Sima Zhao extended his neck towards the east and looked over, but the rain outside the eaves still continued, making Sima Zhao uncertain what to do for a while:
"Brother Ju Yuan, with such heavy rain, isn't it..."
Before Sima Zhao could finish speaking, mountain tao suddenly accelerated and ran out, staring straight at Huang Quan's provincial carriage without the slightest hesitation.
I don't have your family background! When I should strive, I should be indifferent to trivial matters!
Watching the back of Shan Tao, Sima Zhao was initially taken aback, then shook his head and turned back into the room, sitting down on the mat.
Shortly, Shan Tao stopped the carriage in front of the door and personally led Huang Quan and four attendants into the house. He then volunteered to take off the reins and lead the horses to be fed in the stable.
"Greeting the Administrator." Sima Zhao, along with four clerks in the house, performed a bow together.
Huang Quan cast a glance at the few, gave a slight nod, and while taking off his wet robe that was soaked through, he used both hands to wring it out. He then walked over to the burning hearth inside, hanging his robe one foot at a time above the fire to dry.
Zhao Kai, who followed behind Huang Quan, looked carefully at the interior decorations and then turned to Sima Zhao: "Master Sima, do you have clean clothes? Today's rain came down too quickly. The felt covering on top of the carriage was also soaked through. The clothes are too wet, and it might cause a chill."
"Wait a moment, assistant, I'll go get it." Sima Zhao turned and looked at the four clerks: "Don't stand there dazed. There are five sets of clothes in total. Don't consider height, weight or thickness. Bring all of them over first."
"Good, good."
The four clerks went to find them respectively. Only then did Huang Quan look at Sima Zhao with a serious expression and ask, "Zimu? Are you Sima Zimu?"
"Answering the Master's question, it is true." Sima Zhao bowed and said.
Zhao Kai interjected: "Reporting to the Administrator, this place has been visited by Marquis Jia Que. This is Sima Zimu. The person who greeted you in the rain was Shan Tao, also known as Shan Ju Yuan. Both are from Henan."
In the autumn of Taiping three years, the hundred Confucian scholars sent to Yuzhou were all in charge of Zhaoyang's assistant Zhao Kai.
Huang Quan seemed to be in a bad mood; he didn't even glance at Zhao Kai, "The name of the Sima clan from Henan is known to me, and there's no need for you to mention it."
"Zimu, is this channel part of your two's responsibility?"
"Reporting to the Administrator, it is true."
"How are you doing with the tasks of clearing sediment, deepening the bottom, and building embankments?"
At this moment, Shan Tao had taken care of the horse matters and rushed into the room. Seeing Huang Quan asking Sima Zhao about public affairs and not approaching to join them, he turned to change clothes instead.
Sima Zhao thought for a moment and bowed to answer: "Reporting to the Administrator, the five miles from forty-five to fifty li of Jia Hu Qu are responsible for me and Shan Ju Yuan. Zhaoyang's assistant Zhao Kai came here to inspect a month and a half ago. About ten days ago, the tasks of clearing sediment and expanding the bottom were completed."
"What about building the dam?" Huang Quan asked.
"Building the dam..." Sima Zhao looked hesitant for a moment, then said: "The work on the dam has only just begun."
Huang Quan frowned and stopped moving his hands: "What happened? Did you delay the time, or was the number of people insufficient?"
On one side was the second son of the Sima family, and on the other was the immediate superior, the Prefect. How could a provincial assistant like him mediate between them and be in a difficult position? Zhao Kai, completely ignoring Sima Zhao's slightly beseeching gaze, moved over to the hearth and began to dry his clothes.
Sima Zhao thought for a moment: "Master Administrator, I and Shan Ju Yuan have been digging rocks and accumulating soil these days, but we haven't had the chance to build the dam yet."
Huang Quan nodded thoughtfully and continued drying his clothes: "Is it because of lack of manpower or that you didn't seize the opportunity to do it?"
