Three Kingdoms: The ghost plotter taught Liu Bei to seize Jingzhou first

Zhang He knew Cao Zhen's difficulties, but he was powerless to do anything.

So he could only sigh and bowed his hands:

"General Cao has a clear mind and should be able to see that we can never defend Yangping Pass or even Hanzhong."

"Even if we ask His Majesty for help now, it will take at least a month for the reinforcements to arrive."

"And the morale of our army is about to collapse. How can we wait that long?"

"I'm afraid that before your letter of help arrives at Tongguan, my entire Hanzhong army will have collapsed."

"By that time, General Cao, you will not only lose Hanzhong, but also more than 40,000 soldiers and horses in Hanzhong."

"In that case, General, you will really have no way to explain to His Majesty."

297 Zhang He continued to be patient and analyzed the pros and cons for Cao Zhen.

Cao Zhen fell silent.

What Zhang He said was right.

Guan Yu and Deng Mu would never give him time to ask Cao Cao for help.

Next, the fierce attack of 80,000 Han troops was imminent.

Guan Ping on Dingjun Mountain would certainly not be satisfied with this victory and would surely make new moves immediately.

Whether threatening Nanzheng to the east or attacking the rear of Yangping Pass to the west, they were all attacks he could not afford.

By that time, it would not only be Hanzhong that would be lost, but also the soldiers of the Hanzhong Corps, who would probably be buried together.

(ahfh)The Hanzhong Corps had a total of about 40,000 people.

Although Zhang Ren lost more than 15,000 people, there were at least 25,000 people left, including the Yangping Pass garrison and the garrisons scattered in Nanzheng and other cities.

For the Wei Dynasty, which was in decline and short of manpower, these 25,000 men were extremely precious.

If these troops could be preserved, it would be a way to make up for the past.

"It is better to save the people and lose the land, or to lose both the people and the land. General Cao, you must think it over carefully."

Zhang He reminded him again earnestly.

Cao Zhen fell silent and began to calmly weigh the pros and cons.

After a while,

Cao Zhen took a deep breath and said:

"General Zhang, you are right. With the situation developing to this point, it is meaningless to stubbornly hold on to Hanzhong."

"It is better to keep the people and lose the land than to lose the land."

"It is just..."

Changing the subject, Cao Zhen said:

"Your Majesty's order to us is to hold on to Yangping Pass. If I abandon Hanzhong and retreat north, wouldn't it be disobeying the order?"

"How can I bear the blame from Your Majesty?" (To read the novel, go to Fulu Novel Network!)

Zhang He secretly complained in his heart.

When you sent Zhang Ren to recapture Dingjun Mountain, why didn't you mention Cao Cao's will to hold on and not fight? You insisted on sending troops to seize Dingjun Mountain without authorization.

Why did you bring up Cao Cao's will at this time?Then the general is not authorized by the emperor when he is away from home.

Aren't you contradicting yourself?

"General Cao is right. Your Majesty's will cannot be ignored."

"I think we should abandon Yangping Pass first and lead the army to retreat to Nanzheng. At the same time, send people to Tongguan to ask for your majesty's will."

"In this way, we can gather troops from various counties to prepare for the retreat to the north, and we can also move the Hanzhong population to Guanzhong in advance."

"When your majesty's will arrives, we will immediately lead the army to retreat to the north. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"

Zhang He's proposal is to abandon Yangping Pass first, but not Hanzhong.

Wait until Cao Cao's will arrives, and then immediately lead the army to withdraw from Hanzhong.

In this way, it is not considered to be against Cao Cao's will.

After all, Cao Cao's edict was to ask them to defend Hanzhong, not to defend Yangping Pass.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Cao Zhen waved his hand helplessly and said:

"Forget it, let's do as Brother Zhang said.".