"Jia Shijun actually used the strategy of suspecting soldiers twice to scare away the Wu army. He is really resourceful."
"If Jia Shijun hadn't made a decisive decision and led his army to help, our army on the east route would have been in danger!"
"The king is both civilized and military, and he is a true pillar of the country!"
...
When Jia Kui led his troops and horses to the resting place of the Wei army on the east road, Sun Li and others hurried forward to greet them, and compliments and praises were heard endlessly. Jia Kui didn't dare to say anything, so he spoke modestly. The generals saw that he had made great achievements but were not proud, and felt even more admiration.
When Cao Xiu saw the generals surrounding Jia Kui talking non-stop, he couldn't help but feel disgusted in his heart. The slight feeling of shame he had towards Jia Kui was immediately forgotten.
He snorted coldly, separated everyone, and said to Jia Kui: "Jia Shijun has made great achievements this time, and your majesty will definitely give you a generous reward. But if you can come faster, our army on the east route will not suffer such losses." By then, the public’s contribution will be even greater.”
His words seemed to be nice, but everyone could tell that he was complaining that Jia Kui was too late to rescue. Everyone knew that Cao Xiu was being overtaken by Jia Kui, and they all looked at Jia Kui, wanting to know how he would respond.
Jia Kui smiled indifferently and replied slowly: "It's not that someone is walking slowly, it's that Da Sima is going too fast."
Cao Xiu naturally understood that Jia Kui was laughing at him for being defeated because he was alone in the battle. Although he was resentful in his heart, he had no words to refute at this moment. He could only snort coldly and returned to his mount to give the order to set off.
At this moment, he saw the guard of honor that had been thrown on the ground at some point. With a thought in his mind, he turned to Jia Kui who was following behind him and said, "Jia Shijun, I have dropped my guard of honor. Could you please pick it up?"
Of course, Jia Kui would not agree to this naked humiliation, and stood there looking at Cao Xiu with a livid face.
Cao Xiu continued to shout loudly: "Did Jia Shijun not hear it or did he not want to obey the order? Well, I will say it again and order Jia Kui, the governor of Yuzhou, to pick up the honor guard of this great Sima."
When the surrounding generals saw the two of them confronting each other like this, they didn't dare to express their anger and stayed aside without saying a word.
Jia Kui originally thought that he could use this opportunity to ease his relationship with Cao Xiu, but he didn't want him to be ungrateful and resentful. Now he couldn't bear it anymore and immediately replied coldly: "I was serving as the governor of Yuzhou for the country, not Those who come here to pick up abandoned battles for the Great Sima."
After that, he ignored Cao Xiu's reaction and led his troops to retreat to Yuzhou alone. After Cao Xiu sneered at Jia Kui's retreating figure, he also led the Wei army from the east to withdraw to Hefei.
A few days later, Sima Yi, who was stationed near Jiangling, received news of Cao Xiu's defeat at Shiting. Since the Wei troops on the east route and the Wei troops on the middle route had withdrawn, it would be useless for his troops to stay where they were. .
Therefore, Sima Yi also led the Wei army from the west back to Wancheng. At this point, this war in which hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses were fighting ended. The news spread to the world, shaking all sides.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Three crisp sounds were heard suddenly in the side hall, which frightened the maids and chamberlains waiting inside and outside the hall to kneel on the ground. It turned out that Wei Emperor Cao Rui was furious and threw three priceless porcelains in a row.
Just now, the battle report of Cao Xiu's defeat by Lu Xun was sent to Cao Rui's court. When he saw it, he immediately became furious. He could no longer maintain his former imperial dignity. He picked up the celadon vase and threw it on the ground. .
He suffered two major defeats within a year. Even though he had always been calm when things happened, he was so angry that he lost all control. He kept walking around the hall, racking his brains to think about how to deal with the aftermath.
"Aren't they here yet, Taifu?" Cao Xiu asked anxiously, looking at the palace door.
Huang Menling, who was outside the palace gate, quickly came in and replied: "Your Majesty, I have already ordered someone to rush you."
The army on the east route returned with a disastrous defeat, forcing the other two armies to withdraw to their bases. This meant that the war against Wu that Cao Wei had carefully prepared for several months ended in failure, and how to deal with the aftermath became the primary issue before Cao Rui. .
Such a major matter cannot be decided by him alone and must be discussed with the ministers. Therefore, as soon as he received the battle report, he immediately summoned a group of important ministers to enter the palace quickly. Even Zhong Yao, who was nearly eighty years old and had not been in court for a long time, also He was called.
