My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

The ministers were taken aback, and their eyes immediately lit up.

Duke!

Cao Cao actually raised the upper limit for promotions and titles to the rank of Duke.
It should be noted that since the Han Dynasty, apart from the few meritorious officials who were granted the titles of king or duke at the founding of the Han Dynasty, only Wang Mang, the usurper of the Han Dynasty, was granted the title of duke.

Cao Cao broke this precedent in order to usurp the Han throne, and was the first to be granted the title of Duke of Wei.

From then on, the title of Duke became a symbol.

Having been granted the title of Duke, his next step will undoubtedly be to plot a coup.

In order to boost the morale of his ministers, Cao Cao is now willing to offer the title of Duke to meritorious officials!

This is a huge investment.

The granting of titles and the establishment of states was an unprecedented honor in the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty. Such a great temptation could not help but excite the officials.

In an instant, the ministers of Wei were greatly encouraged and their fighting spirit soared.

Cao Pi was also taken aback, not expecting Cao Cao to set such a precedent for bestowing such a reward.

He immediately understood Cao Cao's predicament and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

His own father, the emperor, was forced into this desperate measure.

Otherwise, which emperor would be willing to sacrifice such a large portion of his own flesh to grant a dukedom to a meritorious official from outside the imperial family?
"Father has spared no expense; surely all ministers should be prepared to go through fire and water for the Cao family, and die to protect our Cao family's empire..."

Cao Pi could only secretly console himself.

The strategy for Wei to defend against the enemy was thus decided.

The following months were spent by both countries preparing for the impending war.

On the Wei side, in addition to mobilizing more laborers to reinforce the passes and fortresses, especially the defense line at Puban Pass, they were also racing against time to expand their army.

On the Han side, grain and fodder were continuously transported to the western border counties.

The "armory workshops" throughout the country were also working day and night to rush to produce weapons and flags.

Although the Han state implemented the Fubing system, soldiers provided their own food and weapons to reduce the burden on the state.

However, most of the campaigns against Wei were protracted, and the provisions and weapons provided by the local militia were clearly insufficient to sustain such prolonged battles.

Therefore, the imperial court learned from previous experience and, on the premise that the soldiers provided their own food, supplies and weapons, the court also needed to make full preparations to make up for the soldiers' lack of food and supplies and the loss of weapons at any time.

Before we knew it, the autumn harvest was over.

Two consecutive years of favorable weather resulted in bumper harvests in all the provinces of the Han Dynasty.

In particular, major grain-producing areas such as the prefectures of Hebei and Henan provinces saw their grain output reach its highest level in nearly ten years.

With such a bumper harvest, the soldiers' own granaries were naturally full, and the grain taxes collected by the imperial court also piled up in the official granaries, almost overflowing.

This greatest harvest in ten years has also boosted the confidence of the Han people in their ability to destroy the puppet Wei state.

In late autumn, Emperor Liu Bei officially issued an edict to mobilize the entire nation's army to launch a western expedition against the puppet state of Wei!
When the imperial edict was issued, the ten provinces of the Han Dynasty were in an uproar.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were mobilized and continuously sent from various Yingyang Prefectures to the western front.

Within a month, nearly 400,000 Han troops had gathered at various assembly points, including Wancheng, Luoyang, and Jinyang.

As agreed beforehand, Emperor Liu Bei did not personally lead the expedition, but instead chose to remotely command from Ye City.

Crown Prince Liu Shan was appointed as the nominal commander-in-chief of the three armies, in charge of the nearly 400,000-strong Han army on both the northern and southern routes.

Of course, he was only the nominal commander-in-chief of the three armed forces.

As before, Liu Bei handed over command of the southern armies to General Guan Yu, ordering him to lead 100,000 troops to attack Tongguan and Wuguan.

Liu Shan, nominally the commander-in-chief of the three armies, actually only controlled 300,000 troops on the northern front, who were sent from Bingzhou to attack the Wei kingdom's passes such as Longmen and Puban.

Among them, about 50,000 troops launched feint attacks on passes such as Longmen.

Liu Shan personally led 250,000 troops south from Jinyang into Hedong, advancing to Pubanjin on the east bank of the Yellow River, and launched an attack on Pubanguan on the west bank.

