Wei Kingdom, Chenliu County.
Cao Rui entrusted the affairs of Luoyang to Wei Zhen before embarking on his southern tour, and the first stop on his journey was Chenliu.
The emperor's carriage traveled from Luoyang to Chenliu, taking a total of five days.
After all, they were marching within the national borders, and there were only 5,000 cavalry guards from Cao Hong accompanying Emperor Cao Rui. The remaining 45,000 central troops had been led south by Cao Zhen days in advance.
During the military campaign, provisions and supplies are naturally of top priority. With a force of more than 40,000 people, it is necessary to transport them along the river.
To the south of Luoyang, there are the Luo and Yi rivers. By following the Luo River into the Yellow River, then through a canal into the Guo River, further south into the Huai River, and finally converging in Shouchun in Yangzhou where Cao Xu is located.
After Emperor Cao Rui arrived in Chenliu city, the ministers around him began to attend to the military affairs that had accumulated over several days.
The Eastern Wu had already begun a probing attack, and the location of this attack was quite similar to the one mentioned in Zhou Feng's deceptive surrender letter.
According to Zhou Fang's letter, Sun Quan will send Lu Fan and Sun Zhao to conquer Guangling, Quan Zhong and Zhu Huan to attack Hefei, Bu Zhi and Zhu Ran to attack Xiangyang, and Lu Sun and Pan Zhang to attack Meifu.
Currently, news has been received from Chen Qun in Xiangyang and Wen Pei in Jiangxia, indicating that there are undisclosed numbers of Wu troops active in the border area, suggesting the possibility of a northern attack.
As the emperor, Emperor Cao Rui came to Chenliu and naturally occupied the magistrate's residence in the city as his headquarters. At this time, there were as many as six individuals around Emperor Cao Rui planning and giving advice.
Cao Zhen had led the troops to south in advance, and naturally, Sima Yi was by Cao Rui's side at this time.
The four Zhongshou, Liu Ye, Xin Zhi, Huang Quan, and Chen Jiao, were also accompanying Emperor Cao Rui on his southern tour. As the Zhongshou, it is their duty to accompany the emperor and be ready for consultation. Since the emperor himself had gone on a tour, why would they stay in Luoyang? So they went south together.
In addition to the aforementioned five, Zhonghewu Jiang Ji is now also accompanying Emperor Cao Rui. Jiang Ji is a talented man, and he is a key figure for the Wei kingdom's plan to wage war in Yangzhou.
Jiang Ji's talent lies in his profound understanding of the water system in Yangzhou. The smoothness of water transportation is the guarantee for military operations.
As early as Huangchu year six, the late Emperor Cao Pi led his troops to Guangling, across the Yangtze River to display his military might to Sun Quan. Although he arrived in a smooth sailing, when he was preparing to return north and passed by Jinghu Lake, thousands of ships were unable to advance due to encountering silted areas.
At that time, the late Emperor Cao Pi was quite despondent and even wanted to imitate the actions of Emperor Cao Cao during his retreat from the Battle of Red Cliffs, considering burning all the ships and returning to the capital by land instead.
Eventually, the suggestion of Jiang Ji was adopted. Jiang Ji ordered people to dig out four or five channels in flat land and build dams to intercept the river water, using the river water to wash the ships into the Huai River within the country, saving countless national treasures.
Cao Rui sat in the hall, looking down at the six ministers sitting below: "At Xiangyang, Jiangxia, Wu troops have already begun a probing attack."
"Sir Minister, what do you think should be done about this matter?"
Sima Yi nodded and replied, "Your Majesty, both Xiangyang and Jiangxia are not the intended battlefields for this operation."
"If we hold our city fortifications and do not engage in battle with the Wu troops, then all of Eastern Wu's attention will be concentrated on this side of Yangzhou."
"If a battle breaks out at Xiangyang and Jiangxia, it would be disadvantageous for the Great Wei. The Eastern Wu relies on river transportation; whether they concentrate their forces near Wancheng or near Jiangxia, it would only mean slightly longer ship transport time, which does not fundamentally change anything for the Eastern Wu."
"In my opinion, since the Eastern Wu has deployed troops in the vicinity of Xiangyang and Jiangxia, a battle must be fought, but it should be a limited attack and not expand the war in Chongqing to avoid disrupting the original strategic plan for the operation at Wancheng."
Cao Rui nodded in agreement: "That's right. The rest of you, what do you think?"
This was Jiang Ji's first time attending a meeting with the emperor, and naturally, he had a bit of an urge to impress.
Jiang Ji opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."
Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "During the meeting in front of the imperial court, since I have asked for your opinion, you can directly express it. There is no need to seek permission in advance."
"Understood," Jiang Ji said with a bow, "I believe that in the current situation in Jingzhou, it is unlikely that the Eastern Wu can take Xiangyang, nor is it easy for the Great Wei to capture Jiangling."
"Since that is the case, can't the foreign forces near Xiangyang be released to do something else?" Jiang Ji looked at the emperor's slightly furrowed brow after speaking.
At this moment, Cao Rui seemed to have come up with an idea and asked, "In Huangchu year three, when we attacked Jiangling and laid siege for six months, how many troops were used? I remember that at the time, there were 5,000 men led by Zhu Ran in the city of Jiangling."
Sima Yi replied, "In the western route, a total of over 60,000 troops were dispatched, with about 30,000 besieging Jiangling, and the remaining 30,000 fighting around it."
Cao Rui asked, "If the Eastern Wu's troops attack Xiangyang, as in the case of Jiangling, with just 5,000 troops to defend the city for a period of three months, how many troops would it take to conquer it?"
Xiangyang? Sima Yi thought for a moment: "If we want to defend for three months, it's likely that we need more than 30,000 troops to break through the city walls of Xiangyang."
