Cao Xu went to Yangzhou, and Chen Qun went to Jingzhou.
Owing to the good habits cultivated under the two ministers at the Secretariat, combined with Emperor Cao Rui's requirements, reports were still submitted every five days.
Information from the front lines, such as battle conditions, military situations, and climate, were gathered and sent to the court in Luoyang every five days, from Shouchun and Wuchang.
It basically changed from the scattering state in Cao Wei's time, when reports were only submitted for events and not for nothing.
In a normal dynasty, if there were emergencies at the frontiers, the court would have sent two of the four ministers in charge of politics out, and the capital might already be shrouded in war clouds, with the people and civilians beginning to worry.
But on the contrary, Wei is not a normal dynasty.
The two ministers in charge of politics left Luoyang to govern the frontiers as if nothing had happened. The nobles, officials, scholars, and the common people continued their lives as usual.
Nothing much, Wei, or Cao Wei, fought wars like a daily occurrence. Particularly the people of Luoyang, the capital city, might have the biggest hearts in this era.
Let's not mention the chaos caused by Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo, and others during the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Nor should we discuss Emperor Wu Cao Cao's military campaigns throughout the country. Just let's talk about Emperor Taishi Cao Wen after he ascended to the throne in Luoyang.
In the third year of the Huangchu reign, there was a campaign against Wu and an expedition to quell the rebellion in the Liang region. In the fifth year of Huangchu, another campaign against Wu took place. And in the sixth year of Huangchu, a third campaign against Wu was launched.
Even the emperor has as much as half of the time not in Luoyang. It's not strange to send two ministers to govern the frontiers now.
It's not strange to fight. It's definitely the newcomers from outside who are puzzled by it. The real people of Luoyang have long grown accustomed to the days of warfare.
At this time, the remaining ministers in charge of affairs in Luoyang were only the General Cao Zhen and Sima Yi, who was in charge of the Secretariat.
Four people became two, still one for the army and one for politics, maintaining a good balance.
Chen Jiao, who had dared to speak frankly before, had been called into the palace to serve as Zhongshu Shangshu.
Liu Xie, Xin Pi, Huang Quan, and Chen Jiao. The four of them served as Zhongshu and offered strategies to the emperor on a daily basis, while Liu Fang and Sun Zi were in charge of the secrets.
For Emperor Cao Rui, these six people were his main advisors. Whether it's military, civil administration, secrets, and so on, their backgrounds could cover it all.
Cao Rui was a bit moved. Compared to the Eastern Wu and Shu Han, Wei still had more people to use.
But there were still plenty of messes left to clean up.
Let's not mention it. Just say that the control of the palace guard, which is a must for any emperor, was a mess in Cao Wei.
On his last visit, when Emperor Cao Rui went with Huang Quan and Zhong Yu to the Wuwei Camp, he found that the central army of Wei was formally led by Chen Qun.
It sounds incredible that a man from Yingchuan should have held the military power, but ultimately, it was still caused by the disordered commands of the late Emperor Cao Pi.
Emperor Cao Rui was reading the memoires and articles himself, which was a bit slow. He had been staying up late for several nights. In the end, he pulled Huang Quan over, and the two of them slowly sorted things out, finally understanding the history and origin of Wei's central army.
Why choose Huang Quan instead of Liu Xie, Xin Pi, or Chen Jiao? It's because Huang Quan had surrendered from Shu Han, so he had no historical burden. Plus, being an outsider pure and simple, he had to follow the emperor's orders.
Emperors especially like to use such unattached loyal subjects.
With Huang Quan's help in organizing the materials, the details of Wei's military structure were gradually becoming clear in Emperor Cao Rui's mind.
It's not entirely the emperor Cao Rui's fault that he was unaware of the details. Who else should we blame but Emperor Cao Pi, who never allowed Cao Rui to be involved in military affairs until the last day of his life, when he finally designated him as the crown prince?
In the study.
Huang Quan arranged the scattered papers on the desk: "Your Majesty, I have already roughly sorted things out. I have recorded everything on paper. Do we need to report it now?"
Emperor Cao Rui yawned and looked at the weary Huang Quan under the candlelight, saying, "It's late. Let's make it short. Go over the general details today, and I'll read the rest slowly."
