Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Chapter 66: Talking about the past (Seeking follow-up reading)
Hearing the emperor's question, Sun Zi's heart beat wildly. Sun Zi had been in charge of confidential matters for a long time, but neither Cao Cao nor Cao Pi had ever asked Sun Zi anything about such an important personnel appointment.

In other words, Sun Zi's role has always been a tool. And now the emperor actually asked Sun Zi about such an important personnel matter?

Sun Zi guessed that the emperor asked this question, and half of the time it was possible that the emperor just said it casually and it was in line with his daily style. The other half was possible that the emperor really valued him.

Should he express his opinion or not? Sun Zi was worried at this moment. But after a moment, Sun Zi made a decision.

Sun Zi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is beyond my position to discuss. Your Majesty should ask the general."

Obviously, Sun Zi chose a conservative and safe approach: using his own position as an excuse to let the emperor ask General Cao Zhen, who was actually in charge of military affairs.

Reasonable.

The inner court officials were different from the outer court officials. Although it was not true that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger, being cautious was the foundation of the inner court officials' lives. For such sensitive matters, they would not express their opinions if possible, lest the emperor think that they were colluding with the outer court officials.

Seeing that Sun Zi didn't say anything, Cao Rui didn't seem to care: "Secretary Sun, where is Zhang He now?"

Sun Zi thought for a moment and said: "General Zhang He should station his troops in Mei County now."

Cao Rui nodded and took off a jade pendant from his waist: "Send someone to deliver this jade pendant of mine to Zhang He, and issue an imperial edict to Zhang He, ordering him to enter Luoyang."

Sun Zi nodded and said yes, secretly thanking himself for not saying anything more. It seemed that the emperor would most likely give the post of Guanzhong to Zhang He.

……

The emperor's carriage slowly drove to the front of Zhonglei Camp, and General Cao Hong, who was in charge of Zhonglei Camp, had been waiting at the camp gate for a long time.

Zhonglei Camp is an important camp in the central army of Cao Wei.

Cao Wei's Central Army had 50,000 soldiers, including 25,000 soldiers in the Wuwei Battalion, 8,000 in the Zhongjian Battalion, 7,000 in the Zhonglei Battalion, 4,000 in the Wuxiaowei Battalion, 3,000 in the Zhonglingjun, and 3,000 in the Dajiangjun.

The person in charge of the Central Army of Cao Wei changed frequently. Just since Cao Pi became emperor, Cao Xiu, Xiahou Shang, Cao Zhen, Chen Qun, Wei Zhen, Zhu Shao and others have successively been in charge of the affairs of the Central Army as the Central Commander or the General of the Central Army.

Such frequent personnel changes had little impact on the imperial guards, which was related to the unique system of Cao Wei’s central army.

To sum it up in one sentence, the Central Commander or the General in Charge is usually responsible for the daily affairs and command of the Central Army, but in times of war, the Central Army will be handed over to the general who goes out to fight.

In the second year of Huangchu, when the Qiang people in Liangzhou rebelled, Cao Zhen led 20,000 troops on an expedition to Liangzhou and opened up the Silk Road.

When the three armies attacked Wu in the third year of Huangchu, a part of the 50,000 central troops stayed in Wancheng to guard Cao Pi, the remaining half was given to Cao Ren who attacked Ruxukou in the middle, and the other half was given to Xiahou Shang and Cao Zhen who attacked Jiangling.

General Cao Hong was in charge of many affairs of the Zhonglei Camp.

The emperor's carriage set out from the North Palace and arrived in front of the Zhonglei Camp in less than half an hour. At this time, Luoyang City was actually a military city, and the 50,000-strong Cao Wei Central Army was stationed in Luoyang City.

After Cao Rui got off the car, he saw Cao Hong was about to kneel down to pay his respects, so he quickly took a few steps forward and pulled up Cao Hong's sleeve.

Cao Rui smiled and said, "General Wei is a great hero of the Wei Dynasty and also my elder. Why should I ask General Wei to kneel down to greet me?"

Cao Rui had never met with ministers before he ascended the throne, and this was the first time Cao Hong saw the emperor in person. Seeing the emperor personally supporting him, Cao Hong became even more terrified.

