Discomfort? Apologize?
Are you trying to deceive me? You are clearly trying to refuse! You really look down on the Wang Clan of Donghai!
Sima Yi was an assistant minister, and Wang Su was also a close minister and the son of the prime minister. Who was really inferior to the other?
Wang Su looked straight at Sima Yi, then cupped his hands expressionlessly and said, "Please do as you please, Sikong."
Then he turned and left without stopping.
Sima Yi stood there, not knowing whether to explain or not, so he could only stamp his right foot lightly and sigh.
After taking a few steps, Sima Yi wanted to turn around and take a few more glances at the study behind him, but he resisted the urge to turn around. It was as if there was a pair of eyes in the room behind him that could see through the door.
After taking a long breath and calming himself down for a few moments, Sima Yi seemed to have calmed down a little and walked towards the West Pavilion again.
If I had made the same suggestion as Gao Rou back then, or thought of more ways to exaggerate the shortcomings of Sun Zi and the school official, how great it would have been to get rid of the school official altogether!
Why is it still today? It just brings trouble.
If it’s not school affairs, who else could it be?
In the West Pavilion, Cao Zhen, Dong Zhao and Wei Zhen had already sat down and started discussing.
"Zhongda, please take a seat. We've been waiting for you." Cao Zhen greeted him with a smile.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I just had some trivial matters to deal with." Sima Yi bowed and then sat down.
Cao Zhen then asked: "Zhongda, since we are transferring troops from Jingzhou and Yangzhou, how many troops do you think Jingzhou can squeeze out?"
Jingzhou? Just now, Your Majesty asked how long it would take to get to Xiangyang from Chang'an. You must have made the decision after careful consideration.
Sima Yi said without hesitation: "Jiangxia Wenpin has 15,000 soldiers stationed there, and the remaining 25,000 are all led by Chen Huqi. Why don't we go to Xiangyang and ask first?"
"We need to ask, but we also need to get a rough idea first. My idea is to ask Jingzhou to gather about 8,000 people, and ask the Grand Marshal to gather another 12,000."
"Among the foreign troops, the 10,000 troops from Yuzhou will not be moved, and the 10,000 troops from Yanzhou and Qingzhou will not be moved either. We will draw troops from Yangzhou, which is near the Grand Marshal, and we will draw one-fifth of them, the same as for Jingzhou."
The total number of foreign troops was 150,000. The 80,000 foreign troops commanded by Cao Xiu at that time were actually the total number of troops from Yangzhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou.
What does it have to do with me if I withdraw the troops from Chen Qun and Cao Xiu? I don't even have a single soldier under my command!
Sima Yi nodded and said, "The general has made a good arrangement. I have no objection."
Cao Zhen looked at the other two people again: "Where are Lord Dong and Gong Zhen?"
"Seconded."
"I second the motion."
Seeing that the two of them were saying the same thing, Cao Zhen smiled and said, "Then I will write to the Grand Marshal and Chen the Cavalry in this way."
"Do you have any idea about who should lead the 20,000 troops in Chang'an?"
Cao Zhen glanced at Sima Yi, then looked at Dong Zhao and Wei Zhen.
It can only be said that Cao Zhen was, after all, a great general who commanded all military forces at home and abroad.
Although the emperor asked the four to discuss the matter together, as long as Cao Zhen made reasonable suggestions, how could the other three refuse?
Cao Zhen now started to ask Dong Zhao: "Does Lord Dong have any candidates?"
Dong Zhao still looked serious and shook his head slowly: "Just don't let me go, General."
Cao Zhen laughed, then looked at Wei Zhen: "What do you think, Gong Zhen?"
Wei Zhen replied: "I don't understand military matters, but since we are dividing the troops of two places, it seems better to choose a reliable general?"
Cao Zhen asked directly: "Does Gong Zhen have a candidate?"
Wei Zhen shook his head: "No, but it seems that the general can be selected from the generals who participated in the southern expedition at the beginning of the year, and your majesty is familiar with them."
Cao Zhen nodded slightly, understanding what Wei Zhen meant.
It was Your Majesty who said to send more troops to Chang'an. Could it be possible that Your Majesty could select generals that you are not familiar with?
Cao Zhen asked Sima Yi, "Zhongda, can you select some generals from the central army and the generals who are going to march south this time?"
Sima Yi was not polite: "The former general Man Chong, the right general Zhu Gai, and the general guarding the east Cao Tai, there are only three candidates."
"How many more people will the general choose from the central army?"
Cao Zhen was silent for a few moments, and briefly reviewed the commanders in the central army. He shook his head and said, "Xiahou Ru just went to Xiangyang, and Xiahou Xian just took charge of the core battalion. There is no suitable person in the central army now."
If that is true, can Xu Chu or Cao Hong still be sent out?
Sima Yi smiled and said, "How about this, we can get one more person, including Qian Zhao. Didn't Qian Zhao fail the last time we went to Xiangyang?"
Cao Zhen nodded: "Very good. I haven't seen Qianzijing for many years. Count him in and make it four."
……
A few days later, Jingzhou.
Sima Zhi boarded a Wu army ship and went upstream from Wuchang, then turned into the Han River at Jiangxia.
On the Han River, the tower ship had just sailed halfway when it was stopped by a patrol boat of the Wei army in Yu County.
Sima Zhi experienced changing ships again, but the last time it was in Wankou and this time it was in Yu County, Xiangyang County.
Xiangyang City, General of the Cavalry's Mansion. Chen Qun stood at the door and welcomed Sima Zhi in. He said with a smile, "Zihua has returned from his mission with great success! I heard that Sun Quan gave Your Majesty so many treasures and valuables."
