The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 399: Strolling Around

"Victory news from Huainan!! Victory news from Huainan!!"

When Jiao Bo came to Taiji Hall again, his face was full of smiles.

Since Your Majesty took power, the generals of the Wei Dynasty have become more and more capable in fighting.

Deng Ai defeated Jiang Wei in Yongliang, and now Guanqiu Jian has defeated Sun Jun in Huainan.

Cao Mao, who was in the West Hall, quickly put down the book in his hand and looked up at the door.

"His Majesty!!"

Jiao Bo hurriedly paid his respects to Cao Mao, and then respectfully handed the document to Cao Mao.

"Your Majesty, the General of Chariots and Cavalry has sent a report of victory. Jiang Ban, the vanguard under the General of Guarding the East, has killed the Left General Liu Zan of the Wu Kingdom, the Miscellaneous Generals Sun Leng, Jiang Xiu, and others."

"Liu Zan?"

Cao Mao was stunned for a moment, and Jiao Bo smiled and said, "Yes, I also heard that the General of Chariots and Cavalry has led the main force to hunt down Sun Jun, killing him and making him flee in panic, leaving his armor and helmet behind."

"In a few days, there will surely be even greater news of victory!"

"Since Your Majesty took power, the Great Wei has been victorious in every battle, all thanks to Your Majesty's merits!"

The excitement outside Jiao Berg.

Cao Mao also laughed with his head raised at this moment.

If I remember correctly, in history, Sun Jun's attack this time was to subdue Wen Qin and his son. Although he lost Liu Zan, he gained a lot of captives and civilians, so he could explain it away.

But this time it was different. Sun Jun did not gain anything from this expedition, and Liu Zan was killed in battle.

Sun Jun himself lacked prestige and needed to use cruel criminal laws and marriage alliances to maintain his position. After all this, I am afraid that the major families within the Wu Kingdom would have a great opinion of him.

And this is definitely a good thing for me.

There is no need to say much about the external influence, let's just look at the domestic influence. After he came to power, he first defeated the Shu Kingdom, then put down the rebellion, and then killed the generals and ministers of Wu. I'm afraid they didn't dare to have any other ideas for a long time.

When Jiao Bo saw a hint of joy on the emperor's face, he put the memorial in his hand aside.

"Okay, spread the good news to all places as soon as possible!"

"Call Minister Chen, General Zhuge, General Xiahou, and others to the West Hall!"

Jiao Bo quickly accepted the order.

Soon, these big men appeared in front of Cao Mao.

Now, Zhuge Dan is in charge of military affairs as the Grand Marshal, and he is responsible for solving issues such as the treatment of the entire army. Chen Qian is responsible for the planning, supervision, commendation, and rewards of specific wars as the Minister of War. As for Xiahou Xian, he is only the supreme commander of the central army.

When these three people appeared in front of Cao Mao, Cao Mao was very happy to let them read the battle report.

Zhuge Dan took a look and immediately chuckled.

This Jiang Ban is his subordinate.

Zhuge Dan disliked Wen Qin very much and had some prejudices against Wen Qin succeeding him. However, he was very happy to see that it was his old subordinate who had made such a great contribution.

He immediately said, "This Jiang Ban has followed me for many years. I never expected that he would achieve such a great feat today."

Cao Mao smiled and said, "This is all thanks to Zhuge Gong's teachings."

Zhuge Dan hurriedly refused and never said that it was his own credit, but he could not hide his pride. Chen Qian was unwilling to even look at him for a few more seconds.

Xiahou Xian just felt a little sorry.

"If we had known they were going to attack, we should have sent the central army. The central army is extremely powerful. If the central army had gone, we might have achieved greater results."

People like Wen Yang and Ma Long are in the central army, which is stationed in Luoyang. Unless they encounter a situation like Jiang Wei that the local war zone cannot handle, the central army will not be dispatched.

Cao Mao also agreed.

Although Cao Wei had an advantage over both Shu and Wu, this was only in defense.

Both Shu and Wu had geographical advantages. When they went out to fight, Cao Wei could easily defeat them. However, if Cao Wei wanted to attack them, the situation would be different.

There is no need to elaborate on how steep the checkpoints of Shu are and how difficult the roads are to travel. If one wants to attack Shu, one will probably need a central army plus a local war zone, and food supplies from several states. If it is delayed, even the Wei Dynasty will not be able to bear it.

The Wu army was typically weak in offense but strong in defense. Now that their capable generals have not all died, it would be difficult to launch a strong attack, and forming a navy would also be a very troublesome task.

The current Wei Dynasty has a great advantage over them, but it is not yet an overwhelming advantage.

However, Cao Mao was not in a hurry because the Shu and Wu countries would become worse and worse.

People today think that the Shu and Wu are bad because they have not seen the future Shu and Wu. Of course, the Wei is not much worse, but Cao Mao has already stepped on the brakes in time.

In the future, Cao Wei's advantage over these two countries will become greater and greater. When it has a decisive advantage, it will be the time for great unification.

Cao Mao summoned the three people this time to discuss the strategic deployment for the two countries.

"Previously, a wise man submitted a memorial, suggesting the creation of a fictitious post of General to Conquer Shu. Gentlemen, who do you think would be qualified for such a position?"

Xiahou Xian said, "Zhang Yi can."

Cao Mao smiled and replied, "Lord Xiahou, although Zhang Yi is currently well-behaved, if he knew about this, he would probably seek death. I think we can appoint someone else to take the position." Chen Qian hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, if the position is to be assumed without attack, we might consider appointing Lord Zhuge, the Governor of Yongzhou."

