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

Chapter 296 Lack of Food and Soldiers
The Han army achieved initial victories in both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River battlefields.

This news undoubtedly boosted the prestige of the Shu Han court in Guanzhong.

The various voices questioning Zhuge Liang's motives have temporarily subsided.

This relieved some of the pressure on Zhuge Liang.

However, while the pressure from public opinion has eased, the military pressure has become increasingly heavy.

As time went on.

Warehouses in various counties and prefectures in Guanzhong are declining rapidly.

Local officials, who should have been busy with the autumn harvest and year-end accounting, are now focusing their energy on how to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

So much so that some have suggested simply canceling some of this year's accounting projects.

The pressure on local authorities is evident.

In order to alleviate the burden on Guanzhong as much as possible, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to order the requisition of grain and labor from Hanzhong and Shu Commandery to aid Guanzhong.

It's basically the same idea as robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Although Yizhou was wealthy, it could not withstand the depletion of resources during nearly three years of large-scale warfare.

Moreover, with the autumn harvest approaching, Yizhou is preoccupied with its own affairs and cannot spare much manpower and resources.

If we are not careful, there is no guarantee that the southern regions and the Guanzhong region will not be thrown into chaos by the barbarians.

obviously.

The war has progressed to this stage.

The Shu Han dynasty could no longer sustain the expenditure of the eastern expedition for an extended period.

Therefore, after discussing with his ministers, Zhuge Liang decisively ordered the abandonment of the offensive in Henan and the concentration of manpower and resources to conquer Hedong.

But this time.

An unexpected, yet not entirely unexpected, situation arose.

Wei Yan, who was in charge of the main force on the land battlefield in the Henan direction, refused to carry out the order to withdraw his troops.

Wei Yan gave two reasons in his memorial.

Firstly, after months of siege, his troops are now only one step away from opening the western exit of the Xiaohan Pass, namely Shanxian County.

And some progress has already been made.

Giving up at this point would not only render all previous efforts futile, but could also boost the enemy's morale.

Once Luoyang is no longer in danger of being attacked, it can fully support Hedong.

These are all unfavorable factors for the battlefield in Hedong.

Secondly, there was his personal feud with Zhang Fei.

He didn't believe that Zhang Fei would allow him to act freely after he went north.

They were mostly assigned to supervise the transport of supplies in the rear, doing various miscellaneous tasks that could be handled by auxiliary soldiers and civilians.

This would undoubtedly be a waste of his elite force.

It would be better to stay in the besieged city of Shanxian.

At least it can restrain Luoyang and reduce the pressure on the east bank of the Yellow River.

It must be said that Liu Bei's choice of Wei Yan instead of Zhang Fei as the garrison commander of Hanzhong was not without reason.

Although Wei Yan possessed the arrogance of a general.

However, when considering problems, at least the objective military needs should be taken into account.

There are selfish motives, but it's not entirely selfishness.

This naturally put pressure on Zhuge Liang.

"Wei Zhengbei actually harbored a selfish motive."

Inside the Ministry of Personnel, Minister Ma Su spoke frankly to the crowd.

"With this report, if the subsequent battles go against us, the responsibility will not lie with him, but with the Prime Minister and with you and me who are serving in the government."

"We're fine with it."

"The Prime Minister has been facing a lot of criticism lately, and Liao Gongyuan has been secretly making connections. It is said that he even managed to bring the commoner Li Ping to the interior, which seems to indicate that he is planning something further."

"Who is Li Ping?" asked Pan Mi, who was also a court official.

Ma Su: "It's Li Yan, Li Zhengfang. He recently changed his name."

Pan Mi couldn't help but chuckle: "People strive to rise higher, water flows downhill, but how come his path is getting smoother and smoother?"

Hearing Pan Mi's double entendre, everyone couldn't help but smile.

Just then, a minister wearing a three-colored black sash entered the pavilion.

It was Fei Yi, the newly promoted Minister.

All the officials stepped forward and asked:

"What are your orders, Prime Minister?" Fei Yi shook his head and said:
"The Prime Minister did not say anything, but only told us to quickly count the grain and supplies and make sure they were transported to Hedong before autumn."

“That means the general military strategy remains unchanged,” Ma Su said knowingly.

