The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 158 Crossing the Longshan Mountains for the Third Time

Chapter 158 Three Crossings of Longshan
Mi Wei nodded and said:
"There is a shortage of food in Longyou, and Guo Huai has been warned by Yang Fu that entering the pass is the only way out at present."

Ma Dai did not refute, but only expressed concern:
"However, the counties along the route within the pass already know of your whereabouts, and they must have taken precautions long ago, right?"

Mi Weidao:
"Precisely because they were prepared, they may be caught off guard now."

These words completely confused Ma Dai.

Miwei countered:

"There are so many officials in Guanzhong with salaries of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), why did You Chu only choose Yang Fu?"

Recalling the thrilling moment, Ma Dai said:
"Because Yang Fu was from Ji County, and many of his men were from Longyou, he was determined to protect his hometown?"

Before Miwei could remind him, he had already realized it:

"I understand!"

“Previously, we hastily fled westward in front of Qianxian, clearly indicating that we were never going back.”

“The people of Guanzhong have never been determined to fight to the death for Longyou. Seeing that we have been gone for a long time, they will naturally relax.”

"I knew it! Why did you insist on harvesting that half-ripe, horse-feeding wheat that's only good for feeding horses?"

After a moment of realization, Ma Dai's thoughts gradually cleared, and he said:

"Qian County was well-defended before, making it difficult for us to break through. The defending troops must be arrogant. Perhaps a sudden counterattack could have a surprising effect?"

Mi Wei shook his head and said:

"Don't attack Qian, attack Yumi!"

Ma Dai was taken aback for a moment, then laughed:

"That's right! Qian County is nearby, but Yumi is far away. If the nearby area becomes lax, the distant area will only become more lax!"

……

Yumi County seat.

You Chu finally managed to get rid of Yang Qiu's subordinates who were pressing for grain.

Looking at the sky, seeing that it was still early, he decided to go for a walk outside the city to see how the wheat was growing.

Yang Fu entered Longyou to suppress the bandits, and it had been almost a month.

During this period, the supply of food and provisions relied entirely on patching up one's own resources, and the situation almost got exposed several times.

Sometimes he couldn't help but think, how wonderful it would be if Generals Zhang and Yang could realize, like he did, that Mi Wei was a far-reaching scourge, and then go out of the pass with Yang Fu to fight the thief.

Of course, he was only thinking about it.

Because even he has to admit it.

Ignoring Zhang Fei and Wei Yan's large army and insisting on chasing Mi Wei's mere two hundred or so cavalry was truly irrational.

This doesn't even require considering regional differences.

What were the ranks of Zhang Fei and Wei Yan? And what was the rank of Mi Wei?
It's not immediately obvious which is more important and which is less important.

While pondering, You Chu climbed a gentle slope.

Looking around, the pine forests surrounding Yumi are like a sea.

In the past, locals used this place to burn soot to make ink, which was of excellent quality and was used by the Ministry of Personnel for many years.

However, after the great turmoil in Guanzhong during the Jian'an period, ink makers gradually became scarce.

Most of the remaining scholars and commoners also engaged in farming.

They either returned to farming or learned to herd livestock like the Qiang and Hu people, in order to make a living.

The literary talent of scholars in the Central Plains has largely declined.

"When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame."

"Oh, vast heavens, when will the land be at peace and the granaries full?"

Just as he was feeling sentimental, a close attendant came to report that a group of suspicious-looking people had suddenly come from upstream, suspected to be mountain bandits, and would arrive in a moment.

It was too late to return to the city, so his attendants advised him to hide in the mountains for the time being and wait for the bandits to leave before going back.

You Chu was about to agree.

But then a thought suddenly struck him, and he asked urgently:

"How long has it been since Yang Yishan last replied?"

One of the attendants, a clerk, calculated with his fingers and said that five days had passed.

You Chu's face turned pale, and disregarding his surroundings, he spurred his horse straight towards the city gate.

……

When Mi Wei arrived at Yu Mi County Temple, You Chu had already been detained by his soldiers.

Seeing that the other person's face was covered in soot, and there was a still-warm fire pit at their feet.

Mi Wei's eyes flickered slightly, and he stepped forward, saying:

"You clearly had a chance to escape, yet you insisted on returning to burn the official documents. Could it be that there is a hidden secret within them, which you fear I might obtain?"

You Chu forced a smile that was more like a grimace, and said:
"You have crossed the Longshan Mountains three times, and your military tactics are unpredictable and cannot be ignored."

