Cao Rui sat on his horse, drew his bow and arrow and held his breath for a few moments. Then he gently loosened the fingers of his right hand, and the arrow pierced through the air with a buzzing sound and flew straight into the bushes in front of him.
There was a rustling sound in the grass. A hare was shot in the abdomen and kicked its legs and stopped moving.
Sun Li shouted beside him: "Your Majesty, you have caught a rabbit!"
The forty knights following behind him also shouted: "Your Majesty, you have hit a rabbit!"
Cao Rui smiled and looked at Sun Li beside him: "Deda, don't shout if I shoot a rabbit. If I can shoot a bear or a deer, it won't be too late to shout."
"As you command." Sun Li grinned and said, "Then I will go and retrieve the prey."
Cao Rui nodded: "I will go with you."
After Sun Li got off the horse, he stood in front of the emperor's white horse, holding the reins and walking forward. The two of them had just walked less than three meters away when they heard something strange in the bushes ahead.
As if it smelled blood, a lying tiger with colorful fur slowly stood up, staring straight at the two humans in front of it with its round eyes, and a low roar came from its open mouth, and an invisible murderous intent approached in an instant.
This was the first time Cao Rui encountered a tiger in the wild.
Only when facing such a large beast directly, can one feel the oppression brought by the predator. Cao Zhen once bent his bow and shot a tiger. This kind of courage is indeed not something that ordinary people can have.
But you, Cao Zhen, have a bow, so why don’t I have a bow?
Cao Rui gently raised his left hand, signaling the knights behind him to stop.
A gust of wind blew from the front, and there seemed to be a hint of tiger stench in the air.
At this moment, Sun Li suddenly drew his sword from his waist, moved one step to the left, and stood in front of Cao Rui's horse.
Cao Rui raised the corner of his mouth, moved the carved bow in his right hand to his left hand, drew a feather arrow from the quiver hanging on the side of the saddle with his right hand, put the arrow on it, and slowly pulled the bow to its full length.
Except for the few riders facing Cao Rui from behind, the knights on both sides pulled their bows to their full length, and the low sound of fully drawn bowstrings could be heard on both sides.
"Deda, come back, don't let anything go wrong!" Cao Rui said in a low voice.
Sun Li did not look back: "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will lead the way for Your Majesty."
All this happened in just a few moments.
The tiger seemed to see the armored knights marching in front of it, and also saw the golden-armored knight riding on a horse closest to it. After roaring, it retreated.
In just a moment, he returned to the bushes.
Sun Li breathed a sigh of relief, and for a moment he felt his legs go weak.
Before Cao Rui could speak, Sun Li turned around and bowed deeply: "I have something to report to Your Majesty."
Cao Rui slowly untied the bowstring, held the feathered arrow in his right hand, and pointed the feathered end at Sun Li: "What does Deda want to say?"
Sun Li raised his head and replied, "Your Majesty is a great man with a great reputation. You are responsible for the great cause of the country. It is inevitable that you may encounter a tiger when you are hunting."
"I hope Your Majesty will be more cautious and not go out hunting in person again. I hope you will take today's incident as a warning."
Cao Rui stared at Sun Li for a few moments, then smiled and said, "With a minister like De Da by your side, what is there to be afraid of with just a tiger?"
"Deda, get on your horse and go find another tiger with me!"
Sun Li said earnestly, "Your Majesty, please think twice."
Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "It's okay. First, retrieve the rabbit I shot, and then go east with me."
Sun Li had no choice but to bow and obey.
……
The sun rose to its highest point and then gradually moved westward.
In the afternoon, Cao Rui led a hundred cavalrymen to gradually return. Among the prey they obtained, in addition to musk deer, rabbits, deer, there was even a bear.
If you want to shoot a tiger, you still need some luck.
As soon as he returned to the camp, Xin Pi, the attendant who stayed behind in the camp, took the initiative to come forward to greet him.
Cao Rui raised his whip and said with a smile, "Minister Xin, would you like to come and see my prey?"
Xin Pi, however, looked serious. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, urgent military information has just been received from Luoyang. Please come and see it in person."
Cao Rui took the document from Xin Pi and removed the sealing wax on the outside.
After taking a quick look, Cao Rui smiled and said, "So that's what happened? No problem, I know."
Feeling that Xin Pi was looking at him, Cao Rui threw the document to Xin Pi as well: "Xin Qing, take a look at it as well."
Xin Pi unfolded the letter, his already serious expression becoming even more tense: "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance, why not summon the general and the prime minister back?"
Cao Rui shook his head and said, "It's okay, just let them return slowly."
Xin Pi asked anxiously: "Your Majesty, how should we deal with this matter?"
"Of course I will deal with it after I return to Luoyang." Cao Rui said with a smile: "Isn't it that Zhuge Liang came to Hanzhong? I expected it a long time ago, otherwise why would I let Zhang He stay in Yongliang?"
Cao Rui dismounted, pulled Xin Pi's sleeve and walked back: "Come, Xin Qing, take a look at the prey I shot today."
When the prey was counted in the evening, Sima Yi's team had the least catch. Because of the bet, Cao Rui also saw Sima Yi drinking heavily, which was rare.
It is indeed drinkable.
In good health.
By the time we returned to Luoyang, it was already another afternoon.
Cao Rui summoned the West Pavilion, East Pavilion and four attendants to his study.
After Xin Pi briefly told the military information sent by Zhang He, Cao Rui looked around at the ministers and said, "Did you hear what Minister Xin said just now?" Last night, the emperor was only drinking and did not discuss this matter with Cao Zhen and Sima Yi. Cao Zhen had been holding back what he had to say for a day.
