Mi Han

Chapter 266
Facing Cao Pi's obviously reproachful questioning, Cao Tai couldn't help but feel scared.

Although he is a relative of the Cao family, the person who is at the helm of the Great Wei today is not Emperor Wu.

When Emperor Wudi was alive, the law was very strict, and it was the same for all his subjects, but he always gave preferential treatment to his clan members.

If it is said that when Cao Pi was still the prince, Cao Pi's attitude towards his clan was still not clear, when Cao Pi succeeded to the throne and became the king of Wei and even the emperor, some clues gradually emerged.

As a clan member with the same qualifications as Cao Ren, Cao Hong was named Hussar General after Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor, and he was enfeoffed as a wild prince.

But that was just a way for Cao Pi to win over Cao's clan.

Cao Tai had heard Cao Ren mention before that Cao Pi expressed his dissatisfaction with Cao Hong in front of Queen Mother Bian several times, and criticized Cao Hong's etiquette several times at court meetings.

These things are no longer secrets in the officialdom of the Great Wei.

In particular, Cao Tai recently heard that Cao Zhang, the Marquis of Rencheng, had recommended himself before Cao Pi planned to conquer in person.

But it was because of Cao Zhang's self-recommendation that Cao Pi decided to march in person.

Cao Pi's actions aroused speculation from the ruling and opposition parties of the Great Wei Dynasty.

If the relationship between Cao Hong and Cao Pi is not close and there were festivals in the past, but Cao Zhang is Cao Pi's brother.

He can't even fully trust his own brothers, let alone Cao Tai?

It's just that although he was afraid of being punished by Cao Pi, Cao Pi's series of methods after he succeeded to the throne had already established his personal prestige.

So in the face of Cao Pi's questioning, Cao Tai finally mustered up the courage to tell everything he knew.

This point cannot be kept from Cao Pi, even if he doesn't tell, Cao Pi's confidants Sima Yi and Jiang Ji will tell the truth about what they have seen.

After Cao Tai described everything that happened on the battlefield in detail that day, when all the ministers of Cao Wei present heard that Guan Yu's army had formed a formation of Queyue, their faces showed surprise.

As Cao Tai continued to narrate, the scene of the battlefield that day emerged in his mind, and the surprise on Minister Cao Wei's face became more and more intense.

Is this moon formation so powerful?
Could it be that the sharp weapon cavalry in the north will no longer be useful in the future?

But this is just the thinking of most Cao Wei ministers who don't know the soldiers. After listening to Cao Tai's whole story, the ministers who knew the soldiers realized that although the power of the moon array is great, it has great limitations.

The success of the Queyue formation under Guan Yu's cloth largely depends on the special terrain at that time.

Otherwise, if there is no vast Han River as the backing of the Han army, once one's own cavalry attacks the Han army from the rear, then the moon formation is likely to be broken.

But what is the use of knowing this now?

Thousands of Wei Army cavalry were killed on the spot, and more Wei Army cavalry fled in all directions, and it was impossible to recruit and gather into an army for a while.

The cavalry has high mobility, and they tend to run farther than the infantry flee.

It's just that under Cao Tai's narration, all the ministers understood that it was Xiahouba who took the lead in attacking the Queyue formation of the Han army that day.

And it was also under his call that the cavalry troops of the Wei army from all over the place gathered in one place.

Xia Houba, who was kneeling behind Cao Tai, also knew that the current situation was not good for him, so he immediately opened his mouth to defend himself.

In Xia Houba's view, the cavalry of the Wei army had a great advantage over the infantry of the Han army before, so he was careless at that time.

Didn't Cao Pi send [-] cavalry troops south to expand the results of the battle after hearing the news?

The thousands of cavalry led by Xia Houba was exactly one of the ten thousand cavalry.

In Xia Houba's view, it is understandable for him to launch an attack on his own initiative after seeing the Han army coming ashore as usual after he was ordered by Cao Pi to go south to expand the results of the battle.

As for the fact that he retreated first, Xia Houba was not stupid, so of course he would not admit it.

All the ministers of Cao Wei who were present knew what Xiahouba said.

But looking at the overall situation now, the Han army has been teased by the Wei army's cavalry before, and Guan Yu has never taken countermeasures, which is probably his arrogant strategy.

Because the combat style of the cavalry is strong, those who can serve as cavalry generals among Cao Wei's generals are those with a strong personality, and they are the easiest to fall into this strategy.

After all, Cao Wei had always been proud of having a powerful northern cavalry army before the Queyue Formation appeared in the past. No one would have thought in advance that Guan Yu would think of this weird Queyue Formation to defeat cavalry with steps.

