Chapter 142: A Good Job
Hearing the emperor asking about his eldest son Cao Shuang, Cao Zhen was also weighing in his mind how to tell the emperor about this matter.
Cao Zhen said, "Your Majesty, I have only been in Luoyang in recent years. When Zhao Bo was young, I led troops outside almost all the time, and I did not discipline Zhao Bo much."
Cao Rui sat opposite and listened quietly to Cao Zhen's words.
Cao Zhen continued, "Zhao Bo is kind and prudent, and never does anything that violates the law. Your Majesty has been on good terms with Zhao Bo before you ascended the throne, and I have always been busy with official duties and rarely communicate with Zhao Bo on weekdays. Your Majesty may be more familiar with Zhao Bo than I am."
"Zhao Bo now holds the title of Sanqi Shilang, and Your Majesty also intends not to make Sanqi a real position in the future. In this case, why not let Zhao Bo join the army?"
"Join the army?" Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhen's face with a hint of amusement on his lips.
"How many soldiers do you think Zhao Bo can lead? Should he lead a hundred or a thousand?"
Cao Zhen said with a serious face: "I don't think he can lead a hundred people, let alone a thousand. Your Majesty, please allow me to let Zhao Bo be a sergeant."
Cao Rui was somewhat surprised. When the descendants of the Cao and Xiahou clans joined the army, their starting point was at least a general of a hundred men.
When Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu first joined the army, they led thousands of soldiers. Now Cao Zhen asked his eldest son to be just a sergeant, and he was willing to do that?
Cao Rui asked: "What do you think, General? According to the custom, you should at least be a dubo (commanding a hundred soldiers) when you join the army, right?"
Cao Zhen shook his head slightly: "When the descendants of the Xiahou Cao enter the Central Army, they can indeed lead a hundred soldiers as noble relatives. However, loyalty is the most important thing for the Central Army, and they don't have to execute any military orders independently. The most important thing is to obey orders."
"In other words, talent is not that important for an officer in the Central Army. But I am now in charge of the Central Army for Your Majesty, so naturally I don't want Zhao Bo to join the Central Army."
Cao Rui asked, "Does the general want Zhao Bo to join the border army?"
"That's right." Cao Zhen nodded and agreed, "Your Majesty, please grant my request."
"Zhao Bo has always been friendly with me, how can I not allow it?" Cao Rui asked, "But where does the general want Zhao Bo to go? Southeast or Yongliang?"
Cao Zhen said: "I don't want Zhao Bo to come to the southeast. After this battle, there will be no more wars in the southeast for several years. Your Majesty is going to entrust me with the responsibility of governing the west, and I don't want Zhao Bo to leave my jurisdiction."
"Your Majesty, why don't you let Zhao Bo go to the northern border? Let Zhao Bo join the army of Tian Yu, the captain of the Wuhuan Guard, and use this as a training to hone his military skills."
Cao Rui was silent for a long time.
In fact, there are two people who have always been the most entangled with Cao Rui, namely Sima Yi and Cao Shuang.
Cao Rui used Sima Yi while being cautious. He relied on Sima Yi's intelligence, but also used the high position of the Three Dukes to keep Sima Yi in vain, not allowing Sima Yi to lead the army and take charge of the military power, which was almost equivalent to trapping Sima Yi by his side.
Cao Rui's attitude towards Cao Shuang was not very clear. Now Cao Zhen's suggestion gave Cao Shuang an opportunity. Starting from the grassroots military ranks and gaining experience in the military for 10 to 20 years, he might be of great use in the future.
Jade cannot be made into a useful object without being carved. How far Cao Shuang can achieve during his tenure depends on himself.
Cao Rui asked, "The current governor of Hebei is Wu Zhi. General, aren't you worried that Wu Zhi will embarrass Zhao Bo?"
Cao Zhen said in a serious tone: "I asked Zhao Bo to join the army to serve the country. I don't think Wu Zhi has the guts to harm Zhao Bo. Although there has always been a grudge between me and Wu Zhi, it has not reached this point."
"That's good." Cao Rui said, "After the general returns to Luoyang, let Zhao Bo set off."
Cao Zhen naturally agreed.
Cao Rui asked: "However, General, do you think the position of Governor of Hebei is still necessary? The late emperor rewarded Wu Zhi with the position of Governor of Hebei, and now Hebei is stable, there has been no war for several years, and each state has a governor, and the border counties have the Protector of Wuhuan and Protector of Xianbei."
"I only want to leave three governors on the borders with Shu Han and Dong Wu, one to govern Yongliang, one to govern Jingzhou, and one to govern Yangzhou."
"I am not on good terms with Wu Zhi. Your Majesty asked me about this matter, and I should avoid suspicion," Cao Zhen replied.
"What are you trying to avoid? Do regents also have to avoid suspicion?" Cao Rui said, "General, you can speak frankly."
Cao Zhen said, "I think it is possible. Your Majesty should transfer Wu Zhi to the court as an official."
Cao Rui nodded and said, "There is one more thing. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Liu Yan abolished the post of provincial governor and established provincial governors. This was an extraordinary event created in extraordinary times. I intend to abolish the post of provincial governor. What do you think, General?"
This topic is a bit sensitive.
In short, there is only one governor in the Wei Dynasty, and that is Cao Xiu, the governor of Yangzhou and the Grand Marshal.
The title of Yangzhou Mu on Cao Xiu's body was originally just the Yangzhou Governor. During the Huangchu period, when Cao Pi launched his first three-pronged attack on the Eastern Wu, only Cao Xiu's army achieved a great victory. Therefore, in order to reward his merits, Cao Pi promoted Cao Xiu from Yangzhou Governor to Yangzhou Mu.
