"Control the outside with the inside?"
Cao Rui raised his eyebrows and looked at Dong Zhao, with a hint of amusement in his eyes:
"Mr. Dong's four words 'control the outside with the inside', who is the inside and who is the outside?"
Dong Zhao was not panicked, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty and I were discussing military affairs, and the words inside and outside naturally refer to the central army and the outside of the central army."
"Now that the war in the west is over, the general is in Chencang, commanding Guanxi. Your Majesty no longer needs to worry about anyone hindering the central army."
Cao Rui nodded: "It is one thing for me to trust the general, but it is another thing from the perspective of the state system. The Central Army has been under the jurisdiction of the general for a long time. Now that they have all returned to Luoyang, it is time to split the Central Army."
"The Western Pavilion must help me take charge of the Central Army."
Dong Zhao nodded: "The general will stay in Chencang, and the staff of the former general's mansion will stay in Luoyang. Now it seems that it is time to change the name."
"The name is easy to come up with." Cao Rui said, "I have a rough idea, and I need Mr. Dong to help me with it."
"By the way, Mr. Dong, please sit closer to me and stop standing."
"Yes."
Dong Zhao dragged a smaller chair from the door and slowly sat down in front of Cao Rui.
"What do you think, Your Majesty? Please let me know."
Cao Rui said: "The first thing is to split up the Central Army. The Central Army has 50,000 soldiers. Although the losses in this battle were heavy, it won't be a big problem to fill the vacancies within a year."
"I intend to split the central army into 10,000 people each, and they are not subordinate to each other."
Dong Zhao thought for a moment, stroked his gray beard, and after a moment he took stock and said, "Among the 50,000 central troops of the Great Wei, the 25,000 soldiers of the Wuwei Camp account for half."
"Of the remaining half, 4,000 are from the Five Colonel Battalion, 8,000 from the Core Battalion, 7,000 from the Central Fortress Battalion, 3,000 from the Central Commander, and 3,000 from the General."
"If we split it into 10,000-man units..." Dong Zhao paused, "Then the Wuwei Battalion will have to be dismantled, and the Zhongjian and Zhonglei Battalions will have to add more troops."
Cao Rui shook his head: "If we change it like this, it's better not to change it."
"Mr. Dong, you know more about the history of the Wei Dynasty than I do. How did the Wuwei, Zhongjian, and Zhonglei camps come about?"
Dong Zhao thought for a moment and said, "The Wuwei Camp was established after the previous emperor ascended the throne. He appointed Xu Chu as the Wuwei General and established the Wuwei Camp with the imperial guards as the main force."
"During the Jian'an period, Xu Chu served as a guard during Emperor Wu's campaign against Ma Chao and was awarded the title of Lieutenant General of the Wuwei Army."
"The word 'Wuwei' in Wuweiying originated from Xu Chu."
Cao Rui said: "Xu Chu has served the Cao family for thirty years and is now a sixty-year-old veteran. During this expedition to Shu, I saw that Xu Chu was already somewhat overwhelmed, so I did not give him any responsibility to attack."
"Although he is a bit old, if he is only responsible for the imperial guards, it should be fine." Dong Zhao instinctively refuted the word "old".
Dong Zhao himself was an old man, so of course he would not say that others were not worthy of important positions just because of their old age.
Dong Zhao continued, "The two camps, Zhongjian and Zhonglei, were originally established because of the titles of Zhongjian General and Zhonglei General. After the Han and Wei dynasties changed, the former emperor called it the Central Army and did not change its name."
Cao Rui nodded: "In other words, the three battalions of Wuwei, Zhongjian, and Zhonglei do not actually have a long history. They were originally preserved by chance, with the soldiers commanded by the generals of miscellaneous titles as the central army?"
"Your Majesty is absolutely right." Dong Zhao said.
Cao Rui nodded slightly.
If it was an ordinary matter in the court, Cao Rui would never discuss it with Dong Zhao and the others. Instead, he would call the two people from Dongge together, and it would be better if he could call a few more attendants.
