Pei Qian tactfully stayed in the duty room until he saw the tiger guard close the door and the footsteps gradually fade away, then he slowly returned to his seat and sat down.
Cao Rui looked at several eunuchs holding trays with hot food, standing motionless outside the porch, so he asked curiously:
“Why don’t you send it out?”
Bi Jin whispered, "The Tiger Guards did not hear the emperor's order in person. Midnight is the most critical time for guarding, and they did not listen to the old slave's words."
Cao Rui glanced at the flattery on Bi Jin's face, then nodded slightly to the tiger guard Sima Guo Feng behind him, and then walked back to the study.
Only after the door was gently closed for the emperor did Guo Feng nod and signal the tiger guards on duty to take turns eating the hot food.
……
The next morning, the four attendants from the West and East Pavilions came to the study together.
The eight people sat down in order. Cao Rui pointed at Pei Qian, looked at everyone and said:
"Minister Pei listed all the evil deeds of Gongsun Yuan with me yesterday, and proposed to summon Gongsun Yuan to the court."
"Pei Qing, come and talk to the others."
"As you wish." Pei Qian first stood up and bowed to the emperor before walking to the center and facing everyone.
The rest of the people had no objection, but Dong Zhao and Man Chong became alert at the same time.
How could Pei Qian, a mere minister, interfere in the country's military affairs? All major policies related to the military were always proposed by the Western Chamber.
Pei Qian has exceeded his authority!
Pei Qian was standing in the middle of the study at this moment, his face calm, about to speak, without any sign of nervousness at all.
Overstepping authority?
Pei Qian certainly knew that military affairs were exclusive to the West Pavilion.
But Pei Qian had been serving the emperor for more than a year. In the past, Huang Quan and Yang Fu were sent to serve as provincial governors within a year. Pei Qian was originally transferred from a provincial governor, so naturally he aspired to a higher position.
How can an official not exceed his authority? How can we make progress without exceeding our authority?
In front of the other seven people and the emperor, Pei Qian slowly stated the three reasons for summoning Gongsun Yuan to the court.
First, Gongsun Yuan had no reputation and righteousness, Liaodong was without a master, and it was a time of suspicion between the inside and the outside. If he had not been extremely suspicious, Gongsun Yuan would not have killed the envoy from Dongwu and sent him here.
Second, Gongsun Yuan was in league with Sun Quan, so his crime should be punished. Moreover, the Gongsun family had been committing evil for a long time, Gongsun Du had murdered famous scholars and violated the etiquette, and Gongsun Kang had crossed the sea and attacked Qingzhou, so their crimes had accumulated for three generations.
Third, the country could tolerate Wu and Shu, but there was no reason for it to tolerate Gongsun Yuan.
After Pei Qian finished his long speech, Dong Zhao coughed lightly and looked up at Pei Qian:
"What Minister Pei said just now is all very true. What if Gongsun Yuan really doesn't come? Do you want to fight him, or trap him, or just ignore him?"
Dong Zhao did not say anything against it.
Everyone present was experienced and wise. The fact that the emperor allowed Pei Qian to speak here had already proved the emperor's attitude.
After Pei Qian had said so much, he still considered unifying the opinions more.
Pei Qian bowed to Dong Zhao and said, "Master Dong, if Gongsun Yuan does not come, the Wei Dynasty will send troops to attack him!"
Dong Zhao laughed imperceptibly, nodded and said nothing.
Man Chong also asked, "Does Minister Pei remember Liang Bofang?"
Pei Qian looked at Man Chong and said, "How can you not remember? General Man, did you say that when Liang Bo Fang arrived in Liaodong, Gongsun Kang wanted to send 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry to attack Yecheng?"
Man Chong nodded.
Liang Mao was an old minister during the Jian'an period and had a very close relationship with the previous emperor Cao Pi.
When Cao Pi was first appointed General of the Five Officials and opened a government office, Liang Mao became Cao Pi's chief secretary. When Cao Pi was the crown prince of Wei, Liang Mao was the crown prince's tutor.
