Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Chapter 636: Wu and Shu Disturbance
These petty officials in the military governor's office did not dare to take the emperor's money, but it was indeed an easy and pleasant thing for them to rob money from the pockets of the Jiaozhou people in these military farms.

Leaving two hundred five-zhu coins for Zhong Ajiu was already a kind act on his part.

This is a new coin made by Pengcheng General Works. It is brand new. These copper coins were just minted last autumn and were named "Taihe Wuzhu". The Wuzhu coins commonly used in the Han Dynasty only had two characters on the front, while this new Wuzhu has four characters, "Tai" on the top and "He" on the bottom, "Wu" on the right and "Zhu" on the left. It is full of weight and is different from the low-quality rotten coins in circulation in the past. It is a first-class good coin.

Li Yan, the Minister of Civil Affairs, once suggested to the emperor that he should follow the example of the Kingdom of Shu and mint some "Zhi Bai Wu Zhu" coins to facilitate currency circulation and the court's wealth accumulation, but Cao Rui personally rejected the suggestion.

The reason Cao Rui gave was that the Shu Kingdom's usurpation and cruelty to the people should not be imitated by the Wei Kingdom, but should be strongly condemned. Once this high-sounding and politically correct statement came out, Li Yan had nothing to say and could only follow suit and continue to condemn.

But the real reason in Cao Rui's mind was that he thought the economy of Wei was not at that level. Only after the currency was fully circulated could such financial innovations of the Middle Ages be carried out. The tax cuts had only been in place for less than a year, so let the people get richer first.

On the other hand, except for the emperor himself who continued to sleep on the dragon boat near the dock at night, the rest of his entourage lived on shore. Officials could even stay overnight in Dongxingwu nearby. The governor of Yangzhou, Jiang Ji, was one of them.

After witnessing this incident in broad daylight, Jiang Ji recorded it in his residence that night, and made the comment that "the Wu rebels have only been in power for a short time, are rebellious and arrogant, and the people's hearts are not solid. The people in Jingzhou and Jiaozhou are not loyal to them." He planned to use the case of Zhong Ajiu as an example to illustrate that these old Wu surrendered soldiers could be used in the process of conquering Wu.

On the same night, hundreds of miles away, in the State of Wu, Jianye.

Hu Zong quietly returned from Wujun, ordered his attendants to escort his entourage to prison, and then walked into the palace to see Sun Quan in person.

Looking from afar, the palace was brightly lit. As a close confidant of Sun Quan and a minister of the imperial court, Hu Zong went straight to the outside of Sun Quan's palace. After taking a few glances at the palace door, Hu Zong said to the eunuch standing beside the palace door:
"Empress Zhang, His Majesty should not have gone to bed yet. Please come in and report to His Majesty."

The eunuch named Zhang was a little embarrassed. He stood beside Hu Zong, bent down and said carefully: "Mr. Hu, it's not that I don't want to, but Madam Wang is inside. How dare I go forward to disturb her?"

The so-called Madam Wang was the mother of Sun Quan's third son Sun He. She was highly favored and ranked only below Bu Lianshi.

Hu Zong asked again: "Is it really difficult to report?"

The head eunuch bowed and said, "Please forgive me, Lord Hu. How dare we, servants, disturb Your Majesty?"

Hu Zong was not annoyed. He straightened his robes, stood outside the palace gate with his hands behind his back, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Hu Zong is back from Wujun!"

The eunuch named Zhang was terrified and kept begging for mercy in front of Hu Zong, hoping that Hu Zong would stop shouting so as not to disturb him too much. However, he did not expect that not long after, Sun Quan opened the door and came out of the hall by himself.

Sun Quan's hair was loose, and he was wearing a light-colored brocade inner robe. He didn't show any dissatisfaction at being disturbed. He looked at Hu Zong and said, "Wei Ze just entered the city? Come with me inside and talk."

Hu Zong bowed and said, "Your Majesty's concubines are in the bedroom. I dare not enter."

"What's the harm if he's in the inner room?" After saying this, Sun Quan turned around and walked in. Hu Zong hesitated for two moments, but still followed him.

"Is it done?" Sun Quan asked calmly after sitting down.

Hu Zong replied: "Lu Mao's one wife, two concubines, two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren were all arrested. Lu Xun's son Lu Yan and Lu Sun were also brought in. That is, Lu Jun's other two daughters..."

Hu Zong was very careful with his words. After all, the matter was of great importance and he did not dare to make decisions on his own on many matters.

The word used to describe Lu Mao's wife is "capture", while the word used here to describe Lu Xun's wife is "bring". Lu Xun's wife, Lu Sun, is the daughter of Sun Ce, the King of Changsha, and is a close blood relative of Sun Quan. Although Sun Quan has always been cold and unkind to Sun Ce's descendants, he still has to consider them for the sake of face.

As for the other two people that Hu Zong hesitated about, they were the two sisters of the brothers Lu Xun and Lu Mao. One of them married the deceased Gu Shao, the daughter-in-law of the current Prime Minister Gu Yong and the mother of Gu Tan, one of the four friends of Crown Prince Sun Deng; the other one married the Yao family, a noble family in Wu County. Although no one in the Yao family became an official, they were also famous for their academic heritage.

