[Three Kingdoms] Seven steps into wetness

On November 23th of the [-]rd year of Jian'an, the first snow of the year fell in Hanzhong.

This snow, which was tangled like cotton wool, fell for three whole days. When the snow stopped, the whole of Hanzhong seemed to be covered by a huge white cloth, and it became more and more difficult to march and fight.

The winter climate in the south is always more humid and colder than that in the north, and most northerners find it difficult to get used to it.Some of the accompanying scribes had a cold, but fortunately there was Hua Tuo, and the illness was basically cured by the medicine.

Cao Cao has given up his plan to attack and only intends to guard this place.Previously, he dared to fight the enemy in the middle of winter with only a suit of armor, but at this time, he was extremely afraid of the cold, and even almost fell ill in bed.

Cao Zhi and Cao Pi brought soup and medicine to serve him beside his bed, but he also waved him away.He said: "Gu wants you to come here, not to serve Gu. Take a look and learn more from Xia Houyuan."

Cao Zhi and Cao Pi had no choice but to respond.

The two withdrew from Cao Cao's tent, met each other and smiled, and passed by each other to do what they should do.

At night, the whole world is a touch of white, and the night is particularly bright.Cao Pi hadn't fallen asleep that night, and he was still thinking about something.

For example, his status before this war, what he should do with his status at this time, and what status he can have after this war.

It's time to have a son.

Their father's health deteriorated.But with Cao Cao's ability, he must have guessed that once he did not have a son a hundred years ago, the adult sons would definitely fight to the death.Only when he lives and removes all obstacles for the son, can his country be stable.Now, Cao Cao brought them all to the battlefield, maybe just to see who can figure out a way to defeat Liu Bei.

So Sima Yi and others didn't sleep either.A few of them gathered together to discuss how to break through this stalemate, so as to add points for Cao Pi.

They have been discussing for a long time, and there is no answer for a long time.

Because in fact, this war has become a stalemate. Even if Cao Cao personally sits in Hanzhong and Xiahou Yuan sticks to this place, even if the situation is still favorable to them, as long as Liu Bei shrinks back and does not go out, they will not be able to defeat Liu Bei at this moment.

Although Sima Yi didn't know Cao Cao as well as Guo Jia, his talent in war was higher than Guo Jia's.He could see the advantages of Xia Houyuan's defense, but also his biggest limitation.

——The inability to attack is their biggest limitation!

Zhang Liao and others were stationed at Ruxukou to defend against Sun Quan, and part of their troops had been dispatched; later, the plague in the north led to a shortage of military supplies; now Liu Bei is defending a single-line battle, and the complex defense is as strong as Hanzhong, and it is also difficult to break through.Due to these restrictions, even if Cao Cao led the army to go out, he could not be confident enough to check and balance Liu Bei in the short term.

Even if Liu Bei can't beat them, as long as it takes a long time, once the third party Sun Quan covets the north again and sends troops to attack Ruxukou, they may face a two-front battle.Regardless of Ruxukou or Hanzhong's lack of troops, it will inevitably lead to the collapse of the two fronts.

Cao Pi came back to his senses.He looked at the frowning and helpless people, and said softly: "Do you have any suggestions?"

Several people raised their heads when they heard it, and then sighed in shame.

Cao Pi put his eyes on Sima Yi, who was the only one in deep thought, and walked up to him: "How does Zhong Da feel?"

Sima Yi stretched out his hand and slowly placed his finger on a corner of the map: "This place can be used as a breakthrough."

There were too many people who did not fall asleep that night.

Guo Jia was wearing a big cloak, standing in front of the tent with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.The night was cold and dewy, bitingly cold.The breath exhaled from the nostrils will condense into ice in front of the feet.

The stars in the sky are scattered, and only the Polaris is shining with eternal brilliance, which is the most dazzling.

He has been watching for a long time.He is also thinking about something.It's just that the warmth of the fire in the tent made him drowsy, and it was difficult to concentrate on thinking about those things.

Yang Xiu, who was also unable to sleep, stood beside him.

