troops?! Is there enough time?!"

"The Cao army in Yongliang is eyeing us covetously. The general has already led his troops to confront them. At this time, can we still divide our forces to attack Jingzhou?!"

Grand Secretary Wei Ji couldn't help but speak at this moment.

Who doesn’t understand the truth that Chen Qi talked about?

However, how should the Shu Kingdom, which had just suffered a major defeat, send troops?
Jiang Wei had already emptied the treasury by the time he led his army to Hanzhong. What then would be done with the soldiers in Jingzhou? Should he collect wartime taxes? Should he ask the people to take their grain? He wasn't really afraid of a rebellion, was he? After Zhuge Liang's death, Shu's monetary system had become fragile. Now, with a depressed market and the government repeatedly exploiting the people through currency, the monetary system was on the verge of collapse, and the economic problems were no longer manageable.

In the later military expeditions, Shu Kingdom almost relied on temporary tax increases to complete the mission, which put great pressure on the people.

After Wei Ji said this, even Chen Qi was speechless.

The ministers were extremely dissatisfied with the years of war. Their quality of life was declining, and the economy of their own manors had suffered great damage. The war had not brought them any benefits.

Qiao Zhou's anti-country theory seemed to give them an outlet for venting.

Now, they are almost all standing against Chen Qi.

Chen Qi's eyes were full of sorrow, his face was pale, and he looked extremely exhausted.

He looked at Liu Chan again and said, "Your Majesty, no matter what means, we must send troops. We cannot watch Cao Cao seize Jingzhou. Otherwise, the Han Dynasty will truly have no chance. If Jingzhou changes hands, then nothing we say will be of any use. We can only make everyone suffer. If we do not send troops now, the country will be destroyed and the people will die."

The ministers' faces became even uglier.

Liu Chan didn't know what to do for a moment. He could only stop the court meeting on the grounds of fatigue, and then turned around and walked into the harem.

Huang Hao was waiting for him.

After seeing Huang Hao, Liu Chan said helplessly: "Mr. Huang, the ministers have different opinions, and I am caught in the middle. I am in a dilemma."

Huang Hao hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I have also heard some of the things going on in the court."

"I heard that the ministers disagreed with sending troops. Your Majesty, what do you think is the reason?"

Liu Chan replied: "It's probably because of the people."

Huang Hao smiled and shook his head, "Why would they care about the common people?"

"Your Majesty, all these ministers are worried about is that their money will be taken away if they send troops!"

"They didn't care whether the enemy occupying Jingzhou would pose any threat to the country. They only cared about their own interests."

"General Yan Yu, currently stationed in Baidi, is a capable commander. His talent is no less than that of a general. If Your Majesty can use him and let him take charge of this war, perhaps things can turn around!"

Huang Hao suddenly spoke like a human.

This was not because Huang Hao had a change of heart and suddenly became a staunch advocate of war. First of all, he had a very good personal relationship with Chen Qi.

In addition, he also had a good relationship with General Yan Yu.

Yan Yu did not care about Huang Hao's status as a eunuch. The two often communicated through letters. Huang Hao valued him very much and thought that if he could take power in the future, he would use him to replace Jiang Wei so that Jiang Wei would not dare to be rude to him again.

In history, after Chen Qi died of illness, Huang Hao took power and really reused this person, forcing Jiang Wei not to return to the court.

Huang Hao really hopes that this person can make some achievements so as to undermine Jiang Wei's prestige. In this Han Dynasty, you, Jiang Wei, are not the only one who knows how to fight.

Huang Hao's words seemed to awaken Liu Chan.

He no longer hesitated and immediately summoned Chen Qi, and then ordered Chen Qi to be in charge of the military expedition to Jingzhou.

At this moment, Chen Qi did not feel happy or excited as he had wished.

This forced deployment of troops is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst, but they have to hold their noses and drink it.

While Chen Qi was arranging the troops, he was also angrily scolding Sun Chen of the Wu State.

All of this is Sun Chen’s fault!
This traitor!

He really was able to single-handedly bring the relatively good Wu Kingdom to the point of nearly destroying it!
As long as he is alive, the Wu Kingdom will sooner or later perish at the hands of Cao Wei.

When the officials of Shu Kingdom heard the news of sending troops, they were in an uproar, but they were also powerless and could only express their dissatisfaction in other ways.

For a time, even Chengdu became somewhat uneasy. When Shu Kingdom collected military taxes again, a rebellion suddenly broke out in the south of Shu Kingdom. The chain reaction made Chen Qi extremely anxious.

The order was passed to the front.

When Yan Yu saw the emperor's edict, he was shocked.

"You want me to march to Jingzhou without any soldiers, only food and fodder?"

"We have less than 20,000 people here. How can you ask us to send troops?!"

"If we bring too many people, then Yong'an and other places will be left empty. If they are attacked by the enemy, wouldn't the Han Dynasty be in danger?"

"If we bring only a few people, how can we fight against Cao Cao?"

Yan Yu simply felt that this government was a complete rip-off. Did they think that Jiang Wei always led 20,000 to 30,000 men on his expeditions, and therefore that this was the scale of the expeditions that should be conducted?

If Shi Ji had the strength to fight back, it would be fine for him to take a few thousand men to cheer. But now that the Wu army was being beaten, if he took a few thousand men with him, he would be giving military merit to the other side. If he took too many people and Yong'an was attacked, he would probably lose his head!

Yan Yu was so angry that he drove away the soldiers in the tent and then started cursing.

(End of this chapter)