Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Lu Yu's attitude remained calm, as if if he was not asked to give advice on this matter, he would just say "yes, yes, yes".

Lu Yu’s response was that he had no opinion.

But Wang Su was different.

As a master of Confucian classics and a great scholar of the time, Wang Su had seen many such political tactics in books. Since the emperor just said that it was Pei Qian and Xu Shu who suggested it, it meant that this matter also came from their suggestion.

Wang Su didn't care what Pei Qian and Xu Shu wanted to do, as long as they didn't get involved in any of it! It wouldn't hurt to give them a little push.

Wang Su clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I think that since the kings have not yet returned to their kingdoms and have not yet grown up, the positions held by the ministers should still be dominated by the two thousand stone officials in the court."

"The Minister should not be among them."

Cao Rui chuckled, "Okay, Wang Qing is right. I would like to add one more thing. Now there are four princes, and there are only four cabinet ministers. Then we can select the illegitimate son from the nine ministers and the ministers, and let the cabinet ministers be the prince's tutors!"

"Your Majesty, this..." Wang Su was a little surprised: "The cabinet ministers are in high positions and have great power. If each of them is a tutor to the king, wouldn't it cause the ministers to fight with each other?"

Pei Qian added: "The cabinet members are all important officials in the court, and they are also loyal and honest people. Minister Wang does not need to worry."

Wang Su kept silent, completely understanding what had happened.

Since the emperor has such an attitude, what else can he, a mere minister, say? Just keep silent.

……

Jia Shi and Wancheng were only about 200 miles apart, and this time the expedition was conducted entirely by cavalry, so the speed could be as fast as one wanted. In just three days, they arrived at Wancheng on the evening of October 7.

"How is it going, Huan Qing, in Wancheng?"

On the city wall of Wancheng, Cao Rui walked slowly accompanied by General Huan Fan of Zhenbei and General Hu Zun of Henghai. The subordinates of Cao Shuang, the Captain of Shesheng, replaced the local army of Wancheng and guarded the two sides of the city wall with a post every three steps.

"I am not having a good time in Wancheng." Huan Fan shook his head: "I miss your Majesty even when I am not by your side."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "Since Huan Qing missed me, didn't I come to see you today? You have been in Wancheng for more than a year. You should have an idea of ​​the combat power here and what tasks it can undertake, right?"

For Huan Fan, just joking with the emperor was enough. Since the emperor was asking about serious matters, he put away his smile and responded seriously:
"Your Majesty, the 20,000 troops in Wancheng were formed after the Battle of Wancheng in the first year of Taihe. The 10,000 prefecture and county soldiers led by the former Yuzhou governor Jia Liangdao were stationed here. Together with the 10,000 Yuzhou soldiers that were added later, these 20,000 Yuzhou prefecture and county soldiers are the foundation of the Wancheng army."

"These troops have been stationed here for six years. During these six years, they have been constantly building cities, cultivating farmland, and building ships. In addition, the previous training exercises were all designed to defend the three cities of Wankou, Qiankou, and Wancheng. They are good at defense but not good at attack."

Cao Rui paused for a few moments and responded, "Huan Qing means that the combat effectiveness of the Wancheng army has not increased much over the years?"

"Yes, that's what I mean." Huan Fan continued, "In terms of combat power, although the troops in Wancheng are foreign troops, their combat power is still that of ordinary prefecture troops. They are good for defending the city, but it would be difficult to use them as the main attacking force in war. I dare not deceive your majesty. Even if Wancheng builds enough ships, they will not be of much use."

Cao Rui said, "Okay, I have taken note of what you said. Huan Qing made it clear, and I like to hear these truths, not empty promises of willingness to die."

"I am here to inform you today that I intend to attack Wu the year after next, which is the ninth year of Taihe. By then, your army here will not be assigned any major attack missions, and I will not use you to attack places like Danyang and Wujun. I only have one thing for you to do."

"What is this?" Huan Fan asked. Cao Rui said, "If we really want to attack Wu, the main battlefield will definitely be in Yangzhou, Wuchang and Jiangling. You are just a small army. What you need to do is to cross the river from here, occupy the two counties of Yuzhang and Poyang in the south, divide the Wu army into two parts on land, and cut off the Wu army in Jingzhou and Yangzhou on land. That's enough!"

Huan Fan was silent for a long time, then he bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I can do this!"

"Okay, I'll take note of that." Cao Rui said with a smile, "Let's go and see what residence you have chosen for me here."

Huan Fan also smiled and said, "This way, Your Majesty, I will lead the way..."

……

Above the East China Sea, Wengzhou.

"Master Dao, the people are here!" A middle-aged man dressed in short clothes and with a rough face walked into the village barefoot and saluted towards the person sitting in the main hall.

Behind this middle-aged man, two people dressed in the same way were holding a young man who looked like a scholar, one on the left and one on the right. The man looked to be no more than twenty years old.

"I'm here to pay my respects to Liu Daojun. Please let me go!" The young scholar shouted with his face flushed.

"Let him go. Are you still worried that he will harm me?" The man sitting in the hall was wearing a yellow crown on his head, dressed like a Taoist priest. Judging from his age, he was about fifty years old.

Taoist Liu smiled calmly and said, "If I hadn't seen you with my own eyes, I really wouldn't believe this. Your Wujun Lu family has been prominent for a long time, and you call us Taiping Daoists pirates. Why did you send people to Shanghai to look for my followers?"

"I am Lu Ya, and I am here to meet Liu Daojun!" Lu Ya bowed and said, "I came here to ask Liu Daojun for a favor. If Liu Daojun can help the Lu family, I will definitely repay you in the future!"

"Later report?" Taoist Liu laughed loudly, and all the people in the hall dressed in yellow turbans and pirate costumes laughed at the same time.

Taoist Liu said, "For decades, we have been helpless and adrift on the sea from Qing, Xu, and Yang. We have become pirates in your eyes, living from hand to mouth. How can we wait for your retribution?"

"If you have something to say, please tell us now. We are not rude people. If you don't want to speak clearly, we will send you away quickly!"

Lu Ya gritted her teeth and said, "The Lu family is in trouble. All the ships in Wu County belong to the government. I need someone to help me go to Wei State and report to the Wei court if there is anything!"

"Wei?" Taoist Liu sneered, "Wu sees us as pirates, and Wei has killed countless of our parents and brothers! If you go to Wei, we can't help you, so please go back!"

The so-called Wengzhou, according to the geographical division of later generations, is an island in the Zhoushan Islands in the East China Sea. It is far away from the land and is close to the islands, so there are nearly 10,000 pirates living here.

Pirates are just the names given to these people by Wei and Wu, just like the Yellow Turban Pirates, White Wave Pirates, and Black Mountain Pirates before them. The Wengzhou Pirates were first led by Liu Daoren's father, who passed on his power to Liu Daoren 20 years ago. They believed in Huang Tian and fished and dried salt in their spare time. In addition to selling salted fish and private salt to the people on the shore, they also robbed from time to time.

The operating mode of these pirates is basically the same as that of the mountain bandits, barbarians and Shanyue of the same period, except that the valleys and forts are replaced by islands. They also have similarities with the tribes of the powerful families.

All in all, Taoist Liu’s force has become the largest pirate group in the East China Sea.

Prior to this, Lu Ya personally went to Hu Du and found the pirates' followers on land, which led to this trip.

"I will not hide it from you, Liu Daojun. Brothers Lu Boyan and Lu Zizhang are my uncles. Now Lu Boyan is a general in Wei, and Lu Zizhang was killed by Sun Quan in Jianye. Their families were exiled to Jiaozhou by Sun Quan!" (End of this chapter)