Wei Ni

After waiting for half an hour with no results, Leliang asked people to go to Beimang Mountain to search.

After learning from the manor steward that Xia Houhui had been looking to the east of Hulao Pass for a long time, he hurried back to the palace to resume his life.

Yes, Emperor Cao Rui was not drunk at all.

The emperor has always had a reputation for diligence since he succeeded to the throne, so when he saw Sun Zi and Xu Xuan, the left servant of Shangshutai, occasionally avoiding the banquet, he pretended to drink too much and returned to the Chonghua apse. After getting water to cleanse his face and finding a few pickled green plums to soothe his drunkenness, he took a nap on the side couch and asked Liu Fang, Sun Zi and Xu Xuan to be summoned to ask them what political affairs they were having at the banquet just now. Frequently avoid seats when having fun together.

Well, since he transferred Chen Jiao to the position of minister, Cao Rui has taken the post of virtual minister and divided the affairs of minister with his left and right servants.

Among them, Xu Xuan, a servant on the left, was in charge of government affairs, and Wei Zhen, a servant on the right, was in charge of elections.

After a while, three people arrived.

Liu Fang, the Supervisor of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, presented Sima Yi's apology statement, and after waiting for Emperor Cao Rui to read it, he did not hesitate to praise Sima Yi's appropriate post-war handling suggestions, which would save the temple troubles and benefit the country's strength, etc.

In this regard, the emperor was naturally happy.

Not only did he ask the chancellor to quickly draft an edict and approved all of Sima Yi's suggestions, he also asked enthusiastically about the rewards for the generals who led the rebellion in the northern part of Ping'an County. If you want to let Sima Yi return to Luoyang to report on his duties, he will take advantage of the situation to bring back several meritorious generals. He also gave a banquet at Beimang Mountain Manor to show his favor and honor.

Well, he was not worried. After Sima Yi returned to Luoyang, the Shu soldiers suddenly invaded. When the various garrison troops resisted, they were leaderless and in a hurry.

There is also Zhang He who is guarding Longyou to restrain the Yongliang tribes!

Regarding the emperor's question, Xu Xuan just immersed himself in recording Liu Fang's oral remarks and drafting an edict without being distracted at all.

Because he knew that as long as Liu Fang and Sun Zi were around, it would not be his turn to intervene in this kind of issue.

Besides, the emperor has long been used to it.

On issues like this, the Shangshutai would not be consulted at all.

as predicted.

Sun Zi who was on the side took over the words directly after hearing the words.

It was because Sima Yi was a lonely and important minister, his favor and honor could not be restored, and because winter was about to arrive in Yongliang states and counties, he was busy with matters such as dispatching grain and fodder and repairing troops, horses and weapons, etc., he persuaded the emperor not to recall him back. .

Furthermore, Hu Bo, the leader of the Xiongnu security forces, was just a thief chieftain with more than 20,000 people.

Putting down the rebellion is not a special achievement.

If the emperor wanted to reward him, he could just issue an edict to commend Sima Yi and give more money to the meritorious officers and soldiers.

After hearing this, Cao Rui pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

I also suddenly felt that I was too excited by visiting the divisions and feasting on the soldiers this morning. As soon as I heard about the victory in the battle, I couldn't help but beam with joy and be generous with the honor.

However, he was soon doused with cold water.

Seeing that Sun Zi had adopted his suggestion, he suddenly changed the topic and said softly, "Your Majesty, although the army from the Northern Expedition to Xianbei has returned, as far as the temple is concerned, the annexation of the state is still unfinished."

After that, without waiting for Cao Rui to ask questions, he handed Tian Yu the watch he had prepared long ago.

Cao Rui also looked at it, and the smile on his face melted.

After being silent for a while, he shook his head helplessly and sighed. He took another pickled green plum and stuffed it into his mouth, savoring the sweet yet sour taste.

Because Tian Yu’s petition was to ask for money, food and labor from the temple.

