Chapter 265: Clan members are useless, choose another general
Facing Cao Pi's obviously accusatory questioning, Cao Tai couldn't help but feel scared.
Although he is a descendant of the Cao family, the person at the helm of the Wei Dynasty today is not Emperor Wu.
When Emperor Wu was still alive, he enforced the law very strictly and treated his subjects the same way, but he always treated his clan members very favorably.
If Cao Pi's attitude towards his clan members was not clear when he was still the prince, some clues gradually emerged after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne and became King of Wei and even the Emperor.
As a clan relative with the same qualifications as Cao Ren, Cao Hong was granted the title of Hussar General after Cao Pi became emperor, and was promoted to a noble prince, a thousand households in the city, and the first 2,100 households.
But that was just a way for Cao Pi to win over the Cao family members.
Cao Tai had heard Cao Ren mention before that Cao Pi had expressed his dissatisfaction with Cao Hong in front of Queen Mother Bian several times, and had harshly criticized Cao Hong's etiquette at court meetings several times.
These things are no longer secrets in the official circles of the Wei Dynasty.
In particular, Cao Tai recently heard that before Cao Pi planned to lead the expedition himself, Cao Zhang, the Marquis of Rencheng, had recommended himself.
However, it was because of Cao Zhang's self-recommendation that Cao Pi decided to lead the expedition himself.
Cao Pi's behavior aroused speculation in the Wei Dynasty.
If the relationship between Cao Hong and Cao Pi is not close and there have been disputes in the past, Cao Zhang is Cao Pi's brother.
Even his own brothers cannot be fully trusted, let alone Cao Tai?
Although he was afraid of being punished by Cao Pi, Cao Pi's series of methods after he succeeded to the throne had already established his personal prestige.
So when faced with Cao Pi's questioning, Cao Tai finally mustered up the courage to tell everything he knew.
This cannot be hidden from Cao Pi. Even if he doesn't tell it, Cao Pi's confidants Sima Yi and Jiang Ji will tell the truth about what they saw.
After Cao Tai described in detail everything that happened on the battlefield that day, all the ministers of Cao and Wei who were present had a look of surprise on their faces when they heard that Guan Yu's army had formed a moon-quenching formation.
As Cao Tai continued to talk, the scene of the battlefield that day emerged in his mind, and the look of surprise on the face of Minister Cao Wei became more and more intense.
Is this Moon Formation so powerful?
Is it possible that the powerful cavalry in the north will no longer have any use in the future?
But this was just the thought of most of the Cao Wei ministers who didn't know how to fight. After listening to Cao Tai's whole story, the ministers who knew how to fight realized that although the Queyue Formation was powerful, it had great limitations.
The success of the Queyue Formation deployed by Guan Yu largely relied on the special terrain at the time.
Otherwise, if there is no vast Han River as the backing of the Han army, once our own cavalry launches an attack on the Han army from the rear, the Moon Formation is likely to be broken.
But what’s the use of understanding this now?
Thousands of Wei's cavalry were killed on the spot, and more Wei's cavalry fled in all directions. For a while, it was impossible to recruit an army.
Cavalry troops have high mobility, and they tend to run farther than infantry troops that can escape.
However, under Cao Tai's explanation, all the ministers understood that it was Xiahou Ba who took the lead in attacking the Han army's Queyue Formation that day.
And it was also at his call that the Wei cavalry from all over the place gathered together.
Xiahou Ba, who was kneeling behind Cao Tai, also knew that the current situation was not good for him, so he immediately spoke to defend himself.
In Xiahou Ba's view, the Wei cavalry had a huge advantage over the Han infantry, so he was careless at that time.
Didn't Cao Pi specifically send 10,000 cavalry troops south to expand his victory after hearing this news?
The thousands of cavalry troops led by Xiahou Ba were just one of the 10,000 cavalry troops.
From Xiahou Ba's point of view, it was understandable that he, who had been ordered by Cao Pi to go south to expand his military gains, took the initiative to attack the Han troops on his own initiative after seeing them come ashore as before.
As for the fact that he was the first to retreat, Xiahou Ba was not stupid, so of course he would not admit it.
The situation mentioned by Xiahou Ba was known to all the ministers of Cao and Wei present.
But now looking at the overall situation and thinking about it, the Han army has been teased by the Wei army's cavalry before, but Guan Yu never took any countermeasures. It may be his arrogant strategy.
Because of the fighting style of cavalry, the generals of Cao Wei who can serve as cavalry commanders are all strong-willed and are the easiest to fall into this strategy.
After all, before the Queyue Formation appeared in the past, Cao Wei had always been proud of having a powerful northern cavalry army. No one would have thought in advance that Guan Yu would think of this weird Queyue Formation to defeat the cavalry with foot.