Yang Xiu followed his gaze and looked up at the sky.He looked at it for a while, felt a little cold, then withdrew his eyes and said indifferently: "My lord military advisor, what did you see when you watched the stars at night?"

Guo Jia looked back and shook his head.With the cold wind blowing, he shivered: "But for some reason, my heart is a little confused, and I always have an ominous premonition."

Yang Xiu raised his eyebrows: "What premonition?"

Guo Jia sighed softly: "It's just that I can't think of any premonition, so I have a headache."

Yang Xiu smiled, but his voice was still mocking: "Since you can't see anything, it's better to go back to the house to rest earlier, otherwise someone will be worried if you are sick."

Guo Jia heard about it and turned to look at him.

They are no longer young, and as they grow older, Yang Xiu becomes more and more arrogant.But at this moment, Yang Xiu can say such specious words of concern, maybe his knot is not as deep as imagined.

A smile appeared in Guo Jia's eyes.He gathered his cloak to wrap himself into a ball, and when he turned around, he closed his eyes and said softly, "You too."

Yang Xiu sneered and remained silent.

---------------------

During the next day's discussion, Cao Pi didn't say a word.Instead, Cao Zhi pointed to Dingjun Mountain and said to everyone: "This place can reverse the situation."

Cao Cao smiled.

Soon, Xia Houyuan led troops to guard Dingjun Mountain.

In January of the 24th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei led an army into Mianyang, and Xia Houyuan faced off at Dingjun Mountain. He was defeated and retreated to the east side of Dingjun Mountain.

The news spread to Hanzhong, just as Cao Cao's head was on fire not long ago.

In the past two months, his headaches have become more and more frequent. Even with Hua Tuo by his side, there is no other way except for the so-called "craniotomy".Hua Tuo could only alleviate Cao Cao's pain as much as possible.But only as much as possible.He even asserted that Cao Cao would not live for more than two years.

Cao Cao was seriously ill and was unable to preside over the overall situation.Then the most important thing here is Xiahouyuan.Cao Cao reluctantly stood up to discuss with the crowd, and finally decided to order Cao Zhi to be the rescue general and lead [-] troops into Dingjun Mountain.

The moon and stars were scarce this night, and the night in Hanzhong looked extraordinarily peaceful.Dingjun Mountain in the distance was pitch black, and it was impossible to hear or see any news.

Sima Yi chuckled lightly.Compared to Cao Pi's sorrow, he looked very relaxed: "Zihuan don't have to worry. Maybe after tonight, there will be no more annoying people to compete with you for that position."

Cao Pi's fingertips froze. "What do you mean by this, sir?"

Sima Yi smiled and said: "Everyone has expected that Liu Bei will ambush on the rescue road, but no one has thought about who the ambush will be."

Cao Pi became short of breath: "What exactly do you want to say, sir?"

Sima Yi said leisurely: "Now, both sides have decided that the real battlefield will be on Dingjun Mountain. Liu Bei has finally come out from Pingyang Pass. Doesn't King Wei want to catch them all? Of course King Wei thinks so, and of course Liu Bei You can also guess what King Wei is thinking. Then why did he set the battlefield at Dingjun Mountain?"

"Because he was not reconciled, he wanted to win this war, he wanted to capture Hanzhong, and he wanted to send his troops north—so he came up with a crazy plan!"

"Xiahouyuan was besieged, and Zhang Jai went to the rescue. Their strength is not enough to defeat Liu Bei who is in the upper hand. There are [-] soldiers and horses here to spare, so someone must go to the rescue from here, and then defeat or even kill Liu Bei in one fell swoop and regain Yizhou! So, who would this person be?"

"It must be King Wei."

"Once King Wei succeeds in converging with Xia Houyuan, he can turn around and besiege Liu Bei, reversing the advantage."

"But it is by no means foolproof. Because there is only one road from here to Dingjun Mountain. Once an ambush is laid on this road, the rescue team will be severely damaged. Even if the leader cannot be killed, this team will definitely lose effect."

"But the king of Wei leads the army himself, and there are still people under Liu Bei who can stop or even kill the king of Wei and cause our army to be defeated?"

"Of course there is!"

