Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

It was not until Quan Cong and Zhang Cheng expressed their willingness to hand over all their troops and fiefdoms that Sun Quan finally showed a smile on his face.

The relationship between the emperor and his ministers was generally like this. Even if there was some personal friendship, it was still for the sake of government. Even if they were as close as his son-in-law Zhu Ju, when Zhu Ju touched upon the sensitivity of the gentry and military power, he was mercilessly picked out by Sun Quan, dismissed from office, and returned home to live in idleness, becoming the kind of chicken that was killed to scare the monkeys.

He came to Wuhu in person for this very purpose.

The defense zones of Quan Cong and Zhang Cheng were closest to the capital Jianye and the most important. Zhang Cheng was in the north, guarding Ruxu Fort, while Quan Cong was in the south, in Wuhu in the south of the Yangtze River. The Wei army built a fort to the north of Ruxu Fort, only six miles away from the Yangtze River. The strategic space that could have been pushed north to Hefei was constantly compressed by the Wei army. The defense zones of Quan Cong and Zhang Cheng, one in the south and one in the north, were the three inches and vital points of the Wu State.

Sun Quan said slowly, "Zi Huang and Zhong Si are loyal and diligent in serving the country, and I admire them very much. Wei Ze, please draft an edict for me later to increase Zi Huang's fief by 500 households and Zhong Si's fief by 200 households, to show my intention to maintain good relations with my subjects!"

"Yes, I understand." Hu Zong stood up and saluted.

"I am only following the order of Your Majesty. I have not contributed anything, so I dare not accept it." Quan Cong immediately bowed in response, and Zhang Cheng also declined beside Quan Cong.

“As a prize!”

Sun Quan laughed loudly and stood up. After walking to the two men's sides, he hugged their shoulders from the middle, shook them vigorously, and said in a bright voice: "I came to Wuhu today because I knew that you two would be able to solve my worries!"

"Zihuang, Zhongsi, do you have any young talents in your clans who have not yet entered the government? I think it would be appropriate to let them serve in the court and coordinate the military supplies and fodder for your various departments?"

Quan Cong said, "Your Majesty, my family relies on your grace and we are already grateful. How dare we ask for an official position?"

Sun Quan patted Quan Cong on the shoulder and said, "I understand what Zihuang means. It is settled. I will send someone to find you to discuss the matter tomorrow."

The two of them sat down and the banquet began again. Zhang Cheng hesitated and asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, if the court takes back the fiefdom, will the original troops still be led by me?"

"Yeah." Sun Quan nodded with a smile.

Zhang Cheng continued to ask: "After we have handed over our troops and fiefs, when should the generals of Jingzhou hand over their fiefs to the court for management?"

Shaofu Pan Jun, who had been sitting on the side and had been silent, suddenly said, "This is something that the rear general should not worry about."

Zhang Cheng looked slightly embarrassed and had to apologize to Sun Quan repeatedly.

As for how to recover the troops and fiefdoms of the generals in Jingzhou, it is indeed a troublesome matter. The five words "the sky is high and the emperor is far away" are not only a metaphor, but also a realistic problem that no country or dynasty can escape from.

Of course, Sun Quan was not unprepared.

Schoolmaster Lu Yi had previously set out from Jianye, went up the river, and arrived in Changsha County. As an envoy of Sun Quan, he visited and comforted Sun Quan's niece, Lu Xun's ex-wife, Lu Sun, and also inspected the three counties of Linxiang, Liuyang, and Liling.

Linxiang County was the fief of General Bu Zhi, Liuyang County was the fief of Shaofu Pan Jun, and Liling County was the fief of Prime Minister Gu Yong. Of course, as a school official with the responsibility of supervising all officials, Lü Yi came with the mission of finding faults.

After inspecting Changsha County, Lu Yi returned north to Wuchang.

Since Sun Quan moved the capital to Jianye, Wuchang became the residence of General and Governor of Jingzhou Zhuge Jin, and Crown Prince Sun Deng also studied military affairs here.

"Your humble servant greets the great general." Led by Zhuge Jin's subordinates, Lu Yi walked slowly into the hall from outside and bowed.

Zhuge Jin said kindly, "Didn't Captain Lu go directly to Changsha via Wuchang a few days ago? Why are you back to Wuchang now?"

"Please take your seat." Zhuge Jin pointed with his finger.

"Thank you, General, for the invitation." Lü Yi bowed again, sat down, leaned forward slightly, and said in a gentle voice, "I should have come to Wuchang first, but I went to Changsha first to send some gifts to your Majesty's niece, Lu Sun."

As he spoke, Lu Yi showed a trace of apology on his face: "In fact, after all, His Majesty still loves Lu Sunshi. The gold, silver, and other valuables filled the entire ship, and there was no shortage of expenses. Previously, the Lu family members were demoted, and Lu Sunshi left the capital with them, so it seemed that she had to be presentable."

In the current Wu Kingdom, besides Sun Quan, who holds the highest position, the next highest position is Prime Minister Gu Yong and General Zhuge Jin. Zhuge Jin governs a state as a governor, and is also the highest-ranking general among military commanders. In terms of power and responsibility, he holds more weight than Prime Minister Gu Yong.

Zhuge Jin stroked his beard and repeated, "Captain Lu went to Changsha first and then to Wuchang. What was he doing there? I haven't been told yet."

