The morning meeting was held in the morning, and Wang Lang left in the morning as well.
After the fast horse left Luoyang and headed east, it returned to Luoyang after nightfall, and the emperor saw the result the next morning.
"What does Duke Wang say? Who does he recommend?" Cao Rui, curious, looked at Liu Fang, who had just walked in from outside.
"Report to Your Majesty," Liu Fang said with a bow, "Duke Wang has volunteered to the court."
Cao Rui sighed and said, "Only today did I see Duke Wang and realize what it means to take responsibility without being asked."
"Liu Zeng, who do you think should be chosen for this matter? Use Duke Wang's suggestion, or the recommendation from the recent imperial audience?"
After thinking for a moment, Liu Fang said, "Report to Your Majesty, I believe that revising the laws is actually not difficult, just a matter of being meticulous."
"Revising the laws as the first major task to be undertaken in the first year of Taiping and at court is obviously a good political achievement. However, unlike fighting, the success or failure of revising the laws is not as clear-cut."
"It's just a matter of whether the revision is good or not so good, that's all."
Cao Rui furrowed his brow and said, "Zeng Liu, what you mean is that it depends on whether I want to attribute this achievement to who?"
"That's correct," Liu Fang answered respectfully.
"I understand your meaning," Cao Rui nodded lightly, "Zeng Liu, you may go. Please summon both the Western and Eastern Studios for me."
"At the command of the emperor, I will withdraw," Liu Fang slowly withdrew.
Soon after, Cao Zhen, Dong Zhao, Sima Yi, and Wei Zhen entered the study one by one.
"Please sit down, please sit down," Cao Rui said with a slight frown, indicating the chairs on either side.
The few people didn't hesitate and sat down immediately, their eyes directed towards the emperor.
"There are two matters." Cao Rui lightly tapped the table with his fingertip.
"The first matter is about Sun Quan's request for peace through the submission of a memorial."
Cao Rui looked at the Grand Admiral Cao Zhen and said, "Grand Admiral, you should know that Sun Quan's memorial requesting peace was sent from Shouchun to the palace. Please enlighten us with its origin and development, along with the other ministers."
Cao Zhen nodded: "My lords, the Middle Army of Wei returned from Wankou on the second day of the second month. Meanwhile, Jia Kai had been in a standoff with Sun Quan at Wankou, intermittently exchanging forces, until March."
"Last month, at the end of the lunar calendar, Sun Quan sent an envoy with a memorial, stating his desire to seek peace with the Great Wei and inquiring whether an envoy could be sent to Luoyang."
Cao Rui asked, "I must confess that I'm somewhat confused. If Sun Quan wants to seek peace with the Great Wei, why not send envoys directly? Instead, he sent a memorial first to test the waters?"
After a moment of silence, Sima Yi responded, "Your Majesty, I believe Sun Quan is entangled in the issue of propriety."
"After Sun Quan rebelled against the Great Wei in the third year of the Huangchu reign, he established a year title in the East China and also had palatial rituals and decorations that were against the regulations, which clearly shows his intention to usurp the throne."
"Although there have been no further reports since Sun Quan's defeat at Wankou, I believe Sun Quan still needs to invest a lot of thought in stabilizing the internal situation. If the status between Sun Quan and the Great Wei cannot be properly addressed, there may be a risk of internal collapse."
Cao Rui replied, "How does the danger of collapse occur?"
Sima Yi explained, "Your Majesty, what Sun Quan relies on to rule over his territory is nothing more than the geographical advantage of the vast river. Now that Jia Kai has constructed ships at Wankou, they can enter the river sooner or later."
"The foundation of Eastern Wu is not stable, and with the loss of so many armies this time, if they don't withdraw to stabilize their internal situation, there may be a risk of internal strife. Their enemies are numerous!"
Cao Rui nodded and said, "The Marquis speaks the truth! Sun Quan's so-called request for peace actually only offers two choices: 'please surrender' and 'cease hostilities'."
