Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Seeing that everyone was silent for a moment, Cao Rui looked around, coughed lightly, and said slowly:

"There are many things to talk about, but I want to make it clear to you in advance that no matter how many reasons there are, the decision to attack Wu cannot be shaken. The four seas are united, and the golden bowl is intact. This is the manifest destiny of the Wei Dynasty, and it is also the mission of me, the emperor, and you, the ministers. When it is time to attack, then attack. Only by facing the difficulties head-on can we be as strong as the wind and the grass."

"Do you have anything to say?"

Seeing that the ministers were hesitant and wanted to speak but didn't want to be the first to speak, Cao Rui chuckled and his expression became much more relaxed: "It is impossible that there are no problems. When we need to talk, we should talk. When we need to ask, we should ask. Only in this way can the emperor and his ministers avoid suspicion of each other."

"I know that you will have some confusions when I give you the numbers of 400,000 and 250,000 troops. I have a whole day to explain everything to you."

"Let's start from the cabinet! Didn't the general have something to ask me just now? Now you can tell me." Cao Rui pointed at Cao Zhen.

Cao Zhen cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has just ordered Minister Pei to make a general statement, and I agree with it all. The attack on Wu is imperative and cannot be delayed. The Wei army is now strong, so we must complete the victory in one battle and not leave any trouble for the future."

"Two hundred and fifty thousand troops are necessary. Even though Wei has strong soldiers, offense and defense are different. Moreover, the border of Wu State stretches over a thousand miles, so quantity is equally important. However, I have doubts about the specific number of troops in these six routes..."

Cao Zhen asked this question for more than half an hour.

As the general of Wei and the minister of the Western Pavilion who was in charge of the military affairs of the world, Cao Zhen was well aware of the military arrangements of Wei from top to bottom. With a serious attitude, he discussed each of the six armies.

Starting with the troops from Guanxi, whether they were from Qishan or Hanzhong, they were confirmed one by one. How the troops from each place would be deployed and when they would be in place were all discussed, and Cao Rui also asked Zhong Yu, the Minister of the Imperial Guard, who was waiting in the corner of the study, to record everything.

However, Cao Zhen and the emperor were quite familiar with military deployment, and they could communicate directly without looking at maps and deployment lists. But except for a few ministers such as Sima Yi, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye, Wang Guan, and Wang Ji, the rest of the ministers did not have this ability. For this reason, Cao Rui had to let Liu Ye explain his conversation with Cao Zhen, just like giving a lesson.

After Cao Zhen asked, Cao Rui just picked up the water to moisten his throat, and Dong Zhao opened his mouth and asked: "Your Majesty, I have something to ask."

"Hmm." Cao Rui responded with a chuckle and drank half a glass of water: "Mr. Dong, tell me."

Dong Zhao asked, "I wonder if Your Majesty has already granted Xiahou Ru and Huan Fan the position of military commanders? After all, Your Majesty visited Jiangxia and Wancheng during his tour this year, so I am asking."

Cao Rui shook his head: "I only promised Man Chong the position of commanding 60,000 troops in Xiangfan. He is the General of the Southern Expedition and the Governor of Jingzhou. He also has many years of experience in the Central and Western Cabinet. No one is more suitable than Man Chong for the Xiangfan route."

Dong Zhao nodded and said, "That's good. Your Majesty, this is a serious matter. I think Xiahou Ru and Huan Fan have their own talents, but Xiahou Ru is a prudent warrior, while Huan Fan is a civil and military man. They are both talented generals, but if they are to be the commanders of a group, I think we need to investigate them a little bit."

Dong Zhao's words were implicit.

Xiahou Ru's "seeking stability" means that he is conservative in his use of troops and is afraid that they will be incapable of attacking. Huan Fan is both civil and military, which means that he does not have much experience in using troops and may not be able to take on the task.

Cao Rui nodded and said, "I understand what Lord Dong said. Attacking Wu is a national event. I will not let Xiahou Ru and Huan Fan off just because they are close to me."

Dong Zhao was mature and prudent. Unlike other ministers, he had accumulated enough favors and face for his children and grandchildren. He himself had also been promoted to the position of cabinet minister and Grand Marshal, the head of the Three Dukes. He was old enough and had nothing else to ask for in his life. Therefore, he was more detached in doing things and followed his heart.

He was just worried that the emperor would get too carried away and allow his close ministers to serve as generals, which would lead to more trouble.

Dong Zhao paused and asked again: "I wonder why Your Majesty wants to recruit so many Hu people and Dongyi? I roughly calculated that the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuhuan, Baekje, Goguryeo and Buyeo people together number about 20,000. Those Hu people do not obey the king, and their fighting ability is questionable. I don't know Your Majesty's intention..."

Cao Rui pointed at Xu Shu and said, "Xu Qing, please explain it for me. I will take a break."

"Yes." Xu Shu agreed, and then bowed and nodded to Dong Zhao: "Let Lord Dong know that your majesty's idea this time is to recruit 15,000 light cavalry from the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu. On the one hand, we can use their combat power, and on the other hand, we can extract their elite troops to prevent those Hu people from causing trouble in the north when the main army is in the south, which will be difficult to control for a while."

"As for Buyeo, Goguryeo, and Baekje in Yingzhou, since these three vassal states have submitted to the Wei Dynasty, the Wei Dynasty should follow them when it sends troops. We should recruit them to Huainan as early as possible next year and train them for half a year before they can be used. They..."

After Dong Zhao came Chen Jiao.

