Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 456
Qinglong two years, November.

Luoyang earthquake, Western Shu violated the territory.

Cao Rui led a central army of [-] and auxiliary troops of [-], making a total of [-]. They set out from Luoyang and marched towards Guanzhong.With General Cao Shuang of the Military Guard as the vanguard, leading the way, Bian Lan, a guerrilla general of the Chinese army, guarded the Chinese army.

General Cao Shuang of Wuwei, the son of Grand Sima Cao Zhen, was obese, modest and prudent.Since childhood, he has been in and out of the court as the adopted grandson of Cao Cao, and has a very good friendship with Cao Rui.Promotion is like riding a rocket, and he served as a Sanqi servant. For several years, he served as the school captain of the city gate and a Sanqi regular servant, and then transferred to the general of Wuwei. He was especially favored by Cao Rui.

Because Cao Shuang's aunt married Xiahoushang as his wife, Cao Shuang and Xiahouxuan were cousins, and Xiahou Hui was a cousin, so Liu Chan also called Cao Shuang a cousin.

As for the guerrilla general Bian Lan, he was Cao Cao's nephew (the son of Bian Bing, the younger brother of Empress Bian), who was famous for his literary talent when he was young.At that time, the two kingdoms of Shu and Wu were in trouble at the border, and they wanted to send him out to defend against the enemy in order to repay the country. Unfortunately, Emperor Ming wanted him to stay in Luoyang to accompany him.

But Bian Lan was outspoken and dared to advise, and often strongly advised Cao Rui on his gains and losses many times. Although Cao Rui did not accept his advice, he praised his sincerity.

This time, Cao Rui took Bian Lan and Cao Shuang with him during the northern campaign against Western Shu, thinking that he was by his side, and wanted to cultivate their abilities.In recent years, Cao Rui has seen through the talents of the clan, except for Cao Zhen and Xia Houshang who are available in the second generation, Xia Houru's mud can't support the wall, and he led the army twice and was defeated twice.There are very few available among the three generations, and Qin Lang, the second generation of the current clan, is barely available. If you don't cultivate the power of the clan, I am afraid that there will be no one who can stand alone!
Cao Rui lifted the curtain of the car, looked at the surrounding scenery in Guanzhong, and asked, "How long will it take to arrive in Chang'an?"

Chen Tai stepped forward on his horse and said, "Your Majesty, we have already passed Ba Ling and we still have a few miles to reach Chang'an."

Cao Rui pondered for a while and said, "Where is the general?"

Chen Tai grabbed the reins and said: "The general has returned from Huaili, and will meet His Majesty in Chang'an tonight."

"En!" Cao Rui put down the curtain of the car and said, "March faster and arrive in Chang'an tonight. Go to Huaili tomorrow."

"promise!"

After Chen Tai agreed, he rode a fast horse and informed Bian Lan to leave.

……

Cao Rui led [-] Chinese troops to Chang'an one after another, and Cao Shuang, Bian Lan, and Jiang Ji arranged for the camp.And Cao Rui himself settled in the palace of Chang'an, the accompanying capital, thinking that he would settle down.

Sima Yi, who had returned to Xiaohuaili from the front line, also arrived on his back, begging to see Cao Rui in a hurry.

Sima Yi stood tiredly outside the palace, waiting for Cao Rui to receive him.

The attendant who came in to report said respectfully to Sima Yi: "Your Majesty has something to do, please wait a moment, General."

Hearing this, Sima Yi had no choice but to stand respectfully outside the palace, thinking about the war against Shu in his mind.

A moment later, Sima Yi stood so sore that he stretched his legs, and asked the attendant at the door, "Can you make another announcement that General Sima Yi will meet His Majesty for an emergency battle against Shu?"

The attendant glanced at the hall, and replied after a moment of hesitation: "Your Majesty has something to do, please wait a moment, the general."

Sima Yi sighed in his heart. Based on his understanding of Cao Rui, if he kept him waiting for so long, he must be dissatisfied with the battle in Guanzhong and wanted to beat himself by doing this.

Just like that, Sima Yi stood respectfully outside the palace, and for nearly three quarters, Cao Rui called Sima Yi into the palace until his waist and feet were sore.

As soon as he entered the hall, Sima Yi bowed and knelt down and said, "The guilty minister Sima Yi pays homage to Your Majesty, and I hope His Majesty will forgive you!"

"Qing Yu has worked hard, there is no need to be polite, and the left and right will give you a seat."

On the couch, Cao Rui's stern expression softened slightly, and he motioned to the left and right to help Sima Yi up.

