After His Majesty the Emperor's dragon boat left Pei State, it sailed down the river and arrived at Pengcheng, the seat of Xuzhou, within three days.
"Wang Xiang, go and send an order to General Pi, Lu Qian, and tell him to come here to see me."
"No." Wang Xiang, the regular attendant of Sanqi, accepted the order and bowed before going out.
Lu Qian, whose courtesy name is Zike. He was a veteran who had followed Emperor Wu to fight in all directions in the early years. When His Majesty ascended the throne of Wei at the beginning of that year, he made Lu Qian the general of Pi and the title of Marquis of Ting.
Speaking of Lu Qian and Lu Zike, he not only knew how to arrange troops and lead them in battle, but he also had a lot of knowledge about weapons.
In the fourth year of Yuanfeng, Emperor Xiaowu of the former dynasty, Liu Che, selected and designated spears, boring machines, knives, Ges, spears, whips, maces, swords, hammers, Laos, halberds, bows, axes, axes, cards, sticks, spears, and forks. . Use these eighteen weapons as eighteen martial arts.
But Lu Qian was ingenious and selected the new eighteen martial arts with nine long and nine short ones: the nine long ones are spears, halberds, sticks, axes, forks, boring hooks, and rings; the nine short ones are swords, crutches, axes, whips, maces, sticks, hammers, and pestles.
In addition, he is also good at managing civil affairs. Lu Qian showed this expertise when he took office in Taishan County. This is also the main reason why Cao Pi wants to pass on Lu Qian's visit today.
In Xuzhou, there must be someone to control it.
Not long after, General Pi Lu Qian came to the main hall of Pengcheng Mansion where the emperor was.
"My lord, General Pi Lu Qian, pays homage to Your Majesty!"
A general who looked more like a middle-aged Confucian scholar was half-kneeling in front of Cao Pi, saluting.
"Zike, there is no need to be polite."
Cao Pi looked at the veteran veteran carefully and nodded with satisfaction.
When Lu Qian heard the emperor call him Zi Ke, he felt even more how much the emperor valued him. Coupled with Emperor Wu's reliance on him back then, Lu Qian couldn't help but miss the Cao family even more.
"Zike, you have worked hard these years for my Cao family, for my Wei Dynasty, and for the millions of people in this world."
"My lord, dare to do your best to defend the Wei family!"
"Yes." Cao Pi nodded again. He supported Lu Qian and continued: "The reason why I came to Pengcheng first during this southern expedition is to entrust you with the great responsibility of Xuzhou."
Cao Pi made a gesture, and Xun Wei, the regular attendant of Sanqi, immediately understood and sent someone to fetch the seal and ribbon of the Xuzhou governor.
"Today, I have moved General Lu Qian to serve as the governor of Xuzhou and to serve as General Weilu. I hope you will do your best and don't let me bow down!"
Cao Pi stood up, personally took the seal and ribbon of the Xuzhou governor, and handed it to Lu Qian.
Lu Qian hurriedly and carefully took the seal lacquer box and knelt on the ground:
"I will work hard to live up to your majesty's trust!"
After Lu Qian stood up, he bowed to Cao Pi and said:
"Your Majesty, if I take on the great responsibility of Xuzhou, I would also like to ask you to recommend someone to serve as a special commander to help you and I control Xuzhou."
"Oh?" Cao Pi asked with interest, "I wonder, sir, who would you like to recommend?"
"Wang Xiang of Langya, Wang Xiuzheng."
Cao Pi nodded after hearing this.
He had also heard about this Wang Xiang.
This person is from Linyi, Langya, and is a descendant of Wang Ji, the admonishing official of the previous Han Dynasty. His grandfather Wang Ren was the governor of Qingzhou in the Han Dynasty, while his father Wang Rong lived in seclusion and was not an official.
Apart from this, this person has a very filial temperament. His biological mother died early, and his stepmother Zhu was not kind to him. She said bad things to Wang Xiang's father many times, so his father did not like him either, but Wang Xiang was more respectful.
