Half an hour later, after listening to Xin Pi's story about the situation in Luozhong, Cao Zhen read the emperor's letter with his seal on it, and read it carefully several times.
Cao Zhen put the letter down and sat blankly at the table in the main hall of the General's Mansion, with some tears still lingering in the corners of his eyes.
"George, do you know how heartbroken I am?" Cao Zhen's voice was so soft, as if he had no strength left in his body.
Xin Pi sighed again, "How could I not know? Zidan, you and Wenlie grew up together, just like brothers. His Majesty knows that you two are deeply in love, so he sent me to persuade you."
Xin Pi rarely referred to Cao Zhen by his official title, but directly called him by his courtesy name.
Cao Zhen shook his head and asked, "So, Your Majesty is going to attack Wu again?"
Xin Pi didn't nod: "Maybe, who can tell?"
"I have already said it just now. Dong Zhao and Man Chong advocated the war in the southeast, trying to persuade Your Majesty to make achievements in Ruxu. Your Majesty actually agreed to their suggestion, and..."
Xin Pi sighed again.
Cao Zhen could hear Xin Pi's dissatisfaction and asked, "And what?"
"Moreover, Your Majesty followed Dong Zhao's words and sent Chen Qun to be the military supervisor of Yangzhou. It seems that you do not want to establish a governor in Yangzhou."
Cao Zhen asked back: "Zhao Zhi, are you worried that after the situation in Guanxi stabilizes, His Majesty will take away my power as the governor of Guanxi?"
Xin Pi did not agree and remained silent.
Among all the generals in the world, only Cao Zhen and Xin Pi were the best friends. Regardless of their personal plots, from the perspective of official business, the two of them, one inside and one outside, could also support each other.
Not to mention that Xin Pi's son-in-law is still on duty here with Cao Zhen.
Adding or removing a governor would not cause any harm to the Wei Dynasty, but the impact on the families of Cao Zhen and Xin Pi was huge.
Cao Zhen stared at Xin Pi seriously for a few moments, and said in a deep voice: "George, you only know the friendship between me and Wen Lie, but you don't know the friendship between me and His Majesty."
Xin Pi raised his head and looked at Cao Zhen.
Cao Zhen said: "Your Majesty had a detailed conversation with me for a whole night before returning to Luoyang from Chencang. Your Majesty's mind, ambition, and bearing are greater than the officials in the court imagined."
Xin Pi continued, "I have always been by your side, so I can roughly guess what your majesty will say. Unifying the world, expanding the ancestral legacy, and conferring titles on meritorious officials, right or not?"
Cao Zhen shook his head: "No."
Xin Pi looked a little surprised.
Cao Zhen said: "The Great Wei is the Great Wei of the Cao family, not the Great Wei of your Majesty alone. Your Majesty believes that the previous emperor was wrong to treat the royal family harshly. In governing the country, the army, the scholars, the warriors, the royal family, the outsiders..."
"Your Majesty has thought a lot about how to balance the court so that the Wei Dynasty can last for 400 years like the Han Dynasty, but without having as many problems as the Han Dynasty."
Xin Pi asked calmly, "Have you two figured it out?"
Cao Zhen shook his head: "For such a big matter, neither your majesty nor I have much clue."
"But increasing the power of the royal family to expand the emperor's wings has become a fixed pattern."
"Based on the promise Your Majesty made to me that day, I absolutely do not believe that Your Majesty will take away my power."
Xin Pi bowed his hands and said: "It is a great blessing for the ruler and his subjects to know each other well!"
Cao Zhen took a deep breath and asked, "When will Your Majesty go to Xuchang?"
Xin Pi said, "Maybe I'll go after the New Year. His Majesty also said he wanted to meet me in Xuchang."
Cao Zhen asked, "The world is constantly at war, which is hard on Your Majesty. Your Majesty sent you on this tour. Do you have any plans in mind?"
Xin Pi responded: "There is already a route."
"First we went to Chencang, then we followed the Weishui River to Shanggui, then we passed Qishan to Dazhong, passed Xiabian and Nanzheng and returned to Chencang."
