Chapter 17 2. Cao Shuang's defeat

"What? Sima Yi has really captured Lujiang County and Wancheng, and regained the 600-mile territory north of Yangzhou?" Cao Shuang stared at the informer in the hall in surprise, "Why did he receive such important news of victory?" But he concealed it and refused to report it publicly? Why did he do it so secretly?" The informer slowly raised his head from the ground, and it turned out to be Sima Yi's shogunate secretary, Yu Song!It can be said that almost no one would have expected that Yu Song would be the eyeliner planted by Cao Shuang's faction around Sima Yi!

Deng Yang looked at Yu Song triumphantly, with smiles in his eyes.At the beginning of Sima Yi's talent recruitment meeting, he deliberately pushed out his grandson Yu Song, who had a feud with the Cao Wei royal family, to attract Sima Yi's favor and reuse.Moreover, doing so will not arouse Sima Yi's suspicion.Now it seems that I have finally made the right move with this move!Yu Song sent a secret report at a critical moment, so that they finally took the "first move" in this battle! "It's really strange——Sima Yi sent you to Beijing this time, since it's not to report the victory to the imperial court, what other purpose is it for?" Ding Mi touched his cheek with his hands, and asked thoughtfully.

"Report to the general, Taifu Sima asked Yu to sneak back to the capital of Luoyang this time. He secretly ordered Yu to bring a message to Shangshutai Sima Fu Lingjun, Duzhi Shangshu Wang Guan, and Duzhi's servant Sima Zhao, asking them to come back to Luoyang at the end. In a short period of time, three months of food, grass and ordnance were raised and sent to the front line of the east wing. Sima Taifu was going to take advantage of the victory and attack on the basis of winning Lujiang County and Wancheng, and concentrated all his efforts to capture the last place where the puppet Wu stayed in Yangzhou and Jiangbei. A barrier—Dongguan!" Yu Song said slowly.

"Oh! If Sima Yi seizes the fake Wu Dongguan Fortress again this time, he will be regarded as a great achievement!" Deng Yang exclaimed in surprise, "Since the Jian'an period of the previous dynasty, Wancheng , Dongguan have always been the two "fangs" of the false Wu who broke into Huainan of our great Wei, and even Emperor Taizu Wu, General Zhang Liao, and Sima Cao Xiu failed to pull them out when they were alive! As soon as he launched his horse, he captured Lujiang and Wancheng in one fell swoop, and regained the six hundred miles north of Yangzhou. How powerful is this kind of limelight! General, look..."

"Well... Sima Yi secretly asked Yu Jun to come to Sima Fu, Wang Guan, and Sima Zhao to raise military equipment, food and grass, and at the same time suppressed the news of the capture of Lujiang and Wancheng. He obviously didn't want to cause a sensation and attract others. On the other hand, Ding believes that what he guards against is exactly what I should attack! We should seize his scruples and "weaknesses" and attack him fiercely, and we must not Let him succeed in the battle of Huainan!" Ding Mi raised his eyebrows and said darkly. When Cao Shuang heard it, his heart was moved secretly: This Ding Mi is really smart, and he has seen the crux of the problem at a glance!It seems that I did not choose the wrong person when I recruited him into the shogunate!

He Yan listened over there, but kept shaking his head: "Ding Jun, it's really not easy to contain Sima Yi in the rear now? The chief executive of Shangshutai is his younger brother Sima Fu, and Taiwei Manchong is his in-laws. Duzhi Shangshu Wang Guan is his confidant and favorite general, and Duzhi Minister Sima Zhao is his own son. If they insist on transporting weapons and food directly to the Huainan front, who can stop them?" "This... I invite you, Senior Huan, to give us some guidance!" Ding Mi didn't argue with He Yan directly, but "leveraged his strength" and handed over the chief secretary who had been sitting at the end of the table, thinking silently. Nong Huanfan pushed to the front desk.

