Wei Ni

The speed of information transmission is one of the key factors influencing the outcome of wars in this era.

For example, the Shu Kingdom, which originally intended to respond to the rebellion of the Qiang tribes of Shaodang, only dispatched Liao Hua's troops after the Wei Kingdom had quelled the rebellion due to a lack of information, thus losing its strategic intent. On the Wei Kingdom's side, before Emperor Cao Rui's edict of warning had even reached Tianshui County in Longyou, the two armies sent by Guo Huai were defeated by the Shu army.

And it was a crushing defeat.

The tactic of splitting troops into two groups to attack from both sides also carries the risk of dispersing forces and making them extremely vulnerable to being defeated piecemeal by the enemy.

Shu general Liao Hua astutely seized the opportunity, first gathering troops to defeat You Yi, the prefect of Nan'an Commandery, and then, with the momentum of his victory, turning to confront Wang Yun, the prefect of Guangwei Commandery. Wang Yun was killed in battle, and his troops were routed and almost completely wiped out.

Fortunately, Liao Hua also learned from the prisoners that the rebellion of the Qiang and Hu people in Xiping County had been quelled and that the strategy of this expedition was no longer viable. So he pursued them briefly before withdrawing his troops.

Otherwise, if he had escorted the Wei prisoners to the camp of Shoushan Qiang Hou Dangxun as a show of force, or had his soldiers dress up in Wei army uniforms to pretend to be reinforcements and go to deceive the camp, Shoushan Qiang Hou Dangxun might have defected to Shu or fallen into a trap.

After all, Dangxun was the leader of a Qiang tribe who had submitted to the Wei dynasty and been granted a title.
Do not expect him to be loyal to Wei. When his tribe and life are in danger, he would not hesitate to go and join Shu.

As the results of the war and Guo Huai's petition to apologize reached the capital Luoyang, Xiahou Hui was once again summoned by Emperor Cao Rui to the palace for a meeting.

Actually, he was in the second batch of people summoned.

Cao Rui immediately summoned Sima Yi, the Grand Commandant who had been overseeing the battles in Yong and Liang.

Only after Sima Yi confidently declared that the defeat in this battle would not affect the defense of Yongliang and that Shu would not have the strength to send troops the following year did Cao Rui, who was now at ease, remember Xiahou Hui.

The meeting took place in the east hall of the Taiji Hall, and it was nearly noon.

Therefore, when Xiahou Hui arrived, he happened to meet Liu Fang, Sun Zi, the ministers of various departments, and the various cavalrymen who had just finished assisting the emperor in handling daily affairs.

The area in front of the hall is not a place for small talk.

Xiahou Hui simply smiled and nodded at the people passing by.

But for some reason, Liu Fang stopped in front of him, and opened his mouth with a complicated expression, but in the end he only managed to squeeze out a "Sigh, Zhiquan is still more farsighted" before leaving.

Such unwarranted praise left Xiahou Hui somewhat bewildered.

If he hadn't been summoned to meet the emperor and couldn't delay, he really would have liked to catch up and ask him clearly.

Fortunately, Sun Zi, who had left the East Hall, had some trivial matters to relay to the Yellow Gate Attendant, so he trailed behind the others. He also noticed the confusion on Xiahou Hui's face and, as he passed by, nodded in greeting and whispered two words.

"Liu Xi".

This reminded Xiahou Hui that Sun Zi had mentioned in a casual conversation that Liu Fang had asked Grand Commandant Sima Yi to help him send his son Liu Xi to serve as a staff member under Guo Huai, the governor of Yongzhou.

Could it be that Liu Xi was also in the army when the Wei army was defeated by the Shu army?

That should be it.

Since Guo Huai dared to claim in his memorial that "the enemy's encirclement is imminent and victory is just around the corner," he felt that victory was assured, so there was no reason not to let Liu Xi go along to share the credit.

So, what Liu Fang meant just now was that he regretted not listening to his advice and transferring Liu Xi to Liaodong like Sun Zi did?

Huh~
Yeah, right!

I'll make you believe only in Sima Yi!

