Cao Rui stared at Jiang Wei for a few more moments, then nodded with satisfaction: "Since Bo Yue doesn't want it, I'll keep this jade pendant."
"After we conquer Shu in the future, if Zhuge Liang is still alive, Bo Yue will return it to him in person."
Jiang Wei replied, "Your Majesty is wise."
Cao Rui laughed and said, "But I cannot let down my meritorious officials."
"Bo Yue has been to the Shu camp three times and has greatly pleased me. I will temporarily appoint him as the military guard and serve as my headquarters!"
Jiang Wei did not hesitate, but bowed directly: "I obey your order and am willing to die for the Great Wei!"
Cao Rui nodded slightly.
In fact, Cao Rui already had many plans for Jiang Wei in his mind.
Among the young talents of the Wei Dynasty, Cao Rui only valued three people the most: Guanqiu Jian, Jiang Wei and Xiahou Xuan.
As soon as he ascended the throne, he appointed Guanqiu Jian as the captain of Yue cavalry and included him in the ranks of two thousand stone officials. This was because Guanqiu Jian was already an official in the Eastern Palace.
Historically, officials of the Eastern Palace were immediately appointed to important posts after the new emperor ascended the throne. Compared with Cao Pi's reward for merit, Cao Rui was quite restrained.
Guanqiu Jian was Cao Rui's personal advisor, and he also served as an envoy to patrol the border areas of You and Bing with Liu Ye in order to cultivate his overall view and vision.
With a wise man like Liu Ye, who taught by words and deeds for half a year, Guanqiu Jian's strategic level improved rapidly.
It was precisely because Guanqiu Jian's talent was not among the best in the Wei Dynasty that Cao Rui wanted to train him in this way.
Compared with Guanqiu Jian, Jiang Wei and Xiahou Xuan were even more talented.
Xiahou Xuan was good at literature, while Jiang Wei was good at military force.
Their usefulness is not now, but five or even ten years later.
Therefore, Cao Rui wanted Jiang Wei to follow the army to fight, let him go as an envoy to the enemy camp, and let him serve as a general in the central army.
And Xiahou Xuan...
What Xiahou Xuan needs is constant sharpening and greater pragmatism.
Unlike the military, if you want to grow into a qualified politician, you must learn to accumulate strength in the troughs, constantly enrich yourself, and have more patience and resilience, so that you can be of great use.
It was a rare experience for Xiahou Xuan to return to his hometown to study because of the Vanity Case when he was at the peak of his career.
With the emperor's personal concern, given Xiahou Xuan's status and ability, why worry about not being able to be used in the future? What difference does it make if it's earlier or later?
After Jiang Wei finished his greeting, Cao Rui turned to look at Cao Zhen and said, "Aren't the 4,000 cavalrymen led by Huan Fan under the command of the general? Let Bo Yue lead them."
Cao Zhen replied, "I understand. I will make the arrangements later."
Cao Rui pointed at Jiang Wei and said, "Since you are a general, you should not follow me. Go to your camp and wait for the general's orders."
There was a hint of reluctance in Jiang Wei's eyes, but he quickly composed himself, bowed and took his leave.
Sima Yi was quite moved at this time.
When the Imperial Academy was first established, Your Majesty went there twice to give lectures. Sima Yi still had a trace of doubt in his heart at that time.
But after witnessing Jiang Wei getting the post of Xingzhong Hujun, Sima Yi, in addition to being impressed by Jiang Wei's rapid promotion, also remembered many more things.
The so-called "acting Zhonghujun" means acting Zhonghujun.
It is obvious that Jiang Wei has little experience, so His Majesty did not let Jiang Wei be responsible for the election of military officers within the Central Guard Army.
Instead, he took command of Huan Fan's 4,000 cavalrymen by virtue of his title as Xingzhong Hujun.
This level of attention is unprecedented since Your Majesty ascended the throne.
If given time, Jiang Wei will surely be in charge of military affairs like Qian Zhao, Zhang He and others today, right? However, it is too early to discuss this matter now, so let's wait and see.
As he thought about it, Sima Yi actually felt a little sigh in his heart.
As one of the first batch of students of the Imperial College, Jiang Wei was able to serve the emperor and was granted an important position.
Nearly a hundred Taixuelang who followed the army to Longyou were all responsible for the Qiang people's farming affairs, which added a highlight to their resumes.
And my eldest son, the teacher...
If we return to Luoyang this time, we will definitely use our achievements in politics to exchange for Sima Shi's release!
……
However, two days later, Guo Huai, who led 6,000 infantrymen and confronted Wei Yan in the Qingnishui River Valley, received military news that Wei Yan had withdrawn.
Out of caution, Guo Huai only sent people to follow from a distance. After finding out that the Shu army was indeed retreating and not ambushing, he reported to the rear.
After listening to Cao Zhen's military report, Cao Rui nodded calmly: "Wei Yan retreated? I roughly guess that it is because of the three letters between me and Zhuge Liang that he completely lost the will to fight and chose to defend with me in a dangerous place."
"Is Guo Huai sure it's Chi Ting?"
