Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Is it exaggerated? I don't think it's exaggerated." Cao Rui smiled, then turned and walked into the cabin of the dragon boat. The attendants hesitated for a moment and then followed.

Pei Qian hadn't had time to say anything else, but he kept it to himself.

Pei Qian wanted to say that Jiang Ji had selfish motives and wanted to place the military affairs in his jurisdiction as the governor of Yangzhou so that he could make more contributions. Pei Qian also wanted to say that 50,000 naval forces were a bit exaggerated, more than three times the current number of 15,000 naval forces, which was almost an impossible number to achieve.

But judging from your majesty's thoughts, does it seem that you really want to establish so many naval forces?
Cao Rui walked in front, and the courtiers followed closely behind him. Cao Rui said calmly: "In my opinion, if Wei wants to fight Wu now, the victory or defeat will almost entirely depend on the navy. The Privy Council has made an estimate. Given the strength of Wu's Ruxu City and Ruxu's geographical location with the river behind it, Wei can't capture Ruxu at all."

The ministers were not too surprised, but nodded in agreement. Anyone who knew a little about military affairs would understand the strategic role of such a key fortress.

To deploy troops, one must also know the location. Given the terrain of Wu's Ruxu Fort, which is about two miles long and wide and backed by a large river, the assistance that can be received can be considered almost unlimited. The Wei army that can participate in the siege at the same time has at most 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers on the left and right banks of the Ruxu River. This is already an extremely crowded way of fighting, and it cannot be defeated by relying on numbers.

Then the navy is the only solution.

Cao Rui continued, "As for the 50,000 naval forces, I will not discuss whether Jiang Ji is right or not. The Wei navy is only about 15,000 people. His exaggerated number may not be based on facts, but the meaning behind it is very clear. That is to say, the navy must have an overwhelming advantage over the Wu Kingdom!"

"What do you mean by overwhelming advantage?" Cao Rui looked at everyone. "In the future battle against Wu, the navy must at least be able to fight in the middle of the river and defeat the main fleet of Wu. It must also be able to support the Wei army until they cross the river, and be able to block all the Wu fleets coming from upstream in the middle of the river!"

Pei Qian's heart was slightly moved, and he opened his mouth to respond: "Could it be that Your Majesty is touring Chaohu Lake for this matter?"

"That's right." Cao Rui nodded: "But before going to Chaohu Lake, since I'm passing by Hefei City, I still have to look for some old traces."

Pei Qian asked again, "Is there anywhere your Majesty wants to go? I can also inform the officials in Hefei in advance."

Cao Rui stood still, stretched out his right hand and pointed southward: "Xiaoyaojin!"

The dragon boat fleet and the accompanying army were not moving very fast. It took three days to reach Hefei, a distance of more than 200 miles from Shouchun.

"Your Majesty, this is where Zhang Wenyuan defeated the Wu army in the 20th year of Jian'an." General Cao Zhao, who was riding alone in front, pointed to a low hill east of Hefei City and said, "This is where Sun Quan's central army was located at that time. Zhang Wenyuan wore armor and held a halberd in the early morning, rushed out of the city and rushed straight to this place, then broke through the siege and returned to the city. The Wu soldiers were invincible and unstoppable."

Cao Rui, dressed in a plain robe and riding on a white imperial horse, roughly estimated the distance and pointed with his whip, sighing: "It is four miles from Hefei to here. The Wu army was defeated and fled. How magnificent! I also led troops to fight many battles during the Taihe period, but rarely saw such a brave and unparalleled general!"

"Chang Si." Cao Rui said, "You have been in Hefei for more than two years. Are there any soldiers in the city who followed Zhang Liao to defeat the Wu army?"

This question really stumped Cao Zhao. He had never paid attention to such trivial matters, but now that His Majesty was asking questions, not only the emperor himself was asking questions, but also the Palace Attendant, the Imperial Guards, and the Inspector Jiang Ji were all there to look at the scene, which was undoubtedly a bit awkward.

Cao Zhao bowed his hands with a little embarrassment and said: "Your Majesty, I am ashamed that I have never asked about such matters. However, I think the army has changed several times, even if there are soldiers from the past, there should be very few now."

You still have to be discerning when doing things in the officialdom. Cao Zhao didn't know about this, but it didn't mean that everyone didn't know about it. At least Jiang Ji and Xu Shu, who were officials in the capital at that time, knew that in the second year of Huangchu, Cao Pi recruited the remaining 800 soldiers who were recruited by Zhang Liao to go out of the city and defeat the Wu army into the Wuwei Army as Tiger Guards. But for the sake of the deceased Cao Xiu, there was no need to trouble Cao Zhao for such a small matter.

Jiang Ji and Xu Shu have this kind of tacit understanding, but it does not mean that everyone is like this.

A cavalry officer who was following Cao Zhao heard Cao Zhao's reply, but at this time he clasped his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I know!"

"Oh? Who are you?" Cao Rui looked up and saw that the person who spoke was dressed like a Qianshi Sima. He was about forty years old and had a strong physique, even stronger than Cao Zhao.

The 1,000-stone Sima immediately dismounted, knelt on one knee and reported in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, I am Sima Sun Tong, a general under General Pingdong. I once served as a cavalryman under the command of Zhang Zhengdong and attacked the Wu army north of Xiaoyaojin!"

