"To replace one situation with another to solve the dilemma?”
Cao Rui repeated Cao Zhen's words and seemed to feel a trace of familiarity. However, the words did not seem like something Cao Zhen would say in any way.
Cao Rui laughed lightly: "General's proposal is good!"
"If we were to retain only the three cities of Yangping Pass, Mianyang, and Nanzheng, with Yangping Pass facing the Jinbao Road, Nanzheng facing the Micang Road, and Mianyang including Xiaban in its defense, strategically positioned in the center to provide support. This would be a convenient arrangement for both the military, the people, and the court."
"How did the General come up with this plan?"
"Ha ha ha," Cao Zhen said with a smile, "Your Majesty overpraises me. I also asked someone. The other day, while I was expressing my concern about the defense of Han Middle, it was heard by the Imperial Steward, Deng Yi Deng Shizai."
"It was Deng Ai who came up with this idea, and I must say it's indeed a good one."
Ma Yi interrupted Cao Zhen's words: "If we attack Sichuan again tomorrow, can Han Middle still serve as a reliance?"
"How can't it?" Cao Zhen countered: "The land of Han Middle is so vast. How much grain can be obtained just by relying on Han Middle? Isn't it still necessary to transport from the Qin and Dun states?"
"There is no significant difference."
Ma Yi remained silent. At this moment, he genuinely believed that moving all the civilians and keeping only the army was a really good idea to save resources.
If they attack the Sichuan tomorrow, we can simply redistribute the grain again.
Cao Rui nodded: "Since that is the case, we'll do it this way. After the main force returns and the civilians are relocated, we will leave these three cities to defend and cultivate the land."
"Who should be given command of the garrison? And how many troops should be allocated?"
"At least 20,000," Cao Zhen answered with certainty: "Yangping Pass, Mianyang, and Nanzheng in Yangping Pass and Nanzheng each have 5,000 troops. Mianyang has a garrison of 10,000 to centralize the response. This number should be quite stable."
Cao Rui heaved a sigh: "We still need to gather 20,000 men. How many troops are there in the Great Wei west of Tongguan Pass now?"
Ma Yi spoke from the side: "When I was in Qin State, I roughly calculated that there were about 51,000 foreign troops and state-level troops in Longyou and Guanzhong together."
"Not counting the central army. Single military is considered, there were about 4,000 losses after the battle of Chi ting. Including so many injured troops and those who should retire after the war, we can fully calculate it's only about 40,000 people."
"Forty thousand," Cao Rui said with a sigh: "This is still the same as before this battle, isn't it?"
Ma Yi remained silent for a moment before saying: "In the end, it was the Great Wei who won! This battle was worth it."
Cao Rui nodded slightly: "Although we won, there are many complicated issues to consider, which cannot be ignored!"
After saying that, Cao Rui turned his gaze to Cao Zhen: "The military situation in the Guanxi region is complex, and I do not wish to entrust all of this to Zhang He."
"General, I wish to entrust the military affairs of Yong, Liang, Qin, and Yi four states to you. Will the general be willing to take on this responsibility?"
"Let the subject supervise four states?" Cao Zhen exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly got up from his seat, bowing and declining: "Your Majesty, please do not be so! I can't accept it."
"The subject once supervised the military affairs of Yong and Liang. Although it's just adding Han Middle to the mix, there has never been a precedent in our dynasty for allowing a subject to supervise military affairs over four states!"
Cao Rui looked into Cao Zhen's eyes, without the slightest hint of pressure, only a sense of tranquility.
In matters like this, it is impossible to coerce someone by force. In the end, it still depends on Cao Zhen's own willingness.
Cao Rui said, "If there is a need for a precedent, someone must make the first one. Besides General Cao in Guanxi, no one else does your Majesty trust."
"And, " Cao Rui said faintly: "Whether it was the past attack on Sichuan or the upcoming aid for Han Middle, Qin State, I don't want the central army to make another trip like this."
"Can General Cao help me?"
Cao Zhen rushed to explain: "Your subject is not unwilling, but he is genuinely concerned about public criticism, afraid that it may be misunderstood as claiming power and governing by oneself."
"Although Han Middle is only one of the counties in Yizhou, but counting up it is actually four states. How many states are there in the world in total?"
"No need to worry about this," Cao Rui interrupted Cao Zhen's words: "I guarantee it for General Cao! If I say you can be trusted, you can be trusted."
"All words, your Majesty will protect General Cao."
Cao Zhen said: "How should the Premier General explain this?"
Cao Rui replied: "The two of you are like my pillars on the east and west ends of the Great Wei. Why would you need to explain to him? Premier General is not one to be envious of General Cao's weight of power."
Cao Zhen gritted his teeth and walked to the hall, bowing: "Your Majesty entrusts Guanxi to Your subject. I will do my utmost to be loyal and repay Your Majesty's favor! In the hands of the subject, I will not allow a single inch of Guanxi to be lost!"
Cao Rui stepped forward quickly and helped Cao Zhen to his feet: "General, please rise quickly! If I did not trust General Cao, how could I entrust such a heavy responsibility to you?"
"Where would the General like to establish the garrison?"
"Chen Cang!" Cao Zhen replied with absolute certainty.
Cao Rui nodded: "I was thinking the same."
"Your Majesty has roughly calculated that Chen Cang is 550 miles away from Mianyang. If there is a warning at Yangping Pass, the army at Chen Cang could march for eleven days and arrive in a leisurely manner."
"Chen Cang is a place where one can retreat and control Guanzhong, advance and control Qin State, Han Middle, with the convenience of transporting through the old canal route of Shuangguan, as well as Wei River canal. It also has the advantage of being defended by Sanguan Pass. It is truly an unbeatable choice."
