When Guanqiu Jian handed over the letter in his hand, the three people present were stunned for a few moments.
Cao Rui's pupils dilated slightly, and he quickly looked up Wang Lang's age in his mind.
When Cao Rui invited Wang Lang to Yecheng last year, he asked about it. At that time, Wang Lang said that he was already seventy-two years old.
Death in the age of seventy is not a strange thing. The so-called "Three Dukes" is a synonym for old and virtuous. The death of the Three Dukes in office has become a common practice in the past hundred years.
But there is also a Wang Su next to him! Wang Situ is his biological father!
Cao Rui suddenly understood why Guanqiu Jian bowed to Wang Su.
This is how it should be when conveying the news of death.
"My Lord, please accept my condolences."
Cao Rui turned to look at Wang Su and spoke to comfort him. At the same time, he stretched out his right hand. Guanqiu Jian took a half step forward and handed over the document.
Wang Su said nothing and did not respond to the emperor's words. He just sat on the horse in a daze.
When a loved one passes away, a person’s first reaction is often not sadness, but a brief downtime caused by disbelief.
This is clearly the case with Wang Su.
Cao Rui glanced at Wei Zhen's handwritten document, sighed, and handed the letter to Wang Su. Wang Su then came to his senses, stretched out his hand to take it, and then silently burst into tears.
Sima Yi also advised with a sad face: "Ziyong, please accept the change. The prince died at the age of seventy-three, which is already a long life."
Wang Su still did not speak. After he got off his horse, he first bowed to Guanqiu Jian, who had brought the news of his death, and then, with tears in his eyes, he bowed to the emperor and said:
"Your Majesty, after we return to the capital, I will mourn for my father for three years."
Cao Rui did not refuse at all, but sighed and replied: "As you request, Lord Wang, please do not grieve too much and harm your body."
"Si Tu is a great minister and a role model for the Wei Dynasty. I will send Wang Qing back to Luoyang immediately to pay respects to my envoy, okay?"
Wang Su bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your concern!"
Cao Rui dismounted and took Wang Su's arm. "I am also saddened by your passing. I will order Tai Changlin to preside over the funeral ceremony, and all civil and military officials above the rank of 2,000 stone in the capital will go to express their condolences."
"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Wang Su bowed again.
"Zhonggong," Cao Rui waved to Guanqiu Jian, "You should accompany Wang Qing and rush back to Mianyang immediately. The funeral should not be delayed for too long."
"As you wish." Guanqiu Jian replied.
After Wang Su and Guanqiu Jian left, Cao Rui lost interest in sightseeing, and after Cao Zhen, Xiahou He, Jiang Wei and their party returned, he turned back to Mianyang.
According to common sense, Wang Su accompanied the emperor and the army to the battlefield. Even if he encountered mourning, he had to wait until he returned to the army before starting it. He could not leave the army and return.
But Cao Rui cleverly found a compromise.
When one of the three dukes died, the emperor, even though he was far away in the border areas, would still send envoys to attend the funeral.
Wang Su was the son of Prime Minister Wang Lang and also an attendant who accompanied the emperor.
Appointing Wang Su as the envoy can be said to be beneficial to both the public and private sectors.
In matters like this, Cao Rui never hesitated to help others.
The death of Wang Lang meant that one of the Three Dukes of Wei was vacant, and it was the second-ranked position, Si Tu.
On the way back, Sima Yi kept thinking. Today at the foot of Dingjun Mountain, the few casual words between the emperor and Wang Su, I wonder how much impact this will have on the situation of the Great Wei.
As for the position of Minister of State, Sima Yi was still self-aware. Whether it was due to age considerations or the balance of government affairs, it would definitely not be his turn.
Who else can do it?
Among the Nine Ministers and Six Departments, the oldest ones are only Wei Ji, He Qia, Chang Lin and Dong Zhao.
Wei Ji had been the Minister of Civil Affairs for less than a year, and He Qia and Chang Lin had very little contact with Your Majesty, so they could not be considered close ministers.
Is it going to fall on Dong Zhao's head? ?
Sima Yi's guess about Dong Zhao was reasonable. As the military commander, Dong Zhao served in the Western Pavilion and assisted in the military affairs of the country, and in fact became an indispensable and loyal minister of the court.
At the same time, Cao Rui was also considering the position of Situ.
It's not that people are forgotten after they leave, but the imperial system is indispensable.
Personnel affairs are politics, and the position of Situ cannot be left vacant.
Surprisingly consistent with Sima Yi, the figure of Dong Zhao also appeared in Cao Rui's mind.
But as he was thinking, Cao Rui keenly discovered a problem. After the death of the three ministers, must other people be added to perform their duties?
The six ministers and nine ministers all have real positions, but the three dukes do not.
Although both Wang Lang and Hua Xin were three ministers, they only showed up at court meetings or took the lead in organizing matters such as revising laws.
Since the end of the Han Dynasty, the Three Dukes only discussed theories and had no power in state affairs. They were just symbols of senior officials in the court.
What if we take this opportunity to kill one of the three ministers?
Cao Rui just thought so but didn't tell anyone.
It was not until the next day that Shizhong Xin Pi set out from Chang'an and arrived at Mianyang City in Hanzhong.
After exchanging a few pleasantries and asking in detail about the situations in various places in Guanzhong, Cao Rui told Xin Pi a few things that were on his mind.
The Shizhong was an internal official and his office was also located in the palace. He was different from the external officials and in this era was more like the emperor's private minister.
Therefore, when Cao Rui communicated with Xin Pi, he had no concerns at all. Xin Pi stroked his beard and said nothing. After thinking for a long time, he clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I think the three dukes should still be there, and there should be no vacancies."
