The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 369 Cao Rui Crosses the River
Sima Yi was now fully aware that he had been outmaneuvered by Guanqiu Jian.

In a fit of anger, he kicked over the table and grabbed a torch, intending to burn the letter along with it.

However, the moment the sparks fell, his heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly stopped.

His expression shifted between light and dark for a few breaths before he finally put down the torch and obediently took the letter to read.

This reading almost made him furious.

It turned out that Guanqiu Jian had taken advantage of the chaos in the siege camp to sneak away from the Han army's noses while the army was on its way to Jibei.

He planned to detour through Mount Tai and Xuzhou to enter Huainan.

Then they contacted the various royal families and generals in the south, and together they marched north to defend the king.

For this reason, he even wrote this letter to thank Sima Yi for covering for him.

Without Sima Yi, he wouldn't have had a suitable opportunity to get rid of Guan Ping's entanglement.

What else could Sima Yi say?
Should I immediately report this to Guan Ping?
Or should I report this to Cao Rui?
None of them seem suitable.

The former would be seen as a breach of trust by the Shu Han rulers and ministers, who would suspect that he had colluded with Guanqiu Jian long ago.

The latter... who knows if Cao Rui was in cahoots with Guanqiu Jian?
After a moment's thought, he decided to remain unchanged in the face of all changes.

He stayed overnight at the campsite, pretending to continue persuading Guanqiu Jian.

As long as Guanqiu Jian does not cross the river, he will always have a reason to stay here, away from the two eye of the storm, Dunqiu and Puyang, and better implement his plan to play both sides.

However, this beautiful wish only lasted for one night.

The next morning, a scout from the army reported that the emperor had personally led the royal army to Liyang, upstream of Dunqiu, which is also the city on the north bank of Baimajin.

Its purpose is self-evident.

While the Han army's attention was drawn to the northeast of Yanzhou, they launched a surprise attack from Baimajin in the west, catching the enemy off guard!
Baimajin happens to be located just west of Puyang.

Together with the troops in Gaotang, they formed a pincer movement against the Shu Han rulers and their ministers from the east and west.

The Gaotang side was even further away, which conveniently allowed Guan Ping's troops to be moved far away from the Han Emperor's temporary residence in Puyang.

Those unaware of the inside story would only praise the seamless cooperation between the Cao Wei rulers and their ministers.

Those Han generals who knew some of the inside story would curse Sima Yi as a treacherous old villain who had not given up his evil intentions.

Otherwise, how could Cao Rui have crossed the river at such a convenient time?
You're saying you, Sima Yi, were also tricked yesterday?
Why didn't you send someone to deliver the message immediately last night?

And you, Sima Yi, aren't loyal subjects of Wei?

This is truly a situation where one can't clear their name even if they jump into the Yellow River.

It can only be said that Cao Rui was indeed in cahoots with Guanqiu Jian!
They even anticipated some of Sima Yi's reactions in advance!
In desperation, Sima Yi did not rush to defend himself to either side, but instinctively chose to first consolidate his military power.

Specifically, the plan was to first help all 5,000 remaining soldiers abandoned by Guanqiu Jian to cross the river—at this point, there was no need to conceal the fact that Guanqiu Jian had already left.

Subsequently, the emperor personally led the expedition, taking on the task of protecting the eastern flank, and ordered all troops not to move out without authorization and to remain in place.

After all this commotion for most of the day, judging by the time, Cao Rui's imperial banner should have already appeared at the foot of Baima City on the south bank.

If they act swiftly, they might already have stormed the city.

At this point, trying to explain to the Han emperor in Puyang would be of no use.

So he steeled himself, closed his camp, and decided to remain a bystander.

Didn't you, Cao Rui, plan a surprise attack?

Then we'll talk about it after you've fought this battle.

Regardless of who wins or loses in the end, as long as you hold onto your army and don't intervene or express your opinion, you'll always have room to maneuver!
……

Cao Rui suddenly led an expedition and crossed the river.

When this news reached Puyang, it immediately shocked everyone in the imperial court.

It wasn't that I was shocked by Cao Rui's reneging on his promise; that he suddenly launched a sneak attack when things were going well.

To be honest, during these months of negotiations, the two sides have had quite a few off-the-ground clashes.

On the river, scout ships from both sides were seeing blood every day.

It was only after winter arrived, when the river froze and dried up, that the flow of the river slowed down slightly.

However, it turned into a more brutal and intense skirmish between scouts.