"If he asks for surrender, he would have to adopt the 'Tahe' era name of the Great Wei, and thus could not use his own 'Huanglong' era name. In that case, the people of Eastern Wu would undoubtedly be despondent."
"If they stop fighting, there would still be the issue of whether Wei should or should not accept it. Stopping fighting also requires a reason."
"His Majesty, I believe this matter does not require much consideration," Dong Zhao interjected, "The Great Wei urgently needs time for recovery and does not wish to engage in another military conflict with Eastern Wu in the near future."
"Whether it's asking for surrender or seeking peace, both are essentially about stopping the war. It really has no impact on the current state of our Great Wei. In fact, it won't have much influence on public opinion either."
"Send Sun Quan's envoy to Luoyang, and discuss the specific matters later!"
Cao Rui looked at Dong Zhao and said, "Is it acceptable for you to have no concerns? Just let Sun Quan send someone first?"
Dong Zhao nodded.
Cao Rui added, "I feel like Sun Quan is delaying the process. The matter of asking for surrender or seeking peace should have started in February, but he sent his envoy to the Wei only in March."
"If it takes several rounds and more wrangling with the envoy, it might be autumn by then!"
"Lords," Cao Rui looked at the four men, "Who can guarantee that while Sun Quan is negotiating with us, he will not send troops to launch a surprise attack on Wankou or Xiangyang?"
"The example of Guan Yu, I'm sure none of you have forgotten," Cao Rui said.
Cao Zhen and Sima Yi exchanged a glance.
Such a thing is unforgettable. Great Wei's King of Wu, what a splendid job he did, lifting the siege of Xiangfan for the Great Wei!
Cao Rui explained, "Since Sun Quan has already established his rule in one area, in my opinion, whether he acknowledges our Great Wei as a suzerain or not is of little consequence. In the end, he will still have to be subdued."
Cao Zhen asked, "Then what does Your Majesty mean?"
Cao Rui waved his hand, "I'm not saying we have to do it this way. We are still discussing with you all!"
"I mean, if we don't negotiate or accept Sun Quan's formal surrender, just avoiding contact with him is that acceptable?"
Cao Zhen frowned: "Even during the time of Emperor Wu, who fought many times with Sun Quan, there was never a case of cutting off communication. It was just a matter of intermittent battles and peace."
Cao Rui replied, "Just now, Marquis Dong mentioned that Sun Quan must be needing time to stabilize his internal situation. If we cut off communication with him, wouldn't the internal situation in Eastern Wu become even more tense?"
Sima Yi said, "I understand Your Majesty's intention, but I believe that this approach may not be very effective. It would be better to accept Sun Quan's formal surrender, as this could also create internal tension in the Eastern Wu."
"Not communicating is not an option either...," Cao Rui pondered for a while and then asked, "Why wait for Sun Quan's envoy to come to the Wei? Can I send someone to talk to him instead?"
Seeing the four men were all puzzled, Cao Rui explained, "Sun Quan should be worried about his internal situation now, right? Sending someone to take a look shouldn't be a problem, should it?"
"Also, even if Sun Quan sends an envoy to Luoyang, what authority does the envoy have to decide on Sun Quan's behalf? Could it be significant?"
"But if I send someone to talk to Sun Quan, there are more things we can do. For example, invite Sun Quan to attack Shu together, or threaten him to give up some land, or let him pay tribute annually."
Tribute? The four men present were momentarily confused.
Sima Yi bowed his hands and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, what is the meaning of tribute?"
"Certainly," Cao Rui explained, "Tribute means that Sun Quan uses money and grain to buy peace." "I have three questions for the Marquis," he said.
Sima Yi said, "Your Majesty, please speak."
"Was it that Sun Quan lost at Wankou, or did Your Majesty lose?" Sima Yi asked.
"Now is it that Sun Quan does not want to fight, or does Your Majesty not want to fight?" Sima Yi continued.
"Is it that Sun Quan's internal situation is unstable, or is it that my internal situation is unstable?"
