Chapter 34 Sima Zhongda Chen Qun's "One Word and One Question" has ended. Chen Qun readily agreed to the appointment as the commander-in-chief of Jingzhou's military affairs, and he also exchanged military opinions with the emperor, and a basic consensus was reached between the monarch and his subject. Sending Chen Qun to Jingzhou changed the fact that Sima Yi led the army for the first time in the original timeline. At this moment, Cao Rui was quite satisfied. After giving the order, Cao Rui looked at the other ministers and asked, "Do you have anything else to add?" Cao Rui asked this question in order to avoid any loopholes in his first military deployment. Grand Marshal Cao Xiu said: "Your Majesty, in the 24th year of Jian'an, when Guan Yu attacked Xiangfan in the north, Emperor Wu sent Zhao Yan to assist Zhenhou Cao Ren. Zhao Yan's strategies were successful at that time, so he should be very familiar with the situation in Jingzhou." "Your Majesty, I suggest that Zhao Yan go to Jingzhou to serve as the military advisor of Chen Zhenjun." Chen Zhenjun refers to Chen Qun, the general of Zhenjun. In fact, appointing ministers to supervise military affairs is one aspect to gain the emperor's trust, but adding sabotage is also a necessary option. Cao Rui just forgot to add some sand. Zhao Yan is a very interesting person.
Zhao Yan was from Yingchuan. In his early years, he was known as one of the four famous scholars of Yingchuan along with Xin Pi, Chen Qun and Du Xi. Unlike Chen Qun who had always been a civil servant, Zhao Yan's military attainments were obviously a hundred times richer, and he could be called a veteran soldier. Zhao Yan had many personality traits, the most outstanding of which were his eloquence and understanding. Cao Cao had many arrogant and brave generals under his command. They were unwilling to help each other because of their high achievements and positions. Zhao Yan was able to coordinate them well and avoid the situation where he would not stand still when friendly forces were in trouble. In the 13th year of Jian'an, that is, during the Battle of Chibi 18 years ago, Zhao Yan served as the commander-in-chief of the army, coordinating and supervising the seven armies of Yu Jin, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhu Ling, Li Dian, Lu Zhao, and Feng Kai. In the 16th year of Jian'an, after Cao Cao defeated the Guanzhong coalition led by Ma Chao and Han Sui, he appointed Zhao Yan as the guard general to command all kinds of warlords, big and small, in Guanzhong. It can be said that Zhao Yan, a veteran in the military, has seen all kinds of battles and all kinds of defeats. With Zhao Yan's help, Chen Qun's shortcomings in military practice will surely be well compensated. The best thing about Cao Xiu's suggestion that Zhao Yan assist Chen Qun was not Zhao Yan's talent. Although Zhao Yan was known as one of the four great famous scholars, he came from a poor family and never associated with children of noble families like Chen Qun. Moreover, Zhao Yan had always had a good relationship with the generals of the Cao clan. Not to mention that during Cao Cao's time, Zhao Yan assisted Cao Ren in garrisoning Xiangfan. Just from the period of Cao Pi, Zhao Yan served as Cao Xiu's military advisor many times and provided advice and suggestions for Cao Xiu's battles on the eastern front. If we want to briefly summarize Zhao Yan, firstly, Zhao Yan had extremely rich military experience. Secondly, Zhao Yan was on good terms with the Cao family and not on good terms with Chen Qun. That was enough. Cao Xiu's suggestion not only made up for Chen Qun's military shortcomings, but also added sand to Chen Qun's plan. It was perfect. Cao Rui looked at Cao Xiu with some doubt, feeling that such a subtle personnel arrangement was not something that a military general like Cao Xiu could think of. Cao Xiu laughed to hide his embarrassment: "Your Majesty, Zhao Yan will definitely be of great help in military affairs." Cao Rui glanced at Chen Qun again, and Chen Qun cupped his hands and said, "It's all up to your majesty to arrange." "Then let Zhao Yan go!" Cao Rui said, "General, Sima Fujun, and Chen Lingjun, do you three have anything else to say?" Cao Zhen hummed, thought for a moment and said: "If Chen Zhen's army goes to Xiangyang, the army should not go too far from Xiangyang. The rats in Dongwu are used to sneak attacks, especially in Jingzhou." What Cao Zhen said was useless nonsense. Maybe Cao Zhen thought that as a general, it was not appropriate to remain silent in such an occasion. Sima Yi continued, "Your Majesty, I think the Chen Zhen army's policy of focusing on defense is correct, but if we only defend, it will not be flexible enough.
This was the first time Cao Rui heard Sima Yi's ideas on military affairs. Cao Rui knew that as long as he was still alive, Sima Yi would no longer have the opportunity to lead the army in person. In addition, Cao Rui also planned to work hard to maintain his health and strive to live to at least 80 years old, so as to outlive Sima Yi and even his sons. So when Sima Yi raised questions related to military strategy, Cao Rui welcomed them. Since you have a good brain, you should use it to contribute. After hearing Sima Yi's remarks, which were quite different from Chen Qun's, Cao Rui and everyone present looked much more serious. Cao Rui asked, "What does Sima Qing mean by this?" Sima Yi explained: "What I mean is that since we have a large army, we must fight no matter if we are defending or attacking. It's just that defending is easier and consumes less energy. Attacking is more difficult and consumes more energy." Seeing that Sima Yi's remarks were quite novel, Cao Rui nodded and motioned for Sima Yi to continue. Sima Yi said: "Since the difference between defense and attack is only the difficulty and consumption, then what Chen Zhenjun said just now, that he wants to focus on defense in Jingzhou, should mean to avoid taking risks, consume less military resources, and recruit fewer soldiers." Chen Qun also began to nod when he heard this: "Although the way of saying it is different, this is what I mean." Sima Yi continued, “In my opinion, a quick attack can achieve the same effect as defense.” "When two armies fight, if they only think about defending, they will limit their thinking and waste opportunities. If an opportunity arises, they should attack quickly to avoid a stalemate, consume less resources and defeat more enemies." “Fast breaks can sometimes have the same effect as defense, or even be better.” Everyone present was surprised to hear Sima Yi's words. Sima Yi's defensive theory was rare in this era. Cao Rui narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard that. The vigilance that he had just relaxed in order to avoid Sima Yi leading the troops became alert again. In fact, in the original history, Sima Yi was not a defensive general at all. On the contrary, Sima Yi was good at attacking, especially at quick attack, and he was a master in controlling the opportunities of battle. In the original history, Sima Yi led his army for the first time at the age of 48. Sun Quan took advantage of Cao Pi's death to attack Jingzhou. When Sima Yi arrived in Jingzhou, Sun Quan had already retreated. Sima Yi still caught up with Zhuge Jin and defeated him. Later, Meng Da rebelled in Shangyong. Sima Yi led his troops out without reporting to the emperor in advance. He marched 1,200 miles in eight days and captured Shangyong on the sixteenth day. Later, Sima Yi led an army of 40,000 and marched 4,000 miles to Liaodong. He arrived in Liaodong in June and killed Gongsun Yuan in August. This was an extremely fast destruction of a country. The statement that Sima Yi was good at defense was a conclusion he was forced to draw when faced with Zhuge Liang, who was better at attacking. Cao Rui understood what Sima Yi meant, but he also knew that it was unrealistic for Chen Qun to master Sima Yi's military skills all at once. Cao Rui said to Chen Qun, "Mr. Chen, you must take Sima Qing's suggestions to heart." Chen Qun seemed to understand, but in fact he might not have understood it very well. But Chen Qun still responded: "I have taken note of what Sima Gong said." (End of this chapter)
