Cao Rui snorted coldly: "Tian Yu, Qian Zhao and others have been in You and Bing for a long time, but they still cannot completely eliminate the Xianbei threat."
"The Wei Kingdom has been established for ten years. The border troubles between Wu and Shu have subsided a little. Of course, I have to spare some time to govern the north."
"General Man." Cao Rui looked at Man Chong and said, "I heard that there is Taihang Mountain between Bingzhou and Jizhou, and Taihang Mountain is majestic and steep, with 'Eight Passages' that can be crossed."
"I am leaving Yecheng to go to Yanmen. Which road should I take?"
As an important official in the Western Chamber, Man Chong was extremely knowledgeable about mountains, rivers and roads, and replied, "Your Majesty, there are two roads from Yecheng to Yanmen that can be used."
"One is Fukouxing."
"This road goes west from Yecheng, through Shexian and Luxian to Huguan, and then north to Taiyuan."
"The second one is Jingxing."
"This road goes north from Yecheng, through Guangping, Julu, Zhao and reaches Changshan County, then west to Jingxing, and west through Yuci to Taiyuan."
Man Chong bowed and said, "But I still want to explain to Your Majesty that although Fukouxing is the closest to Yecheng, the road from Huguan to Taiyuan in the north is dangerous and not as easy to travel as Jingxing."
"I suggest going north first and then going to Jingxing."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "I vaguely remember that in the early Han Dynasty, Han Xin defeated Zhao by taking Jingxing, right?"
Man Chong nodded and said, "That's right, we went through Jingxing. When the imperial court was pacifying Hebei, they also marched through Jingxing."
"I have roughly calculated that the distance for the imperial cavalry from Yecheng to Yanmen is 1,400 miles. If we calculate that they march 50 miles a day, it will take nearly 30 days."
Cao Rui said: "Well, let's go to Jingxing. Tell the central army to get ready and set out to the north in two days."
"Pei Qian and I have agreed to arrive at Dai County on March 20th. Considering the time, I think we will be there in time."
Man Chong cupped his hands and replied, "I understand. I will arrange it right away."
……
Early in the morning of February 17, 20,000 cavalry from the central army set out north.
Lieutenant General Dai Ling led 3,000 cavalrymen of the Yulin Left Army as the vanguard, and the 4,000 cavalrymen of the Central Commander Guanqiu Jian served as the escort for the emperor's central army headquarters.
The remaining 13,000 cavalry followed behind the troops of Dai Ling and Guanqiu Jian, including 2,000 armored cavalry belonging to Wen Qin and Guanqiu Jian.
Although armored cavalry can fight effectively, their combat effectiveness is the lowest during the march.
The reason is simple. An armored cavalryman is equipped with two people and three horses.
One horse for the knight, one horse for the auxiliary soldier, and one horse for the armored soldier. If a sudden battle came, it would be difficult to prepare in a hurry, so they did not guard the emperor, but instead moved with the majority of the cavalry.
On February 24, when the army had just arrived at Bairen, Zhaojun, several messengers came from the south to chase the army.
Seeing that it was a military report, the messenger was led to the right supervisor of the Privy Council, Wang Chang, and Wang Wenshu. Wang Chang met the messenger, heard the general situation of the army, and quickly delivered the report to the emperor.
The Tiger Guards reported that Wang Chang wanted to see him. Cao Rui rode on his horse and smiled at Sima Yi and Man Chong on his left and right: "Wang Wenshu wants to see me to report military information. Can you two guess what it is for?"
Sima Yi's figure rose and fell slightly with the horse, his eyes turned a few times, and then he bowed and said: "It should not be a small matter, otherwise Wang Wenshu would not be so anxious."
Faced with such speculation, Sima Yi was always reluctant to say anything definite and habitually left himself some room.
Cao Rui raised his chin towards Man Chong and asked, "What do you think, General Man?"
Man Chong smiled and said, "Since Your Majesty asked me to guess, I will make a bold guess."
"Your Majesty is in Hebei. The only remaining military event in the court is the invasion of Shu from Guanxi. I believe this is a victory!"
Cao Rui nodded: "I also thought it was good news. Prince Xuan Wenshu is here!"
But in a moment, Wang Chang rode up from behind. From a distance of several feet, Wang Chang raised the victory report with his right hand: "Your Majesty, victory report from Guanxi! Generals Zhang and Guo have forced Zhuge Liang's troops of the Shu army back to Yang'an Pass, and the court's military strength has been reduced to less than 400!"
"Hahahaha." Cao Rui had been marching for several days and it was rare for him to hear such good news. He smiled and looked at Wang Chang and said, "What do you think, Wang Qing? I told you not to worry that day. With the general in the west, there will be no danger. How are you today?"
