When Guan Qiuanian handed over the letter in his hand, the three people present were stunned for a moment.
Cao Rui's pupils dilated slightly as he quickly searched for Wang Lang's age in his mind.
Last year when Cao Rui invited Wang Lang to the city of Yecheng, Cao Rui asked him roughly about his age, and at that time Wang Lang said that he was already seventy-two years old.
It's not a strange thing for an elderly man in his seventies to die of illness. The so-called three public officials are synonymous with old age and virtue. The death of a three public official on the job has become a common occurrence in the past hundred years.
But there's also Wang Su beside him! The Marquis Wang is actually his own father!
Cao Rui suddenly understood, realizing why Guan Qi Jamie had bowed to Wang Su.
It is appropriate to deliver the news of mourning in this way.
"Prince Wang, please exercise restraint in your grief."
Cao Rui turned to look at Wang Su, trying to console him. At the same time, he extended his right hand, and Guan Qi Jamie sensibly took a step forward and handed over the document.
Wang Su said nothing, nor did he respond to the emperor's words. He just sat there, dumbfounded, on his horse.
When a close relative passes away, the first reaction is often not grief, but rather a temporary shutdown caused by disbelief.
Wang Su was clearly like that.
Cao Rui glanced at Wei Zhening's handwritten document and sighed. He handed the letter to Wang Su. Wang Su finally came back to his senses, reached out and took it, and then quietly began to cry.
Sima Yi also spoke with a melancholic expression, advising: "Ziyong, please exercise restraint and adapt to the change. Marquis Wang passed away at the age of seventy-three, which is quite old."
Wang Su still did not speak. After getting off the horse, he first bowed to Guan Qi Jamie who had brought the news of mourning, and then he bowed his hands towards the emperor, crying:
"My Majesty, once the army returns to the capital, I will voluntarily resign for three years to mourn my father's death."
Cao Rui showed no sign of refusal, instead he sighed and replied, "As you wish, Prince Wang. Please do not grieve excessively and harm your health."
"The Marquis Wang is a significant minister of the state and an example for the whole Wei Empire. As such, may I send Prince Wang back to Luoyang immediately as my messenger, and pay respects on behalf of the emperor?"
Wang Su bowed and said, "The subject is grateful for the emperor's favor!"
Cao Rui dismounted and took Wang Su's arm, "The passing of Marquis Wang also grieves me. I will order the Grand Minister, Chang Lin, to oversee the funeral ceremonies, and all civilian and military officials over two thousand in rank in the capital will go to express their condolences."
"The subject thanks the emperor for his grace." Wang Su bowed again.
"Cao Rui beckoned to Guan Qi Jamie, "You should accompany Prince Wang back to Mianyang immediately. It's not appropriate to delay the funeral for too long."
"Yes, Your Majesty," replied Guan Qi Jamie.
After Wang Su and Guan Qi Jamie left, Cao Rui no longer felt like enjoying the scenery. Once Cao Zhen, Xiahou Huan, and Jiang Wei returned, he turned and headed back to Mianyang.
According to common sense, Wang Su should accompany the emperor and join the army on the campaign. Even if there is a matter of mourning, it should not begin until after the troops return. He cannot leave the army to return home.
But Cao Rui cleverly found a compromise.
Although the emperor is far away in the borderland, he still needs to send messengers to attend the funeral of the three officials.
Wang Su, as the son of the Duke of Wang Lang and a privy counselor accompanying the emperor on his journey.
Having Wang Su as the messenger is a convenient arrangement for both public and private matters.
In matters like this, Cao Rui never hesitates to be considerate and helpful to others.
The death of Wang Lang represented a vacant position of a Three Grand Prefect, the second highest, that of the Duke of Ting.
On the way back, Sima Yi was deeply pondering. Today, the few words spoken casually by the emperor and Wang Su under the Dingjun Mountain had no doubt brought a great shock to the structure of the Great Wei.
As for the position of the Duke of Ting, Sima Yi had a good sense of self-awareness. Whether it was due to considerations of age or political balance, it was certainly not his turn.
