"Okay, let's do as General Man said." Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and said, "The Minister of Works just mentioned a fourth thing. Is it about the Xianbei?"
"That's right." Sima Yi said, "Since the beginning of the fourth year of Taihe, Your Majesty has set out from Luoyang, passed through Xuchang and arrived at Youbing, conquered the Wuhuan, Xiongnu, and Xianbei tribes, and conquered Liaodong. The three tribes of Hu people followed and served you, and it was a smooth journey."
"The Xiongnu and Wuhuan have always been submissive, but the Xianbei are a little embarrassed. I think it would be better to follow the example of the elite soldiers from Liaodong being transferred to Henan for the use of the Wei Dynasty and recruit the Xianbei cavalry as a standing army?"
"If so, there is no need to worry that Kebi will be able to return to the north of Bingzhou as the Chanyu of Xianbei to increase his ambitions, just like Huochuquan in Yecheng."
Cao Rui nodded and said, "I think it's feasible. How can the golden seal of the Xianbei Chanyu be so easy to obtain? And for his merits in the expedition against Liao, I will give Kebi Neng the title of general and let him stay in the Central Plains to lead the troops."
Man Chong then cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I think that since the goal is to keep Kebineng in the Central Plains, the number of troops should be small rather than large. It is enough to withdraw the elite troops of Kebineng's army and keep 2,000 light cavalry. More will cause chaos."
"In addition to Kebi Neng, Budugen and other troops also need to recruit 2,000 light cavalry to prevent Budugen from becoming stronger if Kebi Neng leaves."
Cao Rui nodded: "Then let's arrange it this way. Let Bu Dugen come as well. It is their honor to work for the Great Wei. General Man will handle the specific matters and make sure they are done carefully."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will be able to handle this matter well." Man Chong replied.
……
If you want to pacify a region, fighting is only the most basic step. Sorting out land and household registration, sorting out official administration, and encouraging farmers to store grain are all difficult tasks.
The army hardly stopped for long. From late June to early July, it was almost always busy with trivial matters such as reorganization, dispatch, military management, and relocation of residents.
On July 1st in Wuchang City, Jiang Wan took the initiative to send someone to find Hu Zong. Upon hearing this, Hu Zong happily came to the inn to meet him.
At the gate of the North Posthouse in Wuchang City, Hu Zong hurried over and saw Jiang Wan was already waiting at the door.
From a distance of two meters, Hu Zong smiled and raised his hand to signal: "Brother Gongyan, how are you? What is the important matter that brought you to see me today?"
"Why, can't you meet up with Weize if you have nothing to do?" Jiang Wan said with a smile, "Today is a sunny day, why don't you and I go to the riverside for a walk and a chat to relax our mood?"
Hu Zong smiled bitterly, "Gong Yan was sent to Wuchang as an envoy, and his mission was completed after he met the King of Wu. But it's different for me. There are so many affairs inside and outside the palace, and I can't handle them all by myself."
As he was talking, Hu Zong bowed to Jiang Wan and said, "How about we talk about this another day? I just thought Brother Gong Yan had something important to do. Since there is nothing else, I will go back to the palace first."
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave." Jiang Wan stepped forward and grabbed Hu Zong's sleeve: "Wei Ze has known me for a long time. If there was nothing wrong, why would I bother you?"
"In the past, Prime Minister Zhuge and Lu Zijing met at Changban and became close friends. Why can't you and I follow their example? Come with me."
The stories of Zhuge Liang and Lu Su have been brought up. It seems that Jiang Wan really has something to say today.
He immediately agreed.
Jiang Wan and Hu Zong rode side by side out of the north gate of Wuchang. When they reached the riverside, they walked for about an incense stick of time and chatted for a while. Then Jiang Wan suddenly stopped.
"Wei Ze, I came to this deserted place today to find you because I really want to be like Prime Minister Zhuge and Lu Zijing and have a heart-to-heart talk with you. Although Han and Wu are allies, the east-west coordination cannot respond in time, and there are always some concealments in the military."
Jiang Wan looked straight at Hu Zong: "I want to tell Weize all the information about the Han army and its strength. I won't hide anything. I hope Weize will be as honest as me!"
Although Hu Zong was touched by Jiang Wan's sudden frankness, he still maintained the demeanor of a senior official of the Eastern Wu: "Brother Gongyan, please speak."
Since you made the proposal, you must speak first!
Jiang Wan was also unequivocal: "To be honest with you, the Han Dynasty currently has a total of 80,000 troops. A real 80,000!"
Hu Zong's expression gradually became serious: "Only 80,000? Excluding the soldiers guarding Chengdu and the soldiers guarding against the Great Wu in Jiangzhou, how many soldiers does Prime Minister Zhuge have?"