According to Cao Tai and Xiahou Ba's narration, in order not to bear too much blame, they tried their best to remove themselves from the responsibility for the defeat.
Perhaps what Cao Tai and Xiahou Ba said was not unreasonable, but Zhang Liao, who was here, sighed in his heart after seeing this.
Although Zhang Liao was appointed by Cao Pi to attack Mi Yang, the infantry army was not like the cavalry army that could leave at will.
It will take a while just to prepare food and fodder for tens of thousands of infantry troops to go out, so Zhang Liao is still in Wancheng.
Zhang Liao surrendered to Cao Cao at the end of the third year of Jian'an.
At that time, although Cao Cao had already welcomed the emperor, defeated Lu Bu and became the overlord of the Central Plains, there were still many powerful enemies around Cao Cao's army at that time.
The power of Cao's army at that time was simply incomparable to that of the Wei Dynasty now.
But at that time, all the generals in Cao's army, under the leadership of Cao Cao, were united and thought of defeating the powerful enemy together.
Even if a general is defeated, his first reaction is to blame himself and reflect on his faults, not to blame each other.
This was the case with Cao Ren and Xiahou Yuan, the ancestors of Cao Tai and Xiahou Ba, and their ages at that time were not far different from those of Cao Tai and Xiahou Ba now.
After all, where in the world is there an undefeated general?
Under this good atmosphere, Cao Cao's army could grow step by step under the leadership of the overlord Cao Cao, conquering Hebei in the north, destroying the heroes in the west, swallowing Jingzhou in the south, and finally establishing the foundation of the Wei Dynasty.
But this good custom gradually disappeared after Cao Cao established the Duke of Wei.
The aggressiveness that Cao Jun had in the past has disappeared, and what remains is more and more thoughts of fighting for power and gain.
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From then on, the Wei Dynasty won less and lost more against its enemies, which was unimaginable in the past.
If the Wei Dynasty can return to its past aggressive style of not shying away from personal honor and disgrace, with the strong national power of the Wei Dynasty today, what will there be to fear even if Liu Bei and Sun Quan join forces?
pity.
Zhang Liao felt regretful in his heart, but Cao Pi didn't know that he was completely ignited by the words of Cao Tai and Xiahou Ba.
Cao Pi kicked Cao Tai, and then he roared at Cao Tai: "Twenty thousand cavalry, 20,000 cavalry carefully trained by our great Wei Dynasty, resulted in a big defeat just because of your stupidity."
"After the great defeat, you didn't know how to reflect, but instead blamed each other. Do you deserve my trust?
Thousands of athletes died on the battlefield in anger, how can you still have the nerve to come back to see me!"
Cao Pi's roar instantly echoed throughout the hall.
Under Cao Pi's angry roar, all the ministers in the hall were so frightened that they leaned down, fearing that Cao Pi would spread his anger on them.
But everyone can dodge, but Cao Tai, who is the commander of the 20,000 Wei army cavalry this time, cannot dodge.
Cao Pi's kick just now was just to vent his anger, and besides, Cao Pi was by no means a weak scholar.
So when Cao Pi's kick hit Cao Tai's chest, Cao Tai felt a burning pain immediately coming from his chest.
Even his body fell backwards because of Cao Pi's kick.
But just after Cao Tai fell, he still endured the pain in his body, covered his chest and got up from the ground, and then knelt under Cao Pi.
This is the sorrow of a minister. Thunder, rain, and dew are all the kindness of the king.
However, Cao Tai's performance did not make Cao Pi feel pity. When he saw Cao Taifu kneeling in front of him again, Cao Pi kicked him away again.
When Cao Pi's foot landed heavily on Cao Tai's chest again, Cao Pi's roar came out again:
"What a heroic figure your father is, why do you let me down so much!"
The reason why Cao Pi was so angry was not because the loss of 20,000 cavalry troops had shaken the foundation of the Wei Dynasty.
Victory and defeat are common matters for military strategists, and Cao Pi certainly knew this.
What made Cao Pi angry was that the 20,000 Wei cavalry were defeated so miserably and felt so frustrated.
It can be said that if 20,000 Wei infantry were defeated by Guan Yu and his army, Cao Pi would not be unforgivable as long as the defeat of the general who led the army was excusable.
But now 20,000 Wei cavalry were defeated by more than 2,000 infantry, and Cao Tai and Xiahou Ba were still the generals he appointed to lead the army.
This battle was his first battle as a coach in the true sense, so Cao Pi felt so angry.
This battle greatly damaged his face.
Not surprisingly, Cao Tai was kicked down again by Cao Pi, and when he got up again, there was already a trace of blood on the corner of his mouth.
