dognovel Chapter 787 Cao Pi's escape route blocked
Chapter 787 Cao Pi's escape route blocked
After listening to Zhang Yi's report, Shen Yi walked to the map and said, "I just came back from Guzeng Pass. Guzeng Pass has been abandoned for hundreds of years and now only has a name left. Our hope of using Guzeng Pass to block the Wei army has been dashed. It seems that we can only settle for second best and hold the four passes to force Cao Pi to Xuchang."
"Sigh..." Jiang Wei and Zhang Yi sighed at the same time, their faces full of regret.
As the main force in this operation, they naturally hoped to hold Fangcheng Xia Road and block the 400,000 Wei troops in the Nanyang Basin so that Liu Bei could annihilate them in one battle.
How exhilarating it would be to annihilate 400,000 Wei troops in one battle! If successful, not only would one be remembered for eternity, recorded in history books like the Battle of Changping, but one victory would also completely pave the way for Liu Bei's Northern Expedition. Unfortunately...
While settling for second best is not bad, it falls far short of the glory on paper compared to annihilating the Wei army, which is truly disheartening.
However, Jiang Wei also knew that the battlefield was not something he could do as he pleased, so he could only ask, "General, what should we do next? Should we go to the city of Luoyang and make a show of ourselves to scare the princes and nobles in Luoyang?"
Shen Yi pondered, "There's no need for that for now. The Wei troops who escaped from Yique Pass and Dagu Pass have definitely returned. Once they're back, we've achieved our goal, so there's no need to further disperse our forces. Let's focus our energy on the main Wei army."
Jiang Wei sighed, "That's a real shame. I was hoping to recapture Luoyang and make a name for myself in one battle, but it seems I won't have that chance now."
Shen Yi patted his shoulder and laughed and scolded, "You really dare to dream of becoming famous in one battle by recapturing Luoyang. First of all, Luoyang is the capital, not a small place like Guangcheng Pass. Even if we had ten times more troops, we might not be able to take down a strong city like Luoyang, let alone with only twenty or thirty thousand troops."
"Secondly, Luoyang is the capital of the Han Dynasty. To recapture the capital, His Majesty must come in person. We, as his subjects, cannot overstep our bounds."
Emperor Guangwu moved the capital to Luoyang nearly two hundred years ago. In such a long time, Luoyang has long been regarded as a sacred place in the hearts of the people of the Han Dynasty. At present, Luoyang's status is even higher than that of Chang'an.
This status meant that whoever recaptured Luoyang would instantly rise to the top of their personal prestige, but this top was not easy to climb; the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
Having worked at the grassroots level for many years and being well-versed in the ways of the workplace, Shen Yi didn't want to be disliked for showing off. She'd rather leave such opportunities for the leaders to enjoy.
Jiang Wei didn't quite understand, but he still chose to obey military orders, clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "So what do we do now?"
Shen Yi pondered, “Zhang Yi, go back and take over Dagu Pass. Boyue, you stay and guard Guangcheng Pass. As for me, when Shamoke returns, I will go with him to patrol the road from Fangcheng Xiadao to Xudu and harass the Wei army’s supply lines. If we succeed, the Wei army, which has run out of supplies, will only have two choices: either retreat to Xudu immediately or fight His Majesty in advance.”
"I will then order the Hu brothers to lead two thousand troops to Huanyuan Pass to relieve Zhang Bao, and have Zhang Bao come to join me."
When Zhang Bao launched the surprise attack on Huanyuan Pass, he only brought two thousand men, which was a bit weak. He might not be able to withstand the Wei army's counterattack, so reinforcements had to be sent.
Send the Hu brothers with two thousand men, and together with the two thousand Zhang Bao brought, four thousand troops will be enough to defend Huanyuan Pass.
As for Zhang Bao himself, it would be a waste to leave his formidable attack power, comparable to his father's, at Huanyuan Pass. He should hurry up and join me.
Therefore, in light of the current situation, Shen Yi made the following arrangements: he ordered Liu Laosan to lead 2,000 troops to guard Yique Pass, Zhang Yi to lead 6,000 troops to guard Dagu Pass, Jiang Wei to lead 8,000 troops to guard Guangcheng Pass, and the Hu brothers to lead 4,000 troops to guard Huanyuan Pass. In this way, he only had 3,000 infantrymen and Shamoke's 4,000 cavalrymen left, which was enough to harass the supply lines.
Once the deployment is complete, we just wait for Shamok to return so we can take action.
……
Wancheng was an ominous place for the Cao family. It was here that Cao Cao killed three virtuous men with a single cannon shot: his eldest son Cao Ang, his nephew Cao Anmin, and his beloved general Dian Wei.
