Luoyang, the Chariot and Cavalry General's Mansion.
Xiahou Ba paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back. Wang Mo sat aside, looking at the ground in front of him quietly, as if he was studying the brick patterns on the ground. Opposite him sat the King of Lu, Cao Yu, and the captain of the city gate, Cao Shuang.
Huan Fan stood beside them, his face a little red.
They had just received a secret report from Jingzhou. The Shu Han cavalry general Wei Ba left the fiefdom of Zhuya and came to Dongting to meet with his brother Wei Feng and his younger brother Wei Wu. Huanfan analyzed that Wei Ba suddenly left the fiefdom and came to Dongting.
The meeting between the brothers in Dongting was probably more than just a family reunion. According to common practice, Liehou could not leave the fiefdom easily without an edict, otherwise it would be illegal. Wei Ba was in the middle of a fight with Zhuge Liang, and at this time, he would not give Zhuge Liang any clues.
There was only one possibility for him to do this, and it was with Zhuge Liang's tacit approval. Thinking further, he and Zhuge Liang had reached some kind of agreement, and he was still thinking about it, but he was about to take action again.
In a daze, two years have passed since the Battle of Pengcheng. These two years have been rare years of peace. Although an edict came from Chengdu, Liu Chan wanted to conquer the country personally and dominate the world. The edict even reached Luoyang, causing a lot of commotion.
, which made Cao Rui worried for a while. But then Li Yan delayed, Wei Ba simply did not go to Chengdu, and the news about Liu Chan's personal expedition gradually disappeared.
Xiahou Ba and others knew that the problem here might lie with Wei Ba. If Wei Ba refused to cooperate, the battle would not be fought. There were many internal conflicts in the Shu Han Dynasty.
United with Wei Ba, and
Prime Minister Zhuge Liang had a great fight. This is something everyone in the world knows. If they don't get along, it will be difficult for them to join forces and pose a real threat to Cao Wei. But once the three of them compromise and reach an agreement, Cao Wei will be in some danger.
.
Therefore, Cao Wei's detailed work focused most on Jiaozhou and Jingzhou. As soon as Wei Ba moved, they sent the news back to Luoyang.
Because of Pengcheng's contribution, Xiahou Ba was promoted to the general of chariots and cavalry. Together with King Cao Yu of Lu, they were two important generals that the clan relied on. Together with the general Sima Yi, they formed a structure of checks and balances. In the past two years,
Sima Yi was stationed in Chenliu and Suiyang, and was in charge of the southeastern battlefield. Xiahou Ba was in charge of the Bingzhou battlefield, and Cao Yu guarded the capital and protected his heart.
Because of the differences in their personalities and military exploits, Xiahou Ba has surpassed Cao Yu and became the clan's unrivaled number one general. He reached this position not only because his military exploits surpassed Cao Yu's, but also because he handed over to Wang Chang at every turn.
Let Cao Rui see his strength beyond strength.
Wang Mo is Wang Chang's nephew. Xiahou Ba listened to Wang Ling's advice and went to see Wang Chang after returning to Luoyang. Unexpectedly, Wang Chang relied on his status and was unwilling to associate with a warrior like Xiahou Ba, so Xiahou Ba was rejected. In Da Da
When everyone thought that Xiahou Ba would be in trouble, Xiahou Ba was uncharacteristically polite. He was very respectful and came to see him many times. Wang Chang was moved by him. Although he was unwilling to enter the palace in person, he sent his nephew Wang Mo to the Chariot General's Palace.
Become a staff member.
Wang Mo's entry into the scene made many people re-recognize Xiahou Ba. It is precisely because of this that Cao Rui felt that although Xiahou Ba was not smooth enough, he understood the general situation and could avoid destroying strength and turning into softness. Therefore, he entrusted the Western Front with the important task.
Wei Ba came out again, and the battle plan that had been shelved for a year showed signs of restarting. As a general on the Western Front, Xiahou Ba was naturally the most nervous. He immediately invited Cao Yu, Cao Shuang and others to discuss, of course,
Of course, staff like Huan Fan and Wang Mo are the top priority.
Huan Fan took the initiative, analyzed the current situation, and reminded Xiahou Ba to pay attention. Although the main force of the Shu Han was in the west, the danger was in the east. There was Emperor Liu Chan, General Li Yan, and possibly Prime Minister Zhuge Liang in Guanzhong. It should not happen again.
Let Wei Ba send troops from Guanzhong again. Then where will Wei Ba be? Considering his military advantage, the most likely place is the eastern front or the sea.
Before the Battle of Pengcheng, Wei Ba's strategic intention was to take Liaodong first to solve the problem of the source of war horses, but it was later interrupted by the Battle of Pengcheng. Now that he is back on the battlefield, it is very likely that he will resume his old tricks. With Wei Ba's combat power and his
With the naval advantage, the Eastern Front will be under great pressure.
Therefore, Huan Fan suggested that Xiahou Ba write to the emperor and adjust his strategic deployment to avoid losses in the east.
Xiahou Ba felt it made sense, so he asked Wang Mo again, but Wang Mo was just silent and refused to speak.
He came silently because he was a saw-mouthed gourd and kept silent.
"Chu Jing, don't you have any objections at all?" Xiahou Ba said in a deep voice, suppressing his displeasure.
Wang Mo sighed and coughed: "Your Majesty, General, the biggest problem why Chengdu's battle plan has been delayed until now is probably internal discord. I think you all feel the same about this, right?"
Cao Yu and Xiahou Ba looked at each other and nodded silently. Xiahou Ba breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Mo was finally willing to speak, which saved him from an embarrassing situation, which was a big improvement.
