Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 636
Gua Lidu, the camp of the Wei army.

When the sky was slightly bright in the early morning, dozens of riders rode to the outside of the camp, but were stopped by the soldiers of the garrison camp.Sima Yi took out the certificate, and was greeted by Sun Zi, and entered the barracks.

Seeing that Sima Yi's face was old and his left arm was hard to lift, Sun Zi supported him with his upper hand and said, "The general has worked so hard, but why is he so tired?"

Sima Yi slowed down, and said, "It's more than 200 miles from Xincheng to Nanyang, and it took a lot of hard work to get there overnight. But it's nothing, the most important thing for today is to see His Majesty."

Sun Zi heard the words, glanced around, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty is difficult to decide on the candidate for Minister Tuogu, and there have been many changes. Now we are dissuading him. General Fang Li will be Minister Tuogu, assisting Cao Shuang in governing, and ensuring the smooth success of the crown prince."

During Cao Rui's illness, he was not idle. Instead, he appointed Qi Wang Cao Fang as the prince, and ordered the local governors of the army and the generals of the Chinese army to kowtow to Cao Fang in front of him and swear allegiance to the young master Cao Fang.As for the candidate for Tuogu, Cao Rui has not yet announced it to everyone.

Only those who know the inside information of a few will engage in intrigues for greater interests.

Sima Yi nodded, leaned closer to Sun Zi and asked in a low voice, "Besides Cao Shuang, who else is the auxiliary minister?"

Sun Zi took Sima Yi to walk quickly, and replied: "Your Majesty wanted to make Cao Yu, the king of Yan, the master of Tuogu ministers, and Cao Shuang, Xia Houxian, Cao Qing, and Qin Lang as assistants. Now we persuaded Cao Shuang to be the leader of the Tuogu ministers. Lord, with great generals as assistants. Therefore, Cao Yu, Xia Houxian, Qin Lang, and Cao Qing must be deposed to avoid future troubles."

Sima Yi patted the back of Sun Zi's hand with a smile, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Sun Zhongshu, Yi can save it. Zuo Zhuan said: "For the country, seeing evil is like a farmer's work and going to the grass, and the barbarians worship it, and cut off its roots. Don't let it be able to reproduce, then the good will believe it.' Today's things should be like this, if the Great Wei suffers twists and turns, it will be difficult for the Wei land to survive."

Cao Rui nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "You can follow your words."

Cao Rui took Sima Yi's hand and said with emotion: "At that time when I first succeeded to the throne, Qing, Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu, and Chen Qun were the assistants to help me stabilize the country. Now I am seriously ill, and the three ministers are all dead. Qing still hasn't seen any decline, it's embarrassing!"

Cao Rui asked in a daze: "From your point of view, what do you think?"

While speaking, Cao Rui's breathing was a little short, and Sima Yi hurried forward to follow Cao Rui's back.

Sima Yi bowed his body and said: "Your Majesty, Shu and Wei have been hostile for decades, and if they want to make peace with their relatives and beg for surrender, I'm afraid the scholars will criticize them."

"Criticism?" Cao Rui muttered a few words, and then asked: "Based on Liu Chan's character, what is the probability of allowing the two countries to cease fighting?"

Sima Yi brewed his emotions for a moment, stepped forward quickly, plopped, knelt beside Cao Rui's couch, and wept, "How is your majesty's illness? I feel so ashamed that Yiwai couldn't retreat from the Shu army. I hope your majesty will forgive me."

Sima Yi bowed slightly to Sun Zi, and went straight to the account.

Sima Yi wiped his tears and said: "The king of Yan, the leading general, the captain of Tunqi, and the general of Xiaoqi are all the ministers of the original Tuogu. If there are no four names in the current list, I am afraid that there will be chaos. These three command Soldiers in the Chinese army, you must be prepared!"

If you still have life, you must fight him to the death here, and attack Sun Quan from north to south, forcing Shu Han to withdraw from Nanyang and block his way out to the east.

