Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

On April 22, Cao Rui led 15,000 cavalry to Shouchun.

News kept pouring in along the way, mostly trivial matters. For example, the governor of Changshan Commandery in Ji Province had died in office; a fire had broken out in Ande County of Pingyuan Commandery, burning down half the city; bandits had broken out in Taishan Commandery, and the local commandant had led his troops to suppress them, beheading more than sixty bandits…

However, there are three pieces of news that Cao Rui needs to pay extra attention to: one good news, one neither good nor bad, and one bad news.

Speaking of good news, of course it was the news that Zhuge Liang led the Shu army to a complete retreat.

Wei Zhen led his army to end the stalemate with the Shu army outside Wujie City. When they re-established contact with Wujie City, only nine hundred defenders remained. By the end, the city was running out of food and supplies. Cao Ping's ability to hold the city against Wu Yi's encirclement and with Zhuge Liang's personal command was a very encouraging thing for the entire Guanzhong region.

Of course it's inspiring!

Wujie is the closest border fortress in Guanzhong to the enemy in Longnan. If it can hold out in such a critical situation this year, and if it is attacked by the Shu army again in the future, the morale of the people will be boosted accordingly, based on the precedent of Cao Ping.

Moreover, Cao Ping's perseverance also positively demonstrated the rationality of the Kansai defense system layout.

Upon learning this news, Cao Rui, disregarding the fact that the imperial carriage had not yet returned to Shouchun, immediately informed Pei Qian and Xu Shu that he would bestow upon Cao Ping the title of Marquis of Tingting and increase his fief by 500 households to reward him for his meritorious service in the bloody battle of Wujie. He also proposed that the Privy Council discuss and decide on the subsequent rewards, which would then be sent to lower levels.

As for the so-so news, Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty died in Shanyang at the end of March, at the age of fifty-four.

After the establishment of the Great Wei during the Huangchu era, Liu Xie was still alive, but his political life had come to a complete end. He became a remnant of the previous era, living a life of mere survival in Shanyang, like a living dead.

Whether Liu Xie lived or died was really not a matter of great importance. Moreover, after Cao Rui met with Liu Xie in the fourth year of the Taihe era, Liu Xie personally wrote the "Records of the Duke of Shanyang" for historical reference, and his last bit of value had been exhausted.

According to Wang Su, the death of the Duke of Shanyang should be treated with the rites due to an emperor, including the selection of a mausoleum, official worship, and the selection of a successor. These matters are not urgent and can be discussed later in Shouchun.

The last piece of bad news was that Yang Huiyu's father, Yang Dao, had passed away last month while serving in Shangdang County. According to etiquette, Cao Rui was to pay his respects, so he planned to send an envoy to the Yang family to offer sacrifices after returning to Shouchun, and also to comfort Yang Huiyu.

Cao Rui could already imagine Yang Huiyu crying her eyes out, which was truly worrying.

After arriving in Shouchun, and following a series of perfunctory welcoming ceremonies, Cao Rui returned to his study and immediately summoned the four ministers: Sima Yi and Huang Quan, the two vice ministers of the Secretariat, and Dong Zhao and Liu Ye of the Privy Council.

After listening to Xu Shu's introduction, Dong Zhao cautiously said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed good news that Cao Ping defended Wujie, but isn't his fiefdom of five hundred households a bit too much? Although defending a city is difficult, the merit of defending a city is ultimately not as great as fighting in the field."

"I believe that the merits of Wang Chang and Fei Yao are only around four hundred and three hundred households. If Cao Ping is rewarded with five hundred households, I am afraid that Wang Chang and Fei Yao will feel resentful, and it will be difficult to reward others who defend the city in the future."

"Liu Qing, what do you say?" Cao Rui gestured with his chin toward Liu Ye.

Liu Ye remained silent for a long while, glancing at Dong Zhao and then at the emperor's expression, before finally speaking: "Your Majesty and I have different ideas. Merit can be divided into actual merit and timely merit. While Cao Ping may not be worthy of the reward of five hundred households for his merit in defending the city, his initial defeat followed by victory in Wujie City, his courage in the face of shame, and his steadfast defense of the city prevented the Shu army in the rear from concentrating their full strength to advance eastward. This was a great contribution to the current situation and also demonstrated the reliability of the Wujie City defense line."

"I believe he should be rewarded!"

Liu Ye is still the same Liu Ye, adept at figuring out his own thoughts, and his words are always impeccable and pleasant to hear.

Cao Rui looked at Dong Zhao and smiled, "Did you hear that, Lord Dong?"

"I have heard you." Dong Zhao's face showed a slight hint of helplessness: "What Ziyang said makes sense, and I have nothing more to say."

Cao Rui nodded and said, "This matter can be viewed from the perspective of saving the day, or from other perspectives. Have you heard about the matter concerning Sima Fu and Xiahou Ba of Liangzhou?"

Dong Zhao, Liu Ye, Sima Yi, and Huang Quan all nodded in agreement.