"The conflict between Wei Ba and Zhuge Liang, in detail, is not because they have any grudges, but because they have different views on the aristocratic family. Wei Ba adopts a relatively tolerant attitude towards the aristocratic family, contacts the aristocratic family, and achieves symbiosis and win-win.
But Zhuge Liang adheres to the legalist way of governing and wants to monopolize power. Seeing that Wei Ba's father and son and brothers have become a new family due to their military exploits, they may pose a threat to the monarchy, so naturally they must try their best to suppress them."
Wang Mo analyzed the internal battles in the Shu Han court unhurriedly, but did not mention the war for a long time. Xiahou Ba felt a little anxious when he heard it, but Cao Yu gradually understood what he meant. He glanced at Huan Fan, and Huan Fan
He tilted his head slightly to express his agreement with Wang Mo's opinion.
Wang Mo's meaning is actually very simple. In terms of war, the pressure on the Eastern Front is indeed great, and reinforcements to the Eastern Front are necessary. But now there is a problem. The person in charge of the Eastern Front is Sima Yi, and the one in Youzhou is Chen Tai.
them
It is also a family. If you only increase troops without transferring generals, it will be equivalent to increasing Sima Yi's strength, and I am afraid the emperor will not be willing to do so. If you increase troops and send generals at the same time, will Sima Yi think that the emperor is taking the opportunity to seize his military power?
In the face of a powerful enemy, it is probably not a good thing for such misunderstandings to arise between the monarch and his ministers.
Huan Fan's suggestion was correct, but it was only military. Wang Mo's suggestion considered political considerations, and it was not a far-reaching one. He just considered the problem from another angle, and naturally came to a different point of view.
Wang Mo also implicitly raised a question that is alarming: the conflict between Zhuge Liang and Wei Ba lies in their attitude towards the aristocratic family, and Cao Wei has a similar problem. Zhuge Liang is at a disadvantage as a veteran because he adopts a suppressive attitude towards the aristocratic family.
.Currently Cao Wei adopts the same attitude, so will Cao Wei follow in the footsteps of Zhuge Liang and lose the support of the family?
This is an issue that must be considered.
The reason why Wang Mo has been reluctant to mention this issue is because of his status. Cao Yu and Xiahou Ba are from the clan, Huan Fan is also from the Qiao Peixiang Party, but Wang Mo is from a Taiyuan family. If he suggested that the emperor change his strategy towards the family, Will it arouse the emperor's resentment and misunderstand his opinions?
It is a very troublesome matter if there is suspicion between the monarch and his ministers. Any wise minister will try to avoid such a situation. Wang Mo's name was given by his uncle Wang Chang. Wang Chang followed the way of Huang Lao and dealt with soft things. He was weak and unwilling to take the initiative to cause trouble. This can be seen from the names of Wang Mo and Wang Chang's sons Wang Chen, Wang Hun and others.
Xiahou Ba was a little shocked. He knew he had misunderstood Wang Mo. He coughed and his tone became more gentle: "Then how should we deal with it in terms of tranquility?"
"Take advantage of the enemy's strengths to make up for my shortcomings." Wang Mo said calmly, then closed his mouth and refused to say another word.
Xiahou Ba was silent. To take advantage of the enemy, it is natural to take advantage of Wei Ba's, that is, to cooperate with the aristocratic family. To make up for my shortcomings, it is naturally to ask the emperor to improve the relationship with the aristocratic family. This sentence is easy to say, but too difficult to do. .
Cao Rui has always had a view that the reason why Cao Wei is now dominated by the aristocratic family is because Emperor Wen was too accommodating to the aristocratic family when he was in power. If the development of the aristocratic family was tightly controlled like Emperor Wu did at the time, the current situation would not have happened. Dilemma. During the reign of Emperor Wu, did Sima Yi dare to be so presumptuous? He didn't say it explicitly because he couldn't blame the late emperor, but it was impossible for him to relax his suppression of the family.
The question went in a circle and returned to the original issue. In the final analysis, it was still the conflict between the royal family and the aristocratic family.
"This issue is very relevant, so we won't talk about it for now." Xiahou Ba waved his hand and decided not to dwell on this issue any longer, otherwise we will definitely not get a result. "Based on the current situation, whether we should strengthen the military on the Eastern Front troops?"
Huan Fan pondered for a moment and then said: "In this case, it would be better to do the opposite."
"Why does one do the opposite?"
"Although Wei Ba's navy is strong, it does not have enough cavalry to pose a real danger to Liaodong. Why doesn't the general gather a heavy force and break through the pass first?"
Xiahou Ba blinked his eyes, his heart pounding. Huan Fan was right. It will take some time for Wei Ba to truly pose a threat. If we can take advantage of this time to severely damage the Shu Han army in Guanzhong, or even retake Guanzhong, then Wei Ba can do it alone. It is difficult to support. Even if Liaodong is captured, it will not affect the entire war situation.
If we can really defeat Li Yan and thwart Liu Chan's personal expedition, then the power of the clan can be further strengthened, and the advantage over the family will be more obvious. When the time comes, wouldn't it be much easier to face Wei Ba?
"Chu Jing, what do you think of Yuan Ze's plan?"
Wang Mo thought for a while and then nodded in agreement: "I think Yuan Ze's plan is very clever. It's just that the matter can't be delayed. It needs to be decided quickly. If I take the initiative to attack Guanzhong, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve success, so it's better to take the initiative to show weakness." , leading the rebel army to take the initiative to attack."
Huan Fan smiled: "In that case, we still have to pretend to move to the east first?"
Wang Mo thought for a while and also laughed: "Yes, it should be like this, making noises in the east and attacking in the west."