Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Lu Xun's 40,000 troops and Huan Fan's 20,000 troops were stationed in Chaisang, on the one hand to guard against the Wu army coming down from the upstream, and on the other hand to wait for the arrival of Cao Zhen's troops, in preparation for the next attack on Wuchang.

In the vast region stretching from Chaisang in the west to the sea in the east, after the surrender of Stone City, only one place posed the greatest threat: Dantu, which had yet to be conquered.

While Cao Rui was discussing the post-war peerage system with Pei, Xu, and Wang, the three attendants, Liu Ye, Huang Quan, Jiang Ji, Cheng Xi, and Jiang Wei, who had received the imperial edict, gradually arrived at the palace.

The emperor will return to Jingnan Dongwu the day after tomorrow, and there are many military and political matters that need to be decided. The arrival of Right Feathered Forest General Cheng Xi and Tunqi Colonel Jiang Wei has also given the cabinet ministers some ideas about this military meeting.

The original plan was to discuss the capture of Dantu, but Jiang Ji, the governor of Yangzhou, immediately bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"Alright." Cao Rui was slightly surprised: "What does Minister Jiang have to say?"

Jiang Ji said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty has appointed me as the governor of Yangzhou for many years, and I have never dared to be negligent. Now that Your Majesty is about to return to Jiangbei, leaving me in Jiangning in the south to govern, I cannot slack off in the slightest. Therefore, I have listed several of the most important matters in Yangzhou this year, and I ask Your Majesty for your instructions.”

Since it was a serious political matter, even though it was off-topic for today's discussion, Cao Rui was still willing to listen: "Minister Jiang, please speak freely."

"As you command." Jiang Ji stood up and cupped his hands: "It is now the beginning of February. The matters I have proposed have different timeframes. I will judge them according to their urgency."

"Okay," Cao Rui replied.

"The first matter is the surrender of the prefectures and counties," Jiang Ji said. "Since I arrived in Jiangning with Your Majesty on the evening of the fourth day, I, along with Minister Gu and other former officials of Wu, have sent letters in the name of the Great Wei prefecture and the former Wu State Secretariat to the magistrates, county heads, and garrison commanders of Danyang, Wu, Kuaiji, and Xindu prefectures within the Wu territory, requesting their surrender to Great Wei. Each city was treated differently, and the letters were not exchanged. This was only completed today."

"Since the southernmost part of Kuaiji Commandery during the Wu period was close to Jiaozhou, based on the latest division of the Great Wei, I expect to receive feedback from all counties in Yangzhou by the end of March."

"At the same time, I also explained to Minister Gu and others that they should lead the prefects and magistrates of the counties and prefectures of Jingzhou and Jiaozhou, as well as the generals, to transcribe the proclamations of surrender and write private letters to each person based on their resumes to persuade them to surrender. Since all the Wu Kingdom’s records are in Jiangning, it is convenient. It is expected that this matter can be completed before February 15th."

Cao Rui had not expected Jiang Ji to be able to accomplish such a task. Putting everything else aside, Jiang Ji had his own set of methods for doing things and could be considered one of the top capable ministers of Wei. Now, the entire logistics and transportation of food supplies for the Yangzhou war were operating successfully under the system established by Jiang Ji, and there had been no major problems even after more than a month of military operations.

"Well done." Cao Rui nodded calmly. "From what Minister Jiang is saying, there's more than one aspect?"

"Yes." Jiang Ji cupped his hands: "The second matter is that I request the court to move all former Wu officials and their families in Jiangning City, including Minister Gu and the four ministers, to Shouchun for unified custody after Minister Gu and the others have completed the letters of persuasion to surrender, which is February 15th. This matter should be completed before the end of February."

"Hmm." Cao Rui simply nodded without replying.

