Mi Han

Chapter 724: Mi Yang's Shackles Avoid the Real and Attack the Virtual
Although in the parliament, Cao Xiu vowed that as long as he kept the city gates closed, they would be invincible.

But it would not be accurate to say that Cao Xiu really believed this.

After all, Cao Xiu was a general who was once valued by Cao Cao. He might not have Cao Cao's wisdom, but he did not lack accurate judgment.

Since becoming the Grand Marshal of Cao Wei, Cao Xiu has had the mentality of knowing both himself and his enemy, and has conducted in-depth research on Mi Yang's past battles.

He discovered from those battle examples that Mi Yang was a person who was very good at surprising people - in this respect he was quite similar to Fa Zheng of that year.

What is surprising?

It's like hitting you hard in an unexpected place.

After knowing Mi Yang's style of using troops, although Cao Xiu could not guess what Mi Yang would do next, he still had some doubts in his heart.

He didn't believe that Mi Yang, who was always good at mobile warfare, would stay quietly in Xinye and watch the fall of Yong'an.

Of course, this idea, to put it bluntly, is more like a vague intuition.

This vague intuition made Cao Xiu feel vaguely uneasy, but also made him feel a little confused as if his heart was shrouded in fog.

Does Mi Yang really value Yong'an that much?

Could it be that Yong'an was just a smokescreen released by Mi Yang, and his target was actually himself?
The disastrous defeats in recent years have caused a group of Wei generals, led by Cao Xiu, to suffer from paranoia due to Mi Yang's attacks.

Just when Cao Xiu was troubled by his inner doubts, the envoy from Wu who had just arrived brought him the latest news.

After hearing the report from Wu's envoy, Cao Xiu could not help but stand up and ask happily:

"Is Shi Bao really in Yong'an City?"

Cao Xiu's joy was beyond words.

And there was a hint of disbelief in his happy tone.

The envoy of Wu did not know why Cao Xiu showed such complicated emotions after learning the news.

However, this war was the first time that Cao Wei and Eastern Wu joined forces to fight against an enemy.

Since this is the first time, exchanging information is of utmost importance.

Facing Cao Xiu's complicated expression, the Wu envoy answered affirmatively:

"Don't worry, Sima, this news is absolutely true."

The four words "absolutely true" uttered by the Wu envoy made Cao Xiu unable to contain his inner joy any longer.

He first had the Wu envoy taken away and treated him well. After the Wu envoy left, Cao Xiu burst into laughter in front of Wang Ji and Wang Jun.

When Wang Jun saw Cao Xiu suddenly burst into laughter, he asked in confusion:

"Shi Bao is in Yong'an, but it's not Mi Yang who is in Yong'an. Why is the Grand Marshal so happy?"

After hearing Wang Jun's question, Cao Xiu slowly stopped laughing. Then he looked at Wang Jun and asked:

"Do you know who Shi Bao is?"

Stone bract?

Wang Jun really didn't know much about him.

Seeing the puzzled look on Wang Jun's face, Cao Xiu told Wang Jun about Shi Bao's past deeds.

After learning about Shi Bao's deeds, the quick-witted Wang Jun immediately grasped the key point.

"What does Da Sima mean?"

"good."

Before Wang Jun finished speaking, Cao Xiu couldn't wait to interrupt:
"Since Mi sent Shi Bao to Yong'an, it shows how determined he is to seize Yong'an.

And because Shi Bao was in Yong'an, no matter what the future war situation would be, Mi Yang would always lead his troops to support Yong'an.

Otherwise, he would be breaking his promise in front of the world, and he cannot afford the consequences!"

After saying the above, Cao Xiu's smile widened:
"What I just laughed at was Mi Yang's one mistake among a hundred precautions.

Sending Shi Bao to Yong'an was indeed a brilliant move, which could strengthen Han Zong's determination to defend the city to the death.

But everything has pros and cons.

By doing this, he was undoubtedly putting himself in shackles.

As time went by, this shackle made it harder and harder for him to breathe, so he had no choice but to lead his army to leave Yiyang County!"

When Cao Xiu finished speaking with a smile, Wang Jun's face showed joy.

He quickly said to Cao Xiu, "If this is true, then our army may be able to capture Yiyang someday."

Wang Jun's words revealed Cao Xiu's hidden thoughts.

He looked at Wang Jun with satisfaction.

But Cao Xiu did not get complacent too soon. He said:
“It’s still too early to recapture Yiyang.

But with this information sent by Lu Xun, the doubts in my heart no longer exist. "

Before this, Cao Xiu had thought that Yong'an was just a trick of Mi Yang to cover up his crime.

But now it seems that Mi Yang's loyalty lies in Yong'an, so how could he possibly spend too much time on himself?

