Chapter 1255: Attacking the heart first
At the beginning of human life, each person has his or her own explanation as to whether his or her nature is inherently good or inherently evil.
Perhaps it is inherently good, perhaps it is inherently evil, perhaps it is neither good nor evil.
But no matter what, as long as you enter the court, the biggest dye vat in the world, it is difficult to say that you are a great person.
And wine, **** and wealth are the most corrosive to people's hearts.
If coupled with the power in the court, who can take away wine, **** and wealth, it will be even more difficult if you want to keep your original intention.
This is just like a certain country bumpkin. Even though he has lived in two lives, his previous life was influenced by the values of the new era.
But in this era, they can still enjoy the corrupt life of the powerful with peace of mind.
For example, having a group of wives and concubines openly and openly?
Even a country bumpkin can't withstand corrosion. How can a second generation like Cao Shuang, who has never experienced big storms since his birth, suddenly gain power and be surrounded by a bunch of snobs, be able to control his true feelings?
Of course, people with great power will inevitably do something outrageous sometimes, as is human nature.
Let alone in this day and age.
After all, I have the capital.
But the bad thing about Cao Shuang is that he is too complacent and does not know how to keep a low profile. He is even afraid that others will not know what he has done, so he makes the things he has done known to everyone.
Huan Fan at the top of Yecheng City was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat when he heard Sima Yi say the number "fifty-seven talents of the late emperor" in the crisp autumn weather.
In addition to being shocked by Cao Shuang's stupidity, he also thought of a terrible possibility:
Sima Yi knew how many late emperors and talents there were in Yetai, so what else in the city did he not know?
What may be even more frightening is how many people in Xuchang are giving Sima Yi news?
“Sima Yi, if I don’t open the city gate, what will happen to you? If not, will you still raise troops to attack the city?”
It is one thing to scold Cao Shuang in your heart, but it is another thing to scold Sima Yi with your mouth.
“The emperor will decide what the general did. When will it be your turn to condemn him?”
"Don't forget, Yecheng is the founding capital of the Wei Dynasty. In the name of condemning the general, you raised troops to surround the capital of the Wei Dynasty. How is this different from raising troops to rebel?"
Sima Yi naturally would not follow Huan Fan’s tactics:
"The emperor was young and was under the control of Cao Shuang. Even the queen mother was confined to a separate palace, and all government affairs were in the hands of Cao Shuang."
"The Empress Dowager and the Emperor cannot express their intentions. I am entrusted by the late Emperor to assist the Emperor. How dare I just sit back and watch Cao Shuang mess up the government?"
"This time, I will try my best to blame the emperor in the future and expose Cao Shuang's crimes in front of the world."
"Huan Shijun, I have the patience to wait for you to open the door, but the soldiers under my command have been fighting for several months and are hungry, so I have no patience!"
Looking at the heavy soldiers outside the city, they were surrounded layer by layer.
Huan Fan didn't know for a moment whether Sima Yi was threatening him or telling the truth.
It's okay if you're trying to intimidate yourself.
But if what is said is true, when the city is captured, the officials in the city will not be in great trouble.
Huan Fan naturally knows his own family affairs, the army of the Wei Dynasty, and certain traditions that have existed since Emperor Wu.
Unless he can really defend Yecheng.
But is it possible?
Since the founding of the Wei Dynasty, Jizhou has always been regarded as the rear area, providing troops and food for the southern and western fronts.
During the Battle of Guanzhong, the late emperor deployed most of Hebei's troops to support Guanzhong.
Who would have expected that they would not be able to stop the Western thieves after all.
Most of the troops from Hebei that were transferred fell into Sima Yi's hands.
After losing Bingzhou, Jizhou has continuously increased its troops in recent years, hoping to guard the passes of the Taihang Mountains to prevent the west bandits from advancing eastward.
It can be said that most of Jizhou's troops are guarding the passes of Taihang Mountain.
But, Sima Yi was able to lead his army through such an important passage as Jingxing without any hindrance.
It wasn’t until the army came to Yecheng that he knew what had happened.
Is it because the defenders at Jingxing were too unfit, or... or did Sima Yi use his Hebei soldiers to do something?
Huan Fan no longer dared to think about it any more.
If the defenders of Jingxing can no longer be trusted, then how many people in Ye City can be trusted?
Huan Fan couldn't help but turn his eyes to the surrounding soldiers.
I don’t know if it was his imagination. Someone seemed to be deliberately avoiding his gaze?
The old city of Yecheng was originally located south of the Zhang River. After it became the founding capital of the Wei Dynasty, Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen both expanded it vigorously.
Now it is a large city across the Zhang River.
With Zhangshui as the boundary, the old city to the south of Zhangshui is called Nancheng, and to the north is the expanded Beicheng.
The Ye Terrace that Sima Yi mentioned refers to the royal building complex represented by the Tongque Terrace located in the North City.