Jiang Ji then said, "The third point is that the court should select officials to fill the positions in Danyang, Kuaiji, and Wu prefectures of Yangzhou. Each selection should be limited to one-third of the total, once at the end of March, once at the end of June, and once at the end of September. All the county magistrates and officials with a salary of 500 shi or above in these three prefectures should be replaced with officials from the Great Wei. The court previously decided to implement the new Three Mutual Law in Yangzhou. I believe that it should be gradually implemented before the end of the year, and the new policy can be implemented next year."

"The Wu region has just been annexed and is still intimidated by the military might of the Great Wei. Now is the most convenient time to do things."

As he spoke, Jiang Ji bowed in greeting to Huang Quan, saying, "We still need Minister Huang's assistance in handling this matter in Yangzhou."

Cao Rui glanced at Huang Quan, who nodded in agreement to Jiang Ji: "That's how it should be. The Ministry of Personnel will handle it accordingly."

"Thank you for your trouble," Jiang Ji continued. "The fourth matter is that the state should urge all newly attached counties to collect grain and fodder as soon as possible. Before the end of February, the grain and fodder calculated by Minister Gu and others should be collected from Wu County and Danyang County, and transported to Ruxu Port before mid-March for the army's further needs." Cao Rui finally spoke up at this time: "Grain and fodder are of great importance to the army. The granaries and large-scale reserves of Wu State in Wu County and Danyang County can supply more than 100,000 troops for more than a month and a half. This matter should be done, and done well."

"This matter should be Jiang Qing's top priority in Yangzhou."

"Your Majesty understands," Jiang Ji explained briefly. "Your Majesty will urge all localities to complete this matter as soon as possible."

"Fifthly, I will compile a list of the gentry and military families of the Sun clan who have served as officials in Danyang, Wu, and Kuaiji counties by the end of the year, and relocate these people from Wu to the heart of Wei in stages by the end of March next year."

"It is only because the court has not yet decided where to relocate the Wu people that I have this question."

"What did Pei Qing say?" Cao Rui looked at Pei Qian.

Pei Qian replied, "I believe we should move to Guanzhong. Guanzhong is not populated, and there are many Qiang people. We should move people from Wu to that place to populate the counties."

“Okay, let’s do it that way.” Cao Rui nodded.

Jiang Ji looked around and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty, I have one last thing to say. I request that a total of 10,000 soldiers be selected and conscripted from the three prefectures of Danyang, Wu, and Kuaiji in Yangzhou to suppress the remaining rebels in Wu and to promote the smooth implementation of my aforementioned policies. I also request that the court select a capable general to lead the troops and assist the prefecture."

Cao Rui thought about it briefly, then nodded in preliminary agreement, and looked at Liu Ye and Xu Shu:

How should we select generals?

Xu Shu immediately replied, "The things Governor Jiang is going to do in Yangzhou are almost like exposing the true nature of the Wu people of Yangzhou. Only someone trusted by His Majesty can be appointed to this position, and this person needs to be steady in his actions and effective in his methods."

"Since you've said that, I have an idea," Liu Ye said with a smile. "Your Majesty, what about Duan Mo, the Commandant of the Changshui Cavalry?"

"In terms of seniority, experience, military strategy, and trustworthiness, there is no one more suitable than Duan Mo by His Majesty's side for the time being."

"Duan Mo?" Cao Rui thought for a few moments, but did not object: "Let Duan Mo do it."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Liu Ye bowed and replied, "Your subject believes that the Privy Council should give Governor Jiang a reply tomorrow regarding how to recruit and select soldiers in Yangzhou."

"As for the 10,000 Wu soldiers who surrendered around Jiangning, the Privy Council believes that 4,000 of them should be selected as the best, and the rest should be sent back to their hometowns, as they are not of any use. The court should take these 4,000 men from Jiangning and bring them back to Jiangbei to await orders."

"Okay." Cao Rui nodded slightly.

After Jiang Ji finished speaking, Cao Rui noticed that Jiang Ji was full of survival instincts. Since this person was so sensible and capable, then let him be a capable minister in the prefecture and county.

Why must all officials enter the central government? (End of Chapter)