Cao Hong said respectfully: "I am a criminal. Your Majesty has promoted me. I am grateful to you. How can I deserve your support?"

Cao Hong was also nearly 60 years old, in good health, but with some gray hair. Cao Rui stood in front of the camp gate, holding Cao Hong's hands with both hands, and asked with a smile: "General Wei is certainly worthy of this. Take me into the camp to have a look?"

Cao Hong quickly agreed and led the emperor into the camp. The two attendants on duty, Liu Ye and Chen Jiao, followed behind, and behind them were the captains and lieutenants of the Zhonglei Camp.

Cao Rui asked casually, "Is General Wei's recruitment of soldiers in Hebei going smoothly?"

Cao Hong replied, "Thanks to your majesty's divine power, I was able to successfully select soldiers in Hebei. The soldiers from various places gathered in Yecheng. After I had checked them in Yecheng, I led them back to Luoyang."

Cao Rui looked at Cao Hong and said, "There are more than 10,000 reinforcements now, right? How many are veterans and how many are new recruits?"

Cao Hong bowed and replied, "About 70% are veterans, and the remaining 30% are mostly soldiers stationed in various parts of Hebei. When selecting soldiers for the central army, we will naturally choose the best of the best."

Cao Rui nodded: "The soldiers in the central army must be selected from the best."

Cao Hong saw that his previous mission had been explained, and then he asked the emperor: "Your Majesty is inspecting the Zhonglei Camp this time, and I should lead Your Majesty around."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "No need. Although I came to inspect the Zhonglei Camp, I actually came to see General Wei. General Wei is in charge of the Zhonglei Camp for me. Is my arrangement appropriate?"

Cao Hong quickly replied: "I am already old, and I thought I would retire at home, but I never expected that Your Majesty would appoint me to this important task. I am truly grateful."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "Although you and I are the monarch and the subject, in terms of seniority, General Wei is still my great uncle."

Cao Hong stood still upon hearing this and bowed respectfully to the emperor: "Your Majesty is the supreme ruler. How dare I be proud of my seniority? Please don't say that in the future."

Cao Rui nodded: "It's okay, I understand."

Cao Hong led the way and the group arrived at the lobby of Zhonglei Camp.

Cao Rui naturally sat in the middle, Cao Hong sat below him, while the two attendants and the captains and commanders all stood in the hall.

Cao Rui looked at Cao Hong and said, "Today I am meeting General Wei. We will not discuss military affairs, but old matters."

Cao Hong cupped his hands and said, "As for military affairs, I am afraid that I have failed your Majesty's trust. But as for the past, I followed Emperor Wu in raising an army in Chenliu, and I have experienced many past events over the past few decades."

Cao Rui smiled and said, "I know from the classics that when Emperor Wu fought against Yuan Shao at Guandu, it was General Wei who was in charge of guarding the camp?"

Cao Hong was not a cautious person. His previous cautious attitude was forced by Cao Pi's blame. After seeing the easy-going nature of the new emperor, Cao Hong gradually relaxed a lot.

Cao Hong laughed: "Your Majesty has a good memory. When I was guarding the camp, I guess your Majesty was talking about the time when Emperor Wu personally attacked Wuchao, right?"

Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "That's right, what I'm asking about is Emperor Wu's surprise attack on Wuchao."

Cao Hong was in high spirits, and stroked his beard as he said, "It has been almost thirty years since the Battle of Wuchao. I remember that it was just after dinner when I was inspecting the central army camp. Who would have thought that Yuan Shao's counselor Xu You would run outside the camp gate?"

"Xu You persuaded Emperor Wu by saying that Wuchao was empty. Emperor Wu made a prompt decision and personally led his troops to Wuchao that night, leaving me and Xun You to guard the camp."

"I still remember that it was late at night. I was sitting restlessly in the camp when I suddenly heard cheers outside. I went out of the tent and looked into the distance. I saw a fire in the direction of Wuchao..."

……

Thank you for reading, your reading is the motivation for me to write books. The new book period is a critical period. If you have extra votes, please vote. If you don’t have any votes, please read it every day. Thank you~


(End of this chapter)