Huan Fan sat quietly on the couch, his eyes shot over the heads of the people in the room to the western sky, and he sighed deeply after a long time: "Since the death of Zhuge Kongming in the puppet Shu, the middle school seems to be There are no more talented people who can respond immediately! Now Sima Yi is attacking Huainan on the east wing, and the puppet Wu is facing the catastrophe of losing the Jiangbei fortress. The fear of unforeseen accidents? Wu and Shu said that "mutual assistance will ensure peace, and one loss will lead to another's danger." It is like a relationship between lips and teeth—if Zhuge Kongming was alive, he would definitely take this opportunity to mobilize his troops to force Guanzhong , to relieve Wu’s poverty! They saved Wu, and they saved themselves! However, it seems that Western Shu has not yet responded to the situation of aiding Eastern Wu, which is really deplorable!”

When Ding Mi heard it, he immediately understood: "Senior Huan's words are very true, and his words awakened me to wait for the 'drunk people'! General Cao, you will immediately write an urgent secret letter for your confidants to go Hand over Liangzhou to General Xiahouba, and ask him to report to the imperial court with a speedy ride of 800 li, saying that Western Shu is preparing its horses and furious soldiers, and is eager to try, intending to come to invade our great Wei Guanlong! Take the power to conquer Shu and destroy the bandits, lead the three armies, and go to Guanzhong to rescue the emergency!

"At the same time, you told Your Majesty to transfer Sima Yi from the front line in Huainan to the rear of Luoyang Yi'an. In this way, it will be difficult for Sima Yi to find an excuse to stay in Huainan and show off! , in the name of "Riding to Help Guanzhong" and personally led the army to the expedition, and the Dasinong official office of Senior Huan is in our hands, so Sima Fu, Wang Guan, and Sima Zhao at Shangshutai are dissatisfied in every way, and they can only rely on the overall situation. The most important thing is to transfer the military equipment and supplies to your command! In this way, Sima Yi's logistics support and supply of troops and horses in Huainan must be unsustainable, so naturally he retreated."

Hearing Ding Mi's words, Huan Fan's slightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and two bright rays of light flashed across Ding Mi's face: It's really the waves of the Yangtze River that push forward the waves of the past, and there are newcomers in every generation!I have heard for a long time that the Ding family in Guanzhong is very wise and scheming, but today I saw Ding Mi's ingenuity in conversation, it really is a well-deserved reputation! After listening to Ding Mi's suggestion, Cao Shuang nodded first, and then shook his head: "Ding Jun, your idea is not bad at all. But...but, you suggest that this general should personally lead the army to conquer Shu and destroy the bandits. ...This is really inappropriate. This general has no expertise in military matters, how can he take on this important task? This, this, we need to think about it..."

Ding Mi looked at Huan Fan in a blink of an eye, eyes full of admiration, and said: "General Cao, don't worry. Senior Huan has always been resourceful and clever, and he is not inferior to Sima Yi at all. The day you led the army to march , you can worship him as the great military adviser to conquer Shu, just like Xiang Yu respected Fan Zeng as the "Yafu" back then, and if you use him as your confidant's assistant, then you will surely win the battle in Guanzhong this time!" "Waiting...worshiping Uncle Huan as my general's military advisor?" After hearing this suggestion, Cao Shuang calmed down a little, and fixed his eyes on Huan Fan, "Uncle Huan, you...what do you think?" ?” Huan Fan arched his hands together, and said generously: "The country is in trouble, how dare I avoid it? Uncle Zhao, I will definitely help you resolve this crisis in the Wei family!" "Then...then thank you very much, Uncle Huan Fan!" Cao Shuang rubbed his temples desperately with his fingers, sweat profusely dripping from his forehead, and muttered in his mouth: "No...but, conquering Shu and destroying bandits, This is a big matter, and this general will have to think about it carefully after he comes down, and think about it carefully!" "Brother, Ding Mi suggested that you take command of Shu and destroy the bandits yourself. This is indeed a brilliant strategy!" Cao Xun rubbed his palms happily and said to Cao Shuang, "In fact, you