If Liang Mao could live ten more years, his position now would be no less than Sima Yi's.
Pei Qian said: "At that time, the whole country was in turmoil, and the princes in various places plundered the people and recruited soldiers. In Liaodong, let alone 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, even 50,000 or 60,000 could be recruited."
"But now China has been stable for a long time, and the weapons, armor, and training of soldiers are not comparable to those in the early years. Now the quality of soldiers is more important than the quantity."
Man Chong said calmly: "There are also iron officials in Pingguo, Liaodong, and there is no shortage of weapons and armor there."
Pei Qian replied: "Although they have armored soldiers, how can they compare to the weapons of Wei?"
"Last year, the imperial court ordered the central army to change their uniforms. Over the past year, the equipment of the collar guard, shoulder guard, and armor skirt has been almost completed, and all 20,000 infantrymen have full body armor. Except for the Wuwei Army, whose equipment has not changed, the Xiaowei Army is equipped with long spears and powerful crossbows, and their combat power is no longer comparable to the past."
"The Left and Right Armies of the Imperial Guards have been equipped with stirrups and horseshoes. In addition, there are already nearly a thousand heavily armored cavalry. By the end of next spring, there should be 2,000 heavily armored cavalry."
"In a remote place like Liaodong, how could you know that the Wei army is so powerful?"
Man Chong nodded: "Such a powerful army is worth a fight."
In fact, Man Chong asked Pei Qian this question because he was waiting for Pei Qian to respond in this way.
The so-called military combat effectiveness is naturally related to invisible and intangible factors such as morale, military strategy, and command.
But now was not the time for Guo Jia to boost Cao Cao's morale and talk about ten wins and ten losses. Talking about these empty words in front of the emperor would only make him a laughing stock.
If Pei Qian were to talk directly about the difference in military strength, he could only talk about the weapons and equipment and the elite soldiers.
Since last year, the important official of the Wei Dynasty who has presided over the reform of the central army and the replacement of armor and military equipment has been none other than the former general Man Chong himself.
What Pei Qian just mentioned was the merit of Man Chong. At that time, wars were raging everywhere, and although all industries were in decline, the manufacture of weapons and armor was extremely developed.
By satisfying the emperor's wishes and mentioning his own contributions, Man Chong killed two birds with one stone.
Seeing that no one spoke, Cao Rui looked at the two people in Dongge:
"What do Sikong and Wei Shifu say?" Sima Yi said, "I think it's OK. The Central Army is no longer what it used to be."
"In terms of combat power, 3,000 brave infantrymen can defeat 10,000 ordinary infantrymen, not to mention the cavalry."
"Liaodong is a remote place, and it is definitely not the enemy of Wei."
Wei Zhen reminded him, "Since we are going to summon Gongsun Yuan, we still need to give him an official title. I guess it should be no less than the position of the Nine Ministers."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Although I and the other ministers are talking about attacking Liaodong, if something unexpected happens and Gongsun Yuan really responds to the imperial edict, I will not treat him unfairly."
"Five thousand households, general of the expedition to the east, how about that?"
"I vaguely remember that when Zhang Xiu surrendered, none of the generals in the world were granted fiefs of more than a thousand households, except Zhang Xiu, who was granted two thousand households."
"Considering the generosity that Wei has shown to its surrendered generals, this condition is not bad."
Wei Zhen bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
"What about you?" Cao Rui asked the remaining three attendants.
All three of them had no objection.
Cao Rui nodded and said, "Well, then, Minister Pei, please draft an edict for me. Today is already the end of September, and the edict should reach Liaodong by the beginning of November."
"It will take until the end of the year for us to receive Gongsun Yuan's reply or news. Whether it succeeds or not will depend on the end of the year. I will discuss this with you then."
Everyone responded in unison.
……
After the ministers returned, Cao Rui called Man Chong and said, "General Man, please come with me for a walk."
Man Chong bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, where do you want to inspect? You can inspect the military camps inside and outside the city at any time. I will lead the way for Your Majesty."
