Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Inside the Xuchang Palace, at the gate of the study, Cao Rui stood at the gate with his hands behind his back, looking at Man Chong and the others approaching, and said with a smile:

"General Man and I have been separated for a long time, and I have missed you very much. Seeing you today, I am relieved."

Man Chong walked forward steadily. Although he was over sixty years old, he still looked strong and healthy. He bowed respectfully from a distance of ten feet.

"Your Majesty, I, Man Chong, pay my respects to you. I have been ordered to lead the army to Xuchang. I have not seen you for several months. I have not been able to share your worries. This is my fault!"

Cao Rui walked forward in small steps, helped Man Chong up with both hands, and said in a gentle voice:
"Come on, come inside with me. I also have many things to say to General Man."

"As you command." Man Chong responded, and then stretched out his arm and pointed behind him: "Your Majesty, I am here with you."

Bei Yan knelt on the ground, Cao Rui looked down at him for a few moments and said, "You are my General Fengyi. Well, come along."

"I thank Your Majesty for your grace." Bei Yan expressed his gratitude repeatedly.

Cao Rui walked slowly in front, and Man Chong followed behind Cao Rui on the left, only half a body length behind.

Bei Yan was five steps behind the two men, and Pei Qian and Lu Yu were behind them. However, unlike Bei Yan, who was extremely timid, Lu Yu was very comfortable and chatted quietly with Pei Qian as they walked.

When Cao Rui and Man Chong walked to the door of the study, Cao Rui stopped. The sunlight passed through the overlapping eaves, diagonally dividing the study courtyard into two sides, the yin and yang, with a clear contrast and a blurred boundary.

The structure of the study here is basically the same as the one in the North Palace in Luoyang, but the courtyard outside is smaller.

Cao Rui stopped here and asked softly, "How did Kebi Neng rebel?"

Man Chong bowed his head slightly: "This man is extremely greedy and has a rebellious heart. He will rebel sooner or later. Fortunately, he died on the border and did not escape back to the Western Xianbei. This is a good thing."

"Captain of the Cavalry Cao Zhao, Captain of the Archery Cao Shuang, and Lieutenant General Jiang Wei, these three led 3,000 knights to pursue the enemy and performed meritorious service. The court should commend them."

Seeing the emperor stop, Bei Yan, Lu Yu and Pei Qian, who were not far away, did not move forward, but stood where they were, keeping a distance to make it easier for the emperor and Man Chong to talk.

Cao Rui asked, "I have read about these three people in the military report. General Man has served in the army for decades and has served three dynasties. I would like to borrow your wisdom to see what the talents and character of Cao Zhao, Cao Shuang, and Jiang Wei are, and whether they can be of great use."

When faced with such a question, Man Chong, who was always calm, sighed. Bei Yan, who was five steps away, could hear it clearly:
"Your Majesty, I have two theories to share with you. Please allow me to present them one by one."

Cao Rui nodded calmly: "What do you mean?"

Man Chong said: "Cao Zhao is generous and tolerant, like Xiahou Yuanrang. Cao Shuang is brave and aggressive, similar to Xiahou Miaocai. Jiang Wei is serious and thoughtful, similar to Cao Zixiao."

Cao Rui sneered: "General Man also spoke to me like this? I am so lucky that I picked three people and picked Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Ren?"

"I have another excuse." Man Chong responded calmly.

Cao Rui said: "Tell me!"

Man Chong's expression also became more serious: "The pursuit of Ke Bineng by these three men is just an ordinary use of troops. It cannot be called a brilliant strategy or bravery. It can only be said that they used the troops properly and steadily, and it is just an average move."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "That's right. General Man has seen so many famous generals during the reign of Emperor Wu, and their military exploits were brilliant. It's normal for him to look down on these three."

Man Chong did not explain, but continued:

"As for who can be of great use, I think that this question cannot be concluded. In the past, Yu Jin and Yu Wenze were the most decent among the foreign generals. During the Battle of Guandu, they were implicitly the leaders of the foreign generals, but they could not hide their miscalculations in Huainan and their failure to be loyal in Xiangfan."

"Cao Zixiao was known as a 'goddess' and had been stable for decades. However, during the Huangchu period, he led a large army to attack Ruxu, but was still defeated. He was no match for Zhu Huan and ended up dying of illness."

Cao Rui asked in a deep voice: "What does General Man want to say?"

Man Chong said: "Cao Zhao, Cao Shuang, and Jiang Wei are all capable of being used, but whether they can be entrusted with important tasks will require Your Majesty to hone their skills for another 10 to 20 years."

"I will say something unpleasant again." Man Chong said, "The prosperity of a country does not depend on a few people. It is ultimately based on the system and national strength. It is right to wait and see."

What Man Chong said was, of course, correct. But because it was too correct, it did not sound so pleasant, and it was not the usual drama of a wise ruler and loyal ministers.

However, Cao Rui did not take it to heart and said softly, "I know."

"General Man, the Xuchang Palace is small, not as big as the Luoyang North Palace, and I have no plans to renovate the palace on a large scale. The old palace in Xuchang will be repaired slowly. When we were in the Luoyang North Palace, you, Dong Gong, Sikong, and Wei Pushe were on duty in the palace. When we arrived in Xuchang, only you and Sikong were left." "That's good." Cao Rui clapped his hands, "General Man, stay in the palace, don't go to the Privy Council, I will also call Sikong from the Shangshutai over, and you two can work in the same room, closer to me, is that okay?"