should have used this strategy to make meritorious service long ago!" Cao Shuang rubbed his forehead, lowered his head, and said with deep worry: "Brother Xun, you don't know. I'm really worried about this brother. The puppet Shu is surrounded by the natural danger of mountains and mountains, and its soldiers are famous all over the world. For brother Where can I easily gnaw on this hard bone!" "Hey! Brother, what are you worrying about? There was Zhuge Liang in Pseudo-Shu before, and it was a big worry. Now that old Zhuge is gone, why are you afraid of them?" Cao Yan also spoke up to encourage him, "At present, my Great Wei has nearly 200,000 troops stationed in the Guanlong area, and its strength is far superior to that of the Puppet Shu. With the advantage of this large number of people, we don't have to be afraid of them! From my point of view, you take that Nearly 200,000 great Wei troops went to attack a mere Hanzhong County and a Qishan camp, so it’s not easy to catch the wheat, right?” "But... But, Zhuge Liang's direct disciple Jiang Wei and his former capable general Wang Ping are still stationed in Qishan and Hanzhong, so I'm afraid they are not their opponents as brothers!" "Hey! Big brother, why are you afraid of Jiang Wei and Wang Ping?" Cao Xun turned his mouth away, "Guo Huai, Hu Zun, Wei Ping, Lu Zhi and the others are as capable as Jiang Wei and Wang Ping. There are them' With the help of the Four Tigers of Guanzhong, if you want to defeat Jiang Wei and Wang Ping, you can rest assured!" "That's true." Cao Shuang frowned slightly, "It's just that Guo Huai, Hu Zun, Wei Ping, and Lu Zhi, the 'Guanzhong Four Tigers' have a deep relationship with Sima Yi. Will they listen to Brother Wei's orders?" "Brother! Why are you so unconfident!" Cao Xun raised his eyebrows and said heavily, "You are a dignified first-rank general and minister of the auxiliary country. If you eat them for profit and reward them with honor, you are not afraid that they will not obey you! Besides, besides Hu Zun, which one of them was not cultivated by our father in Guanzhong at the beginning? Xiahouba When we arrived in Liangzhou earlier, we already gathered Fei Yao and Dai Lingtuan by our side, which can be regarded as laying a relatively solid foundation for us. Now, big brother, you are personally ordered by the emperor to return to Guanzhong on behalf of our Cao family to exert influence. Are those generals in Guanzhong unwilling to surrender?" "Well... brother training makes sense." Cao Shuang was completely relieved at this moment, and nodded repeatedly, "Brother cleverly wins over the 'Guanzhong Four Tigers', and at the same time invites Uncle Huan to accompany him on the expedition. The defeat of the bandits in Shu will surely succeed immediately!" "Brother wants to invite Uncle Huan to join the expedition?" Cao Yan was taken aback when he heard that, "Have you really made such a decision?" Cao Shuang nodded and said, "Yes!" Cao Yan hastily waved his hands to persuade him: "Brother! This Uncle Huan is highly respected, wise and far-sighted. If he goes out with you, he will definitely be able to make great achievements, but he will inevitably worry about taking the lead!" "Between the guest and the host?" Cao Shuang was taken aback. Cao Yan approached him and lowered his voice and said to him, "Brother, you don't know, there are rumors everywhere outside that Huan Fan is about to become the second father of our Cao family, and it is said that you are Huan Fan who is behind the scenes. If you take him to the battlefield this time to fight with you, where are you going to put him after he has performed his supernatural powers and made great achievements? If he is promoted to the position of Sangong, won't he be under your pressure again? The other Sima Yi on the top of his head? On weekdays, he treats our brothers like a child. If he is the most important of the three, if he can start a family and establish a school of his own, wouldn't we be like a tiger running into a mountain and building a tree of our own? Is the enemy a fool?" Cao Shuang's face gradually darkened when he heard this, and he asked coldly, "Then what do you think should be done?" "Brother, as long as you can buy the allegiance of the 'Guanzhong Four Tigers', and Xiahouba, Fei Yao, and Dai Ling will assist you, it will be superfluous to take Huan Fan with you in your battle to conquer Shu and destroy the bandits! See, you leave Huan Fan in Luoyang under the name of sitting in the rear. You tell him that you are most worried about Sima Fu, Wang