Chapter 153: Serving as an Official in the Court
Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhi and said, "I don't know how to fight. Therefore, when I was on the southern expedition, even though I had an army of more than 100,000 soldiers by my side, I never personally commanded a single soldier to go into battle."
"And the emperor's uncle," Cao Rui shook his head, "if the emperor's uncle was capable of leading troops, why didn't he lead the troops as a 'school commander' as early as the Jian'an period, considering the emperor's love for the emperor's uncle? Why did he come to argue with me today?"
Cao Zhi's expression gradually became gloomy. He had indeed had such an opportunity before, but he had thrown it away in vain, and had grasped it in his hands but it slipped through his fingers.
In the 24th year of Jian'an, Cao Ren was besieged by Guan Yu in Xiangfan. In desperation, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, wanted to send Cao Zhi as the General of the Southern Army and the General of the Expedition to the Enemy, and command the seven most elite armies by his side to go south to rescue Cao Ren.
However, Cao Zhi was too drunk to take the charge. When the situation on the front line became critical, Cao Cao had no choice but to send the non-general general Yu Jin to lead his troops south.
Later... later, there was the story of Guan Yu flooding seven armies, Yu Jin surrendering in the face of danger, and Pang De fighting to the death without surrendering.
Cao Zhi felt a sigh in his heart.
Although what the emperor said just now was sharp, it was not without reason.
First, he had no experience in leading troops in battle, and the imperial court would not risk the lives of soldiers in wartime to allow him to try to lead troops.
Secondly, he was a "suspect" competing with the previous emperor for the throne, and he should not ask the court for even a single soldier's military power.
Cao Zhi actually understood both of these things, but he still couldn't suppress his desire to be appointed, and couldn't help but submit petitions for appointment many times.
Just like everyone understands the general principles, how many people can truly live a good life?
Cao Zhi looked somewhat dejected as he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. I will never ask the court for this matter again."
"I understand." Cao Rui responded, "I still have some official business to attend to this afternoon. Please take a rest for a while. I will have a banquet with you tonight."
Cao Zhi bowed and took his leave.
Cao Rui stood with his hands behind his back, watching Cao Zhi's receding figure, as if he was thinking about something.
At nightfall, a banquet had been prepared in the Chenliu Prince's Palace.
Although it was a banquet, there were only three people seated: the current emperor, his uncle Yongqiu King Cao Zhi, and the emperor's trusted minister Guanqiu Jian.
Emperor Cao Rui naturally sat at the highest seat in the hall.
Prince of Yongqiu Cao Zhi sat on the right, while Guanqiu Jian's table was smaller and located further down on the left, so he was considered a guest at the banquet.
Cao Zhi and Guanqiu Jian arrived at the hall early. As the emperor had not arrived, they could not take a seat, but stood in the hall and exchanged pleasantries.
Seeing the emperor coming, Cao Zhi and Guanqiu Jian stood one after the other and saluted the emperor one after another.
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Uncle Huang, Zhong Gong, please take a seat."
After seeing the emperor take his seat, the two of them also sat down at their seats.
The maids came in one after another and placed eight exquisite dishes on each table, and of course, fine wine.
Everyone in Wei knew that Cao Zhi was a wine lover.
Cao Rui pointed at the wine on the table and said, "Uncle, please try it. How is today's wine?"
The maidservant beside him had already filled the wine jar. Cao Zhi took a sip from the jar and said with a hint of surprise, "Your Majesty, if I am not mistaken, this should be the Jiuniangchun wine produced in Qiao County?"
Cao Rui smiled and nodded: "When I was returning north from Shouchun, I passed through Qiao County and the Cao clan presented this tribute to me."
Cao Zhi said with a little emotion: "This wine is not easy to make. I haven't drunk it for many years."
"I remember that this wine must be soaked in running water at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. Thirty catties of yeast should be mixed with five stones of running water. Starting from the first lunar month, one hu of rice should be added every three days. This should be repeated nine times before it is ready. It can be drunk in the beginning of the second lunar month."
Cao Rui said: "This is the new wine brewed in February, and now is the right time to drink it."
"Uncle, how much is this wine worth?"
When Cao Zhi heard the emperor ask this, he smiled and said, "Since this is the wine bestowed by your majesty, I can give you 10,000 dou of wine."
Cao Rui nodded and said: "A golden cup of clear wine costs ten thousand, and a jade plate of delicacies costs ten thousand."
