mtlumby2d Chapter 691 The Betrayal of Sima Yi
Chapter 691 The Betrayal of Sima Yi
Guan Xing settled into his role as an instructor in the camp, running between the military camp and his home while also sending people to collect information on bandits in various places, preparing to lead the trainees in another bandit-hunting operation after the training was completed.
The poor bandits must have done something terrible to run into someone who treats them like monsters; they're incredibly unlucky.
As for Liu Shan, he only stayed in the camp for three days before Zhang Xingcai came to his door and forced him to go home to have a child.
In the days that followed, Guan Xing was busy training students, Liu Shan was busy having children, and Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were busy handling government affairs. Under Zhuge Liang's governance, the Jiangnan region recovered to stability at a visible speed, the people were able to farm with peace of mind, and society was thriving.
On the other hand, Cao Wei was constantly troubled; although it wasn't exactly a war, it never truly stopped.
First, there was Guanzhong. Before his death, Cao Cao transferred his third son, Cao Zhang, to Chang'an to guard Guanzhong. Cao Zhang was not a peaceful man. Upon receiving Cao Pi's order to harass Longxi, he immediately launched an attack, sending troops from Chencang and Dazhenguan at the same time to continuously attack Shanggui opposite Chencang and Jieting opposite Dazhenguan. At the same time, he also ordered Deng Ai, the governor of Longdong, to go out of Xiaoguan and cross Liupanshan to harass the flank of Longxi.
Faced with Cao Zhang's attack, Guan Ping adhered to the principle of not expanding the gains and held the Jieting-Shanggui line to the death, not giving Cao Zhang any chance to break through the defense. With Guan Ping there, Cao Zhang would never be able to advance a single step into Longxi, even if he worked himself to death.
If the Longxi campaign was merely a border conflict, then the Liaodong campaign was a life-or-death struggle.
Sima Yi led an army of 50,000 into the Liaoxi Corridor and easily captured Tuhe, which is the later Jinzhou. He then took over the three counties of Bintu, Yangle, and Liucheng, and quickly occupied the entire Liaoxi region. Gongsun Gong, the governor of Liaodong, was at a loss and had no way to deal with this.
It is worth mentioning that Gongsun Gong lost his fertility due to illness in his early years. Although he recovered from the illness, his body became weaker and weaker. In addition, he had no motivation to strive because he had no son, so he simply chose to give up.
I don't even have a son, so who am I working so hard for? What else can I do besides give up and give up?
Normally, lying down wouldn't be a problem, but now Sima Yi has attacked, and his advance is unstoppable, and he's about to enter Xiangping City, the capital of Liaodong Commandery. If we don't find a way out, we'll become prisoners.
Gongsun Gong, not wanting to be taken prisoner and having no better options, simply passed the buck, handing over the position of prefect to his adult nephew Gongsun Yuan, and went off to enjoy a life of luxury in the inner quarters.
Gongsun Yuan was appointed to command in a time of crisis and then began to plan the defense against the enemy. First, he ordered his general Bei Yan to strengthen the defense of Xiangping and prepare for a desperate defense. Second, he led his troops out of the city to build fortresses between the Liaoxi border and Xiangping, preparing to resist step by step and retreat in an orderly manner, thereby wasting Sima Yi's time. Finally, he sent secret troops to transport food and supplies into the mountains, preparing for guerrilla warfare after the city fell.
Gongsun Yuan always believed that with Liu Bei as a major threat, Cao Wei would not dare to linger in Liaodong for too long. He thought that if they found that they could not conquer it after a long siege, they would definitely withdraw their troops. Therefore, he decided to use delaying tactics to wear down Sima Yi.
The idea was good, but he forgot that he was facing Sima Yi, a military strategist whose style was as immovable as a mountain and as fierce as fire. Except for Zhuge Liang, he always fought a quick and decisive battle against anyone.
Sima Yi had already learned from the Imperial Secretariat that Gongsun Yuan had gone to Jiangling for help. Based on the information transmitted back from Jiangling, he roughly judged Gongsun Yuan's strategy. Therefore, he did not rush to attack Gongsun Yuan's defenses. Instead, while resting at Tuhe, he sent an envoy to Wandu Mountain City to contact the King of Goguryeo and ask Goguryeo to send troops south to join him in attacking Gongsun Yuan from both sides.
The Goguryeo Kingdom has been ruled by ten generations since its founding. The current monarch is King Go Yeon-woo of the Sansang Kingdom. During his reign, he quelled rebellions, moved the capital to Wandu Mountain Fortress, and accepted refugees from Liaodong to expand his power. He is a relatively capable monarch.
Any monarch who wants to achieve something must expand his territory and open up new lands; to do so, he will inevitably have conflicts with his neighbors.
