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

Chapter 364 North and South Come Together
"They are indeed conscripting troops northward, but it is also truly for the purpose of rescuing Ye City."

Sima Yi explained without changing his expression.

Cao Rui looked at him suspiciously.

Sima Yi: "I dare to ask: Does Your Majesty believe that Zhao Yun's troops are sufficient to attack Ye City?"

“That is certainly insufficient.” Cao Rui shook his head decisively.

"According to reports from the northern counties, Zhao Yun only brought a thousand or so cavalry down the mountain. Even if he is as brave as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, our Ji Province is not lacking in elite troops and fierce generals. Why should we fear a mere thousand cavalrymen from the enemy?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Tai stepped forward and clasped his hands in a respectful gesture:

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead eight hundred cavalry to capture the traitorous general!"

Xiahou Mao, a beat slower, could only reluctantly express his willingness to lead eight hundred knights into battle as well.

Fortunately, Cao Rui's focus was not on this:
"What I am worried about is that Zhao Yun will lead the vanguard, followed by a large army."

"Once they gather more than ten thousand people in Zhongshan, it will be too late to stop them!"

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi said:
"Your Majesty's considerations demonstrate a keen understanding of the situation! This is also a concern for us."

"I have served on the frontier for several years and know that Generals Tian and Xie are also knowledgeable in military affairs, and they must have been able to consider this possibility."

Cao Rui's gaze sharpened slightly, and he suddenly realized:
"Are you saying that the generals plan to march north to the Du and Xiguan lines to Shanggu County, and then from there go south to plunder Zhao Yun's rear and block his reinforcements?"

Sima Yi bowed:
"This is precisely the route taken by the Northern Expeditionary Force, outflanking the enemy from behind their lines. Your Majesty is truly wise!"

Cao Rui chuckled, his posture already somewhat relaxed:
"If the generals act in this way, it would be in accordance with military strategy."

"However, Shanggu and Daijun are frequently invaded by border barbarians. Will transporting the army's supplies there cause future problems?"

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi slightly puffed out his chest and said:
"Your humble servant is not talented, but in recent years I have done quite a bit of work in Youzhou to pacify the borders for the court."

"Now that the border tribes have heard of the names of you and your son, they will not surrender without a fight, but they will certainly avoid our sharp edge."

"While my son may not be as good as the two captains in battle, he is more than capable of handling the rear supply train!"

“Zhongda is being too modest,” Chen Qun suddenly interjected.

"The prestige of you and your son in Youzhou now extends far beyond the influence of the various Hu tribes."

Upon hearing Chen Qun's seemingly gentle yet barbed words, Sima Yi looked terrified and repeatedly apologized.

Cao Rui's doubts were thus largely dispelled.

He was certainly aware of Sima Yi's achievements in suppressing the border tribes.

He even became wary of him because he knew too much about him, and summoned him back to Ye City.

However, in the present moment, this has become the reason for him to trust Sima Shi and others.

Even if all else fails, Sima Yi himself is right beside him.

Could Sima Shi really disregard the safety of his own father?
He then offered some words of reassurance, and continued to ask for advice:

"That's true. But Zhao Yun's sudden eastward march will inevitably cause unrest in Ye City."

"What do you all think? Should I do something to appease them?"

This time, neither Sima Yi nor Chen Qun rushed to express their opinions.

However, Cao Tai and Xiahou Mao, based on their respective positions, began to speak enthusiastically.

However, these suggestions were nothing more than leading troops north to conquer, or advising Cao Rui to flee north as the emperor.

Cao Rui knew that one of these two men was more than loyal and brave, but lacked wisdom and strategy.

The word "courage" might still be questionable.

In any case, they are not generals worthy of being entrusted with important tasks.

So I could only offer a few words of encouragement along with their suggestions, but I didn't take them seriously.

And just as tonight's meeting came to a hasty end.

A soldier from the Imperial Guard rushed in to report a major military intelligence report from the Henan region.

Guan Ping's army has once again invaded the east, and has successively captured Puyang, the capital of Dongjun, Linqiu, the capital of Yanzhou, as well as other county towns and strongholds located between these two places.

From then on, Dongjun, which was across the river from Weijun, had fallen entirely.

Guanqiu Jian's rescue efforts were unsuccessful, and he has now retreated to the eastern end of Dongjun, at the junction of Dongping Kingdom and Shanyang County, to that huge lake called Dayeze.

It is said that Emperor Liu Shan of the Han Dynasty, who was in Luoyang, was delighted to hear the good news and decided to travel to Puyang to personally reward the soldiers.

For Ye City on the north bank of the Dahe River, this was undoubtedly even more terrifying news than Zhao Yun's eastward march out of the Taihang Mountains.

Although Zhao Yun was not hindered by a large river, he only had a little over a thousand men.

Meanwhile, in Dongjun, on the north bank of the Dahe River, Guan Ping had at least tens of thousands of troops. Nearby were also fearsome Han generals such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Mi Wei.