"Why?" Cao Rui asked.
Xin Pi calmly replied: "The court cannot only keep people who do things, but also positions for people who don't do things."
“Although the three ministers do not have to deal with trivial matters, the country can rely on their prudence to stabilize the government when it faces difficulties.”
Xin Pi looked at the emperor calmly: "Being in a high position but not having much power is not a bad thing."
"Xin Qing is absolutely right!" Cao Rui laughed and said, "From Xin Qing's point of view, who should be appointed as the Minister of Education?"
Xin Pi replied: "Didn't Your Majesty transfer General Chen Qun to Jingzhou in the seventh year of Huangchu? It's time for him to come back."
Cao Rui nodded thoughtfully.
……
Hanzhong is a basin, and the longest distance from east to west is no more than 200 miles.
But when a large army moves in, there are many things to do, which cannot be compared with simply conquering a few cities.
Except for the 2,000 Shu troops in Chenggu who had not yet surrendered, there were as many as 8,000 Shu troops who surrendered in the three cities of Yangping Pass, Mianyang and Nanzheng in Hanzhong.
It has been nine years since the last war between Wei and Shu in Hanzhong, and the population of Hanzhong has recovered to 14,000 households, or about 50,000 people.
On the one hand, although Cao Cao relocated 80,000 people from Hanzhong in the past, he only relocated the most densely populated area in Hanzhong, north of the Han River, between Yangping Pass and Baoxiade.
On the other hand, Liu Bei later moved thousands of households from Shu, restoring the population of Hanzhong to a level that was equivalent to one-third of the population of Qinzhou.
Moreover, the people who Zhuge Liang moved from Longyou to Hanzhong were not counted.
Back in Chiting, Zhuge Liang once took the Jiang clan members who were relocated in Ji County and wanted Jiang Wei to answer some questions that could pry into his heart.
Jiang Wei refused very straightforwardly that day. Today, Jiang Wei finally found dozens of people from his tribe in Hanzhong.
As usual, Cao Rui naturally lived in Mianyang City, in the former residence of Zhuge Liang.
Cao Zhen walked in slowly and bowed: "Greetings, Your Majesty. I heard that Your Majesty wants to see you for something?"
"General, please take a seat." Cao Rui pointed to the empty seat beside him and said, "I am here today to talk to you about the post-war defense of Hanzhong."
"Today is the 27th. The general has been in Hanzhong for more than half a month, right? Except for Chenggu, all other places have been returned to Wei. It's time to put this matter on the agenda."
After Cao Zhen thanked him, he sat on the table with a big horse and a golden sword, and responded: "If Your Majesty does not tell me, I will also tell Your Majesty about this matter."
"The line of Xiabian, Wuxing and Hanzhong is too thin. I would like to suggest to Your Majesty that you build a fortress in Wuxing to block the road from Wuxing to Qinzhou and Hanzhong."
"Building a city in Wuxing?"
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "I want to talk about the defense of Hanzhong, but not just this matter."
"Now that the situation has been determined, I and the Central Army must return to Luoyang. Who should guard Hanzhong? We must choose the generals and the governor."
Cao Rui pointed at Sima Yi and Xin Pi in the hall and said, "I have talked with Sikong and Xin Shizhong these past two days. After Hanzhong was annexed by Wei, it replaced Qinzhou and became the front line of the army."
"They all suggested that Zhang He come here to guard it."
Cao Zhen showed a slight surprise: "Why is it Zhang He?"
Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "General, when your majesty and the army were in Qinzhou, your original intention was to station the army in Qinzhou and Qishan."
"Now that Hanzhong has been captured, shouldn't we allow Zhang He to move to Hanzhong?"
Xin Pi also said: "Given the situation in Guanxi of the Great Wei, only Zhang He can control Hanzhong. Guo Huai, Lu Xun and other generals are not able to do it."
Cao Zhen frowned even more tightly, and after taking his eyes away from Xin Pi, he turned to look at the emperor: "Your Majesty, please allow me to think about it for a moment."
"No hurry." Cao Rui said calmly, and waved his hand to let the tiger guard pass a small cup of drink to Cao Zhen: "This thing is called bamboo juice, which is made from fresh bamboo and is the best for removing internal heat and dryness."
"This is the first time I've drunk this dish that was offered by people from Hanzhong and Shuzhong. General, you can try it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Cao Zhen raised the cup and drank it all in one gulp. A fresh bamboo fragrance went straight into his throat, and his originally frowned brows seemed to relax a little.
Cao Zhen took a breath and said, "Your Majesty, I still think that Zhang He should stay in Qinzhou. Let someone else guard Hanzhong."
Now it was Cao Rui's turn to frown: "Why?"
Cao Zhen asked in return: "How many people should be left in Hanzhong to support the local garrison?"
"In my opinion, it would be better to keep only Yangpingguan, Mianyang, and Nanzheng, and destroy all the other cities. The army will be stationed there during peacetime and guard the cities during wartime. If there is insufficient food and grass, Qinzhou and Yongzhou will supply it."
"And all the people in Hanzhong moved to Yongzhou. Yongzhou has few people but much land, and it is in great need of people."
Cao Rui tapped the table lightly. "General, do you mean to say that we will leave Hanzhong's fields and cities alone? Just station troops there?"
Cao Zhen calmly replied: "That's exactly what I mean. I don't care. Hanzhong is close to Shu. It is too much of a burden to face the enemy and govern the people."
"Relocation instead of governance will resolve the dilemma." (End of this chapter)
