Chapter 460 Internal and External Strength
Sima Zhao stretched his neck and looked towards the east. The rain outside the eaves was still pouring down, making Sima Zhao undecided for a moment:
"Brother Juyuan, the rain is so heavy, is it..."
Before Sima Zhao could finish his words, Shan Tao suddenly accelerated and ran straight towards Huang Quan's carriage without any hesitation.
I don't have a family background like yours! When it's time to work hard, you shouldn't be too picky!
Looking at Shan Tao's back, Sima Zhao was stunned at first, then shook his head and turned back into the house and sat at the table.
Soon, Shan Tao stopped the carriage in front of the door, personally led Huang Quan and four attendants into the house, and volunteered to untie the horses and feed them in the stable.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." Sima Zhao led four minor officials in the room to perform the salute.
Huang Quan glanced at the few people, nodded slightly, took off his soaked outer robe, and wrung it out with both hands. He walked to the burning stove in the house and dried his hair one foot at a time.
Zhao Kai, the attendant following behind Huang Quan, carefully looked at the furnishings in the room, and then looked at Sima Zhao: "Zi Shang, do you have any clean clothes? It rained too hard today, and the leather on the top of the carriage is soaked. If the clothes are too wet, you may catch a cold."
"Wait a moment, my subordinate will go and find them." Sima Zhao turned and looked at the clerks: "Don't just stand there, there are five sets of clothes in total, don't judge by height, weight or size, bring them all here first."
"well."
The four clerks went to look for him. Huang Quan then looked at Sima Zhao straight in the eye: "Zi Shang? Are you Sima Zi Shang?"
"That's right, sir," Sima Zhao said with a bow.
Zhao Kai interrupted and said, "My Lord, a subordinate of Jia Houqu has come over. This is Sima Zishang. The person who came to greet you in the rain just now is Shan Tao and Shan Juyuan. They are both from Henei."
In the autumn of the third year of Taihe, the one hundred Taixuelang sent to Yuzhou were all under the charge of Zhao Kai, a state official.
Huang Quan seemed to be in a bad mood, and he didn't even look at Zhao Kai: "I know the name of Henei Sima, so you don't need to tell me."
"Zi Shang, are you two responsible for this section of the canal?"
"Yes, sir."
"How are you doing with the dredging, seabed expansion and dam construction?"
Shan Tao had taken care of the horse issue by now and hurried into the house. Seeing Huang Quan asking Sima Zhao about official business, he did not step forward to join in the conversation and went to change his clothes instead.
Sima Zhao thought for a few moments, then clasped his hands and replied, "Your Excellency, I and Shan Juyuan are responsible for the five miles between the forty-five and fifty miles of the Jiahou Canal. Zhao Gongshi came here for an inspection more than half a month ago, and about ten days ago, the dredging and the expansion of the canal were completed."
"What about building a dam?" Huang Quan asked.
"Build a dam..." Sima Zhao looked at Zhao Kai with a little hesitation, and then said: "The dam construction has just started."
Huang Quan frowned and stopped what he was doing. "What's going on? Are you delaying the time, or are you short of manpower?"
On one side was the second son of the Sikong family, and on the other side was his immediate superior, the governor. How could a state official like him be caught in the middle? Zhao Kai ignored Sima Zhao's look of seeking help and also went to the stove to dry his clothes.
Sima Zhao thought for a few moments and said, "Your Excellency, Shan Juyuan and I have been digging rocks and piling up soil these days, and have not had time to build the dam."
Huang Quan nodded thoughtfully and continued to dry the clothes: "So it means that there are not enough people and they didn't make good use of the time to do it?"
"This..." Sima Zhao was a little speechless for a moment, and it was not easy to explain. The actual situation was indeed as Huang Quan said.
Shan Tao had already changed his clothes and came over to salute Huang Quan. Huang Quan asked the same question, and Shan Tao answered the same question.
Huang Quan sighed, threw the outer robe in his hand to Zhao Kai, looked at Sima Zhao and Shan Tao and said:
"We came back from Changle County in Chen County. The Jiahou Canal in Chen County has already had a three-foot low dam built. From the county governor to the county magistrates, repairing and expanding the canal is a top priority."
"Seeing the situation you two are in, I'm sure the situation in the entire Xuchang County is not much better. You're talking about taking stones and not having enough time. It's just that the county didn't urge you and didn't provide enough manpower, right?"
Sima Zhao pursed his lips and said, "Your Excellency, please understand clearly."
"Speaking of which, the matter of expanding the canal and building the dam was personally signed by the Sikong when he was in Yecheng, and it was an important task issued by the Shangshutai of Yecheng." Zhao Kai introduced it, and then asked Huang Quan: "After the weather clears up, I will instruct Yingchuan County to urge this matter."
Issued by Sikong?
Sima Zhao was stunned.
If that's the case, when I and Shan Tao were here a few days ago criticizing Envoy Huang for making trouble, weren't we criticizing our own father? Sima Zhao's regretful expression was a little unnatural.
Sima Zhao had always attached great importance to his father's identity, so how could he be willing to speak of his father behind his back? At this moment, he regretted so much that he just wanted to slap himself in the face.
"Sunny? Do you know when it will clear up?" Huang Quan choked Zhao Kai with words: "Hurry up and dry the clothes, pack up the carriage, and return to Xuchang in the rain when the rain is a little lighter!"
Zhao Kai was already used to his governor's temper, so he patiently advised, "Sir, why don't you wait until the rain stops before returning?" Huang Quan looked up at Zhao Kai and said, "Okay. Is there any paper and pen in the house?"
Shan Tao quickly replied, "Yes, I will fetch it for you right away."
