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

Chapter 241 Response
On the left bank of the Ru River, on the road in the southern suburbs of Shangcai, hundreds of Han army cavalrymen followed a general's flag with the character "麋" (Mi) as they galloped swiftly.

Several miles ahead of them, a convoy of Wei army supply wagons carrying provisions was slowly making its way south along the official road.

Because of the city's concealment, the caravan was unaware of the danger approaching silently.

Meanwhile, in Shangcai City on the side, upon seeing the unexpected arrival of enemy cavalry, alarm drums sounded urgently.

The garrison on the city wall hastily prepared for battle, ready to leave the city to intercept and protect the supplies.

But the Han cavalry ignored them completely and showed no intention of taking advantage of the situation to raid the city.

Seeing that the Wei army's supply wagons in the distance were already alert, he spurred his horse forward even faster.

It must be said that a large cavalry force has an unparalleled advantage on flat ground.

Although the Wei army guarding the supply wagons reacted quickly upon hearing the news, the convoy was too long to provide adequate protection.

As soon as the Han cavalry arrived, they quickly broke into smaller groups and launched attacks and set fires separately.

However, a moment later, the entire convoy transformed into a fire dragon.

Burning fiercely on the flat ground was a shocking sight.

By the time the Wei army arrived in the city, the banner with the character "麋" (deer) had already flown away and continued south to attack the next convoy that was retreating from its camp.

"Quickly, go and send a message to Xuchang!"

……

"What did you say? Miwei went to Yanxian?"

Jia Kui stared in disbelief at the junior officer from Shangcai.

The junior officer's face was covered in blood, clearly indicating that he had endured a lot of hardship along the way.

Upon hearing the sound, he immediately cried out:

"The soldiers and civilians of Shangcai witnessed firsthand that the Han army cavalry repeatedly attacked with banners bearing the character 'Deer' and had already burned a lot of supplies!"

"Now everyone in the city is in danger and dares not retreat further south."

Jia Kui was speechless.

His eyes were fixed on the map in front of him.

Suddenly I looked up:
"Explain yourself more clearly. Did you see Mi Wei in person, or did you only see his banner?"

The junior officer was taken aback and shook his head, saying:
"The minor official had never met Mi Wei and did not know what he looked like."

"We could only see the Han cavalry coming and going like the wind, burning and looting along the way but not raiding the city. We couldn't capture any prisoners, so there was no way to confirm anything."

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Jia Kui's eyes.

His furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

"I see."

"He is indeed a cunning opponent."

"But now..."

Jia Kui muttered a few words to himself, then said to the junior officer:
"Go back and tell the magistrate of Shangcai that this is a feint by the enemy and there is no need to panic."

“I will immediately send reinforcements to accompany you back, which will be enough to stop the invasion of the Han army in Yan County.”

The junior officer's expression finally calmed down, but his doubts remained:

"To be honest, before I left, the county magistrate asked me to tell you that if we follow the original plan to evacuate to the cities along the Ru River in batches, the process will be too slow."

"Furthermore, places like Zhuoyang, Yang'an, and Yichun are too close to Fangcheng, which could be exploited by mountain bandits, ultimately benefiting the Shu traitors!"

Jia Kui countered:
"So what are Shangcai Ling's plans?"

"The magistrate intends to join forces and retreat directly to Ancheng!" the junior officer immediately responded.

"Ancheng is the seat of the prefecture. It is a fortified city with deep moats. Once we enter, we will have nothing to fear from the Shu bandits!"

Ancheng...

Jia Kui hesitated slightly upon hearing this.

As the governor of Yuzhou, he certainly knew that the city was fortified enough and far enough away from Fangcheng.

However, because of the distance, if the grain depots were moved there, the subsequent supply of grain to Yingchuan would not be timely.

Ultimately, the choice of Ancheng was made to ensure the safety of the supplies, as it was considered more secure.

Or should we choose a city that is riskier but closer to the city in order to ensure the supply of military provisions?
After a moment's thought, Jia Kui agreed to the magistrate of Shangcai's request.

They combined their forces and withdrew to Ancheng in one go.

But it wasn't for the sake of being safe.

Rather, it was because he was very clear about his purpose in this battle: to lure Mi Wei out from the very beginning.

Since the other party is now resorting to trickery and playing a game of deception.

Then I'll play along and give him another bait.

Didn't you want to divide your forces?
Then we'll split up and fight alongside you!

Anyway, Wei has a large number of soldiers, so no matter how they are divided, they will have a numerical advantage!

Unless the elk is so cautious as to not bite any bait and simply head back home...
Otherwise, any movement would expose their true identity!

Thinking of this, he ordered someone to summon another general from the imperial clan, Cao Tai.

He ordered:
"General, lead a contingent and immediately cross the river, heading straight for Yanxian!"