Sima Yi staggered to his feet, broke free from the left and right supports, took off his hat, knelt down and said: "The sinful minister is ashamed of his high expectations for His Majesty, which caused our army to defeat Chencang and Fufeng counties to fall into the enemy's hands. I hope Your Majesty will punish you!"

Cao Rui's face finally calmed down. He helped Sima Yi up on the bed, and said comfortingly, "Although the general is the governor of Guanzhong, he has the responsibility of supervising it. But the battle of Chencang was the fault of Xia Houru, so what is the fault of the general?"

After finishing speaking, Cao Rui helped Sima Yi put on his hat, and ordered his left and right to help him to the seat.

Sima Yi showed gratitude, and said: "Your Majesty is benevolent, and Yi will do his best for His Majesty."

Cao Rui waved his hand and asked, "How is the battle in Guanzhong now? Is there any change in the Shu army?"

Sima Yi tidied up his clothes, bowed his hands towards Cao Rui and said, "Your Majesty, the west of Luogu River is occupied by bandit troops, and Meiyang and Wugong are still in our hands, but the soldiers of the Shu army often harass the second county. Our troops stationed in Zha Xiao Huaili, rescued the north and south of the Weishui River. Thanks to Lai Zhongquan (Xiahouba character) who retreated the Shu army in Weinan, he also contributed to the battle of Chencang."

In fact, the battle situation is not as simple as Sima Yi said. Since Zhuge Liang and Huang Quan's second division joined forces, the big man led 30,000 people by Wu Yi and Wu Ban to try to cross the Luogu River before it snowed. The desperate guards finally repelled the two Wu brothers.

Cao Rui nodded slightly, and said: "In the battle of Chencang, I knew before and after Zhongquan's defeat. It was not his fault, but a mistake in the deployment of the army. Although Zhongquan lost some soldiers, he did a great job in keeping the army back to camp."

In the battle of Chencang, Xiahouru and Zhao Yan arranged for Xiahouba to cross the river with 8000 people to stop the Han army from Weinan, but they were attacked by the Shu army back and forth, and the army was defeated.

When Huang Quan implemented the flooding strategy, he ventilated to Zhuge Liang.After Xiahouba's army crossed the river, Zhuge Liang asked Wu Ban to lead the army to attack head-on, and secretly sent Xiang Yu to go around Suiyang Xiaogu, and the two armies attacked Xiahouba back and forth.Xia Houba was caught off guard and had no choice but to lead his troops to the rear to cover the retreat of the army to the river bank.

During the confrontation with the Han army, Xiahouba's performance was remarkable, which is why Cao Rui praised him for his meritorious deeds.

After a pause, Cao Rui added: "If you fail, you will be punished, and those who make meritorious deeds will be rewarded. In the battle of Chencang, the military adviser Zhao Yan was demoted to Shangshu and Yitu Tinghou, as a punishment. Xia Houru was dismissed from office to avoid evil. Xia Houba has meritorious service and is promoted Discuss the guards of Shu."

Sima Yi lowered his eyes and said respectfully, "Your Majesty is wise."

Cao Rui's dismissal of Xia Houru was not only because he lost the battle, but also because he was captured by the Shu Han.After all, his niece Xia Houhui is Liu Chan's wife, and it is not ruled out that Xia Houru surrendered because of this.At that time, Xia Houru, who was a clan member and a high-ranking official of Cao Wei, surrendered to Shu Han, and Great Wei was completely humiliated.

Cao Rui stood up and asked: "Now that I have led the army to Guanzhong, I don't know if the general has a plan to retreat from the enemy?"

Sima Yi hesitated for a while, and said, "Your Majesty, now that the battle is raging, I have no plan to defeat Shu because of my stupidity."

With his back behind his back and his hands behind his back, Cao Rui said calmly, "Since you are the governor of Guanzhong, it's up to you to decide on your own."

Seeing this, Sima Yi quickly knelt down, took off the commander's seal from his waist, lifted it up and said, "Your Majesty is now supervising the battle in Guanzhong, and Yi will obey His Majesty's orders."

Cao Rui glanced at Sima Yi, and said, "Shuai Yin will be under the command of you. As for the military affairs in Guanzhong, everyone needs to discuss it."

"No! The minister and the generals are in Xiaohuai, waiting for His Majesty to come in person."

Sima Yi heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, finally he didn't have to carry the blame of the Guanzhong battle by himself, it was too tiring.

Cao Rui nodded slightly, and said: "It's getting late today, you should go to bed early. The army will go to Xiaohuaili tomorrow. At that time, I will discuss with you the specific strategy to defeat the enemy."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)