Cao Zhi's eyes widened slightly: "Is this a poem written by your majesty? This is very wonderful!"
A top writer can feel the subtlety of good poetry from just a few words.
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "I don't have such literary talent. This poem was written by Li Bai. I just quoted it."
"Li Bai..." Cao Zhi asked, "I have never heard of this famous official. Where is he from?"
"He is probably from the Western Regions. He is quite fond of the poems of the emperor's uncle." Cao Rui said casually, "The emperor's uncle, please start the banquet."
The emperor was reluctant to speak, and Cao Zhi could not force him: "I thank your majesty for the banquet."
It is not appropriate to talk about serious matters at the beginning of a banquet.
After three rounds of drinking, Cao Zhi took out a stack of folded Zuo Bo paper from his bosom and said: "Since Your Majesty likes my writing, I have a fu that I have never shown to anyone in the past few years. Today I would like to present it to Your Majesty."
If it was a poem, it would be fine. But if it was an fu... wouldn't it be the famous "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River"?
Guanqiu Jian walked to Cao Zhi's desk, took the fu, and then walked to the emperor's desk and presented it.
Cao Rui opened it and saw the three largest characters on the right, which clearly read "Gan Juan Fu".
Cao Rui read it intently, muttering in a low voice, "In the third year of Huangchu, I went to the capital and returned to Luochuan. The ancients said: The god of this water is called Mi Fei..."
Isn’t this “The Goddess of Luo River”?
Cao Rui certainly knew about this case. Some later generations speculated that Zhen's name was Zhen Mi, and that Cao Zhi wrote "Mi Fei" to refer to his sister-in-law, etc.
But Cao Rui now naturally looked extremely absurd, there was no such rumor in this era! What's more, Empress Wen Zhao Zhen's real name was Zhen Yan, and how could she have had any relationship with Concubine Mi?
Cao Rui continued reading: "It is as if a light cloud covers the moon, and it flutters like snowflakes blown by the wind..."
Cao Rui did not read on, but folded up the piece of Zuo Bo's paper with "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River" and put it aside. Cao Zhi was slightly disappointed, thinking that the emperor did not like this fu. Since Cao Zhi wrote this fu in the third year of Huangchu, he has kept it in his collection and never shown it to anyone.
Today, Cao Zhi saw that the emperor liked his literary talent, so he showed it to the emperor, hoping to win the emperor's favor. But the emperor didn't like it?
Cao Rui raised the wine jar in his right hand and said: "After reading this poem by the emperor's uncle, I should drink a bottle of wine. Come, emperor's uncle, raise your mouth!"
They both raised their bottles and drank.
After Cao Rui drank the wine in the bottle, he tapped the table lightly under the influence of alcohol: "Is the emperor's uncle using Concubine Mi's mouth to write about his grievances against the late emperor?"
Cao Zhi was also a little drunk: "I dare not! Concubine Mi is Concubine Mi, it has nothing to do with me."
Cao Rui laughed and said, "I have read all the poems of the late emperor, and I have also read the poems of the emperor's uncle. Would the emperor's uncle like to hear my comparison between the poems of the late emperor and the emperor's uncle?"
Cao Zhi said: "I respectfully listen to your Majesty's will."
Cao Rui pointed to the sky and said: "The poems written by the late emperor about banquets and entertainments are mostly about extreme joy and sorrow, and they describe the story first and then express the emotions. Although the poems written by the emperor's uncle about banquets and entertainments are also about extreme joy and sorrow, they always describe the scenery first and then express the emotions."
"The former emperor's poems of boudoir resentment use the resentful woman as a proxy for himself, such as 'I am alone in my empty room, I am worried about you and dare not forget you, I can't help crying and soaking my clothes.' In fact, it is about the fact that Emperor Wu did not trust her."
"And the emperor's uncle's poems of boudoir resentment always compare themselves to beautiful women. Isn't this "Gan Juan Fu" also the same, comparing himself to Mi Fei of Luoshui!"
"The fact that you presented the "Gan Juan Fu" to me today is also a way of saying that I don't need the emperor's uncle."
Cao Rui laughed a few times, pointed at Cao Zhi and said, "Uncle, is what I said right or wrong?"
Cao Zhi just stood up and was about to salute, but was stopped by Cao Rui: "I am drinking with my uncle, why are you standing up? Sit down!"