"When I left, I brought two assistants from the Privy Council with me to stay with Lu Xun and carefully record the topography of the mountains and rivers there."
Cao Zhen asked: "Lu Xun and Zhang He successfully stopped Zhuge Liang in Dazhong in May. What is the story in Luozhong?"
Xin Pi looked at Cao Zhen and said, "Didn't Your Majesty commend Lu Xun and Zhang He?"
Cao Zhen shook his head: "That's not what I meant. What do Luoyang and the court say about this battle?"
"Nothing much."
"No explanation?" Cao Zhen asked in surprise, "Zhuge Liang led 20,000 troops to invade Dazhong, and Lu Xun and Zhang He held out for two months before forcing Zhuge Liang to retreat. There is no discussion in the court?"
Xin Pi explained helplessly: "After last year's great victory in capturing Hanzhong, the whole court compared Shu to a clay chicken and a clay dog."
"Lu Xun and Zhang He forced Zhuge Liang to retreat in two months, and they still think they are not capable enough in commanding the army."
Cao Zhen spat: "These ignorant soldiers! Do you really think it's easy to command troops?"
"Zhuge Liang's offensive this year was extremely fierce. Although there were only 20,000 soldiers, Lu Xun's Qiang soldiers could not hold the fort. Wudu and Longyou sent troops to Dazhong, gathering more than 30,000 soldiers in that broken place. Even I went to Xiabian to take charge!"
Xin Pi sighed, "It doesn't matter if the court doesn't know. It's enough for Your Majesty to know."
"By the way, General, have you heard? Zhao Bo has been appointed as the Sima of the other army."
Cao Zhen was stunned at first, then laughed: "When did it happen?"
Xin Pi said, "It happened in September. Xiahou Xian transferred Zhaobo to Youzhou and reported to the court for his meritorious service in organizing the army and promoted Zhaobo."
Cao Zhen's expression only improved now: "My Zhao Bo looks like a military general, but he has always been a bit soft inside since he was a child."
"He made great achievements in Yanmen the year before last, and was promoted to Sima of the Biebu Army two years later. This experience is good for him. Did your majesty mention Zhao Bo?"
Xin Pi replied, "Huan Fan told your majesty about this. Your majesty said that after one or two years, when Zhaobo has made some military achievements on the border, he will be promoted to colonel." Cao Shuang left Luoyang in the first year of Taihe, and first served under Tian Yu in Bingzhou, and was then transferred to Youzhou by Xiahou Xian.
The experience under Tian Yu helped Cao Shuang develop good military qualities. When Xiahou Xian was training the county soldiers in Youzhou, Cao Shuang also made great contributions.
The experience of working as a grassroots military officer in the past two years makes a difference.
Xin Pi even felt that when His Majesty said "A brave general must start from the ranks", he was sometimes referring to Cao Shuang.
After talking about the political affairs in Luozhong and the latest news, and until they finished talking about Cao Shuang, the two were speechless for a while.
The hall returned to its previous sad atmosphere.
Cao Zhen stood up, looked at Xin Pi and said solemnly: "I want to hold a remote sacrifice for the Grand Marshal in Chencang for seven consecutive days!"
Xin Pi also stood up and said, "That is the general's own business, no one can interfere."
"The letter has been delivered. I will stay in Chencang for one night and will set off tomorrow."
Cao Zhen asked: "Why not stop for a few more days?"
Xin Pi replied: "If I stay a few days less in each place, I can return to the court earlier."
"To be honest, the changes in the court have become more and more serious in recent days. If I can return early, I will try my best to return early."
Cao Zhen nodded and said, "I will help you. Where do you want to inspect? I will send people to supervise the preparations in advance, and I will not let you return empty-handed."
Xin Pi looked at Cao Zhen and said, "You should go and arrange the sacrifice first. I will have a long talk with you in this long night."
"Okay!" Cao Zhen replied.
……
In Luoyang City, Cao Rui took Xu Shu, Pei Qian and Guanqiu Jian to stroll around the market for a long time. They bought many handicrafts, pottery and snacks, and ordered people to send them to Guanqiu Jian's home.
