Compared with the stalemate, betrayal and confrontation in various places in Longyou, the lives of Cao Rui, Cao Zhen and Qian Zhao were more dull and boring. They were marching at a forced pace every day, leading their troops westward. In the early morning of December 5, the Luoyang court received a message about the military situation in Longyou. That morning, General Cao Zhen led the first batch of 8,000 cavalrymen. On the next day, which was the sixth, Emperor Cao Rui personally led 16,000 cavalry troops to Chang'an. The journey of 800 miles took Cao Rui nearly seven days. The military situation was turbulent, and the speed of the infantry and cavalry was completely different, so the infantry was left far behind. Thanks to Cao Rui's daily physical training such as swimming, archery, and swordsmanship, he had no problem supporting such an intense march. At noon on the 13th, Emperor Cao Rui of the Great Wei Dynasty personally led 16,000 cavalry to arrive at Chang'an City, and was able to enter this absolutely important city in Guanxi of the Great Wei Dynasty for the first time. When Cao Rui was still outside Chang'an, he led his ministers to find a high place to look at the general outline of the entire Chang'an City. Such a big city stood majestically on the Guanzhong Plain. Whether in terms of geography, history or military and political affairs, Chang'an was the absolute center of Guanxi in the Wei Dynasty. However, the appearance of Chang'an at that time was somewhat dilapidated. Chang'an in the late Han Dynasty switched back and forth between the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo, Xiliang and other forces, and there were inevitably many traces of repairs on the city walls. Just after Cao Rui finished his reflection alone, he turned to look at his ministers, only to find that Cao Zhi looked a little haggard. "What happened to your uncle? Did you catch a cold?" Cao Rui asked with a hint of concern in his tone.
Cao Zhi coughed twice, cupped his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, I may have been riding for too long these past two days, so I feel a little uncomfortable. I believe I will get better soon." "We still need to be more careful. When we get to the city, we can find some herbs to treat the disease." Cao Rui paused, then asked, "How many times has the emperor's uncle come to Chang'an?" Cao Zhi did not hesitate and replied immediately: "Your Majesty, I have been to Chang'an and Guanxi three times. Emperor Wu of Han led three expeditions to the west: the 16th year of Jian'an to attack Ma Chao, the 20th year of Jian'an to attack Zhang Lu, and the 23rd year of Jian'an to attack Liu Bei. I followed the army on all the expeditions." Cao Rui nodded: "Have you been to Hanzhong as well?" Cao Zhi replied, "When the emperor conquered Zhang Lu, I went with him to Hanzhong. When Emperor Wu conquered Liu Bei again, I stayed in Chang'an to guard the city, but did not follow the army to the front." "The scenery in Guanxi is completely different from that in Henan! Now that we are in Chang'an again, I wonder what kind of literary works my uncle can produce?" Cao Rui sighed, then rode his horse ahead and led a group of ministers around him into the city. There is a palace in Chang'an. As early as the Jian'an period, the officials who stayed in Chang'an renovated some of the original Han Dynasty palaces for Cao Cao, who was already the King of Wei, to live in. However, Chang'an was too big and there were too many vacant palaces, so Cao Cao was unwilling to live there. Cao Pi had the same idea. After all, Chang'an was one of the five capitals of Wei, so a large area was demolished and rebuilt, and a brand new palace was built. But Cao Pi himself never came to Chang'an once, and in the end, it was Cao Rui who got the upper hand. In the palace, Cao Rui and his accompanying ministers began to gather and discuss military intelligence. It is indeed necessary to conduct some concentrated research. The Shu army's invasion of Longyou was sudden, and the reactions from Tianshui County, which was directly facing the enemy, to the other counties and prefectures in Longyou, as well as Liangzhou and Guanzhong were all completely different. With Sima Yi, Xin Pi and others around, Cao Rui didn't have to do things like organizing the intelligence himself. He could just wait until the intelligence was organized before formulating a strategy. But Liu Fang, who was supposed to sort out confidential matters, was outside the door asking for instructions, saying that he had something to report. Cao Rui waved his hand, Liu Fang walked up to Cao Rui, bowed, and then gently placed a military report on the table in front of Cao Rui. After reading for a few moments, Cao Rui's brows became more and more furrowed, and he even looked a little worried. Sima Yi, as the most senior official in the palace, bowed and asked, "Liu Zhongshu just said that there was military intelligence from Luoyang. May I ask what is it that has caused Your Majesty to worry?" Cao Rui gently put down the military report in his hand and said slowly: "It's not Luoyang, it's Liaodong." "Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian arrived in Liaodong at the end of September. Gongsun Gong personally accompanied them on a tour of various places in Liaodong and Xuantu counties." "Under Liu Ye's repeated persuasion, and because Gongsun Gong did not have much ambition, Liu Ye almost persuaded him to submit to the Wei Dynasty. But Gongsun Gong's nephew, Gongsun Yuan, discovered that his uncle wanted to submit to the Wei Dynasty, and colluded with the generals to seize his uncle Gongsun Gong's position."
