"The Emperor of Wei is telling the soldiers of the six armies!"
Cao Rui knew that the soldiers would not hear this manifesto, but their generals and their leaders could hear it, the ministers of the Wei Dynasty could hear it, God could hear it, and history books could hear it.
Xu Shu recited aloud, "I have heard that the way of heaven is clear, and there is a constant for rebellion and obedience. Gongsun Yuan is a beast from Liaodong. In the past, his ancestor Du took advantage of the decline of the Han Dynasty and secretly occupied the border. His father Kang falsely accepted the seal and ribbon, but secretly harbored a jackal's heart. As for Yuan's son, he imprisoned his uncle, seized the throne, and slaughtered his subjects. This is something that only beasts would not do, but they dared to do it to China!"
"I have seen the map of Liaodong, which is the former site of the four Han prefectures. Emperor Wu of Han established Xuantu to suppress the Dongyi, and established Lelang to comfort the border people, making it the land of China for a long time. Now the Gongsun family has occupied it for three generations, making the land of Guandai degraded into a foul place, and the people of poetry and literature reduced to prisoners and slaves. Whenever I think of this, my heart is boiling like a cauldron."
"In the past, Emperor Wu pointed his banner to the north and Liucheng surrendered; Emperor Wen pointed his yellow axe to the east and Xiangping was terrified. Now I inherit the power of generations and follow the will of Heaven. I personally lead 60,000 tiger soldiers to suppress the rebellion."
"I have made an agreement with the six armies: those who kill the generals and seize the flags will be rewarded within a few minutes; those who hesitate and fear fighting will be executed within a few days. The world should know: where the Wei army goes, the ice will open; where the great flag points, the steep mountains will move."
"Let's sharpen our weapons and fight against the rebels together!"
While Xu Shu was reciting, several large eagles appeared in the sky for some unknown reason and circled several times around the black and red flag of the Wei Dynasty on the high platform.
Cao Rui was wearing golden armor, facing the rising sun, he drew out the long sword from his waist, and pointed it obliquely in the direction of Liaodong in the east. The sunlight seemed to be a thin curtain covering Cao Rui, so dazzling that people dared not look directly at him.
After reciting, Xu Shu turned north and bowed to the emperor. The rest of Sima Yi, Man Chong and other ministers, as well as the 56,000 soldiers on the plain, all stood in place and shouted "Long live the emperor".
The sound echoed throughout the wilderness, scaring away all the eagles circling on the high platform.
After the oath, the army was immediately divided into two routes. Liu Ye led 8,000 light cavalry in the north and marched out of Lulong Pass to the north, while Cao Rui personally led the remaining 48,000 troops to the east.
There was not much rain in western Liaoning in late April and May, and the army was fully prepared for its eastward march. It marched eastward at a constant speed of 50 miles per day and arrived at Jieshi after eleven days.
It was already the afternoon of May 3rd.
Jieshi has been famous since ancient times, but it is not a fixed place.
The Book of History, Yu Gong, records that "the island barbarians, wearing leather clothes, entered the Yellow River with Jieshi on the right." In the 32nd year of the reign of Emperor Qin Shihuang, he visited Jieshi in the east and carved a stone inscription. Xu Shen of the Later Han Dynasty explained Jieshi as "a unique stone" in his "Shuowen Jiezi" and said "there is Jieshi in the East China Sea."
The Jieshi that Cao Cao climbed in the past was 200 miles east of Guzhu City. The Wei army had its own records, so Cao Rui easily found this "old place".
When the emperor, who had always loved literature, came here, he naturally wanted to look for ancient sites and talk about poetry and literature.
Sima Yi, Man Chong, three attendants, three palace guards, several important generals in the army, as well as Kebi Neng and Budugen of the Xianbei and Liu Bao, the left commander of the Xiongnu, were all summoned here to visit the ancient site together.
Ke Bineng and others certainly knew the habits of Han Chinese scholars. Although they did not know much about poetry and prose, they had marched so far and had never seen the sea with their own eyes, so they gladly agreed.
Of course, he had no choice but to respond.
Jieshi is a large flat rock on the top of a low hill by the sea. Nearly twenty people standing on it do not seem crowded.
The sea and sky melted into a lead-gray at the end of the field of vision, tiny silver scales floated on the ridges of the waves, and the gradually setting sun leaked spots of light through the gaps in the clouds, shining obliquely on everyone's faces.
The waves kept hitting the rocks and reefs on the seashore, splashing water mist several feet high, and making constant sounds of slapping and breaking. The cliffs on the seaside of Jieshi Mountain looked like they were chopped by a giant axe, with protrusions and holes all over the rock. The salty and humid sea breeze passed through them, making a low whimper of resentment and longing.
Cao Rui said with emotion: "Literature conveys the truth and poetry expresses one's aspirations. Now that I have come here to see the magnificent scenery, I understand the heroic feelings of Emperor Wu back then."
