When Cao Zhen left in a hurry, Guanglu Doctor Du Xi also came to the study room at the imperial edict. This was the first time that Du Xi entered the study to discuss matters, and at this moment, neither the emperor nor his colleagues had the time to pay attention to his thoughts. Cao Rui simply pointed to the empty chair at the back and asked Du Xi to sit down first. "Mr. Yang," Cao Rui turned his gaze to Yang Fu, "You are from Tianshui, and you are serving in Longyou. If Zhuge Liang goes to Qishan, which way will he take? Do you have any considerations?" The mountains, rivers and streams of Longyou are almost all firmly engraved in Yang Fu's mind. Yang Fu did not hesitate at all and immediately stood up and replied: "Your Majesty, Zhuge Liang's army has besieged Qishan Fort, and the road from Qishan Fort to Longyou is first Lucheng and then Xicheng." "After passing Xicheng, go northeast for another 120 miles and you will reach Shanggui." "Shanggui is a place with many connections. From Shanggui, you can reach Ji County, the seat of Tianshui Prefecture, to the west, Linwei, the seat of Guangwei Prefecture, to the east, and Longshan Road to the north." "I think that if Zhuge Liang marches into Longyou, the first place he will capture is Shanggui!" Cao Rui was silent for a moment, then asked: "How many defenders can Shanggui have?"
Dong Zhao was in the East Pavilion and was more familiar with the number and deployment of troops in various places. He said, "Your Majesty, there are not many troops stationed in Shanggui City itself. In Ji County nearby, there are 3,000 foreign troops led by Lu Pan." "If we include the soldiers from Tianshui County, the number of soldiers would only increase by 2,000 at most." Five thousand people? Cao Rui took a deep breath. If the opponent was Sun Quan, who was good at land warfare, he wouldn't be afraid of 5,000 men against 100,000. But if the opponent was Zhuge Liang, he had to take a long-term view. Cao Rui asked again: "Shanggui City is so important, can these 5,000 soldiers reach Shanggui?" Dong Zhao nodded and said in a positive tone: "Guo Huai and Lu Pan are both veterans of battle. Your Majesty should trust them to have a sense of propriety in the overall situation." "We will arrive at Qishan Fort on November 27th..." Cao Rui tapped the table lightly and continued to ask Dong Zhao, "Hao Zhao is in Yuzhong, right? How long will it take for Hao Zhao, Lu Xun, and Xiahou Ba to arrive and support Longyou?" Dong Zhao shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, are you talking about Shanggui? These three generals are all in Liangzhou, all west of Longyou. If they were to rush to help, they should first rush to Longxi and Nangan counties, not Shanggui City in Tianshui County to the east of these two counties." At this time, Sima Yi coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, I think we should not count on these three people now." "Hao Zhao's 2,000 men in Yuzhong are closer, but he is at least 300 miles away from Xiangwu City in Longxi County. Adding the loss of communication on the way, he is probably still far away from Xiangwu now." "As for Lu Xun and Xiahou Ba, one of them is on the Huangshui River and the West Sea, and the other is in Wuwei. The distance between them and Shanggui is farther than that from Chang'an to Shanggui." "I think that we should not take these three into account in the battle of Tianshui County. It is simply too late." Sima Yi said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, you should continue to send reinforcements to Longyou!" Cao Rui understood Sima Yi's point of view. Sima Yi made it very clear that given the great distance between Lu Xun and Xiahou Ba, their impact on the battle situation in Longyou was only to maintain the defense line of Longxi County against Shu Han from the west. All Xiahou Ba could mobilize in Wuwei were two or three thousand county soldiers and a few thousand Qiang cavalrymen who were temporarily recruited. Cao Rui knew Lu Xun's situation better. He only had about 2,000 Qiang volunteers. If he recruited more soldiers temporarily like Xiahou Ba did when he suppressed the rebellion in Xiping County, he would only need to recruit a few thousand more. "I understand what Sikong meant. What the general said just now is correct. We should be lenient in predicting the enemy's defeat." Cao Rui asked in a deep voice, "If we calculate based on Zhuge Liang's entire army of 80,000 people, how many people will be needed to support Longyou?" Sima Yi added: "That depends on how many people attack Longyou and how many attack Guanzhong!" Cao Rui said directly: "Be lenient in your estimate of the enemy, be lenient in your estimate of the enemy! I am discussing Longyou with you now, let's assume that all 80,000 people will go to Longyou!"
