"Zi Xiu, something big has happened!" Yin Shang rushed into Shangguan Qi's house and spoke directly to Jiang Wei's old friend. "What big deal could it be? Ji County has been surrendered to the Shu army!" Although Shangguan Qi lived in Yin Shang's house and could understand Yin Shang's idea of surrendering to Shu, there was still some resentment in his words. "What happened to Lord Yin's face?" Yin Shang did not respond, but directly said: "Zi Xiu, you don't know? The Han army must have been defeated in Lueyang! Gao Xiang forced me to take out all the household registrations in the mansion this morning, load them onto trucks and transport them to Hanzhong, and move all the people away!" "If they hadn't been defeated, how could they not even give up Longyou?! And the Wei army must be very close, otherwise why would they leave today?" Shangguan Qi stood up from the couch, stood barefoot on the ground and saluted: "Mr. Yin came to see me now, is there anything you want me to do?" "That's right!" Yin Shang had half of his face swollen, but he still stepped forward and grabbed Shangguan Qi's hands with an earnest look: "I surrendered to the Han Dynasty out of helplessness. The governor Ma Zun abandoned Ji County. I am a local, so I naturally have to stand up and find a way out for this county. Do you understand me?" Shangguan Qi hummed but didn't say much. Yin Shang continued, "Now Zhuge Liang wants to move the people of Longyou to Hanzhong. I can't hide away from him, but it's different for you, Zixiu. They don't recognize you!"
Shangguan Qi bowed and said, "Mr. Yin, please speak frankly." Yin Shang no longer hesitated: "I surrendered helplessly, but I still have some feelings for the court. The city is in chaos now, you take my token, ride east quickly, find the court army, and explain the emptiness of Ji County as soon as possible!" Shangguan Qi took the seal of the chief clerk of Tianshui County of Wei from Yin Shang, and hesitated: "Mr. Yin has gone to Hanzhong himself, so what's the point of keeping this favor?" "Not necessarily useless!" Yin Shang said solemnly, "I have long known that Zixiu is a talented person, but the governor Ma Zun is unwilling to use you! If Zixiu gains power one day, I hope you can save my family's lives. This seal will serve as a proof!" Shangguan Qi sighed, "Mr. Yin is old, and I can understand the difficulties of his family and clan. But who can predict what will happen in the future?" "I have taken note of what Lord Yin said. We will talk about it another day. Sorry, I cannot give you any guarantees right now!" Yin Shang bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, Zixiu!" Shangguan Qi also bowed in return, thanking Yin Shang for taking care of him for nearly a month: "Please give me two good horses, some water, dry food and horse feed, I will leave immediately!" Yin Shang pulled Shangguan Qi's hand and walked out: "Zi Xiu, come with me, let's do it now!" …… At this time, the area outside Lueyang City had become a transit point for food and supplies. The grain and grass from Guanzhong were transported to Lueyang via the 480-li Long Road, and then divided into two routes, east and west, to supply Cao Zhen and Zhang He. Many of the camps, fortresses, and fences that were built during the stalemate between the Wei and Shu armies were also demolished, leaving only the camp that was built by Wang Ping at Duanshankou and later reinforced by Zhang He and others. Controlling Duanshankou is enough for Lueyang at present. The county government office in Lueyang City is already the best house here. Cao Rui was sitting in the hall discussing military affairs with Sima Yi when Yang Fu walked in quickly from outside holding a document. "What military report does Minister Yang have in his hand?" Cao Rui asked. Yang Fu handed over the military report with both hands, and then said, "It is the military report from Central Guard General Huan Fan." "The day before yesterday, the general defeated Zhang Yi's army of the Shu army, and most of his troops fled to the mountains. The general was in a hurry to march and did not pursue them, but sent scouts to report their location back."
