Chen Qun set the tone, and Feng Ping had no choice but to follow Chen Qun's words and continued to ask:
"Mr. Chen, how should we deploy the troops south of Jiazhen in Wancheng? There are 60,000 foreign troops in Yangzhou, and Wancheng alone accounts for 20,000. We can either go north along the land route to attack Ruxu with the main army, or cross the river south of Wancheng to harass Wu. Please give us your instructions, Mr. Chen."
Chen Qun hesitated for a moment, then asked Jiang Ji, "Does Zi Tong have any ideas?"
Jiang Ji cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Chen has already said that I will be in charge of civil affairs. I will not make any comments on military affairs. Mr. Chen will make the decision himself."
Chen Qun was not surprised and instructed Feng Ping, "In this case, Bo Ying will send an envoy to inform Jia Liangdao of the imperial military order and the situation in Shouchun. Your Majesty ordered me to make my own decision, so I also order him to make his own decision. It is up to him to cross the river to attack Wu or come to Ruxu to join the main army. He only needs to harass the Wu army."
Although Feng Ping felt a little surprised, he still nodded in agreement.
Jiang Ji's brows knitted again, but the words had already been spoken. He had already said that he was not in charge of military affairs, and it was not easy to interrupt Jia Kui's arrangements, so he could only complain in his heart. Giving Jia Kui such a large degree of autonomy, if Jia Kui failed or failed to contain the Wu army, wouldn't it cause greater trouble?
Chen Qun had decided on the assignment. He pointed outside the hall to Feng Ping, then leaned over, picked up a pen, and began to write on the paper:
"Then I will write a reply. Bo Ying, please ask the messenger to come back for me. I want to discuss it with him in person."
"Okay, I'll go right away." Feng Ping replied.
Soon, footsteps gradually approached, and Feng Ping and the envoy entered the hall. At the same time, the ink pen in Chen Qun's hand fell down. He blew away the loose ink, carefully put it into the box, sealed it personally, and handed it to the envoy.
"The letter is in the box. The messenger can return quickly. If the Privy Councilor asks, tell them that Yangzhou has chosen a strategy for four cities."
"Thank you, Situ. I'll take my leave now!"
After the messenger left, Jiang Ji also took his leave.
As soon as he stepped over the threshold of the governor's mansion, Jiang Ji asked Chen Tong, who was waiting inside the gate, "Where is Sima Gongshi now?"
Chen Tong thought for a few moments and replied vaguely, "Sima Gongshi is not in the palace, or he has gone to the Xiacai warehouse to check the grain and grass. Is there anything the envoy wants to see him about?"
"Something's going on!" Jiang Ji said immediately, "Hurry up and call Sima back! When he comes back, ask Zhizhong and all the Cao officials to come to my hall to discuss things. There's something important to discuss!"
"Yes, I obey."
The so-called Cang Cao was actually a grain and grass officer, in charge of the storage, payment, and allocation of grain in the state. Yangzhou was a border area that was at war with Wu. If the war was against Wu, the grain and grass allocation would be handled by the Cang Cao in the state to assist the grain and grass officers in the army. It was considered one of the most prominent positions in the state.
In the second year of Taihe, Sima Shi came to Yangzhou and served as the Cang Cao official. He managed things in an orderly manner. The position of Cang Cao was not difficult to do, as long as he was strict and meticulous. With such a powerful official position and such a big background in the court of Luozhong, no outsiders dared to cause trouble, so Sima Shi did a good job in this position.
Xiacai and Shouchun were separated only by the Huai River. Sima Shi responded to Jiang Ji's call and hurried back. He rushed to the mansion and received Jiang Ji's assignment together with his colleagues.
After the discussion, the rest of the people dispersed, but Jiang Ji kept Sima Shi alone and had dinner with him. This kind of treatment was not something that ordinary officials could have. However, his colleagues in the prefecture were used to it. Sima Shi's talents were also obvious to everyone, not to mention that he had a father who was one of the three highest officials in the court, so they didn't even have the slightest thought of comparing him.
After the waiter brought the food to the table in the hall, Jiang Ji waved his hand to signal the waiter to leave, and in an instant there was no one else in the hall.
Sima Shi worked under Jiang Ji, and he treated this governor and his father's best friend as a nephew. Sima Shi walked to Jiang Ji's desk, scooped wine from the wine jar with a wooden spoon, and filled the wine jar in front of Jiang Ji before returning to his seat.
Jiang Ji nodded in satisfaction and said, "Ziyuan, what do you think of today's matter? Whether it is from a military perspective or from the perspective of state dispatch, you can talk about it. Now it's just you and me here, so there's no need to worry."
"Yes." Sima Shi bowed slightly. "I think there is nothing wrong with the arrangements that Jiang Gong mentioned this afternoon. The recruitment of civilians, water and land transportation, and the allocation of food and grass are all carried out according to the state's plan, and the state has also practiced it many times."
"But speaking of the imperial court... I have one thing that I don't understand." Sima Shi paused, "The imperial court only wants to build a city in Ruxu, but does not want to attack Ruxu. It really, really seems a bit weak. I don't know what it is afraid of."
"Oh?" Jiang Ji raised his eyebrows, picked up a piece of roasted meat and put it in his mouth, took a sip of wine, and then smiled and said, "How do you explain the word fear in Ziyuan's mouth?"
Sima Shi said, "If you are not afraid of attacking the city, why did the court give Lord Chen two strategies to choose from? One is to build four cities, and the other is to attack Ruxu and build two cities. There is always a feeling that Ruxu cannot be conquered." Jiang Ji smiled and said, "Ziyuan, do you think it can be conquered?"