"This..." Sima Zhao was momentarily speechless and didn't know how to argue. The actual situation was indeed as Huang Quan described.
Shan Tao had already changed his clothes and walked over to bow to Huang Quan. Huang Quan asked the same question, and Shan Tao gave the same answer.
Huang Quan sighed and threw the robe in his hand to Zhao Kai, then turned to look at Sima Zhao and Shan Tao and said:
"I just returned from Chenlong county, Chen. The dams for the channel in Jiahu were built three feet high in the entire region. From the governor to each county magistrate, expanding and excavating ditches is a top priority."
"Seeing the situation you two have here, I imagine it's not much better throughout the Xuchang region. What's all this talk about finding stones and not having enough time? Is it because the county hasn't pressed hard enough, or that there weren't enough people?"
Sima Zhao pursed his lips: "Master Administrator, I understand."
"To be honest, the task of excavating channels and building dams was personally approved by Sima when he was in Yèchéng, and was issued as an urgent task by the Yèchéng secretariat." Zhao Kai introduced this, and then asked Huang Quan: "I will remind Awuang Prefecture about this after the rain clears up."
Sima signed it?
Sima Zhao was taken aback.
If that's the case, then the other day when Sima Zhao and Shan Tao were muttering against Huang Quan for unnecessary trouble here, weren't they muttering against his own father? Sima Zhao's regret was so uncomfortable.
Sima Zhao always held his father's status in high regard and would never have wanted to speak ill of him behind his back. Now, he was so regretful that he wanted to slap himself.
"When will it clear up? Do you know when it will clear up?" Huang Quan spoke directly to Zhao Kai, who was speechless. "Quickly dry your clothes and tidy up the carriage. Go back to Xuchang under the light of the rain!"
Zhao Kai was used to his governor's temper and took his time to persuade: "Master Administrator, isn't it better to wait for the rain to stop before going back?"
Huang Quan looked at Zhao Kai: "Very well. Are there any paper and ink in the house?"
Shan Tao quickly answered: "There are. My subordinate will bring them right away."
"Don't give it to me, give it to Zhao Kai." Huang Quan pointed at Zhao Kai: "Give me the clothes, and you quickly draft a document. Accuse Hou Ji of inertia in his work as Prefect of Awuang, and neglecting the major task of water control by the Secretariat!"
Zhao Kai could still speak up for minor matters, but when it came to such a major issue, he answered without hesitation. He quickly changed into his robe and went to the desk to draft the document.
Sima Zhao was already at a loss about what to do after receiving so many messages. He never expected that his three or two sentences would lead to Huang Quan wanting to impeach Dong Yu?
With some panic and tension, Sima Zhao couldn't help but think of a sensitive issue: Isn't Dong Yu Dong King the son of Beijing Dong Gong?
...
...
The Chancellor Ku Meng sat in the first position, Hu Zong, Yin Fan and Lu Yi sat in the lower positions. As for Quan Cong and Zhuge Jin, they took their ships back to their respective locations after the early morning meeting last month, and did not stay in Wuchang for a long time.
State affairs ultimately have to be supervised by the Chancellor. Matters such as planning for ascending the throne are something that Sun Quan only privately provided some strategies, and specific details still need to be discussed one by one.
And the three people of Hu Zong, Yin Fan and Lu Yi were all assigned by Sun Quan to Gu Rong, and their respective responsibilities are self-explanatory.
Hu Zong was responsible for internal and external communication, as well as gathering ministers. Yin Fan was responsible for the rites and procedures, including the persuasive document. And Lu Yi, the inspector of officials, was responsible for orchestrating auspicious events and prophecies, as well as monitoring the speech and movements of officials.
It's only a step away from ascending to the heavens, and for the whole of Wu and Sun Quan himself, being as cautious as possible is not too much.
Gu Rong looked at Hu Zong: "Wei Zhe, about the specific date, has Your Majesty spoken?"
Hu Zong bowed and replied: "Reporting to the Chancellor, three days ago Ge Tian Shishi has already calculated that the most auspicious day of the year is September 16th."
