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Chapter 2727 Cao Pi Moves the Capital!

After all, if Xuchang were lost, the deposed Emperor Xian of Han would surely be saved, and at that time, the Cao family would become the common enemy of the world!
Cao Zhen dared not gamble, so he immediately dispatched Zhang He with 20,000 troops to provide assistance.

Under no circumstances should Wang Yue and Guan Yinping's team be allowed to reach Ye County; otherwise, the undefended Xuchang will surely be captured by a coordinated attack from within and without.

What Zhang He didn't expect was that Wang Yue was just playing with people. After sending his army through Fangcheng, he learned that the magistrate of Fangcheng had sent a messenger. However, he suddenly ordered Zhao Yun's cavalry to monitor Fangcheng, forcing Fangcheng to stop sending anyone out of the city. Then he returned with his army.

Zhang He, leading 20,000 troops, had just passed Bowang when he sensed something was amiss. The surroundings were too quiet, so he reacted quickly and prepared to retreat.

To Zhang He's surprise, just as his troops retreated to Bowangpo, the place, which had already been burned once before, was engulfed in flames again.

Even though Zhang He was leading elite troops, he was powerless to stop the army's collapse in this situation and could only try to escape with a few thousand soldiers.

Although Wang Yue was somewhat disappointed that he had not been able to capture Zhang He, he easily annihilated Zhang He's more than 10,000 troops again, giving him time to calmly take Fangcheng.

After all, a small county town was facing an attack by more than 2 troops.

In addition, some of the wounded soldiers of the Cao Wei army that Wang Yue brought back from Bowangpo were from Fangcheng. Wang Yue simply put these wounded soldiers at the city gate and asked the magistrate of Fangcheng to send people to take them over.

The piercing screams of the burned soldiers caused unrest in Fangcheng, and the magistrate of Fangcheng had no choice but to surrender and allow the soldiers to enter the city for treatment.

Thus, Fangcheng was easily captured. Unfortunately, the magistrate of Fangcheng committed suicide after issuing the order to surrender, which Wang Yue found very regrettable.

After all, Wang Yue came up with so many ideas because he didn't want to take too many lives. This place might be the place they would rule in the future, and it would be beneficial to leave a good reputation.

The sudden death of the magistrate of Fangcheng, who had such a good reputation, was very detrimental to the rule.

Fortunately, Wang Yue had a solution. He gave the magistrate of Fangcheng a grand and elaborate funeral, leaving Liao Hua with 5000 men to guard the area. He then led the rest of his men to continue towards Ye County, while sending messengers to relay the news to Wancheng.

Guan Yu was overjoyed when he learned that Wang Yue and Guan Yinping had captured Fangcheng.

After all, once Fangcheng was captured, Cao Zhen's army was effectively cut off from its eastward retreat, which would inevitably cause unrest among its troops.

Moreover, after several losses, Cao Zhen's forces numbered only seventy to eighty thousand, with less than twenty thousand being elite troops, which was a significant blow to his strength!

Of course, Cao Zhen's troops were not much larger than Guan Yu's, and their strength was roughly equal, which prevented him from taking care of other towns in Nanyang.

Hou Yin had already led his men to Nanxiang County. His main purpose was not to take over Nanxiang County directly, but to monitor the movements of the Nanxiang garrison and at the same time to win over people to rebel.

When Liu Feng of Shangyong learned that the battle in Wancheng was going very smoothly, he couldn't sit still any longer. He left Meng Da with a thousand men to guard Shangyong City, while he himself led his troops to attack Ankang.

Meanwhile, Wei Yan had also learned of the situation in Nanyang and, without waiting for Liu Bei's orders, dispatched a large number of troops to attack. Guo Huai knew that he could not hold out against the attack from two sides, and with news of the unfavorable situation in Nanyang spreading rapidly, his men were in turmoil. He was forced to retreat and head towards Nanxiang County.

Upon learning of Guo Huai's approaching army, Hou Yin immediately retreated. Knowing he was no match for them, he sent someone to inform Guan Yu while continuing the standoff from a distance.

After Liu Feng and Wei Yan captured Ankang, they turned back towards Nanxiang County, leaving Wei Yan to reorganize Ankang and arrange new defenses.

After all, there is a road from Ankang that leads directly to Guanzhong, which is the main reason why Wei Yan wanted this city.

At this very moment, Cao Pi returned to Xuchang with his army and immediately dispatched Cao Ren to lead a large army towards Ye County, leaving Wang Yue helplessly to look at the city and sigh, unable to capture another city.

Fortunately, Fangcheng was still in their hands. Although they couldn't send troops to harass Xuchang, they could still prevent Cao Ren from helping Cao Zhen.

However, Wang Yue certainly couldn't just wait idly. He sent Zhao Yun out of the city with three thousand cavalrymen, letting him find an opportunity to harass Cao Ren or Cao Zhen's army, without worrying about the defenses in Fangcheng.

Although Fangcheng is not a particularly large city, Nanyang is a major grain-producing prefecture, and the Fangcheng government office has abundant grain supplies.

In addition, Cao Zhen used this place as a rear base and stored some supplies, enough to feed 20,000 people for a year without any problem. This was the main reason why Wang Yue dared to defend the city.

Unless the 20,000 troops guarding the east side of the city are wiped out, Cao Ren will not dare to join forces with Cao Zhen, and this great battle will likely remain in a stalemate.

What Wang Yue didn't expect was that Cao Pi was very decisive. He directly ordered the capital to be moved to Ye City, took Emperor Xian of Han away, and ordered Xiahou Dun to lead a large army to help the people of Nanyang enter Luoyang.

Luoyang has not recovered its popularity after many years since the great war. Replacing Luoyang with the population of Nanyang is a very good strategy.

Moreover, Xiahou Dun was a famous veteran general, and he was sent to control Cao Zhen and Cao Ren and to coordinate the relocation of the people.

Cao Pi's choice in Hanzhong was the same as his father Cao Cao's. Cao Cao had relocated a large portion of Hanzhong's population to Nanyang to replenish the population lost due to years of war. Now, Cao Pi was moving these people to Luoyang, prioritizing the safety of the people over the land.

Cao Ren's army also received orders from Xiahou Dun to do only three things: first, to build the defense line of Ye City; second, to prevent the Fangcheng army from leaving the city; and third, to relocate the surrounding people.

While Cao Zhen and Guan Yu were locked in a standoff, they did not engage in combat at all. Instead, Guo Huai was tasked with relocating the population of Nanxiang from Nanyang to Guanzhong.

However, at this point, neither Guan Yu nor Wang Yue had any way to achieve more results without cheating.

Therefore, both sides could only hold their ground while trying to prevent Cao Wei from leading people across the Tanghe-Xinye defense line and protect a large number of Nanyang residents.

However, by simultaneously guarding against Cao Ren and Cao Zhen and protecting the people, the situation became unfavorable for Wang Yue and Guan Yu.

Fortunately, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were always paying attention to the battle in Nanyang, but they were in Hanzhong and could not help at all. The only thing they could do was to send Zhang Fei to Hanzhong and then let Wei Yan take action to fight with Cao Wei for the people!
(End of this chapter)