Chapter 112: Never Forget People's Hearts
Everyone's eyes in the tent were focused on Jia Kui's face, but Jia Kui kept silent at this time. He neither spoke to agree, nor refused, nor stood up to accept the order.
Jia Kui's behavior is indeed beyond reproach.
Not to mention that this was the emperor's central military tent. It was wartime and this was the front line. Jia Kui could not refuse the order from Grand Marshal Cao Xiu, the head of the country's military officers.
Although Cao Xiu had named himself, the emperor was still sitting in front of him! Therefore, what Cao Xiu had just said was not an order. If it was not an order, would he, the governor of Yuzhou, have to give him an explanation?
Jia Kui just sat there with his hands down, letting everyone else look at him.
But from Cao Rui's perspective, he couldn't tell for a moment whether Jia Kui was very dissatisfied with Cao Xiu or was unwilling to do such a thing.
Cao Rui coughed lightly and asked, "Jia Fangbo, what the Grand Marshal said is indeed reasonable. Are you willing to lead your troops to obey the order?"
Jia Kui finally stood up and answered: "Your Majesty, whether it is fighting or building roads, it is all for the victory of the country. Jia Kui will naturally not refuse even if he dies."
"Your Majesty, I just heard you all speak, but no one mentioned the 5,000 soldiers stationed in Wancheng. I would like to ask you in front of Your Majesty, is it correct to wait for the general's infantry to arrive before heading south?"
"But what about the 5,000 soldiers in Wancheng? Isolated behind enemy lines, do you really think the people in the city will not lose their morale?"
Cao Xiu replied embarrassedly: "Jia Fangbo, you are here early. We discussed this a few days ago in Shouchun. The defense of Wancheng has been repeatedly reinforced. It should be able to hold out for a month."
Although Cao Rui's expression did not change, he still nodded in his heart.
In the past, facing the siege of Cao Wei's 30,000 troops, and the deployment of 30,000 troops on the periphery, Jiangling City was able to successfully defend for more than half a year, with a total of 60,000 troops.
Wancheng is a little small, but after Cao Xiu captured Wancheng in August, he did refortify it. It should be no problem for 5,000 people to defend the city for a month.
But Jia Kui soon gave an answer.
Jia Kui did not speak loudly or raise his voice, but said calmly, "The Grand Marshal also said that it should be so. How can we use the word 'should' to speculate on military affairs when two armies are deciding the victory?"
"Victory or defeat depends on military strength and the situation, but also on people's hearts!" Jia Kui turned to the emperor and bowed earnestly: "Your Majesty, of the ten thousand soldiers I brought with me from Yuzhou, four thousand are now besieged by the Wu army. I ask Your Majesty to consider the hearts of the five thousand people in Wancheng and notify the people in the city that the royal army is coming!"
After Jia Kui finished his speech, all the ministers in the tent, including Cao Xiu, Sima Yi, and even Cao Rui himself, were silent for a moment.
After a while, Cao Rui slowly stood up and looked at Xin Pi, the Minister of the Court. Since Shouchun, Cao Rui had already assigned duties to everyone. Xin Pi was always honest and upright, and this time he was in charge of the military law and rewards and punishments for officials and generals above the rank of 2,000 dan.
Cao Rui said directly: "Minister Xin, commend Jia Fangbo to a higher rank."
Xin Pi obeyed naturally. The emperor wanted to reward his subjects, so Xin Pi had no right to ask for the reason. But the other subjects in the tent all looked over.
Even Jia Kui himself looked confused.
After sighing softly, Cao Rui said, "I have been in Shouchun since Luoyang for fifteen days, and Wujiu for another ten days. During this time, I have been calculating the military strength, food, logistics, etc. with all the ministers."
"What Jia Fangbo said today reminded me that when two armies confront each other, we must consider the deployment of troops, but how can we not consider people's hearts? The 5,000 soldiers in Wancheng are not only Jia Fangbo's Yuzhou soldiers, but also the people of me, the emperor."
"My vanguard is only ninety miles away from Wancheng. How can I let the soldiers in the city be trapped in the city without knowing the news?" Cao Rui looked at the Grand Marshal Cao Xiu and said, "Grand Marshal, pass the order to Zhu Gai for me."
Cao Xiu bowed in agreement and waited for the emperor's order.
Cao Rui continued, "Isn't Zhu Gai already in the camp? I will use his cavalry to gain advantage. I will let Zhu Gai leave some men to guard the camp, and then start to press towards Wancheng tomorrow."
"Zhu Gai still has more than 9,000 cavalrymen, and all the cavalrymen of the Wu army put together cannot even match half of him. Let Zhu Gai go as far as he can towards Wancheng. We don't seek to kill or injure anyone, but only to find out the combat strength of the Wu army."
"We also asked Zhu Gai to send people to explore the hills south of the line from the trailer to Wancheng."
Cao Xiu took note of it and nodded.
Cao Rui walked to the huge map hanging in the tent and pointed to the place north of Wancheng marked with the words "Tianzhu Mountain" and said, "Grand Marshal, can the cavalry pass here?"
Cao Xiu replied: "Tianzhu Mountain is extremely dangerous. A large group of cavalry cannot go up there. Moreover, the area around Wancheng should be full of Wu soldiers' camps now."
Cao Rui asked again: "If we send infantry to march through the mountains, can we reach the destination?"
Cao Xiu thought for a moment and said, "From Jiashi and Wuqiangkou to Wancheng, a 180-li flat land, there are small paths on the mountains in the north, but it is difficult for a large group of people to pass through."
