Cao Rui listened to Liu Ye's suggestion.
Of course, Cao Rui also understood the hidden meaning of Liu Ye's suggestion.
Liu Ye was actually telling Cao Rui tactfully that if the Hedong region was still in the hands of the Wei Dynasty, then Sima Yi, the representative of the powerful Hedong family, would still think from the perspective of the Wei Dynasty in his strategic ideas.
Liu Ye very much recognized Sima Yi's talent, but it was a bit hard for Liu Ye to say anything about Sima Yi's character.
We can't say how bad Sima Yi's character is. It's just that Sima Yi has too many connections with aristocratic families. Liu Ye really doesn't dare to vouch for his position.
If the late emperor was still there, then based on the personal friendship between Sima Yi and the late emperor, and the late emperor's kindness to Sima Yi, Sima Yi might still be on the late emperor's side. But the current emperor is Cao Rui after all.
Cao Rui really didn't have much kindness to Sima Yi.
Based on Liu Ye's guess, if it came time for Sima Yi to make a choice, he would most likely choose to side with the wealthy family rather than the Emperor of Wei.
Therefore, when Hedong was still in the hands of the Wei Dynasty, Liu Ye thought that Sima Yi was unlikely to have second thoughts. But one day Hedong was not in the hands of the Wei Dynasty, but in the hands of Shu thieves, or to put it more bluntly, when The Hedong family no longer firmly supports Cao Wei, so it's hard to say whether Sima Yi still puts Wei's interests first in his decision-making.
Cao Rui understood the meaning of Liu Ye's words, and the content of this meaning was not without purpose in Cao Rui's view.
Among the four ministers who took care of life left by the late emperor, Cao Zhen and Xia Houshang were members of his own family and were his natural helpers.
Although Chen Qun is a representative of the Yingchuan family, he has been around Cao Rui all year round. Cao Rui knows him very well and trusts Chen Qun's character. Chen Qun does represent Yingchuan. The interests of the Sichuan family, but he also stood on the side of the Great Wei Chaotang.
Let's put it this way, if one day Wei really suffers disaster, the Yingchuan family may abandon Wei, but Chen Qun will still follow Cao Rui until the end.
Cao Rui still has this eye for seeing people.
There was only Sima Yi, and Cao Rui actually never saw through him.
On the one hand, it is because Sima Yi has always been in charge and is not always with Cao Rui. Cao Rui understands Sima Yi only through sparse memorials and descriptions by others. He lacks an intuitive understanding of Sima Yi.
On the other hand, Cao Rui actually had some inner prejudice against Sima Yi.
This is not only influenced by the rumors of "Sima Ten Dragons" in the early years, but also Sima Yi's coping strategies. He went against Cao Rui's ideas several times, which gave Cao Rui a bad impression.
I feel like this Sima Yi, although the strategies he gave are all good, but they just don’t match my ideas as an emperor.
If Cao Rui hadn't been a wise ruler and knew how to use people to replace him with a more headstrong ruler, how could Sima Yi have the status and power he has now.
Therefore, when Liu Ye hinted to Cao Rui that Sima Yi was a representative of a noble family and that when the noble family was unstable, Sima Yi would not be stable either. Cao Rui suddenly felt that he might have really figured out why he and Sima Yi were not in harmony. Reason.
Although the positions of both sides are mostly consistent, they are ultimately different.
The emperor has the position of the emperor, and the aristocratic family has the interests of the aristocratic family. When the two are integrated, Sima Yi is naturally a loyal minister and good general. But when the two are different, the strategies given by Sima Yi are often not so consistent with Cao Rui's. Needed.
This is not to say that Cao Rui is suspicious of Sima Yi, and at this delicate juncture, even if Cao Rui really has thoughts about Sima Yi, he will not act on them. He has to act according to Sima Yi's ideas.
After all, Liu Ye also said that as long as Hedong is not lost, Sima Yi's strategy still favors the Wei Dynasty.
In this case, don't hesitate.
After returning to the palace, Cao Rui immediately summoned Sun Zi, Liu Fang, and Man Chong.
Sun Zi and Liu Fang were in charge of government affairs. Cao Rui summoned them here to ask them to collect all available ships and materials needed for withdrawal from the Hebei area as soon as possible.
Cao Rui summoned Man Chong because Cao Rui hoped that Man Chong would come forward to coordinate the entire withdrawal of troops. After all, such a big thing would be impossible to complete without one person to coordinate.
Among the civil and military officials in the court today, apart from Man Chong, they really can't find anyone who can be trusted by Cao Rui and has the ability to command troops.
After making these arrangements, Cao Rui sat down, thought for a while, and took out a memorial from the box on the table.
This memorandum was written by Cao Shuang to impeach Sima Yi for fearing the enemy's cowardice and withdrawing his troops without permission. After Cao Rui thought about it carefully, he finally put it back in the box.
