The Wu army's offensive was fierce, and the defenders had suffered heavy losses over the past few days. Cao Xiu's navy suffered defeat after defeat and was no match for the Jiangdong navy, and was forced into Xia Pi.
If this continues, the entire situation will be unfavorable to Cao's army. Now the Central Plains is facing enemies on all sides, the soldiers are stretched thin, and there is no backup, as if they are trapped in a dead end.
Just when he was worried, Wang Ji suddenly sent someone to report that he first used a false force to lure the enemy deep into his territory, and then set an ambush in a dangerous place, thus annihilating 20,000 Lujiang Wu troops and winning a great victory.
Cao Ren was delighted to see Wang Ji's good command and praised him, "Wang Ji is indeed a talented general. Thanks to Zhongda's recommendation, but you also contributed a lot."
Sima Yi was not happy, and frowned, saying, "Lu Su and Lu Xun are both outstanding men in Jiangdong. How could they fall for such an obvious plan so easily?"
Cao Ren said with a smile: "Even a wise man can make mistakes. Moreover, they are all in the army and have not been to the front line. How can they predict the battle? Zhongda has always been a man of deep foresight. Why is he suspicious now?"
Sima Yi said: "Since Sun Quan took over Jiangdong, he has promoted talented people and appointed them to positions of power. He is good at judging people and governing the country. This time he made poor use of people, which is not what he should do!"
Cao Ren, however, did not take it seriously and comforted Sima Yi: "Although you are very smart, as the saying goes: being too smart can lead to mistakes. Wang Ji has won a great victory and successfully blocked the Lujiang troops. Sun Quan is alone in Shouchun. I want to see how long he can hold out."
The victory news was then spread throughout the city to boost morale, calm people's hearts, and call on the military and civilians to work together to defend the city and hold Shouchun to the death. The morale of Cao's army was also greatly boosted.
It rained heavily that day and the Wu army was unable to attack the city. They finally got a temporary rest. Suddenly, Zang Ba, the defender of Xia Pi, sent someone to report that many people in Huainan could not bear the oppression of the Wu army and crossed the Huai River to the north and poured into the country.
"Sun Quan is unpopular and is courting his own destruction!" Cao Ren was delighted to hear the news and ordered all places to settle the people nearby and win over the hearts of the people.
Sima Yi was just reporting on the money and food. There was still three months left, so they should prepare early. Cao Ren laughed and said, "The Wu army is already at the end of its strength. Sun Quan will withdraw soon. Three months is enough!"
Sima Yi was surprised and asked, "Why does the governor make such a conclusion?"
Cao Ren then told Zang Ba what he had reported, sneering: "The blue-eyed boy has also learned from Sun Ce, using military force and aggressively, which has greatly lost the support of the people. Unfortunately, he does not have the ability of the Little Overlord, so how can he not be defeated?"
Sima Yi's face changed slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he exclaimed: "Not good!"
Cao Ren was puzzled and asked, "The people are coming to surrender, which shows that the people are in favor of us. Why is the military advisor making such a fuss?"
Sima Yi said, "I think there is something fishy about this matter. The governor must not treat him like an ordinary citizen, otherwise Xuzhou will be in danger!"
Cao Ren was shocked and suddenly lost all his sleepiness. He asked anxiously, "Why did Zhongda make such a guess?"
Sima Yi replied, "The commander-in-chief should know that in the previous battle of Shouchun, we had no choice but to dig the Huai River and flood Shouchun in order to prevent future troubles. The people in Huainan are full of hatred for Cao's army, so how could they be willing to move north in large numbers?"
Cao Ren said: "Sun Quan has been recruiting troops in Huainan and arbitrarily imposing taxes. The people are dissatisfied and will naturally flee. What's wrong with that?"
Sima Yi said, "Let's not talk about the people's sentiments. Jiangdong has well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. If Sun Quan insists on attacking the city, he can just transfer troops from Jiangnan, Yuzhang and other places. Why does he have to forcibly recruit civilians? This move is not only useless for attacking the city, but also arouses resentment from the people and loses the support of the people. How can it be so unclear? Moreover, the Lujiang troops marching out of Jiashi is tantamount to walking into a trap. There are so many people in Jiangdong, why did no one persuade them? I don't understand the meaning of this."
