The next day, at the hour of Yin, outside the Ximing Gate in Luoyang, a hurried sound of horse hooves came from the west. The second half of the night is the most tiring time. The soldiers guarding on the Ximing Gate tower were stimulated by the sound of horse hooves. After seeing the feathered dispatch held high in the hands of the knights below the city, they hurriedly notified the Sima who was in charge of guarding the Ximing Gate. "There is an alarm in Longyou, the Shu army is invading the border!" After Sima asked the question while standing on the city wall, the knight shouted loudly. Opening the gates of Luoyang at night was not something that a gatekeeper could decide. After calling in Dai Ling, the captain of the city gate, the messenger was allowed to enter. Dai Ling asked carefully and personally took the messenger to knock on the door of Beigong. At this time, Cao Rui was still sleeping on Concubine Guo Yao's couch. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty." The eunuch Bi Jin called softly from outside. After calling for more than ten times, Cao Rui finally woke up, sat up from the couch and shouted, "Why are you calling me?"
"Urgent news from Longyou, the Shu army is invading the border!" Bi Jin's voice was also filled with tension. Guo Yao beside him had also been awakened. When she heard about the war at the border, her slender hands unconsciously grabbed Cao Rui's arm. "You take a rest, I'll go out and take a look." Cao Rui stroked Guo Yao's cheek gently, put on his outer robe, stepped forward and opened the door. Bi Jin did not dare to answer, and quickly handed over the military report with both hands. In the bedroom behind him, Guo Yao also called Zhao Jie to light up all the oil lamps in the bedroom and in front of the desk. "Where is the messenger?" Cao Rui asked with a frown. "In reply to your majesty, the messenger entered through the Ximing Gate and is now waiting outside the South Gate of the North Palace, led by the city gate captain Dai Ling." Bi Jin replied respectfully. Cao Rui turned and walked to the table, checked the letter box, peeled off the sealing wax, and leaned close to the oil lamp to read it carefully. As he watched, the expression on his face became more and more solemn. "This is none of your business. Just sleep for a while. I'll go to the study to discuss matters first." Cao Rui instructed Guo Yao and turned around to leave the bedroom. "Your Majesty, please wait a moment." Guo Yao called hurriedly. She then got off the bed with her pair of bare jade-white feet, walked quickly to Cao Rui, fastened Cao Rui's robe, took a cloak from the hanger, and draped it over Cao Rui's shoulders. "No matter how urgent the military situation is, it's still in Longyou. Why would we be in such a hurry for just a moment or two?" Guo Yao stood in front of Cao Rui with her hair loose, and carefully fastened the fire fox fur cloak around his chest. Then she patted Cao Rui's chest twice, raised her head and whispered, "It's already deep winter, don't catch a cold." Cao Rui was still reading the military newspaper in his hand. When he looked down at Guo Yao's face, he noticed that she was still standing barefoot on the floor tiles: "I know, don't wait for me, go and rest." After brushing Guo Yao's hair behind her ears, Cao Rui turned around and strode out. As he walked, he asked the eunuch Bi Jin who was following him, "Who are the ministers and ministers on duty today?" "It's the Weiwei and Wang Shizhong." Bi Jin replied. Dong Zhao and Wang Su... Dong Zhao was not good at military strategy, and Wang Su was a scholar who knew nothing about military affairs. Why wasn't someone else on duty? Cao Rui immediately ordered, "Call Qin Lang! Send the eunuchs out of the palace to call the general, the minister of work, the guard, and the other three attendants to the study!"
"Yes, sir." Bi Jin received the order and ran off to look for someone. Cao Rui, surrounded by dozens of tiger guards, rode all the way to the study. A few months ago, there was a fire in the North Palace of Luoyang at night, which frightened the important officials in the court. Therefore, the officials of the West and East Pavilions, as well as the four attendants, had one person on duty every night and stayed in the palace to be ready for the emperor to send them. After entering the courtyard of the study, Cao Rui instructed the tiger guards around him: "Go to the West Pavilion and call Dong Gong over. Be careful, he is old, don't scare him." "As you wish." After the guards left, Cao Rui stood outside the study door by himself. He turned around and looked at the night sky which was still as dark as ink. For a moment, his heart seemed to be touched by something. I remember the last time Sun Quan invaded Jiangxia, it was also at night. I had just ascended the throne and was still staying up late in the study reading archives and catching up on information about government affairs and personnel. Now that more than a year has passed, whether in terms of military, personnel, or state affairs, I have never dared to relax my vigilance. The outcome of this battle will surely be better, right? But Dong Zhao, who rushed over after hearing the news, succeeded in making Cao Rui worried again in just a few words. "Your Majesty, don't you find it strange?" Dong Zhao, who was wearing thick winter clothes and even looked quite bloated, asked Cao Rui: "If Zhuge Liang comes to attack Longyou, will he attack Guanzhong?" "If he attacked Guanzhong, why did Qian Zhao's military report only mention Longyou and not Guanzhong at all?" "What should we do then?" Cao Rui asked with a frown. "Whether or not the Shu army attacks Guanzhong, and when they do, the entire deployment of Wei's forces will be different." "Let's talk about this later." Cao Rui stopped Dong Zhao and said, "Just now I only summoned the West Pavilion, the East Pavilion and the four ministers. Lord Dong, please think for me, are there any other people in Luozhong who are familiar with Longyou and the Shu army, or have fought against the Shu army?" Dong Zhao thought for a moment, and said with a firm tone: "Grand Master of Imperial Household Du Xi, General Wei Cao Hong!" "General Wei, with the assistance of Grand Marshal and Minister Xin, killed Shu generals Wu Lan and Lei Tong in Wudu. Du Xi, Du Zixu, was once the military governor of Hanzhong. After the death of Xiahou Zhengxi, he and Guo Huai recommended Zhang He to be the chief official, and he also served as the chief official of Chang'an." Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "There's no need to call him General Wei. The battles he fought in Wudu were almost all won by the Grand Marshal and Xin Shizhong." "Bi Jin." Cao Rui said softly to the eunuch leader who had rushed back here, "Send someone to call Du Xi here, don't alarm him too much." "Also, call the messenger over. Let Dai Ling go back. He has nothing to do with me here." "As you wish." Bi Jin trotted out again. Cao Zhen and Sima Yi arrived first, Wei Zhen arrived later, and the three ministers arrived even later. Even though they all set out immediately after receiving the oral order, some of these ministers lived in different distances. Whenever someone arrived, Cao Rui would show them the military report. When everyone finally arrived, Cao Rui also ordered someone to bring in the messenger who delivered the letter. "General," Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhen, "ask the messenger for me." Cao Zhen nodded, and then asked the envoy who was kneeling on one knee: "Look up, when did Qian Zhao receive Zhang He's military report, and what did he do?" The messenger was extremely tired, but he still managed to answer: "Reporting to the general, the General of Zhenxi received the military report on the morning of December 2nd. Less than an hour later, he sent his subordinates to lead the troops from Chang'an to Luoyang. They rode for nearly three days and nights, changing horses at post stations along the way but not the soldiers, and have just arrived in Luoyang." "General Zhenxi told his subordinates that he would lead his troops to advance towards Chencang early the next morning." Cao Zhen wanted to ask again, but Cao Rui, who was sitting behind the desk, found that the messenger's body had begun to shake, as if he could fall down at any time. "Forget it, General, stop asking questions and start discussing matters." Cao Rui pointed at Wang Su and said, "Minister Wang, take the messenger away and give him a reward." Wang Su stood up, bowed, accepted the order and left. At this time, Cao Rui asked, "I have two doubts in my mind. Can you help me discuss them?"
"First, the number of Shu troops." "Second, will the Shu army attack Guanzhong?" Cao Zhen immediately said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say." "Tell me." Cao Rui nodded. Cao Zhen said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the military report quoted the words of Zheng Si, the lieutenant guarding Qishan Fort. On November 27, before Qishan Fort was surrounded, he said that the Shu army had at least 20,000 to 30,000 people." "Given Zhang He's momentum in rushing westward along the Longshan Road after receiving the military report, I think we should be lenient with the enemy and give them a better estimate." "Since Zhang He has gone to Longyou, Guanzhong is suddenly short of more than 10,000 soldiers. The Central Army will have to send more soldiers to Guanzhong, at least 10,000 more." "Therefore, I suggest that we immediately send the cavalry from the central army to start heading west to Chang'an this morning. After arriving in Chang'an, we will decide whether to support Chencang or Longyou." Cao Rui understood Cao Zhen's intention. We need reinforcements anyway. Instead of discussing this for half a day, we might as well send some of the mobile troops to Chang'an first. It’s not too late to discuss it again! Cao Rui did not ask for other people's opinions, and directly made the decision: "General, this is very appropriate! The central army has 50,000 soldiers. How many cavalry can be sent out this morning?" Cao Zhen was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "About 8,000!" "Eight thousand?" Cao Rui frowned and asked, "Which eight thousand soldiers are there?" Cao Zhen replied: "The central army does have 50,000 troops, but there is no fighting at this time, and according to the rules, 20% of the troops are taking turns to rest. In other words, there are about 40,000 people in the camp at this time." "In the Wuwei Camp, there are only 10,000 troops that are always prepared for battle and can be deployed at any time. Among these 10,000, there are 5,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry." "It is already the morning hour. If we mobilize the cavalry to set off immediately, we can only dispatch the 5,000 cavalry from the Wuwei Battalion and the 3,000-odd cavalry from the Wuxiaowei Battalion in the morning." Cao Rui nodded and said, "Only 8,000 cavalry? According to the 20% rest rotation, 24,000 of the 30,000 cavalry in the central army can be used. When can the remaining 16,000 cavalry be dispatched?" Cao Zhen thought for a few moments and said, "We can set off tomorrow morning! One day will be enough to prepare the weapons, check the supplies, and count the personnel." "What about the infantry?" Cao Rui asked again. "Tomorrow too." Cao Zhen answered confidently. Cao Rui took a deep breath and said, "Then let's get people ready now! Who will lead the 5,000 cavalry in the center?" Cao Zhen bowed and asked, "I have two candidates, Xiahou Xian and Fei Yao. Who does Your Majesty want to send?" Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "It's only a day's journey away. Let Fei Yao go! Xiahou Xian will lead the rest of the troops and we will set out tomorrow." "Then I will go out for a while and send someone to look for Fei Yao and Wen Qin?" Cao Zhen asked. "General, please go." Cao Rui nodded: "I will discuss the deployment with the other ministers first." (End of this chapter)