Shuhan

now.

In the middle of the long motorcade, the prince's vehicle and ceremonial procession were particularly eye-catching.

Among the carriages and horses, Cao Rui sat upright.

His hair was tied up high, and the black hair shone with a faint luster like obsidian under the sunlight coming through the car window. He had a handsome face, and his eyebrows revealed an innate heroic spirit, and his bright eyes were as deep as the sea.

But after all, it was his first time to go to the battlefield, and the young man was still a little nervous at the moment.

"Your Highness, there is no need to be nervous. This time we come to Hongnong, we will not face the Han army directly. As far as I know, the defense line of our Great Wei is between Hebei City and Hu County. Hongnong County City is still in the rear."

When the prince's tutor Zheng Cheng saw that the prince looked worried, he immediately stepped forward to comfort him.

"Hey~"

Cao Rui sighed.

The current Hongnong County City is indeed the rear, but who knows whether the defense line between Hebei City and Hu County will be breached by the Han army?
It should be noted that the distance between Hu County and Hebei is dozens of miles. Even if a fort is built on the dangerous hill, it can only delay the Han army. Can it really stop the Han army's attack?
I’m afraid not?
Moreover, even if they could stop the Han army's attack, how long could they do so?
"The prince needs to cheer up. If the foreign officials saw you like this, what would they think?"

Cao Rui nodded and said, "Don't worry, Prince's tutor. I am just sighing. Now that we are at the front line, we must be prepared to face the Han army directly. The front is Hongnong County City. I wonder what I will do when I arrive at Hongnong County City?"

Do something?
Zheng Cheng said immediately, "The one guarding Hongnong County this time is Xiahou Shang, the governor of Hongnong. He is a relative of Cao Wei, so you can get along with him more often. As for the governor Sima Yi, he is your majesty's man. Given his personality, he will definitely not have obvious communication with you, but working in harmony with him is also a gain here. As for the talented children of the noble families in Hongnong, you might as well get along with them. Maybe they can help you open up the situation in Hongnong."

"I know!"

Cao Rui was a smart man. After knowing what to do, he had a rough idea in his mind.

A gentleman does not stay under a dangerous wall. The queen sent him to the dangerous front line, so of course he had complaints in his heart.

But we’ll talk about these complaints later.

Some of what the Queen said is quite true.

This trip was also a great opportunity for him to contact important military figures.

When Xiahou Shang was young, he had a very close relationship with Cao Pi, and his talents were also appreciated by Cao Pi.

After that, he made many military achievements and Xiahou Shang gradually emerged among the Cao and Xiahou clans.

Today, Xiahou Shang is the second most important clan member after General Cao Zhen.

If he could win over Xiahou Shang, he would have strong support in the military.

Sima Yi is now the most trusted minister of the Emperor of Wei.

During the war with the Han State, Sima Yi was one of the few people who could gain the upper hand over the Han State. Last year, he even led a direct expedition to Liaodong and made outstanding military achievements.

Around him, great generals such as Zhang Liao and Qian Zhao all centered around him, which shows his influence on the Wei military.

With the support of Xiahou Shang, he can control the palace guards.

With the support of Sima Yi, he could control the troops outside Luoyang City.

If he could get the full support of these two people, to exaggerate a little, he could even make his father, Emperor Cao Pi, the emperor emeritus.

Just when Cao Rui was daydreaming, the convoy suddenly stopped.

We have arrived at Hongnong County City.

"Your Highness, get out of the car!"

Cao Rui nodded, tidied his appearance, and slowly got out of the car.

"Your Highness, please!"

As the commander-in-chief, Sima Yi got off the car early, but he waited for Cao Rui here with a very humble attitude.

This Sima Yi, no wonder my father likes him. He is like this and that. Not only my father, but I have also fallen in love with him.

"The governor is the commander of this route, you go first."

Sima Yi stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Your Highness is the heir to the throne, and you are His Majesty's envoy. Meeting Your Highness is like meeting His Majesty. Please go in first."

These words made Cao Rui feel like he was drinking an ice cola in the dog days of summer.

That's a great feeling.

"In that case, I will be disrespectful to refuse it."

Cao Rui walked in the front and accepted the respect from the military generals and officials of Hongnong County.

This sudden feeling of having no one to suppress him and of having power in his hands made him feel elated and refreshed.

It was not until he entered the Prince's Mansion in the county city that Zheng Cheng gave Cao Rui some advice.

"The Crown Prince shouldn't have taken the limelight just now. If he had met a straightforward governor, it would probably have caused a conflict."

"Of course I have great respect for Fang Bo, but Sima Yi asked me to do this, so how can I refuse?"

Cao Rui was somewhat disapproving.

"Then why did Your Highness come to the Prince's Mansion?"

