Chapter 126 Job Title Adjustment
At nightfall, the entire trailer camp was busy and intense.
Although the emperor will return to Shouchun tomorrow, it is not as simple as that he will go alone.
Transporting military supplies, escorting prisoners, and carrying the wounded, these three tasks are enough to consume a lot of energy.
As for the wounded soldiers, the Wei army suffered about 15,000 casualties in the previous battle.
Among them, the infantry suffered more than 3,000 wounded and about 7,000 dead. Among the 5,000 cavalry, about 2,000 were wounded and 3,000 were dead.
The wounded had to be taken back to Shouchun for care, and such a large number of dead soldiers had to be taken back to Shouchun for burial. Fortunately, it was winter now, so the bodies would not rot on the way back to Shouchun. If the troops were mobilized in summer, they would have to be buried on the spot.
As for the soldiers of Wu army, they were not so lucky. They could only be buried in large numbers on the spot. They didn't even have a tombstone. This is one of the cruel realities of war.
The transportation of military supplies was easy. The food, armor, weapons, military supplies, etc. seized from the Wu army could be loaded onto vehicles and taken back to Shouchun. The Wei army had no shortage of vehicles at this time.
The most troublesome thing is escorting prisoners.
After all, the prisoners of the Wu army were living people. The journey from the trailer to Shouchun was nearly 400 miles. Not only did we have to ensure that they arrived in good health, but we also had to ensure that the prisoners of the Wu army did not rebel, cause trouble, or stagnate on the way. In general, it was a major management project.
Since they were going to escort 50,000 disarmed captives, the number of Wei soldiers responsible for the escort would naturally not be too small. The troops used to escort the captives back to Shouchun were exactly the remaining 10,000 men of Man Chong, as well as a total of 10,000 cavalry from the central army and the border army.
Ten thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry were more than enough to escort fifty thousand people. It also achieved the purpose of evacuating part of the army and reducing the pressure on the front line.
However, when Cao Rui was reading documents in the tent and thinking about various things to do after returning tomorrow, the Minister of the Imperial Guard Xiahou Xuan came in from outside the tent and delivered a memorial.
Xiahou Xuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Qingzhou governor Wang Ling has submitted a memorial to Your Majesty."
Cao Rui didn't even raise his head and said casually: "Put it on the table. Has Wang Ling returned to the camp?"
Xiahou Xuan walked up slowly, put the memorial down, and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, Wang Ling learned that Your Majesty would be returning to Shouchun tomorrow, so he returned to the camp this afternoon."
Cao Rui put down the document in his hand, opened Wang Ling's petition and read it for a moment, then shook his head slightly.
Wang Ling's memorial was not to show off his achievements or to report his views on the next military deployment, but to impeach Man Chong.
To use the words in Wang Ling's memorial, Man Chong was incompetent in commanding troops and had lost many soldiers for the country, so he should be dismissed according to national and military laws.
Cao Rui knew that Wang Ling was a useful talent and Man Chong was a rare and reliable general. Man Chong suffered heavy casualties in the battle because his troops undertook strategic tasks.
Whether it is Wang Ling or Man Chong, Cao Rui will not only not punish them, but will further reuse them.
Originally, Cao Xiu was the only one who had trouble with Jia Kui among the troops on this southern expedition, but Cao Rui could not find the reason why Wang Ling had trouble with Man Chong, and he had no interest in figuring out the grudge between the two.
Since Cao Rui does not want to get involved in the issues raised in Wang Ling's memorial, it is okay to delay it for a while.
Cao Rui raised his head and looked at Xiahou Xuan: "Taichu, go to Wang Ling's camp and announce my order. Tell them that I have seen it. We will discuss rewards and punishments after I return to Luoyang and this battle is over."
Xiahou Xuan took the order and left.
In fact, there were various factions in the Wei court, some explicit and some implicit, and they were never a monolithic entity.
During the Jian'an period, there were too many factions, including the pro-Han faction and the pro-Cao faction, the Cao Pi faction and the Cao Zhi faction, the Yingchuan scholars and the Hebei scholars, the clan generals and the generals of other surnames. Although they did not reach the point of party strife, they also affected the operation of the country to varying degrees.
Thinking of this, Cao Rui sent guards to call Cao Zhen and Sima Yi to his tent.
Of course Cao Zhen and Sima Yi did not sleep either. Even if they had, they would still have come when they heard the emperor summon them.
After the two of them saluted and sat down, Cao Rui asked directly: "During this battle, all the generals, provincial governors, and prefects led their troops one after another, and the military system was in chaos. I intend to unify the system. General and Minister of Works, what do you think?"
Cao Zhen and Sima Yi obviously haven't reacted yet. Aren't they going back to Shouchun tomorrow? Why bring up such a big topic for discussion now?
Cao Zhen coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, the war here has not yet ended. The system should be discussed after the war."
Cao Rui said: "I know we should discuss this after the war. But now it is wartime, and while I am still in the southeast, in Shouchun, I want to get this done."
"Let's not talk about the central army for now, let's take the foreign troops and the troops from the prefectures and counties that are deployed this time."
"Under the Grand Marshal, the foreign troops have different titles of generals, including Duwei, Xiaowei, Pianjiangjun, Bijiangjun, and several Zhonglangjiang. Although they are all 2,000-stone officials and have slight differences in rank, the number of troops they command during wartime is entirely determined by their superiors' assignments."
