Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

To be precise, Wuhan is completely different from other major cities in Wei.

Wuhan was originally divided into three cities: Queyue, Lushan, and Xiakou. Only when these three cities were combined could they be called Wuhan. In addition to the city walls that separated them, the three cities were also connected by numerous wharves and waterways, which can be considered a new aspect of urban development.

The emperor and most of the army were stationed along the Han River north of Queyue City, while the rest of the entourage were almost all in Lushan City on the opposite bank of the Han River, including Ge Xuan, the Celestial Master whom Sun Quan of Wu had once bestowed upon.

"I have met Master Ge." Li Xi, dressed in blue, arrived at the small courtyard where Ge Xuan and his two young disciples lived, cupped his hands and said to Ge Xuan, "According to the court's arrangements, the imperial entourage will return north tomorrow, and Master Ge is among the entourage."

Ge Xuan's golden crown and black Shu brocade Taoist robe had long been left in the Taoist temple that Sun Quan built for him on the outskirts of Echeng. After arriving in Wuhan, Ge Xuan wore only hemp clothes and a wooden crown and hairpin on his head, which was completely different from his magnificent appearance when he persuaded Echeng to surrender.

He still possessed an air of otherworldly grace.

"Thank you for your trouble." Ge Xuan smiled, unaware of Li Xi's identity. "I wonder if you could convey to Attendant Wang that when I came to Lushan City before, Attendant Wang mentioned that he could introduce me to His Majesty. General Bian also made that promise to me before."

Li Xi thought for a moment, then cupped his hands in greeting: "Please wait a moment, I need to report to the Prince before I can reply to Daoist Ge. But in any case, Daoist Ge will be accompanying the Emperor north to Luoyang tomorrow."

"Understood, thank you for your trouble." Ge Xuan bowed slightly, while the young Taoist beside him very tactfully handed over a small linen bag.

Li Xi asked with a hint of curiosity, "What is this?"

Ge Xuan remained silent, while the young Taoist boy to his left respectfully said, "We are grateful for your presence and the small token of our respect. We hope you will accept it."

"Is that so?" Li Xi said with a smile, then reached out and took the bag. He opened it slightly and saw that it contained a jade pendant and two pearls about the size of a thumb.

Li Xi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ge Xuan and the two young Taoist boys a few times, then nodded slightly and put the items into his sleeve: "Please wait a moment, Master Ge. I will come back here later to deliver a message."

"Thank you for your trouble." Ge Xuan's expression remained serene.

On his way back to Queyue City, Li Xi found it amusing that the bribery had indeed reached him, a mere Gentleman Attendant. However, Li Xi then thought that this Daoist, Ge Xuan, might not be aware of the incorruptible customs of the Great Wei Dynasty, nor of his own official rank and family background. Perhaps Sun Quan's former palace maids were accustomed to soliciting bribes. Moreover, according to the Daoist boy, what was given was not money, but jade and pearls—"Ya Na" (a kind of ceremonial gift)...

Before long, the burlap sack was placed on the desk of Attendant Wang Su.

Upon seeing this, Wang Su merely scoffed: "The Taoist sect has always done only two things: one is to amass wealth, and the other is to mislead the people. This little bit of wealth is nothing to them. You have delivered their message, so you have no shame in accepting it."

"Ji He, you keep it."

Li Xi refused outright: "The prince ordered me to deliver the message, which is my duty. How can I accept a bribe? I cannot accept it privately. Please help me deal with it."

“Your ancestral home is Tongdi County, Shangdang Prefecture, right?” Wang Su’s family was of high status, so why would he care about such a small thing? “I will send someone to sell this and donate it to the Tongdi County School in your name.”

Li Xi bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

"Should we introduce this Taoist Ge?"

"I won't see him." Wang Su shook his head: "The imperial court is returning tomorrow, and there are many trivial matters to attend to. Where would I find the time to see a Taoist priest? Not to mention His Majesty, even I don't have time to see him. Ji He, please pass on a few words to this Taoist priest Ge for me."

