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

Chapter 366 Each Has Their Own View
When Mi Wei arrived in Puyang, the envoys from both sides had already made several trips back and forth on the river.

The other side's demands are quite intriguing.
Cao Rui wrote a personal letter to Liu Shan.

In the letter, he respectfully addressed Liu Shan, who was three years younger than him, as "elder brother".

They also referred to the Han and Wei states as brother states, and their years of fighting each other were likened to brothers quarreling within the walls.

He declared that if the two sides continued to fight endlessly, it would not only go against the general trend of people wanting peace and stability.

It would also lead to the devastation of the Central Plains, with only one in a hundred people surviving.

At that time, barbarian tribes from all directions invaded, and the Central Plains was powerless to defend the borders, fearing a great disaster.

Therefore, it was proposed that both sides establish an alliance, turn swords into plowshares, and then work together to resist foreign aggression.

in short.

Cao Rui came to sue for peace.

Once this news spread, it naturally caused a huge stir.

First and foremost are those who previously advocated for the enfeoffment of princes in Luoyang.

Commandant Liao Li of Changshui, Commandant Meng Guang of Tunqi, and Grand Counselor Du Qiong... all submitted memorials again at this time.

They claimed that as long as this alliance was formed, they could unify China within the year, revive the Han Dynasty, and lay the foundation for an everlasting dynasty.

Liu Shan could even have become a founding emperor comparable to Emperor Taizu and Emperor Shizu.

If these people were to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble, it was within Liu Shan and Dong Yun's expectations.

So when Mi Wei came to pay his respects, he surprisingly suggested that they talk to Cao Rui.

Miwei has two reasons:
"Firstly, at this juncture, our country still needs to clear out the remaining enemy forces in Henan, while also observing the outcome of the eastern expedition led by Sima Shi and others in Youzhou. We should remain unchanged in the face of all changes."

"Secondly, since the alliance was proposed by the other side, we can take this opportunity to make exorbitant demands."

"If they agree, and the conditions are favorable enough, it is not impossible to fulfill the wishes of the people of the world."

"If you do not agree, then the responsibility for disrupting the peace lies with them, not with me, and Your Majesty will not lose the support of the scholars because of this."

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Liu Shan couldn't help but praise.

But when he turned around, he saw that Dong Yun looked suspicious.

Mi Wei: "If Xiu Zhao has any doubts, just speak them."

Dong Yun bowed slightly and said:
"I am not familiar with military affairs and dare not speak presumptuously. But at this time, Hebei should still be in the autumn harvest season."

"Ignoring the busy farming season, the enemy is conscripting laborers on a large scale. Is it all just to get a peace treaty?"

Mi Wei gave Dong Yun an approving look and said:
"Of course it's more than that."

"I am observing, but isn't he also observing?"

"To put it more simply, Guanqiu Jian is putting up a stubborn resistance in the waters of Dayeze. As long as his troops do not collapse, Cao Rui can always use him as a bridge to connect with the generals in Huainan, and will not be completely isolated north of the Yellow River."

"Looking further ahead, the situation in the two northern provinces of You and Bing, and the two southern provinces of Yang and Jing, changes several times a day. Until the very last moment, we cannot say that the outcome is decided."

"So they also had the idea of ​​fighting while negotiating."

"If there is any difference between us, it is that our dynasty occupies most of the rich and fertile lands of the world, and as time goes by, we will eventually gain the upper hand."

"Cao Wei is declining, and if we don't take advantage of the current situation to negotiate, we may not even have the chance to negotiate in the future."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shan asked in surprise:

"So, does this mean that Cao Rui, after being besieged in Ye City for several years, has lost his will to fight?"

“It wasn’t Cao Rui,” Mi Wei said, shaking his head.

"They are subjects of the Cao family."

Liu Shan and Dong Yun exchanged a glance, and gradually understood.

Sima Yi and his son secretly sought to be granted the title of king, and they were certainly aware that Sima Yi had been summoned back to Ye City.

Thinking about it this way, after Sima Yi returned south, he was not confined to the confines of the capital. Instead, he connected with his superiors and subordinates and regained the initiative.

Cao Rui was likely unable to resist the trend of his subjects urging for peace, and had no choice but to reluctantly go on his southern hunt.

It can only be said that the Great Wei General Who Pacifies the Army is indeed a man of considerable skill.

Upon hearing Mi Wei's analysis, Liu Shan felt much more at ease.

Whether he felt at ease after seeing the situation clearly or because he saw Mi Wei, only he himself knows.

