Chapter 102: Gathering of Troops It was already afternoon. Shouchun City had almost become a military city at this time. Cao Rui sat in the hall of the temporary palace and could still hear the noisy sounds of the army training and people running around in the city. Since everyone was not gathered yet and there was nothing else to do here, Cao Rui was sitting sideways at the table, picking up Jia Kui's document to read. At this time, the general Cao Zhen simply sat at the table and closed his eyes to rest. The first to arrive were the four attendants. Cao Zhen heard footsteps, turned his head, and looked up to see four attendants entering the hall. He nodded gently to them and continued to close his eyes. Although Cao Zhen appeared to be sitting at the table with his eyes closed and calm, his heart was not as calm as it appeared. Logically speaking, the emperor already has four of us assistant ministers, so why does he still need to keep these four attendants by his side all the time? Liu Ye and Xin Pi were fine, after all, they were the two attendants left behind by the previous emperor, and it was their duty to serve the emperor. How could Huang Quan, a surrendered man, gain the emperor's trust and consult him on state affairs? And Chen Jiao, a man who had blocked the emperor from the Secretariat, actually followed the emperor southward? I really don’t know what the emperor was thinking. In fact, from Cao Rui's perspective, among the many problems he encountered since he ascended the throne, the most prominent one is the issue of unclear rights and responsibilities. According to the original system, the emperor should always have four attendants around him, who not only served him but also consulted him on all matters. But when Cao Pi died, there were only two attendants, and he also recruited some Sanqi who had the same functions as the attendants.
Cao Rui had no choice but to fill the vacancies of Shizhong to four, and dismissed the original Sanqi, making Sanqi only an additional title. For example, in addition to the title of general, Cao Zhen also served as the commander-in-chief of all internal and external military forces. Originally, the emperor led the central army in Luoyang, but because he was sending troops south, he temporarily gave the command of the central army to Cao Zhen. What about the external army? Similarly, Cao Xiu was the Grand Marshal, theoretically the head of the military officers, but he was only the commander-in-chief of all the military forces in Yangzhou, and under his command were both foreign troops and soldiers from prefectures and counties in other states. This caused some very embarrassing problems. In Shouchun City, both Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen were here. The provincial governors, prefects and generals gathered in Shouchun City could listen to the command of either Cao Xiu or Cao Zhen. So who should they listen to? Then establishing a complete command center and informing all the provincial governors, prefects and generals became Cao Rui's top priority. It is really a top priority! Even if the soldiers are brave and well-equipped, how can they coordinate hundreds of thousands of people if there is a lack of coordination, unclear responsibilities, and no mutual command? When the four attendants entered the room and saw Cao Zhen, they nodded but did not say anything. The emperor just leaned on his seat and glanced at him. Then they found seats in the hall and sat down. The next one to come back was Grand Marshal Cao Xiu. About a quarter of an hour later, Sima Yi and Jiang Ji finally arrived. Cao Rui saw that everyone had arrived, and he slowly stood up and sat behind the table. When several people saw the emperor's movements, they all stood up and saluted, and Cao Rui just waved his hand to signal them to sit down. Cao Rui glanced around. Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen were sitting in the front, followed by Sima Yi and the four attendants, and the one sitting on the outermost side was the Central Guard General Jiang Ji. They were indeed a group of people who had been in the court for a long time. They didn't need anyone to arrange for them, they would find their own seats and sit down. Cao Rui cleared his throat and said, "I set out from Luoyang on the tenth day of the twelfth month, and traveled 1,200 miles in fifteen days to get here. I will gather with you in Shouchun City." "I will make it clear to you first that the country is weak because of the rebellion of Eastern Wu and Western Shu. Now that we are about to mobilize our troops, I must win in a safe way and not waste the country's strength and military power. All of you ministers are my trusted and trusted people. The future of the country and your achievements all depend on this battle." Cao Rui looked at the two Cao generals and said, "Grand Marshal, Grand General, can either of you tell me in detail about the military strength of Shouchun?" Cao Xiu was a few years older and held a higher position. Seeing Cao Zhen across from him raise his chin in greeting, he stood up and bowed to explain. Cao Xiu said, "Your Majesty, everyone, since November, the number of troops gathered in Yangzhou has reached 160,000." "As of today, Shouchun has 50,000 central troops, 70,000 external troops, and 20,000 provincial and county troops, a total of 140,000 people." "In addition, there are a total of 10,000 foreign troops stationed in Hefei, Guangling, and Lu'an, including 4,000 in Hefei, 4,500 in Guangling, and 1,500 in Lu'an." "The 10,000 Yuzhou soldiers under the command of Yuzhou Governor Jia Kui have been sent south from Shouchun. According to the deployment, 4,000 of them will go to Wancheng to garrison, and 6,000 will build fortifications in Jiashi and Wuqiangkou." "160,000 men. This is all the troops available in Yangzhou at the moment."