"Oh?" Cao Ren frowned. "Zhongda means that the Wu army will sneak into Xuzhou among the people?"
"That's right!" Sima Yi nodded slowly and said, "Just now when Wang Ji reported the victory, I was wondering, but now I know that Sun Quan insisted on mobilizing troops to deceive people and underestimate our army. It was actually a plan to attack the east from the west."
"What a blue-eyed guy!" Cao Ren suddenly came to his senses, slammed his fist on the table, and gritted his teeth and said, "From Sun Ce to Sun Quan, Jiangdong has been a great threat to our army. Now that the situation has become serious, what should we do?"
Sima Yi said: "Sun Quan saw that Shouchun was difficult to attack, so he sent his elite troops north to take Donghai County to contact Zhou Yu. With the help of the navy, Dongwu can control the land and sea in the east, from Wu to Hebei, and it will be under his control. There will be endless troubles in the future!"
"Hiss—" Cao Ren took a breath and said anxiously: "Shouchun is in danger right now, and there are no troops to be transferred from Xuzhou. What should we do?"
Sima Yi paused for a moment, clasped his fists and said, "I am a humble subordinate, but I am willing to go to Xuzhou. With the help of General Zang Ba, I will make sure that this Wu army will never return."
Cao Ren hesitated and said, "If Zhongda leaves, no one will be able to share my worries!"
After more than a year of getting along, Cao Ren discovered that Sima Yi was not only a Confucian scholar, but also well versed in military tactics and had insight into military intelligence. In this battle against the Wu army, if he had not seen through Sun Quan's plans many times, Shouchun would have been lost long ago.
The city was already short of manpower, and with Sima Yi's right-hand man leaving, he was left alone and felt overwhelmed.
Sima Yi said: "The Wu army rushed to attack Shouchun just to protect this special force. If this army is destroyed, Sun Quan will be helpless and will retreat."
Cao Ren thought for a moment and asked, "How confident are you, Zhongda?"
Sima Yi knew Cao Ren was worried, so he clasped his fists and said, "In this emergency, I have another plan that will be absolutely foolproof. It will make Sun Quan return in defeat and he will not be able to go north again within three years."
Cao Ren was overjoyed and grabbed Sima Yi's arm and said, "Since you have such a brilliant plan, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Sima Yi coughed lightly, broke free from Cao Ren's iron-like hand, rubbed his arm and sighed, "This plan is too vicious and will harm the harmony of nature. The Prime Minister did not dare to use it lightly before. Now it is raining heavily. Isn't this the will of heaven?"
"You mean..." Cao Ren's face changed slightly: "Dig the Huai River again?"
"That's right!" Sima Yi nodded coldly and said, "The Wu army is now besieging the city, and the navy is pressing forward step by step. Xuzhou is in danger. The only way is to repel Sun Quan, and the other two armies will not be a concern."
"This..." Cao Ren frowned. He didn't expect that he would encounter such a difficult problem when defending Shouchun this time. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you have any other good ideas?"
Sima Yi shook his head and said, "It is better to remove the firewood from under the cauldron than to try to stop the boiling water by adding more water! If Shouchun is lost, Xuzhou will be lost, and the Central Plains may no longer belong to the country. The people of Huainan have long lost their hearts. Whether it is flooded or not, the people all hate the Prime Minister. Please ask the governor to make a decision!"
Cao Ren gritted his teeth secretly, but then said: "Flooding Shouchun is not hurting ourselves? And if we use the same old trick again, I am afraid that the Wu army will be prepared."
Sima Yi said, "It is precisely because of our own hurt that Sun Quan never expected that we would be so resolute. We should first pile up sandbags and earth and rocks at the four city gates to block the passages and flood the Wu army first. The food and grass in the city will be enough to sustain us until the flood recedes, and we will never have any future troubles."
"Fire and water are merciless!" Cao Ren sighed softly, and finally nodded and said, "Military Advisor is right. For the sake of the overall situation, I have no choice but to resort to this last resort."
He then issued an order, ordering Sima Yi to leave the city at night and go to Xia Pi to meet Zang Ba to deal with the Wu army that had infiltrated Xuzhou. He also secretly sent Chang Diao with 3,000 reserve troops, disguised as civilians, to go to the upper reaches of the Huai River in batches to dig a river channel and flood Shouchun again.