Therefore, Yecheng is now a large city and spans the Zhang River. The soldiers are few and trustworthy. How easy is it to hold it?
Huan Fan's thoughts were chaotic and full of contradictions, but he knew that he could not show any timidity or concession at this time.
Otherwise, Sima Yi will definitely pounce on him like a vicious wolf.
"In that case, let me invite you, Taifu, to attack the city! I am the governor of Jizhou in the Wei Dynasty. If I die at the hands of the rebel army led by the Taifu in the Wei Dynasty, it will be considered a idle chat."
After finishing speaking, Huan Fan stopped talking.
On the other hand, Sima Yi who was under the city heard Huan Fan's words and didn't know if they touched a chord in his heart.
The defenders on the city discovered that the originally densely packed army under the city began to loosen up a bit.
Another half an hour passed, and finally someone from the city was heard shouting again:
"Everyone in the city, listen, you and I are all officers and soldiers of the Wei Dynasty, and we should work together to deal with the outside world!"
"It is a pity that the Wei Dynasty was unlucky. When Cao Shuang was in trouble, he changed his decrees several times. In order to revitalize the government, the Taifu had no choice but to raise the flag of righteousness to attack the unjust."
“However, the Taifu had a heart of benevolence and righteousness and could not bear to see his former colleagues killing each other, so he specifically ordered the troops to retreat thirty miles and not attack the city within three days.”
"During these three days, all officers, soldiers and officials in the city who want to leave will be allowed to leave, and no one will be allowed to stop them. Anyone who wants to follow the righteous will be rewarded."
“Three days later, the army will officially attack the city. I hope you all know it!”
As soon as this shouting came out, there was a slight commotion among the Wei troops at the top of the city.
Some people subconsciously looked at Huan Fan who was walking down the city wall.
It’s just that I don’t know if Huan Shijun was walking in a hurry or if he was a little far away and didn’t seem to hear him at all.
His figure quickly disappeared at the corner of the horse road.
In order to let people in the city know as much as possible, Sima Yi sent more than ten teams of people to run around Yecheng and shout continuously.
For a time, people in Yecheng were agitated and rumors spread everywhere.
Huan Fan, who returned to the governor's house, couldn't control his emotions. He slammed the table hard and cursed in shock and anger:
"Does the old man Sima want to undermine the morale of the military officials in the city? It's really abominable!"
At this time, Yecheng had been cut off from the outside world by Sima Yi.
Even if there is no cutoff, how many defenders from various places dare to come is still a question.
As for Xuchang, Huan Fan has given up hope.
It is estimated that the fall of Xiangyang has made Cao Zhaobo very anxious and unable to take care of himself.
Moreover, reinforcements were sent north to relieve the siege of Yecheng.
Xuchang can stabilize Nanyang County, which is the best result.
Thinking of this, even though Huanfan thought he was very wise, he had to sigh to the sky:
“What can I do? What can I do?”
However, worse things are yet to come.
Just one day later, someone hurriedly came to report in the middle of the night:
"Huan Shijun, it's not good, someone has escaped from the city!"
Huan Fan seemed to have expected that something would happen at night, and he never dared to take off his clothes and sleep.
Hearing about the military situation, he quickly came out to meet the visitor:
"Replying to the envoy, it's too dark at night, so we haven't found out how many people there are yet. There are probably more than ten or twenty people. They are all soldiers patrolling at night."
“Didn’t you send someone to catch up?”
“When you find someone running away, you can no longer catch up...”
Hearing what the visitor said, Huan Fan was so angry that he stamped his feet: "Confused!"
"This is Sima Yi's plan to attack the enemy. He must have used the people in his army in Hebei to contact him secretly in advance."
“If we don’t kill this trend, if the news spreads later, I’m afraid it won’t be suppressed anymore!”
The person who came was Huan Fan’s subordinate Si Fan. When he heard Huan Fan say this, his face suddenly turned pale:
"Your Majesty, what should I do?"
"Go quickly and restrain the soldiers. They are not allowed to move around without orders, are not allowed to whisper to each other, and are not allowed to spread rumors privately. Anyone who violates this rule will be killed!"
“Here!”
By the time Si Fan left in a hurry, Huan Fan had lost all sleep and sat slumped on the ground, muttering:
“Sima Yi, so cruel!”
This thief is fine if he doesn't move, but if he moves he becomes as powerful as thunder.
By now, Huan Fan has determined:
Even though Sima Yi had just besieged the city, he had already arranged everything in secret for who knows how long in advance!
If not, how can we explain all this?
Just thinking about it, Wei County, where Yecheng is located, is south of Hanoi, where Sima Yi's foundation is located. All this seems to make sense.
It’s so careless, it’s so careless!
