Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 692: Three Strategies to Defeat the Han
September, Luoyang.

In the Wei Palace, Cao Rui's face was gloomy, and he threw Qingqi's memorial on the table. If the court officials were not present, Cao Rui would have lost his temper.

Wu Zhi was the first to step forward and impeached, saying, "Your Majesty, Sun Quan abandoned the thousands of miles of territory of Langya, Donghai, and Dongguan counties and stationed his troops to defend Muling Pass. However, he had no long-term vision and did not understand that Qingqi was not Guanzhong and had no danger of four barriers. He defended Muling but lost Qidong."

"We lost the eastern part of Qi, cut off our food supply, and wanted to abandon all the cities. The army fled far away, but was chased and defeated by the bandits. The soldiers and horses were scattered, tens of thousands of troops were burned, and only more than 10,000 people remained. Three of the six counties of Qingqi have been lost."

"Sun Quan's military incompetence has led to the deterioration of the situation in Qingqi and ruined the affairs of the Wei Kingdom. I beg Your Majesty to punish him, dismiss Sun Quan, and bring him back to the capital for punishment, so as to show Your Majesty's justice!"

"Your Majesty, the defeat in the Qingzhou war was beyond Sun Cheqi's expectations!"

Wei Zhen said: "Why did Sun's cavalry abandon the thousand-mile land of Yishui? In fact, it was because they wanted to lure Huo Jun into the depths. After Zhuge Liang's defeat, Zhang He and Wang Ling joined forces and attacked him from both sides of the road. Now Zhang He's army was defeated at Laokou, and Wang Ling has difficulty in breaking Feixian, so they are in a dilemma of defending Muling."

As he spoke, Wei Zhen bowed and said, "The reason why Qidong lost was because Xiahou Ba made a mistake in deploying troops, allowing Huo Fan to cut off the grain route. Now Sun Cheqi has committed a mistake in deploying troops, but it is too severe to send him back to the capital for punishment!"

Wu Zhi sneered a few times and said, "Sun Quan is the commander-in-chief, and it is his duty to select generals and deploy troops. Now, how could his subordinates achieve merits because he commanded them well? But if his subordinates were defeated, it was not Sun Quan's fault. How could such a thing happen in the world?"

Wu Zhi held up a tablet and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, since Sun Quan took office as the governor of Qingzhou, he has lost the six prefectures of Langya, Donghai, Dongguan, Chengyang, Donglai, and Beihai, and has caused the four prefectures of Le'an, Qijun, Leling, and Jinan to fall into chaos. If we do not punish him now, how can we intimidate our subordinates?"

Cao Rui suppressed his dissatisfaction and asked, "Where are Sun Quan's troops now?"

"I don't know!"

Sun Zi replied, "Sun's cavalry said they were heading to Le'an to fight the bandits, and ordered Xiahou Ba to retreat to Linzi, and then stationed at Changbo, hoping to form a pincer attack with them. However, according to military reports, Sun's cavalry disappeared after arriving at Le'an, and did not station at Changbo."

Wu Zhi rolled his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, most likely Sun Quan saw that the situation was unfavorable and led his troops to surrender to Huo Jun."

"That's absolutely impossible!"

Chen Qun, who was watching coldly, said, "How can Sun Quan surrender to the pirates when he has a grudge against them for seizing his business? Your Majesty should order someone to get information in order to contact Sun Quan."

Wu Zhi said: "Your Majesty should send someone to issue an imperial edict to punish the criminals and replace the commander-in-chief to manage the military affairs of Qingzhou."

Seeing that others were about to say something, Cao Rui raised his hand to signal silence and said in a deep voice: "Sun Quan made mistakes in commanding the troops, and there is no shirking responsibility. Now I will send someone to find out Sun Quan's movements first, and then determine the guilt."

"promise!"

Cao Rui pointed to the memorial on the table and said, "Huo Jun's troops have entered Qingqi, and Xiahou Ba is trapped in Linzi. What do you think?"

"cough~"

Wu Zhi's voice weakened a little, and he said, "Linzi is now under siege, and Your Majesty needs to send troops to rescue it. For example, you can order Wang Ling, the governor of Yanzhou, to lead troops to Qi, or send troops from Hebei to the south."

Cao Rui was very dissatisfied. He knocked on the table and said, "Send troops. How could I not know to send troops? Given the current situation, how to deal with the Qingqi issue should be the focus of the discussion."

Cao Rui was not an incompetent monarch, and Wu Zhi's performance in attacking Sun Quan had long aroused Cao Rui's disgust. It was not that Cao Rui wanted to favor Sun Quan, but Wu Zhi's behavior of only wanting political struggle disgusted him.

