After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere at the banquet gradually became heated.
Although the scene seemed harmonious, all these generals and ministers were very shrewd. They wanted to stare at the emperor while they were drinking and feasting.
Cao Rui had just raised the wine cup for a few moments when the originally noisy hall immediately became quiet.
With the corners of his mouth slightly raised and a light laugh, Cao Rui said in a clear voice: "This time, all the ministers and generals have served me well in the recovery of Longyou. I am also grateful."
"Although the rewards and punishments will be discussed in the court in Luoyang, I will now rank you in order, just like we did in Shouchun in the past."
Sima Yi, Yang Fu, Chen Jiao, Cao Zhi and other close ministers who accompanied the emperor here knew that this military operation was different from the last time in Huainan, and they did not have much planning experience.
Therefore, he didn't care at all and waited for the emperor to rank the generals.
But the leaders held their breath, fearing that they would miss a single word.
Cao Rui glanced at everyone in the hall, and suddenly laughed out loud: "Why does the general look so anxious? I am discussing military merits at this moment. With the rank of the general, I don't need to be compared with them."
It has been thirty years since Cao Cao started his rebellion. The celebratory banquets have always been very harmonious, and there has never been a case of a general being convicted for his words.
Simply put, there are very few rules for generals at banquets.
After Cao Rui's remarks, all the ministers and generals were already in high spirits. When they heard the emperor teasing General Cao Zhen, there was a burst of laughter in the hall.
Cao Zhen bowed and smiled, "I just want to listen to your Majesty's will, and I have no intention of competing with the other generals for credit."
Cao Rui was just joking, but now he became serious: "How could I not know about the great general's contribution? We can discuss the specific increase of the fiefdom when we return to Luoyang."
Cao Zhen stood up and bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."
Cao Rui raised his right hand and pressed it downwards to signal Cao Zhen to sit down. Then he said to his ministers in a serious tone: "The situation in Longyou is closely related to the whole situation. The general and I have come all the way from Luoyang. If it weren't for the efforts of the left general Zhang He and Zhang Junyi to save the situation, I'm afraid the situation in Longyou would have been ruined long ago."
"Left General," Cao Rui smiled and raised the wine bottle in his hand, "In this battle, you made decisive decisions from Chencang to urgently support Longyou, seize Lueyang and hold on like a mountain. You annihilated Deng Zhi's army of the Shu army and dampened the enemy's morale, and worked together with other armies to defeat most of the Shu army."
"In my opinion, you are the one who has done the most good! It is worth it for me to entrust Yongliang to you!"
Zhang He was in charge of the military affairs of Yongliang. He held a high position and was considered by others to be responsible for the rapid loss of Longyou. Before Cao Rui led his army from Luoyang, some people in the court had expressed this idea.
This idea sounds reasonable at first glance. Yongliang is your defense zone, how come you lost three and a half counties at once before the battle?
But as an emperor, Cao Rui had a clear mind and was not disturbed by these words.
Zhuge Liang led 80,000 troops to attack, and Zhang He had few soldiers and a vast territory. It was not easy for him to respond like this, and he should not ask for more.
The enemy is led by Zhuge Liang. How can we expect to repel him easily like Zhang Liao did when he defended Hefei?
You can't blame Zhang He at all for something that is simply impossible to do!
Zhang He stood up slowly under the gazes of everyone in the hall and bowed to the emperor: "Your Majesty has given me the credit for the great contribution, but I have often felt ashamed these days. I have failed your Majesty in entrusting Yongliang to me."
Cao Rui shook his head gently: "You don't need to tell me this. If you hadn't held on to Lueyang, Longyou would no longer be owned by the country. You deserve the credit."
"Come, drink with me!"
Zhang He raised the wine jar with both hands to show his respect when drinking with the emperor, and immediately raised his head to drink the wine in the jar.
"General Zuo, please sit down."
As soon as he put down the wine jar, Jiang Wei, the Palace Attendant who was standing beside him, tactfully filled the emperor's wine jar with a wooden spoon.
"When our army defeated the Shu bandits in Lueyang, the Shu bandits' reinforcements were only half a day away from our army. If it weren't for the Zhenxi General Qian Zhao and Qian Zijing's command, who led his troops to attack Wei Yan's camp and penetrated the enemy camp within a day and a half, the battle in Longyou would have been deadlocked in Lueyang for a longer time."
"General Zhenxi," Cao Rui looked at Qian Zhao with a smile, "You led the infantry to destroy the enemy's stronghold, and your contribution should be second to none!"
Looking at the wine jar that the emperor had raised, Qian Zhao did not decline as Zhang He did. Instead, he simply thanked the emperor and drank the wine in the jar.
Cao Rui nodded with satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Guo Huai.
"If it weren't for Yongzhou Governor Guo Huai and Guo Boji holding out in Shanggui when we marched south after the Battle of Lueyang, Zhuge Liang wouldn't have to withdraw his army, but would have fought with me in the Shanggui area."
"Governor Guo," Cao Rui nodded and said, "You held the city alone behind enemy lines and did your duty to save it, forcing the enemy to retreat and lose their base. You deserve the third place for your contribution!"
Guo Huai stood up and saluted respectfully, his eyes reddening: "I could only save Shanggui in a hurry. But as the governor of Yongzhou, I lost three and a half counties under my rule. It is indeed my fault."
"I hope your Majesty will learn from this!"