Who else could possibly fill that position?
Among the nine ministries and six departments, the oldest members are only Wei Ji, He Qia, Chang Lin, and Dong Zhao.
Wei Ji is the Minister of the Ministry of People's Affairs, but he only took office for less than a year. He Qia and Chang Lin have not been in close contact with the emperor, so they cannot be considered as close officials.
Could it be that this position would fall on Dong Zhao's head?
Sima Yi's guess about Dong Zhao is reasonable. Dong Zhao, in his capacity as the Marquis of Weilu, assists in managing military affairs in the western study, effectively becoming an indispensable pillar of the imperial court.
At the same time, Cao Rui is also considering the position of Duke of Ting.
It's not the case of someone being forgotten after they leave, but rather a matter of imperial court systems and indispensability.
Personnel is politics; the position of Duke of Ting cannot remain vacant.
Exactly as Sima Yi had guessed, Dong Zhao's figure also appeared in Cao Rui's mind.
But as Cao Rui thought about it, he suddenly became aware of a problem. After the death of the three officials, does it have to be replaced by someone else?
The secretaries of the six ministries and the nine dukes all have actual positions, but the three grand officials do not.
Both Wang Lang and Huaxin were only seen at the court meetings or led organizations for things like drafting laws, which were not actual positions.
Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the three grand officials sat and discussed matters, had no political power in state affairs, but only served as a symbol of old ministers in the court, occupying their positions in the court.
What if, taking this opportunity, one of the three grand officials died after another?
Cao Rui only thought about it like this, but did not mention it to anyone.
Until the next day, Zhengpi, the privy counselor, departed from Chang'an and arrived at the city of Mianyang.
After a few words of civility and a detailed inquiry about the situation in various parts of Guanzhong, Cao Rui shared his thoughts with Xin Pi.
As a secretary, Xin Pi was an inner minister who worked in the palace, unlike foreign ministers, and in this era was more like a private secretary to the emperor.
Therefore, when Cao Rui communicated with Xin Pi, he had no hesitation.
Xin Pi stroked his beard and remained silent for a long time before bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, I believe that the positions of the three grand officials should still be maintained and should not be left vacant."
"Why?" Cao Rui asked.
Xin Pi calmly replied, "In the court, not only those who do things should be left, but also the positions that do not do anything."
"The three grand officials may not have trivial affairs to attend to, but when the country faces difficulties, they can rely on the weight of the three grand officials to stabilize the situation in the court."
Xin Pi looked at the emperor calmly and said, "Having a high position without much power is not necessarily a bad thing."
"The words of Zhengpi are extremely accurate!" Cao Rui laughed: "If we see it from Zhengpi's perspective, who should take the position of Duke of Ting?"
Xin Pi replied, "Your Majesty, wasn't General Chen Qun transferred to Jingzhou in the seventh year of the Huangchu reign? It's about time for him to return."
Cao Rui nodded thoughtfully.
……
The Hanzhong region is a basin, and from east to west, it is no more than two hundred and several miles.
However, with the large army deployed, there are countless things to do, not just conquering a few cities.
In addition to the two thousand Shu troops who have not yet surrendered in Chenggu, there were more than eight thousand Shu troops who had surrendered in the three cities of Yangping, Mianyang, and Nanzheng in Hanzhong.
It has been nine years since the last great war between Wei and Shu, and the people of Hanzhong have recovered to about 14,000 households, totaling approximately 50,000 people.
On one hand, although Cao Cao had previously relocated 80,000 people from Hanzhong, he had only moved the most densely populated area of Hanzhong located north of the Han River, between Yangping Pass and Beixia Pass.
On the other hand, Liu Bei later relocated several thousand households from Shu, which helped restore the population of Hanzhong, bringing it up to a third of the population of Qinzhou.
Moreover, the people who had been transferred from Longyou to Hanzhong by Zhuge Liang had not yet been counted.
