Cao Rui snorted coldly: "Tian Yu, Qian Zhaoru, and others have been in You and Ping for a long time, but they still cannot root out the trouble of Xianbei."
"The Great Wei has established the country for ten years, and the border troubles with Wu and Shu have somewhat subsided. Of course, I must free up my hands to govern the north."
"General Man." Cao Rui looked at Man Cheng: "I have heard that there is a Taihang Mountain barrier between the states of Pei and Qi, and Taihang Mountain is lofty and perilous, with 'Eight Passes' that can traverse."
"From the Yin City to Yanmen, which road should I take?"
As an important official in the Western Pavilion, Man Cheng is very knowledgeable about geographical routes, and he responded: "Your Majesty, there are two ways to travel from Yanco City to Yanmen."
"The first is the Fujiang Pass."
"This road starts from the west of Yancang City, passing through She County, Lu County, to Huguang, and then heading north to Taiyuan."
"The second is the Jingxing Pass."
"This road is from the north of Yanco City, passing through Guangping, Ju Die, Zhao, to Changshan Prefecture, and then heading west to Jingxing Pass. Afterwards, it heads west through Yuji to Taiyuan."
Man Cheng bowed and said, "However, I must still clarify to Your Majesty that although the Fukou Pass is the closest to Yancang City, the road north from Huguang to Taiyuan is dangerous, and it is not as easy to travel as through Jingxing Pass."
"I suggest first heading north, and then taking the Jingxing Pass."
Cao Rui thought for a moment: "I vaguely remember that during the early Han Dynasty, Han Xin broke the state of Zhao by taking the Jingxing Pass."
Man Cheng nodded: "Indeed, it was the Jingxing Pass. In the past, when the court pacified the northern region, troops also marched through the Jingxing Pass."
"I roughly calculate that it is 1,400 miles from Yancang City to Yanmen Prefecture, and with a daily march of 50 miles, it would take nearly thirty days."
Cao Rui said, "Then let's take the Jingxing Pass. Inform the middle army to prepare, and we will set off north in two days."
"I have already made an agreement with Pei Qian, to meet in Dai Commandery on the twenty-first day of the third month. Given the time, I suppose it will be sufficient."
Man Cheng bowed and replied, "I understand, Your Majesty. I will arrange it accordingly."
……
On the early morning of the seventeenth day of the second month, the 20,000 cavalry of the central army set off for the north.
General Dai Ling led the vanguard of the Yunlun Left Army, consisting of 3,000 horsemen, and General Chen Qiujian led 4,000 cavalry from the Central Command as the imperial escort for the central army.
The remaining 13,000 horsemen followed behind the troops of General Dai Ling and General Chen Qiujian. Among them were 2,000 heavily armored cavalry belonging to Wen Qin and Chen Qiujian respectively.
The heavily armored cavalry, although effective in battle, were the least effective in terms of combat during the march.
The reason is simple: each heavily armored cavalryman is accompanied by two horses and three people.
The knight rides one horse, the auxiliary soldier rides another horse, and the armor rides the third. In case of a sudden attack or battle, it is difficult to prepare in a hurry, so they are not guarding the emperor but instead following the cavalry regiment.
On the twenty-fourth day of the second month, as the great army had just arrived at Bai Ren in Zhao Commandery, several mounted messengers rode up from the south, pursuing the main force.
Upon seeing that it was a military report, the messenger was directed to the front of the right monitor of the General Office, Wang Chang. When Wang Chang saw the messenger, he quickly delivered the report to the emperor.
The tiger guard reported that Wang Chang requested an audience, and Cao Rui rode his horse, smiling at the two people on either side of him, who were Sima Yi and Man Cheng: "Wang Wenshu wants to see me to discuss military affairs. Guess what it's about?"
Sima Yi's figure moved slightly with the movement of his horse, his eyes turning a few times before bowing and reporting: "This must not be a small matter; otherwise, Wang Wenshu would not be so urgent."
Facing such speculative matters, Sima Yi usually did not like to put his words to death, leaving some space for his habitual self.
Cao Rui nodded his head towards Man Cheng: "What do you think, General Man?"
Man Cheng smiled and said, "Since Your Majesty asks me to guess, I will also dare to guess."
"I believe it is good news. Since Your Majesty is in the north, the remaining military affairs in the court can only be the invasion of Shu from Guanxi. I think it is definitely a victory report!"
Cao Rui nodded: "I also think it is a victory report. Summon Wang Wenshu!"
However, Wang Chang quickly caught up on his horse. From a distance of several tens of meters away, Wang Chang raised his right hand with the dispatch: "Your Majesty, good news from the northwest! Zhang and Guo have driven back the forces of Shu Zhuge Liang at Yang'an Pass, and only 400 casualties among the court's forces!"
"Ha ha ha." Cao Rui had been marching for several days and had not heard such good news. He smiled at Wang Chang and said, "What do you think, Uncle Wang? That day, I told you not to worry about the west with General Gao Taizong in command. Today how is it?"
