"We are waiting to pay homage to the king - long life and no end of life!"

"I'm waiting to pay homage to His Royal Highness!"

"Excuse me—ahem!"

After Xiao Yi left, Cao Cao summoned the clan generals to discuss the capture of Yizhou, Xiahou Xuan, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Heng, Xiahou Ba, Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhen...... A total of more than 20 people, young and old, knelt down and saluted after entering the dormitory!

Three years ago, on the throne of the king, the clan generals made their own decisions and tried to forcibly put Cao Cao on the throne, but the matter did not succeed, but they were severely reprimanded, and they were all disgraced!

However, after all, they are Cao Cao's blood relatives, and they are still connected to the tendons when they break their bones, even if they are angry in their hearts, they have to be promoted to the rank of official and entrusted with important tasks, especially the young clansmen, who are promoted one by one with pigtails, so as to consolidate the foundation of the Great Wei!

"Recently, someone came to report: the big-eared thief is heavily armed in Nanjun, and there is a peep at Yizhou, Yizhou is fertile for thousands of miles, and the people are rich and rich, if it falls into the hands of the big-eared thief, I am afraid that it will be endless trouble!

Ahem--Therefore, the king made a decision to let the Great Sima unify the army on the same day, first go to Hanzhong, and then take Chengdu, completely pacify the southwest, and then the army will go down the river, take Jingzhou and Jiangdong in turn, and complete the great cause of unifying the world!

This is a crucial battle and a good opportunity to make a difference...... Ahem, can't all be cheapened by people with foreign surnames, you are all blood relatives of this king, do you know what to do? ”

Cao Cao talked about the capture of Yizhou in detail, and then looked at the people to see who could take on the big responsibility, who could serve the territory, and who could be the minister of the orphans...... It's a pity that although there is no mediocre talent, there is no handsome talent!

Forced by the general trend of the world, Cao Cao handed over the military power to Xiao Yi, responsible for the attack on Yizhou, but for this baby son-in-law, Cao Cao is one hundred and twenty worried, and decided to arrange a deputy general for him, and then decentralize, contain, and monitor.

The generals of the past dynasties led the expeditions, often supervised by the prince and the prince with the army, so as not to have the matter of 'not being subject to the orders of the monarch abroad', but after Cao Cao repeatedly considered it, he was depressed and found that a son could not be sent......

In order to avoid another tragedy, he rarely took his son to go out with the army, but let his sons sit in the rear, responsible for handling government affairs and supervising grain and grass.

The result of this is to protect the safety of his sons, but he also lacks the experience in the army, let alone establish decent military merits.

In addition, Cao Cao was more worried about sending his sons with the army (Cao Zhi, Cao Xiong), instead of monitoring Xiao Yi, he colluded with him in private, and usurped Cao Pi's inheritance after a hundred years, so that he could lie in a coffin and couldn't close his eyes?

Since his sons were not suitable for the army, Cao Cao had no choice but to settle for the second, among the more reliable clan generals, who was the best candidate to choose a prison army with sufficient ability and prestige?

Among the clan generals, the most outstanding are Cao Ren and Xiahoudun, who have been on the battlefield for a long time, have made many military exploits, and both have unique talents, but unfortunately the former fell in the battle of the Southern Expedition, and the latter is now also ......

"Brother Yuan Rangxian is also over fifty years old, how are you doing lately?"

"King Lao is worried, although the last general is a little old, the heart of contributing to the country has not diminished, as long as the king gives an order, the last general--cough-cough-cough!"

"Brother Xian has been fighting horses for half his life, his body is overworked, and he still needs to take good care of it--give it a seat!"

…………

Xiahoudun has a brave personality, often braves arrows and stones, charges into battle, has made a lot of meritorious deeds, and has also suffered a lot of battle wounds, especially in the battle of Xiapi, he was blinded by a stray arrow, and fell into the nickname of "Blind Xiahou"!

Now that he is old and frail, old injuries have recurred, and his health is also very bad, not to mention the expedition to Yizhou with the army, he will be shaky after standing for a while, and he will cough constantly when he speaks, and it seems that his life will not last long!

Cao Cao hurriedly gave a seat and comforted him with kind words, but there was a lament in his heart, the old generals who followed him back then were either killed on the battlefield or riddled with old diseases, and there were few people left who could be activated, and Xiao Yi was less than forty years old, which was a good age to make meritorious contributions, and the future would ...... Alas!

The rest of the clan generals, Cao Hong stood on the wrong side of Lichu, and did not cut off contact with Cao Zhi, remembering that he had served for many years and saved Cao Cao's life, and he was not punished for the time being, but he was not suitable for military power.

Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu and others have insufficient prestige, merit, and ability, and some have also received a lesson from Xiao Yi.

"This expedition, with the great Sima Xiao Yi as the main general, Miaocai as the deputy general, and the leader of Yizhou Mu, hope that the two of them will work together to present good news as soon as possible, and then bring Heng'er and Ba'er with them, and go to the army to have a good experience, so that they can take on heavy responsibilities in the future!

Da Sima uses soldiers like a god, and the things that attack and kill the war and defend in the army are all subject to its arrangement, and you must not speak indiscriminately, let alone make your own opinions, so as not to delay the major events of the military aircraft, as long as you keep an eye on the situation in the army, don't give birth to changes - remember! Remember! ”

After thinking about it, only Xiahou Yuan can take on the heavy responsibility of supervising the army among the clan generals, this is the old general of Yanzhou's army, for many years, before and after the saddle, the south and the north, there is no merit and hard work, prestige, ability, and experience are enough to be competent!

