"Have you forgotten that there is still an elite army in Shangdang that you personally led?"

When Wei Yan heard this, he immediately raised his eyebrows and shook his head subconsciously:

"No, the garrison I left behind in Shangdang is to prevent Wei thieves from Hebei from crossing the Taihang Mountains from the east. How can they be transferred here easily?"

After the prime minister died of illness, Feng was ordered to temporarily lead the Guanzhong army.

But Wei Yan, as an old man in the army, was not convinced by Feng at all.

For the sake of the overall situation, Feng had no choice but to let Wei Yan lead the army to capture Shangdang, so that both sides could simply stay out of sight and avoid getting bored with each other all day long.

Wei Yan was able to be granted the title of Wugong County Marquis. In addition to his seniority ranking, there was another important reason:

In the Battle of Guanzhong, he indeed made a lot of contributions.

In the martial arts water confrontation, three thousand armor heads were captured.

Then he led the army to capture Shangdang.

Before the emperor moved the capital to Chang'an, he still guarded Shangdang for a period of time.

As the governor of Hedong Dudufu, he stayed in Shangdang much longer than Hedong.

Because compared to being driven to ecstasy by Feng Guiwang, Feng Guiwang’s eyes and ears are everywhere in Hedong.

Wei Yan obviously prefers Shangdang who has not been fucked by Feng Guiwang.

In this dispatch, Chang'an sent a part of the Forbidden Army to take over the defense of Hedong.

The defenders responsible for staying at Shangdang were the soldiers led by Wei Yan.

Therefore, it was impossible for Wei Yan to transfer the Shangdang garrison here unless he had no choice but to do so.

As if he had expected Wei Yan to say this, Guo Xun chuckled lightly, with a hint of sarcasm in his laughter:

"In that case, why don't you retreat as soon as possible? If you stay here, isn't it just making people laugh?"

Hearing what Guo Xun said, Wei Yan's face darkened and he was extremely unhappy:

"Sir, what do you mean by this?"

Wei Yan had a bad character, and he wanted to fall out with him, but Guo Xun didn't care.

He just pointed southward with the fan in his hand:

"The prince led his army under the walls of Gaodu for a long time and could not advance even an inch."

"Now that the troops are being allocated again, it will be more difficult to achieve success in the future."

"If it had been before, it wouldn't have mattered. After all, His Majesty has said that this battle will be decided by the prince."

"But things are completely different now. How is Feng Mingwen's current actions any different from provocation?"

"Therefore, the longer the monarch stays here, the more useless and embarrassing it becomes."

"If Feng Mingwen makes a contribution in Wuguan in the future..."

Having said this, Guo Xun glanced at Wei Yan meaningfully, "But the prince has worked hard to achieve nothing. I wonder how the prince will deal with himself when the time comes?"

Wei Yan's face turned livid instantly!

Because Guo Xun's words reminded him of the humiliation of the past when the Prime Minister was there, when he wanted to lead an army but failed, while Feng Mingwen was able to build an army on his own.

Guo Xun didn't seem to see Wei Yan's face, so he continued:

"That's why I suggest that instead of humiliating yourself in the future, it is better to retreat now and save some face."

But when he saw Wei Yan standing up from clapping his eucalyptus, his face looked angry:

"Stop talking!"

When Guo Xun saw this, he kept silent. He just stood up, cupped his hands, turned around and left.

Wei Yan saw Guo Xun's move and quickly took two steps forward to stop him:

"Sir, sir, what does this mean?"

Guo Xun sneered:

"I just don't want to stand in the eyes of the king."

If it had been anyone else, Wei Yan would have cursed loudly.

Since he only led an army to defend one side, Wei Yan knew that he would not be able to fight alone.

In addition, Guo Xun has benefited a lot from him. If he really wants to force him away, when will he find someone who can really help him again?

But Wei Yan took a deep breath, softened his tone, and said with a forced smile:

"Sir, you were joking. What you just said makes sense. It was not a faux pas. It was just that I couldn't control myself."

