"Not appropriate?" "Apologize?"
Doesn't think my eyes are blind? Obviously, just refuse! It is really small of you to look down upon the King of East Sea!
Sima Yi is a minister, and Wang Shu is also a close associate, and he is also the son of the Marquis of Xuting. Who is truly shorter than the other?
Wang Shu directly looked at Sima Yi and bowed slightly, expressionless, saying, "Please, Your Lordships command."
Then he turned around and left without any hesitation.
Sima Yi stood in place, neither explaining nor not explaining, and could only stamp his right foot lightly, accompanied by a sigh.
He raised his leg and walked a few steps, Sima Yi wanted to turn around and look at the study behind him a few more times, but he resisted and did not turn around. It was as if there were eyes behind that room that could see through the door.
He took a deep breath, and with a few moments, he calmed his mind. Sima Yi's expression seemed more composed again, and he started walking towards the West Pavilion.
If I had also spoken together with Gao Rui that day, or thought of more ways, exaggeratedly spoke about the flaws of Sun Zi and Quan Shu, and removed Quan Shu together, it would have been much better!
Why today? Just cause trouble.
If not the Inspector of Palaces, then who else could it be?
In the West Pavilion, Cao Zhen, Dong Zhao, and Wei Zheng had already taken their seats and were discussing.
"Zhongda, please come and sit down, we have been waiting for you." Cao Zhen smiled and called out.
"Long time no see, everyone. Just now there were some trivial matters." Sima Yi bowed slightly and then sat down.
Cao Zhen immediately asked, "Zhongda, since troops are being transferred from both Jingzhou and Yangtze Commandery, what do you think can be raised from Jingzhou?"
Jingzhou? Earlier, the Emperor asked how long it would take to get from Chang'an to Xiangyang, and it must have been decided after careful consideration.
Sima Yi said without hesitation, "Wen Pin, at Jiangxia, has 15,000 troops stationed, and the remaining 25,000 are led by Chen Baoji. Why don't we send a letter to Xiangyang first and ask?"
"We should ask for a general opinion first. My suggestion is to gather around 8,000 troops from Jingzhou and another 12,000 from the Grand Historian."
"Among the external troops, the 10,000 troops from Yuzhou should not be moved. Neither should the 10,000 troops from Yuzhou and Qingzhou. The troops should be drawn from Yangtze Commandery, which is also one-fifth of that of Jingzhou."
The total number of external military personnel is one hundred and fifty thousand. The eight thousand external troops that Cao Xiu was in command of at the time were actually the total number gathered from Yangzhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou.
"Drawing on the troops of Chen Qun and Cao Xiu is none of my business. I don't even have half a soldier under my command."
Sima Yi nodded in agreement: "The General has handled everything well. I have no issues with it."
Cao Zhen turned to the other two: "Dong Gong and Gong Zhen, what about you two?"
"Agreed."
"I concur."
Seeing that the two others also shared the same opinion, Cao Zhen said with a smile, "Then I'll send the letters to the Grand Historian and Marquis Chen just as I've said."
"What about the 20,000 troops stationed in Chang'an, who should be in charge?"
Cao Zhen glanced at Sima Yi, and then immediately looked towards Dong Zhao and Wei Zheng.
One can only say that Cao Zhen is indeed the Generalissimo overseeing all military affairs both inside and outside the capital.
Although the emperor has asked four people to discuss, as long as Cao Zhen proposes reasonable suggestions, the other three cannot refuse.
This time, Cao Zhen began with Dong Zhao: "Dong Gong, do you have any suggestions?"
Dong Zhao still wore a serious expression and slowly shook his head: "As long as the Generalissimo doesn't want me to go, that's fine."
Cao Zhen laughed loudly, and then turned to Wei Zheng: "What do you think, Wei Zhen?"
Wei Zheng replied: "I have little understanding of military affairs, but since it is about dividing the troops of two regions, it seems better to choose a prudent general."
Cao Zhen asked directly, "Do you have someone in mind, Gong Zhen?"
