Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 200 The Roar of the Tiger in Luoyang (7)

The firelight inside the Prince of Jin's residence could be clearly seen even from the city walls of Jinyong.

Sima You saw the distant firelight, his face ashen, and remained silent.

But he did not issue any orders.

The principle is that if the enemy doesn't move, we won't move either. Since Sima Fu's troops haven't made any moves yet, and the county troops on the Mengjin Ferry haven't shown any signs of large-scale marches, it's not the time to take action.

More importantly, no one from the Prince of Jin's residence has come to deliver a message yet.

Time flew by and midnight had passed.

Just then, a rider on horseback outside Jinyong City, holding a torch, shouted to the city wall: "General of the Left Guard, hurry to support the Prince of Jin's residence! Bandits are attacking the Prince of Jin's residence urgently!"

coming!

The special gesture of shaking a torch is a special code.

Sima You's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was relieved. He instructed his deputy, "Gather the troops and go to support the Prince of Jin's residence! Leave five hundred men to guard the city!"

"Order!"

The deputy general accepted the order and left. Soon, the city gates of Jinyong City were opened, and Sima You rode his horse, leading a large contingent of imperial guards towards the Prince of Jin's residence.

As time passed, the firelight over the Prince of Jin's residence seemed to grow smaller and smaller.

I don't know how much time has passed, maybe an hour, maybe two hours, but the sky has turned from dark to light, and I can see my fingers without the help of firelight.

The remaining garrison in Jinyong City was almost all sleepy, and many of them were dozing off at their posts.

Suddenly, the north gate of Jinyong City, on the right-hand side, was opened from the inside without warning!
Perhaps a scout sent by Sima Fu infiltrated and helped open the door, or perhaps someone within the Imperial Guards was bribed. In any case, it all happened too fast for the guards to react!

"kill!"

The Yewang County soldiers, who had been lying in wait outside the city for a long time, filed in and, with the support of some of the city's garrison, instantly stormed the city walls and set them ablaze!
Sima Wang, who was waiting not far from the south gate of Jinyong City, finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the fire on the city wall.

In fact, Sima Wang had previously suggested to Sima Fu that they should not be soft-hearted and should kill Sima Zhao's family first.

However, Sima Fu insisted that the execution should be carried out in a fair and just manner, that the court should issue an imperial edict to "justifiably" execute Sima Zhao's family, that a court meeting should be held in Cao Huan's name, and that the proper procedures should be followed!
This stubbornness wasted an opportunity to ambush and kill Sima You halfway!

Because if they acted prematurely, Sima Zhao would order a rapid attack on the Chang Le Duke's residence. And the Chang Le Duke's residence had extremely poor defenses, making it easy for someone to breach it.

For Sima Fu, it didn't matter how Sima Zhao was killed, as long as the world was not thrown into chaos.

If the court is not convened and the Sima Zhao family is not executed in accordance with the law, then the next step will be for the governors of various regions to rise up in rebellion!

Sima Wang clearly lacked the political acumen of Sima Fu, and of course, Sima Fu also lacked the audacity to overturn the table like Sima Wang!
"Move! Take Jinyong City and escort His Majesty back to the palace!"

Sima Wang roared and then gave an order to his deputy.

Sima You left 500 men in Jinyong City, but some of them rebelled, and the number of people involved in the rebellion is unknown.

Although the small town was extremely fortified, it quickly fell because the city gates were opened from the inside and it was attacked from both sides by the Yewang County troops and Sima Wang's Right Guard Imperial Army.

Countless people died or were injured in the city, and blood flowed like a river.

However, when Sima Wang entered Cao Huan's bedroom with a smile and smugness, he was instantly dumbfounded.

"Who are you? How dare you impersonate His Majesty!"

Sima Wang looked at the stranger whose figure was identical to Cao Huan's but whose face was completely different, and asked in astonishment.

His tone carried a barely perceptible hint of fear.