His voice became a little deeper:

"I have a rift with Feng Mingwen, and I also know that my husband has grudges against Feng Mingwen, but Fei Wenwei is right, these are personal grudges after all."

"Your Majesty has more trust than me, how can I depose the official for personal reasons? Therefore, it is better not to mention this matter again. As for the withdrawal of troops..."

Wei Yan was silent for a while, and then continued:

"It's definitely not possible to retreat immediately now..."

Otherwise, doesn't it mean that Wei Yan really needs to be controlled and mobilized by Feng Mingwen?

At any rate, we have to wait for some more time.

Guo Xun opened his mouth, hesitated to speak, and finally just shook his head.

Seeing Guo Xun's appearance, Wei Yan couldn't help but ask:

"Sir, do you think it's inappropriate?"

"Of course it's not appropriate," Guo Xun said, "As I said just now, the prince or prince should withdraw his troops now to show that he has put aside his personal grudges and turned to official business."

"Either we raise our troops and capture Gaodu to show the monarch's ability to lead the army and prevent Feng Mingwen from being ahead of him."

"Now that the prince has made up his mind to retreat, but he wants to delay the retreat, he is just trying to save some face."

When Wei Yan heard the last sentence, his face suddenly felt like it was being burned by fire, and his blood surged:

"gentlemen……"

"Your Majesty!" Guo Xun seemed to have made up his mind and did not let Wei Yan refute his words at all:

"The prince's desire to compete with Feng Mingwen is as bright as the bright moon in the dark night sky."

"Now the king wants to hide his true feelings, just like covering the bright moon in the sky with one hand to prevent others from seeing it. Isn't this just making people laugh?"

Guo Xun's words were like tearing off the last layer of fig leaf from Wei Yan, and like a heavy blow, they hit the deepest part of Wei Yan's heart.

Wei Yan's face had turned red, and his breathing was as heavy as a cow's breath.

There is no doubt that Guo Xun's words hit his mark.

When Zhao Yun retired from the army due to health reasons and went to Nanxiang to recuperate and no longer led troops, Wei Yan thought that he was the first person in the army below the prime minister.

But the cruel facts gave Wei Yan a slap in the face.

It was so cruel that Wei Yan, who had always been proud, even felt a little humiliated.

Maybe Feng Mingwen is indeed very powerful, but... Prime Minister, why can't you give me a chance to prove myself like the late emperor did!

If this is the case, then I can only look for opportunities on my own.

Seeing the changing expression on Wei Yan's face, Guo Xun struck while the iron was hot:

"The prince also said just now that the reason why he did not dare to mobilize the party's officers and soldiers was just to guard against the enemy in the east of Taihang Mountain."

"But if the enemies of Yecheng are not a concern, then don't you have to worry about it?"

Wei Yan hesitated slightly.

In fact, in addition to Yecheng, Wei thieves in Hanoi can also enter Shangdang through Baixing, one of the eight passes in Taihang - this road is exactly the route that Cao Cao took back then.

But now the Han imperial army is stationed in Hedong, and he is leading the army to attack Gaodu from Shangdang.

Hedong and Shangdang each have Zhiguan Pass, Taihangxing Pass and Hanoi transportation.

Under double pressure, Wei Yan believed that the Wei thieves in Hanoi would not dare to act rashly.

Besides, if you want to enter Shangdang from Baixing, northwest of Taihangxing, you have to pass through Huguan.

Hu Pass is so dangerous that only one or two thousand troops are enough to hold tens of thousands of enemy troops at bay.

(Note: There is a map at the end of the article)

Guo Xun saw that Wei Yan was silent, so he continued:

"If it had been the past, Junhou's consideration was indeed right."

"But now it seems that it was a bit too cautious."

Wei Yan was a little confused: "What do you mean by this?"

"The governor of Jizhou was originally Sun Li. This man has served as the governor of various places and has achieved great political achievements."
To be continued...