Since Zhuge Dan vigorously rectified the officialdom in Yangzhou, the attitude of officials of all sizes in Shouchun, the capital of Yangzhou, and the four counties of Lujiang, Jiujiang, Huainan, and Anfeng under its jurisdiction has been unprecedentedly serious.
With the cooperation of the four county governors Wen Qin, Zhang Ji, Ding Zun, and Wang Ji, within a state, the officials ranged from the governor, Zhizhong, Biejia, and county governor to the county magistrate, governor, postal officer, and county magistrate. , county magistrate, county lieutenant, and various Cao officials, all of them can be said to be performing their duties, eating and drinking, and doing their best. Whether it is government affairs processing, inspection and assessment, military affairs, or agricultural warehousing, all matters in the state are handled perfectly.
In the two years since Zhuge Dan took office, the grain stored in one prefecture and four counties in Yangzhou has been enough for the Yangzhou army and people for three years. The newly made armor, swords, halberds, and crossbows in the arsenal are enough to equip an army of 20,000 people. As for the new ones, According to a rough estimate, there are tens of thousands of babies.
Among the feudal officials who are now on the border, there are two governors whose political achievements are the most eye-catching. One of them is the general who conquered Liao Dynasty, Youzhou governor Guanqiu Jian, the Marquis of Changyi, and the other is Zhuge Dan. After years of hard work, these two brothers finally became a truly famous minister and general.
On this day, Zhuge Dan was handling official business at the governor's residence. Suddenly, a small official came to report. The report was exactly what General Cao Shuang wanted to implement the restructuring.
After Zhuge Dan listened to the clerk's general report on the situation, he carefully read through the three major strategies proposed by Xia Houxuan and the specific strategies proposed by the talents in the court. He suddenly had mixed feelings in his heart, and was surprised and confused. happiness.
What surprised him was that since ancient times and in all dynasties, reform has been as difficult as climbing to the sky. Even if the ministers of reform since ancient times, such as Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, Wu Qi, Chao Cuo, etc., have made great achievements in implementing the reform, they are often backfired and killed by the old forces that block the reform. Now that the Wei Dynasty has only been established for about twenty years, the general wants to reform. The resistance he faces may be more terrifying than imagined.
At the same time, Zhuge Dan also felt a burst of joy and excitement in his heart. Although reform is an extremely dangerous thing, the current Wei Dynasty really should change. It was time to return the power of election that had been occupied by Zhongzheng officials arranged by the Xun, Chen, Sima and other clans to the imperial court. What I, my friends, Xia Houxuan, and Guan Qiujian have been thinking about all these years is to use their talents to calm this troubled world with endless wars. If the Wei Dynasty is successfully restructured, young people like them can rely on their talents. With Wei's renewed national power striving to unify the world, wouldn't it be great to see the great achievements of the ages be completed in the contemporary era?
Just when Zhuge Dan was full of ambition and thinking about how to express his ambition in the future, a messenger hurriedly entered the military tent:
"To report to the Commander-in-Chief, spies have found out in the past few days that Sun Wu has gathered a large army in Jianye and threatens to invade our territory of Yangzhou!"
Zhuge Dan was shocked when he heard the news. He suddenly woke up from his fantasy. He calmed down and ordered calmly:
"I am sending an order to Commander Wen and Commander Ding to take strict precautions and not to act rashly. In addition, summon Commander Wang to the official residence to discuss the military situation immediately!"
The messenger responded and immediately went out to make arrangements.
Not long after, Wang Ji, the prefect of Anfeng in Yangzhou, came to Zhuge Dan's governor's mansion.
The two sat down, and Wang Ji got straight to the point and expressed his views:
"Your Majesty, I think that Sun Quan will not really send troops to invade the country this time!"
Zhuge Dan was quite surprised when he heard this. He couldn't help asking:
"I wonder why Bo Yu said this?"
Wang Ji continued:
"Your Majesty, I have previously thought that when Lu Boyan was still alive, Sun Quan also personally invaded Hefei many times. Later, Sun Quan's son-in-law Quan Cong also attacked Lujiang many times, and Zhu Ran also invaded Xiangyang, but they failed and were defeated every time. They returned in vain. Now Lu Yi and other veteran generals are dead, Sun Quan is also old, and the false prince of Soochow has also died young. Now there are no incompetent ministers and heirs in Jiangdong, and there is a lack of famous generals in the army. Sun Quan wants to personally lead the troops to attack , will definitely be afraid of internal chaos, so the possibility of Sun Quan personally conquering it is not high."
After Zhuge Dan heard this, he thought for a while and felt that Wang Ji's words made sense. After thinking about it, he asked again:
"Since Sun Quan won't go on a personal expedition, what if he sends a general to lead his troops to invade the country?"
Wang Ji heard this and smiled confidently: "Now, all the old generals of Soochow are almost dead, and Sun Quan does not dare to entrust the new young generals with important tasks easily. Therefore, Ji thinks that Soochow will not dare to raise troops to invade this time. The second time Soochow deliberately spread rumors of invading the Wei Dynasty, it was just that Sun Quan wanted to use this to arrange for his cronies to take over military power, use offense as defense, and reorganize temples."
