Jiang Wei did not say much, but bowed and then turned and walked to the table on the side of the hall.
"Bo Yue, move the desk into the hall. I and the other ministers will watch you write together." Cao Rui raised the corner of his mouth slightly and pointed to the empty space in front of him.
"As you wish." Although Jiang Wei was surprised, he still followed the etiquette of a close minister and called a tiger guard to place the table among the crowd.
On his left are Cao Zhen, Zhang He, and Guo Huai, and on his right are Sima Yi, Yang Fu, and Chen Jiao. Surrounded by everyone's gaze, Jiang Wei remained calm.
Cao Rui tapped the table with his fingers and said, "Bo Yue, I'm starting."
Jiang Wei dipped the tip of his pen into ink and held it over a piece of white silk.
"I am the emperor of the Great Wei. I inherit the virtues of my father and ancestors and respond to the requests of the people. Although you are the prime minister of a small country, you are still a citizen of the Great Wei."
"I cannot punish you without warning, so I have sent the Cavalry Minister of Tianshui, Jiang Boyue, to present a letter in person and explain it to you."
Jiang Wei kept writing. Although he paused when he heard his own name, he quickly reacted and wrote down the emperor's words in cursive script.
Although the ministers in the hall did not know how the emperor wanted to "explain" it, they were all related to the war and military affairs, so they just listened.
Cao Rui continued, "The previous emperor passed the throne to Liu Xie, the Han emperor, just like Yao and Shun. He also named Liu Xie the Duke of Shanyang and followed the Han dynasty. He offered sacrifices to the emperor and did not call himself a vassal. There is no greater virtue than this in terms of dynasty change and succession."
"On the other hand, Liu Bei proclaimed himself the King of Hanzhong without any imperial decree in the 24th year of Jian'an. He even proclaimed himself emperor, just like Gongsun Shu did in the past."
"Duke Liu Xie of Shanyang is still in Shanyang, healthy and happy, yet you have given him the posthumous title of 'Emperor Xiaomin'. There is no greater disrespect than this!"
Since Jiang Wei had to take notes, Cao Rui spoke slowly, pausing between each sentence.
Cao Zhen, who was listening carefully, also laughed: "This Liu Bei group is using the title of Duke of Shanyang to say that someone is dead while he is still alive. This is really too much!"
"The people of Shu have been bewitched by him for too long."
Cao Rui glanced at Cao Zhen but didn't say anything.
The first letter to Zhuge Liang was intended to set the record straight, state one's stance and attitude, and naturally to talk about some profound principles.
But if you really think that great principles can have any effect in reality, then you are really naive.
Cao Rui continued, "I know that you, in the remote areas of Yizhou, compare Liu Bei and Liu Chan to the reincarnation of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu."
"It took Emperor Gaozu of Han seven years to conquer the country, Emperor Guangwu of Han three years to become emperor, and Emperor Guangwu of Han twelve years to unify the north and south. In contrast, Liu Bei and Liu Chan wandered around the north and south and lived in the border areas. How could they have the slightest aura of an emperor?"
"After Liu Bei went to study in Luoyang, until he died in Baidi City, he probably hadn't seen Luoyang for forty years, right?"
"You came to explain to me the battle of Kunyang last time, but the battle of Kunyang was fought by Guangwu himself. How can you, the prime minister of Shu, borrow the luck of the fake Guangwu?"
"Shu has no luck, so you should not waste the lives of the people and save your energy."
Sima Yi couldn't help but feel a little strange when listening to the emperor's words.
When the late Emperor Cao Pi was not yet the crown prince of Wei, he was fighting for the throne with Cao Zhi, and it was Sima Yi who assisted him throughout the whole process.
Sima Yi had no idea what kind of sage kings Liu Bang, who lived four hundred years ago, and Liu Xiu, who lived two hundred years ago, were.
But Sima Yi was extremely clear about Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. Although Cao Pi was far superior to ordinary people, he did not have the talent to rule the world or the virtue to govern the country and benefit the people.
He was born into a good family and had the support of many ministers, thus he became emperor in place of the Han Dynasty.
But your Majesty has been on the throne for two years. When he went to Huainan, Sun Quan was defeated. When he went to Longyou, the Shu bandits retreated. Although he cannot be called as miraculous as Guangwu, he can at least have one or two points of his style, right?
Cao Rui coughed lightly, interrupting Sima Yi's thoughts.
After clearing his throat, he continued, "I know Liu Chan is a mediocre person, but you are a man of talent and character."
"If you are willing to surrender your country, I am willing to use the land of Guanzhong to enfeoff Liu Chan as a king, with a rank higher than that of Duke of Shanyang. You yourself can also become one of the Three Dukes, and be the Minister of the Chancellery to manage the political affairs of the world."
"Please consider this!"
After noticing that Jiang Wei had finally put pen to paper, Cao Rui clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Since I want to distract Zhuge Liang and delay him for some time, I must use courtesy before force."
"The conditions I gave them for the first time were the best conditions."
Cao Rui looked at Jiang Wei and asked, "Do you have the courage to serve as my envoy, go to the Shu army camp, and hand the letter to Zhuge Kongming in person?"
Jiang Wei stood up from behind the small table and bowed: "I will definitely fulfill my mission!"
"Well, go ahead." Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and said, "As for the other trivial matters of the mission, Sikong will help Bo Yue to deal with them."
"I understand." Sima Yi replied with a bow.
