Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Facing the breeze blowing from the Huai River, Cao Zhi turned to Chen Ben beside him and said:
"When I was Xiu Yuan's age, in my twenties, I often thought about these things like you, which made me restless and unable to sleep at night. At that time, the late emperor was appointed General of the Five Officials and Deputy Prime Minister, and I was appointed Marquis of Pingyuan. Although I loved the late emperor, Emperor Wu hinted at me everywhere, causing me to compete with him. I was the most favored of all the sons of Emperor Wu. He wrote poems and songs, discussed court affairs, and invited guests. It seemed that he intended me to be the heir."

"In the 19th year of Jian'an, I was the Marquis of Linzi. When Emperor Wu attacked Sun Quan, he ordered me to stay in Yecheng and work hard. The brothers Ding Zhengli (Ding Yi) and Ding Jingli (Ding Yi), as well as Yang Dezu (Yang Xiu), all stirred up arguments to make me fight with the late emperor. I was young at that time and did not understand many principles of the world. I was also confident of my talent and thought that everything in the world could be obtained through hard work. Therefore, I had a rift with the late emperor, but I did not know that things in the world are often not achieved by human efforts, but are all predetermined."

"After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, my situation plummeted. During the Huangchu period, I was suppressed everywhere. It was not until the seventh year of Huangchu, when the previous emperor passed away, that I regretted it. Fortunately, the current emperor has favored me and allowed me to return to Luoyang from the small city of Yongqiu. Today, I can lead the warships to cut through the waves for the Great Wei and defend against the enemy at sea. It is a great blessing!"

It was a favor to have Cao Zhi, the Prince of Yongqiu, the General of Louchuan, and the biological son of Emperor Wu, come to persuade him. Chen Ben's heart was slightly moved at this time, and he also raised his head and looked at Cao Zhi:
"General, I have no grudges..."

Cao Zhi shook his head: "How could I say that you are resentful? Xiu Yuan, I am now over forty years old, and I have experienced many more things than you. Now I am telling you my own experience, just to tell you one thing!"

Chen Ben bowed and said, "I hope the general can teach me!"

Cao Zhi said: "Xiu Yuan, no matter what your father is like, remember that you are a son. Fathers are kind and sons are filial, brothers are friendly and younger brothers are respectful. This is the greatest human relationship in the world and cannot be crossed. Do what you should do well, and all problems will be solved."

Chen Ben thanked him again, lowered his head and thought for a long time, then looked up at Cao Zhi again:
"Have the worries in the general's heart been resolved?"

Cao Zhi and Chen Ben looked at each other with complicated eyes for a moment, and suddenly laughed: "Confucius said that people are free from doubts at the age of forty. I am already forty-two years old. I have long recognized my destiny. How can I not solve it?"

Chen Ben said: "But I am over 20 years old now, what should I do?"

Cao Zhi smiled and said, "I still say the same thing: brothers should be friendly and respectful to each other, fathers should be kind and sons should be filial, and the rest is fate."

Chen Ben sighed.

The fleet of twenty Type B warships sailed downstream, and with their high speed, they reached Shouchun in just one day, a distance of 600 miles. After replenishing their water, they set out to sea again at dawn the next day.

However, after another day, at midnight, a new battle report arrived outside Shouchun City. The messenger with a red corner flag on his back ordered the city gate to be opened, and galloped hard on the deserted road, heading directly to the Privy Council.

The Privy Council has a similar system to the Shangshutai except that its duties are different. Shangshutai will always have at least one Privy Councilor on duty whether it is day or night, or on holidays.

Liu Ye had always been diligent, and as the court had made military arrangements in the past two days, Liu Ye moved the information in the Yangzhou room to his own duty room, looking through the military deployments in various places, as well as various records and data on the navy and Xuzhou county soldiers.

"Report!" A blue-clothed clerk took the military report from the side door and ran quickly to Liu Ye's duty room.

"Mr. Liu." The clerk bowed and said, "Xiahou Huya and Governor Xue of Xuzhou have military reports to report!"

Then he presented the newly obtained wooden box with both hands.

Liu Ye was slightly stunned. After taking the wooden box, he looked up and asked the clerk, "Since these are the military reports from Xiahou Xian and Xue Ti, were the messengers coming in one group or two? Why is there only one military report?"

"A batch!" The clerk said confidently, "The messenger said that Governor Xue sent a report, and Xiahou Huya added a note to the report."

"Okay, go ahead."

Liu Ye removed the wax seal on the wooden box, his expression changing in the candlelight, then he put the military report back, walked out quickly with the wooden box containing the military report, mounted his horse, and went out at night accompanied by two unarmored knights, heading towards the direction of Shouchun Palace not far away, until he knocked on the palace gate.

Soon, the candles in the study of Shouchun Palace were lit again, making the room as bright as day with almost no shadows.

There is no doubt that Cao Rui was called up from his couch again.

It’s such a coincidence every time. This time, I was called up from Guo Yao’s bed.

This time when he came to Shouchun, he only brought five of the twenty-six concubines in the harem, namely Guo Yao, Sun Luban, Feng Yuan, Yang Huiyu and Wen Fang.

Among these five daughters, except Sun Luban who has a son, the others have no children yet.

The reason why Sun Luban was brought along was because he had to focus on the matter against Wu this time, and he brought her along for daily communication to relieve his boredom. The other four girls were all quite favored, and he also wanted to let them have children.