Hearing the emperor's words, Man Chong was surprised, but he still responded: "This is a good thing. There is no need to divide it into the East Pavilion and the West Pavilion. They are all one."

Cao Rui said, "It has to have a name, let's call it the Cabinet. You two will assist me in the political and military affairs of the Great Wei."

Cao Rui's words were vague, and Man Chong would not delve into the details.

As mentioned earlier, both Man Chong and Sima Yi assisted in both political and military affairs. So, were they responsible for each of them as before, or did they discuss things together? The more vague the affairs and responsibilities in the central government were, the easier it would be to get things done.

Man Chong bowed and responded: "I obey your order."

Cao Rui laughed, turned around and walked inside. Several people followed him.

It was the first time that Bei Yan came to the emperor's study, and he was obviously uneasy and reserved. After being given a seat by the emperor, he was flattered, thanked him repeatedly, and carefully sat down holding the armrest of the chair.

"General Fengyi, are you satisfied with this title?"

Bei Yan quickly stood up, clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has appointed me as a general. I am deeply grateful for your grace..."

"Sit down. You don't need to stand up for ordinary conversations." Cao Rui waved his hand. "Before this, I was in Liaodong and had many things to do, so I didn't talk much with you. We were originally from Liaodong, or did you migrate there later?"

Bei Yan answered carefully: "Your Majesty, my great-grandfather was from Donglai County, Qingzhou. He once served as an official in Liaodong County, and then settled in Xiangping. If you count my place of origin, I should be from Qingzhou."

"Qingzhou?" Cao Rui said with a smile, "There are not many people from Qingzhou in the court, and even fewer from Yingzhou. Your humble visit to the court this time will help fill some of the gaps."

"Have you been to Central Plains before?"

Bei Yan said: "I have never left Liaodong since I was a child. I can only hear others talk about the scenery of the Central Plains, but I have no chance to see it with my own eyes. This time I followed the army from Xiangping all the way back to the Central Plains, and I saw the vastness of Hebei and the waves of the Yellow River. It was really shocking."

"Liaodong is a remote place, how can it compare to the prosperity of the Central Plains? I was blinded by a leaf before, but now I am serving the holy king, and I realize that my story in Liaodong in the first half of my life was really ridiculous."

Cao Rui sneered, "You say I am a sage king, and I admit it. But you don't have to be so thorough about your previous experience in Liaodong. Great Wei doesn't shy away from such things. You can ask about the resumes of Xu Gongming, Zhang Wenyuan, and the current General Zhang Junyi, who is in charge of the Western Expedition. They are similar to yours."

"Since you are from Donglai, Qingzhou, where did your ancestors live in Donglai?"

Bei Yan replied: "Donglai Muping."

Cao Rui said, "Mouping? I have never been there. But it doesn't matter, my humble servant. I will make you the Marquis of Mouping County, with a fief of 1,000 households."

Bei Yan immediately stood up from his seat, walked quickly to the center of the study and bowed: "I am a border town in Liaodong, I have done nothing, yet I have been awarded such a high position by Your Majesty. I thank Your Majesty for your grace and am willing to die for Your Majesty!"

Thousand households?
Pei Qian, the attendant sitting at the side, weighed the matter silently in his mind. A thousand households of fiefdom, a surrendered person, was actually more than his fiefdom.

However, this is the norm in Wei. The Cao family started from Yanzhou, and the regime has absorbed countless generals, both big and small. If it had not been lenient to the surrendered generals, it would definitely not have come this far.

Take the persuasion table for Cao Pi when he was crowned emperor, for example. Liu Xun, Yang Qiu and other warlords who surrendered were ranked at the top, even higher than Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu. Previously, when Han Dang's son Han Zong surrendered, he was also granted 3,000 households by His Majesty.

Previously, in the second year of Taihe, when he was in Longyou, Lu Xun was granted the title of General Protector of the Qiang, Marquis of Wu, and a fiefdom of a thousand households. Although the titles granted to Bei Yan today seem to be the same as those of Lu Xun, they are actually different in nature.

The county marquis and thousand households of Bei Yan were not so much granted to himself as they were used to calm the hearts of the 10,000 elite soldiers in Liaodong. Lu Xun's title was more like a recognition of His Majesty's favor.

Cao Rui said softly, "Get up. You are new to the court, so I won't give you too many instructions on how to proceed. Just encourage yourself."

"Yes." Bei Yan stood up as ordered.

Cao Rui added: "With the title of General Fengyi and the title of Marquis of Mouping County, you can gain a foothold in the court. The 10,000 troops selected from Liaodong to accompany General Man to Xuchang will be half infantry and half cavalry, totaling 5,000 each."

"You are new here. If you lead an army of 10,000 with Qian Zhenxi and others, I am afraid your colleagues will feel unhappy. How about this, I will make the decision for you. You will lead 5,000 troops first. 5,000 Liaodong infantry, 5,000 Liaodong cavalry. Which one do you want to lead?"

Bei Yan was stunned for a moment, but he was prepared for the fact that the emperor had seized 5,000 troops. When asked this question, he couldn't help but start to weigh the pros and cons in his mind.

Five thousand cavalry and five thousand infantry, of course it is better to lead the cavalry. Compared with the same number of cavalry and infantry, cavalry is far superior to infantry in terms of combat power, consumption and difficulty, so of course cavalry should be chosen! (End of this chapter)