Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"This..." Seeing that Huang Quan ignored him and everyone around him was silent, Cao Zhen suppressed his desire to argue and turned to Cao Rui: "Your Majesty, I request your wise decision."

After saying that, Cao Zhen took half a step back, stood with his hands clasped, and remained silent, just like the others.

Upon seeing this, Cao Rui immediately asked, "Very well, I have heard what the General and Minister Huang said. Do the other ministers have anything to say?"

After a few more moments of silence, Pei Qian was torn between his inner thoughts and his own. Finally, he made up his mind, stepped forward, and bowed, saying, "Your subject, Pei Qian, has something to say."

"Approved," Cao Rui said calmly.

Pei Qian hadn't intended to say much at this moment, but within the short span of half an hour, he had sensed a shift in the political climate before the emperor. The post-ritual discussion should involve crucial decisions. A sense of unease crept into Pei Qian's heart; a vague feeling seemed to be reminding him that if he remained silent, he would lose something.

Pei Qian composed himself and said, “Your Majesty, I agree with what Minister Huang said. Now that the Great Wei has the advantage, there is no need to rush. We should calmly pacify the rear before sending troops, and success will surely be achieved. However, I have three other matters to report.”

"First, Wuhan should be elevated to the status of a secondary capital."

"The late emperor established Luoyang as the capital and then took Yecheng in Hebei, Xuchang in Henan, Chang'an in Guanzhong, and Qiao, his hometown, as the capitals. During the Taihe era, Your Majesty first replaced Qiao as the secondary capital with Shouchun, and then replaced Shouchun with Jiangning. Now that the Great Wei has recovered half of Wu territory, the system of five capitals is no longer sufficient."

"I believe that Wuhan, which controls the middle of the Yangtze River and holds the Jianghan River in check, should be promoted to a secondary capital. After the conquest of Shu, Chengdu can be promoted to a secondary capital as well."

"Luoyang is located in the heart of the country, Xuchang controls the central plains, Yecheng governs Hebei, Chang'an is the former capital of the Han Dynasty, Wuhan and Jiangning dominate the south of the Yangtze River, and Chengdu guards the western Sichuan. Each place is guarded by the emperor's personal troops, and Your Majesty may also visit and stay in these seven cities as you wish."

"With these seven capitals in the land, Your Majesty, I believe the Great Wei dynasty will be secure for ten thousand generations!"

Pei Qian's words caused a stir among the assembled officials. Cao Rui, however, offered no comment, instead urging them to proceed:
"What about the other two things Pei Qing wants to mention?"

Pei Qian composed himself and continued:
"Secondly, now that the bandit leader Sun Quan has been beheaded, the defeat is inevitable. Whether Jiangling is taken sooner or later will not affect the overall situation. I believe that Your Majesty should personally take command in Wuhan to await changes in the situation in Jiangling, and let the generals pacify Jiangzhou and Yangzhou. When it is time to attack Jiangling, Your Majesty should personally lead the army to attack and conquer it."

Cao Rui nodded slightly, signaling Pei Qian to continue his statement.

"Thirdly, I believe that before sending troops to Jiangling, the court should reorganize the military system, reorganize the army's organization and quotas, fill any gaps, and reward meritorious officials, generals, and soldiers. Only after the rewards and punishments are determined can we launch another attack."

"Your Majesty, I have finished speaking."

Objectively speaking, Pei Qian merely touched upon some sensitive topics before slipping away like an eel. However, saying something is better than saying nothing, and ultimately, it showed some responsibility. Cao Rui chuckled and nodded slightly: "Do any of you gentlemen have anything else to say?"

Seeing that Pei Qian had already said a great deal, Liu Ye finally stepped forward and offered his advice:
"Your Majesty, last month Your Majesty ordered the newly appointed Commander of the Central Guard, Zhen Xiang, to lead 5,000 cavalry to garrison Shouchun, and ordered the Valiant Guard to return to Chenliu. Since the campaign began in March, the Wuwei and Yulin Left Armies in the Central Army are exhausted, and the Yulin Right Army has also suffered a slight loss of manpower. The Central Army is in such a state, and the rest of the armies are in the same condition."

