Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

After hearing what Deng Ai said, Cao Zhen sighed:
"According to previous estimates, Yongzhou should be able to provide at least three months of food and grass, but unexpectedly, a civil uprising broke out, and we have to send troops to suppress it. Military rations, military rations!"

Du Xi, however, cupped his hands and said, "General, now the royal army has more soldiers than the enemy in Wudu County, and with Zhang Junyi in the west and the general in the east, with the coordination of the east and the west, we will surely be able to defeat the Shu army quickly."

"If we follow the two-month deadline given by Duke Wei, then it would be best to end the war within one month."

Du Xi said this confidently, but Deng Ai, who was standing beside him, frowned slightly, not knowing whether to refute Du Xi's words. Cao Zhen noticed this and asked:

"Shi Zai has something to say?"

Deng Ai bowed and said, "General, although Duke Wei has set a deadline of sixty days, I still have something to say."

"Tell me!" Cao Zhen responded firmly.

"Food and grass are food and grass, but the actual fighting opportunity is not determined by food and grass. A strong attack may cause many casualties, and sitting still will waste military food." Deng Ai said carefully: "In my opinion, the general has been confronting the Shu army for the past few days. If we hold on, there will be no opportunity to fight. Shouldn't we mobilize the enemy troops?"

Cao Zhen stroked his beard and said, "I have the same idea!"

"Military Advisor," Cao Zhen looked at Du Xi, "Give orders to Zhang Junyi for me. Tell him to capture the narrow mountain as quickly as possible and cut off the Shu army's food supply. We will see how the Shu army responds and I will act accordingly!"

"Okay, I'll draft the military order right away." Du Xi then said, "But after we occupy the narrow mountain, we should also give Zhang Junyi a precise time for the general attack."

Cao Zhen did not hesitate at all and answered directly: "I am in a stalemate with the Shu army here. If I drive the Shu army westward, it will only drive them to the outside of Xiabian City. There is no other space, so I can use force in the west."

"The situation in war is unpredictable. I can't tell him when to launch the general attack. Just let him do his job well!"

Du Xi bowed and said, "General, what you said is very appropriate."

……

Thousands of miles away in Xuchang, the first snow of the fourth year of Taihe fell.

It started snowing at daybreak and lasted for more than an hour. By the time Cao Rui had breakfast in the harem and walked to the small courtyard of the study, a thin layer of snow had accumulated on the ground.

There were many rules in the palace, and the footprints were neat and tidy when it snowed. The footprints of the eunuchs and guards were densely packed on both sides of the courtyard, and in the large blank space in the middle, there were only traces of Cao Rui.

While Cao Rui was standing in the corridor, staring at the falling snow outside in a daze, former general Man Chong also walked out of the small room in the cabinet. Without caring about footprints or anything, he strode in front of Cao Rui, leaving a line of traces on the blank snow.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Man Chong bowed.

Cao Rui came to his senses and responded, "When did General Man arrive? He arrived earlier than me."

Man Chong smiled faintly and shook his head slightly: "Your Majesty is in the prime of life, but I am different from you. I am sixty years old and find it difficult to fall asleep in the early morning. To be honest with you, since I returned to Xuchang, I have woken up at about 12:00 a.m. every day."

"There is nothing much to do after waking up, so why not go directly to the cabinet and take a look at the documents."

Cao Rui did not directly talk to Man Chong about state affairs, but waved to the eunuch Bi Jin who was not far away, and when he came closer, he asked:
"What are the current rules for cabinet meals?"

Bi Jin replied: "Your Majesty, there are now two meals served at noon and evening."

Cao Rui nodded thoughtfully: "In addition to the cabinet, two meals will be prepared for the ministers as well."

"I will follow your majesty's orders." Bi Jin bowed respectfully.

Man Chong cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is very considerate to me. I thank Your Majesty for your grace."

"It's not that I'm meticulous, I'm just putting myself in other people's shoes." Cao Rui said calmly, "Do you have something to tell me?"

Man Chong nodded and said, "Your Majesty, according to the document sent by Xu Yuanzhi from Fancheng, today is the day for the defenders of Xiangyang City to repel the enemy."

Cao Rui raised his head slightly and looked at the snowflakes that were gradually fading in the sky: "I remember this. According to the date, Zhong Gong should have arrived in Xiangyang two days ago."

"General Man, I just think that there are only a few ways to fight a war. Either you fight head-on or you attack the enemy from behind. Emperor Wu sent Xu Huang across Pujin Ferry using this tactic."

Man Chong smiled and said, "How could it not be?"

"If we can drive out all the Wu soldiers in Xiangyang today, Sun Quan will have one less foothold in Xiangfan. With only Yukouwu and Yuliangzhou, there is no hope of capturing the city. It is meaningless for him to stay in Xiangfan with his army, so he must retreat."

Cao Rui said, "Today is indeed a critical day. In addition to the relief of Xiangyang, according to what Chen Situ said, the construction of the fortress in Ruxu should be almost completed today."

"Your Majesty is wise," Man Chong said, "With these two forts facing the Wu army's Ruxu Fort, the natural barrier there will become an ordinary stalemate. With the power of the southeast, we can slowly make plans."

Cao Rui chuckled and said, "I hope so. Let's talk in the study. It's still a bit cold outside after all."

Man Chong replied: "Very good."

"Go, call the Minister of the Interior and the two Privy Councilors. I have something to discuss." Cao Rui ordered Bi Jin. Cao Rui and Man Chong entered the study room one after another and chatted for about a quarter of an hour. Then the two Ministers of the Interior, Pei and Lu, and the two Privy Councilors, Liu and Wang, came in one after another to meet the emperor.