When his parents were sick, he took care of them day and night, even sleeping without taking off their clothes. When the soup was boiled, he would taste it himself first.
One winter, his stepmother Zhu fell ill and wanted to eat carp, but it was freezing cold at that time. How could she catch carp?
But Wang Xiang still went to the river. In order to get the carp, Wang Xiang took off his clothes and lay naked on the ice. In this way, Wang Xiang melted the ice and got the carp. Wang Xiang was so happy that he returned with the carp. Dedicated to stepmother.
Wang Xiang's filial piety became a good story in the villages ten miles away.
People praised Wang Xiang as a rare filial son in the world. Not only that, there are also people who praise it in poetry. The poem says:
There is a stepmother in the world, but Wang Xiang is not in the world. To this day, there are still ice molds lying on the river.
Not only that, he was deeply influenced by his father. When the world was in chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, Wang Xiang supported his mother and took his younger brother Wang Lan to escape the chaos. Now he has lived in seclusion for more than 20 years and has never been called up by any state or county. Come on, I should be almost sixty years old.
It was not that Cao Pi was unwilling to appoint this person, but he was worried that he would not be recruited.
"In this case, let Zi Ke prepare it by himself. It would be best if he could summon Wang Xiuzheng. If he still refuses to call, it doesn't matter. I believe that Zi Ke will govern Xuzhou well."
"I am scared, but I will do my best to repay His Majesty!"
――――
Langya.
An old man was sitting at home, frowning as he read an official document.
This old man is none other than Wang Xiang and Wang Xiuzheng.
What he was reading was an official document from Lu Qian, the governor of Xuzhou.
The words in the official document were sincere, saying that he was called to be his farewell driver. However, Wang Xiang, who had lived in seclusion for many years, was nearly sixty years old. How could he still be interested in seeking fame as an official?
Wang Xiang was about to write a reply and refused to give in. At this time, his younger brother Wang Lan, a middle-aged Confucian scholar in his forties, came out of the back hall.
"Brother, I heard that the government sent someone here again?"
"Yeah yeah."
Wang Xiang shook his head, frowned and said:
"Official in troubled times, how can things be so easy to do? I see, let's continue to cultivate Longmu."
"Brother, do you really want to cause the disaster of annihilation of your family? In the past, those were just conquests for counties and counties, and it would be fine if you didn't go there. But this time, it is said that the governor of Xuzhou was personally appointed by the Emperor of Wei, and the governor of Wei Wu was Official document from veteran Lu Qian! Brother, brother, please, even if you don’t think about yourself or me, you should think about it for future generations! Anyway, this time, brother, I have even prepared the ox cart for you. If you still don’t go, I will burn this old car, kill the old cow, and drink some broth, which is better than being a starving ghost!"
After Wang Xiang heard this, he thought for a long time, finally sighed and put down his pen.
"That's okay, that's okay. Let's go, old man."
Wang Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.
Wang Xiang rode the ox cart prepared by his brother, hurriedly and slowly, and finally arrived at Pengcheng at the right time.
What he didn't expect was that Lu Qian, a veteran of two dynasties and the commander-in-chief of Zhou Dynasty, would greet him personally at the roadside.
Wang Xiang couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he was indeed right this time.
He hurriedly got off the bullock cart, knelt down by the roadside, and bowed to Lu Qian.
"There is no need to be polite, I finally expected you to come, hahahaha."
Lu Qian hurriedly stepped forward and helped Wang Xiang, who was kneeling on the ground.
The two held hands and returned to the governor's mansion.
After returning to the Governor's Mansion, Lu Qian immediately took off a saber from his waist and handed it to Wang Xiang with both hands.
"Shijun Lu, this is..."
Wang Xiang was confused.
Lu Qian smiled and said:
"When this sword was first cast, the swordsmith thought that the three princes would be able to take this sword. I thought sincerely that I am not its master, and the sword may cause harm. I see you, you have the power to assist me, so I use this sword as a sword. Gift."
When Wang Xiang heard this, he was shocked. He immediately knelt down and said: "Wang Xiang is so virtuous and capable that he is so valued by the envoy. How can Xiang be worthy of such a precious sword? Please take it back quickly!"
