The next day, at the hour of the Yin, outside the Western Bright Gate of Luoyang, a urgent horsehoof sound came from the west.
In the late hours of the night, it's when people feel most tired.
The soldiers stationed on the city tower of the Western Bright Gate, stirred by the sound of the hoofbeats, upon seeing the feather banner held high by the knight below, quickly notified the Marshal in charge of guarding the Western Bright Gate.
"There is a threat in the Eastern Commandery, the Shu forces are invading the border!"
The knight roared loudly after the Marshal asked the question from the city tower.
Opening the gates of Luoyang at night is not a decision that a gate Marshal can make on his own. It was only after summoning the Commandant of the City Gates, Dai Ling, that the messenger was allowed to enter.
Dai Ling carefully questioned the messenger and personally led him to knock on the door of the Northern Palace.
At this moment, Cao Rui was still sleeping on the bed of Guo Yao and Guo Jieyu.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." The palace eunuch Bi Jin kept calling softly from outside.
After calling several times, Cao Rui finally woke up and sat up on the bed, shouting, "What is it that calls upon me?"
"Emergency report from Eastern Commandery, Shu troops are invading the border!" Gu's voice was also filled with tension.
Guo Yao beside him had also been woken by the news, upon hearing of the border war, her delicate hands involuntarily grasped Cao Rui's arm.
"You rest, I will go out and take a look." Cao Rui gently touched Guo Yao's cheek, put on his outer robe, took off his shoes, and went to open the door.
Gu didn't dare to answer, quickly presenting the military report with both hands. In the background of the sleeping chamber, Guo Yao also called for Zhao Jie and lit all the oil lamps in the sleeping chamber and on the desk.
"Where is the messenger?" Cao Rui asked with a frown.
"Your Majesty, the messenger entered through the Western Bright Gate, and he is currently being led by the Commandant of the City Gates, Dai Ling, waiting outside the Southern Gate of the Northern Palace," Bi Jin answered with respect.
Cao Rui turned and walked to the desk, examined the letter case, stripped off the fire paint, leaned close to the oil lamp, and read it carefully.
As he read on, his expression grew increasingly serious.
"This has nothing to do with you, and you can rest for a while longer. I will go to the study first to discuss matters," Cao Rui instructed Guo Yao, turned around to leave the bedroom.
"Your Majesty, wait a moment." Guo Yao called out in a hurry.
She immediately barefooted, her feet as white and delicate as jade, hurriedly stepped off the bed and walked quickly to Cao Rui's side, tied his robe securely, and then took a large cloak from the clothing rack and draped it over Cao Rui's shoulders.
"Even the most urgent military news, that's still the Eastern Commandery. How can it be so urgent as to require a moment or two?"
Guo Yao stood in front of Cao Rui with her hair loose, carefully tying the large cape made of fire fox fur around his chest. Then she lightly slapped Cao Rui's chest twice and raised her head to whisper softly: "It's already the deep winter. Don't catch a cold."
Cao Rui was still looking at the military report in his hand. When he looked down at Guo Yao's face, he noticed that she was still barefoot on the tiles: "I know. Don't wait for me, go rest."
He gently combed Guo Yao's hair behind her ear, and then turned around, walking out of the room with a big stride.
As he walked, he asked the palace eunuch Bi Jin beside him, "Who are the cabinet ministers and attendants on duty today?"
"It's the Marshal of the Imperial Guard and Wang the Attendant," Bi Jin replied.
"Dong Zhao and Wang Su..."
Dong Zhao was not particularly known for his military strategy, while Wang Su was a bona fide scholar, with no understanding of military affairs at all. Why weren't other people on duty at night?
Cao Rui immediately ordered, "Summon Qin Lang! Send a eunuch out of the palace to call the Grand General, the Marquis of Works, the Minister of Defense, and the other three attendants to come to the study!"
"Understood the command." Bi Jin received the order and quickly ran off to find people.