Zheng Cheng stroked his forehead, feeling quite disappointed.

"It's night time, time to rest."

Without the shrewish Crown Princess watching him, he can now play however he wants!
"Your Highness is wrong!"

Zheng Cheng sighed and said, "The prince went out this time to win the hearts of the people. But who can win the hearts of the people, a prince who works hard to govern or a prince who only knows how to enjoy himself?"

The smile on Cao Rui's face gradually disappeared.

"I am only resting on the first night. I will be working hard tomorrow."

"Tomorrow and tomorrow, how many tomorrows are there? Besides, the first impression is the most important. If they leave the impression of a hedonistic prince on Your Highness from the first moment, it will not be so easy for Your Highness to restore his image."

Is it as serious as you said?

Cao Rui grumbled in his heart, but could only say: "I'll wash up and go to the governor's mansion."

"Your Highness is wise!"

Although the prince is young, he doesn't understand many things.

But
The prince is very intelligent. If he could listen to the advice of his ministers, it is not impossible for him to become a wise and enlightened monarch.

As for the mere friendship between Longyang, what does it matter?
At this moment, in the Governor's Mansion.

Sima Yi, the governor of Yongliang, and Xiahou Shang, the garrison commander of Hongnong, were in the inner room of the governor's mansion, looking at the map on the wall with flickering eyes.

"Bo Ren, have you figured out who the Han generals who are attacking Hongnong this time are?"

Xiahou Shang nodded and said immediately: "The commander of the Han army's expedition to Hongnong Road should be Liu Gongsi's brother-in-law Zhang Bao. In addition, we also saw the banners of Ma Zhong and Liao Hua. We don't know how many people there are, but it should be no less than 30,000 or 40,000."

should be?

The number of people is still unclear?

should?

Sima Yi frowned when he heard these words.

"Bo Ren doesn't even know the enemy's troop strength. How did he collect the intelligence from the scouts?"

When two armies are at war, it is imperative for advance scouts to collect intelligence from each other and find out the details.

But looking at Xiahou Shang this time, it was as if he had done nothing at all.

"The enemy has a large number of cavalrymen, and they are hunting down our Wei scouts. Nine out of ten scouts we sent out to gather information will not come back."

After taking control of Liangzhou and capturing the Shandan Military Horse Farm, the Han army never lacked war horses.

In addition, as the trade routes to the Western Regions were unobstructed, the Han State obtained a lot of Western Regions BMWs from the countries in the Western Regions. All of a sudden, the Han State's original cavalry disadvantage against the Wei State turned into a cavalry advantage.

With the upgrading of weapons and equipment, Wei's scouts would be captured and killed if they were spotted by Han's cavalry scouts. "It's not that I don't want to send scouts to investigate the Han army, but the losses are too great. If this continues, I'm afraid that the few cavalrymen in Hongnong will be killed."

If you don't become a householder, you don't know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive.

The Wei State had a large number of cavalry before, relying on the Xiongnu, Xianbei and Wuhuan. After these cavalry withdrew, there were only more than a thousand cavalry left in Hongnong.

The rest were mostly infantrymen and civilians who could only defend but not fight in the field.

Xiahou Shang also felt aggrieved!
"I see."

After fighting with the Han army last year, Sima Yi realized that the Han Kingdom had no shortage of cavalry, and that the sophistication of their weapons and armor was far superior to that of the Wei army's county soldiers.

Last year, the Han State took control of Liang Province. Now it can use the resources of Liang Province to compete with the Wei State.

The Han State was growing too fast. It had only been one year and it had become like this.

If a few more years pass, won’t it be hard to even catch up?
"Where are the spies from the school administration?"

If it is impossible to obtain intelligence on the front battlefield, then we can only hope for the school government network behind enemy lines.

The Wei State spent a huge price to make its School Affairs Office comparable to the Han State's Military Affairs Office.

"We have received news from the School Affairs Office, but the intelligence from different spies is completely different and doesn't match up at all. Either these spies have been turned by the Han State and cannot be trusted, or the Han State deliberately released false news to confuse us."

"That's it!"

Sima Yi frowned slightly.

That Liu Gongsi seems to be a veteran in using this intelligence system.

This new move comes one after another.

It makes people hard to guard against.

"I wonder if the commander-in-chief has any solution to this problem?" Xiahou Shang looked at Sima Yi hopefully.

solve?

Sima Yi fell into deep thought.

At this moment, Cao Rui's hearty laughter was heard from outside the hall.

"It is late at night and the moon is bright in Hongnong. I didn't expect you two are still working hard for state affairs. I admire you. When I arrived in Hongnong, I went to rest first and completely forgot about state affairs. I really delayed important things."

