Wei Ni

Time flows on relentlessly, day and night.

Unbeknownst to them, the second year of Jingchu had quietly arrived.

After offering sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Emperor Cao Rui issued an edict to punish the various tribes of Goguryeo and Hanye, thus beginning the new year.

The edict was extremely forceful, perfectly embodying the principle of "punishing even those far away."

One measure was to include Goguryeo King Gogoku and Han Yebu Naihou in the list of those to be executed, denying them any chance to surrender.

He also warned the Buyeo Kingdom, the Sushen Kingdom, and the various non-Han tribes that did not submit to the king's rule, as well as the various tribes and hamlets in the east of the sea that had never joined forces with Han Ye and Bu Nai Hou and had invaded Liaodong, that if they dared to assist them with supplies or slaves, the Wei Kingdom would surely destroy their kingdoms and exterminate their peoples.

The other was the first imperial edict to promulgate the territory of the Haidong Protectorate.

He divided the territories of Goguryeo and Hanye tribes into Wei counties in advance, and left the positions of prefects vacant to encourage all soldiers, officers and staff to fight bravely against the enemy.

The scale of the troops deployed was also considerable.

In addition to the two main generals and their deputies who had been appointed beforehand, as well as the border troops of Youzhou and the Qingzhou navy, a total of 5,000 cavalrymen from the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes who had submitted to Wei were also conscripted to participate in the war. Commoners who were determined to serve their country, prisoners who wanted to redeem themselves, and members of the gentry were specially allowed to volunteer for the army. A war transport office was also set up to mobilize merchants to transport grain and supplies through military markets and the granting of titles.

They possessed the spirit of "never returning until Loulan is conquered".

However, even after the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, a few court officials still raised objections.

It was not on the grounds that the rebels Wu and Shu still existed, and that it was inappropriate to expend so much military resources on such a wild and uncivilized place as Haidong, that Emperor Cao Rui was advised to reconsider his decision.

Because Wu and Shu are unlikely to launch a large-scale invasion in the next few years.

Sichuan and Chongqing need no introduction.

Although Jiang Wan had been promoted to Grand General and in power for several years, due to the previous unjust execution of Wei Yan, those in Shu who were qualified to command tens of thousands of troops had never had the opportunity to prove their abilities; and those who were capable were not qualified to lead the entire nation's army. Learning from the lessons of the Battle of Yiling, Shu would not risk its national destiny by launching a northern expedition for a long time to come.

The Wu state, though a bandit, still possessed considerable national strength and had no shortage of generals.

However, at the end of last year, Wu Ju, a resident of Poyang County, resisted the (forced) recruitment of soldiers by the General of the Central Army. He killed officials and gathered a crowd to rebel. Before the Wu Kingdom could react, he successively captured several counties, which also gave the counties of Yuzhang and Luling an opportunity to rise up in response.

With all three commanderies rebelling and the connection between Wu and Jingzhou severed, the Wu rulers and ministers were too busy pacifying the internal affairs to take advantage of Wei's conquest of Haidong to launch an invasion.

Therefore, the objections raised by some court officials were that the edict to punish was too harsh.

This not only eliminated the possibility of their surrender, but also established prefectures and counties in advance, which would incite the entire Haidong region to unite against the Wei army.

This was probably for the sake of making the war go more smoothly.

Therefore, Emperor Cao Rui had no intention of punishing him, nor did he personally answer his question. Instead, he looked at Grand Commandant Sima Yi, who was at the head of the ranks, and asked, "What does Lord Sima think?"

"In my humble opinion, Your Majesty's edict is exquisite and perfectly worded!"

This is how Sima Yi answered.

Before Emperor Cao Rui could urge him again, he spoke with a look of deep emotion to the unsuspecting courtiers, saying, "This old minister dares to speculate that Your Majesty's intention is to emulate the Battle of Wei River of Emperor Wu in the past."

