"General please do not be angry, then I will follow the general's words," Xiahou Ruoliu urged continuously. With a relaxed expression, Wen Ping began to whisper again.
City defenses, officers, fields...
Wen Ping seemed afraid of leaving anything out, speaking sentence after sentence until his voice became blurred and unrecognizable, until he closed his eyes.
"Goodbye General Wen." Xiahou Ruoliu, with a sad expression, bowed three times at the side of the bed, covering the brocade quilt on General Wen Ping's body tightly. After getting up and standing up, he turned his head to look at Wen Dai, who was crying.
Wen Dai looked up in surprise, but then noticed Xiahou Ruoliu's gaze fixed on him. After a moment of thought, he quickly reached under the quilt, extracted the military token still warm from Wen Ping's hand, and presented it in both hands to Xiahou Ruoliu in front of him. He wiped away his tears and said with a respectful expression:
"The military token of Jiang Xia is here. General Wen Dai, please follow the general's orders."
Xiahou Ruoliu nodded: "Let's talk outside. Wen Xiu, go and call your family in and also notify the officials to come pay their respects."
"Understood." His adopted son, Wen Xiu, also bowed and agreed to the task.
Xiahou Ruoliu held the military token in his hand, walked side by side with Wen Dai to the courtyard and stood still before saying: "At present, apart from the garrison troops in the various cities of Jiang Xia, how many more troops can be dispatched to assist Xianyang if needed?"
Wen Dai is a man of average talent. For someone like him, after the death of his father who he has depended on for decades, he can only entrust his future to Xiahou Ruoliu in a hurry.
The reason for taking the military token earlier is the same as now, which is to be obedient and compliant.
Wen Dai respectfully said: "Reporting to General, there are 25,000 troops in Jiang Xia Prefecture. 15,000 of them are permanent soldiers who have been stationed for many years and are suitable for garrison duties but not for use in Xianyang. If the general wants to use them, only 10,000 foreign troops are available."
"I won't use them, you will," Xiahou Ru said with a serious expression, staring intently at Wen Dai. "Jiang Xia is indeed half of General Wen's lifetime effort, but Xiangfan is the vital heart of the Jingzhou region of the Great Wei."
"You lead these 10,000 troops, follow the same route we took when we came, through Suyi County, Anchang County, and Caiyang to the city of Ban. I will take care of Jiang Xia Prefecture. If there is any mistake, it will not be related to your Wen family."
Wen Dai asked in slight panic: "But my father just said..."
As Xiahou Ru merely furrowed his brow, Wen Dai dared not speak further. He lowered his head slightly and softly replied, "May I delay my departure until after the funeral of my father?"
Xiahou Ru said: "If you want to show your respect to General Wen and contribute to the country's affairs, that is enough. You don't need to worry about anything else. Are you afraid that I cannot keep Jiang Xia safe?"
"Wen Dai hurriedly said: "The subordinate dare not. If I arrive in Ban City, who should command the 10,000 foreign troops? If they are blocked by Wu troops before reaching Ban City, what should I do?"
Xiahou Ru calmly assigned: "From Anlu to Ban City, there are five hundred miles. I will allow you ten days to reach there. Once in Ban City, it would be best to follow the orders of Zhao Dujiang. If it is difficult to contact him, you may also follow the commands of Generals Lu and Shen."
"As for being blocked by Wu troops, I think they won't be able to reach Caiyang. As long as you can bring the 100,000 troops to the vicinity of Xianyang, I will ask for your achievements on behalf of the government! Do you understand?"
"Understood! I will immediately order my people to prepare and leave at dawn tomorrow."
Seeing Wen Dai turn to leave, Xiahou Ru stepped forward half a step, grabbed his sleeve, and turned him back. "Kneel and pay your respects to your father; it won't make any difference if you go later."
"Yes, the general is right." Wen Dai quickly nodded in agreement.
......
At night, the Northern Palace in Luoyang.
Tomorrow we are heading to Xuchang. For tonight's dinner, there will be plenty of fine cuisine from Luoyang, including fresh Luoshui salmon, among others. There will be a total of twenty-eight dishes.
Cao Rui didn't have to enjoy it alone either. He invited his consorts Jia and Feng to join him for dinner.
As early as the second year of Taihe, Cao Rui had ordered the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works to make this rotating dining table, where one could have any dish they desired by simply giving a glance, and the attendants would rotate the dish to them.
When eating with the concubines, Cao Rui has always eaten together with them, without using the separate meal system. After a couple of years, the concubines have all adapted to this.
Jia Cheng on the left, Feng Yuan on the right.
Cao Rui chatted with the two daughters while eating, and before he realized it, he had talked about matters in their families.
Cao Rui asked Jia Cheng lightly: "Has your father written to you recently?"
Jia Cheng's father was the General of the South, Jia Dawei, stationed at Wan Kou. Over these three years, due to Jia Dawei's submission to Sun Quan's restraint, there has been no war at Wan Kou. There were a few occasions when Wu's navy showed off its power, which were all resolved by General Jia Dawei.