"Suspend the war! I really mean what I say from the bottom of my heart. There is no need to refuse it! Just do me this favor and make me a beautiful adult!"
When Wang Xiang saw Lu Qian say this, he knew that if he refused to be humble again, Lu Qian's heart would be cold, so he took the sword with both hands respectfully.
"Xiang, you dare not do your best to assist the envoy and govern Xuzhou for your majesty!"
――――
After appointing Lu Qian as the governor of Xuzhou, Emperor Cao Pi transferred all the important generals from Qingzhou and Xuzhou away from these two states, and arranged many of his own direct generals to replace them.
When he was about to leave Pengcheng, the emperor thought of another person.
Pei Qian, Pei Wenxing.
This person once served as his regular attendant. Now he is serving as the general of Dian Nong Zhong Lang in Wei County.
Now, Xuzhou is employing people. Why not transfer this person to recruit those tyrannical tribes to farm in Yingchuan?
So Cao Pi made a decisive decision and immediately issued an edict to move Pei Qian to the position of Yingchuan Diannong Zhonglang General.
The emperor's dragon boat left Pengcheng and arrived at Guangling County within two days.
Sikou in Guangling was only separated from Jianye, the capital of Wu, by the water of a river. In order to facilitate the deployment of the army, Cao Pi ordered the armies of Jing and Yangzhou to advance together and station themselves on the north bank of the river to intimidate Sun Quan.
Xia Houshang, the governor of Jingzhou, and Cao Xiu, the governor of Yangzhou, received the prince's imperial edict and immediately began to mobilize their troops and generals to assemble in Guangling County.
――――
Luoyang, East Palace.
Unknowingly, half a month has passed since the emperor left Beijing. Cao Rui, the king of Pingyuan, who is the supervisor of the country, has lost weight due to excessive worry. This makes Pingyuan Princess Mao extremely distressed.
"Your Highness, I have ordered lunch to be prepared."
Before Cao Rui could answer, the waiter outside the hall sent a message:
"Your Highness, the governor of Youbin, Zhenwei General Wu Jizhong has sent an urgent report from the border, saying that Xianbei Kebi Neng is ready to make a move in recent days."
Xianbei, Kebineng!
When Cao Rui heard this, he frowned again.
It’s like one wave after another.
"Pass the order of King Gu to immediately ask Duke Fu Gaotang, Prince of Pingyuan, several ministers, two middle secretaries, as well as Cao Zhao, Cao Shuang, He Zeng, Bi Gui and others to come to discuss the government!"
"promise!"
The waiter knew that the matter was urgent and did not dare to delay. He immediately ran to assign people to deliver the order.
"Princess, you go and have your meal first. You are done with the party, and then you can use it."
Seeing Cao Rui's haggard look, Princess Mao felt sour in her heart and burst into tears. She wanted to persuade Cao Rui, but she also knew that at this time, her husband would be less afraid to make any mistakes, so she swallowed the words on her lips and squeezed out a trace of tears on her face. After smiling, he bowed and left the main hall.
――――
The Marquis Mansion in Changling Township.
These days, Cao Xi, who was accompanying his eldest brother Cao Shuang and Pingyuan King Cao Rui on various errands, always lamented that he was as tired as a dog.
"This is not what a clan master should be like!"
Cao Xi immediately collapsed lazily on the couch specially prepared by Xia Houxuan for Cao Xi, and began to complain.
"Yes, yes, yes, Young Master Xi." Xia Houxuan looked at his tired cousin and instantly became happy: "If one day, you, Master Cao Xi, Third Young Master Cao, will be bored again if you have nothing to do all day long."
"Axuan, please stop teasing me. I heard from my eldest brother that there has been some movement in Xianbei these days. Alas, it has been such a troubled time. I don't know when His Majesty will return to Luoyang. His Highness is almost fainting now. .”
Xia Houxuan smiled while grinding tea cakes in a celadon vessel: "I heard about the unusual movement in Xianbei yesterday."
