"The recent ban on Fanyang is Fanyang, so you can ignore this." Sima Ji took out the map and pointed at the location of Fanyang. Because Yan and Fanyang are bordering, he can't understand what the situation of Fanyang is. Sima Xu, the king of Fanyang, almost never returns to the ban on Fanyang, but leads troops in Xuchang.

Perhaps King Fan Yang knew more about his vassal state than Sima Ji. After all, the canal was directed to Qinshui, reaching Yuhe in the south and Jicheng in the north, among which was passed by Fan Yang. Sima Ji took the opportunity to understand Fan Yang clearly. Is Fan Yang's force? Two hundred local soldiers guarding the country, Sima Ji could ignore Fan Yang's country at all.

So in the first choice, Fan Yang Kingdom had been eliminated. He did not need to occupy Fan Yang Kingdom and Sima Xun, who was guarding Xuchang, to get into evil, but the next opponent is not such an easy to deal with.

"Yecheng, King of Hejian." His fingers pointed at the location of Yecheng, and Sima Ji fell into deep thought. Yecheng was the base camp of Cao's family and was already very prosperous during the Cao Wei period. Of course, the Jin Dynasty attached great importance to Yecheng. Now it is one of the five capitals, with royal families leading troops to guard it.

In terms of military strength, there are very few military towns above Yecheng, only Luoyang and Chang'an are superior to the capital. The remaining Jingzhou and Huainan are just between the army and Yecheng. Yecheng's military strength is firmly among the top five within the Jin Dynasty, and its paper strength is more than just above Sima Ji.

From a historical perspective, Sima Ying used Yecheng as a base, confronted Luoyang with tit-for-tat, and even once suppressed the royal family that controlled Luoyang. Of course, what she relied on was the army of Yecheng and the key position she was in.

If Sima Ji was in Youzhou, from his current perspective, Yecheng would be a thorn stuck in his throat. If Jicheng, Chang'an and Jiankang were an equilateral triangle, Yecheng was at the center of this triangle, and no matter who the royal family in Yecheng was going north or south, or went west to Chang'an, Luoyang, the distance was almost equal.

When Lu Yu of the Three Kingdoms wrote "On Jizhou", he commented on Jizhou: "The country above the world... The Tang and Yu have come, Jizhou is the abyss of sages and treasures of emperors. Above the East River, from the West River, north of the South River, south of the Yishui River, thousands of miles of glutinous soil, where the heaven and earth meet, and where the yin and yang intersect, is the so-called Shenzhou."

Yecheng is exactly where to control Jizhou. The Taihang Mountains to the west of Yecheng and the North China Plain to the east. Yecheng is particularly advantageous in geographical location, which is a key transportation link between Henan and Hebei in the north and connecting Shandong and Shanxi. It is leaning against a big river in front and back to the mountains. It can attack and retreat and defend. During the Three Kingdoms period, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao attached importance to Yecheng one after another, believing that it is the key to the world.

In fact, this is very similar to the Jicheng in later generations in Sima Ji's eyes. It controls the two major plains of Northeast China and North China. Yecheng is at a key point in the North China Plain. Yecheng has Taihang Mountains, Jicheng has Yanshan as a barrier. The foundations of the two cities are very similar, and there are conflicts in functions.

If Sima Ji wanted to go south, it depends on the attitude of the royal family in Yecheng. Another important reason is that because in Jizhou, Jizhou was the leader of the Jiuzhou, it was advantageous to many feudal states in the Jin Dynasty. The royal family guarding Yecheng could easily receive the support of a large number of royal families, which was an advantage that Sima Ji was far from comparing.

Youzhou is not the family of Anle Gong. There are only Yan and Fan Yang countries, which are completely incomparable to the thirteen fiefs of Jizhou. Once they march south into Jizhou, the royal family of Jizhou where the fiefs are located will naturally resist, because they do not want to offend the royal family guarding Yecheng to protect the interests of their fiefs.

The function of Yecheng is similar to that of Jicheng, and the other party has the potential support of the royal kings. The most important thing is that he still blocks Sima Ji's way. If he wants to compete in the Central Plains, he must also have the consent of the King of Hejian. This is really outrageous.

"If a war starts, Yecheng must be controlled in his hands." Sima Ji stared at the location of Yecheng, and the more he looked, the more he felt the embarrassment that he could not move forward or retreat.

During the Eight Kings Rebellion, except for Luoyang, because it was protected by the central imperial guards in the capital, the remaining three armies were nothing more than Chang'an, Yecheng and Xuchang. The first two should be the main forces to destroy Luoyang.

The only difference now is that Yecheng itself is controlled by Sima Ying, and now the one guarding Yecheng is Sima Yong, the King of Hejian. The positions and real history of the two are just adjusted one by one.

"There is a 100,000 army in Yecheng, which is really difficult to deal with." Sima Ji thought with great worries that the situation he is facing now is worse than what Marshal Chang Kaishen faced in the Central Plains War.

After thinking about it, he and Hejian King Sima Yong would have a tough battle almost in the first round, which is actually very unfavorable for the idea of ​​preserving his strength. But there is no way, this is not a problem that can be solved by dragging on.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to do it?" Sima Ji gritted his teeth. As long as he could bear the losses, King Yan might not be the opponent of King Hejian. Besides, it was not just the war between Youzhou and Jizhou. Who knows whether there would be allies at that time? The chaos in the world has always been about unity and alliances. King Yan did not do anything that the heavens were angry and people resented. He didn't believe that Sima Lun's fate could still fall on himself.

Thinking of this, Sima Ji already understood that he could not get around Yecheng no matter what. As long as the royal family guarding Yecheng had a little ambition, they would not allow themselves to participate in the power struggle. However, the decision made by Sima Yong, the King of Hejian, was among the Eight Kings, was almost obvious, and a battle between the two was almost inevitable.

If Youzhou alone fights against Jizhou, Sima Ji will suffer a great loss. The population that the two can mobilize is not the same level. Yecheng always has a large army of 100,000. Of course, he can also recruit 100,000 troops in Youzhou, but no matter how many, it will affect the operation of Youzhou. Sima Yong, the King of Hejian, does not have this weakness, and the gap in the basic base is too big.

As for Pingzhou's household registration, Sima Ji must not recruit soldiers in Pingzhou. At best, he only transferred back the troops of the Dongyi School Guard's Mansion. Pingzhou's household registration is really not enough in the face of such a chaotic war.

"Tell this letter to Zhang Dalishan outside the Great Wall. They are in the domestic city." After Sima Ji wrote the handwritten letter, he called the Jinwei and solemnly ordered, "Don't let the market go, secretly deliver it to the two generals. You must watch them demolish and read it yourself. Do you understand?"

"If you have someone, your trust is here, don't worry." The Jin Wei who came over bowed deeply to assure Sima Ji.
Chapter completed!