Chang'an Temporary Palace.

Cao Rui stood at the gate of the palace with someone, and when he saw the chamberlain trotting over, he hurriedly greeted him, and asked urgently, "Is General Zhang okay?" ”

"Your Majesty, General Zhang has been unconscious."

The waiter hurriedly said to Cao Rui.

Cao Rui's eyes fell on the soft couch with a gauze tent behind him, and he stepped forward to take a look, and a foul smell rushed to his face.

Zhang He was lying inside, his eyes closed, already skin and bones, shaped like a skeleton, and the white linen cloth wrapped around his knees oozed pus, exuding a rancid smell.

The calves were swollen and shiny, as if they would burst open at the slightest touch.

Cao Rui hurriedly put down the gauze tent and covered his mouth, only to feel a tumbling in his abdomen.

The personal attendant hurriedly shouted, "Quick, carry it in!" ”

The guards hurriedly carried the soft couch to the room prepared in front of them.

Cao Rui endured his nausea, turned his head and shouted, "Doctor!" ”

Several medical workers in the palace hurriedly ran over.

"Hurry up and heal General Zhang, be sure to heal!"

Cao Rui commanded sharply.

No one noticed, his hands were trembling slightly.

Back in the palace where he usually handles government affairs, Cao Rui's face is still a little pale.

Longguan was lost, Wei Zhen's soldiers were defeated and died, Cao Zhen's troops were broken, and Zhang He was seriously injured......

In less than three months, a series of bad news hit the originally high-spirited young emperor hard.

The confidence built up by defeating Sun Quan is now gone.

"Someone is coming, Xuanzhong Shu Ling Sun Zi, Zhongshu Jian Liu Fang."

Cao Ruiqiang calmed down and ordered.

The predecessor of Zhongshu was the secretary, and Cao Pi called the emperor, changed the secretary to Zhongshu, and placed the Zhongshu Order and Zhongshu Supervisor.

Although the name has changed, the authority has not changed, and even the authority has increased, it is the key department that holds secrets, and the most important eyes and ears of Emperor Wei.

At the same time, Zhongshu Ling and Zhongshu Jian were also the most trusted people of Emperor Wei.

Sun Zi and Liu Fang were summoned, and hurriedly entered the palace to meet them, "The minister Sun Zi (Liu Fang) sees Your Majesty." ”

"The two Aiqing don't have to be polite, and sit down first."

Cao Rui sat the two of them down, and then spoke, "The two Aiqing must also know that General Zhang was seriously injured and unconscious, and he was just sent back to Chang'an by his cronies today. ”

"The situation in Longyou is now eroded, difficult to deal with, I can't sleep day and night, but I can't do anything, now the important ministers of the court are far away in Luoyang, only two of them are my henchmen, not leaving the left and right."

Speaking of this, Cao Rui looked at Sun Zi again, with a guilty face, "Sun Aiqing, you once told me that the land of Hanzhong is a heavenly prison, and there must be 150,000 or 60,000 elite soldiers to defeat Shu. ”

"And persuaded me to stick to the dangerous pass, and not to go south easily, which is really a golden word. I regret not listening to you, there is a matter of the defeat of the army, and now I know that I am wrong, I hope you don't have to worry about it because of this. ”

When Sun Zi heard this, he didn't even dare to say that he didn't dare to do it, "Shu is cunning, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of Great Wei, he just got lucky for a while, Your Majesty doesn't have to blame himself." ”

Cao Rui sighed, "But now that Shu is peeking into the pass according to Longguan, I am really worried, what can I do?" ”

Sun Zi replied, "Your Majesty, now that you have entered the customs from Hanzhong, there is only one way through Chen Cang, and he has a general to guard it personally, so you don't have to worry." And from Longyou to enter the customs, all must pass through Wangxian. ”

"It can be said that Huangxian is a more important place than Longguan. Therefore, General Zhang personally led the elite troops to cross the Longshan Trail, and still left 20,000 horses to garrison Wangxian. ”

"What we have to do now is to take advantage of the fact that Shu Lu's foothold in Longyou is not stable and there is no time to look eastward, and send good generals to guard Huangxian County as soon as possible and repair the city wall. As long as Huangxian County is not lost, the Shu captives in Longyou will not be able to enter Guanzhong. ”

