Zhuge Liang already knew the source of Jiang Wei's strange expression, and was stunned for a few moments before blurting out:
"Then how did Cao Rui explain these two strategies?"
Jiang Wei did not care about what the "Lord of Wei" and "Cao Rui" said, but focused his mind and seriously explained the situation to Zhuge Liang.
"Your Majesty started from the Battle of Red Cliffs."
Red Cliff? Zhuge Liang narrowed his eyes slightly and listened more carefully.
Jiang Wei said in a clear voice: "Your Majesty once said that the Battle of Red Cliff was the first time in history that the South could defeat the North with its own strength."
"Whether it was due to war and destruction in the north or stability in the south, or whether it was due to many military strategies, plagues, etc., the south was always better than the north."
After hearing Jiang Wei's words, Zhuge Liang did not move at all, but he had already begun to nod in his heart.
Emperor Liu Bei founded the country, and Chibi was the beginning of everything. But why did Cao Rui mention Chibi?
Before Zhuge Liang could ask, Jiang Wei continued, "Your Majesty said that you proposed the Longzhong Plan in the 12th year of Jian'an, and Lu Zijing in the 5th year of Jian'an."
"Longzhong Discussion and Couchside Strategy are actually moves to quickly integrate forces in order to break the strategic balance before the North recovers its strength."
"As for the Sun and Liu families, whenever there is hope of annexing the other, they will become enemies. When there is no hope, they will reconcile as before."
"The Xiangshui Alliance, the loss of Jiangling, and the Battle of Yiling were all like this."
Jiang Wei's words were brief and to the point, but the information contained in his words included all the heroes of Wu and Shu, such as Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Sun Quan, Lu Su, and Lu Xun.
These few words, seemingly in a casual manner, describe their eventful half-life.
Zhuge Liang looked straight at Jiang Wei with his eyes wide open: "Cao Rui said this to you in front of five hundred students?"
"Yes!" Jiang Wei replied in surprise. This kind of world situation that was discussed daily in the Imperial Academy of the Great Wei was, in Zhuge Liang's view, a strategy that was kept secret among the court elites and could not be passed on.
Zhuge Liang sighed softly.
Jiang Wei sensed that something was wrong with Zhuge Liang, and asked with a slight bow, "I haven't finished speaking yet, should I...?"
"Please continue," Zhuge Liang said.
Jiang Wei continued, "Your Majesty also said that the words in Lu Zijing's plan on the couch, 'The north is indeed full of troubles,' and your words, 'Wait for changes in the world,' are the same thing."
"From the fifth year of Jian'an to the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, the world was left to Sun and Liu for only twenty years. This was the first time that the North was slightly weaker than the South."
"Twenty years later, there will be no more chances!"
Jiang Wei finally held back and did not say out loud what His Majesty had said at the Imperial Academy that day: "The Mandate of Heaven is with Wei."
With Zhuge Liang's wisdom, how could he not know how correct Cao Rui's words were that day?
The "grand momentum" mentioned in Cao Rui's letter is right here.
Zhuge Liang silently took note of what Jiang Wei had just said.
His expression was calm and he asked a few more questions about the naturalized Qiang people in Longyou and the oath taken at Luoshui two years ago.
He chatted with Jiang Wei for two hours in total, and when Jiang Wei had some free time, he also inquired about some political affairs in Shu.
The conversation between the two was interrupted only when Yang Yi asked to enter the account and report on the military situation in Wuxing in the south.
"Lord Wei, please put the military report here." Zhuge Liang pointed to the table in front of him and said, "Then send the envoy of Wei off for me."
Zhuge Liang stood up from the table and looked at Jiang Wei from a distance of ten feet: "Wei and Shu have been separated for a long time. If we continue to talk like this, I am afraid it will take three days and three nights to finish."
"Wait for me to write a reply."
However, in just a moment, Zhuge Liang had written his reply in cursive script.
Then, Zhuge Liang slowly took off a jade pendant from his waist and said, "Just now, I have received your kindness and told me a lot about the Wei Kingdom. I will give you this jade pendant as a reward for your words just now."
Jiang Wei was stunned for a moment, then he declined, saying, "I am an envoy of the Wei Dynasty. How can I accept a gift from the Prime Minister of an enemy country?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head slightly and said, "Don't refuse. Take it back with you. I will tell Cao Rui about it in the letter."
Jiang Wei thought for a few moments and said, "Well, I will present the jade pendant you gave me to Your Majesty."
"That's none of my business." Zhuge Liang looked up at Jiang Wei's features and said softly, "Lord Wei, send him out."
"Yes, sir." Yang Yi replied.
"I'm leaving now." These are the words of Jiang Wei.
Zhuge Liang waved his hand gently and then sat back at the table.
Yang Yi first escorted Jiang Wei out of the tent, and then he did some trivial things like blindfolding and leading the way. He escorted Jiang Wei to the westernmost camp of Chiting before returning.
It took nearly half an hour.
When Yang Yi returned to the tent, he saw Zhuge Liang sitting at the table with his eyes closed and silent.
It seemed that since he set out to send Jiang Wei away, there was no sign of movement at all.
"Prime Minister, Prime Minister?" Yang Yi called in a low voice.
Zhuge Liang took a long breath, raised his eyes slightly and looked at Yang Yi: "Lord Wei, call Juda, Wenwei, and Wu Ziyuan together."
Although Yang Yi didn't know why, he instinctively went out of the tent to call the three people. Xiang Lang and Fei Yi were both nearby, but Wu Yi's camp was further west, across the Gudao River.
