Gao Rou sighed again, with worry between her eyebrows and eyes: "Zhongda only knows one side of the story."
"After sending the letter back to Luoyang, I went to talk to Wei Zhen who stayed in Luoyang about the execution. However, Wei Zhen only recognized the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice. He didn't care about the other three states and the military of Yangzhou at all, and asked me to send the letter to them myself."
Sima Yi smiled and said, "What did Wei Zhen do wrong? He is just the governor of Luoyang who is in charge of the Secretariat. It is normal for him not to be in charge of other things."
Gao Rou said, "I tried to persuade Wei Zhen, but he just said he was busy with military affairs and that he had no right to intervene in the affairs of the court. Even if he didn't care, why not talk to them about it?"
Sima Yi responded: "Wei Zhen is used to playing it safe. If he doesn't care, then he doesn't care. Will your imperial edict be of no use?"
"It doesn't work. It doesn't work at all." Gao Rou said bluntly.
Sima Yi raised his eyebrows and looked at Gao Rou: "Brother Wenhui, please tell me, what are the twists and turns in this matter? I have been with the army all the time, and I don't know many things in the court."
Gao Rou replied, "Wei Zhen has accepted the examinations of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice, and said he would give me an answer later."
"But when I went to the Shangshutai to ask Fu Xun and Xu Miao, they rejected my opinion again, saying that the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Justice should be investigated by the Shangshutai, not the Supreme Court!"
"You also said that Sima Gong is not here, and the Shangshutai cannot respond."
Sima Yi laughed: "Brother Wenhui, don't think too much. Fu Xun and Xu Miao are both kind people. In my opinion, they just want to delay for some time. They should have no ill intentions."
Gao Rou spread his hands, still expressing dissatisfaction in his words: "It's fine if Fu Xun and Xu Miao refuse. We are all in Luoyang, and the six ministries and the nine ministers are of the same rank. I can tolerate their polite words."
"But the documents sent to Liangzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou were all rejected by them! And the Grand Marshal pretended that nothing happened. I sent letters to Shouchun several times, but there was no response at all!"
Sima Yi curled his lips and said, "Brother Wenhui, you can't find me for this matter. You have to go to the palace to find His Majesty tomorrow. I can still make decisions in the Shangshutai, but the prefectures and the Shouchun army are beyond my control."
Gao Rou said, "I will go to see your Majesty tomorrow. If I don't see your Majesty again, I'm afraid your Majesty will nod and look for me."
"Zhongda, do you know how these three governors are trying to evade me?"
Sima Yi suppressed his laughter and asked, "What did the three of them say?"
Gao Rou was full of resentment and said, "Sun Zi directly hit back, saying that the affairs of the state are not under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and only the Shangshutai and the imperial edict are recognized!"
"Huang Quan said that he is trusted by the emperor and governs the people of a region, and that he is an upright gentleman. Let him examine himself. If the conclusion is excellent, it will probably cause criticism from the court and the public. If the conclusion is not excellent, Huang Gongheng himself will not believe it!"
"Huang Quan asked me to send someone to investigate him, but I can't send any extra people from the Tingwei Mansion!"
Sima Yi said softly: "Sun Zi was exiled to Yanzhou because he was angry with you. Don't worry about him. When the time comes, ask Your Majesty for an imperial edict, and Sun Zi will be more obedient than anyone else."
"What Huang Quan said is not wrong. How can one investigate oneself?"
Gao Rou said: "Huang Quan is still a gentleman. But your brother Sima Shuda has lost his gentlemanly demeanor! His words are even more excessive."
Sima Yi smiled and stretched his legs: "I've said a lot, it turns out that Brother Wenhui came to me to complain about Shuda!"
Sima Shi, who was standing by, found what he heard interesting and just raised the corner of his mouth as his father spoke, but Sima Yi looked at him and he quickly suppressed his smile.
Gao Rou sighed, "Sima Shuda said the most extreme thing."
"He said that Liangzhou had no taxes to send to Luoyang, nor could it dispatch any grain. He had just taken office as the governor, and if the examination method was followed, he would have to resign immediately."
"He wrote to ask whether the Supreme Court was deliberately trying to cause trouble for Sima Shuda, or whether it was just a figurehead?"
Sima Yi finally couldn't help laughing. After laughing for a few moments, he looked at Sima Shi and said, "Ziyuan, do you think that officials are all gentle and refined gentlemen?"
"You know what your uncle's situation was like in Luoyang. After arriving in Liangzhou, he became the governor in less than a year, and he became so arrogant."
Sima Shi finally dared to laugh and bowed to his father.
Gao Rou looked at the father and son in front of him and said helplessly: "If you and your son want to laugh, it's up to you. If I don't tell you today, you will know it sooner or later."
"But Zhongda, I don't care about these little things. They are just a few words. I am not so narrow-minded."
Seeing Gao Rou's expression, Sima Yi put away his smile and said seriously, "Brother Wenhui, what are you worried about? Why don't you tell me?"
Gao Rou said: "Except Cao Xiu who ignored me and treated me as if I were nothing, Fu Xun, Xu Miao, Sima Fu, Huang Quan, and Sun Zi all made sense to some extent."
“First of all, we must clarify our rights and responsibilities.”
"The Imperial Court is a place for compiling examination laws, not a place for examining officials for the Wei Dynasty."
"Zhongda, look," Gao Rou looked at Sima Yi, "the Censorate already has the power to impeach. If the Censorate is allowed to examine officials all over the country, then the Ministry of Personnel of the Shangshutai will be meaningless, right?"
