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

Chapter 201 Li Hong Offers a Plan
In the second year of Huangchu under Cao Pi, which was two years ago.

Xiahou Ru once served as the Protector of the Army in the Expedition against Shu, following Zhang Ji, the Governor of Liangzhou, to quell the rebellion in Guanzhong.

According to the original history, he would have made great contributions in this battle.

He rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming a well-known young general within the "royal clan."

But in this life.

He not only witnessed firsthand the annexation of the entire Guanzhong region by Liu Bei.

Furthermore, it witnessed the successive killings of high-ranking officials such as Zhang Ji, Yang Fu, and You Chu by Mi Wei.

Finally, Guo Huai managed to stabilize the situation, but Mi Wei saw through their true intentions and forced them to retreat from Ji County.

Like Guo Huai, he ultimately met a tragic end, barely escaping with his life.

Now that he has been transferred back to his cousin Xiahou Shang's command, he thought he had finally escaped that nightmare.

Unexpectedly, that familiar flag with the character "麋" suddenly appeared on the outskirts of Duyang City.

Because it was too fantastical, Xiahou Ru's first reaction was...

When did Mi Fang return to Jingzhou?
But as the clearly high-ranking general's flag became increasingly clear...

The impressive military bearing, clearly belonging to a regular army, slowly unfolded before my eyes.

Xiahou Ru suddenly realized what was happening.

That's the Miwei!

That fierce general from Shu who repeatedly attacked and killed 2,000 shi (a unit of grain) in Guanzhong!
At that moment, Xiahou Ru had only one thought in his mind.

run!
if not?
It's fine to travel to Chu.

But Xiahou Ru knew exactly what Zhang Ji was capable of, what Yang Fu was capable of, and what Guo Huai was capable of.
Especially Yang Fu, who was a formidable figure who defeated Ma Chao in Longyou when he was young.

In the end, he was still killed by Miwei.

So what else can Xiahou Ru do?
He is not one of those ignorant mountain bandits who hide deep in the mountains and do not recognize the heroes of the world!

However, just as Xiahou Ru was about to retreat in a disheveled state.

The messenger from Wancheng arrived just in time, conveying Xiahou Shang's military orders:
We must drive away the bandits blocking the road in Duyang as soon as possible to ensure that the roads in Fangcheng are clear.

Xiahou Ru stared at the military order for a long while before he came to his senses.

At this time, Mi Wei's vanguard was only about a mile away from Duyang City.

You can't beat him.

There's no way to retreat.

Xiahou Ru steeled his resolve and hid in the camp.

We won't fight, and we won't leave!

The question is about preventing Mi Wei's "army" from heading south to join Guan Yu.

If we ask again, it means the enemy outnumbers us and the timing isn't right.

In short, Xiahou Ru adopted a stance of stubbornness and perseverance.

Mi Wei was able to set up a safe camp outside the city, and then sent messengers into the city to contact Sun Lang and others.

Half a day later, a scholar dressed as a Cao Wei official came out of the city to see him.

The other party claimed to be Li Hong, a surrendered official, who had followed Sun Lang and others south to this place.

When asked about the situation in the city, Li Hong answered all his questions without reservation:

“Sun Lang was highly respected in Luhun, Liang, and Jiashan. Although his southward march ended in defeat, many righteous men were willing to follow him.”

"There are still two or three thousand men in the city, and supplies are plentiful, so there is no immediate worry about defending the city."

He immediately countered with a question:

"How many soldiers has the general brought?"

Mi Wei said, "As you can see, there are 800 cavalry and 3,000 infantry. In addition, there are tens of thousands of new recruits hidden in the mountains."

Mi Wei was careful not to elaborate on the following sentence.

Li Hong did not ask any further questions.

After pondering for a moment, he hesitated to speak.

Mi Wei: "Since you have come to seek refuge, why not tell me the truth?"

Li Hong bowed and said:
"It's not that I'm being dishonest, but I'm just a nobody with little influence. And I have a rather risky plan, and I don't know whether I should offer it to the general!"

“There has never been a case of anyone being punished for offering inappropriate advice in our army,” Mi Wei said, pointing to Jiang Wei beside him.

“This General Jiang previously risked losing troops, but he did manage to ascertain the enemy’s situation. His merits and demerits cancel each other out, so I not only will not punish him, but will also give him the opportunity to continue to make contributions.”

"Now you are merely offering suggestions; whether they are acceptable or not is up to me to decide. Please feel free to speak your mind."

Li Hong glanced at the robust and handsome Jiang Zhonglang, then recalled the military bearing he had seen on the way to the camp. Suddenly, he understood.

The person before me is probably the one to whom my future depends.

He immediately said in a deep voice:
"I believe that the general should not waste time and troops under the city walls at this time!"

"I observe that Xiahou Ru is not a brave general. He only needs a small number of feint troops to support Sun Lang, which is enough to defend the city."

"General, you should personally lead the army north to launch a surprise attack on Ye County, and even Kunyang!"

