Chapter 378 Sorry, I can only change someone to help me! It’s great to have a guide, but the remnants that linger around are annoying!
Retreat to Yijing, rely on Youzhou, and fight Liu Bei again!
Yuan Shang's spirits perked up, and a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in his panicked and gloomy eyes.

But the dawn was fleeting and turned into worry in the blink of an eye.

"Yijing's defenses are solid, but even though Gongsun Zan was so strong back then, he still couldn't escape the fate of being broken by my Yuan family even if he held out for a year."

"Liu Bei is now much stronger than my Yuan family was back then. Even if I retreat to Yijing, how long can I hold out?"

Yuan Shang clearly lacked confidence.

When Sima Yi was about to comfort him, Shen Pei spoke first:
"Don't be discouraged, sir. Liu Bei is much stronger today than we were back then."

"But my lord, don't forget that there is a Cao Cao in the west, and there is also a fake Qin."

Yuan Shang's heart was shocked, and a gleam of light suddenly appeared in his eyes again.

"Cao Cao has already reached Jiange. It will only take a short time for him to defeat Liu Zhang and take over Yizhou."

"As long as we can hold out for a few months until Cao Cao destroys Liu Zhang, Cao Cao will definitely not sit idly by and watch our Wei be swallowed up by Liu Bei. He will definitely return to the east to rescue us."

"Once Cao Cao's troops leave Tongguan and march eastward to Xuzhou and Luoyang, Liu Bei will certainly lead all his main forces south to the Central Plains to fight Liu Bei."

"In this way, the pressure we face will be greatly reduced."

"When the time comes, you can lead us to turn defense into offense, and we may be able to recapture Yecheng, recover the lost territory, and drive the Chu army out of our Wei."

Shen Pei spat and outlined a beautiful blueprint for Yuan Shang.

The more Yuan Shang listened, the more excited he became, and his confidence gradually rekindled in his dark and desperate eyes.

"Well, in that case, retreating to Yijing may not mean there is no hope for a comeback..."

Yuan Shang nodded slightly, his panic gone.

What Sima Yi was concerned about was not whether Yuan Shang was determined to retreat to Yijing, but whether he would send him to Bingzhou to persuade Yuan Xi to form an alliance with him.

"Sir, this is exactly what Yi meant."

"Because we have to hold out until Cao Cao returns to rescue us, we need to persuade the Second Young Master to temporarily give up the fight with you for the throne and lead the Bingzhou Army eastward out of Taihang to contain Liu Bei's attack on Yijing and even Youzhou."

"So, Yi had to go to Bingzhou in person, and I convinced the Second Young Master with my eloquence."

Sima Yi once again emphasized the importance of joining forces with Yuan Xi and urged him to be sent as an envoy to Bingzhou.

Shen Pei rolled his eyes and said hurriedly:

"Sir, what Zhongda said makes sense."

"Although the Second Young Master does not have many troops, he can threaten Liu Bei's rear by sending troops from Bingzhou, and will certainly be able to tie up a lot of Chu's troops."

"I also think that if Zhongda takes action, he will be able to convince the second young master to join forces to help."

Shen Pei was already afraid that Sima Yi would threaten his position. When he saw that Sima Yi took the initiative to propose to go to Bingzhou, he naturally wanted to get rid of him.

Yuan Shang was unaware of Sima Yi's selfish intentions, and seeing that Shen Pei also agreed, he happily said:
"Okay, okay, then I will follow your lead on this matter."

"Zhongda, I'd like you to take the risk and go to Bingzhou in person to persuade my foolish second brother to join forces with me. Let's deal with Liu Bei together first."

Sima Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly saluted and said seriously:
"My Lord, you have shown me kindness. I will sacrifice my life to repay your kindness."

"Please rest assured, sir. When I go there, I will definitely convince the second lord to send troops to help!"

Hearing Sima Yi's generous statement, Yuan Shang felt both pleased and relieved.

He immediately took a group of civil and military officials and personally escorted Sima Yi to the west gate of Nanpi.

