When Cao Rui arrived at the Tuying district of Yubing Prefecture, it was already August 23rd.
This time it was a return victory, and the welcoming team along the eastern outskirts of Tuying city extended for five miles. The new Yan State Governor, Cui Lin, also personally welcomed along the official roadside for five miles.
"During your time in Yècheng, Prince Cui, did you not expect the Emperor to use you in Youzhou?" Cao Rui sat on his horse, had Cui Lin get up after him, and asked with a slight smile.
Cui Lin bowed his hands: "Whether in the palace or in Youzhou, both are under the jurisdiction of the Great Wei. If Your Majesty is willing to use me, I will certainly manage the affairs of Youzhou and repay Your Majesty's favor!"
Cao Rui nodded slightly, looking up at the crowd on both sides of the road ahead, which extended to the city gate: "It is said that what is good above will be emulated below. I only received a rural welcome from Mr. Liu in front of Changping City last time. Now there is a model to imitate!"
Cui Lin's expression was slightly embarrassed; it wasn't appropriate to explain, and it wasn't fitting not to explain.
Cao Rui turned to Xu Zhou and said, "Xu Zhong, tell the Secretariat that during my tour of various places, I prohibit allowing the people to welcome me in this manner again. Although I have favors, they do not directly benefit these people. What do they understand? It must be officials who exaggerate."
Xu Zhou whispered, "And what about the officials?"
"I do not restrict officials," Cao Rui said. "I only want to lighten the burden on the people. It is up to officials to show their loyalty and devotion to me."
"Yes, I understand." Xu Zhou replied.
The general army led by Mian Qiu Jian came first, leading the emperor and his entourage into the city. The other divisions all stationed in their respective camps as assigned when they arrived.
After entering the city, Cui Lin led Cao Rui and his entourage directly into the Prefectural Governor's mansion of Youbei Beidi. Just as they sat down, Cao Rui asked a crucial question:
"Prince Cui, have the rewards sent from the previous campaign and the preparations in Yan City been prepared?"
Cui Lin bowed and replied, "Report to Your Majesty, the cloth and five cash coins for the rewards have been prepared. According to the imperial edict, the rewards for the Xianbei, Wuhuan, and Hun tribes, as well as for the soldiers of Hebei Prefecture, are to be granted in Youbei Beidi. The rewards for the central army will be granted upon our return to Yan City."
"Mm." Cao Rui looked around the hall at the officials: "As the Prefectural Governor of Youzhou and as the right monitor of the Grand Secretariat, both of you are national marquises and it is your duty to serve the country. For soldiers, a thousand words about serving the country and people are not as tangible as a bright yellow five cash coin and a piece of cloth."
Cui Lin continued, "The five cash coins used for this reward were all newly minted in the Eastern copper factory since the second year of Taibo. There are quite a few of them, with markings on both sides. They can be considered the best coins available, different from the poor quality coins previously in circulation."
Upon finishing his statement, Cui Lin took out several coins from his bosom, presented one to the emperor first, and then gave one to each of the other officials in the hall.
Cao Rui touched the coin with 'Wu Zhu' characters, which were identical in shape to the Han Dynasty. He smiled and said, "I discussed this with the officials in Luoyang before. The reason coins are not widely circulated is because the people are poor and have insufficient resources, as well as the previous dynasty's Wu Zhu coins had varying qualities and were mostly of poor quality. Starting from the military salary reward in Taihe four, we will gradually introduce new coins into circulation."
Pei Qian bowed and said, "I vaguely remember when this money was first minted, there was heated debate in the palace. Some said the name should be changed from Wu Zhu, while others suggested making larger coins like those with the denomination of 'Dangbai' or 'Dangqian,' but both proposals were rejected by Your Majesty."
Cao Rui said, "The so-called 'large coins worth one hundred' or 'large coins worth a thousand'—even a coin worth a thousand is only ten times the weight of the regular Wu Zhu. How can it be 'worth a thousand'? It's merely using the prestige of the court as collateral to force the people to accept them. The kind of thing that Shu and Wu countries do, in my opinion, is not at all honorable."
