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

Chapter 162 On the way home

Why did Zheng Gan rebel twice?
The warm breeze of early summer blew across the Weibei Plain and landed on You Chu, making him shiver with cold.

As a high-ranking official who had lived in Guanzhong for a long time, he actually knew the reason better than anyone else.

In the end, Zheng Gan was just a bandit leader.

He had neither reputation nor military skill.

At least compared to true generals like Cao Zhen, Zhang He, Yang Qiu, and Guo Huai, he was nothing but scum.

But why was he still able to rise up in rebellion twice?
Why were there people willing to join the rebels on both occasions, to the point that the Wei court had to send a great general like Cao Zhen to quell the rebellion?
Ultimately, it all boils down to the two words that Miwei mentioned earlier.

To fill one's stomach.

People will die if they don't eat.

Whether we rebel or not, we will die.

If they're just waiting to die, why shouldn't people rebel?
From this perspective, comparing Mi Wei to the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the reign of Emperor Ling of Han is unfair.

But the underlying reasons are exactly the same.

Some people are starving and going to die!
You Chu was well aware of the crux of the problem.

The clearer you are, the more you know you must not fall into Miwei's rhetoric trap.

So they tried to change the subject:

"If that's the case, General, you should either head south quickly or find another way to feed the bandits. Why are you hesitating here?"

Snapped.

Mi Wei flicked his whip again, but finally lowered his hand and said:

"Zheng Gan has already gone out of Hedong to rob the official grain transported westward from Luoyang."

You Chu was dumbfounded.

He waited a moment before asking further:
"How absurd this is!"

"Zheng Gan is nothing but a bandit. How dare he venture out of Hedong? Doesn't he fear the annihilation of his entire army?"

"This is worse than robbing Hosoyugura! Have they lost their minds?"

Miwei: "He is not mentally impaired."

"It's because I told him that there was nothing to eat in Xiliu, and that it was a trap set by Cao Zhen and Xiahou Mao... Well, maybe Xiahou Mao was coerced by Cao Zhen? Anyway, that's the gist of it."

"In short, neither the Chang'an granary nor the Xiliu granary next door has enough grain to support his thousands of men."

"The only way to survive is to leave Hedong and head south to plunder government grain."

"As for the complete annihilation of the army... Heh, Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and the Zhang Jiao brothers, they didn't seem to worry about such a thing when they rebelled, did they?"

"How do you say that."

"Is it acceptable to die for one's country?"

You Chu was once again dumbfounded.

Mi Wei's words revealed a great deal of information.

So much so that he didn't know where to begin his rebuttal.

But then Mi Wei turned and ordered Wang Ping to be the vanguard and set off first, clearly indicating that he was about to take action.

If I don't do something soon, it might be too late.

In his haste, he finally managed to piece together a few things and asked urgently:

"How can you be so sure that there is no grain in the Xiliu granary?"

This is precisely the most crucial point in what Mi Wei just said.

That's also the part he doesn't understand the most.

Mi Wei calmly said:
"Various clues, I suppose."

"For example, if Xiahou Mao really had something to hide at Xiliu, he shouldn't have so rashly killed Zheng Gan's envoy."

"Because Zheng Gan is a bandit leader who is willing to risk everything to rebel. Regardless of whether the robbery succeeds or not, he will expose the secret of Xiliu Warehouse to the world."

"For example."

"Regardless of whether the military rations are stored in Taicang or Xiliu, Cao Zhen should not leave rashly, leaving a gap that Zheng Gan could risk going south... This is too much like a trap."

"For example."

"Our generals Zhang and Wei have already withdrawn their troops, so why are Zhang He and Yang Qiu still not withdrawing? Aren't they afraid of delaying spring plowing in Guanzhong?"

"Even more so."

Mi Wei's gaze fell on You Chu, and he said piercingly:

"Guo Huai's letter urging for grain, and Yang Qiu's excuse for refusing your grain transport, are both too suspicious to me."

At that moment, You Chu's gaze suddenly darted away.

Although they quickly realized that something was wrong.