Of course, Cao Rui was also angry about Sun Quan's defeat and humiliation of the country. As Wu Zhi said, since Sun Quan took office as the governor of Qingzhou, Wei State suffered a series of defeats in Qingqi. Even without a large-scale war with Huo Jun, tens of thousands of troops were annihilated just because of a poor retreat, which was unbearable for Cao Rui.

"Why not order Xiahou Ba to withdraw from Linzi?"

Wu Zhi said cautiously, "Your Majesty, I have no extra troops. If we go to rescue Linzi, Hebei will be in turmoil if we lose it. Your Majesty, it is better to withdraw from Linzi and order Xiahou Ba to retreat to Pingyuan and defend the city by relying on the river."

"Ah!"

Xin Pi couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "What's the difference between what Wu Jun did and Sun Cheqi's abandonment of Langya and Donghai counties?"

"Now that we cannot defend Linzi, and want to go to Pingyuan to defend the Yellow River, won't this cause Wei to lose the support of the people of Henan?"

Xin Pi said in a more serious tone, "Your Majesty, if you cannot defend the city of Linzi now, and you want to defend the river for hundreds of miles, isn't that a big mistake that will harm the country?"

Xin Pi's three rhetorical questions were enough to show his disgust for Wu Zhi.

Wu Zhi's relationship in the court was not very good. Only Sima Yi's faction was willing to make friends with him. Ministers such as Xin Pi, Chen Qun, and Chen Jiao were disgusted with Wu Zhi's behavior.

Wu Zhi retreated with a red face, lowered his head and dared not say anything more.

Xin Pi held up a tablet and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is deeply worried about the worsening of the war situation between Qingqi and Jianghan. However, looking deeper, our country's treasury is not enough to cover its expenses, and the officials in the capital and prefectures have been in arrears of salary for two months. If the current financial problem cannot be solved, the political situation will deteriorate in the long run!"

The financial problems in Cao Wei worsened during the middle period of Cao Cao's reign, but as Cao Cao managed the government and pacified the people in his later years, fiscal revenue began to increase.

In the early days of Cao Pi's reign, he maintained the same financial policy as Cao Cao, trying to recuperate and accumulate people's strength.

However, Liu Bei's last northern expedition during his reign caused Cao Wei's situation to deteriorate again. Liu Bei led his troops into Guanzhong, causing unrest in the capital. Cao Xiu and Zang Ba were defeated at Qushan, causing panic in Qing and Xu. In addition, there was famine in Jizhou, so Cao Pi relocated another 50,000 households to the south.

Soon after, Cao Pi went all out to march south to Jianghuai, in which he not only lost a large amount of money, but also lost most of his elite troops. In order to appease the people, Cao Wei had to distribute grain and show mercy, which further deteriorated Cao Wei's finances.

Since the Southern Han Dynasty launched the Northern Expedition, the Silk Road between Liangzhou and Guanzhong has been cut off, causing Cao Wei to lose a source of income. In addition, the loss of the two major cities of Shouchun and Xiapi has turned Henan into a war zone. The fall of Qingqi means that Cao Wei has lost tens of thousands of households in taxes, as well as the very important salt tax.

Cao Wei has seen a sharp increase in military and political expenditures over the past decade, while tax revenue has fallen sharply. Sun Quan's loss of Qingzhou is more like a critical point. Between the increase and decrease of Cao Wei's finances, a financial crisis has arisen. Cao Rui rubbed his temples and asked, "The treasury is running low. What do you think?"

Xin Pi hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Forgive me for being so bold, but the only way out now is to mint coins, strictly enforce the ban on alcohol, and crack down on evil tyrants and merchants, so as to improve the national treasury's revenue."

Chen Qun frowned and said, "Your Majesty, minting coins and cracking down on evil and tyrannical merchants can certainly improve the national treasury, but using coins to collect money from the people may cause public resentment."

Chen Qun saw through Xin Pi's plan at a glance. The so-called minting of coins was essentially to allow the court to issue currency indiscriminately in order to squeeze the people out of their possessions, thereby enriching the treasury.

This excessive money printing operation is more like drinking poison to quench thirst, squeezing the people to alleviate the financial crisis of Cao Wei. If it is not handled properly or cannot be concluded in the later stage, public resentment will boil over.

As a member of the aristocracy, Xin Pi would not have made such a suggestion. However, out of consideration for the rise and fall of Cao Wei, he had to make such a suggestion to Cao Rui, hoping to save Cao Wei's worsening financial problems.