If you want to re-integrate the Hetao Plain into the territory of the Wei State, you will need money and food to recruit the various tribes to submit; money and food will be needed to garrison troops to maintain local public order; and a lot of labor will be needed to repair the passes, county offices and roads.

Yanmen County alone cannot support many expenditures.

Tian Yu, who had just started stationing troops and farming in Xingbei Daxing, was in urgent need of support from the temple.

Otherwise, if it takes a long time, after the military power of the Northern Expedition of Kobin, which is a great victory, has dissipated, we can only implement the policy of restraint on the various miscellaneous tribes and only maintain nominal rule over the Hetao Plain.

Emperor Cao Rui certainly didn't want the great victory at the frontier to be wasted.

But he is also aware that state coffers are empty.

Although since Cao Cao of Wei Dynasty established the farming system, grain has been accumulated in local counties and counties, so that the army can conquer all directions without the labor of transporting grain; but in Bingzhou, where Han and Hu people live together, and there are many powerful people, there really is not much implementation of farming. Valley!

Even when Liang Xi served as governor, the government's income from farmland was only enough to support the garrison and the salary of his assistants.

Just military rations.

Tian Yu doesn't have many troops under his command now. He relies on the support of Yanmen County this year, so he can still be self-sufficient in farming in the future.

But the money and labor required made Cao Rui feel like a clever woman can't make a meal without rice.

We must know that the heroes of Zhuolu in the late Han Dynasty were undoubtedly the ones in the north and the Central Plains that suffered the most chaos and the most poor people's livelihood. This can be seen from the fact that the Wei State only resumed the five-baht coin in the first year of Taihe to change folk barter. .

Furthermore, since the beginning of Cao Pi's rule in Wei, wars have been too frequent.

A war involving an army of about 100,000 men occurred almost every other year, and small battles involving more than 10,000 soldiers occurred every year.

And there are still more failures!
The Battle of Shiting squandered all the reserves in the heart of the Central Plains south of the river, so that the Jingxiang front had to rely on Sili's money and food for supply.

The difficulty of resisting the Shu soldiers was even greater.

It has reached the point where the Yongliang tribes will not take off their armor and the Luoyang army will not let go of their saddles.

Jizhou's support was needed a few years ago, and 5,000 peasants were recruited and rushed to farm in Gui County, Longyou Shang.

Looking at the wars between Wei and Shu and Wu since Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, it is a blessing to be able to hold on to the city without losing it, because failure to succeed is common and defeats are common.

Regardless of the outcome of the war, a large amount of money, food, and luggage will be lost, not to mention the loss of helmets and armor and the loss of countless luggage in a major defeat!

The endless consumption of manpower and material resources means that the national treasury is empty and the national strength has declined.

In other words, Bingzhou Youzhou has always been supported by Jizhou, and now Cao Ruifu is recruiting from Jizhou to support Tian Yu.

But the conquest of Liaodong Gongsun Yuan is also inevitable~
Tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall can only provide temporary relief, but cannot fundamentally solve the problem. On the contrary, if things happen to both parties in the future, they may suffer great disadvantages because of temporary expediency.

As Cao Rui pondered, the hall fell into silence for a while.

Sun Zi was waiting quietly for the emperor to ask for advice.

He is from Taiyuan and is quite familiar with the Bingzhou frontier fortress. After seeing Tian Yu's appearance, he considered it carefully and roughly made some countermeasures.

After all, the huge Wei State wanted to provide Tian Yu with some manpower and material support, so it could still be done if it was squeezed.

Moreover, he was able to serve as Zhongshu Ling for such a long time, and he did not get his position by flattery.

As for why he didn't mention it directly
Isn't this to enlighten the emperor to discover Qin Lang's post-war arrangements?
Liu Fang and Xu Xuan, who had already drafted the edict, did not dare to disturb the emperor's thoughts, so they also remained silent.

However, they waited a little long.

