Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Yangzhou, Shouchun.

Shouchun was originally the most important place in the southeast of the Great Wei, but it gradually became marginalized due to the court's successive victories. Not only was its position as one of the five capitals revoked and given to Jiangning, which was formerly Jianye, but as the war continued to advance from Jingzhou and the grain and military supplies from Wu were rapidly acquired, its importance in terms of logistics also seemed to have weakened.

"Zihua has brought His Majesty's decree?"

In the Ministry of Works in Shouchun, Sima Yi looked at Sima Zhi, who had hurriedly arrived from Wuhan, and asked him a question. Sima Zhi was originally the Minister of Works, and his first place after arriving in Shouchun was the Ministry of Works.

“Brother’s prediction is correct.” Sima Zhi nodded. “But His Majesty personally told me that I, brother, Lord Dong, and Privy Councilor Xu should all present the military situation at the same time. Therefore… therefore, please wait a moment, brother, so that I can explain to you in detail.”

Sima Yi, not wanting to urge him, slowly nodded, glanced to the left and right a few times, then pointed to the southeast direction of Jiangning, looking at Sima Zhi.

The direction of Jiangning... that must refer to Sun Quan?

Sima Zhi remained calm, slightly raising his right hand and making a barely perceptible horizontal motion, as if making a beheading gesture. Sima Yi immediately took a deep breath and forced himself to remain composed.

Finally, Dong Zhao and Xu Shu arrived at the Ministry of Personnel, and Sima Zhi then recounted, without missing a single detail, the Three Kings and Ten Dukes, the Battle of Xiakou, the establishment of two locations in Wuhan and Echeng, the sacrifice of Sun Quan's head, and the postponement of the campaign against Jiangling.

Finally, Sima Zhi cupped his hands towards Dong Zhao and said, "Lord Dong, His Majesty has one more thing to say to you, and said that you need not bow, but simply sit and listen."

Dong Zhao nodded slightly. He had indeed reached the age of being highly respected and was almost in his grave, so he no longer cared about such things. He simply bowed slightly to the west after Sima Zhi finished speaking.

Sima Zhi coughed lightly and said loudly, "Grand Commandant Dong has reformed the court and served the country with integrity, making great contributions. He should be rewarded with the title of County King. I intend to confer upon Dong the title of King of Xinye, with the fiefdom following the system of the Later Han Dynasty. The ceremony and investiture will be held after the war has settled down. I am informing Dong in advance."

Dong Zhao was taken aback at first, then shook his head and asked Sima Zhi, "Zihua, is His Majesty afraid that I will die in Shouchun?"

Sima Zhi spoke frankly: "Lord Dong, His Majesty is indeed worried about your health."

Indeed, when a person reaches nearly eighty years old, death is imminent. Dong Zhao has been able to dedicate himself to political affairs all these years, only handing things over to Xu Shu this year. He is a veritable evergreen, and it wouldn't be surprising if he never woke up one morning.

This is a royal investiture...

Dong Zhao took a deep breath, then stood up and respectfully knelt down to the west, facing Wuhan, bowing deeply nine times with slow, trembling movements, while repeatedly expressing his gratitude.

Xu Shu sat motionless in his chair, seemingly unsurprised by Dong Zhao's conferment of the title of king, though his eyes occasionally darted toward Sima Yi.

Sima Yi sat upright, his smiling face appearing somewhat stiff. Only after Dong Zhao finished his formal greeting and rose to bow in gratitude to Sima Zhi, the messenger, did Sima Yi speak:
"Congratulations, Lord Dong! Your achievements are truly remarkable, and you have been rewarded with a royal title. You have no regrets in this life!"

Dong Zhao's wrinkled face seemed to be caressed by a spring breeze as he smiled and replied, "If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening. To receive such a reward from Your Majesty is enough for this old man, enough indeed!"

