Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Jiang Jile smiled at Cao Zhen and said, "As expected, you, as his uncle, don't know. It was after Xiahou Xuan had a son that he specially sent someone to the prefecture to inform me and ask me to bring the news to Luoyang."

Cao Zhen nodded: "Has a name been chosen? Tomorrow I will send someone to pay my respects at Xiahou Boren's grave."

“Naturally, we named him Xiahou Yan.” Jiang Ji said, “According to Xiahou Xuan, he originally wanted to name him after the character Wan from Wanling County, but his wife, Wang, thought that the character Wan was too small, so she chose the character Yan because he was born in the south.”

Sima Yi added, "The Wang family's ancestral home is Tan County in Donghai Commandery. Perhaps the name Yan was chosen with this connotation in mind."

Cao Zhen thought for a moment, then said, "Regardless of what it's called, this news is indeed excellent. After Zitong leaves here later, why don't you go to Wang Shizhong's residence again tonight and inform him?"

Jiang Ji feigned realization: "Your Highness is right. I'll go over later."

Cao Zhen nodded slightly.

Xiahou Xuan was a clever man, and so was Jiang Ji.

In the tenth year of the Taihe era, the two had a falling out over the copper mines in Danyang Commandery and their management rights. With the kind reminders of Cao Rui and Wei Zhen, Xiahou Xuan quickly understood the importance of befriending Shangguan, and then personally traveled from Wanling to Jiangning to apologize to Jiang Ji.

Xiahou Xuan was a clever man, and so was Jiang Ji. Since both were clever enough to want to befriend each other, things naturally fell into place.

As for Jiang Ji, his previous disregard for Xiahou Xuan and repeated usurpation of the governor's power by using his position as governor had finally led to Xiahou Xuan, who, at the urging of his wife Wang Yuanji, submitted a memorial to Luoyang, bringing the matter to the emperor's attention. This fully demonstrated the emperor's high regard for this most intelligent person among the three generations of the Xiahou family.

Why should he seek further trouble? Besides, the emperor has given him both face and substance; he should be more sensible. It's just some work-related matters; nothing serious.

For Xiahou Xuan, this was a political training exercise from the emperor, and also a kind of test. Even in military campaigns, one needs to assess the situation, be patient, and know when to retreat; in politics, one must be both gentle in demeanor and swift in action.

When Xiahou Xuan arrived in Jiangning, Jiang Ji personally greeted him at the gate of the prefectural government. The two put aside their past grievances in front of a group of officials and scholars, which became a popular story in Jiangning.

So when Jiang Ji came to Luoyang to attend the funeral, Xiahou Xuandu specially gave Jiang Ji this opportunity to befriend Cao Zhen and Wang Su.

Often, given their status and official rank, private interactions are not advisable. Xiahou Xuan gave Jiang Ji an opportunity to befriend Wang Su, which Jiang Ji naturally appreciated.

Despite the numerous high-ranking officials and dukes in the court, Jiang Ji believed that the one who would hold the highest position in the future was none other than Wang Su, the mere county marquis. At over forty years old, a leading scholar of his time, with the Imperial Academy filled with Wang Yangming's teachings, how many high-ranking officials would he produce in the central government and local administration in the future?

Jiang Ji pondered to himself how to establish a good relationship with Wang Su that evening. Meanwhile, Sima Yi began chatting with Cao Zhen.

Sima Yi took a sip of tea and slowly asked, "Brother Zidan, with the campaign against Shu imminent, do you intend to lead troops upon your return to Luoyang?"

“Me?” Cao Zhen smiled bitterly and shook his head: “Zhongda doesn’t know, but I already have a feeling that my time is up within this year. How can I lead troops again? When His Majesty sent an envoy to Hejian to inform him of Empress Wende’s death, he told me to decide whether to come based on my physical condition and not to force myself.”

Sima Yi pursed his lips: "Then why force yourself to come to Luoyang? The journey will be tiring and may harm your health."