Cao Zhen was the first to bow and say, "Your Majesty, I think the Wei Kingdom should mobilize troops to respond."
Cao Rui raised his eyebrows and looked at Cao Zhen: "How do you want to mobilize the troops, General?"
Cao Zhen said: "Your Majesty, I am very familiar with the military affairs of Yongliang. The areas I am concerned about are Qishan and Longyou."
"Why not send 10,000 more troops to Longyou for defense?"
Cao Rui asked: "Add 10,000 more troops? Where will they be used?"
Cao Zhen said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I think we can transfer troops from Zhang He to Longyou, and then send 10,000 central troops to reinforce Zhang He."
Cao Zhen looked sincere, and it was obvious that he had thought about this matter seriously. In this study room in Luoyang North Palace, the only person who had actually led troops in Yongliang was General Cao Zhen.
Cao Zhen obviously remembered the emperor's national policy of recuperation, but he only dispatched 10,000 troops, which he considered to be the "minimum" response.
Cao Rui nodded slightly, but did not respond. Instead, he continued to look at the other ministers in the study.
Sima Yi, Wei Zhen...Chen Jiao...
His eyes shifted to the new Minister Wang Su.
Wang Su was a pure scholar, and Cao Rui knew this. But why can't scholars have military strategies?
Cao Rui asked, "Minister Wang, this is the first time I have asked you about military strategy. How do you think the court should respond?"
Wang Su bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I think the words of the Spring and Autumn Annals are that war is a treacherous path and cannot be practiced all the time. War is bound to be dangerous and cannot be relied upon."
"Zhuge Liang is in Nanzheng. If he wants to attack Yongliang, he will be courting death. I think he will come from afar to attack, so he will fail. The king's army should remain unchanged in the face of all changes. It is okay to wait for him to attack and then respond."
Cao Rui nodded gently: "I understand."
It seems that there are still differences between Shizhong and Shizhong.
If Liu Ye were here, he would definitely respond directly with military strategies, and would definitely not talk about the "Spring and Autumn Annals" like Wang Su did.
However, there is no need for anyone to help analyze Zhuge Liang's matter. Wasn't Zhuge Liang stationed in Nanzheng for the purpose of the Northern Expedition next year?
What else can I do? Come to Hanzhong to plant wheat? Even if I plant wheat, it's too late, okay?
The reason why Wang Su was chosen as the Shizhong was to use his Confucian knowledge and literary skills to supervise the revision of laws, scriptures, history, and literature.
Special people are used for special purposes. If you don’t understand military strategy, then you won’t understand it.
Cao Rui coughed lightly and said, "Those who think we should send more troops to Yongliang or fight a battle, please raise your hands."
The ministers who can sit here are not hesitant people.
Almost instantly, Yang Fu, Chen Jiao, Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, Dong Zhao and Wei Zhen all raised their hands.
In addition to Wang Su, Cao Rui looked at Xin Pi who did not raise his hand: "What do you think, Minister Xin?"
Xin Pi bowed his hands solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, I also accompanied Emperor Wu on the expedition to Hanzhong."
"I clearly remember what Emperor Wu said back then: 'The straight road of Nanzheng is the prison of heaven, and the road of Xiegu is a 500-li stone cave.'"
"Hanzhong is a rugged place, and even Emperor Wu did not want to attack it again. Fight when you see victory, and retreat when you see difficulty. This is the right way for a large army to conquer."
"If you want to attack Hanzhong, you will be advancing despite knowing the difficulty. Therefore, I oppose it."
Cao Rui nodded: "Xin Qing thinks that we can't attack Hanzhong, but he didn't say that we can't send more troops, right?"
Xin Pi thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Cao Rui looked at the six people who had raised their hands and said, "Those who want to transfer the central army, raise your hands."
Everyone was not used to this kind of voting, but they still followed the will and expressed their opinions.
Now, Yang Fu was missing from the group that raised his hand.
Cao Rui summoned Yang Fu to be the Shizhong in order to consult him on the affairs of Liangzhou by taking advantage of Yang Fu's identity as a Liangzhou native.
Now is the time to listen to what he has to say.
Cao Rui pointed at Yang Fu and asked, "What did Yang Qing say?"
Yang Fu cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am afraid that the counties in Longyou cannot afford to support so many soldiers. Do we have to transport the food from Henan?"
Hearing Yang Fu's words, Sima Yi frowned slightly. This slight change in his expression was also keenly captured by Cao Rui.
Cao Rui asked, "Yang Qing thinks we should increase the troops, but he thinks we can't transfer them. So where are the troops going to come from?"
Yang Fu clasped his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, we should recruit the Qiang people to fight. The Qiang and Han people in Liangzhou live together, and the Qiang and Han people are half and half."
"If we choose the Qiang people as volunteers, we won't have to worry about mobilizing troops!"
Cao Rui laughed and shook his head slowly.
Yang Fu was a man of upright character. Seeing this, he asked curiously, "Your Majesty, is there something I said wrong?"
Cao Rui looked at Yang Fu and said, "Yang Qing's use of the Qiang people in battle is actually the method used by the Han Dynasty to quell the Qiang Rebellion. It is right at heart."
"But Yang Qing seems to have forgotten one thing. How can the Qiang people who gathered together temporarily be able to deal with Zhuge Liang's army?"
"How can we succeed without the support of the Han army?"
Yang Fu did not argue, but bowed and stopped talking.
Cao Rui looked at the others and said, "We must mobilize the troops."
"However, I do not wish to transfer troops to Longyou, nor do I wish to transfer troops to Mei County."
"Send troops to Chang'an. What do you think?" (End of this chapter)