When Cao Rui heard this, his face showed a very unwilling look, "In this way, wouldn't you give up Longyou to Shu Yu?" ”

"Your Majesty, the Kwantung reinforcements that have arrived in Chang'an now are only 60,000, and the total number of soldiers and horses in Guanzhong is just over 100,000. In addition to garrisoning Chencang and Wangxian, it is also necessary to garrison a large army in New Taipei County to guard against the stable rebellion in the northwest. ”

"In this way, the 100,000 troops in Guanzhong, although the defense is more than enough, the progress is insufficient, if there is another defeat, then Guanzhong will no longer have all the dangers of Great Wei. In addition, the army has been newly defeated, and its morale is low, and it needs to rest and recuperate before it can fight again. ”

"In the opinion of the minister, Your Majesty might as well be patient, and wait for the arrival of the Hebei army, when the time comes, whether to fight or defend, and then make plans."

Sun Zi said earnestly.

Hearing these words, Cao Rui felt even more remorseful.

If it weren't for the fact that he was too greedy for merit and rushed to march into Wudu, resulting in the rout of the army, he should have been able to start a counterattack on Longyou at this time.

I didn't expect a wrong step, a wrong step.

But now, even if there are not enough troops to attack Longyou, then it should be possible to send a large army to pacify the stable rebels, right?

If Anding County is in hand, even if there is no Longguan, at least you can attack Longyou from Anding County by detour.

Wei is strong and Shu is weak, and under the support of the army, Shu may not be able to hold on.

Thinking of this, Cao Rui asked again, "What about Anding County?" Even if we can't help the Shu captives in Longyou, then Anding County can always send a large army to go there first, right? ”

This time, without waiting for Sun Zi to speak, Liu Fang reminded, "Your Majesty, the army is fighting, and the grain and grass must also be paid attention to, now the government in Guanzhong has not much grain, and it is no longer enough to support the army for a month." ”

"If the army goes on another expedition, people will eat horses and chew, and the cost will be more, so the minister asks His Majesty to give an order to urge Luoyang to transport grain and grass as soon as possible. lest when the Hebei reinforcements arrive, there will be no food available. ”

"What do you say? Not enough food and grass? Cao Rui, who was thinking about winning back a game, was like pouring a basin of cold water on his head, and he got up.

"How can there be a shortage of food and grass? Guanzhong has not been war-free for nearly ten years, and the water and soil are fertile, and ten years of grain storage is not enough for the army for three months? ”

Liu Fang was silent.

Cao Rui has been upset by a series of bad news these days, and now when he hears that there is a shortage of grain and grass in Guanzhong, he is furious at the moment, "Liu Fang, you say, why is there a shortage of grain and grass?" ”

Even in the Central Plains, a few years ago, there was a great military campaign by the first emperor, but it could not stop the increasingly cheap price of grain, so this is why Sima Zhi suggested reinstating the five-baht coin.

Not to mention that there has been no war in Guanzhong for a long time, how can there be no food?

"Back to Your Majesty, in the past, everything in Guanzhong was in charge of General Anxi, how can the minister know the details?"

Liu Fang was helpless, so he had to reply with such a sentence.

"General Anzai?"

Cao Rui was stunned.

Isn't that his uncle Xiahou Nan?

Xiahou Nan became friends with Cao Pi, and married Princess Qinghe, the eldest daughter of Emperor Wu, and her identity was not trivial.

When Cao Rui heard Liu Fang's words, he immediately understood, where did he not know the details? I obviously didn't dare to say it.

Thinking of this, Cao Rui's heart became even more angry.

"Come on, let Xiahou ......"

Cao Rui was impulsive, and when he opened his mouth, he wanted to let Xiahou Nan come over to confront him face to face, but when he saw the two of them, he suddenly stopped talking again.

If Xiahou Mao made such a mistake before the change of relatives, Cao Rui would not have any scruples even if he was a killer.

It's just that this trip he drove in person, originally to increase his prestige, but he didn't expect to lose his land and lose his teacher now, and when he returned to Luoyang in the future, he was afraid that he would be despised by the ministers.

In this case, it is precisely the time when the support of the royal clan is needed.

As soon as he thought of this, he had to forcibly suppress his anger first, and nodded, "I know about this matter, and I will ask General Anxi what is going on then." ”