Chapter 35: Random Play Cao Xiu went to Yangzhou and Chen Qun went to Jingzhou. Thanks to the good habits developed by the two assistant ministers in the Secretariat, and combined with the requirements of Emperor Cao Rui, a report was still submitted every five days. Battle situation, military intelligence, climate... these information from the front lines were gathered from Shouchun and Xiangyang to the court in Luoyang at a frequency of once every five days. This has basically changed the previous loose state of the Cao Pi period, where people would report when there was something to report and not report when there was nothing to report. If it were a normal dynasty, when there was an alarm on the border, the court would send out two of the four regents at once. The capital might have been shrouded in war clouds, and the common people might have begun to worry. But on the contrary, the Wei Dynasty was not a normal dynasty. The two regents left Luoyang and went to the frontier as if nothing had happened. The officials, scholars and common people continued to live their lives as usual. There is no other reason, the Wei Dynasty, or Cao Wei, used to fight as a daily routine. Especially the people in the capital city of Luoyang, they may have the biggest heart of this era. Not to mention the rebellion of Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo and others in Luoyang in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, nor the Emperor Wu Cao Cao who deployed his military forces to all directions, let’s just talk about the time after the previous Emperor Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor in Luoyang.
In the third year of Huangchu, he attacked Wu and suppressed the rebellion in Liangzhou. In the fifth year of Huangchu, he attacked Wu. In the sixth year of Huangchu, he attacked Wu again. Even the emperor is not in Luoyang for half of the time, so it is not surprising to send two regent ministers out now. Those who are surprised by the war must be the outsiders who have just arrived in Luoyang. The real Luoyang people have long been accustomed to the days of war. At this time, the only regent ministers in Luozhong were General Cao Zhen and Recorder of the Secretariat Sima Yi. Four people became two, still one civil and one military, very balanced. Chen Jiao, who had previously dared to speak out and make direct criticisms, had been summoned to the palace to serve as a minister. Liu Ye, Xin Pi, Huang Quan, and Chen Jiao were the four ministers who gave advice to the emperor on a daily basis, while Liu Fang and Sun Zi were in charge of confidential matters. For Emperor Cao Rui, these six people were his main think tank. Whether it was military affairs, civil affairs, confidential matters, etc., these people's resumes covered everything. Cao Rui felt a little emotional. Compared with Eastern Wu and Shu Han, Wei had a lot more available people. But there is still a lot of mess. Let’s not talk about anything else, just the power of the imperial guard, which any emperor must control, was a mess in Cao Wei. The last time Cao Rui took Huang Quan and Zhong Yu to the Wuwei Camp, he discovered that the Wei central army was nominally under the leadership of Chen Qun. It sounds incredible that a scholar from Yingchuan took control of the military power, but in the final analysis, it was all due to the chaotic command of the previous emperor Cao Pi. Cao Rui was a bit slow in reading the minutes and articles by himself, and he had been staying up late for several nights. In the end, he pulled Huang Quan over, and the two of them slowly sorted out the historical evolution and ins and outs of the Wei State Central Army. Why was Huang Quan chosen instead of Liu Ye, Xin Pi, Chen Jiao, etc.? Because Huang Quan surrendered from Shu Han, had no historical baggage, and was a pure outsider, so he had to obey the emperor. The emperor likes to use such independent and lonely ministers the most. With the help of Huang Quan in organizing the information, the details of Wei's military structure gradually became clear in Cao Rui's mind. It's not Cao Rui's fault that he didn't know the details. It was Cao Pi who kept Cao Rui from getting involved in military affairs until the last day before his death, when he made Cao Rui the crown prince. In the study room.