Li Xi replied earnestly, "Please instruct me, Your Excellency."

Wang Su slowly said, "First, tell Ge Xuan that after the Great Wei destroyed Wu, it recruited Liu Chang, a Taoist of the Five Pecks of Rice sect, and Zhi Qian, a Yuezhi Buddhist from the Western Regions, in Wu. Zhang Sheng, the fourth son of Zhang Lu, the Celestial Master of Hanzhong, is also in Luoyang. In Chongwen Temple, there are also strange people who can divine like Guan Lu and Confucian scholars who understand calamities and prophecies. The court has also searched for people in charge of various local cults in Qingxu, Guanzhong, Hebei and other places."

"When Emperor Wu was in Hebei, he summoned extraordinary people such as Zuo Ci, Gan Shi, and Xi Jian to Ye City and ordered them to demonstrate their skills. The court has now gathered these people in Luoyang, which naturally has its own deeper meaning. He is just a Heavenly Master appointed by the rebel Wu, so there is nothing special about him in Luoyang."

"Secondly, you should explain to Ge Xuan and ask him how his Taoist sect differs from other sects like the Celestial Masters and the Way of Great Peace, and what it can do for the Great Wei?"

Li Xi was half-understanding: "Is it enough to just tell Ge Xuan this much?"

“Yes, he will understand,” Wang Su replied.

Li Xi took his leave.

Wang Su took a deep breath, then put the matter out of his mind and began to deal with other matters concerning the return of the imperial army to the north and the imperial palace. Ever since His Majesty returned to Luoyang from Guanzhong in the second year of Taihe and experienced Dong Zhuo's licentious worship, he had been eager to integrate the various licentious worship, religions, and beliefs in the world.

Although Cao Rui had ideas, he lacked experience in this field. Wang Ziyong, the son of the Three Dukes, the Chamberlain, and the Marquis of Lanling County, was the best candidate to take charge of this matter.

In conclusion, in Wang Su's view, both Buddhism and Taoism had religious texts and systems of deities that were too disorganized and lacked logic.

Even in the field of Confucian classics, a discipline with a clear line of transmission, the Later Han dynasty produced a vast amount of exegesis, which still required corrections and critiques by Zheng Xuan and his successors. The level of the Western Region Buddhist sects, the Way of Great Peace, the Five Pecks of Rice sect, and so on was even lower.

Wang Su was by no means a bookworm, but a great Confucian scholar who spearheaded the establishment of Wang Yangming's philosophy as the official doctrine. Wang Yangming's philosophy was excellent, but understanding it required diligent study of the classics, whereas followers of the Five Pecks of Rice sect, the Celestial Masters sect, and Buddhism could blindly follow without any intellectual capacity. Wang Su understood that academic ability and the ability to disseminate knowledge were two independent and unrelated factors.

According to His Majesty, the key to Wang Su's work lies in how to integrate, simplify, and transform these religions to facilitate their spread and the rule of the Great Wei. His Majesty also stated that the transformed religions should become an important means for the Great Wei to assimilate barbarians and expand its territory.

Wang Su had a heavy burden on his shoulders.

The news of the Wei army's return was important but not urgent. After more than twenty days of relaying, it finally reached the General of Chariots and Cavalry's residence in Xiabian, Guanzhong.

Since the beginning of the year, people in Kansai have received numerous messages from the mainland, and most of them are good news.

Ruxu fell, Wuhu fell, the navy crossed the river, Jianye was captured, Wu County was easily taken, Chaisang was occupied, Jiangxia was captured, and Jiangling was forced to be taken...

Each and every one of these incidents is so intriguing.

With an army of 250,000 men marching in six routes, the campaign against Wu was so massive that it was a lifelong regret for me, as a national general, not to be able to participate.