"In the past, when Han Sui, Ma Chao and others rebelled in Guanzhong, Emperor Wu led troops to suppress them. Whenever a force from Guanzhong increased in number, Emperor Wu would be delighted. After defeating the rebels, his generals would ask him why. Emperor Wu would explain, 'Guanzhong is a long and arduous place. If the rebels each rely on their own strategic locations, it would take one or two years to subdue them. Now that they have all come together, although their numbers are large, none of them submit to the enemy. The army has no one to command, so it can be wiped out in one fell swoop. The victory is much easier, which is why I am happy.'"

"Your Majesty's intention is thus. The lands of Goguryeo and Hanye are desolate and mountainous, with deep and long roads. If each of them guards its own territory, it will take our Wei army countless days to conquer them. Therefore, it would be better to gather their forces together and make them command different orders, so as to achieve victory in one battle."

"Furthermore, Goguryeo and Hanye are tiny, insignificant countries, ignorant of etiquette, and are nothing but barbarians and monkeys dressed in crowns. They previously dared to invade our Wei territory and massacre our officials and people, which shows that they are arrogant and domineering. If we do not let them witness the might of our superior nation's army, they will surrender when our army arrives and rebel when our army withdraws, making it difficult to spread the king's civilization. Therefore, it can be said that Your Majesty's move is truly farsighted and prevents chaos after the war."

After his eloquent speech, there were no more objections in the court, and everyone praised the emperor's wisdom.

The imperial edict was then carried out.

In the second month of spring, Cao Zhao, who had been appointed as the deputy of Guanqiu Jian, went north to take up his post.

Emperor Cao Rui, out of consideration for their childhood friendship, personally hosted a farewell banquet at his estate in Beiman Mountain, and also invited Xiahou Xian, Xiahou Hui, Cao Shuang, and others to join the banquet.

He probably meant to maintain harmony among the Xiahou and Cao families.

But unfortunately, the group was already outwardly united but inwardly divided.

At the banquet, Cao Zhao, who was the center of attention, was very enthusiastic towards Xiahou Hui.

Not only did he claim to Emperor Cao Rui that his talent was far inferior to Xiahou Hui's, but he also frequently raised his cup to invite Xiahou Hui to drink together.

This greatly annoyed Xiahou Hui.

Because he knew that Cao Zhao's words were not sincere, and what he really wanted.

He simply wanted to appear respectful and humble before Emperor Cao Rui, and did not want Xiahou Hui to interfere—the thousand infantrymen who accompanied him north to Youzhou were from the Zuo Junbo and Aluopan tribes.

Both had close ties with Xiahou Hui. In fact, Xiahou Hui once suspected that Emperor Cao Rui had deliberately entrusted Cao Zhao with the support of these two men, perhaps to prevent any trouble from within the central army in Luoyang.

Even if the stated reason is that they are all from Youzhou.

The farewell banquet, which was all pretense and politeness, did not last long.

Soon, Emperor Cao Rui, who was unable to hold his liquor, was the first to leave under the protection of Cao Shuang, followed by Xiahou Xian. Cao Zhao, full of ambition and enthusiasm for the future, also embarked on his journey.

Looking at Xiahou Hui amidst the flying dust, I felt a mixture of envy and relief.

To his relief, the decision to attack Goguryeo and Hanye was made without any unexpected changes, and Cao Zhao went north as scheduled, thus eliminating a potential rival for power.

It should be understood that this war is not only about demonstrating national power, but also about expanding territory.

After conquering Goguryeo and Hanye, all the soldiers and generals who participated in the war had to stay in their posts for some time until the conquered areas were relatively stable and the people were willing to submit before they could return.

It would take at least two or three years for Cao Zhao to return to the capital, Luoyang.

His envy stems from a lack of ambition.

After all, if he said he didn't want the merit of conquering a country, expanding territory, and having his name recorded in history, it would be absolutely insincere.

If Emperor Cao Rui had been able to cherish his health and exercise self-control, extending his life by three to five years, he would have submitted a memorial long ago to compete with Guanqiu Jian for the position of commander-in-chief.

Yes, Cao Rui is probably not going to escape the historical precedent.

