Yongzhou.
Chang'an has always been the most important city in Guanxi of the Wei Dynasty.
As early as the Huangchu period, when the late Emperor Cao Pi appointed Cao Zhen as the Governor of Yongliang, Cao Zhen's governor's office was set up in Chang'an City.
Xiahou Mao, who served after Cao Zhen, also ruled in Chang'an like Cao Zhen.
But as the so-called "Yongliang" governor, Yongzhou had a vast territory, including Tongguan in Fengling County in the east and Didao in Longxi County in the west, which was almost equivalent to the sum of Sanfu in the Western Han Dynasty and the part of Liangzhou east of the Yellow River.
For such a vast area, the time it would take to walk from Chang'an to Longxi County would probably be about the same as the time it would take for the central army to walk from Luoyang to Shouchun.
Therefore, when Xiahou Mao was the governor of Guanzhong, the left general Zhang He had been stationed in Chencang and Meixian areas west of Chang'an.
Zhang He stationed his troops here. On the one hand, he could control the exits of Chencang Road and Baoxiade Road. On the other hand, it was located between Longyou and Chang'an. He could advance troops to Longyou and retreat to suppress Guanzhong. It was indeed a rare and good place.
To explain it more simply, Mei County is right next to Wuzhangyuan.
Zhang He, the governor of Yongliang, has been frowning recently.
Chen Ping, a military officer in the Left General's Mansion, walked into the hall very quietly, not wanting to disturb his own commander-in-chief by making a loud noise.
"General," Chen Ping said softly, "Captain of the Qiang Lu Xun and Lieutenant General Hao Zhao have both sent Qu Ying, who rebelled earlier, to Mei County from the west."
"The messenger sent by Captain Lu and General Hao said that Qu Ying would be handed over to General Zuo after he was sent to Mei County." Chen Ping asked, "Will he be sent directly to Luoyang, or...?"
Zhang He frowned and asked, "Did Lu Xun and Hao Zhao have anything to say?"
Chen Ping replied, "General, Lieutenant Lu has also sent Qu Ying's confession."
After saying that, Chen Ping held the letter in both hands and presented it to Zhang He.
Zhang He opened the letter, took a look at it and shook his head.
Chen Ping, a military officer who was a close confidant of Zhang He, asked, "General, what did Captain Lu say?"
"It's Shu again." Zhang He handed the letter to Chen Ping: "Read it yourself."
Chen Ping took the letter and read it briefly before saying, "Was Qu Ying's rebellion instigated by Wei Yan of Shu? General, if what Qu Ying said is true, Shu may take action this time."
Zhang He nodded slightly.
Zhang He has been commanding troops in Guanxi for more than ten years.
Although Zhang He often served as a commander in chief under Xiahou Yuan and Cao Zhen, and often served as a vanguard, after more than ten years, Zhang He believed that he could also be a capable commander on his own.
To be honest, when Xiahou Mao was the governor of Guanzhong, Zhang He had expressed his dissatisfaction to Cao Zhen openly and secretly.
Cao Pi sent Xiahou Mao to Guanzhong, so what could Cao Zhen do? Should he tell the emperor to stop Xiahou Mao and let Zhang He be the commander-in-chief?
Cao Zhen had no choice but to move Zhang He's troop station from Chang'an to Mei County to the west. The distance made it easier to out of sight and convenient for deploying troops, which was beneficial to both the public and private sectors.
Fortunately, Xiahou Mao was self-aware, and over the years, Zhang He and he lived in peace.
If we talk about the generals of other surnames in Wei Dynasty, the one with the highest status was Yu Jin. But after Yu Jin surrendered to Guan Yu in Xiangfan, Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen also began to be wary of generals of other surnames.
It can be said that Yu Jin betrayed a group of people. Even when Emperor Wu died in Luoyang, some people suggested that all generals from various places should be replaced by people from Qiaopei.
Zhang He returned to Luoyang at the end of last year. He was highly valued by the current emperor and was given the important task of governing Yongliang.
