In May, the report from Wang Feixiao, the governor of Yangzhou, arrived in Luoyang. Wu general Zhuge Ke led tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians to Dongguan and was building fortifications.
Dongguan is located on the Ruxu River. It is an outlet of the Ruxu River and is the boundary between Wei and Wu. The Ruxu River is a river connecting Chaohu Lake and the Dajiang River, flowing southeast.
Qin Liang has not personally been to Ruxu River, but there is also a Wei army camp near Ruxu River, and some generals have been there. He generally knows the situation there. Of course, it is all the situation in the past.
Dongguanshuikou is bounded by Babao Mountain to the west and Ruxu Mountain to the east. Ruxu Water flows between the two mountains, creating a mountain-water barrier that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
A long time ago, Dongwu built a dike in Dongguan, called Dongguan Dike. However, it has been in disrepair for a long time, and a section of Dongguan Dike has collapsed and the middle has not been closed. There is a dock near the embankment, called Ruxuwu, and a fortress.
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Now that Soochow has mobilized its military and civilians to build fortifications again, the place that directly threatens it is Hefei New City.
Qin Liang had visited Hefei New City before. After demolishing the old city on the bank of Shishui, Hefei New City was still more than 20 miles away from the waterway. Wu Jun was usually reluctant to leave the waterway, not to mention that Hefei New City was small and strong, making it difficult to
Can be attacked.
Therefore, if the Wei State ignores the military situation in Dongguan, there will not be much problem for the time being. At most, it will lose control of Chaohu Lake. However, the Wei army's navy was defeated by the Wu State, and Chaohu Lake could not be defended. Qin Liang became the warden of Lujiang County.
, they sent troops to build a defense line on Shushui on the west side of Chao Lake; it was precisely because the Wei army could not stop the Wu soldiers from entering Chao Lake.
However, allowing enemy countries to station troops under their noses and avoid fighting in fear of the enemy is mainly due to the bad impact on governance.
The next morning there was a court meeting in the East Hall of the Taiji Palace, and the Minister of Military Affairs, Bingcao, reported the matter.
Qin Liang, who was standing behind Gao Rou, already had a plan in mind. He had discussed it with Chang Shi Fu Gu earlier. Now he only had to propose the strategy in front of all the civil and military officials, and everyone would know what he stood for.
Wang Ling did not come to court, and Zhao Yan was already dead. Now in the court here, in terms of rank and status, Qin Liang is already ranked third among the ministers.
However, the three Dukes of Wei have almost become pensioners. Gao Rou and Jiang Ji only have high prestige and status, but have no real power. Qin Liang, General Wei, is the minister second only to Wang Ling in the current court.
At this time, Emperor Cao Fang, who was kneeling on the steps, suddenly said: "Do you have any good ideas?"
Qin Liang and other ministers were a little surprised, because the emperor used to be indifferent and often did not even come to court meetings. It was Queen Mother Guo who took charge of the situation.
There was nothing wrong with the emperor's question. However, Qin Liang and others still felt a little uneasy, and it was not convenient for everyone to look up at the emperor. However, Qin Liang also realized in his heart that the emperor was already fourteen or fifteen years old.
Cao Fang has been in charge of the government for seven years. He should know a lot about what is going on in the court.
No one spoke for a while in the hall. At this time, Queen Mother Guo behind the curtain said: "If you have anything to say, ministers, please say it in front of Your Majesty."
When Qin Liang heard this, he moved a step to the left, held the ivory wat in his hands, and said: "When I was an official in Yangzhou, I heard that the soldiers often called the Wu army water thieves. The Wu army relied on rivers and was good at water warfare.
, and adapted to the hot and humid climate. Therefore, I believe that we should wait until winter, mobilize the army, destroy the Tucheng fortifications in Dongguan in one fell swoop, and expel the Wu army."
Immediately, several officials agreed. Maybe some people in the court felt that they could avoid war, but such an idea seemed too cowardly, and no one spoke out for a while.
Cao Fang looked at Wang Mingshan, the Central Secretary and Supervisor who was attending the court meeting, and asked, "What does the general think?"
Wang Mingshan bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know."
Queen Mother Guo's voice from behind the curtain said: "We can discuss this matter later."
So Qin Liang and Wang Mingshan both claimed to obey the order and returned to their positions.
After a while, the officials at Yezhetai seemed to have received the instruction and shouted: "Retreat from the court!"
All the officials bowed to the ground and saluted, the emperor left his seat, and everyone left after saluting. Qin Liang walked to the spacious door with more than ten doors, and couldn't help but look back. Queen Mother Guo seemed to be still behind the curtain.
The emperor has not yet officially taken charge of the government, but today he has intervened in important affairs of the government. Qin Liang paused for a moment, then walked out of the door thoughtfully.
However, the situation today is very different from before. In the past few years, Cao Shuang and Sima Yi really had to discuss and even argue in the court.
But if the emperor wants to get involved now, Qin Liang will of course side with Wang Ling. At that time, major matters can even be decided directly by the general's office, without having to go through the formalities in the court.
Qin Liang had already made it clear that if there was a danger of losing power to others, including the emperor, he would rather choose to assist Wang Ling and Wang Guang... I hope he will not face such an embarrassing situation. Because the Empress Dowager Guo wanted Qin Liang to take charge.
politics; if Qin Liang is forced to adopt a conservative strategy, Queen Mother Guo's situation will not be good.
After Qin Liang walked out of the east hall, there were many officials behind him. Wang Ling didn't come, so he was often surrounded by people in the court hall. There were many people outside the door who made a special trip to bow to him and say goodbye.