Chen Jiao asked directly: "Your Majesty, I am in the Shangshutai, so I would like to ask about the logistics. Since the imperial court is already stationed in Shouchun and has no plans to return to Luoyang in the short term, should the logistics be managed by the Dongge and the Shangshutai?"

Cao Rui already had a good idea of ​​the matter, so he did not hesitate when answering.

"Of course, I am staying with you in Shouchun for the purpose of conquering Wu. If it is not handled by the East Pavilion and the Shangshutai, then I will handle it myself?" After hearing the emperor's words, Sima Yi, who was sitting next to Chen Jiao, felt relieved. If it is handled by the East Pavilion, then it is not handled by me? Thinking of the oath of Luoshui and the ten-year agreement...

"But." The emperor blurted out two words, pulling Sima Yi back to his senses: "Shouchun is in Yangzhou. He can take charge of the war, but it is still too difficult to handle all the logistics."

"Yang Qing." Cao Rui raised his hand and pointed at Yang Fu.

"I'm here." Yang Fu stood up and bowed in response.

Cao Rui said: "Shouchun is very far from Hebei. I will divide the logistics of this war into three areas. Yang Qing will be given the title of Privy Supervisor and stationed in Chenliu to lead the logistics of Hebei, Yanzhou, Sili, and Qingzhou for me, just like Wei Zhen and Xin Pi in the old days."

Taking Wei Zhen and Xin Pi as examples, everyone understood instantly. It was nothing more than letting Yang Fu stay in Chenliu to take charge of the dispatch of military rations and military supplies north of Chenliu, and then Yang Fu would command the shipment to the south. That was it.

The emperor had been on tour for several months and had just returned to Shouchun. Today was full of explosive news. No wonder he had to call all the ministers and Yang Fu here just now. This was to let them recognize each other and grant authorization in public to show his authority.

"I obey your order and will not let you down!" Yang Fu bowed, the angle of his bend exceeding a right angle.

Cao Rui nodded and continued, "Yang Qing will be in charge of the dispatch to the north of Yanzhou, and the dispatch to the south will be divided into two areas. Starting from Xuchang in Yuzhou, the west of Xuchang will be under the jurisdiction of Jingxiang, and the east of Xuchang will be directly under the jurisdiction of the Shouchun Shangshutai."

Chen Jiao seemed to understand something, and then asked, "Your Majesty, what about Jingxiang?"

"Let Xin Pi go." Cao Rui said calmly, "Isn't he still in Guanxi? Let him go directly to Fancheng to find Man Chong. The Minister of the Court, please make a note to let Xin Pi continue to be Shangshu Zuo Pushe, Jiajie, and Fu Wei General, and stay in Fancheng north of the Han River to assist Man Chong in handling all logistical affairs, and also manage the logistics along the way to Jiangxia."

"The rest will naturally be directly managed by the Shangshutai." Cao Rui said calmly: "Although it is only half of Yuzhou and Xuzhou and Yangzhou, it is a war zone after all. In terms of complexity, the affairs here will be several times more complicated than elsewhere."

Chen Jiao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

For Sima Yi, Xin Pi was directly appointed by the emperor to go to Jingzhou to help Man Chong and Xiahou Ru, which undoubtedly meant losing a strong competitor in the Shangshu Tai.

If Chen Jiao hadn't asked in advance, Sima Yi would have wanted to ask this himself. Although it is now collectively called the Cabinet, there is a difference between the West Cabinet and the East Cabinet. The West Cabinet can comment on military affairs, while the East Cabinet will naturally be concerned with political affairs and logistics.

After Chen Jiao finished asking, it was Sima Yi's turn. Sima Yi bowed and asked, "Your Majesty has mentioned this to me in the cabinet before, so I would like to ask one more question today: Should we reduce taxes for these 250,000 soldiers after the war?"

Cao Rui smiled and said, "Sikong has thought it through. All soldiers going to war will be exempt from tax for one year, and then have their tax reduced by 10% within five years. Of course, this is just a rough plan. Sikong will lead the Secretariat to come up with a plan on how to do it specifically."

Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "I accept your command."

Sima Yi finally chose to ask such a trivial question which was not very valuable.

Sima Yi did not have other questions to ask, of course he did, and there were many. For example, the emperor and several ministers jointly proposed this strategy, where should the cabinet be placed? This strategy was actually initiated by the emperor, who asked Jiang Ji to make the first draft, the minister to check for deficiencies and omissions, and discussed it with Man Chong. Now, during the discussion, the cabinet's names were mentioned one by one. Shouldn't he have asked this question earlier? ? ?
Of course, Sima Yi guessed that Dong Zhao and Cao Zhen should also have such questions in their minds. But such questions could not be asked out loud. Asking them out loud would be considered as having ulterior motives and contempt for the imperial power. No one was willing to touch such bad luck.

To describe it in more detail, there has always been a sense of distance between the emperor and his cabinet ministers in the past two years.

Moreover, taking the emperor's actions this time as an example, he was too arbitrary. You are wise and powerful, but also arbitrary. The ministers judged the emperor from only a few perspectives.

Seeing that Yang Fu had started discussing some trivial matters of grain supervision with the emperor again, Sima Yi shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

There was a banquet for lunch, and another banquet for dinner. The meeting lasted until late at night, and then everyone left one by one.

Everyone left one after another, but Chen Jiao stayed behind, saying that he had something to report to the emperor.

Sima Yi walked halfway in the courtyard and looked back at Chen Jiao closing the study door, as if thinking about something.

(End of this chapter)