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

Chapter 373 Going Against the Grain
Dong Zhao and Liu Ye had some similarities in their life experiences.

They all joined Cao Cao's camp at the beginning of the chaotic period at the end of the Han Dynasty.

They were all recognized as top-notch strategists in Cao Cao's camp.

And they were all highly valued by three generations of Cao family rulers.

Comparatively speaking, Dong Zhao was more adept at scheming and maneuvering when he became an official.

Therefore, he is currently the Commandant of the Guards, one of the Nine Ministers.

After the death of Situ Wang Lang, he briefly "acted as Situ".

That is, to act as an agent for Situ.

If it weren't for Sima Yi's interference, Dong Zhao should have been promoted to Minister of Works.

At this moment, Cao Rui asked both of them questions at the same time, and Dong Gongren naturally answered first without hesitation:
"Your Majesty is wise. The rebel general Mi Wei is well-versed in the art of war and deception. Therefore, when the situation is unclear, he uses speed to attack slowness and offense to replace defense, attempting to seize the initiative on the battlefield."

"I believe that Your Majesty should remain calm and focus on the present task, especially at times like these."

Cao Rui: "So that means you'll continue to hide?"

Dong Zhao nodded slightly and then said:
"Although we are hiding, we can no longer proceed slowly as before. We must act quickly. If necessary, why not head east to Qing and Xu?"

Cao Rui hesitated:

"Guanqiu Zhonggong has just gone south and there has been no reply yet. I am afraid that if we are too hasty, we will not only fail to gain Huainan, but we may also lose Hebei behind us, leaving us in a dilemma."

Dong Zhaodao:
"There is no perfect plan in the world. Whether it is south or north, Your Majesty must always place a bet and gamble on one side."

"We must not be like Yuan Shao in the past, who was too shrewd and indecisive, and missed the opportunity."

Upon hearing this, Cao Rui's expression hardened, and he then looked at Liu Ye beside him:

What is your opinion?

Liu Ye couldn't wait any longer:

"I also believe that Mi Wei is a master of military strategy and deception. But precisely because of this, we cannot simply do the opposite."

"As the saying goes, 'When you are capable, pretend you are not; when you are active, pretend you are not.' How can we know what Mi Wei is planning? Is Your Majesty hiding or not?"

"Or do they have a plan to deal with it regardless of whether they hide it or not?"

"Therefore, I advocate that we should prioritize the preservation of Hebei. After all, Mi Wei's army is in the north, not in the south. No matter how cunning he is, he is too far away to reach Huainan at this moment."

He paused slightly, then continued:

"Of course, as Lord Dong said, at this juncture, Your Majesty must make a decision and then act swiftly."

After speaking, he put his hands down and looked at Cao Rui.

Dong Zhao originally wanted to refute Liu Ye.

But upon hearing the last sentence, he stopped there and looked at Cao Rui as well.

Cao Rui pondered for a moment, then suddenly focused his gaze and gave an order to Cao Tai:
"You should quickly lead a light cavalry to Wen County to retrieve the Sima clan members, and then return north with me to defend Ye City."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ye glanced at Dong Zhao, seemingly with a smug look on his face.

Cao Tai hesitated and said:
"Your Majesty, now that we have arrived in Wen County, Luoyang is not far away. Why not follow the previous strategy and continue to make our name known in Luoyang to enhance our prestige?"

Cao Rui hesitated upon hearing this.

But under the watchful eyes of Dong and Liu, he finally shook his head regretfully and said:
"Miwei's troops were dispatched too quickly; it's too late."

"Besides, Liu Shan and Mi Wei have already crossed the river to attack. If I just shout a few words and send out a few proclamations under the walls of Luoyang, how much momentum can I gain?"

"I'm afraid that in comparison, the one that appears weak in the eyes of the world will be the one that is in the worst position."

"Look at Sima Zhongda, he's just lying there in Gaotang, like an old tortoise."

"In the end, the balance of power between the Han and Wei dynasties is no longer the same as it was back then."

"The Han army has sufficient strength to fight again and again despite repeated defeats, while if I suffer a defeat..."

In the end, Cao Rui sighed deeply and did not want to say more.

Although Cao Tai did not believe that Liu Shan truly had the courage to cross the river, he thought it was mostly a trick by Mi Wei.

However, since things had come to this point, there was no point in saying more, so he accepted the order and left.

Cao Rui then ascended the high pavilion with the others, and looked north with his hands behind his back.

The vast Taihang Mountains stand majestically, like the backbone of the world.

It turned out that Xiahou Mao was using his name to launch a feigned attack on Baima in the south.

He had quietly left Dunqiu, detoured through the Taihang Mountains, and entered the territory of the river valley.

