Chapter 129 Strong soldiers and horses
I was naturally full of expectations when I went on the Southern Expedition, but after the great battle was over, the return journey seemed even more dull in comparison.
When Cao Rui arrived in Shouchun, it was already the end of January and almost February.
At this time, Grand Marshal Cao Xiu was leading his troops on the Wankou-Qiankou line, confronting the Eastern Wu army across the river.
Perhaps due to the combat skills developed from years of fighting with the Shanyue, all the senior generals of the Wu army who escaped in the Battle of Guache were basically protected by their subordinates and escaped from the hills, and none of them was caught.
Even a rotten boat still has three pounds of nails. Even though Dongwu lost so many troops in the trailer, it would not be a problem to temporarily gather another 30,000 or 40,000 troops.
Zhuge Jin originally had 10,000 men in Wancheng, and He Qi's 8,000 navy were also intact. Together with the soldiers from the counties south of Wankou, Sun Quan managed to gather nearly 40,000 men by temporarily piecing together their forces.
The note "Spring water is just rising, you should leave quickly" had already been sent to Sun Quan across the river. Cao Xiu even added some drama to it by returning the letter that Zhou Cang had sent to Cao Xiu in the past. At that time, Zhou Cang was in the Wu army across the river.
Not to mention that Cao Xiu was suppressed by the Eastern Wu navy and had no boats to cross the river. He could only set up camp and arrange military formations on the north side of the river to show his power.
After Cao Rui arrived in Shouchun, he encountered something even more outrageous.
Wei Zhen, the lieutenant of the imperial court and the minister of the right, who was in charge of guarding Luoyang, sent his own son Wei Lie to Shouchun, who arrived in Shouchun almost at the same time as Cao Rui.
In fact, the communication between Luoyang and the emperor at the front was always smooth. When the emperor was on his way, he reported once a day before reaching Chenliu, once every three days after passing Qiaojun, and once every five days after traveling south from Shouchun.
The distance is too far, there is really no other way. In this era, the fastest speed of information transmission is the speed of a horse's four legs. Subject to this limitation, the frequency of communication can only be gradually reduced.
But now Wei Zhen sent his own son? What happened in Luoyang?
Wei Lie was only twenty years old at the time, and he was still a little nervous when he saw the emperor.
When Cao Rui summoned Wei Lie, he dismissed his attendants and asked him, "Why did your father send you here?"
Wei Lie carefully took out a letter from his bosom and said, "Your Majesty, my father asked me to present this letter to Your Majesty and did not tell me anything else."
Wei Lie did not hold an official position at that time, so he could only address himself as "I" but not "your servant".
Cao Rui frowned, walked up to Wei Lie, took the letter, opened it and read it for a while, then his expression began to become uncertain.
Sure enough, as soon as the emperor was away from Luoyang, new troubles arose in the city.
As the Inspector of the Capital Region, Wei Zhen did have the authority to monitor everything in Luoyang. However, the matter was of great importance and Wei Zhen could not make a decision on his own, so he could only report the matter to the emperor immediately.
This time, the emperor began his southern tour on the tenth day of the twelfth month. The scholars and people of Luoyang were the first to know about it, and then the news gradually spread from Luoyang. The scholars and people thought that he was going to tour Xuchang and Qiaopei like Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen.
After the news of the emperor offering sacrifices to heaven in Shouchun and leading his army to the south reached Luoyang, the news of his majesty's use of troops against Wu slowly spread. Gradually, the wind direction of this conversation slowly changed.
Later, rumors spread that the royal army was defeated in Lujiang County and His Majesty died in Huainan!
Although Luoyang is the true political center of the world, all kinds of elites, families, and people gathered in Luoyang, turning Luoyang into a big dye vat whose original color could not be identified.
The same goes for rumors. They even spread rumors about the emperor, saying that he died outside the country. This was outrageous to the point of being sinister.
The cleverness of this rumor is that the initiator cannot be found. After all, Wei Zhen cannot direct school affairs, and it is impossible to find the source of the rumor in a short period of time. Rumors are time-sensitive. If you can't find the root of the rumor when it first spreads, you can't find it after a while.
On the other hand, Prince Yongqiu Cao Zhi was involved.
Many "people who did not know the truth" in the court were terrified on the one hand, but on the other hand they were actually considering supporting Cao Zhi, the Prince of Yongqiu!
On the other hand, the rumor was spread to the palace, and Empress Dowager Bian even summoned Wei Zhen to the palace to personally ask him about the emperor's situation outside.
Wei Zhen also reported every five days, so how could he know exactly what was happening on the front line at that moment? The more vague Wei Zhen's words were, the more suspicious Empress Dowager Bian became. After all, Wei Zhen couldn't show Empress Dowager Bian the secret report with the emperor's seal, as it was against the system!
Wei Zhen met with Empress Dowager Bian, but the details were not detailed. Somehow, the news leaked out of the palace and even became known to all the ministers in the court.
It took only three days from the time the rumor was spread to the time it fermented completely, which just happened to be the interval between the two reports. Wei Zhen did not dare to believe in the safety of the post report at this time, so he sent his son out directly.
