Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

At banquets in the palace, whatever the emperor says goes.

Let alone saying that the name 'Jianye' is bad, even if we say that the names of the Wu ministers present today are bad, or that Gu Yong should be called Gu Zhong and Kan Ze should be called Kan Shui or Kan Hu, these two people would accept it on the spot and change their names immediately.

Cao Zhi, who was in charge of hosting the banquet that evening, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I heard about the origin of the name Jianye a few days ago. These two words are indeed inauspicious."

"Oh? Tell me, Imperial Uncle, where did these two characters come from?" Cao Rui asked knowingly.

Cao Zhi coughed lightly and spoke loudly before everyone in the hall: "In the sixteenth year of Jian'an, the traitor Sun Quan moved his capital from Jingkou, near Dantu, to Moling. The following year, Sun Quan renamed Moling to Jianye, perhaps with the intention of 'establishing a foundation for his own dynasty.' This is irrefutable evidence of Sun Quan's plot to seize power and isolate himself from the world!"

"So that's how it is." Cao Rui sighed. "No wonder I've always felt that the name Jianye was inappropriate. In that case, it should be renamed even more."

"Gu Qing!" Cao Rui called out, pointing to someone.

"Your subject is here," Gu Yong immediately replied, bowing with his hands clasped.

"I intend to change the name of Jianye. I have long heard that Minister Gu is a great Confucian scholar from Yangzhou. I wonder if Minister Gu has any thoughts on this?"

How could Gu Yong dare to have any thoughts? He couldn't even avoid this kind of thing, let alone confront it head-on.
"Your Majesty, I am truly foolish, but I also believe that General Cao's words are very wise. Jianye is a name that Sun Quan changed. Now that the Great Wei has the aura of a holy dynasty, it should not use the old name."

Cao Rui chuckled and pointed at Kan Ze: "Where is Kan Qing?"

Kan Ze reacted even more nervously than Gu Yong, immediately kneeling on the ground and repeatedly stating that he had no objections and would do as His Majesty commanded.

Cao Rui stopped wasting words with them and said, "Two years ago, I promoted Shouchun to one of the five capitals of the Great Wei, replacing the status of Qiao County. Now I have led my elite troops across the river to the south, and the Wu region has been pacified."

"Now that Jianye has become the new capital of Yangzhou, I will replace Shouchun with this city and make it one of the five capitals of the Great Wei, the Eastern Capital. Taking the meaning of 'May the Great River be forever peaceful,' I will change Jianye to Jiangning!"

"Your Majesty is wise." As soon as Cao Rui finished speaking, Cao Zhi, who was not far away, immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty is wise." Dozens of officials attending the banquet in the hall also knelt down in obeisance.

Cao Rui glanced around at the kneeling officials below the platform and slowly said, "Rise, all of you. Where is Jiang Ji, the governor of Yangzhou?"

"Your subject is here," Jiang Ji replied, bowing respectfully.

Cao Rui laughed and said, "I entrust the task of building this Eastern Capital Palace to you. Today, I reluctantly drank wine here, and the furnishings and arrangements in the palace all seem incongruous. A palace should be magnificent and imposing, so let's name this palace Chang Le Palace!"

"Your Majesty's decree will be obeyed." Jiang Jishen bowed.

……

The banquet continued, and the atmosphere became much calmer afterward.

Gu Yong spontaneously composed a short poem to congratulate him: "May Your Majesty's reign be boundless, and may Your Majesty's celebrations be celebrated. May Your golden branches flourish and Your jade leaves extend. May Your seas be ever calm and Your waves never surge. Your boundless virtues serve as a model for the present king." The poem received unanimous praise from the emperor and his ministers in the palace.

Gu Yong composed a poem in response in Jiangning City, while Huan Fan led his army from Poyang City to Chaisang City, the westernmost part of the territory controlled by the Great Wei along the Yangtze River, and did not arrive in Chaisang until nightfall.