Wei Zhen shook his head: "I haven't got any particular person in mind, but the Generalissimo might want to choose from the generals who participated in the Southward Expedition in early this year, which the Emperor is also familiar with."
Cao Zhen nodded slightly, understanding Wei Zheng's meaning.
Increasing troops in Chang'an was the Emperor's suggestion; could we possibly bring up a general who the Emperor is not familiar with for his selection?
Cao Zhen turned to Sima Yi and asked, "Zhongda, can you select some generals from the Central Army and the generals who participated in the Southward Expedition?"
Sima Yi was straightforward: "The General of the Right Wing, Man Cong; the Right General, Zhu Gai; and the General of the Eastern Front, Cao Tai, are the only three choices we have."
"General Cao, would you like to select a few more from the Central Army?"
Cao Zhen was silent for a few moments, reviewing the generals in the Central Army, and then shook his head: "Xiachou Ru had just gone to Xiangyang, and Xiaochou Xian was just leading the Heavy Troops. There is no suitable person in the Central Army at the moment."
That is indeed the case. Could we possibly send Xu Chu or Cao Hong out?
Sima Yi smiled: "Why not like this, let's add one more person and include Qian Zhao. Last time when they went to Xiangyang, he didn't get chosen, did he?"
Cao Zhen nodded: "Perfect. It has been years since I've seen Qian Zhao. Adding him to the list will make it four people."
......
In a few days, in Jingzhou.
Sima Zhi, riding on a wooden ship of the Wu army, moved upstream from Wuchang, and then turned into the Han River in Jiangxia.
On the Han River, the wooden ship had just gone halfway when it was stopped by a patrol boat of the Wei army in the county of Rou.
Sima Zhi experienced another ship change, but this time it was not in Ankou Pass, but in Rou Prefecture's Qiao County instead.
Xiangyang City, the Marquis of Huihuang's residence.
Chen Qun stood at the door to greet Sima Zhi and said with a smile, "Zihua has returned from his mission and can be said to have had a rich harvest! I've heard all about it; Sun Quan sent so many precious treasures and valuable goods to Your Majesty."
"Zihua has accomplished great merit this time."
Chen Qun was already sixty years old. As the Marshal of the Horse Riders, his rank was just below the Grand Historian and Generalissimo. Adding to this, his long-standing role in selecting officials and recording imperial edicts had given him considerable authority. Even though Chen Qun and Sima Zhi were amiable, Sima Zhi remained respectful.
Sima Zhi said with a wry smile, "Sir Chen, how can it be that I have accomplished any merit? It's all due to the majesty of Your Majesty."
"His Majesty had sent me to make Sun Quan pay homage again and to sow discord between Wu and Shu, but neither of these tasks were accomplished."
"The only thing that was accomplished was to deliver the dowry for His Majesty and bring back the dowry that Sun Quan had given."
Chen Qun was indifferent. Perhaps because he had been in Xiangyang for nearly a year, with most of the time being idle, the originally majestic Chen Qun had become even more peaceful in demeanor.
"That's not a problem. Sun Quan has been making himself grand in Wuchang. How would he willingly pay homage to the Great Wei again?"
"Zihua did well. Once you return to the court, the position of your temporary steward will be made permanent."
Sima Zhi bowed his hands and said, "May I borrow the good fortune of Sir Chen."
Chen Qun said, "Zihua, how long can you stay in Xiangyang? It's still early in the morning. How about leaving tomorrow?"
Sima Zhi thought for a moment and refused, "Thank you for your kind offer, Sir Chen, but I believe the court is expecting my return. I will prepare to set out shortly."
Chen Qun nodded, stood up, and picked up two folders of documents from the table: "Zihua, these two documents have been prepared for days and are to be presented to Your Majesty for inspection. Please help me deliver them personally to Your Majesty."
Let me deliver them personally to the emperor? How can I know what you have written?
