RNP Chapter 679: The Bandits Are Still Recommending Sima Yi
Chapter 679: The Bandits Are Still Recommending Sima Yi
Chapter 679: The Bandits Are Still Recommending Sima Yi
When it came to February of the sixth year of Zhangwu, Cao Rui, who had led his troops to move the capital, finally returned to Yecheng.
Under Cao Xiu's careful escort, Cao Rui's process of moving the capital was safe and sound. The moment he stepped into the gate of Yecheng, Cao Rui felt a sense of relief.
Cao Rui was born and raised in Yecheng. To him, Yecheng was more like his home than Luoyang.
What's more, during his lifetime, Cao Cao repaired the city defenses of Yecheng many times and relocated the population, making Yecheng the most prosperous city in the world.
Yecheng is thousands of miles away from Guanzhong. From any perspective, Yecheng can give Cao Rui a greater sense of security than the "precarious" Luoyang City.
The first thing Cao Rui did after returning to Yecheng was to announce the death of Cao Pi - after all, if he didn't announce it, the stench from Cao Pi's body would be difficult to cover up.
Of course, in order to beautify the cause of Cao Pi's death and stabilize people's hearts, Cao Rui could not announce to the public that Cao Pi was frightened to death by the news of the fall of Chang'an.
"Working hard on state affairs, suffering from illness due to overwork, and dying on the road" was a good reason for Cao Rui.
When the news of Cao Pi's death spread inside and outside Yecheng, the people of Yecheng soon suffered a severe blow.
Perhaps since Cao Pi inherited power from Cao Cao, the fortunes of Cao Wei have been in a downward trend, but his many years in power still gave Cao Pi a strong prestige in Yecheng, which is incomparable to Cao Rui, who had just come of age.
However, the fact that Cao Cao was able to designate Yecheng as the base camp of Cao Wei during his lifetime means that the Cao family had full control over Yecheng.
After the severe shock, the people of Yecheng were soon comforted.
In February of the sixth year of the Zhangwu reign of the Han Dynasty, Cao Rui, the crown prince of Cao Wei, succeeded to the throne in front of Cao Pi's coffin with the support of all his ministers.
Cao Rui, who had just ascended the throne, quickly demonstrated his talents.
On the day of his accession to the throne, Cao Rui formally appointed Cao Xiu as the Grand Marshal and the Commander-in-Chief of all military forces at home and abroad.
Cao Xiu already had considerable prestige in the Cao Wei army. After receiving the nominal blessing, Cao Rui believed that with Cao Xiu's talents, he would be able to quickly lead his army to stabilize the situation in Cao Wei.
In addition to promoting Cao Xiu, another person that Cao Rui promoted vigorously was Jia Kui.
Jia Kui came from a prominent family and was a hero of the three dynasties of Cao Wei. He made many contributions to the establishment of Cao Wei. Most importantly, Jia Kui had a reputation that was difficult to match in the hearts of scholars in Hebei and Central Plains.
In order to stabilize the hearts of scholars in Hebei and the Central Plains, Cao Rui issued an edict to appoint Jia Kui as the Grand Marshal, the Recorder of the Secretariat, the Marquis of Mianchi, and to enjoy a fief of 3,000 households.
Jia Kui was the governor of Yuzhou and was not in Yecheng. Therefore, in order to honor Jia Kui, Cao Rui specially sent an envoy of the emperor to Yuzhou with the imperial carriage of the three ministers to read the imperial edict.
No minister has ever received such treatment since the founding of Cao Wei. This shows the status of Jia Kui in Cao Rui's mind.
Cao Rui knew that since he valued Jia Kui so much, he would definitely be rewarded.
Cao Rui, who was raised by Cao Cao since childhood, had heard Cao Cao praise Jia Kui many times. Before his death, Cao Cao asked Jia Kui to serve as his funeral officer, which also reflected his respect for Jia Kui.
"When it comes to stabilizing people's hearts and supporting the current situation, Lord Jia can be said to be the best in the dynasty." This was how Cao Rui praised Jia Kui in front of all the ministers.
However, Cao Rui, who had mastered Cao Cao's political tactics, valued Jia Kui so much for another unknown reason:
As we all know, Jia Kui and Cao Xiu did not get along.
Cao Xiu was in charge of the army and Jia Kui was in charge of government. Their incompatibility allowed the young emperor Cao Rui to survive the most dangerous period and also prevented Cao Rui from being at risk of losing power in the future.
In addition to rewarding Cao Xiu and Jia Kui, Cao Rui also rewarded many ministers in succession within a few days.
Now that Cao Pi had just passed away and there were powerful enemies pressing in on the border, Cao Rui, who lacked prestige, could only win the first wave of people's hearts by lavishly rewarding them.
Even in order to show his tolerant side, Cao Rui did not agree with the suggestion of Gao Rou, the chief judge, to capture the three clans of Zhang He.
When more and more defeated soldiers from Chang'an returned to the country, the news of Zhang He's surrender to Mi Yang was no longer a rumor.