Despite the obviously ingratiating words, Mi Wei remained unmoved.

Just then, the remaining official documents were cleared out, and he immediately began to read them.

They are mostly records of military food distribution.

It's roughly the same as what Meng Da described earlier.

The military provisions departed from Taicang in Chang'an, traveled westward along the Wei River and a nearby canal called Chengguo Canal, and arrived at Fufeng.

At each node reached, there was some interception and loss, until finally reaching Chencang in the far west.

However, there were also some records of different generals requesting deployment. Mi Wei thus learned that Zhang He himself had garrisoned troops near Mei County, while Yang Qiu had taken up residence in Chencang.

One of them was on guard against Wei Yan emerging from Xiegu, and the other was on guard against Zhang Fei approaching Sanguan.

These are all pieces of information that you can roughly guess even without looking at them.

If that's the case, why did You Chu risk his life to burn it down?
Mi Wei asked those around him, "Are there any official documents that haven't been burned yet?"

Both left and right hands shook their heads.

Mi Wei then looked at You Chu and suddenly noticed some unusual sharp edges on the other man's sleeves. He ordered his men to search him.

Upon seeing this, You Chu readily handed over what was hidden in his sleeve.

A wooden tablet that has been blackened by smoke but has not yet been burned.

Upon inspection, it turned out to be a letter from Guo Huai requesting grain from Longyou.

He said that his troops were at their wits' end and hoped that Yang Fu and You Chu could help him find Cao Zhen and say something.

He also said that if no more aid was provided, Longyou would likely fall into the hands of the Shu bandits.

Mi Wei came from Longyou, so I feel Guo Huai exaggerated a bit.

However, it's understandable that Guo Huai was in a precarious situation.

but.

This is still information that can be roughly guessed.

He looked up and asked, "Is there anything else?"

You Chu smiled awkwardly and then took out a second wooden tablet from the other sleeve.

This cigarette didn't even have any trace of smoke, clearly indicating that it was hastily stuffed into a sleeve in an attempt to cover it up.

He took it to look at it again.

With just one glance, Mi Wei's breath hitched.

This is a letter from Yang Fu to Guo Huai.

The gist of the letter was that Guo Huai had previously suggested that since Guanzhong could not transport grain and soldiers westward on a large scale, it would be better to use a combination of kindness and force to appease the Qiang and Hu people in exchange for their grain to supply military needs.

Yang Fu strongly agreed with Guo Huai and, based on his understanding of the people of Longyou, offered some specific operational suggestions.

However, the letter was only half-written and had not yet been sent.

It was probably around that time that Yang Fu learned he was returning to Longxi, so he temporarily put aside the matter and hurriedly came to catch up.

Snapped.

When Mi Wei pressed down on this book, his scalp tingled.

At that moment, he recalled a conversation he had with his subordinates in Dengcheng, Nanyang, two years ago.

At the time, he said that Liu Bei's advantage over Cao Cao lay in the matter of winning people's hearts.

It is also said that Cao Wei has no shortage of insightful people who will eventually discover the problem and push the Wei court to change course and abolish the regime.

And among these insightful people.

Zhang is one of them.

Yang Fu is one of them.

Guo Huai is one of them.

Especially Guo Huai!
Not only was he relatively young, but he had also been recruited as an assistant official as early as when Cao Pi was the General of the Five Offices.

He comes from a "princeling" background.

He is clearly a young and promising general with strong political influence.

In the original history.

After Guo Huai took office as the governor of Yongzhou, he sent troops to quell the rebellion while simultaneously pacifying the Qiang and Hu tribes.

From the Hu people of Anding and Lushui in Guanzhong to the Qiang, Di, and other Hu peoples in Guanxi, they all worshipped him as a god and gradually submitted to the Wei Dynasty.

The hidden dangers caused by Cao Cao's forceful suppression of local areas in the past have been mitigated.

After Zhuge Liang finally cleaned up the mess in the south, he turned back to launch the Northern Expedition.

In terms of understanding the hearts and minds of the people, there was no significant difference between the Han and Wei dynasties.

Thinking of this, Mi Wei couldn't help but feel regret once again for failing to assassinate Guo Huai.

It can only be said that nothing in this world is perfect.

But the enemy isn't stupid; how could they let themselves have their way?

I'll just do my best.

Thinking of this, he looked at You Chu again.

This is also an opponent that should not be underestimated.

sidewalk:

"Do you have any last words?"

Upon hearing the words "last words".