"My Lords," Cao Rui turned his head to look at the ministers who followed him, "In the 12th year of Jian'an, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered Wuhuan and passed by this place. He wrote a poem called "Viewing the Sea" to commemorate it forever."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Who can recite this poem for me? I will reward you with ten pieces of silk."
Ten rolls of silk were nothing to the important officials of the Wei Dynasty, and no one's family would lack such a small amount. But the emperor was in a good mood today, and it was rare to have such a change during the expedition, so everyone raised their hands to respond.
At the end of the first year of Taihe, Chongwenguan had already compiled the "Selected Poems of Emperor Wu" before publishing the "Collected Works of Emperor Wu".
As for the poems of Emperor Wu of Han, Cao Cao, this is the greatest political correctness of the Wei Dynasty. Every official in Luoyang has a copy of it. Who can really not recite it? "Viewing the Sea" is a representative of Emperor Wu of Han's majestic and powerful poems, and it is well known to everyone.
Cao Rui saw an unexpected figure. "Liu Bao, right?" Cao Rui raised his head and pointed at the left commander of the Xiongnu army, who was about 40 years old. "How could you recite this poem?"
Liu Bao was originally standing behind the crowd. When he saw the emperor call his name, the people who were blocking the way in front of him moved away one after another. Man Chong even pulled Liu Bao's sleeve and brought him to the front of the crowd.
"Your Majesty," Liu Bao bowed respectfully, "I live in Taiyuan County. I got the Selected Poems of Emperor Wu from the Qin envoy of Bingzhou. I read it aloud and recited it every day, so I can recite it by heart."
Cao Rui nodded slightly. Since Liu Bao was bragging, he must be able to recite it. He would never do something as big as deceiving the emperor.
"Kebineng, Budugen, can you two recite it?"
Kebineng apologized in shame, and Budugen kept shaking his head.
Cao Rui pretended to sigh: "Look at Liu Bao, he has such a talented writer despite having the surname Liu, he is really different from you."
"You two should learn more. After you return to the army, I will assign a few more Confucian scholars to teach in your tribe."
The two of them bowed their hands in thanks, and were confused for a moment. Did the emperor really think that he was just an ordinary minister?
"…The movement of the sun and the moon seems to come out of it; the shining stars seem to come out of it…"
Liu Bao finished reciting the poem "Viewing the Sea" aloud, and Cao Rui kept his promise and ordered Man Chong to reward him with silk later. There was a happy scene on Jieshi.
Cao Rui looked at the boundary between the sea and the sky in the distance and sighed softly: "It is a great pity that Prince Yongqiu was unable to accompany me on this expedition! If he comes here again in twenty years, he might be able to write one or two famous poems."
The emperor's words were full of hidden meanings. In such an elegant essay occasion, Sima Yi was also happy to be a "flattering minister" who flattered the emperor: "Is it possible that Your Majesty is thinking about the article written by Prince Yongqiu?"
"I remembered two." Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "One is the White Horse by Prince Yongqiu, and the other is the Song of Yan by the late emperor."
Sima Yi's mind was wandering, but he still didn't know whether the emperor was simply talking about articles or had some other political metaphors, so he could only cup his hands and say: "Your Majesty, both of the articles you mentioned are good."
"It is indeed a good article." Cao Rui said, "Do you know when these two articles were written?"
Sima Yi thought for a moment and said, "The late emperor wrote "Yan Ge Xing" in the 12th year of Jian'an, when the late emperor was staying in Yecheng."
Cao Rui asked again: "Where is Emperor Wu's "Viewing the Sea"?"
Sima Yi was stunned for a moment: "It was also written in the 12th year of Jian'an, on the way back from the northern expedition against Wuhuan."
Cao Rui asked calmly, "Where is the White Horse by Prince Yongqiu?"
Sima Yi had in-depth research on Cao Cao and Cao Pi, but he was not particularly familiar with Cao Zhi's poems.
But there are people here who know the truth.
Lu Yu, who was standing nearby, said softly, "In the 12th year of Jian'an, the King of Yongqiu followed Emperor Wu to conquer the Wuhuan, and this poem was also written in the same year."
Sima Yi took a barely perceptible breath.
The Wei Dynasty had only been established for ten years. Cao Cao and Cao Pi were kings that almost everyone present had served, rather than some historical figures far away.
Any words about these three people, as long as they come from the emperor's mouth, must be taken seriously.
The emperor mentioned the two and the King of Yongqiu, and all three poems were written in the 12th year of Jian'an. In that year, Emperor Wu Cao Cao returned victorious from his expedition against the Wuhuan.
Now, Your Majesty is also on his way to conquer Liaodong...
All three poems were written in the 12th year of Jian'an. Even the dumbest person would not think that the emperor was simply talking about literature. (End of this chapter)
