On the Huainan battlefield, there are Jiang Ji's Hefei garrison, the Runan Governor Man Chong's troops to the northwest, the Yuzhou governor Jia Kui's garrison to the north in Qiao County, and the Taishan troops of Xuzhou governor Xia Houru's troops to the northeast. The surrounding resources and resources can be mobilized. Although there are many troops, they are not led by a general as capable as Cao Ren.
Jiang Ji now does not need soldiers, money and food, but a general.
Cao Pi has been very agitated recently. The strategy of raiding Chang'an failed, and rumors are rampant inside and outside Luoyang. This time, there are no important ministers like Zhong Yao and Chen Qun involved, but some small officials who are idle.
During the inspection, Zhu Shuo's people intercepted many letters of collaboration with the enemy, but since most of them did not leave their names, they could only hand them over to Sima Zhi for processing, and secretly reported them to Cao Pi.
Sima Zhi's ability to solve crimes is extremely strong. Based on the few clues provided by Zhu Shuo, he followed the clues and found a large amount of criminal evidence. Within three days, he dug up dozens of officials involved, but these people were all backed by powerful gentry clans.
Although Sima Zhi was selfless, when faced with such a difficult matter, he could only report to the Emperor's Holy Judgment in the end, just like the case of Cao Hong.
In the case of Cao Hong deceiving the emperor, Empress Dowager Bian finally came forward to intercede. Cao Hong was demoted, dismissed and demoted to a commoner, and all the wealth he had accumulated for decades was confiscated.
Cao Pi had read the list of collaborators and knew very well that there were big trees behind these people. In order not to shake the foundation of the country, he used the patience of an emperor and finally chose to deal with them coldly.
Cao Pi could not sit on the throne of the emperor without the support of the Henan nobles. At this time, there were many crises in Wei, and these people could not kill themselves even if they should be killed. At this moment, he thought of the Sima family's annihilation.
Assassination was a cheap method. When Cao Pi was still hesitating whether to let Zhu Shuo take action, bad news about Huainan was delivered to him.
The military information in Huainan sent by Jiang Ji will have a greater impact than the failure of the raid on Chang'an. If it is used and incited by someone with intentions, more and more people will shake their heads and treason.
On the way to Pinghong Palace to discuss the military plan, Cao Pi saw Sima Zhao next to Gao Miao, and suddenly an idea came to him. During the hundreds of years of Han Dynasty, many emperors used eunuchs to contain their courtiers. There was one beside him. Why not make good use of the ready-made candidates?
Cao Xiu, Chen Qun and others were already waiting in Pinghong Hall. After Cao Pi entered the hall, he waved his hand and changed his past decadent style. He directly ordered Xiahou Shang: "Bo Ren, I order you to be the general of the East Conquest, the commander-in-chief of Xuzhou, The military forces in Yangzhou and Yuzhou must have guarded Huainan by the Wei Dynasty."
"Uh, general?" Xiahou Shang pointed to himself in confusion.
Cao Pi nodded, "Don't doubt your ability. You are the person the late emperor praised. Now there are eighty or ninety thousand troops around Huainan. However, there is a lack of capable people to command. Wen Lie cannot deal with Guan Yu." If you withdraw, I can only rely on you, you won’t let me and the late emperor down, right?”
"If we let Huainan fall, we will never see your majesty alive." Xiahou Shangtang issued a military order.
"Among the soldiers and horses around Huainan, Junlin (Xia Houru)'s Taishan soldiers are the strongest. You brothers must cooperate well. Lantian's new Yangzhou is not yet stable, but it attacks Huainan so quickly. It seems that it is someone who is eager for quick success. I don’t know how capable he is of commanding troops in battle, but Gan Ning is a ruthless character, so you still rely on Hefei for defense. I don’t believe that Sun Quan was defeated in several battles in Hefei, and Lantian can change this result." Cao Pi said with great enthusiasm.
Upon seeing this, Cao Xiu reminded: "Your Majesty, don't underestimate Lan Tian. Although this person has no martial arts, he can destroy Wu in three months, which shows that his threat may not be lower than Guan Yu. Liu Bei can let this person dominate one side for the same reason. Sun Quan probably Even if we are defeated by an underestimating enemy, we must take this as a lesson.”
