Chapter 580 Sima Yi's Expedition to Liaodong

The Han army crossed the Yellow River and eventually defeated tens of thousands of Wei troops led by Guanqiu Jian. The Han army immediately controlled the Heqiao ferry and officially blocked the Yaohan Ancient Road.

Most of the tens of thousands of Wei troops left by Guanqiu Jian on the front line did not withdraw smoothly at this moment. After Guanqiu Jian was repelled, they were completely blocked by the Han army in the Baier Qin Pass.

What Guanqiu Jian was most worried about still happened. Not only did he return in defeat, but the rest of his troops did not withdraw. After withdrawing to Luoyang, it was counted and only less than 40,000 of the 100,000 troops returned.

More than half of the troops were completely left in Guanxi and completely disappeared in the battle sequence of Cao Wei.

The only good news is that Ma Su's losses were actually not small.

In the Battle of Heqiao, Ma Su did successfully fight to the south bank of Luoyang. But after all, the troops were not strong enough, and suffered huge losses in the process, and they no longer had the ability to move forward.

What stood in front of him was the Beimang Mountain, the last line of defense in the north of Luoyang Yin. Jiang Ji deployed a large number of troops here and waited for Ma Su early.

So after controlling the river bridge, Ma Su did not continue to move forward. Instead, he divided his troops to train in Heyin, blocked Hangu Pass, and began to recruit manpower from Henei County to build fortifications on both sides of the ferry.

Ma Su planned to use Bingzhou and Henei County as forward bases to prepare for the next year's southward march. Therefore, the river bridge ferry is extremely important, and the Wei army must not be allowed to retake it anyway.

Therefore, building a city on the spot to guard the ferry is the best choice at the moment.

So, with both sides restraining themselves as much as possible, the war in Hebei finally came to an end.

Ma Su arranged the main force on the line from Shangdang to Henei, and focused on repairing pontoon bridges and cities. Jiang Ji rushed to train his troops and reserve food and fodder to prepare for the subsequent war.

Cao Rui in Yecheng, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that Ma Su was leading his troops to Luoyang.

"Thank God, that bastard Ma Su has no intention of entering Hebei..." Cao Rui shook his head gently, muttering to himself with a sense of relief.

God knows how much pressure he has experienced in this month. A series of complicated situations can shorten his life by thirty years. Until now, he still has intermittent headaches, which greatly affects his spirit.

Fortunately, at least he doesn't have to think of ways to deal with Ma Su's petitions. Although this will put a lot of pressure on Luoyang Yin, it is better than the fall of Hebei.

"Your Majesty, the general wants to see you!" At this time, the close minister came in and reported to Cao Rui.

"General Sima? What is he doing here?" Hearing that Sima Yi was not consolidating the defense line at the front line, but returned to Yecheng, Cao Rui frowned.

"He said he had something important to report to your majesty..." the close minister said cautiously.

"Really?" Cao Rui did not comment on this, but just waved his hand gently.

"In that case, let him in, I will also listen to his views on the current situation."

Soon, Sima Yi came in under the guidance of his close ministers. After three years of recuperation, the old artist finally recovered a little bit of his human appearance and looked healthy.

"Your Majesty!" Sima Yi bowed and saluted, and the etiquette was done to the extreme.

"My dear, sit down." Cao Rui nodded and looked at Sima Yi and said softly.

It seems that the general has walked out of the shadow of the Guanzhong War and should be able to continue fighting. This is good news, at least it means that his Cao Wei's general reserve can still hold up.

"Now the Western Shu bandits are no longer satisfied with the Guanzhong area, and have begun to invade Guandong. My dear, as the general, what do you think of the current situation?"

After some negotiations, Cao Rui began to ask about business. Facing this minister entrusted with the care of the orphan, he asked tactfully.

Sima Fu and his son surrendered to Ji Han before. Although it seemed that they had no choice, Cao Rui knew everything in his heart. He now hoped to get Sima Yi's statement, what was the attitude of this old artist.

"Western Shu is stubborn and a traitor. I will fight for your majesty until death. I will live as a Wei man and die as a Wei ghost!" Sima Yi replied immediately with a firm attitude, but Cao Rui didn't know how much of it was true.

"But now, Western Shu is powerful, and Ma Su is good at fighting. It may be disadvantageous to fight head-on. So I think we should implement the strategy of defending the west and attacking the east, expand our own advantages as much as possible and freeze Western Shu."

"Defend the west and attack the east?" Cao Rui narrowed his eyes and his eyes flickered.

"That's right, it's not appropriate to launch a counterattack against Western Shu at the moment." Sima Yi nodded and reported to Cao Rui.

"In recent years, the will of Western Shu to fight has been very strong, but its core is only Ma Su and Zhuge Liang. They are not young now. As long as they die, the momentum of Western Shu's attack will not be so strong."

"And Guanxi is in ruins. Even if it rests for three years, it can't be compared with Guandong. Without Ma Su and Zhuge Liang, Western Shu can't be our opponent."

"So now, according to your words, we should take defense in the west."

This remark shows Sima Yi's strategy, still the old man. Try to hold on until Zhuge Liang and Ma Su die of illness, and everything will be fine at that time.

Cao Rui also agreed with this, but he still raised a question,

"What about the Eastern Expedition..."

"Liaodong!" Sima Yi answered without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, now Gongsun Yuan of Liaodong has already had a rebellious intention and flirted with Western Shu. This is bad news for our Great Wei. After all, Youzhou will be the rear of our army in the future, and this place must not be lost."

"So I think we should try to quell this hidden danger while West Shu has not yet launched a full-scale eastward expedition. It is best to fight quickly and decisively, so that we can not only eliminate the hidden danger, but also win a victory to inspire the people at home, and take the opportunity of conquering Liaodong to train troops, killing three birds with one stone!"

"Well said, I agree, let you do this." Cao Rui nodded and said directly.

He knew very well what Sima Yi meant by saying this now, it was nothing more than wanting to go to Liaodong to quell the rebellion himself. Cao Rui didn't care about these little tricks, or he couldn't be serious, so he could only be straightforward and directly authorize Sima Yi.

"My dear, take the troops you trained in Nanpi with you, and the Great Wei will fully support you."

"No need, Your Majesty, I only need to take 20,000 people, and I will definitely be able to pacify Liaodong." Sima Yi said at this time.

"In that case, my dear, just let it go, I am at ease with you doing things." Although surprised at Sima Yi's sudden change of character, Cao Rui still nodded calmly and approved.

"Don't let me down. You are the only one I can trust right now."

Cao Rui was right. He was already overwhelmed by the mess in the court. On the contrary, although Sima Yi, the old artist, had scandals, he was the one who made him least worried.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty!" Sima Yi bowed again and saluted.

However, in a place where Cao Rui could not see, a gleam of light flashed in Sima Yi's eyes.

This old artist was about to start making arrangements on the chessboard again...