In May of the eighth year of Jianxing, the Empress Dowager Bian of Cao Wei died, and she was given the posthumous title of Empress Wu Xuan Bian.

The coffin stopped in the palace, Cao Rui wept, accompanied by ministers and officials, all wearing white single clothes and no white hats.

Cao Rui was so sad that he could not handle political affairs for ten consecutive days. His ministers persuaded Cao Rui to put the world first.

Cao Rui finally accepted his sorrow and went to court again.

Empress Wuxuan gave birth to Emperor Wen Cao Pi, King Rencheng Wei Cao Zhang, King Dong'a Cao Zhi, and King Xiaohuai Cao Xiong.

His face does not change when he is angry, he does not lose his temper when he is happy, he is frugal by nature, he does not care about splendor, he has no writing, embroidery, and all his utensils are black lacquer.

Not only did she win the respect of Emperor Wu Cao Cao, but she also set an example and created a simple and frugal style in Cao Wei's harem. She also often suppressed the influence of her relatives and had maternal etiquette and virtue, which was respected by all officials.

Now that he has passed away, the whole country of Wei is crying bitterly.

In the seventh month, Gaoling (Cao Cao's tomb) was opened in Xiandao, and he was buried with Emperor Wu. Changle Taipu, Shaofu, held a funeral ceremony in Changqiu.

The city of Luoyang is completely white.

Just when the eyes of the world fell on the funeral of Empress Dowager Bian, in the east hall of Taiji Hall, Cao Rui, who was supposed to attend the funeral in person, was sitting on the throne wearing white clothes.

The people sitting below were all important ministers of Cao Wei and the emperor's close associates, such as Sikong Chen Qun, Taiwei Hua Xin, Zhongshu Ling Sun Zi, Zhongshu Ling Liu Fang, Shizhong Liu Ye, Zhongjun leader Yang Ji, etc.

What is placed on Cao Rui's desk is a memorial sent by Cao Zhen who was guarding Guanzhong.

It mentioned:

The Shu people took advantage of Wei's unpreparedness and attacked Longyou, cutting off Liangzhou and peeking into Guanzhong.

Now I heard that the Shu people are advancing on Liangzhou, and Liangzhou is in danger.

If there is a loss in Liangzhou, the Shu people can invade Guanzhong with all their strength. If Guanzhong is disturbed, the Central Plains will be uneasy.

It would be better to take advantage of the fact that people in Liangzhou still favor Wei, and send troops from Guanzhong, or attack Shu from the Xiedao, or march west to Longyou, and restore Liangzhou.

I have been planning for a long time, and the officers and soldiers in Guanzhong are united, and all the generals are advancing in parallel, and we can defeat it greatly.

Cao Rui had several copies of this memorial passed to the people below for viewing, and asked: "Do you think the general's method is acceptable?"

Chen Qun frowned after reading Cao Zhen's memorial.

Empress Wuxuan is now preparing to be buried. It would be fine if the emperor went there without following the etiquette.

After all, the two captives of Shu and Wu were watching, and it made sense that state affairs came first.

It's just that Cao Zhen, as a member of the royal family, actually wanted to encourage the emperor to start a war during the national mourning period, which was not the way for a minister.

What's more important is that the emperor not only didn't feel anything was wrong, but instead summoned his ministers to discuss the matter, and his intentions were self-evident.

He turned his head slightly and saw that many people were looking at him with worried eyes.

Chen Qun knew what he meant, and as an auxiliary minister, he naturally had to be the first to stand up: "Your Majesty, the conquest of Shu is a matter of great importance, so we must not be careless."

"In the past, when Emperor Taizu wanted to attack Zhang Lu, he harvested more beans and wheat in advance to increase the army's food supply. However, before Zhang Lu's attack, food and grass were exhausted. Now Guanzhong is desolate, and there is no way to get food from the land."

"If grain is transported from Guandong, the loss is too great, and the sloping valley is blocked and dangerous, making it difficult to advance and retreat. The Shu people are familiar with the terrain and will definitely select elite troops to attack the grain road."

"In this case, the only way to do this is to leave more troops to guard important places. This will also cost more troops, so we must carefully consider this."

Cao Rui nodded, "What Sikong said is true. But Sikong doesn't know something. In the past two years, grain and grass have been transported from Guandong to Guanzhong day and night, which has already been enough to supply the army in Guanzhong."

"Therefore, the issue of grain and grass is not something to worry about. As for the danger of the inclined valley, it is not a problem. The general also said that from Guanzhong to Hanzhong, you have to go through the inclined valley alone."

"Especially Ziwu Valley, you can go directly from Chang'an to Hanzhong. Even if you can't go to Ziwu Valley, you can still walk back to the middle road, take Longyou and then go down to Hanzhong."

Chen Qun was good at governing the world and was not very familiar with military affairs.

He had only heard of the dangers of the Shu Road, but he had only heard of the name of the Xiegu Ziwu Valley, but had not seen its details.

Now that Cao Rui said this, although I felt it was wrong, I didn't know where to start.

In addition, the turmoil of the flashy case has just subsided. As the only auxiliary minister in Luoyang, his identity is indeed a bit sensitive and it is difficult to say too much.

However, with Chen Qun as the starting point, people naturally followed and gave advice.

Taiwei Hua Xin also stood up and said: "Your Majesty has great virtues and is in the prosperous age of Kangxi. I would like to focus on governing the country first and conquest later."

"But if China is free from hunger and cold, and the people have no desire to separate themselves from their superiors, then the provocation between the two thieves can be calmly waited and eliminated."

