"Sun Qing, Liu Qing, Jiang Qing, what do you think?" Cao Rui named the three important ministers in one breath, eager to hear different opinions.
Sun Zi was the first to come out and responded: "Your Majesty, I believe that the Hussars General's proposal in the memorial is a mature way of seeking the country, and the General's strategy of directly attacking Hanzhong is too dangerous. Your Majesty should be careful about it."
"Tell me your reasons?" Cao Rui said.
Sun Zi handed over his hand and said yes, and then said: "Your Majesty, the general's strategy of attacking Hanzhong and fighting the decisive battle with the Shu army seems to be able to wipe out the Shu thieves once and for all, but I think the general is overthinking things.
If this strategy had been implemented a year ago when the Shu thieves had not invaded, it might have been successful. However, now that Liangzhou on the right side of Longnan has been lost, the Shu thieves are condescending and occupy the advantageous location. If our army attacks Hanzhong, the Shu thieves west of Longshan will definitely attack Guandao. Our army has a retreat. If this happens, our army will be attacked from both sides and will be in danger. If one of them fails, we may suffer a big defeat.
In addition, now that Yicheng and Chencang have fallen into the hands of Shu thieves, we no longer have the Baoxie Road and Chencang Road. Our army can only attack Hanzhong from the south through the Tangluo Road and Ziwu Road. The Qinling Mountains are inherently difficult and dangerous. These two roads It is even more dangerous, and it is very easy for the Shu army to defend.
What's more, Zhuge Liang used Hanzhong as his base to send troops to invade the north. Hanzhong has already been managed by him and is impregnable. Even if our army reaches Hanzhong through the Qinling Mountains, it will still have to go through a hard battle. It is still unclear who will win and who will lose.
Therefore, I believe that the general's plan is too dangerous, and I beg your majesty to think twice before acting rashly. It is not too late to rest and recuperate until the country becomes stronger before competing with the Shu thieves. "
Cao Zhen nodded slowly, then looked at Liu Ye and said, "Liu Qing has always been resourceful and decisive in military matters. What do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I still have the same view. The top priority of the Wei Dynasty is to break the Wu-Shu alliance first. If the alliance between the two thieves is not broken for a day, our country will always be controlled by them. We will be weak on the left and the right, and be attacked on both sides.
When Guan Yu was powerful in China, Emperor Taizu Wu first sent people to Sun Quanxiao to break the Wu-Shu alliance, and finally joined forces with Soochow to defeat Guan Yu, suppressing Liu Bei's rising momentum, thus establishing our foundation in one fell swoop. The foundation of the founding of the Wei Dynasty.
Therefore, I believe that it is not appropriate to advance in large numbers before the Wu-Shu alliance is broken. Otherwise, if we attack Shu, Wu will be restrained on the eastern front, and if we attack Wu, Shu will respond on the western front. Even though the national power of Wei is greater than that of Wu and Shu combined, we can still It is also difficult to support a two-front battle. The series of defeats this year are a ready example. I hope Your Majesty will think deeply about it. Liu Ye said.
Cao Rui nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. If the Wu-Shu alliance is not broken, we, the Wei Dynasty, will eventually lose sight of one and be unable to have both. It's just that Dongwu and Xishu have re-established their alliance not long ago, and there is no rift between the two families. What should we do?" How can we separate the two thieves?"
"Your Majesty, Sun Quan has been arrogant for a long time. According to school reports, there have been rumors of auspicious births in Soochow recently. It can be seen that Sun Quan is already preparing for arrogant and proclaimed emperor. I estimate that within half a year, there will be someone in Jiangdong. News of the treasonous thief came.
However, Western Shu has always regarded itself as the orthodox Han Dynasty. Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang will not tolerate Sun Quan's arrogance. At that time, it will be the best time for us to drive a wedge between the two thieves.
Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to be patient for half a year and wait until the alliance between the Wu and Shu thieves is broken before raising an army to attack. At that time, the army can get twice the result with half the effort. "Jiang Ji came out of the class to play.
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Ye continued: "Your Majesty, that's not all. Sun Quan is a man who is generous on the outside and jealous on the inside. He is narrow-minded and jealous. When Liu Bei held Jingzhou in his hands, Sun Quan was extremely dissatisfied with the boundaries of the two families. Finally, he finally He couldn't help but launch a sneak attack on Guan Yu and capture Jingzhou.