In ancient times, there were precedents of people being kicked to death.
When the ministers present saw this scene, their faces showed unbearable expressions.
Although most of the ministers present were from noble families, they never got along well with the Cao clan.
But when the rabbit dies and the fox is sad, Cao Pi is so cruel to his clan members, let alone others?
The scene of the deep brotherhood between Cao Pi and Cao Tai some time ago is still lingering in the minds of all the ministers.
The comparison between the past and today can fully reflect Cao Pi's current anger and his mean and unkind character.
But although Cao Tai was injured by Cao Pi's fierce kick, he inherited Cao Ren's tough character.
Even though he was already injured, Cao Tai still struggled to get up and knelt down in front of Cao Pi.
However, Cao Tai's behavior continued to anger Cao Pi invisibly.
Just when Cao Pi was about to kick Cao Tai for the third time, the voice of an old minister came out in time.
"Your Majesty, General Anton is the eldest son of the late General Chariot and Cavalry."
This veteran minister is none other than Jia Xu.
Because of his old age, Jia Xu sometimes participated in discussions in Wancheng and sometimes did not.
Because of the defeat of 20,000 Wei cavalry today, Cao Pi specially invited Jia Xu to attend the meeting.
Even if Jia Xu participates in discussions, his character is such that he will never say a word unless he is asked to speak.
But with the current situation on the court, if Jia Xu remained silent, he felt that Cao Tai might be kicked to death by the furious Cao Pi.
When Cao Pi heard Jia Xu's reminder, his right foot that he kicked towards Cao Tai stopped in mid-air, and finally he could only put it down helplessly.
Jia Xu said the key point.
As the commander of the 20,000 Wei army's cavalry, Cao Tai undoubtedly bears the main responsibility for this defeat.
But Cao Tai's identity is unusual.
Cao Tai is not only a clan member of the Cao family, but his father Cao Ren is also a distinguished minister of the Wei State who has significant prestige in the Wei army.
Although Cao Ren is dead now, the prestige left by Cao Ren is still there.
In addition, Cao Ren had just sacrificed his life for the country. If Cao Tai was kicked to death by Cao Pi in public, even if Cao Tai died unjustly, the impact of this incident would undoubtedly be very great.
You must know that both Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu are still alive, and the Cao family is not without talents.
Cao Pi's political ability was not bad. After Jia Xu's reminder, he realized the seriousness of the matter.
Considering the seriousness, Cao Pi finally chose to put down his foot.
But now Cao Pi doesn't want to see Cao Tai, Xiahou Ba, Sima Yi and others anymore.
He waved his hand and asked people to take Cao Tai and others down. After Cao Tai and others left, Cao Pi calmed down his thoughts.
He knew that he must not mess up now.
After a moment of reflection, Cao Pi turned to Zhang Liao and said, "Wenyuan, the situation has changed. Without reinforcements to boost morale and Guan Yu's bravery, Fancheng may be overthrown."
"Now I plan to ask you to divert the troops to support Fancheng. Do you dare to go?"
Cao Pi asked Zhang Liao if he dared to go, but it was not unnecessary.
The seven armies were flooded and Queyue was victorious. These two seemingly impossible victories had already brought Guan Yu's personal prestige to unimaginable heights.
Even Cao Pi was afraid of Guan Yu, so Cao Pi asked this question.
But after Cao Pi asked Zhang Liao, Zhang Liao hurriedly came out and bowed to Cao Pi:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'm willing to go!"
When Cao Pi asked Zhang Liao to go and defeat Mi Yang, Zhang Liao said he would die, but now Zhang Liao said he is willing.
Death by death can be understood as Zhang Liao will fight to the death to defeat Mi Yang for Cao Pi, which is also a kind of self-confidence.
And wishing means that when Zhang Liao changes his target to Guan Yu, even he himself doesn't know what his future will be like, so he can only answer a subjective idea.
Seeing Zhang Liao's brave appearance, Cao Pi showed a slight smile on his gloomy face.
Zhang Liao can be regarded as his most valued general at present.
After setting a new mission for Zhang Liao, Cao Pi asked Zhang Liao to go down and prepare for the expedition as soon as possible.
I think the food and fodder needed by the army has been almost prepared before.
After Zhang Liao withdrew, Cao Pi asked all the ministers in the hall to retreat, leaving only Jia Xu.
After everyone left, Cao Pi even dismissed his own servants.
Then he walked slowly to Jia Xu, moved a seat to himself and sat down opposite Jia Xu.
This move by Cao Pi made Jia Xu's eyelids twitch wildly.
The scene in the hall in front of him was very similar to the scene when Cao Pi privately asked him how to seize the crown prince's position.