Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Is Zhong Gong back?"

In the palace outside the Mobei military camp, Cao Rui raised his head from behind the desk and looked at Guanqiu Jian who walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, I, Guanqiu Jian, pay my respects to you." After bowing, Guanqiu Jian stood up and said, "Your Majesty, when you were in Xuchang, you granted me ten days' leave and allowed me to visit my father in Nanyang. I only used nine days."

Cao Rui put down the bamboo slips in his hand, pointed to the chair beside him, and sighed: "Zhong Gong, please sit down. You should have gone when you returned to the army, but you delayed for another half a month. How is your father's health?"

"I thank Your Majesty on behalf of my father for your concern. His health has not been good since the beginning of autumn." After thanking the grace and sitting down, Guanqiu Jian sighed and said, "A doctor has examined him and said that he has a lung disease. The colder the winter, the more severe his cough. He can only stay in a warm room every day and must not catch a cold. He must take decoctions twice a day without interruption."

Cao Rui looked at Guanqiu Jian and said, "In that case, I will send a fast horse to Luoyang City later to select a doctor who is good at treating lung diseases to go to Wancheng. I hope your father will get better soon."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Guanqiu Jian stood up and bowed again.

"Zhonggong, please sit down. I am also worried about your father's illness." Cao Rui said, "Let's talk about the itinerary. Although my return to Luoyang this time is a bit hasty, it is also the right time. You led the Zhongling Army Camp and walked faster. They were all cavalry and arrived in Xuchang first. The Wuwei Camp was behind and walked slowly. I let them go directly to Mobei and then go north together."

Guanqiu Jian's father, Guanqiu Xing, got the position of Governor of Jingzhou. Although his ability was not as good as other important governors such as Huang Quan, Chen Jiao and Jiang Ji, he performed his duties conscientiously and did not make any mistakes.

Guanqiu Xing was ill at the moment, and even if it wasn't for the sake of Guanqiu Jian's feelings, there was no need to suddenly replace him. Lung disease doesn't mean he can't handle things, and there's nothing urgent waiting for him to inspect in Jingzhou at the moment. If something really happened, it would be convenient to send someone from Luoyang to Wancheng to replace him.

Guanqiu Jian calmed himself down and asked, "Why is Your Majesty so anxious to return to Luoyang?"

Cao Rui said: "The general has returned to Luoyang from Chencang. When he stayed in Chencang, Master Wei repeatedly wrote to him to persuade him during the war. The general thought about it for a long time and finally agreed to return to Luoyang to report to me in person about the situation in Guanxi."

"General..." Guanqiu Jian said, "General, you should also take good care of yourself and not let the things like last year happen again."

The so-called events of last year refer to the situation where Cao Xiu died of his injuries in Yangzhou.

Cao Rui said: "Of course I understand this. Since the general has returned to Luoyang, I will not send him out for the time being. I will only be satisfied if he can recuperate in Luoyang and live to be seventy or eighty years old."

"Zhong Gong."

"I am here." Guanqiu Jian replied.

Cao Rui said: "In fact, in the past two years, after experiencing the death of the former Grand Marshal and the death of Xu Zhongkang, I have increasingly felt that compared with wisdom and talent, physical strength and life span are the upper limit of a person's achievements."

"Let's not talk about other things. Let's take the former military advisor of Emperor Wu, Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao. He was about the same age as Weiwei Xin Zuozhi, but he died of illness at the age of 38. If Guo Jia could live to 60, how much could he have accomplished in these 20 years?"

Guanqiu Jian felt that Your Majesty had gone too far, and said, "Your Majesty is right."

"Let's not talk about others first, let's talk about my generals." Cao Rui said slowly: "General Cao Zidan is fat and impatient, and he likes to drink. General Cao Zilian lives in Luoyang, drinking and watching dance every day, and he is almost drunk to death in the wine jar. Cao Fangcheng likes women, Wen Zhongruo also likes women and gambles, and Xiahou Zhongquan likes wine."

