In the general's mansion at Yangping Pass, everyone was silent for a long time, with only the crackling sound of the firewood in the stove and bits of red hot light.
Hao Zhao laughed at himself and said, "Just let Lord Xin and General Guo take care of this matter. What's the point of me thinking about it here?"
"If Zhuge Liang attacks, I will defend the city. I was able to defend Shanggui in the past, let alone a strong city like Yangping Pass."
Xin Pi nodded slightly, without commenting on Hao Zhao's words, but looked at Guo Huai: "What Bo Ji said just now is right."
"Now the Wei Dynasty is only defending Guanxi and not attacking, restoring national strength. Zhuge Liang is either heading west or east, and has already taken the initiative."
"If we want to prevent Zhuge Liang from finding out anything..."
Xin Pi and Guo Huai looked at each other and said at the same time: "Yang'an Pass!"
Xin Pi stroked his beard and said: "Since Zhuge Liang is attacking Yangping Pass, if we confront him at Yangping Pass, we will be at a disadvantage."
"If he can attack, I can attack too."
Guo Huai smiled and said, "The general is in command. Staying at Chiting without firing a shot is indeed a wise move."
"Yangping Pass is safe with us here." Guo Huai looked at Xin Pi and said, "When will Lord Xin return north? Present this strategy to the general in person to scare Zhuge Liang away."
Hao Zhao interrupted, "General, Lord Xin, could this be Zhuge Liang's attempt to lure us into a field battle and win?"
Guo Huai shook his head: "Whether it is true or not, since Zhuge Liang has come, we must send troops to respond. How can we just defend the city and be afraid of the enemy like a tiger?"
"If Wei only dares to defend itself and not go to war, maybe one day Zhuge Liang will be able to dispatch our troops east and west, and then send a large force to attack them."
"We can't leave any chance for Zhuge Liang!"
Hao Zhao cupped his hands and said, "I understand."
……
On the morning of the 21st, before the army headed north, Cao Rui led a group of officials to the side of the Dang Canal east of Junyi County.
The water of the Dang Canal flows slowly from northwest to southeast, and the sails of the ships on the canal are connected and all head north.
Cao Rui said, "This is the convenience of marching within the country. Not only is it convenient to transport food and supplies, but armor and weapons can also be transported by ship instead of by land."
"Which government agency is responsible for the river in Junyi?"
Among the group of ministers standing behind him, Fu Xun took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works is responsible for all river affairs in the world."
"Minister Fu?" Cao Rui turned to look at Fu Xun: "I have something to ask you."
Fu Xun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to report?"
Cao Rui asked, "How does the court manage the various rivers and canals? It can't be that they are all directly managed by the Luoyang Shangshutai, right?"
Fu Xun cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, each canal in each place will be managed by a water commander with a salary of 1,000 stones."
"Take the Kuangdang Canal here for example." Fu Xun pointed to the river flowing not far away: "The Kuangdang Canal was called the Honggou in ancient times. It is an important water conservancy channel connecting the Yellow River and the Huai River."
"All matters concerning the dredging and navigation of the Kuangdang Canal are under the jurisdiction of the Kuangdang Canal Water Transport Commandant."
Cao Rui put his hands behind his back, looked at the river, and nodded thoughtfully.
Fu Xun continued, "The Wei Dynasty has always attached great importance to water conservancy. The royal army set out from Xuchang, and there were two canals around Xuchang, both of which had commanderies."
"One is the Jiahou Canal, which was built by the former Yuzhou governor Jia Liangdao when he was in office. It is over 200 miles long and connects the Wei and Ying rivers, bringing the benefits of water transportation and irrigation."
"The second one is the Taolu Canal, which was opened when the late emperor visited Zhaoling in the sixth year of Huangchu. It is also close to 200 miles long and connects Ying and Ru."
Cao Rui asked, "I know both Jiahou and Taolu Canals. Who built the Taolu Canal in the sixth year of Huangchu?"
Fu Xun raised his head, looked around, and said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, the Taolu Canal was built by the former Water Department Officer Zhuge Gongxiu."
Zhuge Gongxiu?
Isn’t this Zhuge Dan!
Cao Rui sighed slightly.