According to Cao Wei’s strict military law, Zhang He could not escape the “Three Clans Elimination” package.
However, Cao Rui took into consideration that Zhang He's entire family was a prominent family in Hebei, so he only ordered the arrest of Zhang He's immediate relatives. Cao Rui did not punish Zhang He's collateral relatives.
Cao Rui knew very well that he was not Cao Cao, and his current prestige was far inferior to that of Cao Pi.
In this case, he cannot rashly raise the butcher knife.
Showing favors is the best way to quickly stabilize the foundation of power at the moment.
Cao Rui's idea was not wrong. After learning about Cao Rui's tolerant side, not only Zhang He's collateral relatives, but also many aristocratic families in Hebei wrote letters to express their gratitude to Cao Rui.
After initially stabilizing people's hearts, a piece of news that made Cao Rui ecstatic was delivered to him from the distant Guanzhong - Liu Bei had passed away.
When he first heard the news, Cao Rui was still a little bit unbelievable, but as more and more corroborating information came out, Cao Rui completely abandoned his doubts and immersed himself in joy.
After confirming the news was correct, Cao Rui immediately went to the ancestral temple outside Yecheng to announce the good news to Cao Cao and Cao Pi.
After returning to the imperial palace in Yecheng, Cao Rui immediately summoned all the ministers in Yecheng.
Before coming, the ministers had learned the news of Liu Bei's death.
So when they arrived, they had the same joy on their faces that Cao Rui could not hide.
One cannot blame Cao Rui and other Wei officials for being so happy. Liu Bei's death at this critical juncture was truly a great thing for Cao Wei.
In addition to the fact that Cao Wei would now have one less powerful enemy, it could also use Liu Bei's death to gain a rare period of respite.
Mi Yang is so good at fighting!
Upon learning the news of the successive losses of Chang'an and Tongguan, Cao Rui and other Wei ministers were afraid of Mi Yang's fighting prowess, but on the other hand, they came to a conclusion in their hearts that after Mi Yang took Tongguan, he would not continue to advance eastward rashly.
If Cao Rui had not had this inference in his mind, he would not have dared to move the capital rashly even if he had a hundred times the courage.
Although he had this inference in his mind, Cao Rui would still feel palpitations unconsciously every time he woke up in the middle of the night - Mi Yang's battles were always imaginative, and no one could guarantee what he would do next.
But with the death of Liu Bei, Cao Rui could finally say the word "promise" in his heart.
Liu Bei was the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. Even with the presence of Zhuge Liang and Mi Yang, his death would inevitably shock the people of the Han Dynasty.
For Mi Yang and Zhuge Liang, their top priority at the moment must be to restore stability to the people's hearts at home, rather than to start another war lightly. Moreover, after years of fighting, the military and national strength of the Han army have long been in a situation where they can't bear the heavy burden.
Gao Rou, the court judge, looked at the happy faces of his colleagues. He could not suppress his excitement and said, "May God bless the Wei Dynasty!"
Gao Rou's emotion instantly resonated with all the Wei officials present, and even Cao Rui looked at Gao Rou with an expression of approval.
However, Cao Rui summoned all the Wei officials tonight not just to hear this sentence. Cao Rui gradually put away the smile on his face, looked up at the officials below and said:
"The traitor Liu's suicide is a happy event for our dynasty, but we should take precautions against it.
The thief is still here!"
Cao Rui's words "the traitor is still around" were like a bucket of cold water poured on the hearts of all the Wei officials.
Although Mi Yang is currently in Chang'an, which is a thousand miles away from Yecheng, if you think about the distance between Nanzheng and Chang'an, you, the ministers of Wei, will not think that a thousand miles is so far.
A heavy atmosphere enveloped the hall the instant after Cao Rui's words. The feeling of silence, like a maggot on the tarsal bone, lingered on the faces of the Wei officials and refused to dissipate for a long time.
Just as the hall fell into an eerie silence, a clear voice suddenly rang out:
"The bandits are strong, and now that the young master has ascended the throne, it is time to rely on you gentlemen to support the government.
As soon as you heard the name of Mi thief, you sat in silence for a long time. Do you think you can turn a blind eye to Mi thief like this? "
This clear voice was like a heavy hammer hitting the hearts of the Wei officials.
The next moment, all the Wei ministers could not help but look towards the person who made the voice. When that person's figure fell into the eyes of the ministers, except for a few of them, most of them showed a look of doubt in their eyes.
Who is this person!
A person who cannot be remembered by most court officials must not be of very high status.
Despite his low status, he was still known to some powerful Wei officials, which shows that he had some unique qualities.
Cao Xiu looked at the man with a solemn expression, and a name slowly emerged in his mind - Wang Ji?
Wang Ji, courtesy name Boyu, was from Qucheng County, Donglai Prefecture.
Wang Ji was well-known in his hometown when he was young and was known for his extraordinary talents and virtues.
During the Jian'an period, he started his career as an official in Donglai County. During the Huangchu period, he was selected as a filial and incorruptible official and was appointed as a doctor.
Although Wang Ji's family background was not very good, he was appreciated by Sima Yi by chance.