"Hmph! If I'm not His Majesty, then who am I?"

The imposter said confidently, looking at Sima Wang with a provocative expression.

He made a chopping gesture across his own neck, as if to say: Go ahead and chop my neck if you dare!
Sima Wang wouldn't dare to kill someone.

He quickly gave a few instructions to his personal guards, then left Cao Huan's bedroom. He ordered the guards to keep a close watch on the imposter and instructed two trusted confidants to stay inside and keep a close eye on him, making sure the fake Cao Huan didn't commit suicide.

After arranging these matters, Sima Wang arrived at the top of Jinyong City, his mind a complete mess.

As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Sima Wang knew his time was running out. At this moment, however, Sima Wang was at a loss as to how to handle this unexpected turn of events.

If this is a trap set by Sima Zhao, then what will be the opponent's next plan?

I don't know, I have absolutely no idea!
But things may not be so bad that they can't be salvaged, because their troops have now been assembled and there are quite a few of them!
If you can't win by playing dirty tricks, then you have to fight head-on.

Sima Wang thought to himself.

That night was a sleepless one. While Sima Fu and his companions were busy with various tasks, Sima Zhao was not idle either.

In the study of the Prince of Jin's residence, the Prince of Jin, who was "seriously ill," had miraculously improved quite a bit and sat at his desk, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

Shi Shouxin, the mastermind behind the entire plan, has also arrived here.

On the table was an absurdly detailed map of Luoyang.

"Prince Jin, after dawn, Sima Fu will personally escort the fake Cao Huan from Jinyong City to the Luoyang Imperial Palace."

This is beyond question; the only question is which path they will take.

Shi Shouxin drew two circles on the map with charcoal: one for Jinyong City and the other for Luoyang Palace.

His words were a distillation of the essentials, omitting the controllable variables of the mutiny and the minutiae, reducing the complex issue to its simplest form:

Once we determine Sima Fu's marching route after dawn, the rest will naturally fall into place.

This eliminates the hassle of leaving a bunch of complex problems for Sima Zhao to handle.

Sima Zhao is now over fifty years old. Where would he get so much energy to deal with these trivial matters?

Even though Shi Shouxin had handled the matter so simply, Sima Zhao still asked him in return, "What do you think?" "In my opinion, an ordinary person would definitely take the shortest route."

That is the wide avenue from the south gate of Jinyong City to the Jianchun Gate and Lühe Gate, and then directly into Luoyang Palace.

This is the safest and most secure method; we can hardly stop it.

Shi Shouxin shared his opinion, and Sima Zhao nodded. He knew the terrain of Luoyang, but deep down, he didn't believe that Sima Fu would make that choice.

Is someone who has been proclaiming himself a subject of Wei so far really going to bring "Cao Huan" to Luoyang Palace like a rat crossing the street?
How could he possibly overcome that inner hurdle?

Such a grand military operation ended so quickly that no one in the entire city of Luoyang could possibly have seen him escort Cao Huan into the palace.

So, was the Cao Huan he received the real Cao Huan?

Perhaps, but who would admit it?

If Sima Fu could accept such a haphazard approach, why not just send elite troops from the beginning and concentrate all forces to besiege and kill the Prince of Jin's residence?

Personality determines behavior. Sima Zhao clearly did not agree with Shi Shouxin's "ordinary people strategy" because Sima Fu was not an ordinary person!

“If that were the case, Sima Fu would not be Sima Fu.”

Sima Zhao sighed.

“What the King of Jin said is absolutely right. Therefore, I believe that Sima Fu would not have sent Cao Huan to Luoyang Palace so hastily, especially since this Cao Huan is a fake.”

If I were Sima Fu, I would definitely lead a large army to circle around Luoyang Palace, all the way to the magnificent Yunlong Gate, and then have the imperial guards guarding the Yunlong Gate open the gate to welcome Cao Huan into the palace.

