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

Chapter 227 When the Wei Army Starts to Act Like Rogues

Zhong Yao was a shrewd and astute official.

Seeing Xu Shu's posture, he immediately narrowed his eyes:

"What, is there really someone secretly colluding with Guan Yu?"

this moment.

Xu Shu seemed to see the horrific scene of his entire family being executed in the marketplace.

After a full ten breaths of silence, he suppressed his fear and asked with a smile:

"If the lower-ranking official claims that there was no private dealings, will Zhong Gong believe him?"

“Believe! How could I not believe?” Zhong Yao said with a half-smile.

"But the key issue is whether the emperor will believe it once this matter is brought before him."

This……

Xu Shu's eyelids twitched slightly.

Look.

Does Zhong Yao lack concrete evidence?

Is this just a test?
Xu Shu, who had also been through many years of ups and downs in officialdom, knew that he must not lose his composure at such a time.

So, changing his mind slightly, he turned around and tested the other party instead:

"Since the entire family is in Wei territory, how could they possibly commit any rebellious acts?"

"If Your Majesty has any doubts, I will submit a memorial at the meeting to explain myself, and I will never implicate Lord Zhong!"

Seeing his stern expression, Zhong Yao remained silent for a few moments before smiling again:

"If I cannot protect you since you are so eager to join my cause, who will join me in the future?"

"It was just that you were joking with me earlier, so I joked back! Don't worry, don't worry!"

Xu Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but did not let his guard down:

"But why is Master Zhong suddenly inquiring about this matter?"

Zhong Yao rubbed his forehead and explained:
"Yesterday His Majesty sent someone to inquire whether Yang Jicai, the Prefect of Nanyang, had died for his principles."

"I have been unemployed at home for several years and am no longer familiar with the affairs of Nanyang, so I have come to ask you!"

Xu Shu was relieved.

The relevant information came to mind.

Yang Jun, courtesy name Jicai, was a native of Xiuwu County, Henan Province, and a disciple of the renowned scholar Bian Rang.

He once held the official position of Commandant of the King of Wei.

Later, during the Wei Feng Rebellion, he resigned in order to protect himself, but this offended the then Crown Prince Pi and was demoted to a commoner.

It was not until Cao Pi became emperor that his career was restored.

Rumors circulated that Cao Pi harbored resentment towards Yang Jun because Yang Jun had a close relationship with Cao Zhi, the Prince of Yongqiu (Note).

With this thought in mind, Xu Shu immediately felt confident and said:

"Please forgive my bluntness."

"Since even Xiahou Zhengnan and Man Boning have surrendered to Guan Yu, then Yang Jicai is probably going to become a surrendered person as well."

"This matter is obvious; there is no need for any secret communication with Guan Yu."

"Your Majesty's sudden inquiry into this matter, could it be that Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was a ploy to target Liu Bang?"

Zhong Yao's gaze suddenly froze, then he sighed softly:
"Yuanzhi is indeed a straightforward person!"

"To be honest, this matter concerns the very scales of a true dragon, and I really don't want to comment."

"Back then, that scoundrel Wei Feng secretly plotted a rebellion, and he almost killed me. I really don't want to go through that again!"

"But I wonder what Yuanzhi has to teach me?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu pretended to be sneaky and lowered his voice:
"As the Vice Censor-in-Chief, as long as Lord Zhong does not accuse me of secretly communicating with Guan Yu, I can suppress the accusations against Lord Zhong from the other censors!"

Zhong Yao was taken aback, then burst into laughter again.

……

……

"It's already the fourth year of Zhangwu."

On the early morning of New Year's Day, Mi Wei was keeping vigil with his subordinates.

Looking at the snow falling outside the window, I was suddenly filled with emotion.

He certainly had reason to feel this way.

After all, he had been in the military for a year, and the military life was so dull that he hadn't even held his newborn son.

I can only imagine how naughty the little guy is from my wife's rambling letters.

There are also aging parents, teachers, and siblings who have started their own families... all of them are thousands of miles away, and it is unknown when we will meet again.

Of all these people, Liu Bei was the one who worried him the most. As someone from a later era, he knew very well that Liu Bei had died in the spring or summer of the previous year.

