The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 467 Asking for advice
The army marched towards Luoyang in a mighty force.

This is the triumphant return of the central army that went south to assist Wang Ji.

They brought with them a large number of captives and various spoils.

Most of them are flags, war drums, generals' armor and the like, which have greater symbolic significance.

Cao Mao always attached great importance to the triumphant army.

It has been like this since Chen Tai's time.

Cao Mao stood at the front, leading the civil and military officials to greet them.

Luo Xian stood among the ministers. He looked at the sword at his waist and then at the emperor in the distance.

Now all the ministers were standing according to etiquette. If he suddenly moved forward, it would definitely arouse suspicion. Besides, the army was returning victoriously, and the emperor was surrounded by armored soldiers.

The chances of success are slim, so let's pretend to arrange to reward the army and deal with it later.

However, he saw the emperor standing in the distance with a solemn expression, standing on tiptoe waiting for his army.

Luo Xian always felt a sense of inexplicable envy in his heart.

He seemed to have never seen such a scene in Chengdu.

It has even been a long time since we heard any news of rewarding the army. At most, all the generals were promoted to a higher rank to appease them, but there wasn't even a banquet to entertain them.

No wonder Jiang Wei was under so much pressure on the front line.

After this comparison, Luo Xian couldn't help but shake his head.

Chen Qian stood beside him and whispered, "You can start taking care of the reward for the entire army now. Also, remember to distribute the new training manual to the generals in a timely manner. You need to work harder during this period."

"only!!"

Luo Xian hurriedly accepted the order.

At this moment, the central army finally appeared in front of Cao Mao.

Cao Mao looked at this mighty and elite central army with pride in his eyes.

This is his confidence.

"Xiaoxing!"

"Ayang!"

Cao Mao walked forward with a smile and held the hands of his two trusted generals.

Ma Long and Wen Yang stood in front of Cao Mao one after another. Ma Long was very humble, while Wen Yang couldn't wait to speak.

"Your Majesty, this time I will first kill Liu Xian! Then I will capture Sun Xin! I have lived up to your Majesty's high expectations!"

"Hahaha, when has Ah Yang ever let me down?"

Cao Mao helped him up with a smile, his eyes full of joy.

In fact, Ma Long had the greatest military achievements. He defeated the most armies, and the two cities were almost captured with him as the main force. He ran around and killed the most enemies.

But the problem is that Wen Yang's fighting style is too suitable for gaining credit.

No matter how many armies Ma Long defeated, it was not as good as Wen Yang killing Liu Xian in one charge and capturing Sun Xin alive in the second charge.

But Malone was not the kind of person who would envy his colleagues' military achievements. This time he was thinking about writing a book of military strategy, which was a record of the battles in the south.

This battle in the south allowed Malone to learn a lot and accumulate experience again.

For Wen Yang, it may not be a big improvement for himself, but the cavalry he led got a huge opportunity for improvement.

After several consecutive battles, it can be said that Wen Yang's cavalry became more and more elite, and was really a bit similar to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of the past.

If they just had the name in the past, now they really have something.

Cao Mao was also very generous. He didn't even wait to go back. On the side of the road, he rewarded the many captains in front of him and the soldiers who had reported their merits.

Immediately, Cao Mao announced that he would reward the army for three days, allowing them to return to the camp and enjoy themselves to their heart's content.

Cao Mao's idea was very simple. As a boss, when his subordinates achieved success, he gave them three days off and let them have three days of partying. Isn't that the right thing to do?

In order to reward him, Cao Mao specially slaughtered two thousand sheep and one thousand pigs.

There were countless other drinks, fruits, and other items.

In addition, according to the merits they had achieved, they were rewarded with a lot of money, merits, and land.

At present, Cao Wei’s treasury is not short of money.

Cao Mao had eliminated so many powerful families over the years that even the things he confiscated were more than these.

The soldiers were extremely happy, their faces full of joy.

Cao Mao also held a banquet to entertain meritorious generals such as Ma Long.

When Cao Mao pulled the two of them into his carriage, holding one person in each hand, and passed by the road in such a domineering manner, Luo Xian couldn't help but look at him with envy.

What a privilege.

When they returned to the palace, the banquet was already set up. Musicians played music, and the ministers sat on either side. The two meritorious generals now sat closest to the emperor, a special honor.

Cao Mao first loudly congratulated them on their achievements, and then encouraged his ministers to follow suit.

The banquet began, and the ministers who had been suppressed for a long time seemed to have found an opportunity to vent.

Some of them sang, and some danced.

In fact, this is very normal. Since the Western Han Dynasty, singing and dancing at banquets has been a common occurrence. The banquet culture of many ethnic groups in the world is based on singing and dancing.

However, the dances of the Western Han Dynasty were more majestic, mostly involving sword dances or shield dances.

