Chapter 103 Dispatching the Enemy What else could Cao Xiu think? According to what the emperor and Sima Yi said, it was obvious that they had already arranged everything on the way. This was obviously far from Cao Xiu's own expectations. Cao Xiu had been planning this battle for more than a month. According to Cao Xiu's own thinking, it would not be easy to take down Ruxu, and at most he could just lay siege. If we want to besiege Ruxu, we need at least 30,000 men. Cao Xiu originally thought that Yangzhou could only gather 80,000 to 90,000 men. If 30,000 men fight Ruxu, 50,000 to 60,000 men will go to Wancheng to fight Sun Quan, which is basically enough. The Eastern Wu was good at naval warfare but not at land warfare. The Wei had 50,000 to 60,000 infantry and cavalry. Even if they could not defeat three of them alone, they could at least defeat 80,000 to 90,000 Wu soldiers. Cao Xiu thought so. However, as time went on, the emperor and the court mobilized more and more troops from all over to Yangzhou, and finally reached 160,000. Can a battle involving 160,000 people be considered the same as a battle involving 80,000 people? The situation was increasingly beyond Cao Xiu's control, and according to the words of the emperor and Sima Yi, it was clear that he was going to station a large number of troops at Wuqiangkou, attack Wancheng in the southwest, and Ruxu in the northeast. Is Ruxu so easy to conquer? Emperor Wu Cao Cao returned without success after crossing Chaohu Lake four times, and Cao Ren even died after conquering Ruxu. If Ruxu could be conquered so easily, Cao Cao and Cao Ren would have conquered it long ago! In this world, it is always easier to see others clearly, but it is more difficult to see yourself clearly. Cao Cao couldn’t take Ruxu, and neither could Cao Ren.
Cao Xiu had spent most of his military career in the offensive under the command of famous generals like Cao Cao. As a result, Cao Xiu had become entrenched in his thinking: if Cao Cao couldn't take Ruxu, how could I, Cao Xiu, take Ruxu? This is like being blinded by a leaf and not seeing the mountain. Cao Xiu said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I still think it is better not to attack Ruxu. Ruxu Fort is built by the water and is extremely difficult to capture. If we send a large force to Ruxu, I am afraid it will affect the battle situation in Wancheng." Cao Xiu had actually expressed his objection very tactfully. Apparently, Cao Xiu thought it would be better to just attack Wancheng. Hearing what Cao Xiu said, Cao Rui smiled and shook his head. Cao Rui said: "Don't misunderstand me, Grand Marshal. I still need to discuss with you whether to divide the troops and how many troops to divide." "Let me ask you a question. If Wu's army of 100,000 men approaches Wancheng, and our army fights Wu's army in the direction of Wancheng, what is our chance of winning?" Cao Xiu thought for a moment and replied, "I believe that victory or defeat in a battle with Wu troops does not depend on the number of troops, but on the distance from the river." Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi, exchanged glances with him, and then continued to look at Cao Xiu. In fact, when Cao Rui, Sima Yi, Liu Ye and others discussed the battle record of Wu soldiers, they found a very significant feature, that is, the battle situation of Wu soldiers was very obviously related to the distance from the river. The reason is easy to understand. Wu's army is strong in the navy. If they fight by the water, they will have sufficient food and logistics. And if they can't win, they can always get on the boat! Can Wei's cavalry ride into the water? Cao Rui nodded: "If we fight by the Wan River, will it be more difficult? If we are farther away from the Wan River, will it be easier?" Cao Xiu nodded in agreement. Cao Rui asked: "Grand Marshal, I understand your meaning." "I think that in addition to sending 5,000 troops to Hefei, all other troops should be sent out first until there are no strong mouths." "We will cautiously advance towards Wancheng with tens of thousands of troops, and a large group of troops will stay in the rear to build camps and wait for the opportunity to reinforce Wancheng or move towards Ruxu. Although this is a bit conservative, it will not waste military and national strength." "What do you think, sir?" Cao Xiu thought for a moment. How could one plan all the battle plans while sitting at home? He still had to pull the army out and be really close to the battlefield to make the right arrangements. Cao Xiu was the first to speak: "I think your Majesty is right." Cao Zhen also said, "I second the proposal."
