Only when Jingzhou has a dedicated person to manage internal affairs, and with the support of food, grass and equipment from Jiaozhou and other places, Guan Yu has spared energy to concentrate on the Northern Expedition.

Lantian added 20,000 troops to Xiangyang. After more than half a year of training, his combat effectiveness was comparable to that of Jingzhou's main force. Even if Zhang Liao did not die of illness, Guan Yu was preparing to send troops to Wancheng again and cooperate with the Huainan battlefield to continue to suppress the Wei State.

In addition to writing a letter to Lantian, Guan Yu hoped that Gan Ning and Lanyuan could advance towards Hefei, he also submitted a petition to Liu Bei to send troops to Tongguan. The three troops and horses cooperated to attack, so that the head and tail of the Wei State could not take care of each other.

Liu Bei attached great importance to the report when he received the report and urgently summoned Pang Tong and Fa Zheng to enter the palace to discuss.

There are military farms in Guanzhong, Longyou and Jincheng areas, but most of the grain and grass produced are transported to the northwest front line to prepare for Zhao Yun’s upcoming Western Expedition.

The new city by the Yellow River has been built. Ma Chao uses his influence to convince Longyou, Jincheng and other places to successfully migrate to the surrounding area of ​​the new city and enjoy the grassland with abundant water and grass.

A large number of lambs and foals were born in the autumn. With newly built cities to block the wind and snow and defend against grassland wolves, most of them will survive the cold winter. By next summer, it will be moving military rations. Zhao Yun is ready to send troops next autumn.

Since resources tilted to the northwest, Chang'an was not prepared to advance eastward in terms of military strength and food, but Guan Yu's request was reasonable, so Liu Bei seemed in a dilemma.

"Two military advisors, Zilong is about to send troops to Hexi, and Chief Yun asked me to send troops to suppress Tongguan again. How to choose?" Liu Bei frowned.

Fa Zheng made a statement and said: "Tongguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and Hefei is also a tough one. I think the breakthrough point is Nanyang, so Your Majesty only needs to take a feint."

"There are not many soldiers in Chang'an, and even if you attack Tongguan for feint, it will be easily damaged. I really don't want the soldiers to die in vain." Liu Bei shook his head gently.

"There is no need to fight really. If Your Majesty came to Tongguan to supervise the battle, what would you think of the defenders?" Fa Zheng smiled meaningfully.

Liu Bei was shocked and said happily: "It's amazing, I can make Yide fight outside the pass every day. Xu Huang and Zhu Ling are still trembling? I have already led the imperial army to fight in person. I wonder if Cao Pi's son dares to come?"

Fa Zheng waved his hand quickly, "Cao Pi would never dare to leave Luoyang. If someone in Luoyang surrenders, would he become the second Sun Quan?"

"Haha, I and Yun Chang and Ziyu sent troops at the same time. Cao Pi was afraid that he would live like a year in Luoyang." Liu Bei nodded and laughed.

Pang Tong then added: "When the three generals fought in front of the pass, Xu Huang and Zhu Ling would definitely not dare to respond. I think the pressure of the imperial commander in person is not enough. I should concentrate ships in front of the pass, build a floating bridge, and send an army to Pubanjin to pretend to cross the river. This will show Your Majesty's determination to take Tongguan."

"Good." Fa Zheng nodded repeatedly.

"Okay." Liu Bei slapped the table violently and said solemnly: "The two military advisors are both clever tricks. Shi Yuan followed me to Tongguan for a walk, and Xiaozhi partnered with General Huang to guard Chang'an."

"Which." Pang Tong and Fa Zheng answered in unison.

A few days later, Liu Bei led 8,000 troops to Tongguan. While sending Zhang Fei and Liu Feng fought in turn at the gate, he asked Ma Chao to build a floating bridge in the Wei River behind him and led his troops north to Pubanjin.

There were nearly 20,000 defenders in Tongguan. Facing the Han army with few soldiers, they did not dare to leave the pass. Xu Huang and Zhu Ling both suspected that Liu Bei was luring the enemy, and the main force should cross the river from Huayin.