Liu Ye nodded in agreement: "The Han Dynasty used Wu Zhu. For something that has been in use for over a hundred years without a major flaw, it is correct to continue using it."
"But I'm afraid that some of the people may be misled by the Wu and Shu bandits and use the large denomination coins like those worth one hundred or a thousand on their own. I think the court can issue an order to prohibit them."
"Good, send a message to the Secretariat." Cao Rui said immediately, then turned to Man Chong: "General Man, go and oversee the distribution of the rewards. Try to get all the rewards distributed within today and tomorrow."
"Understood." Man Chong stood up and bowed his hands in response.
While Cao Rui discussed affairs with his officials, Xiahou Xian hurried in from outside, holding a document, and quickly approached Cao Rui. If there was no urgent matter, the controller would not have entered the hall during the discussion.
Cao Rui took the document, glanced at it for a few moments, and then knocked it back down.
"Gatherings of all officials," Cao Rui, with a calm demeanor, looked around the room, "Since the beginning of August, heavy rains have been falling in various parts of Yuzhou and Si liquor. This is clearly reminiscent of the situation in Huangcheng four years."
Upon the emperor's words, the hall fell into near-immediate silence. The issue of flood or no flood took a back seat; what first came to mind for many was the divination result that Guan Lü publicly foretold during their time at the Copper Phoenix Pavilion in Yan City.
"What kind of divination result could be this accurate?"
Lu Yu was the first to bow his hands and say, "Your Majesty, the scholar Guan has divined this event in Yan City. Let me go and ask the scholar Guan about it."
Cao Rui slightly shook his head, and beside him, Man Chong, Liu Xie, and others all voiced their opposition.
Seeing the situation, Cao Rui slightly raised his chin towards Man Chong. Man Chong understood his meaning and said directly, "Countrywide affairs cannot be decided by divination. Having someone foretell things beforehand can be considered a trivial matter. However, asking after the event has occurred is truly asking for trouble!"
"Did you hear that?" Cao Rui coughed and said: "Yu, do not go and ask Guan Lü. National affairs must be decided by the sovereign and the court officials!"
Man Chong bowed and said, "Today is the twenty-third day of the eighth month. No matter how you say it, the specific information is from more than ten days ago. May I ask Your Majesty, has the Secretariat in Yan City assigned anyone to deal with this?"
"There is," Cao Rui said: "Counties in Hebei are already mobilizing grain supplies to prepare for the relief efforts in Henan. Medications, textiles, and other supplies are also being collected."
"While the well-being of the people is important, it is not the most pressing matter at present. What I am most concerned about now is military affairs."
Military affairs?
Man Chong slightly furrowed his brow and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, are you worried that Wu and Shu will take advantage of the situation to attack?"
Cao Rui nodded: "Only allow me to spend the whole day thinking about Wu and Shu, but not allow Sun Quan and Zhuge Liang to think about me?"
"I have a vague recollection. It seems that after March, I haven't received any letters from Sun Quan anymore."
Man Chong huffed coldly: "Your Majesty has already said that Sun Quan is a traitor who pretends to be obedient to the court, planning treason in secret. With the northern region stable, it's time for the court to turn its attention to the south."
"The south, there are also divisions of Jingzhou and Yangzhou." Cao Rui's expression grew serious as well: "The current task is to find out the situation with the heavy rain and whether it has caused any disasters. If it has, we need to look at it separately for the Si liquor region and Yuzhou, as well as for Jingzhou and Yangzhou."
"This matter is indeed somewhat troublesome."
Liu Ye suggested, "Your Majesty, it might be best to have the Secretariat in Yan City and the Grand Secretariat return to Luoyang? The campaign to conquer Liaodong has been concluded, so returning to Luoyang would be more convenient for handling affairs."
Cao Rui frowned and thought for a moment, "That may not be enough!"