The four imperial attendants and the Central Guard General Jiang Ji also nodded in agreement. Cao Rui slowly stood up, holding the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist with his right hand, and looked at everyone: "I have made up my mind. On the first day of the first month, I will hold a ceremony in Shouchun to worship the heaven and change the year. Then I will send troops south." The eight ministers in the audience stood up and saluted: "May Your Majesty be victorious and wipe out the rebels!" Although everyone agreed, there were still too many details to be arranged for a battle involving more than 100,000 people. Cao Rui did not want to delay for a moment and continued to give instructions. Cao Rui pressed his hands down and said, "Everyone, sit down. I have something to say." After everyone sat down, they looked at the emperor on the stage. Cao Rui said: "I have also seen the memorial that Jia Kui gave me. In the memorial, Jia Kui mentioned that there are many hills and swamps in Wuqiangkou, and the construction of the camp is slower than expected. In addition, there may be Wu soldiers spying on us. Jia Kui is asking me for reinforcements." "If we count the days, Jia Kui's 6,000 men should have completed the construction of fortifications in the north and south of Jiashi by now, and Wuqiangkou should have built a large camp of 30,000 people." "Grand Marshal, Grand General, who do you think should be sent to help Jia Kui?" Cao Xiu asked, "Your Majesty, are you only going to help Jia Kui build the camp at Wuqiangkou?" Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Why not also repair the road from Shouchun to Jiashi and Wuqiangkou at the same time? The distance is 350 miles, and a supply camp will be set up every 30 miles to store military supplies, medicines, etc." "As for Jia Kui, will 5,000 men be enough?" Cao Xiu thought for a moment and said, "Jia Kui already has 6,000 men. According to the progress, sending another 5,000 men will be enough." "Your Majesty, General Liu Ruo has been in Huainan for a long time. It would be better to let Liu Ruo lead his 5,000 troops to help Jia Kui. As for the road construction, it would be better to let the 5,000 Yanzhou soldiers led by Yanzhou Governor Wang Chang do it. Yanzhou soldiers are new to the battlefield and their combat effectiveness may not be very high. Doing this kind of work can be regarded as making the best use of their talents. Liu Ruonai was a veteran who had led troops since the Jian'an period. In his early years, he served under Xiahou Dun, and now he was a member of the foreign army led by Cao Xiu in Yangzhou. Wang Chang was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan and had a close relationship with the previous emperor Cao Pi. He once served as the General of Agriculture near Luoyang, and was considered a civil official in charge of the army. Cao Rui nodded and said, "Send Liu Ruo and Wang Chang. They will set off tomorrow. Let them come and see me before they leave." "My lords, today is December 25th. Before the first day of the first month, all military orders came from the Grand Marshal's Office. After the Heaven Sacrifice, I and you will follow the army south, and the military orders will come from my General Headquarters." "Do you have any objections?" Everyone quickly expressed their obedience. Any objection? Who could have any objection? It was obvious that the emperor himself wanted to be the commander-in-chief. Originally, Cao Xiu had some thoughts about competing for the position of commander-in-chief, but to be honest, as more and more troops gathered in Shouchun, Cao Xiu gradually became unsure. Now that he saw that the emperor wanted to lead the shogunate, he gave up the idea of competing for the position of commander-in-chief. After all, both he and Cao Zhen were by the emperor's side, so there wouldn't be any major problems. Not to mention Cao Zhen, who followed the emperor to lead the central army south, already knew that the emperor would do it himself and had no other thoughts at all. As for Sima Yi... Sima Yi never even thought about the position of commander-in-chief. I have always been a civil official, what does it have to do with me? The sky is big, the earth is big, and the emperor is the greatest. With the emperor, who had the highest title, accompanying the army, the emperor would support them even if the sky fell. In addition, the emperor said he would go south with the army without any objection, so the few people had a tacit understanding and no debate on who would command the army. When marching to war, one should either listen to Cao Xiu or Cao Zhen. As a great general and a great commander, who else can one listen to if not these two? But Cao Rui didn't think so at all. Cao Rui believed that apart from tactics and courage at the time of battle, which could be influenced by generals, the rest of the training, ordnance, logistics, etc. were all arranged according to regulations. As long as everything was arranged according to the regulations, it was not so important who made the arrangements. As for command, Cao Rui did not count on Cao Xiu or Cao Zhen. They should have gone to the front to lead the troops instead of sitting in the shogunate with him.
With Sima Yi by his side, as well as think tanks like Liu Ye, Xin Pi, Jiang Ji, and Chen Jiao, and with Huang Quan here, what strategic loopholes could there be that these people together could not figure out? At this time, the Wei army in Yangzhou had 160,000 men, minus the 10,000 men already in Hefei, Lu'an, and Guangling, the 5,000 reinforcements to be sent to Hefei, and the 5,000 troops in Wancheng. The remaining troops that could be gathered near Wuqiangkou totaled 140,000. Although Cao Rui didn't dare to say anything discouraging like "the advantage is mine", it did not hinder Cao Rui's full confidence at this time. Seeing that the emperor had almost arranged all the important matters, Cao Xiu began to ask the emperor about the arrangements for the next few days. After all, as the emperor said, all military orders for the next few days still had to come from his Grand Marshal's Mansion. Cao Rui replied: "According to the Grand Marshal's opinion, what should be done in the next five days?" Cao Xiu replied: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, it is natural to determine the order in which the armies will attack first and then attack later." "In addition, with more than 100,000 troops gathered here, we should also review each army to estimate their combat effectiveness. The rest are just some trivial matters of coordinating logistics." Cao Rui nodded: "Let's arrange it according to what the Grand Marshal said." "However, the first day of the first month is the day to change the new year, and it is also the day to offer sacrifices to the heavens. How should we arrange it? Is there any etiquette to follow?" To be honest, Cao's army had been at war for a long time, so offering sacrifices to heaven before going out on a campaign was mostly a quick and swift decision. It was enough to appear solemn and dignified, and they did not stick too much to the etiquette process. We have to fight wars every year, so how can we care about so many customs and rituals? However, according to the emperor's wishes, the sacrifice to heaven before the expedition had to be held together with the change of the reign title, which was a bit troublesome. Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen could only turn their attention to Sima Yi, who was more familiar with Confucianism. Sima Yi said, "I don't know of any precedent for changing the reign title and going on an expedition. I hope Your Majesty will do it simply." Cao Rui originally wanted to use etiquette to familiarize himself with the generals. Since even Sima Yi said so, he decided to just do it simply and then go to war. Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Prince, how about holding a grand archery ceremony the day before New Year's Day?" Sima Yi narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, then bowed to the emperor and said: "I understand your majesty's intention. This plan is very good." (End of this chapter)