Lu Yi said respectfully, "I have something to bother you, the General, today. Your Majesty sent me to Jingzhou. In addition to inspecting various school affairs, I also want to ask you about the matters concerning the troops and fiefdoms." "Troops? Counties?" Zhuge Jin was slightly stunned. "Does your Majesty have any instructions? How come I, the General and Governor of Jingzhou, didn't receive them?"

"It's not an imperial decree." Lu Yi lowered his voice and explained, "Your Majesty intends to take all the generals and their troops back to the state, and the fiefs and gains will also be under the jurisdiction of the state. The reason why he did not issue an imperial decree but ordered me to come here is to first ask the attitudes of the generals below him."

Later, Lü Yi added: "Because the general is your Majesty's trusted minister, and I am also your Majesty's trusted minister, your Majesty ordered me to come to Wuchang to personally ask the general, so as to relieve your Majesty's worries."

Zhuge Jin nodded imperceptibly and remained silent for a moment.

Until today, Zhuge Jin once again felt the importance of being cautious. Zhuge Jin was in Jingzhou, and Zhuge Liang in Yizhou sent letters to Wuchang one after another. Of course, in order to show his respect for Sun Quan, Zhuge Jin did not hide anything from Zhuge Liang every time he received a letter, and sent a copy to Jianye after receiving it.

In his letters to Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang often mentioned being cautious and prudent. It was not until he became the governor of Jingzhou and was in charge of a state that he felt how difficult it was to hold a high position.

The matter of the troops is so big that a single move will affect the entire body. The troops are almost the personal friends of the generals. It is no problem to move one or two people. Can they all be withdrawn so easily?
We should think about it and be careful about it.

Zhuge Jin often thought that if there had not been the battle in Wancheng, his position as general and governor of Jingzhou would still have belonged to Lu Xun. Zhuge Jin had heard from Zhuge Liang's letters that Lu Xun had been shot off his horse by a Han army crossbow during a battle two years earlier, but had narrowly escaped death. Zhuge Jin had been saddened for his former colleague for a long time.

Lü Yi started talking again: "Let the general know that according to the time, your majesty's imperial carriage should have arrived in Wuhu."

"Wuhu?" Zhuge Jin asked back.

"It is Wuhu." Lu Yi said slowly: "If the emperor arrives in Wuhu, General Wei and General Hou have always been loyal to Your Majesty, and they are consistent both inside and outside. I think it will be easy to bring their troops back to the country."

Zhuge Jin certainly understood Quan Cong's loyalty and Zhang Cheng's position, and then he looked at Lu Yi intently and asked seriously, "How does your majesty and the court want to gather your troops?"

Lü Yi also sat up, looked Zhuge Jin straight in the eye, and asked, "General, are you willing to hand over your troops and fiefdoms?"

Zhuge Jin nodded without hesitation: "If there is an order, I will obey it immediately!"

If it were an ordinary lieutenant with a salary of 2,000 stones, he would be nothing in front of the great general Zhuge Jin. But Lü Yi was different. He was a lieutenant who investigated secrets and monitored the officials for Sun Quan. He was notorious and even the Prime Minister Gu Yong could interrogate him every day for dozens of days. The Secretary of State Lu Mao died because of this, but Lü Yi was not punished at all. This shows how biased Sun Quan was.

However, Zhuge Jin, who was well-versed in classics and history, also understood that since ancient times, cruel officials had never had a good end. Even if they were rampant for a while, they would not have a good end after completing their mission as chamber pots.

Zhuge Jin therefore spoke to Lü Yi in a friendly manner and did not ask about Gu Yong and Lu Mao at all. It can only be said that Zhuge Jin's position in Wu was much lower than that of his brother Zhuge Liang in Han.

Zhuge Jin coughed lightly and said, "If that's the case, how is the court going to collect the troops?"

Lü Yi smiled and said, "If other ministers had asked me, I would have been vague and just said a few words to get rid of them. But today, the general asked me, so I still have to explain in detail."

"In short, it means collecting taxes from the counties and making them the property of the state. First, cut off the financial support of the generals and their troops, and then gradually mobilize them."

Hearing about the mobilization of troops, Zhuge Jin frowned and asked, "How should the power of command of the troops be deployed?"

"This is easy!" Lü Yi chuckled, and was actually a little excited: "Either let the troops move among the generals, or let the troops move with the central army. In short, just let the troops move, don't let them stay in one place for a long time!"

Zhuge Jin was shocked: "No!"

Lu Yi was surprised: "No?"

Zhuge Jin paused for a few moments and said kindly, "Captain Lu has never been in the army, right?"

Lü Yi's face turned cold. "I don't have any. Since I started my career, I have always been your Majesty's confidant, monitoring the country for your Majesty. I have no military experience."

Zhuge Jin continued, "Captain Lu probably doesn't know. The so-called tuqu are all veteran and elite soldiers. For example, among the 10,000 troops I led in Wuchang, 5,000 tuqu and 5,000 ordinary soldiers were assembled into an army. The tuqu are the backbone of the army. Whenever a war is approaching, the tuqu soldiers are the most effective in overcoming difficulties and blocking battles."

"I am like this, and so are the other generals. For the past thirty years, the Great Wu has relied on the vassal soldiers as its backbone. This is the foundation of the army's combat power. How can it be so easily transferred? It is also wise for the court to cut down the vassal soldiers. I agree, but things should be done slowly and not in a hurry, so as to avoid chaos!" (End of this chapter)