Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Lu Shi's troops returned to the city first, followed by the Wuwei Camp, and then Wen Dai's foreign troops entered.

The prefecture soldiers under Huaiji General Shen Dan were placed at the end. Torches were lit everywhere in the north of Fancheng at night, and Shen Dan was personally at the foot of the city, commanding 3,000 soldiers to dismantle the camp in an orderly manner.

The camp fences were dismantled and neatly stacked on the open ground, and the food and logistical supplies in the Wu army camp were collected and transported into the city. The trenches were filled one by one, the walls were knocked down one after another, and the tents were sorted and stored.

According to Xu Shu's instructions, we only need to dismantle the two-li-wide Wu army camp in front of the north gate of Fancheng tonight. The rest of the Wu camp will be removed tomorrow.

These tasks will also be done by Shen Dan's troops alone tomorrow. Lu Shi's troops, Wuweiying, and Wendai's troops will all rest in the city.

However, Shen Dan did not refuse at all and accepted the task very readily.

Firstly, he didn't need to do it himself, he just needed to supervise the soldiers to do it. Although it wasn't a credit, it was at least a bit of hard work. Secondly, on the battlefield today, Shen Dan's troops were indeed the ones with the least pressure.

The Wuwei Battalion was responsible for the most important attack mission. Among the four generals Dian Man, Li Ji, Zou Gui and Wang Qi, Dian Man's troops attacked Wu Shuo's army of Wu and lost more than one hundred elite soldiers. Zou Gui's troops were slightly weaker and lost more than two hundred people. Together with Li Ji and Wang Qi, the Wuwei Battalion suffered about six hundred casualties in this battle.

Of Wendai's 4,000 men, nearly 1,000 were killed. Zhao Gu's troops, who were sent by Xu Shu to aid Wendai, were almost intact, but Wei Xian's troops suffered the heaviest casualties. Under the pincer attack of Pan Jun and Quan Cong, about 1,000 of the 2,000 men were killed, and Wei Xian himself died on the battlefield.

On the western battlefield led by Xu Shu, Wei Sheng's troops suffered hundreds of casualties, and Shen Dan's troops suffered more than a thousand casualties.

By this calculation, only 5,000 of Shen Dan's 6,000 soldiers were left, and less than 8,000 of Wen Dai's original 10,000 soldiers were left. Adding the 600 soldiers killed in the Wuwei Camp, the total loss reached nearly 4,000 people.

Of these 4,000 men, 70% died in battle, and less than 30% were rescued with injuries.

Fancheng had been under siege for nearly 20 days, and once it was rescued, it was undoubtedly a victory from any perspective. This is how the army is, life and death are not important, but profit is important. The fighting and casualties during the day did not prevent the generals from celebrating their victory at night.

War means casualties. Can you not lead your troops into battle just for fear of losing soldiers?

In the evening, at the celebration banquet in Fancheng Prefecture, in addition to the two important generals Xu Shu and Qian Zhao, Lu Shi of Fancheng, four generals Dian Man, Li Ji, Zou Gui and Wang Qi of Wuwei Camp, Wen Dai and his two captains Liu Tong and Huang Hua, as well as two captains Wei Sheng and Zhao Gu were all present.

On the table in front of everyone were just ordinary food and wine, not rich. But the most important thing about a banquet is the atmosphere. The merit of repelling the Wu army in the daytime was enough to make these generals excited.

"Thanks to your Majesty's great blessing, you all were brave and resolute today, and broke the siege of Fancheng in half a day. You deserve congratulations for your achievement."

Xu Shu and Qian Zhao sat side by side at the head of the table. They stood up, raised their glasses and said, "Gentlemen, raise your glasses!"

"Raise your glass!" Everyone shouted at the same time, raised the ceramic cups filled with wine in their hands, and then raised their heads to drink it all.

The celebration banquet was naturally lively. After Xu Shu and Qian Zhao drank a few cups together, the four generals of the Wuwei Camp also toasted to the two important generals Xu and Qian.

Toasting also follows the principle of first come first served. The seats of the four generals of the Wuwei Camp were at the front. When Wen Dai, who was sitting next to Wang Qi, was about to stand up to toast, Xu Shu stood up from the table, filled his own glass with wine, and slowly walked in front of Wei Sheng.

At the time of the battle today, Lieutenant Wei Xian was the only officer of the rank of 2,000 stone who died in the battle. The two brothers Wei Sheng and Wei Xian were both generals in the army, and Xu Shu should personally express his condolences for both public and private reasons. After all, Wei Xian strictly followed Xu Shu's orders and fought hard in the army, making him a typical national hero.

Recapturing Fancheng is just the beginning, most of the Wu army has not retreated yet!
"Captain Wei." Xu Shu calmly looked at Wei Sheng who was crying silently in front of him, raised his glass, and said calmly:

"Wei Xian died in battle today, and I am also filled with sorrow. Tomorrow morning, today's battle report will be sent from Fancheng to Xuchang. In addition to celebrating the victory of the generals, I have also asked for the favor of Tinghou for Wei Xian's son to reward Wei Xian for his contribution."