"Lord Zhuge and General Deng are ahead. If the Shu Kingdom learns of this, they will surely be terrified and will not dare to underestimate us."

The newly appointed governor of Youzhou was Zhuge Xu, a relative of Zhuge Dan and also Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Xu was not a very talented person. He was mediocre in both domestic affairs and military affairs, but fortunately he did not commit any evil deeds, had good morals, was easy to talk to, and had a cautious personality.

If we let him go to Yongzhou, we can't expect him to be able to govern Yongzhou well. To be honest, it is not practical to govern Yongliang well before we can solve the problem of Shu Kingdom, because the enemy is always causing trouble.

Cao Mao asked him to go over, on the one hand to keep an eye on Deng Ai to prevent Deng Ai from suddenly having any ideas and starting to act directly, and on the other hand to help Deng Ai stabilize the situation in Yongzhou. This man came from a prominent family and had a good reputation, so he could get along well with local officials.

Chen Qian proposed him not to flatter Zhuge Dan, nor did he want Zhuge Xu to do anything. It was simply because he was in Yongzhou, and his position as a governor leading the generals would put more pressure on Shu, making it feel that Cao Wei was about to attack at any time.

Zhong Hui and Cao Mao proposed the fictitious post of General to Conquer Shu, essentially waging an economic war against Shu. Cao Wei could organize manpower for repeated "armed parades," claiming to be forcing a violent attack on Shu. What could Shu do? It repeatedly strengthened its defenses, preparing to resist.

This is to drain your economy, making you afraid to do other things and forcing you to focus on the front line.

Isn’t this another tactic to keep the old man alive?
Zhuge Dan said, "No, Zhuge Xu has no talent and is not worthy of being a general!"

Xiahou Xian thought for a moment and said, "There are many precedents of generals taking provincial posts. This was all done to defend against foreign enemies. I think it's okay."

Cao Mao did not hesitate any longer and immediately decided to appoint Zhuge Xu as the general to conquer Shu.

They discussed the next strategy. In the short term, Cao Mao had no intention of launching military action against the two countries.

Chen Qian believed that when dealing with the State of Shu, they should be put under pressure so that they could not be idle, while when dealing with the State of Wu, they should be relaxed so that they could have some free time.

The internal power struggle in Wu was still very serious. Wei fought desperately to kill one of their generals, while they could take away several in one internal fight.

In terms of efficiency, their own people are better at killing.

The Shu Kingdom was different. Different voices would only emerge when facing military pressure. There were no major conflicts at other times. After all, there was Chen Qi, who was good at getting along with everyone.

After a long discussion, everyone finally came up with a strategic plan that was both urgent and slow.

The army naturally could not sit idle. Xiahou Xian believed that the central army should be divided into several battalions to cooperate with the Yongliang army and carry out several operations against the Qiang and Hu people in Yongliang.

Every time Jiang Wei went on an expedition, these Qiang and Hu people would always try to stir up trouble behind the scenes and force the central army to go. On the one hand, this was to prevent them from being used by Jiang Wei, and on the other hand, it was to calm the situation in Yongliang and allow the central army to maintain its combat effectiveness.

Cao Mao once again agreed to Xiahou Xian's deployment.

Chen Qian also had a new proposal, that the Wei Dynasty could start training its navy.

This allows Wang Ji, Wen Qin, Guanqiu Jian, Hu Zun and others to start building warships and training the navy in advance, and prepare for conquering the State of Wu.

In this way, the basic strategy of the Wei Dynasty was determined.

Cao Mao escorted the three bosses all the way to the gate of the West Hall. After they left, Cao Mao breathed a sigh of relief and felt a lot more relaxed.

"Cheng Jun!"

Cheng Ji, who was the captain of the palace at the time, hurriedly appeared in front of Cao Mao.

"Prepare the car, I want to go out."

Cheng Ji hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, where are you going? The Secretariat or the Censorate?"

"To the street."

"Just wandering around."

"Ok??"

Cheng Ji was a little surprised, but he saw that Cao Mao's expression did not seem to be joking. In Cheng Ji's impression, the emperor's daily schedule was full and he had almost no time to spare.

Want to go for a walk on the street today?
Cao Mao smiled and said, "There's no need to clear the road. Just send people to defend the area."

"I've been in Luoyang for so long, but I've never been around here. I want to see what Luoyang is like."

Cao Mao suddenly felt a little emotional.

Cheng Ji quickly agreed and went to prepare.

Soon, Cao Mao got on a small carriage and left through the side door.

This time, the soldiers did not drive away the people along the way. When they walked out of the inner city, the prosperous and bustling Luoyang appeared before Cao Mao.

Luoyang is much more lively than Yuancheng, with people coming and going, and people from all walks of life can be seen here.

Cao Mao simply got off the carriage and walked on the streets of Luoyang. The most common people in Luoyang were the children of wealthy families and young scholars.

These people were wearing all kinds of strange clothes, and the colorful appearance really opened Cao Mao's eyes.

Cao Mao, who was unconventional and unique, was stopped by them many times while walking.

Seeing this strange handsome young man, many scholars said enthusiastically: You can come to my house for a drink.

Cheng Ji almost drew his sword, but was stopped by Cao Mao with his eyes. Cao Mao just chuckled and refused, wandering off again.

(End of this chapter)