To show his favor to Sima Yi, Yuan Shang even held Sima Yi's hand, reluctantly bidding him farewell with tears.

Sima Yi also burst into tears and was reluctant to leave.

After the master and his minister staged a drama of "parting of life and death", Sima Yi mounted his horse and left.

The moment he rode his horse out of the city, Sima Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of relief that he had escaped a disaster.

Looking back towards the west gate of Nanpi, he saw Yuan Shang still waving at him from the top of the city wall, bidding him farewell with tears in his eyes.

Sima Yi's mouth corners slightly raised, and there was a hint of cunning in his eyes.

"I have tried my best, but unfortunately you and your son are not wise leaders. The four provinces of Hebei have been destroyed by you. Even I, Sima Yi, cannot help you."

"Mr. Yuan San, you have treated me well, but unfortunately I, Sima Yi, have a grudge against my clan, so I cannot wait to die with you."

"Let's say goodbye now. Take care of yourself."

After Sima Yi sighed, he turned around, whipped his horse and rode away without looking back.

On top of the city.

Seeing that Sima Yi finally left, Shen Pei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and a hint of imperceptible pride flashed across the corners of his mouth.

Yuan Shang put away his farewell intention, took a deep breath, waved his hand and shouted:
"Pass the order down, the entire army will immediately abandon Nanpi and head north to retreat to Yijing!"

...

Thousands of miles away, Yizhou, Jiange.

The "Qin" flag has been raised at this most important pass in Shu.

Tens of thousands of Qin soldiers were entering the pass in a mighty force, and then leaving the pass and heading south in a mighty force.

Above the city gate.

Cao Cao looked down from a high place. The mountains ahead had ended and the vast Chengdu Plain was within his sight.

"Fengxiao, thank goodness you reminded me not to neglect Zhang Yongnian." "Otherwise, if he hadn't been there to incite Meng Da to defect, causing civil strife in the Shu army, how could I have captured Jiange, the most important pass in Shu!"

Cao Cao stroked his short beard and glanced at Guo Jia with approval.

Previously, Cao Cao led a large army south and approached Jiange Pass, but was blocked by Liu Zhang's mere 30,000 troops at the pass.

The Qin army failed to capture the city after repeated attacks, and Cao Cao was helpless and even considered retreating.

At the critical moment, Liu Zhang sent Zhang Song as an envoy to seek peace.

Zhang Song was ugly and had a rather arrogant temperament. Cao Cao disliked him so much that he almost wanted to kick him out of the tent.

However, Guo Jia reminded Cao Cao in time and saw that Zhang Song had the intention of secretly surrendering to him, so he persuaded Cao Cao to treat him with courtesy.

Cao Cao had no choice but to hold his nose, suppress his disgust, and put on an act of hospitality and respect.

As Guo Jia had expected, Zhang Song was very happy. He took out a topographical map of Shu and presented it to Cao Cao on the spot, expressing his intention to surrender.

So, under Zhang Song's instigation, his accomplice Meng Da launched a mutiny in Jiange, and cooperated with Cao Cao from inside and outside to break through the pass and open the door to Chengdu.

"Liu Zhang is weak and incompetent, and there are many heroes in Shu who want to be a powerful leader, such as Zhang Song and Meng Da."

"This is God's help to the King. He is destined to conquer Shu!"

Naturally, Guo Jia did not dare to be proud of his achievements, and took the opportunity to flatter Cao Cao.

Cao Cao laughed.

"After the fall of Jiange, I heard that Liu Zhang was in a panic and had no choice but to use Ma Chao and mobilize all the troops in Chengdu to march to Fucheng in an attempt to stop our army from advancing southward."

"As long as we defeat Ma Chao's Shu army, Liu Zhang will no longer be able to stop our army from reaching Chengdu. Your Majesty, it will be just around the corner for you to take over Shu!"

Cheng Yuyao pointed in the direction of Fucheng and said with a smile.