Jiang Wan also replied seriously: "Wei Ze has led troops before. The army should be judged by its combat effectiveness, not just its troop strength. When Han Xin came out of Jingxing to sweep Hebei, how could he have more troops?"
"Quality is more important than quantity. Since the year before last, Prime Minister Zhuge has decided to fight with elite troops and has reorganized the Han army. It is now completely different from the past." Hu Zong shook his head: "Brother Gongyan is a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, and I am also a loyal minister of the King of Wu. I will report to the King of Wu everything that Brother Gongyan said to me today without missing a word."
"Of course." Jiang Wan said, "The Han army has 80,000 soldiers, 12,000 soldiers around Chengdu, 10,000 soldiers on the Han-Wu border, and 8,000 soldiers in the other counties. The remaining 50,000 elite troops are all led by Prime Minister Zhuge to defend the northern line against the enemy."
Hu Zong sighed, "Brother Gongyan said that I have led troops before, so I have to ask about military affairs. Even if Prime Minister Zhuge has 50,000 elite soldiers, do you want to guard the pass and the city? How many troops can you spare to attack Wei?"
Jiang Wan stared at Hu Zong for a few moments, then shook his head and said, "I just told Weize that the best soldiers are the best. Weize must know the Prime Minister's ability to train soldiers. If we want to attack Wei, the Prime Minister can raise at least 40,000 elite soldiers!"
Hu Zong nodded: "Brother Gongyan is honest with me, so I must be honest with him. To be honest, before the defeat in Huainan, the Great Wu had nearly 200,000 soldiers."
Jiang Wan nodded: "The Han Dynasty also had 120,000 soldiers at that time."
In fact, Jiang Wan knew that having 200,000 soldiers was nothing to Wu. The most capable were the 30,000 or 40,000 elite troops, followed by the second-line and third-line troops. It was not an exaggeration to say that 200,000 soldiers in total were the most capable.
Hu Zong continued, "After nearly four years of recuperation, the Great Wu now has a total of 180,000 soldiers."
Jiang Wan thought for a few moments, frowned and asked tentatively: "I remember that Wu suffered heavy losses in Wancheng before! Is the number of troops only reduced by 20,000 now?"
Hu Zong sighed softly: "The Great Wu has its own national conditions. How can it be compared with Han? As for the land of Yizhou, it will be safe if we guard a few passes and important roads."
"On the other hand, the Great Wu has the Yangtze River stretching for thousands of miles, from Xiling to Wujun. Where does it not need troops to defend? Jiaozhou is unstable, and the Shanyue are rampant everywhere. Even if we don't have such elite troops, we must increase the number of troops."
"Greatness also brings great helplessness."
Jiang Wan also said with emotion: "Each family has its own difficulties. Wei Ze, if the King of Wu wants to attack Xiangyang, how many troops can he send at most?"
Sun Quan and his ministers had discussed this number countless times. So Hu Zong gave a straightforward answer:
"Seventy thousand!"
Jiang Wan confirmed again: "Can we raise 70,000 troops to attack Xiangyang?"
Hu Zong nodded: "Brother Gongyan also understands military affairs. It is not easy for 180,000 soldiers to gather 70,000 in one place to attack. The territory is vast, and Yangzhou and Wuchang need to be defended everywhere."
Jiang Wan nodded: "Since you and I are so open-hearted, I will definitely believe what Wei Ze said."
"Besides that, I have something else to tell Wei Ze."
"What's the matter?" Hu Zong responded.
Jiang Wan said, "Since March, there has been a severe drought in Guanzhong for nearly a hundred days. If we attack Wei this autumn or winter, there will certainly be a shortage of food and grass there."
Hu Zong frowned, "The drought has lasted nearly a hundred days? Prime Minister Zhuge, do you have an estimate of how much the production in Guanxi of Wei will decrease?"
Jiang Wan replied calmly: "The drought is mainly in Guanzhong. Longyou and Hanzhong are better, but these two places are not the main grain production areas. We estimate that the output in Guanxi of Wei will be reduced by half this year."
"Half?" Hu Zong asked, "How could the State of Wei not have stored grain?"
Jiang Wan snorted coldly, "There is one thing that Wei Ze may not know. Cao Rui of Wei State was ambitious but incompetent, and he actually naturalized all the Qiang people in Longyou and Guanzhong and included them in the military farms."
"At first, we are just raising these Qiang people to farm. I don't think the grain stored by Wei will last long. The end of the year is the best time to attack Wei!"
Hu Zong was silent for a few seconds, and then said, "The spies of the Great Wu have learned that the Wei Kingdom has dispatched a large number of troops to Hebei this year, either to attack the Hu people or to attack Liaodong. The details are unknown."
"It seems that the time has come to attack Wei!" (End of this chapter)