"Early yesterday morning, Huan Yuan led 3,000 cavalrymen and found these Shu troops in several nearby villages. Their food supplies were burned by the general, and they were already very short of food." "Zhang Yi, the governor of Guanghan, who led the troops, surrendered with Huan Yuanze's promise not to kill the captives." Cao Rui nodded, looked at Sima Yi and said with a smile: "This Shu general is suitable for being an official in Liangzhou." Yuju? Sima Yi was stunned for a moment, then he stroked his beard and smiled, "Your Majesty is right. Liangzhou has Zhangye County, which means 'Zhangguo's armpit'. This man is called Zhang Yi, so he can also be called 'Zhangguo's wing'." Yang Fu replied, "Huan Fan said in the military report that he will return to Lueyang before nightfall today." Cao Rui nodded slightly and looked at Yang Fu: "Since you are here, Yang Qing, please sit here with me. I just talked with Sikong about the affairs of Longyou, you can also join us for consultation." "As you wish." Yang Fu bowed and sat down opposite Sima Yi. "Yang Qing, this is what I think." Cao Rui said slowly: "This time, the Wei army is going to attack from Guanzhong and Luoyang, but the journey is still a long way to go." "From Luoyang to Chang'an is 800 li, from Chang'an to Chencang is 400 li, and from Chencang to Shanggui via the Longshan Road is another 600 li. Putting aside other things, this distance is really too far." Yang Fu nodded thoughtfully: "Your Majesty is right. Yongliang Governor and Left General Zhang He learned of the alarm in Longyou, and the cavalry marched 120 miles a day, and finally arrived in Lueyang one day ahead of the Shu army." "If Zhang He had arrived one or two days later, the situation in Longyou would probably be very different from what it is today." "Yes, I think so too." Cao Rui said with emotion: "Yongzhou is too big and Liangzhou is too far away. These two states are really what I am most worried about right now." "However, since I am now in Longyou, my first priority is to drive the Shu army and defeat it, and my second priority is to solve the military emergency in Longyou." Sima Yi nodded and said, "It has always been called the Four Counties of Longyou, which includes Longxi, Nangan, Tianshui, and Guangwei. There are also those who call it the Five Counties of Longyou, which also includes Anding County." "Minister Yang, the counties in Longyou belong to either Yongzhou or Liangzhou. You should be more familiar with them than I am." "What Sikong said is very true." Yang Fu cupped his hands and said, "During the Later Han Dynasty, the four counties of Longyou were first under Yongzhou and then Liangzhou." "In the 17th year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu restored the 13 prefectures of the country to nine prefectures, abolished Liangzhou, and made the area from Guanzhong to Dunhuang Yongzhou." "After the late emperor became emperor, he unified the seven counties in Hexi into the new Liangzhou, and the lands of Yong and Liangzhou became what they are today." Cao Rui listened to Yang Fu's words and nodded in agreement. In fact, in the 17th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao restored the Nine Provinces system out of consideration for his own interests, rather than necessarily imitating any ancient system. Cao Cao established the Wei Kingdom in Jizhou. If Jizhou became bigger, wouldn’t Cao Cao’s Wei Kingdom be bigger? Under Dong Zhao's idea, Hedong, Henei of Sili, and Pingyuan of Qingzhou, the three largest counties in the world, were also assigned to Cao Cao's Wei Duchy. As for Liangzhou...who cared about Liangzhou at that time? But now Cao Rui cares. After listening to Yang Fu's introduction, Cao Rui said with emotion: "If I were to say so, the regional division of Yongliang is unreasonable!" "Look, General Chen Qun resisted the Wu Kingdom in Jingzhou, and Grand Marshal Cao Xiu did the same in Yangzhou." "Jingzhou against Jingzhou, Yangzhou against Yangzhou." "Look at Yongliang. Longyou and Guanzhong are only for a small Hanzhong County!" Cao Rui sighed, "I don't want Zhang He to have to travel so much again."
Yang Fu asked hesitantly, "Then Your Majesty, do you want to...?" Cao Rui did not try to hide the truth and asked directly, "Prime Minister, Minister Yang, do you think Longyou can be established as a separate state?" A single state? Not only Yang Fu was surprised, but Sima Yi in Longyou, who had been chatting with the emperor for an hour, was also shocked. Sima Yi was easy to talk to. It was easy to add one more state. The thirteen states in the world were combined into nine states and then split into thirteen states. It was understandable that the emperor saw that Longyou was remote and difficult to dispatch, so he added one more state. But Yang Fu didn’t think so! Yang Fu was born in Longyou, a native of Ji County, Tianshui. If Longyou could be established as a separate state, according to the current situation of Wei, which first defeated Wu in Huainan and then defeated Shu in Lueyang... Maybe this separate state in Longyou could last for hundreds of years! Then wouldn't Ji County, where my family lived, become the state capital? Yang Fu's heart was pounding in his chest. He suppressed his excitement and stood up, clasping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty, I think this is feasible!" "How is it feasible?" Cao Rui raised the corner of his mouth and asked Yang Fu. Yang Fu said calmly: "No matter from the perspective of geography, military affairs, or people's hearts, it is definitely feasible to merge the four counties of Longyou into one state, and it is very good!" Unexpectedly, Cao Rui shook his head and said, "Minister Yang has misunderstood." "I think it is definitely not enough to just consider the four counties in Longyou. We should at least add Wudu County in the south!" "If Yinping County can be conquered, then Yinping County can be added as well! It would be more appropriate to combine five or six counties into one state. Four counties are too few." Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "I think your Majesty is absolutely right! Now that Zhuge Liang has been defeated, after the Wei army recovers Longyou, they will surely be able to pursue the victory and take back Wudu!" Cao Rui nodded: "After the Battle of Hanzhong, the imperial court took the initiative to give up Wudu County. It is reasonable to take Wudu back now." "If it could really become a state, what do you think it should be called?" Seeing Sima Yi and Yang Fu both lost in thought, Cao Rui smiled and said, "I just remembered an allusion. How about this, I, the Minister of Works, and the Minister of the Court write down the words we think of on our palms, and then compare them?" Sima Yi did not want to spoil the fun, and smiled and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty is in a good mood! If you say so, I will have to think about it carefully." Yang Fu was obviously more serious. He just nodded and didn't say much. "Bo Yue, get a pen!" Cao Rui called. Since the day Jiang Wei followed the emperor, Cao Rui restored Jiang Wei's position as Palace Attendant and had him serve by his side ever since. Jiang Wei, who was standing in a corner of the hall and heard the conversation between the emperor and two important ministers, could not hide his excitement. However, due to his duty, Jiang Wei did not say much, but quickly took the pen. Cao Rui thought for a few moments, then wrote a word on his hand, and Sima Yi did the same. Only Yang Fu hesitated and refused to write. (End of this chapter)