Even if he had that thought at the beginning, as time went by, that thought would quickly disappear.

Cao Xiu was in a good mood after figuring this out. He said to Wang Jun and Wang Ji, "Go and order someone to prepare a banquet. I want to have a good drink with the generals today."

When Wang Jun heard Cao Xiu's words, an expectant look appeared on his face. Because he was worried about the war in recent days, Cao Xiu's ban on alcohol had lasted for several days.

But Wang Ji didn't.

He is a steady person, but he feels that things are not that simple.

Because he knew that Mi Yang was not only good at taking people by surprise, but also good at taking advantage of the situation!

But Wang Ji couldn't figure out what was wrong for a moment.

The fog that Mi Yang caused silently not only blinded Cao Xiu, but also shrouded other Wei generals.

So what is Mi Yang's purpose in weaving the fog?

At the end of August in the sixth year of Zhangwu in the Han Dynasty, Wei Yan and his party finally arrived in front of Mi Yang.

But this group of people did not arrive at the same time.

Among this group of people, to Mi Yang's surprise, it was Zhang He who arrived first.

Wei Yan, who was overtaken on the curve, was so angry when he entered Xinye behind Zhang He that he wanted to kill Zhang He with his eyes.

Is it necessary for a surrendered general to be so reckless?
However, as his riding skills were inferior to others, he could only accept this fact silently.

After everyone arrived in Xinye City, Mi Yang summoned them immediately.

Wei Yan, who wanted to be more cautious, took advantage of his high status and asked Mi Yang when he first met him:

"Does the Grand Marshal need me to lead the troops to support Yong'an?
If the general summons me, I will definitely fulfill my mission."

Good man, as soon as Wei Yan opened his mouth, he wanted to grab the greatest credit.

As we all know, Mi Yang has to resist the Wei army in Xinye, so the general who leads the troops to support Yong'an will have great wartime autonomy.

In other words, as long as Wei Yan can successfully break through the siege and rush into Yong'an, his contribution will be unique.

His reputation will even spread throughout the entire Jiangnan area.

Although Wei Yan appears to be rough on the outside, he is actually a very meticulous person.

But if Wei Yan can think of it, is it possible that others can’t think of it?
As soon as Wei Yan finished speaking, Ding Feng, Zhang Yi and Zhou Tai all asked for permission to compete with Wei Yan.

In fact, the relationship between them is usually good, but when it comes to competing for military merits, even brothers cannot give in, let alone comrades with different surnames.

Mi Yang was very happy to see several of his favorite generals eager to fight.

But here's the thing.

"Who said I would send troops to support Yong'an?"

When Mi Yang said this, everyone present was stunned.

"Da Sima, this..."

Wei Yan was the first to express doubt.

There's something wrong with this.

It is normal for generals to have doubts.

After all, whatever Cao Xiu could think of, they could also think of.

Shi Bao was in Yong'an, so how could we not send troops to rescue him immediately?
What puzzled Wei Yan and others was that they were all worried about Mi Yang's trustworthiness, but Mi Yang himself did not seem to be worried at all.

What they didn't know was that Liu Bei had taught Mi Yang a truth many times during his lifetime: "If you are doubtful about employing people, then everything will be in vain."

One important reason why Mi Yang sent Shi Bao to Yong'an was that he believed that with Shi Bao's ability, he could ensure the safety of Yong'an in a short period of time.

If he had doubts about this, Mi Yang would rather not accept Han Zong's surrender.

And once trust is established, it should not be shaken.

Looking at the doubtful eyes of the generals, Mi Yang said calmly: "Don't let Yongan become a yoke for our army because of Zhongrong."

After saying this, Mi Yang asked Wei Yan and others to go down and rest first.

But Mi Yang only left Zhang He.

Mi Yang's action surprised Wei Yan and others, including Zhang He himself.

Zhang He asked himself that although he was the first to arrive in Xinye, he had been silent since he met Mi Yang, trying his best not to arouse Mi Yang's suspicion.

Did I do something wrong, or did I make Mi Yang suspicious?

Zhang He, who had lived in the treacherous political environment of Cao Wei for decades, suddenly felt uneasy.

Seeing that Zhang He was a little uneasy, Mi Yang smiled and said to him, "Don't worry, Junyi. I kept you here because I want to use you."

Mi Yang's gentle attitude relieved Zhang He's inner anxiety a lot.

But he remained vigilant.

Unfortunately, Zhang He has always been afraid of Mi Yang, just like he was afraid of Cao Cao.

Mi Yang also knew that his few words would not dispel Zhang He's inner self-doubt, so he decided to explain it with actions.

Mi Yang signaled Ding Feng beside him to deliver the intelligence he had just received to Zhang He.