"September 16th..." Gu Rong said thoughtfully, "Today is August 6th. With forty days to prepare, it's more than enough time. What else did Ge Tian Shishi say?"
Hu Zong said: "Ge Tian Shishi also said that the Sun family founded the country with military power, and Wu Chang is located at the confluence of the Han River and the Yangtze River. It should gather troops for training and inspection as a way to enhance auspiciousness."
Gu Rong took a deep breath: "Pressure defeat?"
"Yes, pressure defeat," Hu Zong explained. "According to the words of Ge Tian Shishi, since the Sun family is replacing the Han dynasty's fire element with the earth element, it is necessary to display a grand show of military might as a means of overcoming adversity. Otherwise, it would not be enough to demonstrate Wu's power and virtue. Moreover, both the infantry and navy must be present."
"What does Your Majesty say?"
Hu Zong bowed and replied: "Military training and review is the legitimate way to demonstrate national power and military might, and Your Majesty is pleased to agree. However, about which troops to call up and when to bring them here, Your Majesty has asked the subordinates and the Chancellor to come up with a strategy together, and then report it to Your Majesty for knowledge."
Gu Rong pondered for a moment: "Since we're talking about a grand display of military might, it would require at least tens of thousands of troops. Our great Wu currently has 180,000 elite soldiers, but the available manpower we can deploy is not abundant."
"The troops in the east, Ruru and Jianye, cannot be moved. The troops opposite Ankou cannot be moved either. In the west, Xiling and Jiangling cannot be moved. In this case, only three places can mobilize troops: that of Lusha on the Mountain in Changsha, Gong'an in Gezhu, and Queshan in Quanshan."
Hu Zong nodded in agreement: "Your Excellency's words are very true. The combined forces of the three generals, Bu, Zhuge, and Quan, total thirty thousand. Adding the forty thousand central troops near Wuchang, we come up to seventy thousand troops."
"Seventy thousand troops can be considered a grand display of military might, isn't it?"
Gu Rong nodded and replied: "Seventy thousand troops are sufficient. As for the navy, there are a total of five hundred sloops and a thousand official vessels at Wuchang and Xia, as well as those in Chaisan and Gong'an. They should be enough for a review."
Hu Zong replied, "Then shall I report this to Your Majesty accordingly?"
"Okay, Wei Zhe, go and report it to Your Majesty. As for the matter of the congratulatory document, what is your plan?" Gu Rong turned to look at Yin Fan.
Yin Fan bowed and replied: "Reporting to the Chancellor, in my opinion, the group of ministers of Wu King should persuade him four times. Your Majesty would reject three times and accept the fourth time. Before and during these three large-scale persuasion opportunities, persuasion should be carried out with different positions, including the Chancellery, Secretariat, Grand Secretariat, Nine Ministers, inner officials, Grand Historian, Master of Studies, generals and leaders, as well as all citizens. A total of nine persuasions."
"For each persuasion, the ministers should sign their names together and submit their petition, together knocking at the palace gates to show the sincerity of their request and the loyalty of the ministers."
Gu Rong nodded: "The rules cannot be neglected. As Your Majesty trusts Yin Fan, let's follow his suggestion. When should we start the persuasions?"
Yin Fan thought for a moment: "It should start from September 1st."
"Very well." Gu Rong turned to look at Hu Zong: "Wei Zhe, first submit the two strategies for the inspection of Your Majesty, and then request an order from Your Majesty to summon Generals Zhuge, Bu, and Quan to move their troops to Wuchang!"
"Yes, Your subordinates will follow orders!" Hu Zong stood up to reply.
"As for Mr. Lu, the inspector," Gu Rong looked at Lu Yi: "At such a critical moment, the security of Wuchang is of utmost importance. If anything goes wrong, even with ten heads on you, it wouldn't be enough!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!" Lu Yi bowed and accepted the order, but in his heart, he harbored a bit of dissatisfaction towards Gu Rong's threatening words.
(Chapter complete)