Cao Rui didn't know how many times he heard such big and empty words.

He opened his mouth and said: "The thieves rely on the mountains and rivers. When Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen were there, they were still unable to defeat them. How dare I say that they will be destroyed?"

"It's just that the two captives were fierce and stubborn. The generals in the army thought that they would be unable to defeat them if they didn't attack them, so they used troops to detect their provocation."

"If the time of the day has not come yet, I also have lessons from the past. I can learn from King Wu of Zhou to attack Zhou, join forces and make an alliance in Tianjin and return to the army. Respect and never forget the warning."

When Hua Xin heard that the emperor had moved out even King Wu of Zhou, he knew that the emperor was determined and he sighed in his heart.

Seeing that both Sikong and Taiwei were unable to persuade the emperor, one man couldn't stand it anymore and stood up and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, it is absolutely impossible to attack Shu at this time!"

Cao Rui took a closer look and saw that it was Yang Ji, the leader of the Central Military Commission.

Although Yang Ji was a close official of the emperor, he was the most adamant that Shu should not be conquered.

This is not the first time that he has publicly opposed the invasion of Shu.

Cao Rui scolded: "You are just a scholar, how can you know about military matters?"

Yang Ji thanked him and said: "I come from the last period of Confucianism. I have received great favor from your majesty. I am selected from among the best of the ministers and placed at the top of the six armies. I have a small heart and dare not keep silent."

"Lu Xun of Wu State was only a scholar, but he was able to defeat Liu Bei in Yiling. How can your Majesty say that a scholar is not enough to do military work?"

Cao Rui said angrily: "Can you compare yourself to Lu Xun?"

Goodbye Yang Ji:

"I am stupid, but I dare to ask your Majesty. The people of Shu and Wu have openly formed an alliance. If the Wei Dynasty attacks Shu, the people of Wu will sneak up on them. If what happened in the second year of Taihe is restored, the Wei people will be in danger! Your Majesty must not be careless."

When Cao Rui heard this, his face suddenly became extremely ugly.

The two major defeats in the second year of Taihe were the shame of his life. When Yang Ji mentioned them in public, he felt very angry.

"In the second year of Taihe, the Shu people took advantage of the Wei Dynasty's unpreparedness and attacked Longyou. The Wu people were shameless and ignored their faith and lured them to surrender. It was only then that Da Sima was deceived."

"Now it is the Wei Dynasty that takes the initiative to attack the Shu people. In addition, I have already made preparations in Soochow, so the Wu people will not have another chance!"

Cao Rui thought of his arrangements in Soochow, and felt even more confident.

Yang Ji naturally understood what the emperor meant by the arrangement.

Because it was he who personally led Yinfan to see Cao Rui.

Thinking that His Majesty's plan at that time was actually prepared for today, Yang Ji understood even more clearly that His Majesty had already intended to attack Shu.

The memorial written by the general just gave His Majesty an excuse.

It’s just that Yang Ji wanted to understand, but he still didn’t give up and still insisted on his opinion:

"Since Your Majesty feels that the sincerity of my minister's words is not good enough, Liu Ye, one of the advisors to the late Emperor, often said that Shu cannot be conquered, so Your Majesty must listen."

"You're talking nonsense!" Cao Rui said angrily, "Your servant told me that Shu can be conquered! Do you want to deceive me?"

Yang Ji was not afraid and looked at Cao Rui: "How dare you deceive your majesty? Liu Shizhong is also in the palace. Why don't you ask me?"

Everyone looked at Liu Ye, who was sitting there and had not spoken.

Liu Ye sat in silence with his eyes lowered, as if he had not heard the argument between Cao Rui and Yang Ji.

Cao Rui was impatient and shouted: "Liu Shizhong, I'm asking you something, why don't you answer it?"

When Liu Ye heard Cao Rui calling him, he quickly left his seat, stood up and came out, saluted Cao Rui, and then stood with his hands bowed.

Everyone thought he was going to express his opinion, but after waiting for a long time, Liu Ye still stood there without saying a word.

Cao Rui frowned and was about to urge him again when he suddenly remembered that since he came to the throne, Liu Ye seemed to have rarely expressed his opinions in the court.

He was thoughtful, so he put aside the court discussion for the time being.

Then someone asked Liu Ye to be left alone.

"The Duke often discussed with me the conquest of Shu. Why didn't he speak up just now in front of all the ministers?"

Cao Rui met Liu Ye alone in private, with a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

Just now, all the ministers opposed the invasion of Shu. They thought that Liu Ye, who usually supported Shu, would support himself despite all opinions, but unexpectedly he did not say a word.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ye at this time was completely different from the taciturn person in the imperial court.

His face was serious and his eyes were bright. He looked directly at Cao Rui and reprimanded him righteously:

"Conquering a country is a big plan. When I heard about it, I was frightened. First I felt your Majesty's kindness in my heart, but then I was afraid that I would be lax in my words."

"I am even afraid that I will reveal this matter while talking in my sleep. In this case, it will be the crime of leaking secrets."

"My soldiers are using treacherous tactics. The army has not yet been sent out, so we are not tired of keeping it secret. Now that your Majesty is discussing this matter openly, I am afraid that the enemy country has heard about it."

"Zhuge Liang is a great man. When he learns about this, he will definitely know that your majesty intends to attack Shu. When the time comes, the people of Shu will be prepared. I am afraid that what your majesty plans will cause many twists and turns."

When Cao Rui heard these words, he was shocked and quickly stood up to thank him.

Then he asked: "All the important ministers in the court are opposed to the conquest of Shu. Can you give me some advice?"
To be continued...