Wei Ni

After Fu Rong finished speaking, Xiahou Hui showed no expression.

He neither agreed nor refuted, but remained in a listening posture, waiting for the third one.

Because what he wanted to hear was good advice before the war.

Fu Rong’s first two points are based on the fact that their advantages will only be revealed after the outcome of the battle is decided.

It's just to make up the numbers, and I left after listening to it.

But this is the common rhetoric of the current society. Even when court officials submitted memorials or made suggestions to Emperor Cao Rui, they had to quote a lot of classics, use analogies between the past and the present, and then add one or two sentences of what they really wanted to say.

So Xiahou Hui had nothing to be impatient about.

Instead, he thought in his heart that perhaps he had been too humble just now, which led Fu Rong to misunderstand him and make him think that he lacked confidence in the expedition against Liaodong, so he looked for some reasons to boost his confidence!

Fu Rong saw Xiahou Hui's indifferent attitude and understood what he was thinking. After showing his teeth and grinning, he really said the key point, "General, the three things they lost were food and fodder."

"Liaodong is bitterly cold, and the farmland does not produce much. Although there are livestock to supplement, cattle, sheep and dogs only eat meat, not cheese like the mixed Hu tribes. Therefore, the counties and prefectures are not well-off, and even Xiangping City has never been well-off. When I was on a diplomatic mission to Liaodong before, I saw many people with ragged clothes and pale faces along the way. Moreover, although the four counties of Liaodong are large, most of them are mountainous areas. The only places that actually have a surplus in the autumn harvest every year are Xiangping, Xinchang, Anshi and Houcheng counties. For the rest of the cities and counties, it is a good year if they can be self-sufficient."

"Besides, Liaodong has been engaged in military operations since Gongsun Du, such as attacking Goguryeo, Wuhuan, Buyeo, Hanye, etc., and there are enemies on all sides, so there is no year without preparation for war, so it is difficult to store food and fodder. So, if you lead your troops to attack Liaodong with a big fanfare and force Gongsun the thief to gather soldiers from all over the country in Xiangping City, increasing their food and fodder consumption, the chances of victory will be greatly increased!"

"Furthermore, it is more than 3,000 miles from the capital Luoyang to Xiangping, and more than 1,000 miles from Jicheng in Youzhou to Xiangping. If you lead your troops to attack, the food route is long, so you must strive to fight and win as quickly as possible. If you make a warning to Liaodong first and then attack, you can encourage them to gather a large army and consume food and fodder, and also force them to take the initiative to come out of the city for a field battle."

uh~
This time, Xiahou Hui couldn't help but smile after hearing this.

Because Fu Rong's third point hit the nail on the head, and he also took the opportunity to propose a pre-war strategy.

What is rare is the point of "first make a sound and then fight", which was something that neither the officials in the court nor he and Guanqiu Jian had thought of.

"Your Excellency is able to see the big picture from the small details, and your words are penetrating and insightful. It is like seeing the sun through the clouds, and my eyes are suddenly opened!"

Xiahou Hui immediately bowed his hands in thanks and praised him highly, "Now that you have given me your advice, I and Envoy Guanqiu no longer have to worry about the thief Gongsun defending the city! It can also be said that when we defeat the thief Gongsun in Xiangping someday, you will be the first to achieve the credit!"

"I don't dare to speak like a general."

Nodding and smiling, Fu Rong also hurriedly said modestly, "I was just making a few noises, please don't embarrass me. Besides, when I was on a diplomatic mission in the past, I was humiliated by the traitor Gongsun. If you and Guanqiu Envoy had defeated and captured him, it would have been a blessing for me. How dare I take credit for it!"

"Haha, you are too modest."

"I dare not, haha, the general is too kind."

After exchanging a few polite words, Xiahou Hui calmed down and asked, "Just now, the Lord of the Mansion said that we could first lure the thief Gongsun to gather his troops in Xiangping. I wonder how many troops he can gather?"

"According to my estimate, there should be no less than 60,000 infantry and cavalry."

After a brief pause, Fu Rong gave the answer, and then explained, "Although the population of Liaodong counties is not large, and border fortresses such as Xuantu, Lelang and Daifang counties all need soldiers to guard them, but it is a bitter and cold place, and the people's livelihood is difficult. Everyone is willing to join the army, so the thief Gongsun has a lot of troops. General, don't underestimate him."

No less than 60,000 infantry and cavalry?
How can I underestimate so many soldiers and horses?
You know, as the attackers, Guanqiu Jian and I have less than 50,000 soldiers combined.
Taking a deep breath, Xiahou Hui's expression remained unchanged, and he continued to ask slowly, "Don't worry, my lord. I know that military affairs are a matter of life and death, and I will never underestimate them. Oh, by the way, my lord, how does the combat power of the Liaodong soldiers compare to that of the Wei Kingdom's Youzhou border army and Luoyang central army? What is their armor rate?"

"This is a bitterly cold place, and the baggage supply is not abundant. The proportion of their soldiers wearing armor should be less than 20%."

Fu Rong answered without hesitation, "As for the combat effectiveness of their soldiers, please forgive me for not being able to answer. Because Liaodong's military preparations have never been relaxed, and they have fought fiercely with Wei. Only the late former general Zhang Wenyuan defeated Gongsun Du's general Liu Yi on the coast of Qingzhou, so we cannot make a definite conclusion based on this. However, Captain Wang mentioned to me that the soldiers from the counties in Liaodong will have too many subordinates and it will be difficult to get the same orders, so they will definitely not be as strict as Wei's when they are on the battlefield."