Nearly three years ago, Zhuge Dan was executed by the imperial court for his crimes in the Fuhua case. If someone had explained this to him and said a few good words to him, he might have been spared and exiled instead.
Unfortunately, no one told me about this.
Showing mercy outside the law is a form of mercy, while executing someone according to the law is the principle.
When Cao Cao executed Mao Jie, Huan Jie still pleaded for him. But when Zhuge Dan was executed, no one came to his aid.
All I can say is that time is destiny.
The officials who followed him did not show much emotion. This was just a case of vanity, and only one Zhuge Dan died. To these officials who had experienced the transition from Han to Wei, it was really unremarkable.
Cao Rui followed a nearby ship heading northward and said, "The central army is heading to Hebei this time, and the canal is indispensable for transportation. What is the current status of the Hebei canal? Minister Fu might as well tell you about it."
Fu Xun took a few steps forward slowly, turned his back to the crowd, and said:
"Everyone, Hebei's water transportation is centered in Yecheng."
"Yecheng has a thousand-mile plain and is connected to the waterways. In the spring of the 13th year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu of Han excavated the Xuanwu Pond in Yecheng to train the navy. At that time, the navy could go straight from Hebei to Huainan."
"In the ninth year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu went north from Henan to attack Yecheng and sent people to dig the Baigou Canal to facilitate grain transportation. From then on, grain and grass from Henan could be transported directly to Yecheng."
"In the 12th year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu attacked Wuhuan. The imperial court dug the Pinglu Canal from the Hutuo River to the Longshui River, and dug the Quanzhou Canal from the mouth of the Beihe River to the Luhe River to connect to the sea. Then, a new river was dug from the Quanzhou Canal to connect to the Rushui River."
"In the 18th year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu built the Licao Canal to divert the Zhang River eastward into the Qing and Huan rivers."
After that, Fu Xun bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, when the troops were stationed in Yexia, they could use the above-mentioned canals to take a boat south through Baigou to the Yellow River, and then through Xingyang and Qiandang Canals to the Huai River."
"To the north, we can use the three canals of Pinglu, Quanzhou and Xinhe to reach Liaoxi County." "Your Majesty, if the central army marches north to Liaodong, it will have to use the power of the five canals of Baigou, Licao, Pinglu, Quanzhou and Xinhe."
Cao Rui nodded: "Are these five channels unblocked?"
Fu Xun bowed his hands earnestly and said, "Your Majesty, the five canals in Hebei and the three canals in Henan all have water transport supervisors to oversee the transportation. I can guarantee that they are all unobstructed!"
Cao Rui smiled and looked at Sima Yi: "Logistics is the foundation of military affairs. The Shangshutai has done a good job here. You have made great contributions!"
Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "These are all our duties, how dare I talk about my achievements?"
"Military and national affairs cannot be neglected. I suggest that the Minister of Works, Fu Xun, go north first to inspect the canal transportation and road repairs along the way, so that the army can march smoothly."
Cao Rui nodded and said, "Liaodong is a long way away, 4,000 miles from Luoyang. I have never traveled so far before when I led the central army to Huainan or Longyou. The logistics must be even more difficult."
"What Sikong said makes sense. We should prepare in advance to prevent any unexpected events."
After that, Cao Rui looked at Fu Xun and said, "Minister Fu, please go to Hebei first!"
"I will lead the army northward along the Baigou Canal. Minister Fu will inspect the four canals of Licao, Pinglu, Quanzhou and Xinhe first."
"Can your body bear it?"
Although Fu Xun is in his sixties, he is eight feet tall and has a strong appearance, and still looks strong and healthy.
Fu Xun took the lead and said, "I have served the court, how dare I say I am old? Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will take care of the grain transport for the army to the north!"
Cao Rui nodded with satisfaction.
……
The army marched north from Junyi on the 21st, crossed the Yellow River at Baima on the 26th, and arrived in Liyang County.
Baima is still in Henan, while Liyang is in the real Hebei province.
Liyang is located at the southernmost part of Wei County, which was once the fiefdom of Emperor Wu Cao Cao when he established the country.
After the Wei State was upgraded to the Wei Dynasty, Wei County was also divided into three by Emperor Wen Cao Pi, namely Wei County, Yangping County and Guangping County.
