Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Great General, please understand!"

Lu Ya kowtowed again: "My uncle from a small ethnic group is an official in the Wei Dynasty. My family is in the south. We were slaughtered and exiled by Sun Quan. It is really unbearable. If the Wei Dynasty hadn't taken charge, I'm afraid my entire family would have been wiped out!"

Cao Zhen nodded slightly, ignoring Lu Ya who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, and turned to look at Xiahou Xian:

"Kang Ren, you led the troops to Pengcheng. What is the situation of the supervisors and the Xianbei miners there?"

Xiahou Xian was a little surprised, but he still bowed and said, "General, the Xianbei miners are not strong enough and their numbers are too small. We killed the leader, and then they made trouble again. We killed another group and it stopped."

"that is……"

"What is it?" Cao Zhen asked.

Xiahou Xian shook his head slightly. "When the Pengcheng Tongguan Sima was taken back to Shouchun and everyone knew he was going to be beheaded, the officials there were in chaos for a while, but Governor Xue was in the Pengcheng Tongguan and had already taken care of everything."

Cao Zhen said: "It doesn't matter if this person dies or not. It's not a big deal."

Lu Ya was thinking carefully, lying on the ground listening to what Cao Zhen and Xiahou Xian said. At this moment, she associated this sentence with herself and couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

The Sima mentioned by the two of them can live or die. Isn't the Lu family of Wujun also "able to live or die" in front of the two generals named Cao and Xiahou?

Seeing Cao Zhen and Xiahou Xian talking non-stop, as if they were forgetting about him, Lu Ya was anxious, but he didn't dare to move at all. How noble was the general of Wei State? He knew very well that he was nothing in front of him.

After waiting for a long time, Cao Zhen turned his gaze back to Lu Ya. He did not ask about Lu's affairs anymore, but asked leisurely: "Lu Ya, you said you came here on the ship of the East China Sea pirates? Where are they stationed, how many soldiers and people do they have, and what do they do for a living?"

"Stand up and talk." Cao Zhen raised his hand slightly and gestured.

Lu Ya stood up carefully, bowed and replied: "General, these pirates live in Wengzhou, East China Sea..."

"Where is Wengzhou?" Cao Zhen asked.

Lu Ya replied: "It is on the sea east of Kuaiji County, northeast of Yuyao and southeast of Jiaxing."

"Yeah." Cao Zhen motioned Lu Ya to continue.

After Lu Ya told him word by word about the pirates' past, their smuggling of salt, and their ship robbery, Cao Zhen said calmly, "Lu Ya, I see that you are also a smart person, otherwise you would not be able to do such a thing and find Shouchun."

"I would like to reward you with a job serving the Wei Dynasty. Are you willing?"

Lu Ya had a guess in her mind, and quickly knelt down to thank him: "I am willing!"

"Okay, I'll tell you tomorrow."

Cao Zhen stood up and looked at Xiahou Xian: "Kang Ren, you and Lu Ya can stay in my house tonight. I will go to the cabinet tomorrow and discuss this matter with everyone."

"Yes, sir." Xiahou Xian bowed and slowly walked out. A housekeeper came outside and arranged a side room for Xiahou Xian and Lu Ya to stay in.

The next day, in Shouchun, the cabinet was on duty.

Cao Zhen calmly recounted what had happened last night, and the other three cabinet ministers also listened attentively.

"It's really interesting." Dong Zhao sneered. "In such a small country like Wu, Sun Quan is actually fighting for power with his prime minister? He dared not kill people, hesitated for nearly two months, and only killed Lu Mao. He is so petty, what big things can he do?"

Sima Yi curled his lips slightly.

Dong Zhao’s ridicule certainly makes sense, but it depends on who you are comparing it with.

When Emperor Wu Cao Cao was in power, he was very ruthless in killing those who opposed him. He would easily execute ministers like Cui Yan and Mao Jie. After Emperor Wen Cao Pi ascended the throne, he also executed the Ding brothers without mercy.

The situation Sun Quan faced was neither good nor bad, and was extremely embarrassing.

Sima Yi responded, "The Sun family has been at peace with the Jiangdong nobles for many years. It is probably too late to separate from them now."

Dong Zhao stroked his beard and said, "Who says it's not true? Listening to Lu Ya's words will only lead to a mediocre result. It will not intimidate the ministers, but will make people alienated. Sun Quan has now usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. He has to endure the glory of a fake emperor, but he will also have to endure the pain of power that a real emperor should endure."

"When Yin Shuping went to Wu a few years ago, he got a clear picture of the official system of Wu." Dong Zhao said familiarly: "Since Sun Quan has touched the Lu family, it is only a matter of time before he touches the Jiangdong nobles. After taking over the power of governance, he must also take over the military power. How can Sun Quan take over so many troops and fiefs of Wu's generals? If he really insists on taking them all, his Wu will be destroyed."

Sima Yi said, "That's right. Changes should be slow, not fast. We should change slowly like the Wei Dynasty did, and use several years to implement a new policy, so that we can be safe both internally and externally."

"Let's get back to the point." Cao Zhen coughed lightly, "Regarding Lu Ya's surrender, this is what I think. I have three things to discuss with you."

"First, the Jiangdong nobles are in danger. Can the Wei Dynasty make any military moves?"