Cao Rui, accompanied by dozens of tiger guards, rode to the study on horseback.
For several months prior, there had been a night-time fire in the Northern Palace of Luoyang, which had caused fear among the important officials. Therefore, the ministers of the Western and Eastern Studies, as well as four attendants, each took turns staying up for night duty in the palace every evening to be ready for any call from the emperor.
After entering the courtyard of the study, Cao Rui instructed one of his tiger guards, "Go to the Western Study and bring Dong Zhao over. Be careful, he's an old man, don't scare him."
"Understood the command." The guards went off. Cao Rui stood outside the study himself, turned around and looked at the night sky still as dark as ink, a momentary touch in his heart.
He remembered the last time, when Sun Quan invaded Jiangxia, it was also at night. At that time, he had just ascended the throne and was staying up late in the study reading documents, hurriedly supplementing his knowledge of state affairs and personnel.
Over a year has passed. No matter from the military, personnel, or state affairs, he has never relaxed his vigilance. The outcome of this battle must be better than that.
But Dong Zhao, who came in a hurry, successfully brought Cao Rui's worries back with just a few words.
"Doesn't Your Majesty find it strange?" Dong Zhao asked from Cao Rui's side, dressed in a thick winter garment that made him look rather stout, "If Zhuge Liang is attacking the Eastern Commandery, does he also plan to attack the Central Plains?"
"If he is attacking the Central Plains, why does Zhao Qian's report only mention the Eastern Commandery and not even mention anything about the Central Plains?"
"What should be done?" Cao Rui frowned and asked.
"Whether the Shu army will attack the Central Plains and when they will do so will determine the entire deployment of our military forces in the Great Wei."
"Let's talk about that later." Cao Rui intercepted Dong Zhao: "Just now, I only summoned the ministers from the Western and Eastern Studies, as well as the four attendants. Please think of any people in Luoyang who are familiar with the Eastern Commandery and Shu forces, or who have fought against Shu forces before."
Dong Zhao thought for a moment, speaking with confidence, "The Grand Chamberlain, Du Xian, and General of the Guards, Cao Hong!"????"General of the Guards has fought against Shu forces under the guidance of the Marquis of Large Commandery and Zheng Zhong. Du Xian Du Zixu was once the military governor of Hanjiang. After the death of Qiu Shoubin Zi Xing West General, he recommended Zhang He to take over together with Guo Hua. He also served as the Acting Garrison Prefect for Chang'an."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "There's no need to call General of the Guards. Those battles in WuDu were almost entirely the achievements of Marquis of Large Commandery and Zheng Zhong."
"Bi Jin." Cao Rui called out to the palace eunuch leader who had already returned, speaking softly, "Send someone to bring Du Xian, but don't disturb too many people."
"Also, call the messenger over. Have Dai Ling go back. There's nothing for him here."
"Understood." Bi Jin sprinted off again.
Cao Zhen and Sima Yi were the first to arrive, while Wei Zhen was a little late, and the three attendants arrived even later. Even among these officials who were immediately dispatched after receiving the edict, there were differences in distance from the palace.
Each time a person arrived, Cao Rui showed the military report to them. After everyone finally arrived, Cao Rui also ordered the messenger who had delivered the letter to be brought in.
"General," Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhen, "ask the messenger carefully for me."
Cao Zhen nodded, then turned to the kneeling messenger and asked, "Look up, when did Zhao Qian receive Zhang He's military report and what did he do?"
The messenger was extremely exhausted but still struggled to answer, "Reporting to General Cao, Marshal Zhen of the Western Frontier received the military report from Zhang He at around 10 a.m. on the second day of December. Less than an hour later, he sent his subordinates to lead a detachment from Chang'an to Luoyang. They have been galloping for nearly three days and nights, changing horses at relay stations but not their riders, and have just arrived in Luoyang."
