Jia Kui was originally a person who was good at governing the place.

During his tenure as the governor of Yuzhou, he innovated the administration of officials, eliminated violence and suppressed violence, promoted advantages and eliminated disadvantages, and had an outstanding political reputation.

Cao Pi once praised him: "Kui Zhen is the governor!"

At the same time, he also announced to the world that all states should imitate Yuzhou's governance measures and made Jia Kui the Marquis of Guannei.

The people of Yuzhou had been favored by Jia Kui for many years. Now that they heard that Jia Kui was seriously ill, they were very worried and sent representatives to visit him.

Jia Kui asked Jia Chong to stand beside the sick bed, received the visitors, and said, "I am deeply favored by the country, and I would rather not kill Sun Quan to see the late emperor."

Then he told Jia Chong, "After I die, the funeral ceremony will be simple and there will be no modifications at all."

At this time, Jia Chong was underage, but he behaved like an adult and responded respectfully.

Serving soup and medicine at the same time is very filial.

When the officials saw this, they all sighed at Jia Kui's loyalty and praised Jia Chong.

It was not until the visitors left that Jia Chong asked with some confusion, "My lord, I said before that after three generations of the Cao family, I am afraid it will decline. Why are you praising the virtues of Cao Wei now?"

Jia Kui sighed, "Although Cao Xiu has a grudge against me, both Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen have treated me well and have been deeply favored by the country. This is not a lie."

"The patient I am treating is Cao Xiu who has a deep grudge against me. But although he is a clan relative, I am also a senior member of the three dynasties. No matter how much he provokes, there is nothing he can do to me."

"I'm afraid that after I die, someone will cause trouble for you, so I asked you to serve me today just to let those people help you spread your reputation."

"The mutual impeachment between Cao Xiu and I should have been caused by Cao Xiu. Now the emperor praises him and suppresses me because he wants to take advantage of the clan. If my words today are spread, the emperor may feel guilty."

"As long as I die, the emperor will not take more care of you, and Cao Xiu will not cause trouble for the Jia family."

After hearing this, Jia Chong understood his master's good intentions.

Of course, people outside did not know what Jia Kui said to Jia Chong. They only knew that Jia Kui and Cao Xiu had an old grudge.

Unexpectedly, in the Battle of Shiting, it was Jia Kui who fought hard to save Cao Xiu regardless of his past grudges, which saved Cao Xiu from being wiped out.

So everyone praised Jia Kui's broadmindedness.

On the contrary, Cao Xiu, instead of being grateful after being rescued, used his status to provoke trouble, and even tried to blame Jia Kui for the defeat.

Although the emperor regarded Cao Xiu as a kinsman, he did not investigate him and sent someone to commend him.

But this does not mean that others will agree.

When the news of Jia Kui's illness spread, public opinions abounded, all criticizing Cao Xiu.

After Cao Xiu's defeat, he originally felt ashamed in his heart and was ashamed to see others. Now when he heard the people talking about him, he couldn't help but feel angry, anxious and hateful.

He had a carbuncle on his back, but in the heat of the moment, the carbuncle broke out and soon turned into gangrene, making him seriously ill.

Cao Xiu's illness broke out very quickly. The messenger sent by the emperor had just left, and he couldn't stand it any longer.

Just a few days after Cao Xiu died, Jia Kui also died.

The news that both of them had died of illness reached Luoyang, and Cao Rui was immediately slapped with a slap in the face, causing him to see stars in his eyes.

He deliberately praised Cao Xiu, Zhu Ling, Wang Ling and others, then asked Xia Houmao to appease the aristocratic families in the east, and finally made the Yu family his noble concubine. This operation had already minimized the impact of the Battle of Shiting.

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Unexpectedly, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, both Cao Xiu and Jia Kui died of illness, which disrupted all his calculations and made him almost out of breath and almost vomiting blood.

Before the Battle of Longyou, the eastern battlefield had always been the most important battlefield of the Wei State, where the largest number of troops gathered.

Now that the Eastern Front has just experienced the defeat of Shiting, Cao Xiu and Jia Kui both died of illness, which means that the Eastern Front has lost its two most important generals at the same time.

If Soochow invades at this time, Hefei will be in danger.

Cao Rui did not dare to neglect, and quickly issued an edict, asking Man Chong, the former general, to act as the governor of Yangzhou to supervise the military affairs of Yangzhou, so as to avoid being exploited by Soochow.

Maybe the second year of Taihe was not a good year for Cao Rui.

While he was in a hurry, the Gongsun family, which had been dividing Liaodong, was unwilling to be left alone and came over to join in the fun.

The Gongsun family in Liaodong was first made famous by Gongsun Du. Taking advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains, he separatized Liaodong and called himself Marquis of Liaodong and Pingzhou Mu. He wore the same clothes as the emperor.

Later, his son Gongsun Kang inherited his father's throne, but was still dissatisfied. It was not until Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and conquered Wuhuan that Gongsun Kang chopped off the heads of Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi and gave them to Cao Cao as a sign of surrender.

When Gongsun Kang died, because his sons Gongsun Huang and Gongsun Yuan were still young, everyone supported his brother Gongsun Gong as the governor of Liaodong.

Then Gongsun Gong became an eunuch because of his illness, so he was too weak to govern Liaodong.

So the grown-up Gongsun Yuanyuan threatened his uncle to abdicate the throne, imprisoned him, and then sent an envoy to Luoyang to report the matter, hoping that Luoyang would recognize his position.