During these two years, Concubine Mao gave birth to another daughter for Cao Rui, named Cao Wei. Jia Cheng, the daughter of Jia Kui, who was born in the Hedong Jia family, gave birth to a son for Cao Rui, named Cao He. Another beauty, Chen, gave birth to a daughter, Cao Qian. This boy and two girls were the new members of the palace in the fifth and sixth years of Taihe. Even if Cao Rui was unwilling to get up, this kind of state affairs should not be delayed. People are lazy. Once they are lazy, they want to be lazy again, until they are completely lazy and lazy, until there is no way to save the country.

With this thought in mind, Cao Rui struggled to come to the study. The Right Supervisor of the Privy Council Liu Ye and the cabinet minister on duty Dong Zhao were the first to arrive. The Tiger Guards went to the homes of the three cabinet ministers Cao Zhen, Sima Yi and Chen Jiao to summon them. After receiving the summons, they did not dare to delay and rushed over as soon as possible.

Cao Rui said, "You haven't woken up yet, have you? I am the same. I didn't want to wake you up, but since I got up myself, it's inevitable that you move around."

"Your Majesty, you are joking." Cao Zhen bowed and said, "When the Tiger Guards came to look for me just now, they only said that there was urgent military information, but I don't know what it was."

"Everyone is here, Liu Qing, go ahead and speak." Cao Rui yawned, pointed at Liu Ye randomly, and then fell back on the recliner. Zhong Yu, who was on duty, even brought a felt blanket and covered Cao Rui's legs.

Liu Ye nodded and said, "Gentlemen, Xuzhou Governor Xue Ti and Tiger Fang General Xiahou Xian came to report together that the Wu army broke through Licheng and Quxian and plundered the cities before retreating. Xue Ti learned about this after he led his army to Donghai County in a hurry..."

Cao Rui said coldly: "If Sun Quan really occupied the city, I would still consider him a good move for me in terms of the overall strategy. But he sent people ashore to break into the city, capture people and rob property. This is something I cannot tolerate!"

Cao Zhen looked at Liu Ye without hesitation: "General Zi Yang, report to me."

"General, please." Liu Ye walked up to Cao Zhen and handed over the general's report.

Cao Zhen's brows furrowed more and more. "The Wu soldiers boarded the ship after looting. How is this different from pirates and mountain bandits? However, I think that although the Wu army boarded the ship, it does not mean that the Wu army will retreat by ship."

"If Wei really withdraws its troops and ignores everything, it is unknown whether Wu's army will go ashore or do something bad somewhere else!"

"I second the motion." Dong Zhao also spoke up, "Your Majesty, I think the army commanded by Xiahou Xian and Xue Ti, with a total of 10,000 infantry and cavalry, is enough to deal with the situation there. Since Xiahou Xian has gone, he should stay there with the cavalry and not move for the time being in case of emergency!"

Cao Rui turned his gaze towards Sima Yi and Chen Jiao: "Didn't Mr. Chen suggest that I send the navy to fight against the Wu army? Now that you have heard this military situation, what do you have to say?"

Chen Jiao said: "The Wu army is doing this cunning thing, just to attack Wei when it is unprepared. I think what the general and Dong Gong said just now is very right. On the one hand, let Xiahou Xian and Xue Ti guard the place strictly, and on the other hand, let the general of Louchuan go north along the coast and fight against the enemy outside Donghai County!"

"The Wei Dynasty has spent so much money to train its navy. It is impossible to win a war by sailing to Japan. In the end, the navy will have to fight against the Wu army."

"It suits my taste very well." Cao Rui nodded, and then looked at Sima Yi again: "Does Sikong have anything to add?"

Sima Yi said calmly, "You three have explained everything clearly, and I have no other opinions."

Although Sima Yi's face showed nothing, he still felt unhappy in his heart. In the past, when he was in the East Pavilion with Wei Zhen and Xin Pi, His Majesty would always ask him first if there was anything. How could he ask Chen Jiao first today? And then asked him to add something?
The higher the position of the official, the more sensitive he is to the order of speech. Not only the order, but also other words can represent a lot of information.

"It seems that Ziyuan is right." Sima Yi sighed inwardly.

Cao Rui said: "With Xue Ti's 5,000 prefecture soldiers and Xiahou Xian's 5,000 cavalry in Donghai County, I am not worried about the situation on land, but I am a little worried about the situation at sea."

Liu Ye cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the sea is vast, and having more or less ships will not make much difference. Twenty ships are enough. Before General Louchuan led his troops to set out, the Privy Council had already drawn up a plan for him for this march."

"When we meet the enemy, we just need to try to break up the enemy's fleet and capture one or two ships, which means we will win." Liu Ye added, "The sea is so vast and boundless. If we miss the first attack, it will be very difficult to catch up later. We are not sure what type of ships the Wu army sent this time."

Cao Rui sighed, "It can only be done this way. When facing an enemy on the battlefield, courage is the most important thing, even at sea. I wonder if my uncle can show the courage he promised me."

"However," Cao Rui pulled off the blanket and stood up from the recliner, "Sun Quan's behavior really disgusts me. It is impolite not to reciprocate! West Pavilion, Privy Council, you have three days to come up with a plan. Sun Quan harassed my Donghai County, and sooner or later the Wei Dynasty will have to send ships to his Wu County, Kuaiji County and other counties on the coast!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Cao Zhen, Dong Zhao and Liu Ye all bowed in response.

Sima Yi said at this time: "Your Majesty, Sun Quan has acted like this. I think if Wei follows his example and plunders, it will lose the dignity of the court."

Cao Rui chuckled: "What kind of etiquette is this? The greatest etiquette is to beat Sun Quan so that he can't go out to sea! Sikong is so polite, but he shouldn't be polite to someone like Sun Quan!"

"Yes." Sima Yi replied with a folded hand. (End of this chapter)