Chapter 162 No scruples
That night, in Beigong, in the study.
"Mr. Dong is here? Come and sit down!"
Seeing Dong Zhao walk into the study, Cao Rui quickly pointed to the seat beside him and motioned Dong Zhao to sit down.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Dong Zhao did not hesitate to take a seat and looked at the emperor.
Cao Rui stood up, picked up a bowl of steaming porridge from his desk and placed it on the small table beside Dong Zhao.
Dong Zhao bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the porridge. However, I am old and it is difficult for me to digest the food now. I am afraid I will not be able to sleep well tonight."
"No, no." Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "My porridge is different from ordinary porridge."
Dong Zhao looked at the emperor's face, which was thinner and more angular than last year.
"What's the difference between this porridge?" Dong Zhao asked tactfully.
Cao Rui smiled and looked at Dong Zhao and said, "Did you meet Lü Bu, Lord Dong?"
Dong Zhao was somewhat surprised and did not understand what the emperor meant for a moment, but he still replied: "Your Majesty, I have never met Lü Bu. When I entered the government, I was in Jizhou. After I left Jizhou and came under the rule of Emperor Wu, Lü Bu had already been defeated."
"Wenhou Lu Bu, right?" Cao Rui pointed at the bowl of porridge and said, "This porridge is yam porridge. Yam is very nourishing. It is fine even for the elderly to eat it at night."
"The origin of this yam is in Wen County, which was once the fief of Lu Bu."
"Wen County in Henei County?" Dong Zhao narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "I remember that Sikong is from Wen County, right?"
Cao Rui nodded: "Yes. Wen County in Hanoi is really a good place."
Dong Zhao also smiled: "Since your majesty has given me this reward, I will also try this yam porridge from Wen County."
After eating a few spoonfuls, Dong Zhao said, "It is indeed different from ordinary porridge. It is thicker and seems to be able to nourish body fluids."
Dong Zhao put down the bowl and said, "Your Majesty, do you have something important to tell me? This is the first time I have entered the palace at night since Your Majesty ascended the throne."
Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "There is something. I summoned Mr. Dong to come over in the evening to see if he is still healthy."
Dong Zhao's eyes seemed to light up, and he immediately responded, "My body is still strong, and I can still be used by Your Majesty for a few more years."
“Hahaha,” Cao Rui smiled and waved his hands, “I just like talking to Mr. Dong. Mr. Dong is indeed a wise man of the time.”
Cao Rui said slowly and unhurriedly: "I have selected a room on the east and west sides of this study room for the general and the minister of work to work in the palace."
"The general is in the west pavilion, and the minister of work is in the east pavilion. What do you think, Lord Dong?"
Dong Zhao then asked, "Now that the general and the minister of work have entered the palace, what will happen to the general's mansion?"
Cao Rui said: "The General's Mansion will remain the same, and the command of the country's military affairs will continue as before."
Dong Zhao then asked, "Will all political and military orders come from the palace in the future?"
Cao Rui nodded.
Dong Zhao bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, this design is indeed ingenious!"
Cao Rui raised his head and glanced at Dong Zhao, and it was obvious that Dong Zhao had understood what he meant.
Cao Rui didn't waste any words: "If only the general and the minister of works enter the palace, the affairs may be neglected. I have appointed Wei Zhen, Duke of Wei, as the deputy of the minister of works, but the deputy of the general is still vacant."
"Mr. Dong, please come and serve as the general's deputy and supervise military affairs for me!"
Dong Zhao stood up without hesitation and bowed to the emperor: "Your Majesty has entrusted me with an important task, and I will never refuse even if I die."
Cao Rui hurriedly said, "What's the point of talking about death? Mr. Dong is over 70 years old. Isn't it taboo?"
"It doesn't matter if it's taboo or not. People will die eventually." Dong Zhao said, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"
Cao Rui looked into Dong Zhao's eyes and asked, "What does Lord Dong want to do?"
Dong Zhao shook his head and said, "Although I have some knowledge of military affairs, I am not good at it after all. Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."
Cao Rui said: "When I went south this time, I found that there were many old habits among the central army, foreign army and state and county troops, and the most important one was in personnel matters."
"Human resources?" Dong Zhao raised his eyes and looked over. Under the candlelight, his eye bags looked even heavier.
"It's a personnel matter." Cao Rui nodded. "Didn't I transfer Jia Kui, the former governor of Yuzhou, to Wankou as the chief general? Does Lord Dong know what Jia Kui did during the southern expedition this time?"
Dong Zhao shook his head: "I only know that Your Majesty won a great victory, but I don't know which general did what."
"Then I will tell Lord Dong." Cao Rui said, "After Jia Kui arrived in Shouchun, he was immediately sent by the Grand Marshal to Wuqiangkou, where he spent more than 20 days to build a camp for 80,000 people."
"After they built the camp, they built the road. After they built the road, they built the camp again." Cao Rui shook his head: "From the beginning to the end, Jia Kui's army hardly fought any battles."
"Does Mr. Dong think this is ridiculous?"
"This..." Dong Zhao thought for a moment: "In the army, the commander always has the final say. This kind of thing may be difficult to stop."