"Ma Chao~~"

Disgust appeared in Cao Cao's eyes:
"This guy has been my enemy since he came to Liangzhou. He first joined Zhang Lu and then Liu Zhang. He is really a ghost that won't go away."

"In this battle of Fucheng, I will not only destroy the main force of the Shu army, but also kill Ma Chao as well!"

"This time, I will never let this kid escape from my grasp!"

Although Cao Cao hated Ma Chao, there was still a hint of fear in his words.

After all, since he took control of Guanzhong, he has won almost every battle, and the only time he was defeated was at the hands of Ma Chao.

That disastrous defeat still left a huge shadow in his heart.

"Although Ma Chao is brave, Liu Zhang does not trust him completely and has sent his trusted aide Wu Yi to restrain him. Ma Chao may not be able to mobilize the Shu army as he pleases, so there is no need to worry."

"But I remember that Zhang Yongnian reminded us that there is a counselor in Ma Chao's army named Fa Zheng. This man is very wise and we must be careful."

Cheng Yu reminded again.

Fa Zheng?

Cao Cao was quite unfamiliar with this name and could not remember that there was such a person in Shu.

"Zhang Song once mentioned that he secretly gathered a group of like-minded people in Shu who were against Liu Zhang. One of them was named Fa Zheng."

"I heard that this man was so proud of his talent as a king's assistant, but Liu Zhang only appointed him as a small county magistrate, so he was frustrated and very dissatisfied with Liu Zhang."

Cheng Yu recounted Fa Zheng's life story one by one.

Cao Cao heard this but said disapprovingly:
"Since he and Zhang Song share the same ideals, he would naturally want to join me. Why should he be afraid?"

Cheng Yu shook his head and said:
"This Fa Zheng does want to rebel against Liu Zhang, but he is from Fufeng and is from the same hometown as Ma Chao. Since Ma Chao went to Shu to join Liu Zhang, the two have been in close contact."

"Because of this, Fa Zheng was influenced by Ma Chao and had a hostile attitude towards the king and our Wei, so Zhang Song did not dare to easily win him over and join the king."

Cao Cao suddenly understood, and his face darkened:
"So this guy is from the same hometown as Ma Er. Is he bewitched by him and wants to become my enemy?"

"Since he is ignorant of the current situation and wants to follow Ma Chao to become my enemy, I will destroy him and the remnants of Ma Chao together in the battle of Fucheng!"

Cao Cao is overbearing and conceited, and has completely lost the miserable state he had when he fled from the Central Plains to Guanzhong.

Guo Jia did not remind Cao Cao not to underestimate the enemy, but just smiled and said:
"I have also heard that Fa Zheng is indeed a man of extraordinary intelligence and a great talent of the time."

"However, Ma Chao has always been stubborn and self-righteous, so he may not listen to this man's advice. Moreover, Fa Zheng is a low-ranking official, so even if he has a good plan, it may not be implemented."

"It is inevitable that our army will defeat Ma Chao and Wu Yi and take Fucheng. The only question is whether we can quickly capture Fucheng and then march to Chengdu with overwhelming force to force Liu Zhang to surrender."

"After all, Yuan Shao has been defeated in battle after battle and has been besieged in Yecheng by Liu Bei's troops."

"Once Yecheng falls, the pseudo-Wei will be destroyed, and Hebei will belong to Liu Bei in a snap of a finger."

"We must strive to capture Yizhou in the shortest possible time, so that we can return to Guanzhong in time and go east through Tongguan to rescue the pseudo-Wei."

"A three-way balance of power is the most advantageous situation for our Great Qin."

Cao Cao agreed with this and whipped his horse whip:
"There is no time to lose. Pass on my order. The army should speed up its march southward. I want to compete with the big-eared thief for time—"

As soon as the word "间" came out.

A rider came from the north, hurriedly climbed up the south city tower, held up the silk book, and knelt before Cao Cao.

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Hebei!"

"Liu Bei conquered Yecheng a few days ago and killed Yuan Shao!"

(End of this chapter)