"With so many positions, can we simplify them? Is there any fundamental difference between a captain and a colonel? Is there any fundamental difference between a lieutenant general and a general?"
Cao Zhen explained: "Your Majesty, these titles have been determined over the past few decades based on various rules and conventions." "There will be rewards after this battle. Your Majesty, do you want to adjust them at the same time as the rewards?"
Cao Rui nodded and said, "I heard that during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling of the Han Dynasty, there were not as many positions in the court and prefectures as there are today."
"Take Liangzhou Sanming for example. The famous Xizhou general Huangfu Gui, who was attached to the party, was only a general of Du Liao and a lieutenant to protect the Qiang at most."
"When Emperor Lingdi sent people to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Huangfu Song was only the General of the Left, Zhu Jun was the General of the Right, and Lu Zhi was the General of the North. These three men led an army of more than 100,000, but they were only Generals of the Central Army!"
Sima Yi then interrupted and said, "Your Majesty, the positions of Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Lu Zhi at that time were indeed not prominent, and the issue of indiscriminately granting general titles had two stages."
"First, after the Yellow Turbans were pacified, the Han court could not reward these three people for their great contributions, so they could only reward them with the title of general. Second, when fighting against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao began to confer titles on princes from all over the country. Since then, more and more general titles have been issued."
Cao Rui said: "I understand what Sikong means. At present, the country has not yet quelled the rebellion, so I will naturally not change the title of general. What I want to change are the following."
Cao Zhen responded: "Your Majesty, I know this matter very well and would like to explain it to you."
Cao Rui nodded: "General, please speak."
Cao Zhen replied: "Your Majesty, generally speaking, the rank of Commandant, Colonel, Lieutenant General, Lieutenant General, and then the titled generals above them is arranged from low to high."
Cao Rui interrupted and asked, "Aren't the ranks of Duwei, Xiaowei, Zhonglang Jiang, Bi Jiangjun, and Lieutenant General all 2,000 Dan? Why do we need to divide them into so many? It's not like Duwei can be promoted to Xiaowei and Xiaowei to Zhonglang Jiang."
"I have seen these generals commanding troops in the army, and they have little to do with the rank order mentioned by the general."
Cao Zhen explained: "Your Majesty, the Duwei was originally renamed from the county lieutenant in the county, and the Zhonglangjiang was originally a Langguan, thus highlighting his status as a direct subordinate of the court."
Cao Rui responded: "Since the commander is the commander of the county, are there many commanders in the foreign army now?"
Cao Zhen nodded in agreement.
Cao Rui said: "In this case, the position of Duwei shall not appear in the Central Army or the Outer Army, and the Duwei in the Outer Army shall be changed to Xiaowei. The position of Duwei shall be used exclusively in the prefectures and counties, and Xiaowei shall not appear in the prefectures and counties."
"Also, since the Zhonglang Jiang is directly under the imperial court, I will make the decision now and change his rank to Xiaowei or General."
It was just a matter of changing some names and did not involve any essential issues, so Cao Zhen and Sima Yi also expressed their agreement.
However, when Cao Rui mentioned the next question, both of them began to have difficulties.
Cao Rui asked: "Nowadays, the provincial governors, prefects, and generals can all lead troops. I think this is a bit confusing. Generals and ministers of works, how is the Han system implemented?"
Cao Zhen and Sima Yi looked at each other, and this time it was Sima Yi who explained.
Sima Yi said: "Your Majesty, in the Han Dynasty, prefects and governors could also lead troops. However, unlike now, in the Han Dynasty, prefects and governors only led troops when suppressing rebellions or resisting foreign tribes, and it was not a regular practice."
"Since the Jian'an period, wars have been frequent in various places, and civil affairs and military affairs have been mixed up. In addition, since the princes of Guandong fought against Dong Zhuo, they have led troops in the name of prefects and governors, and this has continued over the years."
Cao Rui sighed, "I know, this is another old problem that has been going on for decades. But is it necessarily true that something that has been going on for decades is right? If a general is certain to lead an army, then a prefect or governor is also certain to lead an army?"
"I also know that those who can lead troops are often appointed as governors and prefects of border areas and counties. The key is, are these governors and prefects who know military affairs good at civil affairs?"
Sima Yi asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you want to separate the generals who lead the troops from the provincial governors who are in charge of civil affairs?"
Cao Rui nodded: "Can't they be separated?"
Sima Yi was speechless for a moment, and Cao Zhen was also stunned. But after a while, the two realized that there was nothing inseparable. They could separate if they wanted to!
Cao Rui saw the changes in their expressions and said, "I know that these systems are related to past events. But if we correct them, I think there will be no harm, but benefits!"
"If the provincial governors and prefects are responsible for civil affairs and no longer for military affairs, then the troops in various prefectures and counties will be led by the local commanders."
"If there is an internal alarm in a prefecture, the governor has the right to call on the commanders to quell the rebellion. And if it is a foreign war, the commanders from all over the country can be gathered under the command of the generals of the central army or the foreign army, and then they can be commanded and dispatched in a unified manner. Wouldn't this be more efficient?"
Cao Zhen nodded after hearing this and said, "I also think that what Your Majesty said is very good. If it were so, there wouldn't be a war like the one we have now, where the governors of several states and seven or eight prefects would come out at once, leaving the local administration without anyone to manage it."
Cao Rui said softly: "Can this be done?"
Cao Zhen said with absolute certainty: "It will definitely work!"
(End of this chapter)
