Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 737 Cao Wei Surrenders
The army was defeated and Cao Rui, under the protection of Xu Chu, fled back to Yecheng overnight.

Upon hearing the news of the defeat, all the ministers of Cao Wei went to the palace and requested an audience with Cao Rui.

Cao Rui simply changed his clothes and, with a tired look on his face, summoned the top leaders of Cao Wei to discuss follow-up matters.

Sitting on the couch, Cao Rui tried to stay alert and asked, "Liu Qin and Tian Zhang, the two thieves, caused chaos in the army and led to our defeat. Now the Han army is less than a hundred miles away from Yecheng. What advice do you have?"

The ministers looked at each other, not knowing how to talk to Cao Rui.

Si Tu Chen Qun sighed, stood up and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty, Generals Liu and Tian rebelled against Wei. Although their crimes are unforgivable, it shows that the army is unstable. Now the situation is hopeless. To save yourself, Your Majesty, it is better to leave the city and surrender to Han, perhaps you can save your life."

Chen Qun was no small figure. He was actually Si Tu, one of the Three Dukes. As a figure in the core interest circle of Cao Wei, the fact that he could ask Cao Rui to surrender showed how helpless he was and how desperate he was about the situation.

Cao Rui might be able to recruit some more soldiers by conscripting able-bodied men, but he could not win back the people's hearts. Moreover, the Han army was approaching Yecheng, and now the only option was to surrender or flee.

"Your Majesty, you cannot surrender!"

Wu Zhi couldn't stop crying, and said: "Emperor Wu established his base in the Central Plains, fought wars in the south and the north, and conquered the world. Now the country still has more than ten counties, millions of people, and tens of thousands of soldiers. It may not be impossible to protect the country's prosperity."

Wu Zhi said hurriedly: "General Huoqi has a military strategy. He can gather the defeated troops to defend the city. With the support of Xianbei Huqi, he should be able to defend Yecheng."

Cao Rui said with a gloomy expression, "When the general was inspecting the square formation, he unfortunately fell off his horse and was killed by the Han soldiers. Now tens of thousands of soldiers have all fled, either surrendering to the Han army or fleeing back to their hometowns."

"The cavalry general died in battle?"

Wu Zhi and the others were all shocked. Sima Yi was one of the few famous generals that Cao Wei could bring out. Now that Sima Yi had died on the battlefield, who would be the main general even if they wanted to fight the Han army again?

Wu Zhi's face was solemn and he didn't know what to do next.

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Zhi said, "Your Majesty, why don't you go to the north to join the Xianbei and use the power of the Hu people to restore the Central Plains."

"Your Majesty, you can't!"

Wei Zhen immediately stopped him and said, "The Xianbei are a distant barbarian tribe in the north. We have always been hostile to them and have fought against each other, but have never shown them favor. Now that Your Majesty is desperate and has surrendered, I wonder how the Xianbei will treat Your Majesty?"

"Moreover, the southern troops are not only attacking the north, but also not just taking Ye. If they flee to the south of the desert, the rebels will surely lead their troops to pursue and suppress them. Even if the Hu people can protect Your Majesty for a while, I wonder if they can protect Your Majesty forever? The Hu people will follow the trend and will not offend the Han people because of Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, if you surrender early, you will be rewarded with titles and lands. If you flee to the north, you will be forced to surrender and you will be killed. The ancients said, 'You know gain but not loss, you know survival but not destruction.' Only a sage can know gain and loss, survival and destruction without losing his integrity!"

"Yao and Shun thought their descendants were not good, so they passed the world to others. Therefore, even if their descendants were not talented or virtuous, they could still live in peace and happiness. In the past, Weizi was the brother of King Zhou. He returned to King Wu with his face tied and a jade in his mouth. Although he suffered humiliation for a while, he was able to obtain the vassal land of Song State. Wasn't he happy?"

"I have heard that Zhuge Liang is kind and benevolent. Your Majesty has surrendered to the Han Dynasty with great ceremony and asked for amnesty and exemption from the imperial edict. Perhaps you can be treated like Weizi. Why do you have to surrender to the Hu people in the north, endure the abuse of the Hu and Yi people, and be ridiculed by the Chinese?"

