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

Chapter 242 Where did this Shu bandit come from!
"Did Mi Wei go to Yangdi, upstream of the Ying River?"

Cao Tai hurriedly returned to the Xuchang camp, only to hear unexpected news upon arrival.

However, Jia Kui completely ignored his doubts.

He examined the map on the cutting board with a solemn expression.

Cao Tai couldn't help but cough lightly before turning around and asking:
"Has Shangcai been completely evacuated?"

Cao Tai choked slightly, then said in a muffled voice:
"Kou Feng fought fiercely, and Jiang Wei, emboldened by his own courage, actually forced his way through my own cavalry formation."

"Fortunately, the Han army had fewer cavalry than us, and they only managed to kill a small number of the rear troops before giving up."

"Most of the supplies were preserved. Judging by the time, the supplies should arrive in Ancheng in the next two days."

Jia Kui nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Seeing that the other party did not pursue his mistake, Cao Tai could no longer suppress his curiosity.

Actively approach the map.

All that could be seen was the already detailed map of Yingchuan County.

It is now covered with dense markings and underlines in small print.

It was a complete mess.

Even so, Jia Kui kept adding notes.

Cao Tai was dazzled by what he saw.

It wasn't until Jia Kui's brushstrokes stopped north of Xiangcheng that he suddenly realized something:
"The Miwei army made a great show of attacking Yingyang, but its real target was Yangdi?"

Jia Kui nodded slightly, but did not respond.

Cao Tai thought for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"its not right."

"Yangdi has no stockpiled supplies, so what is he going there for?"

"Could it be that we received false information?"

"They can't be heading straight for Luoyang, can they?"

Cao Tai laughed as he finished speaking.

Despite the repeated warnings from Jia Kui and Cao Hong, he had long since abandoned his contempt for this young enemy general.

But with the enemy's forces, they could only manage to defend Fangcheng.

If we were to send troops to attack Luoyang, wouldn't that be like walking into a trap?

It would be more appropriate to send Guan Yu to lead the entire Nanyang army!
however.

Upon hearing his laughter, Jia Kui's expression grew even more serious.

Cao Tai, knowing Jia Shijun's abilities, felt a tremor in his heart:
"No, could they really be heading straight for Luoyang?"

Distracted by this, Jia Kui's train of thought came to an abrupt halt, and he said irritably:
"If he really wants to go to Luoyang, things will actually be simpler!"

"Once he passes Yangdi, Cao Cao will block his way from behind. Even with ten fierce warriors like Kou Feng and a hundred daring Jiang Weis under his command, he won't be able to escape!"

Cao Tai thought to himself, "That's more like it."

But hearing the other person's seemingly sarcastic remark about his earlier evasiveness, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

I could only pretend I didn't understand and keep asking:

"What exactly is your concern, my lord?"

Snapped.

Jia Kui threw his pen to the ground, his face grim.

There are two concerns.

"First, Mi Wei deliberately went to Yangdi in a grand manner to disturb Luoyang."

"You must have heard about the commotion in the Luoyang court these days?"

Cao Tai nodded repeatedly, his expression somewhat timid.

They clearly knew that a lot of trouble had broken out over there.

Jia Kui: "If Mi Wei has come for this reason, then I have no choice but to have Cao Cao do his best to stop him."

"Because his arrow had already hit the Luoyang Palace, this is just adding fuel to the fire."

"As generals stationed outside the capital, we can only do our best to extinguish this new fire in Luoyang. As for how to remove the arrows and treat the wounds, that is the responsibility of the officials in Luoyang; we are powerless to do so."

Cao Tai thought to himself that he was not only powerless, but also lacked the will to do so.

However, judging from Jia Kui's words, it seems that Mi Wei's purpose was not solely for this.
"I need the general to do something for me."

Jia Kui suddenly said.

Cao Tai immediately adopted a respectful listening posture.

Jia Kui: "The cavalry that went to Yangdi numbered a thousand, and must be the main force of the enemy cavalry from Fangcheng."

"But Mi Wei is known for his cunning, and he may not necessarily travel with the cavalry."

"As for the Yan County area, the general has been fighting them for ten days and has already investigated everything that needed to be investigated."

"So, to confirm Miwei's whereabouts, there are only two places left."