Because Cao Rui was thinking about it, his mind turned to when he summoned Xiahou Hui that day, he gave his suggestions on how to arrange the tribesmen of Xieguini and Daihualangni tribes. The members of these two tribes are ready-made laborers!

If three or four out of ten of them can be registered and settled, the strong ones can be recruited as soldiers, and the weak ones can work in the fields and livestock, then with Tian Yu's ability, it will be easy to restore the Hetao Plain and enter the territory of the Wei State.

Where does the money and food come from?
For the time being, let's allocate part from Sili and Jizhou respectively.

In the future, supplies from the treasury in batches should be able to support the self-sufficiency of livestock farming in Tianyu.

Thinking of this, Cao Rui suddenly felt that the sweet yet sour taste of pickled green plums in his mouth was very good, at least it was very good in terms of hangover relief.

He couldn't help but call the eunuch immediately and ask him to tell Leliang General Xia Houhui, who was guarding the palace, to find him.

After the eunuchs took the order and left, Cao Rui saw the expressions of surprise on Liu Fang and the other three people's faces, so he smiled and repeated some of the important suggestions Xia Houhui made when he met the king.

At the end, he poured out his thoughts and asked, "Do you think, if I choose to implement the idea of ​​​​Zhiquan, can it alleviate the urgency of Pingbei General Tian Guorang? Well, the frontier fortress cannot be delayed. Think carefully, be sure to be thorough, and strive to reach a conclusion today.”

"only."

All three of them spoke respectfully.

But for a moment after listening to the words, all I was thinking was——

Your Majesty asked Xia Houhui about political matters?
Is it possible that a person who was ridiculed by the government and the public as a "temple man" has already received such great favor from the Holy Family? !

But the difference is that Xu Xuannai lowered his head and thought to himself; while Liu Fang and Sun Zi glanced at each other and then lowered their eyes.

Don't blame them for being surprised.

After all, since the beginning of Cao Cao's founding in Weiwu, Cao, the princes of the Xia Dynasty, had hardly participated in government affairs and only controlled the army.

Even the late Grand Sima Cao Zhen was initially entrusted with the task of assisting the emperor in handling government affairs. But after the emperor got to know him roughly, he invited him out to control Yongliang!

How could they not be surprised that Xia Houhui, who had only been in the military position for a few years after he had become an official, had offended the emperor, and had disgraced ministers in the court, was actually questioned by the emperor about government affairs?
Therefore, they began to digest this information in their hearts at this moment.

For example, Xu Xuan suddenly remembered Huan Fan, the general who conquered the captives, the general who led Dong Zhonglang, and the governor of Qing and Xu who made him the governor of Qing and Xu.

Huan Fan, whose courtesy name is Yuan Ze, was born in the Huan family, a prominent family in Longkang.

Because he is the hometown of the Wei family, he is talented and learned and has been respected since Cao Cao's time.

Xu Xuan thought of him because when Huan Fan was in office and led the army, he recommended himself to the emperor Cao Rui because his left servant was deficient in shooting.

This is not because Xu Xuan formed a party with him for personal gain, but because he wanted to reciprocate as a courtesy.

He felt that Huan Fan, as an old friend of Sangzi of the Wei family, should have wanted to know from himself that Xiahou Huijian was in the emperor's heart.

In particular, Qingxu has always been the back town of the Huainan front.

Whenever the bandit Wu Xing's troops invaded, Qingxu's garrison would often lead troops to help.

Furthermore, Xu Xuan was from Guangling, and he had a lot of friendship and affection for the late Wang Lang, who was from Donghai, Situ. Considering that Xia Houhui was the son-in-law of the Wang family, it would be a good thing if he could help Huan Fan get close to him.

As for Liu Fang and Sun Zi, they had more personal interests in mind.

They have been in charge of the center of the temple for a long time, and they are not young anymore. They are not only thinking about continuing to be in power, they are also thinking about "landing safely" when they retire and beg their bones.

Because Jiang Ji, the general of the army guard, had long criticized the two of them for their exclusive power.