Grand Marshal Xiao He, General of the Cavalry Zhang Fei, General of the Chariots and Cavalry Zhao Yun, and other pillars of the state, all belonged to the main force of the northern route army and were nominally under the command of Liu Shan.

The imperial edict was issued, and over 400,000 Han troops, divided into several routes, rushed towards the State of Wei. With the entire Han army mobilized, news naturally reached Wei very quickly.

The entire state of Wei was shaken.

Cao Cao had anticipated this, and thus, following his established strategy, he sent Zhang He, Xiahou Ba, and others to garrison Tongguan and Wuguan to block Guan Yu's southern army.

Cao Cao personally led nearly 60,000 elite troops to Puban Pass to defend against Liu Shan's main force of 250,000 Han troops on the east bank.

a few days later.

Liu Shan's 250,000-strong Han army advanced to Pubanjin.

At this time, Gan Ning, the naval commander, had led the Han navy up the Yellow River from its lower reaches and reached the Pubanjin line.

However, Cao Cao, who was stationed at Puban Pass on the west bank, had already led 60,000 Wei troops to occupy the pass several days earlier.

The entire Wei army marched out of the pass and deployed themselves in the river defense fortifications that had been built in advance.

Cao Cao's strategy was also clear: to attack the enemy while they were crossing the river, at all costs, to prevent the Han army from crossing and landing.

At Xiao He's suggestion, Liu Shan dispatched tens of thousands of troops, under the cover of the navy, to conduct several probing river crossings in order to test the strength of the Wei army on the opposite bank.

Everything happened as Xiao He expected.

Cao Cao made thorough preparations along the west bank, and his river defense deployment was virtually flawless.

Gan Ning's tens of thousands of Han troops attempted to cross the Yellow River several times, but were all successfully repelled by the Wei army at the riverbank.

After suffering over a thousand casualties, the Wei army had tested its strength and weaknesses. Xiao He decisively advised Liu Shan to stop the forced crossing of the Yellow River to avoid unnecessary casualties.

The Han army's offensive came to a halt.

The 250,000 Han troops then set up camp along the Puban Ferry on the east bank, forming a standoff with the 60,000 Wei troops on the opposite bank.

If a direct assault proves ineffective, the only option is to wait until winter arrives and the Yellow River freezes over so that people can cross it on the ice.

The two armies faced off, and before they knew it, late autumn had passed and winter had arrived…

On the east bank of the Yellow River, Han camp.

Inside the large tent, the fire roared and the aroma of wine filled the air.

Liu Shan was gathered around a stove with his generals, drinking wine and discussing their plan to cross the river.

The generals remained calm, drinking and eating as usual, without any impatience.

Even Zhang Fei, with his fiery temper, remained calm and composed, showing no signs of impatience in crossing the river.

Because they had absolute trust in Xiao He.

Xiao He said that there is a high probability that this winter will be a harsh one, and the Yellow River will most likely freeze over again.

They naturally trusted Xiao He completely and patiently waited for the cold winter to arrive.

On the contrary, Crown Prince Liu Shan seemed rather impatient.

"Grand Marshal, it has been a month since winter began, and the temperature has not dropped much. It seems that this year will be another warm winter."

"If that's the case, the Yellow River will not freeze. Wouldn't our massive campaign against Wei have to be abandoned halfway and we'll have to wait until next year to fight again?"

Unable to contain himself any longer, Liu Shan finally revealed his anxiety.

Xiao He could tell that this Crown Prince was eager to gain merit in the conquest of Wei in order to establish his prestige in the army as soon as possible, so that he would have the confidence to control them, the founding nobles, in the future.

With temperatures remaining stubbornly high and no signs of the Yellow River freezing over, Liu Shan was naturally getting anxious.

"Your Highness, haste makes waste. Don't be too impatient."

"The Grand Marshal said that the weather before the big temperature drop will actually be warmer than usual. The Siberian cold front might arrive in a few days, and the Yellow River will definitely freeze over then!"

Before Xiao He could speak, Zhang Fei preemptively offered words of comfort.

"Siberian cold wave?"

Liu Shan was taken aback. (End of Chapter)