In fact, the reign title of Zhangwu 4th year never existed in history.

The title "Zhang Wu" was only used for three years before it was discontinued.

Starting from this year, every extra year Old Liu lived was a free bonus.

But on the other hand, Lao Liu might also leave at any time.

Even though, considering his experiences in this life, even if he stopped at this moment in the fourth year of Zhangwu, he could still say that he had not lived in vain.

But from a personal perspective, Lao Liu is still the source of the spirit and vitality of the entire Ji Han Group.

Who wouldn't want him to hold on for a few more years, and ideally lead everyone back to the old capital, thus securing victory completely?

Upon thinking of this, Mi Wei couldn't help but turn to Fei Yi beside him:
"Did Wenwei hear anything about His Majesty's condition on his way here? Has it relapsed?"

Fei Yi took a sip of the cloudy wine and said:
"No recurrence yet."

"But before I went on my mission, His Majesty took a fancy to a Ferghana horse with a deep red coat in the stable. He tried to ride it many times but could not sit comfortably. Even with the addition of iron stirrups on both sides, it was still unstable. Helpless, he could only bestow this horse upon Consort Guan."

In other words, the body's foundation is already weak.

Mi Wei's mood was inevitably heavy.

But now he's a high-ranking official, so he doesn't show his emotions.

He lowered his head and took a swig, then skipped the topic and started chatting with those around him about recent events.

But as the conversation went on, it was inevitable that the recent war and military strategy would come up.

The atmosphere quickly became heavy again.

Furthermore, since the beginning of winter, the water volume of the main streams and tributaries of the Ying and Ru rivers has dropped sharply, and many rivers have experienced seasonal flow interruptions.

Even those that haven't stopped flowing are showing signs of freezing.

In terms of military applications, there are two most direct consequences.

First, it has become inconvenient for ships to navigate.

Secondly, it actually made crossing the river easier for infantry and cavalry.

Especially for cavalry, as long as they don't waste their horses, they can wade across the river directly by finding a narrow channel with sandbars.

This undoubtedly greatly enhanced the mobility of the cavalry.

Mi Wei and his men had been defending Fangcheng for more than half a year, so they naturally knew that the defensive system of "Chu Fangcheng" was an organic whole composed of mountains, rivers, fortifications, and city walls.

Now that the "Sichuan" link is missing, the defense system is no longer complete.

This is actually true.

Just as winter was beginning, the Wei army in Xuchang suddenly launched a full-scale attack on Fangcheng.

Miwei had made preparations in advance, ordering all cities to close their gates and hold their ground.

They even made preparations and cleared the fields in advance to ensure long-term stability.

However, this group of Wei troops did not follow Xiahou Ba's previous strategy at all.

Previously, Xiahou Ba only focused on besieging cities and attacking strongholds.

This time, relying on its superior numbers, the Wei army only left infantry to blockade the city.

The remaining knights all bypassed the city and surged into the Nanyang Basin in a grand procession.

Miwei had actually anticipated this to some extent.

Even if he didn't, with Guan Yu's experience of fighting Cao Wei for half his life, how could he not be on guard?

Several important cities had already been fortified with multiple layers of barricades and trestle barriers.

Even some important passageways have been blocked off.

But all of this was no match for the sheer number of Wei cavalry.

What's even more terrifying than their numbers is that the Wei cavalry has completely abandoned the aggressive charge tactics of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry era.

They switched to mounted archery guerrilla warfare, harassing and destroying everywhere.

They even specifically targeted small towns and villages with weak defenses.

Burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil.

Those who know say it's the Central Plains Knights.

Those who didn't know better might have thought they were imposters from the Five Barbarian Cavalry.

Faced with Wei's underhanded tactics, Mi Wei had no choice but to continue defending the city.

They could only hope that their father-in-law and brother-in-law would be able to help them drive the Wei cavalry out as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if the Wei army continues to harass them like this, the new "two fields" system that he and Guan Yu had painstakingly planned would be aborted.

……

[Note: Cao Zhi was relocated and enfeoffed multiple times in the latter half of his life; during this period, he was enfeoffed in Yongqiu, Chenliu Commandery.]

(End of this chapter)