"So if I were Liu Bei, I would definitely order one or two of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun to lie in ambush on the way." Sima Yi paused after saying this.He looked at Cao Pi's pale complexion, and sighed softly: "It's a pity that it's beyond everyone's expectations. Now that King Wei is ill, the Fourth Young Master and Zhong Yao are on his behalf to rescue him. Heh...they may have met each other now."

Cao Pi was speechless for a long time.

He stared at Sima Yi closely, opened his mouth, and found that he couldn't make a sound.After repeating this several times, he finally recovered his voice: "Zhong Da...has it been long since?"

Earlier Sima Yi pointed out that with Xia Houyuan's current arrangement, the two sides have no breakthrough except Dingjun Mountain.Only by occupying Dingjun Mountain can Liu Bei pose a threat to Hanzhong; in the same way, they can only make Liu Bei retreat and abandon Hanzhong only by occupying Dingjun Mountain.

Cao Pi was so full of ambition when he heard that, he got up and went to Cao Cao's tent to discuss with Cao Cao almost instantly.

But to everyone's surprise, Sima Yi restrained Cao Pi, and then told him, wait a minute.

The result of waiting is that Cao Zhi also discovered this strategic location, and when Xiahouyuan was besieged, Cao Cao instructed Cao Zhi to lead troops to rescue Xiahouyuan.

This was Cao Zhi's first time leading the army, but no one paid much attention to it.Because judging from the current situation, although Xia Houyuan was trapped, he was still able to survive under the shelter of the terrain, and the situation was not very critical.The main purpose of Cao Zhi's rescue this time was to bring [-] soldiers and horses to Xia Houyuan's hands, and then obey Xia Houyuan's arrangement to counterattack.

At that time, Xia Houyuan won this victory, and Cao Zhi will also be considered to have made great contributions in this battle of Hanzhong.

But how could it be so smooth?

Sima Yi looked at him.

He raised his hand and held Cao Pi's shoulder, his eyes were firm and calm: "Yes, I have already guessed it. Zihuan, I know that you are always full of patience and tolerance towards Cao Zhi. I also know that you want that position. You're about to go crazy. But Zihuan, now Cao Zhi is despicable and is fighting with you regardless of brotherhood. The more you tolerate, the more he will push forward and gain more power. If you had been ruthless at the beginning, it would definitely not be what happened today."

"Now, Cao Zhi's wings are becoming more and more full. He is fighting against you in Yecheng, and his prestige in the hearts of the people is even higher than yours. Of course, these are not important. The important thing is that your father wants to give him the big position. .”

Cao Pi couldn't even restrain the expression on his face.

There has never been such a straightforward and undisguised conversation between them, just as his battle with Cao Zhi has never crossed the line.

Sima Yi was still looking at Cao Pi.His eyes seemed to have magical powers, so that Cao Pi couldn't even look away.He finally said: "If you want to get rid of such people, instead of doing it yourself, it is better to use the situation. Liu Bei is the best situation now."

Since Cao Cao intends to train Cao Zhi to become his son, it is better to take advantage of Xichuan's situation to get rid of Cao Zhi.

Cao Pi was already stunned in place.

Even though Cao Zhi fought openly and secretly with him, he never thought that one day Cao Zhi would be in danger.Including the sentence "he is my younger brother" he said to Sima Yi a long time ago, he really thinks so.

——Cao Zhi is his younger brother.So even if Cao Zhi wanted to fight with him, it was only natural.Even though he felt sad and angry, even though he kept making small moves secretly, he never intended to really hurt Cao Zhi.

He wanted to compete with Cao Zhi for this position.He wants to show Cao Zhi that what belongs to him, Cao Zhi will never get it for the rest of his life.Instead of fighting with him, it is better to live in peace and stability, and continue to be that younger brother who was ignorant but dependent on him when he was young!

He wished so earnestly that they could go back to what they were.

But Sima Yi said today that if Cao Zhi was alive and well, he would never get this position.

Cao Pi took a deep breath.

He subconsciously wanted to deny Sima Yi's words, but he actually believed them in his heart.

Maybe he and Cao Zhi really have reached the point where...there can only be one person.