Chapter 198: Deadly Bait

In March of the eighth year of Jian'an, Xudu was just a while when it was still cold. A carriage covered in blue cloth quietly approached the back door of the Prime Minister's Mansion in the dark. After stopping in front of the door, a young man dressed in plain clothes and wearing a crown scarf walked out of the car. His face was slender and a pair of eagle eyes flashed strange light from time to time.

"Master Sima is here. The Prime Minister has been waiting for a long time. Please come inside!" The manager who had already met at the door smiled respectfully and asked him forward while speaking. He let the young man enter the mansion.

"It's hard to work hard for the manager of the business so late. This is a little meaning, please accept it with a smile." After the young man said that, he took out a small bag from his arms and stuffed it into the manager's hands.

"How can you be so embarrassed? Lord Sima is so polite. If you have any questions in the future, please just give me instructions." The manager secretly picked up the weight of the bag and showed a satisfied smile on his face.

This young man named Sima was Sima Yi, the attendant censor. He was born in the famous clan of Henoi, Sili. He was initially a minor official in the county. In the second year of Jian'an, he was summoned to serve as a literary officer and was promoted to the attendant censor in the spring of the seventh year.

The back door of the Prime Minister's Mansion is close to pavilions and pavilions, and the backyard is filled with gurgling water. The scenery here is full of magnificence. Whether it is the eaves of carved beams and painted buildings or the roads paved with bluestone, it highlights the craftsman's skill, but also shows the owner's extremely noble status.

This is the place where Cao Cao and Liu Bei used wine to discuss heroes. Of course, the courtyards are even more ancient.

Under the leadership of the attendant, Sima Yi finally came to a separate and exquisite building. Judging from the lights displayed on the building window, the owner here had not yet rested.

Sima Yi stopped, took a deep breath, and tried hard to calm himself down. He was about to meet Cao Cao, the most powerful prime minister of the Han Dynasty alone. Such opportunities are not common, and he must seize them well.

"Is it Zhongda?" Cao Cao, who was writing a manuscript before the case, asked loudly when he heard the footsteps outside.

"Sima Zhongda of Hanoi has met the Prime Minister." Sima Yi stepped in after hearing the sound, and stood respectfully on the side with his head down. Although the Prime Minister and the Censor of the Court were officials in the same dynasty, their actual status was very different. Cao Cao was not an emperor, but his power was comparable to that of the emperor. Sima Yi, who knew the reason, knew that holding a position in the Prime Minister's Mansion was much better than that of the Censor of the Court.

"Zhongda, please give up the gift." Cao Cao laughed proudly, rolled up his sleeves and helped Sima Yi.

"The Prime Minister is sleepless late at night, but he is worried about the enemy in Jiangnan?" Sima Yi raised his eyes and said in observing his expression.

Cao Cao sat down and smiled and said, "Zhongda is indeed smart. It seems that I have not known the wrong person. Yes, Jiangdong Gao Chong has now occupied the four states of Jing, Yang, Jiao and Yi. Although this child has started from a small period of time, he has repeatedly defeated powerful enemies. Sun Ce, Liu Biao, Liu Bei and others are all heroes in the same place. They are all unable to fight with them. Now they are confronting each other in the north and south, and the battle has been completed. I wonder what Zhongda has to say about this?"

On the day when Wang Lang was scolded to death by Zhuge Liang's book review, Sima Yi's unique demeanor made Cao Cao, who had always had a keen eye, feel happy. He praised the talented people in the enemy camp, so he naturally would not let people like Sima Yi be abandoned as an optional Censor.

After hearing Cao Cao's question, Sima Yi, who had already prepared his answers, thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, Yi thought Gao Chong was an extraordinary person and could not be used to guess it. Looking at what he had done before, he often acted unexpectedly and was killed many times before he was born. His courage, wisdom, strategy, and courage were all first-class. Although Sun Ce, Liu Biao and Liu Bei were also famous figures, their comprehensive abilities were still not as good as Gao Chong, so they were defeated in the battle."

Speaking of this, Sima Yi intentionally paused, looked at Cao Cao, and saw that Cao Cao was squinting his eyes and thinking without any anger. He thought to himself: The Prime Minister's demeanor is indeed different. If it were someone else, he would have been angry long ago when he heard someone praise his opponent so wildly.

