The documents thrown on the ground by Cao Rui had already been picked up and placed on the table.
Submitted at the same time as the documents from Liu Ye and Xiahou Xian were Gongsun Yuan's memorial and a joint memorial from Gongsun Yuan's ministers.
The three documents were laid out in front of everyone.
Cao Rui raised his right hand and pointed: "Sikong, you guys take a look. I said before that Gongsun Yuan would die in front of you, and now he is the same in front of me."
As soon as they entered the door, they heard the emperor say so much, and they were still a little confused.
Sima Yi took the memorials from Liu Ye and Xiahou Xian, and then handed the two memorials from Gongsun Yuan and his ministers to Man Chong.
Man Chong only glanced at the beginning of the two memorials, then handed them to Pei Qian, and then leaned closer to Sima Yi. The two memorials were well written with parallel sentences, but it was a pity that they contained all kinds of treasonous words.
Cao Rui quietly watched the expressions of the few people. As expected, the one who had the biggest reaction was Pei Qian who frowned, while the others were quite calm.
This was within Cao Rui's expectations.
Gongsun Yuan was stationed in Liaodong, which was only a remote area of half a state. After facing such powerful enemies as Sun Quan and Zhuge Liang, how could a mere Gongsun Yuan be worth worrying about for these important officials who stood at the top of the Wei Dynasty?
We must fight. It is just a matter of when, who will fight, and how to fight.
Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Gongsun Yuan did not come to the court, and even instructed his subordinates to write a letter to the court, hoping that he would be conferred the title of Duke of Yan. Such a usurper must be punished to show the power of the Great Wei."
Cao Rui nodded gently: "Then send troops to fight. After conquering Liaodong, it will reduce another foreign threat to the Wei Dynasty."
"My Lords, I still can't understand. Where does Gongsun Yuan get the confidence to dare to demonstrate to me at this time and even want to split the land and be granted the title of Duke?"
"Just relying on his half state?"
Man Chong coughed lightly, cupped his hands and replied in a deep voice: "This is a traitor. He is ambitious and only seeks power and wealth. His words and actions cannot be judged by common sense."
"Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, aren't there many people with such ambitions in the world?"
Cao Rui sneered and looked at everyone.
Sima Yi stood expressionless with his hands behind his back. Man Chong was half a head taller than Sima Yi and was much stronger and more muscular. Xu, Pei, and Lu kept silent, their eyes and eyebrows showing a thoughtful look.
"General Man is right!" Cao Rui said with emotion: "If the world were full of sensible people, there wouldn't be people like Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shu who go against the trend of the world and cause chaos."
"I want to ask you something now."
"Your Majesty, please speak." Sima Yi and Man Chong answered in unison.
Cao Rui pointed to the chairs on both sides of the study and said, "This is the same as the study in Luoyang Palace. Please sit down and talk."
After the five people sat down one after another, Cao Rui asked, "If we attack Gongsun Yuan, what should we do about Huainan? I have discussed this with you many times in Luoyang before, and today is the time to make a decision."
Sima Yi was the first to answer: "Your Majesty, I still hold the same view as before. If we only defend the southeast and do not attack, there will be no danger."
"The court can head north without worries."
Cao Rui did not express his opinion, and then moved his attention to Man Chong.
Man Chong replied, "I have discussed this matter with Mr. Dong in Luoyang before, and I have some ideas. I will report them to Your Majesty today."
Cao Rui asked: "What do you two think?"
Man Chong said: "I believe that the border troubles of the Great Wei are nothing more than three places: the Shu Kingdom in Yizhou, the Wu Kingdom in the southeast, and the Gongsun clan who are separatist and rebellious in Liaodong."
"For Wei, there are only two difficulties in facing enemies on three sides: one is the deployment of troops, and the other is the deployment of logistics."
"Of all the states in the Wei Dynasty, Jizhou is the most prosperous and stable. With the vast land of Hebei and the abundant people's livelihood, if we use troops against Liaodong, we don't need to transfer grain from Henan. The strength of Jizhou alone is enough to supply the army."