Wang Chang showed an expression of deep admiration, cupped his hands and sighed: "Planning in the tent, winning a battle thousands of miles away, I think this statement is perfect. Your Majesty is so wise, I admire you." Cao Rui smiled and waved his hands: "You don't need to admire me, it's just how it should be."
"I have personally visited Guanxi. We have done so much in Guanxi, including farming, naturalization, city repair, and construction of passes. Now is the time to see the results."
"The General, the General of the Western Expedition, the General of the Shu Expedition, and the General of the Qiang Protection are all in Guanxi. I trust them as much as I trust you. Why should I worry?"
All the ministers around congratulated him.
The retreat of the Shu army was, of course, a gratifying thing. But for Cao Rui, this was just a natural outcome after the Great Wei's Guanxi layout was tested.
Cao Zhen, Zhang He, Guo Huai and Lu Xun, the four generals stationed in Guanxi, are already the best lineup that the Wei Dynasty can currently deploy on the border.
Zhuge Liang was a man, not a god. Even though he was extremely talented, he could not turn beans into soldiers. Marching and fighting also required practical skills.
There is no danger in Guanxi, so you can head north with confidence.
……
Just when Cao Rui received the good news from Guanxi, Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong, who were highly trusted by King Sun Quan of Wu, were also called back to Wuchang in Wuchang, Jingzhou.
The messenger who summoned the two men back to Wuchang had calculated the time, and the two men, one from Wuhu and the other from Nanjun, arrived in Wuchang almost on the same day.
Outside the Wu Palace, Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong were waiting to be summoned by the King of Wu. They exchanged pleasantries while looking at the specifications and structure of the Wu Palace from the outside.
The Wu Palace was successfully upgraded from the Wu Mansion last autumn, and it was the first time for Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong to see it.
"General Zhuge," Quan Cong bowed to Zhuge Jin and said, "I haven't seen you for a year. I miss you a little."
Zhuge Jin jokingly said, "I am in Nanjun, and General Quan is in Wuhu. I am in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and you are in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. We drink the same water, so why should we miss each other?"
"That's not necessary." Quan Cong said with a smile: "Now that the Supreme has summoned you and me, something big must have happened."
Zhuge Jin's face was originally long and thin, and when he stroked his long beard, his face looked even longer. "Zi Huang, you don't know that about twenty days ago, the Western Lord's envoy Jiang Wan Jiang Gongyan came from Chengdu and passed through my jurisdiction."
"If my guess is correct, it should be related to the Western Lord's envoy."
Quan Cong smiled and said, "Since the envoy passed through Nanjun, did he bring any news from your brother, Prime Minister Zhuge?"
Zhuge Jin was also used to being frequently asked about his brother's life. He stared at Quan Cong, shook his head and sighed:
"News from the west: my Zhongshen died of illness last winter. I adopted him and he was buried in Baishui in early December last year."
The so-called Zhongshen refers to Zhuge Qiao, the son of Zhuge Jin. Because Zhuge Liang had not had a child for many years after marriage, he asked his brother Zhuge Jin to choose one of his sons to be adopted in Shu.
Zhuge Jin chose Zhuge Qiao to go. Zhuge Liang was extremely happy when he saw Zhuge Qiao. He changed his courtesy name "Zhongshen" to "Bosong" and made him his legitimate son.
As Zhuge Liang's legitimate son, the pressure on him was undoubtedly enormous, both in terms of his ability and moral standards. Not to mention that Zhuge Qiao was adopted.
Quan Cong was shocked, and bowed and said, "General, please accept my condolences! I don't know the details, and I didn't mean to ask, I hope you will forgive me."
Zhuge Jin rubbed his reddened eyes and looked up at the pavilions of the Wu Palace, as if he was holding back tears. "After Kong Ming's Northern Expedition two years ago, Zhongshen was in charge of transporting grain and grass. He contracted lung disease two years ago, and gradually got better last spring, but he still couldn't survive the winter."
As he spoke, Zhuge Jin sighed: "Everyone has their destiny in life. Maybe this is Zhongshen's destiny."
Quan Cong also sighed in his heart. Faced with such a thing as losing a son in middle age, he didn't know how to comfort the girl. He could only stand by her side with his hands folded and his head lowered, not daring to say anything more.
Soon, Hu Zong came out from the palace to greet the two of them.
Hu Zong saw Zhuge Jin looking up at the sky with a sad face, and Quan Cong standing with his hands clasped and looking at the ground in silence. He was a little confused about the situation for a moment.
"Greetings to General Zhuge, General Quan."
Zhuge Jin let out a long breath, and when he looked at Hu Zong again, he actually forced a normal smile on his face: "Wei Ze, how are you? Is the Supreme going to meet us?"
Hu Zong laughed dryly a few times: "Of course the Supreme will summon you two, but please follow me into the side hall for the time being. There are some things I need to discuss with you." (End of this chapter)