Previously, Western Shu only had Yizhou, and Soochow's territory was much larger than Western Shu. Sun Quan was able to renew the alliance with Zhuge Liang, but now Western Shu has captured Longyou, Liangzhou and other places, and the territory and the number of households have greatly increased. Sun Quan's temperament must be jealous of this, and he couldn't figure out how to be jealous.
Therefore, we can make a fuss about this aspect, or let Soochow's craftsmen spread rumors, or send a debater to Wuchang to meet Sun Quan secretly to discuss our interests. This two-pronged approach will definitely drive a wedge between Wu and Shu. "
"Shan, this is a great plan." Cao Rui was elated upon hearing this and couldn't help but applaud.
At this time, he had been completely convinced by Liu Ye and Jiang Ji, and decided to endure it for a while and wait until the Wu-Shu alliance was broken before sending troops to the south.
Seeing that Cao Rui seemed to have completely abandoned his suggestion, Liu Fang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the general's suggestion is not completely unreasonable. If the imperial court completely vetoes the general's proposal, it may make the Kansai generals suspicious. , Your Majesty, please inspect it carefully."
He was right. The strategy of gathering a large army to attack Hanzhong was not Cao Zhen's idea alone. Zhang He, Fei Yao and other Guanzhong generals also intended to take the initiative to attack Hanzhong, averting the shame of two defeats.
Moreover, Cao Xiu, the great Sima of the Wei State, had always felt ashamed of his defeat at the hands of Soochow in the Battle of Shiting. He was depressed and finally passed away from a carbuncle on his back not long ago. So when it comes to the current clan generals, The number one person should naturally be Cao Zhen.
Cao Rui's reliance on Cao Zhen correspondingly became greater. Although he was the emperor, he could not reject all Cao Zhen's suggestions, because it would hurt the face of his close ministers.
"Well, what the general said does make some sense, but" Cao Rui said no more.
In his heart, he was actually leaning toward the strategy of Liu Ye and others, planning to break the Wu-Shu alliance first and then launch an expedition, but it was hard to refute Cao Zhen's face, so he remained undecided, which was very embarrassing.
Liu Ye saw that Cao Rui was in a dilemma at this time, and immediately stood up to rescue him and said: "Your Majesty, the opinion mentioned in the memorial that the general cannot allow Xi Shu to accumulate national power with peace of mind is actually quite reasonable. Your Majesty can adopt it. . ”
"Didn't you advocate a temporary truce and alienate Wu and Shu? Why did you turn to support the general?" Cao Rui was quite surprised when he heard this.
Liu Ye smiled and said: "I do not support the general's strategy of sending a large number of troops south to attack Hanzhong, but I also believe that we cannot allow Western Shu to get too much breathing space.
Although they have won successively this year, their national strength is weak after all, and the use of troops for many years will definitely consume a lot of national strength. Therefore, we must find ways to contain Zhuge Liang's energy and not allow him to get enough time to recuperate.
Therefore, I think that your majesty can ask the general and the others to look for opportunities to recover the three cities of Wugong after next spring. This will not damage the national strength, but can also contain some of the Shu thieves' troops, so that they can't disarm their soldiers and their horses can't release their saddles, which will cause chaos. its internal affairs purposes. "
"Well, this plan is feasible, what do you all think?" Cao Rui said.
Hua Xin, Chen Qun and others naturally agreed and bowed in response: "I second my opinion."
"Okay, then it's settled."
The difficulty was solved, and Cao Rui finally felt better, so he smiled and said to Sun Zi and Liu Fang: "Sun Qing, Liu Qing, you two will quickly prepare a reply to the general and the hussar general based on the results of today's court meeting. , let them act according to their will.
In addition, I will draw up an edict to Sima Qing's family, asking him to lead his troops back to Jingzhou station in ten days, and then come to Luoyang to see me. "
"I sincerely obey His Majesty's holy will." Sun and Liu responded in unison.
Cao Rui added: "Since Sun Quan, a traitor, has acted arrogantly recently, it is urgent to break the Wu-Shu alliance. Therefore, I have sent an order to the school affairs office, asking them to send more manpower to Soochow to investigate. I want to deal with Sun Quan." I know every move he makes."
"No." Liu Fang, who was in charge of the school affairs office, quickly left work and agreed.
