Family?
For Lu Xun, who was far away from his family in Longyou and thousands of miles from Yangzhou, the word "family" had only been a memory in his midnight dreams for nearly a year.
Now he has news of his own family?
Lu Sun forcibly repressed his inner excitement, and with a feigned composure, he bowed and saluted. However, the slightly trembling hands betrayed his true emotions.
"Your servant has been away from home for a long time, and there has been no communication with him from last year to now." Lu Xun pondered his words carefully, hesitated for a long time, and asked with a serious tone: "I humbly hope Your Majesty can inform me about the situation at home."
Cao Rui picked up the document on the table with his right hand, intending to hand it to Lu Xun: "This is a letter from Wei Shoushi to the emperor, in which he transmits Sun Quan's words. Bo Yan himself can read it. The emperor will not repeat it for him."
Even if Lu Xun is skilled at commanding troops and possesses many strategies, he cannot help but feel apprehensive at the thought of his family, especially since he has 'defected' to the enemy, and Sun Quan has always had a poor temperament.
Under the doubt in his heart, Lu Xun's hand movements also slowed down a few seconds.
"Your family is fine, but they have all been brought to Wuchang by Sun Quan," Cao Rui said with a smile, passing the document in his hand again: "Bo Yan should not worry."
After another round of thanks, Lu Xun took the letter and read it carefully twice.
Of course, Wei Zhen's letter also included many things about Luoyang, but the emperor was right in front of him, and Lu Xun had no way to sneak a peek. He could only read the few sentences about his family over and over again.
"Bo Yan, do you have a younger brother named Lu Mo in your family?" Cao Rui asked with a smile: "Sun Quan took the story of Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Yan as an example to promote your younger brother as the chief of the selection department at Wuhan Imperial Secretariat."
"How do you see this matter?"
Lu Xun heard the emperor's question, and the words in the letter were almost as familiar as if he could recite them by heart. He put it in front of the emperor's desk.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty knows how well he understands the officials in Wuhan," Lu Xun said tentatively: "In Wei Shoushi's letter, it is said that the previous chief of the selection department was Zhang Wen, and now it has been replaced by the subject's younger brother Lu Mo."
Cao Rui took the document and looked at it a few more times: "Zhang Wen, I remember you mentioned him when we were at Shouchun. Wasn't he the one who went to Chengdu twice as an envoy for Sun Quan?"
"Although so, there are some additional things. This person was involved in a big case," Lu Xun explained, and then introduced the Eastern Wu case briefly.
After listening to Lu Xun's words, Cao Rui snorted and said: "This is even considered a big case? Originally, I thought Sun Quan was not good at using troops. Now I find that he is also this incompetent as a monarch."
"Ji Yan and Zhang Wen were supposed to change the official selection system according to Sun Quan's orders, weren't they? If they encountered opposition from the ministers and generals, why wouldn't he change it? And why would he kill Ji Yan, who was doing his bidding?"
"Zhang Wen was praised by the officials of the Shu Kingdom, yet he was a diplomat who did not violate the order of his country. How could Sun Quan put him in prison like this?"
"It's not enough to put him in prison, but he has the face to re-appoint him?"
Lu Xun listened silently to the emperor's mockery of Sun Quan, instinctively wanting to explain for Sun Quan, but then suddenly remembered his current position.
Therefore, he remained silent.
After expressing his views on Sun Quan's temper, Cao Rui suddenly remembered something and looked at Lu Xun: "Sun Quan treated Zhang Wen like that in the past, so he is probably using your younger brother Lu Mo mainly for his own purposes."
"Since Lu Mo is in Wuhan and you are in the Great Wei, he can only act according to Sun Quan's orders, and he dare not deviate from them at all."
Lu Xun sighed softly: "I also think so. However, my principal wife Sun is the daughter of Sun Bufu, niece of Sun Quan, so she is still safe from life."
Cao Rui understood the implication in Lu Xun's words.
When listening to your subjects, one must not only hear what they say but also what they do not say.
The document transmitted Sun Quan's letter, mentioning the three people at once. Lu Mo was awarded an official position and Sun was a relative, so it must be the younger son Lu Yan.
But before asking Lu Yan, Cao Rui suddenly seemed to remember a blurry thing in his mind and spoke: "Bo Yan only has one son, Lu Yan. Does he have any other sons?"
What Cao Rui was thinking at this moment was undoubtedly Lu Kang, as seen in the original history. However, Lu Xun responded with a surprised expression: "Your Majesty, have you heard something? I only have one son, Lu Yan, from my wife Sun, and no other descendants!"
Perhaps Lu Xun misunderstood something. Maybe he thought that after leaving home, Sun had another son for him.
Cao Rui realized he had asked the wrong question and waved his hand with a smile: "I just asked out of curiosity."
"After Wu Di rose to arms in Chenliu, besides the various generals from the Cao family, and Xiahou Shih and Ding Shi and other original followers, he conquered Zhongyuan, Hebei, Guanzhong, Qingxi, among others. The number of generals who surrendered to his army was extremely high."
"Not to mention the distant past, take for example the Left General Zhang He and Zhang Junyi, and the Western Commandant Qian Zhao and Qian Zijing. Both were once ministers of the Yuan family, but it did not hinder my heavy use or promotion of them."
The emperor's words were all truthful, and Lu Xun knew that Zhang He and Qian Zhao were given heavy responsibilities as generals. Moreover, among the three countries of Wei, Shu, and Wu, the Wei were known to be particularly tolerant towards surrendering generals.
Zhang Xiu, who killed Cao Ang, the eldest son of Cao Cao, and his favorite general Dian Wei, surrendered to the Cao family and was soon granted two thousand households in 199 AD. At that time, Xiahou Dun was only granted 700 households.