Under the narration of Cao Tai and Xiahouba, in order not to bear too many sins, they tried their best to extract themselves from the responsibility of defeat.

Perhaps what Cao Tai and Xiahouba said was not unreasonable, but after seeing this scene, Zhang Liao sighed in his heart.

Although Zhang Liao was appointed by Cao Pi to attack Mi Yang, the infantry army was not like the cavalry army who could leave as soon as they said it.

It will take a while for tens of thousands of infantry to prepare food and grass alone, so Zhang Liao is still in Wancheng.

Zhang Liao surrendered to Cao Cao at the end of the third year of Jian'an.

At that time, although Cao Cao had already flattered the emperor, wiped out Lu Bu, and became the overlord of the Central Plains, there were still many powerful enemies around Cao's army at that time.

The power of Cao Jun at that time could not be compared with the current Great Wei at all.

But at that time, under the leadership of Cao Cao, the generals of the Cao army were all united, thinking about defeating the powerful enemy together.

Even if a general is defeated, the first reaction is to blame himself for his sins and reflect on himself, and it is definitely not to blame each other.

This was the case with Cao Ren and Xiahouyuan, the predecessors of Cao Tai and Xiahouba, and their age at that time was not far from Cao Tai's and Xiahouba's now.

After all, where is there an undefeated general in the world?
Under this kind of good atmosphere, Cao Jun can grow step by step under the leadership of the overlord Cao Cao, defeating Hebei in the north, destroying the heroes in the west, swallowing Jingzhou in the south, and finally achieving the foundation of the Great Wei.

But this kind of good atmosphere gradually disappeared after Cao Cao established the Duke of Wei.

Cao Jun's aggressiveness in the past has disappeared, and more and more of what is left is the idea of ​​fighting for power and profit.

Anyone wants to occupy a place in the upcoming new dynasty.

Since then, Wei has won less and lost more against the enemy, which was unimaginable in the past.

If Great Wei can restore the previous spirit of being enterprising and not shying away from personal honor or disgrace, with the powerful national strength of Great Wei today, what fear would there be even if Liu Bei and Sun Quan join forces?

pity.

Cao Pi didn't know the regret in Zhang Liao's heart, but now he was completely ignited by the words of Cao Tai and Xiahouba.

Cao Pi kicked Cao Tai, and then he yelled at Cao Tai: "Twenty thousand cavalry, twenty thousand iron cavalry carefully trained by our great Wei, just because of your stupidity caused a big defeat."

"After the big defeat, you didn't know how to reflect, but blamed each other instead, can you trust me?

Thousands of athletes died in battle with anger, how do you have the face to come back to see me! "

Cao Pi's roar instantly resounded throughout the hall.

Under Cao Pi's angry roar, all the ministers in the hall bowed down in fright, fearing that Cao Pi would spread his anger on them.

But everyone can dodge, but Cao Tai, who is the chief cavalry commander of the [-] Wei Army this time, has no way to dodge.

Cao Pi's kick just now was kicked out to vent his anger, and Cao Pi is by no means a weak scholar.

So when Cao Pi's kick hit Cao Tai's chest, Cao Tai only felt a burning pain in his chest.

Even his body fell backwards because of Cao Pi's kick.

But just after Cao Tai fell down, he still endured the pain in his body, clutched his chest and got up from the ground, then knelt under Cao Pi.

This is the sorrow of the courtiers. Thunder, rain and dew are all the grace of the king.

It's just that Cao Tai's performance didn't make Cao Pi feel pity. Seeing Cao Taifu knelt down in front of him again, Cao Pi kicked him again.

When Cao Pi's feet landed heavily on Cao Tai's chest again, Cao Pi's roar came out again:
"What a hero your father is, why did you let me down so much!"

The reason why Cao Pi was so angry was not because the loss of [-] cavalry had shaken the foundation of Wei.

Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs, and Cao Pi certainly knows this.

Cao Pi was angry that the defeat of the [-] Wei army cavalry was too miserable and too aggrieved.

It can be said that if [-] Wei army infantry were defeated head-on by Guan Yu's army, as long as the defeat of the general in command was justifiable, Cao Pi would not be unforgivable.

But now 2000 Wei cavalry were defeated by more than [-] infantry, and Cao Tai and Xiahouba were still the generals he appointed to command the army.

This battle was his first battle as a coach in the true sense, so Cao Pi felt so angry.

This battle has greatly damaged his face.

Unsurprisingly, Cao Tai was kicked down by Cao Pi's foot again, and when he got up again, there was already a trace of blood on the corner of his mouth.

In ancient times, there was a precedent of someone being kicked to death.

After seeing this scene, the ministers in the field showed unbearable expressions on their faces.

