Three Kingdoms: Ancestors of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 584 Blessing
In 237 A.D., the fifth year of Wei Emperor Cao Rui Qinglong, the first year of Jingchu; the 15th year of Han Emperor Liu Chan Jianxing; the sixth year of Wu Emperor Sun Quan Jiahe.

October, Luoyang.

The wind was blowing, and the rain was falling.There was not even a single person on the streets of Luoyang. The rain, which was dense like a waterfall, fell on the ground and converged into a flowing river. The horse-drawn carriage drove past and raised countless water splashes.

"Dick~"

The raindrops fell, knocking on the car window for a while, and pouring in through the curtain for a while. In a blink of an eye, the inside of the car was wet, even Sima Yi's clothes were wet.

Sima Yi lifted the curtain of the car and looked into the distance, only to see that the sky was dark and the imperial palace in the distance was blurred.

"It has been raining heavily in recent months, and the wars have continued year after year, which has really hurt the people." Sima Yi sighed quietly.

Not long after Cao Rui ordered Qing, Yan, You, and Ji to build sea-going ships, starting from September, Ji, Yan, Xu, and Henan encountered floods, and many people drowned and lost their property.When it was reported to Luoyang, Cao Rui arranged for states and counties to open warehouses to relieve the victims.

Inside the car, the stern face of the eldest son, Sima Shi, did not see any change. He just said indifferently: "Father, the world is not benevolent, and everything is a humble dog. Human misfortunes and blessings are determined by heaven."

Sima Yi glanced at his eldest son, secretly sighing that his heart was too cruel.

Master Sima seemed to have noticed his father's gaze, tilted his head slightly, and asked, "Father, I'm changing from guarding Hedong to conquering Liaodong. I don't know what will happen?"

Sima Yi smiled and asked back, "What do you think Zi Yuan thinks?"

Master Sima was at a loss for words for a moment, pondered for a while, and replied: "Father is old, and it may not be a blessing to conquer the Gongsun of Liaodong four thousand miles away."

Sima Yi is 60 years old this year. Whether in ancient times or modern times, he can be called an elderly person. He does not know when he will suddenly die of illness.What's more, this time he was asked to go on an expedition to Liaodong. For normal people, his body would not be able to bear it.

Sima Yi shook his head and said with a smile: "Your son is wrong, this matter should be a blessing to your father."

"Father, how do you say that?" Sima Shi questioned.

Sima Yi raised the curtain of the car, looked to the west, and sighed, "Zhuge Liang is the enemy of my father's life. I'm not as good as it. Instead of forming a confrontation, I don't know how to start. If Guo Huai hadn't been proficient in geography in this Battle of Hedong, As a father, I am afraid that I will lose to Zhuge Liang."

As he spoke, Sima Yi took a deep breath, felt the fragrance of the rain, and said with a smile, "This expedition to Liaodong is a battle to restore my father's reputation. It's easy to capture Gongsun."

Master Sima nodded suspiciously, but in his heart he believed that the Gongsun clan had ruled Liaodong for more than fifty years, with the Liao River as a screen, the distance was so long that it was extremely difficult to break through.

Sima Yi seemed to see through Master Sima's suspicion, and explained: "In the Battle of Hedong, if the generals should have crossed the river when the enemy was unstable, they should have sent elites to attack them. However, Zhuge was resourceful and his soldiers were strong and strong. Lijia is strong, Qi is sharp and strict, strength is full and vigorous, how can it be done so quickly?"

"That's why when you encounter such an enemy, you should disappear, avoid its sharp edge, and prepare for attack. Like Lian Po, you will defend and not fight. How can you attack it?"

Master Sima was not ignorant of the art of war. After hearing Sima Yi's careful analysis, he suddenly became enlightened. He cupped his hands and said, "Father is wise. I don't know how to destroy Gongsun Yuan now?"

Sima Yi smiled but didn't answer, just said: "Don't worry, you live in Luoyang, you will know for yourself."

Before the words were finished, the attendant outside the car reported: "General, the palace is here."

"Father, don't forget the white scarf."

"Okay!" Sima Yi took out a white scarf from his pocket and tied it on his forehead.

Similar to the death of Empress Han, Cao Rui's wife, Empress Mao, also died of illness in September.

Under the cover of the attendants from the rain, Sima Yi got out of the car, leaving Sima Shi alone in the car.

Sima Yi held an umbrella and walked straight all the way, only to see white flags on both sides of the palace, the soldiers were all dressed in linen and mourning, and the palace was completely white.During this time, Sima Yi looked sad and did not dare to take any action to provoke criticism from others.

……

In the palace, Cao Rui was lying on the couch with his lower body naked, and the doctor held a burning moxa stick to smoke his wound.The warm feeling dissipated the pain from the old injury, making Cao Rui's painful face slightly relieved.

