He and Qin Lang are a political alliance. If the governor of Qian County is replaced, Qin Lang will lead the army outside while he serves the king at home. Their plans to coordinate with each other will inevitably be affected.
Cao Rui smiled when he heard this, but he misunderstood what Cao Zhao meant. He only saw admiration in his eyes, "I didn't expect you to be so affectionate and to think of him at this time."
Having said this, he sighed again, "After Zhang He's death, I realized that many of the generals in the army today were actually left by Emperor Wu at that time."
"These generals are already quite old now, so we must prepare for a rainy day. Zhang He also said that Asu (Qin Lang's nickname) has quite a military strategy, but he is still young and has limited qualifications."
"If he practices more, he will definitely achieve something in the future, so I thought it would be a good idea to let him stay in the army. What do you think?"
After hearing this, Cao Zhao felt a stone in his heart fall to the ground. Following Cao Rui's hand on his back, he moved closer to Cao Rui and asked, "Then who does Your Majesty intend to let guard Qian County?
"
Cao Rui smiled confidently, "Although Zhang He didn't say it clearly, I already know who he means."
"who?"
"Wenpin was originally from Jingzhou. Emperor Wu asked him to station in Jiangxia because he was a good employee and could calm the people's hearts. It has been twenty years now and he has repeatedly defeated Soochow and his reputation has shocked the enemy. Therefore, he should not be touched lightly."
"Not to mention Man Chong, he served as the governor of Runan for several times, and accompanied Emperor Wu in his southern expedition to Jingzhou. When Guan Yu attacked Fan City, he defended the city with all his strength, and finally counterattacked Guan Yu with other generals."
"Whether it is Jingzhou or Yangzhou, Man Chong is not unfamiliar. Therefore, if Soochow wants to divide its troops into five groups and march north to invade the Wei Dynasty, it can be done no matter whether it is transferred to Jingzhou or Yangzhou."
When Cao Zhao heard this, a gleam flashed in his eyes, "Your Majesty, do you want to transfer Jia Kui over?"
Cao Rui glanced at Cao Zhao and knew what Cao Zhao meant, "Changsi, I know that Da Sima and Jia Kui are at odds, but Jia Kui is highly praised by Emperor Wu and the late emperor, and he is actually a good talent of the country."
"I am close to you and have great trust in Da Sima. I also hope that you will put state affairs first and write to persuade Da Sima not to have trouble with Jia Kui again. When the two of them quarreled, I was also in a dilemma.
"
When Cao Zhao heard this, he was startled. He knew that the emperor wanted to persuade your Majesty through himself, so he nodded quickly, "I have kept your Majesty's words in mind, and tonight I will write a handwritten letter to convey your Majesty's thoughts to you.
"
"There's no need to be so anxious. We have other things to do tonight. We'll just write tomorrow."
Cao Rui liked it even more when he saw how sensible Cao Zhao was, and was willing to tell him more. "Actually, none of these three people are Zhang He's candidates. The one he really wants to recommend is Guo Huai."
When Cao Zhao heard this, a look of surprise appeared on his face, "Why?"
"In the Battle of Hanzhong, the general (Xia Houyuan) died in the battle and the army was leaderless. Guo Huai took the initiative to recommend Zhang He as the temporary commander. The personal relationship between the two was extraordinary."
"Now the loss of Longyou must be dealt with according to national law. As the governor of Yongzhou, Guo Huai is also responsible. Zhang He's move is just to plead for Guo Huai."
When Cao Zhao heard these words, he realized what he said and said with admiration, "Your Majesty has clear judgment."
Cao Rui was even more happy when he heard Cao Zhao praising him, "Although Zhang He was interceding for Guo Huai, Guo Huai is indeed a good man. He was able to resist Liu Bei in Hanzhong back then, and he has won the hearts of Qiang and Hu in the past years when he governed Guanzhong.
"
"The Qiang and Hu people in Guanzhong regard Guo Huai as a god. If it weren't for Xia Houmao, the battle at Longyou might not have turned out like this. Guo Huai is familiar with the terrain in Guanzhong, so I followed Zhang He's wishes and asked him to assist the general in the defense.
Guanzhong is also a good move."
Cao Zhao suddenly realized, but after thinking about it for a moment, he became a little worried and asked, "What if someone says that His Majesty is unfair?"
"I won't treat things unfairly." A ruthless look flashed in Cao Rui's eyes, "In the battle of Longyou, the lack of food and grass was the fundamental reason for the defeat, so Xiahou Mao, the former general of Anxi, should be the first to blame."
"Guo Huai had fewer soldiers than the thieves, but he was able to hold out for several months. He did his best. He is not to blame for this. Zhang He fought hard against the Shu captives, but was also defeated by a small number of soldiers. In the end, he died of injuries. He should be commended."