Clearing his throat with confidence, Sima Yi continued: "Of course, Gao Chong's little thief is not completely without weakness. In Yi's opinion, Gao Chong was used to taking risks in his army. Taking the attack on Shu as an example, Gao Chong's troops gathered in Jingzhou at that time was 40,000 or 50,000 troops. If he had all his strength to move the west, he would be like to take things from his bag, which was easy to turn his back. But in fact, Gao Chong only used 20,000 naval troops to conquer Shu, which proved that Gao Chong was quite arrogant about himself, but sometimes, if he was too arrogant, he would be proud. Yi believed that Gao Chong's current Jiangdong, from Gao Chong to generals, were in a blind conceit, and this was our opportunity."

"Oh, what chance?" Cao Cao opened his eyes, and his eyes flashed.

"Prime Minister, please see—." Sima Yi quickly came to the case, pointed at the junction of Yu, Xu and Yang states, and said: "Now, most of the enemies in Jiangdong think that our army was exhausted during the expedition to Hebei. If we take advantage of the situation, the enemy will inevitably be happy. Once they cross the Huai River and go north, we can use cavalry to quickly intersect from Pengcheng, Runan and Hebei, and encircle the invading enemies. Then, we mobilize all our forces from Xudu, Chenliu, and Qingzhou to surround the points and fight for aid, and strive to win the final decisive battle with Gao Chong at the junction of these three states."

"What if the enemy sees through our army's intentions?" Cao Cao asked calmly.

"Prime Minister, it depends on whether the bait we set up fits Gao Chong's taste? Gao Chong's guard in Shouchun is Zhang Liao, a native of Yanbei. This man is a general under the command of Lv Wenhou, as well as the governor of Qingzhou Zang Ba, if Zang Ba can use the astronomy to study." Sima Yi smiled.

"Haha, a good idea. I am worried about the wealth of Jiangnan. It will be unfavorable for me to persist for a long time. If Zhongda's strategy can really induce Gao Chong to fight our army in the open plains in the north, there will be no one else in the first place to pacify!" Cao Cao stood up excitedly and laughed loudly.

Just as Xu Du Cao Cao and Sima Yi were conspiring, there was another fierce debate in the Jiangdong deliberation hall.

The dispute began with a letter of war request from Shouchun Prefect Zhang Liao.

Among the generals in Jiangdong, no one is more eager to enter the Central Plains than Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao, who was stationed on the front line of Shouchun for a long time, not only wanted to avenge his former master Lu Bu, but also hoped to prove himself with his glorious military achievements. Since he met Diao Chan in Shaopi that day, his mood has become even stronger.

Diao Chan's identity as the mistress made Zhang Liao hide his admiration in his heart. Since that day, Zhang Liao realized that Lu Bu's figure was like a mountain that he was insurmountable. If he could not cross him, he would always be able to stare at both ends of the mountain with Diao Chan.

A man’s glory comes from the battlefield. Only the merits that are stained with the blood of the enemy can reflect the value of a man.

Last twelfth lunar month (December 202), just as Gao Chong was expeditioning to Bashu, Zhang Liao led Yanbei cavalry to cross the dry Huai River, and took Ruyin, and pushed the front line bordering Cao Cao more than 100 miles north. If it weren't for the lack of troops, Zhang Liao's military front might have arrived at the Xiaoguan Pass.

At that time, Cao Cao, who was on his way back to the army, learned that there was a change in the south, so he urgently ordered the Qingzhou Governor Zang Ba to lead the army to reinforce Xuzhou Lejin. Zang Ba's name was Xuangao and worked with Zhang Liao under the jurisdiction of Wenhou Lu Bu. He was quite familiar with Zhang Liao's temperament and tactics. It can be said that they knew each other well. After several battles, the two sides won and lost each other, so they had to retreat and stop the battle.

Zhang Liao was not satisfied with the result of this Northern Expedition Xu Yu, so after Gao Chong returned to Jinling, Zhang Liao stepped up training Yanbei Cavalry while writing several letters to the Northern Expedition. When the news that Zhuge Liang's book angered Wang Lang to death reached Shouchun, Zhang Liao finally expressed his determination to the Northern Expedition to Gao Chong again. This time, from the bamboo slips written with blood seals in Zhang Liao's handwriting, Gao Chong saw Zhang Liao's eager ambition to fight.