Sima Yi gave a more favorable number: "At least 40,000 troops." One against two? Cao Rui shook his head subconsciously. Everyone in the hall seemed to feel that something was wrong, so Xin Pi said, "There may be people in the counties and prefectures of Longyou who surrender, so Your Majesty must investigate." Cao Rui sighed and asked Xin Pi, "Since I appointed Zhang He last winter, I have done a lot for Longyou, right? Selecting officials and imperial students, are the counties in Longyou still not loyal?" Xin Pi shook his head expressionlessly: "What the court did was just to win over some people's hearts and minds." "But if Zhuge Liang's army is approaching, and it is really as many as 80,000 as Your Majesty said, then the grace Your Majesty has bestowed on the counties of Longyou is not enough." Cao Rui asked, "How much favor should I give to Longyou?" "No amount of favor is enough," Xin Pi replied calmly. Cao Rui did not understand what Xin Pi meant and was about to question him, but Xin Pi stood up and said loudly: "No matter how much favor you show us, it is not as good as the imperial army coming to Longyou to fight the enemy in person!" "Your Majesty, since you have estimated that Zhuge Liang will have 80,000 troops to attack Longyou, why don't you lead all the central troops to rush to Longyou immediately?" "Your Majesty, do you really think that Guo Huai, Lu Pan and others are all the same as Zhang Liao?" For a moment, everyone in the hall focused their attention on Xin Pi. Xin Pi was not afraid at all, and just stood in the hall staring into the emperor's eyes. All I can say is that at this point in time, there are too many areas where information is opaque between the two sides. For example, between the Wei and Wu states, Cao Pi made three southern expeditions during the Huangchu period, and Cao Cao crossed Chaohu Lake four times and attacked Ruxu during the Jian'an period. It can be said that Wei and Wu were very familiar with each other's military capabilities and styles. On the other hand, what about Wei and Shu Han? At this moment, they are actually very unfamiliar with each other! The last time Wei and Shu fought was the Battle of Hanzhong eight years ago. Liu Bei exhausted the strength of the people of Shu, with men serving as fighters and women as transporters, and also gathered the best soldiers and generals that Shu Han had gathered over decades, and only then did he defeat Xiahou Yuan in Hanzhong. Cao Cao, who came from afar, was unable to achieve a strategic breakthrough and was constrained by logistical disadvantages and the political situation in the rear, so he had to withdraw from Hanzhong. In other words, the Battle of Hanzhong was like two big men standing on a small round table playing Tai Chi Push Hands for Wei and Shu. If you can't stand still, I will push you down, and the game will be over. However, Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition was not intended to confront the Wei Dynasty, but to attack cities, plunder land, fight in the field, and persuade people to surrender. It was a total war between the two forces. Could it be the same situation as in Hanzhong? It can only be said that at this moment Sima Yi had no idea about Zhuge Liang. Although Cao Rui had realized the situation, due to the suddenness and haste of the incident, he had not yet grasped the key point of the matter and was still struggling with the question of when to rush to help and what to do in Guanzhong. Xin Pi also followed the army and fought throughout the Battle of Hanzhong, so he had a more thorough understanding of the situation. If you lose Longyou, a place where people's hearts are wavering, you can't expect to get it back for a while! If Longyou is lost, Liangzhou will probably be out of your reach. Since you already estimated that Zhuge Liang has 80,000 men, what are you waiting for? Gather 80,000 men to support him! Cao Rui's heart trembled, and then he sighed: "Minister Xin is right, I should mobilize all the central troops to rush to help!" At this time, Cao Zhen came back from outside and noticed that the atmosphere in the study seemed a little strange. He asked, "Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?" Cao Rui asked with a serious face: "General, I want to ask you, how many people are there in Guanzhong now, including the soldiers from the prefectures and counties?"
Cao Zhen responded: "In Guanzhong, if the three counties of Jingzhao, Fengling, and Fufeng were put together, we would have about 9,000 county soldiers." "Zhang He took away 10,000 foreign troops, and there are still 23,500 foreign troops in Guanzhong." "It should add up to more than 30,000!" Cao Rui said: "Just now, the general was not here. Minister Xin said very well. At this moment, we should not only discuss the deployment of troops in Longyou, but also the support of the people in Longyou." "Be lenient. Based on Zhuge Liang's estimated total of 80,000 troops, the strength of Longyou is far from sufficient. I want Qian Zhao and Zhu Gai to lead their 20,000 troops to Longyou immediately to support Zhang He and Guo Huai." "The entire Central Army will rush to Guanzhong. If possible, we will also transfer some troops from Xiangyang and enter Guanzhong through Wuguan!" Cao Zhen was a little surprised. He had only been away for a moment, so why was His Majesty so anxious now? Cao Zhen asked, "Qian Zhao and Zhu Gai are both supporting Zhang He along the Longshan Road. What about Guanzhong?" "If Zhuge Liang sent troops to Guanzhong, there would still be more than 10,000 soldiers there. If they really couldn't hold it, there were still Chencang, Meixian, and Chang'an, so many strong cities. Wouldn't the central army be unable to defeat Zhuge Liang's detachment?" "Wait until all the central troops have reached Guanzhong, and then we'll see in a few days whether we should continue to rush to Longyou to provide assistance!" Cao Zhen also began to get nervous at this moment. The scale of the war was expanding, and he really didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse. But since Your Majesty has said so, how could he, the commander-in-chief of the central army who is in charge of Your Majesty's troops, say no? Cao Zhen cupped his hands and said, "I have just sent someone to inform Wen Qin and Fei Yao. If the entire central army is to march to Guanzhong, should I lead the troops myself?" Cao Rui was silent for a moment, then asked, "Today we can send out 8,000 cavalry, and tomorrow we can send out 16,000 cavalry and 16,000 infantry, right?" "Your Majesty, that should be the case," Cao Zhen replied. "When can the 10,000 central troops who are taking a rest be sent out?" Cao Rui asked again. Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Why not let General Wei stay behind and wait five or six days before setting out?" Cao Rui stood up from the chair behind the desk, looked at all the ministers in the hall with burning eyes, and said in a firm tone. "I have made up my mind. Today, the general will lead two generals, Wen Qin and Fei Yao, to lead 8,000 cavalry to Chang'an first, and then rush to Longyou along the Longshan Road." "Order the governor of Jingzhou, Chen Qun, to draw 10,000 foreign troops from Xiangyang and rush to Chang'an from Nanyang and Wuguan." "Tomorrow I will personally lead a total of 32,000 cavalry and infantry troops and march to Chang'an!" (End of this chapter)