Hearing this person's words, everyone turned their eyes to him. Although this Sima named Sun Tong was of low status, the emperor was here to look for old traces, this place was Hefei, and he was a cavalry soldier who followed Zhang Liao to fight, so it was reasonable for him to talk to him.

Xu Shu and Lu Yu, who were following behind Cao Rui, looked at each other and said nothing.

"Raise your head and let me see your face." Cao Rui ordered.

When the Sima named Sun Tong raised his head, Cao Rui looked at him carefully for a few moments, then said with a smile: "Sun Tong, although you are taller and stronger than your father Sun Shi, you and your son are simply carved from the same mold." Now it was Sun Tong's turn to be surprised, and he asked with a stammer: "Your Majesty, do you recognize my father?"

"Yes, I have seen him before!" Cao Rui laughed. "In the fourth year of Taihe, I was on a border patrol in Youbing. When I was in Jiuyuan City, I went to Deli outside the city and saw your father Sun Shi. He was the head of the village in Deli. Am I right?"

After hearing this, Sun Tong was stunned for a few moments, and then his eyes turned red, and he kowtowed three times on the ground:
"My father and I are both insignificant people, so how can Your Majesty remember our names? But my father passed away last autumn. Since Your Majesty has met him and rewarded him with ten pieces of silk, I will report this to Your Majesty!"

"It's hard to predict what's going on in the world, don't worry too much." Cao Rui couldn't help but sigh: "Since it happened last autumn, have you returned home to take care of the funeral?"

"No." Sun Tong replied, "I have other brothers at home. When I learned about this, the New Year had already passed and it was too late to go back."

Cao Rui knew in his heart that since he arrived in Yangzhou, both the local foreign troops and the soldiers from the prefectures and counties had been staying in the barracks and not allowed to go out for more than two months.

It is not easy for him to take care of the general things, and there is no need for him to take care of them, but since he has met an individual named Sun Tong today, it would not hurt to show him some favor.

Cao Rui said calmly: "In that case, I will grant you a three-month vacation. Bingzhou is a long way away, so you can spend one month on the trip, one month on the return trip, and one month on household affairs. Later, I will ask the Minister to give you another ten pieces of silk to fulfill this chance encounter."

"I thank Your Majesty for his grace!" Sun Tong knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times.

"Get up." Cao Rui asked, "What did you want to say just now?"

"As you wish!" Sun Tong stood up and bowed as he replied, "Your Majesty, among the eight hundred infantrymen who followed Zhang Zhengdong here, the rest have all been recruited by the court to Luoyang as Tiger Guards! However, the cavalrymen like me who were useful in Xiaoyaojin have been left here in Hefei."

Of course, Sun Tong also had his own ideas. As a brave cavalryman who followed Zhang Liao and "sacrificed himself to the edge of the blade", vision and courage were indispensable.

Pingdong General Cao Zhao was a kind-hearted man, known for his good temper and kindness in the army. In addition, he was from a wealthy family and had the legacy of Cao Xiu, so he was very popular in the army. If Cao Zhao was not such a person, Sun Tong would not dare to take the risk at this time. The trajectory of fate is unpredictable, and he made the right bet.

For Cao Rui, it was just a story. He nodded and ordered Cao Zhao and Sun Tong to continue leading the way to the north of Xiaoyaojin, which was the place where Sun Quan was almost unable to cross the river and return, and all Ling Tong's troops were wiped out.

After visiting Xiaoyaojin, Cao Rui listened to many stories told by the people involved. With the people involved present, today’s travel experience was maximized.

On the way back, Pei Qian asked carefully, "Your Majesty and Sima Suntong are on March holiday today, and all the troops in Yangzhou have not been allowed to take turns to rest recently. Should we take this opportunity to talk to the Privy Council and Chen Situ about this?"

"What?" Cao Rui glanced at Pei Qian and said, "I have my own affairs, and they have theirs. Since it does not affect the overall situation, I will not interfere in this matter."

Xu Shu sighed, "I and Minister Lu were with Your Majesty at the time and had also met Sun Shi. I never thought I would meet his son here."

Cao Rui waved the whip in his hand and said, "Sun Tong is a man of courage and insight, and he speaks eloquently. He is over 40 years old. If we find an opportunity, we can appoint him as a cavalry commander. There is not much difference in ability between leading a thousand cavalry and two thousand cavalry."

"Yes, I will make note of this." Xu Shu responded.

Cao Rui laughed and said, "I like this man today. Not to mention that he introduced so many things to me today, just from the name, his name is good. Sun Tong, Sun Ni is the one who will unify the Wei Dynasty. When we conquer Wu, we can use him to get some good luck."

Wang Su, who rarely smiled, smiled and said, "If we talk about rhetoric, I think the rhetoric of Shu is the most interesting."

"Oh? Lord Wang, please tell us about it." Cao Rui also became interested and turned to look at Wang Su.

Wang Su smiled and said, "The Shu Kingdom has two great generals, one is Wei Yan and the other is Wu Yi. Whether it is Wei Yan or Wu Xiangyi, how can it be considered a good thing for the Shu Kingdom?"

Everyone laughed. (End of this chapter)