As Xu Shu read aloud, the civil and military officials in Jiangdong were divided into two factions of urgent war and slow war according to their respective proposals. The side that was urgent war was led by Zhuge Liang, He Qi, Li Tong, Jiang Qin and other middle and lower-level military generals responded. They hoped to train troops immediately and take advantage of the opportunity when Cao Cao had not completely eliminated the remnants of the Yuan family and led the Northern Expedition; the side that was slow was mainly Lu Su, Xu Shu and other civil officials. They advocated not to rush to start a war with Cao Cao, especially before Pang Tong and Zhao Yun in Liangzhou, they should not act rashly, but a safe opinion was that Jiangdong should fully play the leading position in technology, economy, commerce, agriculture and fishery, and further expand the gap in strength between the south and the north, thereby laying a solid foundation for the final decisive battle.

"Food the commander, according to the secret spies who sneaked into Xudu, Cao Cao's main force in the northern expedition is still resting. Although the Cao army in Hebei won this time, the soldiers were exhausted. In comparison, our army is in Huaibei and Jingbei areas, the main force is ready for a long time, and time is too late. Please make a decision quickly." Zhuge Liang said loudly.

"The general is favored by the military advisor Zhuge, and the military advisor's words are inappropriate. Our soldiers are good at boats and rarely learn horse wars. If they rashly go deep into the northern border, they are very likely to be surrounded and pursued by elite cavalry of Cao's army. With Su's opinion, it is not too late to make a decision after the soldiers who go to Liang make some moves." Prime Minister Lu Su retorted that the military advisor Xu Shu had a very good personal relationship with Zhuge Liang, and he could not hide his face at the moment of this dispute, so Lu Su took the lead in speaking.

Gao Chong, the strength of Cao Cao and the two sides, from the territory, although Cao Cao occupied the entire northern Ji, Qing, Xu, Yu, Yan, You, Yong, Sili, and one of the three prefectures in the north, and Gao Chong only occupied the four prefectures of Yang, Jing, Jiao and Yi, but carefully analyzed, the prefectures and counties occupied by Cao Cao were the places where wars were linked since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Take the originally prosperous Sili Henan Prefecture as an example. After the chaos of Dong Zhuo's capital, this place was already empty, and the economy of Xuzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou and other places was also severely damaged due to the repeated fierce battles between Cao Cao and Tao Qian, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao and other forces.

More importantly, the military ration consumed in the expedition to the north was very large. Although the supplies seized after the military victory could supplement part of the gap, they could not completely make up for the wealth accumulated by military farming in recent years.

On the other hand, although there was a fierce battle between Gao Chong, Sun Ce, Liu Biao and Liu Bei in the south, it lasted for a long time, and the destructive power caused was relatively smaller. In addition, Gao Chong seized the opportunity to recruit refugees to reclaim wasteland and implement a reconciliation policy of intermarriage with the Yue people, which led to greater economic development in the southern area, especially in the Jingyang and the two prefectures, which showed the vitality of catching up with the Central Plains in an all-round way. All of these made Lu Su firmly believe that as long as such policies continue to adhere to, the time when the South surpasses the Central Plains in an all-round way will eventually come, and that was the best time for the Northern Expedition.

"With the response from Mount Tai Zang Ba and Sun Guan, as long as we act decisively, we can cut off the connection between Xu and Yu in one fell swoop. At that time, half of the Central Plains belonged to our army." Zhuge Liang shouted. In order to refute Lu Su, he threw out the most powerful weapon, and this was the bait conspired by Sima Yi and Cao Cao.

With Zhuge Liang's wisdom, it is impossible for him to have no doubt about Zang Ba's sudden and active surrender. However, whether Zang Ba's false surrender or real surrender, it is an opportunity for Zhuge Liang to help Liu Bei rise again. Once Gao Chong and Cao Cao fall into a fierce battle, Liu Bei will find a good opportunity to make a comeback.

In the hall, Gao Chong kept listening to the dispute between Zhuge Liang and Lu Su faction and remained silent. This expression made people feel as if he had been confident for a long time, and it seemed that he had not made up his final decision.

"Where we can decide where to go, let's decide!" Finally, Xu Shu saw that the two sides were arguing, so he smoothed out the situation.

"Well, Gong Jin, Bo Yan, Xingba are all out of town. I want to listen to their opinions first." Gao Chong saw that everyone was looking at him, so he stammered and replied.

This meeting, Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, Gan Ning and other generals who were in charge of the party did not attend, which gave Gao Chong a suitable excuse to avoid making hasty decisions.

In fact, the reason why Gao Chong refused to make a decision was because he was still waiting for top-secret news from "Wu Gou".

After Xu De sneaked into the north, he only sent news once, which was to report to Gao Chong that Jia Xu had taken office in Liangzhou and rushed to Chang'an. Now, it was time for him to report to Gao Chong for the second time.
Chapter completed!