Zhang He took the information respectfully and read it carefully.

Zhang He originally thought that the information Mi Yang sent him would be some important information, but after reading it, he did not expect that the information only mentioned a trivial matter like the banquet hosted by Cao Xiu after the arrival of the Wu envoy.

Zhang He couldn't understand Mi Yang's intention for a moment, so he raised his head and looked at Mi Yang with a puzzled look.

"Cao Xiu held a banquet to celebrate Zhongrong's presence in Yong'an. Junyi could understand the reason."

With Zhang He's wisdom, he could naturally figure out the reasons behind this.

He asked himself, if he were in Cao Xiu's position today, he would probably make the same decision.

To appease people's hearts.

Since Cao Xiu's behavior was normal, what was Mi Yang's intention?
"I think I have some reputation in Cao Wei.

Because of my reputation, even if I keep my troops in place, Cao Xiu will not rashly let his guard down.

He might even think that my real target was him, after all, I was in Xinye now.

But this thought disappeared from Cao Xiu's mind after he learned that Zhongrong was in Yong'an.

Because my faith and loyalty are in Yong'an!

I have heard this sentence many times recently. Many people have advised me to put trust and integrity first.

Even those who follow me have been advising me of this. Those who are hundreds or thousands of miles away from me will not ignore this point.

Lu Xun, Cao Xiu, and even Han Zong, all of them believed that Zhong Rong was an important bargaining chip for them to balance me.

To be honest, they are right. I will never abandon my integrity.

But will my integrity necessarily balance my own weaknesses?
They forgot that what I am best at is not taking people by surprise, but taking advantage of the situation.

When they thought they could control me, they forgot one thing: the bargaining chip they thought of could also be the best means for me to confuse them! "

In front of Zhang He, Mi Yang slowly expressed all the thoughts that had been in his mind recently.

And with every word Mi Yang said, the more frightened Zhang He became.

As soon as Mi Yang finished speaking, Zhang He looked at Mi Yang as if he was looking at a devil.

Zhang He was also a famous general known for his ingenuity. With his wisdom, how could he not know Mi Yang's intention since Mi Yang had said so much?

Zhang He couldn't help but clench the information in his hand.

Mi Yang wanted to tell him through this intelligence that the Wei army was in a careless and unprepared state.

The enemy is unprepared, what should we do?

"Da Sima!"

This was the first time that Zhang He called out this title from the bottom of his heart.

In the past, when Zhang He was Mi Yang's opponent in the Wei army, he often ended up with Mi Yang winning.

This was the first time that he personally experienced Mi Yang's wild ideas under Mi Yang's guidance.

After experiencing it personally, Zhang He was left with only shock.

Ignoring Zhang He's shock, Mi Yang continued:

"Cao Xiu values ​​me so much that he asked him to bring all the elite troops from Yuzhou to Wancheng.

Cao Xiu thought that with tens of thousands of elite troops and the strong defense of Wancheng, there would be no way for me to defeat him.

Cao Xiu was right about this.

Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that I didn't like fighting siege warfare. What I liked was mobile warfare.

Junyi, Yuzhou is now short of military strength, and I would like to appoint you as the general to lead the army to launch a surprise attack on Bowang.

I wonder what Junyi thinks?"

Bowang?

Zhang He had been stationed in Nanyang County for several years and was very familiar with the county's terrain.

Bowang is the only way from Wancheng to Yuzhou, and it is also the main road for the Wei army to transport food and fodder.

If he could lead his army to capture Bowang, once the news reached Wancheng, would Cao Xiu be able to sit still?

Even if Cao Xiu could sit still, Cao Rui couldn't.

Cao Rui could not sit idly by and watch the safety of Bowang. Don't forget, after Bowang is Xuchang.

Xuchang was the political and military center of Cao Wei in the Central Plains.

Avoid the strong and attack the weak, attack the enemy and then lure the enemy out of the sturdy Wancheng.

The arduous siege battle was instantly turned into a field battle that the Han army was good at.

If the subsequent plans could be made properly, these tens of thousands of Wei troops might not be able to escape.

By then, not to mention Wancheng, even Xuchang, which represented the shame of the Han Dynasty, could be captured by the Han army.

Zhang He slowly sorted out all of Mi Yang's thoughts. At this moment, he was completely impressed by Mi Yang.

For almost a moment, Zhang He thought that Cao Cao had resurrected in front of him.

And how could Zhang He refuse Mi Yang's trust!
Zhang He quickly stood up and bowed to Mi Yang, saying:
"If the Grand Marshal trusts me, I will do my best to fulfill his plan!"

Zhang He's response made Mi Yang extremely satisfied.

Mi Yang trusted Zhang He's ability.

(End of this chapter)