Before Sima Yi could answer, Cao Rui continued, "It's obvious that Sun Quan wants to make peace! If Sun Quan wants to make peace, offering some money or tribute, is it not reasonable?"
While Sima Yi was still pondering, Cao Zhen burst out laughing loudly.
"Your Majesty is really cornering Sun Quan!" Cao Zhen laughed, "Whether he gives it or not, he's going to be in a difficult position."
"I'm just making a suggestion!" Cao Rui laughed and said, "Whether it works or not, we can discuss it later."
Sima Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I think it's a good idea."
The other three men also agreed in turn.
"Then let's choose an envoy to send to the Eastern Wu in a few days!" Cao Rui said. "There's something even more important than the first thing."
What could be more important than negotiating peace with Sun Quan?
Cao Rui did not keep the secret, and slowly said, "The second matter is about Huang Quan's impeachment of Yingchuan's Commandant of Agriculture."
"The memorial from Huang Quan was directly sent to me, and I will briefly explain it to you all," Cao Rui said.
Four people's gazes were all on the emperor. Cao Rui's expression gradually became serious.
Cao Rui said, "After Huang Quan left Luoyang at the beginning of the third month, he went directly to Yingyang and Xinzheng before heading to Yingchuan Commandery."
"Huang Quan was in Yingchuan Commandery for the whole of March. He visited many counties in Longshe, Yanling, Xuchang, Yingyin, Linying, Kunyang, and Wuyang to inspect agricultural and granary affairs."
Sima Yi noticed that the emperor had mentioned 'Wuyang' County, where Sima Yi himself was granted the title of Duke of Wuyang.
Cao Rui continued, "After Huang Quan had inspected in the Yu Province for more than a month, he wanted to address the issue of the granary at Xuchang first. However, he found that many officials in charge of the granary in Xuchang were deceiving their superiors and hiding facts, and they even tried to hinder Huang Quan's investigation."
"The Commandant of the granary in Xuchang, Ling Hu," Cao Rui looked at the four people present, "Do any of you know him?"
Sima Yi replied, "Your Majesty, I know that person."
"Marquis, tell me about him," Cao Rui said.
"In compliance with Your Majesty's command," Sima Yi said, "The original name of this official is Ling Hu Ju. In the early years of Huang Chu, he served as the Commandant of Hearmen's Protective Army and was responsible for supervising the affairs in Hebei."
"At that time, when the Protector of Wuhan and Jian General Tian Yu attacked the Hu people and achieved success, he behaved in a manner that somewhat violated the jurisdiction of Ling Hu Ju. So Ling Hu Ju sent someone to detain Tian Yu."
"Therefore, the former emperor was greatly angered, changed Ling Hu Ju's name to Ling Hu Yu, and banished him to the granary at Xuchang."
Sima Yi asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, what offense did Ling Hu Yu commit? Why did Huang Quan impeach him?"
Cao Rui replied, "Huang Quan initially asked the Yingchuan Administrator to send someone to investigate the issue at Xuchang granary. But Ling Hu Yu claimed that granary affairs were not within the jurisdiction of the county and should be managed by the state."
"And after Huang Quan sent his own people to investigate, Ling Hu Yu then claimed that the Commandant of Agriculture was directly under the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and the state should ask the Grand Minister to send someone to assist in the investigation; otherwise, he dared not comply."
At this moment, Wei Zhen bent his hands and said, "Your Majesty, although Ling Hu Yu is annoying, this matter actually points out two institutional problems."
Cao Rui looked at Wei Zhen, indicating that he should continue.
Wei Zhen replied, "Firstly, although the officials in charge of granaries in various places are nominally under the jurisdiction of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, the position of the Grand Minister of Agriculture is currently vacant in the court. The state usually only mobilizes grain and corvée labor, but rarely interferes with the internal affairs of granaries."
"Secondly, should the affairs of granaries in various places be transferred to the state?" (This chapter concludes)
