Cao Rui and Xin Pi looked at each other and immediately realized that there might be something wrong.
Cao Rui said, "Master Wei is in the palace all day, who is the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel now?"
Wei Zhen replied: "It was Zhuge Dan. Before Zhuge Dan, it was Yuan Kan."
"Your Majesty, there may be something wrong here. Would you like me to investigate?"
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head: "Master Wei, just worry about the state affairs for me. I will let Xin Shizhong check it out. It just so happens that I have just handed over the school affairs to the Shizhong, so let Xin Shizhong check it out."
"It involves two institutions, Chongwen Temple and Shangshutai. If Master Wei were to personally inquire about it, I'm afraid it would cause too much trouble."
Wei Zhen was silent for a moment, then he cupped his hands and said, "If Your Majesty is using the school to investigate the case, I think it would be best to investigate the case itself and not involve other things."
Xin Pi laughed and said, "Does Wei Pushe think I am the same as Liu Ci? From now on, the school will only investigate cases, there will be no private prisons or private punishments, you can rest assured."
Wei Zhen nodded in agreement.
……
The next morning, a warship had just left the dock outside Lou County, Wujun.
An eleven-year-old child looked at the city of Lou County gradually going away and asked worriedly: "Uncle, when can we return home this time?"
Lu Mao touched Lu Yan's head and said, "Don't cry, Yan'er. This time we are going west along the river. It will take nearly half a month by boat! Don't you love boating the most?"
Lu Yan nodded: "Yes! My parents always forbade me to go on a boat ride, now I can enjoy it!"
Lu Mao smiled and said, "Don't cry, Yan'er. Go upstairs and take a look at the scenery! Your uncle will be here to accompany you in a while!"
"it is good!"
Lu Yan jumped and opened the door, squeezed through the door guarded by two soldiers, and went to the second floor alone via the wooden ladder. No one stopped him.
Lu Mao was Lu Xun's younger brother, and Lu Yan was Lu Xun's eldest son. This time, under the order of the King of Wu, this extremely fast warship was specially sent to pick up Lu Xun's family.
Lu Mao turned around and slowly closed the door. Sun, who was kneeling on the mat beside him, could no longer hold back and two lines of tears flowed from the corners of her eyes.
"Uncle, what should I do? Although I am also the niece of the King of Wu, my brother has been accompanying the King of Wu in Wuchang, and I haven't seen the King of Wu for many years. I am really panicked!"
Lu Mao sighed softly and tried to persuade him: "It's fine if Yan'er is crying, but why is sister-in-law crying too?"
"Didn't the envoy make it clear? My brother only surrendered to Wei temporarily, and was given a 2,000-stone position as the Protector of the Qiang in Xiliang!"
Sun shook her head and wiped her tears with her handkerchief: "Does Second Uncle believe this? The messenger said my husband went to Xiliang, why didn't he say he went to Liaodong?"
"My uncle..." Sun looked up at the direction of the cabin door and whispered, "Second uncle knows what kind of person the King of Wu is! If we lose the battle and surrender to Wei, you and I will be punished and killed. Yan'er is still young!"
Lu Mao comforted her, "After all, the Lu family has served the Wu Kingdom for thirty years, and your sister-in-law is a relative of the Sun family, so this trip will be fine. Please rest assured, sister-in-law."
"Really?" Sun looked up at Lu Mao and asked half-doubtfully.
"It will be fine." Lu Mao nodded gently, and then asked: "Sister-in-law, where can we find your brother after arriving in Wuchang?"
"I will go find him then and ask him to mediate."
Sun looked up at Lu Mao and said, "Aren't you still unsure?" Then she cried even harder.
Not to mention how Lu Xun's wife and brother lamented their fate on the boat to Wuchang, Sun Quan, who was in Wuchang at this moment, was also working hard for his own destiny.
In the Prince of Wu's palace, all the officials from Wuchang lined up and stared at Zhuge Jin who was standing at the front of the hall.
Sun Quan slowly stood up, picked up the purple ribbon and gold seal on the table, walked down the steps, and placed it solemnly in Zhuge Jin's hands.
Sun Quan held Zhuge Jin's right hand and looked into his eyes: "Ziyu, I will leave the affairs of Jingzhou to you. Please don't let me down again!"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty! Zhuge Jin will never let you down!"
After Zhuge Jin returned to the ranks, Sun Quan also returned to the table and called out, "Where is Zhang Huishu?"
"I'm here." Zhang Wen stepped out and replied with a bow.
Sun Quan said slowly, "You have twice been an envoy to Chengdu on behalf of the Wu Kingdom. I am deeply grateful to you. I will now restore your position as Minister of Selection and promote you to the rank of Grand Master of Imperial Households."
Zhang Wen was a little stunned when he heard this, and all the officials of Wu State in the hall were also surprised.
Zhuge Jin's appointment as governor of Jingzhou was actually expected by the officials in Wuchang. Lu Xun surrendered to Wei, so someone had to take up this position.
Regardless of rank, official position or closeness to the King of Wu, Zhuge Jin seems to be the best candidate.
But Zhang Wen restored the selection of Cao Shangshu, which meant that the wind direction had changed.
After the Ji Yan case, Zhang Wen's official position was taken away, and he was also dismissed from office by the King of Wu and placed under near house arrest.
But when Zhang Wen returned from his second diplomatic mission to Chengdu, the Wu and Han countries formed an alliance. This Wu diplomat, who was on good terms with both Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang, gradually became popular, and his position as Cao Shangshu was also restored.
Zhang Wen bowed respectfully and said, "I was promoted by Your Majesty. My two missions were only ordered by Your Majesty. The results we achieved were all due to Your Majesty's power and virtue. How dare I take credit for it?" "Please Your Majesty, please consider my humbleness and do not give me such an important task!"
