Chapter 132: Frankly Speaking
After receiving the emperor's instructions, Guanqiu Jian took the order and left. The next day, he led his own 700 cavalrymen, plus Wei Lie and others who had delivered the letter to Shouchun, and began to return to Luoyang.
According to common sense, Guanqiu Jian did not need to bring so many cavalrymen back to Luoyang. The purpose of these 700 cavalrymen was that Cao Rui, as the emperor, sent his trusted troops to Wei Zhen to show his support.
Let's see how things develop.
Since they had left Luoyang under the guise of a southern expedition, they could still visit the counties along the way on their way back after they had finished their business in Shouchun. When they went south in December, they only stayed in Chenliu for one day, and even passed by Qiao County without even entering the city.
In addition to Chenliu and Qiaoxian, you can also visit Changyi, where Liu Xie, the Duke of Shanyang, is located, and Yongqiu, where Cao Zhi, the King of Yongqiu, is located. To be honest, Cao Rui really wanted to meet Liu Xie and Cao Zhi.
Cao Rui was not completely idle in Shouchun City at this time. The affairs he needed to deal with every day were complicated and numerous, and could be divided into three categories.
The first category is to arrange rewards after the war. This battle was the first great victory against Wu in many years, and since it was a great victory, we must have the bearing of a great victory.
For the generals who performed well in this battle, their titles and fiefs needed to be carefully planned. Fighting a war is difficult, and evaluating merits after the war is even more difficult. Who contributed more, who contributed less, who had greater merit, and who should be punished, these decisions are accompanied by many considerations.
The second category is the post-war task assignment, such as the future deployment of Wancheng-Qiankou-Wankou, who will withdraw first and who will withdraw later, the arrangement of Wu Jun prisoners, and various matters.
To be honest, it would be fine if Cao Rui didn't ask about these trivial matters. But since the people are here, it is better to take a look at such things in person to feel at ease.
The third category is the so-called "research". Just as chatting with Xu Shu can confirm some past events, communicating with the generals, grassroots officers and even soldiers in the army will give you some new insights.
Xiahou Xuan walked into the hall and saluted: "Your Majesty, Lu Xun is here."
Cao Rui looked at Liu Ye and Huang Quan sitting on his left and right sides, nodded, and signaled Xiahou Xuan to call Lu Xun into the hall.
Lu Xun slowly approached and bowed to Cao Rui: "Foreign minister Lu Xun greets your majesty."
Cao Rui looked at Lu Xun and said, "Why do you need to call him a foreign minister? Although Sun Quan was a rebel, the title of King of Wu given to him by Wei has not been revoked. You are all accomplices, so you don't need to be called a foreign minister."
Lu Xun was stunned, and instantly understood what the emperor meant. The emperor wanted to use Sun Quan's title as the King of Wu to say that Wu was a rebel against Wei, not an enemy of Wei. Lu Xun was not a stubborn person, and since he was in Shouchun, he had to bow his head appropriately.
Sun Ce killed nearly half of the Lu clan, but didn't Lu Xun obey Sun Quan? Regardless of whether it was the weakness of the nobles or whether they were used to bending, Lu Xun had no intention of seeking death.
Lu Xun cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty's words are sharp, I cannot accept them."
Lu Xun had not yet pledged his loyalty, but Cao Rui felt that it was reasonable to change the address from "foreign minister" to "yours truly".
Cao Rui didn't dwell on this issue too much: "It's okay, is Lu Qing's illness better?"
Lu Xun said, "Your Majesty, I am so worried about you. I just caught a cold. After the treatment by the imperial physician, I am almost recovered now. Thank you for your care."
Regardless of class, as long as there is a topic to start the conversation, then just continue talking along that topic.
After Lu Xun woke up from his coma, he thought that some generals or the emperor's confidants would come to interrogate him and ask about the military secrets of the Eastern Wu and the intelligence of the court. To Lu Xun's surprise, no one from Wei came to ask him anything during the past half month.
After many years in high office, Lu Xun still had the magnanimity to cultivate his character. He was placed under house arrest in Shouchun, not allowed to go out and not allowed to read. Apart from lamenting that his troops had surrendered, there was nothing else he could do.
The emperor summoned me today, which was the first time I had communicated with anyone in so many days. Of course, small things like daily meals were not counted.
Cao Rui asked, "Mr. Lu, I want to ask you today, don't you Jiangdong clans, especially your Lu clan, have a blood feud with the Sun clan? Why did you become officials for the Sun clan and serve Sun Quan?"
Lu Xun thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Luoyang is far away and Jianye is close. Following the Sun family means following the court."
Cao Rui nodded. During the Jian'an period, the whole country was in chaos, and Sun Ce and Sun Quan held official positions and titles appointed by the court. Lu Xun was right to say that following the Sun family meant following the court.
Even if the aristocratic families in Jiangdong wanted to submit to the Han Dynasty or Cao Cao, would they have to cross the entire territory of the Sun family and then cross the river to submit? It was unrealistic.
Cao Rui asked again: "Mr. Lu, are you more afraid of the Sun family's military power or their reputation?"
