Chapter 107: Southern Suburbs of Shouchun
The questions asked by Sun Luban were quite direct, but often the more direct the questions are, the more difficult they are to answer.
Sun Quan was silent for a moment. "Except Lu Boyan, there is really no suitable candidate now. As a father, I am good at being a king, but not a commander. If I have to choose one person to entrust with the 100,000 people, I really have no other choice except Lu Boyan."
Sun Luban seemed to be persistent in asking: "If it is not available now, when will it be available in the future?"
Sun Quan pondered for a moment and said, "Maybe in the future. Judging from the current generals, Zhu Ran, Zhu Huan, and Quan Cong seem to be able to be trained."
At this moment, Sun Quan's mind reappeared the scene on that day on the top of the Wuchang city wall, when Quan Cong was the first to kneel down and call him "Supreme Master".
Quan Cong...
Thinking of this, Sun Quan looked at his daughter Sun Luban who was sitting in front of him with great interest.
Da Hu lost her husband several years ago, and Quan Cong's wife also died last year. Could it be that the two of them could become a couple?
Although it is a bit embarrassing to say this, Sun Quan is a father after all, so he still has to say it.
Sun Quan coughed lightly and said, "Da Hu, Quan Cong's wife died last year. He is not yet forty years old, and he is very handsome, both civil and military, and he serves as the General of Sui Nan here."
"Da Hu, if father wants to bring them together, what do you think?"
Although Sun Luban was only 23 years old, she had been married once and even a widow, so she was no longer an innocent girl.
Having lived as a widow for three or four years, who could she talk to about her loneliness? Sun Luban had thought about remarrying, but marriage was decided by parents, and her mother, Bu Lianshi, was indecisive, so she had to rely on her father, Sun Quan, the King of Wu, to say it.
Although Quan Cong is more than ten years older, it is not unacceptable.
Sun Luban, whose courtesy name was Da Hu, had never been a cowardly person since she was a child. Seeing her father's relenting attitude, she said, "Although father has said so, I still want to see him in person. If he agrees with me, then it's fine. If he doesn't agree with me, then I don't want to marry him casually."
Sun Quan smiled and shook his head and said, "Quan Cong just left Wuchang a few days ago, and I haven't seen him for several years before this. It's not easy for Da Hu to meet Quan Cong once."
Sun Luban rolled her eyes and asked, "Didn't Quan Cong go to Wankou with my father?"
Seeing her father staring at her, Sun Luban continued, "For many years, my father has never taken his daughter with him when he went to war. Why not take me with him this time?"
Seeing that Sun Quan was about to shake his head, Sun Luban quickly added: "My daughter should live on the ship. She will not cause trouble for my father."
Sun Quan was already drunk at this time, and unconsciously followed Sun Luban's words. If he lived on the ship, there would be no danger, right?
Sun Quan nodded immediately.
Seeing that her father agreed, Sun Luban smiled even more happily.
……
Wei, Shouchun.
On the second day after Cao Rui arrived in Shouchun, General Liu Ruo and Governor of Yanzhou Wang Chang were sent by Cao Xiu to build camps and repair roads.
From the 26th to New Year's Day, Cao Xiu and his staff in the Grand Marshal's Office urgently checked the troops that arrived in Shouchun later and had not yet been inspected.
The attendants Liu Ye and Huang Quan were also sent out by Cao Rui to check on the preparations of various armies together with Cao Xiu's chief secretary Feng Ping.
Liu Ye had been with the army for a long time, and his vision was extremely sharp, whether it was judging the situation or looking at people and things. Huang Quan had led troops for many years before joining Cao Wei, and Huang Quan was an eunuch in the palace, and had no connection with the generals or the army. It should be fair to use Huang Quan as the judge.
Liu Ye and Huang Quan went to visit the various military camps, while Xin Pi and Chen Jiao went to inspect the logistics, food, and military equipment on behalf of the emperor.
When Xin Pi and Chen Jiao first received the task, the emperor specifically instructed them to pay attention to the storage of medicinal materials. In addition, the secretaries and military officers in charge of the logistics of the march must be informed to keep the water source as clean as possible during the march and camp, and soldiers are strictly prohibited from polluting the water source, which was even escalated to the level of military law and beheading.
People in any era are not fools. As long as they are human, they can learn the most basic things, such as separating water sources from toilets. There are many rivers in Huainan, and it is not too difficult to get running water from rivers and streams. You just need to make sure that the water source is not polluted.
As for drinking boiled water... that's just wishful thinking. How could there be the time, cooking utensils and fuel to boil water for hundreds of thousands of people? I'm afraid that even if it was really the emperor's order, the soldiers would still drink raw water when they were thirsty.
No solution yet.
The four attendants were busy, and Emperor Cao Rui was not idle either. In the pitifully small palace in Shouchun City, Cao Rui and Sima Yi handled government affairs sent from Luoyang, while sorting out and gathering various news. Sima Yi and his Sikongfu officials were basically used by Cao Rui as a staff.
If we must summarize what Cao Rui has done in the past few days, it can be summarized in four words: logistics deployment, food and fodder arrangements, marching order, and troop deployment.
This was not only a southern expedition, but also a military training course specifically for Cao Rui himself.
The profession of emperor has a very low minimum and a very high maximum. If you want to make a difference, it is not easy to be an emperor, especially an emperor who leads troops.
Since Emperor Wu Cao Cao and Emperor Wen Cao Pi had a long tradition of leading troops in person, Cao Rui was able to lead the army in person soon after he ascended the throne. When the generals and civil and military officials heard that the emperor was personally leading the central army on a southern tour, they just sighed and didn't think much about it.