After all, Cao Rui is still not as domineering as his grandfather. In fact, the best way to deal with this sparse memorial is to learn from Cao Cao and burn it.
However, Cao Rui did not have such confidence. Even out of some considerations, Cao Rui still kept it. Maybe Cao Rui could use it when necessary in the future. But now, Cao Rui will not be able to see it for the time being.
Well, for now! ! !
But no matter what, Cao Rui still issued an edict to Sima Yi, allowing him to abandon Yanzhou when necessary, and preparations related to withdrawing troops from Hebei were also being intensively arranged.
After receiving this clear edict from Cao Rui, Sima Yi finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
The emperor is still wise after all.
Of course Sima Yi can make decisions on the spot. It's not that he doesn't have this ability, nor does he not have this right.
But for such a big matter as voluntarily giving up Yanzhou and withdrawing from Hebei, the meaning of making one's own decision is completely different from having the emperor's endorsement.
Even from the perspective of settling accounts after the war, it is much easier to have the emperor's endorsement than to shoulder the responsibility alone.
The most important thing is that with the Emperor's clear edict, Sima Yi can be more justified when arranging the withdrawal of troops, without having to worry about the military morale being greatly affected.
For soldiers, there is a difference between withdrawing troops by yourself and withdrawing troops under orders. The former has to worry about being held accountable by the court after withdrawing, but the latter has no such worries at all.
With the name in hand, what Sima Yi now has to consider is the withdrawal plan.
Withdrawal is also a science. It does not mean giving an order and then letting the soldiers break out. Even if you withdraw like this, it can easily turn from withdrawal to rout.
Need to plan ahead.
The first to be withdrawn must be Jia Kui's troops in Puyang.
On the one hand, Puyang was not directly attacked by the Shu bandits. Hu Zun of Jiyin County stayed in Dingtao and did not go north. Puyang was not directly threatened by the Shu bandits and could withdraw his troops calmly.
On the other hand, because Hu Zun did not go north, if Puyang withdrew his troops first, Sima Yi would not have to worry about being threatened by Shu bandits on his flanks.
As for whether Jia Kui withdraws his troops from Baima Ferry or leads his troops to Yanjin Ferry, it depends on Jia Kui's own decision and does not need to be considered by Sima Yi.
When the withdrawal from Puyang was almost complete, Sima Yi would choose to slowly withdraw from Changyuan and retreat into Dongjun.
As soon as Sima Yi withdrew from Changyuan, Deng Ai's army from the front would inevitably follow. As for the jujubes, there was also an army led by Zhuge Liang besieging them. Therefore, Sima Yi had to withdraw the jujubes first to help Guo Huai stabilize the flank defense before he could continue his arrangements. It is advisable to withdraw troops.
After most of the army in the rear had withdrawn across the Yellow River, Sima Yi and Guo Huai would retreat to the Mengjin Ferry, blocking the siege of the Shu bandits while arranging the final withdrawal.
In the three-step plan, the first and second steps are actually not difficult. The real trouble is the last step. When most of the Wei army has withdrawn across the Yellow River, the defenders and generals who are left standing at Yanjin Ferry will inevitably be defeated. Facing the fierce attack of the Shu bandits, if you are not careful, your entire army may be wiped out.
So. In fact, Sima Yi didn't think clearly whether he should stay here to end the conflict or arrange for others.
After all, after all the calculations, there seems to be no suitable candidate to "sell".
Jia Kui was the first group of people to evacuate to the other side of the Yellow River. After the withdrawal, Jia Kui also needed to go to the other side of the Yellow River to organize soldiers, maintain morale, and establish a defense line on the spot to prevent the Shu thieves from crossing the river and establishing a foothold with the help of the navy. point.
Therefore, Jia Kui cannot be sold.
Guo Huai is a veteran of the Wei Dynasty. If he doesn't take the initiative to say that he will stay, you really can't force him. Otherwise, what will the veterans of the Wei Dynasty who stayed in Yecheng think? !
If Sima Yi really forced Guo Huai to stay behind, even if he retreated across the Yellow River, I'm afraid there wouldn't be many people in the court who would be willing to speak to Sima Yi for him.
As for people like Cao Shuang, Cao Yu, Xia Hou, etc., their backstages were too strong, and they were all clan generals, so Sima Yi did not dare to stay and break up the throne easily.
As for people like Jiang Ji and Du Shu, they cannot stop the Shu thieves for too long if they stay. If they are left behind, it is basically impossible to delay time. Instead, they will give the Shu thieves military exploits.
Therefore, Sima Yi calculated over and over again that he must be able to stop the advance of the Shu thieves and at the same time have little impact. Even if he was captured alive or even killed by the Shu thieves, there seemed to be only one person who would not have much impact. .
At the same time, Chen Tai, who was in Fengqiu, felt a chill coming over him for some reason. He suddenly shivered.
(End of chapter)
