Chapter 130: Building a Fortress
Cao Rui is now in Shouchun, and Luoyang is thousands of miles away, so it is really out of reach for him.
Just as when the master is not at home, thieves often visit. The emperor's absence from the capital gave treacherous officials and thieves the opportunity to spread rumors.
There was no way to check it carefully at the moment.
It was obviously not easy to find the person who spread the rumor. Cao Rui believed that he had not launched any major prisons or punished any officials since he ascended the throne.
The so-called "scholar group" or "military merit group" is even less likely to come up with such a thing.
The two leaders of the scholars today, Chen Qun is squatting in Xiangyang City, and Sima Yi has been almost always by his side during the southern expedition. If the leaders of the scholars do not participate, who will do these things?
It is not so easy for the generals who hold the military power to play tricks like spreading rumors. They have no shortage of official ranks and rewards, so why would they need to do such tricks?
If we use the process of elimination to exclude the two most powerful groups today, namely scholars and military generals, what kind of trouble can other "interest groups" cause?
Eunuch? They no longer have any say.
Harem? Would it be better for a son to be the emperor than a grandson? There was no possibility of that. The harem today had no power.
Although the elimination method is a bit clumsy, it is undoubtedly still very useful. Apart from these forces, the remaining ones are nothing more than two types: royal family and old and young people from the previous dynasty. Can these two groups of people accomplish such a big thing?
Since the beginning of his reign, Cao Rui has been deliberately downplaying the function of the "Xiaoshi" secret service system. Cao Rui tried to control the court by selecting talented people with his general understanding of the people in the court.
Looking back now, this was not the right path. I ignored the people's unrest in Wei and those in Luoyang who had ulterior motives.
I gave you freedom, but you brought me such a thing. Then I don't have to be polite, I will ask the school to step up its efforts.
However, these are things that can only be done after returning to Luoyang. After all, I am now in Shouchun, and there is no point in thinking about it. As for the current chaos in Luoyang, I can only appease it and make plans after I return to Luoyang.
Cao Rui shook his head slightly and looked at Cao Zhen and Sima Yi: "General, Minister of Works, what you two said is right, but not entirely right."
"There are scoundrels causing chaos in Luoyang City. It is only because I am not in the capital and have less news from Luoyang during the southern expedition that a rift has arisen."
"I was wondering if I should report the battle to Luoyang."
Sima Yi was the first to bow and say, "I think your Majesty is right. Why not send someone to Luoyang to report the victory immediately? As the news of your Majesty's personal victory spreads, the rumors will surely be broken."
Cao Rui nodded and said, "In that case, I will send someone to go back to Luoyang with Wei Lie to officially report the victory to the palace and the Shangshutai, and offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple of our Great Wei."
Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhen and said, "General, how did you offer sacrifices to the ancestral temple when you returned victorious in the past?"
Cao Zhen hesitated for a moment, and when he saw Cao Rui frowning, he replied, "Your Majesty, in the past, when we returned victorious from the battles, we rarely offered sacrifices to the ancestral temples."
"Since the 18th year of Jian'an, when Emperor Wu founded the state in Yecheng, the Cao family has had an ancestral temple. Emperor Wu's many great victories were also considered military victories of the Han Dynasty, and could not be offered sacrifices in the ancestral temple of the Wei Kingdom."
"Although Shanyang Gong was once worshipped in the Han Dynasty's Imperial Ancestral Temple in Luoyang, since Emperor Wu of Han moved Shanyang Gong from Luoyang to Xuchang, the Imperial Ancestral Temple no longer allowed Shanyang Gong to worship."
"After the late emperor came to Luoyang from Yecheng, he did not start moving the Yecheng ancestral temple to Luoyang until last year. However, the Luoyang ancestral temple has never held a sacrifice after a victory in a war."
Cao Rui was quite helpless.
Cao Rui said, "Well, since it is not yet a system, it is inevitable that there will be irregularities if we do it this time. Let's talk about it after I return to the court."
Cao Rui looked at Liu Ye and said, "Minister Liu, send someone to call Guanqiu Jian here."
Liu Ye bowed and accepted the order, went out of the hall to find the guards and gave them a few instructions, then returned to the hall.
Cao Rui pointed to the seats of the ministers and said, "Please take a seat. I have called you here not only to discuss this matter, but also to discuss other matters."
Cao Rui said: "My Lords, what do you think the Grand Marshal should do next as he is facing off with the Eastern Wu across the river at Wankou?"
All the ministers looked at Cao Zhen. As for the emperor's military questions, they all tacitly let Cao Zhen answer first.
Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, according to past practice, Sun Quan would take the initiative to send envoys to negotiate after he was at a disadvantage. But this time, Sun Quan did not send any envoys. Could it be that Sun Quan has changed his temper this time and wants to fight to the death with Wei?"
Cao Rui chuckled. "How can he fight to the end? Cross the river to attack? In my opinion, Sun Quan probably lost the battle and is too embarrassed to let it go. That's why he didn't send an envoy to me. Instead, he's trying to hold on by pretending to be strong."
"Has Sun Quan responded to my request to exchange prisoners with him?" Cao Zhen shook his head. "Sun Quan has not responded at all. He has just been confronting us across the river, and from time to time he has sent his navy to show off in front of the Grand Marshal's camp on the riverside."