Suddenly feeling somewhat cheerful, Xiahou Hui first straightened his clothes, handed his sword to the guard on duty, and then stepped into the East Hall.

The East Hall was empty at the moment.

Emperor Cao Rui was not present; only a very old eunuch was organizing documents.

"Commander Xiahou, His Majesty has gone to change his clothes and instructed the old servant to tell you to wait outside the palace. He will be going to Tianyuan Pool shortly."

Just as I was wondering, the old eunuch came over, bowed, and said...

"Okay. Thank you for your work."

Xiahou Hui smiled and nodded his thanks. He turned and came out. As he put on his shoes and tied his sword, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised: the man actually called himself an old servant.

A short while later, Emperor Cao Rui came out.

He didn't say anything, but waved to Xiahou Hui as he boarded the carriage, signaling him to follow.

Unlike Lingzhi Pond, Tianyuan Pond was more of a playground for the empress, concubines, and princes. Therefore, when Xiahou Hui came, he not only saw Prince Qin Cao Xun and Prince Qi Cao Fang again, but also unexpectedly saw Consort Guo.

Of course, Xiahou Hui had never met her before.

It was only when she, along with the two princes, paid their respects to Emperor Cao Rui that Xiahou Hui realized who the person before her was. Although it was just a brief encounter, it was enough for Xiahou Hui to know that Cao Rui now intended to make her empress—after all, the presence of the two princes by her side meant that she was now in charge of the harem.

Emperor Cao Rui chose a small pavilion in the lake as the meeting place.

And just like before, after eating a little something, he turned his head to lean on the railing and looked at the birds that had migrated south to spend the winter and temporarily settled in this pond, and remained silent for a long time.

Xiahou Hui was used to this situation and waited quietly.

"Zhiquan should have also seen the battle report that came back from Longyou."

After a long while, Cao Rui turned around, raised his cup, and drank it all in one gulp. His tone was slightly melancholic as he sighed, "Guo Huai was a disciple of the late emperor, and served in Yong and Liang for twenty years. Even Emperor Wu praised his military prowess. Yet now he... he actually underestimates his enemy. Alas..."

Xiahou Hui remained silent, but simply picked up a wine ladle and filled his cup.

Because he knew that Cao Rui did not need his answer, and he also knew that Cao Rui actually wanted to say that Guo Huai was greedy for credit, rather than underestimating the enemy.

Yes, it's about seeking credit.

Since Grand Commandant Sima Yi resigned as Governor of Yong and Liang and returned to the capital, the imperial court has not appointed anyone to command the various forces in Yong and Liang, namely the General Who Conquers the West. If Emperor Cao Rui had not been appointed from the imperial court or transferred from elsewhere, but instead had chosen one from among the generals of Yong and Liang, Guo Huai would have been the most suitable candidate.

Born into a military family, he was skilled in both civil and military affairs. He served as an official under Emperor Wen (Cao Pi) and Emperor Wu (Cao Cao), and had spent a considerable amount of time in Yongliang, where he had made significant contributions in suppressing Qiang and Hu tribes and rebellions by powerful local leaders. He was certainly qualified to serve as General Who Conquers the West.

But he had very bad luck.

After Emperor Cao Rui ascended the throne, Zhuge Liang, the Chancellor of Shu, began to wage war against the State of Wei.

The first military campaign by the Shu Chancellor was via the Qishan Road. All three counties in Longyou had rebelled against Wei and surrendered to Shu. Keep in mind that Longyou only had five counties! Although the three counties were later recovered by Wei, Guo Huai, as the governor of Yongzhou, could not escape the responsibility of oversight even though he had broken through the separate camp of Shu general Gao Xiang.

The second time the Shu Chancellor launched a military campaign was during the Battle of Shiting, when he marched through Dasanguan Pass to attack Chencang City. General Hao Zhao held the city firmly and it did not fall, so the credit had nothing to do with Guo Huai.

The Shu chancellor launched his third military campaign, again taking the Qishan route. He dispatched General Chen Shi to attack the two commanderies of Wudu and Yinping, while he himself led a large army to garrison Jianwei City (fortress) to block reinforcements. Guo Huai led troops from Tianshui Commandery, but dared not engage in battle, and thus lost the two commanderies.

