Although less than a dozen of the 700 men sent by Wang Ling escaped, it sounded the alarm for Shouchun and put Yangzhou on alert.

Sun Quan learned that he had to postpone his plan to go north for the third consecutive year.

At this time, Man Chong had just rushed back to Luoyang to meet Cao Rui.

Cao Rui looked at Man Chong below, and saw that although he had a gray beard, his voice was like a bell, and he could still feel the strength in his movements.

When discussing matters in Yangzhou, his speech was clear and well-organized. There was no trace of old age and declining ambition.

So I finally came to a conclusion in my mind.

Then he said calmly:

"After the battle at Xiaoguan, people were in panic. What I'm worried about is that people in Yangzhou are floating. Now that I can hear your words, I feel at ease."

"The military forces in Yangzhou, please be more careful."

Manchu has favored three dynasties, how can he not know what happened in this dynasty?

He knew that in the past, the military was always led by members of the Cao family, but now that the talents of the lineage were withering away, he, as a foreigner, had the opportunity to command the military in Yangzhou.

Then I thought back to the fact that I was suddenly and inexplicably summoned back to the capital. It might not be without reason.

Immediately he requested:

"Your Majesty, I am old and my strength is declining. I am acting as the commander-in-chief of Yangzhou's military affairs. I am afraid that I will not be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility. If I interfere with important national affairs, I will not resign until I die."

"Therefore, I would also like to ask Your Majesty to select some talented people. Since I am an old minister, I am afraid that it will be difficult for me to undertake the war again, so I am begging to stay in the capital to enjoy my remaining years."

Upon hearing this, Cao Rui said decisively:

"No! The general is a minister left behind by Emperor Wu. Now that the country is in danger, how can the general sit in the capital and ignore the border invaders?"

Man Chong wanted to talk more, but Cao Rui forcibly changed the topic:

"The Shu captives are rampant and have repeatedly invaded the border. Today, Da Sima has stationed troops in Guanzhong. I have reported that I want to establish farmland in Guanzhong as a long-term plan."

"Runan, Yuzhou, is the land where Emperor Wu used to farm. You have been the governor of Yuzhou for a long time, so you should know about farming."

"I want to move 10,000 soldiers and civilians who are familiar with farming to Guanzhong. How can you teach me?"

A considerable part of the farmland left by Cao Cao in his early years has now been severely damaged.

Yuzhou, on the other hand, can still be preserved relatively intact because Man Chong has been the governor for more than 20 years and can strictly enforce the law.

Man Chong had no choice but to follow Cao Rui's topic:

"Your Majesty, it is the national policy left by Emperor Wu to cultivate the fields to prepare for famine and to provide enough food for the army to prevent bandits."

"Now that the Great Sima wants to establish farmland in Guanzhong, this is a long-term way to maintain a stalemate with the Shu captives, and it is a good strategy."

"However, it is winter now and it is not suitable to move. Your Majesty can first move the farm officials to Guanzhong to make plans."

"We will wait until the spring of next year before moving the troops and civilians to the fields. This will not delay the fielding in Guanzhong, and will not cause unrest among the people."

Upon hearing this, Cao Rui nodded and agreed with Man Chong: "This is a great thing to say."

Then he thought for a moment and said:

"Now that the prefect of Runan has been in office for less than two years, he may not be as familiar with the field officials as you. After you leave, you might as well draw up a list to avoid omissions."

Man Chong responded quickly.

After staying, he not only carefully drew up a list, but also wrote a memorial, once again expressing his intention to stay in the capital.

At this time, urgent news of Yangzhou's governor Wang Ling's defeat reached Luoyang.

Cao Rui's intention to let Man Chong guard Yangzhou became stronger.

He personally wrote a handwritten edict and sent it to Man Chong:

In the past, Lian was forced to eat, and the horse was supported by the saddle. Now the king is not old but he calls himself old. How can he be incompatible with Lian and the horse? He wants to secure the border and benefit China.

Seeing that His Majesty did not hesitate to use Lian Po and Ma Yuan to persuade him, Man Chong did not dare to resign. In addition, Yangzhou urgently reported, so he had to rush back to Yangzhou.

After this incident, Man Chong finally established his authority in Yangzhou.

