Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

None of the officials present here are fools. This is no longer a political hint, but a clear political declaration.

Wei Zhen and Xu Shu were not unaware of this principle; their suggestion to appoint Lu Xun as commander-in-chief was partly due to their belief that His Majesty would not enter Shu.

When Cao Cao led his army to conquer Hanzhong, after entering Nanzheng, he called the land of Hanzhong "Heavenly Prison" and the Baoxie Road "Stone Cave," implying that it was difficult to enter and difficult to leave.

If Hanzhong is a heavenly prison, then Shuzhong will only be an even greater heavenly prison.

In his pre-war plans, Cao Rui himself did not intend to enter Shu; he only planned to remotely control the situation from the passes leading into Shu. In this era of inconvenient transportation, it was best for Cao Rui, as the emperor, to avoid personally venturing into areas that were easy to enter but difficult to leave.

The original political understanding was shattered by Wang Xiong's impulsive words, and the emperor also ordered the Prince of Ye to return to Chang'an with Wei Zhen... With this attitude made clear, what else could the two of them say?
One must obey orders, not disobey them.

In the present state of Wei, the emperor's prestige has reached its zenith, and no minister can check or balance him. If Cao Rui insists on doing things this way, even Wei Zhen would not dare to offer too much advice.

Wei Zhen bowed respectfully: "If Your Majesty wishes to order me to take the Prince of Ye back to Chang'an, shouldn't Your Majesty grant the Prince of Ye some official position?"

"No." Cao Rui shook his head slightly: "Since he is my eldest son, why would he need any other identity to assist him? It's just some preparation, there's no need to worry too much. I will return to Shu after conquering Chengdu, and I won't stay in Shu for too long."

"Your subject understands," Wei Zhen said, bowing deeply, and then remained silent.

Wei Zhen sighed inwardly at this moment, thinking how many outstanding talents the Cao family had!

Emperor Wu, Cao Cao, was a man of both literary and military prowess, who quelled chaos and nearly pacified the land. Emperor Wen, Cao Pi, was ambitious from a young age, possessing both literary talent and martial prowess, as well as great ambition and strategic vision. Your Majesty now seems to be divinely gifted, having swept away the decline within a few years of ascending the throne, conquering Wu in ten years, and now about to destroy Shu.

In addition, the Cao family produced many talented individuals in both civil and military fields, which need not be elaborated here.

Cao Qi, the fourth generation, accompanied the army as the emperor's eldest son and the Prince of Ye. Within a few months, he stayed by His Majesty's side, diligently practicing archery and horsemanship, becoming familiar with battle formations, and demonstrating analytical and decision-making abilities far exceeding those of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy.

Given the emperor's favoritism and attention towards Prince Cao Qi of Ye, Wei Zhen was almost certain that Cao Qi would be the next ruler of Wei, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Wei Zhen had once heard the emperor say that the Prince of Changle, the Prince of Boping, the Prince of Shouzhang, and others were far inferior to the Prince of Ye. This further reduced the suspense.

Cao Rui nodded, then looked at Wang Xiong: "I have already accepted what you said, Minister Wang. Since I have come in person, there is nothing wrong with sending Lu Xun to the front lines to advise on military affairs, is that not so?"

"Yes." Wang Xiong pursed his lips.

"Very well, military matters cannot be delayed, let it be settled then." Cao Rui said in a deep voice, "The Privy Council will immediately send a message to Deyang, saying that I will come in person, and also send a letter to Baidi to summon Lu Xun to personally enter Shu, and the nearly 40,000 troops there will be placed under the command of Huan Fan! Huan Fan is my fellow townsman, I trust him!"

Xu Shu bowed respectfully and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

At this point, Cao Rui's tense mind finally relaxed a little. He took out the letter he had been clutching tightly in his hand and looked at it again. His eyes were slightly red and glistening with tears.

"The Eastern Route Army marched straight in, and I thought General Man would defeat Zhuge Liang for me. Who would have thought that he would be separated from me by death? I am truly saddened. Four years ago, when the Great Wei attacked Wu, Lord Xin passed away in Xiangyang. Why has Lord Man also left us today?"

"General Fei, immediately have a mourning hall set up in the army camp. I wish to pay my respects to General Man from this place! We shall depart first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Your subject obeys the decree." Fei Yao bowed and began to wipe away tears.

……

That afternoon, Cao Rui led his officers of rank of 2,000 shi and above to pay homage to Man Chong's spirit tablet in a makeshift mourning hall set up in the army camp. The next day, early in the morning of January 7th of the fourteenth year of Taihe, Cao Rui, escorted by 500 cavalrymen, set off from Jiange and headed north.

Due to the obstruction of places like Jiange and Langzhong, both Cao Rui and the 40,000 troops that had already set off had to return north to Hanzhong and then travel south along the entire Micang Road from Nanzheng before they could enter the Baxi County of Shu.

The journey was nearly 1,400 li, and it took Cao Rui thirteen days to arrive.

It can already be described as incredibly fast.

The four attendants naturally accompanied the emperor on horseback, which was not difficult for them. More than ten years ago, the court officials knew that the emperor was fond of martial arts and enjoyed riding horses, and what the emperor liked, the subordinates would surely imitate.

Four young Gentlemen-at-Arms remained outside Jiange to assist Wei Zhen with daily affairs. Among Wei Guan, Du Yu, Yang Hu, and Zhong Hui, Wei Zhen specifically chose Zhong Hui, who was skilled in imitating calligraphy, to imitate the emperor's handwriting, and they continued to correspond with Liu Shan every other day.

This can be considered a skill passed down among the Zhong family members.

Zhong Yao, Zhong Yu, Zhong Hui... the three are of the same lineage.

On January 20th, Cao Rui finally arrived in Deyang after a long journey of thousands of miles.

Meanwhile, the 40,000 infantrymen previously dispatched to Deyang had arrived one after another, and the total number of troops in Deyang had reached 90,000.

Regardless of how hard Sima Yi, the Minister of the Jiangnan Regional Secretariat, was working in Wuhan, and how busy the governors of various prefectures were with procuring and transporting grain, the Wei navy and fleet were actually able to ensure that grain was transported from Jiangling to Shu.

Regardless of the era, shipping has always had an absolute advantage over land-based transportation by carts and horses.

That's enough.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects." Huang Quan, at the head of the army, led a group of generals in bowing respectfully outside Deyang City.

Cao Rui sighed softly, helped Huang Quan up, and slowly asked, "Where is Man Gong's coffin kept? Take me to see him immediately."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Huang Quan nodded in agreement, and then followed closely in front of the emperor into the city.

From Huang Quan's perspective, perhaps it was because he himself did not show enough responsibility that the emperor personally led an army more than a thousand miles into Shu to take over the army.

Only His Majesty, with his years of military experience, skill in archery and horsemanship, superb martial arts, and robust physique, could accomplish this. Apart from Emperor Gaozu of Han, no other emperor in history could have carried out such a rapid march.

To be honest, the main reason Huang Quan didn't take the job was because he was afraid.

This is a thought that sounds absurd, yet is perfectly reasonable.

As a former general who surrendered to the Great Wei, Huang Quan always had a clear understanding of his identity: he only relied on the emperor, worked fairly and diligently, did his job without complaint, and did not get involved in the conflicts. That was all!

Could he truly undertake such a momentous undertaking as conquering Shu? Huang Quan lacked confidence, especially when facing Zhuge Liang. Others might be unaware of Zhuge Liang's wisdom and talent, but Huang Quan had worked with him for several years.

Besides, if he could win, he would already be a duke; why would he need so much merit? (End of Chapter)