"Who should assess the provincial governors? Each province has different situations. For example, Liangzhou is located in the west and can barely take care of itself, not to mention the provinces facing enemies on the border. Can Qinzhou and Yangzhou really be assessed according to normal standards?"
Sima Yi continued, "There is also the military. The military must also be managed."
Gao Rou leaned forward slightly, getting closer to Sima Yi. When she opened her mouth to say something, she glanced at Sima Shi who was sitting behind Sima Yi. "No problem!" Sima Yi said bluntly, "Zi Yuan and I can talk about anything."
Gao Rou nodded and said, "Zhongda, I've thought about it and decided that the examination of officials in various prefectures and counties should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Personnel. Not to mention the central army, the external army and the governors of various places should be the responsibility of the Ministry of War."
"But among the six ministries of the Shangshutai, you and Wei Zhen are in charge of three each. The Ministry of War is under your jurisdiction, but the Ministry of Personnel is under the jurisdiction of Wei Zhen!"
"Tell me, should I tell His Majesty this? This involves both you and Wei Zhen. This is why I came to ask you tonight."
Sima Yi stroked his beard, but did not respond directly. Instead, he asked Gao Rou, "Who will examine the six ministries? The Censorate?"
Gao Rou said, "If you hadn't called Xu Miao to the Shangshutai, it would have been easier to deal with him at the Yushitai. Now Xu Miao has gone to the Ministry of Justice, and the Yushi Zhongcheng Han Ji and Han Gongzhi are too old to handle the job."
"Zhongda, are you familiar with Han Ji?"
Sima Yi shook his head: "Han Ji has not been in Luoyang for many years. He supervised the manufacture of weapons for the court and inspected the iron officials in various places. I am not familiar with him."
"But the Censorate is the Censorate after all. The assessment of the six ministries can be handed over to the Censorate, otherwise His Majesty will definitely have doubts."
Gao Rou nodded and said, "The examinations for the six departments are easy to handle."
"Zhongda, do you have anything to say to me about the division of the Shangshutai?"
Sima Yi was silent for a while, then he sat on the chair and closed his eyes to think. Gao Rou also closed her eyes to rest.
Only Sima Shi was left looking at the two of them thoughtfully, his gaze sometimes looking at his father and sometimes at the Chief Justice Gao Rou.
"Brother Wenhui, I have made a decision." Sima Yi slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a low and steady voice.
"What does Zhongda have to say?" Gao Rou asked.
Sima Yi said: "I remember that when Your Majesty divided the six ministries, Yang Ji was appointed by Your Majesty. Yang Ji was once the captain of the cavalry, and he has a close relationship with Your Majesty."
"Rather than saying that the Ministry of Personnel is managed by Wei Zhen, it is better to say that the Ministry of Personnel is supervised by His Majesty himself. I have seen Yang Ji in the palace more than once or twice."
Gao Rou had never heard of this before, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Your Majesty is so meticulous? Did Yang Ji tell Your Majesty everything?"
Sima Yi glanced at Gao Rou and said, "I am not a guard beside your majesty, how can I know whether your majesty is concerned about everything?"
"Whether Your Majesty asks or not, Yang Ji cannot be considered a true subordinate of Wei Zhen."
Gao Rou nodded: "I understand what Zhongda said. Zhongda can manage the Ministry of War, but Wei Zhen cannot do the same to the Ministry of Personnel."
"If we give the examination of the whole country to the Shangshutai, then Zhongda will have the heavier burden in the end?"
Sima Yi sighed in a pretentious manner: "When serving the country, one should do one's utmost to be loyal. How can one refuse to do so just because the work is tedious?"
Now it was Gao Rou's turn to laugh.
Gao Rou pointed at Sima Yi, looked at Sima Shi and said, "Ziyuan should learn more from Sikong! I can't learn his way of speaking!"
Sima Shi knew that his father and Gao Rou had a tacit understanding like an alliance.
But after all, he was talking about his own father. Although there was nothing wrong with the words, it was not appropriate for him to laugh with Gao Rou. He could only nod awkwardly in response.
Sima Yi said, "It's fine to hand it over to the Shangshutai. When will Brother Wenhui see His Majesty tomorrow? Morning or afternoon?"
Gao Rou thought for a few moments and then asked, "I will come whenever Your Majesty is in a better mood."
Sima Yi smiled and said, "Then Brother Wenhui, please come in the afternoon. Don't come too late, or His Majesty will return to the palace."
Gao Rou coughed lightly and asked tentatively, "Zhongda, I have also heard some rumors about your majesty getting sick in Chencang."
"Some people say that Cao Zhen isolated the inside and outside, and some people say that Xiahou Xian was exiled because of Cao Zhen."
"This fact is a secret, and I am confused as to what I heard. Zhongda must know more, is there anything you can reveal?"
Your Majesty is ill?
When Sima Shi heard the news, he was also slightly surprised for a moment. My father didn't tell me about this just now.
Moreover, Gao Rou used the word "infected", which seems to be more than just an ordinary minor illness.
Sima Shi turned his gaze towards his father, just like Gao Rou standing beside him.
Sima Yi coughed lightly and slowly looked at Gao Rou: "Since Brother Wenhui asked me to talk about the exam, then let's talk about the exam. This matter is confidential, so I shouldn't say more. Brother Wenhui, don't ask outside anymore."
"Knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing." (End of this chapter)
