Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"There is nothing strange about sailing to Japan. What I value more is the experience of the emperor's uncle commanding ten large ships and more than 10,000 people sailing for several months. With this experience as a benchmark, the Great Wei will be able to accomplish more in the future."

"Uncle Emperor."

"The minister is here."

Cao Rui said: "Since the emperor's uncle has led the army to Japan once, I think we should choose the right time to send a fleet to Japan again after this spring."

"Go again?" Cao Zhi was a little confused.

"Yes, I will go there again." Cao Rui said, "Now is the seventh year of Taihe. I hope that the Great Wei's route from Donglai County to Waguo can be stabilized. It would be best if we could sail two or three round trips between Donglai and Waguo every year. In the tenth year of Taihe, I hope to find a suitable place in Waguo, move 10,000 Han and Qiang people there, build a fort and start farming there."

"I obey your order." Although Cao Zhi was confused, he still bowed in agreement.

With this voyage as a foundation, Cao Zhi was very impressed by the sailing matters that he had not understood before but the emperor insisted on paying attention to. He also gradually became more blindly obedient to the emperor's ideas.

But General Cao Zhen, who was sitting in the hall, felt inexplicably irritated.

Cao Zhen coughed lightly, cupped his hands and said slowly: "Your Majesty, I still have some doubts in my heart. I hope Your Majesty can give me some advice."

"General, please tell me." Cao Rui said.

"I am not saying that sailing is bad. This time, the fleet led 10,000 people to sail to Japan, which is enough to boost the prestige of Wei. The general of Louchuan is the envoy of the emperor, and he was given the title of king of a small country. He also brought back people and artifacts. It sounds like a good thing." Cao Zhen tried to explain: "But now that Wu and Shu are not yet pacified, Wei should focus more on Wu and Shu. Why does Your Majesty want to move people to Japan to build a city? I really don't understand."

"The general has his own ideas, and I have my own ideas, but they are different." Cao Rui smiled and said, "Since the general asked, I will have a good talk with him."

"My lords, please listen to what I have to say."

"As you wish." Everyone in the hall bowed in agreement.

Cao Rui smiled and looked at the general. "Today we are in the Mingguang Palace. How about I and the general have a discussion in court? The general and I will ask questions, and the ministers can ask questions at any time."

"I obey your order." Cao Zhen responded with a serious expression and bowed.

Cao Rui asked, "The general and I are both in Shouchun City right now. The general has also seen the terrain between Jingnanwu and Wu's Ruxuwu."

"How should Wei capture Ruxuwu?"

Cao Zhen frowned, thought for a moment, and sighed, "It's very difficult to capture."

"The strength of Ruxu Fort lies not in the fort itself, but in its location close to the Yangtze River and the advantages of the Wu navy."

"What if I insist on leading the army to attack?" Cao Rui asked again.

Cao Zhen said: "It's like two people fighting, stabbing each other in the stomach with a short knife. Whoever can't bear the pain and can't bear the bleeding first will retreat."

"Then it will really become a confrontation with the State of Wu, right?" Cao Rui asked again.

"Yes." Cao Zhen was reluctant, but he still managed to answer. Cao Rui smiled and said, "Since Wei cannot build a navy in Jingzhou that can rival Wu, and Yangzhou's navy cannot go south through the Ruxu River, then I can only find a way to go around by sea."

"I would like to ask the general again, how many ships are needed to attack Wu?"

Cao Zhen said: "Although I cannot know everything at the moment, based on the number of Wu's navy, if it were not for the hundreds of tower ships, warships, and battleships, Wei would still be unable to defeat Wu's navy."

"That's it." Cao Rui clapped his hands and laughed.

Cao Rui's words just now undoubtedly involved an essential issue: that is, how to break through Wu's river defense line and fight to the south of the river.

According to the original historical practice, the Jin Dynasty defeated Wu after taking Yizhou first, and led the warships down the river from Badong, gradually defeating many important places along the river and the Wu navy. On land, the generals held back the Wu army on the east-west front of thousands of miles, which led to the final victory of the Jin Dynasty.

But this method is obviously not feasible for the current Wei Dynasty.

Yizhou upstream is obviously difficult to attack, and this is obvious without much thought.

Now Shu has Zhuge Liang, Wei Yan and others in the court, and has many passes in its hands, such as Baishui, Jiameng, and Jiange. There are no obvious changes or flaws in the Chengdu court. If a forced attack is launched, it will only waste manpower and material resources for Wei, and Zhuge Liang may even gain victory outside Jiange and Baishui Pass.

The difficulty of the Shu Road is not a lie. In other words, as long as Zhuge Liang is still alive, the idea of ​​forcibly attacking Shu from the north of Yizhou by military force is not feasible. In the original timeline, Zhong Hui, who led an army of more than 100,000, did not take down Hanzhong and Jiange, and both were abandoned by Shu generals. Sneak crossing to Yinping is pure gambling.

In addition, the people's livelihood in the three states of Yong, Qin and Liang in the Wei Dynasty was recovering, and the wealth that had just been accumulated for one or two years was wasted in vain by wars. Cao Rui was not willing to do such a thing.

Then the State of Wu becomes the first choice.

The first city that can be ruled out is Jingzhou.

Even if Jingzhou is capable of building warships, it cannot serve as the main battlefield for Wei's advance. This is determined by the geographical conditions.

On the one hand, the Miankou where the Han River flows into the Yangtze River is narrow, only about a hundred steps wide, and two or three ships are enough to defend this gap. On the other hand, the Nanyang and Xiangyang counties of Jingzhou are not on the water transport network of the Wei Dynasty, and there are few people there, and the food supply is difficult, making it difficult to support an army of 100,000 people.

The only three places that can be attacked in Yangzhou are Wankou, Ruxu and Guangling. Guangling's waterway is not good, which was tested by the late Emperor Cao Pi himself. Wankou can only be used as a detachment to support, not as the main battlefield, the principle is the same as that of Jingzhou.

Ruxu was not allowed to pass, and this was a reality that was difficult to avoid.

Then developing sea-going ships, sailing through the Huai River into the sea and then into the Yangtze River seemed to be the only feasible solution.

Cao Rui said: "If the Great Wei wants enough warships, it must have enough naval soldiers. Sailing can train soldiers, which is much better than the Huai River and Chaohu Lake. This is one of the reasons."

"If the navy is ordered to enter the sea from the Huai River and then enter the Yangtze River for battle, a long voyage is a necessary option. This is the second option."

"If Wei can sail successfully, it can not only enter the Yangtze River and fight against Wu's navy, but also attack Wujun, Kuaiji and other places in the south, and even go south to Jiaozhou and other places. This is the third."

"The whole world belongs to the king. Since Japan is a vassal of the Great Wei, it is only natural for me to send troops to station there. This is the fourth reason."

Cao Rui smiled and looked at Cao Zhen: "The general asked me a question, and I answered it sincerely. I wonder what the general thinks after hearing my words?" (End of this chapter)