How could His Majesty the Emperor be wrong?
Zhang He was transferred back to Luoyang from Jingzhou, then rushed from Luoyang to help Longyou, and now he was injured and died. How could he be too harsh?
Guo Huai held the city for so long with a small force. If he was punished again, wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers?
Since they are all right, we can only find one who made a mistake.
Xia Houmao was selling grain secretly, and his crime could be serious or minor, and his status was neither big nor small, so it was just right.
"But Your Majesty, General Anxi is Princess Qinghe's husband after all..."
When he heard that the emperor planned to sacrifice Xiahou Mao, Cao Zhao was shocked: Princess Qinghe was the daughter of Emperor Wu and the eldest sister of Emperor Wen, so her status was very important.
More importantly, after General Xiahou Shang died the year before last, Xiahou Mao was the representative figure of the Xiahou family. Is it possible that Your Majesty asked Xiahou Mao to bear the main responsibility for the defeat of Longyou...
Thinking of this, Cao Zhao only felt that his back was a little wet, and he even felt that the place touched by the emperor's hand was as hot as iron.
He secretly looked at Cao Rui and saw the emperor's face suddenly clearing and darkening, and he murmured, "Xiahou..."
Yes, the Xiahou family and the Cao family were originally one, but as the Cao family became the imperial family, this unity seems to have undergone subtle changes now.
In Cao Rui's view, when he first ascended the throne, the Xiahou family should fully support him.
However, Xiahou Xuan, the most famous person in the Xiahou family and the leader of the third generation of the Xiahou family, actually imitated those noble family members who claimed to uphold etiquette and openly opposed his appointment of Mao as queen.
No, it was even more outrageous than those noble people from aristocratic families. He actually insulted the Queen's younger brother in public.
This is simply a slap in the emperor's face.
This point particularly annoyed Cao Rui: You must have forgotten how the Xiahou family got up, right? Now that you are a noble family, you start to imitate those aristocratic families?
It was just that Cao Rui saw that the Xiahou family and the Cao family were as close as flesh and blood, and that he had just ascended the throne, so for the sake of the overall situation, he just demoted Xiahou Xuan as a warning.
Unexpectedly, when the Longyou incident broke out, Xiahou Mao, the spokesperson of the Xiahou family, actually did such a thing again, which finally made Cao Rui feel betrayed.
At this time, Cao Rui finally made up his mind and said slowly to Cao Zhao, "It is because he is a royal clan member that we must investigate him more strictly and not let him go easily. Otherwise, how can we deter the great rats of the country?"
The great rat of the country?
When Cao Zhao heard this comment, he was suddenly shocked: Xia Houmao is probably doomed this time.
"Changsi, why is your back wet?"
Only then did Cao Rui notice that his palms on Cao Zhao's back were sweaty.
Cao Zhao forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, so I'm sweating now."
"Oh, really? Come on, let me help you take a look..."
Chang'an palace whispers.
Xiangwu war broke out in Longxi.
The Han army pushed the carts and ladders and began to rush towards the city with shouts.
Wei Yanle raised his sword and stared at the city.
It took him two full days to fill in the wide and deep moat under the city, and then destroyed the antlers and bulldozed the partition walls. During this period, he suffered nearly 3,000 casualties, and then he could officially rush to the gate of Xiangwu City.
If the prime minister hadn't blocked the cavalry of Cao's thieves who were always wandering around for him, so that he could concentrate on attacking the city, I'm afraid the official attack on the city would have been postponed.
At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, he was the vanguard, and at the same time he was the first to lead the army to Longxi. Unexpectedly, by now, other counties in Longyou have already attacked, and all other armies have made military exploits, but he, the vanguard, has not gained anything.
Credit.
Thinking of this, Wei Yan stared at Xiangwucheng with even more anger.
Cao Jun, who was relying on the cover of the female wall, fired crossbows. Arrows rained down from the top of the city. Many Han soldiers fell to the ground forever before they could reach the bottom of the city wall.
For Wei Yan, who had been fighting for many years, this was just a common thing and a necessary sacrifice for siege, so he did not look at the fallen soldiers at all.
Instead, he was watching to see when the ram-car ladder would reach the city.
"boom"!
The first car crashed directly into the city gate.
Then, the ladder began to be set up, and the Han army ants followed.
The Wei army occupied the high ground and shot down the attacking Han army mercilessly.
Many people only got halfway up and then screamed and turned over and fell down.
Human life seems extremely insignificant in this massacre of the same kind.
Just when the Wei army was shooting with all their strength, all the ladders had been put up on the city wall before they knew it.
Viewed from the rear, the soldiers climbing up the city wall were densely packed like ants.