"Don't give it to me, give it to Zhao." Huang Quan pointed at Zhao Kai and said, "Give me the clothes, and you come and write a petition for me. I will submit it to Luoyang to impeach Yingchuan Governor Dong Zhou for being lazy and neglecting the important task of flood control in the Secretariat!"
Zhao Kai could still talk about small matters, but when it came to such a big matter, Zhao Kai agreed without hesitation. He immediately changed into a robe and went to the desk to draft a memorial.
After hearing the news several times, Sima Zhao didn't know what to do. He never thought that just a few words from him would lead to Envoy Huang impeaching Lord Dong.
Sima Zhao was a little flustered and nervous, and couldn't help but think of a sensitive question: Isn't Dong Zhou the son of Dong Gong of Xige? ?
……
A few days later, in the Prime Minister's Mansion in Wuchang City.
Prime Minister Gu Yong sat at the head, and Hu Zong, Yin Fan, and Lu Yi sat at the bottom. As for Quan Cong and Zhuge Jin, they each returned to their bases by boat after the court meeting at the beginning of the month and did not stay in Wuchang for long.
The prime minister still has to take charge of the affairs of a country. When it comes to planning the ascension to the throne, Sun Quan only gave some strategies in private, and the specific details still need to be discussed one by one.
Hu Zong, Yin Fan and Lu Yi were all assigned to Gu Yong by Sun Quan, and the division of labor among these three people was self-evident.
Hu Zong was responsible for internal and external communication, as well as summoning ministers. Yin Fan was responsible for the rituals and procedures, including the documents of persuasion. And the editor Lu Yi was responsible for the promotion of auspicious signs and prophecies, and was also responsible for monitoring the words and movements of the officials.
There is only one step away from ascending to heaven. For the entire Wu Kingdom and Sun Quan himself, it cannot be too cautious.
Gu Yong looked at Hu Zong: "Wei Ze, does the Supreme have anything to say about the specific date?"
Hu Zong bowed and said, "Prime Minister, three days ago, Ge Tianshi had already calculated that the most auspicious day of the year is September 16th."
"September 16th..." Gu Yong said thoughtfully, "Today is August 6th. With forty days, there is still enough time to make many preparations. What else did Master Ge say?"
Hu Zong said: "Ge Tianshi also said that Sun's country was founded on military power, and Wuchang is where the Han River merges into the Yangtze River, so we should gather troops and conduct a review to suppress the victory."
Gu Yong took a long breath: "Bet on winning?"
"Yes, to suppress victory." Hu Zong explained: "According to what Ge Tianshi said, the Sun family replaced the Han Dynasty's fire virtue with earth virtue, so they must show off their armor and soldiers to suppress victory. Otherwise, it will not be enough to show Wu's power and virtue. And both the infantry and the navy must be present."
"What does the Supreme say?"
Hu Zong bowed and said, "Parades are the right way to show off the country's military strength. Your Majesty agrees. However, as to where the troops should be transferred and when, Your Majesty will ask your subordinates to work out a strategy with the Prime Minister and report it to Your Majesty for your approval."
Gu Yong thought for a moment: "Since we are talking about Dayao Armored Soldiers, we must gather tens of thousands of soldiers. My Great Wu currently has 180,000 elite soldiers, but the troops we can mobilize are not many."
"The troops in Ruxu and Jianye in the east cannot be moved, nor can the troops opposite Wankou. The troops in Xiling and Jiangling in the west cannot be moved either. If this is the case, only Changsha Buzishan, Gong'an Zhuge Ziyu, and Chaisang Quan Zihuang can mobilize troops!"
Hu Zong nodded and said, "What the Prime Minister said is very true. The three generals Bu, Zhuge, and Quan have a total of 30,000 troops. Add to that the 40,000 central troops near Wuchang, and you have 70,000 troops in total."
"Seventy thousand troops, can they be called the Great Yao Armored Army?"
Gu Yong nodded and replied, "Seventy thousand troops are enough. As for the navy, the central army in Wuchang and Xiakou, plus Chaisang and Gong'an, have five hundred tower ships and a thousand official ships, which should be enough for the review."
Hu Zong responded: "So this is how I will report to your Majesty?"
"Okay, Wei Ze will go and talk to him." Gu Yong turned to look at Yin Fan: "Shu Ping, have you decided on a strategy for the petition?"
Yin Fan bowed and replied, "Prime Minister, in my opinion, the King of Wu and his ministers should persuade him to ascend the throne four times. His Majesty should decline the first three times and accept the fourth time. Before and in between these three major persuasions, different officials should persuade him to ascend the throne, including the Prime Minister's Office, the Secretariat, the Censorate, the Nine Ministers, the Internal Affairs, the Grand Historian, the Doctors, the Generals, and the people. A total of nine persuasions should be made."
"Every time we persuade someone to ascend the throne, we must all sign our names and knock on the door together to show the sincerity of our request and our loyalty."
Gu Yong nodded: "Etiquette cannot be abolished. Since the Supreme Lord trusts Shu Ping, then we should follow Shu Ping's advice. When should we start persuading him to ascend the throne?"
Yin Fan thought for a moment and said, "It should start from September 1st."
"Okay then." Gu Yong looked at Hu Zong: "Wei Ze will first hand over the two strategies to the Supreme for inspection, and then ask the Supreme to order Zhuge, Bu, and Quan to move their troops to Wuchang!"
"Yes, sir!" Hu Zong stood up and responded.
"As for Captain Lu," Gu Yong looked at Lu Yi, "During this critical period, Wuchang's internal and external affairs must be more tense. If the slightest incident occurs, you will not be able to use up ten heads!"
"Yes, sir!" Lu Yi bowed in response, but in his heart he felt somewhat dissatisfied with Gu Yong's threats.
(End of this chapter)