As for the dance of Wei and Jin Dynasties, well, it is a little bit crazy, the hands and feet are not so coordinated, and the main feature is freedom.

Looking at the ministers who were shaking their heads below, Cao Mao couldn't help but say to Zhang Hua beside him: "Pull Pei Xiu out later and smell him to see if he has taken the medicine again."

Zhang Hua was stunned, then he saw Pei Xiu dancing extremely wildly and nodded quickly.

Wen Yang slowly approached Cao Mao and asked in a low voice, "I heard that Your Majesty dug up Sima Shi's grave?!"

Wen Yang looked very excited, with his eyes shining.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "Yes, they dug it up and then buried it again."

"Why not grind the bones and scatter the ashes?"

Because of the influence of his family education, Wen Yang hated the Sima family to the core. In fact, Wen Qin might not be that loyal to the Cao family, but he made a good friend.

He was influenced by Guanqiu Jian and embarked on the path of supporting the Wei Dynasty, and his son was also influenced by his father.

Cao Mao did not answer this.

Wen Yang continued, "In fact, Your Majesty was too lenient towards the Sima family. He only kept them in captivity, but did not kill them."

Cao Mao looked at the people in front of him calmly and explained, "It's because we are related. There are many people who can be used. If their family is executed, Du Yu, Yang Hu, Chen Tai, and even Zhuge Dan, Wang Chang and others will be implicated."

"Few of the local governors and prefects can escape responsibility."

"However, these large families will be eaten away bit by bit sooner or later. I want to change more than just these things. I want to completely destroy these powerful families. When the time comes, there must be someone who can be the first to be attacked, right? There must be someone who can be used as a knife in my hand, and I can safely throw it away after use, right?"

Wen Yang looked a little hesitant, as if he didn't quite understand what the emperor said.

Cao Mao smiled and said, "Don't think too much about this. Just focus on your military strategy. I have never done anything in vain. All the things I'm doing now are planned in advance. The results will be clear in the future!"

The banquet ended soon after, and Zhang Hua was the first to leave, pulling Pei Xiu, who looked stunned.

Cao Mao brought Ma Long and Wen Yang back to Xitang.

The three of them sat here solemnly.

Cao Mao looked at them and asked, "How are the generals of the Wu and Shu armies?"

Wen Yang quickly said, "They are not worth mentioning. They are just rats and will be defeated at the first blow."

"And those generals, when they saw me running faster than a rabbit, if I wasn't familiar with the place, none of them would have been able to escape!"

Wen Yang spoke very quickly, belittling the armies of the two countries as worthless.

Cao Mao called him over, but he didn't expect the young man to say anything human.

The main reason is that I don’t want him to feel left out, and I also want him to learn something.

Ma Long said at this moment: "Your Majesty, you must not underestimate me."

"The Wu Kingdom is currently in turmoil. The emperor has been deposed, generals have been killed, and everyone is terrified. There is no will to fight, let alone fight. It can be said that things have reached a point of extreme depravity."

"I speak boldly and frankly, Your Majesty, please do not blame me."

"If I were to lead an army like this to fight General Wang, I would surely be annihilated and have no chance of victory. However, Shi Ji was able to lead such an army, making it difficult for us to capture the general. Ding Feng was able to fight us without being defeated with such an army."

"It can be said that not all Wu's generals were weak. These two are examples of this. The rest of the generals, when the army had no fighting spirit, were still able to charge forward. Although they were killed or captured, few surrendered. They are truly not to be underestimated."

"As for their armored soldiers, when I later followed the main army in pursuit of the defeated troops, I encountered their navy. Even in such a difficult situation, the Wu navy remained valiant and their warships were sturdy. We were unable to cross the river to fight, and they even tried to land and engage us."

"As for Shu, their general was extremely decisive and showed no hesitation when we attacked him. This shows his talent. Their soldiers are skilled in mountain warfare. With the help of favorable terrain, they were even able to stop our elite troops from advancing."

"I believe that if we want to conquer Shu, we must practice more mountain warfare tactics to make our soldiers proficient. If we want to conquer Wu, we must build more warships and practice water warfare tactics."

Ma Long spoke eloquently, saying seriously, "These are the areas in which the generals of both countries excel. Your Majesty can ask the surrendered generals of these two countries to share their methods of training naval forces and mountain warriors, and have them help train the army together."

Cao Mao stroked his chin, squinting his eyes. "So, it's impossible to achieve unification in the short term?"

Ma Long said seriously, "Your Majesty, when nations go to war, the most important thing is the people's hearts. With the people's hearts here, they will undoubtedly be defeated."

"But, I believe that being well prepared can help us reduce a lot of losses."

"you are right!"

"The central army must have a dedicated mountain battalion and a naval battalion!"

"We must set an example for foreign troops everywhere!"

(End of this chapter)