"It was clearly written in the military report of the Grand Marshal that the ships of the Wu army were all decorated with carvings and colors, covered with green canopies and crimson curtains, and the masts, oars and weapons were all painted with patterns of flowers, fruits and melons. The Mengchong warships were connected front and back, and looked like continuous mountains from a distance."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Who will lead the Wu army's navy? Will it still be He Qi?"
Cao Zhen replied, "It was He Qi. When the Grand Marshal attacked Wei in Guangling, he was also stopped by He Qi's navy."
Cao Rui sighed, "The Yangtze River is indeed a natural barrier! With the river, the land is divided into north and south, and the national territory is also separated by it."
"Can we build a city at the entrance of Wan? Can we let soldiers station there all year round?"
Sima Yi replied: "Your Majesty, the mouth of Wan is too close to the river to be suitable for building a city. The Eastern Wu navy roams the river, and their east-west deployment is swift and fast, which is simply incomparable to land operations. If we build a city by the river, we will obviously be directly threatened by the Eastern Wu."
"The Eastern Wu navy can board a boat and launch a surprise attack at any time, but Wankou is too far away from Shouchun, so it will be too late to rescue them in a short time."
Cao Rui said: "Since Wankou cannot be used, how can we keep a garrison in Wancheng, which is a hundred miles away from the river? If we cannot keep a garrison in Wancheng for a long time, then this battle will be nothing more than defeating the enemy and gaining no other benefits."
Sima Yi explained: "Wancheng can certainly be stationed, but after all, there are not enough people near Wancheng, and it may be quite costly to transport military supplies from the interior."
Cao Rui asked: "Can we set up farmland near Wancheng?"
Turning his gaze from Sima Yi to Liu Ye, Cao Rui said, "Mr. Liu, didn't you say before that you wanted to let the Wu army captives come to cultivate the land? If we want to cultivate the land in Wancheng, how should we do it?"
Even with Liu Ye's quick wit, he was stunned for a moment.
For Cao Wei, there was almost no military farming in the border counties.
For example, in Cao Wei's original Huainan defense line, Shouchun, as a water transportation center and a base for fighting against Wu, was located in the central area of the Huai River.
The place that was actually on the front line against the enemy was not Shouchun, but Hefei to the south of Shouchun. In addition to the land roads, Shouchun and Hefei were also connected by Shaobi and the nearby river system.
If large-scale military farming was to be carried out in Yangzhou, it would certainly be better to do so in Shouchun, which was more stable and further behind. Who would want to do so near the city of Hefei? Wouldn't it be under attack from the State of Wu at any time?
Therefore, Liu Ye said: "Your Majesty, it may be difficult to implement military farming near Wancheng. The people of Lujiang County had already left during the Jian'an period. Where can we gather people to farm?"
Cao Rui said slowly: "What if the army is stationed there?"
Liu Ye thought for a moment and said, "It is actually quite difficult to set up a military settlement. Wancheng is close to the Wan River, so it is generally easier to attack than to defend. If we set up a military settlement near Wancheng, we are afraid that the Wu army will harass us."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, all of you should listen to my thoughts."
"When Wei attacked Wu, it lacked waterways for sailing and marching, so it was often unable to enter the Yangtze River. Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen attacked Ruxu many times just for this reason."
"Ancheng is close to the Wanshui River. If we can enter the Yangtze River through the Wanshui River, wouldn't we be able to benefit from the navy? Since we want to use the Wanshui River, we must station troops near the Wanshui River so that we can build water conservancy projects and create ships. But there are no such geographical conditions near the Wancheng City at present."
"I have come up with this idea. Isn't Wancheng easy to attack but difficult to defend? Then why not build a city and a fortress to control the waterway south of Wancheng, at the place where Qianshui merges into the Wanshui River. Didn't Dongwu also build Ruxuwu at the Ruxu River?"
"If this works, then the area around Wancheng will have a barrier to protect it? It will also be safer to set up military settlements, and we won't have to worry about Wu people harassing us along the river."
Sima Yi and Cao Zhen looked at each other, with a hint of surprise in their eyes.
Sima Yi recalled that when the emperor had just ascended the throne, he and three other regents went to the palace to meet the emperor. At that time, the emperor said that fortresses like Qishan, Xiangyang, and Hefei should be built on the border to block the enemy's invasion route. This would restore the country's strength and accumulate power.
Over the past six months, the emperor has said this and basically done this. In the battle of Wancheng, although he and his colleagues made many suggestions, most of the strategies were set by the emperor himself. When he deployed troops, he also anticipated defeat first and did not use them rashly. He returned immediately after the great victory.
This is actually saving military strength and national strength.
If a fortress like Ruxukou could be built at Qiankou as the emperor said, if it could be done, not to mention the various military conveniences, then the geographical location of Wancheng, Qiankou and Wankou, located between Shouchun and Xiangyang, would become a new military region!
Just like Jingzhou supervised by Chen Qun and Yangzhou supervised by Cao Xiu, Wancheng is almost the same distance from Xiangyang and Shouchun, and it is inappropriate to be under the jurisdiction of Shouchun. If a general is to supervise the military alone, who would be more suitable?
Sima Yi worked as a member of the East and West Cao Yuan in Cao Cao's palace in his early years, responsible for personnel management and transfer within the palace. Judging politics from the perspective of "people" has almost become a subconscious instinctive reaction.
(End of this chapter)