Sima Shi asked in return: "Why not? In the first year of Taihe, the Wu army was defeated in Wancheng. In the second year of Taihe, the entire Hanzhong was recovered. In the fourth year of Taihe, Liaodong was recovered and Yingzhou was established. Now they are standing still just because of Ruxu. I don't know whether they don't trust Yangzhou's fighting power or someone in the court doesn't want to take Ruxu."
Jiang Ji shook his head: "Ziyuan is overthinking. I had my own stand when I argued with Lord Chen in the Situ Mansion. Lord Chen also had his own stand when he made this decision. It's not that the court doesn't trust Yangzhou, but if the central army came here, it might not be able to capture Ruxu."
Sima Shi argued: "Emperor Wu failed to conquer Ruxu, so Grand Marshal Cao Zixiao failed to conquer Ruxu, so is it impossible to conquer it now?"
Jiang Ji said calmly: "Ziyuan has made a lot of progress in civil affairs in the past two years, but he still doesn't know much about military affairs. Let me tell you about it. Let me ask you first, when you defeated the Wu army in Wancheng in the first year, did you attack the city?"
"No." Sima Shi was an official in Yangzhou, and he knew this war history very well. Many of his colleagues in the state and his subordinates in the government office had participated in the grain transportation, and they could talk about it in casual conversation.
Jiang Ji asked again: "When Hanzhong was taken in the second year of Taihe, which city was taken by force?"
Sima Shi was startled, and recalled the battle situation his father had described to him in Luoyang two years ago. He carefully checked it in his mind and took a deep breath:
"It seems not."
Jiang Ji nodded slightly. "Zhuge Liang failed to capture Qishan City and Biancheng City. When the king's army captured Wuxing, it was considered that the Shu army took the initiative to retreat, and it cannot be considered a forced attack. The defenders of Ju County surrendered, and the defenders of Yangping Pass also surrendered. Among all the counties in Hanzhong, the only one, Chenggu, was opened after the defenders suffered heavy casualties and the commander committed suicide."
"What about attacking Liaodong this year? I have also reviewed the documents of the Privy Council with you."
Sima Shi understood Jiang Ji's meaning a little: "Goguryeo City surrendered voluntarily, Liaosui City was taken after the defeated army was coerced, and Xiangping was captured after the city lost its will to fight."
Jiang Ji said: "If Ziyuan can understand this, then he will understand what I am going to say next. The so-called expansion of territory is nothing more than attacking cities and conquering land. Conquering land is easy, but attacking cities is the most difficult."
"Take the attack on Shu as an example. The Wei army captured the cities in Hanzhong after the Shu army was defeated in a field battle with the royal army. The general personally led the army to the city and captured it." Jiang Ji raised the wine jar again and drank the wine in it. Then he put it down with a slight aftertaste:
"Attacking a city is not just about attacking a city, it is about the whole body. Sun Quan attacked Hefei many times, but did he take it? When Wei attacked Jiangling before, Cao Zidan, Xiahou Boren, and Xu Gongming were all there, but they still failed to take it, right?"
"As long as there are reinforcements outside, fighting spirit inside, and the city is strong enough, no matter how many troops attack the city, it will be difficult to capture it. Ziyuan, I will teach you a lesson today!"
"Yes……"
Before Sima Shi could finish his words, Jiang Ji stood up and walked to the map, and Sima Shi also stood up and hurried to follow him.
"Ziyuan, look, the water of Chaohu Lake flows into the Yangtze River from Ruxu River. The place where it flows into the river is Ruxukou. Ruxuwu is built on both sides of Ruxukou, and there is a sandbar in the middle of the two sides."
"And here," Jiang Ji pointed the index finger of his right hand at the location of Ruxukou, and then extended it toward the northeast along the direction of the river, and finally stopped at Jianye.
"Jianye City in Jiangdong, Wu State, is adjacent to the Yangtze River. It is only 300 miles upstream to Ruxukou. Even if the navy is very slow, it can reach the destination in three days. Ziyuan, do you think that if the imperial court mobilizes troops, can Ruxukou be captured in three days? Emperor Wu and Cao Zixiao have never fought such a battle!"
Sima Shi shook his head: "Three days is too difficult. Thirty days may not be possible."
"That's it." Jiang Ji smiled and tapped the map: "I have said so much, Ziyuan, do you understand anything?"
Sima Shi was silent for a moment, then bowed to Jiang Ji and said, "Then I will try to explain it. Please correct me, Mr. Jiang."
Jiang Ji didn't say anything, just nodded slightly.
Sima Shi said: "The Ruxu River is the only way from Chaohu Lake to the Yangtze River. If Wei controls the Ruxu River, it can build naval forces in Chaohu Lake and Huai River and enter the Yangtze River without any hindrance. If Wu loses its river defense, its demise will be just a matter of time. Therefore, Ruxu is a place of life and death that Wu must protect with all its strength."
"If Wei can capture Ruxu, it can only be done when Wu has no more reinforcements. In other words, if Wei can capture Ruxu, Wu will no longer be a threat. Only by exhausting Wu's military strength near Ruxu or elsewhere can Wei capture Ruxu."
"Therefore, the imperial court must create conditions for a large-scale military action in the future. Right now, the elite troops of the Wu army are all in Xiangfan. This is the best time for Wei to do this. Either we can make the Wu army withdraw, or we can prepare for an all-out attack on Wu in the future!" (End of this chapter)
