Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

On May 23, Cao Rui led his army south from Chencang.

On June 8, Cao Rui arrived at Yangping Pass.

On June 9, Cao Rui arrived in Mianyang.

Mianyang is located in the western part of the Hanzhong Plain, not far from Yangping Pass. Since the second year of the Taihe era, a total of 20,000 troops have been stationed in Hanzhong, mainly distributed in Yangping Pass, Mianyang, and Nanzheng, under the command of General Guo Huai, who was in charge of the conquest of Shu.

In the tenth year of the Taihe era, after Guo Huai assumed the military post of Commander-in-Chief of Qin and Yi, his garrison remained unchanged, still located in Mianyang. Further west, the garrison of General Wang Chang, the General Who Guards the West, moved south from Qishan City to Wudu County in Wudu Commandery, thus taking over the interior of Qin Province and the areas of Xiabian and Hechi.

Guo Huai had previously been transferred from the position of Governor of Yongzhou to General Who Conquers Shu, and his general title had remained unchanged for many years. When he came to Luoyang in the tenth year of the Taihe era, after taking over the duties of the military supervisor Qin Yi, he had some doubts and wanted a better general title. However, Liu Ye, who was in charge of the Privy Council, dissuaded him by pointing out that none of the generals who had been conscripted after the conquest of Wu had been granted a general title.

Indeed, as Liu Ye said, the court became increasingly cautious about the titles of general. Moreover, with the enfeoffment of kings, Cao Zhen's title of Grand General and Lu Xun's title of General Who Conquers the East were revoked. After Wei Zhen entered the court, his title of General of Chariots and Cavalry was also revoked, and after the expansion of the central army, Cao Tai's title of General Who Guards the East was changed to General of the Left Guard.

Only after Wei Zhen entered the court was Deng Ai, who was originally the Sima of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, appointed as the General Who Subdues Bandits with a miscellaneous title.

Currently, the highest-ranking general in the imperial court is Man Chong as General Who Conquers the South, followed by Wang Chang as General Who Guards the West, Huan Fan as General Who Guards the South, and even Fei Yao as General of the Rear ranks fourth.

The phrase "Conquering Shu" in General Guo Huai's title seems quite fitting for the occasion.

Except for the first year he was stationed in Hanzhong, Guo Huai began building military farms in Hanzhong from the second year, which was the third year of Taihe. Except for the time when he had to abandon the farmland to deal with Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, in other years he was not only self-sufficient in food, but also had a considerable amount of surplus food, which was stored in reserves.

When Cao Rui set off from Luoyang, he had already ordered his generals to arrive in Mianyang in early June. The generals did not dare to delay and came from their respective defense zones.

That evening, in Mianyang City, Cao Rui hosted a banquet for his generals at Guo Huai's residence, the General Who Conquers Shu.

As was customary, Guo Huai, as the commander of this region, naturally had the best house in the city for his general's residence. However, in reality, this residence was not built by Guo Huai himself, but rather acquired by him after the conquest of Hanzhong in the second year of the Taihe era. It was originally the site of the prime minister's residence built by Wei Yan when he was the governor of Hanzhong, to welcome Zhuge Liang's relocation of his prime minister's residence to Hanzhong.

It's convenient that Guo Huai has lived here for so many years.

"The food here in Hanzhong is quite good," Cao Rui said with a smile, looking at the dishes that the soldiers were slowly serving.

Guo Huai dared not be negligent and stood up, cupping his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, I have been stationed at the military settlement in Hanzhong for ten years. The grain, cattle, sheep and other items used in today's banquet are all from the military settlement, and the fish are also caught from the Han River. Perhaps only the salt comes from Qin Prefecture."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "Alright, I understand. Please sit down."

Guo Huai agreed.

Today is a grand banquet.

Among those attending the banquet were ministers and generals who had accompanied the emperor from Luoyang. These included Wei Zhen, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; Xu Shu, Deputy Chief of the Privy Council; four cabinet ministers; Cao Tai, General of the Left Guard; Hu Zun, General of the Right Valiant Guard; Bei Yan, General of the Right; and Sun Li, General of the Vanguard.

There were six generals from Guanzhong: Guo Huai, the General Who Conquers Shu; Wang Chang, the General Who Guards the West; Fei Yao, the General Who Rears; Chen Ping, the General Who Captures the Barbarians; Deng Ai, the General Who Subdues Bandits; and Zhou Duo, the Protector of the Qiang.

Privy Councilor Liu Ye was unable to participate in the campaign due to poor health and instead remained in Luoyang. Moreover, being in charge of the campaign was practically a semi-retirement, as Liu Ye spent most of his time at home recuperating.

Theoretically, Cao Rui could have promoted Xu Shu to the position of Privy Councilor, and then selected a Deputy Privy Councilor from the court, allowing Liu Ye to retire at home. However, considering that Liu Ye had done a great deal of preparatory work in the campaign against Shu and had done his best, he decided to temporarily retain the position of Privy Councilor, which would also make it easier for him to claim some credit.

As meritorious veteran officials gradually passed away, Cao Rui became increasingly sentimental in his personnel appointments.

