Sima Gong?
Hearing these three words from Cao Xiu's mouth, Cao Rui was confused at first.
But Cao Rui soon realized who Cao Xiu was talking about - it must be Sima Yi.
Cao Rui didn't realize at the first time that the person Cao Xiu recommended was Sima Yi. It wasn't that he didn't understand the current Wei minister, but in Cao Rui's heart, Sima Yi couldn't be called a "gong".
Cao Rui vaguely remembered that when he was a child, his grandfather Cao Cao once thought that Sima Yi looked down upon the wolf and would interfere in the Cao family's affairs in the future, so he wanted to get rid of him.
But Cao Cao's idea was abandoned after Cao Pi tried to dissuade him.
Although Sima Yi finally saved his life, Cao Rui, who had always respected Cao Cao, could not say he had a good impression of Sima Yi from then on.
As he grew up, Cao Rui watched with his own eyes how Cao Pi reused Sima Yi step by step. In terms of the degree of reuse, Cao Pi treated Sima Yi like Liu Bei did Zhuge Liang.
But under such heavy expectations, Sima Yi's performance was unsatisfactory - it cannot be said that the suggestions he made were not good, but the point is that his strategies were often slower than Mi Yang, so Sima Yi also got Cao Cao's "wisdom" "Late" evaluation.
Due to his displeasure with Sima Yi, Cao Rui instinctively frowned when he heard that Cao Xiu was recommending Sima Yi as a general to guard Luoyang.
Cao Rui's frown was immediately noticed by Cao Xiu.
Cao Xiu didn't know what Cao Rui was thinking. At the moment, he was just making suggestions to Cao Rui out of public interest. Therefore, in order to get Cao Rui to accept his proposal, he handed over his hand and bowed again:
"Sima Zhongda was intelligent and decisive, with an upright heart. He was dignified and allowed to follow the trend. When he was in court, he praised the current customs and maintained the same etiquette. When facing the border, he was brave and resolute, and he was tired of hardships.
Pillar ministers like these are exactly what our government needs right now.
When the late emperor was still alive, he often used Sima Zhongda as his humerus. Sima Zhongda felt the late emperor's kindness and always thought of repaying him.
If your Majesty can reuse Sima Zhongda, I believe that our dynasty will no longer have any worries about looking to the west."
Seeing Cao Rui, he was a little unhappy, so Cao Xiu stopped calling Sima Yi "Sima Gong".
It can be said that Cao Xiu's praise of Sima Yi is not unimportant, but it is obvious that this kind of praise cannot make Cao Rui, an ambitious young monarch, completely trust Sima Yi.
Would Cao Ren, Cao Zhen, Zhang He and others have received less praise than Sima Yi?
But what's the result?
It's okay not to think of these people, but Cao Rui's heart aches when he thinks of these people.
Seeing that Cao Rui's frown had not eased at all, Cao Xiu knew that what he just said was not satisfactory to Cao Rui, so he could only continue to speak harder:
"The battle in Wancheng was extremely thrilling. If Sima Zhongda had not been guarding it, Wancheng might have fallen into the hands of the bandits.
Sima Zhongda can defend Wancheng, but he alone cannot defend Luoyang?"
After hearing Cao Xiu's words, Cao Rui's hesitant expression eased a little. After all, this was a real achievement.
Although at the beginning of the Battle of Wancheng, Sima Yi fell into a passive position because of Zhang Fei's plan. Later, when Zhang Fei withdrew his troops, Sima Yi also lost the general Niu Jin due to Deng Ai's plan.
But wars often focus on the results. Sima Yi was able to adjust his strategy in time and finally defended Wancheng. This is a real achievement.
Especially when compared with the Guanzhong battlefield, Sima Yi's achievements in guarding Wancheng are even more eye-catching.
Seeing that Cao Rui seemed to be shaken, Cao Xiu slowly approached Cao Rui and said the second reason why he strongly recommended Sima Yi:
"The Sima family is a famous tycoon in Hebei."