After all, it is not easy to send it directly to Beigong. You dare to say that the merchants dare not sell it.
After leaving the market, Cao Rui said to Xu Shu, "I haven't seen Prince Yong for a long time. Why don't you all follow me to see him today?"
Xu Shu laughed heartily, stroked his beard and said: "Wherever your majesty goes, I am just a swordsman, just carrying a sword and following you!"
Cao Rui smiled without saying anything, and pulled the reins to move forward.
It had been more than a year since Wang Lang passed away. The new Situ Chen Qun and his family moved into the Situ Mansion, so Wang Su had to move out.
Fortunately, Cao Rui rewarded him with a house in Luoyang and ordered him to observe mourning at his home in Luoyang without having to return to his clan in Donghai County, Xuzhou.
The last time Cao Rui came to Wang Su's house was three months ago. When he met Wang Su this time, the first thing Cao Rui asked was the question of whether he could be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
At this time, the three of them were sitting outside, and only Cao Rui and Wang Su were talking privately.
Wang Su narrowed his eyes and thought: "Is Weiwei Donggong saying that we should select ministers with outstanding contributions to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple twice?"
"That's right." Cao Rui said, "Is it in accordance with etiquette? For matters like this, I must ask you before giving an order."
Wang Su cupped his hands and said, "Regarding the Taimiao, I have some thoughts recently. Zheng Xuan's theory of 'the emperor has seven temples' is extremely inappropriate. The emperor should have nine temples."
Seeing that Wang Su was about to talk about his obscure Confucian etiquette theory again, Cao Rui quickly stopped him: "Wang Qing, there is no need to elaborate. Just submit a memorial to me with the details."
"The Wei Dynasty has only had two emperors up to the time of me. Including the posthumously conferred Emperor Wu, there are only three people. The rest are not real emperors. What is the difference between the Seven Temples and the Nine Temples?"
"I only ask whether the accompanying sacrifice is in accordance with etiquette."
Wang Su's mouth raised a hint of smile: "Your Majesty said this is in accordance with etiquette, then it is in accordance with etiquette."
Cao Rui narrowed his eyes and looked at Wang Su: "What do you think of what you said, Lord Wang?"
Wang Su explained succinctly: "The Zhou rituals have not been determined, and Zheng Xuan has not discussed it. If Your Majesty wants to do this, I will definitely find a suitable theory as a basis for Your Majesty."
Cao Rui laughed a few times and said: "You are truly a great scholar of the country!"
"Then let me ask this in a different way. Dong Zhao said that the first batch had less and the second batch had more. How should we divide them specifically?"
Wang Su was silent for a few moments: "Your Majesty, do you want more relatives or more outsiders?"
Cao Rui thought for a moment and said, "Let's just say the first batch should have the same number of officials. The second batch will naturally have more officials."
Wang Su replied: "If that's the case, the first batch should be four people."
"Xiahou Yuanrang and Cao Zixiao can be chosen as relatives."
Cao Rui asked: "What about the ministers from other families?"
Wang Su replied: "Compared with these two, ministers from other families must be selected as the Three Dukes."
Cao Rui looked at Wang Su with a slight smile: "How do you choose?"
Wang Su replied: "Among the first three ministers of the Great Wei, Jia Wenhe has passed away, and my father has also passed away."
"Your Majesty, do you wish to choose Jia Wenhe or my father?"
Wang Su asked directly, and Cao Rui also answered directly: "So the Minister of the Interior, Lord Wang, is fine. But I don't want to choose Jia Wenhe. I don't like him. Someone from the Cao family died at his hands."
Wang Su replied, "Then the candidate should be Cheng Yu, Cheng Zhongde. When the Wei Dynasty was first established, the late emperor wanted to appoint Cheng Yu as one of the Three Dukes, but Cheng Yu died at the age of eighty."
Cao Rui thought for a moment: "Emperor Wu had a hard time starting his business. Cheng Yu made great contributions to the preservation of Yanzhou and the defeat of the Yuan family. This person can do it." (End of this chapter)
