Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"I'd like to step forward and point it out to Your Majesty on the map." When Lu Xun saw Cao Rui nod, he stepped forward and pointed to the place of Wujie with his hand.

Lu Xun turned his head and glanced at Cao Rui. "Your Majesty, Wujie City is a new city built by the Wei Dynasty in Guanxi two years ago. The city walls are high, the grain is well stored, and the soldiers in the city are not lacking in military supplies. Even if Zhuge Liang leads a large army to besiege the city and Cao Ping only has more than 3,000 people left in Wujie, I still think Cao Ping can hold out for more than two months."

"If Cao Ping stayed in Wujie and did not move, Zhuge Liang would have to divide his troops. Obviously, the only two directions for the troops to be divided were Dazhong and Xiabian. The Wei cavalry engaged the Shu army on October 20th, and the stalemate lasted until the 20th, which lasted for nearly a month. With the military strength of the Wei cavalry, even if the Shu army had fewer soldiers than the Wei army, they would not have lost much. Moreover, Wang Zhenxi (Wang Chang) arrived with his army, and the Wei cavalry had 25,000 soldiers, which was enough to resist the army that Zhuge Liang had divided."

"How to resist?" Dong Zhao took the initiative to ask, acting as the emperor's substitute.

Lu Xun said: "The road is rugged, it is difficult to deploy troops, it is easier to hold off."

Dong Zhao nodded.

"Don't talk about this. Tell me something I don't know." Cao Rui suppressed his annoyance and continued to ask.

Of course there is reason to be upset.

Cao Rui himself had been in Shouchun for a year. He had come to Shouchun in December last winter, and it was almost the New Year. The central army was stationed in Huainan, adapting to the local climate and temperature, and doing various exercises such as crossing the river, taking a boat, and attacking the city to prepare for the conquest of Wu.

If they rushed to dispatch troops to Guanxi, it would be too late anyway. In other words, the central government could not do anything and could only provide some technical guidance that was better than nothing across a distance of 20 days.

How to actually do it depends on the performance of Wei Zhen and Wang Chang.

Lu Xun coughed lightly and continued, "Your Majesty, I am very familiar with Zhou Duo. Based on my understanding of him, if Zhuge Liang marches from Wujie to Dazhong, he will definitely retreat to the north. And Zhuge Liang will definitely divide his troops."

"Zhou Duo is qualified to be the Protector of the Qiang. I think he has two strengths."

"First, although Zhou Duo is not good at military strategy, he is familiar with the temperament of Qiang soldiers and Qiang generals, and he is a special person for a special purpose. The 8,000 Qiang cavalry in Dazhong can harass and pursue the victory, but they can't fight hard with the Shu army. Zhou Duo has to retreat."

Cao Rui nodded, agreeing with him. Using Qiang people to maintain a military presence in a remote place like Dazhong was a good choice, but one had to accept the weaknesses of this choice.

Lu Xun continued, "Secondly, the farmland in Dazhong is not fertile, and the output cannot fully support the local garrison. The Shu army cannot enrich itself even if it gains it. If it wants to gain something, it must pass through Dazhong and continue north to Lintao."

Cao Rui nodded slightly: "The good thing about Dazhong is that it is located in a remote place. If the Shu army attacks Dazhong, where will Zhou Duo retreat to?"

"If Zhuge Liang and the guards confronted each other in the area of ​​the Han River in the west of Wudu County, I think Zhou Duo would not retreat to Lintao, but would stop in the area of ​​Niutou Mountain between Lintao and Dazhong. The mountain roads there are steep and difficult to support. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the Shu army to support them from both directions."

Liu Ye said, "Your Majesty, if what General Lu said is true, the situation twenty days ago should be like this: Wujie is still holding on, Wei Cheqi and Wang Zhenxi are confronting the Shu army on the banks of the West Han River, and Captain Zhou is between Niutou Mountain and Dazhong."

"And for the Wei army, the biggest problem is how to advance to the vicinity of Wujie to prevent Wujie from being lost."

Cao Rui suddenly asked: "Is there any other way to Wu Street?"

"Not really." Liu Ye shook his head and replied, "That's why Wujie City is considered to be a strategic location."

If an ordinary emperor who knew nothing about military affairs heard this, he would only urge Wei and Wang to continue advancing towards Wujie, and try to lift the siege of Wujie as soon as possible.

But Cao Rui was different, he understood military affairs.