Zhang Lu, who lost Hanzhong in battle, was granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand households by Cao Cao. Han Zong, the son of Han Dang who died in Wan City last year, was also granted three thousand households.
At present, Cao Zhen, the Great General, is only granted three thousand households!
To be honest, Lu Xun was born only twenty years later, missing the chaotic times of the world.
If he had been born twenty years earlier, as the Governor of Jingzhou, he could have at least secured two thousand or three thousand households. How could he have ended up being sent far away to Gansu as a Provincial Commandant for Protecting the Qiang people with a salary of only two thousand stones?
Thinking about it, Lu Xun, standing opposite the emperor, began to feel uneasy in his heart.
The emperor first asked about his own son, then discussed the examples of Zhang He and Qian Zhao. Is he preparing to reward me for my contributions after the war?
You see, during the process of recovering Longyou, the emperor had previously only mentioned the merits of Zhang He, Qian Zhao, and Guo Hui. Others were to be discussed after returning to Luoyang.
Cao Rui didn't play hard-to-get, directly and bluntly addressing Lu Xun: "Bo Yan, do you remember when you drove Huang Quan to surrender to Great Wei at Yiling?"
Lu Xun smiled awkwardly.
Huang Quan's surrender to Wei was indeed due to Lu Xun's efforts in battle. Now, the two of them served the emperor together under the same roof. Huang Quan had once been a Viscount and is currently the Administrator of Yuzhou, regarded as the emperor's confidant.
Lu Xun nodded his hand and replied: "Huang Zhi is indeed a 'former acquaintance' of mine, so I am well aware of it."
Cao Rui looked up at Lu Xun: "After Huang Zhi surrendered to Great Wei, it was approximately one year later when the late emperor arranged a marriage for him."
"In the spring of last year, when Huang Quan was still in Luoyang, his family had already welcomed a son."
Lu Xun could probably guess the emperor's intention at this point.
Huang Quan surrendered to Wei, but Cao Pi arranged a marriage for him and stayed in Chengdu. His family was not punished.
Sun Quan followed suit, entrusting his brother with important responsibilities.
Why not the emperor of Great Wei emulate the late emperor?
Lu Xun can endure it.
If he had acted as eagerly and boldly as Zhu Huan used to, he would have committed suicide upon waking up from a battle. But instead, without doing so, he thought of his clan and relatives and accepted the appointment by Great Wei.
Having started this, it's no problem to bear it again and again. If the emperor wants to arrange a marriage, let him do so.
"Hearing Your Majesty's words, I am indeed shocked and trembling. Please enlighten me," Lu Xun bowed and said.
Cao Rui smiled lightly, his eyes burning with determination as he looked at Lu Xun: "I suppose you can guess, Bo Yan, that I am to bestow a marriage upon you. But the candidate for this matter..."
In the hall, besides the guards, there were only one emperor and one minister. They were both silent at this moment.
Cao Rui gently tapped the table with his fingertip and said softly: "I have a younger sister, who was bestowed the title of Dongxiang Princess by the late emperor when he was alive. She is twenty years old and has not been married yet."
"If Bo Yan is willing, as her elder brother, I will make the decision for her and betroth her to Bo Yan."
After a light laugh, Cao Rui slowly spoke: "Do you, Bo Yan, really want to?"
This...
Even though Lu Xun is an exceptional strategist, he was clearly flustered upon being addressed by the emperor in this manner.
What kind of thing is this! The emperor first showed him the situation of his family still in Wu, and then offered the princess to him as a betrothed!
Moreover, this would be acceptable if it were an ordinary princess from the imperial family. Emperor Wu Cao Cao had many concubines and daughters, and they were not particularly valuable.
But Dongxiang Princess is the emperor's own sister! She is a daughter of Wen Zhao Zhenhou, just like the emperor.
This arrangement is too heavy, to the point where Lu Xun dare not respond for a moment.
Cao Ying, the Dongxiang Princess, is said to be a daughter of the same mother as the emperor, but Cao Rui himself does not mind and even after his accession, he has only seen her twice.
However, as the elder brother and as the emperor, Cao Rui naturally has the authority to decide on his sister's marriage. Marrying her to Lu Xun is also a good match.
"How come, Lu Yan is unwilling?" Cao Rui pretended to be angry and looked at Lu Xun, who was deep in thought: "Since she is my sister, do I need to worry about her appearance? Just lift your head and look at my appearance!"
As for being handsome, in his forty-odd years of life, Lu Xun has not seen anyone who can compare to Your Majesty.
Even if Zhou Yu, the most handsome in the Eastern Region, was the best among them, his 'beauty' was only a combination of appearance and talent.
Even if Zhou Yu is more handsome, how can he be more handsome than Your Majesty? Even if Zhou Yu has a dominating aura that could sweep the world, how can he compare to the emperor who now controls half of the world?
Be it about the matter of the marriage or just this statement alone, Your Majesty has not said anything wrong!
Lu Xun naturally should not respond, and if he responds immediately, it might seem like he is being sycophantic. For a moment, he can only bow and say with humility: "My humble personage, and also a defeated subject..."
Cao Rui interrupted Lu Xun's attempts to evade the question: "It doesn't matter. The treatment of defeated subjects by Great Wei is well-known to everyone!"
Lu Xun found another reason: "I am really too old, how can I be worthy of a princess..."
Cao Rui did not want to mention the incomplete case of Liu Bei's marrying Sun Quan's younger sister, so he directly changed his expression and asked: "Is Bo Yan not willing to accept this betrothed?" (End of this chapter)