Guan, and Sima Zhao who will block your food bags and military baskets from behind, and specifically ask Uncle Huan to stay behind Stay in the rear to defuse all kinds of unexpected dangers. In this way, Huan Fan can only stay in Luoyang obediently, but you, elder brother, can take command of Shu and destroy the bandits by yourself alone, and you will be the sole responsibility and monopoly of the great contribution!" "But...but Brother Wei personally took command of Shu to destroy the bandits, so I still don't know what to do!" Cao Shuang was still a little trembling, "Since Uncle Huan can't let Brother Wei go on the same expedition, why not send Ding Mi or Brother Wei alone? Saying that Xia Houxuan went out together with him, their status and fame shouldn't pose any threat to Wei Brother..." "Ding Mi? Hmm... Ding Mi stays in the back to make suggestions, and it's okay to adapt to the situation. If you take him to the battlefield, he hasn't fought any battles, so I'm afraid it won't be of much benefit to you in your campaign." Cao Yanfu He raised his eyebrows and said in thought, "It's Taichu who went with you, and was able to go out for you to coordinate the relationship with Xiahouba and the others, and unite everyone to work together to win the battle... This must be taken!" Cao Xun heard it clearly from the side, and he was secretly happy: he was not willing to let Xia Houxuan stay in Luoyang to discipline himself as an elder brother, so he just took this opportunity to kick Xia Houxuan secretly, so that he would not come to him every day. Noisy around!So, he was full of approval: "Good! Good! Good! Brother Yan said very well. Brother, you can appoint Taichu as General Zhengxi! Let him go with you. He is your cousin, no matter what Being natural won't steal any of your limelight!" Sima Yi sat on a tiger-skin bed on the training ground in the Dazhai of the Wei army outside Dongguan City, and watched carefully as the shogunate military planner Shi Bao commanded and trained Xu Yang's soldiers to set up the "iron shield formation". Rows of battle shields were held high up on the ground, forming a thick and shiny "city wall", firmly protecting the front and rear of the army; The spear expands and contracts like silver snakes, ready to bite at any moment.Such an "iron shield formation" is indeed the most effective formation against Wu Kou cavalry and infantry! Seeing Shi Bao's valiant and heroic posture waving the battle flag on the platform in front of the formation and directing the formation, Sima Yi couldn't help but smiled and stroked his beard and praised secretly: This Shi Bao is indeed a rare general talent!I had only taken him for a few days, and he figured out the tricks of marching and arraying himself, and immediately used it to learn and use it, and he did a really good job!It is really gratifying to be able to witness such a "major general" like him in his later years.If all the talents under my Sima family can be as smart and capable as him, why not worry about their success? While he was thinking about it, he caught a glimpse of Zhuge Dan hurrying over with a roll of silk in his hand, with a somewhat excited expression on his face, and cast a wink at him from a distance.Sima Yi understood, and immediately got up and followed him behind the scenes.Seeing that there was no one around, Zhuge Dan unfolded the silk slip and said in a low voice to Sima Yi: "Master Tai Tuo, Ma Mao, who was previously sent by Dan in the puppet Wu territory, sent a secret letter, claiming that as soon as the Battle of Dongguan begins, When Sun Quan was in a stalemate with us, he gathered righteous soldiers in Jianye to respond, and cooperated with our army to attack Sun Quan!" Sima Yi did not express his opinion immediately, but took the secret letter and looked at it carefully, and asked seriously: "Well... Zhuge Jun, you are a brilliant move! What has this Ma Maojun done in the puppet Wu Dynasty now? Official position? What role can it play? What kind of righteous men did he gather in secret? What is his plan to respond to us in the puppet Wu territory?" "My lord Taifu, Ma Maojun was four or five years ago under the top-secret order of the governor of Man Chong, He Sheng, and pretended to be a pawn general and defected to the territory of the puppet Wu. Over the past few years, he worked hard and finally won Sun Quan. Now, in the puppet Wu Dynasty, he has achieved important positions such as Zhengxi General, Jianye Prefect, External Superintendent, Forbidden Army Infantry Captain, etc., hiding in Sun Quan's