"What about Liu Ye? And Guanqiu Jian?" Xin Pi on the side asked hurriedly. "They are fine." Cao Rui shook his head slightly and pointed at the document to Sima Yi, who took the initiative to pick it up and read it: "Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian were expelled by Gongsun Yuan and are now staying in Yangle, Liaoxi County." "Liu Ye is writing to ask me about Gongsun Yuan's evil intentions and his intention to secede and rebel. He wants my permission to conquer Gongsun Yuan." Xin Pi was also stunned when he heard this, then smiled bitterly and said, "Is it a coincidence? A war just broke out in Guanxi, how can Liaodong start another conquest?" "Your Majesty," Xin Pi said with a folded hand, "The Gongsun clan has occupied Liaodong for nearly forty years, with Gongsun Du, Gongsun Kang, Gongsun Gong, and now Gongsun Yuan. The region is remote and it is not easy to conquer." After reading Liu Ye's military report, Sima Yi handed it to Xin Pi and said, "Liu Ye was unaware of the invasion of the Shu army, so he reported to attack Liaodong. Your Majesty should explain the court's difficulties to Liu Ye." Cao Rui nodded slightly: "That's right. But do you think Liu Ye's desire to use military force against Liaodong has anything to do with them being expelled from the country by Gongsun Yuan?" When they were supposed to discuss Longyou, the people in the hall were discussing Liaodong. Yang Fu, who was most concerned about the military situation in Longyou, coughed lightly, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I think the war in Longyou has already started, and Your Majesty and the ministers should not be distracted by other things." "Minister Yang is right!" Cao Rui said with emotion, "But Liu Ye is already in Youbeiping, so we should be on guard against Gongsun Yuan." Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and asked, "Where is Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou, stationed? If something happens in Liaodong, can he stop Gongsun Yuan for me?" Sima Yi and Wang Xiong were not related, so how could he vouch for him in front of the emperor? After thinking for a while, Sima Yi replied: "Your Majesty, Wang Xiong is stationed in Ji County of Yan Prefecture. He was appointed to Youzhou by the late emperor because of his ability in governing. It has nothing to do with his military ability." Cao Rui sat at the table, thought for a few moments, and then asked, "Are there any vacancies among the nine ministers in the court or in the various major counties?" Sima Yi nodded and replied, "There is still a vacancy in Chenliu County." "In that case, let Wang Xiong return to the court and take up his post in Chenliu. Move Guanglu Dafu Liu Ye to be the governor of Youzhou." Cao Rui slowly gave the order: "Tell Liu Ye to appease Gongsun Yuan for me and not to use troops without authorization! After I have dealt with the affairs in Longyou, I will discuss the affairs in Liaodong with him." "As you wish." Liu Fang bowed and walked out slowly. Putting aside the matter of Liaodong for the moment, Cao Rui asked Sima Yi: "Sikong, please tell me and the ministers about the situation in Longyou now." "Yes, Your Majesty." Sima Yi stood up and walked a few steps forward to a screen in front of the emperor where a map of Longyou was hung. Cao Rui was close by, so he could see it clearly. He then waved to other ministers present to come over and watch. Sima Yi pointed to a spot on the map that was marked in red with cinnabar and said, "According to the report from Zheng Si, the commander of Qishan Fort, the Shu army surrounded Qishan Fort on November 26 and said that the Shu army had more than 20,000 soldiers." "On the evening of the 27th, Ji County garrison commander Lu Pan learned the news and reported it to Guo Huai in Linjing and Zhang He in Chencang, and moved his troops to Shanggui in the east." "On the morning of December 1, Zhang He led 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry to rush to Shanggui along the Longshan Road." "On the afternoon of December 2, Qian Zhao led 15,000 infantrymen to support Shanggui along the Longshan Road." "On December 4, Guo Huai reported to Chencang via the Weishui Road that the Shu army had about 50,000 soldiers. On the 6th, the Shu army increased its troops to 20,000 outside Shanggui City, and another 30,000 Shu soldiers went north along the Longshan Road. Guo Huai estimated that the total number of Shu troops was more than 70,000 or 80,000." "Zhang He arrived in Lueyang on the afternoon of the 6th, and was ready to stop the Shu army from advancing northward in Lueyang." Sima Yi saluted with a serious expression and said, "Your Majesty, I have explained all the military information I know up to now." Cao Rui stood up solemnly, walked to the front of the map with his hands behind his back, and Sima Yi instinctively stepped back to make way. Looking at the Shu army's marching route marked in red on the map, Cao Rui frowned and asked, "Where should Qian Zhao be now?" After leaving Luoyang, the confidential affairs of the court were still handled by Liu Fang, the Zhongshujian who accompanied the army. The military reports and confidential affairs of the army were all handled by Xin Pi.
Xin Pi immediately responded: "Qian Zhao's troops were still in Mei County on the seventh day. Mei County is 580 miles away from Lueyang. It is estimated that Qian Zhao will reach Lueyang in three or four days." Cao Rui seemed to have thought of something and asked again: "When did Zhang He's military report on the afternoon of the 6th arrive in Chang'an?" "Your Majesty," Xin Pi replied, "Lueyang is nearly nine hundred miles from Chang'an, and the military report only arrived yesterday." Seeing that the emperor seemed a little confused, Xin Pi hurriedly explained: "Your Majesty, the speed of messengers delivering messages is different in different places. There is a shortage of post stations west of Guanzhong, and the speed of delivering messages is not much different from that of cavalry marching at a rapid pace, which is about 120 miles a day. It may be a little higher, but not much higher." "After arriving in Guanzhong, there were many post stations and the roads were well built. We could change horses and travel day and night. The speed of sending messages could reach 300 miles in a day and night." After hearing this, Cao Rui shook his head slightly. This was just a small problem caused by the insufficient infrastructure of this era. After this war, he would have to spend some money to improve the post roads and post stations throughout the Wei Dynasty. "So, Zhang He should have been besieged for four or five days?" Cao Rui asked, "The Shu army has 30,000 soldiers heading north, and Zhang He only has 10,000 soldiers occupying the small city of Lueyang, and Qian Zhao will take another three or four days to arrive. Can he hold it?" (End of this chapter)