Mi Wei's gaze suddenly sharpened, but he remained noncommittal.

Seeing this, Li Hong said again:
"General, are you concerned that the Wei army that ambushed us earlier is still stationed in Ye County?"

Mi Wei countered, "Do you know the origin of that Wei army?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hong knew that the plan would most likely succeed, and he immediately became confident:
"Cao Wei concentrated a large army in Huainan, and Jia Kui made a long-distance raid, leaving Yuzhou vulnerable."

“This Wei army must be local recruits from Yingchuan who have temporarily settled in the fields. Although their discipline is higher than that of the righteous army, they are not as brave and daring as the general’s elite troops.”

Mi Wei suddenly realized and asked:
"So they're only equivalent to a group of county or prefectural soldiers?"

Li Hong thought for a moment and shook his head, saying:
"Not really."

"According to the Wei system, civilian settlements should be exempted from military service and corvée labor, and should be able to focus solely on farming."

"However, Cao Wei was engaged in continuous warfare, with troops being deployed in all directions. In addition, the generals and nobles of various regions liked to seize civilian farms for military purposes and enslave the farmers. Therefore, the exemption from corvée labor was difficult to strictly adhere to."

"Now, the sudden requisitioning of farmland under the guise of protecting the land may provide temporary relief, but farmers' minds are mostly on their wives, children, and elderly parents at home, and on their crops in the fields. How can they hold out for long?"

Mi Wei: "So, although their fighting strength is comparable to that of the county soldiers, they also have the will to defend the land. However, they cannot endure a prolonged war, is that what you mean?"

Li Hong nodded heavily and then said:
"Although this Wei army defeated the rebel army, it failed to annihilate them all. Afterwards, there will be concerns that the rebel army will come down the mountain to plunder the fields in the rear."

"Therefore, I estimate that the Wei army has already withdrawn from Ye County, and may even have crossed the Zhi River to the north, leaving Kunyang undefended!"

At this point, Li Hong's tone became excited:
"General! Ye County is a crucial town on the border of Fangcheng. Taking it will be enough to block the Wei army from entering Nanyang and completely isolate Xiahou Shang!"

"If we can further capture the cities surrounding Kunyang and push the defense line north to the Zhi River, then taking Wancheng will be as easy as taking candy from a baby, and Nanyang will surely fall entirely into Han territory!"

Mi Wei nodded slowly, his expression unchanged.

But my heart was already churning with turmoil.

Admittedly, Li Hong's plan was indeed risky; if he were not careful, the results of his surprise attack to the north would be lost.

But if it succeeds... then the Battle of Nanyang can be dragged into a dead end ahead of time!

Since ancient times, Fangcheng Pass has been the main road for Jingchu to enter and exit the Central Plains.

The pre-Qin period is too far removed to discuss.

Exactly two hundred years ago, the Battle of Kunyang, in which Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, rose to fame, was actually fought over the Fangcheng Pass.

At that time, Liu Xiu's elder brother Liu Yan and others besieged Wancheng but failed. Just then, the Xin Mang army marched south to rescue them, claiming to be a million strong.

Liu Xiu and his men marched north to the Kunyang line to defend against the enemy, inflicting a major defeat on the Xin army and buying valuable time for the Green Forest Army to eventually capture Nanyang.

Therefore, from a strategic perspective, the significance of quickly capturing Ye County is self-evident.

The key lies in the civilian settlements mentioned by Li Hong.

In reality, although the Liu, Cao, and Sun families all had land reclamation measures.

However, only in the Cao Wei region were there civilian settlements that were theoretically entirely dedicated to agricultural production.

In particular, the area from Luoyang to Yingru, which was later known as the Yellow River flood plain, can be considered a large-scale agricultural production base in modern times.

On Liu Bei's side, only Hanzhong, including the Xiangfan area of ​​Jingzhou at present, had large-scale military farms, which were partly military and partly agricultural.

They went to war during wartime and farmed during peacetime.

This is a transitional measure that had to be taken in order to balance border defense given the current situation of a scarce population.

Now, back to the present, although the Cao Wei civilian settlement system has declined somewhat after more than 20 years of development.

But it hasn't reached the point of complete collapse yet.

Therefore, the military skills of the settlers were not comparable to those of the regular army.

They can be conscripted temporarily, but not enough for a long-term war.

Furthermore, since Mi Wei suddenly headed north to the vicinity of Fangcheng, the news at this time could only spread within Nanyang at most.

The journey to Yingru was somewhat delayed due to the obstruction of mountains.

There is a time window here.

After thinking for a moment, Mi Wei suddenly looked up at Li Hong and said:
"Your insight is far beyond that of ordinary corrupt officials who merely eat and drink. But do you know your true background?"

Upon hearing this, Li Hong's expression changed drastically, and he bowed to the north, saying:
"I dare not conceal this from you, General. I am actually a military clerk appointed by the Grand Commandant of the Han Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)