But regarding the division of the central army, it was just a matter of adjusting the organizational structure, so Cao Rui planned to discuss it with Dong Zhao and the others.
Hold big meetings for small matters, small meetings for big matters, and no meetings for very important matters.
Regardless of the dynasty or era, the logic of doing things is always similar.
After thinking for a while, Cao Rui said: "When I reshaped the Shangshutai and established the six ministries, the principle was to match the name with the reality."
"The names of the three battalions, Wuwei, Zhongjian, and Zhonglei, don't sound good. I want to change the names."
Dong Zhao asked: "How to change it?"
Cao Rui said: "The word 'Wuwei' is almost exclusive to Xu Chu. I will give him some face and keep it for him. The Zhongjian and Zhonglei camps will all be replaced."
"Establish the Yulin Left Army and Yulin Right Army, each with 10,000 cavalrymen."
"Establish Wuwei Army and Xiaowei Army, each with 10,000 infantrymen."
"The remaining cavalry is 10,000, with five lieutenant battalions commanding 5,000 soldiers and the middle commander battalion commanding 5,000 soldiers."
Dong Zhao thought for a long time and said, "In this case, we should dismantle most of the Wuwei Battalion and split it with the Zhonglei and Zhongjian Battalions."
"The Five Colonels Battalion has increased its personnel, the Central Commander Battalion has increased its personnel, and the original direct subordinates of the general have been abolished?"
Cao Rui nodded: "What do you think, Lord Dong?"
Dong Zhao was a little hesitant: "What about the imperial guards?"
Cao Rui said: "The Central Commander Camp will be responsible for the interior of the palace, while the Left and Right Yulin, Wuwei, and Xiaowei will be responsible for the exterior of the palace."
Dong Zhao asked again: "What should the Five Colonels Camp do?"
Cao Rui replied: "In my opinion, if there were no national wars like the one in Huainan against Wu and the one in Longyou against Shu, ordinary border battles would not require too many cavalry."
"The Five Colonel Battalion follows the old system of the Han Dynasty, with a Five Colonel Commander and five Colonels, totaling six 2,000-stone officials." "If it weren't for the national war, the five thousand cavalry of the Five Colonel Battalion would have been enough."
Dong Zhao agreed, "The central army has more cavalry. Using the inner to control the outer, we should suppress the four directions with the immovable power of the central army."
"Your Majesty is far-sighted and far-sighted, and I am far inferior to you."
Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "Even if I don't understand military strategy anymore, I have followed the two wars throughout, so I know everything I need to know."
"Now I want to re-divide the central army, and I want to borrow the power of the Western Pavilion. I need a capable person to carry this matter forward."
Dong Zhao smiled and looked at the emperor: "Does this person need to be impartial and never form a clique? It would be best if he also understands military strategy and can shoulder the heavy responsibility of the military and the country in the future?"
Cao Rui glanced at Dong Zhao thoughtfully and said, "Is that so? Has Lord Dong chosen a candidate?"
Dong Zhao laughed: "Your Majesty is wise, I did think of a person. Apart from this person, I can't think of any other candidate."
Cao Rui also smiled and pointed to the southeast.
Dong Zhao cupped his hands and said, "I recommend former generals Man Chong and Man Boning to serve in the Western Chamber!"
Cao Rui nodded: "Okay! I will approve Mr. Dong's request and have the Secretary of State order Man Chong to return to the court this afternoon!"
"Who can succeed Man Chong in commanding the troops in Yuzhou?"
Dong Zhao said: "Right General Zhu Gai may be suitable."
Cao Rui nodded: "Mr. Dong's words are very appropriate!"
Dong Zhao reminded: "Although the Central Army has been redivided, the position of Central Guard Army is still vacant."
"The Central Guard is responsible for selecting military officers throughout the country. The colonels and military officers under the command of each governor, as well as the captains of each state and county, are all selected by the Central Guard."