At this time, in Guantao County of Yangping Commandery, a doctor named Zhang who was sitting in a clinic in the city was puzzled when he saw the thirty-year-old county official in front of him who was in great pain.
Seeing that the doctor named Zhang was frowning and stroking his beard but never saying a word, the group of attendants surrounding the county official rolled up their sleeves, and one of them even raised his finger and pointed at the doctor's nose.
"As a doctor, can you diagnose diseases? If you can't, go back home as soon as possible, and we will smash your clinic!"
Doctor Zhang sighed lightly, ignored the shouting of his attendants, and looked straight at the county official opposite him: "Mr. Hu, please forgive me for not being able to diagnose and treat this disease. Mr. Hu has been suffering from pain in his legs for several days, and there are no other symptoms. I am not very knowledgeable."
After saying this, the doctor named Zhang stood up and bowed to the county official Hu Di: "Mr. Hu, please forgive me."
The attendants behind him were about to insult him again, but Hu Di turned around and shouted, "Don't be rude! Aren't you afraid that you will get sick in the future? How will you face the doctor then?"
After saying this, Hu Di tried to get up, holding onto the mat, but found it difficult to stand up for a while, so his entourage quickly reached out to help him.
At this time, a laugh came from outside the door: "Your leg disease cannot be diagnosed by doctors, why don't you let me take a look?"
The reserve that Hu Di had tried so hard to put on was now completely gone, and he cursed, "Who is looking for Nai Gongxin? Stand out!"
A young scholar with a rough face, wearing a coarse cloth robe and just wearing a crown, walked in with his hands folded: "Mr. Hu, don't you recognize me?"
Hu Di quickly swallowed his saliva, and regardless of his unstable position, he raised his hand and saluted, and said in surprise: "Hello, Mr. Guan, how come you are here?"
Guan Lu smiled and said, "I just came to Guantao from Pingyuan today. My father was doing his daily inspection on the Licao Canal, so he was strolling in the street. When he saw the bustle here, he came over. I listened outside for a while and found out that it was Mr. Hu."
Guan Lu's father, Guan Cheng, was the Licaoqu Commandant with a rank of Qianshi. When Guan Lu came to Licaoqu last year, he met the county official named Hu Di.
Hu Di looked around for a few times, then gritted his teeth and bowed: "Although Guan Jun is young, his talent in divination and physiognomy is well-known far and wide. Please tell me how to treat this disease."
Guan Lu took a look at Hu Di, chuckled and asked, "Will you read it now, Mr. Hu?"
Hu Di nodded: "Let's see now! The pain is unbearable."
Guan Lu shook his shoulders, raised his clasped hands, and let his sleeves fall, revealing his hands. His slender fingers were stroking long strands of yarrow quickly.
In just a few breaths, Guan Lu gathered the yarrow together and put it into his sleeve.
Guan Lu smiled and asked, "Mr. Hu has three brothers. Do they all have pain in their legs?"
Hu Di opened his eyes wide and looked at Guan Lu in disbelief: "Guan, how did you know this? Did you really get it through divination?"
In Guantao County, everyone knew his father Guan Cheng, so Guan Lu had no scruples in front of this small county official: "I just cast a divination, and the divination shows that someone in Mr. Hu's family died unjustly, not his aunt, but his uncle."
"Someone coveted my aunt's dowry and pushed her into a well. The people on the well pushed a big rock down and crushed him to death. Or he will suffer a leg disease as retribution."
Guan Lu sighed softly, raised his chin, and stroked his hair: "I wonder if Aunt Hu is doing well?"
Everyone on the side was shocked and looked at Hu Di with questioning eyes.
The three Hu Di brothers had an aunt at home, and they all matched up, without any error!
Hu Di could no longer bear the fear in his heart, and knelt down and cried, "Master Guan, it was my fault that I did such a wrong thing. I can admit my guilt and accept death, but can this disaster not be passed on to my children and grandchildren?"
Seeing that Hu Di admitted to murder, the county officials who had surrounded him just now surrounded him and put him under guard. It was okay for them to be rude at other times, but when it came to murder, these people still knew what to do.
Guan Lu sighed and said, "The way of heaven is to love life. Although you have killed someone, the disaster will only affect you and not others."
Hu Di wept bitterly, knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, but he didn't know who to ask for mercy. (End of this chapter)
