,!
"Your Majesty, Guan Yu is said to be invincible in the world. He is an expert in both infantry, cavalry and naval forces. It is simply unrealistic for us to completely annihilate each other. The best outcome would be to severely weaken the Jingzhou legion. The only way is to cripple Liu Bei's right-hand man in Jingzhou. Your Majesty can safely mobilize the Central Plains troops to the west or east..." Cao Xiu analyzed.
Cao Pi nodded solemnly, "Wen Lie goes to prepare first, I want to think about it again."
"Wei." Cao Xiu clasped his fists and exited the palace.
Cao Pi looked at Cao Xiu's leaving figure and suddenly thought of the wily Jia Xu. This man always had a unique interpretation of the general trend of the world. However, not long after he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, Jia Xu had been sick all year round and would not come to court.
"Xiao Gao, take the imperial doctor and go to the Taiwei's mansion now, and invite Taiwei Jia into the palace." Cao Pi just finished speaking, and then added: "The Taiwei is already old, so bring my chariot with you." Go pick it up.”
"Wei." Gao Miao, the chamberlain, accepted the order and left.
Cao Pi had paid visits to Cao Pi's house several times before, but he was later criticized by the clan ministers for losing his royal power and never took the initiative to visit the Taiwei Mansion. Cao Pi was worried that Jia Xu would excuse himself due to illness, so he asked Gao Miao to take the imperial doctor with him.
More than an hour later, the emperor's chariot stopped in front of Xuanshi Hall in Nangong, and Gao Miao helped Jia Xu out of the car.
Jia Xu was helped into the palace by Gao Miao to pay an audience. Cao Pi couldn't bear to see Jia Xu swaying, so he immediately ordered someone to give him a seat.
"Your Majesty summoned your ministers here. Is it because you have no choice about foreign war?" Jia Xu asked after he sat down and raised his head.
Cao Pi nodded and said: "I don't want to disturb the Taiwei's recuperation, but there seems to be war in Liangzhou, Jingzhou, and Huainan. It is difficult for the civil and military officials in the country to have anyone who can match your resourcefulness, so I asked Xiao Gao to invite the Taiwei here. Please help me." Let me analyze it."
"Seeing that the autumn harvest is coming everywhere, it is expected that only Zhang Fei will invade Liangzhou to cause rebellion, but General Zidan has put down the rebellion in the Hexi Corridor, and has stationed heavy troops in Tianshui counties. I don't believe that Zhang Fei still dares to seek death. Sun Quan is on the battlefield in Huainan Basically, we have never won. At this time, Soochow is the weakest of the three, Sun Quan is most likely showing off, and it is hard to talk about Guan Yu in Jingzhou..." Jia Xu showed a heavy expression.
Cao Pi nodded in agreement: "Guan Yu threatened to send troops together with Sun Quan before, but there has been no movement from Huainan. Xiangyang seems to be unable to bear the loneliness. Recently, many troops have been sent to advance north. Guan Ping, Pang De and others have occupied some of the former emperor's positions. Abandoned city..."
"Do you have any objections to the civil and military affairs of the DPRK?" Jia Xu asked.
"The battle report of Zhang Liao and Xu Huang was just sent to me by Wen Lie. I haven't even convened the ministers to discuss it, so I immediately thought of the Taiwei." Cao Pi's mustache curled up with his smile.
Jia Xu frowned, stroking his beard and said to himself: "Guan Yu's move has profound meaning... Wen Lie is your Majesty's general in the southern expedition. What does he think?"
"Wen Lie also analyzed that Xiliang and Huainan could not fight. He suggested that troops and horses around Luoyang should be concentrated, and then a decisive battle with Guan Yu would be completed to defeat Jingzhou's arrogance. Otherwise, the Central Plains garrison would be restrained by Guan Yu's tens of thousands of people, which would be really hindering. The security and stability of the Wei Dynasty..." Cao Pi then expressed Cao Xiu's views.
Jia Xu nodded slightly and continued his analysis: "Wen Lie has considered it carefully, but I think there is no need to be so anxious. Guan Yu and Sun Quan currently have their own agendas. Whether Guan Yu threatened to help Wu before or he is now sending troops to occupy the empty city, Sun Quan wants to A decisive battle with the Wei Dynasty in Huainan, and when His Majesty mobilizes the troops from the Central Plains to go east, the Jingzhou troops may actually go north."