Hearing this, Cao Rui closed his eyes, sighed, and said, "I am uneasy because Liu Chan has such a heart. Since Liu Chan ascended the throne, he and Zhuge Liang have been as close as father and son, and have equal rights. Treating Zhuge Liang with courtesy is the most important thing, so we, the Great Wei, cannot divorce him. "

Sima Yi said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, this old minister is really heartbroken. But your Majesty's words are wrong. The old minister is fighting against the Shu army, and he is shot. Maybe he will follow His Majesty to Jiuyou soon."

Not long after, Sun Zi handed over the drafted edict for Cao Rui to seal and sign.

The young master + power minister, I hope to assist Liu Chan like Zhuge Liang, stabilize Cao Wei's foundation, and wait for the hero to appear.

"Why?" Cao Rui asked.

Sima Yi pondered for a while, and said: "Liu Chan can promise to proclaim the emperor the etiquette and Sun Quan, divide the world in the middle of the trip, and lure him to the north, so he knows that he is a person who disregards the etiquette. Therefore, it is quite feasible for Liu Chan to allow Princess Dongxiang to enter the country and make a border between the two countries. .”

Therefore, as far as Cao Rui is concerned, if Liu Chan follows the rules, he doesn't have to worry about it.But looking at his simple life, restraining his desire for power and trusting Zhuge Liang, he knows that his plans are very big, and he is not a good person.

Cao Rui felt at ease, patted the back of Sima Yi's hand, and said, "I need to entrust you with my future affairs, how can you say such a thing?"

Cao Rui was finally relieved, looked at Cao Fang and said, "This is Yihuo of Wei, you treat everything like a father."

As soon as this remark came out, Sima Yi knelt on the side of the couch again, weeping loudly, and said, "Your Majesty, how could you say such a thing. If Your Majesty passes away unfortunately, how can Yi and Cao Wuwei convince everyone?"

"The general has a deep heart, so I don't want to talk too much."

In recent years, Cao Rui asked himself more than once if he faced Liu Chan's situation, would he still be able to turn the tables?
The answer is that there is only one chance, and that is the strategy of the Shu Han to attack the east and attack the west, pretending to attack the pass, and actually attacking Longyou.If it fails this time, and Wei is on guard, the Shu Han will be completely blocked in Yizhou, and they will never be able to get out.

Cao Rui sighed slightly in his heart, feeling that his whole life was wasted. Although he solved the affairs of northern Xinjiang, he left a very dangerous Shu Han for his descendants.

For more than ten years, it has been simple and simple, with fewer than ten concubines in the harem, and farming is emphasized. The military and political power is handed over to Zhuge Liang, and the whole country supports the Northern Expedition.

As the Shu Han entered the Central Plains, the communication between the two countries increased, and Cao Wei's high-level officials also knew the inside stories of the early Shu Han in more detail.That's why Cao Rui felt more admiration for this opponent when he heard the things Liu Chan had dealt with in the early years.

During the first Northern Expedition, he even compromised and allowed Sun Quan to proclaim himself emperor to attract him to send troops to complete the first Han-Wu alliance.This is precisely the situation in which the Shu Han successfully captured Longyou during the Northern Expedition, revitalizing Western Shu geographically.The next step is to conquer Liangzhou and recover Guanzhong based on Longyou.

After a long silence, Cao Rui opened his mouth and said, "If the people of Shu take advantage of our country's move to Hebei and attack with troops, how should our army deal with it?"

When Cao Rui saw Sima Yi striding forward, he felt a little happy, and seeing his deep feelings, he was even more moved.

After the air calmed down, Cao Rui leaned on the pillow and asked weakly: "Your Excellency, come closer, I have something important to ask. Now the people of Shu are in the south, peeping at Luoyang. I want Princess Dongxiang to enter Shu, so as to ease the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and attract Shu and Wu. Attacking each other, I wonder what you think?"

After a pause, Sima Yi continued: "In the future, we should establish good relations with the State of Wu, open up trade between the two countries, use Wei horses to enter Wu, strengthen Wu's power, and enrich our country's treasury. And we will never have the Shu brocade in the west, and short Long horses will enter Wu. One increase and one decrease, our country When it is strong and prosperous, Western Shu will also decline."