Cao Zhi was helpless, so he sat on the table and said, "I have no such intention, I just present this poem to Your Majesty."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, this poem is about the Goddess of Luo River everywhere, not Juancheng where I am. I will change the name of this poem. Remove 'Gan Juan Fu' and call it 'Fu of the Goddess of Luo River'!"
Cao Zhi cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the name! The Ode to the Goddess of Luo River is indeed more appropriate than the Ode to Feelings of the Wind."
Cao Rui nodded and said, "Uncle, can you drink more?"
Cao Zhi replied: "Of course I can drink. I will drink as much as your majesty asks me to drink."
Cao Rui looked at Guanqiu Jian and said, "Zhonggong! Go and pour wine for the King of Yongqiu."
"Yes." Guanqiu Jian stood up and bowed, then knelt down beside Cao Zhi's desk and drove away the original maid.
Cao Zhi looked at the emperor in confusion: "Your Majesty, what does this mean?"
Cao Rui smiled: "Didn't the emperor's uncle say that he could drink as much as I told him to drink?"
Cao Zhi had just said this, so he had no choice but to respond: "Your Majesty, this is what I just said."
Cao Rui nodded: "Well, I will ask you a question, and the emperor uncle will drink a bottle of wine. If the answer is correct, I will reward you. If the answer is wrong, I will also have an explanation."
Cao Zhi was also drunk halfway through drinking, and then he said boldly, "I obey your command. Your Majesty, please come and ask me."
"Okay!" Cao Rui said with a smile: "For every bottle of wine that the emperor drinks, I will drink one with you!"
Cao Rui stared into Cao Zhi's eyes and asked: "Why were there so few royal family members who supported the Liu family during the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty?"
Cao Zhi thought for a few moments and said, "No talent, no power, no soldiers!"
"Raise your glass!" Cao Rui raised the wine bottle with his right hand, and the two of them drank it all in one gulp.
Cao Rui asked again: "Should I, a member of the royal family of the Wei Dynasty, lead the army?"
Cao Zhi replied: "A suspicious person like me should not lead the army. But those who are not suspicious can lead the army."
They both drank another bottle at the same time.
Cao Rui continued to ask: "Should the royal family live in their fiefdoms, or be supervised in Luoyang?"
This time Cao Zhi did not answer so quickly. After thinking for a while, Cao Zhi raised his wine jar and sighed, "I should live in my fiefdom! But if I am still supervised, I would rather live in Luoyang."
Cao Rui shook his head slightly: "I cannot drink this cup, uncle, drink one cup yourself."
Cao Zhi did not hesitate. He picked up the wine with both hands and drank it all in one gulp. After drinking it, he turned the wine jar upside down to show it.
Cao Rui stared into Cao Zhi's eyes and asked: "If a member of the royal family has talent and learning, should he be appointed as an official?"
Cao Zhi thought for a while, then sighed and said, "This matter is entirely up to the emperor. I cannot say anything."
Cao Rui said: "I still won't drink this cup, and the emperor's uncle doesn't need to drink it either."
Cao Rui slowly stood up and looked at Guanqiu Jian: "Does Zhonggong have any writing brush? I say, you should write it!"
Guanqiu Jian bowed and replied, "I have already prepared it." Then he sat down behind a small table in the corner of the hall and picked up the brush with his right hand.
Cao Rui looked at Cao Zhi's face and said slowly, "Order the Shangshutai to set up Chongwen Temple in Luoyang City to show the meaning of 'respecting Confucianism and valuing learning' and 'putting classics first'."
"There will be one chief priest and two deputy chief priests. The great scholar Gao Tanglong will be appointed as the chief priest of Chongwen Temple, and the Prince of Yongqiu Cao Zhi will be summoned to serve as an official in the court and deputy chief priest of Chongwen Temple. The remaining one will be a substitute."
Cao Zhi was stunned at first, and then his face was filled with joy. After a few moments, his joy turned into relief, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Cao Zhi stood up and came to the hall to kowtow. This time Cao Rui did not stop him, but accepted the kowtow calmly.
It can be said that "after seven years of imprisonment, he was finally released and allowed to enter the court." Cao Zhi cried and bowed, and then let him go!
I wish I could be the southwest wind, and stay in your heart forever. - Cao Zhi's "Seven Sad Poems"
When writing these chapters, I looked up a lot of poems by Cao Zhi and Cao Pi, and this sentence touched me the most.
(End of this chapter)