In short, the next two weeks.

Both sides continued to send envoys back and forth, engaging in a war of words.

They said they wouldn't accept the title of "brother state," and at most they'd grant the title of "King of the County."

They said that the Prince had been too humiliated, and that even if things went badly, he should at least preserve the territory of the three prefectures north of the Yellow River.

They say you have no territory of three provinces, Bingzhou is down to just Yanmen County, and it's still uncertain whether Youzhou will be under the jurisdiction of Yecheng.

The other side suggested redefining the borders based on the existing territory. Of course, the Shu Han dynasty wouldn't accept this easily and continued the wrangling.

During this period, after receiving reinforcements from Xi Hongzhou's army, Guan Ping successfully defeated Guanqiu Jian on the east bank of Dayeze and took over Jiyin County on this side.

However, as Guanqiu Jian retreated into the depths of the marshland, the terrain became increasingly complex, inevitably delaying the progress of the battle.

The struggle for the throne in Wu, along with the large-scale expansion of territory by Zhu Ling and Zang Ba in Yangzhou, added considerable uncertainty to this negotiation, which was destined to be fraught with difficulties.

This continued until mid-autumn.

The Youzhou battlefield, which should have been on the periphery, underwent a subtle change due to an unexpected heavy autumn rain.

……

Youzhou, Lichang.

Sima Shi looked out at the endless freezing rain outside the city wall, his brows furrowing into a deep frown.

He followed his father, Sima Yi, to garrison Youzhou for many years and also fought in Liaoxi.

Naturally, it is known that this place has a unique climate with occasional continuous heavy rains during the summer and autumn.

So he and his son had spent the entire summer observing the situation in Ji County.

Only after confirming that there would be no large-scale rainfall this year did they finally decide to implement this long-planned "last resort".

Who would have thought that this would be the most conservative and safest solution?

The initial progress was smooth.

As a result, the army gathered on the banks of the Yu River, about to continue eastward to cross the Liao River at the crucial moment.

But then, an unexpected storm struck!
After a series of heavy rains.

The coastal trail from western Liaoning to Lichang has been submerged and turned into a muddy mess.

This road was not only a key passage for Sima Shi's advance into Liaodong.

It is also the logistical supply route that its army relies on.

This road is temporarily blocked.

How to support his 20,000 troops?
Can this battle continue?
As he pondered, he heard the voice of another Xianbei captain, Jie Jun:
"Ziyuan, I've calculated it carefully."

"From here to Xiangping in Liaodong, the trail is four or five hundred li long."

“You and I will each lead six hundred elite cavalry, with seven days’ rations, one rider and three horses, and we can cover the distance in three days with a simple, fast march.”

Even if we walk slowly, we should arrive in four days.

Sima Shi frowned:
"And then what? Do you expect a thousand knights to break through Xiangcheng?"

"Although the Central Plains cavalry under Gongsun Gong's command are weak, they are not so weak that they cannot withstand more than a thousand cavalrymen even with a well-preserved city!"

Xie Jun was quite dissatisfied with the young man's questioning.

However, he had already submitted to Sima Yi and was deeply involved, so there was no turning back.

He could only take a deep breath and explain:

"I certainly don't expect a thousand cavalry to break through the city."

"But wasn't Gongsun Yuan already dissatisfied with his uncle occupying the position of prefect?"

"Now that he is of advanced age, he will certainly not be willing to remain subordinate to others for long."

"If we can lure them into coordinating with us from within, we might be able to achieve a great victory in this battle!"

Upon hearing this, Sima Shi frowned even more deeply:

"How could I not know that Gongsun Yuan has ambitions?"

"But the key question is, why should they believe that we will help them seize the throne, rather than replace them?"

Jie Jun retorted indignantly, "How do you know he doesn't believe you if you don't try?"

Snapped.

Sima Shi tossed a bamboo slip, soaked by the rain, into Xie Jun's arms.

The latter touched the writing medium, which was becoming increasingly rare these days, and finally suppressed his anger and carefully opened it.

Then, the anger quickly disappeared from his face.

All that remains is helplessness and worry.

Gongsun Yuan was indeed as Sima Shi had predicted—cunning and cautious.

In the letter, he demanded that the Wei army only make feigned movements in the area west of the Liao River, in order to cooperate with him in forcing his uncle Gongsun Gong to abdicate.

Otherwise, they would regard the Wei army as invaders and would rather never touch the position of governor.

Jie Jun: "Then what about you and me? Are we still going to Liaodong?"

(End of this chapter)