Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Cao Rui had personally been to Hanzhong and personally led his army to defeat Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition. He was well aware of the difficulties of the Shu roads, the treacherous passes, and the logistical exhaustion.

In Cao Rui's view, Guo Huai was also unable to say anything.

This conversation was merely a consideration of Guo Huai's overall strategy; it wasn't expected that Guo Huai could actually come up with a brilliant plan to completely overwhelm Zhuge Liang's defensive posture.

After waiting for a long time, Guo Huai finally stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your Majesty, I have made up my mind."

"Yes, tell me." Cao Rui remained calm.

Guo Huai said, “If Your Majesty were to send me to attack Shu, now that Wu has been pacified, I believe we should advance from Hanzhong and Jingnan. Shu is a small country with few people, so Wei can launch a large-scale attack from both directions. Shu will be unable to spare any resources and will be taken advantage of by Wei.”

"And then?" Cao Rui asked, looking up. He hadn't heard anything new from Guo Huai's words.

Guo Huai said, “If Your Majesty appoints me as the commander-in-chief of Guanzhong, based on the situation in Guanzhong, the three prefectures of Yong, Qin, and Liang can mobilize more than 40,000 troops. I request Your Majesty to transfer about 30,000 troops from the central army to Guanzhong, so that the troop strength can reach 70,000 to 80,000. This troop strength can be supported by the local military rations of Sili, Hedong, and Guanzhong, without having to go to the trouble of transferring rations from the Central Plains, which would cause the country to suffer excessive expenses.”

"Hmm." Cao Rui nodded.

Guo Huai glanced ahead briefly before continuing, "When it is time to send out troops, I believe that Yang'an Pass and Yinping should not be attacked immediately. Instead, a large army should be sent through the Micang Road to Langzhong to disrupt the heart of Yizhou and break the overall defenses of Shu!"

"Micang Road?" Cao Rui gasped, staring straight at Guo Huai, even sitting up straight: "You're really something! How do you get to Micang Road? If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten that there was such a place as Micang Road!"

Guo Huai observed the emperor's change and said calmly:

"Your Majesty, there are three routes to attack Shu from Hanzhong and Qinzhou. The first is Yang'an Pass, the second is Yinping, and the third is the Micang Road, which goes south from Nanzheng through the Micang Mountains and can directly reach Hanchang and Langzhong."

"Since the second year of Taihe, the Great Wei has repeatedly attacked Yang'an Pass without success. The terrain there is treacherous, similar to Yangping Pass in Hanzhong. I have been to Yang'an Pass several times, and it is indeed difficult to attack. Furthermore, there are also Shu army fortresses and camps in Yinping. Moreover, the transport of supplies from Xiabian and Wujie is also difficult."

“But if we take the Micang Road, the only difficulty is the treacherous terrain!” Guo Huai’s voice became slightly firmer: “I have roughly calculated that even if Shu can gather 100,000 troops, leaving 10,000 within the capital and more than 40,000 each for the northern and eastern routes, and the mighty Wei army comes from Yongliang, we can send 10,000 to 20,000 troops from the Micang Road as a surprise force to break the overall situation!”

"Instead of our army being unable to conquer Yinping and Yang'an Pass after a long siege, it would be better to use these transported grains, military supplies, and manpower on the Rice Granary Road to help the Great Wei enter Shu through this route!"

Cao Rui stroked his beard with his fingers, thought for a few moments, and then asked:

"With Zhang Junyi's past abilities, he led more than 10,000 men from Nanzheng to take Baxi. He held out against Zhang Fei in Dangqu for more than 50 days, and finally led a few dozen cavalrymen to defeat and return."

"Isn't Guo Qing afraid that this will happen again?"

Guo Huai bowed deeply and said, "The strength of the Wei army is incomparable to that of the twenty years before Jian'an. The fighting power of the Shu army is also incomparable to that of the past."