But Miwei eventually noticed it.

You Chu also knew that the other party had already guessed a certain possibility.

Suddenly, the warm summer felt like winter, and my hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. He said in a hoarse voice:
"Nine out of ten of what you say is speculation."

Miwei readily admitted:

"That's why I said Lu should turn around a little longer, precisely because it's just a guess."

Just then, Wang Ping hurriedly returned, his face beaming with joy:

"Zhang He and Yang Qiu have both withdrawn their troops! We can return south now!"

Ma Zhong, standing nearby, excitedly stepped forward and said:

"Did you see clearly? They really withdrew from both sides?"

Wang Ping: "They've all retreated eastward!"

"They probably retreated in such a hurry that they didn't even have time to burn down their camp. Maybe we can get in and stay the night!"

Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this.

You Chu finally understood what Mi Wei had been waiting for.

He actually played the gambling game!

And it actually worked!
The truth that he risked his life to hide was still discovered by the other party through various clues.

"How did you guess that?"

Mi Wei chuckled and said, "It's just the story of Cao Cao quenching his thirst by looking at plums. Is it that hard to guess?"

Seeing You Chu's blank expression, Mi Wei slapped his forehead, realizing he had forgotten that Liu Yiqing had made this up.

He then changed his words and said:

“Guanzhong has been short of grain since last year, and Xiahou Mao is not a capable official. With excessive taxation, it is only natural that a rebellion would break out.”

"Since last year, wars have broken out one after another in Guanzhong, and the conscription of troops has never stopped... How can military supplies be sufficient?"

He paused slightly and said:
Why did Yang Qiu threaten to kill Wei Ting's grain official?

Why did Zhang He personally take charge of Mei Wu?

Why did Cao Zhen condone Zheng Gan's rebellion?

"Isn't it because these generals all know that the granaries along the Wei River, including those in Chang'an, are almost empty?"

As the saying goes, "An army marches on its stomach."

"Without food supplies, the morale of the army will be unstable."

Therefore.

Even after the Han army had retreated south, several Wei generals still refused to leave.

"They won't withdraw until they stop, and they'll continue to deceive their starving soldiers, saying that the military rations are plentiful, and that it's just a temporary investigation because someone is stealing rations!"

"If this is still not enough to appease the army, why not deliberately create a loophole for Zheng Gan, lure him south to raid the practically empty Xiliu Warehouse, and then shift the blame to him? Let's use the thief to settle the score!"

"As long as the grain from Guandong is transported in, Cao Zhen will still be the good general who keeps his word and never deceives his subordinates!"

"Isn't it better than the truth being exposed, causing morale to plummet, and triggering a mutiny in the camp?"

Upon hearing this, You Chu's bones went limp, and he immediately knelt down.

In the end, they lost this game.

It was a complete and utter defeat.

In fact, he had already sensed something was wrong when Zheng Gan suddenly contacted Mi Wei.

But I still held onto a sliver of hope.

While Miwei was busy hiding, he couldn't see the situation clearly.

Unfortunately, Mi Wei could see it clearly.

They even took advantage of Zheng Gan's troops' thirst for food to completely expose the lies of Cao Zhen and others.

His ragtag army was certainly not enough to intimidate the army of the King of Hedong.

But since there were several thousand thieves, we had to take precautions.

This will inevitably lead to a delay in the arrival of grain ships at the border.

As a result, Generals Zhang and Yang, whose granaries were nearly empty, could no longer suppress the doubts of their troops and hastily withdrew.

Perhaps it was under the pretext of Chang'an being empty.

Or it could be a pretext to protect the emperor.

But for You Chu, none of that mattered anymore.

The important thing is.

Mi Wei finally broke free from the great prison of Guanzhong.

But You Chu was still being held hostage by the other side!
This game is between Lu and Zhi.

Deer Power Victory!
While they were thinking, one of the riders pulled You Chu up and quickly tied him to the horse's back.

Then, together with Mi Wei's entire army, they set off with a roar, embarking on their journey home.

(End of this chapter)