Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

The following day, in Hailing City.

Another batch of ships arrived yesterday evening. If the 10,000-strong navy led by General Yue Lin arrives at noon or afternoon today, the 50,000-strong navy will have completely entered the river.

In the morning, Lu Xun summoned his cousin Lu Ya and Colonel Ou Kui into the hall. After Lu Ya and Ou Kui bowed, Lu Xun did not waste any words but went straight to asking:
“Ou Kui, you come from Wengzhou. The court has appointed you as a general, and your two thousand men have never caused any trouble.” Lu Xun pointed at Ou Kui: “I wish to have you achieve merit. I wonder if you dare to do so.”

Ou Kui immediately bowed and said, "Please give your orders, General. I am willing to die for you."

Lu Xun glanced at his nephew, then continued to instruct Ou Kui: "If I remember correctly, in your report to the court, you and Lu Ya said that Liu Daoren is holding his ground in Wengzhou, above the East Sea, with a force of 30,000 men."

"Now that the Great Wei is using all its strength to attack Wu, this is in accordance with the will of Heaven. Although Liu Daoren has sent your two thousand men into the Great Wei navy, and given this opportunity, the Great Wei will not do anything to Liu Daoren in the future, but it is hard to say what the future will be for his thirty thousand followers."

“General.” Ou Kui looked up at Lu Xun, his eyes filled with fear.

"Let me finish speaking," Lu Xun said slowly. "Go and tell Liu Daoren that I am willing to appoint him as General Pinghai, so that he can lead his troops from Wengzhou across the sea to attack the five counties of Jiaxing, Haiyan, Yangguan, Wucheng, and Qiantang."

"If he conquers these five counties, I will grant him and his troops five official positions with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain). If he refuses to obey my orders, there will be no more friendship between us. I am acting on the Emperor's orders to punish the disobedient. Since he does not understand the ways of the King, Wengzhou will also fall within the scope of the Great Wei navy's conquest."

"General, please forgive me." Ou Kui kowtowed repeatedly and said, "The court previously sent Lord Lu to Wengzhou to persuade Lord Liu, and Lord Liu gave the court a reply at that time. He also sent me to join the army of Great Wei. All of this was agreed upon. Lord Liu lives at sea and has not shown the slightest disrespect to Great Wei. Please understand, General!"

After speaking, he kowtowed repeatedly, his voice so loud that people outside the door could hear him.

Lu Xun remained expressionless and calmly said, "The Great Wei's attack on Wu will not allow anyone to hold power and waver between two sides. You either side with Wu and become an enemy of the Great Wei, or you submit to the Great Wei's attack on Wu. There are only these two options; there are no other."

“Ou Kui, you have served me for a long time, so you should know the strength of the Wei navy and understand my methods.” Lu Xun shook his head: “You are a smart man, and I believe that Liu Daoren is not stupid either. You know how to choose.”

"Lu Ya".

"Your subordinate is here!" Lu Ya responded with a cupped hand. He had been transferred to Lu Xun's naval forces to serve as the chief clerk in charge of clerical affairs, which was considered an opportunity for him to make a name for himself.

Lu Xun pointed again: "You and Ou Kui will take a ship with fifty men from Ou Kui's headquarters. In half an hour, you will set sail south to Wengzhou."

Lu Ya sighed inwardly. To be honest, he preferred to do more serious things in the army, and going to Wengzhou on the East Sea was far too risky. However, he had entered the Great Wei through this meritorious service, and with his roots there, matters related to Liu Daoren of Wengzhou would inevitably come his way, and he couldn't refuse them.

"Your subordinate obeys." Lu Ya bowed and replied, "May I ask, General, what about the seal? The court previously made a seal for the General of Pinghai, but it was returned to the Privy Council at the time and was not brought with the army."

Lu Xun said, "I will write a letter by hand, which will be more effective than an official seal. As for how Liu Daoren leads his troops to attack the counties, I will not interfere. But there is only one requirement: he can only attack the five counties I mentioned: Jiaxing, Haiyan, Yangguan, Wucheng, and Qiantang. He cannot harass Wu County, nor can he cross the Qiantang River to the south!"

"Your subordinate obeys." Lu Ya nodded, then pulled up Ou Kui, who was kneeling on the ground at a loss, and stood up together to bow. When the two walked out of the main hall, Ou Kui's forehead was already swollen high, but his eyes still held a bit of confusion when he looked at Lu Ya.

“Lord Lu, I truly do not understand.” Tears streamed down Ou Kui’s face. “Lord Liu has entrusted me with his two thousand most elite troops. Now I’m only taking fifty men back. What are we to do with them? When the court appointed me as a colonel, didn’t they agree not to pursue the matter of Lord Liu? Why are they now launching a campaign against him?”

Lu Ya didn't know many people in the army. Ou Kui was straightforward and had a connection with her. He was also a scholar, so the two had a very good personal relationship.

Although Ou Kui was literate, he was still a thief in the traditional sense, while Liu Daoren was the leader of the thieves. Neither of them had ever held an official position and had little understanding of the way court officials handled things.

Lu Ya felt half ashamed and half helpless. She sighed, patted Ou Kui's arm, and advised, "Do you know the saying 'times change'?"

Ou Kui lowered his head: "These are the words of Mencius."

“Yes,” Lu Ya said, “Times have changed, and today’s situation cannot be compared with that of the past. How can we generalize?”

"Brother Ou, I only have a few questions for you," Lu Ya said. "Do you know the strength of the Great Wei navy or not? Are you capable of conquering Wengzhou, which is defended by Liu Daojun?"

Ou Kui shook his head repeatedly: "Lu Jun, you must be joking."

“Alright, I’ll ask Brother Ou again.” Lu Ya continued, “From the court’s perspective, Liu Daojun is a pirate, isn’t he? The General of Pinghai, five positions with salaries of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), isn’t that lucrative?”

Ou Kui sighed, "People in this world are all busy, how many can actually hold a position with a salary of two thousand shi in their lifetime? I certainly wouldn't dare to dream of it. But as for Liu Daojun, well, it really isn't a bad treatment."

"Then what are you still hesitating about?" Lu Ya nudged Ou Kui with her elbow. "Why can't you think this through? This is a good thing for you; you can earn merit. It's a good thing for Liu Daojun, and it's a good thing for Liu Daojun's troops. Since it's a good thing for everyone, and we can't stop the power of the imperial court, why are you still struggling with this?"

"General Lu is truly your benefactor!"

Ou Kui stopped and immediately bowed to Lu Ya: "Thank you for reminding me, General Lu! General Lu is indeed our benefactor. I was short-sighted and did not appreciate your kindness. With you accompanying me, we will surely be able to persuade Daojun to come."

"Okay." Lu Ya's smile was somewhat forced: "We'll go together!"

In the afternoon, the 10,000 naval troops following Le Lin arrived at the dock south of Hailing City, while the 50,000 naval troops had already entered the river.

Lu Xun summoned generals of rank 2,000 shi and above in the hall, announced the mission for the next day's advance, and personally selected Hu Zhi's troops to accompany Yue Lin's army as the vanguard for the strong attack on Dantu the next day.

Cao Zhi sighed again. He had thought he would get the position, but he hadn't expected Lu Xun, who was such a good friend of his, to be avoiding suspicion at this moment. (End of Chapter)