"Greetings to Your Highness."

Seeing Cao Rui coming, Sima Yi bowed to him.

Xiahou Shang nodded to Cao Rui and said, "Your Highness, you have come at the right time. We are discussing how to deal with the enemy, and you can also learn some military strategies."

"Commander-in-chief, do you have any solution?"

Xiahou Shang asked Sima Yi again.

"We don't have any information, and we don't know the enemy's situation. In addition, Hongnong is very likely the main force of the Han army. We can't act rashly. What Boren did is really the best choice. Now we should remain unchanged in the face of all changes. This is the right decision."

The enemy attacks and we defend.

The enemy is in darkness and we are in the light.

Now the initiative of the war is not in the hands of Wei, but in the hands of Han.

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. The Han Kingdom can choose the time to attack, but we have to defend all the time. If this continues, how can the Hongnong defense line not be breached?"

Cao Rui frowned slightly and said on the side.

"Oh?"

Xiahou Shang glanced at Cao Rui with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

His deepest impression of the prince was the rumor about Long Yang's affair.

Good things don't go out, bad things pass thousands of miles.

Especially for news that is more topical, it spreads even faster.

Who would have thought that this good man, the prince, would actually have such profound ideas?
"What do you think, Your Highness?"

"Han knows that Wei wants to defend. If we send a group of elite soldiers to attack the Han army camp at night, they will be caught off guard. Perhaps we can succeed. Then we can send scouts to gather information during the chaos. Wouldn't we have discovered the details of the Han army?"

"Warfare is all about deception. Your Highness, attack the enemy when they are least prepared and take them by surprise. Perhaps you will succeed."

Sima Yi said expressionlessly.

Xiahou Shang's brows were furrowed.

"I'm afraid this plan won't work?"

"Why not?"

Cao Rui argued, "The Art of War says: lure them when they are in a favorable position, take them when they are in disorder, prepare for them when they are strong, avoid them when they are strong, frustrate them when they are angry, make them arrogant when they are humble, tire them when they are idle, and alienate them when they are close. We, the Great Wei, will attack them when they are least prepared. This is how we will win!"

Xiahou Shang still shook his head, but the look he gave Cao Rui had changed from the contempt he had at the beginning to a slightly more serious look.

At the very least, in Xiahou Shang's impression of the prince, in addition to his good relationship with Long Yang, he also had the impression that he had read military books and had some knowledge of military affairs.

of course
At this level, it is still just paper talk.

If this kind of person really controls the overall situation, the war situation may be ruined by him.

"Your Highness, you may not know that our army is inferior to the Han army in terms of scouts and cavalry. If so, as long as we are outside the fort, there may be traces of Han scouts, especially on the main roads, where there are more eyes of Han scouts. I am afraid that as soon as our soldiers who are going to attack the Han army camp leave the fort, the news will be obtained by the Han army. By then, I am afraid that it will not be us who are attacking the Han army camp, but we will be ambushed by the Han army."

The cavalry scouts were no match for the Han army.

The Han army was like opening the entire map and could obtain all kinds of information.

And he, Da Wei, is like a deaf and blind man, knowing nothing.

Moreover, any movement they made would soon be known to the Han army.

"I see."

Cao Rui was not at all embarrassed and annoyed. He bowed to Xiahou Shang and said sincerely, "No wonder they say seeing is believing. Even if I read military books a hundred times, it is not as good as seeing it once."

Xiahou Shang smiled and said, "The prince is very talented. As long as he knows some details of marching and fighting, I think he will soon become a famous general."

Of course, these words are more of a compliment.

On the other side.

The Han army camp was set up on a mountain village more than 20 miles outside Hebei City.

At this moment, in the main tent of the Han army camp.

Zhang Bao, Liao Hua, Ma Zhong, and military advisor Huang Quan were among them.

"These days, the Wei army has not even sent out scouts. It is obvious that they can't withstand the consumption. They have not been able to detect the strength of our army. Now, it is time to use troops."

Zhang Bao's eyes flickered as he looked around at everyone and continued, "Your Majesty has already set out from Chang'an. As for where he will go, it all depends on our progress!"

Whoever makes progress will be the main force.

"I heard that Xiang Chong has arrived in Yanchi. We may be able to capture Hebei City and support Xiang Chong's troops in entering Hongnong to open up the situation in Hongnong." Huang Quan said on the side.

After coming down from Yanchi, you can reach Hongnong by passing Yu County.

"Xiang Chong can attract some Wei troops for us, but I'm afraid he won't be willing to come first."

Now he and Xiang Chong are in a competitive relationship.

Everyone has the potential to contribute to the destruction of Wei. At this time, all kinds of human relationships are useless.

The only thing you can rely on is your real ability! (End of this chapter)