In short, as long as a peace treaty is not reached, both sides will remain at war.

Any kind of situation could be expected.

Using force to promote dialogue.

However, none of the people in Puyang, including Mi Wei, had expected that Cao Rui would dare to come to Henan in person.

What is the current situation in Henan?
Just as Dong Yun had previously analyzed for Liu Shan, Zhang Fei's army was in the west, Mi Wei's army in the south, and Guan Ping's army in the east. At this moment, Mi Wei himself had come to the Puyang temporary capital to oversee the overall situation.

Very stable.

Do they really think Liu Shan and his close advisors are oblivious to their own mortality?

Why must we come to the riverbank to face off the emperor of Cao Wei against the emperor, and the general against the general?
With such a large and confident force, it would be too embarrassing for them not to come.

On the contrary, Cao Rui's sudden outburst was somewhat reckless and foolish.

Dong Yun's earlier advice to Liu Shan about what shouldn't be done was a reasonable choice based on normal conditions.

If a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes along, and we can directly capture the emperor of an enemy country, who cares about these rules and regulations?
Therefore, Dong Yun simply said:
"It is certainly not the Wei ruler himself who has come."

"If they want to show off their power, sending one general will suffice."

"I agree," Zhuge Qiao, who had come to pay his respects with Mi Wei, quickly chimed in.

"According to Huo Shaoxian's report, although the more than 10,000 Wei troops who launched the surprise attack on Baima were strong and well-equipped, they had no reinforcements."

"If Cao Rui had arrived in person, wouldn't he have sent a large army to cross the river?"

Even if Liu Shan was slow to react, he understood what was going on after hearing this:

"Could this be a feint attack?"

“Your Majesty is absolutely right; it must be a feint to the east while attacking the west,” Mi Wei replied steadily.

"The key question now is, where is east, and where is west?"

What exactly is Cao Rui planning to do?

This question immediately sparked a flurry of responses from everyone.

Some believe that Cao Rui's feint was likely a prelude to a larger plan elsewhere.

After all, as winter approaches, there are more places to cross the river.

Guan Ping had only just conquered the counties along the river in Yanzhou and had not yet had time to make careful preparations for defense.

The Wei army might find a loophole in the Han army's defenses.

Some argue that it doesn't matter where Cao Rui attacks; what matters is that the other side uses this to demonstrate a tough stance and insist on the concept of brotherly states.

Based on the latter view, it is further speculated whether Cao Rui truly wanted to retain the title of emperor, or whether it was a negotiation tactic to make exorbitant demands.

There are different approaches to dealing with these two possibilities.

In short, due to the suddenness of the incident and the lack of information, there were many conflicting opinions among the officials and staff of the imperial court.

Mi Wei, who was in the midst of it all and was effectively the head of the court, certainly couldn't just speculate without having a countermeasure.

He truly couldn't figure out what Cao Rui intended to do.

Based solely on vague historical experiences from past lives, combined with life experiences accumulated in this life, one can offer some relatively certain inferences.

First, if Cao Rui really intended to go all in with the Han army one last time.

Hebei was a more suitable battlefield than Henan.

Even south of the Yellow River, places like Qingxu and Huainan, due to their terrain and rivers, might be more suitable as the final battleground than Yanyu.

Therefore, at least the more than 10,000 Wei troops under Baima City were not there to seek a decisive battle.

Secondly, both Sima Yi and his sons generally possessed extremely high military and political acumen.

However, this kind of character is inversely proportional to their loyalty to Cao Wei.

The Sima clan of Wen County, Hanoi, were said to be loyal to the Great Wei.

Rather, it's more accurate to say they are loyal to the system that is conducive to maintaining the long-term interests of the family.

It just so happens that the system was called Wei, so they fought as Wei subjects.

When the emperor of Wei could no longer satisfy their ever-growing desires, then a change of dynasty was only natural.

Isn't this the origin of the later term "private schemes and schemes"?

Therefore, Sima Yi was at most silent during the Wei army's surprise attack, but he was unlikely to be an accomplice.

Because this matter does him little good.

The downside was missing out on the last resort: surrendering to the Han.

Furthermore, if Cao Rui really makes a foolish mistake by underestimating the enemy and advancing recklessly, then there is even less reason for us to panic.

They should be overjoyed!
As these facts are established one by one...

A somewhat audacious military plan gradually emerged in Miwei's mind.

(End of this chapter)