But after the novelty wore off, Zhang He often worried about Yongliang's military situation.
There is no other reason, it’s just that Yongliang has too few soldiers.
According to the total military strength of the Wei Dynasty of 300,000, the 50,000 central troops in Luoyang were to guard the world.
Excluding the 100,000 soldiers from the counties and kingdoms, the total number of foreign troops from various places was only 150,000.
There were 80,000 foreign troops in the five states of Qing, Xu, Yu, Yang, and Yan. There were 10,000 in Hebei, 40,000 in Jing, and only 20,000 in Yongliang.
Zhang He had only 20,000 troops under his direct command in Yongliang, and of these 20,000 troops, only 15,000 were stationed in Mei County.
Of the remaining five thousand, three thousand were stationed in Tianshui under the leadership of Lu Pan, and two thousand were stationed in Jincheng under the leadership of Hao Zhao.
With a total force of about 40,000, it is indeed stretched to the limit to cover such a vast area of Yong and Liang states, and also to guard against the Qiang and Hu people both inside and outside the country.
However, Yongliang’s shortage of soldiers has been a problem for a long time.
As early as the 24th year of Jian'an, after Emperor Wu Cao Cao and Liu Bei failed in their battle for Hanzhong, Shu Han did not make any moves in Yongliang. For nearly six or seven years, Wei and Shu had been in a state of peace.
However, when Zhang He returned from Luoyang and received the emperor's order to block the Ziwu Road, Tangluo Road, Baoxiade Road, Tangluo Road and Sanguan, Zhang He also became vigilant.
In addition, as the emperor won a great victory in Huainan, Zhang He would not allow any mistakes to occur in his Yongliang jurisdiction.
The roads in the mountains are difficult to travel in winter, so Zhang He naturally had no time to send people to block these roads.
Since the beginning of March, Zhang He sent people to repair Sanguan Pass. At the same time, he also sent troops to scout the Ziwu Road, Baoxia Road, and Tangluo Road to determine where to block the road.
However, the subordinates who returned to Mei County a few days ago actually found traces of the Shu army on Baoxiade and Tangluo Road.
This forced Zhang He to be extremely vigilant, and was also the reason why Zhang He had been frowning in recent days.
Zhang He asked, "How is the progress of Sanguan? It has been under construction for nearly a month and a half. When will it be put into use?"
Chen Ping replied, "General, we sent 2,000 soldiers and many civilians to repair Sanguan Pass in early March, but the old site is in ruins. Captain Zhou said it would take another month and a half." Zhang He frowned, "That means it will take until the end of May or early June for Captain Zhou to completely repair Sanguan Pass?"
Chen Ping nodded: "General, what you said is very true. However, the outer city defense of Sanguan is already usable, but the city walls and towers will take some time."
"Zhou Fang has done a good job in prioritizing matters." Zhang He nodded, "Pass on this general's order, and send 500 men each to burn the three roads of Ziwu, Tangluo, and Baoxiang, as well as the plank roads halfway along the way!"
"First cut off part of it, then we can talk about the rest."
Chen Ping agreed with a folded hand, and before leaving, he asked, "General, do you want to bring Qu Ying here for interrogation?"
Zhang He looked at Chen Ping and said, "Hao Zhao arrived in Xiping first, Xiahou Ba came later, and Lu Pan came later, right? Lu Xun captured Qu Ying only after Xiahou Ba and Lu Pan left?"
"That's right." Chen Ping replied.
Zhang He nodded and said, "First, draft a memorial for me to submit. The first credit goes to Hao Zhao, followed by Xiahou Ba, Lu Xun and Lu Pan."
"You write first. I will go to the camp to check first."
"I obey your command." Chen Ping replied.
……
Jizhou, in Yecheng.
If we really want to talk about the in-laws of the Wei Dynasty, the in-laws of the Wei Dynasty were not like those of the Han Dynasty. They could only be called "relatives of the royal family."
The first "royal family" of the Wei Dynasty was the Zhen family to which Empress Wen Zhao Zhen belonged.
