Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 198 The Roar of the Tiger in Luoyang (5)

Spring nights, though the wind still carries a chill, are no longer as biting as they are in winter.

Yang Xiu rode on his horse, not daring to light a torch, and slowly made his way along the official road by the bright moonlight. The horse's light, shuffling gait made Yang Xiu almost doze off on horseback.

He didn't know how far he had walked. In a daze, he opened his eyes and saw the camp not far from the official road.

It was very simple, just a rough fence. Clearly, they didn't intend to wait there for long.

Even if these people were to storm Luoyang tonight, Yang Xiu had no doubt that they were capable of doing it.

He dismounted and strolled leisurely to the camp gate. The sentries, seeing his noble attire and the fact that he wasn't carrying a sword, weren't too nervous.

"Please inform Prefect Fu that Yang Xiu of the Yang clan of Mount Tai requests an audience."

Yang Xiu, who was usually very arrogant, was now somewhat humble and even her tone was much more modest.

"Then you wait."

One of the sentries gave a curt reply and turned to head back into the camp.

He quickly ran back and said to Yang Xiu, "Prefect Fu said you should go to the commander's tent to find him. I'll take you there now."

After saying that, he ignored Yang Xiu and walked straight into the camp. Before long, he arrived at the largest military tent in the camp.

"Thank you very much."

Yang Xiu looked embarrassed and thanked the sentry who had led the way. Normally, he wouldn't even bother to say a word to someone like that.

Unfortunately, times have changed.

Today is the most crucial day of his life, at least so far, and he absolutely cannot afford to mess things up on small matters.

Yang Xiu lifted the curtain and went in. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Shi Shouxin sitting at his desk, looking at him with a smile.

Am I hallucinating?
He looked back and found that the military tent behind him had not changed.

"Come and sit."

Shi Shouxin pointed to the cushion in front of the table and said.

Yang Xiu hurriedly ran over and sat down, then asked with a look of surprise and uncertainty, "You... you've sided with Fu Zhi?"

"No."

Shi Shouxin shook his head.

"You haven't switched sides to Sima Fu, have you?"

Yang Xiu asked again.

Shi Shouxin sighed deeply, intending to say, "Guess?"

However, remembering Yang Xiu's bad temper and the fact that it was a matter of life and death, he finally smiled and retorted, "Can't you say something nice? I brought the Right General's troops, persuaded Fu Zhi to join the Prince of Jin, and cut off Sima Fu's arm. Can't you praise me? Do you have to guess that I betrayed you and surrendered to the enemy?"

"really?"

Upon hearing these words, Yang Xiu suddenly stood up, almost jumping for joy.

If it were anyone else, he would have kicked them in the face long ago for such boasting. But Shi Shouxin was different.

Although Yang Xiu disliked Shi Shouxin, he was completely convinced of his abilities.

Shi Shouxin said he would do it, and he definitely would. The other party would never joke about something like this.

"Of course it's true."

Shi Shouxin still had a smile on his face, but his silent and stoic demeanor made him look like a hermit sage.

Yang Xiu slowly sat down, and asked with some confusion, "How did you manage to do all this? Why are so many people in Luoyang saying that the army in the east of the city is Sima Fu's?"

"Sima Fu is trying to bolster his own image; he wants others to see that he still has pieces to play."

In that case, many undecided people might actually side with him.

Many people who were on the side of the Prince of Jin may find themselves in a wait-and-see mode at that time.

Can you say this isn't a scheme? Sima Fu is cunning and shrewd; he's not easy to deal with!

Shi Shouxin sighed and said that he never dared to underestimate this "Yue Buqun" of the Western Jin Dynasty who had served under Sima Yi for many years.

Yang Xiu nodded slowly and said, "That's right. His combination of truth and deception is very tempting, and some unsuspecting people might even side with him."

"By the way, you still haven't told me how you did it."

Yang Xiu was getting a little anxious.

"It's a long story, let's get down to business first."

