Chapter 588 Cao Wei's Desperate Attempt

Jiang Ji now wanted to tear the two officers who deceived their superiors and subordinates into pieces. It was because they tried to conceal their responsibilities that Ma Su successfully broke through for more than half a month before Jiang Ji got the news.

Half a month! In the Battle of Guanzhong, half a month was enough for Ma Su to defeat Chen Tai! Moreover, Luoyang was only so big, and Jiang Ji was afraid of how much Ma Su had done in half a month.

So, after discovering the problem, Jiang Ji immediately sent his confidants to investigate the situation to see if there was any hope of saving the situation.

Then, he heard that the military settlements in the south of Luoyang were destroyed by Ma Su, and countless of the soldiers surrendered to the enemy. At the same time, someone from Hulao Pass risked his life to report that the Shu general Ma Su led more than 10,000 soldiers to the pass.

After hearing about this, Jiang Ji's heart finally died.

"Look at what you have done! You let Ma Su raise an army of tens of thousands of people in our territory!"

"Do you know what this means? I have prepared the Luoyang defense line for three years, but now it has failed!"

Jiang Ji's eyes were red with anger, and the veins on his hand holding the hilt were exposed.

At the moment, Jiang Ji was more desperate than angry. You know, the Luoyang defense line is the easiest place to defend and the most difficult to attack in Guandong, and it is also the area with the most preparation time.

He painstakingly arranged the defense line for three years, but it was in a state of emergency in just two months. Whether it was the front line or the hinterland, there were Han army activities everywhere, and it seemed that they were about to collapse.

Luoyang has reached this point, what should Guandong, which is flat in the future, do?

Can they really survive until Ma Su and Zhuge Liang die of illness?

Just when Jiang Ji was in despair, an official suddenly walked out of his command and bowed to him with a serious expression.

"Sima, it's not time to give up hope yet. Give me 20,000 people, and I promise to trap Ma Su for you and stabilize the war situation!"

"As long as Ma Su is trapped, the current decline can still be saved!"

Jiang Ji was stunned and looked over quickly. After seeing the man clearly, Jiang Ji's brows relaxed slightly, but he still shook his head.

"Shizhi, now is not the time to be smart, the risk is too great. It is better to gather the whole army and withdraw to Guandong as soon as possible to plan for the future..."

"Sima! If Luoyang and Hulao Pass cannot be defended, the confidence of the entire Guandong states will collapse. At that time, there is no need for the Shu army to leave Guandong, and we will be in chaos."

"Have you forgotten why Emperor Wu did not dare to withdraw in the battle at Guandu in the past?" The middle-aged civil servant known as Shizhi immediately spoke up and refuted Jiang Ji's words without hesitation.

"According to the Sima Taiwei, we seem to have a great advantage. But as the Grand Sima, don't you know how unstable the people in Guandong are now?"

This civil servant's argument did make Jiang Ji hesitate, and he began to hesitate whether to withdraw his troops. At present, Hulao Pass has not been breached by Ma Su, and everything is still in time. There is also a chance to withdraw the main force back to Guandong.

But as the other party said, Luoyang is now the morale of the entire Guandong. Once this place is breached so quickly, I am afraid that the major families in Guandong will start to vote for their own team.

So withdrawing the army is a defeat, and not withdrawing is also a defeat. It is better to stay and give it a try, at least it will be good to delay it for a few more months.

But soon, Jiang Ji had another question.

"Although you are my student, you were only a clerk in Hedong County before. Now you have been a military officer for only a few years. Is it possible for you to trap Ma Su?"

"Grand Marshal, I don't think you can find another person who has the courage to face Ma Su." Shi Zhi answered calmly, and his words silenced Jiang Ji.

Yes, at present, apart from this stubborn guy, no one dares to face Ma Su. But even so, Jiang Ji still asked worriedly.

"How do you plan to deal with Ma Su?"

"I will set out at noon and stop before dusk. The daily march will only be a few dozen miles, and the whole army will spread scouts. After discovering the enemy, the whole army will immediately defend the dangerous place and dig deep trenches as a barrier to resist the enemy." The civil servant answered flawlessly and sounded very steady.

At this point, Jiang Ji breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, it's you... You lead 20,000 troops first, and I will dispatch 20,000 to support you after I stabilize Luoyang. And when you reach Hulao Pass, the reinforcements from Hebei will not be far away, so you must be cautious and don't let Ma Su seize the opportunity."

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At Hulao Pass, Ma Su's troops had already returned to the camp smoothly from Guandong. But Ma Su, who had gained a lot in Guandong and won a victory, was not excited, but extremely disappointed.

After chasing to Chenggao, Ma Su was still unwilling to give up, so he bypassed Chenggao and planned to go to Xingyang to try his luck. The result was the same. The generals defending the city knew that the Shu army was coming, and they immediately began to write a suicide note, ready to live and die with the city.

As for the Wei army troops who were unfortunate enough to encounter Ma Su in the wild, they either fled or surrendered. Ma Su wandered around Xingyang for several days from Hulao Pass. Not only did he not lose many people, but he also brought back many who surrendered.

This phenomenon gave Ma Su a premonition that it would not be so easy to commit suicide in Guandong in the future. If he was unlucky, he probably would not have the chance to have a good fight in the wild again.

Look at my fate. I wanted to go home to die at first, but now I have become a man sent from heaven. I am the kind of person who must be recorded in a separate page of the history of the Later Han Dynasty... in a separate book.

After returning to the camp outside Hulao Pass, Ma Su also received a report, and his confidant said that everything was normal. The scouts they arranged outside even explored twenty miles away and did not find any traces of the Wei army.

"General, after seeing your flag, these Wei people all retreated. Even if there are tens of thousands of people, they dare not look at us directly. It can be seen how terrifying the general's deterrence is..." One of Ma Su's guards smiled and reported to Ma Su about his work, and his words were full of endless pride.

However, Ma Su could only smile bitterly and waved his hand in response.

"If possible, I would rather not have this deterrence..."

"Now I am afraid that you can't do it even if you want to. No one from the pseudo-Wei dares to provoke..."

"Ma Su! Come out and die quickly!"

Before the guards finished speaking, a sudden howl from outside interrupted him. Then there were shouts and sounds of fighting outside the tent, which immediately froze the smile of the personal guard.

However, a smile gradually appeared on Ma Su's face, and he even looked a little more excited.

"Good, good, finally I met a brave man..."