Wujie is not Longxi, but Longnan. Its terrain is an enhanced version of Longxi, with many rugged mountains, few flat lands, and few roads.

Now, Wei Zhen was obviously in a very awkward situation. To attack Wujie was to take the initiative to attack Zhuge Liang. From Cao Rui's perspective, the chances of winning were not great. If one believed that Wei Zhen could defeat Zhuge Liang in the rugged mountainous area, then one was indeed overestimating him.

But if Wei Zhen didn't attack Wujie, then as time went on, Wujie City would be at risk of being completely destroyed.

Moreover, during the war in the fourth year of Taihe, the military reports at that time were sent back to the court in detail. Under the objective summary of the Privy Council, Cao Rui and the Central Committee of Wei also had an objective understanding of the combat effectiveness of Zhuge Liang's troops.

That is, compared with the second year of Taihe, the Shu army's combat power has increased significantly, and it can be on par with the Wei army in Guanxi. Now compared with the fourth year of Taihe, Cao Zhen, Zhang He, Lu Xun and others are not there, and it is still unknown how they can fight. At this moment, Cao Rui had some guesses in his mind that the Shu army's combat power in mountain warfare may still be on par with the Wei army, or even slightly stronger.

"I have some ideas, please listen to them for me." Cao Rui coughed lightly.

"Your Majesty, please speak." Dong Zhao responded first.

Cao Rui said: "I think that the current plan is to let Guo Huai lead his troops to attack Yang'an Pass in order to harass the Shu army's flank. I also know that the narrow place of the West Han River is enough for Wei Zhen and Wang Chang's 25,000 men. Any more will be useless."

"Wei Zhen may not have such courage. It is useless for him to transfer Guo Huai to another place. Wei Zhen is a reliable person. Such orders can only come from the central government." Cao Rui looked around and said, "Let Wei Zhen take steady steps and don't be rash. Let Guo Huai invade Yang'an Pass on the flank. Let Chen Ping lead his men to Lintao and support Dazhong from the north. Three routes will be launched in parallel. What do you think?"

The ministers could not say that if Wei Zhen attacked, he might not be able to defeat Zhuge Liang. It was great that the emperor knew the inside story. Moreover, according to the military strength, it was enough.

Dong Zhao sighed softly, "Your Majesty, I am afraid that Wujie will be in trouble."

Cao Rui said calmly: "Wujie originally had only 5,000 weak soldiers to defend the city. If they can't hold the city, it will be Cao Ping's fault for going out of the city without permission. It has nothing to do with others. Is what I said enough?"

"Your Majesty is wise." Dong Zhao bowed and said, "If you want to send a message to Guo Huai, you should go through Shouchun, Fancheng, and Hanzhong. After Guo Huai receives the order, he can lead the troops to the battle according to the situation."

"Let's do it." Cao Rui nodded.

Several ministers started discussing in low voices again. Cao Rui sat in the main seat, rubbing his temples and thinking silently.

This feeling of being out of control was what Cao Rui had always tried to avoid. But manpower always has its limits. Cao Rui could lead many expeditions in person, but he could not lead them all. He always had to give his generals the opportunity to grow and gain experience, even though this opportunity might come at a painful price.

Before Lu Xun attacked Yiling, who would have believed that he would beat Liu Bei into that state?

Wei Zhen and Wang Chang...Cao Rui thought silently.

At this time, Pei Qian came in from the palace and whispered something to Cao Rui. He was talking about the arrival of Concubine Mao. Jiang Wei would only send the news to the palace and would not guess in advance that the emperor was in the Privy Council.

Cao Rui nodded: "Where is the carriage?"

Pei Qian said: "The noble concubine asked not to disturb His Majesty. The carriage should have entered the city by now."

Cao Rui turned his head at this time and looked at the ministers who were discussing and checking the details of the battle in front of the screen map, and said loudly: "My lords, Concubine Mao and Prince Ye have arrived in Shouchun. I asked Bo Yue to bring them back. I haven't seen them for a year, so let them come directly to the Privy Council. You can also meet Prince Ye."

"I heard that King Ye was born smart. As King Ye's tutor, I will finally get to meet my half-master." Dong Zhao said with a smile.

Cao Zhen also said, "Your Majesty, may I ask all the officials of the Privy Council to come to the audience?"

"No need for this, just meet directly." Cao Rui waved at Pei Qian, and Pei Qian immediately took the order and left.

"You guys come with me." Cao Rui said lightly, then stood up first and walked out. (End of this chapter)