But if the Governor of Yangzhou can be promoted to the Governor of Yangzhou, can the Governor of Yangzhou also degenerate to the Governor of Yangzhou?
Cao Zhen asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, do you want to separate the military and politics?"
"That's true." Cao Rui replied.
Cao Rui chose to remove Cao Xiu's title of Yangzhou Mu at this point in time to avoid any misunderstandings. This time, Cao Xiu's meritorious service was the greatest, and his official position of Grand Marshal could not be raised any further, so he could only be rewarded with an additional fiefdom. Removing Cao Xiu's title of Yangzhou Mu after his meritorious service could be considered a necessity for the country to reform its system. If Cao Xiu was dismissed at any other time, it would surely lead to misunderstandings among the court and the public that Cao Xiu had lost power or that His Majesty hated him.
Cao Zhen also looked embarrassed at this moment.
The emperor always throws a bunch of troublesome problems on himself. It's just a matter of accompanying you on a boat ride and having a heart-to-heart talk, why does he always let me get involved in such embarrassing matters?
It's fine to think about it, but Cao Zhen couldn't say such words. Who let him hold the title of regent? If he didn't say anything about this matter, the emperor would think he was irresponsible.
Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, why don't I go to Wancheng to meet the Grand Marshal and explain this matter to him in person?"
Cao Xiu was still in Wancheng supervising the construction of Qiankouwu and had not returned to Shouchun.
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Is the general really going? Although I don't have as much time with the Grand Marshal as the general, I believe there is still some tacit understanding between us, the monarch and his subjects."
"The Grand Marshal has made the greatest contribution in this battle. I will take his title of governor of Yangzhou and give him an additional 1,000 households as a reward. Do you think this is appropriate, General?"
Is it suitable? Of course it is suitable.
In Cao Zhen's opinion, how the emperor and Cao Xiu interacted, without affecting the overall situation of the court, did it have anything to do with me, a great general, with half a five-zhu coin? It was good that the matter had nothing to do with me.
Cao Zhen cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is sincere and I'm sure the Grand Marshal will be convinced."
Cao Rui nodded.
The night deepened and the moon rose higher in the sky. The pier was in front of us, and the boat slowed down and approached the berth.
When getting off the boat, Cao Rui asked, "General, according to court conventions, how should we comfort Xu Huang?"
Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, why not send a trusted official of 2,000 stone and an imperial physician to accompany him to express condolences."
"Two thousand stones?" Cao Rui said, "Then let the cavalry captain Yang Ji go in my place."
Cao Zhen naturally agreed.
Regardless of the fact that the emperor and the general were leading the cavalry back from the dock outside Shouchun City, inside Shouchun City, Sima Yi and Jiang Ji were having a late-night conversation in their bedroom by candlelight.
Shouchun City had a tight housing situation, so Sima Yi and Jiang Ji lived in the same courtyard. They were good friends, so this arrangement gave them more time to talk.
Jiang Ji sat cross-legged at the table and said in a relaxed tone: "With this great victory, Zhongda is one step closer to your title of king."
When they were about to return, Sima Yi did not try to stop Jiang Ji's joke, but said, "What's the point of being a king or not? In my opinion, the greatest credit this time should go to Cao Xiu."
"Cao Xiu?" Jiang Ji said with disdain, "Let's not talk about the past. I have been with Your Majesty during this expedition. Zhongda, when did Your Majesty ever use Cao Xiu's strategy? Instead, you used Cao Xiu as a cavalry general in the end."
Sima Yi glanced at Jiang Ji and said, "So what if you are a cavalry general? I'll give you 30,000 cavalrymen, Jiang Zitong. Do you know how to use them?"
Jiang Ji shook his head: "I don't understand, but scheming in the court is still better than fighting on the battlefield."
Sima Yi agreed with this.
After a moment, Sima Yi said, "Your Majesty has already decided yesterday to appoint Jia Kui as the General of Zhennan, who will be in charge of the military garrison near Wancheng."
"With Wancheng, Wankou, and the newly built Qiankou Fort, Jia Kui has 15,000 soldiers, almost the same level as Wen Pin's Jiangxia. As I expected, Your Majesty is using Jia Kui to divide Cao Xiu's power."
"There is nothing to be said for the division of power. Wancheng still belongs to Yangzhou and is still under the supervision of Cao Xiu." Jiang Ji said with a smile: "Just as you expected? What did Jia Kui have to do with you?"
Sima Yi sneered: "Do I need to collude with Jia Kui? Jia Kui has no money to bribe me, and I am not as greedy as you."
Jiang Ji noticed that Sima Yi was teasing him, so he changed the subject: "Zhongda, do you think Jia Kui can succeed in Wancheng?"
Sima Yi said: "How can it not be accomplished? After the fortress is built at Qiankou, won't it be another Ruxu? Your Majesty is right. Once Qiankou Fort is completed, all the fields between Wancheng and Songzi can be used for farming."
"I don't know who came up with this idea for Your Majesty."
Jiang Ji said, "Your Majesty always has wonderful ideas. But since Jia Kui has become the General of Zhennan, the post of Yuzhou Governor has become vacant. I wonder who Your Majesty will let take the job?"
"You ask me? How should I know?" Sima Yi looked at Jiang Ji and said, "Why not let you, Jiang Ji, be the governor of Yuzhou? It would be a good job to get a big province."
(End of this chapter)