Although most of the ministers present were from the gentry, they had never been on good terms with the Cao clan.

But the rabbit died and the fox was sad, Cao Pi was so cruel to his clan, let alone other people?

And the scene of Cao Pi and Cao Tai's brotherly love some time ago is still lingering in the minds of all the ministers.

The comparison between the past and today is enough to reflect Cao Pi's current anger and his mean and ungrateful character.

But although Cao Tai was injured by Cao Pi's fierce kick, he inherited Cao Ren's tough character.

Even though he was already injured, Cao Tai still struggled to get up and knelt down in front of Cao Pi.

However, Cao Tai's performance continued to anger Cao Pi invisibly.

Just when Cao Pi was about to kick Cao Tai for the third time, the voice of an old official came out in time.

"Your Majesty, General Anton is the eldest son of the former General Chariot."

This old minister is Jia Xu.

Because of his advanced age, Jia Xu sometimes participates in the discussions in Wancheng, and sometimes does not participate.

Today, because of the defeat of the [-] cavalry troops of the Wei army, Cao Pi specially invited Jia Xu to attend the discussion.

And even if Jia Xu participated in the discussion, his character was that as long as he didn't speak up, he would never say a word.

But with the current situation on the court, if Jia Xu doesn't say anything, he thinks that Cao Tai might be kicked to death by Cao Pi who is in a rage.

When Cao Pi heard Jia Xu's reminder, his right foot kicked towards Cao Tai stopped in the air, and finally he could only put it down weakly.

Jia Xu said the key point.

Cao Tai, as the chief general of the [-] Wei army's iron cavalry, is undoubtedly the main responsibility for this defeat.

But Cao Tai's status is unusual.

Cao Tai is not only a relative of the Cao family, but his father Cao Ren is also a Wei Guoxun minister who has a significant prestige in the Wei State army.

Although Cao Ren is dead now, the prestige left by Cao Ren is still there.

In addition, Cao Ren had just sacrificed his life for the country. If Cao Tai was kicked to death by Cao Pi in public, even if Cao Tai was not guilty of death, the impact of this incident would undoubtedly be very great.

We must know that both Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu are still alive, the Cao family is not without talents.

Cao Pi's political talent is not bad. Under Jia Xu's reminder, he realized the seriousness of the matter.

Under the consideration of the seriousness, Cao Pi finally chose to put his feet down.

But now Cao Pi doesn't want to see Cao Tai, Xia Houba, Sima Yi and others anymore.

He waved someone to take Cao Tai and others down. After Cao Tai and others left, Cao Pi calmed down his thoughts.

He knows that he must not mess up now.

After contemplating for a while, Cao Pi turned his eyes to Zhang Liao and said, "Wen Yuan, the current situation has changed. If there are no reinforcements to boost morale and Guan Yu is brave, Fancheng may be overthrown."

"Now I plan to let you divert to lead the army to support Fancheng, how dare you go!"

Cao Pi asked Zhang Liao if he dared to go, it was not unnecessary.

Flooding the seven armies, but Yue won a big victory. These two seemingly impossible victories have already made Guan Yu's personal prestige reach an unimaginable height.

For Guan Yu, even Cao Pi was afraid, that's why Cao Pi asked this sentence.

But after Cao Pi finished asking Zhang Liao, Zhang Liao hurried out and bowed to Cao Pi:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'm willing to go!"

When Cao Pi asked Zhang Liao to defeat Mi Yang, Zhang Liao replied that he would die, but now Zhang Liao replied that he would like to.

Xiao Xiao can be understood as saying that Zhang Liao will fight for Cao Pi to defeat Mi Yang, which can be regarded as a kind of self-confidence.

Wishing means that after Zhang Liao changed his goal to Guan Yu, even he himself did not know what his future would be, so he could only answer a subjective thought.

Seeing Zhang Liao's brave appearance, a little smile appeared on Cao Pi's gloomy face.

Zhang Liao can be regarded as his most important general at present.

After setting a new mission for Zhang Liao, Cao Pi asked Zhang Liao to go down to prepare for the expedition as soon as possible.

The food and grass needed by the army had been prepared almost before.

After Zhang Liao withdrew, Cao Pi asked all the ministers in the hall to retreat one after another, leaving Jia Xu alone.

After everyone left, Cao Pi even withdrew his servant.

Then he walked slowly in front of Jia Xu, and moved a seat on his own to sit opposite Jia Xu.

Cao Pi's move made Jia Xu's eyelids twitch wildly.

The scene in the hall in front of him is very similar to the scene when Cao Pi asked him how to seize the crown prince in private.

(End of this chapter)