Moreover, there were also many people who resented their exclusive power among the temple officials and the clan officials surrounding the emperor.

It seems that since Xiahou Zhiquan Shangshu refuted the late Great Sima's conquest of Shu, not only was he expelled from the house by his eldest brother, but he was also not allowed to be among the Xiahou Cao, right? From the way this temple fool angrily rebuked Wu Zhi, we can deduce that he was a lonely minister of the country who was not very calculating and did not care about his official career, right?
Furthermore, he was married to the Wang family, and Wang Su, a regular attendant on horseback, only focused on academics.

perhaps
Is this reckless man a good choice?

Well, let's observe it for some more time before making a final conclusion.

This kind of thought is what Liu Fang and Sun Zi have in common at the moment they look at each other.

As for Emperor Cao Rui, he asked them about their political affairs and told them to think carefully.
The three of them thought for a moment and ignored it, let alone put forward any contradictory opinions.

It's not that they even dare to pervert or despise the emperor.

But Cao Rui has been on the throne for some years, and the princes in the temple have also figured out their nature.

This emperor is tolerant, not silent, and respects his old ministers, but he has a stubborn side in his character. Once he is sure of something, anyone who tries to persuade him will be in vain.

Now that he has put forward concrete and implementable ideas, the three of them are all at the top of their official careers and are old, so why bother talking?

Besides, the emperor’s measures are also feasible!

Therefore, the three of them praised the emperor's idea after a while.

Moreover, according to their different responsibilities, they directly filled in the gaps in how the emperor's ideas were put into action.

Such a scene where the king and his ministers enjoyed each other lasted until Leliang returned to give his orders.

After learning that Xia Houhui had already rushed to Huainan, everyone still had different reactions.

For example, Xu Xuan took it calmly.

Whether the summoned Xiahou Hui comes or not has little to do with him.

Liu Fang and Sun Zi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this was good.

After all, they had discussed with the emperor to implement it concretely. If Xia Houhui, who had always behaved erratically, was summoned, who knew what would happen?
Emperor Cao Rui was a little surprised.

Although Xia Houhui had already said during the previous summons that Qin Lang would rush to Huainan after his return and bid him farewell in advance, but now Cao Rui has asked Leliang to serve as his general!
So, shouldn't he wait a few more days and lead 500 cavalry to Huainan with Leliang?
Why the rush?
However, going to the front line is like going to the enemy, which can be said to be loyal and commendable, so let him go.

Cao Rui, who was confused, just said "Shu Zi" to himself after being stunned for a while, then dismissed the matter and continued to discuss the details of supporting Tian Yu with the three people.

Xia Houhui didn't know about this scene that happened in Chonghua's back hall.

Moreover, he rushed to Huainan in a hurry because he was worried that he would miss the thief Wu Sunquan's invasion.

Yes, just worried about missing the war.

Given the nature of Sun Quan and the Jiangdong ministers to act on the wind and forget their fate at the sight of gains, how could they not raise troops to invade the invaders this year after learning about the Luoyang Chinese Army's Northern Expedition to Xianbei and the rebellion in the northern part of Anding County? !
And now that Man Chong is guarding Huainan, how can he bear to miss the war!
Who can have too many military exploits, and Manchu is not as favored as Qin Lang, so he will do things to hide his achievements.

As for the fact that he was quite respectful to Sun Zi at the Beimang Mountain Manor and did not hesitate to say that "the princes of the temples and temples in the Northern Expedition of Xianbei contributed the most", he was not trying to please Sun Zi or forming a party with him, let alone Liu Fangsun. The power of seniority turns a blind eye.
But he is also a general and has read a lot of military books.

For example, the sentence "When birds of prey are about to strike, they fly low and fold their wings; when beasts are about to fight, they fall down with their ears cut off". He felt that it was very appropriate whether it was used in military affairs or in temples.

If you are not as powerful as others, then just pretend to be respectful.

No shame. (End of chapter)