Wei Ni

Benefits can be gained by many but not by one person alone; plans can be made by a few but not by many.

To discuss military and national affairs, Emperor Cao Rui did not summon many important ministers.

After being summoned to enter the East Hall, Xiahou Hui only saw Grand Marshal Sima Yi, Minister of Works Wei Zhen, Palace Attendant Jiang Ji, Minister of Finance Sima Fu, as well as the Chief Secretary and Ling Liu Fang and Sun Zi sitting there.

"General Hui, I pay my respects to your majesty."

He stepped forward to pay his respects, and when he was allowed to stand up, he bowed to all the important ministers before sitting down at the last seat and listening quietly.

He knew that the biggest reason he was summoned was that Emperor Cao Rui and the other officials wanted to ask about the specific conditions of the various units in the central army of Luoyang, so that they could make decisions on which troops to choose to leave the capital when it was possible to rush to support Huainan.

It's not that the bureaucracy in Wei was so bad that even when discussing matters like this, people had to rank according to seniority and could not express their own opinions in order to gather the wisdom of the crowd. But everyone present knew that if the Wu thieves really launched a large-scale attack on Huainan, the emperor Cao Rui would definitely come to help.

The reason why they were summoned here to discuss the matter together was more to prepare for the battle.

There is nothing we can do about it.

Since the Battle of Shiting, Wei's deployment in Huainan, whether in terms of manpower, baggage and equipment, or food and fodder reserves, was far inferior to that of the bandit Wu, which, after moving its capital to Jianye, would drive 100,000 armored soldiers across the river to the north.

In addition, in the early years, Qing and Xu states were allocated to Zang Ba and Sun Guan for raising troops, and the officials and people did not have strong centripetal force towards the Wei State. Out of consideration for stability in everything, Emperor Cao Rui had to lead the army himself in order to stabilize the people's hearts.

This is actually true.

They arrived earlier, and at this time, the three ministers of work Wei Zhen, Liu Fang and Sun Zi were discussing in detail with the emperor Cao Rui which counties along the way could no longer mobilize corvée to transport baggage and fodder for the reinforcements due to the severe flood; those places were severely affected and required county soldiers to stay behind to prevent chaos.

During this period, the Grand Marshals Sima Yi and Sima Fu would occasionally interject.

The Departments of Agriculture of the scholars' families in various parts of the Wei State were all under the jurisdiction of the Taiwei Mansion, so Sima Yi was also counting for the Emperor Cao Rui which Department of Agriculture had available grain reserves, which Department of Agriculture's stocks had been opened for relief, etc.; while Sima Fu was supplementing how much money and grain could be spent from the national treasury for military use.

Only Guanglu Xun and Li Shizhong Jiang Ji remained silent.

It was not the time for him to speak yet. When the food, fodder, laborers, and baggage were all understood, Emperor Cao Rui would ask him about the deduction of the war. After all, since Liu Ye's death, he was the one who was most familiar with the Huainan front and the Wu bandit tactics.

Xiahou Hui, who was listening quietly, was also thinking about his speech at this time.

He has stayed in Huainan for many years, and the generals Man Chong and Wang Ling who are stationed in Huainan have not yet reported their opinions. The emperor might take the opportunity to ask him about it.

A while passed.

After finally estimating the number of troops that could be sent to aid Huainan from the farmers that could be recruited along the way and the food and fodder that could be supplied, Emperor Cao Rui, who had been listening carefully and silently calculating in his mind, could not help but let out a long sigh, closed his eyes and gently rubbed his temples.

This kind of planning is the most troublesome.

But the real military meeting has just begun.

Taiwei Sima Yi was very considerate. He waited silently until Cao Rui recovered and opened his eyes. Before being asked, he took the lead in bowing and said, "Your Majesty, I think that the rebel Wu invaded this year, and the rebellious Shu should not have agreed to send troops with them. There are three reasons for this."

"Hmm~"

He nodded approvingly. When Cao Rui heard that there would be no war in Yongliang, his expression became noticeably more pleasing. "Sima Gong, please feel free to speak."