A smile finally appeared in Wei Yan's eyes. This Liangzhou army had a good reputation. It seemed that the horse army was more elite, but the defense of the city was a mess.
A Han soldier had already rushed to the side of the female wall and was about to turn over when a knife suddenly came from the side. The soldier was quite fierce. He grabbed the corner of the wall with one hand and raised the knife to block it.
When the opponent was exhausted, he shouted violently and somersaulted directly to the top of the city.
However, the joy of being the first to get there lasted for less than a few breaths when Wei Jun's spears all came at him, knocking him out of the wall and directly smashing him down.
The soldiers on the ladder felt a black shadow coming down on them, but before they could react, they were knocked down by corpses from the ladder.
"General Wei, why didn't this thief Cao release the wood and rolling stones?"
Chen Shi asked uneasily as he watched more and more soldiers climbing up the ladder.
"Isn't it just right not to put it away?"
Of course Wei Yan knew that there was something strange in this, but in his opinion, no matter what conspiracy the other party had, there would always be a time when it would be used, and you would know it at a glance.
You can't stop attacking the city just because the opponent behaves strangely, right?
Just when the cloud ladder was filled with soldiers, there was a sudden bang on the top of the city, and the Wei army at the top of the city began to pour something on the ladder.
Chen Shi's heart tightened and he stretched his neck, "What is this thief Cao doing? What does splashing water mean?"
Is it because the weather is so hot, so I splashed water to cool down?
Before he could understand clearly, he saw that the arrows of the Wei army at the top of the city turned into rockets at some point, and they were shot towards the ladder. During this period, some people threw torches from the top of the city, and they also aimed at the direction of the ladder.
.
I saw that the ladder somehow caught fire when it came into contact with fire. Some soldiers even accidentally touched the torch, and their bodies suddenly caught fire.
"fire Fire……"
The soldiers who were climbing the ladder shouted. The people on top wanted to retreat, but the people below didn't know what was going on. They pushed up and down. Many people were not killed by the enemy's swords and arrows, but were killed by their own people.
Got kicked down.
Wei Yan's expression finally changed.
"This is oil! They poured oil on the ladder!"
"Retreat, call the troops quickly!"
Wei Yan had to react quickly. Unfortunately, those oil-splashed ladders were all made of wood. Once caught on fire, they would quickly burn in such dry and hot weather.
Not to mention the soldiers, even Wei Yan encountered this situation of using kerosene to defend the city for the first time.
Caught off guard, the soldiers on the ladder had no way to escape. Not only did the soldiers who were originally attached to the ladder kept screaming and calling for help, they either became a burning man or were forced to jump down.
With a "crash" sound, a ladder was the first to be burned away by the fire. The remaining wood could not support it and finally became fragmented and slid down the city wall.
Wei Yan's face suddenly turned livid.
Obviously, the other party deliberately set up the ladder, poured oil on it when the soldiers were full, and then set it on fire. In this way, not only did all the ladders that had been built these days be burned, but a large number of them were even lost.
soldiers.
The most important thing is that after this time of defending the city with kerosene, the soldiers attacking the city have developed fear and their morale has been extremely low.
If you want to attack the city again, you either have to rest and come back again, or you have to go to the prime minister to replace a group of soldiers.
"Feng Yong used fire and oil to capture Long Pass without any damage. Unexpectedly, Hao Zhao used fire and oil to burn all the siege equipment today."
Zhuge Liang looked at the still burning ladder in the distance with a gloomy look on his face. He felt that he needed to get to know Hao Zhao again.
This move was really cruel. It not only caused a great shock to our own army, but also took the opportunity to burn all the siege equipment that had been built these days.
"Prime Minister..."
When Wei Yan returned to the camp, he was ashamed and did not dare to look up at Zhuge Liang.
"It's okay. This is not your fault, but my fault. I knew Feng Yong had used oil to attack the city, but I didn't expect that Cao Cao would also use oil to defend the city."
Zhuge Liang comforted him.
As soon as these words came out, Wei Yan was even more ashamed.
In the past few days, he has repeatedly requested to lead an army to attack the city, but he did not expect that he would be beaten like this. Where do you want to put his face?
"Let the soldiers rest for a few days first, and let me think of another way."
Seeing Wei Yan like this, Zhuge Liang's eyes flashed, and then he turned around and told Yang Yi, "Wei Gong, send an order to Jicheng, let Feng Yong lead the riprap truck camp and engineering team, Guan Xing lead the horse army and Qiang
The Hu coalition troops came for reinforcements."
Although the siege suffered unexpected losses, Zhuge Liang originally did not expect to capture Xiangwu immediately.
This time, Wei Yan was hit with a bloody head and no longer insisted on asking for orders to lead his army to attack the city as he did at the beginning, which allowed Zhuge Liang to implement his plan without any hindrance.