However, Xiahou Yuan is like a fire, impatient and aggressive, and has no talent to take charge of himself, because of the matter of sealing the king's platform before, he and Xiao Yi had an estrangement, and he fought several times openly and secretly, and he suffered a loss once he fought!

The main and deputy generals are not harmonious, which is a taboo in the army, so Cao Cao is very worried, and repeatedly told this clan brother, not only because he is afraid that he will be ruined, but also because he is afraid that he will be pitted by Xiao Yi.

"The king, please rest assured, the last general must keep in mind the entrustment, only do what is within his part, do not interfere in the army's plans, if something extraordinary happens, immediately send someone to inform the king!"

Xiahou Yuan took his two sons and hurriedly knelt down to obey the order, looking obedient, but in the depths of his eyes, there was a rebellious gaze flashing...... With such a great achievement, how can the greedy wolf be allowed to enjoy it exclusively?

"This king is tired, let's stand down for the time being--cough, everyone has their duty, don't take it lightly!"

"No!"

After the arrangement, Cao Cao asked everyone to retreat, and he was in the corner of the fire kang, closed his eyes and fell into deep thought......

He is riddled with old age and illness, I am afraid that he will die soon, his son is fledgling, it is difficult to take charge of the overall situation, the old people of the clan generals are gradually withering, and the young ones are overwhelmed.

…………………………

In the fifteenth year of Jian'an, on the eighth day of the fourth month of Xia-April, the imperial court suddenly issued a holy decree: 'Blame Sun Quan, Lu Su and others, divide Jiangdong, have no king, and have the heart of not being a minister, and should crusade against them with the army of the country!'" ’

Immediately afterwards, with Xu Huang as the general of Zhennan, he commanded 50,000 troops to be stationed in Hefei, echoing Zhang Liaoyao of Shouchun, building ships and recruiting sailors every day, making a posture of crossing the river south and attacking Wu County!

Someone must have asked, Cao Cao and Xiao Yi have made a decision and are about to send troops to collect Yizhou, why is there such a big movement in the southeast, have the two changed their minds?

The answer is very simple: this is a plan of 'striking the east and attacking the west', first disturbing the sight of the people of the world, mistakenly thinking that Cao's army is going to attack Jiangdong in order to avenge the humiliation of the defeat of the Wulin army, so that Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang will relax their vigilance, and then send troops to the southwest to get twice the result with half the effort.

At the same time, it also put pressure on the Jiangdong group, and when the Cao army attacked Yizhou, Sun Quan suddenly sent troops to Huainan to attack Hefei, Shouchun and other places to establish a consolidated Jianghuai defense line, but it was the last wish of the little overlord - Sun Ce!

Sure enough, when they learned that Cao's army had sunk the north bank, the six counties of Jiangdong were suddenly frightened, and the big families moved away from Wu County one after another, and the ordinary people also hid in the mountains, lest they be affected by the war, and the rulers discussed countermeasures day and night......

In fact, with the wisdom of Sun Quan, Lu Su and others, it can be seen that Cao Ying's naval army has not yet been trained, and there is fraud in sending troops to Jiangdong, but he is not afraid of 10,000, he is afraid of just in case, it is related to the survival of the Jiangdong group, and it is necessary to be very prepared for any danger.

After discussion, the Jiangdong Group made two preparations, one hand was hard: Lu Su and Gan Ning commanded 80,000 elites, stationed on the front line of Shicheng, Wuhu and Tongling, hoarding grain, grass and ordnance, training men and horses day and night, and preparing for armed resistance!

One hand is soft, with Yu Turn, Bu Qi as messengers, carrying Sun Quan's handwritten letters, as well as a large number of gold, silver, jewelry, and native products to Xuchang, to pay tribute to the emperor and the King of Wei, hoping to turn the war into jade silk, do not crusade against the state of innocence!

and sent a 'special person' to the Xuchang-Wuchou Mansion day and night, because there are rumors in the outside world that this time the Cao army attacked the six counties of Jiangdong, which was instigated by Xiao Yi behind his back, and the purpose was a person and a woman!

On April 15, the Cao Ying group made another move, with Zhang He as the general of Dingnan, commanding 50,000 ironclad troops, secretly entered the vicinity of Wancheng, and formed an angle with Xiangyang City, and then deliberately released the news that Cao's army was going to attack Jiangling City......

Therefore, Cao Cao and Xiao Yi shook another shot to strengthen the garrison in the north of Jingzhou, making people mistakenly think that the 'west' they hit was Liu Bei's group in the south of Jingzhou, which further disturbed the sight......

At the same time, the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, the Trap Camp, the Danyang Soldiers, the Student Army, the Digger Army, the Evil Ghost Battalion, the Modao Soldiers, and the Xiliang Soldiers...... More than 10 elite troops, totaling more than 200,000 soldiers and horses, have secretly marched to Guanzhong, and nearly 500,000 elite people, as well as a large number of vehicles, grain and grass, and ordnance are also being assembled!

Xiao Yi was not idle, in order to confuse the eyes of the world, he started a wonderful performance:

On 17 April, Xiao Yat went to the Zhengming Academy, presided over a meeting of 100 schools of thought, delivered an impassioned speech, presented awards to 10 students with excellent character and learning, criticized some lazy rich students, and inspected the kitchen, dormitory, and toilet of the school......

On April 19, Xiao Yi went to Wanbaolou again, at the price of 6,000 taels of gold, bid for a team of singers from the Western Regions, and went to Tianxianglou in the evening, gathering nine of the top ten famous prostitutes, singing and dancing, and drinking all night......

On April 20, Xiao Yi held a banquet in the Hou Mansion to celebrate the first birthday of his youngest daughter, Xiao Xiang......