"Your Majesty, the general is seeking an audience outside."

"Xuan!"

Seeing this, the doctor annihilated the moxa sticks, gave some instructions, packed up the medicine bag, bowed and left.

Cao Rui wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, pulled himself together, leaned halfway on the bed, and received Sima Yi.

Although Huo Yi's arrow did not kill Cao Rui, it left Cao Rui with extremely serious sequelae.Whenever the weather is cloudy and rainy, Cao Rui's wound hurts unbearably, and occasionally he has a fever.

"The minister, Sima Yi, pays homage to His Majesty, and may His Majesty be happy and blessed forever."

"Excuse me!" Cao Rui pointed to the attendant and said, "Give me a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Cao Rui straightened his body slightly, tried his best to show that he was in good health, and said, "Do you know why I called you into the palace?"

Sima Yi knelt down on the couch, bowed forward and said, "Your Majesty, I know. Your Majesty summoned the ministers to the palace to conquer Gongsun for the next year, so as to secure Liaodong."

Cao Rui picked up the teacup, motioned to his attendants to serve Sima Yi with tea, and said, "Since that's the case, I don't know how you plan to break Gongsun Yuan?"

Sima Yi pondered for a long time, and said: "There are five essentials in military affairs. If you can fight, you should fight. If you can't fight, you should defend. If you can't defend, you should retreat. The other two things are surrender and death. The same is true of Gongsun Yuan according to me. Gongsun Yuan abandoned the city and ran. This is the best plan; according to Liaodong, rejecting the army is the next best thing; sit and guard Xiangping, and wait for death."

Cao Rui nodded slightly, took a sip of his tea, and asked, "But with these three strategies, how will Gongsun Yuan come out?"

Sima Yi stroked his beard and analyzed: "It is not surprising that Gongsun Yuan used troops. He relied on the natural dangers of Liaoze and relied on Liaoshui to defeat me twice. This battle must be like this. And with Gongsun Yuan's wisdom, he must think that our army will go deep alone. Food and grass cannot last long, so it must first reject the Liao River and then defend Xiangping, nothing to be afraid of."

At this time, Liaodong was different from the current Northeast. Liaoze, which was hundreds of miles away, was a complete nightmare. Emperor Sui Yang conquered Goguryeo and was tortured by it.Tang's attack on Goguryeo also suffered from it.

Therefore, according to normal people, the first choice is to rely on Liaoze's natural dangers and stick to retreating from the enemy.But Sima Yi thought that this was just a low-level strategy, and the root of it lay in the army's food and grass.The weather in Liaodong is cold and there is not much food and grass, but Sima Yi is completely fearless relying on seaborne military supplies. He will be able to fight a war of attrition with Liaodong and look for opportunities in the meantime.

Cao Rui's eyes lit up, and he continued to ask: "Your strategy is very good, but the people of Shu are in the west, peeking at the east of the river, I'm afraid the Taiwei will not last long, how many days will he go back and forth?"

Sima Yi thought for a while, and replied: "March for a hundred days, attack Liao for a hundred days, return to the army for a hundred days, and take [-] days to rest. In this way, a year is enough."

After a pause, Sima Yi added: "The people of Shu peek at Hedong and Tongguan, but the Taiwei sticks to the old strategy of his ministers, and His Majesty leads the Chinese army to sit in Luoyang. The Huainan army will support it at any time, and Hedong will be fine. If the people of Shu stay there for a long time If you don’t retreat from the war, Yi can return to China in October to keep the Shu people at bay.”

Cao Rui nodded in satisfaction, and said, "With Qing's words, I feel at ease. The Liaodong War will be handed over to Qing."

Sima Yi kowtowed to the ground and said, "I will live up to your majesty's sageness and serve the country with my death."

Cao Rui supported him out of emptiness and said, "Qing wants to stay away from Luoyang today, do you have any suggestions?"

Sima Yi knelt down for a while, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the current state affairs are difficult and the people of Shu are unable to retreat. It is really the fault of my ministers. However, in the north of the river, the people are poor and there are many corvees at home and abroad. The most important thing is to calm the people. Yu Jun In the middle, the soldiers have no wives, and the ministers can't bear it, if your majesty can give up the maids of the country to match the soldiers, it will strengthen the morale of the army."

Cao Rui sighed, and said: "The words of the general are the loyal advice of the country, and I know it. Now the southern land is stable, and Huainan is fine. From now on, there will be less corvee in Hebei, and Huainan will be distributed. As for Gong'e, if she is of the right age, I will They will be released from the palace to marry soldiers."

After the defeat in Guanzhong, Cao Rui was also aggressive, stopped the construction of the palace, and appropriately reduced expenses, but overall it was still extravagant, with as many as [-] women in the palace.Sima Yi's persuasion is also for the sake of the country.

"Your Majesty Shengming."

(End of this chapter)