"Although Wen Lie's words are reasonable, Guan Yu is now directly threatening Wan and Luo, and Liu Bei is gradually gaining a foothold in Guanzhong. It is impossible for me to allocate military resources to Huainan." Cao Pi expressed a heavy expression.
"Your Majesty is right. Lantian is now stationed behind Jianye, using Gan Ning as his minions to harass Lujiang. He probably wants to test the strength of our army. Boren must be stable in Huainan." Cao Xiu kindly reminded Xiahou Shang.
"I can save it." Xiahou Shang nodded in agreement.
"Okay, let's discuss it again. I have to go back to the palace beforehand." After Cao Pi said that, he stood up and left, so neatly that everyone became suspicious.
Cao Pi moved very fast, Gao Miao and Sima Zhao followed in small steps. Suddenly Cao Pi stopped and asked: "Marquis Wu, you have been in Jianye for two years, are the people of Jiangdong so weak? Anyone can be suppressed by anyone." ?”
Sima Zhao was startled, and quickly answered: "Where did your majesty hear the rumors? Jiangdong's internal conflicts are very serious, and even Sun Quan can't check and balance it well. Have you forgotten about Han Zong's incident? There was a huge uproar at that time. , I think Lantian can’t be restrained.”
"Wuhou said something very insightful." Cao Pi nodded, then turned to Gao Miao and said, "Xiao Gao, go find Mr. Xie (Xie Huan). Sima's rank has been raised to Zhonghuangmen."
"Wei" Gao Miao bowed and left, thinking that the relationship was really different. It took him three years to get into the Zhonghuang Sect.
Sima Zhao followed Cao Pi to the study alone. Cao Pi first took out Sima Yi and praised him for a while, and then gradually introduced Sima Zhao to the topic, that is, using Sima Zhao's relationship with Chen Qun and Sima Zhi to re-investigate the last Luoyang rumor. To frighten those who are wavering by killing chickens to scare monkeys.
"This slave is only thirteen years old. Can such a big thing be handled well?" Sima Zhao pretended to be harmless. In fact, what Cao Pi did was exactly what he wanted. If he wanted to gain power quickly, he needed countless opportunities to accumulate and punish those who collaborated with the enemy and treason. Sinner is undoubtedly a good opportunity.
The fact that Sima Zhao became so good at pretending is also related to his experience in Jiangdong. Because he had too much contact with Hu Ke, he learned what it means to have a thousand faces and show weakness at all times to be strong. Unfortunately, Cao Pi did not understand his thoughts. .
"Don't worry, Marquis Wu, I will trust you just like I trust Zhongda (Sima Yi). Just go ahead and do things boldly. General Zhu (Zhu Shuo) will help you secretly." Cao Pi said sternly.
"Wei." Sima Zhao bowed and saluted. He smiled when he lowered his head. If he could be connected with the Forbidden Army, it would be of great help in investigating the case of Sima's family extermination.
After Sima Zhao became a member of the Zhonghuang Sect, he wooed and befriended the eunuchs headed by Gao Miao internally, and used his close relationship with Chen Qun externally to help Cao Pi initiate a case of collaborating with the enemy and treason, and then set off a political catastrophe in Luoyang, involving as many as six or seven officials. ten people.
The collaborators that Sima Zhi had previously identified were all secretly arrested and executed by Zhu Shuo in the name of Sima Zhao during this turmoil. People in the capital were panicked for a while, and the young Sima Zhao shocked Luoyang with his reputation as a murderer.
This turmoil eventually spread to the top officials. Taiwei Zhong Yao was reported for complaining about the Wei Zhi case, so he took the initiative to become an official at the suggestion of Chen Qun. The most unlucky person was Shangshu Pu She Du Ji. He was criticized by political opponents for colluding with him. Fazheng, a fellow countryman, committed treason. In order to prove his innocence, Du Ji hanged himself with a white silk ribbon at the Chancellor's desk.
When the political situation in Luoyang was turbulent, Lantian was not as difficult as Sima Zhao had guessed. He simply 'set aside disputes and work together' with the nobles, and Jiangdong was ostensibly controlled by the local nobles.
Lantian had no time to play balance with the Huaisi faction and the Jiangdong faction. After moving the Huaisi faction officials out of Jianye in batches, he reached a tacit agreement with the Jiangdong gentry, that is, the three counties of Danyang, Wujun, and Kuaiji would decentralize political power according to the old system. Let the local nobles make the decision, but the military must provide money and food.
(End of chapter)