Huang Quan nodded and cleared his throat, saying, "Your Majesty, the central army of Wei was originally founded on the foundation of the Imperial Bodyguard Unit established by Emperor Wu."
"After Cao Chun, the Tiger Leopard Cavalry was later under the command of Cao Xu and Cao Zhen."
"In the 24th year of the Jian'an era, Cao Zhen became the Middle General, commanding the central army."
"After Emperor Cao became the emperor, Cao Zhen was promoted to the position of Leader General, and Xiahou Shang was appointed as the Middle General."
"In the first year of Huangchu, Emperor Cao promoted Cao Zhen to General of the Supreme Army and gave him command over all military affairs."
"After returning from the first campaign against Wu in Huangchu four years, Cao Zhen was again promoted to General of the Central Army. Until this point, the central army of the Great Wei had been commanded by Cao Zhen."
Emperor Cao Rui rubbed his temples. Since Dong Wu invaded Jiangxi, he had been studying military strategies every day to deal with the pressing situation, and it had already made him headache-prone.
Emperor Cao Rui said, "It was Emperor Wu who initially let Cao Zhen command the central army. When the late emperor came to power, he handed over all the central and external armies for Cao Zhen to manage, right?"
Huang Quan nodded, "Indeed."
Emperor Cao Rui sighed and said, "Continue with the story, how did it end up in Chen Qun's hands?"
Huang Quan cleared his throat and said, "Cao Zhen, as the General of the Central Army and in command of all military affairs, also personally commanded the central army. It's evident that he had too much military work to deal with."
"In the fifth year of Huangchu, the late emperor embarked on his second campaign against Wu. The late emperor ordered Cao Zhen to coordinate the external armies, and he handed over the responsibility of leading the central army to Zhu Shu, appointing him as the Middle General."
Emperor Cao Rui asked, "Is it Zhu Shuo, who was one of the four friends with Chen Qun, Sima Yi, and Wu Zhi?"
Huang Quan replied, "Indeed, it was Zhu Shuo. However, he died at the beginning of this year."
"In any case, Zhu Shuo was mostly appointed to command the central army due to his close relationship with the late emperor."
"However, when the late emperor led the army to Guangling, Zhu Shuo's health wasn't good, or perhaps he was unable to cope with the military affairs. The late emperor replaced him with Chen Qun."
Emperor Cao Rui interrupted Huang Quan: "Wait a minute. The Zhu Shuo I remember is from Qiao County, right?"
Huang Quan replied, "That's correct. But Chen Qun is from Yingchuan."
Emperor Cao Rui said, "I know he is from Yingchuan. The late emperor entrusted the central army to Zhu Shuo due to his personal ties, and later to Chen Qun?"
Emperor Cao Rui snorted, "Indeed, a 'Four Friends'! It's good to be friends with the late emperor."
Huang Quan continued, "There's more. After Chen Qun served as the Middle General for a few months, the late emperor recalled the troops and then appointed Wei Zhen as the Middle General."
Emperor Cao Rui said, "Wei Zhen is such a talented man with both literary and martial prowess. I didn't realize it. Later on, did Chen Qun become the commander of the naval forces?"
Possibly, Huang Quan felt a bit awkward at this point and could only reply weakly, "Yes, that's right."
Emperor Cao Rui stretched and yawned, "This is like fiddling while Rome burns."
That's right, Cao Pi did indeed fiddle while Rome burns.
Huang Quan added, "After the late emperor returned to Luoyang, he let Wei Zhen resume his post as the Secretary of State. Chen Qun continued to serve as the General in Command of the Army, leading the central army."
...
Emperor Cao Rui at this point had no desire to say anything more.
The late Emperor Cao Pi certainly had his merits. If someone became friends with Cao Pi, he treated his friends very well. On the other hand, anyone who angered Cao Pi would surely suffer.
The four men, Chen Qun, Sima Yi, Wu Zhi, and Zhu Shuo, who had an excellent relationship with Emperor Cao Pi, all received his favor. The first three need no further mention; the last one, Wu Zhi, was sent to Yongcheng to command the military affairs in Hebei Province.
That's right, Wu Zhi became the first-ever commander of Hebei Province as the emperor's close friend.
In comparison, those who had angered Emperor Cao Pi suffered even more misfortune.
For example, Cao Hong.