There are traditions of troubled times, which is also an alternative institutional "advantage". Unlike many Han emperors, who grew up in the palace and stayed in the palace after ascending the throne, they could not leave Luoyang City for half their lives.
Cao Rui previously spent 15 days on the road from Luoyang to Shouchun. More than 5,000 cavalrymen marching at a speed of 80 miles per day was actually quite sufficient. In the past, Xiahou Yuan was well-known in Cao's army for his fast marching speed. There was even a saying in the army that "Xiahou Yuan, the commander of the army, marched 500 in three days and 1,000 in six days."
Therefore, after adapting to riding for a long time, Cao Rui also learned the relevant knowledge of camping, scouting, and marching with two veteran generals, Cao Hong and Xu Chu. In addition, Cao Rui also learned several cavalry formations with great interest, and even personally led 500 cavalry to try to charge.
Of course, Cao Rui also found some problems, such as the fact that the cavalry at that time did not have stirrups. It was not realistic to make temporary preparations, so he could only wait until the battle was over and return to the court before ordering a large-scale promotion among the cavalry.
By the day before New Year's Day, all the military affairs in Shouchun had been dealt with, and they would be ready to go to war after the New Year's Day when the year was changed and the heaven was worshipped.
This time, the expedition was to the south, so a three-meter-high altar had been built in the south of Shouchun City. Of course, the altar was only used for offering sacrifices to the heavens on New Year's Day.
Below the altar, there is a smaller platform that is about ten feet high and divided into three layers. The emperor's ceremonial guards are placed on this ten-foot high platform.
There were many rituals during the Han and Wei dynasties. If you look at the rituals and regulations of the Han Dynasty for 400 years and add the huge book "Book of Rites", you will not be able to remember all the rituals. But whether it is the court or the scholars, everyone came from the chaotic world of Jian'an period, so the rituals and other things naturally had to be put aside.
Having said that, if we want to find some rituals to follow, we can indeed find them. For example, a simplified version of the archery ceremony will be held here in the south of Shouchun City today.
The so-called Grand Shooting Ceremony is naturally related to the word "shooting" and archery. Shooting is one of the six arts of a gentleman. According to the Book of Rites, archery is an act that can test the virtue of a gentleman.
Different from modern sports competitions, archery ceremony is not just an archery competition, but also a ceremonial activity under the constraints of etiquette, in which people shoot arrows in a manner that conforms to etiquette and establishes hierarchy.
In short, among the two words "sheli", the word "li" occupies a larger proportion than the "she" in archery.
In front of the platform, which was more than ten feet high, there was a large open space. All the generals and civil officials of the Shouchun City with a salary of two thousand stones or above were lined up here. A gust of winter wind blew, making the flags around the venue rustle.
The two thousand knights of the Wuwei Camp surrounded the venue. The cavalrymen lined up around the venue. Although no one was talking or making noise, the cries of war horses and the sound of hooves could still be heard from time to time.
After everyone waited for a while, the emperor's procession slowly came out of the south gate of Shouchun City. Cao Rui, wearing court robes, walked slowly up the stairs to the stage and sat down. This was the second time Cao Rui appeared in front of the generals and officials of Shouchun.
The ceremonial officer in charge of the Grand Archery Ceremony today was none other than Grand Marshal Cao Xiu. Normally, an official of Cao Xiu's high rank would not be needed to guide the etiquette in the court. But this was Shouchun, Grand Marshal Cao Xiu's home turf. In addition, the Grand Archery Ceremony was a ritual system that clearly defined the hierarchy and established the order, so Cao Xiu took the responsibility.
Cao Rui looked down from the stage and saw about sixty or seventy officials of the rank of Two Thousand Stone standing in line in the venue.
This number may seem high, but it is actually not exaggerated at all.
The total number of soldiers in the central army is 50,000, among which the colonels, lieutenants, generals, and lieutenant generals who are responsible for actually leading the troops are all 2,000-stone officials, which is nearly 30 people.
For example, the Five Lieutenants Battalion where Yueqi Lieutenant Guanqiu Jian was stationed had a total of 4,000 cavalrymen, and there were five Lieutenants with a salary of 2,000 dan, and each Lieutenant commanded less than 800 cavalrymen on average. With Wen Qin, the Fifth Lieutenant Battalion Commander, there were six Lieutenants with a salary of 2,000 dan in the 4,000-man Five Lieutenants Battalion.
The Central Army was stationed in Luoyang City, closer to the power center and with a higher density of high-ranking officials. In addition to the five colonel battalions, there was basically one 2,000-stone official for every 2,000 or 3,000 soldiers in the Central Army.
Compared with the central army, the density of high-ranking officials in the external army and local prefectures and counties was much lower, with basically only one 2,000-dan official for every 4,000 or 5,000 soldiers. Even Wang Chang, the governor of Yanzhou who was sent to build roads, and Jia Kui, the governor of Yuzhou who was sent to build camps in Wuqiangkou, were only 600-dan officials according to the court system.
Of course, the political status of these provincial governors was much higher than that of ordinary prefects with a salary of two thousand stones. And these official titles, which were used to suppress the heavy ones, all came from the layers of patches over the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty.
In short, today in the southern suburbs of Shouchun, the emperor wanted to use this grand archery ceremony to familiarize himself with these civil and military officials of the rank of two thousand stones, so as to prepare them for the expedition starting tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