This realization came to Xiahou Hui during their last banquet together.

Now, after he, along with Liu Shao and Yu Yi, drafted the "Evaluation and Assessment Law for Capital Officials" last year, and facilitated its implementation through discussion among the high-ranking officials, he began to devote himself to studying. Apart from his daily routine of reporting to the offices of the Central Protectorate Army and the Directorate of the Imperial Secretariat to perform his duties, he never uttered a word about matters of the court.

His change from his usual law-abiding behavior was something even Emperor Cao Rui found hard to get used to.

So, at a banquet in late winter, he unusually invited him to join in the merriment, hoping to take the opportunity to see why he had suddenly become so taciturn.

Of course, Xiahou Hui was unlikely to be able to see through his disguise.

He also used the excuse that when he went to Chongwen Temple to listen to the great Confucian scholars debating the classics, he developed a desire for endless learning, and thus took advantage of his spare time from his duties to read books to cover it up.

Emperor Cao Rui had no doubts about this.

He was merely curious, and never suspected that Xiahou Hui was "a fierce beast about to fight, cowering with its ears down."

It was during that banquet that Xiahou Hui learned that Cao Rui had actually taken Cold Food Powder.

The incident unfolded as follows: He Yan, who was also present, became carried away by his drinking and, in a moment of euphoria, took out a dose of Cold Food Powder in public. Just as he was about to take it, he didn't forget to offer a portion to Emperor Cao Rui. Although Cao Rui, who was only slightly drunk, quickly stopped him, Xiahou Hui, who witnessed the scene, could easily guess that He Yan's audacity stemmed from Cao Rui having previously taken the powder.

Or perhaps, Cao Rui, who particularly enjoyed novelty and found pleasure in wearing strange clothes regardless of imperial dignity, would definitely have tried the Cold Food Powder that He Yan had praised so highly.

Lust is a bone-scraping knife, and wine is a gut-burning poison.

Cao Rui, who was already indulging in drinking and pleasure without restraint, has now started taking strange and unusual elixirs. It would be strange if he could live a long life!

In addition, there were two other things that made Xiahou Hui quite happy last year.

Firstly, his wife, Wang Yuanji, and a concubine were both pregnant.

Xiahou Hui now has three concubines: one is Wang Yuanji's dowry maid, and the other two are beauties bestowed upon him by Emperor Cao Rui.

Cao Rui did not possess the divine power of the Yellow Emperor to have sex with three thousand women a day, so many of the thousands of women selected to enter the palace were not favored and were instead given to his ministers as a favor.

Many generals who had previously led the campaign against Liaodong received this honor, and even Ding Mi, whose career had been imprisoned due to the extravagance scandal, was granted one.

This is why Zhuge Dan, Sun Mi, and others were so eager to go to Liaodong. From Emperor Cao Rui's actions, we can see that he no longer harbored any resentment towards Ding Mi. If a suitable opportunity arises in the future, he might be able to lift the restrictions and grant Ding Mi an official position.

Another thing was that he finally learned Wang Jun's whereabouts.

After Xiahou Zhuang and Deng Zhong arrived in Liaodong, Xiahou Ba sent men to escort them to Xuantu Commandery. He also sent a letter back to reassure Xiahou Hui. In the letter, he claimed that Chief Clerk Li Yin had recommended a talented man with great military acumen who could advise him on military matters in the campaign against the various tribes of Han and Hui.

This talented man was Wang Jun.

The reason he was able to get in touch with Li Yin was because his maternal uncle, Xu Miao, the governor of Liangzhou, was on good terms with Li Yin's father, Li Xin.

Even Li Xin's early marriage and children were persuaded by Xu Miao.

After reading the letter, Xiahou Hui remained silent for a long time.

Previously, he wanted to get to know and recruit Wang Jun, but he endured his maternal uncle's disdain and spent more than a month in Chongwen Temple without success. In the end, his elder brother brought him under his command without lifting a finger.
Comparing yourself to others can really make you angry. (End of Chapter)