Luoyang, the Imperial Palace of Wei State.
While the triumphant army was still in Baoxie Road, Wei Emperor Cao Rui had received news that the Han army had retreated and the war was over.
In the main hall, Chen Qun, Hua Xin, Sun Zi, Liu Fang, Liu Ye, Jiang Ji and other important ministers all looked serious and silent, quietly waiting for Cao Rui on the throne to read the memorials of Cao Zhen and Sima Yi.
Although they still don't know what Cao Zhen and Sima Yi wrote in their memorials, they already know the details of the war on the Western Front through various channels.
Although the situation on the western front of Cao Wei in the second half of the year was not as corrupt as in the first half of the year, this time the Han and Wei armies fought again, but it still ended in the defeat of the Wei army.
The Cao Wei side lost troops, generals, cities and territory. The losses were not small. Although Chang'an, the most critical town in Guanzhong, was saved, Feng Yi, Fufeng and other hinterlands were still turned upside down by the Han army, causing Wei Ting to lose face in the hearts of the people in Guanzhong. Big loss.
It can be believed that after this battle, the people in Guanzhong, who were already obsessed with the Han Dynasty, would become even more alienated from the Wei court in Luoyang.
In addition, this year, Cao Wei actually lost three battles in a row with Ji Han and Soochow without achieving a decent victory, which greatly damaged the image of Wei as a strong military established in the Cao Cao era. This allowed the anti-Cao forces that had been suppressed since Liu Bei's death to grow again.
In the past three months, even the anti-Cao forces in the hinterland of Cao Wei such as the Central Plains and Hebei have shown signs of being ready to move.
Cao Rui, who was reading the memorial word for word, had a deeper feeling about the series of adverse effects that this battle would have, because Cao Zhen mentioned in the memorial that when Yang Qing led the cavalry south, a large number of Guanzhong people responded with troops.
This is not a good sign. The occurrence of this incident means that the legitimacy of Cao Wei's rule in Guanzhong has been seriously weakened. In addition, Wugong, Yicheng, and Chencang have now fallen into the hands of Ji Han. Once the Han army marches northward again, it will be difficult to keep the Other cities in Guanzhong will probably be even more difficult.
"Please read the memorials of the general and the hussar general. Although the main force of the Shu army has retreated, the three areas of Chencang and Guanzhong have been lost. From then on, Guanzhong has become a piece of fat that the Shu army can eat whenever they want.
Alas, the banditry in the west is spreading day by day, and it has reached a critical moment. It is really heartbreaking! "Cao Rui closed the memorial and said with a long sigh.
When this young monarch came to the throne, he won the unanimous support of both the government and the public for his outstanding demeanor of staying calm in times of crisis. Unexpectedly, less than three years later, he was no longer as calm as before when facing crises. After all, The reason is not that he has become timid, but because the situation has deteriorated too fast and he can no longer maintain his calm demeanor.
"Your Majesty, I think so"
Liu Fang was about to leave the class to play, but he was interrupted by Cao Rui as soon as he opened his mouth. Cao Rui waved his right sleeve and shouted: "If you have anything to say, wait until you finish reading the memorial."
"No." Liu Fang returned to his original position.
The chamberlain handed the memorials of Cao Zhen and Sima Yi to Hua Xin and Chen Qun, who were sitting at the front respectively, and asked the ministers to start circulating them.
After a cup of tea, everyone had finished circulating the memorials. The chamberlain took back the two memorials and placed them again on the imperial desk.
Cao Rui said loudly: "Now that the ministers have read the memorials of the general and the hussar general, what do you think? In the past year, the two thieves of Wu and Shu have invaded one after another. Although we, the Wei Dynasty, have many soldiers and sufficient food and national strength, It is powerful, but it cannot withstand the two thieves who respond from east to west and attack in turn.
In one year, we, the Wei Dynasty, lost three battles in a row. We lost troops and generals, lost cities and territory, were overwhelmed by support on both sides, and were exhausted to cope with the situation. As a result, the country's prestige was reduced and the people's morale was greatly lost. What a shame and humiliation!
All the ministers are the wise and resourceful people of the Wei Dynasty. I have called you here today to come up with a strategy to wipe out the Wu and Shu thieves and implement them. I wonder if you have any clever ideas that you can teach me? "
Cao Rui often followed the example of his grandfather Cao Cao, and he was always ambitious. After he ascended the throne, he secretly made up his mind to attack Ji Han and Soochow, expand his territory, and follow the great achievements of Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han.
