Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "Liaodong County has 18 counties, Wuliu City is the westernmost county and the closest county to Liaoxi County."
"As long as Gongsun Yuan is not a fool, he will definitely arrange enough trustworthy people to defend Wuyou City, even loyal people."
Cao Rui sneered: "Sikong, do you want to tell me that it is reasonable for Wuliu City not to surrender, and I don't need to worry too much?"
Sima Yi bowed and said nothing more.
Cao Rui said: "It's just a city, and it's the first battle of Wei's attack on Liaodong. We must take it even if it's a night battle, otherwise I will be unhappy!"
"Sikong, please sit here with me. I am waiting for news from Man Chong!"
It was the fourth year of Taihe, and the emperor had personally led two expeditions, and his prestige in the army was high, so no one would complain about a mere night battle. Sima Yi knew that he could not persuade him, so he calmed down and sat in the tent with the emperor, closing his eyes to rest.
The two of them sat at the table with their eyes closed and kept silent. On the surface, they were as calm as the deepest lake, but the turmoil in their hearts was unknown to outsiders.
Nearing midnight, the voice of Man Chong requesting an audience was heard from outside again.
"Xuan." Cao Rui opened his eyes slightly and uttered a word.
Two tiger guards in full armor opened the tent door, and Man Chong came in holding a wooden tray.
"Your Majesty, this is the head of Zhang Feng, the magistrate of Wuliu County, who was beheaded by the Wei soldiers during the siege."
Cao Rui asked quietly: "How many soldiers are there in the city? Which troops of the Wei Dynasty are attacking the city?"
Man Chong took a deep breath and clasped his hands, saying, "The first siege was led by the troops of General Tian Yu, who was in charge of protecting the Wuhuan. The second siege was led by the troops of General Xian Yu Jing, who was in charge of protecting the Wuhuan."
"Zhang Feng, a military officer under Xian Yujing, personally beheaded Zhang Feng on the city wall."
Cao Rui said coldly: "Zhang Feng killed Zhang Feng? Their names have the same pronunciation but different tones. What kind of luck is this?"
Man Chong cupped his hands and said, "This may be a coincidence."
Cao Rui put his hands on the table, stood up and sneered twice: "It's just a coincidence. It took six thousand elite troops under the command of Generals Tian Yu and Xian Yu Jing to capture a small town guarded by only five hundred people."
"How much damage?"
Man Chong bowed awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty, the exact number of casualties has not yet been determined. Tian Yu's troops are estimated to have 200 men, and Xian Yu Jing's troops are estimated to have 400 men."
Cao Rui said: "General Man, you know how this battle went, so I won't appoint you personally."
"And order the army camp to take over the city defense. I want to move the camp into the city!"
"Yes, sir!" Man Chong immediately took the order and withdrew.
……
On the morning of the second day, before Cao Rui got up from the county government office in Wuliu City, Man Chong had already gathered all the generals with salaries of more than 2,000 stones to the central army camp outside the city. The Hu generals were not among them.
There were shadowy figures in the tent, and there were nearly thirty people squeezed in.
Wen Qin, commander of the Yulin Left Army, led four generals under his command. Only two generals, Changshui and Shesheng, were left in the Five Generals Battalion. Together with Huan Fan, the Central Guard General who commanded two thousand armored cavalry, there were a total of eight generals in the central army.
The 4,000 cavalry under the command of General Guanqiu Jian were responsible for escorting the emperor and were not summoned here by Man Chong.
The 6,000 foreign infantrymen were led by General Tian Yu, who was in charge of protecting the Wuhuan, and General Xian Yujing. The 14,000 soldiers from the prefectures and counties of Hebei Province, along with the seven commanders in charge, also arrived.
The rest of the people were various military officers, chief clerks, and the like.
All military affairs in the world were led by the Privy Council, and Man Chong, as the former general and minister of the Western Pavilion, was similar to Cao Xiu during the conquest of Wu and Cao Zhen during the conquest of Shu, responsible for coordinating the military affairs of the army.