After waiting for about two quarters of an hour, the four of them finally gathered outside the tent and went in together.
"Do you know what the Wei envoy Jiang Boyao said to me?" Zhuge Liang raised his eyes and looked at the three civil officials and one military officer, who were also the four most critical persons in the Chiting camp.
Before the four responded, Zhuge Liang said, "From my perspective, Cao Rui, the Lord of Wei, is much more talented and strategic than his father, and is similar to Cao Mengde. However, because he was born rich and became emperor at a young age, he does not have the shackles of Cao Mengde."
"What does the Prime Minister mean?" Xiang Lang, the Prime Minister's chief secretary, asked in surprise.
"The ruler and his subjects of Wei are united, and their political affairs are well-organized, almost the same as those of the Han Dynasty. And because of its vast territory and large population, the gap between it and the Han Dynasty will become larger and larger."
"Let Wei Wenchang come back!" Zhuge Liang said softly, "It is important to guard the camp carefully and wait until the Wei army runs out of food before retreating."
Yang Yi was more aggressive and asked directly, "Prime Minister, Wei Yan has not shown any signs of defeat yet. Isn't it a pity to retreat like this?"
"Could it be that the Wei envoy Jiang Wei used words to deceive the Prime Minister?"
"He bewitched me?" Zhuge Liang laughed dumbly: "No, Lord Wei is overthinking."
"Rather than letting Wei Yan fight in the front, it is better to let the Wei army go to Chiting, a dangerous place surrounded by mountains and rivers, to fight against our Han army."
"Let's fight the Wei army at Chiting."
It does seem to be a reasonable move to let Wei Yan retreat and rely on the fortifications that have been built in Chiting to hold off the Wei army.
Yang Yi cupped his hands and said, "Then I will send a military report to inform Wei Yan now."
Zhuge Liang nodded silently, but within a few moments, he looked at the three people in front of him with sharp eyes:
"I want you to remember the defeat in Longyou with me! We have to defend today so that we can fight again tomorrow!"
"Reorganize the army, train the soldiers, and prepare the weapons. These three things to do after the withdrawal must be planned now!"
"After the Wei army retreats and the army withdraws to Hanzhong, the Prime Minister will stay in Hanzhong forever! When the army has finished training, I will go north to Yongliang Prefecture again! You all remember this!"
"I am willing to follow the Prime Minister to revive the Han Dynasty, and I will never regret it even if I die nine times!" Yang Yi was the first to respond loudly.
Xiang Lang, Fei Yi and Wu Yi also responded.
……
Just as Jiang Wei was on his way back to Xiabian City, Guanqiu Jian, who was assisting Wei Zhen in handling the affairs of the Inspector of the Imperial Capital in Luoyang City, thousands of miles away, encountered a rather tricky situation.
Before Cao Rui left Luoyang, he granted the post of Inspector of the Imperial Capital to Wei Zhen, the Minister of the Left, for the second time.
Your Majesty is not in the North Palace, and Sima Yi and Cao Zhen are not there either. The office locations of Wei Zhen and Dong Zhao are also changed accordingly.
Wei Zhen was stationed in the Shangshu Tai, managing the world's affairs as the Shangshu Zuo Pushe.
Dong Zhao moved his office into the General's Mansion and took over the military and logistics duties on behalf of Cao Zhen.
Wei Zhen handed over the daily management chores of the Sili Xiaowei to Guanqiu Jian, who had returned to Luoyang from Youzhou and had nothing to do.
Guanqiu Jian really had nothing to do.
He was given the title of Colonel of Yueqi, and all the members of the five colonel battalions, including the Yueqi Battalion, followed the emperor to Longyou.
Liu Ye stayed in Youzhou as the governor, and Guanqiu Jian returned to Luoyang. He then found Wei Zhen, found some jobs, and concurrently took on the position of Chief Clerk of the Inspector of the Imperial Capital.
Outside the Sili Xiaowei's office, a middle-aged clerk looked at the man in front of him who was about thirty years old, with a smile on his face and well-dressed.
"Are you here to see Captain Guanqiu? Who are you?" the middle-aged clerk asked.
"I am Gongsun Huang, the Third Officer." Gongsun Huang took out his official certificate from his waist and handed it over: "I have something important to report to Captain Guanqiu."
"Oh, it's Doctor Gongsun." The clerk's face also looked better: "Please wait a moment, I will go and inform him."
"Thank you."
For middle-aged clerks, this is just a trivial task in their work.
But when Guanqiu Jian heard the name Gongsun Huang, he suddenly stood up from his seat and walked straight to the outside of the office to meet Gongsun Huang in person.
After all, Guanqiu Jian had just returned from Liaodong and Youzhou, and Gongsun Yuan's past actions were still vivid in his mind.
"What do you want to report?" Guanqiu Jian narrowed his eyes and looked at Gongsun Huang.
Gongsun Huang rolled his eyes twice, looked at the officials passing by, and whispered, "Can I go in with Captain Guanqiu? I will explain it to you slowly."
"No need!"
Guanqiu Jian refused directly, stepped forward and patted Gongsun Huang on the shoulder, and said coldly: "Do you know that your brother Gongsun Yuan humiliated me in Liaodong?"
"Now you don't even want to avoid me, but come directly to my door? Whatever you want to say, say it here! I won't let you in."
Gongsun Huang seemed to have made a great decision. He looked up at Guanqiu Jian and beads of sweat actually flowed down his forehead.
Guanqiu Jian was shocked when he saw this and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"
Gongsun Huang said: "Gongsun Yuan wants to rebel!" (End of this chapter)