Cao Rui asked thoughtfully, "Before the Wei army was deployed in the west and southeast, Jizhou had always been the one transporting grain to the south, right?"
Man Chong nodded: "That's right."
"When conquering Shu in the second year of Taihe, the food and grass in Guanzhong and Sili were not enough to supply the entire army, so the court also requisitioned the granaries in Weijun of Jizhou, Dongjun of Yanzhou and Chenliu. Although most of the granaries were transported by water, the losses on the road were still incalculable."
"But if we attack Liaodong, transporting grain from Jizhou to the north will be enough with the strength of Jizhou alone."
"The food and fodder logistics for attacking Liaodong will not affect the west and southeast."
Cao Rui nodded: "Has the Privy Council considered it?"
Sima Yi replied, "Your Majesty, the Privy Council, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Minister of Agriculture have calculated that the grain and fodder produced in Jizhou is sufficient. It can support 50,000 troops for a year."
Cao Rui said: "When Emperor Wu established the State of Wei in Yecheng, he must have been impressed by the richness of Hebei."
"We have no worries about food and grass, but what about the troops? What do you think?"
Man Chong bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, among all the places in the Wei Dynasty, Hebei is the only place that recruits the least soldiers and spends the least."
"In such a vast province of Hebei, the Wei army only has 20,000 soldiers. With this much surplus manpower, we should be able to recruit new soldiers."
"Recruit soldiers?" Cao Rui frowned. "How?"
Man Chong cupped his hands and said, "The Central Army will send out cavalry, and Hebei will send out infantry! Jizhou has the most households, so we can recruit at least 10,000 infantrymen!"
Cao Rui thought for a few moments and said with a smile: "You really gave me a good idea! But can the infantry who have been hastily assembled conquer Liaodong?"
Man Chong said: "If it is infantry from other places, it will definitely not be appropriate, but Hebei is still okay."
Cao Rui raised his eyes to look at Man Chong: "What do you mean?" Man Chong smiled slightly: "Hebei has the largest population in the world. Jizhou counties hold military exercises every winter. It should be easy to recruit 10,000 strong soldiers."
Cao Rui nodded slightly: "Since the Western Pavilion has such a statement, how should the Central Army be deployed?"
Man Chong said: "Your Majesty, at present, Hebei has a total of 20,000 foreign troops and prefecture troops. In addition to the troops necessary for garrisoning the borders of You and Bing, at least 5,000 people can be transferred from them."
"With the 5,000 troops already in Hebei and the 10,000 newly recruited infantrymen," Man Chong puffed out his chest slightly, "plus the 30,000 elite cavalrymen in the Wei Central Army, the total number of infantry and cavalry is 45,000, which is enough to deal with Gongsun Yuan."
"Hahahaha." Cao Rui laughed heartily, stood up from the recliner, and walked behind the desk: "The Privy Council has been training cavalry for me, but they have always had their eyes on the cavalry."
Man Chong smiled slightly, bowed, and said nothing.
Cao Rui looked at everyone and said, "Did you all hear what General Man said? From my initial observation, this arrangement seems to be correct."
"Do you have anything to add?"
"I have it." Sima Yi stood up and saluted, saying, "The Wei army has 50,000 soldiers in the center. If we send 30,000 cavalry north, what will we do with the remaining 20,000 infantry?"
Cao Rui glanced at Man Chong and saw that Man Chong did not speak. He cleared his throat and said, "Why not station troops in Luoyang and Xuchang? If there is an emergency, we will not be at a loss as to how to respond."
Sima Yi shook his head slightly: "It would be better to store them in Xuchang and Yecheng."
Cao Rui was somewhat surprised: "What does Sikong think?"
Sima Yi said, "I feel that there is still a slight omission in what General Man said just now."
Man Chong glanced at him sideways but said nothing.