"Send someone to urge you again." Cao Rui shouted anxiously.
Huang Menling quickly responded: "No." As soon as he left the palace gate, he saw Chen Qun and Hua Xin supporting Zhong Yao, who had white hair and beard, climbing up the stairs, followed by Sun Zi, Liu Fang, Liu Ye, Jiang Ji and others. .
All the ministers arrived and entered the palace to pay homage: "I have seen..."
"Okay, everyone is exempt from the gift."
Cao Rui waved his sleeves and stopped everyone from saluting. Upon seeing this, the ministers understood that the emperor was anxious because of the defeat, so they hurriedly took their seats.
"Everyone must have known that our east-route army was severely defeated by the Wu army in Wancheng. The Wu thieves chased them all the way and suffered heavy losses in soldiers and supplies. Fortunately, Jia Kui's middle-route army responded in time, so Da Sima and the others were not completely defeated. The army was destroyed.
Now our three armies have retreated to Wancheng, Xiyang, and Hefei, and the campaign against Wu has ended in defeat.
Our great state, Wei, was defeated by Western Shu and Soochow within one year. Our national prestige has been reduced to this, and we will be ridiculed by rebels from all directions. I have failed the trust of Taizu and Gaozu, and I have failed the hopes of the people of the world! "Cao Rui said sadly.
Hearing that the emperor had sinned against himself, Zhong Yao and others quickly left their seats to plead guilty: "I am waiting for death!"
"What is wrong with your Majesty is all because of the incompetence of your ministers, which is why your Majesty was humiliated by the two thieves of Wu and Shu. Your ministers and ministers were negligent in their duties. Please convict your Majesty." As the nominally highest-ranking minister in Wei State, Zhong Yao must at this time Make a statement.
For the sake of the court's face and the emperor's prestige, the ministers could not hold Cao Rui responsible for the defeat, and they all agreed with Zhong Yao to take the responsibility on themselves.
Seeing that everyone took responsibility so consciously, Cao Rui was very satisfied, and the anger caused by the defeat could not help but dissipate a little. Now that the tone of accountability has been basically set, it is time to discuss a specific resolution strategy.
"My lords, both Da Sima and Jia Kui have submitted memorials. Although they both intend to plead guilty in the petitions, they are more likely to impeach each other. Take a look at it. I don't know how to deal with it. ?”
After finishing speaking, Cao Rui winked at Huang Menling, who knowingly handed the two memorials on the imperial case to Zhong Yao at the bottom left and Hua Xin at the bottom right. Zhong Hua and his two men quickly looked at it and handed it to Chen Qun and Liu Ye who were next.
After a while, all the ministers had finished circulating it, and they all thought that this matter would not be easy to deal with. Cao Xiu blamed in his memorial that it was because Jia Kui's middle army moved too slowly that he was unable to support himself and was surrounded and defeated by the Wu army.
Jia Kui said that the reason why the attack on Wu was defeated was because Cao Xiu misunderstood that Zhou Li had fallen into the Wu people's plan to surrender. This caused the soldiers and horses on the east route to go deep into dangerous areas alone, and was defeated by the Wu army who had been waiting for a long time.
Although the two were blaming each other due to personal grudges, anyone with a discerning eye knew that Jia Kui's words were right. The main responsibility for the defeat lay with Cao Xiu. If he had not been eager to make a contribution and caught Zhou Li's plan to surrender, the Wei army would not have easily fallen into the trap. He fell into Wu Jun's trap.
Although Cao Xiu was obviously trying to pass the blame, as a Grand Sima, he held a high position of authority, and as a general of the clan, he had a distinguished status, so the court could not easily relinquish heavy responsibilities.
Moreover, everyone present was a smart person. One look at Cao Rui's tone and attitude and knew that his emperor still wanted to protect Cao Xiu and would not impose heavy punishment on him.
However, the fact that Cao Xiu cannot be blamed does not mean that the responsibility should be shifted to Jia Kui. If Jia Kui had not rescued him in time, the army on the east route would have suffered heavy losses. Therefore, Jia Kui not only had no fault but had merit. If the court had rewarded If the punishment is unclear, it will chill the hearts of the heroes.
But if Cao Xiu and Jia Kui are not blamed, who should be blamed for this defeat?
Although Zhong Yao and others were all extremely intelligent people, facing such a difficult problem, they had no good solution at the moment and had to bury their heads in thought.