……
Today is the morning of March 6th. Jiang Wei set out from Xiabian and spent a night in the Shu army camp thirty miles south of the eastern mountain pass. He arrived at the camp in Chiting at noon the next day.
All of Jiang Wei's entourage were stopped by Wei Yan, leaving Jiang Wei alone to travel south.
When two countries are at war, envoys should not be killed. This general rule was implemented very well among the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu.
Although Wei Yan sent someone to blindfold Jiang Wei, Jiang Wei was not an ordinary person. He had been trained in Tianshui County and Imperial College, and had twice followed the emperor to war. As a Liangzhou native, how could he not know the speed of the horse when he was sitting on the horse? Knowing the time, he naturally knew the distance to the Shu army camp.
When Jiang Wei personally arrived at Zhuge Liang's tent and the cloth covering his eyes was removed, the light that suddenly shot into his eyes made it difficult for him to see clearly.
It was not until a few moments later that Jiang Wei saw Prime Minister Zhuge sitting in the tent with a calm expression.
Jiang Wei stood proudly in the tent, not at all afraid of the scrutiny of the Shu Han officials. He bowed slightly and said, "I am Jiang Wei, the Minister of Cavalry of the Wei Dynasty. I am here on the orders of the Emperor to deliver the letter from His Majesty to Prime Minister Zhuge."
After saying that, Jiang Wei handed over the box containing the letter.
Yang Yi stepped forward quickly, looked at Jiang Wei's face carefully for a few moments, then took it with both hands and presented it to Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang did not read the letter, but looked at Jiang Wei and said calmly: "What does Cao Rui want to tell me? Last time I sent a message to him, I told him that the Han and the traitors cannot coexist. The two armies can just fight, no need to waste words."
"Why are you being sent to humiliate yourself today?"
"Your Majesty is trying to advise you with good intentions, why are you so rude!" Jiang Wei frowned slightly and shouted directly to stop them.
"How dare the Wei thieves?" Yang Yi cursed loudly and stepped forward to glare at them.
"Insanity!"
Chen Shi, the general in charge of Zhuge Liang's garrison, actually drew his sword and pointed it at Jiang Wei, placing it just three inches from Jiang Wei's neck.
"Your Excellency wants to kill me?"
Jiang Wei stood still without wavering, and stretched out a finger to push the back of Chen Shi's knife. He held it there for a few seconds before retracting his hand and holding it in front of him.
Zhuge Liang didn't care about the actions of the people in the tent, as if he didn't see anything, and said directly: "Since we are an enemy country, there is no need to talk about such formalities. Since you are a first-time envoy, I will not punish you."
"What does Cao Rui want to say to me?"
Jiang Wei lowered his voice and said, "So that Prime Minister Zhuge knows, Your Majesty is willing to reward you with the position of one of the Three Dukes and the prestigious position of Shangshu Ling, and is willing to confer the land of Guanzhong on the Lord of Shu."
"May the war between Wei and Shu end soon, and let the people live in peace."
Seeing that everyone in the hall was about to make a commotion again, Zhuge Liang just glanced at them and everyone stopped.
Zhuge Liang opened the letter and glanced at it for a few moments before saying with a smile, "Cao Rui can argue that the people of this small country are tired, and I can also argue with him that the principles of heaven are clear and the divine artifacts are immutable."
"It's just a few words. It's really boring to not show your strength when you win and not show your weakness when you lose."
"I saw in Cao Rui's letter that the messenger's name is Jiang Wei, Jiang Boyue, and he is from Tianshui?"
Jiang Wei bowed earnestly: "That's right."
"Where is Tianshui?"
"Ji County."
"Ji County?" Zhuge Liang laughed and said, "You must not have been in Ji County that day, otherwise you would have been in Hanzhong today."
"Lord Wei, among the people who moved from Ji County to Hanzhong, are there any members of the Jiang family?"
Yang Yi glanced at Jiang Wei, snorted and said, "Of course there is."
"Since Cao Rui sent you to deliver a letter to me, and also gave me a jade ring in the box, I can't just not report it." Zhuge Liang looked at Jiang Wei and said softly, "I won't let you do anything excessive. I only ask you one thing, and then you can return all your Jiang family members."
Jiang Wei's eyes grew colder.
Zhuge Liang laughed and said, "When did the Wei army receive the information from Longyou and when did they set out? How many days passed in between?"
Practically speaking, what Zhuge Liang asked was not confidential at all.
Longyou had already been taken back by Wei State, and Lueyang had been defeated, so this was really outdated military information.
But Zhuge Liang had been curious about this matter for a long time.
What he really wanted to know was how quickly the Wei central government could make a decision and how long it would take to make up its mind to send the central army to help.
For the Tianshui Jiang family where Jiang Wei was from, nearly a quarter of the clan members were captured by the Shu soldiers. And what Zhuge Liang asked was not really a secret.
Would Jiang Wei agree? Of course not!
Jiang Wei didn't even bother to bow, but said coldly, "I am an envoy of the Wei Dynasty, and my loyalty cannot be compromised by your words."
"Prime Minister Zhuge, please save your energy."
"Okay then." Zhuge Liang did not argue: "Wait a moment, I will write a reply to Cao Rui. Take it with you when you return."
"Thank you for coming."
It took only half an incense stick of time for Zhuge Liang to finish writing his reply. After putting it back into the box brought by Jiang Wei, Zhuge Liang said calmly:
"Leave this jade ring as it is. It looks warm and moist, and is worth at least ten stones of military rations."
"Cao Rui gave me military funds, how could I not accept them?" (End of this chapter)