Cao Xi was shocked when he heard this. He turned over in one go and looked at Xia Houxuan with a surprised look on his face:
"My brother Xuan, are you trying to scare me? The news about His Royal Highness Prince Pingyuan's East Palace in Lianjian Kingdom was just learned this morning. How did you know about it? Besides, if you had known about it last night , why don’t you tell His Highness?”
Xia Houxuan stopped what he was doing, looked at Cao Xi and said:
"I arranged for a man in Qingqingyuan. The man told me that Qin Mo, the second in command of Qingqingyuan, has close contacts with Xianbei, so I guessed this matter."
"I see!"
Cao Xi suddenly realized.
Xia Houxuan continued:
"Furthermore, I didn't tell His Highness, firstly, because Your Highness might not believe my guess, and secondly, because I wrote a secret letter yesterday and sent it thousands of miles to the Governor of Bingzhou, Liang Xi. I believe Governor Liang If we take precautions in advance, Ke Bineng’s conspiracy will not succeed.”
Cao Xi suddenly understood, nodded, and asked curiously:
"Well, Ah Xuan, even if you write a letter to Governor Liang, he may not believe it."
"Prefect Liang is a cautious person, and my father is a close friend of His Majesty and a high official in the court. Even if he doesn't believe everything I say, he should still pay attention to it. In addition, when I was a child in Yecheng, I and Governor Liang's son, Liang Shi, we have played together in mud for two years, so we have a good relationship. Therefore, Mr. Liang will definitely believe it."
After hearing Xia Houxuan's words, Cao Xi felt completely at ease.
Speaking of the governor of Bingzhou, Liang Xi and Liang Ziyu were a big shot. As long as he took precautions, the Xianbei people in the north would not even think about taking the next step south.
This person is Chen Junzhe who served as county magistrate, Sikong Xicao Lingshi and other positions under Emperor Wu.
Later, he was valued by Emperor Wu and rose to prominence directly. He was promoted to the governor of Bingzhou and was granted the title of Marquis of Guannei. After His Majesty succeeded to the throne, Liang Xi was restored to the position of governor of Bingzhou, and was granted the title of Marquis of Shenmenting by the Jin Dynasty. His political achievements are often the best among the states and counties in the world and are praised by people.
When the governor of Liang took office, he used various means to persuade, induce and suppress local wealthy families to submit to their duties.
In addition, after subduing the right gates of each powerful family, Liang Governor recruited strong men from each family and incorporated them into the imperial army.
After the combination of kindness and power, tens of thousands of people in the state flocked to Liang Governor's command.
In addition, the governor of Liang also recommended to the court many famous people who had taken refuge and merged with the state, such as Chang Lin, Chang Bohuai, Yang Jun, Yang Jicai, Wang Xiang, Xun Wei, Wang Ling, Wang Yanyun and others. It can be said that they were knowledgeable.
In addition, the governor of Liang was brave and good at fighting. He had defeated many attacks by the Xianbei people and shot and killed the rebel Wuhuan King Lu Xi who rode into Jinyang alone. His martial arts was not weak at all.
"After Your Highness learned of the unusual movements in Xianbei, did you send anyone?"
Xia Houxuan suddenly asked.
He understood that the commander guarding the north, Wu Zhi and Wu Jizhong, the commander-in-chief of Youbin, was not an easy person to get along with, and most people really couldn't get along with him.
"Yes, my eldest brother said that His Highness requested an order from the southeast, and finally sent Cui Lin and Cui Deru to serve as the governor of Youzhou, so that he could form an alliance with the governor of Liang and defend the north."
"Master Cui..."
Xia Houxuan nodded, but his eyebrows could not help but frown slightly.
Although Cui Lin is a capable official and strong minister, he will have no problem guarding the north, but he is afraid that he is too stubborn and unwilling to bow to Wu Zhi, which will cause conflicts.
You must know that Cui Lin and Cui Deru's elder brother, Cui Yan and Cui Jigui, angered Emperor Wu and were killed because they were too stubborn.
"Come on, come on, let's try the tea soup made by my cousin."