"The navy, for example, has lost nearly 15,000 men in several battles out of its original strength, a significant proportion. If the navy hadn't operated by ships, it would have been difficult to continue fighting." "The imperial court has launched six campaigns. Xiahou Ru's army in Jiangxia has lost tens of thousands of men, Huan Fan's army in Wancheng has lost thousands of men and marched thousands of miles, and General Man has been besieging Xiangyang. Not to mention that all the imperial army came from Yangzhou and traveled a long way to get here... As Minister Huang said, we should now rest and recuperate the armies, pacify the rear, stockpile grain and fodder, and slow down the transportation in the rear to facilitate the people's work and farming. We can also wait for Wu and Shu to develop their own animosity in Jiangling."

"In addition, we should take this time to reorganize the army, restore the naval formation, and either supplement or select the best among the remaining troops. Moreover, since Jiang and Yang are now the territory of the Great Wei, we should select soldiers from these two provinces and streamline the surrendered soldiers of Wu for the Great Wei's campaign to attack Jiangling."

"In addition," Liu Ye's face turned serious, "Wei will surely win the attack on Jiangling. The Privy Council is responsible for the military affairs of the whole country. Therefore, I suggest that Your Majesty take into account the training of young generals during the attack on Jiangling, so as to ensure that the succession of generals in Wei is orderly and that the important generals of the imperial family are succeeded in order."

Only after Liu Ye mentioned this did Cao Rui chuckle a few times, then point to Wang Su and say somewhat listlessly:
"What Huang Qing, Pei Qing, and Liu Qing just said, you should all go to Wang Shizhong to summarize it, and submit it to the Grand Secretariat, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Privy Council tomorrow. It is better to be general than detailed; once the general direction is determined, then we can work on the details."

"Enough, let's end the discussion here." Cao Rui stood up from his chair, supporting himself with his hands, and clapped his hands. "Go back to your duties, I won't keep you here any longer. General, Imperial Uncle, Boyan, the three of you will stay and have lunch with me."

"Yes."

"According to the order."

Cao Zhen, Cao Zhi, and Lu Xun, unaware of what His Majesty had to say, remained seated.

Meanwhile, Pei Qian, Liu Ye, Huang Quan, and Wang Su left the main hall and entered a side courtyard. After they sat down, Wang Su smiled and said:

"Today, everyone has truly planned things out meticulously. Minister Huang led the way, followed by Attendant-in-Ordinary Pei and Privy Councilor Liu, and in no time they had clearly divided up all the matters."

“You are not as prudent as Ziyong,” Pei Qian said with a smile. “Judging from the situation, His Majesty seems to have generally agreed with the suggestions made by the three of us.”

Liu Ye stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "What we have said is correct. His Majesty is wise and insightful; how could he disagree?"

Huang Quan, however, was much more serious: "As a subject, it is only natural to speak the right things for the country. Since His Majesty has ordered us to make preparations quickly, let's begin now."

"Lord Wang, where are your writing brush and ink? I'll write first!"

"Okay." Wang Su glanced at Huang Quan's expression and nodded in agreement.

The army's lunch was no different from that of ordinary generals. Since the army had marched here quickly, they only ate dry rations and dried meat, which was not luxurious at all.

Wuhan is situated on the Yangtze River, and Xiakou is renowned for its fresh river delicacies. However, yesterday's battle between the navies of Wei and Wu on the river was so fierce that countless soldiers on both sides perished in the fighting and drowning. It seems that Wuhan will be unable to enjoy its fresh fish for several years.

As the meal was laid out, Zhuge Xu and Li Xi, both Gentlemen-in-Waiting, came to ask if they needed any attendants, but Cao Rui casually waved them away. (End of Chapter)