After Cao Xiu finished speaking, he glanced in the direction of Cao Rui. Cao Rui asked, "Who is the current garrison commander of Hefei?" Cao Xiu replied, "It is Lieutenant General Zhang Hu, the son of Zhang Liao and Zhang Wenyuan. Zhang Liao has been stationed in Hefei since the 16th year of Jian'an, and Zhang Hu has also been in Hefei with his father for a long time. I think Zhang Hu is qualified for the position in Hefei." Cao Rui nodded and said, "The Grand Marshal just said it very clearly. Excluding the three places south of Shouchun and Jia Kui's troops, 140,000 troops have been gathered near Shouchun." "From Shouchun, the only places where we can deploy troops are Ruxu and Wancheng. Jia Kui submitted a memorial to me a few days ago, saying that Wu soldiers were spotted investigating in the Wuqiangkou area. If the Wu soldiers in Ruxu make any moves, then Sun Quan must have begun to gather in the Wankou area as well." "Ruxu in the southeast and Wancheng in the southwest, which of these two places should we choose? You can discuss it." Cao Zhen said, "Now we have 160,000 people, so we can attack Wancheng and Ruxu. If the main force of Wu soldiers gathers in the Jiangbei area near Wankou, our Wei army has the advantage in land battles, so I think we should focus on attacking Wancheng." Cao Rui raised his head and glanced at Cao Xiu who was standing there. Cao Xiu immediately said, "That's what I mean." It seems that after Cao Zhen led the central army to Shouchun, Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen had reached a consensus. Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi again: "What does Sikong have to say?" Sima Yi was silent for a while. After everyone's eyes were focused on Sima Yi, Sima Yi spoke after a long while: "Your Majesty, are you sure Zhou Cang is pretending to surrender?" Cao Rui said with a firm tone: "Zhou Cang is undoubtedly pretending to surrender! Jia Kui and the general have confirmed it." Sima Yi immediately replied: "Sun Quan sent Zhou Cang to feign surrender so that he could dispatch Wei's troops, so that Wu's troops could rest and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out." "But now that Your Majesty has confirmed that Zhou Cang is pretending to surrender, the offensive and defensive situation can be reversed. Now it is Your Majesty's turn to dispatch Sun Quan." Cao Rui asked: "What do you mean, Sikong? How can I deal with Sun Quan?" Sima Yi said slowly: "Sun Quan dispatches our army, and our army dispatches Sun Quan, in fact, it is only in the offensive and defensive situation." "According to Zhou Cang's plan, the Grand Marshal would attack from the south, and the Wu soldiers would defend. But now that we know Zhou Cang is pretending to surrender, it becomes Sun Quan who attacks, and we defend." Cao Rui asked with a serious face: "Where will Sun Quan attack?" Sima Yi replied: "Wancheng." Cao Rui asked again: "If our army retreats after engaging the enemy in Wancheng, can we dispatch Sun Quan?" Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "That's right." Cao Rui asked again: "Where is the farthest place that Sun Quan can be dispatched to?" Sima Yi said: "Wancheng is not a strategic location. Sun Quan's attack should only be to kill our troops. If we want to achieve victory, we can dispatch Wu's troops to Jiashi and Wuqiangkou at the farthest." Cao Rui nodded and looked at Cao Xiu: "Grand Marshal, you have been to Wancheng several times. How far is it from Jiashi to Wancheng, from Wancheng to Wankou, and from Wankou to Ruxu?" Since Cao Rui had asked this question, Cao Xiu was not stupid, so he immediately said, "I understand what your majesty means. If we start from Jiashi and Wuqiangkou, go southwest to Wancheng, follow the Wan River to Wankou, and then enter the river from Wankou to Ruxu, the total distance is about 700 miles." "But if we go directly northeast from Jiashi and Wuqiangkou to Ruxu, the distance is less than 200 miles." "Sikong, is this what you mean?" Cao Xiu looked at Sima Yi. Sima Yi nodded and said, "That's exactly what I mean. Sun Tzu once said, 'If you are capable, pretend you are incapable; if you are using something, pretend you are not using it; if it is near, pretend it is far away; if it is far away, pretend it is near.'" "The Wei Dynasty had always used troops against Ruxu, but they could not take it down after a long time. Sun Quan led troops from all over the river to Ruxu to provide assistance, so they often failed."
"Now, the Wei army is marching south with 160,000 troops. Even if we fight on the east and west fronts, we still have enough manpower. We can certainly pin down the troops that Sun Quan can use to the vicinity of Wancheng, or even to the Jiashi and Wuqiangkou areas." "If we attack Ruxu again, the distance for Wei is only 200 miles, while the Wu soldiers have to travel 700 miles to get back to support us. They will be exhausted and their chances of winning will be much greater." Seeing that it was Sima Yi who was speaking, Jiang Ji interrupted from behind and said, "Sikong, the strength of Wu's troops in Wancheng has not yet been determined. How can we be sure that we can contain all Wu's troops here?" Cao Rui did not expect Jiang Ji to speak at this time. In fact, Jiang Ji mostly just listened and did not speak on the way from Luoyang to Shouchun. When Jiang Ji spoke at this time, it was obvious that he was trying to praise Sima Yi. Cao Rui glanced at Jiang Ji and said nothing. Liu Ye keenly caught the emperor's eyes and said, "How else can we be sure? Of course, we must defeat the Wu soldiers until they gather in Wancheng." Cao Xiu had no intention of paying attention to the thoughts of the few people, and then said: "Seven hundred miles and two hundred miles, this distance is enough to block the Wu soldiers, at least it can delay them for more than ten days." Sima Yi also nodded: "Therefore, if our army moves south from Shouchun and stations in the Wuqiangkou area, it will not only block the Wu army on the east and west sides, but also facilitate attacks from the west or the east." Cao Rui nodded and said, "I have discussed this matter with the Minister of Works and several of the attendants along the way, and I also think that it is a good idea to not force it here." "Grand Marshal, Grand General, what do you think?" (End of this chapter)