"Don't cry." Xu Shu sighed and stepped forward to pat Wei Sheng on the shoulder: "This is the fate of a general. You have been in the army for more than 20 years. Don't cry and grieve anymore."

"Mr. Xu is right." Wei Xian responded vaguely, but he was still crying.

"My brother will rest in peace if he can be granted the title by Lord Xu." Wei Xian wiped his tears, then leaned over and kowtowed to Xu Shu again: "I would like to thank Lord Xu for his kindness on behalf of my nephew."

"Get up, get up quickly." Xu Shu hurried forward to support Wei Xian.

When everyone saw Xu Shu and Wei Xian, they either shook their heads and sighed or remained silent. In this kind of situation, except for Xu Shu, the commander, who could persuade and enlighten them, no one else could say much. However, Xu Shu's promise to ask for the title of Tinghou for Wei Xian's son was actually a bit too generous. Generally speaking, in such a situation, the title of Guanneihou would be enough.

And since Xu Shu promised it himself, he must have his reasons.

Although the siege of Fancheng was lifted, the battle of Xiangfan was not over and would enter a new stage of confrontation. How to capture Yukouwu? How to drive out the Wu army on Yuliangzhou? How to lift the siege of Xiangyang? Xu Shu had no answers to these questions, and he might even need the generals to die for him.

The posthumous honors given to Wei Xian were not so much for his son as for encouraging the generals in the hall. His Majesty, who was far away in Xuchang, would understand and agree with this intention.

Xu Shu was still certain about the tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects.

Xu Shu comforted Wei Sheng, and after returning to his seat, Wen Dai followed suit and went to Wei Sheng to toast and comfort him. Wen Dai had known Wei Sheng and Wei Xian for more than ten years, and they were very close.

Of course, the lowest-ranking official present was a lieutenant of two thousand stones, so it was enough to appease Wei Sheng, and the banquet had to continue.

Being in the city, they didn't have to worry about the safety of the army, so they drank more. The defender of Fancheng, Lu Shi, was relieved and kept toasting to the generals. By the end of the banquet, he was so drunk that he was unconscious. Xu Shu had his men carry Lu Shi back.

……

While the generals in Fancheng were feasting, over 600 miles away in Xuchang City, Cao Rui was sitting in the palace study, discussing the allocation of grain and fodder with Sima Yi, the Minister of Works, Wei Ji, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Pei Qian, the Palace Attendant.

This year, Jizhou has been collecting a lot of grain, but thanks to the richness of Hebei, there is still grain and grass in the local treasuries that can be collected. However, the collection of grain in this era is a real and delicate job.

Except for the counties near the canal that could rely on water conservancy, the other counties far away from the river had to transport grain by land, and it was inevitable that there would be varying losses.

In the afternoon, Sima Yi and Wei Ji came to the study to report. If there was a slight mistake in the numbers in the central government, countless people would suffer in the counties at the end, so we must not be careless.

With this in mind, Wei Ji brought the last year's harvest records of Youzhou, Jizhou, and Bingzhou in Hebei, the records of grain transfers in the first half of the year, and the number of registered residents, and checked them with the emperor and Sima Yi. As the manpower was somewhat tight, Pei Qian was also called over by the emperor. Even the dinner of the four of them was delivered to the study by the eunuchs.

"Your Majesty, the amount of grain transferred from Jizhou this time has been checked." Sima Yi said, rubbing his swollen eyes.

"What about Bingzhou and Youzhou? Have they been finally confirmed?" Cao Rui asked.

"Confirmed." Sima Yi nodded and said, "Youzhou only collects grain from Yan and Fanyang counties, and transports the grain to the treasury of Lecheng in Hejian County. Bingzhou supplies grain from Taiyuan and Pingyang counties to Hedong County. Once it arrives in Hedong County, it will be uniformly dispatched by Wei Gongzhen in Chencang."

"Very good." Cao Rui nodded: "Well, let's send it from the Shangshutai to Yecheng, Taiyuan and Jixian tomorrow morning."

"Your Majesty, a eunuch brought a letter a quarter of an hour ago. Your Majesty was just reading the files, so I did not disturb Your Majesty." Pei Qian said in a low voice, holding a letter in both hands and handing it to the emperor.

"A letter?" Cao Rui frowned slightly: "Let me take a look."

After Cao Rui opened the envelope, he read it briefly and put the letter in a wooden box on the shelf next to the table.

Seeing the three people looking at him, Cao Rui did not hide the contents of the letter, but laughed and said:
"It's a letter from the Empress Dowager of Luoyang. The Empress Dowager has accepted five new women into my harem. They should arrive in Xuchang tomorrow night."

"Congratulations, Your Majesty." The always serious old minister Wei Ji suddenly congratulated.

Sima Yi couldn't help laughing, and he also bowed and said, "I congratulate Your Majesty."

Pei Qian also smiled and cupped his hands.

Cao Rui shook his head slightly, speechless for a moment. (End of this chapter)