In this way, everyone in Luoyang, from wealthy families to ordinary citizens, would have a clear view of the procession surrounding Cao Huan.

In this way, the momentum was created, and even if the Cao Huan in his hands was not real, it became real.

Next, a court assembly was held in the Taiji Hall. At this point, Sima Fu had already won.

Therefore, in order to avoid that situation, we must now send out capable men to ambush them somewhere along the route.

Shi Shouxin held a charcoal pencil and drew a line on the road between Guangyang Gate and Qingming Gate.

"We will set up an ambush on this road, and when the emperor's carriage arrives at the Pingchang Gate, we can immediately light the beacon fire."

They cut off the head and tail and attacked the middle, slaughtering everyone near the emperor's carriage without leaving a single survivor.

Then, go and hunt down the remaining fish. In this way, the great undertaking can be accomplished!

Shi Shouxin looked at Sima Zhao and said with absolute certainty, "I have done my best and tried every possible method."

If Sima Zhao said no at this point, then he would immediately find an opportunity to leave Luoyang, set off alone to Qingzhou, and then think of another way.

Old Deng, whom he couldn't handle, should be destroyed along with Sima Fu. Shi Shouxin had no sentimental thoughts whatsoever.

Fortunately, Sima Zhao merely nodded slightly, looked at Li Yin, Sima Jun, Fu Zhi, Sima Yan, Sima You, Yang Xiu, and others beside him, and then asked, "What do you all think?"

Sitting in the corner, Wen Yang interjected, "The plan is good, but who will set up the ambush, who will charge in, who will block the road, and who will catch the survivors?"

Sima Zhao glanced at Wen Yang with some surprise. He remembered this person. In a way, it was because Wen Yang scared Sima Shi to death that he had the opportunity to rise to power.

Therefore, Sima Zhao did not hold Wen Yang's talkativeness against him; he was still very generous to his benefactor.

Moreover, Wen Yang's words hit the nail on the head.

Setting a plan isn't enough; the most crucial thing is how to assign tasks to each person.

Sima Zhao looked at Sima Jun and said:

"General Right, take Wen Yang and the Right Army troops and set up an ambush on this road."

As soon as the smoke of war rose, Wen Yang led his elite troops into battle.

Remember, leave no survivors! Even if they kneel and beg for surrender, kill them without hesitation!

This time, Sima Zhao was truly determined to kill!
After saying that, he turned to Fu Zhi and said, "Prefect Fu, you take your troops and attack the Chang Le Duke's mansion. Remember, leave no survivors! Afterwards, burn the mansion down."

Then, Sima Zhao said to Sima You, "You and Sima Zhou should join forces. You should lead your troops to block Yunlong Gate, and Sima Zhou should lead your troops to block the retreat route at Guangming Gate."

“Prince Jin, this arrangement is excellent. However, I would like to have Shi Shouxin in my army so that it will be convenient for command and communication.”

Sima Jun pointed at Shi Shouxin and made a suggestion to Sima Zhao.

"Approved. Shi Shouxin will travel with you."

Sima Zhao casually agreed.

He then looked at his eldest son, Sima Yan, thought for a moment, and finally sighed, saying to Sima Yan, "Take the servants in the manor to search for the fugitives and clean up the battlefield. If you catch anyone, don't kill them, just bring them back and send them to the prison in Silitai."

Sima Zhao gave Sima Yan a task that was safe and convenient for him to curry favor with others.

Everyone accepted the order and left, leaving only Sima Zhao and Li Yin in the study.

“Your son-in-law is truly extraordinary. No wonder you wouldn’t give me this face back then.”

Sima Zhao looked at Li Yin and sighed.

Li Yin laughed and said:

“Back then, the Prince of Jin spared Shi Shouxin and did not pursue his crimes, which is why he is now devising strategies.”

Isn't this a classic case of reaping what you sow?

Upon hearing this, Sima Zhao felt relieved and simply waved his hand without refuting Li Yin's words.

(End of this chapter)