Seeing that the emperor wanted him to leave, Guan Lu shouted in a panic: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! I have already figured it out, and it is not an empty talk!"
After Guan Lu spoke, everyone in the hall turned their eyes to the emperor again.
Cao Rui frowned slightly: "Although I have not sinned against you, I cannot allow you to lie to me repeatedly."
"What do you want to say?"
Guan Lu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have already predicted it! The main hexagram is Xun, Kan, Huan, and the changing hexagram is Kun, Dui, Lin!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the situation in the hall immediately became polarized.
Most of the officials who were received today did not know much about Zhouyi, even Guan Lu's father Guan Cheng. Among the ministers, people like Man Chong were also confused.
Just because Man Chong is not interested in academic matters doesn’t mean that other people also don’t understand anything at all.
Cao Rui, who was sitting at the top of the hall, suddenly turned cold in expression. Sima Yi stared at Guan Lu with his eagle eyes. Lu Yu, Xu Shu, Guanqiu Jian and others also looked solemn.
There is no other reason, it’s just that the two hexagrams that Guan Lu divined were too abnormal.
The main hexagram is Xun, Kan, and Huan, and the changing hexagrams are Kun, Dui, and Lin.
If we explain the principles of Zhouyi divination in a very simple way, the main hexagram represents the starting state of things, the changing hexagram represents the development of things, and the mutual hexagram represents the ending of things.
According to what Guan Lu just said, Huan hexagram is the main hexagram and Lin hexagram is the changing hexagram.
Guan Lu only mentioned the main hexagram and the changing hexagram, but did not mention the mutual hexagram.
With the main hexagram and the changing hexagram, it is natural to deduce the mutual hexagram.
Looking at the confused ministers, Cao Rui sighed and said, "The emperor has no private affairs. I summoned you today, and you have heard the words of divination."
"Minister Lu, please explain it to everyone."
As soon as Guan Lu said this, he knew that the situation was irreversible. But with Guan Lu's unconventional character, how could he keep the words stuck in his throat?
The emperor did not ask the fortune teller to explain, but asked the minister to explain it. His dissatisfaction was very obvious.
Lu Yu took a deep breath and said, "I obey your order."
"The Huan hexagram changes into the Lin hexagram, and the mutual changes into the Xiaoguo hexagram."
"When all three lines move at the same time, the fourth line of the Huan hexagram, which is 64, should be used as the explanation."
After saying this, Lu Yu swallowed his saliva and looked at the emperor: "Your Majesty, do you want me to interpret the hexagram as well?"
Cao Rui frowned and waved his hand: "War is the general trend of the world, involving the well-being of hundreds of thousands of people. How can it be decided by the words of a fortune teller, a few straw sticks, or a few tortoise shells?"
"Since Guan Lu has said it in public, Lu Qing should interpret it in public! Otherwise, you will have to go to those supernatural people to ask for interpretation after you leave my palace."
"Lu Qing, say it in public!"
Lu Yu had been with the emperor for more than a year and understood his character very well. He was as generous and open-minded as Emperor Wu and as informal and unrestrained as Emperor Wen.
But when faced with a major event, His Majesty has never been afraid. In the past, when he conquered Huainan and attacked Western Shu, he personally led the central army to face danger, which has fully demonstrated this point.
Since no other ministers objected, Lu Yu had no choice but to follow the emperor's wishes.
"The Huan hexagram represents floods. The hexagram says 'Heng, the king has a temple, it is beneficial to cross the river, it is beneficial to be steadfast'. The king goes to the temple to worship the gods, it is beneficial to cross the river, and everything goes smoothly."
"The third line of the Huan hexagram, 'Yuan Ji, Huan has hills, incredible', means that both the host and the guest are in a passive position."
Lu Yu paused and glanced at the emperor's expression. The emperor sat in the hall without moving, but Man Chong and others, who had been confused before, all changed their expressions.
The matter that Guan Lu divined in this hexagram was about military affairs in Liaodong.