Wang Chang showed a look of respect and admiration, bowing his hands and sighing, "Strategizing in the tent to win battles thousands of miles away, I think this saying is very fitting. Your Majesty has eyes that see ten thousand miles, and I am truly impressed."
Cao Rui smiled and waved his hand: "You don't need to show your admiration, but things should be like this."
"I personally went to Guanxi, where we developed fields, integrated ethnic groups, fortified cities, and built passes. The Great Wei has done so much in Guanxi, and now is the time to see the results."
"The General Commander, the Western Expedition Commander, the Sichuan Expedition Commander, and the Qiang Defender are all in Guanxi. I trust these four as much as I trust you all. Why should there be any concern?"
The surrounding officials all cheered in celebration.
The retreat of the Shu army was indeed a thing to be celebrated. However, for Cao Rui, it was merely a natural conclusion after the Great Wei's Guanxi layout had been tested.
Cao Zhen, Zhang He, Guo Hua, and Lu Sun, the four generals stationed in Guanxi, already form the best lineup the Great Wei can currently present on the border.
Zhuge Liang was a human being, not a god. Even if he had extraordinary talent, he would not have any supernatural abilities like making six stars and six palms into soldiers or performing miraculous feats with beans. He would still need to conduct military operations based on practical considerations.
The northwest is secure, so we can focus on moving north.
...
Just as Cao Rui received the good news from Guanxi, Zhejiang Wu Commandery, Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong, who were highly trusted by Sun Quan of Wu, were also called back to Wuchang by Sun Quan.
The messengers summoned the two men to Wuchang had coordinated their schedules, with one coming from Wuhu and the other from Nan Commandery, arriving in Wuchang on almost the same day.
Outside the palace of Sun Quan, Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong waited to be summoned. As they watched the scale and structure of Sun Quan's palace from outside, they struck up a conversation.
The Wu Palace was upgraded from the Wu Palace last autumn, and Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong were seeing it for the first time.
"General Zhuge," Quan Cong bowed to Zhuge Jin, "It has been a year since I last saw you, and I have missed you quite a bit."
Zhuge Jin playfully said, "I am in Nan Commandery, and you are in Wuhu. I am up the Yangtze River, and you are downriver. We drink from the same river water; why would I need to miss you?"
"That's not necessary," Quan Cong smiled and said, "I suppose the Supreme ruler summoning us both here at the same time must be about something important."
Zhuge Jin's face was already long, and as he stroked his long beard, it made his face even longer: "I suspect that Sube has not heard. About twenty days ago, the envoy of Western Command, Jiang Wan Jiang Gongyuan, came from Chengdu and passed through my jurisdiction."
"If my guess is correct, it should be related to the Western envoy."
Quan Cong smiled and said, "Since the envoy passed through Nan Commandery, did he bring any news from your brother Zhuge Jiang?"
Zhuge Jin was used to being asked about his younger brother's life frequently, so he looked at Quan Cong for a moment and sighed, "No."
"The news from the west is that my younger brother Zhongshan passed away from illness last winter. Since he was adopted out, he was buried at Baishui at the beginning of December last year."
Zhongshan refers to the son of Zhuge Jin, who is named Zhuge Qiao. Since Zhuge Qiao's adopted father, Zhuge Jin, had been married for many years without having children of his own, he requested that one of his younger brothers be sent to take over the household in Shu.
Zhuge Jin chose Zhuge Qiao, and Zhuge Liang was overjoyed when he saw him. He even changed Zhuge Qiao's table name 'Zhongshan' to 'Bo Song', treating him as his own eldest son.
As the legitimate son of Zhuge Liang, the pressure was undoubtedly great, both in terms of his ability to act and his moral character. Moreover, Zhuge Qiao was adopted, adding to the weight of expectations he faced.
Quan Cong was shocked and bowed respectfully, kowtowing three times, saying, "General please restrain your grief! I did not know the details and did not mean to pry. Please forgive me."
Zhuge Jin rubbed his slightly reddened eyes and looked up at the pavilions of the Wu Palace, as if he was holding back his tears: "The past two years, Zhongshan handled the task of grain and provisions transportation after General Meng's northern campaign. He had caught a case of pneumonia in the past year. His condition improved slightly in the spring last year, but he still didn't make it through winter."
Zhuge Jin sighed deeply as he continued, "Life has a destiny between heaven and earth, and perhaps Zhongshan's destiny was simply like this."
Quan Cong also sighed in his heart. Facing the loss of a son in middle life, he didn't know how to comfort him, so he stood by Zhuge Jin's side and kept silent, not daring to say anything more.
Shortly thereafter, Hu Zong came out from the palace to greet the two.
Hu Zong saw that Zhuge Jin was looking up at the sky with a sorrowful expression, while Quan Cong stood with his hands crossed and silent, looking at the ground. He was momentarily confused about the situation.
"Greetings, General Zhuge, General Quan."
Zhuge Jin took a deep breath and forced a normal smile on his face when he looked at Hu Zong: "Weize, are you well? Will the Supreme ruler see us?"
Hu Zong laughed dryly a few times: "The Supreme ruler will naturally summon you two. However, please follow me to the side hall. There are some matters that I need to discuss with you." (Chapter ends)
