Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Bei Yan didn't think much about it and raised his head to answer, but Man Chong, who was sitting next to him in the study, had a stern face and coughed lightly.

I was shocked.

Cao Rui also chuckled barely perceptibly.

Bei Yan was afraid of Man Chong, and not only Bei Yan, but almost all the generals in the central army were somewhat afraid of Man Chong. Regardless of Man Chong's notoriety in his early years when he helped Emperor Wu Cao Cao to eliminate political enemies, just from Man Chong's majestic and burly figure, loud voice, and intimidating face, his deterrent power was already full.

Bei Yan immediately became alert and responded respectfully: "I will obey your majesty's orders. I will do whatever your majesty asks me to do without hesitation."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "How about this. I have led cavalry in Liaodong before, so I think you are more familiar with cavalry. You can lead these 5,000 cavalry."

"When I was in Liaodong, I also met many Liaodong cavalry generals. After careful discussion, the cavalry tactics commonly used in Liaodong are somewhat different from those of the Wei cavalry. Let the Privy Council conduct a survey first, and then you can have more exchanges with Wen Qin."

Bei Yan bowed and said, "As you say, I understand. I have led the cavalry for more than ten years. I cannot say that I am proficient in it, but I can say that I have some experience. I will go to the Privy Council later."

"Very good." Cao Rui looked at Pei Qian and said, "Pei Qing, you and Lu Qing will take me to Xuchang City to choose a house as my reward. I still need to talk more with General Man, so you go first."

"According to the order."

"I accept the decree."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Bei Yan, Pei Qian and Lu Yu left the study room. As they walked into the courtyard, Lu Yu said to Pei Qing:

"Brother Wenxing, I wonder if you can take me there yourself? I'm new in Xuchang and need to settle down."

Pei Qian certainly wouldn't refuse such a small matter. It would be better for him to go alone:
"You are being too polite, so you can go by yourself. His Majesty has reserved accommodation for us, the eunuchs, so you can go and ask the eunuchs and you will know."

"Thank you, Brother Wenxing." Lu Yu replied.

Pei Qian and Bei Yan walked to the palace gate, rode their horses to the Xu County government office, and obtained a record of vacant houses from the Xu County magistrate.

"Mr. Pei, let me lead you and General Bei there," said Chen Shi, the magistrate of Xu County.

Pei Qian smiled and said, "No need to bother County Magistrate Chen. We two are just in Xuchang and would like to chat for a while. Please send a clerk with the key to accompany us."

Chen Shi said, "Well, please inform the county officials after you choose the house, so that I can ask someone to settle it down and make it convenient for me to move in."

"Thank you, County Magistrate Chen." Bei Yan also bowed.

The two men sat on their horses and walked slowly on the streets of Xuchang City.

Pei Qian did not seem to have much to choose from, but walked straight towards the southwest of Xuchang City with Bei Yan. After an incense stick of time, they arrived in front of a closed house.

Bei Yan looked up and saw that the layout and area of ​​this house were several times larger than his house in Xiangping. But at first glance, this house seemed a bit old, and the door was still tightly locked. There were a few weeds growing sparsely on the steps in front of the door.

"Xuchang is not as good as Luoyang and Yecheng." Pei Qian said with a smile: "If it were in Luoyang or Yecheng, there would naturally be many new houses to choose from. But you also know that Emperor Wu had already established his capital in Yecheng. Although Xuchang is called the capital of the Han Dynasty, it is much more desolate, and the houses are naturally a bit older."

"Although the house is old, we can ask County Magistrate Chen to send people to repair it, add some new appliances, and hire some servants, and it should be comfortable to live in."

Bei Yan said quickly: "Mr. Pei has led me here with great effort. I am already very satisfied and dare not ask for more."

Pei Qian smiled and said, "You are not the only one whose house is old. Your Majesty only arrived in Xuchang in September, and everyone lives in an old house. You know the Privy Council, right? They are now working in the three dukes' mansions of the Han Dynasty. They are demolishing yards and houses while on duty. The scene is very chaotic."

Bei Yan bowed and said, "Thank you, Lord Pei. I have been informed and will go to the Privy Council later today."

Pei Qian smiled and waved his hand, and the accompanying clerk stepped forward to open the door.

Pei Qian got off his horse, and Bei Yan followed him. The two walked side by side into the courtyard. As far as the eye could see, the courtyard was full of weeds. Bei Yan didn't care, and thought it would be fine after some repairs.

"How about this house?" Pei Qing asked.

"It is extremely spacious, which has exceeded my expectations." Bei Yan said, "I just don't know how long it has been since anyone lived in this house. Whose house was it before?"

Pei Qian laughed a few times: "Even if General Ruobei didn't ask, I would have told you. This house was originally the residence of Xun Chen and Xun Youruo from Yingchuan. Do you know this person?"

Bei Yan thought for a moment, then answered: "Xun Youruo? Could it be the Xun Youruo who was the younger brother of Xun Lingjun during the Han Dynasty? I have also heard of this person's name in Liaodong."

"Really?" Pei Qian smiled, "In the first year of Taihe, the Xun family was investigated for treason, and all the close relatives were exiled to Liangzhou. This house was originally the residence of Xun Hong, the son of Xun Chen. After Xun Hong died, this house was also confiscated by the government."

"Does General Bei dare to live here?"