It was a troublesome matter that he, a minister and law enforcement officer, did not dare to make the decision on his own. It would only be effective if Sun Quan himself had the final say.

Sun Quan nodded and said, "To cultivate virtue is to nourish it, and to cure evil is to eliminate it completely. Didn't Wei Ze tell me this in person? Why did Wei Ze forget it when he came to Lu Mao's two sisters?"

Hu Zong hurriedly stood beside Sun Quan and said, "Your Majesty, these two Lu family daughters are already married, and Gu and Yao are also involved. I think we must be cautious!"

Sun Quan's face was livid and he said nothing. Hu Zong continued to persuade him, and after an incense stick's time, Sun Quan finally softened a little.

"Well, since these two have already married off and are no longer members of the Lu family, let's forgive them for now. But Lu Mao's close relatives must be severely punished!"

"Pass on my order!" Sun Quan said coldly, "Let Lu Sun be confined to Linxiang, Changsha, to serve the temple of the heir to King Huan. The rest of the people will be exiled to Zhuya County and leave tomorrow!"

The so-called King Huan refers to Sun Ce, who was posthumously named King Huan of Changsha after Sun Quan became emperor. Since the posthumous fiefdom was Changsha, the official temple dedicated to Sun Ce in Wu was also established in Changsha by order of Sun Quan the year before last.

Of course, many people in the court had doubts about Sun Ce's posthumous title. They mentioned Sun Ce's past merits and believed that Sun Ce should be posthumously named emperor, just as Sun Jian was posthumously named Wulie Emperor. After the posthumous title of King Huan of Changsha was promulgated, there were many disputes in the court.

Sun Quan weighed the pros and cons and ultimately rejected the request of his ministers on the grounds that there was no precedent for posthumously conferring a title on an elder brother. Sun Ce's only son, Sun Shao, was originally conferred the title of Marquis of Wu, but because the word "Wu" was the same as the name of the Wu State, it was easy to give the ministers a hint, so he was changed to Marquis of Shangyu.

"As you command!" Hu Zong bowed deeply and left carefully. When he was about to close the door and look around, he suddenly found that Sun Quan, who was sitting at the table, looked different from usual. His hair was loose and the light cast a slanted shadow on his face, making him look like a lion or tiger.

After Lu Mao's family was escorted onto the ship by soldiers and sailed upstream along the Yangtze River, preparing to go first to Changsha and then to Jiaozhou by water, the coldness in Jianye City dissipated a little.

Except for the somewhat unlucky Liu Ji, who committed suicide in prison after hearing that Lu Mao was planning a rebellion and leaked the news while he was ill, Liu Ji himself also died of excessive worry. No other people's lives were involved.

Xue Zong and five other Shangshu were reprimanded by the emperor, but there was no extra punishment other than reprimand. Gu Yong was released from house arrest and allowed to go out of the palace again, and continued to perform his duties as prime minister and work in the Shangshutai as usual. The schoolmaster Lu Yi also continued to be used, and was sent by Sun Quan to inspect various places in Jingzhou to understand the ideological status of important officials such as Crown Prince Sun Deng, General Zhuge Jin, General Zhu Ran, and General Bu Zhi.

Prime Minister Gu Yong just pretended to be stupid and went to the palace to thank the emperor in person. He didn't even say ten words before leaving the palace to continue his duty. On the surface, everything was the same as usual, but everyone knew in their hearts that they could not go back to the past. Once the cracks in people's hearts were formed, how could they continue to mend them? Just like Emperor Wu of Han killed the crown prince and abolished the Wei family in the pre-Han period, at this time, who would still think that Emperor Wu of Han had any human touch?

The ministers were just officials, just muddling through day by day.

Two days after the Lu family was sent away, the fleet returned to Jianye. Heda, Wei Wen, and Tang Zi were each praised by Sun Quan, and the heads and people captured were officially recognized as a major achievement of the Wu Kingdom in the third year of Huanglong.

……

Yizhou, Baishui, Prime Minister's Mansion.

The messenger from Chengdu arrived outside the Prime Minister's residence and personally delivered the letter to the Chief Secretary Yang Yi. Yang Yi asked a few questions carefully, not daring to neglect them, and stood up and walked out to the main hall of the Prime Minister's residence to look for Zhuge Liang.

Today, the Xiangfu occupies nearly half of the Baishuiguan City, and people come and go in an endless stream, making it extremely busy. Prime Minister Zhuge Liang opened a government office to handle affairs, and all major and minor matters in Yizhou were decided by the Xiangfu, including military and civil affairs, without exception, covering everything.

In contrast, the Shangshutai and Jiuqing in Chengdu were just like decorations, just executors of the decisions of the Xiangfu, like an empty shell. If someone asked them, they would probably only get the response of "the Han Dynasty has its own national conditions".