Cao Rui looked at Guo Huai with a slightly dissatisfied expression: "Didn't I just say this when I was evaluating the merits of General Zuo? The Shu bandits are invading, and you have few soldiers and generals. It is really a helpless move, not a crime. Do you understand?"
To be honest, when Zhang He postponed the credit for the achievement just now, Cao Rui really believed that Zhang He did not want to take the credit.
But Guo Huai said the same thing after Zhang He. In addition, Cao Rui was not familiar with Guo Huai, and there was no tacit understanding between the monarch and his subject. This made Cao Rui somewhat suspicious of Guo Huai's motives.
Was he seeking a pardon for himself? Or did he really believe it? Regardless, this kind of speculation could not be discussed openly.
Guo Huai finally agreed, performed the ceremony and drank the wine in the jug.
Cao Rui nodded and looked at the other generals: "I will only consider the top three for their contributions in Shanggui today. I have noticed the contributions of the rest of the generals."
Cao Rui pointed at them one by one and read out each name as if calling out their names.
When it came to Lu Xun, Cao Rui smiled and asked, "Bo Yan, just leave the Qiang people at Luokou and let Xiahou Zhongquan and Hao Bodao take care of them?"
Lu Xun was very smart at this moment: "I am relying on your majesty's authority to recruit the Qiang people here, which is not something that I, a humble person, can do. Governor Xiahou and General Hao are also your majesty's subjects, and they are enough to deter the Qiang and Hu people."
"Well said!" Cao Rui nodded and said, "Come, Boyan, drink with me!"
Lu Xun did not hesitate, and they both picked up the wine bottles and drank them all.
After the discussion of merit, the banquet in the hall gradually became lively again. Generals of the central army, such as Cheng Xi, Xiahou He, Wen Qin, etc., gradually became familiar with generals stationed in Yongliang, such as Lu Pan and Hu Zun.
I have drunk together at your Majesty's banquet, so it can be used as a qualification to talk about it.
As the night deepened, the banquet gradually came to an end.
As the host of the entire banquet, Cao Zhen, after receiving the emperor's instructions, kept Lu Xun behind when the generals paid their respects and left.
Also remaining in the hall were Sima Yi and three attendants, as well as General Cao Zhen, General Zhang He, and Yongzhou Governor Guo Huai.
Maybe it was because the wine here was not intoxicating, or maybe it was because these important ministers and generals had excellent self-control. When the emperor gathered them together to discuss state affairs, they all sobered up and there was not a trace of drunkenness in their eyes.
At this time, none of the people holding high positions in the Wei Dynasty were mediocre, at least that was what Cao Rui thought at the time.
Cao Rui sat at the top with a calm expression and said directly: "I have called you all here because I have two things to discuss with you."
"First, I want to cede the four counties of Longxi, Nangan, Tianshui, and Guangwei, plus the two counties of Wudu and Yinping, and make them into a separate state."
"Name it Qinzhou."
Qinzhou? ?
Except for Sima Yi, Yang Fu, Chen Jiao and Wang Su who already knew about this, everyone else looked shocked.
"Minister Yang, tell everyone what I said when I discussed this with you earlier."
"As you wish." Yang Fu stood up and told His Majesty all of his considerations from the day before regarding Shu, preparations for war, geographical advantages, etc.
After all, establishing a new state is a major event, and it is necessary to discuss with relevant ministers and strive to reach a consensus.
But with this matter brought up so suddenly, almost everyone has questions to ask.
Zhang He's question was very clear and direct: "If Your Majesty wants to incorporate Wudu and Yinping counties, and build a county seat in the Qishan Lucheng area, does the royal army have to attack southwards now?"
"That's right!" Cao Rui said decisively: "Zhuge Liang came from Hanzhong Wudu, invaded Longyou of Wei, and then wanted to retreat?"
"If I let him go so easily, it will be difficult to relieve the hatred in my heart! Yinping and Wudu were abandoned during the reign of Emperor Wu. Now that the central army has arrived, I must take them back with my own hands!"
Zhang He wanted to ask the emperor how he planned to fight, and whether his appointment as commander-in-chief of the Yongliang military would include the newly established Qinzhou... But after thinking about it, he did not ask.
Guo Huai keenly noticed that Zhang He was hesitant to speak, but Longyou was under his jurisdiction after all, so after thinking it over, he asked:
"Your Majesty, if we take Qishan and Lucheng as the county seat, the people there are too few to support the army. Should we move the people from the other counties in Longyou to Lucheng?"
Cao Rui smiled and said, "That's a good question! But what Guo Boji just asked is actually the second thing I want to talk about."
"I want to make the Qiang people equal citizens!"
Guo Huai's eyes widened, and he asked without thinking, "The Qiang people are actually a foreign race, how can they become citizens of the Great Wei? I'm afraid they will cause trouble!"
Cao Zhen and Zhang He also nodded in agreement.
However, Sima Yi and others who already knew the emperor's intention all expressed their agreement.
Cao Rui shook his head and smiled, "It's just as I expected. It's harder for you to accept this than for me to establish a new Qinzhou."
"When I was in Luoyang, I thoroughly studied the causes and consequences of the two Qiang rebellions in the Later Han Dynasty, and discussed them with Sikong, Yang Qing and others."
"The Qiang people are different from the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan tribes. They can also farm."
"What's more," Cao Rui said with emotion, "Han Dynasty has always treated Qiang people as human beings, but Qiang people themselves are eager to be ruled by the king! Now Longyou is short of population. If we ignore Qiang people and wait for Shu Kingdom to come again and swallow Longyou up, will it be better?" (End of this chapter)