The divination showed a flood, and both the host and the guest were in a passive position. What exactly is going on?
Lu Yu sighed inwardly and continued, "The hexagram changes to Lin, 'Yuanhenglizhen, but there will be disasters in August.' Things are going well, but there will be dangers in August."
"The Lin hexagram, Kun on top and Dui on bottom, represents a flood."
Lu Yu took another deep breath and continued, "The mutual hexagram is Xiaoguo, which means prosperity and benefit. It can handle small matters but not big ones."
After that, Lu Yu bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have explained all the hexagrams that Guan Lu has predicted."
Cao Rui's expressionless face suddenly showed a smile. He chuckled a few times and pointed at everyone: "What's wrong with you, gentlemen?"
"Huan, Lin, and Xiaoguo, these three hexagrams are all good and beneficial. Why do you all have stern faces, as if you have obtained some bad hexagram?"
Sima Yi complained helplessly in his heart.
It was you who asked Guan Lu to tell fortunes just now, it was you who first had a stern face, and it is you who is smiling now.
He is truly a descendant of Cao, a figure like Emperor Wu!
Sima Yi was a cabinet minister, and another cabinet minister, Man Chong, did not know anything about Zhouyi. Now was the time for Sima Yi to speak.
Sima Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the fortune teller Guan Lu's prediction is auspicious. The main hexagram, the changing hexagram, and the mutual hexagram are all auspicious and beneficial. It is auspicious for sending troops!"
With Sima Yi, the prime minister of Wei, taking the lead, Man Chong, Lu Yu, Xu Shu and others, as well as all the ministers summoned today, all bowed and congratulated him.
Guan Lu, the actual operator of the divination this time, felt quite confused and at a loss as everyone bowed together.
Doesn’t the Huan hexagram represent floods? The meaning of the Lin hexagram should refer to the floods in August.
How could it be a good thing to encounter a flood when sending troops? Guan Lu knew divination, Zhouyi, and numerology. However, this 20-year-old boy with precocious wisdom was still completely ignorant of politics and human nature.
In politics, funerals are celebrated as celebrations, which is just the norm. Not to mention that the three hexagrams have the words "heng" and "li zhen" as the basis, which is enough to explain a good result!
After listening to everyone's congratulations, Cao Rui looked at Guan Lu with a smile and said, "Guan Lu, you live in the countryside, but you have such attainments in Zhouyi and divination. It is not easy. You should go back to Luoyang with me to study and inherit the tradition."
"In order to ensure that there are no unskilled people left in the countryside, I will now recruit you as a scholar at Chongwenguan, with a rank of 1,000 stones."
"Guan Qing, are you willing to agree?"
Guan Lu's father Guan Cheng, who was standing behind him, had his eyes wide open to the limit with anticipation, and repeatedly signaled his son with his mind to quickly accept the task.
Guan Lu was standing in front, so of course he couldn't see what his father said. He was moved and used his right hand, which was still in his sleeve, to make a guess. After getting the answer of "Xiao Ji", Guan Lu finally put down his heart.
As a fortune teller, Guan Lu himself firmly believed in these mysterious things.
Guan Lu bowed and said, "I, Guan Lu, thank you for your grace, Your Majesty, and am willing to serve you, Your Majesty!"
"Good, very good." Cao Rui smiled and pointed at Guan Lu. "Guan Qing, go back and pack up. Three days later, go to report to the Imperial Guards' Assistant Minister Du Wubo. You will be in front of the Emperor and stay with my Imperial Guards. You can respond to my call at any time."
"My Lords, today's audience ends here. Please go back!"
Everyone in the hall saluted together and then slowly left the hall.
Cao Rui waved his hand and asked everyone to leave, leaving only two cabinet ministers, Sima Yi and Man Chong, and two attendants, Xu Shu and Lu Yu.
The smile on Cao Rui's face just now disappeared, and he looked at everyone coldly: "Although the words of the fortune teller cannot be trusted, if it is a warning from heaven, it is worth paying attention to."
