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

Chapter 368 Changes and Unexpected Events

"Uncle, what happened?" Wang Jun asked anxiously.

Xu Shu's expression shifted between light and dark as he said:
"The Wei ruler traveled south to Dunqiu, where he faced His Majesty across the river."

“Your Majesty…” Wang Jun was slightly taken aback before realizing who Xu Shu was referring to.

His expression changed several times immediately.

The emperors of these two families were originally separated by thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.

How did they suddenly end up together?
Xu Shu: "It is said that Sima Yi is also by the side of the Wei ruler, and he may have been involved in this matter."

"This person is ruthless and cunning, and is also good at enduring hardship. I am not there, so it is difficult for me to learn about the development of the situation in time and inform the court."

"Shizhi, you must go south immediately, and remember..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Jun solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute and said:
"Please rest assured, Uncle, I will be careful with my words and actions while serving the King of Wei, and I will not reveal any flaws!"

But Xu Shu shook his head and said:

"No, you are still young. There is no need for you to perish by the side of the Wei ruler who will fall sooner or later."

"I want you to quickly head south to Shangdang, contact Deng Shizai, and have him, if necessary, head north to Huguan, then east out of Taihang, and head straight for Yecheng!"

Wang Jun had no objection, but he couldn't help being curious:
"Whom does your maternal uncle plan to send to Dunqiu?"

Xu Shu stroked his beard slowly, and after a long while, he finally spoke:

"This is a very important matter, so I have no choice but to go there myself."

"It's just the time for the year-end accounting, and as the governor of the prefecture, I should also travel around a bit."

……

Everything in the world is constantly changing.

Furthermore, due to each person's different temperament and beliefs, different consequences arise.

These consequences are intertwined and can trigger some unpredictable variables.

For example, an unexpected autumn rain.

This caused Sima Shi to return empty-handed.

This will also mean that an unexpected military force of the Han army will soon appear on the land of Hebei.

However, due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, the Cao Wei rulers and their ministers did not entirely miscalculate.

For example, a letter that arrived late due to the long journey prompted Xu Shu, who planned to return to Han within the year, to once again venture deep into Cao Cao's camp.

At the same time, he cautiously sent his son-in-law Wang Jun to Shangdang to deliver the message, ensuring that Deng Ai's well-prepared secret plan would not fail at the crucial moment due to slow intelligence transmission.

For example, Zhao Yun, an old general who was already of retirement age, lingered on the border of Zhongshan and Changshan counties for several months.

In the end, we had to call it a day due to an early winter snow, and unfortunately, we were unable to visit our hometown of Zhengding.

When this intelligence gradually reached the temporary residence of the Wei emperor on the banks of the river...

As expected, Cao Rui immediately made a big deal out of this matter.

First, he highly praised the three generals, Sima Shi, Xie Jun, and Tian Yu, for their meritorious service in defending against the enemy.

Although the last of the three had actually been under house arrest for six months.

However, apart from Sima Yi and a few others, no one knew about this matter.

Therefore, he accepted Cao Rui's praise with a clear conscience and obtained the title of "General of the Northern Army" for his young eldest son, so that Sima Shi could better control the many veteran soldiers and generals in Youzhou.

However, it's unclear whether this is due to excessive boasting.

Overjoyed, Cao Rui once again granted Sima Yi the imperial insignia and axe.

He was ordered to lead 20,000 troops across the river while the water was shallow in winter to bring Guanqiu Jian's men back to Hebei.

Sima Yi almost lost his composure.

He once suspected that Cao Rui had discovered his and his son's shady dealings in Youzhou, so he repeatedly declined, claiming that he was not capable enough for important tasks and that his reputation was not enough to convince the public.

As a result, Cao Rui issued an edict the next day appointing him as Minister of Works, and together with Minister of Works Chen Qun, he was put in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat, ranking among the Three Dukes.

Moreover, he threatened that if he refused again, it would be considered a sign of rebellion.

Now Sima Yi had no choice but to accept it, whether he wanted to or not.

But he was inherently disloyal, so he wouldn't easily give in.

