Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

At Cao Rui's signal, Privy Councilor Liu Ye coughed lightly, stood up, and introduced the situation in Jiaozhou to Wei Zhen and Jiang Ji, who had just arrived.

"Just now, all the ministers have heard Guanqiu Zhonggong's report. Now I will reiterate it for Minister Wei." Liu Ye slowly said, "This report was signed by Guanqiu Zhonggong thirty days ago in Hepu County, Jiaozhou. The report stated that the four counties of Hepu, Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Rinan had rebelled. Guanqiu Zhonggong did not recommend sending troops from Jingnan Manzheng Nanchu because of the summer heat and the inconvenience for the northern troops."

"Guanqiu Zhonggong said that there are hundreds of miles of mountains separating Jiaozhi Commandery and Hepu Commandery. Since the rebellion in Jiaozhi Commandery and the two commanderies of Jiuzhen and Rinan to its south is difficult to quell in the short term, suppressing the rebellion in Hepu Commandery is the most important task at present. Once Hepu Commandery is somewhat pacified, if the local troops of Jiaozhou can recover it, there will be no need to trouble the imperial army. If the war is at a stalemate, perhaps the troops from Jingnan can be invited to go south when the winter weather is cool..."

Wei Zhen listened with a frown, then abruptly interrupted Liu Ye, asking, "When will Guanqiu Zhonggong send troops to Hepu?"

Liu Ye said, "The memorial only says to assess the situation and wait for the right moment to launch an expedition."

"How long will the trial last?" Wei Zhen asked again.

Liu Ye frowned slightly, but still answered seriously, "He didn't say anything, only that he would choose a good opportunity to set out."

"Thank you for informing me, Privy Councilor Liu." Wei Zhen bowed to Cao Rui behind the desk and said, "Your Majesty, I disagree with Guanqiu Zhonggong's words."

"Well? Tell me, Master Wei," Cao Rui said.

Wei Zhen cupped his hands and said, "I have three words to say in response to Guanqiu Zhonggong's words."

"Firstly, as he reported, it was indeed difficult for the northern troops to march south in the hot summer of June. However, if the rebellion was delayed until the cool autumn and winter, it would likely last for nearly a year."

"Chen Shi, the governor of Jiaozhi, was formerly a military officer under Sun Quan. Shi Song, the governor of Jiuzhen, was originally a close minister of Sun Quan. Although Huang Gai, the governor of Rinan, was from Nanhai Commandery in Jiaozhou, his entire clan moved to Rinan after he took over the commandery. I fear that if this goes on for too long, the people's hearts will not be won over, and Sun Deng will once again establish a separatist regime in a remote area. The future may be difficult."

"Secondly," Wei Zhen paused, "Guanqiu Zhonggong is still young, and he is in charge of both the political and military affairs of Jiaozhou. Your Majesty should be familiar with Guanqiu Zhonggong's personality. He always faces difficulties head-on, but in other words, he is too headstrong."

“Jiaozhou has a total of eight prefectures. Leaving aside the newly established Zhuyai Prefecture, which has only one county, four of the seven prefectures rebelled at the same time. Wouldn’t he be in a difficult position as the governor of Jiaozhou and the general in charge of the army? He must recover Hepu Prefecture and then request reinforcements from the court.”

"Thirdly, if we do not send troops now and wait until autumn and winter to launch an attack, it will take at least 10,000 to 20,000 men and several good generals from Jingnan to conquer the three prefectures. It will take 100 days to march, 100 days to fight, and 100 days to return. At the earliest, we will not be able to return until next autumn and winter."

"I fear this will delay the important campaign against Shu next year."

Cao Zhen had been away from the court for several years, cultivating his character and temperament, but his health continued to decline uncontrollably. His return to Luoyang was partly motivated by a desire to see the emperor again. He knew that the emperor would have a seat in his study.

Of course, in Cao Zhen's view, the Wei court is currently worried about the rebellion in the southernmost counties of Jiaozhou, which is more than ten thousand times better than the situation of Wu invading Hefei and Xiangyang many years ago.