With the help of Sima Yi's strong recommendation, Wang Ji came into Cao Pi's sight.
In this life, due to the butterfly effect caused by Mi Yang, there is no rift between Cao Pi and Cao Rui. On the contrary, Cao Pi began to cultivate Cao Rui early on.
With this mentality in mind, Wang Ji, who was recommended by Sima Yi, was arranged by Cao Pi to be the secretary of Cao Rui.
Cao Rui was deeply influenced by Cao Cao. He hated those celebrities who were fond of frivolous and idle talk, but he loved those who had real talent and knowledge. It was obvious that Wang Ji was just such a person.
After spending time with Wang Ji day and night, Cao Rui soon discovered that Wang Ji was a man of great talent. In addition, Jia Xu had praised Wang Ji many times when he was alive, so Cao Rui began to value Wang Ji even more.
Some time ago, after Cao Rui ascended the throne, he promoted Wang Ji to the position of Shizhong and brought him in as his personal think tank to assist him in state affairs.
It was precisely because Wang Ji accompanied Cao Rui day and night that Cao Xiu had some impression of him. However, Wang Ji had no merits at the moment, so after a brief moment of daze, the Cao Wei officials quickly looked at Wang Ji with unfriendly eyes.
But no matter how bad his words were, all the ministers knew that Wang Ji, as a close minister of Cao Rui, must have obtained Cao Rui's tacit approval before making such a rash statement.
Perhaps Wang Ji was the sharp knife in Cao Rui's hand that he had prepared in advance to provoke them, so the ministers were not stupid enough to refute Wang Ji's speech in public.
However, under Wang Ji's stimulation, many Wei officials showed shame on their faces.
The first person to react was Grand Marshal Cao Xiu.
After thinking about it, Cao Xiu stood up and gave Cao Rui some advice:
"Although our dynasty has just lost Guanzhong, Hebei and the Central Plains are both fertile lands in the world. If our dynasty can recuperate, it will have sufficient national strength to resist the invaders in a few years."
After giving the Wei officials present a reassurance, Cao Xiu continued:
"However, during the period of recuperation, we should not neglect the task of preparing for war.
I think the most urgent task is to send a general to guard Luoyang, soothe the hearts of the soldiers and civilians, and prevent the bandits from taking advantage of the situation. "
After hearing Cao Xiu's advice, Cao Rui suddenly perked up.
In fact, after moving the capital to Yecheng, many people in the court had speculations about the Han army's next offensive target.
In terms of the current territory of the Han Dynasty, the direction of the Han Dynasty's attack on Cao Wei would be either Yuzhou or Luoyang.
Compared with the latter, many ministers in the court believed that Mi Yang’s target was most likely Yuzhou.
It is not difficult to understand why many ministers came to this conclusion. Compared with Luoyang, the most fortified city in the world, Yuzhou, which has no strategic location, is easier to attack.
In addition, once Yuzhou was captured, the heartland of Cao Wei would be completely exposed to the Han army.
What's more, news had been circulating long before that Mi Yang would be stationed in Jingzhou soon. This news affected more than just the mentality of the rulers and ministers of Eastern Wu.
But what Cao Rui did not expect was that Cao Xiu actually believed that the main attack direction of the Han army in the future would be Luoyang.
Cao Rui looked at Cao Xiu with an inquiring look, hoping that he would continue to express his opinions.
After receiving Cao Rui's eye signal, Cao Xiu quickly explained in front of all the ministers:
"Chang'an and Luoyang have been known as the two capitals of China since ancient times. Now that the bandits have taken Chang'an, how could they not covet Luoyang?
Furthermore, the rebel army has already moved its capital to Chang'an. Although Tongguan has fallen into the hands of the rebel army, as long as Luoyang and Hedong County are in our hands, Chang'an will always be in danger of being attacked by our army.
Mi Yang is a man who knows military affairs well. He will definitely not ignore this risk and dispatch a large army to attack Yuzhou, leaving Guanzhong empty. "
After hearing Cao Xiu's reasons, everyone in the hall fell into deep thought.
The political significance of Luoyang is self-evident. In addition to the political significance of Luoyang, the military aspect mentioned by Cao Xiu reminded everyone in the hall.
Since Tongguan is in the hands of the Han army, does that mean the Wei army cannot enter Guanzhong?
You should know that during the Battle of Weinan, Ma Chao held this idea, but was caught off guard by Cao Cao who divided his troops and attacked from behind.
With such a precedent, as Cao Xiu said, Mi Yang would not sit idly by and watch the safety of Chang'an go to waste.
If Mi Yang wanted to eliminate all hidden worries in Chang'an, taking over Hedong County and Luoyang was the only way out.
After completely agreeing with Cao Xiu's statement, Cao Rui could not help but ask Cao Xiu:
"Who does the Grand Marshal think can take on this important task?"
Cao Xiu seemed to have expected Cao Rui to ask this question, so he immediately said without hesitation:
"Sima Gong, yes!"
Chapter One.
Chapter 2 Continue to code ~
(End of this chapter)