What if these troops, inspired by Liu Shan, suddenly cross the Yellow River and launch a northern expedition?

What should the rulers and ministers of Wei do?
Should we hold Yecheng to the bitter end, or...?

"The capital must not be moved again!"

Cao Rui gritted his teeth and said.

“In the past, when I moved north to Yecheng, it was because the enemy was overwhelming and I had no choice but to do so.”

"Even so, the Liyang Alliance still caused such a mess."

"If Ye City is abandoned now, tell me, how many people in the world will still acknowledge me as the Emperor of Great Wei? Huh?"

Upon hearing this, the four ministers all knelt down, pleading for their deaths.

But what he was really thinking was something only heaven knew.

After a moment of excitement, Cao Rui calmed down, looked around, and couldn't come up with a better idea than defending the capital to the death.

Just as he was lost in thought, Sima Yi suddenly looked up and stared intently, saying:

"Your Majesty, I have a plan that may prolong the life of our Great Wei... However, this plan requires Your Majesty to risk your life, which is worth a fortune. Even if it succeeds, you may still suffer humiliation... I wonder if Your Majesty would be willing to listen to it?"

Cao Rui remained silent for a long time, but in the end, he could not resist the desire to survive and the ambition inherited from his father and grandfather.

Then he solemnly said:
"I am not afraid of death, so why should I be afraid of taking risks and suffering humiliation? Just tell me directly."

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi took a deep breath and said in a slightly trembling voice:

"In autumn, the horses are strong and the fish are fat; Your Majesty, I request a southern hunt along the Yellow River!"

Cao Rui was slightly taken aback, and a sharp glint suddenly flashed in his eyes under the dim candlelight.

……

"Why did the imperial carriage come to Puyang?"

Guan Ping looked at his younger brother, Guan Xing, the so-called Tiger General, and was momentarily speechless with astonishment.

Guan Xing said with slight excitement:

“Someone told Your Majesty that Dongjun is now at peace, so they requested Your Majesty to visit the prefecture to reassure the people.”

"Your Majesty hesitated at first, but then someone said that Shi Shan had previously defeated Cao Hong in Yuzhou, and now my brother has also defeated Guanqiu Jian in Yanzhou. It is clear that our army is invincible. If Your Majesty does not continue eastward, it means that you do not trust your own generals, and that it will discourage the entire army..."

"Wait here, wait here!" Guan Ping waved his hand repeatedly.

"I have no objection to the claim that Shi Shan decisively defeated Cao Hong. But what about his great victory over Guanqiu Jian? Who told you that I defeated him?"

Guan Xing was surprised by his brother's reaction and asked in astonishment:
"Elder brother has captured three cities in succession and recovered the entire territory of Dongjun. How can this not be a great victory?"

Guan Ping immediately put on a stern face and reprimanded:

"You've been learning military skills from me since you were a child, and you've been pampered in the Emperor's presence all these years. How come you can't even understand military reports?"

"Is a resounding victory the same as a crushing defeat?"

"Taking the three cities quickly and taking Dongjun in its entirety would certainly be a victory. But that's because Guanqiu Jian saw that Shi Shan's army was strong and feared being attacked from both sides. In addition, he suffered several setbacks in field battles with me, so he took the initiative to retreat."

"According to my estimate, their troops still number over ten thousand, and they can still receive reinforcements from Qingxu and Huainan. It is far from being a major defeat for us!"

Guan Xing was stunned:
"Then why didn't you explain it clearly in the military report, elder brother?"

"You're blaming me now?" Guan Ping said irritably.

"At that time, I had not yet ascertained Guanqiu Jian's true nature, so I could only report the victory first to reassure His Majesty and the people of Luoyang. Who would have thought that His Majesty would come in person in the blink of an eye? It truly proves the saying, 'Too much of a good thing is bad'..."

At this point, the two brothers looked at each other, speechless.

Although Guan Xing did not explicitly state who "someone" was.

But Guan Ping had been fighting near Luoyang and was one of the first to witness the earlier turmoil, so how could he not guess who it was?
Who else could it be?
He then asked, "Besides your elite Tiger Guards, what other troops are beside the carriage? How many of each are there?"

Guan Xing immediately replied:

"My Tiger Warriors number over a thousand, all fully equipped with weapons. However, most are sons of nobles and meritorious officials, and only a small fraction are skilled in battle."

"The Imperial Guards are much the same."

"Those two thousand Imperial Guards are either from good families in the six prefectures or are meritorious soldiers carefully selected from various armies. They are all good at fighting and can be used."

"In addition, there are three thousand troops and auxiliary soldiers temporarily conscripted from Henan."

After listening, Guan Ping skipped over the three types of soldiers—the Gentleman, the County, and the Assistant—and asked only one question:
"I heard that Jiang Boyue has been reassigned since he followed the Prime Minister to Pingdi Guanxi. I wonder who will command the Imperial Guards now?"

(End of this chapter)