The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 455 I Entrust You with Important Matters
"Please sit down, gentlemen."

Many generals sat around Chen Qi.

After Zhang Yi was captured, the court was in turmoil, morale was low, and various nursery rhymes appeared in various places.

In order to curb this situation, Liu Chan followed Chen Qi's proposal and rewarded many generals.

Jiang Wei was promoted from General of the Guard to General, Zong Yu was promoted to General of the Western Expedition, the young general Liao Hua was promoted to General of the Right Cavalry, Hu Ji was promoted to General of the Imperial Cavalry, Yan Yu was promoted to General of the Right, and Zhuge Zhan was promoted to General of the Army.

The rest of the generals also received rewards.

This successfully appeased the soldiers at home, and the nursery rhymes disappeared from the streets without a trace.

Chen Qi looked at the generals around him and said slowly, "I summoned you all here for the great Northern Expedition."

Hearing this, the generals were shocked.

They immediately looked at Jiang Wei. They knew very well that this must be the general's idea.

Zong Yu and Liao Hua looked at each other and they had a good relationship.

They were not in a rush to express their opinions.

Chen Qi continued, "This is my idea."

"The reason we asked the general to come back this time is to discuss this matter."

"The Cao thieves are so aggressive, how can we allow them to act so recklessly?!"

"Moreover, Wang Ji is in the east and Deng Ai is in the north. If we fail to destroy their base and allow them to garrison in the local area, reorganize the army, prepare food, and appease the officials and people, it will lead to great disaster."

Chen Ji analyzed the current situation.

The generals are not unaware of the current situation, but this is not a problem of the situation, it is a problem of national strength!

Why did every expedition encounter a huge food problem? This is because the food consumption during the expedition was different from that during the garrison.

The people who eat the most food are not the soldiers, but the laborers who are responsible for transportation.

Cao Cao once said that when transporting food from the rear to the front line, 70% to 80% of the food was eaten by the laborers responsible for transportation.

The civilians who were responsible for transporting supplies also had mouths to feed, and the roads were difficult to travel, so every time they went on an expedition, the food problem would be exposed.
Can we let the civilians transport food and supplies with empty stomachs?

The generals all knew this, so they remained silent.

This time, Chen Qi was inexplicably strong, which was different from the past. He even sternly pointed out that someone had embezzled food for the expedition in the past, and when transporting food to Yong'an, the consumption exceeded the standard. This must be investigated strictly!
These words only heightened the tension.

As the emperor's most favored minister, Chen Ji's words still carry considerable weight, especially when the generals lower their heads to listen to him.

Zhuge Zhan, the newly promoted Shangshu Pushe and Military Advisor General, sat among the generals.

He was still very young, two years younger than Zhong Hui.

Of course, he is also one of the few young people in the world who can compare with Zhong Hui in terms of official rank.

Zhuge Zhan felt inexplicably heavy in his heart when he heard Chen Qi's words.

As the son of Zhuge Liang, he has always been highly expected by everyone, whether it is the emperor, the ministers, or the people.

But his memory of his father was not so clear.

Every day he faced pairs of eyes full of expectation, and everyone seemed to believe that he could inherit his father's legacy, stabilize the people, and help the world.

Zhuge Zhan didn't want to disappoint these people, but he really didn't know what to do.

When he heard that Chen Qi was going to send troops, he subconsciously wanted to object, but he didn't know how to start.

He must be cautious in doing things. If he does something wrong or says something wrong, how can he have the face to treat those who trust him?
Chen Qi said a lot, but strangely, he did not wait for the generals to reply. He let them leave and only left Zhuge Zhan.

The generals left the place with sad faces.

"Siyuan."

Chen Qi looked at Zhuge Zhan. At this moment, his solemnity and severity disappeared without a trace, and he was replaced by obvious affection.

"Come and sit down. I have something important to discuss with you."

Zhuge Zhan stood up, took a few steps, and sat next to Chen Qi.

Jiang Wei frowned and stared at him.

Chen Qi asked, "What do you think of what we discussed today?"

Zhuge Zhan hesitated for a moment and did not answer.

Jiang Wei said unhappily, "In governing, one can advance or retreat, but one must not hesitate. How can I not answer the Shangshu Ling's question?!"

Zhuge Zhan glanced at him and said, "A northern expedition is certainly appropriate, but I don't think now is the right time. The previous battle in Jingzhou has emptied the treasury, and I'm afraid we won't be able to fight."

"Besides, you just mentioned the issue of military rations. This will surely frighten the generals, which will be detrimental to the war."

Zhuge Zhan talked about his ideas, and Chen Qi was very satisfied. He smiled and nodded, "As expected of the son of Wu Hou!"

Zhuge Zhan pursed his lips and did not respond.

Jiang Wei's expression also looked better.

Zhuge Zhan was not without talent, but the talent he displayed never seemed to meet the expectations of those around him. Seeing that Chen Qi actually agreed with his idea.