Cao Rui was very impatient. After getting the list of officials in the field, he combined it with the list submitted by Tian Yu, the prefect of Runan.

Then let people select the officials according to the list and set off to Guanzhong.

By the time this group of field officials arrived in Chang'an, a thin layer of snow had covered the entire Guanzhong.

During the cold weather, not to mention the field officials who came from Runan, even the officers and soldiers in Guanzhong who were guarding against the Shu captives huddled in a certain place to warm themselves up.

Before taking over Guanzhong, Sima Yi had told Cao Rui that now he could only stick to Guanzhong and no longer distract Liangzhou.

But when the news of the fall of Liangzhou came, it still made his heart tremble.

My whole body felt like I was standing in the wilds of Guanzhong wearing single clothes, feeling chilly.

In the past few months, he has traveled throughout the army, talked with soldiers who participated in the Battle of Xiaoguan, and tried his best to restore every detail of the Battle of Anding.

Especially in the battle of Xiaoguan, what happened? Thief Feng was able to break through 100,000 with 20,000?

But the more detailed he understood, the colder Sima Yi's heart became.

The armored cavalry has never been seen before, the trebuchets that sound like thunder, the ballistas that fire spears...

Coupled with the extremely elite soldiers.

This is also what Sima Yi is puzzled about.

How did the Shu people do it?

How did they raise such an army?

At that time, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry defeated Yuan Shao in Hebei and defeated Ma Chao in the northwest. They were regarded as the best cavalry in the world.

Why did it disappear in the era of Emperor Wen?

One is because raising such a cavalry army is too expensive and expensive.

War horses are precious and need to eat not only grass but also grain.

The cost of raising a fine war horse is almost equivalent to the money and food needed by five households.

As for the second place, it was because the Wei Dynasty had completely pacified the north at that time, but Wu and Shu in the south were mostly blocked by mountains and rivers, and the cavalry could not exert its combat effectiveness.

In this case, the ordinary fine cavalry is enough, so there is not much significance in retaining the tiger and leopard cavalry.

I just didn't expect that the Shu people not only captured Longyou, but were even able to form an armored cavalry army in just over three years.

But no matter how fertile the land of Shu is, how can it possibly support such consumption?

With the national power of the Wei Dynasty, it is still difficult to raise tigers and leopards.

The Shu Kingdom was just a state, so how could they afford to raise these elite cavalry troops?

The more Sima Yi thought about it, the more he felt worried about unknown things.

Feeling depressed, he boarded Chang'an City to calm down.

Unexpectedly, he had just climbed to the top of the city, only to find that someone had already been there.

In the vast white snow, this person wandered back and forth, sometimes squatting down and scratching something on the ground with his fingers.

At the same time, you can see that his mouth is constantly opening and closing, as if he is mumbling to himself, and suddenly he looks up to the north, not knowing what he is doing.

The guard beside him was about to chase them away, but Sima Yi stretched out his hand to stop him and stepped forward slowly. When he saw the painting on the ground clearly, his pupils could not help but shrink slightly.

In order to see more clearly, he couldn't help but want to get closer.

The sound of footsteps finally woke up the man who was squatting there and paddling on the snow in fascination.

He turned around suddenly, not sure if he was frightened, but he stuttered and asked:

"You...you are...who...who are you?"

"Bold! Dare you be rude to Da Sima?"

The guard shouted loudly.

The young man's expression changed drastically, and he raised his feet to step back and salute.

Unexpectedly, Sima Yi quickly stretched out his hand to stop him:

"Wait a minute, don't step on the paintings on the ground."

It's just that the young man couldn't take his foot back. As soon as he stepped down, there was an extra footprint in the painted picture.

The young man looked at his feet hastily, and he didn't know whether the other foot was moving or not.

"What was that thing you just drew?"

Sima Yi signaled him not to be polite and pointed to the ground.

Young's face suddenly changed drastically.

But when he saw the guard who had pressed his hand on the handle of the knife, he had to bite the bullet and answer:

"Hui...hui...Da...Da...Da Sima, Xia...Xiaguan painted...yes, it is the terrain of Chang'an."

He didn't dare to hide anything. The picture on the ground hadn't been wiped off yet. With Da Sima's eyesight, how could he not see it?
To be continued...