Jia Cheng replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My father sent me a letter at the beginning of the year. He asked after my well-being in the palace and inquired whether I was pregnant. He also entrusted me to convey his regards to Your Majesty."
Cao Rui ignored the woman's small thoughts and smiled, "Don't trouble you to seek an introduction for your father. He is an important minister, and he has his own channels to communicate with the emperor. You don't need to blow smoke in my ear."
"I also have good intentions," Jia Cheng whispered.
"Your Majesty has not blamed you," Cao Rui said with a smile. "Do you know that your father added another daughter to you four months ago in Wan City? He has already told me about it in his letters. I remember he is fifty-six years old, doesn't he?"
Jia Cheng, now only twenty years old, blushed slightly as she heard the emperor's words. She tried to compose herself and said in a slightly flustered manner, "I, I have another sister? I really don't know about this."
Cao Rui smiled, "Your father having a daughter at over fifty is not bad, and it's even better for the late Prime Minister Zhong who was much older. By the way, I remember you also have a younger brother living in Luoyang with your mother, named Jia Chong?"
"Please take care of your Majesty," Jia Cheng said. "My younger brother Jia Chong is now thirteen years old. My father found a teacher for him in Luoyang when he was eight years old and began to teach him Confucian classics."
As she spoke, Jia Cheng tentatively looked at the emperor, and also put a piece of roasted lamb to Cao Rui's mouth: "I wonder if I can ask for a favor for him. In two years, can I let him enter the Imperial Academy to study?"
Cao Rui laughed twice, took the food Jia Cheng had offered, chewed and swallowed it, then said: "You always worry about too many things. Your father is the General of the South. Would I let his legitimate son not have access to education?"
"You yourself say that worrying about so many things is of no use. Why not find some entertainment for the emperor instead?"
Jia Cheng blushed slightly and smiled down, not replying.
At this moment, the beauty named Feng Yuan, who was sitting on the right side of Emperor Cao Rui, picked up a cup of honey water and brought it to his lips:
"Please take a sip, Your Majesty."
Cao Rui poured himself a sip, and then looked at Feng Yuan: "I remember you are good at playing the guqin. Play a piece for me later."
"If Your Majesty wishes to listen, not just one piece, but ten, I can play them," Feng Yuan giggled a few times, her eyes filled with affection as she locked eyes with Cao Rui. "This year, I learned a new musical instrument. Would Your Majesty like to hear the huqin?"
"Huqin?" Cao Rui pondered for a moment, asking, "Is it the big huqin of Cai Zhaoji?"
"It's the 'Eighteen Beats' of Cai Zhaoji," Feng Yuan said with a touch of surprise, nodding. "The Empress invited Cai Zhaoji into the palace for a chat in April. At that time, I was also present. With the Empress's blessing, I even sought her as my teacher."
Now it was Cao Rui's turn to be surprised: "You mean, you have taken Cai Zhaoji as your teacher?"
Feng Yuan looked at Cao Rui with a pair of graceful eyes, teasingly: "I took Cai Zhaoji as my teacher to learn the guqin and huqin. Poetry, calligraphy, and literary works, I still can't keep up."
"It seems fate is at work here," Cao Rui said with a slight sense of emotion. "You learned the huqin from Cai Zhaoji in April, and I was in Yanmen in Shanxi province in April, where I heard local musicians play the huqin. Its sound is thick and deep, indeed different from those of Central Plains instruments."
"If it weren't for Lu the Minister's mention of the 'Eighteen Beats of the Huqin,' I wouldn't have thought that Cai Zhaoji was still in Luoyang."
"Yes." Feng Yuan nodded and said: "I have brought the huqin outside. How about I play it for Your Majesty now?"
Cao Rui smiled and said: "That would be great. I'll listen to how well this disciple of Cai Zhaoji has learned the huqin. Have you mastered all the Eighteen Beats of the Big Huqin?"
Feng Yuan rose and bowed, then with a bit of embarrassment, she explained: "I have learned all the Eighteen Beats, but only the first beat is very familiar to me."
"Ha ha ha." Cao Rui laughed loudly. "That's normal. Go on and play, and I'll sing along with you."
Feng Yuan's eyes sparkled with even more surprise: "I'll go get it right away."
However, moments later, Feng Yuan quietly stood opposite the dining table a few steps away and began to play the huqin standing up.
As she played the introduction, Cao Rui sighed softly: "As melancholic as complaint, as yearning as longing, as weeping as complaint, indeed."
Jia Cheng on the left wanted to offer Cao Rui some more food again, but he was stopped by a slight shake of Cao Rui's head.
Feng Yuan's huqin played a melancholic and graceful tune, and Cao Rui, taken by the mood, began to sing in harmony with his right hand gently tapping the table.
"When I was born, I had nothing to do; after I was born, the Han dynasty declined."
"God is unfathomable, bringing confusion and separation; the earth is unfathomable, making me encounter this era..." (The end of this chapter)