Cao Rui nodded: "That's it. When I was in Shouchun, I encountered the situation where the Grand Marshal used his power to suppress his subordinates. What if I was not in Shouchun? I really don't know how this war would turn out." "I didn't know before why Emperor Wu and the previous emperor had to go to the battlefield in person every time there was a major war."
"Emperor Wu is a master of military strategy. This is known to everyone, and I am also aware of it. But the previous emperor was not known for his military strategy, but he still followed the army to the battle."
"So it's to keep an eye on the ministers and prevent them from causing trouble!" Cao Rui sighed, "If he doesn't keep an eye on them personally, they will appoint their own people, suppress their colleagues, and let their allies die. Believe it or not, this kind of thing is not uncommon."
Dong Zhao smiled instead: "I would like to congratulate Your Majesty. Your Majesty has such insight, I believe that all the generals in the army will be under Your Majesty's control."
"Not really." Cao Rui shook his head slightly: "Although I am the emperor and I have won a battle, I am not confident enough to have everyone in the army on the same side as me."
"Take your time, take your time." Dong Zhao advised: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life, why rush? If half a year doesn't work, then one year, if three years doesn't work, then five years."
Cao Rui nodded slightly: "That's the truth."
"Mr. Dong is right! Between name and reality, only the army is real. Therefore, this time I will let Mr. Dong help me keep an eye on the army, the eleven states of the Great Wei and the three hundred thousand troops."
Dong Zhao's face gradually became serious. "I have no choice but to do this! I understand that your majesty is using me to keep an eye on the unreasonable things between the generals."
"Yes," Cao Rui said, "Personnel, dispatch, military orders... anything related to the army must be approved by Lord Dong."
"I really don't want the same thing between Grand Marshal and Jia Kui to happen again. On my way back, I kept thinking, if I wasn't here, would Grand Marshal let Jia Kui die?"
"If this continues, after a few battles, even if the army is still Wei's in name, it will be like the commander's private army."
Dong Zhao bowed and said, "I understand. Your Majesty is using me because of my age and insight. I will certainly not hesitate to guard the palace for Your Majesty."
Cao Rui said, "I understand Lord Dong's intention. I remember Lord Dong only has one son, right? What position does he hold now?"
Dong Zhao replied, "My son Dong Zhou is forty-two years old and is currently serving as a military governor in Qingzhou."
"Too low, this position is too low." Cao Rui asked, "Does Lord Dong want his son to join the army or be a herdsman?"
Dong Zhao knew clearly that the emperor was doing him a favor.
But I recommended myself to the Emperor in the armory last year, and now I have received your Majesty’s trust. Isn’t it for the purpose of benefiting my descendants?
Dong Zhao replied slowly: "I know my son well, he really doesn't have the ability to lead an army in battle."
Cao Rui said: "How about this, I will summon the governor of Yingchuan to the court in a few days, and let Dong Zhou go to Yingchuan to serve as the governor!"
After hearing what the emperor said, Dong Zhao knelt on the ground and bowed deeply.
There are many differences between two thousand stones and two thousand stones, and there are also many differences between prefects and prefects.
The top governors in the world are the governors of large counties such as Nanyang, Henei, Weijun and Pingyuan.
As for the small and poor counties like Yongliang, Youbing, they cannot be compared with the beautiful positions in these big counties.
Yingchuan is right next to Henan Yin, and is one of the best counties under the emperor's feet. The emperor gave the position of Yingchuan governor to his son, which is still worth paying homage to.
Cao Rui saw this and walked a few steps to Dong Zhao and helped the old man up. "Mr. Dong, please stand up. I think there is some tacit understanding between me and Mr. Dong, so there is no need to be so polite."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Dong Zhao said, "When will I enter the palace to take up my post?"
"Take a day off tomorrow to make arrangements, let's do it the day after tomorrow! I only have a rough outline of how to build the West and East Pavilions."
"You are all by my side anyway. As for trivial matters such as work processes, I will slowly adjust them with you in the future."
"Sir, obey the order."
……
Two days later, in Sikong Mansion.
Sima Yi got off duty in the palace and returned home. Standing in the yard, he looked at the cart of wine that Jiang Ji brought over and couldn't help but frown.
"Zi Tong, what are you doing?" Sima Yi asked.
"Come here to honor you, Sikong." Jiang Ji said with a smile. Seeing Sima Yi frown, he explained, "I don't know how long it will take me to come back from Yangzhou. I can't take this wine with me, and my wife and children at home don't want to drink it, so I'll send it to you first."
"Send it to me?" Sima Yi looked at the tightly sealed wine jars and responded casually: "Then I can drink it myself or give it to others. It's not up to you."
Jiang Ji smiled and shook his head: "It's just a cart of wine. It has been delivered to your house. Naturally, it is up to you to deal with it."
The two walked towards the study.
Sima Yi said slowly: "Leaving tomorrow?"
Jiang Ji nodded: "Yes, we will set off early tomorrow morning."
"During the Huangchu period, officials had more than ten days to prepare for their appointment. But when they arrived in Taihe, they could only stay in the capital for three days after being appointed."
(End of this chapter)