elbow and armpits. Over the years, he has made friends with the puppet Wu in the puppet Wu. Zhen, Wunan Du Yuqin, Yamen General Zhu Zhi and a group of righteous men. They agreed on the plan of "cooperating from the inside to the outside" that when Sun Quan and others came to Dongguan with an empty nest to defend, they asked Zhu Zhen to hold the festival He summoned the false Wu ministers in Jianye City to enter the palace to discuss matters, and then Ma Mao personally led Yu Qin, Zhu Zhi and other officers and men to launch a sudden attack in the palace. Put a knife in him! In this way, under the attack from the front and back, the Wu thief will surely collapse without a fight, and he will be defeated sooner or later!" "Good! Good! Good! Public holiday (Zhuge Dan's character is "public holiday"), it is really hard for you and this Ma Maojun to plan cleverly over the years!" Sima Yi couldn't help nodding deeply when he heard this, "Ma Maojun and the others are actually like this Loyalty and righteousness, keeping the country in mind, my great Wei will be rewarded in the future! Well, please write to them on behalf of me, and ask them to take good care of themselves, stay hidden, and respond when the time comes. Rushed for success and missed the plan!" "Yes!" Zhuge Dan replied loudly. Sima Yi's thoughts changed sharply, and he wanted to explain some specific matters to Zhuge Dan in detail, but he heard Liang Ji, who joined the army, shout from the stands in front of the curtain: "My lord Taifu, the imperial envoy Huang Menling Zhang is now here to announce the decree! Please Accept the order!" "Imperial ministers here to announce the decree?" Zhuge Dan was taken aback, "What happened so suddenly?" "Zhang Dang?" Sima Yi was secretly surprised when he heard this, and hurriedly turned back to the stands with Zhuge Dan, and led all the soldiers under his command to kneel down to receive the order. Zhang Dang regained his former demeanor, unfolded the imperial edict expressionlessly and read: The imperial edict said, the Shu bandits tried to force Liang to be fierce, and they tried eagerly, and they have already invaded the territory of Liangzhou in our great Wei Dynasty.In order to promote the power of our heavenly dynasty, General Cao Shuang was specially ordered to be the governor of Yongliang, and Xia Houxuan was the general who conquered the west. At the same time, I ask Grand Master Sima Yi to take the overall situation of the country as the most important thing, suspend the battle of Huainan, and return to the rear of the capital as soon as possible, so as to relieve my worries. This! After hearing the imperial edict, Sima Yi's heart was shaken, and his face changed slightly, but it was not easy to evade it openly at this moment, so he had to accept the edict for the time being. After sending Zhang Dang away, Sima Yi immediately summoned Liang Ji, Zhuge Dan, Deng Ai, Shi Bao and others to discuss relevant matters in the secret room of the military tent. Deng Ai was straightforward, and he began to preach as soon as he entered the stage: "According to Deng's opinion, the invasion of the Shu bandits is certainly worrying, but it is not the best policy for the imperial court to fight back with troops! The imperial court should not issue an order to let the governors of Yongzhou, Guo Huai and Liang Xia Houba, governor of the state, strictly guarded the frontier fortresses, blocked the Shu bandits from outside the country, and greatly frustrated their fighting spirit! Like General Cao, he mobilized his troops to disturb the crowd, and went to conquer with all his might, which is too aggressive! " "Zhong Rong, what's your opinion?" Sima Yi turned his attention to Shi Bao again. Shi Bao's face was full of worries: "I would like to report to Taifu, the imperial court does not want us to start the battle of Dongguan here! Originally, the imperial court's foreign policy should be 'to defend Shu, to attack and tie the war. Wu, attack from the east and defend from the west, use two prongs, don’t disturb each other’—but General Cao wants to fight the Shu bandits in the western border, isn’t this obviously trying to drag down our Huainan battle, which ends in a hasty and anticlimactic manner?” "That's it! That's it!" Zhuge Dan couldn't help but sighed, "We've made all the preparations to capture the Huainan Dongguan Pass, but now we're about to stop abruptly... Then wouldn't all our hard work and dedication be wasted?" Is it in vain? Ma Mao and the others finally waited for this wonderful opportunity to cooperate