It was already early November that Sima Yi's memorial requesting a strike be sent to Yecheng.
As soon as this memorial was sent to Cao Rui, Cao Rui became angry and changed the furniture and decoration of his palace again.
Then he sat in his seat, breathing heavily to calm down.
Cao Rui is young and has a stronger body than his father. But he cannot bear it and has made himself angry too many times over the years.
Cao Rui now understands why his father passed away before he was forty years old. If he can survive to that age without being angry to death, it is considered a blessing from God.
This Sima Yi was praised by everyone in the court and was said to be as good as the great general Cao Zhen. But this loser led an army of 80,000 to besiege Luoyang against the Shu thieves who only had less than 40,000. He actually fought for half a year and failed to capture Luoyang. .
As for the general's own uncle, Cao Rui didn't know what to say.
At first, Cao Zhen took less than two months to completely put down the rebellion of Gongsun Yuan in Liaodong, excluding the time of marching. Cao Rui thought that his family uncle had finally risen up. As a result, when he attacked Hongnong County this time, 30,000 people were killed first. Ten thousand people were held back, and then they were beaten by Shu thieves of equal strength, so they could only retreat and defend.
Are the so-called "commanding talents" under his command such a bunch of rubbish? !
I recall that during the reign of Emperor Taizu Wu, there were clan generals such as Xia Houyuan and Cao Ren, and generals with foreign surnames such as Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Zhang He. How had a fight with Shu thieves ever ended like this? !
When he comes to his own place, he can't beat Zhao Yun, Zhang Xi and others can do it. Even Zhuge Liang, a guy with a civil servant background, Sima Yi can't beat him. Why do you have the nerve to brag about "Sima Bada"? !
No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get.
After finally waiting for Cao Rui to calm down and think carefully, Cao Rui urgently recruited Chen Qun, Liu Ye, Man Chong, Sun Zi, and Liu Fang to enter the palace to discuss matters.
The first three are here to give me advice, and the last two are responsible for managing the logistics, and they must all be present.
No matter what Sima Yi's sparse statement, we still need to discuss it carefully and we cannot make a decision easily.
After all five people arrived, Cao Rui showed Sima Yi's memorial to all five people. The whole palace became eerily quiet.
No one wanted to speak first because it was really hard to say.
Neither is war, nor is peace. Whoever speaks first will be unlucky.
When Cao Rui saw this situation, he had no choice but to name them.
"Sikong is a lonely and important minister entrusted by the late emperor. What is your opinion on this matter?!"
Cao Rui asked Chen Qun and highlighted Chen Qun's identity. At this critical moment, you, the lonely and important ministers, are needed to play a role.
When Chen Qun heard this, he pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and replied, "I don't know military affairs, my strategy is crude, I shouldn't be good at speaking."
Stop talking nonsense now, Cao Rui thought quickly.
"However, I believe that even if Luoyang cannot be recaptured in this war, we should not lose the city and land, and gain nothing."
Cao Rui understood what Chen Qun meant by this.
A truce is not impossible, but it cannot be done as a loser. It must be done as a winner. That is to say, it cannot be achieved without anything.
But, is this matter something we can control? !
We are the active attacking party. If we fail to achieve the predetermined goal, we have failed. How can we not be able to defeat Luoyang, but still end the war with dignity as a winner? !
"Want to hear the details?!" Cao Rui was really puzzled and asked again.
Chen Qun nodded and said, "Although we failed to capture Luoyang in this battle, we recovered Gong County. We can order Sima Zhongda to garrison Gong County and threaten Chang'an to show his intention to counterattack."
When Chen Qun said this, Liu Ye's eyes moved, but he finally held back.
But Cao Rui was not stupid. He asked instead, "We mobilized so many troops to recover a small Gong County. Wouldn't we be laughed at by the world?!"
Chen Qun still nodded and continued, "If this alone is not enough to quell the dispute between the government and the public, the emperor can order Sima Zhongda to lead his troops south and enter Yingchuan. One, he can relieve the siege of Yingchuan, and two, he can regain the entire territory of Yingchuan. , consolidating the Yanzhou barrier can be regarded as a great victory."
Oh, I understand, the old man is trying different ways to save his son and relieve his hometown from the siege at the same time.
It's not difficult to guess what Chen Qun was thinking. After all, Cao Rui understood it, and so did the other four people present.
But the problem is that although Chen Qun is mixed with a lot of selfishness, the idea he is proposing now is really a pretty good step.
The idea of occupying Gong County is a joke to the ears of people like Chen Qun and Man Chong who know military matters.
If Sima Yi really stationed troops to defend Gong County, believe it or not, reinforcements from Shu thieves would arrive and directly surround Gong County, leaving Sima Yi with no chance to withdraw his troops.
The place in Gong County is a good warning position for Hulao Pass to the east, but for Luoyang, it is too close and there is no danger at all.
On the contrary, it is to regain Yingchuan County, which has some strategic value.