Zhuge Dan felt reassured after hearing Wang Ji's words. At the same time, he also saw Wang Ji's extraordinary talent. He finally understood the reason why Wang Ling, Wang Lang, and Sima Yi all rushed to recruit this person.
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Half a month later, the battle report from Yangzhou reached Luoyang.
As Wang Ji expected, Sun Quan did not lead the attack.
Cao Shuang looked at the Yangzhou map before the case and the battle report from Zhuge Dan with satisfaction, and happily wrote a new recommendation letter:
"Wang Ji, the governor of Anfeng County, governs the county rigorously and is heavily armed. Wu dare not invade. Please promote him to the rank of General to Defeat Bandits to appease the hopes of the three armies."
On this day, Cao Shuang discussed political affairs with He Yan, Deng Yang, Ding Mi and others in the living room as usual. By the time things were almost discussed, it was already noon. Cao Shuang entertained everyone and finished the meal, then chatted about some miscellaneous matters, and then talked about the restructuring.
He Yan and others agreed that the current hasty implementation of restructuring is not mature enough, and the focus should still be on military power.
"military power?"
Cao Shuang was stunned for a moment after hearing this, but he soon realized what He Yan and the others meant.
Although he is now the chief auxiliary and has the power to oversee the Chinese and foreign military forces, he seems to be extremely powerful on the surface. However, when Sima Yi was the first emperor, he replaced Xia Houshang to guard Jingxiang for a long time, and was the governor of Jing, Yu, Liang, and Yong. In terms of military affairs, he rejected Zhuge in the west and destroyed Gongsun in the north. Not long ago, he led an army to scare Zhuge Ke away, establishing a very high prestige in the military circles of the Wei Dynasty. What's more, although he has been deprived of military power, most of the generals of the Yongliang and Liangzhou armies admire him. Therefore, the actual control of the Yongliang and Liangzhou armies is still in the hands of the Sima clan.
Therefore, Cao Shuang understood that if he really wanted to monopolize power and completely defeat the Sima clan in the court, he would have to quickly accumulate enough reputation to compete with Sima Yi through a big battle and show the courage of a general to command the world. Only with the ability can we truly gain the support of the ministers in the court.
Cao Shuang's thoughts were surging like the waves on the East China Sea. He looked at his expectant confidants below the steps, suppressed his inner excitement a little, stroked his beard, and said slowly:
"At this moment, only by performing an extraordinary feat can I firmly grasp the real military power and truly control the hearts of the world!"
"The general is wise!"
He Yan, Deng Yang, and Ding Mi seemed to have seen a glorious future at this moment, with excitement shining in their eyes.
Cao Shuang's heart was still in turmoil at this moment. He was only thinking about one thing at this moment, and that was who should be in charge of this expedition to Shu?
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Wuyanghou Mansion.
Sima Zhao suddenly discovered recently that his father was neurotic and seemed a little abnormal. Because he clearly remembers that his father said some time ago that the Cao Shuang brothers are very popular in the temple right now. If they fight head-on at this moment, they will only ask for trouble. But these two days, Sima Yi, who had been keeping a low profile, suddenly became energetic.
Sima Zhao discovered that he used to just drink tea and read books all day, but these two days he always took his eldest brother to the study in a mysterious way to meet some mysterious people he had never seen before. When he asked out of curiosity, he was scolded by his father. Had a meal. Based on past experience, Sima Zhao understood that his father must be making some moves recently.
Just when Sima Zhao was about to turn around and leave, his eldest brother Sima Shi suddenly came out of the study and summoned him in.
When Sima Yi saw that his two most shrewd and capable sons had arrived in the secret room of the study, he slowly opened his mouth and said something that surprised Sima Zhao:
"Master, Zhao'er, my father learned from the news from Qingqing Garden that Cao Shuang wants to put aside the restructuring issue temporarily. He wants to start a war against Shu to confirm his prestige in the military and political circles!"
Sima Yi paused for a moment, and then said something that surprised Sima Zhao even more:
"My father has handed over to His Majesty the memorial list for selecting the commander based on military strategy and martial arts, and also sent someone to the palace to deliver a message to Jun'er. Your Majesty is still a child, so he must be very enthusiastic about this kind of military competition. This time To defeat Shu, if we can let you two take charge, we will do our best to win this battle, and our Sima family can take this opportunity to regain military power in Yongliang!"
After hearing this, Sima Zhao was shocked and excited. What was shocking was that he did not expect Cao Shuang to act so quickly. What was exciting was that he had long wanted to use his own strength to go to the battlefield and fight for fame. . But he had some questions in his mind:
"Father, what if my eldest brother and I can't successfully take command?"
A trace of worry flashed across Sima Yi's eyes. Although brothers Sima Shi and Sima Zhao had long been proficient in martial arts and well versed in the art of war under his training, Xia Houxuan had been in charge of the Forbidden Army in the past few years and was said to study diligently every day. I am afraid that his strength should not be underestimated, but soon his eyes regained their divine light. He patted his two sons on the shoulders and said with sincerity and word for word:
"When the time comes, the father will have his own clever plan!"