"Guan Yu's little plan has been discovered long ago. As long as Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Man Chong guard the place, I can rest easy in Luoyang." Cao Pi showed a confident smile.
"Passive defense is controlled by others. Your Majesty should take the initiative to break this deadlock." Jia Xu reminded, twirling his beard.
"The Taiwei also agrees with Wen Lie's opinion?" Cao Pi asked.
Jia Xu shook his head and replied: "Since Guan Yu and Sun Quan are waiting for the other side to make the first move, why doesn't Your Majesty use a little trick to smooth things over? You can ask Man Chong (Man Chong) to send all the troops from Runan to Huainan for reinforcements, but you have to pretend to be your Majesty to the outside world. Not to mention that Sun Quan might be scared away by the imperial commander himself, Guan Yu might really take the risk of marching north in order to make great achievements when seeing the leaderless army around Luoyang. The strategic depth of enough distance would make the Jingzhou soldiers taste the bitter consequences."
"Is the emperor going on a personal expedition? I remember that Cheng Yu used the banner of the late emperor and really drove back the troops of Soochow. Is it still useful to use the same tactics now? Then if Sun Quan takes the risk..." Cao Pi showed hesitation.
"Your Majesty, you can rest assured. Grand Sima (Cao Ren) is both civil and military, and his combat experience is almost the first among the three armies. With him guarding Huainan, he will be absolutely foolproof. Even if Man Boning does not go to Huainan to help, Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty may not be his opponent." Jia Xu had great confidence in Cao Ren.
"Although the garrison in Huainan is not as large as Sun Quan's, the garrison in Xuzhou should be enough. Listening to the Taiwei's words is like clearing the clouds. I immediately sent people to deploy. I don't know if Guan Yu will be fooled. I will have to see it in person. He, the Taiwei, must go out with me when the time comes..." Cao Pi looked solemn.
"Well... I am old and sick, so I can only try my best to provide advice to Your Majesty..." Jia Xu said in his heart that there are many advisers in the court, so don't just rely on me to boss you around.
"Haha, I was joking with the Taiwei. If it was not absolutely necessary, I would not go to the front line in person. I can just leave this matter to Wen Lie." Cao Pi smiled leisurely.
Jia Xu cupped his hands and smiled awkwardly, thinking that your Majesty, you must be self-aware. Not every monarch is as capable of fighting as the late emperor.
A few days later, Cao Pi's edict reached Runan, and the prefect Man Chong followed the edict to gather troops and horses. Under Cao Pi's banner, he headed for Huainan in a mighty manner.
After Guan Ping, who was stationed in Xinye, received the news, he immediately sent a horse to Xiangyang to report the news to Guan Yu. Based on Xu Shu's suggestion, Guan Yu ordered all troops to stay put for the time being and wait for any movement in Huainan before making further calculations.
At the end of September, Ruxuwu.
Tens of thousands of Jiangdong soldiers and horses were sharpening their swords. They had been gathering here for three months. Weapons, equipment, warships, and food were all ready. Apart from organizing simulated landings and sieges of the city, Sun Quan had no intention of taking the initiative to attack. News came that Cao Pi was going on a personal expedition.
Sun Quan's original intention was to return the rebel general Han Zong in order to quell the conflict between the Huaisi and Jiangdong factions. However, he was ruthlessly rejected by the Grand Sima Cao Ren, leaving Sun Quan in a dilemma.
After receiving the news of Cao Pi's personal expedition, Sun Quan, who had been frowning all day, finally looked happy and said to himself that Cao Ren was a very ignorant warrior, so as the emperor of Wei, Cao Pi should give the King of Wu some face.
Unfortunately, the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. A few days later, Hu Ke hurried to Ruxuwu. The first thing he said when he saw Sun Quan was: "Your Majesty, don't be fooled. Cao Pi has no chariot to conquer personally..."
Because of the Sima brothers, Hu Ke had special news passing through the territory of Wei. After hearing this, Sun Quan immediately froze in place. After a long time, he murmured: "You came at the right time. The generals in the camp are clamoring for war every day. I can't find anyone here to discuss with you, and I'm currently in a critical situation of losing ground to advance or retreat. Does Zicheng have any good suggestions?"