After several rounds of drinks, Cao Rui raised his wine cup and laughed, "Generals, my many victories in military campaigns over the years are not due to my superior military strategy, but rather to my ability to make full use of the strength of my ministers and generals, adapt to local conditions, and act according to circumstances, thus avoiding defeat."

"This time, I brought 40,000 central troops from Luoyang. Guo Boji also told me that of the 60,000 troops in Guanzhong, excluding those stationed in Liangzhou and other places, 50,000 can be mobilized. Therefore, the imperial court's forces for this northern expedition against Shu total 90,000, which I roughly estimate is almost equivalent to the entire army of Shu." "With 90,000 troops advancing, we should pool our wisdom and efforts. Do any of you have suggestions for attacking Shu? Speak freely today!"

As soon as Cao Rui finished speaking, Deng Ai suddenly stood up from behind his desk and bowed to Cao Rui: "Your Majesty, your subject Deng Ai has something to report!"

Cao Rui was somewhat surprised to see Deng Ai stand up. All eyes turned to Deng Ai; Wei Zhen's gaze held a hint of helplessness. He knew what Deng Ai was about to say without him even speaking. Guo Huai, seeing Deng Ai rise, gripped his wine glass even tighter.

This was originally a tacit understanding between him and the emperor.

When Guo Huai went to Luoyang in the tenth year of the Taihe era, he proposed to the emperor that they should lead troops south along the Micang Road to directly attack the Bazhou Commandery of Shu, achieving a surprise attack. Today's banquet is actually a military discussion, and it is Guo Boji who should propose it to the emperor in public, and then the emperor should approve it.

It's not Deng Ai's place to steal the limelight!

Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "What are your thoughts, Shi Zai?"

Deng Ai cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, I believe that military operations should combine orthodox and unorthodox tactics. The Shu region is treacherous. If we attack from the south, the passes of Yang’an, Baishui, Jiameng, and Jiange are all the most dangerous in the world, and a direct assault will be slow.”

"It would be better to launch surprise attacks from the east and west. The western force can advance south from Yinping County to Jiangyou, while the eastern force can advance south through the Micang Road to Dangqu. The imperial army is large and powerful, and even with three routes, there are still troops to spare. If the surprise attacks from the east and west can enter Shu, it will throw the enemy into chaos. In that case, even the most formidable passes will be indefensible, and the main force can take advantage of the situation to advance!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Huai clenched his teeth. Deng Ai was truly a treacherous man! Even Qin Yi, his superior, hadn't spoken yet, so how dare Deng Ai steal the limelight and speak his mind beforehand!
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhen also showed a hint of helplessness on his face.

The Great Wei, having widely accepted the Qiang people, was well aware of the geography of places like Yinping. The road Deng Ai mentioned did indeed exist, called the Yinping Trail, but its terrain was extremely rugged, entirely mountainous, impassable for supply wagons and horses. Furthermore, the Motianling Pass within it was treacherous; the Shu forces there could easily defend against a hundred men, making the journey far too risky!
However, Deng Ai was no longer his subordinate, and Wei Zhen did not want to get involved in military affairs, so he did not speak.

Cao Rui knew, of course, that Deng Ai had interrupted Guo Huai, but he showed no sign of surprise. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Shi Zai is right. In warfare, the orthodox and unorthodox tactics should indeed complement each other. Just like this campaign against Shu, the Great Wei launched an attack from three routes: north, east, and south. The northern route had 90,000 troops, and the eastern route had 110,000 troops, which were the orthodox troops. The southern route had General Guanqiu Jian leading the army to attack the southern part of Shu from Jiaozhi, which was the unorthodox force."

"Shi Zai, since you have proposed this strategy, as a general, which route do you intend to take?"

Guo Huai was now staring intently at Deng Ai's face. If Deng Ai said he wanted to take the Micang Road, he would immediately stand up and stop him.

Deng Ai cupped his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, I believe that to defeat the enemy, we must first defeat their leader. Shu is only a small part of Yizhou. If we can threaten Chengdu, we will surely terrify the enemy. I request permission to lead troops south from Yinping!"

Guo Huai's expression relaxed a little.

Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "Indeed, Shi Zai's courage is commendable. How many troops do you intend to advance with?"

Deng Ai said, "I request to return to the Yinping route. If Yinping is captured, I will lead my five thousand troops along the Yinping trail!"

"Approved." Cao Rui nodded calmly.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!" Deng Ai bowed again.

After Deng Ai sat down, Guo Huai stood up somewhat awkwardly, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I request to lead 20,000 troops south through the Micang Road into Shu!"

Guo Huai was, after all, a subordinate of Commander Qin Yi. If he were to agree so readily, it would seem as if he were being treated harshly by his generals, as if Qin Yi were kicking Guo Huai out the moment he arrived. So Qin Yi asked, "General Guo, why do you want to go south via the Micang Road?"

Guo Huai said, "General Deng has just explained the situation. If I were to march south through the Micang Road into Shu, I could either advance into Jiameng to threaten the rear of the Shu army in the north, or advance into Jiangzhou to assist the eastern army, or even head straight for Guanghan and Chengdu to terrify the enemy."

"As for the frontal assault at Yang'an Pass, my abilities are insufficient, and I fear I am ill-equipped to assist Your Majesty in commanding the army. Perhaps I could better serve the Great Wei by leading 20,000 troops!" (End of Chapter)