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

It was early winter.

Cao Pi led the exhausted Wei army and slowly withdrew from Jieting, retreating all the way back to Ji County.

Thus, the fierce Battle of Jieting finally came to an end.

Knowing that the Han army was eyeing Longxi covetously, Cao Pi made a decisive decision to build and reinforce many cities north of Ji County in order to prevent a large-scale invasion by the Han army.

He hoped that these cities could act as barriers to withstand the Han army's fierce and relentless attacks.

How could Xiao He easily give the Wei army this opportunity to build a safe city?

A military order was swiftly transmitted to Jieting, decisively commanding Ma Chao to lead light cavalry south to harass the cities that the Wei army was building and to do everything in his power to stop the Wei army's city-building plan.

After receiving the order, Ma Chao left Deng Ai to guard Jieting, while he personally led the light cavalry army south quickly, thus launching a fierce harassment campaign against the Wei Kingdom.

On the Wei side, a nightmare began to quietly descend.

When they were preparing to build the city, they had to open the city gates, mobilize a large number of laborers, and collect and transport building materials such as earth, wood and stone from all directions.

Ma Chao's light cavalry was like a group of elusive ghosts, always "visiting" the Wei army when they were least prepared.

They stormed into the Wei army's construction site, dispersed the defenseless laborers, and cut off the convoys transporting materials.

Even worse, they would ruthlessly destroy the newly built city walls of the Wei army, rendering all of the Wei army's previous efforts futile.

As a result, the Wei army found itself in an extremely passive position.

They repaired and dismantled, then repaired again, suffering endlessly in the process, and their morale gradually declined.

Cao Pi was helpless in the face of this situation.

He could only watch helplessly as Ma Chao wreaked havoc in the area north of Ji County, turning the entire region upside down.

With Ma Chao constantly causing trouble, Cao Pi was unable to build even a complete city wall, and his original defense plan completely fell apart.

As time slowly passed and the weather grew colder, the Han court's work to appease and integrate Guanzhong gradually came to an end.

In the Guanzhong region, the prefects and magistrates of various counties have been replaced by officials trusted by the imperial court, and the entire administrative system of Guanzhong has been reorganized and stabilized.

At the same time, important cities and passes were also garrisoned and guarded by the elite troops of the Han army.

Most importantly, after a period of rest, the soldiers have recovered their strength and are in high spirits, ready to engage in new battles at any time.

At this point, the Guanzhong region had been completely stabilized, and the situation in the rear had also been secured.

The time is ripe for a westward expedition against the puppet state of Wei and the recapture of Liangzhou.

Xiao and Yi quickly relayed the order.

Various Han armies began to rapidly assemble towards Chencang.

Within just seven days, 200,000 Han troops were assembled.

At the same time, nearly one million bushels of grain were transported to the front lines ahead of time.

It was winter, and snowflakes were falling in abundance.

Xiao He announced that he was acting on the emperor's orders and would lead a large army to attack Wei.

Under his and Zhang Fei's command, 200,000 Han soldiers marched like a surging torrent from Chang'an toward the Longxi region.

...

The news quickly reached the puppet state of Wei.
The atmosphere inside the Wei Kingdom's temporary palace was oppressive and heavy.

On the dragon throne, Cao Pi frowned, his eyes revealing deep worry and unease.

"Gentlemen, Xiao He's 200,000 Han troops have invaded. Our Great Wei is facing a critical moment of survival!"

"Do any of you gentlemen have a strategy to defend against the enemy?"

Cao Pi eagerly asked his ministers.

Below the imperial steps, all was silent.

The ministers exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness and confusion.

Some lowered their heads and remained silent, seemingly trying to think of a solution. Others hesitated, their lips moving, but ultimately swallowing their words.

In the end, no one responded.

At this time, Wei had already lost Jieting. Wei had neither sufficient troops to resist the Han army's attack nor any strategic terrain to rely on. What could Wei use to resist the Han army's offensive?
Seeing the behavior of his ministers, Cao Pi couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.

He suddenly realized that the Great Wei Kingdom he had taken over was now utterly devoid of talent.

Jia Xu, the only remaining top strategist, was also driven to Liangbei by him.

At this moment, he was shocked to find that he didn't even have a decent person to offer advice.

In his view, people like Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing were simply incapable of shouldering the responsibility of saving the state of Wei from its predicament, so they were better left unmentioned.

"If Wenhe were here, he would surely be able to share my burdens and solve my problems..."

Cao Pi suddenly fell into deep self-reproach.

"Your Majesty, I have a plan!"

In the midst of the silence, someone finally spoke up, breaking the oppressive atmosphere.

Cao Pi looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Yan Xing.

"What good plan does Minister Yan have?"

Cao Pi asked impatiently, a glint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

Yan Xing cupped his hands and said solemnly, "With the loss of Jieting, the Longshan defense line is now practically non-existent, and our army is completely unable to stop the Han army's invasion."

"Our army currently has only 50,000 men left, which is a huge disparity in strength compared to the 200,000-strong Han army."

"In my opinion, neither the capital nor the counties of Longyou can be defended."

"Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to abandon Longyou and retreat the entire army to Liangbei. Liangbei is located in a remote area, and the Han army will not easily pursue us. We can then preserve our strength and wait for the right opportunity to make a comeback!"

The ministers breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Yan Xing's words.

They all had the same thoughts in their hearts, but they just didn't dare to say them out loud.

Now that someone has finally spoken out for them, saying what they dared not say, their pressure has been greatly relieved.

Cheng Gongying secretly glanced at Yan Xing, a hint of sarcasm flashing in her eyes.

Yan Xing dared to offend Cao Pi by advising him to abandon Longyou. No wonder Cao Pi was furious!
Seeing that Yan Xing was about to be reprimanded, Cheng Gongying's lips curled up slightly, revealing a barely perceptible sneer.

really.

Cao Pi's hopes were shattered, and he slammed his fist on the table:
"How dare you ask me to abandon Longyou? What kind of logic is this?"

"Your Majesty, I also agree with Yan Xing's plan!"

At that crucial moment, one person stepped forward and loudly echoed the sentiment.

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person who had spoken was Wei Kang, a confidant of Cao Pi and also the governor of Liangzhou in Wei.

"I also believe that with our current national strength, we are really unable to withstand 200,000 Han troops. If we insist on holding our ground, we will eventually lose soldiers and troops and retreat to Liangbei."

"I believe that it would be better to retreat directly to Liangbei and preserve our strength than to do this!"

Wei Kang said with a firm expression.

Cheng Gongying looked back at Wei Kang and was taken aback.

He didn't expect Wei Kang to stand up and support Yan Xing at this time.

"Wei Zishun, you actually agree with Yan Xing?"

Cheng Gongying secretly complained to herself.

Cao Pi was about to reprimand Yan Xing, but Wei Kang's words stopped him.

The statements made by Yan Xing and Wei Kang represent the attitude of most of the Liangzhou court officials.

For a moment, Cao Pi fell silent. (End of Chapter)