"For the past twenty years, in every battle I have fought, I have always taken Zhang Junyi as my role model. I know all about Zhang Junyi's past defeats. If our army were to take the Micang Road again, we would not repeat the same mistake. Zhuge Liang has always been lacking in military strategy and has suffered repeated defeats. He must have prioritized Yang'an Pass and Yinping Pass, while neglecting the Micang Road!"

"Your Majesty, there is no second Zhang Fei in Shu now!"

Cao Rui nodded slightly, glanced at Pei Qian and Wang Su to his left and right, and then said, "Guo Qing may not know yet. The military intelligence that just arrived yesterday from General Man of Jingnan says that Lu Boyan previously led his troops to Xiling and discovered that the Shu Kingdom has already occupied the vicinity of Xiling, and the pseudo-emperor Sun Deng has surrendered to the Shu Kingdom and led his remaining troops into Shu." "This..." Guo Huai was momentarily surprised, but quickly knew what he should say: "The Sun family's separatist rebellion deserves this report. This matter is a matter of Wu and Shu's own chaos, and it does not harm the Great Wei, nor does it affect the Great Wei's military strategy."

"Yes," Cao Rui said with emotion, "When I led my army away from Xiaoting, I also thought about what the Shu Kingdom should do."

"In my opinion, the best strategy for Shu is to continue its alliance with Wu, with Sun Deng serving as a guest general to guard Xiling and provide him with supplies and provisions. The middle strategy is to distance itself from Sun Deng and each guard its own borders. The worst strategy is to annihilate Sun Deng."

"I originally thought that Shu would be wiser with Zhuge Liang, but I did not expect them to be so unwise. Shu already has few soldiers and a shortage of talented people. It is right to guard the passes of Shu. Now they have troops stationed at Baishui on one side and Xiling on the other, thousands of miles apart. How can they fully support each other? It is just another mistake similar to the Longzhong Plan of dividing forces."

"Since Shu has stretched its military forces so far, Guo Qing's strategy of taking the Micang Road has a good chance of success."

"Guo Qing."

Guo Huai's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly replied, "Your subject is here."

Cao Rui said, "It's rare for Minister Guo to return from Yong and Liang. There should be nothing going on in Guanzhong for now, so you can go back in three months."

"Go to the Privy Council later and explain your words in detail to Privy Councilors Liu and Xu, and draft a general plan with them. Your son Guo Tong is a Gentleman of the Imperial Secretariat, and your other sons are in Luoyang. Take good care of them."

"After these matters are completed, I grant you permission to return to your hometown of Taiyuan to pay respects to your ancestors, visit old friends, and return home in glory. The decision is yours to make. You may return to Luoyang in mid-March, and I and the central government will then give you a final decision."

"Guo Qing, is this alright?"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!" Guo Huai immediately bowed. "Your Majesty is busy with countless affairs of state, yet you still remember me and my few good-for-nothing sons. I can hardly repay even a fraction of this kindness..."

Cao Rui waved his hand: "You may go now. In three days, I will be having a banquet with the generals of Luoyang in the Jiade Hall of the Southern Palace. Minister Guo should also come at that time."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Guo Huai bowed again and slowly retreated.

“Micang Road, Micang Road, Micang Road…” Cao Rui murmured these words as he watched Guo Huai’s retreating figure.

"Minister Pei, Minister Wang, when we attack Shu, should I follow the route through Guanzhong or the route through Jingzhou?"

Wang Su thought for a moment and replied, "The Shu region is inhabited by remnants of the enemy. I believe Your Majesty should, like Emperor Guangwu of Han, remain in Chang'an and order your generals to conquer it."

Cao Rui shook his head: "There are some sayings about Shu that even loyal people who enter Shu will inevitably have some ulterior motives. I do not want to be absent from this kind of war."

Wang Su bowed slightly, and Pei Qian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty's importance is as great as a mountain. Your Majesty may keep the Shu army tied down wherever you wish."

Cao Rui thought for a few moments, then smiled and nodded: "Alright, then I will go to Hanzhong." (End of Chapter)