"But what Hedong needs is not only food and supplies, but also soldiers to assist Generals Zhang and Zhao in pacifying the counties."

"Especially Zhao Zhenbei, whose troops sped northward, leaving many cities unconquered along the way."

"If the war falters, the entire army will be wiped out."

Pan Mi: "But Wei Zhengbei is unwilling to go north, so where can we get troops from? We can't just send Guan Fuhan (Guan Ping), can we?"

Fei Yi still shook his head:

"Of course not."

"With Wei and Guan advancing by both land and water, if Guan Fuhan had not provided cover and support on the water, Wei's troops would have been scattered across a narrow stretch of mountains and rivers for two or three hundred miles. They would have been easily cut off by the Wei navy and found themselves unable to support each other."

"On the contrary, if the infantry withdraws first, the naval forces will not have this concern on the Yellow River and can retreat to Hongnong or even Tongguan with ease."

After their discussion, everyone present, regardless of their military knowledge, understood the current situation.

The area east of the river is not only short of food, but also of troops!

Unfortunately, the only available force was being led by a disgruntled commander.

It's the kind of reasoned and well-founded argument.

"I've heard a rumor."

Pan Mi suddenly said mysteriously.

"I've heard that His Majesty intends to send the newly formed Tiger Guard and Feathered Forest Guard from the Forbidden City to Hedong!"

"Really?" Everyone was astonished.

Whether it was the Tiger Guard or the Feathered Guard, they were both important forces protecting the palace.

The fact that the emperor was willing to send him to the battlefield shows that he had some courage.

It is unclear whether this was His Majesty's original intention or the result of advice from a certain minister.

Pan Mi added, "This matter should be true."

"When General Zhang went on his expedition earlier, didn't Feng Xiuyuan already take away the White Feather Army left behind by the late emperor?"

"I heard that His Majesty intended to go all out at that time, but the Prime Minister was concerned that the people of Guanzhong were not yet deeply loyal to him, so he held back."

"General Wei's proposal to re-establish the Tiger Guard and Feathered Forest Guard also stemmed from this concern."

"However, now that we are in the process of making a difference in Hedong, we can no longer afford to worry about trivial matters."

"Even if His Majesty hadn't brought it up, there would probably have been some ministers who risked their lives to speak up."

Only then did everyone begin to believe it.

But in doing so, things inevitably return to where they were.

The Tiger Warriors and Feathered Forest Guards were considered the elite of the Han army.

But at most, there are only two or three thousand men.

This was not enough to have a decisive effect on the battlefield in Hedong.

We will definitely need other sources of manpower.

Moreover, neither Guan Xing nor Jiang Wei, these two young generals, are currently qualified enough to lead an army on their own.

A general of sufficient prestige is needed to lead the troops.

At this moment, Ma Su suddenly sighed and said:

"I'm sure you all share my opinion on the choice of this general to lead the troops."

"However, Lord Mi is seriously ill, and General Wei, in order to fulfill his filial duty, should not travel far..."

Everyone sighed upon hearing this.

It can only be said that this battle came at a bad time, which tied the hands and feet of our ever-victorious general.

……

Hanoi Commandery, Zhi County.

Sima Yi frowned subconsciously as he watched the troops marching into the mountains.

Wu Zhi, who was riding alongside him, naturally noticed his expression and scoffed softly:
"What's wrong? You're suddenly feeling timid now that you're at the foot of the mountain?"

Sima Yi sneered and said:
Sun Tzu of Wu said: "A lost country cannot be restored, and the dead cannot be brought back to life."

"Life and death, survival and extinction, are matters of great importance; how can we not be fearful and cautious about them?"

He then pointed to the distant Zhiguan Pass, and said:
"Although this route is a shortcut for sending troops to Hedong, it is narrow and long, which is inconvenient for transporting supplies. It is advantageous for surprise attacks but not for prolonged battles."

"Now that I wish to engage in a protracted stalemate with Zhuge Liang, I must consider the long-term implications."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhi straightened up slightly, stroked his chin, and said:
"Didn't you send Chen Lingjun and Xu Yuanzhi to persuade the emperor to issue an edict ordering Zhang He to cross the Yellow River and head north?"

(End of this chapter)