Wei Zhen was a staunch advocate of war, but as the situation had developed to the point where he could not see any hope of winning. For Cao Rui's future, Wei Zhen hoped that Cao Rui would surrender instead of joining Kebi Neng and enduring the humiliation brought by the Xianbei.

Moreover, if Cao Rui surrendered Yecheng, he might be able to get a good treatment with the resources he could still control, and would not be killed by the Southern Han directly. After all, the fewer bargaining chips he had, the less hope Cao Rui had of surviving.

Wu Zhi still did not want to surrender to the Han Dynasty, and retorted: "The Han army is adjacent to Yecheng. If Zhuge Liang does not accept the surrender, what can we do?"

Chen Qun bowed and said, "Today, the world is not at peace. Zhuge Liang will have to accept Your Majesty in order to keep the world at peace. If Your Majesty surrenders to the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty does not grant Your Majesty land and fiefs, I and other gentlemen will kneel down on the steps and fight for Your Majesty's interests according to ancient principles."

"Moreover, Generals Cao Zhen and Cao Hong each have their own troops. If they put up a desperate resistance, our army may not be able to defeat the Han army, but we can kill and wound Han soldiers and destroy the people's fields and houses. This is a situation that Zhuge Liang does not want to see."

Cao Rui sighed deeply, his expression was very gloomy, and he said: "As you said, the situation is now on Han's side, not Wei's side. As for surrendering to the Xianbei, although I am an enemy of Han, I am a Chinese. The Chinese are close to each other, how can I surrender to the Hu?"

"Today, in order to resist the Han army, I have recruited the Hu people to move south to Hebei, causing great suffering to the people of Hebei. This is truly my fault!"

"Thank you, Chen Situ and Wei Shizhong, for sending an envoy to Zhuge Liang on my behalf. They have made it clear to me that my country has sinned and expressed my willingness to surrender to the Han Dynasty."

Cao Rui was really depressed at the time. He wanted to use the power of the Hu people to repel the Han army and then find a way to deal with the Hu people. However, the coalition forces were directly dealt with by the Han army. Not only did he fail to achieve his goal, but he also let Hebei suffer from the ravages of the Hu people, which really made Cao Rui uncomfortable.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Seeing Cao Rui's determination to surrender, Chen Qun, Wei Zhen, Xin Pi, Sun Zi, Liu Fang and others paid homage with mixed feelings. Perhaps this was their last time to pay homage to Cao Rui. If they were lucky in the future, the king and his ministers of Wei would pay homage to the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Wu Zhi was in a trance and looked very ugly.

Xu Chu turned around and faced the wall, tears streaming down his face, and he couldn't help sobbing.

The next day, Chen Qun and Wei Zhen drove south to pay a visit to the Han army stationed in Dangyin.

When Zhuge Liang learned that Chen and Wei had been ordered to surrender, he immediately summoned them to the big tent.

Because he was recruiting the two men to surrender from the State of Dai, Zhuge Liang changed his usual attire and wore a formal suit, and also put away the feather fan in his hand.

Inside the big tent, Chen Qun finally met his pen pal with whom he had exchanged dozens of letters. He saw Zhuge Liang, who was eight feet tall, with beautiful hair and beard, and a dignified temperament. Although he was already fifty years old, Zhuge Liang still looked extraordinary. "The guilty minister Chen Qun/Wei Zhen pays homage to the Prime Minister!"

"Changwen, Lord Wei, please stand up!"

Zhuge Liang helped Chen Qun and Wei Zhen up and said with a smile: "If peace can be restored to the world, you two will be meritorious ministers. Now that the Hu people are ravaging Hebei, you two can do this for the people, Liang has achieved his wish!"

Chen Qun felt a little ashamed and said, "I was unable to help my lord, which led to the Hu people wreaking havoc in Hebei. I am at fault."

"It doesn't have to be this way!"

Zhuge Liang signaled his attendants to serve tea to the two men, and said, "It is never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost. If your lord can surrender the city, the Hu cavalry will flee far to the south of the desert and will not dare to stay in Hebei for long."

Chen Qun thought for a while and said, "Prime Minister, my lord intends to surrender to Han, but I wonder how your country will treat him?"