Cao Zhen grinned: "I came by boat, via the canal, and the journey was smooth and calm." Sima Yi shrugged: "Then pretend I didn't ask."

Cao Zhen stroked his beard calmly and said, “Traveling by boat is tiring. But with the invasion of Shu imminent, His Majesty may leave Luoyang to lead his troops on an inspection tour at any time. If I don’t come now, I may never see His Majesty again.”

"Not to mention Zhongda is here too. I haven't seen you for years, and I miss you terribly."

"Hahahaha." Sima Yi burst into laughter. "Brother Zidan is indeed witty. How could I not miss you?"

Cao Zhen asked, "And what about you? What are His Majesty's instructions regarding this campaign against Shu?"

Sima Yi said, "The task of reforming the four prefectures of Yang, Jiang, Xiang and Jiao is not yet finished, and I, as the Minister of the Jiangnan Regional Government, cannot leave. I have devoted countless efforts to this matter, and even if you force me to leave, I will not do so."

"His Majesty has given orders that, starting from the first month of next year, I will be in charge of all logistics, provisions, and military supplies along the Yangtze River from Wuhan. From Xiling in the north to Wu County in the south, I will be responsible for overseeing all matters along the river."

Cao Zhen thought for a few moments and nodded in agreement: "You have done a lot of things in these states. There is no better person than you to lead this matter."

Hearing their conversation, Jiang Ji couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, Zhongda, I arrived in Luoyang late from Yangzhou and am unaware of these matters in Luoyang. How should we proceed with this campaign against Shu, and what tactics should we employ?"

The imperial court had previously been preparing to attack Wu near Shouchun, and Jiang Ji, as the governor of Yangzhou, could take advantage of this proximity to gain the title of duke. However, if the war were to be waged in Shu, he would have no use for his military talents.

Sima Yi thought for a moment and said, "Zitong, you will find out sooner or later, so there's no harm in telling you today."

"If we attack Shu, we will naturally have to divide our forces into two routes. Guo Huai, the military commander, will oversee Qin and Yi provinces, which will be the northern route, with 50,000 troops. Man Chong, the military commander, will oversee Jingnan, which will be the eastern route, advancing up the river into Shu with 90,000 troops. These arrangements have already been finalized."

"The central army of 80,000 is now at full strength, and according to His Majesty, about 60,000 will be mobilized."

"In short, it means that 200,000 troops have been dispatched in two routes?" Jiang Ji squinted and pondered for a moment before asking, "If 200,000 troops are used, wouldn't that be smaller than the previous campaign against Wu? The campaign against Wu mobilized 250,000 troops, a full 50,000 fewer. Moreover, judging from this arrangement, only the central army was mobilized from the Central Plains, and no troops were conscripted from other places. The original troops of Guo Boji in Guanzhong and Man Boning in Jingnan were all mobilized."

"In this campaign against Shu, the logistics and provisions should be manageable. The grain transport from Hebei will go along the Yellow River and the Wei River into Guanzhong, then through the Chencang Road to Hanzhong and Wudu. The grain transport from Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou and other prefectures will go up the Yangtze River, along with the grain transport from Yangzhou and other prefectures, so the cost should not be too high... It should be less expensive than the campaign against Wu?"

"Hmm." Sima Yi nodded: "It will be much less. The grain transport route from Guanzhong is long, but it is still the same route as when we attacked Wu, which was through Xiangyang. The remaining amount is this difference of 50,000."

Cao Zhen corrected him from the side, saying, "You two are probably overestimating. Guo Huai said it was 50,000, but the Guanzhong region is vast, with a total force of 60,000. He'd be lucky to deploy 40,000 troops. The same goes for Jingnan; how could all 40,000 naval troops enter Shu? In total, it's only about 170,000 or 180,000 troops."

Sima Yi said, "That's enough."

Cao Zhen slowly spoke, "I suppose so." (End of Chapter)