Naturally, he had the power to gather the generals to discuss matters. Man Chong stood on the stage with his hands behind his back, looking down at everyone, and said with a mocking look: "Yesterday, the army arrived without any worries. The city was conquered that day, and Your Majesty also stayed in the city."
"General Tian, General Xianyu, you two have done a great job!"
Man Chong did not have the slightest intention of praising everyone at this moment. His strong face with beard covering his chin and cheeks was pulled downwards. Anyone who was not blind could see the sarcasm in Man Chong's eyes.
Yesterday the emperor criticized Man Chong, so today Man Chong naturally would not be nice to the generals below.
Tian Yu and Xian Yu Fu knew that they had suffered heavy damage in the siege last night. Seeing that all their colleagues were staring at them, they could only bow their heads in embarrassment and admit their guilt.
Man Chong snorted: "General Tian has been fighting the Xianbei in Bingzhou for so long, don't you know how to attack a city?"
"Can you make a feint to the east and attack in the west? Can you attack quickly and slowly? Who did you learn this military strategy of attacking from all four sides and deploying troops like scattering beans from? Can you do it, Kebi?"
Tian Yu knew he was in the wrong, so he bowed his head and apologized.
Although Tian Yu was an old general and the emperor had to give him some face, Man Chong didn't care. The emperor used him to command the generals, not to let him play the good guy, but to let him whip the generals.
Tian Yu has a lot of experience, but Man Chong has more experience and is even more notorious in the Wei Dynasty!
After Tian Yu apologized, Man Chong turned his gaze to Xian Yujing's face again: "General Tian's military strategy is good, and you, General Xianyu, are also extraordinary!"
"The city was defended by only 500 people. If your Sima hadn't accidentally killed the defender, would you have been unable to capture it?"
"Tell me and my colleagues, General Tian has already launched a wave of attacks, and you, who just came from behind, lost 400 men? Who did you learn the art of war from? Did you inherit it from your father?"
Xian Yujing, the forty-five-year-old deputy general, is the eldest son of the late Protector of the Nation General Xian Yu Fu.
Being criticized by Man Chong in public was extremely humiliating, and when he heard Man Chong mention my father, he became even more angry. Xian Yujing wanted to excuse himself by saying that the night battle was difficult, but just as he was about to say it, he roughly guessed that Man Chong was trying to use him to establish his authority, so he held back and bowed to apologize.
Seeing Xian Yujing's submissive attitude, Man Chong did not escalate the situation or punish him, but instead taught him a lesson in public:
"Your Majesty treats you like his trusted confidants and even specially doubled your fiefdoms in Jieshi as a reward. I am very grateful to such a benevolent and holy king, but I don't know what you are thinking."
Man Chong frowned and loudly reprimanded everyone: "General title, marquisate, reward, which one of these is missing from you, His Majesty?"
This is the minister of the Western Pavilion, Man Chong, who is notorious for his evil deeds. No one here dares to offend him.
As Man Chong was talking, he actually pinched his waist and pointed at the names one by one:
"Wenqin, General of the Left Imperial Guards. General of the Imperial Guards is so impressive, even more impressive than my former title of General. I just don't know how you fight in battles."
Wen Qin had lived in Luoyang for a long time and had been scolded by Man Chong more than once or twice. He did not dare to refute at this time: "I will die for the Wei Dynasty to repay the king's kindness."
"Nonsense!" Man Chong glared, shocking everyone in the hall. "Your Majesty has such an important position, so you can die and serve as a hero? You don't think about fighting, but just want to die? How much is your head worth?"
Wen Qin bowed his head and saluted.
After reprimanding Wen Qin, the next two commanders, Changshui and Shesheng, and the Central Guard General Huan Fan, were reprimanded or scolded, and no one was left out.
Tian Yu and Xian Yujing were scolded again.
When it was the turn of the seven lieutenants who commanded the troops of the prefectures and counties, Man Chong was unusually gentle: "Although you are captains, I have checked your records when you were in the central army, and you were just minor officials such as Sima and Canjun."
"Marching and fighting are not difficult things, but you should not underestimate them. Watch more, listen more, learn more, and report to your superiors when you encounter difficulties."
"Do you know?"
Captain Zhao Hong and seven others responded in unison. (End of this chapter)