Not only Xuchang, from top to bottom, but also himself, only wanted to use Sima Yi to block the Western thieves.
However, he didn’t expect that Sima Yi would actually go out of his way to bite him back!
His ruthlessness and viciousness are comparable to those of Feng Thief, one of the leaders of the Western Bandits!
At dawn the next day, Huan Fan hurriedly went to the top of the city again without taking a shower.
"how?"
, 太夫 by master..."
Facing Huan Fan's vicious gaze, the people below quickly changed their words: "The army under the city did not attack the city as expected..."
When Huan Fan heard this, he immediately wanted to slap him in the face.
"Am I asking you this? What I'm asking is, how many people escaped last night!"
“About fifty-two people.”
“Why are there so many? There are only about ten or twenty people, right?”
Why did the number double?
"Returning to the envoy, someone else escaped in the middle of the night..."
The subordinate replied hesitantly.
“Idiot!”
Huan Fan cursed, but still didn't understand his hatred, he kicked him hard and shouted: "Get out!"
He was kicked over by his subordinate. He didn't get up, but took advantage of the situation and rolled away.
As for the other people at the top of the city, they all moved quietly, not close to Huan Fan who was in anger.
Huan Fan looked into the distance with a gloomy expression.
Although there is no longer a large army surrounding the city, standing on the tall city top, you can still vaguely see where Sima Yi's army is encamped dozens of miles away.
Fukouxing to the west of Yecheng is an important garrison in Jizhou. It is also the closest to Yecheng, only a few dozen miles away.
This day and night, even if you walk, you should send the news back.
But now there is still no news, which makes the glimmer of hope that Huan Fan had in his heart begin to shatter.
As time goes by, the situation in Yecheng becomes worse and worse.
Not only did there not be any news about the reinforcements, but even the people and officials in the city did not know where they got the news and began to try to escape out of the city.
Although Huan Fan gave repeated orders, the morale of the defenders in the city was unstable and they could not take care of themselves. How could they strictly implement Huan Fan's orders?
Three days later, Sima Yi once again led his army to the city and sent someone to ask loudly:
“May I ask Mr. Huan how you think about it?”
Huan Fan's face was livid, he kept silent, and just stared at the city.
"Huan Shijun, three days have passed. If you really want to have your own way, don't blame me for not treating your colleagues as colleagues!"
Huan Fan still didn't answer or say anything.
Sima Yi at the city gate waited for a long time and received no response, so he turned around and ordered the person next to him:
“Dr. Ma, this time, it’s up to you.”
Hearing this, Ma Jun quickly raised his hands and saluted with excitement:
"Please, please, please look down on the minor ones, please. Those who are minors will be treated as such."
Sima Yi waved his hand, indicating that he didn’t need to say much and just act.
Looking at Ma Jun’s background, Sima Yi suddenly thought of a person.
At that time, there was a man who stuttered like Ma Jun, but he was younger than Ma Jun and quite talented.
It is a pity that he died in the rebellion during the Battle of Guanzhong.
If not, there is no way that we can have one more general now.
There is also an extra helper in Luoyang, but now it always feels like there is not enough manpower.
well!
What a pity!
What a pity!
Just when Sima Yi felt sorry for Deng Ai, Ma Jun was already in front of the formation and began to direct the men to assemble the stone cannon.
Huan Fan at the top of the city couldn't help but said "Huh?" when he saw something moving below the city.
After taking a closer look, my brows furrowed.
Sima Yi, what are you doing here?
Ever since Feng invented the stone cannon, its scale and shape have become more and more perfect.
Depending on the different functions, their size and power also vary.
Siege stone cannons are the largest.
Even compared with the common siege equipment of this era, it is already a giant.
In addition, it was the first time that the Wei army used this kind of weapon in front of the formation.
So even if Ma Jun is the most famous person in the world, and he just assembles the prepared components, he will still be busy for most of the day.
It wasn't until the sun turned west that Huan Fan, who had been watching from the top of the city, realized that this seemed to be an enlarged Thunderbolt Chariot?
He looked slightly relaxed and pretended to be relaxed:
“I wonder what Sima Yi is capable of, but it turns out he’s just..."
Before he finished speaking, a huge thunder suddenly sounded outside the city!
At the same time, a black thing flew towards the city in mid-air.
Having not arrived yet, I have heard that it implies the color of wind and thunder.
Its momentum can be described as thunderous.
Before Huan Fan could see what it was, his body instinctively shrank.
“Boom!”
There was a vibration underfoot, causing everyone in the city to change their expressions.
The first stone projectile thrown by the stone cannon was very lucky to hit the city wall.
The city wall of Yecheng is not too thick, but it was still hit by stone bullets and made a deep hole, causing dust to fly.
Although there was only one stone cannon under the city and only one stone bullet was fired, there were already people at the top of the city whose livers and gallbladders were split.
(End of this chapter)