Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang were getting along well with each other in the front carriage, but not all the officials following behind were satisfied with this scene.

Du Qiong and Lai Min walked side by side. Du Qiong looked at Liu Chan's carriage in front of him and sighed softly, so softly that only Lai Min could hear it.

"Why is Boyu sighing?" Lai Min asked.

"I'm admiring the Prime Minister's great majesty!" Du Qiong lowered his voice and said, "The Prime Minister's Office is a self-contained entity, managing all political affairs, just like Cao Mengde. When he leaves, the emperor goes out of the city to see him off, and when he returns, the emperor goes out of the city to greet him, and they even ride in the same carriage. How is this different from Huo Guang's? Your Majesty has not yet taken power, and facing such a powerful minister, I believe you must be as nervous as Emperor Xuan."

Lai Min also sighed: "Who said it wasn't?"

"The Han Dynasty has only 80,000 soldiers, and the Prime Minister's Office has 50,000 soldiers guarding Yinping, Baishui, and Baxi. Now the Prime Minister has withdrawn the Prime Minister's Office in Baishui and returned to Chengdu with all the officials. He left 34,000 soldiers in Yinping, Baishui, and Baxi alone, and another 10,000 soldiers in Fu County, and only brought 6,000 soldiers back to Chengdu. And Boyu, believe it or not, the 12,000 central troops in Chengdu will be taken over by the Prime Minister's officials before tomorrow?"

Du Qiong stroked his beard and sighed, "Of course I believe it. He has already returned to Chengdu. If we don't let him lead the troops, who else can we let him lead? I think it would be better for the Prime Minister to not come back! Counting these 12,000 central troops, the Prime Minister now actually leads 62,000 soldiers, and the Han Dynasty only has 80,000 soldiers in total!"

Lai Min shook his head: "What else can we do? Just be patient for now. I know what the officials thought when they saw the powerful officials encroaching on the emperor's authority during the time of Huo Guang in the early Han Dynasty and the time when the relatives of the emperor were in power in the later Han Dynasty!"

Du Qiong nodded heavily: "That's right! Autocracy is autocracy, whether he is honest or not, or whether he is capable or not, has nothing to do with it! But we still have to be patient for a while and wait and see how the situation develops."

……

At the end of June, after settling the trivial political and military affairs in Shouchun, Cao Rui also decided on a strategy for his tour in the second half of the year, which was to travel west from Shouchun, go up the Huai River, cross Runan County, and then arrive in Xinye and Fancheng areas of Jingzhou.

This time, Guanqiu Jian's Zhongling Army Camp and Wuxiaowei Camp accompanied him. In addition to the 10,000 cavalry, Cheng Xi's Yulin Right Army also accompanied him, and Wen Qin's Yulin Left Army was transferred to Xuchang to deal with emergencies.

The commander-in-chief Guanqiu Jian also served as the commander-in-chief of 20,000 cavalry for the first time, responsible for all military affairs in front of the emperor.

Ten miles northwest of Shouchun City.

"Please don't see me off anymore, gentlemen." Cao Rui, wearing soft armor and sitting on the imperial horse, said with a smile to the ministers who came to see him off.

Cao Zhen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please do not stay in Jingzhou for too long. The ministers, the Secretariat, and the Privy Council are all in Shouchun, waiting for Your Majesty to return. I hope Your Majesty will take care of you."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "Why, General, have you learned poetry recently?"

Cao Zhen also smiled and replied, "Your Majesty is right. I have indeed learned poetry. I am alone in my empty room, thinking of you with anxiety and fear, and my clothes are soaked with tears. It was only when I bid farewell to Your Majesty that I realized that the late emperor's poems of boudoir complaints were really appropriate. Your Majesty is on a tour, please take care."

"I will, and so will you ministers."

After that, Cao Rui pointed at Chen Jiao and said, "I heard that you have not been feeling well recently. If you need any tonic medicine or food, please go to the Imperial Hospital and the Minister of the Imperial Household to get it. You can take as much as you want. I will approve it!" "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Chen Jiao responded, "I just have some minor problems. I hope Your Majesty will not worry about me."