At this point, Cao Tai, who was also familiar with geography, immediately understood and blurted out:

"Liang, Jia, or Kunyang?" "The former goes straight down the Ru River to Guangcheng Pass, with the aim of disturbing Luoyang, or perhaps it can coordinate with the Yangdi route to create a feint attack?"

"The latter was because Miwei had already seen through the trap and deliberately sent the knights to distract our army, while he and the infantry retreated unscathed?"

Jia Kui nodded first, then stared at a certain location on the map, and slowly shook his head:

"Even if we retreat to Kunyang, it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to defend it."

"Don't forget that he has a large number of Henan bandits under his command who came down from the mountains of Luhun."

“Those people are familiar with the mountain paths, so they may be able to cross the Funiu Mountains and enter Luoyang via the Yi River.”

"In this way, Mi Wei can spread his influence into Luoyang from at least three directions, making it impossible to defend against..."

Upon hearing this, Cao Tai felt a slight swelling in his forehead.

Jia Kui could analyze several possibilities from just one of the other party's actions.

Each possibility can also cover for the others.

One objective can conceal another.

It can only be said that this kind of high-level battle of wits is not Cao Tai's forte.

If he had a choice, he would rather fight ten Kou Fengs or a hundred Jiang Weis!
Cao Tai: "In short, I'll go and check out one of these two places. If I find Mi Wei, I'll kill him with all my might. If I don't find him, I'll send a message back to Xuchang. Is that what you mean, my lord?"

Jia Kui nodded and then instructed, "Even if you manage to find it, send a message immediately to avoid falling into Miwei's trap!"

Cao Tai let out a heavy sigh: "Understood!"

……

This time, Jia Kui did not have to wait long.

Three days later, Cao Tai replied from Liang County, saying that the Han army had indeed crossed the river to harass this direction.

However, they were all weak soldiers and bandits, not the elite troops of the Han army, and were easily defeated.

Mi Wei himself was not found.

"In other words, he's still playing it safe this time."

Jia Kui immediately reached a conclusion.

During these three days, he also sent people into Luoyang to gather intelligence on the direction of the Yi River.

There are indeed bandits, but they are not large in scale.

Aside from the apparent attack on the Yiyang direction by bandits, which resulted in the loss of some lay Buddhist, no further developments have been reported.

With these two pieces of evidence, Jia Kui could easily deduce Mi Wei's plan by working backward.

The enemy may have realized the trap they had set after capturing the city.

The group that then headed towards Yangdi was likely primarily there to cover the retreat, with probing as a secondary objective.

As for Kou Feng and Jiang Wei's troops in Yan County, they were originally supposed to be providing cover for the northern frontier.

However, I promptly dispatched Cao Tai to deal with the situation, rendering the attack ineffective.

Thus, the plan to lure the enemy failed due to Miwei's cautious retreat.

There is definitely disappointment.

But Jia Kui felt mostly relieved.

Firstly, the enemy also failed to destroy his two important grain depots, so his plan also failed.

In reality, it was a draw.

Secondly, during this period of remote competition with Mi Wei, he felt a sense of tension and excitement, as if he had met his match.

You must maintain a high level of focus at all times, for fear of falling into the other party's trap if you are not careful.

I suppose the other person feels the same way?

In any case, this is an opponent that deserves serious attention.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a surge of interest and decided to write a personal letter to the other party.

Who knows, it might become a legendary tale in history!

However, just as Jia Kui was writing a lengthy private letter and preparing to send a messenger to Kunyang...

A grain official who was supposed to go to Ancheng suddenly appeared before him, covered in bruises.

"My lord!"

The grain official knelt on the ground, his cries shaking the heavens.

"Gone! All gone! All gone!"

Jia Kui's eyelids twitched as he listened, and he said angrily:

"Explain yourself clearly, what exactly is gone!"

Grain official: "Grain! Forage! Silk! Weapons! All gone!"

"On my way from Shangcai to Ancheng, I was ambushed by a group of Shu bandits, and I was outnumbered!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Kui slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his face contorted with rage:
"Don't try to fool me!"

"Miwei's troops are all engaged in fierce fighting with our army in Yingchuan. How could there be any Shu bandits in Ancheng!"

(End of this chapter)