In the Wei Kingdom, it was the seventh year of Taihe, while for Liu Chan and his ministers, it was the eleventh year of Jianxing.

Strictly speaking, Zhuge Liang's residence was divided into two parts.

One is the Baishui Prime Minister's Residence, which was inherited from the prime minister's residence originally stationed in Mianyang, Hanzhong, and Zhuge Liang himself was stationed here.

The second is the Chengdu Liufu. This slightly strange political model can be simply understood as the Prime Minister's Office is always stationed in Chengdu, but as the Prime Minister himself is not in Chengdu, a branch office stationed in Baishui is separated. The part that stays in Chengdu is naturally called the Liufu.

The person in charge of the Liufu was also the prime minister's chief secretary, so Prime Minister Zhuge Liang always had two chief secretaries.

After the death of the former Chief Clerk of the Prefecture, Zhang Yi, Jiang Wan, a military officer, was appointed by Zhuge Liang as the new Chief Clerk of the Prefecture and was stationed in Chengdu in the winter two years ago.

Now this letter was also sent by Jiang Wan from Chengdu.

Zhuge Liang was always diligent in his work. When Yang Yi came, he was also reviewing bamboo slips behind his desk. He didn't seem surprised by Yang Yi's arrival. When he heard that Jiang Wan had a letter in Chengdu, Zhuge Liang just nodded slightly in response, and stretched out his hand to signal Yang Yi to put down the letter and go back to work.

Yang Yi understood and did as he was told, but before a quarter of an hour had passed, he was called back by Zhuge Liang.

"Lord Wei, please take a look at this letter." Zhuge Liang said seriously. He put the bamboo slips in his hand on the table and pushed them forward.

Yang Yi did not dare to delay and walked forward quickly to take the letter. As his eyes moved across the bamboo slips, his expression became more and more serious.

"Prime Minister, your Majesty must have been instigated by someone to say this!"

"Instigation?" Zhuge Liang asked calmly.

Yang Yi said: "This is not something your majesty would say!"

Zhuge Liang slowly stood up, put his hands behind his back and walked out to the courtyard, remaining silent for a long time.

Baishui is located in Zitong County, and is only separated from Shu County where Chengdu is located by Guanghan County, a distance of about 800 miles. According to the post system, urgent military reports can arrive in three days, and ordinary letters can arrive in six days.

Ten days ago, Zhuge Liang sent a message from Baishui to Jiang Wan, the chief official in Chengdu, hoping that Jiang Wan would come to the palace to meet Liu Chan and inquire about Liu Chan's attitude towards the Northern Expedition this autumn and winter.

This matter was important but not urgent, so it was just an ordinary letter, which arrived on the 6th. But according to the speed at which Jiang Wan replied, it was obvious that there was an accident.

Jiang Wan said in the letter that after he went to the palace to meet His Majesty, he briefly told him about the matter. However, His Majesty's attitude was different from before, and he asked two questions in return.

The first thing is, Your Majesty asked where exactly the Northern Expedition was going to be launched. Jiang Wan, as the chief secretary of the Prime Minister, was asked about state affairs in the palace but was vague in his response. He couldn't even say where the Northern Expedition was going to be launched this year. This was not what a minister of state should do.

The second thing, Your Majesty asked, is that since the last Northern Expedition, the Prime Minister's residence has been stationed in Baishui for more than two years. Baishui is located in Zitong County, almost at the northernmost part of the territory under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty today, and is 800 miles away from Chengdu, making transportation very inconvenient. Can the Prime Minister move the Prime Minister's residence back to Chengdu to govern the country?
It was no wonder that Jiang Wan rushed to report the news, and no wonder that Yang Yi was surprised. To be honest, this was the first time that His Majesty had shown such concern for political affairs and made such comments about the Prime Minister's Mansion.

The most important thing is that at the end of the letter, Jiang Wan also attached his own views on these two issues.

First, Jiang Wan did not agree to launch another Northern Expedition this year. He thought it would not be too late to launch a Northern Expedition after accumulating more financial strength in the next two years, or if there were changes in the Wei State.

Secondly, Jiang Wan also believed that when the Northern Expedition was difficult, most of the Prime Minister's Office and the court's combat-capable troops were still left in Baishui, which was indeed a bit redundant as Your Majesty said.

The matter of the Northern Expedition is still open to discussion. In the past two years, Jiang Wan has always said that it is better to launch the Northern Expedition later, and then accumulate strength before launching the Northern Expedition. There is nothing to be suspicious about this.

Even as an official in the prime minister's office, the prime minister never forced all his subordinates to agree with him and not to raise any opinions. When things were not finalized, the prime minister still allowed people to speak.

But the second thing, the location of the Prime Minister's Mansion, is the real problem! The reason given by His Majesty is that transportation is inconvenient and communication takes time, while Jiang Wan's meaning is that the Northern Expedition needs to be slowed down, and it is useless for the Prime Minister's Mansion and the army to stay in the north.

The same thing, two different statements. Can we trust what is written in the letter? Is what Jiang Wan said his own attitude or His Majesty's intention?
(End of this chapter)