Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

March 8th, Chaisang.

"Your Majesty, General Wang Ling of the Valiant Guard submitted a letter to the court eight days ago at Hengjiang Ferry, requesting permission to fight." Liu Ye entered the emperor's military tent with some hesitation, but still handed over a document with both hands: "This is written by Wang Ling himself. Please read it, Your Majesty."

Cao Rui didn't take the document, but frowned slightly: "Didn't you send someone to explain to Wang Ling? Why does he still have questions?"

Liu Ye placed the document on the table with some embarrassment and carefully replied, "The imperial court's campaign against Wu is of utmost importance. It is only natural for Wang Ling to want to participate in the war to serve the country and make contributions."

"Human nature?" Cao Rui glanced at Liu Ye and said indifferently, "Then you didn't explain it clearly to him? The Central Army is precious and cannot be stationed in Jiangnan for long. It should be in the situation of suppressing the Central Plains. Did you not have someone explain these things to him? Or did he insist on requesting to fight?"

"Minister Liu, where are the Valiant Guards now?"

Liu Ye cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, according to Wang Ling's report, his troops should be resting in Dongxing now."

No sooner had he finished speaking than, unexpectedly, Cao Rui slammed his right hand heavily on the table, his dissatisfaction evident.

Cao Rui frowned and said, "If I remember correctly, this is the first time since the Taihe era that the various units of the Central Army have requested to fight. The court will assign which unit should fight, which should defend, and which should stay in the rear. The generals should just follow orders. When did it become the generals' turn to request to fight? Not to mention stopping the army in Dongxing? What's there to stop in Dongxing? The Wuwei Army didn't stop all the way to Chaisang. Why would they stop in Dongxing?"

"Has Wang Ling been in Dantu for too long? Is he worried about missing out on his contributions?"

Liu Ye had not anticipated such a strong reaction from the emperor. Surprised, he no longer dared to defend Wang Ling and bowed in response.

"Your Majesty's will is clear. I will reply to Wang Ling immediately, ordering him to lead his troops to Xuchang without delay!"

Cao Rui tapped the table with his knuckles, the lacquered, gilded surface producing a crisp sound that rang out sharply in the central command tent. After a moment, Cao Rui spoke:
"Minister Liu, I ask you, what is the military order that the Privy Council gave to Wang Ling?"

Liu Ye lowered his head even further: "Order Wang Ling to quickly lead his elite guards back to Xuchang."

"So Wang Ling hesitated and delayed in opposing the military order after receiving it?" Cao Rui asked.

“This…” Liu Ye’s voice was even softer: “Yes, Wang Ling hesitated and delayed, which was inconsistent with military orders.”

Cao Rui said in a deep voice, "Doesn't Wang Ling want to fight? I will give him the opportunity to fight."

"Issue an imperial decree! Order Minister Chen Qun to go to Dongxing to deliver this decree, ordering Wang Ling to come to Chaisang to see me immediately. Minister Chen will lead the Valiant Guard to... no longer to Xuchang, but directly to Chenliu. Appoint Privy Councilor Yang Fu as Protector-General, and let Yang Fu temporarily lead the Valiant Guard to be responsible for suppressing the situation in Yanzhou and Hebei. After Minister Chen returns from Chenliu, he will continue to be stationed at Jingnan Dongwu to supervise the military law of all armies."

Liu Ye swallowed hard, shocked but without the slightest hesitation, he bowed and replied, "Your subject obeys! I will immediately write to Minister Chen and then come to request Your Majesty's decree."

"Let Attendant Wang write it directly! We'll find Attendant Pei to affix his seal later." Cao Rui replied, "Go ahead."

"Yes." Liu Ye bowed again and carefully withdrew from the military tent.

Wang Ling had run into trouble. While there were certainly some reasons on his part, it was also related to the overall situation behind him.

In early February, while Cao Rui was still in Jiangning, the imperial court received a report from Yang Fu, who was stationed in Chenliu County, Yanzhou. Yang Fu reported that the people of Lihu and Puyang had returned home due to the large number of conscriptions ordered by the prefect Ren Gu, but Ren Gu concealed this fact, causing the transportation there to be delayed for several days. The cabinet ministers and Liu Ye, the deputy privy councilor, agreed that military law should be applied, and Ren Gu, despite being a renowned Confucian scholar in the area, was immediately executed for delaying military operations.

The total number of the 250,000 troops and the civilians who assisted in the transport was difficult to count, but a rough estimate put it at one million.

Except for Bingzhou, Youzhou, Yingzhou, and the three northwestern provinces of Yong, Liang, and Qin, which are too far from the war zone, all the prefectures and counties of the Great Wei have devoted their treasuries to logistical support for this war.

Grain and supplies from Jizhou, Sili, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou and other places were transported to the front line in Yangzhou, while grain and supplies from Xuchang and other places west of Xuchang were transferred to Xiangfan.

Not only in Lihu and Puyang of Dongjun, there were incidents of peasant uprisings, but also in Xindu and Wuyi of Anping Commandery, Neihuang and Fanyang of Wei Commandery, Fengqiu and Junyi of Chenliu, Yangxia of Chen Commandery, Yicheng and Ping'a of Huainan Commandery... In all these places, there were incidents of laborers rioting due to the hardship of conscription, and the number of people involved was over a thousand.

As for the resistance to corvée labor by dozens or even hundreds of people... there were many such incidents. Reports on everything, big or small, from various prefectures were being submitted to Wang Su, piling up in his hands.

Cao Rui discussed this issue seriously with his two cabinet ministers, Pei Qian and Wang Qian. Pei Qian came to two conclusions.

First, the imperial court's mobilization was indeed arduous and demanding. The logistics and transportation of 250,000 troops generated enormous transportation needs. People living near rivers and canals in Hebei and the Central Plains were the first to be conscripted. The corvée labor was heavy, and the treasuries of various prefectures and counties were not equally full. Many prefectures and counties promised to reduce taxes in the future, but the people were unwilling to accept this, which was a highly likely outcome.

The front lines must be prioritized; there's no escaping this kind of situation. The best approach is to temporarily suppress it with the military, and wait until this busy transport phase passes.

Secondly, it was related to the imperial court's tax reduction. Compared with the initial implementation of tax reduction in the third year of the Taihe reign, the tax burden on people in various regions decreased, and their surplus grain increased, making them slightly better off in terms of food security. They also had the strength and organization to resist large-scale levies.

Cao Rui could only smile wryly and remain silent in response.

Such is the way of the world. Even if an emperor like him is cautious in his military campaigns and does not readily resort to war, the people will inevitably suffer. Cao Rui can only do his best to personally lead the campaigns, fight as quickly and decisively as possible, and then continue to reduce taxes and corvée labor.

Indeed, apart from Pei Qian's suggestion to stall for these few months, there was no better way.

Wang Ling just happened to run into such a situation.

It could be said that Wang Ling did not consider issues from a perspective outside of military considerations, or it could be said that Wang Ling was simply unlucky.

Cao Rui was about to take advantage of the wartime situation to separate Wang Ling and the elite guards he had led for many years, summon them to his presence, and use this incident to remind all the generals to obey orders without hesitation, and to reiterate to the outside world the emperor's absolute control over the central army.

Yang Fuping got a job for free, which means that his previous appointment as Privy Councilor wasn't for nothing.

Currently, various regions in Jiangnan are either engaged in warfare or pacifying counties, and most generals are unable to spare the time to lead the army. Entrusting it to Yang Fu for temporary command is the most suitable option. Who else could it be entrusted to? Sun Zi, the governor of Yanzhou? (End of Chapter)