After that, he paused for a moment, and before Xiahou Hui could continue to ask, he smiled and bowed, "May I ask what you are worried about, General? Do you think that the enemy is numerous and we are few, so do you think that what I just said, 'make a noise first and then attack', is inappropriate? If so, General, don't worry. As the saying goes, quality is more important than quantity! Moreover, the Gongsun of Liaodong today is just like the Yelang Kingdom in the past!"

Yelang Kingdom?
Does it mean being arrogant?

Xiahou Hui, whose thoughts were revealed, showed no embarrassment at all, and had no intention of admitting it.

Instead, he skipped the question and asked directly, "Your Majesty, do you think that Gongsun is a traitor who thinks that his soldiers and generals are brave enough to rival the elite troops of the Wei State?"

"Not only are they able to match us, but they also think they can definitely defeat us!"

Fu Rong didn't take it seriously. After answering, she talked about an old story in detail.

When warlords were fighting for power in the early years, Gongsun Du was victorious in his conquests all around and intimidated foreign invaders. This made him and his generals become arrogant and feel that the warlords in the Central Plains were nothing special.

After Gongsun Kang ascended the throne, when Cao Cao, the King of Wei, was on an expedition to Liucheng Wuhuan, Gongsun Kang arrogantly said to his generals and Liang Mao, the governor of Lelang who was detained in Xiangping, "I heard that Cao Gong is going on a long expedition and Yecheng is not prepared for defense. Now I want to use 30,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry to attack Yecheng directly. Who can resist?" The generals in Liaodong all agreed with this.

This shows how much Gongsun and his sons, who had been separatist in Liaodong for a long time, and their generals despised the Central Plains. They were so arrogant that they thought they could capture Yecheng, the old nest of Cao Cao, the King of Wei, with only 40,000 infantry and cavalry rushing thousands of miles.

It is true that he is arrogant.

Fu Rong mentioned this matter to tell Xiahou Hui again that Gongsun Yuan's arrogant army would be defeated and there was no need to worry about the number of enemy and our own troops.

Therefore, after hearing this, Xiahou Hui finally put his worries aside.

"Thank you for your kind advice, Lord."

Xiahou Hui, feeling that she had asked all the questions, thanked him again with a smile on her face.

Just as he was about to say goodbye, he suddenly remembered something - when Guanqiu Jian was in Luoyang, he mentioned the strategy of attacking Liaodong. He planned to lure Gongsun Yuan out of Liaosui with the emperor's edict, and then take him down so that the counties in Liaodong could spread the word. But this was contrary to the strategy Fu Rong had mentioned.

Therefore, out of caution, he asked again, "May I ask whether you have discussed the three defeats in Liaodong that you just mentioned with Envoy Guanqiu?"

"Never."

As expected, Fu Rong immediately shook his head and said, "General, you may not know that since Envoy Guanqiu came to Youzhou to take up his post, he has been concentrating on preparing for war and storing food and fodder, and has no time to come to Liaoxi County. And because of my duties, I cannot leave my post without permission, so I have never visited Envoy Guanqiu. Moreover, I had no friendship with Envoy Guanqiu in my early years, and we have never worked together before, so the correspondence during this period is all official documents, and there is no mention of attacking Liao."

Uh!
Guanqiu Jian never asked for advice.
But, if you think about it, it's understandable.

Guanqiu Jian, who was eager to conquer Liaodong, had just arrived in Youzhou at the beginning of the year and had a lot of things to do and prepare for, so it was normal that he had no time to spare. Moreover, Fu Rong had never been in the army, let alone offer advice on military affairs, so it was not surprising that Guanqiu Jian did not ask him for advice.

Or maybe, the plan to attack Liaodong had not yet been announced to the world, and even the court officials knew about it very little. Out of concern for keeping it secret, Guanqiu Jian could not gather ideas from all sides.

"My Lord, I have an unreasonable request."

Thinking of this, Xiahou Hui said softly, "Today I heard your words of 'speaking first and then discussing', and I agree with them. I also want to record your words and pass them on to Guanqiu Envoy to discuss them together, and strive to work together to make up for the omissions. I wonder if you are willing to sign your name with me?"

"How can I be unwilling?"

Hearing this, Fu Rong responded solemnly and said with emotion, "In military affairs, caution is the key. The general is seeking advice from all sides, and I should try my best to help. Besides, this is what I said!"

"good!"

Xiahou Hui clapped his hands and praised.

Immediately, he asked him to send a clerk to bring him writing materials, and he wrote down everything he had just said in front of him, added his own opinions at the end, and then gave it to him for review.

Fu Rong took it, read it quickly, and then added his name at the end.

After asking the clerk to deliver the letter, Xiahou Hui said goodbye.

Although Fu Rong was still very polite and asked him to stay in Guzhu City for two or three days, and claimed that the city general Wang Qi should return to the city in the next few days, it would be a good opportunity for Xiahou Hui to meet him.

But Xiahou Hui still refused.

He just asked Fu Rong to say hello to Wang Qi on his behalf, and then hurried to Yuguan on the pretext that they would meet again in the future.

The reason why he was in such a hurry was that the rainy season was over now. He wanted to take the Banhai Road as soon as possible to survey the terrain, and by the way, go to Liaoze before the severe winter came that covered the entire land with ice.

At this time, he no longer had much confidence in crossing the Liaoze Lake.

But if you don't go there in person, you will never give up.

Furthermore, if Liaoze is really impassable, then he must rush to the northernmost end of Liaoze and the upper reaches of Liaoshui to take a look.

No matter what, as the commander-in-chief, I must survey and think of countermeasures in advance for the three dangers that Gongsun of Liaodong relies on, namely "Banhai Road, Liaoze, and Liaoshui".

And the time left for him is really not much. (End of this chapter)