Cao Zhen agreed, and after a moment's pause, as if thinking of something, he said again, "Zhang Jiong Yi may have lost the command of the Qin and Yong military districts, but since I am to supervise the four states, and he is someone who understands the importance of the overall situation, he should not harbor any resentment."
"It would be better to have Guo Huai command the troops in Hanzhong? I think Guo Huai did a good job defending Shangguan, let him come here, it is also making the best use of his talents."
Cao Rui turned to look at Sima Yi and Xin Pi: "What do you two, Duke of the Marshals and Marquis of Xin, think?"
"Very suitable!" Sima Yi replied, bowing his hands.
"Since we are defending and waiting for reinforcements, Guo Huai is capable of taking on the task," Xin Pi said.
"All right," Cao Rui nodded: "Let's entrust it to Guo Huai!"
"General, " Cao Rui continued to look at Cao Zhen: "This matter of supervising four states and the allocation of troops is of great importance. Specific details, Your Majesty will have to clarify several times with General Cao and the Duke of the Marshals, Sima Yi, and Xin Pi."
"Wait until Your Majesty returns from the battlefield before announcing this matter to the entire court and the generals."
Cao Zhen bowed and said, "Your subject knows."
As Cao Zhen was about to leave, Cao Rui added: "Also, bring Deng Shi Zai here. I want to ask him in detail how he came up with this dilemma."
"Obedient to Your Majesty's order," Cao Zhen replied.
(...)
Through their conversation with Deng Ai, Cao Rui once again confirmed the outstanding qualities of this person.
Deng Ai originally supervised grain transport from Yong State to Longyou, and then followed the main force to supervise grain and forage, making him understand the importance of logistics more and more.
At the same time, there was also a hint of simple compassion for the common people.
From Deng Ai's perspective, since Han Zhong is the frontier of Sichuan, fortifying and militarizing it is the best solution for Han Zhong.
If the Sichuan troops attack in the future, there will be nothing to rely on in the vast open fields.
Without any civilians in Han Zhong, the Sichuan army would have no one to relocate or loot grain supplies from.
Moreover, for the common people, living in a stable place where they can confirm that they will not encounter war, the sense of security they gain will not be a little bit.
Whether it's farming or labor service, they will be more relaxed and enthusiastic.
In this era, Deng Ai's idea of sympathizing with the common people is hard to come by. Relocating civilians is not necessarily a bad thing.
With the arrival of the upper half of May, there has been some new movement in the Han Zhong campaign, which has been relatively quiet for some time.
On the first day of the fifth month, Zhang He led 8,000 soldiers to capture Chenggu.
After the city was captured, the defender of Chenggu, Feng Qi, and more than twenty officers under him, including commanding generals, military advisors, and heads of regiments, were all executed. The remaining less than 800 troops of Sichuan were surrendered and guarded.
The capture of Chenggu was a significant event. From this point on, all cities within the Han Zhong region had come under the control of the Great Wei.
While the Northern Pass of Micao Road, which had always been guarded by Cao Zhen's troops, had not seen any movement from the Sichuan army.
Li Yan did not dare to take a step into Han Zhong.
(...)
On May 13th, while Cao Rui was in Mianyang planning with his ministers the return to Luoyang, the discussion was interrupted by an unexpected news.
"Has Zhuge Liang sent a letter to me?" Cao Rui looked at Wang Chang with a hint of surprise. "Bring it up."
Wang Chang handed the document from Zhuge Liang to Cao Rui, who carefully read it through and folded it up, placing it on the desk without giving it to anyone else as he usually would.
Xin Pi was curious and asked: "Your Majesty, do we not know what Zhuge Liang said?"
Cao Rui replied in a calm tone: "Zhuge Liang said that the Emperor Liu Shan of the Han Dynasty is benevolent and has granted Han Zhong to me."
"Zhuge Liang also said that Yang'an Pass is a beautiful place with beautiful mountains and rivers, an unparalleled treasure. He invited Your Majesty to visit there personally."
Xin Pi smiled and shook his head: "Zhuge Liang has run out of ideas. Since Xiumeng from Bai Shui Pass returned, Zhuge Liang has remained in Yang'an Pass, hiding and making no other moves."
Cao Rui nodded first in agreement, then slowly shook his head: "In my opinion, Zhuge Liang should still want to fight with me. However, with the Sichuan people few and the land narrow, he may not have enough manpower and military power to keep fighting against me."
"Xin Minister," Cao Rui looked at Xin Pi: "Let you write a reply for me, addressing both Zhuge Liang and Liu Shan."
"Obedient to Your Majesty's order," Xin Pi was sitting at the desk, slightly pulling down the sleeve of his right hand, revealing his wrist, and lightly dipped the pen tip into ink.
Cao Rui said indifferently: "Tell Zhuge Liang that I am waiting for him to attack me again. If he does come again, I will definitely see him again. With the weak state of the Sichuan country, if he does not attack the Great Wei actively, where else can he find any way out?"
"Also tell Liu Shan that the conditions I told Zhuge Liang before are still valid. If he comes over to submit, I will still give him the land of Guanzhong."
"Your Majesty will also make full use of the ministers and generals in Shu and there will be no prejudices."
After saying this, Cao Rui looked at Xin Pi: "This is about what it means, and Xin Ying, please help Your Majesty polish it. Don't worry about whether the persuasion will work or not. Just write it out."
Xin Pi smiled and bowed: "I have heard that the previous letters of persuasion came to a halt at Zhuge Liang's hands. This time, when it reaches Liu Shan, I wonder what the people of Shu will think."
"Who knows?" Cao Rui lightly exhaled: "Let's wait and see."
At this moment, Guan Qiuxian walked in from the hall and bowed: "Reporting to Your Majesty, General Meng Da of Anxi, is waiting outside." (This chapter is complete)