"The Marshal of the Western Frontier told his subordinates that he would lead the army to Chencheng early the next morning."
Cao Zhen wanted to ask again, but Cao Rui, sitting behind the desk, noticed that the messenger's body had begun to shake and he seemed like he was about to fall at any moment.
"Enough, General Cao, don't ask any more. Let's start the meeting right away." Cao Rui pointed to Wang Su, "Attendant Wang, take the messenger down and give him a reward."
Wang Su stood up, bowed his hands, and left the room.
At this moment, Cao Rui opened his mouth and asked, "I have two doubts in my heart. Please help me discuss them together."
"The first is, how many troops the Shu army has."
"The second is, will the Shu army attack the Central Plains?"
Cao Zhen immediately opened his mouth to say, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
"Speak," Cao Rui nodded.
Cao Zhen spoke in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, let me speak. According to the military report, it was said by the schoolmaster of Qi Mountain Fortress, Zheng Si. Before the November 27th when Qi Mountain Fortress was surrounded, he said that at least two or three hundred thousand troops from the Shu army were present."
"Considering the speed at which Marshal Zhang He quickly aided along the Longshan Pass West Road after receiving the military report, I think it's better to be cautious when predicting enemy movements."
"Since Marshal Zhang He has gone to the Eastern Commandery, the Central Plains has suddenly been short of more than ten thousand soldiers. The central army will then necessarily need to reinforce the Central Plains, at least with more than ten thousand additional troops."
"Therefore, I suggest that immediate reinforcements be dispatched from the central army's cavalry, starting westward from Chang'an this morning. Once they reach Chang'an, we will decide whether to support Chencheng or the Eastern Commandery."
Cao Rui understood Cao Zhen's intention.
Since we have to reinforce anyway, it's better to send people to mobilize the available troops and first dispatch a part of them to Chang'an, rather than spending half a day or a day discussing it.
There's still time for discussion!
Cao Rui did not ask for opinions from others, directly sealing the decision and said, "General Cao's suggestion is very reasonable! The central army has five million troops, how many horsemen can be sent out this morning?"
Cao Zhen hesitated for a moment and then slowly said, "About eight thousand!"
"Eight thousand?" Cao Rui furrowed his brow and asked, "What eight thousand troops?"
Cao Zhen replied, "The central army does indeed have five million troops, but there are no current military affairs and according to the usual practice, 20% of the troops are on rest. That means there are about four million people in the camp now."
"And in the Wuwei Camp, which is always prepared for battle, there are only ten thousand troops immediately available for dispatch. Among these ten thousand, they are divided into five thousand cavalry and five thousand infantry."
"It is already noon. If the cavalry are dispatched immediately, only five thousand of the five thousand horsemen from the Wuwei Camp and over three thousand from the Three Commandant Camp can be dispatched in the morning."
Cao Rui nodded, "Only eight thousand cavalry? According to the 20% rotation, the central army can deploy 24,000 cavalry out of its three million, when will the remaining sixteen thousand be dispatched?"
Cao Zhen thought for a moment, "We can dispatch them by the next morning! In a day, we can prepare the military equipment, inspect supplies, and count the personnel. It should be sufficient."
"What about the foot soldiers?" Cao Rui asked again.
"It will also be tomorrow," Cao Zhen answered confidently.
Cao Rui took a deep breath, "Then have someone prepare it now! Who will lead the central army's five thousand cavalry?"
Cao Zhen bowed his hands and asked, "Your Majesty, I have two people in mind, Xiahou Xian and Fei Yao. Whom do you want to send?"
Cao Rui waved his hand, "They are only a day's journey apart, let Fei Yao go! Xiahou Xian command the rest of the troops, and they will be dispatched tomorrow."
"Shall I go out for a moment to send someone to look for Fei Yao and Wen Qin?" Cao Zhen asked.
"General, go ahead." Cao Rui nodded, "I will discuss the scheduling with the other officials first." (This chapter ends)