Wang Guang and Ling Huyu also came forward, and the three of them talked for a while. Qin Liang expressed his position: "For such a big matter, I am just giving my own suggestions. In the end, I still have to ask my grandfather for his opinion."
Wang Guangdao: "Your grandfather should discuss it with the officials and counselors. In two days, I will tell Zhongming the opinions of everyone in the general's palace."
Qin Liang nodded in response, and then said: "Your Majesty is pregnant again. It will take about a month for a doctor to check your pulse."
Wang Guang was stunned for a moment. Lingjun was born to Ayu in the twelfth lunar month of last year. It has only been half a year. Maybe he didn't expect it to happen so soon. But Wang Guang didn't say much. He just said that Lingjun should take good care of his health.
Linghuyu said: "Gongyuan is going to be the grandfather again, congratulations."
At this time Zongzheng Qin Lang also came over, and the two clan brothers saluted each other.
Wang Guangdao: "Let's say goodbye first." Linghuyu glanced at the sun in the east and smiled: "The weather is sultry, so Gong Yuan and I will go first."
Qin Liang cupped his hands and said, "We'll talk about it later."
May of the lunar calendar is not the hottest time yet, but when the sun comes out, the temperature is really high. Mainly because of the robes that are worn, the hands and feet are tightly covered, and the official uniforms in summer are bright red, which absorbs heat.
Qin Liang thinks it is unscientific, but the autumn white color often worn in autumn may be more suitable for the weather at this time.
The bearded Qin Lang had a cute nickname, Asu. It is said that when Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui was alive, he would also be called "Asu" in the court. Qin Liang had not yet become an official, so naturally he could not see the scene at that time.
But Qin Liang is his younger brother, so he can't call Qin Lang by his nickname.
Asu said: "I can go back to Luoyang, thanks to Zhong Ming'a."
Qin Liang could tell that the clan brother still wanted to be an official. After all, being a powerless rich man in a place like Bingzhou would not necessarily lead an easy life. The clan brother was not a person like Ji Kang, he was basically a martial artist.
Just common people.
"We are all brothers, so there is no need to be so outspoken." Qin Liang said casually.
Asu continued: "When I returned to Luoyang, I didn't want to entertain guests. I only prepared a family banquet. I invited my sister Princess Jinxiang, Bo Yu, Zhong Ming and several relatives to have a simple meal at my house and talk about home affairs. Zhong Ming Are you free at noon today?"
How can we not have time for a meal? It’s just a matter of whether we want to go or not.
After Qin Liang became General Wei, he did not go to every banquet hosted by the family. On the contrary, he did not go to most banquets in person.
But Qin Liang just said "his brothers". If he even shirks the family dinner now, then what he said just now will seem too false!
There is nothing wrong with the clan brother. They are both from the Qin family. Now Qin Liang has a great influence on him, and there is no conflict between the two. Asu's father is Qin Yilu, and his mother is Mrs. Du. They actually have nothing to do with the Cao family by blood; At that time, Asu's biological father was still alive, but his biological mother was occupied by Cao Cao, who was just his adoptive father.
Qin Liang did not respond immediately, and Asu added: "My sister, Princess Jinxiang, is currently in mourning. Since there are no outsiders, she agreed to come."
The clan brother said all the things for this reason, so Qin Liang happily agreed: "I will go to Shangshu Province first, and then I will go to the clan brother's house before noon."
After the two said goodbye, Qin Liang, Fu Gu, and Wang Jing went to the east gate of the palace, while Asu went to the west gate of the palace.
Asu's mansion was built under the order of Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui. Because it was a place rewarded by the late emperor, no one dared to occupy the mansion after he was dismissed. This time he returned to Beijing, which was quite convenient, and he moved directly to the original mansion.
As usual, Qin Liang spent the past two days reading memorials and documents in Shangshu Province, then left the palace with his entourage and walked around to Yannian Lane to the west of the palace.
Sure enough, the eldest brother Qin Sheng, his wife, and Princess Jinxiang's family all came. Princess Jinxiang was in mourning period, so it was true that she was not seen walking around. Fortunately, she did not wear mourning clothes at today's family banquet.
He Jun and the Lu family were also present. Qin Liang often met He Jun at banquets in the past. At that time, most of the Luoyang gentry children would invite the princess and the son of the minister to their banquets. once.
During the ceremony, Qin Liang naturally called He Jun by his first name. He Jun did not call him uncle, but "General Qin".
In the past, when Qin Liang was unknown and couldn't find any connections, he didn't shy away from being related to He Jun. Now that Qin Liang is General Wei, He Jun doesn't call him a relative, and Qin Liang doesn't even bother to recognize him.
Not only because of what happened with Wang Xuanji in the past, but Fu Gu also said two days ago that he saw He Jun blocking Yang Huiyu's way at Xia Houxuan's banquet. The He family had experienced a great disaster, but He Jun didn't seem to have restrained much.
After everyone sat down at the table, sister-in-law Zhang asked with a smile: "Do you want me to go out and walk around?"
Qin Liang said: "Your Majesty is pregnant and is recovering in the house. You cannot drink alcohol."
As soon as these words came out, the clan brothers and others all congratulated Qin Liang. But Zhang made some calculations and said: "It has only been half a year since you gave birth to Ayu. It is not good for your health to get pregnant again so soon."
Qin Liang felt a little embarrassed because the reason for getting pregnant was because they had sex, so he smiled and didn't want to say more.
To outsiders, the situation was just as Zhang said. But Qin Liang knew that Ayu was born to Queen Mother Guo and had nothing to do with your body.