In the hall, numerous civil servants and generals from Chang'an City have arrived. Cao Zhen did not hesitate and went straight to the point: "Everyone, Yang Qing is currently stationed on the outskirts of Chang'an, poisoning the city and confusing the people. In just a few days, there are five or six people. Thousands of people followed the thieves.
Although these people can only be regarded as a mob and are far from the king's rivals, if Yang Qing is allowed to continue to confuse the public with his monstrous words, the foundation of the Wei Dynasty in Guanzhong may not be preserved! "
"What the general said is true. In the past few days, half of the people in the fields in the surrounding counties have been bewitched by the Shu people. They either took the opportunity to escape or joined the rebel army. The other half, although they have not yet risen up, still have different aspirations. Ready to move.
Although the officials such as Diannong, Sima, and Gongcao under the lower official are still trying their best to suppress them, they may not be able to hold on for long if they cannot support them for a long time. "
The speaker was none other than Cao Wei's Diannong Zhonglang General Zhou Zhuo in Guanzhong. As the person in charge of all farming affairs in Guanzhong, the chaos among the farming people in the past few days certainly made him anxious, so he was quite inclined to take the initiative. Attacking.
"Wenyue, I heard that the Shu army was spreading slogans about dividing the fields and returning to self-cultivation. Is this true?" Cao Zhen asked Zhou Zhuo.
Zhou Zhuo's face became even more sad when he heard this, and he said without tears: "Coming back to the general, the Shu army is indeed spreading such treacherous and evil rumors to the farming people. If it is not stopped, all the farming people will be bewitched by it. He rebelled against the imperial court."
"Hmph, Yang Qing is so sinister and vicious!" Cao Zhen also understood the relationship and shouted angrily.
Yan Fei cupped his hands and said: "General, the viciousness of Yang Qing does not end there. This guy also preached the merits of the previous Han Dynasty and tried his best to slander us, the Wei Dynasty.
According to the reports of officials and people who were lucky enough to escape back to Chang'an, this beast also spread rumors and slanders against Emperor Taizu Wu and Emperor Gao Zuwen, and many ignorant people were bewitched by it. If it is allowed to develop, the country's face and the court's dignity will inevitably be damaged. "
"Master Yan's intention is for the king to go out of the city to confront the enemy?" Cao Zhen asked.
He has not yet made a decision on whether to attack or not. The reason why he convened everyone for discussion today is to listen to everyone's opinions. Previously, Zhou Zhuo had expressed his intention to leave the city to fight. If Yan Fei, a senior official, also had the same intention, then he would basically be able to Convinced myself to take the initiative.
Unexpectedly, although Yan Fei also knew the serious consequences of allowing the Han army to wreak havoc outside the city, as the prefect of Jingzhao, he paid more attention to the safety of Chang'an, and he was not good at military affairs. It’s not easy to make any judgments.
Therefore, Yan Fei was stunned when he heard this, and replied hesitantly: "Xiaguan...Xiaguan is not familiar with military strategy. It is up to the general to decide with you whether to send troops. No matter what decision he makes, Xianguan will give his full support." .”
"That's fine."
Although Cao Zhen secretly cursed the old cunning man in his heart, he could not force him to express his position, so he asked the others loudly: "Do you think our army should continue to hold on or go out to fight the Shu thieves?"
"General, I think we should take the initiative to attack. Although the Shu army is outnumbered, but apart from the four or five thousand cavalry, the others are just a group of vulnerable rabble, and our army does not need to care at all.
Moreover, our great Wei Dynasty is a great country in the heaven, and our army is also a majestic king. If we dare not go out of the city to fight with the Shu army, wouldn’t we make the world laugh at us?
In the past few days, the general has also heard a lot of rumors in the army. The sergeants are quite dissatisfied with the Shu army showing off their power outside the city. They feel deeply ashamed that they cannot go out of the city to fight with their fellow soldiers. If our army does not take any more action, the morale of the army may be It's not stable. "Pianjiang Dunn responded with his fists clasped.