"Second, Lu Ya came to Guangling on the ship of the East China Sea pirates. There are tens of thousands of pirates there. Can they be used by the Wei?" "Third, when should we inform Lu Boyan about this matter?"

Dong Zhao said: "As for military affairs, I think we should just wait and see. Pirates can be recruited, but tell Lu Boyan to wait and wait for His Majesty's order. After all, Lu Boyan is now a relative of His Majesty, so we must be careful."

Sima Yi automatically skipped the first and third items: "Recruiting pirates is certainly not a bad thing. In my opinion, since they are commanding a large number of pirates with tens of thousands of people, they can be granted the position of a general with a salary of 2,000 stones, just like recruiting the Black Mountain bandits in the past. As for the crimes and offenses of these people in the past, as a temporary measure, they can all be pardoned."

"Pardoned?" Chen Jiao frowned and interrupted, "Except for Lu Ya's empty words, how can we know more information about the pirate?"

"It's just a temporary solution!" Sima Yi said, "It's not a bad thing for the Wei Dynasty to have more people who are familiar with water."

Chen Jiao said: "We should discuss this further."

"Okay!" Cao Zhen frowned and said, "Since we can't make up our minds, let's report to His Majesty quickly for a decision."

Dong Zhao stroked his beard and said, "Well, let your Majesty make the decision. Ji Bi, please record what we just said."

"Okay." Chen Jiao nodded.

……

After bidding farewell to Huan Fan and Hu Zun, Cao Rui led his 10,000 cavalrymen out of Wancheng and headed towards Shouchun. When the messenger sent by the Shouchun cabinet met the marching army, Cao Rui had just arrived in Shu County.

If we talk about Shu County, it may not be well-known, but if we mention Zhou Yu, then you have to know it.

Zhou Yu was from Shu County, where the Lujiang Zhou family was located. During the Later Han Dynasty, they were also a royal family with three dukes in two generations, and could be regarded as a place of honor among the people of Jianghuai. In the sixth year of Zhongping, when Sun Jian was fighting against Dong, he moved his family to Shu County, so Zhou Yu and Sun Ce also met at this time.

But now Shu County is completely deserted, with only 500 soldiers stationed there to guard against any eventuality.

As for why there is no one here, the reasons are still the same old ones, such as war, forced migration, etc.

However, when Cao Rui arrived in Shu County and had just set up camp, he learned a rather unexpected news.

"Zhou Yu?"

"Yes." Guanqiu Jian explained: "When I led the troops to look for a place to set up camp on the east side of the city, the soldiers found a large tomb with a eulogy on the tombstone. It was the tomb of Zhou Yu. Not far away there was also a tomb of Zhou Qiao, which should be Xiao Qiao."

Guanqiu Jian then asked, "Zhou Yu had been against Wei for many years. Now that we have found his tomb, even if we don't destroy it, should we erase the eulogy on his tombstone? These are all presumptuous and disrespectful words."

After Guanqiu Jian said this, Cao Rui understood.

What achievements did Zhou Yu make in his life? He simply helped Sun Ce to pacify Jiangdong and helped Sun Quan win the Battle of Red Cliff. Behind Sun's victory in Red Cliff was Cao's defeat. Although Guanqiu Jian said it implicitly, there must be many words on the stele that are disrespectful to Cao and even Cao Cao.

Cao Rui thought for a long time and shook his head: "He is a dead man, who has been dead for so many years. If I, as the emperor, order his tombstone to be moved, it would make me look too stingy. It is really not worth it."

"As for the words on his stele, leave them here for now. The so-called destiny is not to always win, but to eventually gain the world. Emperor Gaozu of Han was defeated by Xiang Yu many times, but how could he stop all rivers from flowing into the sea and unifying the country? Don't move the stele, just leave it here. After you pacify Wu in the future, leave another stele next to it to record the victory."

"Yes, I obey your command." Guanqiu Jian responded with a bow.

Cao Rui glanced at Guanqiu Jian and said, "Zhonggong, there is something I have never told you. I have thought about it and I think it is time to let you know."

"Your Majesty, what do you want to tell me?" Now it was Guanqiu Jian's turn to be surprised.

Cao Rui paused and said, "It's about your father's tomb. Last winter, Guan Lu, a scholar from Chongwen Temple, went to Heyin and passed by the place where your father's tomb is located. He looked at the geography of the tomb there..."

"Your Majesty..." Guanqiu Jian didn't know what to say for a moment.

After a long while, Guanqiu Jian pursed his lips and said, "If what Guan Lu said is true, then I agree to move the tomb. But I am really sorry to trouble Your Majesty to care about these matters at home."

"No need." Cao Rui said, "I am telling you today because Guan Lu has sent a letter from Luoyang, saying that he has chosen a good tomb in Mangshan. If you have no objection, I will write back to Guan Lu and let him do it."

"There is nothing to do here now. Zhong Gong, do you want to go back to Luoyang?"

Guanqiu Jian was hesitant just now, but now he was decisive: "Your Majesty, I think it is better not to go back. This matter will not make much difference whether I am here or not."

Holding such an important position as the Commander-in-Chief, Guanqiu Jian was unwilling to leave the emperor's side because of these unexpected trivial matters.

Cao Rui thought about it and said, "How about this, if Zhong Gong doesn't go, I will specifically ask your brother Shu Gong to go back."

"I thank your majesty for your grace." Guanqiu Jian thanked him again. (End of this chapter)