"Zhang Junyi, Wang Yanyun, and Guo Boji have good foundations and no bad habits. Lu Boyan always studies late at night, often staying up all night and sleeping during the day, and his days and nights are reversed, which makes him listless. Jia Liangdao has back pain, leg pain, and pain everywhere. Cheng Shenbo studies prophecies and disasters all day long. Huan Yuan is impatient and irritable, and his subordinates often make him furious over trivial matters..."

"Too many, I can't finish talking about them all at once. In short, many of my generals give me a lot of trouble."

Guanqiu Jian was a little stunned after hearing this.

As a general, the pressure of leading troops in battle is extremely high, and it is normal to find some ways to relieve stress in your spare time. Guanqiu Jian has also heard about what your Majesty just said, but he has never heard such a detailed version.

"No, my generals should change these bad habits." Cao Rui stood up, paced in the hall for a while, turned to look at Guanqiu Jian: "Zhong Gong, I have thought of a good idea!"

"What method?" Guanqiu Jian was a little helpless.

Cao Rui said: "I will send a minister to patrol the border for me! While comforting the generals, I will also bring a few imperial doctors to accompany them to treat their illnesses. I will also send people to help them correct their bad habits. That's my will!"

"This..." Guanqiu Jian hesitated for a few moments: "Your Majesty, I have never heard of such a thing. Will the generals think that Your Majesty has sent people to monitor them?"

"Monitor?" Cao Rui sneered, "Monitoring them to drink less and sleep more, what kind of monitoring is that? It's nothing more than having an extra servant by my side. I have inspectors everywhere, and I have spies in the army, so why do I need to send someone else? I came up with this idea while chatting with Zhong Gong today, Zhong Gong, please write it down for me, and when I return to Luoyang, I will send people to various places!"

"Yes, I understand." Guanqiu Jian bowed in response.

The next day, the emperor set out from Mobei and headed for Luoyang. The Wuwei Camp, Zhongling Army Camp, Wuxiaowei Camp, Yulin Zuojun, Xiaowei Camp, etc. followed behind him. In the convoy of guards, there were also concubines from the Xuchang Palace, and officials from the Shangshutai and Privy Council and their families.

It's another big event.

Outside the city of Luoyang, only the three dukes, nine ministers and the two thousand officials in Luoyang went out five miles to welcome him. This was a special request of Cao Rui to avoid excessive waste.

After briefly exchanging greetings with Grand Tutor Hua Xin and Grand Commandant Dong Zhao, Cao Rui invited General Cao Zhen, who had come out of the city to greet him, to get on the carriage, and they rode back to the North Palace together.

"How is the general's headache now?" Cao Rui asked with concern.

Cao Zhen smiled bitterly: "I asked a doctor to diagnose me when I was in Chencang. He said it was vertigo caused by hyperactivity of liver yang and deficiency of yin. He also said I needed to rest and think less, eat light food and talk without worrying." "After returning to Luoyang, the imperial physician also examined me. I was told to take medicine twice a day, morning and night, and not to get angry or drink alcohol. In short, it was like being in prison."

Cao Rui nodded slightly: "That's right. Now that we are back in Luoyang, what plans do you have, General?"

"What other plans do I have?" Cao Zhen shook his head and said, "I have no other plans except recuperating. I will recover from my headache soon so that I can relieve your majesty of your worries."

"Speaking of sharing worries." Cao Rui paused and said, "At present, the Minister of Defense is still in Chencang, watching the situation in Guanxi. The general has come to Luoyang. Who should I entrust the affairs of Guanxi to?"

Cao Zhen sighed softly, "Your Majesty, to be fair, I think the war in Guanxi this year is not satisfactory. It would not make much difference if I fought or Wei Gongzhen led it."

"I understand." Cao Rui nodded. "Zhang He and Lu Xun's military reports clearly stated that the Qiang cavalry could not break through Zhuge Liang's infantry and chariot formation. I understand this. It's nothing more than training more soldiers and paying more attention next time we fight Shu. It's not a big deal."

"Who should be selected to take up the post in Guanxi? Does the general have any idea?"

Among the three directions of fighting against Wu and Shu, Jingzhou, Yangzhou and Guanxi, the generals in Guanxi were the best. In addition to Cao Zhen, Zhang He, Lu Xun and Guo Huai were all talented generals and capable of taking on important tasks.

