When it comes to the skill of playing the white face, Manchong can be said to be the first in the Wei Dynasty.
These commanders of the central army, outer army, and regional troops were mentally lashed by Manchong before even engaging in battle. According to Manchong's plan, this anger was intended to be released upon the enemy.
After the lecture concluded, numerous generals, military officials, and secretaries stepped out of the big tent and returned to their respective camps. The Cavalry Camp was located at the foot of Yiwyu Mountain in the west of Wuulu City, with a distance of more than three miles from its eastern wall.
Wen Qin rode westward with several others, and Sun Li rode his horse forward to the side of Wen Qin.
"General," Sun Li said in a low voice, "Where does General Man get this unnamed anger from? Today's reprimand to the crowd seems a bit excessive."
Wen Qin sat on a majestic brown horse, glancing around with a look of disdain, and laughed arrogantly, "Who cares where his anger comes from? He is a high-ranking official in the Western Pavilion, and we are underlings to him. Even if he curses us a bit, what can it do?"
"Is it Sun De Xia who dare to speak back, or I, Wen Qin, who dare to speak back?"
Sun Li whispered in response, "Tian Guo Rang and Xian Yu Bo Nan are indeed somewhat wronged. The night battle was ordered by General Man, and the deadline given was very urgent; with such a deadline, some casualties were unavoidable."
Wen Qin was not concerned, and he folded the riding whip in his hand and used it to hit the air lightly as if to say, "When this matter falls on them, it's their misfortune."
"The conquest of Liaodong is the first battle, will they dare to lose? Letting more soldiers die and being scolded is good. If it really makes the emperor wait for a night but they fail to capture it, someone may lose their head."
"De Da, no matter how General Man's mood is, there is one thing that is always right," Wen Qin said, looking at Sun Li. "That is, Tian Yu and Xian Yu Jing are both useless!"
Sun Li was surprised, and his eyes slightly widened as he looked at Wen Qin, unsure of what this Left Yubin General meant.
Wen Qin snorted and looked ahead, "Tian Yu's entire career is to fight against the Mongols on the grassland. When he encounters Han people, he doesn't know how to handle them and just relies on his experience in front of the emperor. Xian Yu Jing is even more incapable, relying on his father's favor to become a general of assistance, not knowing how to attack a city."
Sun Li opened his mouth slightly, wanting to counsel his general, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to speak. He could only sigh within his heart.
"All of them are generals who have been granted titles, how can they be changed by one person's words?" Wen Qin's arrogant and self-indulgent personality, even the emperor and Manchong knew it, what good could his own advice do?
Since the campaign against Shu, Generals Cao Hong, Zhuge Xian, who represented the Jian'an faction, retired to the second line. General Cao Zhen also kept several capable generals like Fei Yao in the west line. Wen Qin was promoted from his position as a supervisor of five camps and moved up to become the commander of the Left Yubin Cavalry, leading the strongest cavalry unit in Wei's central military force.
At just over forty years old, to have reached such a high position; what reason could there be for Wen Qin not to be proud and haughty?
According to the usual saying of the current emperor, a military leader who is a little greedy or arrogant is not a problem, as long as he listens to orders, is loyal, and can fight.
It is highly pragmatic.
Sun Li sighed, "Regardless, this battle is in favor of the Great Wei. All we ask is for the quick pacification of Liaodong so that the army can return before winter arrives."
"De Da is absolutely correct!" Wen Qin seldom put away his arrogant demeanor: "My father accompanied Emperor Wu in a campaign against the Wuhuan, and I have heard of the climate in Liaodong. The temperature can be endured in September, but it has already frozen and is difficult to move troops by October."
"At that time, Emperor Wu pacified over two hundred thousand Han and Wuhuan people, and it was not until the end of September that the army set out to return. On the way back, due to a lack of food and water, they had to kill their horses for food, and the soldiers had broken fingers and toes."
"It has always been harder to wrap up than to fight," Wen Qin sighed and put his riding whip into the bag on the right side of the saddle, counting his fingers as he said: "Soon it will be late May. The actual battle with Gong Sun will probably be in June. We should set out for a return in September at the earliest, and we can actually fight for just over three months, and we must also consider floods and floods."
Sun Li answered with a serious expression: "Liaodong is even farther than Liucheng. To conquer the four prefectures of Liaodong, Xuanwu, Yelang, and Daihang over a thousand miles in just over three months, and the emperor also has ambitions to subdue small nations like Goguryeo, Buyeo, and Baekje. This is indeed quite challenging."
"General, do you remember about the Jieshi incident, where the emperor asked the Xiongnu to recite the poem 'Viewing the Sea'?"
Wen Qin nodded.
Sun Li said, "Emperor Wu wrote a total of five poems at that time, collectively titled 'Step Out of Xiaomen Row'. 'Viewing the Sea' is just one of them. There is also another poem called 'Different Soil' that describes winter."
Among the officers under Wen Qin's command who hold the title of "two thousand stones," Sun Li is the one most highly regarded by the emperor. Adding to his military and literary talents, and his experience as a military leader and a governor, he is greatly respected by Wen Qin. Therefore, Wen Qin has always treated Sun Li with special respect.
Wen Qin said, "I have not heard this poem before. Please recite it for me, De Da."
Sun Li replied, "The needle can't penetrate the ground, the weeds are deep and dark. The water has dried up and doesn't flow, the ice is hard enough to step on. The earth-concealed man is poor, the brave warriors are indifferent to non-drinkers. My heart often sighs with resentment, full of sorrow."
"The hardships of marching in winter are all summed up in this poem."
Wen Qin sighed and said, "It seems that when the emperor publicly read this 'Viewing the Sea' during that time, he had some motivating meaning for others. However, neither Man Chong nor Muan Qiu did not understand it."