"Greetings, General Lu." Huan Fan hurried to the vicinity of the military tent, where Lu Xun was already waiting to greet him at the tent entrance. "General Huan," Lu Xun nodded with a smile, "General Huan set off from Wan City and marched south, covering more than a thousand miles, almost capturing Sun Quan himself. Your achievements are truly remarkable and deserve congratulations."

Huan Fan cupped his hands in greeting and smiled slightly: "How can such a trivial achievement compare to General Lu's dominance over the Yangtze River and his expulsion of the Wu army? It's like a firefly compared to the bright moon."

"General Huan, please don't be modest." Lu Xun pointed inside: "Please come in."

Huan Fan did not leave first: "The court has already assigned me the task of following General Lu's orders. I request that General Lu go first."

"Okay." Lu Xun smiled and then went inside.

The two sat opposite each other.

Lu Xun didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the point: "How is the battle near Poyang?"

Huan Fan scoffed, "Sun Quan has already fled, and the situation around Poyang is unlikely to change again. Shall I start my explanation from Nanchang?"

"Okay." Lu Xun nodded.

Huan Fan said, “When the troops were divided last month, I ordered General Sun Li and General Sun Deda to lead 1,000 cavalrymen and 3,000 infantrymen to suppress the situation near Nanchang. Because the governor of Yuzhang of Wu surrendered, and because Sun Deda was stationed in Nanchang and promised that the officials of the surrounding counties could retain their original positions, the cities from Yangle in the west to Xingan in the south have all submitted.”

“The day before yesterday, Sun Deda sent me a message saying that he wanted to leave a thousand infantrymen to be stationed in Nanchang, while Sun Li himself led a thousand cavalrymen, two thousand infantrymen, and several thousand auxiliary soldiers of Wu Kingdom temporarily recruited from Yuzhang County to go south to attack Baqiu.”

"Because I received a message from the general, I have not yet responded to the matter concerning Sun Deda. I wonder what the general's opinion is?"

Lu Xun thought for a moment, then said, "There are waterways all south of Nanchang, and the southernmost one can take a waterway all the way to Ganxian. However, the surrounding cities are all small towns with few people and scarce land produce, making it difficult to supply the army. I should order Sun Li to use coercion and pacification along the way, to attack Ganxian as soon as possible, and then turn back north to the vicinity of Nanchang."

Huan Fan nodded in agreement: "General, you are absolutely right. I will send a message to Sun Deda tomorrow, but how much time should I give him?"

“There are rivers to rely on along the way, and two months should be enough,” Lu Xun said casually.

“Alright, we will do as the general says.” Huan Fan nodded and continued to speak about the military situation in Poyang: “Taking Poyang County is quite simple. Zhou Fang led more than 10,000 local people to guard Qiyang. I only used a little strategy to first block the roads to Qiyang, then easily take Poyang City, and then take the heads of the defenders of Poyang City and bring them to the city. That night, the defenders of the city fled and scattered.”

Lu Xun commented on this, saying, "In fact, it was because Sun Quan was too hasty in conscripting people there and left too quickly, taking the army with him."

"That's it!" Huan Fan breathed a sigh of relief. "How should my unit proceed from here? I would appreciate General Lu's guidance."

Lu Xun asked, "Aside from the troops lost in the battles of Poyang County and Liesang, how many troops can you transfer to Chaisang?"

Huan Fan thought for a few moments, then said, "Three thousand cavalry and fifteen thousand infantry, totaling eighteen thousand. The cities of Poyang and Qiyang have just been pacified, and they still need someone to keep order there to prevent unrest."

"Very well." Lu Xun nodded slowly: "Transfer all 18,000 troops to Chaisang! Since Sun Quan abandoned Chaisang and fled west the day before yesterday, and dared not fight against me, he must be resentful in his heart, and may come back from upstream at any time!"

"I can handle matters on the river myself, but I will need General Huan's assistance with matters on land."

"Rest assured, General, I understand!" Huan Fan replied earnestly. (End of Chapter)