The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 216 The Old Wisdom of Changping
Ye County.

Zhuge Qiao arrived at the county temple.

Mi Wei was seen relaying orders to a group of military officers from Qu and Tun.

Zhuge Qiao dared not disturb them, and waited silently, while also listening in.

I thought it was a serious military strategy report.

But after listening to them, all they said was to keep the area clean, urge the soldiers not to relieve themselves anywhere, and make sure to boil the water and let it cool before drinking it, etc.

They were all trivial little things.

Fortunately, Mi Wei didn't ramble on and quickly finished explaining.

"Has everything been handed over in Lucheng?"

Zhuge Qiao:
"According to the agreement between the two parties, the area north of the Yangtze River will be entirely ceded to our country, and from now on, the Yangtze River will serve as the dividing line, with neither side invading the other."

Miwei scoffed softly upon hearing this:

"There is no such thing as non-aggression; it's just a temporary measure."

"That's fine."

"With Lushan City, the mouth of the Yangtze River is controlled, and our country will have full control of the fertile land of the Yangtze and Han Rivers."

Zhuge Qiao: "That is exactly right. The imperial court has officially appointed General Chen Shi as the governor of Xiakou, to govern this city."

“General Chen has been commanding the navy on the Yangtze River for three years and is familiar with the water conditions. He is a good candidate.” Mi Wei nodded.

"In addition, the Sun family suffered heavy losses in the Huainan campaign. For at least three years, our army can focus on the Northern Expedition without having to worry about defending against our eastern neighbor."

"Who would have thought that when I was sent on a mission to Jiangdong at the beginning of the year, the Sun family still dared to dream of claiming the throne with His Majesty?"

"Now, only half a year has passed, and Sun Quan not only dares not mention this matter again, but even wants to take the initiative to cede cities to seek reinforcements."

"This person's fate... tsk tsk!"

After briefly commenting on the situation in the south, Mi Wei then said to Zhuge Qiao:

"I have summoned you to the north this time because I have an important matter to entrust to you."

Zhuge Qiao lowered his head slightly.

Mi Wei handed a large stack of Mi family papers covered in writing to the other party, saying:

"These are my thoughts on land grants and military settlements. They're a bit scattered, so please organize them when you get back."

"Logically speaking, with a major war at hand, agricultural matters should be considered after the war."

"But right now, most of my troops are militia in Nantou, and these two fields are related to the morale of the army."

"And I am also eager to compete with Cao Wei for the hearts and minds of the people in the Central Plains."

"Therefore, these things cannot be delayed. We can only carry them out as soon as possible while fighting, so that the soldiers can fight with peace of mind on the front line."

He then pointed to a dark-skinned military officer beside him, who resembled a farmer, and introduced him:
"This is Deng Shizai from Jiyang. He is not only skilled in farming, but also familiar with military tactics and formations."

"I have appointed him as Attendant Gentleman of the Palace, to assist in military affairs. You can ask him if you have any questions."

"From this day forward, I hereby promote you to be my clerk."

Zhuge Qiao was overjoyed.

Although he didn't mind continuing to serve as a clerk.

But since Mi Wei was willing to promote him, it means he still values ​​him.

How could I not be happy?

Suddenly I felt that all the effort I had put in over the past year had been worthwhile.

He immediately bowed in gratitude and accepted the order, and exchanged name cards with Deng Ai, which marked their initial acquaintance.

At this moment, Mi Wei brought a military report from Kunyang and handed it to the two of them.

Chief Clerk Zhuge Qiao was consulted first, followed by Attendant Deng Ai.

Mi Wei patiently waited for the two to finish reading before saying:

What are your thoughts?

Zhuge Qiao said:

According to Jiang Boyue, Xiahou Ba was brave but lacked strategy, and three-tenths of his bravery came from his father's revenge.

"The art of war says, 'Anger makes one vulnerable.' Since Xiahou Ba has come with a personal grudge and is angry, we should take advantage of this to lure him into a blind battle under the fortified city. Once his troops are exhausted, we can defeat him in one fell swoop."

Mi Wei: "To be able to think of this shows that you have made progress in military affairs. Not bad."

With a soft "thank you," Mi Wei looked at Deng Ai beside him.

The latter had already finished reading the military report, but remained silent.

When Zhuge Qiao introduced them to each other, she noticed that he spoke haltingly and knew that he had a stutter, so she kindly brought him paper and pen.

Deng Ai quickly expressed his gratitude, but without needing to write, he spoke fluently:
"General, do you perhaps intend to follow the old strategy at Changping and lure the enemy into replacing the veteran general Lian Po with Zhao Kuo?"

Mi Wei's eyes flickered slightly.