Cao Zhen nodded when he heard the words, and he quite agreed with what Dunn said. However, he still did not express his position. He only looked at the others and planned to listen again.
Wang Duan, the magistrate of Chang'an County, stood up and said: "General, I think it is not yet time to send out troops. The Shu army has been conquering cities and territories these days and has been victorious. This is when morale is high. Although our army is strong in combat, it is still weak." After all, we have few soldiers. If we fail to fight outside the city, Chang'an will be in danger!
If Chang'an falls, the overall situation in Guanzhong will inevitably collapse. How should we explain to the emperor at that time? "
"Then according to Wang Mingting's wishes, when is the time to send out troops?" Before Cao Zhen could speak, Dunn couldn't help but stand up and asked in a bad tone.
Wang Duan didn't seem to see the anger on Dunn's face, and said calmly: "The general has already sent his horse to Feng Yi to order General Yan and others to quickly return for reinforcements. General Yan has no less than 10,000 troops. Wait until he leads his troops back to his hometown." Can defeat the Shu army."
"Hmph, they have already been lured to Hongnong by being tricked by suspicious soldiers. By the time they come back, I'm afraid Yang Qing will have gathered tens of thousands of people."
Without waiting for Wang Duan's response, Dunn continued to sneer: "Wang Mingting doesn't agree to send troops, is he worried that if Chang'an is lost, his official position will not be preserved?"
Even though Wang Duan had always been quite civilized, he couldn't help but get furious after hearing his heart-wrenching words. He sneered, looked at Dunn sideways and said, "Even though Wang is unworthy, he is by no means a person who is greedy for fame. What he said is true." For the sake of the emperor and the country, General Deng’s recent words may be that he is trying to save others by himself, right?”
As a partial general with a rank of two thousand stones, Deng En had a higher official rank than Wang Duan, but Wang Duan was from the Wang family in Taiyuan, so he was not afraid of retorting with him.
"you......"
After hearing this, Dunn became even more angry. He stretched out his hand and was about to retort when he suddenly heard a loud shout from above: "That's enough, sit down!" But Cao Zhen couldn't stand it and stopped him.
"Zixu, a discussion is a discussion. How is it appropriate to argue in public?" As Wang Duan's immediate boss, Yan Fei also scolded him.
Wang Duan cupped his hands to apologize and said, "Yes, I know I was wrong." Dunn also sat back obediently, lowered his head, and did not dare to make any more noise.
"I'm afraid it will be too late for Yan and the others to get rid of the entanglement of the Shu army in the north before sending out troops. We must find a way to contain the thieves. If the delay continues, there may be even greater chaos." Cao Zhen said.
Although he did not explain clearly what he said, others understood that this was a rejection of Wang Duan's suggestion to stand firm and wait for help, and he had revealed to everyone his intention to send troops.
Therefore, in the next speech, more than half of the generals proposed to attack and fight. Cao Zhen decisively adopted the opinions of most people and made up his mind to personally lead his troops out of the city to fight Yang Qing.
"I wonder how many troops the general will lead to fight? How many troops will be left to defend the city?" Seeing that sending troops was a foregone conclusion, Yan Fei became concerned about Chang'an's defense.
Cao Zhen did not reply directly, but asked the generals: "What do you think, generals?"
"General, Chang'an is the foundation of our Guanzhong. There must be no room for loss. We must leave a considerable amount of troops to defend the city, otherwise the enemy will take advantage of it." Zhou Zhuo replied.
Cao Zhen said: "I know the dangers of Chang'an. I am asking you how many troops and horses you should bring to attack the Shu army?"
Thinking of the reputation of the Han army general Yang Qing, the generals felt that the more troops and horses they could bring, the better. However, Chang'an also had to leave part of its troops, not to mention half, but at least one third, so At first, with only four to five thousand troops to fight against tens of thousands of Han troops, the generals did not have much confidence.
Therefore, facing Cao Zhen's question again, everyone lowered their heads and said nothing.