When Cao Cao defeated Ma Chao in Guanzhong, Cao Cao covered up his eyes and heard people outside Tongguan and sent Xu Huang to smuggle Pubanjin to break the situation. Liu Bei copied Cao Cao's plan today, but he explicitly asked Ma Chao to go to Pubanjin, which was completely Pang Tong's open plan to "repay the other person with his own way."

Xu Huang was familiar with the terrain around Puban. After seeing Liu Bei's intention, he immediately handed over the defense of Tongguan to Zhu Ling. He personally led an army north to cross the Yellow River, preparing to set up defenses on the east bank of Pubanjin, and told Zhu Ling that he could not leave the pass and fight with the Han army.

On the second day after Ma Chao crossed the river, Pang Tong ordered people to build catapults and other siege equipment at the bottom of the pass, and acted as if he wanted to attack head-on.

Zhu Ling remembered that the Dasan Pass was broken by Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun in this way. He guessed that Liu Bei's main force would arrive after the siege car was built, and he would seem passive without any action, so he urgently sent someone to ask Luoyang for help.

Cao Pi was troubled by the war in Huainan and Nanyang. As soon as he sent Jiang Ji and Cao Zhang to their respective locations, he received an urgent report from Zhu Ling, Tongguan.

Grand Marshal Cao Xiu went to Nanyang, and Cao Pi had to handle military affairs personally. He was furious after reading the report and threw the bottles and jars around him all over the floor.

Liu Bei, are you still going to finish? You can’t let me rest for two days? I’m so annoyed.

When summoning all the ministers of Wei State to discuss matters, Cao Pi looked at the lowered heads in the hall and asked with wrinkles: "Why are the ministers not saying a word?"

Seeing that no one responded, Cao Pi raised his voice: "Are you waiting for me to lose my official position in the Great Wei Dynasty? Or do you have a way out?"

With the lessons of the previous leaders such as Zhong Yao and Du Ji, most people in the Wei court chose to speak less to avoid being caught by political enemies. Because Cao Pi was in the deep palace for a long time, he had no idea how bad the political situation of Wei was.

Although the co-co-opposition case hosted by Sima Zhao has ended, many wealthy gentry and officials around Luoyang are still mysteriously missing, causing the political ecology of Wei to continue to deteriorate.

"The war in Huainan is getting worse and worse, Guan Yu of Jingzhou is ready to move, and Nanyang has no danger to defend. I have no soldiers to send to Tongguan. Ziyang, you have always been wise, please give me some advice. Although the raid on Chang'an has not been successful, it is just that the luck is not good, so you cannot underestimate yourself." Cao Pi had no choice but to click.

Liu Ye shivered when he heard this, wondering if Cao Pi had something to say. He walked to the center of the hall with his scepter, bowed his hands and bowed forward, and replied seriously: "According to General Zhu's memorial, Liu Bei should be a feint attack in Tongguan. Our troops are so tight that the other party cannot have enough troops to attack. Tongguan is a powerful pass in the world, and Your Majesty ignores it at all."

"Ignore it completely? Liu Bei built a catapult cart in front of the pass. Is the Han army playing when they are idle? Don't forget that Dasan Pass is thrown away like this. Everyone thinks that the Han army will not really attack the feint attack." Cao Pi teased coldly.

"Eh, although Liu Bei destroyed Sun Quan and seized Yongliang, he seemed to have half of the mountains and rivers with our Great Wei, but in fact he had a shallow country and lacked foundation. They continued to fight at any cost, but they were not afraid of wearing shoes. They wanted to pull the Great Wei down the abyss together. If His Majesty really wanted to rush to Tongguan, he would have to force his troops, but that would easily cause public grievances and arouse civil unrest." Liu Ye's face was bitter.

Although Liu Ye made a very clear analysis, he still failed to impress Cao Pi.

Cao Pi asked with a clear eye: "Zhu Ling sent me a memorial to me for help. If Luoyang had no indication at all, would it be a shame for the soldiers on the front line? Since Ziyang is sure that Liu Bei is a feint attack, then come up with corresponding countermeasures. Since Taiwei Jia passed away, I am most optimistic about the strategy."
Chapter completed!