Cao Tai frowned upon hearing this:

"Didn't you say earlier that you would wait until the Han army arrived in Yingyang before making a move?"

Jia Kui: "Yes. But that's something for General Cao to consider."

"But this general's unit has another purpose!"

……

On the city wall of Father City, Mi Wei stood with his hands behind his back, gazing northward.

The weather is fine today, the distant mountains are shrouded in mist, and the spring waters are plentiful. The vast plain before us, though temporarily uncultivated due to the war, is still lush and green, a testament to the fertility of this land.

Mi Wei stared blankly for a moment, then pointed to the main channel of the Ru River not far away:
"If you continue north from there, going upstream past Jia and Liang counties, you'll reach Guangcheng Pass, right?"

Deng Ai, the clerk beside him, responded:

"Yes."

Mi Wei: "After passing Guangcheng, do we still need to pass through Yique, Dagu, and other passes before we can reach Luoyang?"

Deng Ai should still agree.

But I would like to add two more sentences:

“If you go north from Xuchang and Changshe, you will reach Goushi after crossing Yangcheng Mountain.”

"It's only a day's walk or two from Luoyang, much more convenient than going to Guangcheng."

Miwei turned around and laughed:

"Then we need to first consider how to break through Xuchang's strong city walls and 100,000 Wei troops."

"in short."

"Luoyang is actually a city hidden inside a tortoise shell."

"It's just that the eight passes of Luoyang are not as well-protected as those in Guanzhong."

Upon hearing this jest, Deng Ai gave a forced smile.

But a thought inevitably crossed my mind, and I blurted out:
"Is Yizhou going to launch a northern expedition?"

Miwei raised an eyebrow:

"Shi Zai is very perceptive."

Deng Ai repeatedly said he dared not.

Miwei waved his hand:

"Let's not talk about things that are far away."

"What does Yanxian say?"

Deng Ai immediately took out the military report and read it fluently:
"A report came from Yan County that Cao Tai's Wei army had launched a surprise attack overnight."

"Deputy Commander Kou went out of the city to engage in battle, but the outcome was still uncertain. Should we go all out to drive them away?"

“Cao Tai…” Mi Wei continued to look north with his hands behind his back, unhurried.

It took him a long time to turn around and say:
"Jia Kui is trying to force me to choose between Yingyang and Shangcai."

"Using stillness to control movement, and force to overcome skill... truly worthy of being Cao Cao's chief clerk."

Deng Ai nodded secretly upon hearing this, remaining equally calm and composed:
"Which place does Your Excellency intend to choose?"

Without hesitation:

"Of course, we'll go wherever is most convenient."

"Although the grain depots in Yingyang and Yingyin are closer."

"But crossing several rivers at once would be disadvantageous for a rapid raid."

"If I proceed despite the difficulties, how could Jia Kui not become suspicious?"

"Reply to Kou Feng and tell him to do everything in his power to drive Cao Tai away, not to let him get near Yan County. But that's all there is to it."

"If any more Wei troops come from a different route, let Jiang Wei handle them."

If there are any more... then ignore them.

Deng Ai accepted the order and left.

Miwei's gaze turned north again, his eyes piercing through mountains and rivers.

I imagine that ancient capital city, situated in the heart of the world, which has stood for a thousand years.

And the Grand Commandant himself who was hiding among them.

He lost focus again.

……

At the source of the Yi River, there is a mountain called "Da Gui".

This mountain is not only an eastern spur of the Funiu Mountains, but also the watershed between the Ying River and the Yi River.

The former made this mountain one of the southern barriers of Luoyang.

The latter also places the mountain on two major routes from Yingru into Luoyang.

Cao Hong marched north from Xuchang, passing through the areas of Changshe and Xinzheng without entering, and carefully ambushed his troops at the foot of the mountain.

Of course, it was called an ambush.

In essence, it meant preventing scouts from making large-scale expeditions and avoiding large-scale conscription in the counties and townships along the way.

The soldiers carried three to five days' worth of dry rations, some horse feed, and some grass along the way to survive the exhaustion of the short-distance raid.

After all, it's unrealistic to completely conceal the movements of a cavalry force of several thousand men.

They could only try to sneak into sparsely populated mountain valleys to minimize the chances of being discovered by the enemy.

Fortunately, they were playing on home ground and the terrain was familiar to them.

Cao Hong crossed the upper reaches of the Yi River without incident.

Now, it remains to be seen whether Miwei will take the bait.

On that day, Jia Kui sent a message from the direction of Xuchang, saying that the Han army had crossed Yingyang.

but.

Jia Kui ordered Cao Hong to ignore Yingyang and Yingyin and head directly to the south of Dagui Mountain to block the Han army at the foot of the mountain before they could enter the Ying River Valley!

(End of this chapter)