Retaking Yingchuan County is equivalent to cutting off the passage between Nanyang County in Jingzhou and Henan County in Sili. Yes, the connection between Jingzhou and Heluo area of Shu thieves is cut off, which is equivalent to cutting off half of the reinforcements for Luoyang's defense.
At the same time, guarding Yingchuan County is equivalent to erecting a barrier in front of Chenliu County and Chen State, and most of Runan County is still in the hands of Soochow. With the current positions of both parties, there is no way for Shu thieves to bypass you. South, the possibility of breaking into Yanzhou.
By guarding Yingchuan, Yanzhou will be more than half safe.
Of course, the most important thing is that this is currently the only place where Wei can regain its lost territory.
As long as Sima Yi retains a small number of troops to contain the Shu bandits in Luoyang, he can boldly divide his troops and go south. Luoyang is too important, and Zhuge Liang cannot abandon Luoyang to rescue the Shu bandit army besieging Yingchuan.
You, Sima Yi, with an army of 70,000, can't do anything to Zhuge Liang who is huddled in Luoyang. Could it be that in a field battle, you can't even defeat 40,000 Shu thieves? !
If this is the case, then don't come back, Sima Yi, and just commit suicide on the spot to thank the world! ! !
Give up the counterattack on Luoyang and instead counterattack Yingchuan. As long as it is done properly, Wei can still gain some face and end this battle in a dignified way.
As for the selfishness of the old man Chen Qun, he must have it. After all, his idea is the only one that is executable at the moment.
Liu Ye and Man Chong also stood up at this time and agreed with Chen Qun's suggestion.
Normally, by this point, these three big guys would have endorsed it, and things should be settled.
But Cao Rui still felt uncomfortable.
Since he ascended the throne, he has never won a battle against Shu thieves.
In a counterattack, although it failed in the end due to various reasons, at least it still had the upper hand at the beginning of the war. Even if it failed later, the Shu thieves were beaten to the point of being weakened and stopped. for several years.
But this time, the counterattack on Luoyang cost so much, and they even did not hesitate to form an alliance with the capricious Wu State, and attack from two fronts with Wu State. In the end, it ended with big thunder and small rain? !
Cao Rui was really unwilling.
Liu Fang, who had been observing without speaking for a long time, rolled his eyes when he saw Cao Rui's demeanor, and suddenly stood up and said, "I think there is another way to solve today's siege."
Cao Rui was surprised. Why did Liu Fang stand up and offer advice? !
Sun Zi and Liu Fang, who had controlled the center through the two dynasties of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, were considered to be high and powerful, but they had never spoken much when it came to military affairs.
On the one hand, neither Cao Pi nor Cao Rui are fools. They know that these two people are good at government affairs, so they are unlikely to follow their advice on military affairs.
On the other hand, Liu Ye, Chen Qun, and Man Chong were the seniors who had outstanding strategies and were veterans of three dynasties. No matter whether it was a military meeting or a court meeting, these two juniors had no say.
Therefore, Cao Rui was actually very surprised when Liu Fang stepped forward to offer advice this time.
But...just listen.
"If you have anything to say, please try."
Anyway, Cao Rui was not very satisfied with Chen Qun's strategy. He wanted to listen to Liu Fang's ideas first, and if it didn't work, he would just refute it.
Liu Fang suddenly became energetic, and then said, "I believe that this counterattack on Luoyang is just a battle to boost morale and show our ambition in the Wei Dynasty. This battle should not be given up lightly."
"In the past, Emperor Taizu Wu fought in Guandu. He could not advance for several months, and his food and fodder would be exhausted. He originally wanted to retreat. However, Xun ordered the king to remonstrate with him, and only then could he win a great victory in Guandu. One battle would determine what happened in Hebei today, and what happened at that time. Guandu, how similar it is?!"
"I believe that your majesty should clearly rebuke Sima Zhongda for his intention to retreat and order him to continue the siege of Luoyang. Your majesty also issued an edict to the people of the world to summon the people in the fields and select the best and strongest as soldiers. He selected a hundred thousand people and sent them to the front line. Sima Zhongda, if this is the case, why worry about Luoyang not being broken?!"
After Liu Fang finished speaking, he lowered his head and said nothing, waiting for the emperor to make his decision.
When Cao Rui listened to Liu Fang's words, his eyes were filled with brilliance. It could be seen that he was indeed very excited.
Chen Qun, Liu Ye, Man Chong and others were all flustered as they watched. Would the Emperor really take what this idiot said seriously? !
Not to mention that the current situation is not even remotely similar to that of the Battle of Guandu, let’s just talk about how much time it takes from the recruitment to the formation of an army of 100,000 soldiers. Has the emperor ever calculated it? !
Does the emperor know how great the logistical pressure is for such a long time? !
Chen Qun saw that this posture was wrong, and was about to stand up and try to persuade him, but Cao Rui had already stood up.
"The order was sent to Sima Yi to temporarily retreat to Gong County, and then quickly divide his troops and go south to break the siege of Yingchuan."
Well, Cao Rui's mind is still very clear.
(End of chapter)