So the attendant Liu Ye suggested to Cao Rui, "The Gongsun family has occupied Liaodong for a long time. It is blocked by sea water and mountainous dangers, and it is connected with the barbarians. It is extremely difficult to control it."

"If the Gongsun family is allowed to continue like this, there will be future troubles. When the Gongsun family really rebels against the Wei Dynasty, it will be difficult to punish them at that time!"

"How about taking advantage of the fact that Gongsun Yuan was newly established and there are still many people who oppose him in the country, he sends troops to Liaodong and offers a reward at the same time, and those opponents assist him. In this way, it might be possible to settle the matter without a fight."

If it were normal times, Cao Rui would naturally consider this opinion.

It's just that the Wei Dynasty suffered two consecutive wars this year, and its vitality was severely damaged. It was overwhelmed with everything at home. How could it still have time to care about the distant Liaodong?

So he gave up the proposal on the spot and worshiped Gongsun Yuan as General Yanglie and Governor of Liaodong.

At the same time, he ordered the people of the world to call off their troops and make a truce, so that the soldiers on the border should guard the borders and not start a war without permission, so that they could rest and recuperate.

Fortunately, neither the Shu Han in the west nor the Soochow in the south showed any signs of continuing to invade the border on a large scale, which gave him a temporary relief.

However, Cao Xiu's death, coupled with the fact that there was only one Xiahou Mao in the dignified Xiahou family a few days ago, made Cao Rui feel a sense of crisis.

Wei Dynasty has never worried about the shortage of talents.

But Cao Rui had to consider the talent issue of the clan at this time - the Xiahou family can be regarded as half a clan.

He sent Xiahou Yuan's second son Xiahou Ba to serve under Cao Zhen who was guarding Guanzhong, appointed his fourth son Xiahou Wei as the governor of Jingzhou, his sixth son Xiahou Huiti as the Minister of Huangmen, and his seventh son Xiahou as Yin Cheng of Henan.

For a time, Xia Houyuan's branch of the Xiahou family was full of glory.

The happiest person was Xiahou Ba.

Because his father and younger brother died at the hands of the Shu people, he often gritted his teeth and was determined to take revenge.

Now that he had to go to Guanzhong, the front line of confrontation with the Shu people, he felt that his chance to avenge his father was finally coming.

Immediately, he packed his luggage as quickly as possible and rushed to Guanzhong ambitiously.

Although the situation in Wei Dynasty is not very good now, Cao Rui still has full confidence as long as the situation does not deteriorate further.

The Central Plains is the center of the world. As long as one learns from the late emperor, cultivates the people's livelihood, and implements policies to benefit the people, the Wei Dynasty will be able to recover quickly within a few years.

On the other hand, although the Shu captives were lucky enough to win this time, in the end they only succeeded in cutting off the desolate land of Longyou.

Moreover, Liangzhou, which was still loyal to the Wei Dynasty at this time, was like a thorn in the back of the Shu captives, and there was no peace.

Soochow seemed to have won a great victory, but it failed to gain even an inch of territory.

The Wei Dynasty had conquered Wu many times in the past, and it was not like it had never been defeated. The losses were even more severe than this time, and it was hard to see what Soochow could do?

One year of slowing down the Qi in the Central Plains is worth three years in Shu and Wu. What are you afraid of?

As long as Guanzhong, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou are defended, the Wei Dynasty will still have the upper hand.

Cao Rui is thinking about what will happen in the next few years, and Sun Quan is also thinking about what will happen after the victory.

The difference is that Cao Rui was a little worried, while Sun Quan was overjoyed.

This victory is enough to make his reputation resounding throughout the world, and he will have no worries about ascending to the throne!

He returned to Wuchang with his victorious soldiers and held a grand banquet to celebrate the victory.

When the wine was half drunk, the prince Sun Deng offered wine for longevity, and Sun Quan drank it all in one gulp.

He then looked at the people sitting with the prince, including Gu Tan, Zhang Xiu, Chen Biao, Zhuge Ke and others, so he smiled and said, "Yuan Xun is here."

Zhuge Ke stepped forward quickly.

Sun Quan asked someone to pour a glass of wine and said with a smile, "In this great victory, Ziyu (Zhuge Jin) resisted Sima Yi in Nanjun and kept him away, which is really a credit. Now that Ziyu can't come in Nanjun, you have a glass of wine."

How about having a drink instead?"

Zhuge Ke took the wine and said, "I would like to thank the king for you."

Then drink it all in one gulp.

Sun Quan sighed with emotion, "Tzuyu and Gu have been working together for many years, and they are as kind as flesh and blood. He is a man of the highest standards, never speaks out of righteousness, and is kind and righteous. I am really lucky to have Ziyu."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhuge Ke standing below and asked, "Which one do you think is more virtuous, your father or your uncle (Zhuge Liang)?"

Zhuge Ke knew what he meant and said loudly, "I am a wiser man."

"Why?"

"The king is a talented person. I know how to serve the king, but my uncle doesn't know. Therefore, you are indeed wiser than your uncle."

After hearing this, Sun Quan burst out laughing and asked Fei Yi, who was sitting at the bottom, "What do Wen Wei think?"

Fei Yi stood up and replied, "It is an act of filial piety for a son to praise his father's beauty. Moreover, the prime minister and the general of the cavalry (Zhuge Jin) are brothers. I forgive you for not commenting on such family matters."

Sun Quan nodded approvingly, and then said to Zhuge Ke, "I will make you the wine supervisor."

Zhuge Ke promised.
To be continued...