"It is still De Da's carefulness."
Sun Li shook his head and said, "It just occurred to me today."
Wen Qin said, "I don't know what's going on, but since I can remember, the winter has become colder and colder every year."
"De Da, do you remember how Jiang Zi Tong gained the emperor's favor?"
Sun Li smiled lightly, "How could I forget? Jiang Zi Tong earned the position of Governor of Yangzhou solely due to his merit from the year Huangchu Six, when he successfully brought all the boats back to Guangling."
Wen Qin continued, "I remember that year. October was the end of the month, and the Huai River froze over. That was something I had never heard of before."
"I hope this advance will be successful. Let's try our best!"
Sun Li nodded in agreement, "General, you are absolutely right. May everything go smoothly."
...while Wen Qin and Sun Li were discussing military strategy, Cao Ruì saw Man Chong returning to the city in the county office hall and called out to him:
"Man General and the generals have finished their discussion. How is the mood among them?"
Man Chong slightly bowed: "Your Majesty, I just used yesterday's incident involving Tian Yu and Xian Yu Jing as a pretext to reprimand and criticize the generals, removing their arrogance and overconfidence."
Cao Ruì nodded: "I will be the good one, and you will be the bad one. Managing an army is like managing civil servants. Simply rewarding them will only feed their greedy appetites, while excessive punishment will demoralize the troops. It's impossible to completely avoid such things, but as long as it can help somewhat, it's sufficient."
"Let's proceed to the table. I and the ministers are waiting for General Man."
"Accordingly." Man Chong gave a slight bow, then slowly took his seat to the right of the emperor, at the highest position on the right side.
At this time, the other officials in the hall were sitting on the right side: Man Chong, Xu Zhou, and Gu Qian; while on the left side were Sima Yi, Pei Can, and Lu Yu, all waiting for Man Chong to discuss military strategy.
Cao Ruì spoke softly, "The main army departed from Guangbin on April 21st and took more than twenty days to reach Wulü."
"General Liu Xie's detachment from Long Pass to Changli also took five days longer than expected. He had set a goal of thirty days, and it seems that giving him an extra ten days was indeed the right decision."
Sima Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, General Liu Xie's slightly delayed arrival by a few days does not affect the overall situation of the battle."
"Currently, the plan is to proceed east along the path south of the Liao Lake, advancing to the area near the Liaotun City. The two hundred li in between may be blocked by bandits."
Cao Ruì turned his face to look at Man Chong, "General Man, how many days do you think the army needs to rest in Wulü City?"
Man Chong spoke with certainty, "For ordinary marches, it is not hard to set out tomorrow or even this afternoon. But for a battle of encirclement and annihilation, at least three days are needed to prepare. During this time, we also need to wait for logistics and scouts to investigate the front-line situation."
Cao Ruì nodded, "Three days it is. That means we will set out on May 20th? We should arrive in Liaotun on May 25th?"
"That's right," said Man Chong.
Cao Ruì looked at the other officials and said, "Emperor Wu himself had never been to Liaodong. How should we fight? The War Office had only proposed a rough plan earlier. The specific details will vary according to the situation."
"What do you think will be Poo Sun's response?"
Sima Yi smiled beside him and said, "Your Majesty, the geography of Liaodong is clear, and I have made a rough guess."
"Speak on!" Cao Ruì waved his hand towards Sima Yi.
Sima Yi said, "There are five main aspects of military strategy: it should be able to fight when it can, unable to fight when it cannot, and unable to defend when it cannot. The other two, only death and surrender."
"If I were in Poo Sun Yuan's position, there would be three strategies to choose from: upper, middle, and lower."
"Yes, three strategies," said Cao Ruì with a smile.
Sima Yi nodded, "The upper strategy is to abandon the city and flee, heading north into Buyeo and east into Goguryeo, using the mountain terrain to drag the main army of the court. When the weather turns cold and the army retreats, they would then return."
"The middle strategy is to hold onto Liaotun and the banks of the Liao River, hoping to delay the advance of the imperial army. It is also intended to drag on until autumn and winter."
"The lower strategy is to fortify the city and wait for the main Wei forces to attack."
Cao Ruì seemed to have remembered something, smiling and asking, "What does the Minister of Space think Poo Sun will choose?"
Sima Yi bowed and said, "This is a matter of great importance to the military and state, and I dare not make arbitrary guesses. For Poo Sun Yuan's three possible decisions, the Great Wei should have preparations in place."
Cao Ruì also put away the smile, "Your words are indeed correct."
"If he holds the Liao River and Liaotun, we will attack him. If he is besieged in the city, it will be similar to his relative Poo Sun Chan. Regardless of how he defends, it is a matter of military strategy, and we can just respond."
"It's actually more challenging if he decides to flee."
Xu Zhou bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I believe it is too early to discuss this now. Perhaps we should wait until the main army arrives in Liaotun."
Cao Ruì nodded, "All right, let's discuss it later."
"I remember the War Office said that the sea ships from Qingzhou and Jizhou can sail to Liao Port?"
Man Chong bowed and answered, "Your Majesty, the logistics and supplies from all over Jizhou are gathered at Quanpu County in Yuyang Prefecture through canal transportation, under the unified management of Xin Servant."
"The sea ships dispatched from Qing and Jizhou states will also travel from Quanpu along the northern coast of the Bohai Sea to Liao Port, providing supplies for the main army."
"Liaotun is difficult to attack, but Liao Port is just a flat river mouth with no great hazards, making it easily accessible. After the army reaches the west bank of the Liao River, the first thing to do is to capture Liao Port."
Cao Ruì asked, "It seems that sea transportation is already usable and reliable?" (End of this chapter)