Wei Zhen was worried that Zhuge Liang would forget the resources Cao Rui still had, so he added, "My lord sincerely surrenders to the Han Dynasty. I would like to order Cao Zhen and Cao Hong's 50,000 troops to surrender, and order nearly 20 counties and states in You, Bing, and Ji to submit their household registration and documents."

Zhuge Liang could not understand that the two were negotiating with him to gain more benefits for Cao Rui, so he asked in return: "I wonder what you two are asking for?"

Chen Qun presented a letter of apology, saying: "Wei usurped the throne of the Central Han Dynasty. My lord feels deeply guilty. I am writing this letter to apologize to Your Majesty and the Prime Minister. I hope that if you surrender in the future, you will be forgiven."

Zhuge Liang read the letter of confession and found it sincere and heartfelt, saying that Cao Cao could not stick to the virtues of Yi and Huo and was on a path of no return, so Cao was guilty. But he hoped that Cao could be pardoned for the sake of the benevolence of the Han Dynasty.

Putting down the letter of guilt, Zhuge Liang said calmly: "Your lord is able to admit his guilt, fortunately! But the crime of Cao Cao usurping the throne must be investigated by the Han Dynasty."

Seeing the two men's faces change slightly, Zhuge Liang continued, "But we are benevolent and virtuous, and we will not kill innocent people indiscriminately. If your lord can surrender the city, His Majesty will grant him the surname Liu and sever ties with the Cao family."

"Give him the surname Liu?"

The two men looked unhappy. Changing the surname in this sense was too humiliating. They didn't know whether Cao Rui could accept it.

If the surname was not changed, although Zhuge Liang did not say much about the follow-up contents, the two had already guessed that actions would be taken against Cao Cao and Cao Pi in the future.

Chen Qun and Wei Zhen looked at each other and asked, "Besides changing the surname to Liu, are there any other rewards?"

"What do you think of the long article?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Chen Qun thought for a moment and said, "If my lord surrenders three states and twenty counties to the Han, can he obtain the title of Duke of a county?"

Chen Qun hesitated and said, "Man Chong surrendered Luoyang, but he could only get the title of county marquis. Although my lord is guilty, the territory, people, and soldiers he offered are far better than Man Chong. I hope the prime minister will treat me well!"

Zhuge Liang took a sip of tea and declined, saying, "The Duke of Xiangyang has made great contributions to the founding of the country. Now that your lord has surrendered to the Han, he will be honored as the Duke of Xiangyang, which may displease the Duke of Xiangyang."

After a pause, Zhuge Liang said: "Now that your lord has surrendered to the Han Dynasty, I can be made the Duke of Meiyang County and move to the capital to enjoy peace."

As the emperor of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xie was only granted Shanyang County as his fief; Huo Jun achieved great success before he was granted the title of Duke of Xiangyang; Cao Rui wanted to use the mere three states and twenty counties as bargaining chips to ask Zhuge Liang for the title of Duke, which was nothing but a pipe dream.

Perhaps because he knew that his conditions were excessive, Chen Qun did not raise much objection to the county lordship offered by Zhuge Liang.

Wei Zhen was worried that he could not inherit the title without succession, so he asked, "Can the title of Duke of Meiyang be inherited without succession?"

Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and said, "Although the title can be inherited from generation to generation, the fiefdom cannot exceed 9,000 households."

How to understand the upper limit of 9,000 households?

That is, if the population of Meiyang County is less than 9,000 households, the taxes shall be paid to Cao Rui; if the population exceeds 9,000 households, the excess taxes shall be paid to the imperial court.

This hereditary title of county duke is different from the title of county duke held by Huo Jun.

Huo Jun leads Xiangyang County, and all the county's income is handed over to Huo Jun. No matter how the number of households in Xiangyang County increases in the future, the tax revenue generated will belong to the Huo family, which has a growth attribute.

As for why there is a difference, it is mainly to highlight the difference between a county duke and a county duke. It is not just an increase in the rated fiefdom, but more of a change in status.

Chen Qun bowed and said, "I need to report to my lord about the matter of bestowing the surname Liu. Now I have no other request, but I hope that Prime Minister Ge can treat us Wei people well."

"It's natural!"

Zhuge Liang instructed his attendants and said with a smile, "I have ordered the attendants to prepare a banquet. You two can stay and have a few drinks before leaving."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)