Cao Rui's expression relaxed, and he said, "Since the end of the Han Dynasty, the Wuzhu coin has not been circulated, and the people have been bartering. Now if we can mint coins and exchange them for the people's goods, we can enrich the treasury for military use. But how easy is it to mint coins and exchange them for the people's goods?"

Wu Zhi stepped out again and said, "Your Majesty, compared with military affairs, currency is not a big deal. In my opinion, Your Majesty should use an iron fist to implement this system."

"it is good!"

"Let Wu Qing take charge of this matter."

Cao Rui slammed the table and said, "I have many things to do. I want to focus my energy on military affairs."

"promise!"

"Your Majesty, how should the Qingqi issue be handled?" Xin Pi asked.

"Do you have any opinions?" Cao Rui asked in return.

Wei Zhen pondered for a while and said, "Your Majesty, in the past, Le Yi conquered more than 50 cities of Qi, but Tian Dan was able to recover his country by defending two cities. Now the country has three counties in its hands, including Linzi. Why should we worry about not being able to recover Qingzhou?"

"What good ideas do you have?" Cao Rui asked, perking up himself.

Wei Zhen stroked his beard and thought, then said, "There are three strategies that may help resolve the current siege of Linzi. If implemented properly, it may allow Huo Jun to return home, or even change the current situation!"

"Lord Wei, please speak!"

Wei Zhen paced in the hall and said, "First, spread rumors to the Jianghan bandit army and Wuhan, saying that Huo Jun bought the hearts of the people in Qingqi and wanted to establish himself in Qingxu. This is King Hui of Yan's plan to dismiss Le Yi."

"Second, send a skilled debater to Huo Jun to persuade him to establish himself as the emperor of Qi, and see if he can sway his mind. This is Xiang Yu's plan for Han Xin."

"Third, let Wang Ling pretend to advance eastward, occupy Taishan County to look at Linzi, and lead Huo Jun to lead his troops westward. And send new troops from Hebei to the south, through Lixia to Qi, to relieve the siege of Linzi. If the enemy is prepared, let the new troops stationed in Gaotang, find another way to the south to Qi, or let them guard Hebei."

Cao Rui frowned slightly and said, "The plan of spreading rumors and establishing oneself as emperor was already carried out when Emperor Wu was still alive, but it was fruitless. I wonder if this plan will work if it is carried out again today?"

Wei Zhen stopped and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, this is a different time. In the past, Huo Jun only had Jianghuai, and perhaps he would not be tempted. Now Huo Jun controls Qing, Xu, and Huai, and commands the world with his prestige. How dare the bandits not obey?"

Then Wei Zhen added: "In the past, King Zhao of Yan did not doubt Yue Yi, but King Zihui did. Liu Bei was able to unite his people and had great respect for Huo Jun. How could Zichan trust and doubt Huo Jun as much as his father did?"

"Young rulers and powerful ministers have always caused chaos. Even if Huo Jun is not tempted by the Emperor of Qi, it is unknown whether Liu Chan and Zhuge are suspicious of him!"

Cao Rui stroked his short beard and said thoughtfully, "Zhuge Liang is in charge of a powerful army. If he had doubts about Huo Jun, he would have stopped or withdrawn his troops. Although Huo Jun is in charge of a large army, he cannot support it alone. He has no choice but to withdraw!"

"Of course!"

Wei Zhen showed a proud look on his face and said, "Let Wang Ling hold Taishan to control Qingxu and make it difficult for Huo Jun to gather all his troops. He needs to worry about Yi and Shu cities all the time. The new army going south to Qi is just a surprise force. If we can break through, we will break through. If we can't break through, we will defend."

"If the bandits' leaders and ministers become suspicious, Huo Jun will lead his troops back south. Our army will be able to recover the Qingqi counties if we send troops from many directions."

"color!"

Cao Rui's eyes lit up, and he said in surprise: "Wei Qing's strategy is comparable to Liang and Ping. If we can repel the enemy this time, you will be the first to achieve the credit!"

Wei Zhen said: "If it can be accomplished, it will be a credit to Your Majesty. I am ashamed to accept it!"

"You are too modest!"

Cao Rui hesitated for a moment and said, "Order Grand Marshal Cao Hong to lead 20,000 new troops from Hebei to the south. The rest of the new soldiers are still in training and cannot be used for the time being."

After Cao Rui captured 20,000 strong men as soldiers, he went to Hebei to capture 10,000 more soldiers. All Cao Rui's operations were aimed at defeating the Han army, and the fate of the people in Hebei would be considered later.

Cao Rui then looked at Wei Zhen and said, "Wei Qing has great plans. You can assist the Grand Marshal in the expedition!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)