Subsequently, due to the Shu army's three military campaigns against Wei over two years, Grand Marshal Cao Zhen launched an attack on Shu, advancing through the Ziwu Valley to attack Hanzhong. Guo Huai and Fei Yao, as a detachment, marched from Qishan Road towards Wudu and Yinping Commandery. However, before they could even advance, they were decisively defeated by the Shu generals Wei Yan and Wu Yi, who had come from afar, at Yangxi.

It's quite unreasonable for the attacking side to be defeated by the enemy forces who have penetrated deep into their territory.

Then came the Battle of Lucheng, where Sima Yi assumed the position of Governor of Yong and Liang, with its "three thousand armored soldiers," and the standoff at Wuzhangyuan, where he "could not bear to see women in their clothes and traveled a thousand miles to request battle." In these two battles, Guo Huai did not suffer any defeats; on the contrary, he was credited with strategic planning. However, given the losses suffered by Wei (Zhang He), Sima Yi could not claim credit for his efforts.

In summary, since the Shu army launched its invasion, Guo Huai, though loyal and diligent in his duties, has also accumulated the most disgraceful traits of a general: defeat, loss of territory, and betrayal by his subordinates.

Under such circumstances, even if Emperor Cao Rui and the officials of the court wanted to appoint him as General Who Conquers the West, they would have no reason to convince the people.
He knows this himself and wants to prove himself.

He saw this invasion by Shu troops as an opportunity.

Because the Shu chancellor had died, and the famous Shu general Wei Yan had been unjustly killed in the internal strife, coupled with the fact that Liao Hua, who was a senior general but had no military achievements, was appointed as the general, they came alone.

That's why he disregarded the cardinal sin of dispersing his troops and made a wrong deployment.

Otherwise, given his past ability to repeatedly guess the strategic intentions of the Shu Chancellor, he would have taken a more prudent approach: directly sending troops to cut off Liao Hua's retreat and force the Shu troops to abandon the siege and return to fight the Wei army in unfavorable terrain.

This defeat can be attributed to his eagerness to achieve merit.

"His petition to plead guilty has already been discussed by the officials in the court, but opinions differ."

After expressing his feelings, Emperor Cao Rui paused for a moment before continuing, "Some have suggested exchanging his defense area with that of the Governor of Liangzhou; others believe that issuing an edict to reprimand him and encourage him to redeem himself through meritorious service is sufficient; still others have advised me to transfer Xiahou Ru back to Guanzhong to serve as General Who Conquers the West. Zhi Quan has also been in the military for a long time. What do you think?"

Xiahou Hui did not answer immediately.

Instead, he lowered his eyes and pondered silently for a while before softly saying, "Your Majesty, I, your humble servant Hui, believe that we should heed the Grand Commandant's words."

"Grand Commandant?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Rui, who was holding a wine cup, trembled, and even his sleeves were soaked by the spilled wine.

He did indeed consult Sima Yi, but he summoned him alone, and there was no way a third person in the world could know what Sima Yi's advice was!
This summer, Hou Hui suddenly came and said, "Take the words of the Grand Commandant." How could he not find this strange?

Upon seeing Xiahou Hui nod in confirmation, Cao Rui, disregarding his wet sleeves, casually tossed his wine cup into the pool and urged, "Did Zhiquan go to see the Grand Commandant before coming here?"

"Your Majesty, I, Hui, did not go to see the Grand Commandant, but I can roughly guess what his advice was."

Rising from his seat, Xiahou Hui fetched a new wine cup for the Emperor from a side shelf and slowly explained, “The Grand Commandant must have said that victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, and this defeat does not prove that General Guo is incompetent. Moreover, given that the Shu army still lacks the strength to launch a large-scale invasion, and considering that General Guo has served diligently in Yong and Liang for a long time, he advised Your Majesty not to make any adjustments to the generals and commanders of Yong and Liang.”

Cao Rui did not speak, but the strange look in his eyes intensified.

Because Xiahou Hui's words came true, that was roughly what Grand Commandant Sima Yi meant. (End of Chapter)