"only."

"First, Bashu is exhausted and can't bear the heavy burden. Shu is a small country, no more than one state. Since your Majesty ascended the throne, the rebels have raised large armies to invade Shu several times, but they have all returned in defeat. Exhausting military power and wasting national strength, and the roads in Shu are difficult, and the transportation of food and fodder is extremely inconvenient. Now, even if the rebel Wu invites you to send troops, you are not strong enough to invade Shu."

"The second is that the people who rebel against Shu are in turmoil and have no time to talk about military affairs. The foundation of Shu was established by Liu Bei who stole the throne of his fellow clan Liu Zhang. Many people in Bashu were dissatisfied, so after the Battle of Yiling, rebels rose up. Although Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu, later pacified the people inside and outside the country and temporarily stabilized, he has died of illness at Wuzhangyuan. In addition, Yang Yi fought for power and privately executed the three clans of the general Wei Yan, and was sentenced to death. The rebels against Shu have no success in external conquests, and they have not punished the meritorious officials. It is inevitable that the people are disappointed and the people are in turmoil. In this case, how dare we talk about military affairs!"

"Secondly, there is no chance for us to take advantage of Yongliang. In the past few years, all the counties in Yongliang have had good harvests, with abundant food and fodder, sufficient weapons and armor, and no invasion by the barbarians. This is in line with Sun Wu's words, 'the victory lies in oneself'. Moreover, Shu and Wu are allies, but their lands are divided into the west and the east, so they cannot support each other in a war. Although the enemy Wu has invaded, our Yongliang is not disturbed, and the enemy Shu will not raise an army."

"good!"

As soon as Sima Yi finished his analysis, Emperor Cao Rui clapped his hands and praised him, "Sima Gong's words are insightful and can relieve my worries."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Jiang Ji again.

"Your Majesty, I think there may not be a war in Huainan."

Jiang Ji, who had been prepared for a long time, did not need the emperor to urge him and directly stated his views.

"Indeed, since the relocation of the capital to Jianye, Sun Quan of the Wu state has always mobilized troops from two directions, with Jingxiang as the false front and Huainan as the real front. But since the Battle of Shiting, Man Boning was ordered to guard Huainan, he has fortified the city, cleared the fields, and deployed many scouts. Later, he moved the city of Hefei northward more than 30 miles from the shore, which can be said to be a strategic advantage. The Wu state has always been strong in the navy, but it is timid away from the water. Moreover, it has been defeated repeatedly in recent years, with heavy casualties and a broken morale. This is not an opportunity to take advantage of, so we will not cross the river."

Jiang Ji paused for a moment, took a breath, and continued, "The opportunity that the Wu rebels can take advantage of lies in Jingxiang. If Jingxiang cannot stop the rebel general Zhu Ran's attack, then the day when the central army of Luoyang rushes to support, it will be the time for Sun Quan to lead a large army to attack Huainan. If Jingxiang is safe and the rebel general Zhu Ran does not advance, then Sun Quan may withdraw his troops because there is no benefit to be gained."

"Therefore, I, an old minister, dare to advise Your Majesty not to raise troops for the time being, so as not to waste the national treasury."

"You only need to order the chief officials of the affected states and counties to do their utmost to provide relief, and send imperial censors to investigate those who have drowned or lost their property, so as to calm the people and prevent chaos, and prevent the enemy Wu from raising an army. If Your Majesty wants to be cautious, you can first raise food and fodder, select 20,000 infantry and cavalry from the Central Army and prepare them for emergency in Huainan."

"Mr. Jiang is an experienced man who is good at planning for the country. What he said is in my heart."

After a brief pause, Emperor Cao Rui nodded in response, then turned to Sima Fu and Wei Zhen and said, "Whether to prepare the central army or not, we can make a decision after the Huainan army reports. But it will take more than one day to raise enough money and food for the expedition, Sima Qing, please go back to the office and make plans first. This matter is very urgent, and Duke Wei will also help."

"only."