The complete abduction of an entire county's inhabitants was unprecedented in the Great Wei Dynasty. When the news reached Luoyang, a copy was naturally sent to Shouchun as well. However, the news that the court intended to punish Sima Fu and Xiahou Ba had not yet reached the ears of the officials in Shouchun. Cao Rui said, "The generals of the Cao and Xiahou clans are not as active in leading troops as before. I originally thought Xiahou Ba was capable of handling important responsibilities in Liangzhou, but now it seems that Xiahou Ba is more like an incompetent fool than a capable general."

"Just when I was doubting the fighting strength of the generals of the imperial clan, Cao Ping emerged from the Guanzhong frontier, which is a delightful and encouraging thing for me. For this reason alone, Cao Ping deserves the reward of five hundred households."

As Cao Rui pointed at Xu Shu, Xu Shu immediately understood and told him that the emperor had chosen Wang Xiong to succeed Sima Fu as the governor of Liangzhou and Hu Zun to take command of the Liangzhou army in place of Xiahou Ba. He also briefly mentioned that Lu Yu was sent as an envoy to escort Sima Fu and Xiahou Ba back to Luoyang to be handed over to the Court of Justice for punishment.

Sitting in his study, Sima Yi was overwhelmed with mixed feelings, both worried and angry.

What worries him is that his younger brother has finally climbed to the position of governor of a prefecture. Liangzhou has been peaceful for many years, and it should have been a stable position to accumulate merits. However, his future has been ruined by some barbarian who appeared out of nowhere, and his family's power will gradually diminish as a result.

The anger stemmed from his dissatisfaction with Liangzhou. The region was inhabited by a few miscellaneous barbarians, and Shuda couldn't even handle such a small matter. He was utterly incompetent!
While Sima Yi certainly wanted to protect his relatives, in terms of ability and methods, whether in politics or military affairs, Sima Yi could be considered top-tier in his time. The more capable a person is, the angrier they become when they hear that their own brother has been punished for incompetence.

The capture of over two thousand people in a remote county by the Hu people is an indelible crime! The guilt is undeniable, and Sima Yi cannot utter a single word against it!

Cao Rui noticed Sima Yi's conflicted expression, sighed softly, and looked up at Sima Yi, asking, "Speaking of which, I once thought that with the wisdom of the Minister of Works, Sima Shuda, as the Minister of Works' younger brother, should be quite capable. Liangzhou is remote and desolate, and with his abilities, he will surely be able to handle it properly."

"But unexpectedly, he is worlds apart from Sikong, and has caused such a huge disaster today!"

Sima Yi stood up, bowed to Cao Rui, and said, "Your Majesty, I am ashamed. Shuda is incompetent, and my elder brother is also to blame. Your Majesty, the situation in Liangzhou is chaotic and complicated. I am willing to travel from Shouchun to Wuwei. I will go for a month, stay for a month, and return for a month. I will be able to return to Shouchun before August."

"I humbly request Your Majesty to grant my request! Once I arrive in Liangzhou, I will certainly be able to handle this matter properly for Your Majesty, so that it will not cause any disaster."

Cao Rui shook his head slightly: "Let it go. Minister Sikong may not know, but the Grand General once said the same thing to me. The Grand General wanted to personally lead the troops to pacify the Xianbei in Hexi, but I stopped him. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? The remote Liangzhou is not a place for someone like Minister Sikong to take action."

"Wuwei County has been reduced to barren land and urgently needs to be rebuilt. I know that there are many talented young people in the Sikong clan. Why not select one of them to serve as the magistrate of Wuwei? This would be a practical contribution to the country."

Sima Yi hesitated for a long time before bowing and saying, "Your Majesty, my elder brother Sima Lang has a son named Sima Zhong. His name was bestowed upon him by Your Majesty in the fourth year of the Taihe era. I think it would be better to send him to Wuwei to take up his post, which would be a way to make amends."

Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "I remember now. I did see these two young men when I was in Hanoi Commandery. I also saw Sima Wang back then, didn't I? I made him return to being Sima Shuda's son."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right, as is Sima Wang," Sima Yi replied.

Cao Rui nodded: "I remember that Sima Wang was better than Sima Zhong. It is only right for a son to serve his father in his place since his father has caused trouble. Let Sima Wang serve as the county magistrate of Wuwei for a term."

"As you command," Sima Yi replied, bowing respectfully.

The emperor's words today are reminiscent of those of ancient times. It's reasonable to choose someone from the clan to atone for Sima Fu's mistake. However, the emperor's choice of Sima Wang over Sima Zhong gave Sima Yi a bad feeling.

If Sima Fu's son becomes the county magistrate of Wuwei, how should Sima Fu's crimes be punished? It seems that Sima Fu is not being given a good outcome!
But Sima Yi was ultimately helpless. Incompetence is the most terrifying thing in the world.

When the topic turned to Emperor Liu Xie of the late Han Dynasty, Sima Yi regained some composure and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, your subject and the Ministry of Rites have roughly drafted the posthumous title for the last emperor of the Han Dynasty. We have chosen the character 'Xian' (献). What is Your Majesty's opinion?"

Cao Rui thought for a moment: "Intelligence and wisdom are 'offered,' so let's use the character 'offered'..."

"Very well, Liu Xie's life was not his own, so I will do a good deed and leave him some good name after death. Let's use the character '献' (xiàn)." (End of this chapter)