Zhang Wen was trying to refuse, but he was also testing Sun Quan again.
After all, I was scared of Sun Quan and was put under house arrest after the Ji Yan case. Who knows if you will go crazy one day and make me lose my official position again?
Sun Quan sat on the stage and shook his head calmly: "Hui Shu has done great service, why should we refuse! Just accept it. What the Great Wu needs now is people who can do things, and Hui Shu is a capable minister to the country."
Zhang Wen bowed deeply and said, "As you command!"
……
Wei, Luoyang.
It seemed that the news of the death of Liu Ci, the former head of Luoyang School Affairs, had stimulated everyone in the School Affairs Office, and the efficiency of the School Affairs Office was unusually high.
In just half a day, he had thoroughly investigated all the internal and external affairs.
Cao Rui looked at Xin Pi and asked, "How did you investigate the school affairs? Did you not implicate Guang?"
Xin Pi shook his head and responded, "How could it involve too many people? Even the Shangshutai didn't show up, and the matter was cleared up."
"I sent the newly appointed schoolmaster Pan Xiao to the Shangshutai this morning. Pan Xiao found the current official in the Ministry of Personnel, Zhuge Dan, and asked him. Zhuge Dan told me."
Cao Rui frowned: "What happened? Was he tortured?"
"How could he do such a thing in the Secretariat? Your Majesty, please don't joke." Xin Pi explained: "Pan Xiao brought ten editors to the Ministry of Personnel of the Secretariat and claimed that Your Majesty and the Minister of Defense already knew what he had done."
"After dismissing his attendants, perhaps because of Zhuge Dan's poor mental quality, or because of Luoyang's reputation as a vicious school official, Zhuge Dan couldn't hold back and confessed in less than an hour. Pan Xiao and the others didn't even touch him."
"Zhuge Dan took the initiative to explain, and Li Feng received the approval from him on May 10th and went to Chongwen Temple to take up the post."
"On May 11, Zhuge Dan sent the list of approvals from the Ministry of Personnel in early May to the palace, and on the 13th, the Minister of the Imperial Household made his reply. Therefore, the records of the Secretariat stated that Li Feng took office on the 13th."
"Besides..."
Cao Rui frowned: "Besides, what?"
Xin Pi said softly, "Zhuge Dan has been in office for less than two months, and he has made many comments and assessments on people. If you get Zhuge Dan's praise, you will often get a good job."
"This person is using his position to gain personal fame."
Cao Rui slammed the table and spoke angrily: "How could there be such a person in the Shangshutai who is seeking fame and reputation and using the court's public tools to do whatever he wants! Has Master Wei found out?"
Xin Pi shook his head with a serious expression and said, "The Minister of the Imperial Guards doesn't know about this yet. I sent Pan Xiao to the Shangshutai early in the morning, and it has not been two hours yet."
Cao Rui said: "First, keep Zhuge Dan in the Shangshutai! Don't let him spread the news, and don't let Chongwenguan know."
"Master Wei is the Shangshu You Pushe and the Minister of Personnel. Zhuge Dan is his direct subordinate, not to mention that he is also the Sili Xiaowei!"
"Let the Shangshu You Pushe, the Minister of Personnel, and the Sili Xiaowei go to the Shangshutai now and interrogate him thoroughly!"
All three of Wei Zhen's positions were used by Cao Rui.
Xin Pi did not dare to delay at all and hurried to the East Pavilion to look for Wei Zhen.
The emperor's order was urgent, and Sima Yi was still the Shangshu, so he had nothing to hide from him. Xin Pi told the matter in front of the two of them in the East Pavilion.
Wei Zhen's chest heaved and his face turned slightly red, obviously he was very angry about what Xin Pi said.
Among the 25 departments of the Shangshutai, the Personnel Department is the one with the most power and responsibility. Zhuge Dan was once a water official. After returning to Luoyang, Wei Zhen personally interviewed Zhuge Dan before appointing him to this position.
What a huge mess!
Wei Zhen knew that the emperor had given him a lot of face by asking him to personally go to the Secretariat to deal with Zhuge Dan. If he summoned the court judge again, it would be really bad if the matter got out of hand.
Wei Zhen bowed and said, "Thank you, Brother George, for your reminder! Why don't you come with me to the Shangshutai so that we can report to His Majesty in time if there is anything?"
Xin Pi nodded: "Then I will go with Gong Zhen."
Sima Yi interrupted and said, "Gong Zhen, there has never been such a bad thing happening in the Shangshutai in recent years. If you go, I will not go. I must give a good explanation to His Majesty!"
Wei Zhen nodded, and then left with Xin Pi.
It must be said that a higher rank can crush a person. The appearance of Wei Zhen and Xin Pi together frightened Zhuge Dan half to death.
After checking all the files of the Ministry of Personnel related to Chongwen Temple, problems were also found in the appointment of four Chongwen Temple scholars, namely Bi Gui, Deng Yang, Li Sheng and Ding Mi.
In the afternoon, Xin Pi and Wei Zhen returned to the North Palace together.
In the training ground, Cao Rui was drawing his bow and shooting arrows. He saw Xin Pi and Wei Zhen coming from the corner of his eye, but Cao Rui was not in a hurry. He shot all the remaining nine arrows in his quiver before looking at them.
Cao Rui asked slowly, "You two have returned from the Shangshutai? Is there anything you want to tell me urgently?"
Wei Zhen clasped his hands and said, "I have failed in my duty. Your Majesty, please punish me. Others who have committed the same crime as Zhuge Dan include Yuan Kan, the former Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel and the current Langzhong of the Ministry of Examination, and Xu Yun, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Selection." (End of this chapter)