After all, Lu Xun had been an official in the Eastern Wu for more than 20 years. When the emperor asked him this question, the old wounds were reopened. He looked helpless: "As your majesty said, half of the Lu family members are dead in front of Sun Ce. How can I let the other half continue to die?"
"Not only my Lu family, but also the Gu family, Zhang family, Zhu family, etc. also adopted force at the beginning, but later found that Jiangdong was quite stable when the Sun family was in charge, so they worked wholeheartedly for the Sun family." Cao Rui looked at Lu Xun: "Mr. Lu is honest with me."
Lu Xun did not speak. How could Lu Xun not tell the truth to a question that almost everyone knew the answer to? Was he thinking that the emperor in front of him was a fool?
Seeing that Lu Xun remained silent, Cao Rui knew that Lu Xun must be in a state of passive resistance at this time, so he decided to test him again.
Cao Rui asked Liu Ye, who was sitting on the left side, casually, "Liu Shizhong, I have written to Sun Quan for many days. Has Sun Quan written to ask about Lu Boyan?"
Liu Ye also shook his head in agreement: "Your Majesty, Sun Quan did not write to inquire about Lu Boyan. Perhaps Sun Quan overlooked this matter?"
Lu Xun stood in the hall and listened carefully. In the past, it was Lu Xun who attacked others' hearts. The emperor and Liu Ye were obviously using words to confuse him. Lu Xun was very confident that this trick of attacking the heart would not shake his mind.
Even though he knew it very well, he was in the enemy's territory today, and the person in front of him mentioned that his lord Sun Quan did not send a letter to ask. Moreover, Lu Xun knew that Sun Quan was likely to do such a thing!
Once I connected the two things together, I couldn't stop thinking about them.
I lost my army and was trapped in the enemy camp. Now I am a defeated general. Is Sun Quan blaming me? I am carrying the burden of the entire Lu family. Will the Jiangdong Lu family be okay?
Lu Xun lowered his head and sighed softly.
This key facial expression was accurately captured by Liu Ye, who turned his head to look at the emperor. Cao Rui also looked at Liu Ye and understood what Liu Ye meant. The monarch and his subjects had been together for a long time and had already developed this simple tacit understanding.
Cao Rui said slowly, "Lu Qing has been here for many days, and this is the first time I'm talking to you. Is there anything you want to ask me?"
Of course, Lu Xun wanted to ask more than one question. What was the current situation of the battle? Were there any other generals of the Eastern Wu captured? How much did the Wu army lose in total? How would the emperor deal with him? ...
But Lu Xun was already confused by the words of the emperor and Liu Ye. This kind of thing would be known sooner or later, and if he heard the news again at this time, he was afraid that he would do something wrong in a panic after hearing the news.
Lu Xun cupped his hands and said, "I thank your Majesty, but I really have nothing to ask your Majesty at this time."
Cao Rui raised his eyebrows: "Don't you want to ask?"
Lu Xun replied: "I don't dare to ask."
Cao Rui nodded and did not continue to force Lu Xun. Instead, he said, "Since Mr. Lu has nothing to ask me, I do have a few questions for Mr. Lu."
Lu Xun stood in the hall in silence. In Lu Xun's heart, integrity was still important. If the emperor asked him about military secrets, he would just keep silent. The worst result would be to be killed. What was there to be afraid of?
Cao Rui saw this and did not delay, saying directly: "Mr. Lu, back then Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu first, and then Lü Meng captured Jiangling City. Yu Jin's surrendered soldiers were also captured by Lü Meng and Jiangdong, right?"
Lu Xun never thought that the emperor would ask about Yu Jin's incident many years ago. This matter was harmless, so he just said whatever he wanted to say.
Lu Xun replied, "Your Majesty is right. I was in charge of the battle in Jingzhou at the time. Yu Jin's surrendered soldiers were indeed captured by Lu Ziming in Jiangling, and then they were transferred to various counties for resettlement."
"Is it military farming? Or hard labor?" Cao Rui stared into Lu Xun's eyes.
"It's probably both." Lu Xun thought for a moment and said, "Wuling, Changsha, Wuchang and other counties have resettled the surrendered Wei soldiers, and some have been reorganized in Jiangdong."
Cao Rui asked: "Are there some? How many have rejoined the army?"
Lu Xun said, "There are about 5,000 of them. When Lü Dai was the governor of Jiaozhou, he led these surrendered Wei soldiers to Jiaozhou. In the Huangchu period, he suppressed the rebellion of Wang Jin in Zhenyang, and the year before last, he suppressed the rebellion of Shi Hui, and the main force he used were all surrendered Wei soldiers."
Cao Rui and Liu Ye looked at each other, both showing surprised expressions. Huang Quan, who was opposite Liu Ye, also raised his eyebrows when he heard what Lu Xun said. Using Wei soldiers to pacify Jiaozhou? It is hard to say whether this is a fantastic idea or a good use of people.
Cao Rui coughed lightly and then said, "When Sun Quan was enthroned as the King of Wu, the Wei court also discussed this matter and asked Sun Quan to return the captives that day. Sun Quan only returned about 10,000 and declined the rest for some reason."
"I really didn't expect to be sent to Jiaozhou."
(End of this chapter)