Although this would be slower, it would allow them to avoid Han scouts on the plains.

As it turned out, it was fortunate that I took the mountain path.

Otherwise, he might be discovered by Zhang Fei, who suddenly marched east from Luoyang, and meet with misfortune.

"By the way, are Yang Dao's wives all together?"

Cao Rui suddenly turned to those around him and asked...

Shangdang, Huxian.

When Yang Dao woke up, he found that his mansion was surrounded by people.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Deng Ai's dark, farmer-like face.

They were so scared they nearly fainted.

Fortunately, just before fainting, she suddenly remembered that she was Mi Wei's in-law, so she composed herself and said:
"If you have important business, you can simply send someone to deliver the message. Why bother coming here in person?"

Deng Ai shook his head slightly and said:
"This is a very important matter, no, it is not appropriate to entrust it to others."

Yang Dao did not look down on the other party because of his stutter; on the contrary, his heart sank and he hesitated to speak.

Upon seeing this, Deng Ai looked at Yang Xi, the prefectural magistrate beside him.

The latter immediately stepped forward and said sternly:

"Our country has repeatedly shown you sincerity. Although we do not expect you to repay us tenfold, we cannot repay kindness with ingratitude, can we?"

Seeing Yang Dao purse his lips, clearly feeling guilty, Yang Xi's tone became even more urgent:

"Did you know that a large number of Wei troops came from the east of Shexian County, then bypassed Huguan Pass, went south through Baijing, and exited into Henan?"

Yang Dao could only nod in agreement.

Yang Xi: "Then why didn't you send someone to report this?"

Sheephead shrugs:

“My wife and children live in Shexian County. If I give them a handle to use against me, how could I dare to easily reveal their whereabouts?”

Upon hearing this, Yang Xi glanced at Deng Ai, then turned back and said:
"I wonder which figure from Cao Wei could so easily control you?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Dao realized that the other party had already guessed the truth, so he simply confessed:
"It is General Cao Tai, the General Who Guards the East."

"Cao Tai, is he not in Ye City?" It was Deng Ai who asked.

His tone was calm and unhurried.

But he felt more uneasy than Yang Xi, who was playing the villain next to him.

He hurriedly explained:

“I thought he was in Dunqiu… Yes, he had already gone south to Dunqiu at the end of last year, but at that time I couldn’t be sure if the news was true or false, so I didn’t inform him.”

"In short, I never expected him to suddenly come from the west, so I was caught off guard and my wife and children were taken into custody."

"As for why he came, that's beyond my ability to find out!"

"It can only be said that his troops are all elites from Ye City, with excellent armor. Moreover, there seems to be another noble person accompanying them, and Cao Tai is at most just the vanguard."

Who could possibly persuade Cao Tai, the top general of the imperial clan, to take the lead as the vanguard?

Moreover, Yang Dao, the governor of Shangdang with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), was not qualified to inquire about it.
The answer is obvious.

Deng Ai suddenly turned his head and met Yang Xi's gaze.

They both saw surprise and excitement in each other's eyes.

So they couldn't be bothered to figure out whether Yang Dao was keeping quiet because he couldn't be sure of the information, or whether he was deliberately holding back.

Seeing this, Yang Dao, quite the rogue, said:

"I already have an agreement with General Mi. If you can rescue my wife and children, I will immediately surrender and help you achieve great merit!"

Deng Ai was instantly smitten.

Yang Xi was so excited that he paced back and forth.

He began to carefully plan in his mind that he should immediately head south from Huguan to attack Hanoi and seize the initiative.

Or they could simply wait inside the pass, hoping the Cao Wei rulers and their ministers would willingly walk into their trap.

Before they could devise a plan, a soldier came to report that a man named Wang Jun, courtesy name Shizhi, had urgent business to discuss with them.

Upon hearing this name, Deng Ai immediately turned and left.

A moment later, his excitement became even more pronounced, but he gave the completely opposite order:
"Wenran, you and Yang Gong should quickly lead a separate force south to block the mountain roads and prevent Cao Rui and Cao Tai from entering Shangdang."

"If their military might is truly unstoppable, then abandon the cities south of Huguan one by one, and then focus on guarding the pass, trying to delay them among the mountains."

He then said to Yang Dao:
"And I will personally go north to Shexian to rescue Yang Gong's wife and children!"

Yang Dao was naturally delighted, and his form of address immediately changed:

"Shouldn't you, Lord Prefect, capture the Wei ruler first?"

Deng Ai smiled coldly and said:
"This deer has trapped itself in a tight encirclement; why chase it so hastily?"

"If I were a cavalryman, I would immediately take Ye City and establish my rule over Hebei!"

(End of this chapter)