"Your Majesty, are you referring to deploying the General of Cavalry to sail down the Shun Han River?"
Cao Rui nodded slightly.
If we do not count the garrison troops in various counties, Wei currently has a total of over 300,000 troops.
But even with the massive number of 300,000 troops, when spread out over the vast territory of Wei, it seems somewhat inadequate.
Out of the 300,000 troops, 50,000 are from the Luoyang Central Garrison and 100,000 are from the garrisons in various counties.
Opposite to the central garrison, the troops stationed at the border are called external garrisons. The total strength of the external garrisons is actually only 150,000.
There are 200,000 external garrisons in the Yan and Lang regions, 100,000 in Hebei, and 4,000 in Jingzhou. The remaining 80,00 Wei forces are deployed around Yangzhou and the surrounding states.
This time, Emperor Cao Rui led the entire Luoyang Central Garrison of 50,000 troops south, adding to the 80,000 external garrison troops already gathered in Shouchun by General Cao Xu. This amounts to a total of 130,000 troops.
If we count the available prefectural troops in the Qing, Xu, Yang, Yu, and Yun states, we can squeeze out about 40,000 troops.
170,000 troops, 50,000 central garrison troops, 80,000 external garrison troops, and 40,000 state and prefectural troops. This is the total force that Emperor Cao Rui can deploy in the southeastern front this time.
But this is only the figure on paper. The actual strength of the army is likely to be much less.
"Shouchun City must be defended, and Hefei City must also be guarded. The transport of water army, food for the army, and logistics need to be divided among the troops. "
The maximum number of troops that can be used for open-field battle is about 150,000, which is roughly the same as the figure calculated by Emperor Cao Rui and his ministers last month in Luoyang.
Although this number is greater than Sun Quan's 'one hundred thousand troops,' Sun Quan has the advantage of occupying the Yangtze River, which allows him to transport troops conveniently along the river from east to west.
Sun Quan often gathers as many as ten thousand troops in a local battlefield.
The territory of Wei has a significantly larger population than that of Sun Quan. However, at this time, Wei can only dispatch 150,000 troops in Yangzhou.
At the present time of the end of the seventh year of the Huangchu era, there is no illusion of a single force pushing all the way to victory solely on the strength of its military superiority.
One can only deploy a slightly larger number of troops, establish solid battle formations, and seek victory on the battlefield.
If we consider the most ideal scenario, 150,000 troops against 100,000, and the slight difference in numbers can often determine the success or failure on the balance of power.
In Jingzhou, there are a total of 40,000 external garrisons, with approximately 15,000 troops in Jiangxia and about 20,000 in Xiangyang.
If troops could be transferred from Xiangyang to Jiangxia during the campaign in Wancheng, and Wen Pincun could directly threaten Wuyang from Jiangxia along the Han River, it would put additional pressure on Wu forces.
Wuyang is the capital of Eastern Wu!
Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and said, "Is it possible to attack Wuyang from Jingzhou, do you think?"
Sima Yi thought for a moment and said, "Attacking Wuyang from Jingzhou is indeed feasible."
"But if the emperor is in Shouchun and General of Cavalry is in Xiangyang, the battlefield can change at any moment, but communication is often not timely."
"How to ensure that the troops in Jingzhou can attack Wuyang simultaneously with the emperor's deployment in Wancheng is, in my opinion, the most difficult thing."
Sima Yi replied, "If the General of Cavalry had arrived in Wuyang earlier, it is likely that Sun Quan would not have been preparing to fight in Wancheng and would have turned his entire army to attack Wuyang instead."
"If the General of Cavalry arrives late in Wuyang, he won't be able to help much with the Yangzhou campaign."
"It would be best if both places could engage in battle at the same time, so that Sun Quan would be unable to attend to both ends at once."
Cao Rui said, "This is also the concern of the emperor. However, regarding the Jingzhou campaign, if it can help the Yangzhou campaign, it would be good. If there is no time to coordinate, it is also something that cannot be avoided."
According to the current military layout, Wei fully occupies the Huai River, and Wu fully occupies the Yangtze River. Wei and Wu are in a tug-of-war in the area of Feixian and Ruxu between the Huai River and Yangtze River.
Due to the lack of territorial space for ship construction and docking along the river, it is difficult to challenge the naval forces of the Wu army in the direction of Yangzhou.
But on the side of Jingzhou, Xiangyang has ships! At least 500!
"Sir Minister, draft an imperial edict to be delivered to the General of Cavalry by fast horse. Have him make careful plans there. If he decides to head southward towards Jiangxia, how many ships and troops can he muster?"
Sima Yi promptly accepted the order.
Cao Rui actually quite likes the atmosphere of the current discussion among the officials.
In other words, with Sima Yi leading the six wise men, advising him on military affairs, Cao Rui felt as if he had his own 'General Staff'.
What is known as the court is simply an executive center formed around the emperor within the capital.
Due to the emperor's departure for the southern tour, naturally, the court has been divided into two parts due to this geographical barrier.
The first part is now led by Wei Zhening, who remains in Luoyang to ensure the normal operation of state affairs and to consolidate resources for front-line military needs.
The second part is now led by the emperor himself, which is the decision-making center for military and state affairs. This part is currently in Chenliu City, and after a few days, it will reach Qiao County. After another few days, it will arrive in Shouchun.
Decision-making and execution are separated, with decision-making closely guarded around the emperor himself. Now, Emperor Cao Rui is actually strengthening his own powers through the war against Wu.
Sima Yi, Liu Ye, Xin Pi, Huang Quan, Chen Jiao, and Jiang Ji.
These six individuals are now accompanying the emperor, so isn't it time to give a name to the 'institution' for these six people?
(This chapter is completed)