Now that Cao Pi has arrived, although he hasn't acted as recklessly as his father, his feelings towards Wancheng are quite complicated. If Cao Cao hadn't acted recklessly and caused the death of his elder brother Cao Ang, he wouldn't have been able to become the heir apparent or even the emperor. From this perspective, he should really be grateful for the feng shui of Wancheng.
But given the current situation, being an emperor might not be a good job.
The recent string of bad news from Dahong Mountain has only worsened Cao Pi's already low spirits.
Inside the prefectural residence, which Cao Pi had converted into a temporary palace, Liu Ye and Wang Lang were standing at a table reporting to Cao Pi. Liu Ye bowed and said, "Currently, the Zhangling defense line has been held by General Xu Huang. It's impossible for Zhang Fei to capture Zhangling and open up the Sui-Zhang corridor in the short term, but..."
"News has come from Jiangxia that Liu Bei has appointed Zong Yu as the new governor of Jiangxia, but things may change."
Cao Pi asked, "What do you mean?"
Liu Ye continued, "The previous governor of Jiangxia was Shen Yi. Shen Yi's achievements are obvious to all. He has made merits and made no mistakes, so there is no reason for him to be replaced. Moreover, changing generals in the midst of battle is a major taboo in military strategy. Liu Bei has been fighting for many years, so how could he not understand this principle?"
"Furthermore, since Shen Yi is no longer the governor of Jiangxia, he must have been appointed to another post. In addition, Guan Xing has always been good at maneuvering and flanking. I think that Shen Yi must have received a new mission after resigning as governor of Jiangxia, and he has probably gone to the rear of our army again."
Upon hearing this, Cao Pi's expression changed slightly. He stood up, stared at the map for a moment, and said, "Where do you think Shen Yi will go, my dear minister?"
Liu Ye replied, "It's nothing more than Xuchang and Luoyang, but Luoyang has passes and defenses, so Shen Yi can't get through in a short time. He can only go to Xuchang."
It would be much easier to attack Xuchang than to attack Luoyang.
Furthermore, Xuchang was the former capital of Cao Wei, and its political influence was second only to Luoyang. If Shen Yi were to take Xuchang, it would be a fatal blow to the morale of the Wei army.
Wang Lang said, "I second that opinion."
Cao Pi sneered, "Then there's no need to worry. I'm at ease with Xiahou Chong in charge of Xuchang. Besides, since Shen Yi is making a flanking maneuver, he can't possibly have too many troops with him. Twenty thousand at most. It's wishful thinking to think that a mere twenty thousand troops can take Xuchang. Do you really think Xuchang is Jianye?"
"Report..." Before the words were finished, the guard outside rushed in with a messenger carrying a command flag on his back. The messenger, exhausted and nearly fainting, collapsed to the ground and said with difficulty, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. Dagu Pass and Guangcheng Pass have fallen."
"What?" Cao Pi exclaimed in surprise. Liu Ye and Wang Lang's expressions also changed drastically. They wanted to ask for details but found that the messenger had already fainted.
Liu Ye had no choice but to squat down and search the body. He took out a letter from the messenger's arms and quickly handed it to Cao Pi. Cao Pi checked the seal and quickly opened it. After reading it, he handed it to Liu Ye and said, "Shen Yi's target is neither Xuchang nor Luoyang, but the two passes of Dagu and Guangcheng."
Liu Ye glanced at the document briefly and said, "Shen Yi is trying to block His Majesty's escape route and doesn't want His Majesty to return to Luoyang. This despicable idea must have come from Guan Xing."
The passes of Otani and Hiroshige were the only way for Cao Pi to return to Luoyang. Once they fell, Cao Pi would not be able to retreat to Luoyang for a short period of time.
If the emperor couldn't return to his capital, wouldn't he be laughed at by the whole world?
Wang Lang frowned and said, "I really didn't expect Shen Yi to attack Dagu Pass and Guangcheng Pass instead of Xudu. It seems that Shen Yi's goal from the beginning was to block His Majesty's retreat. But Dagu Pass and Guangcheng Pass together have tens of thousands of garrison troops. How could Shen Yi possibly take them so quickly?"
Liu Ye continued, "Since they're heading to block His Majesty's retreat, then Yique Pass and Huanyuan Pass have probably fallen as well. If His Majesty wants to return to the capital, he'll have to go through Hulao Pass, which is a very long detour."
Compared to Guangcheng Valley, Yique and Huanyuan Passes seemed less important, as these two passes were located in more dangerous positions and the corresponding roads were narrower, making them unsuitable for large-scale troop passage. Even if Yique and Huanyuan Passes had not fallen, Cao Pi would not have taken those routes.
Cao Pi sighed, "What's the use of talking about this now? Immediately summon the General back to discuss military matters."