Zhuge Zhan asked in confusion, "Since the Shangshu Ling knows all this, why does he still want to go on the expedition?"

Chen Qi glanced at Jiang Wei, and when he saw Jiang Wei nod, he said to Zhuge Zhan, "We are not planning to send troops."

"We have made a plan to prevent Cao Wei from developing peacefully."

Zhuge Zhan was somewhat surprised. He asked, "What kind of method is it?"

Chen Qi narrowed his eyes and asked, "Do you still remember how the Wei Kingdom made things so uneasy for the Han Dynasty?"

Zhuge Zhan was stunned for a moment, but could not answer.

Jiang Wei then spoke up, "They sent a general to pretend to surrender, and then assassinated Lord Fei at the banquet."

Even though Jiang Wei felt that Fei Yi had restrained him and prevented him from leading the army to war, he would have to admit that many of the internal problems of Shu were only exposed after Fei Yi's death.

When Fei Yi was still in power, the emperor of the Han Dynasty did not dare to indulge in pleasure, and the eunuchs did not dare to openly participate in government affairs.

Ministers would not dare to openly write about hatred against the country, and generals would not start worrying when they heard about war.

There were not so many rebellions among the people, and there was always a surplus of grain in the national treasury.

The emperor listened to his advice and all the ministers were convinced of him.

Jiang Wei didn't know what he remembered and sighed again.

At this moment, Zhuge Zhan reacted.

Is he planning to imitate Cao Cao and launch an assassination attack?

Zhuge Zhan frowned, "I'm afraid this matter is not easy to handle."

"That thief Guo was defeated and captured. If he had surrendered directly, he would have been distrusted by thief Cao and would have likely been executed. He would have had no chance."

Jiang Wei was the first to shake his head, "You're not right."

"I have been investigating Cao Mao's actions for some time now. He has a disregard for propriety and rules, and he has even pardoned General Zhang and even the generals from Wu who surrendered to him, regardless of any past grievances they had against him."

"I heard that Sun Xin of Wu went to Luoyang and spoke disrespectfully to Cao Mao, yet Cao Mao still rewarded him."

"This led to a large number of Wu generals and officials defecting to Cao Cao. In just these two months, three of the rebel generals defected."

"It can be seen that this person is using a strategy of psychological warfare against the outside world. If a foreign general surrenders, he will definitely accept it."

"Besides, I've heard that this man likes to wander around, often visiting places like the parade grounds and the Imperial Academy. He travels incognito, with minimal guards, and even sits down with armed generals to discuss important matters."

The more Zhuge Zhan listened, the more he felt something was wrong. When he heard this, he was so frightened that he almost jumped up.

"Is the General planning to assassinate Cao Mao?!"

"Why not?"

Zhuge Zhan looked at Chen Qi and Jiang Wei in astonishment. Even if we don't approve, he is still the ruler of a country. Even their own ministers might not be able to do this. How could a surrendered general kill the emperor of Wei?

He immediately shook his head and said, "This is useless."

"Cao has done so many evil things that he must be worried about retribution. Even if the surrendered generals can see him, it is definitely possible that they are armed!"

"Even if Cao Mao was a dissolute man, wouldn't he have many soldiers following him when he went out? Even his trusted generals would find it difficult to assassinate him, let alone a surrendered general."

At this moment, Zhuge Zhan felt that these two people were driven crazy by the enemy and wanted to use any means.

Chen Zhi and Jiang Wei looked at each other.

This was the best solution the two men could think of when they were unable to send troops. The changes in Cao Wei were due to the new emperor. Cao Mao had no children. If he died, I am afraid that this stable situation would collapse again.

It's obvious that everyone is trying to be bad and rushing towards the cliff, why are you the only one who stops halfway?
This won’t do. We have to get rid of this guy who is about to stop, and then we can continue to play badly.

This is like three roommates agreeing to skip classes and go to the Internet cafe, but one of them suddenly starts studying hard. This is intolerable behavior.

Assassination was not uncommon during the Three Kingdoms period.

Cao Wei was an expert at this and used this method many times to get rid of those who were not good for him.

Chen Qi spoke up at this moment, "If we go by what the general said, Cao Mao is an arrogant person, very similar to Sun Ce back then. We still have a good chance. Even if we can't succeed, letting Cao Mao go won't be a complete loss."

"If a general ever defected to Cao Wei again, they wouldn't dare to accept him easily. The defection would be curbed."

Zhuge Zhan was still a little confused. "Cao is a great villain in the world, how could someone defect?"

Neither Jiang Wei nor Chen Qi answered.

The treatment of both parties is now completely on a different level. Just look at how serious the defection situation is in Wu State now. It cannot even be suppressed. Who dares to say that Shu State will not be like this in the future?

Chen Qi said softly, "I have been feeling unwell lately. If anything unexpected happens, you must support the general in front of His Majesty."

"His Majesty values you very much. If I were gone, you would be the only one who could persuade him."

"Remember, remember."

(End of this chapter)