The "old trick of Changping" that Deng Ai mentioned refers to the famous divisive tactic used in the Battle of Changping during the Warring States period. At that time, in order to get Zhao to replace the veteran general Lian Po, the Qin state deliberately spread rumors that Qin feared Zhao Kuo, the son of the famous general Zhao She, not Lian Po.

King Xiaocheng of Zhao was eager to win for various reasons, and as expected, he replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo to lead the army, which ultimately led to a great defeat.

This is the origin of the idiom "armchair strategist".

Seeing that Mi Wei acquiesced, Deng Ai continued:

"Cao Hong, the General of the Cavalry, gathered a large army of over 100,000 in Xuchang. Although Xiahou Ba arrived quickly, he was only a detachment."

"Destroying it can only relieve the siege temporarily, but it is not enough to shake the overall situation."

"The greatest enemy in this battle is ultimately Cao Hong's 100,000 troops."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Qiao realized that he had been narrow-minded.

They couldn't help but be impressed by this unassuming official.

At this moment, Deng Ai said again:

"It is certainly a good thing that the general is focusing on the big picture."

“But if Xiahou Ba is not considered to be a member of the imperial family, he is only a lieutenant general, which is too low in rank.”

"Even if there were a way to sow discord between Cao Pi and Cao Hong, I'm afraid Xiahou Ba would be unable to become the 'Zhao Kuo' who replaced him."

"Besides, Cao Hong is a high-ranking and influential figure. How easy would it be to bring him down?"

Miwei nodded slowly.

This is exactly what's troubling him.

He certainly knew that Cao Pi disliked Cao Hong.

Or rather, apart from Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, Xiahou Shang, Xiahou Mao, and other confidants whom Cao Pi had personally supported to the throne.

Cao Pi didn't like many of the other members of the imperial clan.

But I may not like it.

Cao Pi was not a fool, and he had no shortage of wise and capable people under his command.

It is absolutely unacceptable to remove Cao Hong from his position as commander-in-chief based on personal preference.

Anyway, Miwei himself really couldn't think of what to do.

And as I just said, even if we bring down Cao Hong, so what?

If I remember correctly, Cao Pi finally found an excuse to execute Cao Hong, but in the end, Empress Dowager Bian saved him.

Should I first find a way to get rid of Empress Dowager Bian?
It seems completely unreliable no matter how you look at it.

Moreover, as Deng Ai said, even if Cao Hong were overthrown, Xiahou Ba would not be qualified to take the position.

If we manage to recruit a powerful general from Huainan, then all our efforts will be wasted.

After a moment's thought, Mi Wei was gradually inclined to abandon the idea and get through this hurdle first.

After all, even Deng Ai, the future powerhouse, thought so.

But at that moment, Zhuge Qiao suddenly said:

"Xiahou Ba's preemptive strike has already raised many suspicions. Could it be that something has changed in Luoyang?"

"Should we send more spies north to gather intelligence?"

Mi Wei was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and shook his head: "If there is any change in Luoyang, there will definitely be a big commotion on Cao Hong's side in Xuchang."

"In my opinion, this seems to be a deliberate feint by the Wei army to test whether we are unprepared."

"But you're right. After Xiahou Ba went south, the defense of Guangcheng Pass will inevitably be weakened, which will give spies the opportunity to infiltrate."

At this point, Mi Wei prepared to call Li Honglai to take charge.

Before he could give the order, Li Hong rushed over, his face panicked.
"General, something terrible is happening!"

After he finished speaking, he subconsciously glanced at Zhuge Qiao and Deng Ai.

Seeing this, Miwei told the two to leave first.

Li Hong finally exhaled and said:
"The spies I sent to Luoyang haven't shown up for several days; I'm afraid they've already been discovered by the Wei people!"

Li Hong's spy in Luoyang... a secret agent contacting Xu Shu?
Mi Wei instantly understood, and said calmly:

When was the last time you contacted him, and what did he say to you?

Li Hong quickly calculated with his fingers and said:
"Mid-last month."

"At that time, he said that Xu Gong had been promoted to the position of Imperial Censor by the Cao family, which was considered an important minister in the central government. He was now surrounded by more officials who were keeping an eye on him, so he needed to reduce the number of times he contacted them."

"He originally agreed to meet me at the beginning of this month, but he missed the meeting by three days... I'm afraid something happened."

Then, fearing that Mi Wei might not know what "Xiao Shi" meant, he explained it further, saying that it was a special official who was specifically tasked with spying on the affairs of officials and the people for Cao Pi, and was also known as Xiao Lang.

Miwei can be directly understood as an official position similar to that of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

After a moment's thought, he asked, "Did he tell you at the time why Xu Gong was dismissed from his post as Imperial Censor?"

(End of this chapter)