Cao Xiu's words stopped short, but Cao Rui instantly heard the deep meaning in Cao Xiu's words.
In the Battle of Guanzhong, two famous generals from Hebei, Zhang He and Guo Huai, surrendered and were captured. This was a big blow to the Hebei family.
After all, there are so many children of the Hebei family, but not many can occupy as high a position in Cao Wei as Zhang He and Guo Huai. It can be said that in the past, Zhang He and Guo Huai were, to a certain extent, one of the spokespersons for the interests of the Hebei family in the Cao Wei court.
With the sudden loss of two spokespersons for their interests, the Hebei aristocratic families must have been greatly shocked. After being shocked, doubts and fears would arise in their hearts.
It just so happens that Mi Yang is a master at inspiring people. Cao Rui had always been kind to the Hebei family before, just because he didn't want Mi Yang to take advantage of him.
But showing kindness is only a temporary solution after all. If you want to regain the hearts of the Hebei Family and make the Hebei Family stand firmly on Cao Wei's side again, the best way is to help the Hebei Family select a new spokesperson.
Only when our interests are connected can we never leave.
In Cao Xiu's eyes, Sima Yi is the best candidate.
After being reminded by Cao Xiu, the hesitation on Cao Rui's face disappeared instantly.
Cao Rui also realized that his hesitation just now might have a bad impact if word spread, so Cao Rui immediately smiled and said to the ministers:
"Don't I know what the great Sima said?
What I am thinking is, with Sima Gong’s virtue and talent, how can he control Luoyang with the position of General Annan?
The imperial edict: During the Battle of Wancheng, Sima Zhongda performed meritorious service in defending the territory and defeated the powerful enemy. He was moved to the post of General for the Expedition to the West, and was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief to oversee the military affairs in Hedong, Luoyang, and Guanzhong."
In the Cao Wei official system, the Four Expeditions General was the head of the local generals with important titles. Cao Rui's worship of Sima Yi can be said to be the most honorable favor.
After saying this, Cao Rui still felt that it was not enough, so he continued to say to the ministers:
"Sima Zhongda's eldest son, Sima Shi, rarely has a commanding name. He is now appointed as the Cavalry Commander and joins the Central Army."
Under Cao Rui's words, both Sima Yi and Sima Shi received a leap in life, which would have a great impact on their lives.
As for Cao Rui, his generous reward was enough to satisfy the Hebei family.
From the surface of Cao Rui's performance, others could not see any estrangement between Cao Rui and Sima Yi. All they could see was Cao Rui's respect for Sima Yi.
Therefore, as soon as Cao Rui finished speaking, all the ministers stood up and paid homage to Cao Rui:
"Your Majesty is wise."
After finalizing the candidate for Luoyang's garrison, Cao Rui set his sights on Yuzhou.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "There is no danger in Yuzhou, so who does Grand Sima think is worthy of this important task?"
Cao Rui's tone seemed to be asking, but the look he looked at Cao Xiu seemed quite profound.
Although Cao Xiu believed that the main attack direction of the Han army in the future would be Luoyang, due to the special geographical location of Yuzhou, it would be more difficult to defend Yuzhou.
In order to be foolproof, the generals guarding Yuzhou must be at least better than Sima Yi.
At present, Cao Wei's famous generals have suffered heavy losses. Who in the court can stabilize Sima Yi?
Apart from Cao Xiu, there may be no one else.
Cao Xiu understood what Cao Rui meant, and he had already made plans, so Cao Xiu directly handed over his hand and said:
"I am willing to go."
Seeing that Cao Xiu understood what he meant, Cao Rui showed a satisfied smile. Considering the current situation, it was really the best choice for Cao Xiu to go to Yuzhou.
Since there is no natural danger in Yuzhou, if you want to defend Yuzhou well, you must rely on the power of Soochow.