After discussing it, they secretly sent someone across the river to contact the Shu Han ruler and his ministers, requesting that Guanqiu Jian be spared.

Of course, it's not simply about placing it.

Instead, Guanqiu Jian was permitted to retreat north to the lower reaches of the Yellow River, near Sidujin, within the territory of Jibei State (Prefecture). This area was located at the border of Yanzhou and Qingzhou, far from Dongjun, so as not to disturb the imperial carriages of either emperor.

With Guanqiu Jian gone, Guan Ping's troops could be freed from the complex terrain of Dayeze and fully protect Emperor Liu Shan of Han in Dongjun.

After Sima Yi brought Guanqiu Jian back, he could fulfill Cao Rui's mission and enhance his personal prestige.

This was beneficial for him in leading the peace talks with Cao Wei later on.

Of course, all of this is predicated on Sima Yi keeping his promise afterwards.

Of course, Miwei didn't trust his promise.

We don't expect any innocent river to take the blame.

He only believed in objective geographical conditions and military needs.

After repeatedly confirming the feasibility of this operation with Guan Ping, he offered two suggestions for modification.

First, Guanqiu Jian's troops had to retreat in batches, and this had to be done under the supervision of the Han army.

Secondly, the crossing point was changed to Gaotang County, which is further downstream.

There is also a small ferry crossing on the Yellow River there, called Zhanggong Ferry.

Most importantly, the northeastern part of Yanzhou is no longer flat because it includes part of the Taishan mountain range.

Along the way, there are remnants of the ancient Qi Great Wall, which made it easy for the Han army to quickly build fortifications on the spot to defend against the enemy.

Gaotang is located just north of this ancient Great Wall.

In this way, even if Sima Yi and Guanqiu Jian turned against each other midway, the Han army would still have enough leeway to deal with the situation.

Sima Yi readily agreed to the two conditions.

He was even more eager to get away from Cao Rui.

Thus, after winter had fully arrived, the generals of both sides reached an initial cooperation agreement through behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

Guanqiu Jian's troops withdrew to Hebei.

The first phase of the retreat went relatively smoothly.

Guan Ping conquered the entire Dayeze without bloodshed, and also took over the neighboring Dongping County.

However, when the Wei army retreated to Jibei, things took a turn for the worse.

Guanqiu Jian's troops were either demoralized or suffering from a shortage of food.

Several small-scale incidents of rioting occurred in succession.

Guan Ping naturally had no reason to help the enemy general quell the rebellion.

So they watched the show while carefully guarding the road to ensure the mutinous soldiers didn't wander into their territory.
As for whether these people will wander into Mount Tai in the north or even further into Qingzhou, that's none of our business for now.

In conclusion, five or six thousand Wei soldiers eventually reached the designated crossing point, Gaotang County.

Sima Yi had long been impatient and sent someone to urge Guanqiu Jian to cross the river to the north as soon as possible.

However, for some reason, Guanqiu Jian suddenly became difficult.

They neither received Sima Yi's envoy nor immediately organized the remaining troops to cross the river.

If pushed too far, he would say that he had already retreated to the territory of Jizhou and had a duty to defend the land, so there was no need for him to cross the river again.

Yes, Gaotang County is located on the south bank of the main channel of the river.

However, administratively it belonged to Pingyuan State (or Commandery) of Jizhou.

It was the Pingyuan Kingdom where Liu Bei served as prime minister in his early years.

This is also the location of Cao Rui's fiefdom nine years ago, when he was stripped of his title of Marquis of Pingyuan due to his mother's crime.

Guanqiu Jian joined Cao Rui's faction around that time and gradually became his confidant.

From this perspective.

Guanqiu Jian's awkward situation was well-founded, reasonable, and compassionate.

Unless Cao Rui himself arrives, no one should criticize him.

Left with no other option, Sima Yi crossed the river that very night to persuade Guanqiu Jian.

But as soon as they entered the central command tent, Guanqiu Jian himself had already vanished.

Only one letter remained, neatly placed on the table.

(End of this chapter)