Although Cao Rui already had some preliminary ideas in his mind, he still wanted to hear Cao Zhen's opinion.

Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Why not let Wei Gongzhen stay in Guanxi?"

"Oh? Why would the general have such an idea?" Cao Rui was a little surprised. He thought Cao Zhen would choose Zhang He to take charge of the overall situation. After all, before Cao Zhen became the governor of Guanxi, it was Zhang He who was in charge of military affairs in Yongliang.

Cao Zhen said, "Your Majesty, I have carefully considered this in Chencang. Zhuge Liang is advancing from Wujie and Wudu because the defenses of Wuxing Pass and Yangping Pass are good. They cannot find any loopholes in Wuxing and Hanzhong."

"In the third year of Taihe, due to the many things to do in Yongzhou and Qinzhou, only Wuxing Pass was repaired, and there was no spare energy to build a city in Wujie. This gave the Shu bandits the opportunity to enter from there. In the next two years, I think the key to Guanxi is to build a city in Wujie. Once this city is completed, the Shu army will not be able to disturb us again."

Cao Rui said thoughtfully: "Wujie... Qinzhou and Yongzhou really didn't have the spare capacity last year, there is nothing we can do about it. If Wujie City can be built, then the three routes of Wujie, Wuxing and Yangping for the Shu army to go north will be blocked, and Zhuge Liang will no longer be able to do anything."

"Not only that." Cao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "If Wujie can be built, it will not only make roads and military operations more convenient, but also make command more appropriate."

"Wujie can protect Dazhong and Wudu, and the Qishan City behind it belongs to them as well. Zhang He and Lu Xun can leave one of them. Wuxing, Yangping, Nanzheng and other places in the east are under the command of Guo Huai, and they are all dangerous passes and strong cities. In this way, only two generals will be left."

Cao Rui asked: "Zhang He and Guo Huai?"

"That's right." Cao Zhen nodded.

Cao Rui opened the curtain of the carriage and saw that the convoy had entered the gate of Luoyang. He did not hesitate and immediately replied to Cao Zhen:

"Since the general suggested that I let Master Wei stay in Guanxi, then I will transfer Master Wei back after Wujie City is repaired and let him serve as an official outside the city."

Cao Zhen smiled and said, "Wei Gongzhen is a man who is loyal to the country and worthy of trust. Your Majesty, why don't you give him the post of commander-in-chief of the military forces in Guanxi?"

Cao Rui and Cao Zhen looked at each other for a few moments and shook their heads slightly: "The general can be the governor of Guanxi, but Master Wei cannot be the governor of the three states and Hanzhong unless he is a relative. I don't want to set this precedent."

"Let Master Wei be the chief military officer of Yong, Qin, and Yi."

"Your Majesty, what about Liangzhou?" Cao Zhen asked again.

Cao Rui calmly replied: "If we still fight in Longyou as we did in the second year of Taihe, it would be fine to bring Liangzhou under management. Now that the front line has advanced to Wudu and Hanzhong counties, Liangzhou is still too far away."

"I understand. Liangzhou is something that can be considered unnecessary." Cao Zhen nodded.

As the two chatted, there was a sudden sound of drums and music outside the carriage. Cao Rui understood that this must be because the carriage had arrived outside the palace.

Cao Zhen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the carriage is about to enter the palace. I would like to get off the carriage in advance."

"That's fine, General, please come with me into the palace and sit in the cabinet."

Cao Zhen laughed and said, "I have no duties in the cabinet, so why should I go there?"

Cao Rui said, "I have already asked the imperial physician. A headache like the general's requires rest and rest, and he should not work too hard, but he should not be unable to do anything."

"Come and work in the cabinet."

"What about General Dong?" Cao Zhen was a little embarrassed. "The West Pavilion has a quota of two people. If I go back to the West Pavilion, wouldn't I be taking General Dong's position and making an enemy?"

Cao Rui glanced at Cao Zhen and said, "When did the cabinet stipulate that there should be a quota? It's all up to me. Don't worry so much." (End of this chapter)