"Guan Lu has been summoned by me. Lord Xu, send an official to keep an eye on him later and don't let him get away."
Xu Shu did not dare to neglect it, and said with a folded hand: "I understand."
Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and Man Chong again and asked: "If a flood occurs this summer, do the Secretariat and the Privy Council have any countermeasures?"
Man Chong gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, the Privy Council has not made any special preparations for the flood."
Cao Rui responded with dissatisfaction: "If I don't summon Guan Lu today, will the Privy Council have no response at all? You and Dong Zhao are both veteran officials, how can you not be prepared for such a thing?"
"I praise you and flatter you every day in Luoyang. Have you two old ministers been flattered to the point of being stupid?"
"In the 24th year of Jian'an, there was a great flood. Guan Yu was on a boat to besiege Fancheng! Where was you, General Man, at that time? Speak!"
Man Chong bowed, his head lowered even more: "I was in Fancheng at the time, helping the former Grand Marshal Cao defend the city."
"When you are in a high position, do you not know how to do anything? It will rain in Jingzhou and Yuzhou, but it won't rain in Hebei?"
Cao Rui rebuked them, saying, "I give the Privy Council seven days. Within seven days, if Jizhou, Bingzhou, and Youzhou are faced with floods during the war, make a plan for me!"
"If I can't get your general's plan, I won't leave Yecheng!"
Man Chong bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will work with the Privy Council to come up with a plan within five days!"
Cao Rui then looked at Sima Yi and asked, "Sikong, what does the Shangshutai say?"
Sima Yi saw that Man Chong was rarely reprimanded by the emperor, and he became nervous: "Your Majesty, the Secretariat has to deal with floods every year..."
Cao Rui interrupted Sima Yi and asked, "What response? Has there been any change in the past two years?"
"How dare you say that, Sikong? You are in charge of the Ministry of Works, right? You might as well have agreed to it like General Man did!"
"Look at the documents you submitted to the Secretariat to request merit. Huang Quan, Jiang Ji, Sun Zi, and He Qia all cited the construction of water conservancy projects and the building of dams and dikes as their greatest achievements."
"How many tributaries of the Huai River have been turned into ponds? What will we do if a flood hits? Have you and Wei Pushe thought about it? Has Fu Xun thought about it?"
Sima Yi didn't dare to answer and could only nod repeatedly in response.
Cao Rui sighed, "In the fourth year of Huangchu, there was a great flood. It rained for more than 100 days in Henan, the worst in the 400 years of the Han Dynasty. The palaces in Xuchang were washed away. Sikong, you were in Xuchang at that time, right?"
Sima Yi nodded and said, "I was in Xuchang at that time."
Cao Rui stood up and said, "No need for me to say more. I want to see the full response of the Shangshutai and the Privy Council within seven days!"
After saying this, Cao Rui walked away, and the attendants followed him, leaving Man Chong and Sima Yi staring at each other in bewilderment.
I hated Guan Lu even more. Who would pay special attention to the flood when they were just attacking Youzhou?
On the other side, Guan Cheng and his son Guan Lu walked out of the palace and walked towards the posthouse on foot.
Seeing that there was no one around, Guan Cheng lowered his voice and asked his son, "Gongming, you have obtained a bachelor's degree with a salary of 1,000 stones at the age of 20. This is a great thing that our ancestors have accumulated."
"I have always known your ability. You just read the emperor's fortune. What on earth was the reason for him vomiting blood?"
"What happened?" Guan Lu smiled bitterly and said, "The blood was in my mouth because I bit my tongue. I hesitated to make more blood. That's how I escaped."
Guan Cheng's eyes widened: "What does the emperor look like?"
Guan Lu couldn't help shaking his head: "I lost my mother in childhood, my father in youth, and died in my prime. How can this be a good fate?"
"It's just that after I looked at the face and came to a conclusion, I couldn't remember the emperor's face at all. When I looked at it again later, it was even more confusing."
"What a strange thing!" (End of this chapter)