However, the reality gave him a blow. Before he could take the initiative to send troops to attack, the alliance of Ji Han and Soochow took the initiative to attack, leaving Cao Wei in a state of embarrassment and suffering heavy losses. This made the young and energetic Cao Wei
How could Rui endure such shame and humiliation? He vowed to fight back.
But when the leader of the three princes, Taiwei Hua Xin, came out of the squad and said: "Your Majesty, our Wei Dynasty has suffered repeated defeats in the past year. Not only did we lose tens of thousands of soldiers and generals, we also lost Liangzhou, Longyou and other places. Even if our Wei family The cause is great, but such a loss is also crippling.
Therefore, I think that we, the Wei Dynasty, should rest for a year or two, and wait until the national strength is restored before making any further calculations. During these two years, please be patient for the time being, stay in seclusion and refuse to defend, and do not take the initiative to start a war just for the sake of a quick moment. "
"Patience for two years? Does the Taiwei want me to watch Liangzhou and Longyou fall to the hands of thieves? You must know that the founding of the Wei Dynasty has not been ten years, and the people in the world, especially in the Yongliang area, still treat the former Han Dynasty Remain in remembrance.
Zhuge Liang, the false prime minister of Xishu, is good at winning over people's hearts and confusing them. If he is given enough time, with this cruel method, I am afraid that the people's hearts in Liangzhou, Longyou and other places will go to Xishu. By then, I will It will be even more difficult to regain the lost ground. "Cao Rui said rather dissatisfied.
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Fang, who had wanted to speak just now, hurriedly came out and said: "Your Majesty has seen thousands of miles, and his words really hit the mark. Zhuge Liang is very good at governing the country. If you give him too much time, Longyou, Liang States and other places may no longer be owned by the state.
Just as the general said in his memorial, the power of our country, Wei, is far superior to that of Wu and Shu. Although we suffered a great defeat, we must strive to make every move in this three-legged confrontation, taking advantage of the fact that the momentum of the two thieves, especially Western Shu, is weak. When they are fully awakened, they should be suppressed in one fell swoop with bravery and diligence. If it is delayed for a long time and the situation is stabilized, it will be difficult to eliminate these two thieves in the future. "
"Well, what Liu Qing said is very much what I like. The general also said in his memorial that Western Shu should not be given too much rest time. He suggested that an army of 200,000 be gathered in Guanzhong, and then directly attack Hanzhong to seek a decisive battle with the main force of the Shu army. In one fell swoop, he conquered Chengdu and destroyed Western Shu.
Once the false emperor Liu Chan and the false prime minister Zhuge Liang were captured and killed by Wang Shi, the lost Longyou and Liangzhou would be able to regain them on their own initiative. Sun Quan would also be unable to survive alone, and the destruction of Soochow would be just around the corner. "Cao Rui nodded.
Chen Qun came out of the squad and said: "No, Your Majesty, as the Taiwei said, our Wei Dynasty has spent countless military resources and money this year, the treasury is exhausted, and the national strength is greatly damaged. We should focus on recuperation and recuperation."
In his memorial, Sima Zhongda also proposed to temporarily put down the weapons and raise troops to farm for two years. It would not be too late to raise troops to suppress the bandits after the country's strength was restored and food and grass were sufficient. Please also ask Your Majesty to be patient for a while and not to act rashly because of a temporary defeat. "
It turned out that Cao Zhen and Sima Yi respectively wrote about the course of the war in Guanzhong and the post-war response strategies. However, what they did not know was that they had different opinions on future strategies.
One advocated ignoring the fall of Longyou, Liangzhou and other places next year, and launched a large army to directly attack Hanzhong and Shuzhong, Ji Han's inner circle, and fight Zhuge Liang to the death. One suggestion was to recuperate, raise troops and farm in Guanzhong for two years, and wait for the country's strength to recover before embarking on an expedition.
Although Cao Rui was inclined to Cao Zhen's opinion, Sima Yi's opinion could not be ignored, especially when two important officials, Hua Xin and Chen Qun, came out to agree with Sima Yi one after another, so he could not make a hasty decision.
Cao Rui suddenly became hesitant and felt that what Sima Yi, Hua Xin and Chen Qun said was reasonable. After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Sun Zi, Liu Ye and others, determined to listen to their opinions again.