with the inside and outside, and attack from both sides..." Sima Yi was silent, and after a while, he replied solemnly: "Let's do it! I understand all the opinions of the gentlemen. Go back and rest for now. After all, the sacred order is hard to violate! I have to come down and think about it carefully." That's right!" Seeing Sima Yi's gloomy expression, Deng Ai, Shi Bao, and Zhuge Dan couldn't say much at this moment, so they all retreated sadly. Sima Yi sat alone in the tent and was meditating, when Liang Ji hurriedly led Niu Heng in from the outside.Niu Heng didn't have time to exchange greetings, and immediately told Sima Yi all about Cao Shuang's party's intention to use the opportunity of conquering Shu and destroying the bandits to compete with the Sima family for power. When Niu Heng had finished talking about the matter, Liang Ji suddenly interjected and asked, "Master Taifu, do you know who leaked the matter of raising food and preparing weapons to attack Dongguan this time?" "Who else is there besides him?" Sima Yi seemed to have learned something, "It turns out that I just had doubts about him, but now I am sure." "Could it be that Mr. Tai Tuo deliberately brought up this matter to test him?" Niu Heng and Liang Ji were both surprised. "That's right. In fact, it's not a special secret to raise food and prepare weapons to sneak into Dongguan. Cao Shuang and the others will find out sooner or later." Sima Yi said slowly, "This seat is deliberately using such a small A lot of incidents came to test him, but I didn't expect him to reveal the truth... Sigh! I was almost deceived by him!" "So, Liang, why not find a chance to get rid of him to avoid future troubles?" Liang Ji asked tentatively. "Hey... Mr. Yu is also a rare talent! I really can't bear to get rid of him like this! You send someone to find out the details of his relationship with Cao's mansion first, and then report back. Cao Shuang, Deng Yang and the others don't cherish talents too much, they actually let him do fine work, it's really underestimating his value..." Sima Yi ordered solemnly, "From now on, keep him in my Sima's house. Except for the core maintenance of the government, it is enough to let him not touch our margins. Talents, it is easy to kill, but difficult to cultivate!" Of course, there was a deeper intention in his heart that he didn't point out: since he already knew that Yu Song was a spy sent by the Cao Mansion, there was nothing to be afraid of, and there was no need to deliberately expose his identity again!Even if he killed Yu Song in a fit of anger, his successor would come back into the mansion after all!It's better to keep him in the open and calmly, so as to paralyze Cao Shuang and the others, so that he can in turn use him to send false information and false news to confuse others!This is the sublime state of using fine workmanship. Niu Heng continued to report to Sima Yi: "While Cao Shuang personally took command of the army to lead the expedition, he also specially asked His Majesty to transfer the second son to be his supervisor Zhonglang, who is responsible for the supply of food, grass and military equipment..." "Zhao'er was also transferred to his subordinate?" Sima Yi was slightly startled, "He still wants to keep Zhao'er by his side as a hostage?" "My lord, in order to win over the people in Guanzhong, Cao Shuang appointed Guo Huai as Chariot General, Hu Zun as Left General, and Wei Ping as Right General before leaving the army in order to win over the people in Guanzhong. He was transferred to the shogunate and served as the military commander, and he seems to be very close to him..." "It seems that the internal troubles have not yet settled, and my plan to destroy Wu and Shu will not be implemented smoothly!" Sima Yi smiled coldly, with a icy coldness in his eyes, "Hehehe! Cao Zhaobo actually wanted to sneak around Get involved in the Guanzhong site that I have been running for many years! He is dreaming of the Spring and Autumn Period! Liang Ji, get your pen—this seat is going to write a letter to Guo Huai, Hu Zun, and Wei Ping, and take a look at them Do you listen to Cao Zhaobo or I, Sima Yi!" In March of the fifth year of Zhengshi, Cao Shuang entered Chang'an and attacked the Kingdom of Shu in two ways: on the west, Xiahouba led 50,000 elite troops, and from Tianshui County went straight to the Qishan camp of the Kingdom of Shu; on the east, Cao Shuang and Xiahouxuan jointly Leading 100,000 soldiers and horses, with Guo Huai and Hu Zun as the vanguard generals, they took the Xiegu