Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Luoyang truly deserves its reputation as the heart of the world, where roads from all directions converge. The official road leading west from Luoyang to Chang'an has also become one of the busiest roads in the Great Wei Dynasty.

At the end of the first year of the Taihe era, when Zhuge Liang led his army to invade Longyou, Cao Rui also led a large army through this road, and the scene he saw was completely different from today.

Over the course of more than a decade, with the population booming and the disbandment of civilian settlements, villages and towns along the route gradually prospered. When encountering the imperial army, the common people no longer instinctively fled; instead, they politely observed from a distance. Occasionally, caravans from Liangzhou could be seen, having traveled thousands of miles from Wuwei and Dunhuang, bringing specialties from the Western Regions to the capital of the Great Wei: spices, gems, agate, jade, as well as textiles, felt, and fine wines characteristic of Liangzhou.

In terms of the system, caravans of Western Region Hu people are not currently allowed to enter the interior of the Great Wei. They can only reach Dunhuang and trade with the private caravans of the Great Wei in the border markets built by the local government, and the government collects taxes.

Even rules have loopholes. Western Region envoys paying tribute to the imperial court were exempt from these restrictions and could travel directly from the Western Regions to Luoyang. When Cui Lin, the Grand Herald, served as the Chamberlain, he stipulated that each small country could only pay tribute once a year. Therefore, the lists of tribute delegations from each small country were highly prized, attracting fierce competition from Western Region merchants, with tribute delegations sometimes numbering nearly a hundred carriages.

Merchants even colluded to bypass the supervision of the Western Regions Governor's Office and actively sought out new small kingdoms to the west to pay tribute to the Great Wei. In the twelfth year of the Taihe era, even the Kushan Empire sent an envoy to the Great Wei to pay tribute.

Cao Rui did not stop them. He was happy to see the business prosper. It was better to have some obvious loopholes to exploit than for them to rack their brains and do some strange things.

The troops set out for Luoyang on April 23, and only arrived at Chencang on May 20.

This is not a particularly fast marching speed.

He Qia, the governor of Yongzhou, had been waiting for Cao Rui's arrival in Chencang. Together with Zhuge Xu, the prime minister of Chencang, they led local officials to meet him five miles outside the city.

"Your subject Heqia pays his respects to Your Majesty!" Led by Heqia, hundreds of officials kowtowed and bowed in unison.

"Rise." Cao Rui dismounted and helped He Qia up, then calmly asked, "When did you arrive in Chencang, He Qing?"

He Qia bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, I arrived in Chencang in mid-February to manage the transport of grain and land. Minister Li of the Ministry of Revenue left Chencang fifteen days ago, taking the old road through Sanguan to enter Qinzhou. Minister Li and Prefect Du of Qinzhou should both be at Sanguan at the moment."

Cao Rui nodded: "I have come all the way from Luoyang. The transit points have all been handled well. You and Qing Su have been cautious. I trust you. There should be no problem here in Chencang."

"As the governor of Yongzhou, what is the situation regarding the levying of corvée labor in Yongzhou?"

He Qia replied, “Your Majesty, Yongzhou has a large population, while Qinzhou has a small one. Therefore, the corvée labor from Chencang to Wudu County is also handled by Yongzhou. Most of the laborers are conscripted from Fengling, Jingzhao, and Fufeng counties. Currently, there are about 120,000 able-bodied men serving corvée labor, most of whom are Qiang people. However, the Qiang people have been incorporated into the Han Chinese society for ten years. Although their customs still differ from those of the Han people, they are willing to serve corvée labor. For those who have exceeded their corvée labor term, the state will give each person a subsidy of five coins per day.”

"Hedong money?" Cao Rui asked.

“It’s Hedong coins,” He Qia replied. “They’re all copper coins from Hedong County. Copper coins are now circulating in Yongzhou. Although there aren’t many, it’s still better than the barter system the people used before.”

Cao Rui nodded slightly: "That's not bad."

Cao Rui then beckoned Zhuge Xu to his side and asked, "How is Youming's position as Chancellor here?"

Zhuge Xu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I took office as the Chancellor of Chencang in the eleventh year of Taihe, and it has been two years since then. The Prefect and the previous magistrates have handled the local affairs properly. I am merely following their example and hoping to avoid making any mistakes."

"Just avoiding mistakes is good enough," Cao Rui replied calmly. "Chencang County is located on a major transportation route and was previously the residence of the Governor-General of Guanzhong. Now it is also a key location for logistics. Avoiding mistakes would be a great achievement."

"Let's go, Prime Minister, lead me into the city."

"Your subject obeys the decree," Zhuge Xu replied.

Watching Zhuge Xu bow, Cao Rui inexplicably thought of someone. More than ten years ago, when Cao Rui returned to Luoyang from Huainan and visited Cao Zhi in Chenliu County, he had met Huang Xiu, the chancellor of Yongqiu State, which Cao Zhi had been appointed as governor. On his way to Chencang, Cao Rui met Huang Xiu again in Shanxian County of Hongnong County, where Huang Xiu was now the governor of Hongnong County with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain).

The feudal system of the Great Wei was similar to that of the Later Han Dynasty, with large states based on commanderies and small states on counties. Therefore, all were ministers, and their official ranks differed between those of 600 shi (a unit of grain measure) and 2000 shi. Currently, all the princes of the Great Wei were county princes, hence their ministers were all of 600 shi, and Zhuge Xu was equivalent to this type of minister.

The prime minister was responsible for domestic governance, with powers equivalent to those of the prefect and magistrate. The vassal kings only had the power to collect taxes and were not responsible for managing state affairs. From the perspective of the imperial court and the prefectures, the vassal states had no unique administrative system.