Cao Rui said, "Let Zhu Gai send a group of soldiers over. If that doesn't work, let him dismount and walk to the mountain north of Wancheng. Scout the situation and then decide how to notify the Wancheng garrison." Cao Xiu heard this and replied, "Your Majesty is benevolent. I will send a fast horse to Zhu Gai to pass on the order."
Cao Rui nodded and looked at Jia Kui: "Jia Fangbo, I will not abandon your Yuzhou troops, nor any of your troops. Wait for Zhu Gai's report."
"Your Majesty is benevolent." Jia Kui also bowed and said.
The ministers in the tent also responded along with Jia Kui.
After waving his hand, Cao Rui turned around and sat down, looking at Sikong Sima Yi who was sitting on his right: "Sikong, let you explain the next arrangement to me."
"I obey your order." Sima Yi stood up and saluted, then walked out from behind the desk and came to the front of the map.
"Please look, everyone." Sima Yi looked at his colleagues present and then pointed in the direction of Wancheng.
"This afternoon, the troops under the right general Zhu Gai encountered the vanguard of the Wu army in Guache. According to the words of the captives, we know that Sun Quan had arrived in Wancheng a few days ago. After the Wu army went north on January 1, they arrived at Wancheng and set up camp on the third day. Then, the vanguard Liu Shao's troops just arrived in Guache today."
Sima Yi drew a circle in Wancheng with his hand and knocked hard on Wancheng with his index finger.
"Ancheng is sandwiched between Qianshui on the west and the Wanshui on the east. The east bank of the Wanshui is mostly rolling hills, except for a few miles near the foot of the mountain. Therefore, if the Wu soldiers set up camp, they must be near the flat land opposite to Ancheng and east of the Wanshui."
"Ancheng is under siege, and the exact number of Wu troops is unknown. If we estimate it based on the number of 100,000 that Your Majesty mentioned, I'm afraid that the area east of Ancheng has now been completely occupied by Wu's camps."
"The Wu army is good at water battles but not at land battles. They must take advantage of the terrain with the Wan River behind them and prepare to surround and attack reinforcements or ambush on the way. For our army, the best strategy is similar to that of the Wu army, which is to lure the Wu army to the east and away from the Wan River."
"The most important thing is how to dispatch it."
When Sima Yi was explaining the situation, Cao Rui suddenly raised his hand to signal, and Sima Yi stopped tactfully.
Cao Rui looked at Cao Xiu and said, "Grand Marshal, when will the troops behind arrive? Tell all the ministers."
Cao Xiu replied, "Your Majesty, the order set in Shouchun is that the cavalry will go first, followed by the infantry. Among the infantry, the foreign troops and the prefecture troops will go first, and the general will personally lead the 20,000 infantry of the central army to hold the line at the end."
Cao Xiu calculated in his mind and said, "Tomorrow is the sixth day of the first lunar month. Before tomorrow evening, the 15,000 troops of former general Man Chong, the 8,000 troops of Qingzhou governor Wang Ling, the 2,000 troops of Dongguan governor Hu Zhi, the 5,000 troops of Langya governor Sun Li, and the 5,000 troops of Han Zong and Zhai Dan who defected from Wu to Wei will arrive in total, totaling 35,000 people."
"Where are the rest of the troops?" Cao Rui asked.
Cao Xiu continued, "The day after tomorrow is January 7th. The 10,000 troops under General Zhendong Cao Tai and the remaining 15,000 foreign troops should arrive before evening. Finally, the remaining 20,000 central troops led by the general and the troops of Yanzhou Governor Wang Chang who are ensuring supplies along the way will also arrive before the evening of the 8th."
Thirty-five thousand on the first day, twenty-five thousand on the second day, and twenty-five thousand on the last day.
"Grand Marshal, wait a moment." Cao Rui frowned, "If that's the case, Wu Qiangkou's camp should not be enough."
Cao Xiu nodded and said, "The eight large camps set up by Jia Fangbo and General Liu in Wuqiangkou are enough to accommodate 80,000 people. It will be fine if 35,000 people arrive tomorrow, but if another 25,000 arrive the day after tomorrow, we will have to consider it separately."
Cao Rui said, "I have taken note of everything the Grand Marshal said. Please continue, Minister of Works."
"I obey your order." Sima Yi continued to point at the map and speak.
In fact, Huainan has many rivers and hills, so it is more convenient to march on flat ground, but we still have to be cautious about the mountains in the north and the hills in the south.
After Sima Yi finished explaining the terrain from Wuqiangkou to Wancheng, he bowed and returned to his seat.
Cao Rui then said, "In my opinion, starting tomorrow, let Zhu Gai lead the cavalry to advance westward to attack the Wu army, while exploring from the north and south directions, towards the hills that stretch for dozens of miles and Tianzhu Mountain north of Wancheng."
"General Liu." Cao Rui looked at General Liu Ruo who was sitting in the tent. "Your 5,000 men will march northeast to Ruxu tomorrow. You should level the road and respond with caution. Ruxu Fort is on the east side of the Ruxu River, and you are heading west of the Ruxu River. You should not run into heavy troops from the Wu State."
"How many days will it take you to travel two hundred miles?"
Liu Ruo immediately stood up and replied, "I ask that it be completed within eight days."
Cao Rui said to Liu Ruo: "Since you said eight days, then eight days later I want your troops to appear on the other side of Ruxuwu. This is related to the coordination between Wuqiangkou and Hefei, so we must not miss the deadline."
Liu Ruo agreed repeatedly.
(End of this chapter)