Therefore, as early as when Gongsun Yuan's grandfather, Gongsun Du, was appointed as the governor of Liaodong by Dong Zhuo, the war between Goguryeo and the Gongsun family never stopped, and Goguryeo suffered more defeats than victories. It is no exaggeration to say that Goguryeo has been traumatized by the Gongsun family over the years.
Under these circumstances, one can imagine how deep Goguryeo's hatred for the Gongsun family was.
Therefore, after receiving Sima Yi's promise to cede the three commanderies of Lelang, Zhenfan, and Lintun (which later became the Korean Peninsula) to Goguryeo, he decisively sent troops south to attack Xuantu Commandery, intending to pass through Xuantu Commandery to reach Xiangping and join forces with Sima Yi.
Gongsun Yuan was suddenly under great pressure, facing attacks from both sides. Sima Yi, however, remained calm and patiently waited until the Goguryeo army entered Xuantu County before launching a full-scale attack on the so-called fortresses built by Gongsun Yuan. After surrounding the fortresses, he sent 5,000 cavalry to bypass the battlefield and infiltrate the city of Xiangping.
Almost as soon as the Wei cavalry reached the city walls, the former governor, Gongsun Gong, rebelled. Under the pretext of inquiring about the battle situation, Gongsun Gong invited the defending general, Bei Yan, to a banquet, where he controlled and imprisoned him. Then, he opened the city gates and let the Wei army into the city, and the capital of Liaodong Commandery fell.
Gongsun Yuan was completely stunned when he received the news. He never dreamed that his own uncle would play such a trick on him.
But there was no other way, so he led his troops to break through Sima Yi's defenses and escape into the deep mountains.
Fortunately, he had hidden food and supplies in the mountains beforehand, so he wouldn't starve to death as soon as he entered the mountains.
Sima Yi did not pursue them, but instead led his army leisurely into Xiangping City, and ordered Gongsun Gong, in the name of the governor, to open the defense line of Xuantu County and let the Goguryeo army in.
In the first ten days of winter, as heavy snow fell, King Goguryeo Go Yeon-woo led his army to the walls of Xiangping. Sima Yi, accompanied by Gongsun Gong, personally went out of the city to greet him and invited Go Yeon-woo and his generals into the city for a banquet.
After several rounds of drinks, Gao Yanyou clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Congratulations to General Sima for taking Liaodong without bloodshed. The imperial court has recovered Liaodong and unified the northern border in one battle. His Majesty the Emperor will surely praise you greatly when he finds out."
Sima Yi laughed and said, "I must thank Your Majesty for this. If it weren't for Your Majesty's help, how could I have recovered the entire Liaodong region so quickly?"
Gao Yanyou smiled and said, "How dare I thank you for serving the court? But General Sima, now that Xiangping City has been recovered, what about the three counties of Lelang, Zhenfan, and Lintun that you promised to me..."
Now that the war is over, it's time to distribute the spoils of victory. Gao Yanyou couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of easily gaining control of three counties.
Sima Yi laughed and said, "According to the agreement, the three commanderies should indeed be ceded to Your Majesty, but Your Majesty, when have you ever seen our Central Plains Celestial Dynasty cede territory and pay reparations to vassal states?"
Gao Yanyou's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword, demanding, "General Sima, what do you mean?"
Sima Yi sneered, "This general has gone to great lengths to come to Liaodong. Simply recapturing Liaodong is not enough, so..."
He suddenly raised his hand halfway through his speech and smashed the wine bottle on the ground with a loud thud.
With a loud crash of a cup being smashed, dozens of soldiers rushed out from the back hall and attacked Gao Yanyou and his generals without asking any questions. Soon, the dignified King of Goguryeo was hacked into mincemeat.
At the same time, tens of thousands of Wei troops in the outer camp suddenly rushed into the Goguryeo army camp and began to massacre the Goguryeo army.
Sima Yi's promises to Gao Yanyou were just empty promises; he never intended to fulfill them.
Poor Gao Yanyou didn't understand the principle that "the more generous the promises made by allies, the less likely they are to be fulfilled," and foolishly fell into Sima Yi's trap.
Inside the banquet hall, Sima Yi looked at Gao Yanyou's mangled corpse, picked up a towel to wipe the wine stains on his hands, and laughed: "A tiny vassal state dares to covet the territory of my Great Wei, they are simply courting death, don't you think so, Prefect Gongsun?"
Gongsun Gong was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost wet himself. He quickly echoed, "General Sima is right."
Sima Yi laughed and said, "Prefect Gongsun, don't worry. We're on the same side. When we're on the same side, everything is fine. But if we're not on the same side, hmph..."