Of course, Fei Yao, the General of the Rear who served as the Chief Clerk of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, was a representative figure among the generals of Guanzhong and also led 20,000 Guanzhong soldiers to participate in the battle, thus earning military merit as well. However, in the eyes of Guanzhong generals such as Guo Huai, Hu Zun, and Chen Ping, the merits of his long-time colleagues were far more enviable, or even jealous, than those of the generals of Huainan.

Throughout the year, the generals repeatedly suggested to Wei Zhen that he submit a memorial to the court, arguing that while Shu was waging war in Jingnan, Guanzhong should also cooperate in the war and launch an attack to the south.

Such statements were mostly driven by personal feelings, and were completely blocked by the mature and prudent Wei Zhen, not even a word of them reaching the central government. However, when news of the ennoblement of the three kings and ten dukes reached Guanzhong, and Wei Zhen was also ennobled as one of the ten dukes, even Wei Zhen's situation became slightly more difficult... It is true that you are the commander-in-chief and that you are trusted by His Majesty, but you have gained military merit through your prudence, so it is not right to block our channels of communication, is it?
If being direct doesn't work, then we'll try a roundabout approach.

The subject of the curve is Deng Ai, also known as Deng Shizai, who served as the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Under the persuasion of letters from Guo Huai, Hu Zun, Chen Ping and others, and with the news of the Great Wei's withdrawal from Xiling, Deng Ai finally could not contain his emotions and came to Wei Zhen to reveal his true feelings.

"General, I truly believe that launching an attack on Shu at this time is the best course of action," Deng Ai said earnestly, bowing respectfully.

Wei Zhen sighed softly, his expression remaining calm, but a hint of annoyance appeared in his eyes: "Shizai, I have told you many times that the imperial army is in the south, not in Guanzhong, and the supplies and logistics are also insufficient. After General Fei's 20,000 troops were transferred away, the Guanzhong army only has 40,000 left. How can they possibly attack Shu?"

"Twenty thousand, twenty thousand will do!" Deng Ai said confidently. "The imperial court has more than 100,000 troops west of Wuhan. Although they are exhausted at the moment, we can take advantage of the oath to destroy Wu and march west in one fell swoop, drawing all the main forces of Shu to the east of Yong'an."

"I believe that our generals in Guanzhong can bypass the Shu army's passes through places like Tazhong and Yinping, and launch a surprise attack on Mianzhu, Chengdu, and other places to the south. If the capital is attacked, the Shu army will definitely rush back to defend and be thrown into chaos. Your Majesty's armies in Jiangnan can also take advantage of the situation to advance, advancing on both the north and east, just like Wu Han attacked Gongsun Shu during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han, and quickly take over Yizhou."

Wei Zhen sighed again: "Shi Zai, I have told you many times that the Great Wei has already destroyed Wu, and the survival of Shu is only a matter of time. We should proceed slowly and cautiously. Why do you always think of these risky strategies?"

Deng Ai replied solemnly, "Where in warfare and strategy is there no risk? If we can destroy Shu in one battle, then the great cause can be settled, and from then on, the Great Wei will enjoy peace for thousands of years to come!"

Wei Zhen's expression also turned serious: "Shi Zai, let me tell you, warfare is the most important and proper matter for the country. The lives of soldiers and the consumption of food supplies are all the lifeblood of the country. How can it become a stepping stone for generals to take risks and gain fame!"

"I will pretend I never heard you say those words today. But if I hear you utter such reckless and risky words again, you'd better watch yourself."

Deng Ai pursed his lips: "General, this is not just my opinion; General Guo, General Hu, General Chen, and others all say the same thing."

Even the good-tempered Wei Zhen finally lost his temper: "All of you generals are guarding the front lines and have your own duties. It is normal for you to seek battle. As for you, you and I are stationed here. Being cautious and prudent is what you should be thinking about!"

"go out!"

Deng Ai was frightened by Wei Zhen's anger, bowed respectfully, and retreated dejectedly. (End of Chapter)