Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Chapter 822 A Remote Tribute to Cao Cao
Nearly ten thousand soldiers of the Wuwei Army stood in formation between Queyue City and Miankou in front of the temporary altar set up on the left bank of the Miankou River. The accompanying officials and generals, all dressed in armor, stood respectfully below the altar.

A gentle breeze blew across the river, flags fluttered in the wind, and the fierce fighting spirit of yesterday was long gone from the mouth of the Mian River.

Cao Rui, clad in golden armor, stood proudly at the top of the altar, gazing towards the Yangtze River. Sunlight shone from the east onto his golden armor, dazzling and blinding, like the sun itself, making it impossible to look directly at him.

Seeing that the time had come, General Cao Zhen nodded to the Master of Ceremonies, Wang Su. Wang Su immediately ordered horns to be sounded and drums to be played. When the sounds ceased, General Cao Zhi, standing on the second level of the altar, holding a jade tablet, recited aloud:

"On the 21st day of the third month of the ninth year of the Taihe reign (1264), the year being Jia-yin, the Emperor Rui-jing dispatched General Cao Zhi, the commander of the naval fleet, to offer sacrifices at the mouth of the Mian River and to announce to Emperor Wu of the Great Wei:"

"When the Han dynasty fell out of control and the world was in turmoil, Emperor Wei took advantage of the chaos caused by the various warlords, gathered the people and used force. With the blessing of Heaven and Earth, he quelled the rebellion, established his rule and protected the people. His divine achievements and virtuous deeds have been passed down to this day. Emperor Wen succeeded him, continued the legacy, established the dynasty, and led the people, bringing blessings to all nations. I, following the ancestral teachings, continue to uphold the Wei dynasty, gather the people to quell the rebellion, conquer Jing and Yang, capture Sun Quan, and my power extends throughout the land."

"Since the blood sacrifice is not yet complete and I am unable to personally offer the rites, I respectfully send my meritorious officials to present the head of the chief villain Sun Quan as a sacrifice at the mouth of the Mian River. May the Holy Spirit accept this offering! May you enjoy it!"

As soon as the words "offering sacrifices" were read, Cao Zhi immediately turned around and bowed towards the ancestral tablets of the emperor and Emperor Wu. Cao Rui also threw the memorial written on the wooden table next to him into the cauldron and burned it, the smoke slowly rising and dissipating.

At the same time, the executioner, Dian Man, a lieutenant general of the Wuwei Army, carried out the order and immediately beheaded Sun Quan in front of the generals below the platform. He placed the head on a lacquered wooden tray, which was then carried by General Cao Zhen and carried step by step up to the three-story platform temporarily built on the riverbank.

When Cao Zhen was a step away from the emperor, he knelt down on both knees and held up the wooden tray in his hands.

Cao Rui glanced briefly at Sun Quan's appearance, then nodded, took the wooden tray, and placed it before Cao Cao's memorial tablet. Cao Zhen, having finished his task, carefully stepped down.

From the perspective of the audience below, the emperor bowed and kowtowed to Emperor Wu before slowly rising, seemingly speaking to him. However, the distance was only a dozen paces, making it unclear whether the emperor was speaking to Emperor Wu, to Sun Quan's severed head, or perhaps giving instructions to both of them simultaneously…

Regardless of what is said, it is ultimately the emperor's own business. Xiakou, or rather, the renamed Wuhan, has been taken by the Great Wei, and Sun Quan has been beheaded. The Great Wei's plan to attack Wu has been 90% successful, with only a small part of Jingzhou and Yizhou and Jiaozhou remaining to be conquered.

It should be soon.

Apart from officials and generals, only members of the Wuwei Army participated in this sacrificial ceremony. Huan Fan's troops crossed the river yesterday afternoon and entered Xiakou City to take over the city and urgently repair its defenses in preparation for battle. The Right Wing Army of the Imperial Guards was also dispatched to Lushan City on the opposite bank of the Mian River to defend it, ready for battle at any moment.

On the Yangtze River west of Miankou, more than a hundred naval vessels lined up to protect the river surface.

After all, they had just repelled a Wu army fleet in the early hours of the morning, and it was unclear how many more Wu and Shu troops would come downstream. Strictly speaking, all armies were on high alert at this time, and this was a wartime ritual.

The soldiers were on high alert, but for the important officials of the Great Wei below the altar today, the sacrificial ceremony had a different meaning, and each of them had their own thoughts.

On one hand, success was imminent, and the years of painstaking preparation had finally paid off. On the other hand, the overall situation was settled, and rewards were on the horizon. Although loyalty and conviction were required to serve in the imperial court, who could refuse the rewards from the court?
The ministers wore solemn expressions, but each was preoccupied with their own thoughts. No one noticed that Cao Zhi, who was still kneeling and kowtowing on the second level of the altar, was now in tears.