Cao Zhen was granted the fiefdom of Hejian Commandery, while Zhuge Ke, the Chancellor of Hejian, held a salary of two thousand piculs of grain. However, since Zhuge Ke had no achievements or merits after entering the Wei court, the court did not offer him any prestigious positions. Before Cao Zhen came to Luoyang last year, Zhuge Ke had asked Cao Zhen to put in a good word for him after he entered the court, hoping to transfer him to a military post. Although Cao Zhen verbally agreed, he did not actually speak for Zhuge Ke, who mistakenly believed that the court did not want to use him. After entering Chencang, the army rested for three days to prepare.

The 40,000-strong central army that accompanied Cao Rui to the northern route included 10,000 Liaodong infantry and cavalry under General Cao Tai (Left Guard), General Hu Zun (Right Valiant Guard), and General Bei Yan (Fengyi), as well as 10,000 Hu cavalry under General Sun Li (Guerrilla General). Due to the large number of troops, supplies and other items had to be transported by requisitioning vehicles returning from Sanguan to Chencang.

The next morning, after having breakfast, Cao Rui was taking a walk around the city when Wang Su, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, who was waiting behind him, suddenly spoke up:
"Since Your Majesty has arrived in Chencang, there is a place called Qianxiang to the east of Chencang City. Your Majesty once saw people there worshipping Dong Zhuo. Last year, all the prefectures reported to the central government that they had fully rectified the temples in various places. If Your Majesty has time, you might as well go and take a look?"

Cao Rui pondered for a few moments, then asked, "I vaguely remember that the chief priest here in Chencang is the Azure Emperor Taihao?"

"Yes." Wang Su nodded.

"Alright, since we have nothing else to do, go and find Bei Yan to send someone to accompany me. I'll go and take another look at Qianxiang." Cao Rui accepted the suggestion.

Because they were on the march, it took less than a quarter of an hour for a thousand cavalrymen to be ready and form ranks outside the main camp east of Chencang City. After Cao Rui and his entourage of attendants, governors, and more than ten other riders arrived outside the city, they set off eastward together.

Qianxiang was a small place, not far from the Wei River canal. Since most of the people were away performing corvée labor, the countryside was mostly deserted except for those working in the fields. Zhuge Xu, as the Chancellor of Chencang, was familiar with Qianxiang and led the procession to the temple.

Cao Rui slowly dismounted and walked to the entrance. Two elderly temple guardians, their steps faltering, immediately bowed in respect. Cao Rui nodded slightly and stepped forward. Inside the gate, cavalrymen were already lined up on both sides as guards.

The lintel above the temple gate had just been painted, but the paint was uneven and layered, showing signs of repairs over the years. The stone threshold was smooth, and the stone bricks inside and outside had been polished to a glossy finish.

Cao Rui slowly stepped inside, with Zhuge Xu following behind. Zhuge Xu whispered, "Your Majesty, this temple used to be dedicated to Dong Zhuo. After the second year of the Taihe era, Dong Zhuo's statue was destroyed and replaced with a temple dedicated to Taihao. In the eleventh year, when I first took office in Chencang, the state allocated some money to each county to renovate the temples in the countryside."

"According to the document from the Ministry of Rites, I have ordered that the two courtyards here be slightly modified. The main hall in the front courtyard will be used for the main worship of Taihao, while the main hall in the back courtyard will be used for the worship of the Five Emperors."

"The Ministry of Rites also issued a document, from which I selected more than ten stories to circulate in the county. In addition, the local population is large, and the incense offerings are becoming more and more prosperous..."

Cao Rui nodded and continued walking inside.

Cao Rui knew what Zhuge Xu was talking about.

Previously in Luoyang, Cao Rui wanted to reform the religions practiced by the people. Buddhism had just entered the Wei Dynasty and had not yet gained momentum, so it was easily expelled by Wang Su's advice. The Five Pecks of Rice Sect and the Way of Great Peace were too misleading to the people, and their internal discourse and logic were not yet fully coherent, so Cao Rui also abandoned them.

Since the common people always worshipped personified gods for peace of mind, and Cao Rui was unwilling to elevate Confucianism to the level of a religion, he had no choice but to revive the widespread belief in the Five Emperors in various regions.

Taking Yongzhou as an example, the local temples there customarily worshipped Taihao, and also worshipped the Five Emperors. Under Wang Su's guidance, the Ministry of Rites gathered skilled painters and sculptors from Luoyang to standardize the statues of the Five Emperors and the statues used for individual worship ceremonies. Furthermore, together with Chongwen Temple, they drafted many superstitious stories suitable for the common people, and also adapted to the cultural customs of various regions.

For example, regarding Yongzhou, the Ministry of Rites fabricated stories about how devout believers in Taihao led to abundant harvests and favorable weather, and how encountering ghosts and monsters on the road caused them to retreat after reciting Taihao's name, and so on...

For coastal cities like Yangzhou and Qingzhou, the Ministry of Rites also drafted stories such as encountering storms while fishing at sea, being saved from disaster by worshipping Emperor Zhuanxu, and the storms calming down.

It was indeed a large-scale religious experiment.

Cao Rui strolled inside and saw the Taihao statue, which was two zhang tall. Compared with the idols that were spontaneously created in the countryside in the past, the form of this Taihao statue was determined by the Ministry of Rites. In terms of expression, aesthetics, and majesty, it far surpassed the spontaneous statues created by the people in the past. Its eyes looked down slightly, and it really looked like a god in the sky.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do; when you see a god, worship him.

Cao Rui bowed three times to the statue of Taihao before leaving.

But Cao Rui was unaware that more than ten years later, because he had visited the temple to worship and subsequently achieved military success, the temple was rumored to be incredibly efficacious, and for a time it developed into the most popular Taihao Temple in Yongzhou... (End of this chapter)