Now that Sun Quan has proclaimed himself emperor, Cao Wei and Soochow are on equal political footing. If Cao Wei wants to use Soochow's power, it must send someone with a high enough status to take charge of Yuzhou.
Cao Xiu, who is inferior to one person but superior to ten thousand people, can meet such conditions.
In addition, Cao Xiu had visited Yuzhou and Jingzhou many times in his early years. He knew the terrain of Cao Wei's southern border very well, and he also had good prestige in the hearts of the local people.
As long as Cao Xiu leaves Yuzhou, even if Mi Yang does go to Jingzhou in the future, Cao Rui won't have to worry too much about the unrest on the border.
Another important point is that Yuzhou is Luoyang's rear area. If Sima Yi is unlucky in the future, Cao Xiu can mobilize troops to support him in time.
Under these considerations, both Cao Rui and Cao Xiu felt that today's arrangements were really appropriate and tight.
"I will entrust the affairs of the south to the Great Sima. I hope the Great Sima will take it seriously!"
Under Cao Rui's earnest entrustment, Cao Xiu cautiously accepted Cao Rui's appointment.
As Cao Xiu left the main hall to arrange everything, it meant that today's discussion was over.
After all the Wei ministers retreated one after another, Wang Ji slowly walked to Cao Rui.
"Boyu, what do you think of today's events?"
After several years of getting along day and night, Cao Rui and Wang Ji developed a friendship between monarchs and ministers that goes beyond justice.
After hearing Cao Rui's question, Wang Ji, who was both civil and military, thought for a moment and understood the meaning of Cao Rui's words.
It can be said that all the arrangements made by Cao Rui today are aimed at targeting Mi Yang.
It goes without saying that Mi Yang is famous, but no matter how good he is in fighting, he is only one person, and he cannot take care of both Luoyang and Yuzhou.
If Mi Yang focuses on attacking Luoyang in the future, then Cao Xiu can join forces with the Wu army to launch a fierce attack on Jingzhou.
If Mi Yang unexpectedly attacks Yuzhou in the future, then Sima Yi can recreate the Weinan plot and lead his army to attack Guanzhong.
No matter what the situation was, it was difficult for Mi Yang to get any benefits when he was attacked from both sides.
Just because he felt that he had made an arrangement that could blackmail Mi Yang, Cao Rui wanted to show off in front of his friends.
But Wang Ji, who has a calm personality, is not as optimistic as Cao Rui.
Realizing that Wang Ji did not respond to him immediately, Cao Rui thought that Wang Ji was worried about Zhang Fei, and then he said with a smile:
"Could it be that Zhang Yide was the one whom Bo Yu was jealous of?
Zhang Yide is a famous general in the world.
But after all, he couldn't think of burning pillars and destroying the city."
In Cao Rui's view, Zhang Yide's talents are worthy of his attention, but not enough to make him fear him.
Moreover, it can be seen from Liu Bei's final arrangements for Zhang Fei that Zhang Fei was a talisman left by Liu Bei beside Liu Chan. How could he escape easily?
Cao Rui, who thought he could dispel Wang Ji's worries, heard something unexpected from Wang Ji after he changed his sitting position comfortably.
"The army of thieves is not only composed of thieves, but also Crouching Dragons!"
Zhuge Kongming?
Cao Rui's first reaction was confusion. It is true that he had heard about Zhuge Liang's record of pacifying Nanzhong, and it was true that he had also heard of Zhuge Liang's record of cleverly capturing Hao Zhao, but couldn't Zhang Fei be able to do such a thing?
There is only one way to break the containment strategy he set up with Cao Xiu:
While Mi Yang was focusing his efforts on one side, someone as talented as Mi Yang appeared on the other side, and he was fully confident that he could defeat the invading Wei army from the other side.
Full of confidence, can Zhuge Kongming do it?
Cao Rui subconsciously sat upright again.
This chapter has been completed!