"Huan Fan has resigned. The position of Central Guard is currently vacant. We should find someone to fill it. Otherwise, we will not be able to cope with the overall situation."
Cao Rui sighed, "The events of Lueyang were clearly written in the military report, I'm sure Lord Dong also knows about it."
"Zhang Yi attempted to assassinate me that day, and everyone was uneasy. Huan Fan pleaded guilty in the tent, so I exiled him to Anding County."
"If you think about it carefully, Huan Fan's mistake was unintentional. I don't really blame him. It's time to call Huan Fan back to Luoyang."
Dong Zhao nodded and said, "Your Majesty is now in charge of the Central Army, and has promoted Guanqiu Jian to be the Central Army Commander. Huan Fan is from the same county as Your Majesty, which is rare in the current court."
Cao Rui said: "Emperor has no choice but to rely on his relatives, let alone others?"
Dong Zhao also sighed and said, "Your Majesty is right! Just like Wu Zhi and I are from the same hometown. Although he has a bad reputation, I have to keep in touch with him. After all, few officials in Luozhong are from Jiyin County."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "If there is no one from Jiyin County, how about someone from Shanyang County? They are all from Yanzhou."
Dong Zhao was shocked.
I was just speaking quickly when I spoke, but I forgot about this!
Man Chong's native place was Shanyang County, which was a neighboring county to his own Jiyin County. Both Jiyin and Shanyang counties were small in area, and Dingtao and Changyi were not far apart, so they were not much different from the same county.
I just recommended Man Chong. Will the emperor be suspicious of him?
Dong Zhao was about to explain, but Cao Rui stopped him with a smile: "I know what Mr. Dong wants to explain, I don't care."
After wiping the non-existent sweat from his forehead, Dong Zhao replied awkwardly: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and I have absolutely no selfish motives."
Cao Rui laughed: "Okay, I have one last thing to ask you."
"Is Zhao Yan a man worth using? He is currently Chen Qun's military advisor. If I summon Chen Qun back, how about letting Zhao Yan govern Jingzhou?"
Dong Zhao was slightly stunned, then blurted out: "Zhao Yan's qualifications are not enough. Although he is as famous as Xin Pi, Chen Qun, and Du Xi in Yingchuan County, they are called Xin, Chen, Du, and Zhao."
"But Chen Qun's family background is higher, so he cannot be compared with the other three."
Cao Rui smiled and continued, "Minister Xin was once the military advisor to the general, Du Xi is now the military advisor to the general, and Zhao Yan is now the military advisor to the general of cavalry."
"How come a famous scholar from Yingchuan is used to being a military advisor? From what Lord Dong said, Zhao Yan does not seem to be qualified to be the governor of Jingzhou?"
Dong Zhao said sternly, "I am not afraid of offending anyone. I will speak the truth in front of Your Majesty. The commanders of the area are the generals and the military commanders. What merits and qualifications does Zhao Yan have?"
"Your Majesty can let Zhao Yan supervise all military affairs in Jingzhou. He is one level weaker than the governor, but there is no essential difference in what he does."
Cao Rui agreed and said, "This is a good arrangement. Chen Qun will come back and Zhao Yan will take over. I will also let Xiahou Ru return to Jingzhou to lead the army."
Dong Zhao said: "Zhao Yan is a special person in Jingzhou. He is suitable for Jingzhou, but not necessarily for other places."
Cao Rui understood that Dong Zhao knew his feelings towards the people of Yingchuan. He probably meant to cater to his own thoughts by saying this.
But no matter what, the national affairs are not harmed.
Cao Rui originally wanted to discuss the selection of three attendants with Dong Zhao, but he lost interest at this point in the conversation, so he stood up and prepared to return to his study.
"Mr. Dong, please come with me to the study. Let's discuss the results of the commendation of merits of all the generals together."
"As ordered." Dong Zhao stretched out his hand and said, "Your Majesty, please go first." (End of this chapter)