"Zihua has made a great contribution this time."
Chen Qun was already in his sixties, and his rank as General of the Cavalry was only below that of Grand Marshal and Grand General. In addition, he had been in charge of elections and recording the affairs of the Secretariat for many years, so even though Chen Qun and Sima Zhi were kind, Sima Zhi was still respectful.
Sima Zhi said with a wry smile: "Mr. Chen, how could it be my achievement? It was all due to the majesty of your majesty."
"Your Majesty asked me to make Sun Quan submit to you again and to sow discord between Wu and Shu, but I failed to accomplish either of these two tasks."
"The only thing that has been accomplished is to deliver the betrothal gifts to His Majesty and take back the dowry given by Sun Quan."
Chen Qun didn't take it seriously. Perhaps because he had been in Xiangyang for nearly a year and had nothing to do most of the time, Chen Qun, who was originally very calm, became even calmer.
"No problem. Sun Quan is so arrogant in Wuchang, how can he be willing to submit to Wei again?"
"Zihua has done a good job. When you return to the court, your position as the Imperial Servant will be officially changed."
Sima Zhi cupped his hands and said, "I would like to thank Mr. Chen for his kind words."
Chen Qun said, "How many days can Zihua stay in Xiangyang? It's morning now, why not leave tomorrow?"
Sima Zhi thought for a moment and refused: "Thank you, Mr. Chen, for your kindness, but I think the court is still waiting for me to return. I will be ready to leave later."
Chen Qun nodded, stood up and picked up two stacks of documents from the table: "Zihua, these two documents are what I have been preparing to show to His Majesty in the next few days. Please help me personally deliver them to His Majesty."
Let me give it to Your Majesty in my own hand? How should I know what you wrote?
Sima Zhi was surprised and said, "How can this be done? Mr. Chen's document was not submitted directly, so how can I be sent down? I really don't have the authority to do so!"
Chen Qun said calmly, "Xiangyang and Luoyang report every three days, and the messenger just left yesterday. I just wrote these two documents about the new law and the revision of the scriptures last night."
"If Zihua doesn't want to, then forget it."
Sima Zhi was unwilling to go against Chen Qun's wishes, so he could only smile and say, "What are you talking about, Mr. Chen? I am just asking one more question. Please rest assured, Mr. Chen, I will definitely deliver it to Your Majesty personally."
After bidding farewell to Chen Qun, Sima Zhi immediately set out north.
At the same time Sima Zhi set off, another group of people also arrived at the end of their journey.
After traveling non-stop for more than forty days, Xun Can and his party finally arrived at their destination of exile, Linqiang County in Xiping County of Liangzhou.
Thanks to Gao Rou's special care, Xun Can and his two elder brothers and two nephews were able to ride horses. For an exiled person, this was already a top gift.
"This document was given by my Chief Justice to Captain Lu. Please help pass it on, General." The clerk from the Chief Justice's Office who escorted Xun Can here said politely.
Zhou Duo looked at the few people, then looked at the smiling official standing in front of him, then bowed and said, "Thank you for your hard work! I am only a Thousand Stones Chief Clerk. How dare I call myself a general under the command of my captain?"
"Please wait a moment."
After saying that, Zhou Duo went into the mansion to look for Lu Xun.
The soldiers guarding the gate of the palace were volunteers recruited by Lu Xun from the local area.
Seeing the Qiang volunteers, whose clothing and appearance were different from those of the Han people, the mood of several Xun family members sank to the bottom.
Lu Xun took Gao Rou's letter, read it carefully twice, and then asked Zhou Duo with a smile: "Jin Ning, who is this Gao Tingwei? Why is he so kind to the exiled people? Just because they have the surname Xun?"
Zhou Duo replied, "The Xun family has been a noble family for generations, and everyone knows about it. I guess the court judge just wants to establish a good relationship with the Xun family."
Lu Xun snorted coldly: "He wants me to send someone to take care of him, but I have no relationship with him and Gao Rou. What does the Yingchuan noble family and Xun Lingjun have to do with me, a surrendered general of Wujun?"
"How dare I treat someone who was exiled by His Majesty's order?"
Zhou Duo asked hesitantly: "What does the captain mean?"
Lu Xun said softly, "Since it is exile, you must behave like an exile. I have also heard about the crime committed by Xun. Since you have committed a crime, you must take responsibility for it."
"The five people you mentioned are all young and strong. Just find some odd jobs for them to do."
"Treat them like the menial workers in the army. Don't try to please them or make things difficult for them. Just temper their tempers."
Zhou Duo was a native of Liangzhou, and he only paid lip service to the Xun family, so how could he really care? "If it's menial work, I can either go to the garrison outside the city to open up wasteland, or go to Yicong to serve the horses."
"Forget about taking care of the horses. Aren't these wealthy families all about farming and studying? Let them go and open up the wasteland."
"Yes, sir." Zhou Duo took the order and left, but Lu Xun began to think at the table.
After thinking about it, Lu Xun decided to write down everything that happened today.
Including Gao Rou's private letter to him and the arrangements for the five members of the Xun family, all were written in.
After writing, put it into a bamboo tube and seal it with sealing wax.
Since taking office as the Protector of the Qiang, Lu Xun has written such a letter every ten days, three letters a month, and naturally they would be delivered to Your Majesty.
When I came to Wei, I just had to take care of my job and His Majesty. What kind of a role is Gao Rou? He can't even reach Xiping County. (End of this chapter)