It's always easy to make a statement without taking on specific responsibility, so Cao Zhen also uttered some useless but correct words: "Your Majesty, what Minister Wei said is absolutely right. The matter of military action cannot be delayed. We should send troops from Jingnan as soon as possible."

Cao Rui remained calm, glancing at each of the ministers in the study, before slowly asking, "Do you all believe we should send troops immediately? I want to make one thing clear to you: no matter how the fighting in Jiaozhou goes, the court must begin preparations for the conquest of Shu next autumn, in the seventh month." "Your subject agrees," Huang Quan responded.

Following Huang Quan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, everyone else echoed their agreement. Sima Yi, the Minister of the Southern Secretariat who had been away from the Luoyang court for a long time, also expressed his approval.

However, Cao Rui keenly noticed that Wang Xiong, Wang Su, and Jiang Ji, the governor of Yangzhou, did not express their opinions.

Cao Rui knew Wang Su's temperament well. When faced with unfamiliar political or military matters, Wang Su would often reply that he would ask His Majesty for a decision. Therefore, over time, Cao Rui understood that Wang Su was negligent in these court affairs and did not criticize him harshly, as Wang Su's talent did not lie there.

However, the attitudes of Wang Xiong and Jiang Ji are still worth questioning.

“Minister Jiang!” Cao Rui said, “You are the only prefect in office here today. What are your opinions? Please speak.”

Jiang Ji was torn. He stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and noticed out of the corner of his eye that everyone was staring at him, which made him even more anxious. But after all, he was still a duke and a governor, and he had his own position to speak on.

Jiang Ji gritted his teeth and said, “Your Majesty, I am taking the liberty of speaking. I and the other ministers in the study today are all sitting comfortably in Luoyang. Although we have received a report from the governor of Guanqiu in Jiaozhou, we do not have a thorough understanding of the situation and the people’s sentiments there. The journey is too long, and the situation may change at any time. We may not be able to keep up with the changes in Jiaozhou.”

"Since Governor Guanqiu has already submitted a memorial and presented a strategy for suppressing the rebels, perhaps the court should trust Governor Guanqiu's strategy. If his words cause Jiaozhou to be in danger again, it is not a major issue given the current strength of the Great Wei army. Although Jiaozhou is far away, it is not necessary for His Majesty to personally lead an expedition as he did in the fourth year of the Taihe era."

As Jiang Ji spoke, his tone gradually relaxed, and the last two sentences seemed to have a slightly teasing tone. However, everyone understood that Guanqiu Jian was a prefect, and so was Jiang Ji.

This means that the imperial court should respect the governor's advice.

Cao Rui nodded slightly, neither confirming nor denying, and then turned his gaze to Wang Xiong: "Attendant Wang, what is your intention?"

Wang Xiong rose and cupped his hands in greeting: "I heard what the Privy Councilor said just now, as well as what the Minister of the Palace Guard and the Prince of Hejian said. There are mountains separating Jiaozhi and Hepu counties for hundreds of miles, making them difficult to conquer. Moreover, Sun Deng's army has joined forces with the Jiaozhi rebels, so I'm afraid the troops in Jiaozhou are too few to resist. Is that right?"

“Exactly,” Wei Zhen replied immediately.

After becoming the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and taking charge of the Ministry of Personnel, Wei Zhen remained as loyal and meticulous as before, but he became more insistent on his own opinions on some court affairs. This was completely different from his tendency to compromise many years ago, and he almost had the demeanor of a prime minister.

Wang Xiong, however, was not afraid to confront Wei Zhen. He directly bowed to Cao Rui and said, "Your Majesty, even if Guanqiu Zhonggong only has 10,000 men, he may still be able to recover the four commanderies!"

Wei Zhen coldly replied, "Minister Wang, do you know how many people are in the four prefectures?"

"The imperial court had already made a rough estimate in the eleventh year of the Taihe reign: Jiaozhi Commandery had approximately 60,000 households and 400,000 people; Jiuzhen Commandery had 30,000 households and 140,000 people; and Rinan Commandery had approximately 14,000 households and 90,000 people. Does Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang know how many troops could be deployed from these places?" (End of Chapter)