Huang Quan sorted out the scattered papers on the table and said, "Your Majesty, I have already sorted them out and recorded them all on paper. Do you need to report now?" Cao Rui yawned, looked at Huang Quan who was equally exhausted under the candlelight and said, "It's getting late, so let's make it short. I'll go over the general details today, and I'll take my time to read the rest." Huang Quan nodded, cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, the Central Army of our Great Wei was originally based on the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the Royal Guards created by Emperor Wu." "The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry first belonged to Cao Chun, and then to Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen." "In the 24th year of Jian'an, Cao Zhen was appointed as the commander of the Central Army." "After the late emperor became emperor, he promoted Cao Zhen to the rank of general and appointed Xiahou Shang as the commander of the Central Army." "In the first year of Huangchu, the late emperor promoted Cao Zhen to the rank of General of the Upper Army, and made him the commander-in-chief of all military forces at home and abroad." "After returning from the first expedition against Wu, in the fourth year of Huangchu, Cao Zhen was promoted to the position of General of the Central Army. Until then, the Central Army of Wei was commanded by Cao Zhen." Cao Rui rubbed his temples with his hands. Ever since the Eastern Wu invaded Jiangxia, Cao Rui, feeling a great sense of urgency, had been studying military strategies every day and was already dizzy. Cao Rui said, "It was Emperor Wu who originally asked Cao Zhen to lead the central army. When the previous emperor came to power, he gave the central army and the outer army to Cao Zhen, right?" Huang Quan nodded: "Indeed." Cao Rui sighed and said, "Go on, how did the Central Army come into Chen Qun's hands?" Huang Quan cleared his throat and said, "Cao Zhen is the general of the Central Army, commanding all military forces at home and abroad, and personally commanding the Central Army. Obviously, the military affairs are a bit too heavy." "In the fifth year of Huangchu, the late emperor attacked Wu for the second time. The late emperor ordered Cao Zhen to dispatch the external troops, and the heavy responsibility of commanding the central army was given to Zhu Shao, who was appointed as the central commander." Cao Rui asked, "Is it Zhu Shao, who was listed as one of the 'Four Friends' along with Chen Qun, Sima Yi, and Wu Zhi?" Huang Quan responded: "It is this Zhu Suo, but this Zhu Suo died at the beginning of this year." "By the way, Zhu Shao was appointed to lead the Central Army probably because of his close relationship with the late emperor." "However, when the late emperor led his army to Guangling, Zhu Shao's health was probably not good, or Zhu Shao was unable to handle military affairs, so the late emperor dismissed him and replaced him with Chen Qun." "Wait." Cao Rui stopped Huang Quan: "This Zhu Shao, if I remember correctly, is from Qiao County?" Huang Quan responded: "That's right, but Chen Qun is from Yingchuan." Cao Rui said: "You don't need to tell me this. I naturally know that he was born in Yingchuan. The late emperor gave the central army to Zhu Shao because of their close relationship, and later gave it to Chen Qun?" Cao Rui snorted, "What a 'Four Friends' indeed! It's great to be a friend of the late emperor." Huang Quan continued, "This is not the end. After Chen Qun was the commander of the army for several months, the late emperor withdrew his troops and replaced Wei Zhen as the commander of the army." Cao Rui said, "Master Wei is such a talented man of both civil and military talents, how could I not have realized that? Chen Qun later became the commander of the navy, right?" Huang Quan might have started to feel a little embarrassed at this point, so he could only reluctantly reply, "That's right." Cao Rui stretched himself and said, "Isn't this just playing the piano randomly?" You are right, Cao Pi was indeed playing the piano at random. Huang Quan added: "After the late emperor returns to Luoyang, let Wei Zhen be the minister again. Chen Qun will continue to be the general of the Zhenjun Army and command the central army." ……
Cao Rui didn't want to say anything more at this time. The late Emperor Cao Pi certainly had his merits. If anyone became Cao Pi's friend, Cao Pi was really good to his friends. But he had two sides, and anyone who offended Cao Pi would surely suffer. Chen Qun, Sima Yi, Wu Zhi and Zhu Shao, who had a very good relationship with Cao Pi, were all highly valued by Cao Pi. Needless to say, the first three were the last one, Wu Zhi, who was sent to Yecheng to supervise the military affairs of Hebei. That’s right, Cao Pi’s good friend Wu Zhi became the first governor of Hebei. In comparison, those who offended Cao Pi were even more unlucky. For example, Cao Hong. (End of this chapter)