For Cao Zhi, titles and rewards were meaningless. All he sought was to fulfill the ambition expressed in his poem "The White Horse," written when he was seventeen: "I would rather die on the edge of a blade than risk my life." He felt immense gratitude towards Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen, but the person he cherished most was not his father or brother, but Emperor Cao Rui himself, standing less than ten steps away on the highest level of the altar.

The authority to lead troops that Emperor Wu had not given him, Cao Rui granted. The trust and responsibility that Emperor Wen had not bestowed upon him, Cao Rui also gave. He also agreed to the most difficult task of holding off the enemy in yesterday's battle. The memorial text for Emperor Wu's sacrifice at Miankou today was also written with Cao Rui's permission. And the recitation of the memorial during the sacrificial ceremony was also permitted by Cao Rui.

Just as Handan Jia had said to Cao Zhi during the battle on the warships yesterday, after yesterday's fighting, there was no one in the world who could criticize Cao Zhi's past deeds anymore. After the short sacrificial ceremony, the soldiers of the Wuwei Army, led by their respective commanders, returned to Queyue City to repair the city walls and build camps outside the city, making military preparations in advance.

The emperor himself returned to the general's mansion in the city with his ministers. At this time, it was still wartime, and there were still many things to do from the emperor to the ministers.

Liu Ye, the Vice Privy Councilor, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, according to the statistics of the various armies and the summary of the Privy Council, the armies captured a total of more than 28,000 Wu soldiers in yesterday's battle. The number of Wu soldiers killed or wounded is more than 3,000, the number of naval casualties is unknown, and the number of civilian laborers is currently unknown."

"Among the various armies of the Great Wei, the navy under Lu Zhengdong suffered the greatest losses. According to the figures reported by General Lu, about 12,000 of the 50,000 naval troops were killed. The Wuwei Army, which assisted in the defense of Miankou, suffered more than 500 casualties. The remaining armies did not suffer many losses."

Cao Rui nodded slightly, then looked at Lu Xun: "Boyan."

"Your subject is here." Lu Xun took half a step forward and bowed.

Cao Rui said, "Boyan's military report to me last night said that your naval commander Yue Lin's unit and the Imperial Guard Commandant Li Tong's unit captured Sun Quan, and their merits are equal. I want to confirm with you again whether this is true?"

"That is indeed the case." Lu Xun spoke more cautiously: "The navy can only pursue on the river. If the bandit leader abandons his ship and flees ashore, the navy will not be able to capture him. I heard from Privy Councilor Liu that Your Majesty made the plan yesterday after a hundred-mile raid to Lushan City, and then sent Li Tong's troops to pursue the enemy. If it weren't for Your Majesty's brilliant strategy, the troops of Le Lin and Li Tong would not have been able to achieve anything."

Cao Rui stared at Lu Xun's face for a few seconds. He wanted to remind Lu Xun not to be so cautious, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. A subject should be as he is, as it doesn't affect the overall situation.

“Very well,” Cao Rui nodded, “All of you have rendered meritorious service in the Jingzhou campaign. We will determine your rewards after I, the cabinet, and the court have carefully reviewed them. But today I will reward Generals Yue Lin and Li Tong first, to show that my promise is true and to gain your trust and the trust of the people.”

"Minister Wang," Cao Rui asked Wang Su, "how exactly should the rewards and honors for these two men be determined?"

Wang Su bowed and replied, “Your Majesty, the naval general Yue Lin originally inherited his father Yue Jin’s title of Marquis of Guangchang Pavilion, with a fief of nine hundred households. He should be promoted to the rank of County Marquis. Yue Jin was a native of Weiguo in Yangping Commandery. It is inappropriate to use the name of the state as the title of his place of origin. I suggest that Yue Lin be enfeoffed as Marquis of Dunqiu, a county adjacent to his home, with a fief of five thousand nine hundred households.”

"In the fourth year of the Taihe era, Li Tong, the Left Colonel of the Imperial Guard, was enfeoffed as a Marquis within the Passes for his meritorious service in beheading the rebel Gongsun Yuan in Liaodong. Li Tong's ancestral home was Didao, but his specific hometown is still unknown..."

Cao Rui said calmly, "Li Tong is a marquis of a township, not a county marquis. Since it is only a township, I will not be concerned about his specific name. In that case, I will bestow the name 'Jiayun' upon his place of origin and make him the Marquis of Jiayun."

"Auspicious fortune..." Lu Xun sighed inwardly. Indeed, to have received the authority to pursue from the emperor and to have traveled nearly a hundred miles to accurately reach the banks of the Red Cliffs was indeed good luck; this title was not an exaggeration.

“Your subject understands,” Wang Su continued. “Li Tong shall be appointed Marquis of Jiayun, with a fief of five thousand households.”

"Marquis of Dunqiu, Marquis of Jiayun..." Cao Rui said calmly, "Very well, let's do it this way. Spread the word so that all the armies know. Have the two of them come to me this afternoon to receive their titles."

"We obey your decree," everyone replied in unison.

(End of this chapter)