Cao Zhen replied: "Guo Huai did not confirm it completely in the military report, but only said that the scouts encountered a small camp of the Shu army set up along the road 20 miles away from Chiting."
"That's Chiting." Cao Rui looked at the ministers in the tent and said, "Zhuge Liang wants to defend the dangerous place, which is a weak move. How can I not follow him?" "How should we advance?"
Cao Zhen replied: "At present, the Wei army has more than 40,000 soldiers, and there are 15,000 soldiers in Hechi. And I roughly guess that the Shu army's strength in the Chiting area should not exceed 50,000."
"Why?" Cao Rui asked.
Cao Zhen cupped his hands and said, "As Governor Yang said, the area of Chiting is not wide, with rivers converging and mountains sandwiched between them. Although it is dangerous, it is difficult to concentrate defense."
"After Zhuge Liang retreated from Qishan, his army was less than 60,000. How could he not allocate some troops to guard the rear?"
Cao Rui asked: "What does the general mean?"
Cao Zhen cupped his hands and said, "In my opinion, we should send troops from Xiabian and Hechi!"
"We should leave two cavalry units behind to support and save the two cities of Xiabian and Hechi."
"The rest of the army will move southeast along the Qingni River to confront the Shu army at Chiting. Xiahou Ru's 15,000 infantry can go south along the Baishui River from Hechi and surround Chiting from another direction."
"The estuaries where Qingnishui and Baishui flow into Gudaoshui are only five miles apart. If one of them finds an opportunity to fight, the other can respond at the same time!"
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "That depends on whether Xiahou Ru can coordinate with my headquarters."
Cao Zhen nodded.
Cao Rui looked at Qian Zhao and said, "How about General Qian take over Xiahou Ru's camp for me?"
"This..." Qian Zhao showed a trace of hesitation: "Your Majesty, General Xiahou led an army from Jingzhou to Chang'an, and then from Chang'an to Hechi. If I go there suddenly, I am afraid that I will not be able to reassure his troops!"
Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "Among Xiahou Ru's 15,000 soldiers, aren't there 5,000 soldiers you left in Chang'an? You can go and lead them."
"But General Qian is right. We cannot afford to reveal anything when facing a powerful enemy. I will send Xiahou Ru an imperial edict to reassure him and make him regard you as his leader."
"Don't worry." Cao Rui looked at Qian Zhao with a smile: "Nothing will happen."
Qian Zhao, who had been a general without troops since he came south from Shanggui, was finally able to continue leading his troops in battle, so he naturally accepted the emperor's assignment.
"Leave 10,000 cavalry as the rear wing, and the rest of the army will march out tomorrow morning." Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhen, Sima Yi and others: "Is this arrangement appropriate?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Cao Zhen replied.
Sima Yi is also generally considered to be one of them.
……
On the morning of March 16, the Wei army, which had been waiting in Xiabian and Hechi for half a month, advanced on two fronts and headed towards Chiting at the same time.
To describe it simply and abstractly, the terrain at Chiting is like a three-way fork in the road.
Cao Rui and Qian Zhao led their troops to march from the two forks of the three-way road to the junction, while Zhuge Liang defended at the intersection of the roads.
Although Zhuge Liang set up some small camps along the way, each camp was defended by only a few hundred people. When faced with the attack of tens of thousands of Wei troops, they abandoned the camps and fled one after another.
In less than two days, Cao Rui's army reached a place ten miles west of Chiting and confronted Zhuge Liang along the Qingnishui River Valley.
……
In the Shu army camp.
After learning that Cao's army was attacking from both sides, all the generals of Shu army were on high alert and prepared to deal with the offensive with all their strength.
But strangely, in the first two days of the confrontation, the Wei army sent infantry to attack the Shu army camp eastward many times. Although they were all repelled, they also put a lot of pressure on Shu Han.
But on the third day, the Wei army stopped and did not launch any offensive at all.
In the evening, everyone gathered in Zhuge Liang's tent to discuss today's military situation.
"Report to the Prime Minister." Wei Yan bowed and said, "I did not find any Wei army attacking the camp today. Logically speaking, the number of casualties in the Wei army in the past two days was less than a thousand, so it should not affect their offensive."
"Today's ceasefire is really weird."
Zhuge Liang looked at Wu Yi and asked, "What are the actions of the Wei army at the mouth of the Baishui River?"
Wu Yi replied in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, the Wei army at the mouth of the Baishui River came from the direction of Hechi. Since arriving three days ago, they have not attacked the camp like the Wei army from the direction of Qingnishui."
"I guess that the Wei army was divided into two groups, one of them is real and the other is fake. The Wei army on the Baishui side should be the one with fewer people."
"I would like to ask you to send out troops tomorrow to test the Wei army and give it a try."
Zhuge Liang responded in a deep voice: "Although the Wei army's attack from both sides is fierce, it is not as strong as the combined forces."
"The Wei army is divided into two parts, separated by mountains and rivers. We should seek an opportunity to defeat them."
"But the Wei army has just arrived and the situation is not clear." Zhuge Liang looked at Wu Yi and said, "Starting tomorrow, your troops will attack the Wei camp for three consecutive days!"
"I want to see where the Wei army is real and where it is fake!" (End of this chapter)