Shi Shouxin walked to the entrance of the military tent and gave a few instructions to the guards on duty. Soon, Sima Jun, Fu Zhi, Wen Yang and others arrived at the military tent.

This is indeed the commander's tent, but Shi Shouxin is only making a cameo appearance. He just wants to relieve Yang Xiu's stress and make him less nervous when discussing serious matters.

"General of the Right, Prefect Fu..."

Yang Xiu bowed to Sima Jun and Fu Zhi respectively, but she had never seen the tall military officer beside them before.

"This is Wen Yang."

Shi Shouxin succinctly stated.

Many people have never seen what this person looks like, but his fame is known to almost everyone in the Jin Kingdom's elite circles.

Sima Shi's eyes were ripped out by this guy! In a way, Wen Yang was Sima Zhao's "great benefactor".

Yang Xiu bowed to Wen Yang somewhat guiltily, fearing that he might do something as tyrannical as a tiger or a bear if he got angry.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Yang Xiu, the strategist of the Crown Prince, the son of Yang Dan, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, and Xin Xianying."

He has come today on behalf of the Prince of Jin to meet with us and discuss important matters.

Shi Shouxin emphasized the word "major event," and everyone present became solemn and unsmiling.

This is a big deal, of course it's a big deal, it could cost us our lives.

After taking his seat, Shi Shouxin looked at Yang Xiu and asked, "What's the situation in Luoyang?"

Yang Xiu knew that Shi Shouxin was there to support him and set the stage for him, so he composed himself and said seriously:

"It's not good. Sima Fu's troops from Yewang County have already crossed the Yellow River and arrived at Mengjin Ferry."

Furthermore, Sima Wang has completely sided with Sima Fu, no longer even bothering to pretend.

Moreover, the imperial guards in Guanzhong, as well as important officials such as Jia Chong and Yang Hu, did not return to Luoyang.

That's about it...

By the way, the only troops that Prince Jin can directly control right now are the less than four thousand Left Guards under Sima You, and about a thousand Tunqi soldiers under Sima Zhou, who are currently responsible for guarding Prince Jin's residence.

Yang Xiu gave an introduction.

Sima Jun and Fu Zhi were both somewhat surprised; they never expected that Sima Zhao had so few cards in his hand.

Perhaps it's not that troops can't be mobilized, but rather that the lessons learned from Dong Zhuo's case are profound, and it's truly not an easy task to desperately mobilize troops to the capital.

Therefore, this game is often not about who has more troops, but about who knows how to use them effectively.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Sima Zhao had some backup plan.

"Let me also explain Sima Fu's plan. If there are any errors, please feel free to point them out."

Shi Shouxin pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, on which were drawn messy sketches.

Wen Yang, who was standing to the side, was about to speak when she was glared at by Sima Jun and stopped in her tracks.

"Sima Fu's first step was to order us, that is, Prefect Fu's troops, to attack the Prince of Jin's residence directly."

Shi Shouxin's words were truly earth-shattering!
"Is he crazy?"

Yang Xiu asked incredulously.

"Sima Fu isn't crazy; that's precisely where his cunning lies. He never intended to fulfill the promises he made to Prefect Fu."

Everyone in this army is a bandit! As for why they became bandits, they can just make up a reason, such as embezzling the money meant for repairing the river embankment.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Shi Shouxin spread his hands and said.

Even though it had been mentioned before, Fu Zhi's face was still clouded with gloom, and he didn't look good. Because Shi Shouxin had spoken a very harsh truth, which was very painful for Fu Zhi.

"However, the Prince of Jin's residence is not unguarded, and the troops in Jinyong City can also be redeployed. What is the point of doing this?"

Yang Xiu argued that it would be very difficult to overthrow the Prince of Jin's mansion in one fell swoop!

Not to mention that the Prince of Jin's mansion already had private soldiers and servants who could guard the mansion by putting on armor and taking up weapons.

"Of course, it's a diversionary tactic."