"Taichu, summon Liu Zhushu!"
"Understood." Xiahou Xian quickly walked out. Liu Fang also hurriedly walked in.
"Write an edict for me, Liu Zhushu," Cao Rui ordered directly. "Deploy the troops led by General Wang Ling of the gallant guards in Yan City to Xuchang, and the troops led by General Cheng Xi of the right army of feathers in Luoyang to Chang'an, and they will still be under imperial command. Also, send the troops led by Qian Zhao in Xuchang to Wanyang!"
Man Chong asked from the side, "From my perspective, Your Majesty's deployment seems to be to prevent Wu and Shu from attacking from the passes of Gansu and Jing Province."
Cao Rui huffed coldly: "Zhuge Liang is used to finding the right moment to launch an attack, and reduced production in the passes of Gansu is not a new occurrence. I suspect that Zhuge Liang has already known about it. Sun Quan is also adept at launching surprise attacks. If the floodwaters worsen, I do not believe he will remain inactive!"
"Previously, I transferred Wang Ling to Yan City, in order to leave a backup for the campaign against Liaodong. Now that I am returning with a large army, there is no need for Wang Ling to stay in Yan City any longer."
Man Chong nodded gravely, "The last time there was a flood, it was in Huangcheng four. At that time, Liu Bei was seriously ill in Baiyue City and the death of the Shu kingdom made them cautious. In Huangcheng three, the Great Wei launched three attacks on Wu, so Wu did not move its army in Huangcheng four."
"Times have changed, Zhuge Liang launched two attacks on Taza and Yangpingguan last year, and has not yet launched an attack this year. Meanwhile, Sun Quan has been resting and recovering after the war in Taihe one for four years, enough to gather some troops. It is necessary to be vigilant."
Cao Rui abruptly stood up: "I am in a remote area of Youzhou, far from the various counties of Henan. Delaying would raise doubts, and doubts would lead to changes. What can we discuss here that would amount to anything!"
"Pass on my edict!" Cao Rui stared at the officials and said seriously, "One hour from now, I will immediately set out for the south and return to Yan City. The officials who accompany me will be the Imperial Envoy, the messenger, the Secretariat, and the Grand Secretariat."
"Man Chong, stay here to handle affairs for the emperor, and then slowly bring the army to Yan City," Cao Rui looked at Man Chong, "Can Man Chong do it?"
Man Chong bit his teeth together and bowed, "Your Majesty, I believe it's not yet at such an urgent level. Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Hurry?" Cao Rui furrowed his brow and said, "National affairs require no urgency. If Emperor Wu had marched his troops to Hanzhong earlier in year 223, wouldn't it be us, the officials, who would have to work hard to recapture Hanzhong instead of you?"
Hearing that the old events were brought up, Man Chong sighed lightly, "Your Majesty has issued an order, and I shall comply. However, how can Your Majesty's expedition to the north be without the escort of soldiers from the Army of Middle Leaders? Let the Army of Middle Leaders accompany Your Majesty back."
In the 23rd year of the Jian'an era, Cao Cao arrived in Chang'an in September, but because of many concerns, he was unable to rescue Hanzhong in time. At that time, in Hanzhong, Liu Bei led Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Wu Yi, and Chen Shi against Xiahou Yuan.
Just a hundred days later, Xiahou Yuan, the General Commanding the West, was defeated by Liu Bei in Hanzhong. Under such a deteriorating situation, Cao Cao had no choice but to urgently march to Hanzhong, after which he lost against Liu Bei and retreated back to Gansu, leaving behind the famous words of Liu Bei: "Although Cao Cao has come, he cannot do anything. I will definitely have Hancheng!"
Military strategy, failing to make a decisive move when necessary, is the first most harmful thing.
Cao Rui nodded: "Taichu, you've heard what I said to Man Chong just now. Go quickly and pass on my orders to Zhonggong. We are to set out southward in one hour!"
"Understood." Xiahou Xian bowed and then left quickly out of the hall. (The chapter ends here.)
