Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Your Majesty, please give your instructions!" Xu Xiang bowed.

Cao Rui said slowly: "If I were to say it, I would certainly like to make Sun Quan give up his imperial title, change the fake emperor to King of Wu, and follow the legitimate Wei dynasty and use the Taihe era name. But I also know what kind of person Sun Quan is. You are just an envoy, so I won't make it difficult for you."

"Wu was once a vassal of Wei. Although Sun Quan surrendered and rebelled again, Wei was always tolerant of him." Cao Rui looked at Xu Xiang and said, "I can change the system. I will not pursue Sun Quan's pseudo-emperor title for the time being, but Sun Quan must be my vassal. Wei and Wu are monarch-minister states, and Wu is a vassal of Wei. If Sun Quan can respond, I will not bother with him for the time being."

Xu Xiang sighed and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I have made note of it and will report it to you when I return."

Xu Xiang would never dare to bring back such conditions publicly, and could only return to Jianye Palace to discuss it with Sun Quan in private. The internal situation of Wu was now moving in an increasingly extreme direction. In the past, there were still some prudent and old ministers who could say a few objective words about war and peace, but now no one dared to do so.

Gu Yong was confined in his home in Wu County. Zhang Zhao, who was already old and sick, was so angry with Sun Quan that he fell ill. As an almost eighty-year-old man, it was unclear whether he could survive the winter.

The court was dominated by the pro-war faction, represented by Quan Cong, Hu Zong, Sun Huan, Sun Shao, Zhu Ran and others, who said they were ready to re-enact the Battle of Red Cliff at any time.

The only byproduct of the internal purge was this general display of loyalty. Fortunately, Sun Quan had not completely lost his mind and still sent Xu Xiang to the Wei Kingdom to gather intelligence and find out what the Wei Kingdom meant by gathering troops in Huainan.

Xu Xiang had been in Wei for less than ten days, and he already knew what Wei was thinking. Sun Quan could not become a vassal, otherwise he would not be able to explain to his ministers. Today, the emperor and ministers of Wei seemed to be teasing him, and their words were very frivolous.

Cao Rui looked at Xu Xiang, who was full of worry, and said slowly: "I have been dealing with Sun Quan for a long time. Xu Qing told him for me that if he doesn't respond, I am willing to lead the army across the Hengjiang River, visit Gusu with Sun Quan, and hunt in Changzhou Garden. I heard that Sun Quan can shoot tigers, and I can shoot hawks. Let's see if he can compete with me!"

Xu Xiang's face turned pale, because he had heard this sentence more than ten years ago.

It was the spring of the 22nd year of Jian'an. Xu Xian was ordered by Sun Quan to cross the river to persuade Cao Cao to withdraw his troops. Cao Cao said the same thing to Xu Xian at that time.

At that time, Sun Quan could still write to Cao Cao, "Spring water is just beginning to flow, you should leave quickly. I will not be at peace until you die," but these words had already been sent back by Cao Rui in the first year of Taihe.

Today, the State of Wu can only barely retain Ruxuwu in the north of the Yangtze River, as well as some riverside ferry crossings and remote areas in Huainan and Guangling. It no longer has the momentum it once had to lead its troops straight to Hefei.

Xu Xiang responded to Cao Cao in the past by comparing the crossing of the river to the fall of King Fuchai of Wu and the Qin Dynasty, and evading Sun Quan. Can he still fool around like this today?
Xu Xiang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, great powers have great powers' friendship, and small countries follow small countries' etiquette. I will report today's events to the Lord after I return to Jianye."

"Okay." Cao Rui smiled and said, "Show him away!"

After saying that, Cao Rui stood up without even a second's hesitation and walked towards the small door on the side.

Pei Qian went forward and said, "Minister Xu, please come this way."

"Minister Pei, the gift list has not yet been presented to His Majesty..." Xu Xiang was a little confused.

Pei Qian smiled, put his arm around Xu Xiang's shoulders, and half pushed and half embraced him to walk out. After they reached the door, he let go of his hand and led Xu Xiang to walk slowly out of the palace.

After Cao Rui left the study, he did not go anywhere else, but left the palace from another place and went straight to the Privy Council, where he came to the duty room where Dong Zhao and Liu Ye were.

"Mr. Dong, Mr. Liu." Cao Rui took Dong Zhao's seat, looked at the two people standing in front of him, and said slowly: "Sun Quan sent Xu Xiang to see me. I have met him in the palace just now. Do you remember Xu Xiang?" "I met him in the past. He is a decent person." Liu Ye responded.

Cao Rui nodded: "Sun Quan sent him to test my intentions. Today, I and the ministers have been trying to intimidate Sun Quan. I believe Sun Quan will be more urgent in military matters. I guess Sun Quan will inevitably draw troops from Jingzhou or other places to Yangzhou."

Dong Zhao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, they don't know that Wei is about to attack. For Sun Quan, it is better to be quiet than to move. Doing more things will only lead to disaster. When Lu Ya came to Wei, he reported that Sun Quan had dismissed the troops of the generals of Wu in Yangzhou. If he withdraws troops from Jingzhou, the situation in Wu will become more urgent."

Cao Rui looked at Dong Zhao thoughtfully and said, "Should I help Sun Quan?"

Dong Zhao smiled and nodded: "I think it's okay."

Liu Ye was also someone who could understand the king's intentions. After thinking for a few moments, he slowly said, "It is winter now, which is a good time to march to Jingzhou. Your Majesty, why don't you send cavalry to Jingzhou to feint an attack on Jiangling?"

"How many cavalry?" Cao Rui looked at Liu Ye.

Liu Ye thought for a moment and said, "According to what your majesty said to Man Zhengnan before, you want to use 5,000 elite cavalry from the Left Yulin Army and 5,000 Xiongnu cavalry. Now there are 10,000 Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei light cavalry near Xuchang, and 5,000 Liaodong cavalry. Counting the 5,000 cavalry of the Left Yulin General Wen Qin, there will be 20,000 cavalry. It's just right for training."

"The 20,000 cavalry will feint to attack Jiangling and Xiling. In addition, there is less water in winter, so the cavalry can move between Xiangyang and Jiangling like the wind without restriction. The Wu army is all infantry and cannot stop them. There will be no mistakes."

Cao Rui thought for a moment and said with a smile, "In this case, I know who to use. Liu Qing, I want to appoint Lieutenant General Jiang Wei as the Colonel of Cavalry, and let Jiang Wei and Cao Shuang each command 5,000 Hu cavalry."

"So, let General Wen Qin of the Left Imperial Guards command 20,000 cavalrymen, and Generals Jiang Wei, Cao Shuang, and Bei Yan each command 5,000 cavalrymen. How do you think this arrangement would be?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Dong Zhao and Liu Ye bowed at the same time.

Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "Liu Qing, call these four people to me, I want to see them!"

……

Guanxi, on the banks of the West Han River.

The wind starts from the tip of the green reed. When a war is about to start, there will be a call for it, which is often preceded by more intense scout operations and reconnaissance of various situations.

Zuo Zhuan explains it very clearly: War is about courage.

The terrain of Longnan determines that it is impossible to come up with any long-distance detours, cut off food supply routes, feign surrender or sow espionage tactics. All the places where strategies are needed can only revolve around the combat itself.

Wang Chang's strategy was also very simple. He stationed troops on high ground along the mountain, pretended to be defeated to lure the enemy, hoping that the enemy would forcefully attack the camp, and then he would win in a counterattack.

In other words, both Wei and Shu were equally eager to fight, and such a standoff in the valley of Longnan in winter was indeed a bit too much. (End of this chapter)