Bei Yan sighed in his heart. The court was indeed different from Liaodong. It seemed that there were dangers everywhere. If he was not careful, he might fall into a trap. Pei Qian led him here. Could he not do it?

Bei Yan laughed heartily and said, "What Xun family? I just heard the name by chance, but I don't recognize it. I am a soldier from Liaodong, so I have no taboos. This house is very good!"

"Thank you, Mr. Pei, for choosing a beautiful house for me! When I am settled, I will invite you to my residence for a banquet." "Of course, of course." Pei Qian stroked his beard and smiled, "General, you don't have to thank me. I will write a letter of thanks to His Majesty tomorrow."

"How should this petition be written?" Bei Yan asked.

Pei Qian said, "I am the Minister of the Interior, and you are a general leading the troops. The Privy Council will be in charge. You can ask Liu and Wang when the time comes."

"Let's go. I have nothing to do today. I will take you to the Privy Council to meet Liu Youjian and Wang Zuojian and get to know the way."

Bei Yan said, "Alas, I am really terrified to trouble you, Lord Pei."

"No problem." Pei Qian said with a smile, "The Privy Council is not far from Xuchang Palace. I'll go back on the way."

"I understand." Bei Yan said.

The two men walked out slowly. Pei Qian spoke a few words to the county official sent by County Magistrate Chen, and then he and Bei Yan headed towards the direction of the Privy Council.

As they chatted, Bei Yan asked, "Mr. Pei, since I am under the command of the Privy Council, I still don't know how many troops the Wei army has now? When I followed the army south, I vaguely heard that there were about 300,000 troops."

Pei Qian held the reins with both hands, looked at the road ahead, and responded without looking away: "Three hundred thousand, that's about the number, but this is the record of the first year of Taihe. It has also increased a bit in recent years."

"More than 300,000?" Bei Yan asked with a little surprise.

Pei Qian nodded: "As we expand our territory, the army has also increased accordingly. However, the court and the Privy Council are still quite restrained in the expansion of military power. It is not easy to maintain an army."

"Gongsun Yuan has 50,000 soldiers in the four counties of Liaodong. That's a lot of conscription, right?"

Bei Yan replied, "It has only reached 50,000 in the past two years. It used to be 30,000. It does cost more."

Pei Qian smiled and said, "Take Yingzhou for example. The court has allocated 25,000 troops to Wang Wenshu. Apart from the 5,000 troops from the Central Plains, another 20,000 troops will be added. Add the 10,000 troops just transferred back from Liaodong, and the total will be 30,000."

"In Qinzhou and Hanzhong, Lu Huqiang leads 10,000 Qiang cavalry, Zhang Zhengxi has 5,000 Qiang soldiers, and Guo Zhengshu has 10,000 Qiang soldiers."

"In short, the total number of Wei's troops in all four directions is about 350,000 to 360,000. As for the exact number, I cannot give you the details. You may ask Liu Ziyang, he should know."

Bei Yan noted this number in his mind and cupped his hands: "Thank you, Mr. Pei, for your advice. I now know the answer."

……

The next morning, in the study room of Xuchang Palace.

Cao Rui received a document about military farming from Sun Zi, the governor of Yanzhou. After reading it, he showed it to Man Chong and Sima Yi, and then handed it to Xiahou Xuan.

Eight imperial attendants also stood in a neat row in the study, passing the document around.

Cao Rui said slowly: "The document you gave me yesterday, regardless of the content or the format, is a little more readable after the revision. But if you look at Governor Sun's document and then look at yours, you will immediately see the difference."

Xiahou Xuan handed the document to He Chuan who was standing beside him, and then he bowed and said, "Envoy Sun's document is detailed and concise, and it is indeed a good article. I am far from being able to compare with you."

Sima Yi smiled and said, "Taichu, let alone you, even my writing skills can't catch up with Sun Yanlong's. He has been a secretary for most of his life and has been dealing with clerks for decades. There are probably not many people in the Wei Dynasty who can surpass him."

Cao Rui also smiled but said nothing.

Man Chong interrupted and said, "Your Majesty, I have also read the documents of Governor Sun. The military farms in Yanzhou are all in Chenliu, Jiyin and Dongjun. Governor Sun suggested abolishing Jiyin first. I think this is a bit conservative. He originally wanted to use Yanzhou as a pilot, but he chose Jiyin as a pilot. After trying this and that, how long will it take for the court to implement the decree?"

Cao Rui nodded without comment, and then looked at Sima Yi:

"What do you think, Sikong? Tell me."

Sima Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what General Man said is not without reason. There are countless military farming projects in the world. How can we spread them out county by county?"

"I suggest that we start in Yanzhou first, taking advantage of the slack season this winter to measure the land and divide the areas. The matter of the three counties in Yanzhou will not be delayed until next summer or autumn. One season is enough."

Cao Rui nodded and said, "You two said so. In fact, I have the same idea."

"Perhaps Governor Sun has been in Yanzhou for too long, and his perspective on affairs is not based on the overall situation of the central government. But I don't blame him. Everyone has their own duties."

"But after the imperial court issued the order, he could no longer delay the implementation of this matter."

"Sikong!"

Sima Yi cupped his hands and replied, "I am here!"

Cao Rui said: "Withdrawing the military farms is a serious matter. Yanzhou should be the first among all the states. I order you to go to Yanzhou with the imperial seal. You should come back and forth for a month and seriously promote and supervise this matter for me!" (End of this chapter)