Cao Rui thought for a while and said, "Okay, regarding government affairs, I don't have anything else to tell you. You are all here, so you can discuss the common matters together. If you two can't decide, then let Mr. Dong decide. If there is really something important, you can report it to me quickly. In addition, order Deng Ai to stay on the top of Qishan Mountain temporarily, and order Lu Xun to come to Huainan quickly, without waiting for Wang Chang to arrive in Qinzhou first. Several ships are launched every month, so let Lu Xun speed up, the navy can't wait."

"I obey your command." The four of them responded in unison.

However, several people were still somewhat surprised by the emperor's words. If the two could not decide, why did they listen to Dong Zhao's words instead of Cao Zhen's? It seems that His Majesty is quite aware of Cao Zhen's limitations. In the cabinet, Dong Zhao is the only one who is capable of both civil and military affairs.

Cao Rui did not bring a carriage, but planned to ride on horseback throughout the journey, just like an ordinary cavalry general.

Cao Rui has been on the throne for seven years since the seventh year of Huangchu. He has fought in many battles in the south and the north, and has traveled thousands of miles on horseback. When he was in the palace, if he had nothing else to do, he would practice archery, swordplay, and riding every day. In addition, he has personally led the cavalry training in the past two years. Although Cao Rui is not sure whether he can command 20,000 cavalry, he is very confident that he can command 5,000 cavalry and be a high-level cavalry general.

Cao Rui set out from Shouchun on June 30 with 20,000 cavalry and arrived at Anyang, Runan on July 10, where he met with General Zhu Gai, the General of Zhennan.

After staying in Anyang for three days, Cao Rui led his troops west again, arriving in Xinye on July 20th and Fancheng on the 23rd.

Man Chong, the General of the Southern Expedition and the Commander-in-Chief of the Jingzhou Military, had been waiting for Cao Rui's arrival in the north of the city with a group of generals and officials from Jingzhou. After the boring and tedious reception, there was a banquet. After the banquet, Cao Rui finally had time to personally summon Man Chong and have a conversation with him at night.

After listening to Cao Rui's talk about the major and minor events that happened in the Central Government this year, Man Chong couldn't help but sigh:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt. I think that whether it is the general, Lord Dong, or the Minister of Works and Chen Pushe, they are all too cautious and even too smooth in their work."

"Take the issue of appointing a crown prince, for example. The four of them couldn't make a decision for the moment, and had to throw the matter to Your Majesty who was on tour. After Your Majesty returns to Shouchun, not only can they not make suggestions on the appointment of a crown prince, but even the matter of the royal tutor must be assigned by Your Majesty personally..." Man Chong shook his head: "If I were still in the cabinet, I would never let Your Majesty worry about such trivial matters. As soon as Sikong Chuyi opened his mouth, I would block this matter for Your Majesty!"

“Hahahaha.” Cao Rui laughed a few times: “I know that Man Qing is sharp, and I also know that the four of them are not as sharp as Man Qing. But it doesn’t matter. If the four of them want to paste it, I will make the decision, so let them paste it.”

"On the contrary, it's Man Qing," Cao Rui looked at Man Chong, "Could it be that Man Qing wants to return to the cabinet again? I see that you, the General of the Southern Expedition, are doing a very safe job in Fancheng!"

Man Chong nodded and said, "I don't want to return to the cabinet, I just lament that the cabinet has lost its spirit and responsibility. Wherever your majesty wishes to use me, I will obey your majesty's will and go there. I will be consistent in my heart and words and will never say a word!"

Cao Rui nodded: "Your Excellency Man is loyal, and I have full confidence in you. It took me 23 days to come to Jingzhou from Huainan, which is considered fast. In addition to inspecting the political and military affairs here, I also want to personally talk to Your Excellency Man about the conquest of Wu."

"Conquer Wu?" Man Chong raised his eyebrows and said, "Your Majesty, do you want to mobilize Jing and Yang provinces to attack Wu completely?"

Cao Rui nodded: "That's right."

After saying that, Cao Rui took out a thin booklet from his bosom. Except for the hard cover, the paper inside was curled up. It looked like it was read many times every day. Cao Rui handed it to Man Chong:
"Please take a look, Mr. Man. This is the division Jiang Zitong made for me." (End of this chapter)