Sima Yi held Cao Rui's hand, and said in a warm voice: "I think it's better to dismiss him as an official, not dismiss him as a noble, and let him return to his hometown to enjoy his future life in peace. As for his military power, he can be handed over to Cao Wuwei."

Sima Yi drew out his brushstrokes and said: "Defending the east of the river in the west and occupying Ye County in the south should be able to curb the tendency of Shu to go north. There are three Jins in the east of the river as aids, and the Central Plains in Ye county as the rear. These two places are enough to block Shu. At that time, Man Chong guarded the east of the river , the minister sits in Ye County, which can ensure the peace of the border of our Great Wei."

Sima Yi, the military power of the Chinese army, did not dare to get involved for the time being, so he could only give it to Cao Shuang cheaply.

As he said that, Cao Rui held Sima Yi's hand and said weakly, "I'm very sick. From now on, the matter belongs to the king. You and Prince Shuangfu. I can listen to what you say, and I don't hate anything."

Sima Yi listened attentively, and said, "Your Majesty, the people of Shu raised their troops twice in two years, and each time they sent [-] soldiers to attack me. Their national strength is also exhausted, and it is difficult to sustain it for long. Now the Wu people have raised an army of [-] to attack Shu. It is just the right time. When His Majesty let Princess Dongxiang enter Shu, it must not be difficult for the Shu people to agree, but there is only one difficulty."

Hearing this, Cao Rui was startled, and with his pale face, it was quite scary.

Cao Rui squeezed out the last bit of strength, raised Sima Yi's hand, and asked, "Why did you say that?"

Sima Yi has long valued the market of Soochow. The Shu Han made a lot of money by relying on the mid-end Shu brocade and high-end horses.If the market of Soochow is lost, it will have a great impact on Shu Han, and to Cao Wei, it will also replace Shu Han to enter the market of Soochow, earn profits and subsidize the treasury.

Although Cao Wei lost nearly 20 people in the four counties of Jingbei this time, he still made up more than [-] households and more than [-] people from Liaodong.Since then, Cao Wei has also increased part of his fiscal revenue in a different direction.

As soon as Sima Yi entered the tent, he smelled a suffocating smell of herbs, and when he took a closer look, he saw Cao Rui was leaning on the couch, teaching the prince Cao Fang beside him.Cao Fang has a cute appearance, she nods in response from time to time, she is quite intelligent.

While thinking, Cao Rui didn't speak, and Sima Yi didn't say much, just waited quietly beside Cao Rui, waiting for Cao Rui to speak.

"Thank you Sun Zhongshu."

After speaking, Sun Zi went to Cao Rui's tent and said, "Your Majesty has been waiting for the general for a long time, please come in."

Therefore, Cao Wei wanted to discuss and stop the army, but the Shu Han couldn't ask for it!

It's a pity that God's will is not in my favor!

It is difficult for the big Han to fight until now. On the one hand, Cao Wei's [-] troops are in the north, and they can go south at any time.On the other hand, Sun Quan's army of [-] was pressing hard at every step. If the second city of Xiangfan hadn't blocked it, the Shu Han would have withdrawn from Nanyang long ago.

But this is also the first time that I made a wrong judgment, and I fell into the trick of the Shu Han, thinking that their goal was Guanzhong, not Longyou.

After Cao Rui signed it, Sun Zi received Sima Yi's wink, came out with the edict, announced the decree to the four, and appointed Cao Shuang to lead the army under the command of the three.

Except for Cao Yu, the three of them wept bitterly, and they all wanted to enter the account and begged to see Cao Rui.However, Sun Zi and Liu Fang led the attendants to stop him and ordered him to quickly hand over the military power to Cao Shuang.

And Cao Shuang also got the command of most of the Chinese army in a daze, and entered the account under Cao Rui's summoning.With Sima Yi, under the witness of Jiang Ji, kowtow to Cao Fang and establish the title of monarch and minister.

Finally, Cao Rui issued an imperial edict to appoint Cao Shuang and Sima Yi as ministers of Tuogu.

(End of this chapter)