"Zihua, you just said that His Majesty intends to bestow titles upon three kings and ten dukes. What about the remaining rewards?"

Sima Zhi slowly said, "Besides Lord Dong, His Majesty has enfeoffed the Grand General as King of Hejian Commandery and Lu Zhengdong as King of Chencang County. The remaining ten dukes will be decided after the war is temporarily over and before the attack on Jiangling." "As expected, it is Cao Zidan. I had guessed it long ago, but I only confirmed it today. However, Lu Boyan... I really didn't expect it." Dong Zhao nodded slightly, then stroked his beard and remained silent.

Sima Yi's face was dark and unreadable for a moment. Many thoughts were tangled and twisted. Amidst the mix of emotions, the biggest thought was that he was resentful that His Majesty had not established four kings and ten dukes. Wasn't it said that those who were in charge of logistics could also be enfeoffed as county kings?

After thinking for a long time, Sima Yi finally realized that His Majesty had only said that the generals and those in charge of logistics could be enfeoffed as kings, but he had not said that they must be enfeoffed or that several kings must be enfeoffed. Moreover, he himself could not be considered someone who was in charge of logistics in the full sense!

To be more precise, there is currently no one who can oversee logistics! It might be possible to unite him, Xin Pi, and Yang Fu into one entity, but how could that possibly be accomplished?

in this case……

In recent years, His Majesty has probably never intended to confer this title upon anyone!
With this in mind, even the great victory of beheading Sun Quan could no longer capture Sima Yi's attention. Instead, Sima Yi thought of something from a very distant past.

It was during the campaign against Liaodong in the fourth year of the Taihe reign that His Majesty, while passing through Jieshi, introduced the poem "Yan Ge Xing" written by the late Emperor to the accompanying officials. The lines "This lowly concubine is all alone in her empty room, I am filled with sorrow and think of my lord, I cannot forget him, and tears fall unknowingly and wet my clothes" were used to express the sentiment of a woman's lament and to convey her frustration at not being valued by Emperor Wu.

It was only at this point, nine years after the death of the late Emperor Cao Pi, that Sima Yi first found common ground with Cao Pi in literature!

I, a lowly concubine, am all alone in this empty room. My sorrow and longing for you are unbearable, and tears fall uncontrollably, wetting my clothes... Why can't I be given this royal title?

Thinking of this, Sima Yi couldn't help but feel somewhat saddened. He had a chance to win the title of king, but ultimately failed. How could Lu Xun, a mere surrendered general, possibly be granted a kingship?

Why?
"What gives Lu Boyan the right?"

After everyone dispersed, Sima Yi called Sima Zhi into the room alone, closed the outer door, and asked him directly.

Sima Zhi sighed softly: "Brother, His Majesty is saying that Lu Boyan was made a king because of his great achievements. According to His Majesty, the training of the navy, the navy's entry into the river, the repeated victories, and finally the great defeat of the Wu army and the capture of Sun Quan in Wuhan were all due to the navy's achievements. Therefore, Lu Boyan was made a king."

"In my humble opinion, this might also be an attempt to appease former Wu officials by taking advantage of Lu Xun's status as a surrendered general from Wu and a member of a prominent family in Jiangdong..."

Sima Yi interrupted Sima Zhi, angrily saying, "But he is, after all, just a surrendered general!"

Sima Zhi looked at his brother, whose expression was filled with anger and resentment, and sighed again: "Brother, Lu Boyan is His Majesty's brother-in-law, a figure akin to a maternal relative, and he has no foundation in Wei. He is the most suitable person to hold power for His Majesty... Forgive my bluntness, but you probably can't compete with Lu Boyan. His Majesty may have already wanted to give it to him."

Sima Yi's chest heaved, and it took him a long time to calm down.

Seeing that Sima Yi had regained his composure, Sima Zhi tentatively asked again:

"Brother, there's something I don't know if you know about. It concerns Ziyuan." (End of Chapter)