Sima Yi said: "Hebei has 20,000 soldiers, why should we withdraw 5,000? Wouldn't it be better to withdraw 10,000 or even 15,000?"
Man Chong opened his mouth to refute, but was stopped by Cao Rui: "General Man, please be patient and wait for the prime minister to finish speaking."
Sima Yi bowed to Man Chong with a slightly apologetic look, turned around and continued: "In my opinion, the 50,000 central troops of the Great Wei should be distributed in this way."
"Ten thousand infantrymen will be stationed in Xuchang to deal with matters in the southeast and Jingzhou."
"Ten thousand cavalrymen stationed in Luoyang can serve as emergency support for Wu and Shu."
"Ten thousand infantrymen were stationed in Yecheng to guard the heart of Hebei."
Before Man Chong could refute, Cao Rui frowned and said, "With 50,000 central troops, you are only bringing 20,000 cavalry?"
Sima Yi replied solemnly: "Liaodong is a narrow place. With the advantage of Wei's cavalry, if 20,000 cavalry are difficult to win, can 30,000 cavalry win?"
"Liaodong is nearly 4,000 miles away from Luoyang. It will take at least a year to fight back and forth. At this time, we should be more concerned about the overall situation of the world, rather than Liaodong alone!"
Cao Rui stroked the cover of the document at hand, thinking and whispering: "So, 20,000 central army cavalry, 10,000 newly recruited infantry, plus 10,000 or 15,000 Hebei troops."
"Or is it forty thousand or forty-five thousand?"
Sima Yi said: "Your Majesty, we can have more troops."
"Since troops from Hebei are being drawn for the Liaodong expedition, the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Xiongnu on the border need to be recruited as well."
Cao Rui and Sima Yi looked at each other for a few moments and said: "If those barbarians don't come, the 20,000 elite cavalry of Wei will attack them first, and then we can deal with Gongsun Yuan in time."
"Yes and no?"
Sima Yi nodded: "Whether the Great Wei invades or not, Liaodong is there and cannot be moved. Only the Great Wei can attack Liaodong, and Liaodong is powerless to compete with the Great Wei."
"I think if we use military force against Liaodong, we should have a bigger strategy."
Cao Rui raised his eyebrows: "What's the big method?"
Sima Yi laughed and said, "Your Majesty has always been tireless in military affairs. I will assume that Your Majesty will lead the army in person."
Cao Rui also smiled and said, "Okay, since Sikong said he would personally lead the army, I will personally lead the army this time. Keep going!"
Sima Yi said: "First, use the emperor's dignity to receive and confer titles on the various tribes on the grasslands, making them vassals of the Wei Dynasty, so that they cannot and dare not rebel, and waste their energy by conquering Liaodong."
"Second, put down the Gongsun clan in Liaodong and put an end to the Gongsun clan's decades-long separatist rule."
Cao Rui narrowed his eyes and thought for a few moments, then said softly, "In my opinion, we can add another sentence to what Sikong just said."
Now it was Sima Yi's turn to be surprised: "Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."
Cao Rui said: "Before that, I asked Liu Ye and Guanqiu Jian to go to Liaodong. In addition to the Gongsun clan in Liaodong, I also asked them to plan for Buyeo, Baekje, Goguryeo, and the Three Han for me. The two of them were almost in Goguryeo, but Gongsun Yuan sent people to take them back to Xiangping."
"I feel a little uneasy."
"Let's not talk about the more distant Wa country, can't we take the lands of Goguryeo, Baekje, and the Three Kingdoms of Korea all at once?"
The emperor's words really surprised the five people in the study.
Just attack Liaodong, why do you want to destroy the country?
To be honest, the ministers of the Wei Dynasty had little knowledge of small states such as Goguryeo and Baekje.
Man Chong asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty, that small country has been passed down for a long time and is remote and difficult to govern. Why do you want to attack it?"
Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "It's already a strategy, so you might as well think bigger." (End of this chapter)