When he was in Chi Ting, Zhuge Liang had already taken the chance to question the human heart of the Ji family, who had been moved away from Ji County by Liu Bei.
On that day, Jiang Wei had refused outright, but today, in Hanzhong, he had finally found dozens of his fellow villagers.
As usual, Cao Rui naturally stayed in the city of Mianyang, in the original palace of Zhuge Liang.
Cao Zhen entered from outside at a leisurely pace, bowed and said, "I have come to see the emperor. I heard that the emperor has something to consult with me."
"General Cao, please take a seat," said Cao Rui, pointing to an empty seat beside him. "I have summoned you, General, to discuss the post-war defense matters in Hanzhong today."
"It is already the twenty-seventh day. General Cao has been in Hanzhong for over two weeks. Except for Chenggu, all other places have been conquered by Wei, and this matter should be taken up as soon as possible."
Cao Zhen thanked and then sat in the chair, replying, "If the emperor does not say it, I will say it anyway."
"Xiaiban, Wuxing, and the Hanzhong line are too thin. I would like to suggest to the emperor that we repair a pass city in Wuxing to control the road from Wuxing to Qinzhou and Hanzhong."
"To repair a city in Wuxing?"
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "I was going to talk about the defense of Hanzhong, but not just this matter."
"Now that the overall situation is settled, the emperor and the central army will have to return to Luoyang. Who should guard Hanzhong? Both the general and the prefect need to be chosen."
Cao Rui pointed to the two people in the hall, Sima Yi and Xin Pi: "In the past two days, I have discussed with the Chancellor of the Household and Xin Zhi. After Hanzhong was incorporated into Wei, it replaced Qinzhou as a frontline for commanding troops."
"They both suggested that Zhang He should come here to garrison."
Cao Zhen slightly revealed an amazed expression: "Why Zhang He?"
Sima Yi bowed and said, "General Cao, when the emperor and the main army were in Qinzhou, the intention was to station troops in Qinzhou and Mount Qishan."
"Now that Hanzhong has been conquered, should Zhang He not move to garrison in Hanzhong?"
Xin Pi also spoke up: "In terms of the situation in western Wei, only Zhang He is capable of garrisoning Hanzhong. Figures like Guo Huai and Lu Xun cannot do it."
Cao Zhen's eyebrows scrunched even tighter, taking his gaze away from Xin Pi and turning it back to the emperor: "Please allow me to think about it for a moment."
"Not in a hurry," said Cao Rui calmly, and he gestured for the guards to hand Cao Zhen a small cup of drink: "This is called bamboo sap, made from fresh bamboo shoots, and it is very effective in removing heat and dryness."
"The method from the local people of Hanzhong, presented by the people from Shu, is something I have tried for the first time. General Cao, you can give it a try."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Cao Zhen drank the cup in one go. A fresh bamboo scent followed his throat, and his frowning brow seemed to loosen slightly.
Cao Zhen took a deep breath, "Your Majesty, I still believe that Zhang He should not move from Qinzhou. It would be better to entrust the defense of Hanzhong to someone else."
Now it's Cao Rui who scrunches his eyebrows in response: "Why?"
Cao Zhen countered, "How many people are needed in Hanzhong to sustain the local garrison?"
"In my view, it would be better to only retain the three cities of Yangping, Mianyang, and Nanzheng. The rest should be destroyed. During peacetime, the army would be stationed here; during war, they would defend the cities. If there is a shortage of grain and forage, it can be supplied by Qinzhou and Yongzhou."
"And the local people of Hanzhong can all be resettled in Yongzhou. Yongzhou is short on people but has plenty of land, and it needs the people."
Cao Rui lightly tapped on the table: "General Cao's meaning is that we don't need to manage the fields and cities of Hanzhong? We only need to station troops?"
Cao Zhen calmly replied, "That's exactly right. We don't need to manage them. Hanzhong is adjacent to Shu territory, and it needs to face the enemy as well as govern the people, which is an undue burden."
"It is a difficult choice between relocating people and governing the territory." (Chapter complete)