Wei Zhen and Sima Fu left the table, accepted the order, and returned to their offices.

Logically speaking, since these two people have left, Xiahou Hui should also ask for resignation.

After all, Emperor Cao Rui had made the decision based on Jiang Ji's advice, and had no plans to equip the central army now. If he continued to stay, it would be like he was interfering in miscellaneous affairs outside of his duties for no reason.

For example, Sima Yi, Liu Fang, Sun Zi and others should discuss the specific details of the draft decree with the emperor; while Jiang Ji will study one or two of them and make suggestions according to the duties of Guanglu Xun. In case the emperor leads troops to rescue Huainan, he will accompany the emperor and the chief officers of the various guards who stay behind.

But Xiahou Hui is just so tactless.

He sat there without any hesitation, showing no intention of leaving.

However, Cao Rui had long been accustomed to such situations.

I also know that he has different views on the deployment of the war, so I asked casually, "Zhi Quan was on duty in Huainan before, he should be quite familiar with the bandit Wu. Tell me, what do you think?"

"only."

Xiahou Hui, who had already prepared a speech, bowed and responded, "Your Majesty, Minister Jiang has already said everything about the Huainan issue, and I have nothing else to say. But I think that this time the Wu bandits should raise troops from three directions at the same time."

Three-way concurrency?

Hearing this, Cao Rui, who had been careless at first, immediately perked up, stroked his beard with one hand, and lowered his eyes to ponder.

Everyone present also had their own reactions.

Sima Yi and Jiang Ji did not show any change in expression. They just glanced at each other implicitly and then looked away.

Liu Fang and Sun Zi both raised their eyebrows at the same time. The difference was that Sun Zi seemed to be a little happy, while Liu Fang seemed a little annoyed.

Because they all knew that the third army of the Wu bandits that Xiahou Hui mentioned was going to invade Liaodong.

Long before the army was dispatched to attack Gongsun of Liaodong, Emperor Cao Rui had privately consulted Sima Yi and Jiang Ji whether the enemy Wu would send troops to Liaodong.

At that time, both of them thought that Sun Quan would send troops.

However, at that time, Emperor Cao Rui and Xiahou Hui cooperated well in concealing the truth. They first transferred troops to Liaoxi, and then issued an edict to the whole country to attack Liaodong. Therefore, when the envoys from Liaodong arrived in Jiangdong and Sun Quan prepared the reinforcement fleet, Gongsun Yuan's head was already hanging on the top of Luoyang City.

By making perfect use of the time difference, Sun Quan had no chance to rescue.

Later, when Xiahou Hui was about to return to the court, when the court decided to relocate the scholars and common people of Liaodong and resettle them in Qingxu and Youzhou, he submitted a memorial to the court, requesting that the people should not be relocated, arguing that Jiangdong and Goguryeo would inevitably send troops to invade Liaodong in the future.

However, the emperor and important officials in the court did not listen to this suggestion. Even Guanqiu Jian, the deputy in charge of the campaign against Liaodong, disagreed with it, so the plan was abandoned.

Now that Xiahou Hui mentioned it again, Cao Rui naturally had to re-examine it.

After all, the thief Wu always acts when he sees profit.

The Liaodong counties could not afford to support too many soldiers after the people were relocated back to the Central Plains, so the defense was empty; and Goguryeo and Jiangdong were still in an alliance.
Of course, Cao Rui’s hesitation did not last long.

With his intelligence, it was not difficult for him to realize that it was too late to warn Liaodong or ask Guanqiu Jian for reinforcements.

The enemy Wu attacked from thousands of miles across the sea, which was a surprise attack. If they wanted to achieve success, they had to catch the enemy by surprise and unprepared. Therefore, when Zhu Ran sent out his troops, the fleet from Jiangdong had already arrived in Liaodong.

Therefore, when Cao Rui raised his eyes, he asked, "I seem to have heard that when Zhiquan returned from Liaodong, he asked Zhongquan to deploy troops to prepare for the invasion of the Wu bandits. Is this true?" (End of this chapter)