Sima Zhi was surprised and said, "How can that be? Sir Chen's documents are not directly submitted to the emperor. How can you ask me to deliver them? I truly do not have the authority or responsibility for such a task!"
Chen Qun calmly said, "Xiangyang and Luoyang report to the capital every three days. The messenger just left yesterday. These two documents on the new laws and the revised sutras were written last night."
"If Zihua doesn't want to, then it's fine."
Sima Zhi did not want to go against Chen Qun's wishes, so he smilingly replied, "Sir Chen, what are you saying? I was just asking out of curiosity. Please rest assured, I will definitely deliver them to the emperor personally."
After bidding farewell to Chen Qun, Sima Zhi immediately set off for the north.
Meanwhile, as Sima Zhi set off on his journey, another group of people arrived at their destination.
After traveling non-stop for over forty days each day, Xun Can and his group finally reached their destination of exile, Linqiang County in the Xiping Commandery of Liangzhou.
Thanks to the special care of Gao Rui, Xun Can and his two brothers, Xun Wei and Xun Chuan, as well as his two nephews, were still able to ride horses. For those under exile, this was considered a top-level favor.
"The document I just received is from the Chancellery of my family, entrusted to General Ruan by the head of my household. Could you please help convey it?" the clerk from the Chancellery who was overseeing Xun Can's journey said courteously.
Zhou Duo sized up the group, then looked at the smiling clerk standing in front of him, and then bowed and said, "You've had a long journey! I am only a grain officer, serving under my captain; how could I dare to call myself a general?"
"Please wait for a moment."
After that, Zhou Duo went inside the house to look for Luo Xu.
The soldiers guarding the gates of the mansion were Yi Cong (volunteer soldiers) recruited locally by Lu Sun.
As they looked at the Qin people Yi Cong, who had different clothing and appearance from Han people, the mood of several Xun brothers sank to its lowest point.
Lu Xu took the letter from Gao Rui, carefully read it twice, and then smilingly asked Zhou Duo: "Jinnng, who is this Gao Chancellery? Why is he so kind to exiles just because they are Xun? "
Zhou Duo replied, "The Xun family has been a noble family for generations, known to all. I guess the Chancellery wants to make a good connection with the Xun family as well."
Lu Xu humphed coldly: "He wants to make a good connection, but he asks me to send people to take care of him. I have no relationship with Gao Rui. What is this so-called 'Yingchuan High Gate' and 'Xun Lingjun' to me, a former officer from Wu state? "
"How can I dare to show favor to someone who has been exiled by the emperor's order?"
Zhou Duo hesitated and asked, "What does the captain mean?"
Lu Xu spoke softly, "Since they are being exiled, they should have the appearance of being exiled. I have heard about the crimes committed by the Xun family. Since they have committed crimes, they should face the consequences."
"Just now you said that the five people who came are young and strong. Find them some menial tasks to do."
"Give them the same treatment as the ordinary soldiers in the army, don't pamper them or intentionally make their lives difficult. And let them temper their character."
Zhou Duo, an Inyuan native, had no personal stake in the Xun family and merely mentioned them as a passing remark. How could he truly care about them? "If they have to do menial tasks, they can either go to the outside farm for farming or serve in the Yi Cong for taking care of horses."
"Servicing horses can be skipped. Isn't it customary for high-ranking families to pass on their traditions of farming and studying? Let them go to clear the land."
"Yes, I will do as you say." Zhou Duo accepted the task and left, while Lu Xun continued to contemplate on the matter.
After some thought, Lu Xu still wrote down everything that happened today.
He included Gao Rui's private letter to him, as well as the arrangements for the five members of the Xun family, in the account.
After writing it down, he put it into a bamboo tube and sealed it with red lacquer.
Since he took office as the Protector of Qin, such letters were sent by Lu Xu every ten days and three times a month, naturally to be delivered to the emperor's hands.
As long as I take care of my duties and the emperor in the Great Wei, that's enough. What is Gao Rui to me? His hands can't reach into the Xiping Commandery. (Chapter ends)