"Since we are all here, I have something to ask you." Cao Rui took out a document from the table, stared at it for a few moments, and then looked around at everyone: "This is a memorial sent to me by the Minister of Works in Dingtao. There is one thing that the Minister of Works is unsure about, and I am also a little hesitant."

Cao Rui picked up the letter and handed it in the direction of Man Chong. Man Chong stood up to take it, and Cao Rui said at the same time:

"Didn't Sun Yanlong (Sun Zi) say that he would only take one county to stop the military farming? After the Minister of Works discussed with him, Sun Yanlong agreed to completely abolish the military farming in Yanzhou. But when the two of them gathered the governors of each county and the military farming commanders for a meeting, another problem arose: how to divide the land."

"Each county has a different population and different land area. If we adopt the method of equal distribution, the farmers in Jiyin County will get more land than those in Dong County. To achieve the effect of equal distribution, we must move some people from Dong County to Jiyin County."

"But Sikong thinks that if we want to relocate people, why should we limit it to Yanzhou? Now the Huainan fortress has been pushed southward to the mouth of the Rushu River. The areas around Chaohu Lake, Tiaobei, and Feishui River, that is, around Hefei, seem a bit empty and suitable for relocating people. It would be better to relocate the people from the Central Plains to Huainan."

This……

Man Chong frowned slightly as he looked at Sima Yi's letter, while Pei Qian, Lu Yu, Liu Ye and Wang Guan remained silent for a while, thinking about this problem seriously.

Cao Rui looked around and saw that everyone was in deep thought, so he did not say anything.

Sima Yi's opinion was actually very simple: there were many people in Yanzhou and few in Huainan, so it would be better to move more people from Yanzhou out, so that each person in Yanzhou could get more land and Huainan could also be enriched.

But in Cao Rui's view, this would further expand the military farming reform that was originally limited to Yanzhou.

If Yanzhou relocated its inhabitants, the average amount of land would certainly increase. If the states continue to reduce the number of military farms in the future, should the per capita land be calculated according to Yanzhou's standards or according to the actual situation in their own states?

After moving to Huainan, how much land should be divided?
Or does the imperial court need to issue an order to divide the per capita land in the entire Wei Dynasty?

Things are not what they were originally. In Cao Rui's opinion, Sima Yi and Sun Zi's statements seem to have the meaning of further expanding the influence of the matter. But what they said is not unreasonable!

This requires careful decision. Cao Rui did not want to carry out any thorough land system reform now. The timing was not right, and Wu and Shu had not yet been pacified.

Man Chong was straightforward and directly sent the letter back to Cao Rui's desk: "The affairs of one state cannot involve other states. In my opinion, if you want to relocate people, just relocate them in the counties of Yanzhou."

Cao Rui raised his eyebrows and looked at Man Chong, who immediately responded, "I suggest that the petitions from Sikong and Governor Sun be rejected and that they be dealt with in Yanzhou. Don't cause any more trouble."

Cao Rui nodded slightly: "What do you think, Minister?"

Pei Qian looked around, but did not answer immediately.

Lu Yu responded, "General Man's words make sense. I second your proposal."

Liu Ye shook his head and replied: "Your Majesty, the area south of the Huai River is really empty. If more people are gathered in the area south of the Huai River, it will be a good thing, whether it is for defense and repelling the enemy or for grain supply. I am in the Privy Council, so I will only speak from a military perspective."

Cao Rui raised his chin towards Pei Qian: "What did Pei Qing say?"

Pei Qian bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, Yanzhou is just a small state, and there are only three counties for military farming. You can deal with it normally. However, I think we should take this opportunity to order the Secretariat to review the situation of military farming in various places, including how much land each state and county has for military farming, how much good land and bad land there are, and how many people are there for military farming. We should carefully check and sort it out."

"Didn't your majesty bring more than a hundred Imperial College students to Xuchang? These scholars have only been helping out in the Secretariat and the Privy Council recently and have not been given any real jobs. They have been farming in Qinzhou for three years before, so they should be familiar with this kind of thing."

Before Pei Qian finished speaking, Man Chong, Lu Yu, Liu Ye, Wang Guan and others also looked over.

"Secretary Wang," Cao Rui did not answer Pei Qian immediately, but pointed at Wang Guan: "Every time I ask a question, do you have to be the last one to speak? You are so reserved!"

Wang Guan bowed and said, "I am the Left Supervisor of the Privy Council. This matter is beyond my control. Please let Your Majesty make the decision."

Cao Rui shook his head slightly and did not ask any more questions. The ministers had different personalities, and Wang Guan's reluctance to speak was not the only reason.

"I have heard all of your opinions. I have an idea of ​​how to do this."

"General Man!"

"I'm here." Man Chong replied with a bow.

"Draft a letter for me to Sikong, telling him to do this in Yanzhou and not to involve other places. Make sure to finalize the details as soon as possible."

Man Chong cupped his hands and said, "I obey your order."

Cao Rui looked at Pei Qian again and said, "Since Pei Qing has given me this advice, the states are busy with many things this year, and there are wars. It is not appropriate to waste the energy of officials. Take the draft sent by Sikong and Governor Sun from Yanzhou, and continue to draft a plan for the reform of the military farming system in Wei."

"As for those unresolved matters, just leave them blank for now. I will have someone fill them in with you later."

Pei Qian stood up, cupped his hands and said, "I understand." (End of this chapter)