Since the second year of Huangchu, when the late Emperor Cao Pi ordered Empress Zhen to be executed, the entire Zhen family has lived in fear.
Over the years, she was excluded by the wealthy, targeted by bureaucrats, and humiliated by school officials. Empress Zhen's third brother, Zhen Yao, also died of depression in the fifth year of Huangchu.
But fortunately, I managed to get through it.
Since last June, when Empress Zhen's biological son, the current Emperor Cao Rui, ascended the throne, the Zhen family has changed their previous decadent state and has once again become a respected family in Yecheng.
When the news that the emperor had just ascended the throne reached Yecheng, the vehicles going to the Zhen family to present gifts lined up five blocks away.
Some are happy and some are sad.
The Zhen family was naturally proud, but those who had bullied the Zhen family had been living in fear and anxiety for more than half a year, and their situation was completely reversed.
At present, the oldest male in the Zhen family's direct lineage is Zhen Boming, the son of Zhen Yan, the second brother of Empress Wen Zhao Zhen.
In February, Empress Zhen submitted a petition to the court, suggesting that the mausoleum of Empress Zhen be rebuilt. More than a month had passed since the petition was submitted.
A few days ago, an envoy from Luoyang came to Yecheng on a fast horse, saying that Si Tu Wang Lang would soon come to Yecheng in person to take charge of this matter.
In the morning, Zhen Xiang, then 33 years old, came to the school office in Yecheng by carriage.
Who in Yecheng doesn't know that the Zhen family has revived again? And with the current emperor in power, Zhen Xiang has also become the emperor's cousin.
The officials of the school affairs office would never dare to stop Zhen Xiang.
Zhen Xiang walked into the lobby of the school affairs office as if he knew the place well, and went straight to the presence of Zhao Qu, the school affairs commander of Yecheng.
When Zhao Qu saw Zhen Xiang coming, he quickly stood up and bowed.
Zhao Qu said in a flattering manner: "Brother Zhen, why are you here in person? If there is something, just send someone to tell me."
The reason why Zhen Xiang was so familiar with the School Affairs Office in Yecheng was that before Empress Zhen was sentenced to death, the Zhen family was repeatedly investigated by the School Affairs Office, and Zhen Xiang had been to the School Affairs Office countless times.
Zhen Xiang looked at Zhao Qu coldly: "I am not worthy of being called 'Brother Zhen' by you!"
"Zhao Qu, from last year to today, I have personally come to the School Affairs Office six or seven times." Zhen Xiang said, "Today I will ask you again, how did the School Affairs Office of Yecheng report to the late emperor that Empress Wen Zhao was resentful?"
Zhen Xiang snorted, "If you tell me now, it's still not too late. In a few days, Wang Situ will go to Yecheng to take charge of the mausoleum construction for Empress Wen Zhao. If I ask Wang Situ to investigate then, it won't be like today."
Zhao Qu lowered his head and looked at the floor tiles with complicated eyes.
At that time, Empress Guo was favored in Luoyang, and Empress Zhen could only live alone in Yecheng.
It was indeed Queen Guo who sent people to Yecheng and asked the Yecheng School Office to report to Luoyang about the poem "Tangshangxing" written by Queen Zhen, and even added many curse words to it.
But... that was Empress Guo, who was the most favored by the late emperor!
What can I do with my small school affairs?
Zhao Qu raised his head with a gloomy look and looked at Zhen Xiang: "Brother Zhen has come to ask many times, I really don't know, Brother Zhen, please go back."
Zhen Xiang didn't say anything either. He looked at Zhao Qu with eyes as cold as sharp cones, then turned and left.
Two moments after Zhen Xiang left, Zhao Qu came back to his senses and let out a long sigh.
Zhao Qu straightened his collar, turned around and sat back at the table.
Without pausing for a moment, Zhao Qu pulled out a short knife from his waist. The sharp blade immediately swept across his neck, and blood gushed out uncontrollably.
Zhao Qu's body slowly fell down, and gradually there was no sound anymore.
It's just a life. (End of this chapter)