Shi Shouxin cleared his throat and continued:

"This brings us to Sima Fu's second plan, which was for Sima Wang to lead the Imperial Guards in a surprise attack on Jinyong City, in coordination with the three thousand soldiers from Yewang County who were already waiting north of Luoyang City!"

With his troops transferred away, Sima You was like a skilled cook without rice to cook; he might even personally lead his troops back to reinforce the Prince of Jin's residence.

If Sima Fu fails to seize Emperor Cao Huan, he can only blame his own incompetence and has no one else to blame.

But I think Sima Fu will most likely succeed.

Shi Shouxin's words sent chills down the spines of everyone present!
"What's next?"

Yang Xiu pressed for an answer, her heart pounding in her throat.

"The next step is to gather the court officials he has won over and have them guard the emperor."

Half of his troops were converted into an honor guard and marched forward as a whole, while the other half led the way!
The large army marched from Jinyong City to the Luoyang Imperial Palace to allow the emperor to 'return to his throne'.

Having lost the initiative, the Prince of Jin's army fell further behind. By the time they realized what was happening, Sima Fu was already leading the emperor along the main road of Luoyang, entering the Luoyang Palace through the Yunlong Gate.

No matter how many troops the Prince of Jin has, they won't be enough to handle!

With the emperor and so many ministers present, would the Prince of Jin really order Sima You to lead the imperial guards and charge up to kill them all?

Who will appear more like a rebel then? And who will look more like the royal army protecting the emperor?

Shi Shouxin countered with a question.

Yang Xiu was speechless, not because Shi Shouxin was talking nonsense, but because what the other party said was too right.

It was practically a rehearsal! If that moment really came, the entire aura of Sima Fu's team would be completely different.

With the emperor at his side and ministers by his side, Sima Fu appeared to be on the side of justice, upholding orthodoxy.

How could the Imperial Guards go up and fight these people? They weren't without soldiers around them.

If Sima Zhao wants to win then... it will probably be very difficult.

After all, the current emperor of Wei still bears the surname Cao!

Sima Jun and Fu Zhi's expressions were also not good; the harsh reality was beyond their imagination.

"Sima Shi, you've said so much, we already know the enemy is not easy to deal with, why don't you just tell us the solution?"

Although this man's surname is Wen, the knife in his hand is incredibly sharp; he's anything but civilized. You can say who you want to chop, and he'll chop them; it's that simple."

Wen Yang, whose brain was completely muddled from listening, complained impatiently. He thought Shi Shouxin was really rambling on and on, spouting a ton of nonsense.

Why not just say you're going to chop someone up? Wen Yang was already seething with anger.

"This situation is like two armies facing off. Now that we know the enemy's plans, we can simply dismantle their tactics one by one."

I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of smile will appear on Sima Fu's wrinkled old face.

Shi Shouxin chuckled coldly.

Interesting! No wonder he can knock Zhong Hui to the ground!
Yang Xiu and the others gathered around, and Shi Shouxin, without holding back, revealed the plan he had been repeatedly rehearsing in his mind these past few days.

It covers everything, big and small, in great detail.

An hour later, Wen Yang sighed and said, "If that's really the case, even if Sima Fu had three heads and six arms, he would still lose."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It had to be said that Shi Shouxin's plan was not only thorough, but also incredibly insidious.

He could have simply killed Sima Fu with a single blow and ended everything. But instead, he insisted on playing the whole show to the end.

Who was this performance for? Of course, it was for the powerful and wealthy families of Luoyang, and for the members of the Sima clan!
We are all civilized people who have long since moved beyond the era of eating raw meat and drinking blood. How can we just start killing people as soon as we go up?

"There's no time to lose, I'll go back and report to the Crown Prince right away."

By the way, to prevent any scams, I will have my elder brother Yang Jin come here to handle the liaison and coordination.

If he doesn't come, then either something has happened to me, or something has happened to him, or the plan has been leaked and we can't inform you.

In short, if that's the case, the plan won't be carried out.

Yang Xiu stood up decisively and spoke to Shi Shouxin and the others.

After saying that, he left the camp directly.

(End of this chapter)