Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Yangzhou, Xiacai.

After a month of traveling, the hundred cavalrymen finally arrived at Xiacai on the last day of August.

A few miles further south, after crossing the Huai River, you will reach Shouchun.

"It's really the time and the fate." Lu Xun muttered to himself as he sat on his horse, gazing at the fields, official roads and Huai River in the south.

He Tang, who was following Lu Xun, wiped the sweat from his forehead, raised his head and drank half a bag of water, looked at the scenery around him, and then said to Lu Xun beside him:
"I have always heard the general talk about Yangzhou. Now that I am in Yangzhou, I find it is indeed different from that remote place like Liangzhou! The scenery is very different!"

Lu Xun said, "You followed me here and even gave up your previous position as a lieutenant. You followed me all the way. Aren't you afraid that you will be useless here?"

He Tang laughed heartily and said, "I have followed the general for many years, so why should I fear death?"

Lu Xun nodded and looked at He Tang's expression carefully: "He Tang, although I intend to let you be my Sima, I am about to command the navy by order of the emperor. This is a serious matter. Your specific official position still needs to be approved by the Privy Council."

"No problem." He Tang's eyes showed a sly hint: "Following General Zhengdong, how can I be at a disadvantage in terms of official position?"

Lu Xun smiled but said nothing.

In the first year of Taihe, he and Zhou Duo traveled north and west from Shouchun, first to Luoyang, then to Chang'an, and finally to the west coast of Xiping County in Liangzhou.

Six years later, he returned to Yangzhou with a Qiang man. It was fate and destiny that played tricks on him.

I just feel sorry for his younger brother Lu Mao.

……

"Is it Boyan?"

As soon as Lu Xun boarded the boat to the south, he saw Liu Ye who was waiting for him there.

Lu Xun bowed from a distance and said, "I am sorry to trouble Lord Liu to come to the city to greet you."

Liu Ye smiled and rode forward: "Why call me Lord Liu? I can't even be called Lord in front of Boyan. Just call me Brother Ziyang. You are tired from the journey. Come into the city and rest quickly. The office and the house have been prepared for you."

"Thank you, Brother Ziyang." Lu Xun responded, "Is Your Majesty in Shouchun?"

Liu Ye shook his head: "Your Majesty is still inspecting Jingzhou. It will probably be the end of next month or November before Your Majesty returns."

Lu Xun asked, "If Your Majesty is not here, should I go to the Privy Council first, or to the Cabinet first?"

Liu Ye said, "Your Majesty is not in the palace, and outsiders are not allowed to enter the cabinet. Let's go to the Privy Council. Then I will send someone to invite the general and Mr. Dong to come out of the cabinet. When the general and Mr. Dong arrive, we can talk slowly."

"Okay, let's do as Brother Zi Yang says." Lu Xun nodded.

Not long after, Cao Zhen and Dong Zhao came to Liu Ye's duty room in the Privy Council side by side. Before they sat down, Cao Zhen walked up to Lu Xun who was bowing and patted him on the shoulder with a smile:

"I haven't seen Boyan for a long time. He is still as handsome as ever. Hasn't he been back to Yangzhou for six years?"

"Greetings, General, and Lord Dong." Lu Xun nodded and said, "It's been six years since I last came back. I really miss you." Cao Zhen said, "Your Majesty asked Boyan to come back this time because you want to use his strength in the war against Wu and to let him take revenge!"

Seeing Cao Zhen mention the word revenge, Lu Xun's eyes also showed a little sadness: "The Wu Kingdom has been separatist for a long time, and hundreds of thousands of people in the Wei Kingdom have suffered from this. How can it be just my family that is in trouble?"

Cao Zhen also sighed: "Blood debts must be repaid with blood. Let's wait and see Boyan lead the navy to achieve success. However, I have called someone here today, you must be familiar with him."

"Oh?" Lu Xun raised his eyebrows.

Cao Zhen waved toward the door: "Order Lu Ya to come quickly!"

After a while, Lu Ya came in, led by a clerk. As soon as she entered the hall, she bowed slightly to everyone, then quickly walked to Lu Xun, knelt on the ground with a thud, and kowtowed:
"It is not easy for my nephew to see my uncle today!"

"Are you Lu Ya?" Lu Xun bent down and helped Lu Ya up. He looked at Lu Ya's eyebrows and eyes carefully for a long time, and tears came out of his eyes: "The last time I saw you was nine years ago. I didn't expect that you have grown up so much now and did such a thing!"

Dong Zhao said, "Everyone, please sit down. Zi Yang, tell someone to bring a seat for Lu Ya as well."

"Thank you for your kindness, General!" Lu Ya took the bench brought by the clerk, but did not dare to sit down. Instead, she stood beside her uncle.

Dong Zhao smiled and said, "Bo Yan may not know that your nephew traveled between Wei and Wu, did a lot of things, and even helped Wei recruit 2,000 elite pirates!"

"Our family is honored." Lu Xun nodded.

The last time Lu Xun heard news about Lu Ya was only about the death of Lu Mao. Lu Xun's family was exiled by Sun Quan and they were not aware of the latest developments of the Wu State.

However, when Cao Zhen told Lu Xun about the surrender of the two thousand pirates and that Lu Ya passed through Hu Du on her way back, he was shocked to hear that Prime Minister Gu Yong had been dismissed and that Gu Yong's distant cousin Gu Tang had come to Wei with Lu Ya.

Lu Xun whispered, "It's only been six years, but I didn't expect Wu to become like this."

Cao Zhen nodded and said, "Who said it wasn't?"

"The cabinet has evaluated everything Sun Quan did in Wu. He used the welcoming event to stir up political disputes, dismissed the prime minister one after another, recruited the generals of Yangzhou, and used school officials to suppress court officials. Although his methods were a bit rough, what Sun Quan did was serious. If the country is peaceful, what is the use of the prime minister? The minister and the generals of the central army are connected with foreign officials. Not to mention dismissing them, they can even be killed."

Liu Ye added: "Whatever Sun Quan wants to do is his business, but Wei will not give him time to reform Wu. The attack on Wu next year is a national policy that has been decided this year and cannot be changed."

Lu Xun sat in a chair, listening to everyone discussing Sun Quan's political affairs, and a different kind of emotion suddenly rose in his heart. It was not regret, nor was it nostalgia for his former master, let alone any heavy hatred, but more like a feeling that the world has changed and things have changed.

It was not until the topic of conversation turned to the navy that Lu Xun asked again:
"General, I heard that the court has recruited 50,000 naval troops. I wonder how the recruitment is going?"

"Almost." Cao Zhen nodded and replied, "Forty thousand of the fifty thousand troops have been gathered. When the ten thousand county soldiers recruited from Hebei arrive in Huainan at the turn of spring and summer next year, the fifty thousand troops will be fully assembled."

"Among these 50,000 men, 40,000 have already arrived, of which 20,000 are from Yangzhou's foreign troops, 10,000 are selected from the Wu army's surrendered soldiers in the first year of Taihe, and another 10,000 are from Yanzhou and Qingzhou counties. Oh, and if you add the 2,000 pirates your nephew brought back from the East China Sea, that's a total of 52,000."

"Bo Yan," Cao Zhen looked at Lu Xun, "Your Majesty has not returned yet. Since you have arrived in Shouchun, you can rest for three days. Then I will take you to Dongxing to see the shipbuilding factory and new ships of the Wei Dynasty. How about that?"

Lu Xun cupped his hands and replied, "I will follow the general's orders!"

Cao Zhen nodded with satisfaction. (End of this chapter)