Chapter 38: Ambition The map slowly unfolded, and the counties, mountains, and rivers of the Wei State were outlined on the white Zuo Bo paper. Cao Zhen and Sima Yi, one was in charge of all military affairs at home and abroad, and the other was in charge of the logistics of troops, food and fodder. It's not that both of them had never seen military maps before, but the map of Cao Rui was very different from the maps they had seen before. The difference is that this border defense map actually shows the marching routes of the wars between Wei and Wu, and Wei and Shu. The routes of attack, battle, and retreat in the past twenty years are all clearly shown in such a large map. Cao Rui felt quite pleased when he saw the two men staring at the map intently. Cao Zhen looked at the map in surprise, pointing at the marching routes marked with arrows of different colors on the map. Cao Zhen tapped the cities on the map and said to himself, "This is Luoyang, to the south is Nanyang, and here is Xiangyang." "Luoyang is 300 li away from Nanyang, and Nanyang is 260 li away from Xiangyang... Indeed, I took this route when I followed Emperor Wu to fight against Liu Bei, and also when I first attacked Wu." Cao Zhen shifted his gaze to the east: "This route is... starting from Xuchang, along the Caishui and Yingshui rivers to the Huaihe River, passing through Shouchun to Guangling. This is the route for the attack on Wu in the fifth year of Huangchu." Cao Zhen couldn't help but sigh: "Your Majesty, this map is really exquisite. I can see the routes of previous attacks and battle sites clearly on this map." Cao Zhen spoke frankly: "But I also want to know, Your Majesty, what do you want to see from this map?"
Sima Yi was also looking at the border map carefully. After hearing Cao Zhen's question, he also looked at the emperor. There is no evidence to prove that Cao Rui's military strategy was extraordinary. If you don't understand military strategy, then you can't study war? Of course not. If there is any useful advantage of Cao Rui, the time traveler, it is obviously the way of thinking of later generations. Cao Rui spent a month searching for archives and studying all the military expeditions and frontline generals. With the help of Huang Quan and other attendants, he sorted them out by category. Seeing Cao Zhen asking him a question, Cao Rui cleared his throat and replied, "Although I don't understand military affairs, if I compile the routes of previous wars into a map, I can still get a lot of useful information." Cao Rui pulled out a slightly dry brush from the pen holder and tapped the map with the tip of the brush. "You see, during the time of the previous emperor, Hefei was established in the east, Xiangyang was guarded in the south, and Qishan was secured in the west. Fortresses were built at strategic locations in the east, south, and west." "I was also confused. Why was it Hefei? Why was it Xiangyang and Qishan? It was not until I looked through the archives and checked the routes that I got some clues." Cao Rui pointed at Xiangyang with his pen tip and said: "From Wanluo to the south, to Fancheng, you will face the Han River. The Han River is not as wide as the Yangtze River, and Xiangyang is to the south of the Han River. Defending Xiangyang will prevent Wu soldiers from crossing the Han River, thus preserving Nanyang." As Cao Rui introduced the situation, his pen moved to Hefei: "When deploying troops in Huainan, the biggest problem is the supply of supplies. Every time the late emperor attacked Wu, he gathered troops and transported supplies through waterways." "The primary goal of attacking Wu is to occupy the north of the Yangtze River so that our Wei navy can cross the river easily. So where should the navy go?" "When Emperor Wu was in power, the navy always left Qiao County, entered the Huai River from the Wo River, entered Hefei from the Fei River, and then attacked Ruxukou. If Ruxukou was captured, the navy could enter the Yangtze River." "In short, Hefei is stuck on the main road for Wei to go south or Wu to go north. How many times have you seen Sun Quan attack Hefei?" Sima Yi nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. Hefei is not only an important waterway between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, but also the confluence of many roads in Huainan. If we control Hefei, it will be difficult for Wu to move north again." Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and said, "What I said is the same as what you said. General, Sima Qing, I am not repeating the previous battles with you. You are much more familiar with these battles than I am." "I want to say that if we want to consolidate the current borders, cities like Hefei, Xiangyang, and Qishan, which are located on the main roads, are crucial." "What I want is that when Wu and Shu gather the strength of several states and a hundred thousand people to attack Hefei, Xiangyang, and Qishan, these cities can be firmly defended by me!" "If we defend these cities, it will be difficult for Wu and Shu to move north again. We can then recuperate and accumulate national strength. When the time is right, we can recover the lost territory! What do you think, gentlemen?" Cao Zhen and Sima Yi fell into deep thought. Admittedly, Cao Rui's idea was correct, but it was only correct, similar to correct but useless nonsense. Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, let's take Sun Quan of Jiangdong as an example. If Sun Quan attacks with his entire country and 100,000 troops, what will happen? Zhang Wenyuan in Hefei is no longer here." Cao Rui said without hesitation: "That's what I mean! If Sun Quan's 100,000 troops come to attack, I need Hefei City, Xiangyang City, or Jiangxia City to build strong cities and prepare enough food and fodder. I can defend them with the help of local border troops and prefecture troops without the need for the central army."
Cao Zhen was slightly surprised: "Your Majesty, every time Sun Quan attacks, the central army must go south from Yecheng or Luoyang. How can the border troops alone defend against a hundred thousand people?" Cao Rui nodded and said, "General, you have hit the nail on the head. I want to ask you, when you attacked Jiangling in the third year of Huangchu, how many of you were there, how many were there in Jiangling City, and how long did you attack?" Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "I command 50,000 men. I will lead 30,000 men to attack Jiangling, and Xiahou Shang will lead 20,000 men to guard against reinforcements from the Wu army. The garrison in Jiangling should be between 5,000 and 10,000 men, and they have been defending for half a year." Cao Rui said: "If Jiangling can be defended, why can't Hefei be defended as well? I hope to build Hefei, Xiangyang, and Qishan like Jiangling." "If the border troops can hold their ground, they can attract more troops. This will give the central army enough time to advance calmly. Whether it's a decisive battle in Jiangbei or another route to Jiangnan, it's much better than having the central army running around in a hurry." "How to do this specifically, please ask the general and Sima Qing to study it further." Cao Zhen and Sima Yi both accepted the order. They both had the same idea in their minds: if the city could be defended so well, was it Cao Cao who was unwilling to defend it, or Cao Pi? Cao Rui looked at the two people who received the order. In fact, there were many things in his mind that he had not said yet, and he did not say them now. In addition to directly increasing the number of people, things that can increase the combat effectiveness of the border troops can also be solved through better city defense, more sophisticated weapons, more forward farming, etc. I'll talk to them slowly later. According to Cao Rui, the most fatal problem of the Wei State was that the border troops were too poor at defending the city, and the central army had to be dispatched from the court to put out fires every time. For example, in the Battle of Xiangfan, Cao Cao's central army had just finished fighting in Hanzhong when it traveled thousands of miles to Xiangfan to fight. Just by reducing the losses and waste of the central army, the border could be better defended. Increasing the combat effectiveness of the border troops is a long and arduous task... When the two were about to leave, Cao Rui suddenly asked again: "When the late emperor was returning from Guangling, the water in Zhongdu dried up, and the late emperor wanted to burn all the boats. Who brought the boats back later? I can't remember clearly." Sima Yi bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, it is Jiang Ji." Cao Rui asked: "Sima Qing, what is the character of this man? I want to appoint him as the Central Guard General." Sima Yi said: "Jiang Ji has both civil and military talents, and is a talent for governing a country. I think he can be of great use." Cao Rui nodded: "I understand." (End of this chapter)