Cao Rui said, "Didn't Minister Pei just mention that the Central Army was changing its uniforms? The last time I went to the Central Army camp was in early May. So, it has been nearly four months since I last went there."
"At that time, the armored cavalry had not yet started to change their equipment. How many armored cavalry are there now? Minister Pei just said there are more than a thousand?"
As the person in charge of the daily work of the Central Army in the West Pavilion, Man Chong knew all these numbers by heart: "Your Majesty, there are already 800 armored cavalrymen in the entire formation, and they will be led by General Wen Qin of the Left Imperial Guards."
"The preparation of armored cavalry is complicated. If Your Majesty wants to inspect it, I will send someone to inform Wen Qin to prepare it first."
Cao Rui nodded: "Okay, send someone to inform Wen Qin. In a quarter of an hour, General Man will set out with me."
"As you wish." Man Chong replied with a bow.
It has been more than a year since the last campaign against Shu ended. Under the leadership of Man Chong, the central army has done a good job in restructuring and refitting.
According to Cao Rui's consistent theory and practice, the titles of generals must also be consistent with their actual status.
Previously in Qinzhou, Zhang He's General Conquering the West, Guo Huai's General Conquering Shu, and Lu Xun's General Protecting the Qiang were all appointed according to this idea.
There are no new generals with miscellaneous titles.
After the central army was restructured, in addition to the 10,000 cavalrymen of the Central Commander-in-Chief and the Five Colonels' Camp, there were 40,000 remaining, led by four generals.
General Xu Chu of the Wuwei Army and General Wang Ling of the Xiaowei Army each led 10,000 Wuwei and Xiaowei infantrymen.
General Wen Qin of the Left Yu Lin led 10,000 cavalrymen of the Yu Lin Left Cavalry.
General Cheng Xi of the Right Feathered Guards led 10,000 cavalrymen of the Right Feathered Guards.
The four generals Xu Chu, Wang Ling, Wen Qin and Cheng Xi only had the power of daily administration, while the power of command and dispatch belonged to the newly established Privy Council.
The eight hundred armored cavalrymen that Man Chong had just mentioned and who had just joined the ranks were among Wen Qin's Yulin Left Cavalry.
When Cao Rui arrived at the parade ground on the eastern outskirts of Luoyang, Wen Qin's 800 armored cavalry had already lined up.
Cao Rui rode his imperial horse slowly forward. Everywhere he looked, he saw that the knights were wearing full body armor, and the horses were also wearing horse armor.
Eight hundred armored cavalrymen stood in formation, the light reflected from their armors was extremely dazzling. Although there were only eight hundred cavalrymen, the sight of them gave off a sense of heaviness like a mountain.
Maybe it's because of the full body armor.
A knight of great stature rode out from the side of the team. He came to within two feet of the emperor's carriage, lifted his visor, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am Wenqin. I am wearing armor, so I cannot be fully polite."
Cao Rui rode forward and stared at Wen Qin's armor from a close distance with great curiosity: "Spears and swords form a forest, and the armor shines in the sunlight!"
"How does this armor feel, Wenqing? Is it a little heavy?"
Wen Qin replied: "Your Majesty, even with my own physique, I still feel it is a bit heavy, let alone other knights."
Cao Rui nodded: "So it's difficult to choose a knight?"
Wen Qin shook his head and explained, "Your Majesty, it is difficult to choose horses. The eight hundred armored cavalrymen in front of your Majesty are all elites that I have selected one by one from the Yulin Left Cavalry."
"The weight of the armor and horse armor combined is incomparable to the previous light cavalry. If the weight of the knight is added, it is not something that an ordinary horse can bear."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "If good horses are hard to find, it must be because the armor is too heavy and the knight cannot be too tall? If the knight is too heavy, the horse cannot bear it?"
"A knight who is too light will not have enough physical strength to fight on horseback with a spear even after putting on the armor?"
"Oh, that's what I mean, Your Majesty is wise." Wen Qin nodded heavily in response. (End of this chapter)