Wei Lie stood in the hall of the temporary palace in Shouchun City, watching the emperor read the letter and put it down. After putting the letter down, he paced for a while, then raised his hand to look at the letter again.
Cao Rui looked at Wei Lie and asked, "When you came to Shouchun, did anyone in Luoyang know about it?"
Wei Lie shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, no one else knows about this. My father escorted me out of Luoyang City at night, and he also sent ten subordinates of the Sili Xiaowei to see me off."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and nodded: "You can go out now, take the officials who came here with you, and live in the general's camp together, and say that it was my order." Wei Lie bowed respectfully and took his leave.
Cao Rui sat alone in the hall, dazed for a moment.
As an emperor, what can you rely on?
Cao Rui could not help but think of Dong Zhao's discussion of name and reality in the Luoyang armory that day. According to Dong Zhao, for the Cao emperor, any "name" was unreliable. The only "reality" that could serve as a barrier was the army.
Cao Rui was still half-believing and half-doubting Dong Zhao's words that day. Cao Rui thought at the time that he was, after all, the legitimate emperor of Wei, having inherited the throne from the previous emperor. No one would waver in the short term, no matter how reasonable or emotional it was.
It was not until now, when his throne was directly threatened, that Cao Rui realized that Dong Zhao was right and the foresight of this Wei strategist.
What the Great Wei, what the Cao family, is nothing but a rebellion leader. Born in such a family, don't you have to rely on the strength of the army and horses, but also rely on the eldest son and the status! That's really stupid!
Even if Cao Zhi himself had no chance to use the "reputation" of being a descendant of Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen, the ambitious man could still attribute this "reputation" to Cao Zhi.
Cao Rui no longer hesitated and sent guards to call over the general, the prime minister and four attendants.
Several people came over one after another, and seeing the emperor sitting in the hall without saying a word, they did not think it was strange, and they all found their own seats and sat down. These people had been with the emperor for a long time, and this kind of thing had become a routine.
After everyone had arrived, Cao Rui glanced around and said slowly and softly, "My lords, someone in Luoyang wants to rebel."
Cao Zhen was the first to stand up and asked in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, what happened in Luoyang? I have not heard any news."
Seeing Cao Zhen stand up, Sima Yi also stood up. He and Cao Zhen were both ministers of state, so they had to maintain a high degree of consistency in their positions on such matters.
The remaining four attendants, seeing that the general and the minister of celestial affairs had both stood up, had no choice but to stand up as well. The seven of them looked towards the emperor's face.
Cao Rui said expressionlessly: "There are rumors in Luoyang that I died in Lujiang County in Huainan. Wei Zhen couldn't find the source of the rumor for a while, and the Empress Dowager in the palace was also at a loss."
"Wei Zhen had no choice but to quickly send his son Wei Lie to Shouchun to find me. As soon as Wei Lie left, I asked him to live in the general's camp."
Everyone in the hall showed a look of horror. After looking around, Cao Rui continued to speak slowly, "Many ministers in Luoyang City are discussing supporting Prince Yongqiu as emperor."
Cao Zhen said angrily, "Your Majesty, who dares to spread such rumors? Your Majesty, please give me 5,000 cavalrymen. I will lead them to Yongqiu and bring the King of Yongqiu to Shouchun."
Before Cao Rui could say anything, Sima Yi said firmly: "General, you can't do that!"
Cao Zhen looked at Sima Yi with doubtful eyes. As a minister entrusted by the late emperor, Cao Zhen had no doubt about Sima Yi's position. Cao Zhen only proposed what he thought was the most reliable method, so what did Sima Yi have to say?
Sima Yi bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, this rumor is so absurd, how many people can believe it? Prince Yongqiu has been in a foreign vassal state for a long time. Didn't Your Majesty order Wei Zhen to send people to watch over him? What kind of trouble can he cause?"
"Your Majesty is in Shouchun, there is a general leading the army here, a Grand Marshal leading the army outside, and more than 100,000 soldiers in Yangzhou. 50,000 central troops and 100,000 external troops and state and county troops are all in Yangzhou. So I think Shouchun City is the safest place for Your Majesty at this time."
"They are just a bunch of traitors. Your Majesty should stay in Shouchun and wait and see how things develop. Then we can catch them all in one fell swoop."
Cao Rui sighed softly upon hearing this.
People's most direct reactions are often the most real.
Faced with such rumors in Luoyang City, Cao Zhen's first reaction was to personally lead the cavalry to tie Cao Zhi up and bring him to Shouchun, so that there would be no more trouble in Luoyang City.
When Sima Yi faced this rumor, his first reaction was that there was a large army here, and the emperor was commanding an army of more than 100,000 in Yangzhou and had just won a great victory. There was no need to fear any changes in Luoyang city.
One is a representative of the military men of Qiaopei, and the other is a representative of the scholars from aristocratic families. The instinctive reactions of Cao Zhen and Sima Yi when they encountered danger were to use force and rely on force.
As Cao Rui sighed, Dong Zhao's sharp eyes came to his mind more and more.
The Son of Heaven is the one who has the strongest army and the most powerful horses. This is true!
(End of this chapter)