Road to Hanzhong County in the Kingdom of Shu. Unexpectedly, the Shu army was prepared.Jiang Wei set up a battle formation in the Qishan camp, firmly resisting the attack of Xia Houba and others; Wang Ping also set up an ambush at the dangerous place of Xiegu Road, beating the Wei army only to parry, but not to fight back.However, Guo Huai and Hu Zun were determined to protect their own strength and did not love to fight. They would retreat when encountering the enemy, which made Cao Shuang and Xia Houxuan caught off guard. Within a few days, Fei Yi, Secretary of State of Shu, together with Jiang Wan and others finally persuaded Liu Chan to order more troops and food to rescue the border. He personally led a 50,000 strong army from Chengdu to rush to support Hanzhong County.As a result, the situation of the battle between the two sides suddenly reversed.At the foot of Qishan Mountain, Xiahouba was exhausted due to long-term attack without success, so he had to withdraw his troops and return; while Cao Shuang and Xiahouxuan were in a dilemma on Xiegu Road, losing troops and generals, and had to flee in a hurry. Cao Shuang invested nearly 200,000 troops in this battle of conquering Shu and destroying the bandits, costing more than 1.8 million shi of food and grass, losing countless military equipment, cattle, horses, mules and donkeys, and he died in less than two months. Flee and return.This dealt a heavy blow to his prestige, and made him feel ashamed for a while and went back to the capital to meet the young emperor Cao Fang, Taifu Sima Yi and ministers. At the same time, this incident also marked the complete exposure of Cao Shuang's external strength, vanity and incompetence.The political capital he inherited from his father Cao Zhen to stand in power was exhausted!At least, in the military circle of Wei State, Cao Shuang completely lost the prestige and influence he should have as a Minister of Gu Ming.The direct consequence of this is that Cao Shuang will not be able to borrow a single ounce of help from Wei Guo's military circles in the future duel with Sima Yi! On the court hall of the Nine Dragon Palace, Sima Yi's vigorous and powerful voice echoed: "The old minister said to His Majesty, this time Huainan's campaign against Wu, the old minister has adopted the ingenious strategy of Sima Shibao, the army planner of the Taifu's government and the central guard. In one fell swoop, he captured Lujiang County and Wancheng, and expanded the territory of 600 miles north of the Yangtze River in Yangzhou—the old minister thinks that Shibao has made great contributions, so please confer the title of Marquis of Guannei and the Order of Luoyang." Cao Fang turned to look at Cao Shuang with a gloomy face, and seeing that he lowered his head slightly and had no objection, he replied, "Yes." Sima Yi didn't look sideways, and said again: "General Cheqi and Governor of Yongzhou Guo Huai, and General Zuo Hu Zun have done a great job in protecting the people in the battle of Shu. Please grant two hundred households to each of them. Appreciate." Cao Fang knew that she could only be a "respondent" in front of Sima Yi, a veteran of the four dynasties and the chief assistant of Gu Ming, so she replied casually, "Yes." At this moment, Fu Gu, the servant of Zhongshu, and He Zeng, the servant of Huangmen, both came out of the crowd, holding up their wats and playing in unison: "Weichen and others have written a letter to your majesty. This time, we failed in the conquest of Shu, lost troops and generals, and wasted officials. , Someone must come out to take the responsibility, otherwise the military law and the government will be difficult to establish in the country in the future! The ministers and others think that the general Xia Houxuan who conquered the West has no strategy and strategy, and that he lost his master and humiliated the country. " Although the two of them were pointing at Xia Houxuan on the surface, everyone could see that it was Cao Shuang that they stabbed secretly. Cao Fang suddenly became overwhelmed, turned her head, stared at Cao Shuang without saying a word. Cao Shuang's face also became hot immediately, and he was about to speak in response, but Sima Yi said: "My lords, I have decided to temporarily put aside the expedition against the Shu bandits, please don't make any unreasonable comments! Wait and back off!" After Cao Shuang heard this, he never expected that it was Sima Yi who came forward to help him out at this time, and looked up at him in a daze, with a dazed expression on his face.